Because of my injury, I hadn't run really long in a few weeks. Today, I got out and did an 18 mile run. That is now my fourth longest run ever. It was tough, but just what I need to do well in the marathon.
The weather was pretty cold and miserable. It was cloudy and in the 40s. There was a slight breeze that made things worse. I went with my compression sleeves with my short sleeve shirt. That worked, but I was never comfortable.
I'm still back at my parents house and I headed down to the D & L Trail, which is the canal path along the Lehigh River. I started at Sand Island in Bethlehem and looped in each direction. Before beginning, I had to used the bathroom. Of course the nearby one was locked. I had to run all the way into town, where the running store is.
I started off the run heading west towards Allentown. The path is small gravel there. The whole course is relatively flat, so I figured it would be a good route to run. According to their website, the path was only supposed to extend 2.9 miles from Sand Island. It actually went over 4 miles though, before turning into a grassy trail. I followed that park of the trail for a short distance until I hit 4.5 miles.
Running back was tough because the wind was blowing at me. It was cold in that air. I also ran at a pretty good clip (as I did throughout most of the run). I passed a few runners, bikers and a couple people fishes. I also passed a railway hub that was quite interesting. They were releasing the cars one by one and they were wandering down the track.
I had to go to the bathroom when I originally got to the end of the path. Even with that, I ran an 8:15 or so mile. Another mile on the way back was recorded as 6:50. I can't believe that was right, as I didn't think I was going that fast. When I got back to the car, I stopped long enough to drink some Gatorade.
I then ran east on the path towards Bethlehem. It starts out as gravel and goes by Bethlehem Steel. It is always impressive seeing how big the few remaining buildings are. It must've really been interesting to go by there when it was operating at full force.
I continued on and just focused mile by mile. It was tough because I was already getting sore as I hit mile 10 or so. I just concentrated on getting to the turnaround point though (mile 13.5). The trail turned to dirt at one point and that was a big help to the legs. Rather than run by some people with a dog, I actually turned around at mile 13.4.
I was able to get to mile 14, but was really hurting. I focused on pushing myself a little though. I was able to do this a couple different times. After about a half mile each time, my left calf would nearly cramp up. I just backed off a little then, but continued to work hard. I just concentrated on keeping good form and being steady in the final mile and a half. It was quite a chore, but I did survive and finish up.
My longest run in this cycle was weeks ago and it was only 17 miles. This was certainly pushing my limit. Running on a flat surface and softer terrain was a big help. It did cause me to run a faster pace than I probably should've though. I didn't feel like the effort was too tough though. It was a relief to finish.
I'm fairly sore, but I didn't have any actual injury problems. My IT band hasn't acted up in awhile. Hopefully that'll continue. Tomorrow is a rest day. I'll probably walk the mall with my mom in the AM. I'm heading to the Nazareth track meet in the afternoon too. On Tuesday, I'll do a speedwork session in the AM and run with the run club in the evening.
18 miles - 2:16:35 (7:35 pace)
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