Longest run ever, but didn't go anywhere

So, the longest run ever should be happening a lot over the next few months...as I was telling a friend the other night, one of the most exciting parts of tackling a new distance goal is achieving these 'longest' and 'furthest' milestones. I need to enjoy it now- after the marathon, it'll be a long time before this will happen again. And I have forgotten how fun it is!

Since there was threat of a large snow storm (note, threat), I decided to cut my losses early and mentally prepare myself for a LONG (2.5 hours long to be exact) treadmill run, so that the misery of my numb-hands-can't-feel-my-fingers-body-shut-down run two weeks ago would not be repeated.

I was expecting that this wasn't going to be the most fun 2.5 hours of my life, but I was psyching myself up mentally. Perks of an indoor run? No need to worry about where the bathroom is (like 10 feet away) and where I'll fill up my water (in the bathroom, 10 feet away) and if my new shoes I'm trying out are too small (old safe shoes right next to treadmill). I loaded my iphone with podcasts I'd been neglecting since my commute became basically nonexistent, chose the ones I had planned to listen to, and headed over to the apartment complex gym.  I felt slightly ridiculous with all of my food (extra nuun, 2 gu gels, a packet of shot blocks) but I figured better safe than sorry.

I started out my run at a conservative 6 mph and slowly increased 1 mph every 10 min to get myself warmed up, but the first 2 miles really had me worried- I started to think, can I really DO this? Am I going to survive this LONG time on this TREADMILL? However, the same thoughts (will I make it through >2 hours?) ran through my head last weekend on my outside long run too. Somehow, being only 2 miles in to a 2 hour+ run just seems so daunting. But, I kept going, knowing it would be OK.

I started out listening to Sound Opinions- an old one from last fall on REM (a band I am quite fond of) and the conversation combined with song excerpts definitely kept my interest. I kept drinking every 3 min and adjusting the mph every 10, and it passed the time. Before I knew it, the first hour was over, the treadmill shut down (stupid treadmill) and forced me to take a quick potty and water refill break.

I hopped back on and slowed the pace a bit because the pace I had been on felt too fast, and started up last weekend's This American Life, on Conventions. This episode was pretty funny actually (particularly the segment on dishwashers) and I found myself giggling from time to time (even though at this point there were a few other gym-goers). I continued with my pattern of adjusting 1 mph every 10 min and drinking every 3, had a couple shot blocks and a vanilla gu (which, as it turns out, is not as tasty as the clif vanilla gel! point to remember!). Soon enough, the 2nd hour had past, it was time for a water refill break as the treadmill reset, and I was energized- only 30 minutes to go!

I switched to The Sporkful for the remainder of the time. This is a podcast about food, and it is HILARIOUS. It's also short, which is why I saved it for the end. Knowing I had an hour of Sound Opinions and an hour of This American Life helped me stay focused for the longer portion, but now I had under 2 The Sporkful's to go left in the run. I started changing my pace every 5 min as I listened to them talk about chocolate chip cookies (mmmmm) and slowed to a more "cool down" pace for the last 10 min as they debated the virtues of apples and oranges.

I wanted to listen to the rest of the podcast, so I walked for 10 minutes, and took a little time stretching while refueling with a coconut chocolate clif bar (also yummy!) and added up my mileage: 15.99! If only I had known I was that close to 16 I would have kept going a little more!

This run was a huge milestone for me- not just my longest time and distance ever, which I am quite proud of, but I did the whole thing on the boring treadmill, and I felt awesome all day! I was a little sore (and even foam rollered my quads) but I didn't have a headache, so I know I was properly hydrated and nutrated (nutrated?) for the duration of the run. So, a valuable practice session for me. Oh, and I exchanged the shoes- they were too small after 16 miles.

I have been told that since I can run to podcasts, and don't need uplifting, fast paced, motivational music to get me through, that I just must "love running." I think that this is definitely true. I really do love it and I really didn't have a terrible time for 2.5 hours of running to nowhere. I wasn't even THAT mad when I walked out of the gym and noticed that the dusting of snow that happened before I woke up was gone and the snow storm was nowhere to be found.

So, contrary to the two recent blog posts I read that are anti-treadmill, I actually really enjoyed my LONG treadmill run this weekend. Don't get me wrong, I would still choose an outside run if the weather cooperates, but next time a snow storm hits, I will embrace the treadmill with open arms!