After my failed attempt to complete 17 miles on Saturday, I made attempt 2 on Sunday. Typically on Sundays, I will tag along with Peter for his long run, but since he was only up to a 10 miler, I went out to the canal to get a head start. The plan was to run 7 miles alone and then meet up with Peter for his 10. I told him that I didn't want to leave him alone for his second attempt at 10 miles, but I think it was more that I needed his support/motivation to help me finish 17 miles.
The first 7 was just me and my iPod. I ran to Dam #4, then texted Peter to let him know I would be back to the start in about 30 minutes. My pace remained around 9:45. I think I was still recovering from my rainy, cold, hilly run from the day before. Though I felt slow, I felt pretty good.
Once I returned back to meet Peter, I quickly changed at my car (it was warmer than I anticipated) and grabbed my bag of peanut butter M&Ms. We restarted the same path I just ran. I got my second wind (or fifth) and we ran at about the same pace for the first couple of miles. My big toe began to bother me a little, which prompted worry, but I tried to ignore it. Once we got about 2-3 miles in together, the pace quickened. Peter seemed to have A LOT of energy despite this being only his 2nd 10 mile run ever. I was impressed, but felt so weak in comparison. Whenever the path would into one lane, I let Peter go in front of me, as I, at times, struggled to keep up. He was definitely the stronger runner during this run.
Around 12.5 miles into my run, we stopped at one of the boat launches off the river. They have bathrooms in the parking lot and I had to make a pit stop. That's also when we decided to sugar up on our M&Ms, just to keep fueled for the final 4.5 miles. I was hurting a little. Though the toe pain subsided, my body was aching, especially in my hips. Just placing my hands on my hips was a little painful! I tried not to let it get the best of me, as we still had a few more miles to go. So once we emptied our bladders, we immediately resumed.
It was really difficult to get started. The flow my body had was now out of sync. Peter ran as though this run was effortless, saying how good it felt. I, on the other hand, didn't talk to much. We were running anywhere from 9:00-9:30 pace, which was way faster than where I started. I complained a little of the pace and although Peter was willing to slow down for me, I told him not to. The faster we ran, the faster we would finish. Our last mile was done in about 8:45.
My legs turned to lead as soon as I came to a stop. Though my body was thumping in pain, I was happy that my goal was complete. We returned home for a celebratory lunch of leftover spaghetti.
My toe has since began to bother me again and one of my hips is aching, so today is a rest day and perhaps tomorrow as well. Though I packed my bag to run after work, I decided to be smart and not try to injure myself. I am happy with my decision as my aching bones & muscles feel so much better this evening!
My plan is to get two 5 milers in this week, then kick it up to 18 this weekend. After that, I don't anticipate on upping my mileage. I feel I am already risking injury prior to the Disney half. So I will max at 18 until after that one.
Anyway, hope you all had a happy Monday! Let's make it a great week!
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