Week 10: Half Way Point

Week 10 marks roughly the half way point to the marathon. Counting week 11, we have about 2 months left before the marathon.

This week's long run was a the Redmond watershed. It would consist of 3 loops and a little extra loop for a total of 15 miles. Next to the marathon (and maybe 2 of it's longest long runs) this is one of my longest runs ever.

I approached the run a little tired and pensive. My big right toe has been achy and my right calf has been feeling a little tight this week. I've rested, iced, massaged and used ibuprofen. It's gotten a little better every day this week but I was pretty close to skipping today. I didn't.....

The first loop around the watershed went well. I felt light. I felt good. It was nice to have Justin and Kathy around that first loop. Conversations with running partners always makes a run go smoother. The second loop was a lot harder, I was mostly by myself. The little rocks on the trail became increasingly treacherous as I rolled my ankles a number of times. Every time that happened, I got frustrated. A couple of times, I yelled at myself.

The third loop was a completely different experience. Coach K has talked a lot about running with your brain off. That third loop felt a lot like that. My brain became this detached entity outside my body. A couple of times I got scared because I didn't see the trail makers. I was concerned I was lost. But I kept going and eventually I reached a junction and saw our trail marker on the floor. I caught up with Sam and Lonnie around this point and she was not running well. I ran with them for a little bit before going ahead of them. Sam is a much strong runner than me so I hoping it's not anything too serious. I got done with the third loop and did the extra loop. I was a machine at that point focusing my will on getting it done.

Finally I got done and I'm happy that I did. It was tough run but I'm glad that it got done.