I had it set in my mind that I wanted to do 30k, but had no running gels on me. I googled homemade gel recipes but decided I didnt feel like experimenting this morning. So I had to wait for the grocery store to open at 8am, which was a bummer because I was ready by 7am and I knew it was just getting hotter and hotter. But, I ran in and the gels were on sale so I grabbed extra...bonus!
I decided to use 2. One vanilla Powerbar gel and one double latte caffeinated Power bar gel. I have found if I take an entire gel it makes my stomach upset so I take them half at a time. I planned to alternate between the two and take half at 6k, 12k, 18k, and 24k. I normally track my distances in miles and my pace in min/miles but the trail I love to run has markers in km.
(not a bad way to spend a morning!)
When I get out to Westwood Lake I just feel so content. I usually only get out there on Sundays when the kids arent home so I've taken to calling it my church :) The trail is beautiful, so is the lake and its my happy place. It was already 24 degrees at 8am and so I knew it was going to be a hot one. Glad I was running trails actually and not out on the road. I decided to aim for a 10 mins/mile pace due to the heat and hills. I figured I could get it done in just under 3 hrs.
The run felt good. My legs werent tired and other than a bit of chafing with my water backpack I was totally just zoned out and thinking about life and whatever popped into my head. I had a good playlist going that was a mix of upbeat songs and old favourites. When I hit 24km I took my last bit of gel and realized I was out of water. I wasnt too concerned though as I only had one lap (6km) left. It actually felt good to ditch the water backpack and feeling brave I ditched my t-shirt as well and ran the last loop in sports bra...scandalous I know :) But there was enough old fat men wandering shirtless I decided if they could do it, I could too!
I've done 24-26km 3 times over the last few months, but I havent done 30 since I was training for my full marathon 4 years ago. I remember back then it took close to 4hrs to do a run that long and was so exhausting I was beat the rest of the day. I was about 15lbs heavier at that time and didnt run nearly as much. I wanted to see what the difference was now with my new level of fitness. Well I finished my last lap at 2hrs and 56mins. I was a little shy of my 30k goal but I knew the kids had gotten home already so I didnt bother running around the parking lot just to bring it up to a round number...like you know I wanted too :)
I came in at an average pace of 9:45 which I was pleased with. These trails have some serious ups and downs too, I love that ascent/descent total :) I rushed home and peeled off my socks and had a pretty good laugh. I look like I'm wearing dirt tights! I figure that's the sign of a good trail run though :)
I spent the rest of the day busily grocery shopping, cooking and having friends over for a BBQ. I feel good. I dont feel exhausted! I'm pumped at what I can do now and the improvements in my fitness...looks like I'm going to need to sign up for another full sometime soon... :)
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