Whew. At the crack of noon today (OK, 12:45 pm), I finally set off for my long run. The first 10 miles went swimmingly, although a lot of cars and trucks tended to slow down and watch me run.Which was annoying. E. says I should carry a sign that says, "What are YOU looking at?" or "Take a photo ... it lasts longer."
But I digress. I ran south from Tahoe City, up and down the rolling trails. The lake was a gorgeous, cerulean blue. The late October sun was high in the sky. The air was a crisp 58 degrees.
Overall, I felt great. At the 10-mile mark, I stopped by my house to down a triberry Gu and some vitamin water. Then I set off for the last six miles.
And it was the last six that killed me. That last 1/3-mile long steep hill didn't help. My hamstrings cried "Uncle" at Mile 12. The soles of my feet felt as if I'd been running on sharp rocks. And, boy, did my butt hurt soldiering up all the small hills.
At Mile 15, I must admit, I walked twice for a minute. Since my Garmin GPS was next to worthless - there is so much tree cover here that the satellites can't find my little, wristbound contraption - I wasn't sure exactly what my pace was, though it felt around 9:15/mile.
I tried to gmap my route to get my exact mileage. But again, too much tree cover. I ran 2 hours and 20 minutes. Probably between 15-16 miles. Let's say 15.5.
I was supposed to do 16. But I was lucky to do what I did.
Tomorrow, I'm going to treat myself to a massage. I can barely bend over, my hammies hurt so much.
You got it done! And although the altitude makes it tough, at least you can breath up there. Hope everyting is okay in S. Cal for you.
ReplyDeleteI used to get the same looks when I ran in rural North Carolina, where there just weren't too many females running for fun along the side of the road. Somehow, I think the sign would have just encouraged them.
ReplyDeleteno one ever looks at me. EVER. not that you're imagining things, but maybe the cars are slowing down to make sure they don't HIT you? Or to admire the way you run?!
ReplyDeleteThink positive, you know, like I always do!
Nice job on the 15.5. unstoppable.
Throw your Garmin in the trash. When I coach a group, I collect the Garmins in a bucket before the run so they don't all snivel afterwards-You said six miles and we went seven! I don't run next to Garmin wearers b/c they drive me crazy with their constant-Slow down, it's 7:28, no wait, speed up it's 9:48, no wait, maintain it's... Do you want to know how I really feel about all that high tech stuff out there? Probably not. Why you doing 15 twice in a week? You getting ready for a poor man's ultra, a Goofy challenge? My eight doing the Bridges with Markus killed me today (my pre-Chicago monster cold kicked the stuffing out of me). See you Saturday at 8 at Daingerfield.
ReplyDeleteJeanne: When I ran, I ran on the trail, which ranges from 12-25 feet from the road. So it's not as if there's any danger of them hitting me!
ReplyDelete15, 16 ... who's counting. The important thing was you were out there on your feet for 2:20 and you didn't give up. Nice run.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the creeps slowing down for a quick peek. Don't know what to telling you, other than nothing short of mace is really effective.
People slow down to look at YOU running? That's the LAST "problem" I'll ever have.
ReplyDeleteJust checking in to say hello, Bex! We were talking about you on Saturday as we did the nine miles in preparation for the F-burg half again in Dec. We're on pace to better our time by a few seconds. I'll keep you in my head while we run:)
ReplyDelete