ANOTHER WET 18 MILES

This weekend's eighteen miles around my house in two loops, the first being 8 miles, the second 10.

This weekend my training schedule called for another eighteen miles. I last did eighteen two weeks ago with the Coach Jim group. Unlike that run, I ran this one by myself. Like that run, I got drenched as it was raining the whole time. It was a little more "drizzly" than "rainy" on this weekend's run, but the end result of being out there for three hours was the same... soaked to the bone.

Had to run this one on Sunday because Saturday I went snow tubing up on Mount Hood with Brandon. We won a raffle to go up there through BBBS and it included the free tubing for both of us and also a free lunch. So a really cool deal! Definitely can count that as "cross training" because although there was a "magic carpet" to get to the top of the normal tubing hill, Brandon and I spent most of the day hiking up to the "extreme hill" (and me carrying his tube half the time).

Cross training.

I didn't feel like venturing too far from home Sunday. I figured Fanno Creek would be flooded and didn't really feel like doing some giant loop on the main roads. The main roads already annoy me with the noise and pollution, but when they are wet the noise increases like 3x. So I decided to do my normal 10k loop but extend it to eight miles like I have done in the past. If I did that twice, I'd be at 16 miles, then I would just freestyle another 2.

The first loop went pretty well. Funny how your perspective changes based on the distance you have to do. Normally my 10k loop seems to take forever, but those eight miles went by pretty fast. Seeing my 10k route in the daylight was a novelty so that helped somewhat I'm sure. Plus, the more leisurely long run pace make the whole experience (at least at the beginning) much more enjoyable.

After that first loop I stopped in my house for a quick gulp of water and to apply some Body Glide on my nipples. Really need to start remembering to do that better. Didn't linger for more than a few minutes after experiencing issues with taking a longer break earlier in the year. Back out I went. I was feeling pretty good but decided I better add the extra two miles somewhere along the way and not hit my house at 16 and then have to go and do two more. That would just be cruel.

I ended up adding part of the seven mile "rollercoaster" I run at PRC as that course went right by my course on Murray. I figured quickly in my head that the part I wanted to do was about 2.5 miles and it turned out to be just right. Luckily this part of the rollercoaster isn't really the hilliest part... rolling hills for sure, but I hooked in right after the major pain in the ass hills.

Felt pretty good the whole run. Definitely started to feel it in my legs around mile 16, but for running 18 miles I felt pretty good. Pretty cool I can run that far and still function the rest of the day. The 18 with Coach Jim two weeks ago was also relatively easy. I think I'm ready for my first twenty miler of Vancouver training this weekend. Yikes, I just remembered that I'm running twenty this weekend. I'm ready for it though!

18.05 miles in 2:55:00, 9:42/mile.