Far and Alone

At 09:00, I started a run that was about 20 miles and took something like 2:50 (h:m). I'm not sure how long it actually was or took, because there was a user interface error somewhere in the middle, and I lost track of exactly how far I ran. When it did stop, my average pace was at 7:46/mile, though I feel the later miles pushed that closer to 8:00/miles. I did finish at a little after noon, and started to walk back home as part of my warm down.

This was a lesson in multiple errors. Aside from not getting the correct readout from my tracking device, I also failed to bring any food or water with me. By about mile 16, my mouth was parched and I was dying for water. When I finally did get to a water fountain in a park somewhere around mile 20, I was a little out of sorts. I had to mentally tell myself not to cross the street until the light turned green. And when the warm water from the fountain hit my mouth, relief rushed through my body as the water was absorbed.

I thought a lot about pancakes and smoothies at the end of the run. The thought of engorging myself on these two items at the end of the run kept me going for the last part of it.

Something that did work out for the run, was making a three hour plus playlist of mellow music, randomly interspaced with songs that were audible reminders to push a little harder, and make sure I was keeping good form. A phone call from a friend in the middle of the run had a similar effect as well. I might consider calling people during runs, it was more fun to have it as a surprise for me though.