Another Long Run (sort of)

Brigid and I took her sister, Hannah, out for a longer run this afternoon. Brigid is helping her get ready for Broad Street this weekend. They were originally going to run the Kelly Drive loop, but I convinced them to join me on the trails. I was supposed to do 12 miles today, but thought if I did 8-9 miles on the trails, it would even out. As is always the case, the beginning was light and peppy, but I was surprised to find this was the case even for me. I was struggling last week on the Sunday run just moving along at a snail's pace on Forbidden Drive. The fact that I had some pop in my step was motivating.

We tried to take it easy on the steep uphills so as not to wear Hannah out, but she did surprisingly well. As we got further into the run, there were several opportunities to head back to the car on Forbidden Drive, but I kept pulling them back up into the trails. I remember how frustrating it can be to run tired and not know how much longer you have to go. I tried to give distance updates as best I could. One thing I did take away from the run is not to get between the arguments between two sisters. You'll never win.



8.5 miles. Untimed

Recovery Run

The running program we're following for the 50K incorporate a second "long run" the day following the primary long run in order to acclimate the body to running while fatigued. I haven't been getting in these miles like I should, but I'm hoping that if I'm 1-2 miles short of the goal, I'll be OK. However, I just realized that the peak training weekend falls on the same weekend I'm registered to run in the American Odyssey Relay. I'll be racking up about 21 miles in a 24 hour period, but I don't know how that will play out with my scheduled 20 mile run for Saturday and 15 mile run on that Sunday. One of these times, I'm actually going to follow a training program.

The run today was fairly uneventful. I opted for a run in Conshy and almost immediately regretted it. My legs were still beat up from the previous day, and for some reason I just can't seem to stomach these streets anymore. I strung together a long run as best I could, but chose to head home rather than tack on the extra mile loop I had planned for the end. That's the danger of long runs in Conshy. You inevitable have to run within a mile of your house since it is geographically isolated on all sides by rivers, woods, or highways. It makes for an easy premature end to a run.

7.3 miles
61 minutes