Today's run was really challenging. We stayed at a cattle ranch where my wife's brother works so I thought I'd take advantage of new scenery and do a country run.
I hadn't run since last Saturday in the name of recovery (probably a mistake) and I decided to go a mile longer than last time (probably another big mistake).
We stayed in their house 6 miles from the highway so I decided to run to the highway and back.
The scenery was beautiful--lot's of deer, buffalo, antelope, etc (mostly all behind fences). The course was very hilly so I thought I was getting an even mix up ups and downs. Upon looking at the course after the fact with my Nike running app, it turns out that it trends downhill going toward the highway so on the way back it was a lot tougher.
I brought water mixed with a supplement so I stayed hydrated. The frustrating thing was the last couple of miles. My legs really began to hurt and were begging me to stop. Couldn't really, though, because I DID need to get back to the house at least. I finished the course but it was brutal. Definitely not feeling the same fuzziness that I did after last week's run.
I had the stamina to finish out strong from a heart rate and aerobic perspective... it's just that my legs and joints were shooting out pain. I guess I still haven't developed the kind of strength I need to go those kind of distances. I need to pace myself.
I am golden up to about 10 miles so I think for the next few weeks I'm going to train in the single digits. I could NOT have finished a half marathon today even though I had the bright idea to push it to 13.1 after the halfway point on my planned 12 miler when I was feeling great. The pain, however, had me limping in after 12 miles.
It turns out that the father and son campout has been scheduled for next Saturday so I won't be running the Blackfoot half. After today's run I wouldn't attempt a half marathon until I was reasonably confident that my legs would see me through to the end.
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