Not last weekend, but the weekend before, I ran 7 miles. It was not an easy 7 miles, but I was tired of starting over again with 5 miles. I just wanted to push myself and try for it.
Because I wasn’t entirely sure that I’d be able to do all 7 miles, I planned a route that would keep me close to home. A series of laps, really. Now, doing laps has its own challenge. The fact that I can bail makes it easier to give into the temptation to actually do it. So I would be working on my mental muscles as well as getting in some endurance training.
My plan was to start with the nearly 2 mile lap that I’ve mapped out. First in one direction, and then the reverse. After those 4 miles were complete, I’d switch over to a 1 mile loop and do that once in each direction. Finally, I’d do the half mile loop once in each direction for a grand total of 7 miles.
I figured doing the longer laps first would help keep me going, because I’d be over halfway done when I finished those two. I was partly right. The problem was that those laps took so long it was a bit demoralizing. I was not running at a very fast pace, even for me. But my body felt good and my mind was strong, so I made it to the 1 mile loops.
Those went much faster, but I was also more tired. I was very, very tempted to stop after the 1 mile loops. That would be 6 miles, and that’s still a good run, right? Especially when I only started running around 3:30 in the afternoon, because I wanted to wait until after my family Zoom meeting. Last time I ran before one of those, I ended up not rehydrating well, so I figured after would be better. I’m actually looking forward to the summer heat when I can run super early in the morning and get it done.
I didn’t actually complete my 2nd half mile loop. I only ran until my app told me I’d hit 7 miles, and then I walked the remaining quarter mile or so home. I went for 7 miles, but I wasn’t going to go any farther, not on this day. Though my body wasn’t feeling too bad overall.
Last weekend I was ill, so I didn’t get any running in, but this Saturday I’m going for a hike. About 10 miles, and 3200 feet of gain, an out and back to Mount Heinen. And maybe, just maybe, I’ll try for another 7 on Sunday.