16 Mile Run - Saturday 7/2

Today's 16 miler took me back the same route I went last week - Four Mile Run trail. To make it 16 miles, I went a bit further up the Mount Vernon Trail than I did last week. I did this trail again for two reasons: one, I wanted a clean run without any of the confusion I had last week. I got it down perfect this week. Two, I had a feeling that DC's trails would be a little bit crowded because of Independence Day weekend, so I preferred to stay on the Virginia side.

I am now halfway through my training. My long run at the start of training was 6 miles, and I have now worked up to 16. Three of my runs per week are now longer than that first long run! Give me another 4 months, and I will add 10 miles to that number to make 26.

Today's run did not feel as good as past runs for one reason. When I started walking down the hall to get to the elevator this morning, I felt a tendon on my inner right ankle hurting with each foot strike. I had not experienced this yesterday, so it was somewhat out of the blue. However, earlier in my training I did feel a little pain at times in that spot, but it has always gone away with time and care. At the start of my run, I told myself that if I did not feel better by 5 miles, then I would turn around and call it a day. Luckily, after about 2 miles, the pain started to dissipate and I barely even felt it toward the end. Weird.

One aspect of the run that was considerably better than last week was the sports bra burns. Thanks to the Vaseline, I did not get any burns this week. Thank you to Sarah for that suggestion and Dad for the reminder.

Sometimes, you find pleasant surprises on the trail. Today, I had two. One was this beautiful oriole walking next to the Mount Vernon Trail - which I am sure is a common sight in the DC area but it is a novelty for a New Jersey native. Another was a runner who brought along his two dogs. I passed them under the bridge by Crystal City. Because of the bridge's acoustics, it sounded like there was one big dog under the bridge.

Other times, you see things on the trail that make you cringe. I had two of those today, too. My first one came near the start of the run, when I passed three guys who had clearly not slept all night and partook in Independence Day festivities. They tried to grab and swing from a branch on a nearby tree that was not particularly stable. On noticing that I was running past them, one of the guys made the hand motions like he was running - he probably thought he was hilarious. What would have made me laugh would have been if he tried to keep up with me for 16 miles. Now that would be a sight! My second cringe-worthy moment occurred as I was finishing up my run, going north past the airport, when I saw a cyclist fall off of his bike from far away. I am not sure if he hit a runner or just had a colossal fall on his own, but two runners stopped their runs to see if he was okay. When I passed, they were inspecting his bike, and he seemed to be okay. It was painful to watch and made me feel grateful that I didn't have any equipment to worry about (other than my legs and my water bottle).

I am starting to recognize some people on the trail that I have seen week after week. It makes it easy to recognize people when they wear the same outfit every week. For instance, I recognize this one lady who always wears pink shorts and a teal/green top. I also recognize the man that runs with nothing but gray shorts (with an orange stripe) and a knee brace. In fact, he now wears two knee braces. As far as cyclists, I also recognize some of them based on their passing calls. I now know this slower biker by the distinct tone he uses when he tells runners "bike left".

At two different points in my run, I had people on my heels. I knew that I picked up the pace then, and it was evidenced on my watch when I got home. My pace per mile was faster than in previous weeks - even on my longest run yet (and on a run when I wasn't feeling 100%). This is hugely motivating and makes me feel like I am moving in the right direction.

I am now icing my ankle and will take a quick dip in the pool to reduce any inflammation. I have earned my rest for this long weekend. Next week is a stepback week - only 11 miles. Ha! You know you're a marathoner in training when you use "only" and "11 miles" in the same sentence.

Have a great Independence Day weekend, everyone - and if you feel like making my weekend, support (or tell a friend about) Periclean Scholars and my new chitenge challenge!