Riverhills Drive

Today was the first of the official long runs.  It was 6 miles.  Perhaps understandably, I found it hard to equate 6 miles with a long run.  After all, the actual marathon will require 6 miles, then another 20 and change afterward.  But 6 miles is still a decent distance, particularly when run in Florida summer conditions -- as I learned once the run was over.

The first 'big' race that I did was 10k, which amounts to 6.2 miles.  This made me feel like I had made it as a runner, for some reason, even though my time was horrid.  My run today, in Florida summer conditions, was better than that run.  It was the Tufts 10k, which I highly recommend if you live anywhere near Boston (and are female).  You run on the Cambridge side of the Charles, then back on Commonwealth Avenue, which is the wicked pretty part of Boston.  The race finishes in Boston Common (remember the Frog Pond?).  It's very well organized and a great day.  When I did it, friends and I sat on the grass afterward for a while, just enjoying the weather.  I highly recommend.

This is one race that I wish I could run again, particularly since I am now a better runner.  I think that it was a stretch at the time.  What I mostly remember about miles 4-6 was trying to push myself through mentally.  We were on Comm Ave, which is the part of Boston where the streets are organized alphabetically (NB: this is the only part of Boston that you can really say is 'organized').  I kept counting down the streets, but each one was taking far, far longer than I thought.  For instance, I remember thinking that I was almost past Exeter Street, then realizing that not only was I not past it, but I was not even there yet, and the intersection itself felt like it took 10 minutes.  And that was only the 'E' street.  I still had Dartmouth, Clarendon, Berkeley, and Arlington to go.

Anyway, today's 6 miles didn't require quite so much mental push, although I would have been utterly fine with stopping after 5 miles.  But I didn't, which is the whole point.  I need to be better about running to finish rather than running to finish well; this mentality will be really important during the marathon.  Six miles is still at the point where I could probably do decently well if I raced it tomorrow.  That cannot be said of 12 miles or anything beyond that, when it will just be about finishing.  I need to get more in that mindset, particularly since the conditions in Florida change (get awful) so drastically from the start to finish of long runs.

I ran around the golf course neighborhood, past some of the really nice sections.  This was on Riverhills Drive, which you may have deduced is near the river.  This was the oldest part of Temple Terrace that was built up and has a lot of very nice and interesting homes, plus plenty of shady oak trees.  Here's a sample of some of my favorites from today:

Near Ben Lomond Park.  There are a lot of Scottish names, presumably to go with the golf course theme.

One of the best aspects of Temple Terrace, in my opinion, is that the flora has grown in so nicely.  Other, more recent neighborhoods in Tampa don't have this.

I love the roof tiles!

My run today started on Riverhills Drive, turning about 2 miles in at Florida College.  I went by a spot of historical note: the exact place on the Temple Terrace golf course that Reverend Billy Graham received his calling from God.  Yes, he was out golfing and God spoke to him.  This is the fairway where this momentous event occurred:

Actual fairway where Billy Graham received calling.  It is the 18th hole.  Good thing he had almost finished the round.

I, however, had no such experience today.  The final photo I took as I was heading home, but it serves as a lovely encapsulation of the fact that yes, this neighborhood is built around a golf course: