16 Mile Long Run..... Check!

This morning was my first 16 mile run. The morning was not hot, but the humidity was still quite high. I forgot to check the weather before leaving so I don't know the exact figures.

I woke up at 5:20 with a planned departure of sometime before 5:40. I started running at 5:41 and started doing the math in my head to realize I once again didn't plan very well to get back in time to avoid a rush to get to church..... oh well, I will get the timing down by the time the marathon is here. :)

I had the first bit of uneasiness at about a half a mile into my run when I came up on a car sitting along a country road. I run around parked cars in neighborhoods all the time but it is just a bit unnerving when it is along a road like this. Things go through your mind wondering if it is just a car that died or if someone (dead or alive) is sitting in the car and what may be lurking in the dark somewhere close by.

Needless to say, I am sitting here writing this post so all went well with the car and no boogieman jumped out at me anywhere.

The next 13 miles were pretty uneventful other than a couple bunny rabbits and trying to carry and juggle my water, Gatorade, and getting my sport beans out of my arm band without losing my cell phone. I really want to get myself some kind of fuel belt to carry liquids and gel or sport beans. I get tired of carrying water and Gatorade bottles, I would much rather my arms be able to relax on these long runs.

At 13.5 miles I had another almost tragic trip and fall like I had a few weeks ago from tripping on my shoe-laces. I was running along and all of a sudden that strange but recognizable restriction of motion occurred with my feet. Remembering the last result of the same feeling I immediately stopped and looked down. To my surprise my right shoe-lace was loosened a bit and even though double knotted it was now much larger loops than how I tie them. I guess the 13 miles and extreme sweating had loosened them up just enough to cause them to (try to) trip me. I took the time to immediately retie the shoe-laces so I wouldn't soon experience the same fate as last time.

My pacing wasn't where I wanted it to be and I am not sure why I was not able to pace where I wanted to. I was aiming at a 10:00 minute pace, but was closer to a 10:30 pace for the first half of the run. The second half I was closer to where I wanted to be with most of the miles in the upper 9's. You can see my splits here.

Well, that is it for now - getting ready to head back out for 6 more miles.... but not by choice. My daughter needs to get in a long run today, but her running buddy called and is sick so she cannot run with her. We do not allow her to run by herself so off I go again for another run. It will be another easy paced run and I will probably once again, like last week, forgo my run tomorrow morning and just let this run count for it.

Till next time.....

10 comments:

  1. Congrats on the long run and on the not falling part. Ha. and I think it's awesome your daughter is running too and you got to be her running partner tonight, she'll remember that when she's older.

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  2. Great Job Tim. I picked up an ASICS water belt online from worldwide sports for around 20 bucks and i love it. It's got 2 bottles and a good sized pouch for gels, keys, cell phones etc. Keep up the good work!

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  3. I find that tucking the loops & tails of my laces into my shoe helps keep them from untying. It is a bit uncomfortable at first having laces wedged between your foot and shoe, but you get used to it pretty quick.

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  4. ok, wait. you did a 16 mile long run and then went out again with your speedy daughter! that's just incredible :)

    nice job on the long run! glad it went well for the most part. i'm sure those slower-than-anticipated first miles were just some sludge in the legs, waking up, and a little mental game over how many miles were left to go?

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  5. Good job on the 16! Don't worry about those splits. For the long runs its more about being on your feet for that distance and for that amount of time. I blew up my first 16 several of weekends ago and had splits much slower than yours.

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  6. 16 miles is a great distance! And then followed up by 6 miles the next day is quite tough. Well done!

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  7. good job! I agree - don't worry at all about time. Just get the miles in at any pace.

    I HIGHLY recommend a fuel belt. I hate carrying anything, so I try to plan my long runs where there are water fountains wherever possible. During marathons I safety pin my gu packs to my shorts on the outside.

    Hey - this sounds really obnoxious, but did you see the issue of Runners World about the right way to tie your shoes? If you tie them the right way there's no way that they would ever come undone. Google it and make sure you're tying them right. It's worth it so you won't trip or have to re-tie in a race... ;)

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  8. good job! I agree - don't worry at all about time. Just get the miles in at any pace.

    I HIGHLY recommend a fuel belt. I hate carrying anything, so I try to plan my long runs where there are water fountains wherever possible. During marathons I safety pin my gu packs to my shorts on the outside.

    Hey - this sounds really obnoxious, but did you see the issue of Runners World about the right way to tie your shoes? If you tie them the right way there's no way that they would ever come undone. Google it and make sure you're tying them right. It's worth it so you won't trip or have to re-tie in a race... ;)

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