Sixteen Point Four

Run: 16.4 miles in 2:15:57 min. @ 6:30 a.m., including four one-minute walking "breaks" at predetermined points in the run.
Weather: Fog then becoming Fair as the run progressed, 62°F/72°F, 97%/62% Humidity, Wind: From SSW @ 2 mph; feels like 62°F/72°F.
Training Plan Suggested Mileage: 20 miles
Average Mile Page: 8:17 min./mi.
Course: A truncated attempt at the 20 miler-Cobbs Park found using the "search" function on USATF Map It! (20+ miles).
Elevation: A fairly up-and-down affair--Total climb: 603 ft/184 m, Total change: 1204 ft/367 m

Pre-Run Ruminations: I was just a little surprised to notice the distances for my scheduled weekend training runs. Though I had been vaguely aware of one ten miler(an expectation I met by completing the run yesterday), the TWENTY miles planned for Saturday... which in keeping with the "switch" of miles, I would put in today, was "news." My mileage has been slowly crawling up as I've continued to loosely follow the ultra training plan, but TWENTY(!) miles still seems like quite a distance... even when attempted (and hopefully accomplished) in a LONG and SLOW manner.

In an effort to keep up with "things," I quickly found a course prepared by someone else online (and one I'd run previously in reverse) and went about making a plan: wake up early, slams two cups of joe and cereal, lace up my shoes, hit the road, run roughly 5 miles then slide into a comfortable walk one-minute, run-fifteen minutes, walk one-minute routine, until the final, five or so miles during which I would run the whole way through. I would also load up two flasks with H20 and bring a gel pack with me. Saturday evening, I would liberally eat as many good, bad or indifferent carbohydrates as I could in anticipation of the next morning's run. That was my plan.

Post-Run Reflections: I fell slightly short of my goal mileage for this morning, but not without gaining some good insight into how to proceed on future training runs. While I did bring two flasks of H20, 1 gel and 2 Cliff Bloks, given the humidity, I should have brought a third flask with some sort of replacement drink. This would have likely provided me with the additional "push." I also need to buy some new sneaks, a condition I was already aware of, but had been trying to hold off on. As it stands, I will likely continue to try and extend the life of these shoes for another week or two, but keep my eyes open for a sale.

Once again, using the run-walk-run strategy seemed to work effectively and permit my egs to remain "fresh." Also I wore both a bandanna to keep sweat out of my eyes, as well as sunglasses, with little problem. I felt pretty good throughout and despite falling short, remain positive about my overall effort... there is always next time, too!

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!

P.S. Anne came to pick me up at Lock 33 after I discontinued my run at Lock 32 and walked the mile to our meeting place... in a better world, I'd have been able to adjust my course to shorten the distance and get home, but thankfully my wife is always willing to give me a lift... even on Sunday mornings!