Day 63: Seventeen Miler!

 

This week we all had to do individual long runs because of our schedules :(  Since I was pretty sure there's no way I could run 17 miles by myself (especially considering my terrible experience with my last solo long run), I recruited Kendra's brother, Kyle, to ride his bike along with me Sunday afternoon.  Essentially we went 8.5 miles north on the Rail Trail and then turned around to return the 8.5 miles to the starting point.  It was really nice to have Kyle along - he definitely kept the conversation going and was able to encourage me when the run got tough!  AND... we encountered a neat surprise on the rail trail - Casey, a fellow volleyball player, who was out for a bike ride on the Rail Trail and decided he'd join us for the last 5 miles or so.  My total time was 3 hours exactly, which is GREAT because that was my goal for the 17 miler (ya know, besides just finishing it alive)!!  And I really needed this run to boost my running confidence - the last successful run was just 14 miles, so I was extremely excited about completing this longer run!  SORTA FUN :)


Kendra's Run:


I did a road run for my 17-mile solo run.  It ended up being a complete loop from my grandma's house to my parents and back--never backtracking or turning around.  I planted water and Gatorade bottles along the way prior to starting, and I'm very thankful for making that choice.  : )  An eventual thing on the run included watching a young guy being handcuffed by a park ranger.  That was scary.  I also found out after the run that I was seen running by two different people/families.  I had no idea.  


The run felt pretty good until the last mile.  It was a gradual uphill climb that kinda did me in.  I guess it didn't kill me too much, because shortly after the run I was off to play volleyball.  : )