What a Difference a Week Makes

Well, last week on this day I ran 12 miles in sweltering heat and humidity. This morning I met a small group to run 13 miles in weather so cold (50 degrees) I could see my breath as I ran. Unbelievable.

(We're going away again this weekend so I needed to get my long run in earlier and one of the coaches, Monica, kindly agreed to run the 13 miles with me. A few other people joined us for part of the run but only we two ran the whole distance.)

It was a good run. By the end my legs were very tired and my feet were sore but I never had to walk and I didn't feel winded. Including the few water breaks, we finished in about 2 hours and 35 minutes. Monica and I actually ran 13.1 miles (she has a watch with GPS so we know the exact distance) so I can now say that I have run a half-marathon. I don't feel like I could run double that distance...yet. But I never thought I could run 13 miles and feel relatively OK so I know that day is coming.

Most of the route is along the East Ithaca Recreational Way or on country roads in the Ellis Hollow neighborhood of Ithaca. These roads are usually flanked by fields of corn or soybeans or acres of woods with a few houses here and there.

Peering into a wooded section this morning, I saw a large male deer with big antlers. I thought he'd run away when we made eye contact but we kept staring at each other as I ran past. A sighting like this, especially on such a personal level, is the real reward of these early morning runs.

At mile 9, I tried another packet of GU (Tri Berry flavor) and, while it was marginally better than the Lemon one from last week, it was still pretty disgusting so I am going to try Sport Beans to provide the extra energy I'll need to finish these long runs. I'll let you know how it goes.

Since I could really feel the big toe on my right foot jamming into my shoe on the downhills today, we are officially going to Fleet Feet in Syracuse tomorrow afternoon to buy a new pair of shoes. And since my hands were numb and I had goosebumps on my arms for most of the run this morning, I think I'll look for a jacket, too.