Relativity & Why I Love Nike+

Sunday was my first long run of marathon training. Okay, not really. I was supposed to do eight last weekend and that fell through (because I'm lazy). But this was the first long run I actually did. And it was my first double-digit run since March.

I think I needed to get this one done so I would officially feel like I was training. My mentality definitely shifted today. I feel much more like I'm in marathon training mode.

I was nervous because I hadn't run long in awhile, but things came back to me pretty easily. I had a pop tart and small iced coffee (no sugar, some milk) at 4:45am. I drove to the library and was running by 5:30. As planned, I met Kristin at the bridge, and then realized I hadn't turned on my Nike+. Oops. We continued on our way, and Kristin left at her halfway point (she was aiming for 9 miles), and I went on.

The moon was insane this morning!

I had a Gu at around 4.5 miles. It was overcast and not too warm, thanks to TS Erika. (The temperature when I started was 77, which felt worlds cooler than it has been!) By the halfway point, I was feeling really good. I remembered that the longer I run, the easier it starts to feel. I took a couple walk breaks for water as necessary, but pretty much just chugged along at a slow, even pace.

It's funny - 10 miles would mean you're nearly done with training if you were training for a half. But when you're training for a full, 10 is just the beginning. I guess it's all relative.

That's not sweat, it's liquid awesome!

I only experienced some soreness in my knees; my feet felt really good the entire time, as did my hips. But I definitely need to be better about cross-training and strengthening exercises.

I love that Nike+ lets me add a run manually, so my whole 10 miles was recorded even though it was off during the first 1.25 to the bridge. I also love that I can get cheers on Facebook. They seriously keep me going and give me something to look forward to after the run - I love checking to see who cheered for me!

The benefits of knowing your route by heart: manually entering your distance is really easy.

The comments made me laugh.

I've been using Nike+ ever since I started running; I know it's not the most "serious" of running apps, but I'm totally loyal to it.

I'd call this week a success. Time for a rest, and then onto the next one!

Did you run long this weekend?
What running apps do you use?
Were you awake to see the Supermoon?!

ABK