Zombies, Run! Jeffro Complex, 12.5 miles

3:32:12 hours - 12.53 miles - 16:56 min/mile

It took until Monday, but I finally got my 12.5 mile run done. Saturday the weather was awful and I was really tired; Sunday the weather was slightly better but I felt worse—bad backache and wonky stomach. Today, I finally felt okay. The weather was still cold—around 39 F when I started out at around 10 AM, up to about 47 F this afternoon when I finished—but it was sunny and I wore my base layer, neck scarf, and hoodie and kept warm enough. I have found that if I really want to make sure I head out and do a long run, the best way is to just put on my running clothes first thing when I get up. Then, after I finish morning chores and drink a mug of hot cocoa, I'm already dressed and ready to go. If I get up and put on regular clothes, thinking I'll change when I've finished chores, I lose momentum and it's harder to get myself going.

Didn't do too bad today. I was a bit slow but didn't get too worn out. Splits were 15:34, 16:09, 15:30, 16:14, 17:16, 16:06, 19:55 (another bathroom break), 17:35, 17:10, 16:56, 17:08, 17:10, and 16:00 for the last half mile. Slowed down in the last half and wouldn't have made a 3:30 half marathon, but it was close.

Finally got to do the first 20K race from Season 1! No big surprises since I've gone halfway through Season 2 already, but interesting to see a first meeting with one character and a discovery about another. In two weeks I'll do the second 20K race from New Canton's point of view for my 14 mile run, and then I'll finally have the season 1 races done!

Zombies, Run! Season 2 Mission 24

32:19 minutes - 1.97 miles - 16:26 min/mile

Lost GPS after about a mile again, but I used my GPS watch (first time I actually ran with it!) and edited the miles according to what the watch said. Which gave me a pace of about 16:26 min/mile. Kind of slow, but I felt slow today. Mile 1 split is 15:59, so it's probably right. I've contacted support about the problem, hope they can help me figure it out, because this is a pain.

One good thing about the GPS watch — it does have interval timers, so I don't have to carry both watches. It even labels them "RUN" and "WALK" (or HARD and EASY), so I can tell at a glance which interval I'm in. Not so good is that the interval beeps are quieter than the other watch, and I kept missing them, especially when the music was louder or the mission was talking. I had to keep an eye on it to make sure I started running or walking when I was supposed to. I think that's one reason I might have been a bit slow, I was preoccupied with the watch and not paying attention to my pace. (Also I have the beginnings of a headache, blah.) But I got my run done, first time in weeks I've managed to do both midweek runs.

It was cloudy and cool today, good running weather. It's supposed to snow tomorrow, but be sunny and clear on Saturday, so I hope I have decent weather for my 12.5 mile run.

Today's mission was a bit different. Today, I was New Canton's Runner 5 instead of Abel's. Felt a bit strange being someone different! I kept getting distracted futzing around with my watch and wasn't following the story very well. Oh well.

Zombies, Run! Season 2 Mission 23

39:51 min - 2.4 miles? - 16:40 min/mile?

Lost GPS again, a little after 1 mile, same as last time. Only this time, I didn't lock the screen, so apparently that isn't the problem. What is going on? Health app says I went 2.4 miles, which seems a bit low for that time. First mile split was 14:55, so that would make the second mile over 17 minutes. I don't think I slowed down that much. I should have taken my GPS watch along to compare. I hope this isn't going to be a permanent problem.

Other than that, the run was fine. I didn't get out there until around 11:30, but it was mid-50s and a bit hazy so fine to run. Fun mission today! Love the little fannish references here and there — Sam comparing the last-minute rescue to Helm's Deep today. And the Major's speech at the end was pretty inspirational.

Only a month until the half marathon, and I'm determined to get all my runs in, so that's one for this week.

Zombies, Run! Season 2 Mission 22, 4 miles

1:02:43 hours - 4.01 miles - 15:38 min/mile

So, no midweek runs again this week. I was out of town from Monday through Thursday, and while I brought my running gear along and hoped to get a run or two in while I was away, it didn't happen. But today's 4-mile run went pretty well, anyway.

It was cold and rainy today, not a hard rain but a fine mist that got me pretty well soaked through by the time the run was over. I wore long leggings, long-sleeved tee-shirt, and my running jacket, which I kept on and zipped up the whole time. I didn't feel too cold while I was running, but the front of my legs got cold from running into the rain. At least I didn't have to worry about the sun getting to me!

