Spring is around the corner!

Today was such a great day for a long run! I started out around 8:30AM and I think the temp was somewhere between 17-20 at the time. Luckily, the sun was out and that really helped warm up things quickly, relatively speaking.

I was attempting my first 35 mile run today so I knew I was going to be out several hours. My plan was to finish within 6 hours at a 10:xx pace. All seemed to be going well in the first mile. I was taking it slow to conserve energy and everything seemed good. I have run this route many times, so I knew approximately where mile markers were. When my Garmin didn't vibrate at mile 1, I checked my watch. It was stuck at 0.92 miles, but luckily the timer kept going. I didn't want to mess around with the watch much, so I just continued on.



The plan was to run 12.5 miles, stop by my house to fuel and repeat 2 more times for a total of 35-36 miles. I felt really good after the first 12 and had a muscle milk shake to re-fuel. I also filled my water bottle with Cytomax for the second 12. After completing the second 12, it was warming up quite a bit outside, so I took off one of my long-sleeve shirts, my headband, and gloves. I had half a Clif bar and grabbed a few Clif Shot Blocks for fuel for the last 12. I ended up walking 3 times in the last 12 miles for probably a total of a mile or 2.

I ended up with a time of 6 hours 15 minutes and a sunburn on my neck and ears!

Overall, I'm happy with my time and the way I was able to get some walking and transition back to running. It gives me a lot of confidence in preparation for my 50 mile race in April (although I will remember to wear sunscreen!).

Looking forward to an easy couple miles tomorrow to loosen up and getting a back workout in as well.

Off to Dairy Queen now for: