Week 11: Eleven miles

3:00 hours, 30:60 second run/walk ratio

Have had a very exhausting week. I ended up splitting the difference between getting up early enough to avoid the heat of the day and getting up late enough to be completely rested, and got up a little before 7 am and was at Meadowbrook Park ready to run at around 8:35 am. Luckily, the sky was cloudy for most of my run, even dropping a few drops of rain on me. The sun came out in the middle of my 9th mile, so the last few miles had that on top of being "new" miles, but I didn't feel too tired by the time I was done. I expected to run a bit slowly today, and finished in exactly three hours, averaging about 16.4 minutes/mile.

I brought some oyster crackers along with me to nibble on for snacks while I ran. Had a few at 4 miles and a few more at 7.5. My stomach was a bit wonky, but I don't know if it was the crackers or just general wonkiness. I also brought GU but didn't eat any of them. I like the crackers; I'll try them again when I'm not so wiped out and see how I feel.

I stopped once for the bathroom after 3 miles. If I'm not going to stop during the actual Half Marathon, I'll have to get up earlier and watch what I eat the day before. Should probably have dinner early and stop eating after 5 pm. My digestion is kind of sensitive these days. For training runs, it doesn't matter, but it would be good to figure out how to run 3.5 hours without having to stop. That would have added about 7 minutes to my time. Don't even know how available bathrooms will be in Las Vegas.

All in all, not a great run, but not a bad one. And I've made it to eleven miles! At this point, I could run a half marathon if I had to -- only another 2.1 miles. But I've got another month and a half to get stronger.

I skipped my Thursday run this week -- first time I've had to miss a midweek run. Spent all day working on replacing the water heater and fixing the pipe from the pump. Skipping one run won't make a difference, but I've got to be extra diligent not start missing more of them.

Week 10: Four miles

1:03 hours, 30:60 second run/walk ratio

I decided to do the Dennison-Valley run today, for something different, and because it was short enough that I could run without water or bathrooms or such. Didn't even use my waist pack. It was chilly this morning, so I wore my black running pants and shirt and my running hoodie, and just put handkerchief, ID, and truck key in my hoodie pockets. The sun was out and I ended up tying my hoodie around my waist after about a mile and a half. It was a very nice run, beautiful weather, and I felt strong the whole way.

Week 9: Nine and a half miles

2:35 hours, 30:60 second run/walk ratio

Today's run was one of those runs. I got a late start, the weather was stifling, my stomach was wonky, and I was really, really glad when it was over. It was supposed to be cloudy today, so I was hoping for some shade, knowing I was going to be out there for over two hours, but none of the clouds ever came between me and the sun. It was probably close to 90 degrees, without a bit of shade. I felt like I was flirting with heat exhaustion by the time I was done, despite drinking plenty of water and pouring water over my head now and then. And I forgot to put on sunscreen before I left this morning.

I made bathroom stops at 4 and 7 miles, but stopped my watch while I was off the trail. I got a good start, with 1:01 at 4 miles, but had a hard time getting back into the groove after stopping. It was just so hot. I ate my last two Clif Shot Bloks at 4 and 8 miles. Must get some more! Maybe they were hard on my stomach, especially since they're so old and the package has been opened for a while now.

I ended up walking the last half-mile, because I was starting to feel pretty wrung out. Considering how awful I felt for the last half of my run, I still did a pretty darn good time, averaging about 16.5 minute miles.

One good thing: my shoulders and neck didn't get sore, like they have on previous long runs. Yay pushups!

Just after I got home, the sky clouded over and we were pounded with thunderstorms for about an hour and a half. And now it's nice and cool. Oh well. I got my 9.5 miles in!