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Happy Unplanned 16-Mile Run

First of all, how is it already November? Wasn't it just May? Seriously, this year is flying by. This also means my birthday AND my first full marathon are rapidly approaching.

Speaking of marathon, let's talk about my training. I know you're all at the edge of your seats right ;-) This weekend was supposed to be 18-20 miles. I have been trying to be pretty flexible with my long runs and playing them by feel, especially now that I'm battling some sort of heel pain/injury.

Because of my heel, I honestly wasn't sure how many miles I could get in on Saturday. My running partner in crime was wanting to get 10-12 miles in, so I figured I would try that and go from there. This week's weather was a drastic change from last weekend. We set out to start the run right at 8 am and the wind chill was 28. Last week it was 60 at the start of our half marathon. Crazy temperature swing right? This of course meant it felt even colder just being unprepared and unadjusted.

Several f-bombs were thrown around the first mile of the run as we quickly realized there was a very strong northern headwind that did nothing to help with numb fingers. Thankfully, it was sunny.

We decided to meander around the neighborhood, which is a great distraction. I live in an historic area, so there are some amazing houses to see, some not so amazing, and even historic landmarks like Central High.


While it started off quite brisk, the temps did warm up nicely into the mid 40s, and it was just gorgeous out. The run actually went really well. My foot wasn't hobbling me, so there's that. We just chit-chatted, meandered, took in the sights around the neighborhood and just kept trucking along.

There was only one slight almost major mishap when we had to get off the sidewalk to switch sides because it was completely closed. My toe hit the lip of the curb as I was trying to step down and I almost bit it, big time. Oh and it wasn't even that slo-mo falling either. Thankfully I managed to right myself and got my feet underneath me. Phew!

At one point I realized my Garmin was frozen at 11.64 miles. At that point Amy realized she had stopped hers at one point and not started it again. Oops. We think it was somewhere around 12.2-12.3 or so miles when we got back to my house.

I was feeling really good, she let me borrow her Garmin, and I headed out for another 2 miles, which actually ended up being another 4 miles for a total of 16. It was one of my better long runs and I sort of kicked myself for not finishing 18, but I also knew I was pushing it as it was with my foot. So, I did the smarter thing and stopped.

I stretched, ate, cleaned up and ate again before taking a nap. I'm really getting the hang of this napping thing!

I used to have a really hard time sleeping in on Sunday mornings. But with these long miles I'm putting in, sleeping in is no problem, with the exception of two furbabies who still want to get up early. At least we had the time change this weekend. I used to hate the time change because it gets dark so early, but for morning running? I'm a happy runner girl. I can't wait to see a sunrise again!

Sunday was one of those lazy but productive days. I got in some food prep and house chores. Jason took care of yard work. The day was beautiful, but the temps barely 60 degrees. I'm really not sure I'm ready for fall and winter just yet. I know most people get crazy excited over fall, but I tend to start getting a tad down. I love the cooler weather for running, but not so much for the whole day. And the leaves all falling, trees becoming bare, grass turning brown ... sigh ...

Do you like the time change? Anyone else get a little bummed this time of year?

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