Not ideal, but...

On Sunday, I went for the first long run of my CCM training program under less than ideal circumstances. First, we went to a neighborhood party without kids on Saturday night, and I ended the evening with a slight case of the spins. Mrs. VTR noted the next day, "You thought you might throw up, but you passed out instead." Perfect. Next, I decided to wait until about noon to start. Temps were right around 85 degrees with 95% humidity. Again, perfect.

A couple of things got me through the run. I stuck to my plan and only drank beer and a few waters on Saturday night. Beer = carbs = good. I'm convinced that the wine that was flowing freely would have put me under. I also benefitted from a "late night" (10:00pm for us parent-types) round of sausage that someone threw on the grill. Protein, you know, it's a good muscle builder.

Anyway, I hit the road not quite sure what to expect and had a great time. I found shade along most of the route. I felt strong apart from the first 15 minutes, which I always mentally shelf as a warm up time, and I had no pain. In fact, the calf felt great. I also enjoyed the daydreaming, deep thinking and zoning out portions of the run. Long runs provide some awesome thinking time, and I realize that I missed that. The highlight of the run was beating a cyclist up our hill at about mile 9.5. The guy looked like he was in great shape, so I'm not sure what his deal was, but I'll take beating a bike uphill no matter what the circumstance.

Here are the numbers:
10.5 miles
1 hour 37 minutes
9:38 minute/mile average pace