So Friday I decided to take a personal day from work to run Saturday's long run. I knew I was having Parker's first birthday party on Sunday and would have a lot of preparation to do on Saturday. We decided to have a joint birthday party with his cousin, Russ. They were born 2 days apart. My in-laws are amazing party planners so I was excited to plan a party with them. However, a good party comes with lots of prep. Therefore, I thought it best to run Friday instead of Saturday (lately I've been worthless after my long runs).
Soooo I have been sick of my "go to" routes that I've been using for my long runs. I am such a head case when it comes to knowing how many hills I have to run or when I know exactly what's coming. I'd rather run something I've never run before. I thought about driving to White Clay Creek to run, but have never been there so was worried about the terrain. Instead, I looked up some routes on mapmyrun.com. I found a 14.8 and decided it would be easy enough to add .2 at the end. So I dropped Parker off at my mom's, planted a water bottle along with some Gatorade chews and set out on my new route feeling quite excited. Around mile 8 I started to feel thirsty which was perfect because that's right around where I had planted my water and chews. I stopped drank, ate and stretched my achilles a little then hit the road again. I had about 4 miles left and I was dying of thirst - this has never happened to me before. It was not fun. My mouth was ridiculously dry. All I could think about was where I could possibly go to get some water. I was also beginning to calculate the remainder of my route (by this point I was at a familiar distance from home) and did not think the rest of the way home would equal 4 more miles - maybe be 3 if I was lucky. I continued on my run quickly remembering a friend who lives on the road I was getting ready to turn down. I texted her to see if she was home. She didn't get back to me so I passed her house. I began debating going straight home (another mile) instead of the round about way (2.5 more miles) when she texted me she was home! WOOHOO! I was ecstatic. I practically sprinted there - lol. This actually tacked on about a half a mile. I chugged a bottle of water while we chatted for a bit and set back out. I continued running and quickly grew thirsty again. I had to stop and walk. It was crazy and annoying. I didn't understand where it was coming from. Maybe I didn't eat or drink enough the day before....I dunno. I began running again and as I approached my house I realized I would have to tack on another half mile. I did it and ended up averaging 9:38 miles which made me feel good, especially considering I had walked. However, I can not figure out why my calculations in distance continue to be wrong. Mapmyrun.com says one thing, the Runtastic app on my phone says another and my car says another. I normally use Runtastic, but I had recently run an 8 mile route suggested by a friend. She uses her car to calculate. When I ran it using Runtastic it was a half mile less. Then when I plugged it into mapmyrun.com it was still off. How do I know which is the most accurate? Does anyone have any insight/advice about this? I mean I guess it's better to run more (which seems to be what Runtastic makes me do) than less. It just drives me nuts.
Needless to say I'm driving myself nuts thinking about 16 this weekend. I just feel like I don't have it in me. In the past I have been nervous about running distances past 13.1, but I never lacked the confidence like I have been lately. Not to mention how I really liked that route and would only have to add a mile to it, but am scared since I felt so crappy the second half.
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