On Sunday July 5th I did my first long run of marathon training - 10 miles. Ten miles is a bit intimidating to me but not terribly so. I've run the 10 mile distance more than 20 times since I've started running. I wasn't afraid of being able to complete the distance, but I was a bit afraid of running in the Catskills - the elevation and hills are both things to which I am not accustomed.
After I woke up, I took my miracle pill - Claritin D and waited for it to work its magic. The pollen in the Catskills was way more intense than that in NYC. I had a mini breakfast (half a bagel with almond butter) and went back to my room to download some podcasts. That took incredibly long until I went back to the main building where the wifi was better. I listened to two this american life podcasts: Captains Log and Abdi and the Golden Ticket. I highly recommend the second of these podcasts.
I decided to do an out and back route because the internet at the place we were staying was so terrible that I couldn't map a route. I'm very thankful to my GPS watch because I can just run out for 5 miles and turn around without any pre-planning. Since I didn't map out my route, I had no idea of parks or bathrooms along the way.
The route started with a large climb, which made me go super slowly. I drank to thirst and was about halfway through my bottle at the 2 mile mark. I spied a park across the street and found a water source, nothing fancy like a water fountain, just a faucet akin to what you'd put a hose onto. I turned and thankfully it worked. I topped off my bottle with water and continued on my way. The route was quite scenic - I passed a couple of waterfalls and enjoyed the view. At 5 miles I turned around. Unfortunately I hadn't passed anymore water sources (other than streams) along the way. I knew that I'd get water again at the 8 mile mark (yay for route symmetry). Unfortunately, I'd almost completely finished my bottle by mile 6, so miles 6 and 7 were very slow going. At mile 8 I refilled my water and sat by the lake for a minute or two just to take in the sights. I don't usually get to run in such beautiful terrain.
Unfortunately, re-hydrating made the PM want to visit so I didn't enjoy the lake view for very long. I ran the last two miles back to the hotel quite quickly. In fact, the last mile of my long run was my fastest mile of the run ;-)
Week 1 Summary:
Miles: 33
Pace: 12:32/mile (woo hoo penguin speed)
Stayed on Plan: Mostly - didn't get my MLR done but made up the missing mileage on my rest day. I did my core and strength work Monday-Wednesday but fell off later in the week due to soreness and travel.
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