Uncharted Territory

Mal and I headed into uncharted territory this morning. We each ran fourteen miles, which is the longest distance that either of us have ever run. Hooray!! I was psyched to finish today!

As you probably know, I’m in the process of testing out fuel for my long runs, so I tried a Honey Stinger on this morning’s training run.

The other day, Monica sent me a whole slew of her favorite products to try out. I really liked the Honey Stinger – Gold, which is pure natural honey with no flavors added. The consistency made it easy to eat while jogging (I didn’t have to stop and chew) and the flavor didn’t leave a weird taste in my mouth. (It tasted like regular ol’ honey.)

After eating my usual, go-to breakfast, I got my running gear, which included loading up my Spibelt.

My Spibelt holds my iPhone and “fuel” for the run. It would also probably fit an ID, cash, a key, or other small items. (A few people asked what fits inside my Spibelt, so I just wanted to let ya know! )

When Mal and I arrived at the South Boston Running Emporium, our coach gave us a map of our 14-mile training route, which started in Southie, looped around Boston Common and the Charles River and back to South Boston.

We started down D Street to Summer Street and past South Station.

Which brought us to Downtown Crossing.

And then to Boston Common.

Where the first water stop was located (about 2 miles into the run).

The next few miles took us around Boston Common and down Beacon Street to the Charles River.

I love running along the Charles! It’s so pretty!

Around mile 5.5, I crossed over the river to the Memorial side.

Around mile 6, I slowed my pace and ate the Honey Stinger. It went down, no problem!

Then, I continued on until I hit the Mass Ave bridge.

The Head of the Charles was happening today!

Miles 8-11 took us down Beacon Street, around Boston Common once again, and looped back through Downtown Crossing. We followed Summer Street to L Street and back to the South Boston Running Emporium.

The final couple of miles were killer, but I pushed through and finished in 2:09:30 (9:15 pace).

Once I finished, I stretched and rehydrated with a packet for orange-flavored GU Recovery Brew, which was pretty good. It sort of reminded me of Tang.

Mal and I said goodbye to our team and drove straight to the Wheelhouse Diner for breakfast. I ordered my usual: 2 eggs with homefries, toast, and coffee.

Ya can’t go wrong with this breakfast!

Then, Mal and I had the busiest day ever… and it’s not over yet! More to come!