Yesterday was a fun day watching friends run the St. Luke's Half Marathon, taking photos and going out to lunch. I didn't run after all of that, so today it was back to business. Since Sunday is usually a long run day, I had to do that today.
The plan was to run 18 miles. I worked at the last minute, so that meant I had to hold off on my long run. My mom wanted to go to dinner, so I had to start with only an hour after lunch. At times, I burped and didn't feel like my lunch would stay down, but it did. I also needed to run nearby.
I decided that I would just run on roads. Going out to Route 512 from my house isn't too bad. The shoulders are pretty wide. It is one of the few non neighborhood routes that I'm comfortable with. I biked something like this route before, so I knew it was about 5 miles out and 5 miles back.
I decided to actually park in the neighborhoods across from 512. That way, I could run home, grab a drink and also run back to the car and get a drink there. I could rehydrate properly.
I didn't need to worry about hydration too much, because it wasn't warm out. It was in the 50s and rainy. I opted for shorts, a short sleeve shirt and compression calf sleeves. I had on a hat too. I also put a change of clothes in the car. I actually found a neighborhood park to park my vehicle in.
Looking at the weather map, it appeared that the rain would end shortly after I started the run. It never did. It didn't rain hard, but it was at least a constant mist all throughout. I do love running in the rain and it is good practice in case it rains on raceday. However, I am not a big fan of rain when I have a super long run like today.
I started off by running through the neighborhoods before heading home. This was kind of nice and kind of boring. I actually didn't quite know where I was at times. I couldn't get my watch working properly in the beginning and that was part of the reason for a slow opening mile. It was an 8:44.
I cruised around the neighborhoods. There was some elevation change, but it was relatively flat. I figured neighborhood running would be good because people wouldn't let their dogs out in the rain. I was trying to run easy, but miles 2 and 3 dipped under 8 minutes each.
After about 3 miles, I was heading home. That was good because it felt like I was going somewhere. Also, the scenery changed a lot. Most of the D&L generally looks the same when I am on there doing my long runs.
As I went near the industrial area of 512, I noticed the road surface changed. It was slippery. I wondered what chemical they used or why it was that way. I continued on. Township Line Road has one of the few big hills on the route. I had to go this way though, so that I would encounter less truck traffic.
I got up the hill with ease this time and cruised along farmland on Steuben Road. I really like this stretch because I don't encounter too many cars. It is nice and peaceful. It does have some rolling hills.
I came to what looked like a big hill at the end. It was easy though. I am so strong right now that even medium sized hills seem like nothing. I wasn't breathing hard at all and might've even run up the hill faster than I was going on flat ground.
There was another decent short hill on Georgetown Road, but I glided up that one as well. The hills at Trexler are making me very strong. I headed into the big neighborhood by my house feeling good. By now, I was somewhere around 6 miles. My calves didn't hurt at all and nothing else really did either. Maybe running on pavement isn't as much out a problem as I thought. Perhaps the stone trails that I run on aren't much better.
I went into the neighborhood and planned on a longer route back to the house, to add mileage. I had to detour a couple times because I saw dogs out and didn't want to mess with them. This part added some more short hills.
I was cranking off mile after mile of under 8 minutes as I headed back to the house. I arrived back there just before mile 8.5. I left some Gatorade in the garage for a drink stop. It wasn't raining too bad, so I threw off my hat too. It ended up laying in a puddle until I got it later. The stop slowed mile 9's time to 9:02.
Anytime I stop for a drink, it breaks my rhythm and it slows me down. That is what happened. I was refreshed though. Before the stop, I was feeling a little beat. I headed back out to my car. I figured that it would be sometime after 14 miles, that I would arrive there.
Going back out had some more downhill. That was a nice recovery. My hamstring was somewhat sore, but nothing more than would be expected. My opposite foot also bothered me a little. I'm not sure if the cambered road had anything to do with it.
I got through the neighborhood and was back onto Steuben Road. This time, this section kind of sucked. It was actually busy with a lot of cars. I guess it was people leaving work for the day. One car had on a 13.1 sticker. I had to laugh, thinking that I wish I was only going that far. At this point, I was only around 11 miles myself.
Mile 11 was still a solid 8 minutes flat. Things started to slow after that. My legs began to lose it a bit as I got close to the half marathon mark. I guess I have to get them even stronger. Today, is a good way to start.
I headed up the big hill on Township Line Road. This was by far my toughest part of the run. Still, I got over it respectably. I knew I would have a nice downhill recovery after that. That helped some. What was really great was running on the slippery pavement. I noticed it was softer and it seemed to help my mildly sore legs recover. Eventually, there were too many truck on this road and I headed back onto the sidewalk. Crossing 512 was a breeze the first time, but I had to wait a bit this time.
I arrived back at my car at just past 14 miles. I took a water break and that helped. I still couldn't believe that I had almost 4 miles to go. That seemed like an eternity at this point. My legs were as beat up as would be expected around this time, but they were surviving. I could've felt worse.
I headed out through one of the neighborhoods and then came near Wegman's. I didn't realize that I had run that far down. I turned around just a little less than a mile from my car. I went down another road and did a short out and back.
I just tried to focus on each upcoming mile. I felt like crap at mile 15, but got better by 16 and even better still by 17. I don't know what it was was, but I felt great as I approached mile 17. I was even running this stretch uphill too.
I knew that once I made it out to mile 17, I would make it back to 18. There was a little uphill on the way back and then some nice downhill. I knew I'd finish with another up and down section. I was feeling so good in the final quarter mile that I ran harder. That last mile was a solid 8:09 after a few miles that were much slower than the speedy beginning of the run.
This was a great run. I was still beat up after 18 miles. I think it is hard not to be. However, I felt much better than I did after my 17 mile run or any of my other longer runs. I feel like I could've even willed my way to 19 or 20 miles today, especially with some flat or downhill running. Even though it rained the whole time, it was a very productive outing. I haven't done a solo run this long since 2010. That was good mental preparation too. It is kind of funny how I focus so well during a long run like this. Occasionally, my mind drifts, but for the most part I'm focused on the conditions and what my body is telling me. I don't really think about things. I'm less focused on group runs.
Flo wanted to run Trexler tomorrow, but after this run, I think I'm going to have to hold off on that until Thursday. I might head out to the Emmaus Run Inn and check out the new store and run with the group in the evening. I haven't been there in awhile. If I make it out to Trexler with Flo sometime, I won't have to worry about a separate trip out there. It will just be tough squeezing a run in there before work.
18 miles - 2:28:02 (8:13 pace)
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