The Longest Long Run

Guys, I made a realization this weekend: I have a half marathon in four weeks! Usually this wouldn’t be such a shocker but my running has seriously been lacking. I decided to begin ramping up my mileage a few weeks ago, but then I promptly went on the Capitol Peak backpacking trip (recap coming this week!) so my long run got lost somewhere in the shuffle. However, I was home this weekend and made the executive decision to get myself back on track. I had originally been hoping that the GTIS would be a redemption/new PR half for me….but with my abysmal training, I’m just hoping for pure survival!

Unfortunately, my “let’s get back on track” campaign started out with a giant fizzle. I typically like to do my long runs on Saturday so that I have Sunday for a recovery day before starting the next week on Monday. However, I had an early morning baby shower on Saturday and preceded that with a late night dinner and copious amounts of wine. Needless to say, I wasn’t going to get up any early than needed, so I barely eeked out 3 miles before heading to my friend’s shower. There was always Sunday!

Yet again, I struggled, only this time it was due to another engagement. Will and I had made plans with some friends at Z Cuisine in the Highlands on Saturday night, and we met up with them at 8:15pm for a late dinner so that they could put their kids down before heading out. Naturally, our late evening grew even later when we followed up the delightful salmon with some even better ice cream from Little Man down the street (a Denver classic! If you’re in the area, definitely check out Little Man!) Long story short? I didn’t get to bed until 1am. That’s the perfect bedtime before attempting my longest run in 7 months, right?!

Pre-dinner on the left; post run on the right

Luckily, I still managed to roll out of bed at 7am on Sunday morning, and since I was awake anyway, I figured I might as well go for a run! I decided on 8 miles for the morning: one mile more than my debacle of an attempt a few weeks ago. I loaded up my handheld with Cytomax and a Gu, laced up my Mizuno Evo Cursoris, and trudged out the door, hoping for the best.

I already knew that I wasn’t going to be breaking any speed records for the morning: wine, late nights and lack of sleep does not exactly make me a champion runner! I told myself I could take a minute or two walking break every mile, and that I would be happy with covering the distance.

But you know what? After the aches and pains of the first mile settled, I found my groove and started enjoying myself again! Sure, I was plodding along at a snail’s pace, but I was totally loving the run and being outside. I was listening to NPR’s “Wait, Wait….Don’t Tell Me,” and found myself hysterically laughing out loud like a loon. I’m sure other runners on the trail thought I was nuts, but I was just happy to be having so much fun! In the end, I covered my 8 miles in 1 hour 26 minutes. Yes, incredibly slow, but that included all my walk breaks, so I was surprisingly content with it.

Does anyone else wear mismatched socks? According to IG, this may be just a “me thing!”

I had debated on the shoes beforehand, but had settled on my Evo Cursoris. I bought them a few months ago and am falling more in love with them by the day. They are so lightweight that I truly feel like I have nothing on my feet! However, they are zero drop and I have never run so far in zero drop shoes. I waffled between the Cursoris and my Brooks Pure Cadence, but had chosen the Evo’s if only because I still don’t know which shoes I’ll wear for race day in a few weeks. Fortunately, my legs felt great and I have zero soreness today, so the Evo’s may have been a good choice. However, I’m still not sure I can handle 13.1 miles in them, so we’ll see how the coming weeks pan out!

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Did you run this weekend? Any run stories to share?