Solo Long Run

This morning I woke up yearning for a couple more hours of sleep. I found myself lying in bed for a few minutes not wanting to get out of bed. This is not like me. Even when I’m tired I get out of bed and start moving. After a few moans, groans, and stretches I was out of bed and ready to start the day.

During those early morning stretches I took note of how sore my legs were. Sore legs is not how I want to start a long run. I’m not sure what I did to make my legs sore, but there was enough discomfort that I found it alarming.

I started the run within an hour of getting home from work. The weather was fair and I did not want to waste any time. The plan lacked my usual organization. I wasn’t aiming for anything particular other than the scheduled thirteen miles.

Starting at my house I ran the greenbelts until I reached Kingwood High School. From Kingwood Drive I headed towards East End Park. After running the outer perimeter of the park I returned to the point I left off at the greenbelts and back home. The total distance for the day was 16.6 miles.

As hard as it was for me, I made a conscious effort to not look at my watch. With a goal of thirteen miles I found it necessary to glance at my watch three times. The first time I looked at my watch I had run ten miles in two-hours.

I had a superb run. For whatever reason, I was firing on all cylinders this morning. This was probably my most successful long run, ever. The run lacked the common annoying factors such as dogs, cars, and stupid people. This may also be the reason I ran a faster pace. It has been a long time since I finished a distance beyond fifteen miles and felt good at the end.

Only one problem arose during the run and it was minor. Around mile twelve I ran out of water and I desperately wanted more. It was hot, but the mental aspect of not having water at my disposable seemed to heighten the desire. After running 20-minutes I found a neighborhood pool open and they happily allowed me refill my hydration pack from their water fountain.

Even though I ran a route primarily consisting of greenbelts and sidewalks, I only spent about 20% of my time running on concrete. Whenever possible I ran in the grass beside the sidewalk.

I packed two Gu’s and took both of them. The first Gu was at two-hours and a second Gu 45-minutes later when I started feeling hunger pangs. I also took two S-caps every hour. Since I was purposely ignoring my watch I took the S-caps when I thought an hour had passed. The Gu’s were taken when I felt the need for them rather than a predetermined time.

Run:
14.21 miles
2:37:53
11:07 pace

Walk:
2.41 miles
40:39
16:52 pace

Push-ups: 39