Long Run Sunday: The Creek and The Lakes

Plan: Get up early.  5am.  On Sunday.  Run 13-14 miles.  Low heart rate.

Route: A full loop involving some of the best running spots in town. This route is new to me.  Obviously I've run all of these places before.  I've just never put things together in quite this way.

Weather: Mother nature was making me nervous.  I walked outside and saw lightning up in the clouds and very far away.  Still, WTF?!?  My weather app said the storm had already passed me by and I'd be fine. Still, the sky looked ready to rain for at least half the run.  By the time I got back and stretched out, clear blue skies.

Execution: I am very pleased with the way this turned out. I tried to keep my heart rate in the 130s.  It started creeping up in the low 140s by Lake Calhoun and it was around 150 by the time I peeled off the Greenway and started heading south again.  Even with my heart rate that low, my splits were in the 13:xx range.  If you'd told me six months ago this is how I'd be running, I never would've believed you.

Nutrition: Due to a planning failure on my part, I was out of my favorite pre-run foods.  I had a banana but nothing else at 5am. I carried two water bottles but didn't drink much.   I had gummies, two chews every 3 miles.  I was hungry early on but felt better by the end.

Bonus: I did a post-run finisher involving squats, calf raises, standing leg raises, standing bicycles (ab work) and that cross over move.  After that I laid down in the grass and had a nice long stretch under blue skies.  No clouds.  No lightning.