This morning I continued my half-marathon training w/my longest run in a year. I headed out around 6:15 a.m. My plan was to get the majority of my run done before the sun came up strong. It was dark and cool when I left the house. In fact, so cool that I was afraid my shorts and t-shirt might’ve been a poor choice.
The run itself was fairly uneventful. It was a beautiful morning though – so I enjoyed the scenery immensely. I ran north, out into the country. The soybeans and the corn stood tall and seemed picturesque. The midwest at its best in late summer.
At one point, I ran out of bike path and had to run down a semi-busy country road. There is a nice shoulder, so I wasn’t worried. But I had a woman in a Pontiac Vibe fly by me so fast, I felt like I could’ve gone tumbling down the road in the wash of jet stream. Crazy broad.
The last third of the run was tough. I was getting tired. My bones ached. And I had to go the bathroom rather badly. I wasn’t in an emergency situation, but it was uncomfortable enough that it was about I all I thought about – how to keep my backside squeezed together and still run fast to get home to the bathroom.
When I got home, I was pleased to see that the 9 mile run took me 90 minutes. 10 min miles. Not particularly fast, but I felt like I ran it rather slow. So it was encouraging to think I’d be able to be doing 9ish min miles in the marathon in a few weeks.
