Week 7 - Long Run

Guess who's back, back again..
Sana's back, tell a friend..
Guess who's back.. guess who's back..
Guess who's back.. guess who's back..
Guess who's back.. guess who's back..
Guess who's back...

*grin*

In case you were wondering whether I had a good long run on Saturday, I did! It was amazing.

Until Friday night, I was really conflicted. It had been such a long time since I'd had a good running day. My left knee had been bugging me for almost two weeks and though the pain and discomfort subsided on Wednesday, I was still being extra cautious. And that's what was bothering me too. I was unable to enjoy my runs like before because I was obsessing over my knee. Which is why I really needed a good running day: so that I could look forward to my runs rather than get scared by them.

Saturday morning arrived: what a gorgeous day. Over a breakfast of oatmeal and eggs and toast, we plotted our route for that day - it was going to be a long one - 11 miles!! Around 1pm we set out. It was a chilly day, only 40 degrees but I was wearing three layers and was comfortable enough.

We got off to a rough start - between mile 1 and 2, I tripped and fell on the pavement. Scrapped my left knee (as if I hadn't had enough trouble with it already) and bruised the other. But if anything, seeing the blood on my knee made me more determined than ever. I was sick and tired of cowering away from my runs. I didn't care what it took - I was going to run 11 miles and that was that. So I dusted myself off and continued.

From then on, it was smooth sailing. We refueled using shot blocks. I gotta admit, they're so good!! We had experimented with Gu on the 10 mile run and I didn't like it one bit - not the taste or the texture. But shot blocks are yummy!! And I love that you can let them linger in your mouth so that you can prevent it from drying out. It's official, shot blocks are my choice for refueling during the run!

The 11 miles was tough - we had about four or five really steep uphills (5-7% gradient) which we had to walk but even with that we managed to complete in about 2 hours and 25 mins. I was high after the run - it was like having my faith renewed in it all over again. This time, I didn't even complain when icing! :) (and that's a lot for me)

Just 2.1 miles to the finish line - almost there!