Interesting Long Run

Today I really wasn't motivated to go running, let alone by myself especially with it being my long run of all things. A 6 mile run when I am unmotivated no problem, I just put my head down and get it done, but with 16 miles that is a totally different story.

I headed out a little later then I would have liked, I was just slowly getting myself ready this morning. I enjoyed some coffee some breakfast and then I took my time picking out what I was going to wear. I mean I am never this slow at getting ready. But I knew once I was out there my attitude would change.

Originally when I headed out the door I had no clue on how many miles I was going to run, all I knew was it had to be longer then 11 miles but not too long. Nothing crazy like 20 miles that is next weekend. 

This run was a little bit different from all my previous runs as I had to carry a water bottle. I haven't been able to carry a hand held water bottle since SNER due to stress it put on my chest wall. Good thing was it didn't cause me any discomfort, but tomorrow will tell the real story.

I headed out and there were a ton of running groups out this morning. The good thing about this was I paced off another runner who was setting a pretty comfortable pace. I paced off her for a few miles to loosen up and then she increased her speed and I knew I didn't want to push myself to hard this early in the run. I let her go, which is usually really hard for me. I kept my pace holding a 9 to 9:15 minute mile. Pretty soon though I was all by myself as the running groups had turned around and I was still heading out.

Once I was alone my pace stayed consistent, I wanted to keep my pace between a 9 and 9:30. As I was cruising along so did a few cop cars. Three to be exact. I was on the American River Bike path. They were looking for a person in the bushes wearing only a yellow rain jacket. One can only wonder what someone is doing in the bushes as runners/bikers/walkers are going by.

As I neared my turn around spot I knew I only wanted to do 16 miles. Probably a good decision for me. I hit my turn around took in a Power Gel -raspberry cream- and took off. My return trip wasn't as exciting, but I did keep my eyes open and I was more aware of my surroundings. The return trip I held roughly a 9:15 to 9:30 pace. Not too bad.

 I can say though that running a marathon is totally different then running an ultra. I had forgotten how it felt to keep a constant pace on a flat running surface. I enjoy getting my runs completed faster but I do not enjoy how much it hurts to run on pavement.

Meanwhile Traildog and I have enjoyed alot of quality time together this week. We have spent a lot of our afternoons in the back yard playing. Just check out some of the clips of us playing. Sometimes he listens and other times he does his own thing, but either way I enjoyed every minute of it.

Playing with his favorite toy! He is fast

Sometimes he is just a big tease.

Keep on running!