14 miles on the 14th day of the month

I woke up this morning to no snow and clear roads. Perfect for my long run today! Eating breakfast before heading out last weekend seemed to work well for me. With that in mind, I chose to have a few cups of coffee and some peanut butter toast and a banana before heading out around 10:00 AM. I knew today's run would be challenging because 14 miles would be my longest training run since college (and I will admit I stopped running my sophomore year of college at the age of 20 and I turn 36 this year). I went out at a nice easy pace knowing I had many miles to put in today. I don't know all of my mile splits because my Garmin was beeping at me and flashing "low memory" every few miles.

Mile 1-- 9:46

Fastest mile-- 9:12

Slowest mile-- 10:10

Mile 13.1-- 2:07.30

Finish Time-- 2:16.34

Avg mile-- 9:45

I had to stop at mile 12 and balance on one foot to get a rock out of my shoe. There was no way I could run the last 2 miles with that rock in my shoe. I must have looked crazy standing on one foot with my shoe off, shaking it like crazy to get the rock out. I wasn't the most graceful either, which I am sure was a direct reflection of the fact that I had just run 12 miles.

Here are some pictures I took today during my run. I did a 7 miles out and 7 miles back course today. The course started in Avon took me into Avon Lake and back to Avon.

Entering Avon Lake (mile 3)

Frozen Lake Erie (mile 7)

My finish time and distance on the Garmin

My post run fuels of choice (chocolate milk and a Monavie Active gel pack)

My weight after my run today (44 pounds lost since December of 2008)

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!