Going the Extra Mile

Today's run was - in a word - fantastic. Here's why:

• I started the run off nice and slow as I didn't want to burn out too quickly.
• I got to see two Remax hot air balloons lift off early in to my run.
• I downed a rather scrumptious tropical flavour Hammer Gel at mile 5. Mmm, caffeine...
  
• There were some IMC folks running behind me for a bit. Apparently somewhere there is a 130m pool that you can swim?
• I saw lots of wildlife - deer, gophers, geese, ducks...
• When I hit the big hill at the end of my first loop of Glenmore Reservoir, right around mile 10, it didn't feel like I had to work to get up that hill at all.
• I started to run faster.
• I downed a yummy chocolate Hammer Gel at mile 11.
• At mile 13 I saw a sign taped to a water fountain that said "You look amazingly beautiful today." No idea who it was for, but it definitely made me smile.
• I was the really chipper one on the pathway, smiling and saying hello to everyone.
• Mmmm, delicious espresso Hammer Gel at mile 16. Yay for caffeine!
• I passed a bike at mile 16.
  
• I passed a guy I recognized from the Footstock race as we had trundled up the big hill together for awhile. We stopped to chat, talk about races, then each went back on our merry way in opposite directions around the reservoir.
• My legs continued to feel fantastic the entire way.
• Note to self, Body Glide wears away after about 18 miles. Remember to bring a small stick with me on the marathon.
  
• I hit mile 20 before the big hill again. I decided to keep running to at least my car. I powered through the hill again and kept going. I wanted to finish 21 miles.
• My pace didn't slow during the final miles, in fact they were some of my fastest miles.
• I thought of Claire during my run, racing the full IM distance Vineman today. Since she hates running I was willing her some of my good running mojo.
• I felt like I could have run the extra 5.2 miles today.

I hope this bodes well for my marathon in a few weeks. I was a bit nervous about running on my own since I had Giovanna's company on my last few long runs but this goes down as one of my best runs ever. The only bad thing to happen on the run? The bottle of Gatorade that I bought halfway through to refill my Camelbak was supposed to be orange, but yuck...it was gross... I went for a massage a few hours after the run and it was probably one of the best decisions ever. I actually feel pretty good. In fact, I nearly fell asleep and that never happens for me during a massage.
---
By the way, if you are wondering whether I rushed to sign up for the brand new IM 70.3 in Calgary today, I didn't. But I have my reasons for that...