Loving the Long Run

The week started out with two good runs on Monday and Wednesday.  Not much hurt and I feel like I'm slowly getting my groove back, very slowly.  I've decided to go to 3:1 run/walks for my short runs during the week.  At some point I will get back to running the whole thing, but I'd rather take my time to get to that then hurt myself.

Thursday night we had a pretty bad storm.  One where I was listening out for the sound of a train thinking that a tornado was on it's way. Power went out, the wind blew - hard, some hail and a lot of rain.  There was so much lightening that it was almost daylight outside.  It was a bit scary.

I had taken Friday off and work up to do my run.  And then, I talked myself out of it.  I was in a real bad mood and spent a bit of time assessing damage around my house.  Thankfully there was very little, just a broken flag pole and small branches and leaves all over the place.  And I still had no power.  I learned why cats sleep so much - there really isn't anything else to do.  I read almost a whole book and took a nap.  Finally I decided to venture out to Panera to change all my electronics - and I was not the only one with that idea.

It probably was a good thing I didn't go for my run.  When I finally made it out of my street, I could see the whole neighborhood had debris everywhere.  It looks like there were a couple downed trees and tree branches everywhere.  I would have had to run on that debris risking spraining an ankle or run in the middle of the road.  Out of the neighborhood on the main roads almost every light near me was out. 

On Saturday, as I was getting ready for my long run, my power finally came back on.  I walked around the house and kept turning the lights on and off.  It's amazing how much we depend on power.  I was sad to leave my house now that I had power, but the long run was a must.

I have to say that it was a real good run.  Sun was out again and the humidity was down.  Nothing really hurt and I felt great after the run.  I have to say that I really do enjoy longer runs.  I don't know why, but I just feel like I get into my groove.  I decided to do a 2:1 run/walk, which seems to be a good ratio for me on longer runs.

The nine mile route took us down to The Bottom, which is like strait down.  And then after going down, you have to climb all the way back up.  I have real love/hate relationships with routes like these.  First, I would love to get the uphill done first, but not the case here.  Second, I hate hills cause they are hard.  Third, I love hills knowing that they are real good for my training.

There are two groups of runners that are on the training team.  One that leaves at 7 and the other leaves at 7:30.  I chose the first group so that I would have a little more time to finish (and it's cooler as the days get hotter).  And while most of the 7:30 group eventually passed me, I was not the last to come in.  That's all I'm striving for right now.

We drop back to seven miles next week, but I really am looking forward to 10 miles the week after.  I now remember why I signed up for another marathon and am feeling just a little more confident.  It's amazing what a good long run can do for you.