The long way home....

Long runs are good and bad.

The good is burning 1400 calories. It justifies beer, pancakes and pizza. You don't feel so guilty about Saturday night margaritas and buffalo wings.

The bad is that it is long. You best be dedicated to it. If you start to fade at the halfway mark, you are kind of screwed. You need to prepare yourself for bathroom breaks and hydration. Considering that most of 'long' runs were all over 3-5 miles - when I was started to embark on double digit miles these were the things I had to consider.

Sunday's run was 10.2 miles if you go by Google Maps or Map My Run. If you listen to Rob, it was 9.38. Why the difference? Uh, my long runs seem to always be marred by weirdness. Last week, it was Rob behaving badly. This week, the 40 mph winds were not very helpful to my time. Sometimes, i had a very nice tailwind on my way out. For the most part, it was a cross wind. As I inched closer to my half way mark, I saw a tiny Yorkie Terrier jogging along the side of the road. I waitied to see someone chase after him - but no. I walked over to him, and he tucked his tail down and allowed me to scoop him up. He wore a red harness and tied to that was yellow caution tape - which I figured was used to tie him up. I walked with him for probably a half mile before I found someone outside. I asked if he knew the dog. No luck. After a few minutes, he decided he would take the dog into his house and call the dog officer. I was so thankful. 1) I was in the middle of my long run 2) I would have to walk home with the pooch for 4 miles and 3) I have 2 dogs and my house would be in upset. Not the way I wanted to spend Mother's Day.

So I was off again. But according to Rob, I had paused my workout but not moved when in fact - I was about 1/2 mile off course. I tried running a little bit longer to make up for the detour. The way back up the beach was brutal. Nothing like being sandblasted at 40mph. There were times I felt that I was barely moving forward. The wind would fill my lungs and I'd have cough to catch my breath. And now Rob was telling me I was 1/2 mile behind. My 10 mile run was clocking in at barely 9.5. Well crap. I knew I ran a little over 10 miles going by Google Maps and Map My Run. Rob would not be swayed. I toyed with the idea of running a loop around my house to get in those freaking last feet. Someone once told me that on long runs you cannot run past your start. It is demoralizing and certainly takes any wind you have left out of your sails. This is very true. My legs were telling me I had already done enough. There was no way I could squeak out another .60 miles.

So - my time according to Rob was 9.38 miles running a 11:37 min mile for a total of 1:49:05. According to my pace calculator it was a 10:41 min mile. I am sure I lie somewhere in-between.

Long Way Home - Supertramp