Run 18 Miles, Walk 1.75 Miles and eat a Hot Banana!

Weather Report: Overcast and 61 degrees

My alarm clock was set for 5:00am and the plan was to be at Bonelli Park by 6:00am.  I had to drag myself out of bed because I was feeling really lazy!  I finally got up, got dressed and headed out the door.  My husband went along with me and rode his bike to keep me company.  This was his first time riding in Bonelli Park so he went picture crazy like I did my first time. I took advantage of him being there and made him take pictures of me too!



 

I had to drop water at a couple of locations before I got started so I ended up starting my run around 6:15am.  The goal for my run was to maintain marathon pace (9:00-9:05) and not burn myself out before I hit mile 18!  I tried to get my pace up to around 9:00 and not stay too focused on my Garmin unless I really felt like I was slowing down.

Mile 1: 8:55
Mile 2: 8:59
Mile 3: 8:57
Mile 4: 8:59
Mile 5: 8:46
Mile 6: 8:38

The sun made it's way out by mile six but the temperature was still tolerable. I changed my route around a little bit and boy was that a mistake.  There was some type of car show going on and there was lots of traffic, police and blocked crosswalks to say the least!  I had to pick up my pace to get the heck out there!

Mile 7: 8:59
Mile 8: 8:55
Mile 9: 8:55
Mile 10: 9:01

Mile 11: 8:53
Mile 12: 8:49
Mile 13: 8:52
Mile 14: 8:44
Mile 15: 8:38
Mile 16: 8:50

Mile 16...I felt this one!

Mile 17 and counting...

Mile 17: 8:09
Mile 18: 8:24 (uphill...ouch!)

Mile 18 never looked so good!

This is what I ran..

This is what I walked...

and this is what I felt like after running 18 Miles!

After running 18 miles, I had to walk 1.75 miles back to the car.  When I mapped the run out, Shawna and I were trying to avoid the hills of Bonelli Park that we hit in the very end. I guess I really over estimated that one! I was starving to death by the time I made it back to the car!  My husband had gone ahead of me to get his bike hooked on the bike rack of the car and he mentioned that he had brought a bagel with him.  I thought about that bagel all the way back to the car but when I finally made it back to the car he told me that he ate it and saved me nothing! Zero..nada!! I was a little irritated! The only thing in the car for me to eat was a left over hot banana from the morning, but I was so hungry that I had to eat it!

A hot banana never tasted so good!

I had a great week!  I was able to get 37 miles in and I felt really good about my long run.  This week I will be toning the miles down a bit and recovering! The Disneyland Half Marathon is just 20 days away!  I am excited about it and hoping for a PR!  I need one right about now!!

Long Training Run Number One: 10.16 Miles

Weather Report: Heavy Drizzle and 57-61 degrees.

The cars give you a good idea of how heavy the drizzle was!

Today was the first long training run for Shawna and I as we set off in our quest to run a marathon in under four hours.  We chose Bonelli Park as our first meeting location since I had never ran there before and wanted to try it. We decided that we would take it easy on the first run, evaluate our progress, and then make some decisions about future runs. We met up at the Park and Ride at 7:00am and started on our quest to Break Four Hours or Bust!

This was the first time that Shawna and I had ever ran together. We got a feel for each others running styles and had some great conversation. We talked about everything from work to losing toe nails! The scenery in Bonelli Park is great and I was taking it all in as a first timer.  I was probably getting on Shawna's nerves because I kept stopping and taking pictures of everything!

Check out the view of Raging Waters!

Our route took us through San Dimas, La Verne and Pomona.   We saw some interesting things along the way..lots of rabbits, and even a coyote!  The coyote scared me a little bit because he was looking right at us!! I didn't want to be his breakfast! By the time we hit Mile 3 the drizzle had pretty much come to a stop but the weather was still great...no sun and still cool.

Downtown LaVerne

I have to carry my own water with me at all times but Shawna doesn't like anything attached to her while she runs so we made some water stops. She knew all of the places to stop and get water and some of her stops were a little tempting! Those glazed donuts sure looked and smelled good!!




Miss Donuts and Bagel?? Come on Shawna!



This place sure smelled good but we were just there for water!

The first six miles went by really quickly!  I was amazed at how the time passes when you have a running buddy. We talked the entire time, except when we hit the hills (or "inclines" as Shawna likes to call them) that Shawna forgot to tell me about! I am used to running solo so there are days where I constantly stare at my Garmin praying that the run will end soon! Shawna's Garmin decided to malfunction on this run so we used mine to track our progress. We made another water stop at Norm's Hangar which had a drinking fountain and bathrooms too.  

We left Norm's Hangar at Mile 6.5, and we hit some hills with gradual inclines on the way back. We were still feeling pretty good and the last four miles were our best in spite of the hills, I mean inclines, that Shawna failed to mention!  We ran through an RV Park/Resort and then headed on back through some winding roads.

Another great view from Bonelli Park on the way back.

We decided to call it quits at Mile 10.16 and headed back to the Park and Ride.  It was kind of nice to see the Exit sign after a ten mile run.  I hadn't ran ten miles in a while due to the issues that I have been having with my left leg (shin splint and ITBS).  I wasn' t feeling any pain so that was a really positive thing for me!!

10.16 Miles Done!!

I headed home and stopped at Starbucks to get some of my favorite oatmeal. I made sure that I iced my leg as soon as I got home to avoid any setbacks.

I love this stuff!!

Thank God for ice! It works miracles!!

We averaged about a 10:30 pace for the first six miles and picked it up during the last four miles. Our pace for the entire run was 10:09.  We decided that on our next long run we would shoot for under 10:00. I like the challenge and I know that Shawna is down for it too!

GARMIN STATS...WOW 960 Calories burned!

10.16 miles at a 10:09 Pace

Since it was Father's Day, we ended our day with dinner at Buca di Beppo! 

This morning I realized that I must have had a great workout because my hips and thighs are sore!  I love being sore....it's a true sign of progress and hard work paying off. I even toughed it out and went to my Spin Class in spite of the pain :)