Anatomy of a 16-mile run

So...I went long. Sunshine. Temps in the mid 30's. Light north wind (I didn't realize this however, until I turned north). I dressed just perfectly for the run. Long champion compression pant, compression socks (thank goodness), sports bra, short sleeved dri-weave top under long sleeved Gap-Active half zip with hood. Turtle fur hat under hood...gloves, Brooks Launch sneakers.

I actually had mapped out a route for this run. It should have been a 14-miler. Half of the route was familiar. Half was new.

At the 3 1/2 mile mark, I started the new. Feeling good. Excited to keep going.

Moment of Panic: Not much of a paved shoulder for this next leg.
Sigh of Relief: Not much traffic.

Moving along at a good clip. This next leg should take me another 2 miles before I'm forced to make a left when I come to the T in the road. Shoulder getting wider...good thing. Getting out of the residential area...also a good thing as the traffic seems to lessen.

Mile 5. Time to take a left. At this point I'm thinking I could turn around if I had to and still make a 10 mile run out of it. Nah...still feeling really strong. I think I'll keep going.

Moment of Panic: No paved shoulder...
Sigh of Relief: Still little traffic.

According to the route I planned, I should make my turn in 1.5 miles. I'm passing streets, feeling good...but they all say "Dead End". The street I planned to turn left on doesn't seem to be here. Hmmmm. Where did I go wrong?

Mile 6. I slow to a walk and take a sip. I also notice a large rig swerving ahead...I'll give him plenty of slosh space.

Moment of Panic: Missed my turn.
Sigh of Relief: I know I can turn left beyond the interstate and still make it home.

2.5 miles...still no road to turn left on. Up ahead I see the Interstate. Well, clearly, I passed it...or I took a wrong turn back at Albuquerque. Guess I'll just keep going west.

County Road 46 up ahead. Hmmm, more new territory. Hoping, PRAYING for a wide shoulder. This could be a busy road. As I hit the stop sign, RunMeter tells me I've gone 8 miles. Wow...8 miles. If I turned back now, I'm forced to double it. Either way, forge on or turn around, I'm looking at a 16-miler.

Let's forge ahead.

Moment of Panic: Making that left...
Sigh of Relief: Big, wide, shoulder! Ahhhhh!

Great road to run on...yep, lots of traffic but lots of room. Still unfamiliar running territory, but feeling good, none the less. I can't believe I may actually do the entire run. I could wimp out and call the husband at this point. But I'm tough. And if worse comes to worse, I'll walk the rest.

Mile 9.5. Time to make the turn left back into New Market. Up ahead there is a bike/running trail that will take me 2.5 miles back to the street I normally run on. Now we are good. I know this route! YAY!

Mile 10. I stop to pop a Honey Stinger that my sister gave me while in New York. I decide not to chew it, rather hold it between my cheek and gum. This way I can't choke on it or be forced to drink more liquid than I'd like at this point. I only brought one water bottle. I'm not quite sure what I was thinking.

Moment of Panic: I'm gonna run out of coconut water.
Sigh of Relief: Nah...just little sips. I'll make it. Again, I can always call the hubster.

Mile 11. I'm realizing that I'm keeping a pretty good pace. Run a marathon? No problem...in under 4 hours? No problem!! Feeling super confident. My pace right now matches the half marathon I ran in September. Not my best, but respectable. I'm thinking if I could ONLY run a 8:30/mile marathon, I'd have this licked!

Moment of Panic: Why is it getting colder? Shouldn't I be getting warmer? Ah! North wind.
Sigh of Relief: At least it'll cool me off a bit. That's good, right?

Stop for a sip.

Mile 14. Time just under 2 hours. Yay! I just surpassed a half marathon. If I did what I just did, I'd easily break a 4:00:00 marathon. But I'm really getting cold now. I think my body has stopped heating itself. Do I take another stinger?  I opt for another few sips of coconut water.

Mile 14.5. My wireless headphones die. (((((sigh)))))

Note to self: Bring wired headphones on long runs just in case...

Mile 15ish. My legs feel like lead. But my lungs are just fine. Cardiovascularly, I could just keep going. That much I'm sure of. It is just the legs. Maybe I need to refuel better? Maybe I need to just run more longer distances? I gotta keep reading on the subject.

