Day 1, Week 4: Reason #1 I love the TC Marathon + My long run in 3 parts

Before we get to the details of today's long run, let's talk about that Ultra Loony Challenge I mentioned yesterday.

Why do I love this race so much?  Reason #1:  Challenging course.

Here I am glad the challenge is over.

The first half of this race can fool you because it's pretty stinking flat, making you feel pretty invincible by mile 13. But after mile 18 you get into some challenging hills, and not to mention that the 3-mile stretch down Summit Avenue at the very end takes you gradually uphill.  It's an uphill you can't see, but your quads can feel with every single step by that point in the race.  There is also a nice monster hill at mile 21 that I usually greet with some pretty colorful swear words.

As much as I hate the hills, I always feel accomplished when I manage the back half of this course with grace and dignity and minimal swearing.

Anyway, enough of that.  Reason #2 will be up for your perusal tomorrow. On to the long run that was Sunday "Long Run" Funday.  Today's workout was 18 miles at 45 minutes below marathon pace.  Below you can see how that went:

Why two runs?  Well, really this run happened in three parts.

Part 1: Six miles with the large running god-approved large dog.

I got up way later than I wanted to because of the hot weather we were expecting (90 degrees), but I still managed to hook up the large dog and get out with him before it got too hot.  Here he is contemplating his running goals for the days run.

"My goal for this run is to drag mom into the ditch whenever possible."

We also took a pre-run selfie, during which the running gods saw his derp-face and found it pleasing to them.

During the run, we stopped often at the little aid station I set up by the mailbox so he could grab a drink and I could grab nutrition and water as needed.  The nut lays down every single time to drink from his water bowl, and just when I think he's too tired to run anymore, he pops up from the ground and tries to take off again regardless of what I'm doing, usually dragging me a few feet before I can get my rhythm back.

After 6 miles of resisting him pulling me into ditches and trying to chase passing cars, I put him back into the house with plenty of ice cubes in his water bowl and strict orders to sit on Dad and wake him up.

Part 2: 8 miles of hot running hotness.

I went back out and ran 8 more miles as the temperatures slowly started rising.  And rising.  And rising some more.  Where I run has very little shade (miles and miles of corn and soybeans don't lend themselves well to shading runners), so the hot was even hotter than the hot would normally have been. I was never more happy for the cold bottles of water in my little aid station, especially since I only wanted to do 3 more miles after dropping off the dog and I kept convincing myself to run one more sweaty hot mile, one mile after another.  So it was kind of like the picture below, only with hotness and not a tornado.

I decided I would stop at mile 14, which was my next scheduled stop for nutrition.  I got back into the house a hot sweaty mess.  The dogs didn't see my mess, though - they saw me as one giant salt lick.

Part 3: I will finish this run, dammit.

While the AC in the house fully tempted me to sit down and take a nap in it, I was determined to finish this run.  This determination mainly came from the fact that my brain kept reminding me that I was running a marathon this weekend, which if I didn't know was 26.2 miles long, so I needed to get this distance in.  I hopped on the treadmill and did those last 4 miles, even though once I got on the 'mill I'm sure I entered a rift in the space-time continuum whereby time slowed down because those 4 miles took FOREVER.  Before I entered the rift I had to get rid of a stowaway first, though.

After the run I was greeted by the house one-cat welcoming committee, whom I suspect really greets me so he can lay on the warm treadmill belt and laugh at my efforts to work so hard yet go nowhere at all.

And thus concludes my Sunday long run adventure for this week.

What can we learn from all the pictures and blathering above?

• The running gods approve of the large dog as a running partner
• That aid station thing was pretty smart
• Running in the heat was pretty stupid
• The treadmill is cat-approved
• Got the run done, even if it was in three parts.  Next!

Tomorrow's workout: Upper body weight lifting goodness and reason #2 why I love TC Marathon!