I had an appointment this morning at 9 AM and wasn't sure how long it would take, but fortunately I was done by 10 and was able to get to the park by 10:30. Since it was a short run today, I didn't worry about getting started a little late. When I got to the park, mine was the only vehicle in the parking lot, but a few others had shown up by the time I left. Not many people to greet on the path today.

My back was sore from driving so much this week, or maybe from sleeping on my friend's couch, and I didn't get much sleep last night, but I felt pretty good and kept a decent pace. My splits were 14:57, 15:56, 14:53, and 15:29. Used the 1:1 minute run/walk ratio and still feel that it's working pretty well.

Next week, 12.5 miles and it's supposed to snow on Friday. Hope it's clear on Saturday.

Zombies, Run! Season 2 Mission 21, 11 miles

2:59:41 hours - 11.04 miles - 16:16 min/mile

All righty! Did my 11 mile run today, and it went pretty well. I slept in late, but the weather was cold enough that I didn't have any problem running later in the day. It was cold — around 50 F — and sunny, but breezy. Pretty good running weather. I wore long leggings and long-sleeved tee-shirt. Started out with a jacket on, but took it off after I warmed up and ran the rest of the way without it. It was chilly enough that the sun didn't bother me.

I left the app running in the foreground, and didn't have any problem with the GPS stopping. I wonder if that last time was just a temporary glitch. GPS did work for about 15 minutes before it stopped, and I remember before when I'd lock the screen it stopped working right away. I will try locking the screen again on my next short run to see if the GPS stays on or not.

Today's mission ended after about 2.5 miles, and I ran the rest of the way with Radio Abel. Good to hear Jack and Eugene back again! Although Phil and Zoe from New Canton were starting to be pretty amusing, too. Zoe told a joke that made me laugh out loud while I was running! "Why does Edward Woodward's name have so many D's in it? Because without them, it would be Ewah Woowah." Heh. Helps to do it with an English accent, I think.

Anyways. My pace wasn't spectacular, but it was good enough. My splits were (1) 15:14, (2) 16:02, (3) 14:55, (4) 16:17, (5) 18:37, (6) 16:25, (7) 16:19, (8) 17:06, (9) 16:29, (10) 15:56, and (11) 16:42. Slowed down a little over the course of the run, but not too bad. Mile 5 includes a bathroom break that was probably around 2 minutes. Subtracting that from my total would make my average pace closer to 16 min/mile. Right on the line of what I need to maintain to finish the Star Wars half. I am cautiously optimistic that I ought to be able to make it.

Zombies, Run! Season 2 Mission 20

38:51 minutes

Well, obviously, my distance/pace got all messed up today. Looks like the GPS stopped working after 1.1 mile (my pace for mile 1 was 14:34, so I was getting off to a good start, but according to the app, mile 2 pace was 3:07:39!). I remember when I was using my other running app and kept having problems with losing the GPS. Turned out I had to set it to "Always use GPS" rather than "Use while the app is running," or else when the app went into background the GPS would stop. So I checked my settings for Zombies, Run! and there is no "Always use GPS" setting — it's either "Use while the app is running" or "Never." So. Crap. iOS updated itself a couple of nights ago, and it's doing several other annoying things as well. Losing the "Always use GPS" setting might be one of them. So it looks like I'm going to have to let the app run in the foreground while I'm using it, which is inconvenient.

Anyway, I did my run today, which I haven't done in a while. For various reasons I didn't run at all last week, and have only done one midweek run — today's — this week. For one thing, we had some snow, and my driveway's been a mess. It was still a little muddy today, but only in one spot where the gully crosses it on the front side, so I did my run without too much trouble. For another, I've had a lot of other stuff to do, what with getting my mom's place cleared out and ready to sell, and Thanksgiving, and so on. It's been cold enough that I'd rather not do my runs early, but wait till it warms up a bit, but by then I've got to get going on my day and don't have time to run. And it hasn't helped that I've been pretty depressed. I know getting out and running helps my mood immensely, but getting over the inertia of not wanting to do anything in order to do it is really hard, and I haven't been very good at it lately.

The long run I skipped was only a 4-mile run, so I think it won't hurt my training too much. I have an 11-mile run to do on Saturday, so we'll see how that goes. Anyway, I had a good run today and am firmly telling myself that I am not going to miss any more runs except in cases of emergency.