L-O-N-G Run - Short Report (that was the idea)

It has been awhile – I have been running (I even got a 13 mile run in with my brother while he was passing through town). I tried pilates (love them – and as Brian says, they taste good =)) and I went cross country skiing for the first time. Oh yeah, the car is fixed and we got a refund from the oil change store – life is back to normal – knock on wood – real wood too.

Here is a run down of last weekend:
Couch to 5k group on Saturday morning at Bradley Lake – logged about 2.3 miles (run/walk). They sure are progressing, they will all do great at the 5k!
Saturday on the Orting trail – logged 15.5 miles starting about 10:00 and finishing around 2:00? For a Saturday total of almost 18 miles!!!!!
Positives from the run:

*Beautiful weather – mid-50’s with sunshine.

*Smelling freshly cut grass.

*Views of Mt. Rainer.

*Chasing my shadow.
*Nothing rubbed in places that they shouldn’t (thanks to the liberal application of body glide)
*Talking to friends on speaker phone for ‘pep-talks’
*NO blisters – the insoles are working!
*Good songs on i-pod.
*Making it up and down the hills just north of the McMillian trail head (they are not big, but after the drinking foundation incident).

Negatives:
*very, very thirsty
*hot tamales are not a good idea as something to suck on.
*i-pod running playlist is not perfected. I NEED my Dixie Chicks- Goodbye Earl.
*Did I mention very, very thirsty – chapped lips.
*Walking more toward the end that running.
*Hip was starting to give out, give me some pain.
*Started to get hungry.
*Drinking fountain at McMillian trail head was not on – I could see it from the trail for awhile and when I got to it, it was not working – that sure is not a good feeling. – contact people who maintain trail and ask when they will be turned on.

What I took away from the run and what I will work on for next weekend:
*Set up friends and family for mock aid-stations about every 2-4 miles.
*Try out the camel back and a hand held water bottle on short runs this week to see what works the best.
*Find a food that I can have at the aid stations. Some options are all natural fruit leather (no weird red paste like the hot tamales), green apple slices, bread product, pretzels w/ salt.
*Layer clothes better so that I can shed a layer – or wear a visor to vent top of head.
*Wear sunscreen on my neck (I covered the face last week, just not my neck and ears.)
*Stay positive – this run has been my longest run to date and even though I had to walk some, I still made it.

Plans for this week:
Tuesday, run at the YMCA, do ab work, maybe an machine.
Wednesday, run outside with Darby, try out the CamelBack.
Thursday, run at Rogers track carrying water. Try fartlek (sp?) work
Friday, pilates class
Saturday, couch to 5k group and short run.
Sunday – LONG RUN with my support groups on the Orting Trail!

My bulbs are two inches out of the ground, how far are yours?