Thoughts from the Road - #2711

I am recovering from my longest and farthest run to date. I was pleased to grab a couple of hours of daylight when the shoulders of the roadways were not a total mess. I did have to full out stop, a half dozen times, by climbing onto the large mound of snow and ice when the shoulders were most narrow. That was for the passing of oncoming buses and tractor trailers that really had no room to yield on Fox Hill Road.

I ran abut 9 miles of the Nittany Valley Half Marathon route in reverse. I then turned on to Big Hollow Rd which had more traffic on it than I expected. From where it comes out near Jim's work I turned for home via Orchard Rd through Houserville and started up Penn Hills before Jim caught up to me on one of the most lethal hills.

I feel now like I did last summer when I completed my first 10 miler. I feel accomplished but pretty beat up. It was not an easy run at any point along the way. I had moderately bad cramps the whole time and the added weight of the 24 oz of water in the CamelBak seemed to really slow me down. I carried extra water because of the extra distance. How much was left when Jim picked me up after 15 miles? sssslllluuuurrrP - None. I drank every bit as I sweated my way along in the above freezing temperatures.

I ate 1/2 a peeled banana from a snack baggie at about mile 9 and downed a PB&J the moment I got home. I am about to have another 8oz of Nuun flavored water because I am feeling like I am still crashing. Cucumber Mint - yum!

I really loved seeing the 3 red tailed hawks along the road near the airport. A jet and a plane took off i the amount of time I took to run through the area. I wished it had been the day the president came. It would have been cool to see Air Force One as a ran by.

Do I feel like I could accomplish a marathon distance? No way. I am feeling like a nap. I will rest a bit while I know Arron is flying back over the Atlantic Ocean, scheduled to get home about 8 PM tonight.  I hope his travels go well and we can look forward to hearing about his time in London. This week is starting out pretty well.