Sunday Long Run Day

Yesterday I rested from running, but worked my booty off cleaning the house. By the end of the day I was sore! At least the house is clean and I love that.

Today was clearly a day that I needed God's guidance from the moment I woke up. I must have missed my husband, who wasn't yet home from work. I was cranky and short tempered and not even coffee helped. It was just one of those mornings when the thought of running 18 miles alone was NOT AT ALL appealing. But I knew I had to get it done and I knew I was NOT going to flake out on my run.

After hubby came home and the baby was down for a nap, the kids settled into a movie and I took off on my run. The first 4 miles were just difficult mentally. I knew I had to get into some kind of groove or I'd never make it 18 miles. I started to feel warm at about the 2nd mile. By mile 3 I was enjoying the scenery along the canal bank and the orchards. The sky turned blue and I could hear the crowds at the sports complex yelling for the soccer players. I was finally getting into my groove. A few prayers said on the run definitely helped. I decided that I'd start slow and pick up the pace with each 4 mile segment, and then go by how I was feeling. For mile 17 I'd start to slow down and then I'd use mile 18 as a recovery.

I looked at my watch every 4 miles. Here's how the run panned out:
Miles 1-4: 38:27/ 9:36 pace
Miles 5-8: 36:22/ 9:05 pace
Miles 9-12: 34:56/ 8:43 pace
Miles 12-16: 32:57/ 8:14 pace
Mile 17: 8:38 pace
Mile 18: used as recovery at 9:48 pace
Thanks to my sweet husband who figured out my 4 mile splits for me!

As soon as I got home, I stood in the pool for 10 minutes. Mikey took this picture. I was so cold when I got out I had goose bumps.

Time to EAT! I'm starving.
TOTAL MILES: 18
WEEKLY TOTAL: 49