I missed that hurting feeling

Distance: 11 miles
Time: ~01:39:53
Weather: cloudy, 23F
Clothing: Thermal tights. Top: Under Armour thermal base layer with Nike Dri-fit cold weather top. Hat, gloves.
Location: Chicago lakefront trail. Start @ North Ave.

The Garmin has been a little off as of late because the group starts running immediately after exiting the store, so it takes a while to acquire a good signal, therefore losing a little chunk of mileage.

Another solid run with the 9 minute pace group. As usual, I struggled with finding the right clothing to wear for the run, but ended up with the perfect choice for temps in the 20's. This always happens to me early on until I get a feel for knowing what to wear during cold weather. I didn't need the heavy Under Armour jacket I was planning to wear, which I know is good for anything between zero and 15F. I could of used my neck gaiter to occasionally warm my face, because I think it fell off around mile 7.

This was the first time I've run this distance without taking any nutrition. The two bottles of Gatorade/water mix was barely enough, but I used it sparingly. I take this as a good sign that I'm properly expending my energy. Efficiency during an endurance run is key, so they say. Hopefully I'm doing something right.

Eleven miles is the longest I've run since October 12. I had to remember what it felt like to run those kind of distances again, but it felt oh so good. I missed those aches and pains that come after a long distance run- seriously. I also noticed my breathing was steady and very relaxed throughout, which means I can probably crank the pace up a couple of notches next time.

All in all I'm hoping for a sub-two hour half-marathon come February. I've been feeling so strong lately that I'm no longer afraid to really push the pace.

And after I was done, I got a new pair of these:



My shiny, new Brooks Defyance shoes to replace the ones I'm wearing now that have close to 350 miles on them. I fell in love with this shoe when I was fitted for them back in July, and was glad to find them again. This time around they were on sale, and I couldn't pass it up!

Next up is hill training on Monday, and then the Chicago Turkey Trot 8K on Thursday.

Lets race!