18!

The hardest part of the 18 mile run was holding myself together every time I saw a mouse.  It must be shit-we're-running-out-of-time-before-the-cold-comes;-quick,-scamper-about-and-build-a-nest! time for them. And apparently all the great nest building material is across the path from the ideal home site location. For the right location, Manhattan real estate is worth running around for.

Unfortunately, in the exact spot I saw a mouse at the base of the reservoir alive, I then saw him smushed into the asphalt on the next go-round. I squirm thinking about it, which is what I've been doing every time I've seen a squirrel this weekend.

Anyway, the running on the run went down just fine. All the slow people were missing. My guess is that they decided on Tuesday (the workout I never am able to go to) to do an alternate, and far more interesting than park loops, route. So that left me alone to run from Columbus Circle up the west side to the reservoir, around the extended bridle train reservoir loop (which cuts around at 102nd Street and totals 2.5 miles), and then, um, that again another five(!) times, and back down the west side.  I reached the end, after following the route laid out exactly, to see that my gps watch said I had only run 17.79 miles. Nobody cared about the exact mileage, but I would like the world to know that I did not peel off to get a finish line drink or walk or stretch. I ran another long .21 miles, exactly. I was hoping the marathon gods would see and reward me on race day.

I enjoyed the alone time. Had tight shins at the start, so I started out at a glacial pace. Then, after warming up, I ran 8 minutes and walked 1 for the remainder of the time. I ran the second half faster than the first, which is what I should be doing, but is incredibly hard to pace, and ran the last mile a couple minutes per mile faster than the overall pace.

This run reinforced for me that I've come a long way toward building up the necessary endurance, and the rest is mental. For me, that means staying in the moment and not letting my mind stray to how much longer or farther I have to (or worse, how I'll feel farther along). And I've gotten good at the mental part. I break everything down into stages to mix things up. One minute of walking after 8 running. One hour until a real snack.  One and a half hours until Gatorade Formula 1 (so much more powerful than the regular kind, but should only be taken when you're prepared to sustain the sugar boost until the end). Half way through, the ipod comes out. Once through a playlist and then, and only then, can I repeat a song. Every other walk break, I drink, and once I'm into the Gatorade 1, I drink two sips of that to one of water. I don't think that getting any of this done precisely does anything other than keep my mind occupied remembering where I am on the rules, inject a little variety into one step in front of the other ad infinitum, and, most importantly, giving me faith in my own formula to finish. It's all one big special dribble before a free throw.