10+ miles... and why you should never ask me for directions

i almost flaked out this morning, but since i couldn't do the long run (6 - 8 miles) last saturday and haven't been doing to well in training this week, i had to run! i was a bit tentative because of the past week and i haven't been feeling that great. i couldn't sleep till 1am. alarm rang at 6:30am. hit snooze twice. got up at 6:50am. brushed teeth. washed face. applied sunscreen. made breakfast and went. getting there was no problem. parking was a bit of a hiccup since there was no attendant and they only took exact change. i mean who has exactly 6 bucks?

training run 8 -10 miles. this was the run. around the reservoir (2.75 miles). down the hill out the reservoir. around the neighborhood and back to the reservoir (4.5 miles). back around again (2.75) = 10 miles. sounds confusing, but i just follow the route markers and there's usually a few people around that are ahead to follow.

i ran the first 2.75 miles with my mentor... it was hills and hills, so we went slower overall. i wasn't too worried on time. i wanted to finish at the same pace i started... so i refused to look at my watch (until i got lost). the confusing part was after you ran the reservoir, you run through the parking lot, down the hill (not too bad down... terrible back up especially after 7 miles), back towards the freeway, around the neighborhood and back. it was good... except at the turnaround point. depending on your mileage you turned at mile 3, mile 4, mile 5 or mile 6.5. there are only 3 of us doing kauai and the max was 10 miles, so i turned around at mile 5. that's when i go lost. i took a right when i should have taken a left, but the street name was the same so i though i was okay, until i went up to a hill for a ways and nothing looked familiar. at first i though it was just me. when there are hills. i don't look up. i just look forward and run through the hills. besides, the run was all hills! so i kept going... until i saw the dead squirrel in the road and the new house being built. of course i didn't have my phone and had no idea where i was. no one was in the area to ask for directions. i retraced my steps and eventually, through trial and error, i found the route to go back. all was good, except i had to run around the reservoir again. did i tell you there are hills throughout the run?!

10+ miles. the farthest i've gone so far. i feel pretty good! the knee is a bit stiff. i stretched a bit. went out for brunch. walked the dog and now to shower... slight rest before my family reunion tonight. hope my heels don't kill me tonight :)

note to self: i should probably get a gps watch or something.

10 - 11 miles?
2:00:44
10:58 - 12:12 minute miles
guess it doesn't matter today. it was a 0 injury/aggravation run and 10 miles :)