Week 5, Day 4

Distance: 10 miles

Total for the week: 21 miles

Overall total so far: 88 miles

Notes: So much to write about this run. It was our first double-digit mileage. Wow—the longest distance I've ever run. It's pretty cool to be able to say I ran ten miles. I even paused the workout on the iPod so I could officially "end" it in the car with it plugged in. Paula Radcliffe congratulated us on our longest workout so far. That's cool, even if I don't know who she is.

We ran it along the Erie Canal in the villages east of the city. A good portion of the marathon route follows the canal, so we figured it would be good to check it out. It was fairly nice scenery, but it's actually harder on my knees than city streets, because it's all asphalt with no level grass to retreat onto when the banging starts to get to you.

It was also my first time trying a few hydration and energy tricks. I bought a belt with a water bottle and hose built in. I can't stand holding bottles in my hand as I run, and bothering to drive out and stash water along the route... yeah, I just don't have that in me, on so many levels. But it's to the point where we definitely need to hydrate during the long runs, not just before and after. It worked out really well; wearing a belt took a bit of getting used to, but it's definitely a trade I'll make. We also tried gels for the first time. The verdict was that they were a nice boost, but that one of the two flavors we tried was awful. It's something we'll experiment with. Today we used PowerBar gels, but there are several other brands we can try.

Oh, and there's also this (click to enlarge):



And this:



That was pretty cool. The 100 miles includes a handful of short runs that came before the official training began.

Weekly recap coming tomorrow, after my sermon.