My First 10 Mile Run

I was really stressing my first ten mile run all month. I decided on this trail because there are bathrooms at both ends of the trail (appr 2.6 miles apart from each other) and I figured it would be all up hill going to the bridge and downhill back to the parking area.  All I would need to do is run the full out and back twice to get my miles in and it would be all down hill the last 2.5 miles.

I figured wrong.

This trail is up and down both ways. Total elevation gain over the ten miles was 1048 feet. According to MapMyWalk, there was SIX cat 5 hills by taking the full route twice. I never ran a course with more than 2 cat 5 hills. Talk about hitting your first ten in a big way. YAY ME!!!

I stopped only for the following: Potty breaks and one quick chase after a snake that resulted in me slipping on the loose pebble gravel down a berm. My knee bled for quite a while but I still carried a lot of gravel home until I washed it really good (ouch!). Then I used a tweezer and needle to get the rest of road out of it.

I saw a lot of pretty scenery; tons of butterflies; a odd green caterpillar; creeks and falls and ponds; birds; and a very large and bizzare beetle.

My legs felt good until the 6.8 mile marker. Then I started feeling it in my legs. Also, I was sweating so much that it was dripping off the brim of my hat. Luckily, Heather C. turned me on to hammer electrolite capsules. I had a total of 4: 1 an hour before the run - 1 at mile 2.5 and 2 more at mile 5.25. Also, it helped that I had a Nathan Intensity Vest loaded with ice and water. I ate three shot blocks at mile 5.25. Those things are so yummy!

So flipping proud I made it the entire ten even though there were times I wondered why I was doing this. There was one section before mile 9 where I felt sudden hard aching on my IT band/outer upper right knee. I slowed down and corrected my posture and it stopped enough to finish. Weirdly, that pain never came back and here I am the next day without any residual knee pain. In fact, my knee hasn't felt this good since just after my first 10K in May.

My happiest moment was when I was cooling down and walking back to the parking area and I saw a little creek going under the trail. I took off my shoes and socks, hiked my shorts WAY up and dipped my legs in. AAAAAAHH!!! That was BLISS!!! Ice cold mind numbing BLISS!!!!! First it was just my feet. Then I found a deeper spot and got my legs in up to my upper thighs. I caught a guppy sized fish (that was heading towards my shorts) and released it. Don't know why. I really REALLY loved that creek!!!! Goose bumps and all. It was perfectly placed.

I will be going back and running this trail for my ten miles again.


WEATHER: Sunny and clear
TEMPS: 76 - 78 degrees
HUMIDITY:  28%
LENGTH: 10 miles
MOVING TIME: 2 hours 2 minutes and 57 minutes (potty breaks not included in time)
MOVING PACE: 12:18 minutes per mile
CADENCE:  156 ave and 166 max (shuffling)
HEART RATE: 161 ave and 178 max
WEIGHT: 160

FOOD, DRINK, SUPPS:

• 2 hours before run - one low fiber piece of bread with light cream cheese, two bites of banana & 1 Hammer Electrolyte capsule
• During run - 3 Cherry Shotbloks, 2 Hammer Electrolyte capsules, water, Immodium AD 
• Immediately after run - 8 ounces of chocolate milk and 1 soy joy