Finally!

I finally had a long run that didn't completely suck. It's about damn time! I was really starting to wonder if I would have to, yet again, downgrade to the half distance. I was just struggling so much with my workouts, especially the long runs. Of course, if I look carefully at the differences between yesterday's 12-mile run and the last couple of long runs there are a lot of things that helped contribute to my success. Or rather, a lot of things that made the others much harder. Like running at 1pm when it's 85 degrees and humid on a trail that has very little shade. Or staying out too late the night before, with a bit of drinking, so that I'm already dehydrated and tired. So perhaps being smarter about things is really the key. I'm just glad for the result. Next weekend is a fall-back week so only 6 miles (piece of cake!). Then up to 14. Let's hope I have an equally satisfying experience then.