8.4 miles - longest run ever!

I wanted at least 8 miles yesterday, and was wondering how far I could push it. The day before I thought about various combinations of my other routes. Obviously doing my 4.0 mile loop out-and-back again makes 8 miles. The finish lines for my 4.0 and 5.0 mile runs are the same, so I could add those together for 9 miles.

Instead I decided I would just close the loop on my 4.0 mile run and run it twice in the same direction. That added 0.2 miles to each circle, making the total run 8.4 miles.

Was I ready to rock? Well... that morning, when it was nice and cool and overcast, I was not ready to rock. Too sleepy, still. After a gianormous lunch at my favorite restaurant, I was still not ready to rock. After a brief nap, I was almost ready to rock, but it was a bit hot.

In the end, I headed out around 7:00 PM, just as the heat of the day was starting to cool, which meant I would be getting home shortly after sunset.

Not much to tell about the run. I tried the visualization thing I'd done two days before but was unable to concentrate as I had before. Obviously that shit takes practice. And the same with my breathing. Maybe, mentally, I had psyched myself out with all that thinking "longest run ever"? Maybe. Who knows? Could have been the heat, could have been lots of things.

I ate two Cliff Blokz (Cran-Razz flavor) at around the 5.0 mile mark. Stopped a total of four times for water. Walked for anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute and a half maybe another... five?.. times. I saw at least three runners twice, once on each loop, which was fun.

Oh, another thing - a twinge of soreness (I don't want to call it full-on pain, just some discomfort) in my back, mainly on the right-hand side. I just want to note it here for future reference.

In the end, though, I completed both loops and even got to finish to a cheer from my neighbors, who were sitting outside on the porch when I crossed my personal finish line. That was nice. They invited me to sit and have a beer but I was so sweaty and tired I wanted my shower, and I was not hungry at all yet - right after a hard run I'm usually nauseous.