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General

Hello Again, Long Run! I Missed You!

  • Kerrie

Am I the only one who loves long runs? I get a teeny bit nervous beforehand, but then once I’m done, it’s all I can think about for the rest of the day. When’s my next one? How far? I wish I could just go for another one right now. 


I planned to run 10 today with my long-run buddy Zoë (Run, Zoë, Run), but it didn’t work out. Her baby, Goober, slept in! Hooray! She’s a new mom and I KNOW how badly she needs sleep.

I got to the Cedar River Trail parking lot and got my stuff together when my stomach all of a sudden went sour. Thank GOODNESS for the nice park bathrooms! Maybe this is TMI, but it’s probably good Zoë wasn’t there. The start of my run was delayed for a bit.

Finally, I didn’t feel too sick anymore and made my way back to the car to put on my fuel belt. I wore my camo skirt today (testing thigh-rub ratio), a white sweat-wicking shirt, my white CEP socks and my black Moeben sleeves. I almost took off the sleeves because they seem a little big now. I didn’t want them falling down and driving me crazy. (Oh yeah, happy to report I lost weight last week and am only 5 pounds from my goal!)

It was about 50 degrees out and there was some wind. I was cold and left the sleeves on. Finally, I got going. It felt like it took me forever to just get out and get running on the trail.

Since I was going solo, I decided I would try out what I’ve been thinking my marathon race pace will be.

So I’ve been thinking a lot about how I want to run my race at the end of June. This will be my first full. And it may be my last, too. With all the shin problems, I may be sticking to half marathons for a while after this. So, while I want to enjoy it, I also want to “race” it.

I expect a lot from myself and, yes, I have some goal times in my head. But I also know 26.2 miles is a long way and that anything can happen, so if I “just finish,” I will be happy with that.

But I don’t think I want to just run it without paying any attention to my pace at all. You all know how I need a plan. I’m a rule-follower. A list-maker.

So, I was thinking of running around a 10-minute mile during the 5 minutes of running and then 1 minute of walking. I had no trouble sticking to this for the first three miles: 10:13, 10:11, 10:14. But that’s just about when my body gets nice and warm.

I felt good and my legs just wanted to turn over a little faster, so I let them. Mile 4 and 5: 9:36 and 9:44.

I saw a few runners here and there, and some cyclists, too. Not a lot of people, but enough to keep things interesting. And, when I got home, some friends had posted on my Facebook wall that they’d seen me as they were driving by on the highway. That’s a first!

The route I take on the CRT is great, but the way out is slightly uphill — about a 100-foot ascent over the first half of my run, 5 miles, today. You can’t really feel it.

Until you turn around. Whee! Now I really couldn’t slow down. And it was even worse when there was someone in front of me to “pick off.” Mile 6, 8:58, and Mile 7, 9:00.

I was really focusing on keeping my arms swinging front-to-back and not side-to-side, and keeping my core upright. I was talking to my PT last week and I mentioned that I have to remind myself to engage my core during running. So, guess what? That’s a good thing! He described our core like a fist. Many of us forget about it and it’s just a loose hand. By engaging it, it becomes a tight, strong fist. Then we forget about it again and it loosens a little, but it’s still tighter than if we didn’t engage it at all. Does that make any sense? It was easier to understand with him holding his fist in front of me.

Anyway, I was able to keep my hands and forearms loose, but my shoulders felt tight toward the end of my run. It was starting to bug me during Mile 8 and I started to feel tired. Still taking walk breaks every five minutes, though.

But then a big group of runners approached from the other direction. They all had big grins on, and were smiling and waving at me. I felt energized! Mile 8 was 9:09, but Mile 9 was 8:57. Mile 10 I kept with what Zoë and I have been doing on our past long runs and ran the entire mile: 8:03.

It was a great run. A confidence booster! My shin is sore, but not any more than it’s been after 3 or 4 miles. Hoping for a good PT session on Tuesday and clearance for that 20-miler. I really need/want it. Let’s see if I’m still loving long runs after that one!

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16 comments
  1. [email protected] says:
    May 23, 2011 at 4:41 am

    Well Done Kerrie. We all need these confidence boosters. That is how my Saturday MP run was for me….told me that I can shoot for the stars! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Alma says:
    May 23, 2011 at 5:59 am

    Nice run, Kerrie! I was thinking about my form today too – arms forward/back and trying to keep upright instead of slumped. My shoulders were pretty tight by the end and I don't know if that's because I had bad form or because they're not used to “good” form? I go 15 next weekend then 20 the weekend after that. I think I need to do my runs on Saturdays due to conflicts w/ family stuff going on. Definitely want to try to meet up with you & Zoe sometime before RNR. Good luck at your PT session this week!

    Reply
  3. Christy @ My Dirt Road Anthem: A Runner's Blog says:
    May 23, 2011 at 11:04 am

    I love long runs too. Glad to read you got one in and great job on mile 10.

    Reply
  4. Teamarcia says:
    May 23, 2011 at 11:26 am

    Confidence-boosting runs like that one are awesome! Glad you enjoyed it!

    Reply
  5. Marlene says:
    May 23, 2011 at 12:17 pm

    ATTA GIRL! Nice strong long run – no wonder you loved it. 🙂 Congrats on the weight loss – 5 lbs to go. You must feel like a million bucks. Good luck at PT!

    Reply
  6. [email protected] for the Hills says:
    May 23, 2011 at 1:16 pm

    What a great feeling for you! It's a good tip to run at MRP…I'm going to put that in my bag of tricks for when training starts for me.

    Reply
  7. Pat C. says:
    May 23, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    Woo hoo! Don't you love it when it all falls into place and you feel like you can run fast and forever? I can't believe it's only 4 weeks until RnR! I hope you get clearance for your 20 miler. I was able to do a 6 mile long run this weekend and felt not a whisper from the “affected” knee (my PT insists that I not call it the “bad” knee).

    Reply
  8. Carla says:
    May 23, 2011 at 2:41 pm

    Glad to hear it went so well! That same thing happens to me sometimes before long runs, but I'd rather have it that way than have a code brown on the trail. Maybe I can join you for part of your 20-miler, IF I can keep up.

    Reply
  9. giraffy says:
    May 23, 2011 at 4:21 pm

    Awesome, glad you had a great run! I also love the long runs 🙂

    Reply
  10. Carlee says:
    May 23, 2011 at 9:34 am

    Sounds like a great long run. I feel the same way about long runs. LOVE them!!!

    Reply
  11. Mel -Tall Mom on the Run says:
    May 23, 2011 at 6:30 pm

    GOOD WORK!1 Would love to run a portion of your 20, but we will be out of town 🙁

    Reply
  12. Stacie says:
    May 23, 2011 at 7:01 pm

    Congrats on a great run!!!

    Reply
  13. Veronica says:
    May 23, 2011 at 8:15 pm

    8-minute mile for your LAST mile? you are burning up the road!

    Reply
  14. Tim Wilson says:
    May 23, 2011 at 8:55 pm

    Great job with the solo long run! I love my long runs too, and have been missing them as well while coming back from an injury. Soon, very soon.Keep up the good work with your 26.2 training!

    Reply
  15. Amy says:
    May 24, 2011 at 2:12 pm

    I always do my long runs solo…it's my alone time. If it's longer than 6, I go alone. I always feel nervous before hand and pee 87 times!I love the long run!

    Reply
  16. Erika says:
    May 25, 2011 at 2:45 am

    Glad you had such a great long run!! While it's good to have goals for your first race, just make sure you keep a completely open mind and ENJOY the run…you will do great!

    Reply

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