Going Long {Road Version}

Following yesterdays  10x1000m repeats I now had to find it in me to summon up a Sunday long if I was going to to log a 5 day/40mpw.
Bad enough the old pegs were feeling the effects of the repeats but factor in not having done a 14 miler in six weeks since November 16th I could be forgiven if I didn't have sky high expectations going into an out and back along West River Drive to Falls Bridge.


One plus of the Spurs Man Utd game being a 7am kick off was I was up by 6.40am so come the final whistle at 8.50am all I needed to do was get dressed,stretch and be out the door by 9.07am.
Conditions were grey and overcast but unseasonably warmer than they should be for this time of year,however the forecast was for showers so I nixed the three quarter length bottoms in favour of regular warm up bottoms and as a precaution threw on my gloves.....frankly I didn't need them but better to have the option to take them off and stick them in the waist band on my warm up bottoms than curse having cold fingers out on the run.

There were a decent number of other runners out along the Schuylkill Bank and West River Drive for this early in the morning although in fairness I wasn't too concerned w/ other runners,my concern was having the legs for a 14 miler.
Just as I had the day b4 over the 10x1,000m repeats I "hunkered down" mentally better to go out "on my sheild" than cut down the miles and then be faced w/ the challenge again next week.

As is my won't I don't time my runs,time isn't the objective here putting the mile in is so I've no idea what my turn around split was,all I knew was I made it to 7 miles and now I had to make another 7 going back in the direction I'd just come from!!


I tried not to get caught up in quarter mile splits,prefering to focus on each mile as it went by,3 and 3/4s represented 7 miles so I kept an eye out for 4 and 3/4s,5 and 3/4s,6 and 3/4s and 7 and 3/4s,my gut feeling was hitting the end of West River Drive at 7 and 3/4s was 11 miles and if I had to grind it out along the Schuylkill Banks till just b4 the South St bridge was 12 then another mile till 39th and Baltimore Ave by which time only a mile to go,I've done it b4 on tired legs and in a brief respite from all the Inxs songs I've sung of late it was the old "Feet Don't Fail Me Now" classic by Utopia that became my battle anthem over the closing miles.
The biggest obstacle was going to be the up ramp leading to the South St bridge w/ just under 2 miles to go,make it up there then across the bridge I was looking at 1 and 3/4 miles of relativly flat asphalt between me and home.......cue yours truly channeling his inner "Little Engine That Could".......I think I can,I think I can.........

Knee lift and leg turnover had long deserted me but I'm nothing if a stubborn headstrong individual and I was too damn close to home to quit now,home by 11.19am a 2 hour 12 minute run,like I said time was irrelivant getting a 14 miler under my belt for the day and getting a 5 day/40 mpw week in was all that mattered........
Now all I need to do is repeat that again this coming week........