Sunday Long Run

So yesterday was my first "long" run so far of the training program... it was a 10-miler.
Before yesterday my longest run within the past year had been 8 miles, so I was a little unsure as to whether I was up for it or not.

Anyways, I woke up yesterday morning and it was pretty gray outside, had rained the night before, and it was cool out... the perfect running weather. So, I took it as a sign that I actually needed to suck it up and do the 10 miles even though I was dreading it.

One problem: I currently do not have Internet in my apartment so I didn't really have a means to pre-measure a 10-mile run and I was relying on my stopwatch for a rough estimate. I figured my long-run pace was about a 10-minute-mile, as I usually do shorter runs at about 8:30.

So... I set out to do a 2.5 by 2.5-mile square through the Montreal Plateau.

I trained in this area a lot last summer for the half-marathon, but I couldn't remember what distance along Jean-Talon I was supposed to run to make it a 10-mile loop.... long story short, I ended up doing 11 miles instead and now I'm very very sore. But.... since my run was 1 hour and 40 minutes, the good news is: I'm faster than I thought 'cause I ended up doing those 11 miles at about a 9:05 pace.

You always hear about runners "getting into the zone" when they go for long distances, a period of time where they just get into this steady rhythm and can't even hear the music in their headphones anymore and they just feel like they can run forever. I have to say, there really is something to be said for that. Yesterday, coming down Pie IX when I knew I was past the half-way mark, I could see the giant arm of the olympic stadium in the distance and I got this strong feeling of nostalgia for last year, running the half-marathon, where the stadium was the finish line, and I felt like I could do anything. Like I could run forever.

The feeling DID fade, however, in the last 2-mile stretch (like I said, I went a mile further than planned though so I probably wasn't quite ready...). I have to say though, I still had about a 10-minute walk home, uphill, to my apartment when my run was finished, and I think that was probably the most painful part of my day. I got home, ran ice cold water into my bathtub, and sat in it in all of my clothes with a red velvet cupcake in one hand and a giant glass of ice water in the other. That was the best tasting cupcake I've ever eaten.