Almost 15 miles

My 5K race on Saturday was good. I finished with a time of 24:34. It was a very flat course that ended on grass. The grass threw my stride off a little, but I finished strong. Any finish time that begins with the number 24 makes me happy. Last year my best 5K time was 26:14.

I think I'm buying one of these
with my next paycheck.

Sunday I decided it was time for a long run. I haven’t run anything over 9 miles since my half marathon. I plotted out a 7.5 mile course that would (or should have) ended with 15 miles if I ran it out and back. I packed my cell phone, $5, my music, and 12 ounces of sports drink. At 3 miles, I passed a park and was really hoping the water fountains were turned on. They were not. That kind of ruined my hydration strategy. 12 ounces was going to have to be enough. 45 minutes into the run, I was thirsty so I took a gulp. After conquering a steep hill, I took another gulp. The temperature was 57 degrees, but it was muggy. By mile 12, I was out of water. If only that park had turned on its water. I guess nothing happens around here until Memorial Day weekend. I managed to run the last three miles with nothing to drink. I knew I wasn’t going to die, but I should have conserved my water a little better. When I reached home, I quickly downed a large glass of sports drink, two glasses of water and a banana. It worked because I felt fine a few hours later. No nausea. Yay!

Somehow my plotted mileage was off just a little. My 15 mile run was actually 14.95 miles. I must have included two trips through the park to get water. There was no reason to run through the park on the way back. Usually I give myself a quarter mile cool-off walk so I’m not sure what happened.

It was a good run. I wasn’t out to break any records. My only goal was to run for 15 miles. And I did. Almost.

Stats:

14.95 miles, 2:20:57 time, 9:25 pace