Last weeks 16 miler on the canal was less than stellar. It actually left me second guessing my ability to meet my January goal. Don't get me wrong I still turned in a great time, but my body and mind felt pretty beat up. All week I thought about what I wanted to run this weekend. Originally, I had 18 miles, but honestly I didn't think I was ready. I knew that I needed to go another 16 before I increased again. Since this was my second attempt at 16, I thought I'd add another level of difficulty to it....hills! Obviously I headed back out to DC Ranch for a challenging run. I headed out to DC Ranch a little earlier, knowing that there were some freeway closures and I was gonna plant some water on the course. By the time I got up to the Marketplace and did some light stretching, I ended up hitting the road around 5:50am. The weather according to my car was 56 degrees. Chilly but not freezing, it felt great. Again like last week I decided to break the run into bite size chunks. The first 5 were pretty much downhill, and felt great. I fell into a great stride that felt comfortable. I stopped to drink some Cytomax and headed through Westworld. Now starts the uphill climb. I reminded myself that it is all mental, so I kept a close eye on my pace doing my best to stay in the 8:30-8:45 pace. Around mile 6.5 a guy ran up next to me. I came to find out later his name was Dave. After giving the usual "guy nod", I could tell he wanted more. I took out one earbud and said, "hi". He began to tell me that he had noticed me on the way down Thompson Peak and said that I looked like I was in great stride making great pace. We continued to have a conversation about running (length I was running this morning, training etc). He said that he thought he has seen me up here before. Looking down I noticed that we were clipping along at a 8:15 pace uphill having a conversation....made me realize I was in better shape than I thought. Towards the top of 94th, he said he was gonna veer off, and we shook hands. Thanks Dave, for providing me some much needed company up that hill. Things continued to feel great. I had some more Cytomax, filled up my fuelbelt with the water I planted, and headed up F'U Hill. Again, the mindset was to stay in the 8:30-8:45 pace as best as possible. Reaching the top I decided to cut into a school for some flat mileage. Coming back out, I knew I could finish the next leg back to start strong. Once back at where I started my run at 5:50am, I noticed I was at aprox 11 miles, so I did a GU and headed back out the same course. Again, I picked up some time with more downhill work. I was beginning to feel a bit tired at the turnaround, mile 13 (Union Hills). However, all in all, I was not bonking, and knew I had a strong finish in me. This was a vast improvement over last weeks run around this point. Headed back up F'U Hill one last time, and I could feel it in my legs. My pace slowed to a 9-9:15 and I couldn't push much harder. Again, I headed into the school for some flat land. Coming out of the school, I was at around 14.5 miles. I could mentally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I kicked it into high gear and finished the last mile and a half at a 8:30 or better pace. When all was said and done, my total time was 1 second faster than last week and my pace was exactly the same (8:40). I went the same mileage on a harder course and turned in a very respectable time. Most important was the fact that I mentally and physically felt better this morning....a huge mental win for me this week! I think I'm ready for 18. Activity
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