11 Miles

11 miles is far. Especially with hills, underfed and in the rain. But I did it.

And I'm glad the plan has 10 for next Sunday!

We got up early Friday to run the 11 before heading to Buffalo with Aaron's dad (recap coming tonight, I hope). We started on the Towpath in Cuyahoga Falls in the valley and went north. It's hillier than where we normally do our long runs (and, honestly, that's probably a good thing, but it sucked on Friday). Things started okay, although I felt slow from the start. My stomach wasn't feeling 100% initially so that made me a little nervous. And my attitude wasn't great with the initial descent into the valley; all I was doing was dreading the ascent for the final couple of miles.

However, we will not be starting from there again! The first couple of miles were pretty awful as far as odor goes because we passed by the compost facility. Then the rain started. (I got soaked three times last week!) It lasted for a few miles and was heavy at times. I was soaked, completely.

I took a Hammer gel at 5.5 miles, which was my turnaround point, and I should have taken it earlier. Rejuvenated, I headed back. My shoes were wet and heavy. I had two blocks with me (66-ish calories), and I took those on the return trip. 1) It wasn't enough. 2) Ew. Next time, I'm going to do a gel at 4 and another at 8. (I also need to buy more gels.)

In hindsight, I should have had a 5-Hour Energy before the run, and I should have brought two gels (with the second one possibly being caffeinated) with me. I was hydrated enough, and there were places I could have gotten water if I'd needed it. I think I'm going to try rigging up my CamelBak a little differently too.

Despite my whining, I still ran 11 miles on Friday!