What a beautiful day for a long run. My run was not as good as the conditions.
When I woke up at 5:30 am, it was dark, with no noticeable wind, and 54 degrees.
I got out by 7:30 am, and by that time, the skies were overcast. The forecast was for constant temperatures until after noon.
Today’s run of 16 plus miles was a 2 mile increase over my previous long runs. I used my course leaving my house, crossing the Chatham Bridge, through town to the end of Lee Drive.
The good part of getting to the end of Lee Drive is the run will be a 16-mile success, being I’m over 8 miles from home. There are no feasible bail-out routes. So, I’m stuck completing the entire 16 miles any way I can.
I wore shorts over compression shorts, a singlet over a long-sleeved shirt, gloves, ball cap, gaiter, and a light overshirt tied around my waist.
My Saucony Endorphin Speed 2 shoes have more than 500 miles on them. I still wore them as I’m not pronating enough in my Saucony Triumph 19 shoes and need to break in my new Endorphin Speed 2 shoes a few more times.
I felt blah and slow through my first checkpoint. But, I still ran 18:23 for that segment which is a bit too fast.
When I crossed Blue Gray Parkway around 8 am, I was glad to see that the light pattern had not changed. I stayed on the facing traffic side of Lafayette Boulevard that does not have the walk protection signals, which keeps me from crossing Lafayette twice on the way out.
I felt good to the end of Lee Drive, turning around in 1:24:25, which is a reasonable pace.
On the way back, I start feeling sluggish around mile 10 and have to wait 30 seconds to cross Lansdowne Road.
Just before cresting Bubba, a young blonde passes me, which keeps me distracted and moving better for about a half-mile. I lose sight of her when she heads over the hill to Lafayette Boulevard. When I get to that point, I can’t see if she went right, left, or straight.
It was difficult crossing Lafayette, and I used the crosswalk at Blue Gray, not waiting for the signal.
The last 4 miles were a grind. I kept moving.
When I got back to the Chatham Bridge, they had placed “sidewalk closed” signs blocking the pedestrian portion. I didn’t see any workmen on the walkway and went past the sign. I felt it was safer than running in the travel lanes, and I didn’t have enough to run the 4 miles to cross the Falmouth Bridge or the Bridge to Nowhere.
My final time of 2:55:58 was on the slow side for 16 plus miles. I was not encouraged by my splits: 18:23, 20:12, 19:36 and 24:36 out and 23:57, 21:15, 23:57 and 22:23 back.
I have one more week at 16 miles, and then I need to extend to 18 miles. I’ll try to do better next time.