Note to self: Brooks Launch will not work for a full marathon. I can feel the road now. I need a sneaker with more padding to double the distance.

Moment of Panic:  I have no idea how far I've run.
Sigh of Relief: I've made the final turn home.

The home stretch. Gotta love it. I want to sprint it out, but I'm pretty whipped. I'll just keep swimming...like Dory. Just keep swimming...less than a half mile to the dirt road. Then you can walk!

Ahhhh...dirt. I pull my phone off my arm. To my surprise, it says 16.38. Stop this sucker! And revel in the fact that you just RAN 16 MILES!!!

Walk it off.

Open the door to the house.

Husband: How far did you go?
Me: (((no reply)))
Husband: C'mon...how far did you go?
Me: 16 miles
Husband: What, are you F*$&@*'-ing crazy? (except he actually used the word)

Guess I just might be.

I Wonder...Did Audrey Hepburn Run?

Today, I was planning to do some speed work. I thought perhaps some visual Fartleks would be the workout du jour. But it was cold. And I mean cold. I'm a Minnesotan...well sort of. An adoptee, so to speak. But I'm just not ready yet for these temperatures. It takes me a few weeks to acclimate to the colder, winter temperatures. And I was reminded of that this morning.

The temperature started at around 19°, and there was a pretty good breeze. I went out nice and easy, and I was pretty bundled up. At first I thought I didn't dress warm enough, but as always, I warmed up. Although I have to admit, it took quite a few miles.

The first few were into the wind. The sunshine helped immensely  Even when my path took me into the shade of the trees, I could feel the extreme temperature change that the sun provides. Funny how in the summer, you crave that shade. The winter? It is a whole different story.

So, I chugged along, thinking I'd start my sprint work at 2 miles. Ok, maybe 3. 4? Yeah, I just couldn't loosen up. I knew that if I broke out into a sprint, I'd injure myself, so I just didn't do it. By mile 3.5, and my turn around point, I decided to just go for the calorie burn. It just wasn't worth the risk.

The good news is at the turnaround, the wind was at my back, and there was no shade to be found. Going home was much more enjoyable than the trip out.

By the time I returned home, the temperature had risen to a balmy 27°! I just LOVE Minnesota in the fall!

What did I wear? Funny you should ask. I felt rather Audrey Hepburn-ish. When I was in New York, I went with my sister to find her a new pair of running shoes. The store had these cute Turtle Fur hats and accessories and I was immediately drawn to this fun pattern. This particular accessory is a long neck sock which can be worn as a head band, a pirate scarf, a neck warmer, a hat, or a balaclava. Today I wore it as a hat/balaclava combo. With the dark sunglasses and the slimming neon peach jacket, I kinda felt like Ms. Hepburn. I don't know? What do you think? If Audrey Hepburn did run, I'm guessing she kind of looked like this.

Weather: 19°, sunny and breezy.
Clothing: Long Gap spandex pant, sports bra, long sleeved Champion gaitor top, long sleeved Gap neon peach jacket, Lucy gloves, Turtle Fur Balaclava, sunglasses, Brooks Launch sneakers.

When is your favorite time of the year to run?

Magic Monday means no run

Since it is Monday, and hubby and I are deep into our 12th round of P90X, it means that today was a heavy hitter. We did Chest, Shoulders and Triceps this morning. And I preceded it with a 90 minute treadmill walk at my regular pace and incline. Good thing I stayed inside as the temperature dipped to 16° this morning with snow and blustery conditions. I don't think that this running chick is quite ready for that yet. Tomorrow will be a different day. Even when it is that cold, the sun does help.

The workout was good, except when you start month two with the new routines, it is always killer. Today was no exception. I didn't pull out the numbers I do at the end of each round, but it was good enough for government work. The walk was fine, too.

The only thing I'm not liking today is this pain in my throat. Hope to goodness it isn't something threatening. I'm taking some zinc and some Mega-C, just in case...plus some Throat Coat Tea.

Looking forward to doing some fartleks tomorrow. That may change, as I sit down to read my Marathon Guide tonight. But for now, that is the plan. 4 miles? Sounds good!