Well it was bound to happen. And it will happen again. Actually, by my count over the next two months there will be a half dozen times that I will be able to say that was my longest run ever. I have now conquered 14 miles, just a tad over the benchmark of a half marathon, but mentally it felt really good to achieve a new level.

Saturday morning was perfect for a little jog.  The temperature at 6:15am was just reaching 60 degrees and there was little to no humidity. By the time I was done you never would have known, as I was drenched from head to toe in sweat. However, I felt really strong on the front half of the run, which is rather unusual for me.

Normally it take me a while to get going and I typically finish stronger than how I start. But as I started off with my pace group, I had a feeling that it would be a good morning. Mentally I was almost treating it as it was a race. Not in terms of my pacing, but more of the mental preparation. There wasn’t a mad dash to get there on time, which is atypical, since I am not a morning person.  And I had spent a lot of time thinking about accomplishing my new goal throughout the week. My wife was kind enough to remind me that it was only a mile more than the previously accomplished half… to which I quickly corrected her, that it was only .9 miles more!

The last 2 weeks long runs each had a different challenge. While last Saturday was only 9 miles, I had a go of it alone, missing the group run for the first time this season. I quickly remembered why I chose the group for training, as I was quickly bored with no one to talk to… and I found myself “cheating” by walking more than I should have, or needed to. The Saturday previous to that, the group did a point to point (12 mile run), starting in Bethesda and ending up at Eastern Market down by the Capitol. Around mile 9, I ended up taking off from the group as they slowed to get refills on water. I was good to go, and go I did… testing my pace and pushing myself until I was quickly reminded of why it’s called Capitol HILL. But I did manage to make it in ahead of my planned pace time, and felt pretty good after what had been the longest run of 2014 for me. To keep me going, I had the Eastern Motors commercial jingle in my head – just replacing it with Eastern Market. 

Not sure if, I ever sang the words out loud… but if I did, I’m sure I gave some random tourist around me a good laugh.

There is something surreal about running on the National Mall after coming off of the capital crescent trail and through the G’town waterfront. Running by the Lincoln, Vietnam and WWII Memorials, before heading past the Washington Monument and the White House is just awesome in my opinion. And the benefit of getting out so early is that there really isn’t that much foot traffic to block your views. It’s pretty inspiring for me… and I got to tell the story of where I proposed to my wife, which was met with a resounding stereo of “Ohhhhhh’s” from the all female group.

So now I am heading into week 2 of our 3 week cycle, where we increase mileage the first 2 weeks, before falling back for a “rest” week . And I get to look forward to this Saturday’s run of 15 miles… which will be my longest run EVA!