20 Miles and More

I'll be honest, I didn't expect today's 20-miler to go very well. First off, I knew the weather was going to be less than desirable. The forecast called for a temperature near freezing along with winds from the NNW at about 17 mph. Not my favorite kind of weather to spend 3 1/2 hours outside. Second, I didn't get a good night's sleep, which isn't really new before a long run, but is still a wee bit discouraging. Finally, in the first 4 miles I just didn't feel that great. I didn't feel bad, but I didn't feel like I was bursting with strength, either. With the wind howling against me on the latter part of my first lap around the neighborhood I tried to relax and not take it too fast. That strategy worked since after that I felt okay. The second lap I felt even more relaxed, and then when I headed out of the neighborhood for the final 11 miles I knew I could make it. Whew. Glad that's over.

This weather made me pull out the full complement of cold-weather gear. I had the ear-warmer going, the gloves (which I switched for mittens after the first lap), and three layers of shirts. I thought about shedding the warmup jacket after the first lap, but running into the wind nixed that idea. I'm glad I kept it.

I also had a bummer moment during the run. I was wearing my drink belt and had stopped to turn it around so the pocket with my cell phone in it was in the front just in case one of the kids needed me. About three miles later I grabbed a bottle and found that the top was missing. I was understandably upset but found the top rolled up in the bottom of my warmup jacket. Dodged a bullet there. Then I checked the other three bottles and found another one missing. Dang it! And this one was nowhere around, either in my clothing or on the ground. I have no idea where it landed. I'll be keeping my eyes open for it on upcoming runs, but I'm not real hopeful.

Also, I forgot to log Thursday's run. I went 7 miles, which included a 5-mile tempo run at about 8 minutes/mile. I ran in the morning since I had the day off. In addition, I was trying to get in the run before weather turned bad later in the day. Mission accomplished.

One more note: The Wife and my oldest daughter ran a 10k this morning, and I am very proud of them. I know firsthand how bad the weather was with the wind and cold temps, and they persevered and ran it anyway. Awesome! Guess we're officially a family of distance runners now. Woo hoo!