9 Mile Saturday and route planning

Happy Hump Day!

Getting back into the "double digits" of running can be super exciting and pretty daunting.  I try to plan my long distance runs for Saturday mornings so I usually spend my Friday nights with a decent amount of carbohydrates and a few bottles of water dreading the miles to come.  This Friday I headed to my sister and her fiances house to eat some Chinese and do some wedding planning.  Maybe not the best "pre run dinner" but it could be worst right?  I decided to turn down the wine in exchange for some water and went to bed nice and early. 

Saturday was 9 miles... my last single digit run.  Because of the severe cold windy temperatures all week, I spend Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday doing my maintenance run (5 miles) and speed workouts (3 miles) on the treadmill at the gym.  By the time Saturday rolled around... I knew there was no way in hell I was going to be able to run 9 miles on the treadmill.  

23 degrees and 15 mph winds... better bundle up!  Olive and I headed out at about 9:30 am after a bowl of Granola and vanilla soy milk, some route planning, and a serious pep talk.  

If you are like me... you dont like to run a step more than you planned for the day and you want the start and end to be your house.  To make sure I don't "over exert myself"  I use the USA Track and Field Association website (you can find it here) to map out my routes ahead of time. 

You can create any route you want and it will give you the distance.  It is a great tool for planning out your runs ahead of time, or measuring out your run on the days you forgot your Garmin.

I ran the big loop around River Road, swung by the downtown area, and then looped back to create my 9 mile run on Saturday. 

I was amazed how good my run felt on Saturday- probably because of my speed workouts on the treadmill and maybe because of my Chinese food dinner.  The first mile or two I am always a little doubtful, but when everything warmed up around mile 4, I felt great.  Olive and I were cruising around town when I noticed she was acting a little funny with her back leg.  Because of the residual ice melt on the roads and acting funny on that leg, I called Thatcher to pick her up at around mile 5.5.  I felt naked running without my companion, but I picked up speed when I didn't have to fight her every time she saw a squirrel.

 

I ended up running my 9 miles in just over an hour and twenty four minutes which made me VERY happy.  The route I chose was very very hilly so I was amazed I was able to keep my miles under 10 minutes (some even around 8!) When I got back I was dripping in sweat yet my skin looked purple because of the frosty windy conditions... maybe a shopping trip for some thicker running pants is in my future :)

After my run I decided to try and stay active so my muscles didn't cramp up on me.  I joined a few friends on an ice/skating hockey adventure at the local pond in town.  The boys played a little too rough and looked quite skeptical when I showed up with my figure skates with hot pink covers.  So I decided to just skate around and enjoy a beverage or two.  

Cider Boozey Heaven <3

I woke up Sunday morning feeling just a little sore.  I headed out for my 10 am riding lesson, showered, and grabbed Olive and met a friend for a Sunday afternoon hike to enjoy the sunshine and keep my legs moving.  A nice ride, a chilly hike, some good conversation and coffee, and a family dinner at my parents house brought the weekend to a close.

Friends, family, running, riding, skating, cider, and a home cooked meal you didnt have to make.....

Another good weekend :)