Saturday, September 18, 2010

My First 17K Ever! :)

2:16:05
Pace 8:01 min/km

The neat thing about all my posts for the next little while is that they will be a collection of firsts ... every weekend, by adding an additional K to my long run, means running another first! :) Very cool and I want to enjoy this aspect of my training.

I slept very poorly last night. We have company and gave them the master suite so we were in the basement room. First, we got to bed late. Second, my dog, Wallace, started baying @ 1:30 a.m. and I awoke in time to see someone's feet go by the basement window! Ben ran outside ready to catch the thief/vandal, but as it turns out, it was our neighbour. Her dog, Ralphie, the blood brother to Wallace, slipped by her at the door and decided to run over here to visit his brother! Credit to her for admitting it to Ben rather than remaining quiet about it. Unfortunately, we slept poorly for the remaining hours before Ben got up @ 4:30 a.m. to go hunting. I was so tired and wanted to stay in bed when my alarm went off, but my mom was aware that I had planned to get up @ 6:30 a.m. so guess who was tapping on the floor above my head as a friendly way to ensure I got up?!?!

So, in spite of my exhaustion, I went for my long run. My BIL dropped me off at one end of the city, the start of the Thames Valley trail, and I ran all the way downtown before taking another route by heading out to and past the University before returning home. 17K - wow! The last 1-1/2K were tough, but otherwise, I did okay! I honestly think the 10:1 run/walk is helping because it does a great job of breaking the run down into sections to concentrate on (i.e. I listen to two songs and concentrate on when I am going to hear my 1:00 minute lullaby denoting walk time rather than dwelling on how many K I have left).

I FINALLY remembered to bring my Starbucks Coffee card with me this time, but funnily enough, I was not in a mood for a coffee by the time I finished my run! :( I did use up all my water so I did buy a bottled water for my walk home.

Did you know that it is suggested that one does NOT stretch after a long run? My sister told me this and it makes good sense - I have naturally NOT stretched after my long runs, instead choosing to walk steadily for a longer period of time. When I told my sister I was doing this, she told me that it was the best thing to do. Karen is using a new training program for her upcoming half marathon (her third) and it is designed to help her break her current PR. She is really liking it, and sees a big improvement in her running. I am considering trying it for myself but will write about it in a separate post.

Next weekend - 18K !!!

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