Long run

I could have saved today's 10 miles for later in the afternoon, but per usual my body woke up at 4am something and I decided not to waste time getting out the door. This worked out well because the sidewalks were all jammed up with snow, but the road was clear. Running on the road in the middle of the afternoon would be a nonstarter, but in the wee hours of the morning I can see the very very little on coming traffic and have more secure footing. It might sound wild, but I feel safer running on the road in the morning like this than risking twisting an ankle on the half plowed sidewalks in the afternoon. I did duck into a neighborhood at one point for about a block, but otherwise just made sure my headlamp was bright and my light vest was blinking. 

I set my target long run pace at 7:54. This is a bit faster than my goal pace calls for but wanted it felt good and I gave myself leeway considering the ambitious pace setting and the ground conditions. I found it challenging to settle into a real rhythm and found myself checking my watch more than I would have liked. I think having the goal pace kept me from relaxing into the run even though I knew I could accomplish it. The solution may be just to have mile or half mile announcements and turn off the pace information. I don't know.

By the end I felt a bit wiped out, and did not go back to sleep right away like I normally would. I should have and by the time I was done listening to a short podcast I did laydown for a bit with just a touch of sleep before needed to get going with the day again. A restorative nap later in the afternoon kept me from completely crashing out today. I am thankful for a slow easy limited responsibility kind of day.

Hard to believe it's only been three weeks of training. I guess coming off the 50 day run streak makes it feel like I've been at it longer than usual. 

Onward.