A long run story-14 miler

Love this tank at Dick's

It's long run story time:)  I had 14 miles on the schedule for this week, and I was pretty excited.  It's funny how your perspective changes, what use to be long is now not bad at all.  You keep getting a new definition of long. I feel like my base is now around 5 miles, and anything shorter than that feels like it isn't anything.  Yet, I still remember when 3 felt like 100!  I am loving my time hop app lately, because I love reading my old FB status about running.  I use to post statuses, oh about every couple of hours, so there are tons about my running experience as I started and how tough that journey was.

This week, I tried to go out even earlier than the previous weeks.  I set my alarm for 4 am and tried to get to bed early.  I ended up in the guest room trying to hide from little red so I could accomplish this goal, but it didn't really work well.  I think I may have gotten to sleep by 10, so the alarm going off that early was tough.

 It was so dark when we headed out.  We mainly run on country roads, and I worry about the critters that make the nighttime their main active time, mainly skunks.

That's stella in front of me.  See her?  Yeah, no lights from anything on this route, so it is that dark. I should have grabbed my headlamp I guess, but didn't want to have it on my head when it got hot and sunny out.  I had planned on doing the route I did last week again, 8 on the gravel, then dropping stella ella off and finishing up.  Luckily for us, the clouds hung out for the entire 14 miler so stella was able to hang with me the whole time.  We found a new way to get at least 10 miles on the gravel by going down the side gravel round down and back for an extra 2 miles.

I do think that this will have to be the new norm for what time to go out.  Even with the clouds, the sun didn't really come out in full force till around 8 am.  I only went through one full bottle of nuun and water, so the humidity wasn't near as bad as it had been in previous weeks.  I am just getting more and more lucky and i will take it.

For the first 10 or so miles, I played it safe and walked every mile for a full tenth of a mile.  I was feeling so good at the end, that I put some music on and finished strong for the last three miles at GMP.  I only fueled once, at mile 8.  My legs and brain felt GREAT, but the weather was also strongly in my favor.

We finished and had our yummy chocolate milk and Luna protein bar post run.   I had so much energy and felt so great that we immediately went to the park for a few hours with little red and played and then came home and changed and went to the pool for the afternoon.  I think hanging out at the pool is the perfect way to recover post running.  I am not having any nausea post running, and I am able to eat and recover fairly quickly. I give all credit to the UCAN. I am excited that our running store will be carrying it very soon.  It is an amazing product and is helping me out so much.  

Now if I could figure out a way to do my hair where it isn't a giant rat's nest post run.  I had it braided and in a pony tail, and it ended up being a knotted MESS!

I put about half a bottle of conditioner on it and combed it out for almost 10 minutes.  Speaking of hair, I am really liking Andrew's new haircut.  I do miss the curls but I am really digging the short cut.

We even had night on the town last night, post pool.  We went back to the Tall Grass tap house for a going away party.  We had some awesome craft beers as always, and even walked around downtown for some gourmet cupcakes and some of the best made cocktails I have ever had.  I did allow myself to have a couple of yummy beers and one cocktail last night.  I usually don't drink when I am running this much, but we were having so much fun (and andrew was strangely enough behaving like an angel).  I am oddly not sore or hung over today:)  I am a pretty big light weight lately, but a midnight drink of water + nuun and some advil seemed to do the trick.  Not something I want to do every weekend, but it is fun ever once in a while.  

Well, time to go do strength training while the boys are napping.  Have a great week everyone!  I have my first big race of the summer this saturday and already getting butterflies!