long run sunday

Nothing terribly exciting to post about my long run, except that I completed 15! Woo! Finally, it is all coming together. I decided to change my route since I am really tired of doing all the ones near my house. I headed up to the W&OD trail and parked. This is the trail where I did most of my MCM training, but that was all in Arlington and Falls Church. Today I started in Reston, headed east to Vienna and then west through Herndon and out to Loudoun County then back to Reston.

The majority of the run was great. I was protected from the wind much of the time. There were some challenging hills, which I need! I definitely had some rough moments but was able to push through them. It was by far my best long run to date.

Part of why it was so good was that I was properly nourished and hydrated. I've made some new food discoveries... well new to me at least. PB&J is a great pre/post workout snack or meal. I've been really resistant to Gu or any of the other gels b/c I just can't stomach them, so I tried some Sport Beans this time around. They are made by Jelly Belly and slightly bigger than regular jelly beans. I ate one every half mile and that seemed to work out pretty well. I stopped for gatorade once.

Running up there and seeing tons of cyclists of all ages made me think we need to get Liam out there too. THe poor kid got a tricycle for his birthday but has had to resort to riding it in the living room due to all of the cold weather and darkness. I see some warm days up ahead!