Today we ran our longest run ever, and our longest run before the marathon. Gail, Mark and I decided to run with the Nashville Striders. Gail and I were going to do the full 21 mile route and Mark was backing his mileage down a little since he's still recovering. Going into the run, we knew we would be at the back of the pack. And we were. We were the last 2 people to finish the run, but we had prepared to be at the end and were ok with it. Thankfully, there was still water and Gatorade at all the stops.
We started at the Kroger on Del Rio in Franklin and ran to Grassland Elementary and back. If you've never been there, you should drive it sometime. Not only to appreciate how far it is, but also because it's a beautiful route. There are beautiful farms and views of the Harpeth River.
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| This sweet guy cheered us on |
The course is really hilly. The first 18 miles were pretty great, but the last 3 were really tough. I'm sure a lot of it was just mental. However, doing 21 miles today makes me certain I can finish the full in Dublin in 6 weeks and one day (not that I'm counting). If nothing else I gained lots of confidence today. My average pace was 12:28, which is awesome, considering over half of my half marathons were at this pace. It makes me think I've either gotten faster or I've been holding back too much on my halfs or maybe some of both!
Now for the most entertaining part of the run...at the water stop at mile 8, well 8 for me Gail, we see a guy who's already turned around and is on mile 14. Clearly, this guy is really fast. And I know everyone wants to optimize their speed and some people do this by wearing less clothing. And I'm fine with guys running shirtless (some of them, I'm really ok with them going shirtless). However, I do think men should wear shorts that are an appropriate length. This man's were not. They were really short and his junk was hanging out the bottom of the shorts. Thankfully, there was a liner, but still. Guys - we do not want to see your stuff hanging out of shorts during a run. It's not an attractive look, ever.
Probably the second most entertaining thing that happened (and probably karma for me talking about the man in the small shorts) was after the run. When I got back to Kroger, I went inside to change and to get chocolate milk. I went into the bathroom and thought to myself that it looked different than before the run. Yes, you guessed it, I was in the men's room. Luckily, no one else was in there!
Next week is a drop week and I'll be running the Women's Half on Saturday. My goals for the race are to have fun and to beat last year's time. I'm also trying to convince myself to let this be my first half without intervals. I'm planning to walk through the water stops and give myself permission to walk 3 other times during the race.
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