An alarm blaring at 6am on a Saturday can fly when it’s hot outside, but when the temps are comfortable and my bed is oh so cozy, the snooze button is so much more enticing.
Rather than getting in our 14 mile long run, Marcus and I decided to cross train on Saturday, and push our run to Sunday – a little workout flip flop. Soo glad we did! The extra sleep was amazing, and my legs were definitely thanking me! After seeing so many tweets Saturday about amazing long runs, I was pumped to tackle ours yesterday.
Since our marathon is on such a hilly course, we have made the agreement to do the majority of the rest of our long runs up in the hills. Hills in Florida? It can be done!
San Antonio, Florida is about 40 minutes from Tampa, and is shockingly hilly. We went on to mapmyrun.com and grabbed a route that looked like it fit our needs – multiple hills, but nothing that was going to kill us. Check it out…
We altered it a little bit, because the person that made it started us out in a gated country club, which we obviously didn’t have access to. We parked at St. Leo, which is a small university just west of our original starting point. Since I had not run up there since my high school cross-country days, I was sure to write down our route in a very reliable place. My arm was definitely the best option. A simple ball point pen did plenty to keep us guided in the right direction for the whole run, without a hitch.
For our first hilly run, it went well, but it was pretty brutal. 9 miles in, when we were really digging deep, we came across a very fitting sign.
It was all we needed to finish it up strong! We tackled our last few hills for the 11 mile loop, and just ran on the Saint Leo University Campus for the majority of our miles. The soccer field seemed like a nice flat, soft alternative to the grueling hills we were fighting earlier in the run. I ended up shedding my singlet I had been wearing, as the temps rose to nearly 80 degrees. What happened to winter Florida? I guess we just skipped that season! Oh, and my outfit – Marcus compared me to the women in “A League Of Their Own”. What do you think?
Ya, I didn’t think so either…. ;)
14 miles done in the hills. Big Win!!! For some of you, this may be an every week occurrence, but for me, a very hilly run was a tough endeavor.
We were thrilled to be done!
And then was the refueling! We stopped for a quick drink…
And then again for what I thought I really needed – a Little caffeinated goodness! Gimme some hazelnut yummy coffee!
Recovery called for an ice bath once we got home. I wore my compression socks on the run, and now I am glad I did. I am feeling more recovered from yesterday’s hilly 14 miles than a flat 10. I’ll take it!
P.S… My favorite commercial last night… The Voice – anything with Betty White is amazing! Although the VW commercial with the out of shape dog was a close second. I love how animals were the stars of the best commercials this year. Celebrities out, cute furballs in!
I loved the M&M commercial! Naked is always funny
Ha ha I know! I definitely laughed at that one for sure!
It so odd the comparisons people will think of…although I always felt like I was a greek or roman warrior when I wore mine. Esp when I had sandals on too.
Ha ha. I used to be very anti running skirt – that is until I wore one. I love it soo much!
[...] However, depending on where you are, sometimes it is difficult to find a route that is both runner friendly and safe. Look no further! Here are a few great resources for finding a great running route while traveling (or if you are just looking for somewhere new with different terrain). [...]
[...] was some what hesitant to do a leg workout, because Saturday morning we did another hilly run. Except this time, it was a bit longer – 17 very tough miles on quite the foggy [...]