12-mile redo

Today was the long run and for the second straight week, it was 12 miles.  This repetition was kind of nice seeing as how last week's 12-mile run was not all that much fun.  In some ways, I am really spoiled running here.  The neighborhood is quiet, I don't have to worry about traffic or people, and I can pretty easily find routes that provide enough distance.  These are not opportunities that I enjoyed last week in San Francisco.  As a result, the run was overall more peaceful and I felt pretty good about it overall.  It's weird: two weeks ago, I felt wiped out from a 10-mile run.  This week, 12 miles felt fine (okay, I'm tired now and somewhat stiff, but not as bad as I felt after the 10 mile).  Next week is 14 miles, which technically I did last week in California if you could the 2-mile walk I had to do to get to the ferry.  So that's a good sign!

I caved and bought the 'hydration belt:'

Yes, it is essentially a glorified fanny pack.  But it is awfully convenient for carrying around a water bottle without having to keep it in my hand (like I did with my other one).  Plus I can put my Mini Clif Bars in that pocket, then easily access them during the run.  So yeah.  Form before fashion in this case.

At first, I thought that I would not be able to get it around my hips.  My hips are rather wide and you needed to length the strap by letting out extra part in a way that was not clear.  I was thinking that 'Too Fat for my Running Fanny Pack' would be a great name for a blog, but was more relieved that this was not, in fact, the case.

The actual run was more of the same: circling around the same basic area in the golf course area.  Weather remains remarkably enjoyable for Florida.  Even running in the sun near the end of the run was not all that killer.  This is a very nice change from a month ago!