(no subject)
Saturday was the first big milestone of my marathon training plan: a long run of 14.5k (previous to that, every run in the plan was a distance I'd run last fall).
Although the weather mid-week looked promising, Friday was all heavy winds and blizzard watches. Saturday settled down but it was cold (for outdoor running), around -15 with a bit of wind. Not bad for a 5k run, but I was expecting 14.5 to take my 1:40 or more. However, the terrible alternative was running indoors at the U of M, which would have been 63 laps of the into track. Round and round and round. I opted to brave the cold :P
I planned the run to be a 6.5k loop and then an 8k, in case I had to take a bathroom break part-way through (not uncommon on my longer runs). This turned out to be a good plan because despite my usual winter running getup of tights + wind points my, uh, delicate areas were beginning to get chilly after 6.5. So I popped into the house and pulled on a pair of shorts.
My time was 1:44. Not too bad, and I was slowed by having to wait at lights and also the sidewalks were in pretty rough shape in St. Boniface.
My left knee was a little sore after, and the next day, but not a sharp pain. So I think it was just my body not being used to the distance.
One funny thing: I brought a water bottle full of Gatorade with me and shortly into the 8k loop the mouthpiece froze shut. By the end of the run, the Gatorade had turned into a slushie.
The next long run is this Saturday, 16k. Now that I've done the 14.5, 16 is much less intimidating. And hopefully the weather will be nicer too!
Although the weather mid-week looked promising, Friday was all heavy winds and blizzard watches. Saturday settled down but it was cold (for outdoor running), around -15 with a bit of wind. Not bad for a 5k run, but I was expecting 14.5 to take my 1:40 or more. However, the terrible alternative was running indoors at the U of M, which would have been 63 laps of the into track. Round and round and round. I opted to brave the cold :P
I planned the run to be a 6.5k loop and then an 8k, in case I had to take a bathroom break part-way through (not uncommon on my longer runs). This turned out to be a good plan because despite my usual winter running getup of tights + wind points my, uh, delicate areas were beginning to get chilly after 6.5. So I popped into the house and pulled on a pair of shorts.
My time was 1:44. Not too bad, and I was slowed by having to wait at lights and also the sidewalks were in pretty rough shape in St. Boniface.
My left knee was a little sore after, and the next day, but not a sharp pain. So I think it was just my body not being used to the distance.
One funny thing: I brought a water bottle full of Gatorade with me and shortly into the 8k loop the mouthpiece froze shut. By the end of the run, the Gatorade had turned into a slushie.
The next long run is this Saturday, 16k. Now that I've done the 14.5, 16 is much less intimidating. And hopefully the weather will be nicer too!