11.something
I am so, so, so glad I did this run. A few people commented on my Tuesday post that I didn’t really need it. And there’s some truth in that- one can run a half marathon with 10 miles as your longest long run. But I don’t know if I can. Running is so mental, and if I don’t feel prepared I’m just going to set myself up to fail.
Fortunately, I feel good and prepared now.
With how great I felt, I really thought I was going faster, but this is still very good for me. (If I can repeat that in the half next Saturday, I’d have a time of 2:19:18. I’m hoping for 2:18 or faster, so hopefully race day adrenaline (and not having to stop/start at lights) will get me there.
I took an espresso Gu right before running (it was gross.) The weather was beautiful- about 60-65 degrees, sunny, no rain, nice breeze off the river. Perfect running weather, in my opinion.
I had half a pack of Gu chomps around mile 5- I’ve found that I really prefer chomps/shot bloks to Gu, but the only downside is that I have to walk to eat them. But Gu has a tendency to mix with my water and bounce back into my throat so I never stop tasting it, which I do not enjoy.
My only complaint is that literally every bathroom on the Hudson River Greenway, from 96th st down to the World Financial Center, is closed. Are they doing construction? Do they close at 6? I have no idea. I tried to duck into a ferry terminal near my turn-off point for the bridge, but the women’s room was out of order. Just the women’s. Are you kidding me?
The other half my chomps on the bridge, and I was back in my own borough. It was a bit of a bummer to get to the end of the downhill off the bridge and realize I actually had to use muscle to move my legs instead of just gravity. By this point my legs were pretty sore. I think it’s my IT band, which I don’t normally have issues with, sore because I took way fewer walk breaks than usual.
From there it was just slightly uphill for a mile and a half to get home to my burrito. It waited for me while I stretched and foam rolled a bit, and has since been devoured in my bed while I ice my knees.
TL;DR, this was the strongest I’ve ever felt on such a long run. I really only stopped to walk 3 times (2 of those were for eating my gummies) and had good luck with lights so I only stopped for those a couple times.
Playlist:
Butch Walker & the Black Widows “Every Single Body Else”
We Are the Fury “Now You Know”
Mann f/ Jason Derulo “Text”
Young Statues “Pretty Girls Make Raves”
Sugarcult “Daddy’s Little Defect”
Thee Armada “Magnet to Misery”
Fountains of Wayne “Stacy’s Mom”
Take Cover “Escape Artist”
Kelly Clarkson “Mr Know It All”
Take Cover “Back Pedal”
Take Cover “The Whole Story”
The Starting Line “Decisions Decisions”
Amy Winehouse “Tears Dry On Their Own”
Tokyo Police Club “Wait Up (Boots of Danger)”
We the Kings “Heaven Can Wait”
The Starting Line “Somebody’s Gonna Miss Us”
Zebrahead “Jag Off
Something Corporate “Straw Dog”
Vinnie Caruana “Somehow The World Keeps Turning”
Valencia “Spinning Out”
One Direction “One Thing”
311 “Don’t Stay Home”
The Starting Line “Hello Houston”
Jessie J “Abracadabra”
Whitney Houston “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”
Timbaland f/ Fall Out Boy “One and Only”
Sum41 “Motivation”
Wiz Khalifa “Roll Up”
Thee Armada “Lala”
The Starting Line “Up & Go”
Beyonce “Love On Top”
Young Statues “Spacism”
You, Me, and Everyone We Know “The Puzzle”
Kate Nash “Kiss That Grrl”
Suicide Machines “What I Like About You”
Something Corporate “I Want to Save You”
Straighter Than Pete “Centerfold”
Valencia “The Space Between”
Zolof the Rock & Roll Destroyer “How Bout It”
The Starting Line “Island”
