I was scheduled for a long run Saturday. I had no idea just how long it would turn out to be. The weather was almost perfect: Blue Skies, big fluffy white clouds, & cool temperature. The wind from the west was pretty strong, though as long as I was running generally east, this was no problem.
I had charted a 7-mile course near home earlier last week and set off to follow it. I turned left out of the driveway and ran a little more than a mile before realizing I hadn't pressed start on my Garmin. I pressed start and continued running. I didn't have a speed goal, I was just running for the sake of running. I ran at whatever pace felt most comfortable.
A great addition to my run was my hydration backpack. I picked up the Coleman Max 2 liter pack at Wal-Mart thinking I would return it if I hated it. I was skeptical at first because I've read that some people don't like the backpack hydration packs for running because of 1. the bouncing and 2. the heat build-up on the back. I didn't have any problems with it during my first run. The shoulder straps are adjustable to the perfect fit for me and it includes a waist belt and chest belt to keep it firmly in place. There was some movement of the pack while I was running, but it was comfortable throughout my longer than planned run.
My run was longer than planned because I got lost. I didn't take the route I had planned out. I thought I had, but I either missed a turn that I should have taken or I took a turn that I shouldn't have. When I realized I had gone the wrong way I had already gone too far to turn around and look for the right way so I just improvised from there. I followed roads that I thought were taking me in the general direction of home. I did the complete Tour-De-Podunk. At one point I ran along a gravel/dirt road for about two miles and was beginning to wonder if it was actually a dead-end before I finally came to a turn that I thought would take me to somewhere familiar. My sense of direction paid off and I arrived at an intersection I recognized and was able to make it home without the dreaded lost phone call home.
I had been holding back a little because I didn't know how far I had to go to get home. My worst fear was arriving at a dead end and having to retrace my steps. I found myself conserving liquids and running slightly slower to conserve energy in case that happened. Worst case scenario number two was arriving somewhere familiar and realizing I had been running the wrong direction for the last five miles. My contingency plan in that case was my cell phone and a call home. As I came into familiar territory I picked up the pace and actually did my last mile in 9:30. I was really feeling strong and was pleased that I was able to finish at a good pace.
The Stats: All in I did 10.2 miles in an hour and 45-50 minutes. Yes, I ran almost two hours and felt like I could have kept going. This was definitely the most enjoyable run I've ever done. Being lost was actually a bit of an adventure. The security of a cell phone and my hydration pack made me a little braver than I probably would have been had I had neither. I enjoyed my 10 mile run that started out as a 7 mile run. I averaged about 10:30/mile over the course of those 10 miles.
Next up: I should have done a tempo run this morning but I didn't sleep well last night and my legs were still a little sore from Saturday's long run so I slept in. Tomorrow I'll swim and then do my tempo run on Wednesday followed by a swim on Thursday and intervals on Friday. We're going out of town for Easter so I probably won't get in the long run this weekend unless I can squeeze it in Sunday evening when we get home.
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