Team Cassy Completes 16 Miler!

WOOOHOOOOO! I just ran the furthest I have EVER run! We did it Cass! WOOT! I got up around 6:50 a.m., got the coffee going, went to my office to get a little work done while I "woke up" and got the kinks out. Got a bowl of oatmeal made and drizzled it with honey. Snagged my cup of coffee, read my Daily Bread for the day as I ate my oatmeal and drank my coffee.

It had snowed overnight, not a lot, just enough to cover the roads, about an inch or so, which I wasn't too keen on as it would make the footing bad for my run. I had somewhat of a route mapped out in my head last night. It was 21 degrees with light snow and light winds when I headed out. Tammy was going to meet me at the fire station at about mile 8.5 - 9 to give me some water. When I left, I had forgot my gels, which are nutritional supplements for energy in a little foil packet kind of the consistency of yogurt. They have carbs and electrolytes in them to help fuel your muscles. So, I altered my route a hair and went to the fire station right away, which is about a half mile from our house and called Tammy and asked her to bring the two gel packs I had forgotten with her as well, which she agreed to do.

The first 5 miles were pretty uneventful, just trying to loosen up and keep a steady pace and not get hit by any sliding vehicles driving entirely too fast on the slippery roads. Fortunately there was not a lot of traffic for the first half of my run. I did have to dodge a couple of snow plows on the street side of the road. Had I not and gone left of them toward the shoulders, I would have been sprayed with snow and salt.

The next several miles my legs were getting a little tired from running in the snow I think. I was looking forward to meeting Tammy at the firehall and was ready for a gel and some water. About mile 6.5 I was thinking about Cassy and thought that when I run the marathon, I will have on my shirt, "Team Cassy", to kind of "take her along with me." Of course, everytime I start thinking about her on my runs, I start balling like a child that got his favorite toy taken away and can't breath right until I calm myself down and get back focused again. Oh, and WXKR played "Every Breath You Take" again today by The Police. What the heck?!? How do they think that is classic ROCK?!? All I can think about is making out with Tammy in highschool or dancing with her, not kickin' some butt while running, when I hear that. I'm gonna have to call or e-mail that radio station.

So, miles 9 through 12 of the run were pretty brutal in that I was out in the countryside, Crabb Road from Temperance to Sterns for those of you who know the area, which is largely open, fields and rural lot homes, and I could definitely feel the difference in the temp and winds. This was the "hunker down and get through it" part of the run. When I got to 12 and could "see the light at the end of the tunnel" and was still feeling pretty good, other than my legs getting tired, I was pretty optimistic. Miles 12 to 14 were pretty steady and I was just kind of "in a zone" or "zoning out" as it may have been and just kinda felt like I was on auto-pilot, as I couldn't really even feel my legs moving at times. The last two miles, I still had gas in the tank, so I tried to kick it up a notch to finish strong and burn off some of the lactic acid which builds up in your muscles after prolonged or strained activity. WXKR did have some redemption in that the song I finished my run to was "Living on the Edge" by Aerosmith. Just slightly ironic.

Here are my pace per mile split times, which I am VERY happy about with respect to the consistency given I was running in snow:

1: 9:50
2: 9:58
3: 10:12
4: 10:08
5: 10:05
6: 10:09
7: 10:12
8: 10:13
9: 10:07
10: 9:59
11: 10:06
12: 9:57
13: 10:00
14: 9:49
15: 9:43
16: 8:58

Total running time: 2:39:23
Average pace per mile: 9:59

Tammy had done a 5 mile run (so Team Cassy actually did 21 miles today, since she is VERY much a part of the team) and was shoveling the driveway for me when I got back. She rocks! I finished off with a light jog down our road of about a half mile and then walked for a bit, stretched, Gatorade, and now here doing this. So, there you have it folks... 16 miles. Only 9 more long runs to go before the race.

Have a great day and weekend everyone! :-)