29 Hard-Earned Miles

I went for my final pre-marathon long distance this morning and it was a fantastic run! Actually, no, it turned into a fantastic run. It started off terribly.

Map: http://j.mp/xrOVnj, 

Distance: 29.10 miles

Time: 4:53:11, average 10:04/mile

Before I left the house, I was in a terrible mood. My clothes were still wet from yesterday and it felt like 37 degrees outside. I was getting frustrated with getting all my stuff together for the run and I got it in my head that this was going to be a terrible run. I named this route "29 Stupid Miles" in Cyclemeter.

Within the first mile, this started to change. I got to Lake Eola and the sun was in just the most perfect location. It cast a beautiful reflection on the buildings so I stopped and took a picture. I was still in a bad mood, though and didn't post it.

When I got down to Lake Davis, just south of 408, another amazing photo opportunity arose. There was a fast-moving fog on just the surface of the lake and there were two swans in the middle, their heads just poking out of the fog. Since I still was in a bad mood, I actually got mad for not having my DSLR. Around this point, I was less mad and changed the name of the route to "29 Freakin Miles" 

I made it around several Lakes and headed north on Crystal Lake. It was pretty chilly this morning and around that point, I noticed there was frost on the ground so I stopped and took a picture of the frost. This made me happy. I then changed the name of the route to "29 Chilly Miles".

Between miles 8 and 15, I started getting really creative and came up with some awesome ideas for apps that I'm going to write after my last day at work. This really got me going and I started picking up steam and was getting pumped. I changed the name of the route to "29 Creative Miles".

I was feeling good at this point and holding my head high; the miles were just passing by. My route became "29 Energized Miles".

Around mile 20, I ran through some incredibly beautiful neighborhoods. I took a panorama of Lake Maitland near the Isle of Sicily. I then ran through downtown Winter Park and Mead Garden. Kitzzy showed up at mile 23 to cheer me on and I gave her all of my clothes that I had taken off. That was awesome :) The route become "20 Inspiring Miles".

I was still feeling strong at mile 25, but between miles 26 and 27, the pain started building. My hips and legs were getting really sore and worst of all, my hamstrings started tightening up. I did two 5-minute walk breaks to give my legs a rest, but it hurt more than running. I was so close, though and determined to finish. To end the run, I named the route "29 Hard-Earned Miles", a fitting finish.

When I got home, I took an ice bath and put on my compression socks. These things are a godsend.

This entire run was done using the Galloway method at 3:1 intervals. I started off slow, but was really able to pick up speed and ended at a 10:04/mile pace. I was really not expecting that kind of time. I think I attribute being able to go so long without pain to taking these walk breaks. When I did 23 and 26 with messy walk-breaks, I was incredibly sore much earlier in the runs. The walk breaks also gave me a chance to take a lot of pictures and write down my ideas along the way.

I really love these long runs for the chance to think. My mind has to fill the time and I get to come up with lots of ideas. I also think about all sorts of stuff going on in my life and work through them. I came out of this run in much better spirits than going in and I'm feeling a lot better about several things.