Last long run before the Newport Half

Ran another 12-miler today... The last long run before the Newport Half. My planned run actually ended up being a little more than 12 miles... 12.6 miles. I'm not going to complain, it wasn't that bad at all. It was an absolutely gorgeous day here in western Mass. It was crispy cool, with temperatures in the 50's but it was sunny and the trees turning colors were beautiful. A nice crisp fall day so I decided to run in capris and a long-sleeve shirt. I finally picked good attire for a long run! lol.

The run went really well... surprisingly well. I was concerned about how it would turn out because I had run 5 miles on a treadmill the night before (at around 9pm when I got out of work). I didn't know what to expect running a long distance in the morning after running last night. Especially on a treadmill... I haven't run on a treadmill since April. I was worried that I would be quite sore from the different pace and feel of the treadmill. One thing I will say... treadmill running is soo boring!! I forgot my iPod so that made it a little worse. I am dreading the winter and not being able to run outside as much. I will probably spend most of the winter doing a lot of cross-training and strengthening, running less for distance but just to keep a good pace going.

Anywho... back to my run: I had my super fuelbelt strapped on again. Nutrition is essential and I love it! I decided to do just what I did during my run last week. I had half of my GU at 45 minutes and then, when I had about 2.5 miles left, I had the rest. I sipped my water probably about every 10 minutes. At the end of my run everything on my belt had been consumed and I still felt like I could run another mile or two.

My runner's "high" came really early in my run this time. About mile 5 I started not really paying attention to cars and I would think about something then maybe 3 minutes later, forgot what I had been thinking about. I was totally in the zone. Luckily I wasn't on a busy road when this happened. I eventually snapped out of whatever trance I was in and realized that I hadn't remembered any part of that run at all. What the F?! I need to watch out for that! Trippin is scary s@#* man! Lol.. No, it wasn't that bad.. but still I was a bit worried about that.. At about 10 miles, I found myself slipping back into somewhat of a "high". I was much more aware of my surroundings but I all of a sudden had a burst of energy and felt like I could run another 10 miles!

At about 11 miles, I saw a group of 10 teenagers walking up ahead on the sidewalk that I was running in. They were going in the same direction I was going so I knew I had to approach this group carefully. Unless I started whistling or yelling out random words, they were not going to know I was coming until I was right up behind them or running past them. As I was approaching them, I wondered why the hell these kids aren't in school right now... It was about noontime on a Friday. Perhaps it's some sort of a fall vacation because of Columbus Day on Monday? I started getting a little nervous. Teenagers can be scary.. especially ones that might have skipped school! (Is that a sign that I'm getting old??) I approached with caution. They were walking in twos but blocking the entire sidewalk. I was forced to hop off the sidewalk and run on the road. Luckily there was a wide enough shoulder. I passed them and I overheard one of the kids in the front say, "WHOA, she came out of nowhere!" as I was stepping back up onto the sidewalk. I thought that was pretty funny. Heck yes I came out of nowhere! :-P

This made me think of something Tang said some posts back... I kinda wished they would have said something like "Run, Forrest, Run"!! But sadly, it's true.... This group of kids may have never even heard of that movie. And that is surely another sign that we are getting old! :-x However, I did have an adult yell that at me once. That was sorta creepy...

Overall, my Nike+ data says I f'ing rocked that run. I was impressed with my pace and today was the first time I realized how much my average pace has improved over the months. Most of my run, I was in the 9 min pace range.. there were a couple brutal hills that put me to almost 11 min/miles, but my average pace for the 12.6 mile run was 10:03 and I finished at 2 hours and 6 mins. Not bad considering I had to stop at a busy intersection for about a minute or so..

My original goal for the Newport Half was just to run it the entire time. With the success of today's run and the 12 miles I did last Friday, I think I can safely challenge myself a bit more. I will strive to do the Half Marathon in 2 hours and 20 minutes. I think that is a good goal. I always tend to run faster in races due to the adrenaline pumping, but I never know how the weather is going to affect me. I better be wearing the right clothes this time!

Next Week ("Finish Strong"): Rest days (Sat&Sun), 5 miles, 6 miles, 4 miles, rest, 4 miles, Half-Marathon :-)