A little overconfident

Today was my long run. I went out to where me and the gang usually run and started from there. This was fine, there was a lot of scenery to look at. I passed by construction guys, up huge hills overlooking the city, and by gurgling creeks every now and then. One hill in particular was quite demoralizing, although I was up it without a hitch. I ran all over the town, hoping to get in 26.2. Yes my expectations were extremely high considering I was coming off a sick week and my last long run was 3 weeks ago if I recall. Either way I thought I could do it.

I simply went too fast for the first 13-14. It wasn't that I was going fast, but going fast UPhill that knocked a lot of my energy out. Breathing wise I was fine, although a little light headed. There were tons and tons of hills. Too many to remember and each time I went up one it knocked a chunk of my stores out. By 11 miles I was already feeling the emptiness of hunger. I just felt weak. I guess that's what happens when you only have a bowl of cereal for energy, and that was 2.5 hours before the run started. So I was well into the run before the real drain started after I passed the half marathon mark somewhere. Even after a few good swigs of water there wasn't much to work with. I kept on, getting as much mileage as I could, then just said "enough for today". The effort was certainly there. I should take some photos if I remember of a few of the hills I ran.

So I didn't reach my goal, but I didn't really prepare well for it either. I should have ate more last night and probably been chugging gatorade and water. The other thing was the new areas. I didn't know what hills lay ahead when I started off in a direction, so I just had to take them when they came. I did find a nice relatively flat area where there are a bunch of million dollar houses to run by. I'd say I put in a good 4-5 miles just there alone. It was nice looking at all the wealth. It really makes you consider the possibilities and wonder how those people got there. Also there was a Huge Hill x2 over there. This thing is a beast, very steep and just keeps on going. It will definitely be my new hangout once or twice a week. I also found the greenway which was very close to it, but didn't run on it. I was having too much fun exploring, plus it was time to turn around to get rehydrated.

Great effort run, did I mention there were 12 mph winds.... Got a new sensor for my ipod and it works fine. The only thing that sucks is the total stats don't go together, so you have to click each individual sensor to find total miles, time, and calories. Things to note were tight right ham and again with the right turf toe pain. The pain was part of the reason I dropped off the last 3 miles.
18(19.01)miles. 7:17 pace. 40 degrees 12mph wind. GM 253