18 miles of scattered rain, snow, and hail

Due to this week being spring break I had to alter my training schedule to accommodate time restraints which meant I would need to complete my long run today instead of Sunday. Thankfully, the kids' great grandma came over to play with them while I headed out for my 18 miler this morning.

After several days of gorgeous weather, I woke to 39* and a rain/snow mix. To say I was not looking forward to going out in the elements is an understatement, but with the kids taken care of I laced up my shoes and headed out the door for three 5 mile loops and one 3 mile loop.

Miles 0-5 (loop one)
46:40
9:20/mile
Weather: snow/rain mix

Miles 5-10 (loop two)
47:00
9:24/mile
Weather: snow/rain/light hail mix

Miles 10-15 (loop three)
46:30
9:18/mile
Weather: snow/heavy, painful right in the face hail

Miles 15-18 (loop four)
29:26
9:48/mile
Weather: painful right in the face hail/insanely strong winds

After the third loop I seriously contemplated finishing the final three miles on the treadmill, but I was already cold and wet so I trudged on and completed all 18 miles with a time of 2:49:36 (9:25/mile). I stopped by the house after each loop for water. I also ate some sports beans around mile 9 and that seemed to give me a little more energy which showed in loop three's time. Overall it was a pretty decent long run. I am thankful it is complete and I am now watching "Princess Protection Program" with my kids and staying warm.

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

Splish Splash 11 mile Dash....

Yesterday it was 47 degrees here! I set out at 8:30 AM for my long run. Of course there was a threat of rain but I decided to go for it so I didn't have to put in 11 miles on the treadmill. Within the first three miles of the run it started pouring. At this point I could have headed back home and finished my run on the treadmill but I figured I was soaked already so why not just finish the run outside. By the time I hit mile nine I was running through the puddles on purpose, acting like a kid again! The funniest part of the run was the drivers attempting to splash me. Really people, there is literally water dripping off the visor part of my baseball cap how could you possibly think splashing me would bother me at all at this point. I just kept on running and laughing and acting like a kid. It was fun! I was completely shocked that I managed to run a 9:51 mile pace for the entire 11.08 miles especially because the wind was so fierce at times that it felt like I was standing still.

When I got home from the run I was literally drenched with water still dripping off the visor part of my baseball cap. My shoes were soaked and making that "sloshing" (is that a word) sound. I realized at this point that my workout clothes were really heavy so I actually decided to weigh them to see how much extra weight I was running with. Turns out my workout clothes weighed 5.2 lbs (not including my shoes). I was talking to a friend last night at her daughter's birthday party about how I technically ran with an extra 5.2 pounds on my body. She looked me in the eye and said do I have to remind you how much extra weight you were carrying this time last year? I immediately realized she was absolutely right. Last year I was carrying an extra 42 pounds on my body so in the grand scheme of things, 5.2 lbs is nothing!!

Today is a scheduled rest day. Good thing because my legs are sore!!

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

Hills, Snow, and Rain Oh My!!

The kids and I headed out to PA this weekend for grandma's 80th surprise birthday party. It was great to have the family all together! The party was great and we were able to get a lot of pictures with grandma and her many children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren! I packed outside running clothes in the off chance that the weather would cooperate for today's long run. I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to nice weather (well if you would consider 37 degrees nice weather). I put on my Garmin and out the door I went. I was cold at first, but was comfortable within the first five minutes of the run. My plan was to run five miles out and five miles back to get in my ten miles. I maintained that plan until I hit hill number eight at mile four. I decided to turn onto another street which was going well until I encountered hill number nine at mile five and a gravel road with snow and ice all over it. Needless to say that section of the run was my slowest mile (10:54) because I had to run with great caution as to not slip on the snow and ice. Miles six through nine included three more hills. At mile nine the sky decided to rain on my parade and of course add another hill to my day! So it turns out I encountered thirteen hills during my ten mile run today.

Now a question for all of the marathon runners out there. How do you mentally prepare yourself for the other 16.2 miles? I was quite tired after my ten mile run today. The furthest I have ever run in the last year is 13.1 (Cleveland and Columbus Half Marathons). While training for the half marathon I would take water with me but nothing else. I only drank water during the half marathons as well. I chose to eat a piece of peanut butter toast before my run today and I think it helped fuel me. I have no idea what to do when running further distances. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. Do I do the gel packs? Do I drink something besides water such as a sports drink? Any other tips?

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