8-11-07 New RECORD!!

After the run last night, I wasn't sure what to expect today. We got up early and I ate a spoonful of peanut butter so I'd have some food in me. We were running by 6:45am - figuring we could beat the sun up, and avoid a lot of the 100+ temps, and also be done with the run for the rest of the day/weekend. I had planned on going 8 miles (this was going to be the record distance for me), so Steph and I had taken separate vehicles again so she would not have to wait around after her 4 miles for me to run another 4 miles. We separated at the 2 mile turnaround (not NEARLY as many bugs this morning), and I booted up the MP3 player and ran onward. There was nobody on the roads at the early hour - plenty of boats on the water, but nobody on the roads. I had figured on an extra 2 laps around the boat ramp area to add 1.6 miles to the full park route - this would put me at 8 miles. When I got the West Point entrance it was still not hot, the sun was still low in the sky which provided a lot of shadows - so I just made a left and continued up Hwy 29 towards Lagrange, GA. I figured I'd shoot for 10 miles. Ten miles has been kind of an 'out-there' goal. I want to get myself to 30 miles per week, with at least 10 of those on one Saturday run. I thought that if I ran for 3 more songs (averaging about 3-4 minutes each) that I would be at about a mile from the park entrance. I did that, and then found a marked road to use as my turnaround (for mapping purposes upon my return). I turned around at Langford Rd. and ran back. I passed a couple of guys on racing bicycles on Hwy 29, and a little car traffic. I did have to slow down a little on some of the more intense hills on the way back, but it was a great run.

Here's the route:
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1218552

When I was coming back to the starting point I passed a family on bicycles just unloading and heading off on a ride, and I thought how glad I was to be finishing up my run around 9am instead of starting - the sun was already up and starting to heat things up considerably.


I was famished after I returned, and the sub I had for lunch was greatly enjoyed. Doing 10 miles on a training run confirmed that with a little more time/work, I could be ready for a half-marathon. I still think I'm going to plan on running the Victory Junction Half Marathon in December of 2008.