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September 10, 2005
Boy, did that last hour drag
I know I'm going to be unhappy with the weather later in the week, so I'll just go ahead and say this now: the weather was awesome for a long run today. It was actually chilly when I started (I wasn't wearing much) and I was even seeking sun for awhile. Hopefully all the fall marathoners will be lucky enough to get a day like this--or even cooler--for their race day.
I met up with W., one of the girls I met last winter doing indoor workouts and who did a lot of long runs with me when I was training for Boston at 7am and we set off to Winchester, the land of long runs this fall. (It's just that I don't really know where to go, but Winchester has some good hills and is scenic, so it's always our fallback option.) W. is doing Reach the Beach next weekend and wanted to run less than 2 hours. I was shooting for 3, so we were able to run together for about an hour and 15 minutes before she turned around and I continued on my way. It was great to have her there especially for that first hour, because I was feeling very lethargic. I don't really know why--I didn't get tons of sleep, but I got enough. My legs were just heavy and I kept thinking about how much further I had to go. W. is a very cheerful person and a good conversationalist, so it's always fun to have her along.
I started to feel a little better after W. and I parted ways and I ate some energy bar pieces (I hate the consistency of gels and Gu, so whatever works...) I had mapped out a route some time ago that I thought was about 21 miles, but when the clock said 2 hours, I knew it wouldn't take me a whole hour to get back to my apartment. So I had to think about where to add on about 20 minutes or so, which is always mentally challenging for me. I decided to repeat most of the run I had done yesterday, since it's mindless, and it was pretty much right on in terms of time (3 hours) when I got back. My hamstrings were really tight and I am paranoid that I was running 10 minute pace, but I am proud of myself for actually running the amount (at least in terms of time) that I had planned for once.
Now my legs are even more sore (the run had a lot of up and downhills) so I'll have to go to town with the foam roller once I have more energy. We're waiting for our friends to arrive from New York and I suppose we will go walk around Boston or something like that. I would like to get in a nap today, but it's not going to happen--maybe tomorrow, although I do have a bit of schoolwork to do. Oh, our friends are here, gotta go!
Posted by becky at September 10, 2005 12:29 PM
Comments
Congratulations on getting that in!! I'm am sure you weren't going 10:00 pace. After all, the originally scheduled run took you less time than you thought it would!
I thought of you this morning when I was starting my run and freezing for the first mile. I thought, "This is a perfect day for Becky!"
Posted by: Alison at September 10, 2005 4:13 PM
Hi!! I saw you stretching/hydrating this morning around 10:15. I was driving by :) You looked (of course) tough and hard core!! I love how I see you running all over :) (here and dc!) your run sounds really strong!!!
Posted by: Audrey at September 10, 2005 6:46 PM