The long runs get long

Today was 14 miles.  I ran 14 miles. 14 miles is the longest distance I have ever run in one go, beating out my previous record of 13.1 miles by 0.9.  Exciting!  This is a training plan with no room for a feel-good, pat yourself on the back, you made it half way 13 mile run, apparently.  Instead, you crank right through the halfway point and on to 14.  Half and then a little bit.

(It seems crazy that this was just short of half, it really felt very long).

It got hot and muggy again today.  Not quite at summer levels, but also not quite what I would ideally want while running.  The combined temperature + humidity was closer to 150 than 160, but 150 is still rather high.  Certainly by the end, the sun felt like it was beating down perhaps a little too much.  Also, I was insanely thirsty as I was nearing the final part.  Water was my friend today.  I took a water bottle of the healthy Gatorade that I usually drink, then refilled the bottle with water around mile 8 (this was, of course, my trusty fanny pack running belt).  This was not quite enough, but I still made it through.

Here's the weird thing: my mile splits were faster than last week's 12-mile run in better conditions.  Not better by much, but still better.  No idea how that happened.

Today I also developed a new strategy with regard to counting down miles.  Usually, I count down every 10%, but today I decided that waiting for 1.4 miles felt too long.  Instead, I focused on 5%, so only 0.7.  I liked this approach and will keep it up for the marathon, I think.  If I run with my phone.  Which is not a given at this point seeing as how I don't think the battery will last.  I did develop a save-battery strategy today, which is to power it down during boring stretches when I don't actually need to know how much distance is left.  I think that this might work well.  12 miles was pushing the upper limit of the battery, apparently.

Another new trick today was taking running jelly beans (technically, they are called sports beans).  I had the chance to stop by my local running store yesterday and picked some packages up.  Two came with me on the run today.  They are awesome.  Not only do you get fuel while running, they also provide a jolt of caffeine.  And they do taste like jelly beans.  Best invention ever (at least it is the best invention for long-distance running that I know about!).