Today I planned on a 10 mile run when we drove to Birch Bay. My husband drove along and encouraged me and walked our big dog Moose as I ran. I decided a couple of miles along that I just might go a bit farther. My husband made sure that my nuun/water bottle stayed full. I brought enough snacks with me to keep me fueled up during the run. By the time I got to the Bp recreation area, I'd already run 8 miles, I decided I would run to the next gate and turn around. My husband couldn't drive in this area so he drove around and walked in from the other gate to see how I was doing. I thought as I ran along that perhaps 15 miles sounded good. That would be farther that I've ran for awhile. When I saw my husband the next time I told him I was planning on going 15 and then I would assess at each mile after that just how much farther I wanted to run. Since he was following in the car I could stop at whatever distance I chose. I was still feeling good at 15, so I thought maybe 18 sounded like a good goal. When I got to 18 miles I realized that 18 was just 2 miles short of where I had begun, so I decided to go all the way to the starting point, to make it a complete out and back route. I surprised myself at how good I felt. I really only began to tire the last 2 miles, it had a gradual incline that really tested me. I was determined to finish and I did! It worked out great that the turn around point was exactly 10 miles. I checked my Garmin as I touched the gate. Hurray, 20 miles of walking 3 minutes/running 7 minutes intervals.
I kept to this plan and it really helped me to complete the distance.
Some of the sights along my route:
or YouTube
I wouldn't have been able to finish without the support of my husband as I went along. He really helped not only by making sure I had a full nuun/water bottle, but by encouraging me nearly every 1/2 to 1 mile along the way.
Garmin stats:
Total Miles - 20
Total ascent - 482 feet
