16 miles and counting!

While I wasn’t able to trick myself into believing that I was on vacation, I was still able to somehow coerce my head and all of my other parts into running 16 miles today!  Despite still being a little sick and the distance being 2 miles further than I’ve ever run before, today's run went relatively well.  I did learn that I can’t run with one of those fuel belt things (basically a sporty belt that holds a few pods of liquid and a small pouch for those gummy things… no, it isn’t a fanny pack) as I spent the first 3 miles trying to adjust the belt so it would stop bouncing around like I was hauling implants around on my waist. Once I looped by the car to offload the stupid belt thing, I was in much better spirits and miles 3 – 9 passed by rather quickly despite including some hill work. 

I stopped back at the car for some Gatorade and gummy things again at mile 10 which kicked in and gave me a much needed boost of energy at around mile 12.  Using my trunk as my own personal water station was somewhat cumbersome as I had to stop moving to unlock, grab what I needed, lock and get going again, it was still way less annoying than the fuel belt and didn’t add as much time as I thought it would.  Miles 12 – 14.5 included the added challenge of some serious wind which, when it’s at your back is great but when running right into it, can make you feel like you’re barely making any forward progress at all.  

Once I realized how much the wind had picked up, I altered my route to make sure the wind would be pushing me towards my finish rather than away so other than some achy hips, sore feet and tired legs, the last 1.5 miles were a breeze (look at me with the clever pun on a Friday!).  The change in route not only got me out of some of the worst of the wind, but it also brought me past The Palace of Fine Arts … a beautiful structure that I have memories of visiting many times growing up and find just as magical today as I did then. 

The magic tape on my knees (I decided to do both today so as not to encounter the left being jealous of the attention the right was receiving and dissent) seemed to help them both feel stable and strong throughout so the tape is now a must for each and every run. Another running must for me is  my Lululemon Inspire Crop running pants as they have just the right amount of compression, a zip pocket on the back and the perfect fit (thank you to my fabulous hairstylist for the introduction to them and for my great hair… sorry it’s being abused by wind, sun, sweat, constant washings and an ever-present ponytail… I promise to do it more justice once I get through this!).     

Clearly, I don’t do well with “equipment” based distractions so while all of my trial and error, rants and raves, etc. may seem superfluous, it really does make a difference in how my running goes for me so my searching shall continue as  now that the shoe issue seems to be thankfully resolved (Nike Air Pegasus 28+… not quite perfect but so much better than any of the countless others), I can work on finding the perfect tank/shirt, socks and earphones for my iPod.  

With that being said, the search for my remaining “musts” is going to have to wait until after I spend some serious time with my recovery “musts” as right about now my parts are pretty pissed about what I tricked them into doing earlier today.  Nothing says Friday Night more than compression pants, ice packs and Advil... well, at least for a runner in training!

16miles, 2hrs 50min 28sec, avg 10.39 (pretty good for including the stops at the car!)

Cheers,

SF runner in training