LSD

For you non-runners out there, that stands for Long Slow Distance. Today was the day.

At some point last night I realized that I was supposed to run 15 miles today, and felt sick to my stomach just thinking about it. But, I did it!

I was slow getting up today, but luckily was not punished by the running gods with heat & humidity. I hit the road at 9:40, with a plan to run to the Mightyman Montauk course. The course consists of two 6.5 mile loops. It's about 3 miles to get to the start. I ran to the start (3), the first full - hilly- loop of the course (6.5), the first half of the course a 2nd time (3.1), then back home (3). I'm going to clock it in the car at some point this weekend, but should be about 15 miles.

I did OK. It was foggy and misty when I started out, but cleared a little after an hour or so. I wore my "fuel" belt, and brought water, a gel, some money for gatorade, and my MP3 player. 30 minutes in, I had some water. A fit-looking guy parked at the transition area when I strolled up. He had a fancy tri-bike on the back of his truck. I knew he was there to run the course too. Yeah, he totally smoked me almost immediately.

60 minutes in, I had a gel and some more water. By this point, I was hitting the hills, which involved some walking breaks. The views are beautiful, and there were almost no cars on the road in this section. Nice. After 2 hours, I was back in town and bought a gatorade, which I drank a little of and poured the rest in my now-empty water bottles. Still feeling pretty good.

Back around Fort Pond. Hmm, a lot of people fishing today. Not a good time to swim the course. Almost back to town. After 2.5 hours, my body started to rebel a little. Hips, calves, hams, feet, even shoulders started to stiffen up and ache. The last 3 miles are about 75% uphill. Ugh. A lot of (slightly painful) walking started happening. But, like I said, I made it. Covered in salt and thinking about the best way to ice my knee, but I made it.

15 miles is far. Some jock-types don't count their warmup, or any walking bits. But I figure that I'll be walking through the water stops at the marathon, and that won't stop me from calling it 26.2 miles. So I count it. Also, the marathon course is very flat, and out here there are a lot of hills. Hopefully that will help me on the big day! [The race materials say there is 806 feet of elevation gain on the run course. That doesn't sound like a lot - I should compare that to the marathon course for reference.]

15 miles is a long way, and I feel pretty good. But I have been totally falling behind on my training schedule, and I can't have another week like this. I jokingly call it "The Lazy Woman's Training Plan", but I need to get just a little more serious. Pushing all my workouts to the weekends increases my chances of injury. Today, I have several minor, but seemingly random injuries like chafing, blisters, and a cut & bruise on my back from my water belt. All practice, I guess.

Not much planned until dinner tonight. The fog is rolling in. Ahhh . . . . .