Slo Jo: Another Not-So-Long Run

Saturday: 7 miles in 1:19
Sunday: 7 miles in 1:34
Wine consumed: a lovely tempranillo with friends M&C on Friday night

I've done this two weekends in a row now, because I do not learn from my own mistakes. I ran six or seven on Saturday, felt awesome, and then decided to do a long run on Sunday and fell apart.

(Bzzz. Ow! Bzzz. Ow!)

It really wasn't a good running day, even though I wore my new running pants that I treated myself to at Runner's Den. They cost a ridiculous amount of money, and getting into them is a bit like getting into my scuba wetsuit. My inner mean girl said, "Maybe they are TOO SMALL and that's why they are hard to pull on!" I told her to shut it. I look gooooood. I did not verify this opinion in the mirror.

I learned last weekend that running 14 miles (my plan for the day) is unbelievably boring when you don't have Coach and Flash around to joke with/complain to/sing to (they especially like my version of "That's Not My Name" by The Ting Tings), so I had a genius idea and downloaded an audio book. I've never tried to run to an audio book before, and I loved it! I downloaded one of Robert Crais's Elvis Cole mysteries, The Watchman. So far, so good. It is seven hours long, so it should keep me busy a while. The female character is driving me crazy, though. People are actively shooting at her and she is demanding lunch. Although, I like to eat on a schedule, too, so who am I to say it is not realistic?

So, I ran ran ran. Encountered a white labrador puppy--that got me to stop. Puppies are Designated Break Time on long runs. So cute. Then I nearly got run off the road by an 8-year-old. Not at all cute. I said, accidentally in my outside voice, "You could say 'on your left!'" The dad said, "Sorry." Harrumph. More puppies, fewer children please.

(Freakin' menace to society.)

The entire run was pretty painful--I had another side stitch, and my knees hurt again. But Saturday's run was amazing! You know you are having a good run when you are actually hoping the stoplights stay green. Usually I like them to turn red so I get a little walk break. Not yesterday. I even had negative splits, and I stayed around 11-minute miles with a random extra fast 10:40 at Mile 5. I am getting faster. Progress is good! And I rolled my IT bands afterward and didn't have to make sad little whimpering noises, so maybe I'm on the mend. But then I ran half a mile the next day and got a side stitch. Great.

I was a little disappointed in my non-finish because I have some friends doing amazing things today. Coach is doing the full Ironman in Tempe. We are under strict instructions not to go to the finish line. I spotted a loophole and realized that doesn't mean we can't go cheer from the sidelines, so Flash and I are going to go watch part of the marathon portion of the race. That should be inspiring. Can't wait to see these athletes. The Ironman website has an "Athlete Tracker" feature where you can see your athlete's progress, but the website is having major issues and won't show me any progress after mile 56 on the bike, even though it already showed me mile 65 half an hour ago. How is one supposed to stalk one's athlete without functioning technology?!

Also today, Running-on-Wine friend ShoeKiller is running the half marathon in Las Vegas! TST and I are excited to hear about how it went.

So, I'm feeling a little worried about the marathon as I haven't run a long run since the half marathon...but here's hoping I get back on track on Tuesday. I'll give you the full report.