19 miles outside and in

I ran 19 miles yesterday for my "long" run. That was another first. Unfortunately it was a rainy, stormy morning. So I ran 13.1 miles outside, and finished the last 5.9 on the treadmill at the Y (where Jane was also running, as well as two of my marathon mates).

I started at 6:38 am. It was still dark and there was a lot of thunder and lightning. It didn't start raining until around the 6 mile mark. So I really only ran in the rain for about an hour, but it was quite the downpour for much of it. I was soaked inside and out.

I did the 13.1 in 2 hrs. 5 minutes for a 9:34 pace (according to the watch). When I got on the treadmill I just set it at 6 mph. Ok, actually I did 6.3 for a short while. So the 19 miles took a little over 3 hours in total. Not much more than the 18 miles did 2 weeks ago. I'd like to think I could do the final 7.2 in and hour and 40 minutes or so - thereby beating Oprah's time - but I am making no predictions. I was plenty beat at the end. I actually had a hard time getting off the treadmill (as in, stepping down onto the floor).

I didn't prepare quite as well for this run as I had for the last extra long run. I did run with my hand-held water bottle again, using the arbonne electrolite drink mix. Also took 2 energy gels. I think I should have done a third. I was pretty hungry when I got done. The bagel and jelly for breakfast had worn off long ago.

Anyway, I'm glad I survived 19 miles. I was oddly nervous Saturday. I had a bad feeling about it and wasn't sure what to expect. Recovery seems to be taking longer than usual, so I'm not overly looking forward to 20 miles in 2 weeks.