A Big Training Day

I set out around 7AM this morning for my weekly long run, hoping to do at least 15 miles. Though it was in the mid-60's when I left, the humidity was close to 90% and it was quite sunny. It's amazing how hot the mid-60's can feel when it's humid and sunny.

I ran into Central Park and started with a loop of the Reservoir. At that point I was feeling pretty junky and thought about whether I really, really wanted to do such a long run given the weather.....but then I remembered that conditions this morning are probably as good as they are going to get for my long runs, given that the longest of those runs will take place in August and September leading up to the race in October.

I kept going, and my next big milestone was reaching the point where I enter the park from our apartment (77th Street). That's the place where it's easy to say - oh, I don't really feel like running another loop of the park. Given a detour for a bio-break, I had already run 9.5 miles - nothing to be ashamed of, but not really a long training run. It feels great mentally to make the decision to keep going (which I did) and to know that there's just one more loop to go.

By the time I finished back at our apartment, I'd run 16.1 miles, a new personal record by a 1.1 miles (I ran 15 in Houston in January, but it was much cooler and much flatter. I weighed myself before I left and when I got back and in spite of drinking what I estimate to be 5 pounds (!) of water while exercising and eating electrolyte chews and gel, I weighed 2 pounds less than when I started.

The run means all kinds of new PR's: longest run ever, most time running ever, most miles in a week (39.1), longest run in New York. Those records will fall as the training progresses, but it still feels great to have reached the milestones.

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