Long run

I have lots to write, but zero energy. I ran for 2h30m (total elapsed time was a bit longer with a few breaks for water, stretching, and bathroom). I hope that puts the distance up around the 17-18mi range; I'm not going to GMap it, but using my watch I must have run 2m+ past the parking lot where I turned around during my 15 miler on Monday. That would put it at 19mi, but then I cut off the last mile-ish by walking back from the Art Museum. So I'm still falling short of the mileage assigned in this training plan, but my long run is getting longer and my legs are surviving. Deo volente, I will actually do this!

I started out from Pottruck with Blitzer. He set the pace up W River Drive and all the way to the start of the Wissahickon. The pace was slower than I usually run it, but a slow start was good--I always go out too quickly and then fade late in the run. At Ridge Ave he turned back towards Center City and I went up the trail. It's AMAZING. I'd never gone more than a mile or two in, but this time I went for a solid 45 minute run. Once you make that left at the Lincoln/Forbidden Dr parking lot, you really feel like you're out in the wilderness--no sounds, no cars, just a dirt road, a gurgling stream, a few runners, bikers, and horses (I saw one today!). The picture above is a satellite photo from near where I turned around. I was telling Blitzer how I almost went to Cornell for graduate school and that I missed the wilderness, but some approximation of wilderness has been right under my nose for four years!

The run back was rough. I stopped at the gas station next to Kelly Dr at 1h50m to get a Gatorade, drank it too quickly and quickly cramped up. I kept running and made it to the Art Museum, but then was truly pooped, so I just walked it back to Chestnut.

Total mileage this week (OK, it's skewed because last week's long run got bumped to Monday but still... using an estimate--conservative!-- of today's mileage): 15+4+0+(4+10)+3+10+17=63!