My 16 Mile Run Was A Bit Short...

Today, in my quest to conquer my first marathon, I had scheduled a 16 mile run. My plan is one I took from Breakaway Running and it seemed doable, so that has been my guide. So I was prepared for this to be my longest run to date, and I had the perfect route planned.

Here in Memphis, we have what is called the "Memphis Greenline" at Shelby Farms. Basically, it is an old railroad track that they redid and made it into a walking/biking path. I am not sure what the total mileage is on the entire Greenline, but I had a straight shot of 6.6 miles one way, then turned around for another 6.6 miles. It is pretty awesome too. You run through the woods, over the Wolf River and it is mostly shaded, so it made for the perfect place to do my long runs. My plan was to do the 13 miles and then do another 3 on the same route.

Well, it didn't happen. I only made it 13.4 miles. I could think of a lot of excuses, but the main thing for me was not the right nutrition. I only had a small bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast and that was it. After breakfast, I went to my oldest boys football game, came home and then went to the Greenline. So that whole day I had one little bowl of cereal and the Gatorade I brought in my fuel belt.

I know better than to do that too. The last 2 miles of my run was a struggle. My best half marathon is 1:55, and today I finished my total run in about 2:40, so I know I can do better. Thankfully I still have some time to prepare for this race, cause right now I would not even come close to hitting my goal.

For e to be so excited about going for my run, I was totally unprepared!

Thanks for Reading!