Vacation 16

I had such an awesome weekend that I hardly know where to start!  

Good Times.

Good People.

Good Food.

Good RUN!

Can I just hit "rewind" next Friday?

On Friday, we packed up the camper and headed north to Wisconsin for our Family Reunion.  The first night is always the best party... and there I was drinking water, hydrating for my long run on Saturday morning.  After visiting until about 10:30 pm, I rallied the kiddos into the camper, popped in the ear plugs, and crashed for the night.

This trail covers over
1000 miles, giving an
awesome scenic tour of
the state of Wisconsin.

At 5am, my alarm chirped and I snuck out of the camper (not exactly an easy feat).  I had slept in my run clothes, so all I had to do was slip in my shoes and head to the bathroom.  Fellow blogger Rachel (visit her blog here) lived in our "vacation town," so we arranged for her to pick me up.  We immediately hit it off, chatting away as we drove to catch the Ice Age Trail in Janesville, WI.

The morning was beautiful... absolute IDEAL running weather.  High 50's at dawn, but the sun (and run!) warmed us quickly. Our long run goal was 15 miles.  I was a little nervous for the long run since I hadn't run over 13 miles since the Illinois Half at the end of April.  I knew I could go the distance, but not sure what pace I could hold... and now here I was, running with someone else.  I always worry about being the "slow poke" on a run!

The Ice Age Trail was super pretty, running along water, through parks, some marsh areas, a little residential... a nice mix that made for a neat run!  The trail was wide pavement with mile markers, so I timed our splits with my stopwatch.  Rachel and I chatted away for the first 4 miles (averaging about a 10:30 pace), and then we got down to business.  Both falling quiet, we naturally picked up the pace a bit.  Even with one ear plugged in to the ipod, I could hear our steps in unison.

The trail had a lot of splits that were connections for subdivisions. We accidentally picked up a couple dead-ends, giving us some bonus mileage.  About 8 miles out, we made the turnaround and headed back.  I managed to clock several of our mile splits on the way back and we were holding a consistent 10 minute pace.  I was pleasantly surprised with that!

For mid-run fuel, I tried out the Sport Beans for the first time (fruit punch flavor).  They tasted good (really good!), but like GU Chomps, I'm not a fan of the chewing to get them down.  So by mile 11, I reverted back to GU gels, but tried out the Jet Blackberry flavor this time (not my favorite, but good).  I also gave nuun a trial run... popped one tablet in my water bottle at the start.  The lemon-lime flavor was okay, but the fizziness made me slightly burby.  But I did run cramp-free, which I've been having problems with lately... so I'll give nuun another run.

Ten miles in and I was working (my legs told me so), but cardio-wise, I felt great!  And Rachel... she was giving every biker and runner a cheery "good morning" that we passed, so I knew she was doing well too!  Rachel is the perfect running partner for me. I just wished she lived closer... but now I'll look forward to our next camping trip in Edgerton so I can run with her again!

The last half-mile, we slowed to a jog for a nice cooldown.

16+ miles in 2:42, averaging a 10:07 pace

That's SIXTEEN miles on the books, my friends!

Neither of us run with a Garmin so exact mileage is questionable, but based on the mile markers and our little detours, I'm positive we went a little over 16, making it my longest run ever!  It was exactly the confidence run that I needed to complete week 3 of marathon training.  I was kinda floating on a cloud the rest of the day.  

I quickly showered and changed out of "running gear"

and joined my big fabulous family for our Saturday Luau!