10 Mile Run Debrief

When I told a friend today that I was planning on running 8 miles this evening to justify buying a pizza, they joked that instead I should watch the movie 8 Mile with Eminem while eating pizza.

Anyway, so on my run, I ended up running 10 miles, partially on accident.

First up, the cons – the “Oh God, I’m an idiot for this one” moments

1) wearing all black, after dark. Poor visibility, bad idea.
2) at three miles, I was averaging 8 minutes 20 seconds per mile (when I finished, I realized it was because my first mile was 7:30ish).
3)not fully planning my route before leaving
4) eating poorly post-run probably voids the positives of the run
5) running in new places for the first time when it is dark out seems like it was probably not the best of ideas

The positives

1) I mean, besides running 10 miles
2) GREAT overall pace, like 9:01 per mile or something
3) I ran all five quadrants of Portland
4) navigating while running was actually pretty great
5) I still mostly love my shoes

Since upgrading shoes/socks/shorts earlier this month, my runs have been absolutely incredible. I am stopping to walk a lot less, moving a lot faster/more consistently and feel pretty great while running.

Since finishing my run about three hours ago, I have eaten 12 bagel bites, a 2inch cube of cheese, some apple, about half an avocado of guacamole with chips, a well-buttered slice of toast and had over half a gallon of water.

I ran through some really great neighborhoods tonight. Running through them was a cool perspective because with some relative speed I managed to move from one neighborhood to another. I did not just see the houses or the restaurants/bars/ stores, but all of the above in conjunction /relation to the others. The longer I live in Portland, the more I really start to enjoy spending time on the Inner East Side. North a bit more than South, but I am presently incredibly intrigued by the whole of it. Well, west of Cesar Chavez.

Running is/has been a great way to decompress, to relieve stress and to feel like I’m accomplishing more than making my way through a stack of books or Netflix queue. I feel a lot better after running, though I do not always like the actual running.

TL;DR Running is gr9, Portland is an awesome city, sometimes I could plan more/better, food is wonderful.