Sixteen Miles

Stillwater Bubble. The softball guys start at 10:00, and a 16-mile run
takes 2 hours and 40 minutes, so I have to be there no later than 7:20.
And I really need to add another 20 minutes for bathroom breaks and such, plus I like to be done a half hour before the softball guys swing the first bat, so I showed up at 6:30.

Anyway I ran for 2:41:15, no walking. Assuming a pace of 10:00 min/mile, that’s 16+ miles. I did measure the pace once at 9:20, by timing one lap, but that was early in the run and I’m sure that I slowed down in the last third of the run. I felt tired in the beginning; in mile two my legs just felt weary and I wondered if I would have to walk some of the time. But somewhere around mile eight I got my juice back and had no problem from then on.

I took water every 20 minutes and a Clif Shot gel packet (w caffeine) every 40. I stopped the watch for water, gel, and a bathroom break, which is cheating a little because the watch doesn’t stop in a race, but in a race I can keep walking while taking water and gel and here I couldn’t. I think the watch was off for about 16 minutes in total, so the overall elapsed time was nearly three hours.  16 miles is about 90 laps of the Bubble, which means about 360 corners. 

No pains, no strain! Even the hamstring ache that bothered me Sunday was very subdued today. I’m doing my hamstring curls now. It’s a masterpiece!


Sunshine experimented with gluten-free pie.  Best chocolate pie I ever ate.  And it's not just for breakfast, either.