Well, I did it. The furthest I've run to date: 14 miles. It wasn't bad. But it did have its setbacks.
Setback #1: Pesky blister. The dang thing can't heal because I keep running and rubbing it open again. Mile one was definitely the most miserable, as my bandaid was soaked through with blood and hanging off before I even got to the 2 mile mark. It stung like crazy and I had visions of a gauze-wrapped ankle for my next run. When I completed one mile, I had to laugh to myself (yay! only a half-marathon to go with this thing!). But yeah, by the time I got to 3-4 miles, it was numb and only periodically bothered me. I definitely need to get some of that liquid bandaid stuff.
Setback #2: My legs! So weird, but my legs just ached through this whole run. That's usually not a problem until I get past 8 miles or so, but from the minute I started to the minute I finished, my legs where achy. It was a good ache though, a "growing" ache, not an injury ache.
Those were pretty much my only obstacles; besides those, my run was quite enjoyable.
I ran a new trail in Draper that a friend recommended to me. It was really nice, nestled up against the mountain so I had a gorgeous view of the valley. I even came across a couple of water fountains, which was a pleasant surprise. At about mile 7, I had returned to the trail head when I was bombarded with an oncoming race. Some race for Taylor Swift, I have no idea what that was all about. But I liked seeing all the other runners, and it got me motivated for my Riverwoods 10 miler in one week.
I felt like I was running with mollases stuck to my soles, I just wasn't feeling any kind of speed today with the achy legs. I thought I was going over 10 minute miles the whole time (yeah, I forgot the nike+ tells you your pace until the last mile!). But when I finally checked my time at the half-marathon mark, it was 2 hours, 2 minutes, only a couple minutes slower than my race time last year, so I was pleasantly surprised. I had plenty of energy for the last mile, and actually ran it in under 8 minutes, which was motivating. 2:09:30 for my final time, average of 9:19 miles.
Great job on your 14 miler! You've already gone further than a half marathon. That's awesome! I've totally had heavy leg runs too. I think it's just part of the process. Did you eat/gel during your run? The first time I ran 14 miles I didn't bring any food and I barely drank any water. On the last two miles I felt horrible. When we were done I was crashing. I literally drank a half a gallon of Gatorade and stuffed my face with a chicken sandwich to try to get my blood sugar back up. Anyway, since then I always drink every 20-30 min and gel every hour on long runs and it makes a HUGE difference.
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