Sunday Long Run: Bird Watching

Plan: Run 12 miles.  Plan inside my head: Do not look at my watch.  At all.
Actual Mileage: 12.05 miles.  I'm surprised the mileage for this route was so close to perfect.

Route: Park: Lock and Dam 1.
Run north along the river, all the way into downtown.
Turn, and go on the Bluff Street Bikeaway (that tunnel under 35w and 10th Ave bridges, sometimes also called the Dinkytown Greenway)
Cross Railroad bridge Number 9.  (I know I've been across Bridge 9 before in training.  The last time I could find was way back in 2013 when I was also training for a marathon.)
Run south along the east bank of the river all the way to Ford Parkway.
Cross back into Minneapolis.

Weather: It was 28* with 5-10mph winds, supposedly out of the east. The trails had black ice in some places.  It was avoidable, but I did have to pay attention.  Clearest sidewalk award goes to the U of M.  It was a pleasure running on campus.

Wardrobe: This was my biggest fail for the day.
Top: Running shirt, blue running jacket.  I should've worn a warmer layer under the jacket, like my wool shirt at least.
Other: Buff, gloves on my hands that I took off part way through
Bottoms: Nike pro shorts, Brooks Running pants
Feet: Pro compression wool socks, Merrel trail shoes.  I could've worn my Altras here.  I would've had more confidence in the traction, but I just didn't want a shoe that big for this run.
Running Vest: This was my first time trying out the Nathan Speedster 2L vest.  I got some close out deal on this from REI during one of their sales.  I was disappointed when I got it because the pockets were slightly different than I expected.  I decided to give it a go anyways because I wanted to carry a little bit of water and didn't like any of my other options. This was a pleasant surprise.  I legit could not feel this thing on my body.  I was aware of the bottle moving around a couple times, but the vest just disappeared on me. The water bottle is the right size for the runs I'm doing now.  And I can get a second bottle for the other side if I want.

Execution:
I did not look at my watch until almost mile 11, so I'm calling that a win.
I ran by feel.  I started out slow and stiff, settled into a good pace, then a comfortably hard pace around all those hills.
I broke things down in my mind, mainly thinking about the next bridge or landmark that I'd see.  North of Franklin Ave, there's a ton of bridges right in a row so that was entertaining.
On the hills (and wow, there are a lot of them on this route) I tried to go slow, go by effort, and break the hills into little pieces.  (You don't have to run all the way to the top, just get to this light post.  Ok, you're there, see if you can get to that driveway.) 
I also tried to take pictures of the birds and of the river, becuase how can I have a blog without pictures? 

Nutrition:
Pre run: 1/2 a salted avocado
During: I did drink water y'all.  Not a ton, but I did take a few sips.  And then I slammed half the bottle in the last 1/4 mile.  I was so tired and so happy to be done.
Post run: I am drinking all of the coffee.  First cup had coconut milk. Second cup had cream (I had a bit leftover from a recipe) and half/half.

From today, I learned: Biggest mistake today was in my wardrobe.  I was really too cold most of the run.  My legs were fine, but I needed a better base layer on top.
Pacing on the hills (slow, go by effort not by speed) went well.
Breaking the run into sections in my mind also went well.
But mostly, dress warmer! 
Downside of today is that I was freezing cold and exhausted when I got home.  I was supposed to go to a brunch today with some awesome people, but literally did not have the energy.  (I felt bad too, I purposefully got up early to get this run done in time to make it over.)
Bonus: Let me tell you about all of the birds I saw.  All those big blobs in the trees?  Not eagles.  They're freaking turkeys.  They looked impressive bombing out of the trees landing on the ground too.  Different set of turkeys (I assume) over by the U of M.  And yes, there was a bald eagle down by the river. I also saw a blue jay and a cardinal and I heard a pileated woodpecker but I never did see him.