The first true 'Long Run' of the season...

Here's how it all began:

Sunday: Prettiest. Day. Ever. And I was stuck working. (No, seriously.) The combination of the time change and getting to the office early and being there alone all day meant I was fairly zonked by the time I got home. I opted not to run despite the awesomeness of the day.
I talked to a friend who I (unwisely) let pick out my long run route for today. He thought the "11.5" mile route would be the best. I thought it'd be fun to see Fort Snelling and the river because that's one of my favorite routes. It's gorgeous.

Monday:
O'dark-thirty: hmmm, I could get up and have a snack before I run. I think I'll just lay here for a minute.

10:00am: Oh, perhaps I should get up and eat something. Gosh, it sure was nice to sleep in.

12:00pm: It's a really pretty day, maybe I should run.

1:00pm: Ok, I'm getting ready to run. I'm wearing the IAmsterdam shirt for good luck. (Hey, whatever helps!)

1:30pm: How the f%&$ did a loose a second receiver for my Nike+ system. I know I put this one away where it belongs. Darn it, now I'm not gonna get credit for this 11 mile run in the Nike+ challenge I'm doing...
I packed up my fuel belt with a water/juice mix in two little bottles and left the other two at home. I also packed two packets of sour patch kids. And off I went to see beautiful Minnehaha Falls; Fort Snelling and the Mississippi River. And beautiful they were.

1:45pm: Huh, that was pretty dumb, I could've just taken my iPod touch with me since that has the receiver for the Nike+ system built in.

1:50pm: Shoot, the port-a-pots aren't out for the summer yet. Shortly thereafter, relief at Minnehaha Falls which is apparently equipped for all seasons. (Thanks to the park board for having, um, facilities up all year for us to use. Fail to the park board for having a handicap port-a-pot's door open onto a 4" height difference where the curb meets the road.)

2:00pm The veterans home is really much more impressive when there's no leaves on the trees. Also, 50* my foot. Feels a lot hotter than that.
I did check the weather. The temp was reported to be in the low 50's where it was supposed to stay. And my brain thought, "great long run weather". My brain did not take into account the fact that I've been running in sub-freezing temperatures for quite some time and when the sub-freezing temperatures backed off, it was still in the low 40s. My brain, and the rest of my body were quite hot.

2:30pm I freaking love this route!

2:45pm Hmmmm, some day I should go see Pike Island and Lake Snelling that's supposed to be back there.
2:50pm This hill may kill me.

3:00pm Thank god, I'm still alive. It would have been smart to pack just water instead of juice and water. The juice was making me feel puke-y. Hmmm, it must be long run season if Gatorade sounds like a good idea again. Also, Gu or shotblox may be worth another try.

3:30pm OMFG, what was I thinking?

4:00pm Are we there yet? This is why the training plans have me add one to two miles per week to my long runs instead of, you know, four miles at once. And for the love of all that is holy, why is this water fountain not on yet?


Eventually I got home. I did start throwing walks into the run when it appeared that I was not emotionally prepared to run the whole thing. I was fighting off some, um, intestinal distress. I'm not sure if having plain water would have helped or if that was just a mental game I was playing.

There were tons of people out today. That's the most people I've ever seen on the Ft Snelling trail. Ever. It's one of my favorite runs but I didn't use it too much as a long run option becuase it opens at sunrise. In the summer when I run early I'm actually up before sunrise. (I know, I can hardly believe it either.) That's why running around the lakes always worked so well for me.

As I was coming around Lake Hiawatha I could really feel the blisters forming. I like these shoes but they give me blisters like no other shoe ever. I think it's actually time for new shoes anyways. I'm going to see what's cheaper and buy that. The Dyad is what I wore for the marathon. It's got much more cushioning and harder to beat down. On the other hand, holy good night, the blisters. You'd think after I had the shoe since September the problem would've stopped. I thought that too. We're both wrong. The Axiom 3 is a shoe I've worn forever before I switched to the Dyad. It was almost always the only running shoes I had. I'm alarmed that I can't find them on Brooks website 'cause that means they're not making them anymore.

After the run I walked up to the gas station to get some ice for an ice bath. Sitting in the car, even for two blocks, would have made me stiffen up and defeat the purpose of the ice bath.

Holy cr@p! The water comes out of the tap cold at this time of year. I actually had to run a little hot water so I could sit in the ice bath without my feet freezing. I cried a little when I got in so I know I did it right. I tried to call Gramma to take my mind of the pain. Her line was busy. Amanda was asleep. Booo.

Technically this is a step back week so after that 'run' (I did walk a lot at the end) I've got like two more miles this week.

It's still really light at 6pm too. Wow. Now, if only I can convince someone to eat Chipotle with me....