9 Miles... and Donuts

Today I set a PR for distance. That's kind of a cool thing, even if I set a new PR almost every week as I train for 13.1. Katy kept the kids so I could run outdoors in the afternoon.

My route was east on Bethany, north on Malone, west on Exchange, south on Cedar, east on McDermott, south on Fountain Gate, south on Allen Heights, east on Bethany, and through the neighborhood to Katy's house. Or you can just look at the map. I've misplaced my Garmin (trying to decide how long to keep looking before I buy another) so I'm reliant on the MapMyRun app. It's ok, but it didn't start recording my run until I was about 0.3 miles into the run (which I didn't know until I looked at the run afterward), so I kept running until the voice told me I hit 9 miles... and therefore I ran about 9.3. It also miscalculated my pace. I'm pretty sure the time was right, just at 1:40, and with an actual distance of 9.3 miles, that's about 10:45 per mile. I briefly considered not even timing this run in an effort to force myself to just relax and take it easy. I can't do it. I have to keep track of the stats.

The first mile hurt, my knees felt stiff. I ran past a gallon-sized ziplock bag that contained 3 glazed donut holes. Yummy! But as usual, by the time I hit mile 2 I was feeling better. I don't really like the route I took- a lot more traffic than I'd like to deal with, a lot more crossing of major streets, and some areas without sidewalks. I much prefer the areas in west Allen that I've been running. I'd love to find some more trails. I ran almost to Exchange & 75 where I caught part of the 5k route that I've done before. It's a pretty awesome feeling to run the end of that (when I've never been able to run it as part of a 5k) and know that I'm going strong and still have 5 miles to get home. I ate my snack of cherry Sport Beans at mile 5- my favorite flavor. Miles 4-6 were my favorite. Somewhere between miles 5 and 6 I ran past Max's Donuts. Wow! I haven't been there in forever. Sounds delicious. Then came Sonic. A Diet Dr. Pepper with vanilla sounds heavenly right now. Oh well, take a swig of water instead. Despite my thoughts of food on this run, I don't like to smell food while running. Gross.

I managed to take an ice bath, despite another episode of Raynaud's. I wore gloves for most of the run, but it happened about 20 minutes after I quit running (and before the ice bath). That's 2 episodes in one day. Hmmmm....