Oops.. didn't mean to run THAT far

Kayla and I sometimes run together again; she's training for the Lincoln Half-Marathon this Saturday and I'm sort of on-again, off-again training for the Illinois Full at the end of April.  This run turned out to be interesting.. it all started when we hit the trail on a somewhat nice afternoon from near our house.  We take a few side streets and get on what is mostly a bike path; well, we cruised a few miles down that and Kayla wanted to head back.  I knew I wanted to go further, so I stayed on and said I was going to end up around 10 miles; which is no longer a huge deal. 

I had my trusty Garmin 405 to track the distance and time.  Well, all I had before the Garmin was mapmyrun.com and an idea of where I was on the run; in addition to that, the route somewhat changed because of an epic mall sized Scheel's being built.  This run, I figured was 10.. maybe 11 miles.  Well, I just got past Scheel's... and... my GPS fading battery and all alerted me that I was over 5 miles already.  I could: 

1. turn around and go back, running 10 miles or
2. continue like a machine to the landmark I picked

Keep these few things in mind:  I had beer battered tofu (amazing), coconut bacon (amazing) and a potato for lunch.  I didn't eat when I got home.  I had no water with me and typically don't drink enough during the day.  It was cold out, and I didn't have a hat or gloves. 

So, if you guessed #2.. you were right.  I continued to run.  Amazing, I made it to the halfway point and looked down and the GPS 7.26 miles.  Do the math, the return trip is just as far:  14.52 miles.  So, I put my head down and ran along the lonely trail only being passed by a random biker as the cold cut into my ears and my hands.  The sweat on top of my head turned into a nice frost and my hands full of sweat and locked into a running position remained that way until the bitter end.  Around mile 11 I really started to feel my lips dry and a sense of "You're an Idiot" took center stage as my running mantra.  I ran to the beat of it; it didn't really help.  I could have stopped for water at the local Sonic with about 2 miles left, but at that point.. I just wanted to get home.  My IT bands were about to split down the middle, my knee hurt a tad, my lips were chapped and my hands were slowly turning to frost like grass in the morning. 

Oh, and sometime in there my GPS decided that 26% battery life when I left wasn't enough to make it through the entire run.  Really?  I may have to email Garmin about this, 26% battery zapped in less than 1.5 hours?  That doesn't seem right since, according to their site, it says a fully charged one should last 8 hours of use time.  Do the math: that's 2 hours per 25% of battery.  Hmmmm..

Against these insurmountable odds, I managed to make it home.  I walked up to the back door where I saw Kayla sitting, warmly on the floor eating supper and Schatzi in the window watching me.  I walked in and Kayla laughed then asked if I was okay.  All I could say was.. "14.5 miles.  Can you take my watch off for me; I can't move my fingers." 

Next time, maybe, I'll be a bit more prepared (or let common sense take over)

Finally.. Double Digits

After lying to myself over.. and over.. and over.. like a broken record I finally managed to hit double digit miles today on a run.  Last year I got into a habit of meeting a wonderful group of people for Saturday morning runs (despite the:  temperature, time, time and time).  Most of the runs leave between 7-8 AM and are in different parts of town, which I enjoy more than my out and back solo trek that I normally take. 

I finally got myself put back onto the email list and since Kayla is training to run the Lincoln Half I got her to join in today!  I told her a lot of things that apparently weren't true (my memory must be fading).. Apparently, we DON'T stop for water breaks every 2 miles.  I guess the pace isn't THAAAAT slow.  I was, however, right that the people were friendly and that the running dogs would be there. 

It was supposed to be 8-10 miles, but rumors quickly spread that we got over 11 in, which was a pleasant surprise.  I didn't take my Garmin today, and Kayla rolled her eyes when I told her my reason.. I honestly didn't want to skew my numbers/pace!  So, I just took my old watch instead with the timer on it.  I believe it was 1:27, which isn't bad.. I woulda finished somewhere around my 1st marathon time if I ran on my own the last 2 miles.  I wasn't worried about that today though; I just wanted to get some good miles in!

My favorite part about the run though was the temp, hovering around 30 degrees.  That, of course, means.. COLDGEAR!  Only the top 1 best running invention ever.. I'd maybe even consider it the top 1 all time clothing invention.  Yes, that includes Reebok Pumps and anything from this commercial.  I mix and match all my running stuff too, so I just ball out in it!  Black coldgear covered with a gray longsleeve loose UA shirt.  Black coldgear tights and red/white shorts and then the kicker.. brownish/red SNOWBOARDING socks pulled up to my knees and my blue/white Brooks Adrenaline shoes.  Oh, and my red Stock Lumber winter hat and black/red gloves from when I was in middle school.  No lie.  Needless to say, I'm glad I'm "old" and don't care how I look anymore! 

Of course, when we finished I was warm as ever and simply still amazed with how awesome Underarmour ColdGear is.  (They aren't even paying me to advertise, hard to believe with my 3 page views a day).