I decided to challenge myself somewhat by pushing my long run a little bit this week. I figured that I had a downer mileage week anyway, so it can’t hurt. I decided to do two laps around Harveys’ Lake, which would equal 16.2 miles, and surprisingly, I did it quite well. I learned a few things on this route…

1. run on the gravel/grass/side of the road where possible. I found that in running this long distance, my knees started to get sore after the first lap. I switched to running the sides wherever possible, and it wasn’t so bad the second time around.

2. Break the race up into parts … for example, in this workout, I split it into lap one and lap two and approached them differently. This follows the ‘logo’ I have on the front page about 10 miles, 10 miles and 6.2 miles …. each has its own part. I can actually do my 20 miler at the lake and break it out like that … (2 laps, first mind, second heart, and then do 4 miles with my guts..)

3. The lake is beautiful this time of year 🙂

Regardless, it was a great experience, however my legs are real sore the day after. We’ll see how they recover. I expect to do some cross-training and weight work tomorrow since its going to rain, so we’ll give the legs another day to rest. I was also interested in the reading I did for my training program on doing upper-body weight work … I think I decided that i will do that work in the mornings when I get up since its simple, and continue the rest of my workout at lunch-time like I always have … we’ll see though.