Sunday morning, it is a beautiful sunny day today.
I have been running for a while and I feel really good and strong. The longest run up to date was 10 miles on a trail so I decide it is time to finally test my feet on a bit longer run.
Today it is going to be the half-marathon distance (about 13 miles).
I pick Wildwood trail in the Forest Park as the place for this event since that is where I run most of the time. I am only taking my cell and a small handheld water bottle with me.
The trail starts climbing up right from the trailhead and I am working hard, breathing heavily but as I gradually warm up by the mile 4 I already feel great and all relaxed.
The first 7 miles is just a steady climb up from 150' to 1000'.
When I reach the turning point I just sip half of my 12oz bottle and turn running back.
At mile 10 I feel like my legs are running by themselves and my body is just hovering above the ground flying through the woods. Awesome feeling.
At mile 11 there is the longest downhill (250' drop over 1 mile) of the route and I almost shoot both my knees on it. I have to stop and walk 50 yards down and then slowly start running again. For some reason my knees hate running down long hills despite of my full concentration on a high cadence and having them bent all the time.
The last mile is a piece of cake running along a beautiful creek.
At the end I feel really good. My feet are in a great shape, no bruises, no blisters and no hot spots.
I only consumed 6 oz of water at mile 7 and no food.
Overall great run. Feeling ready for the real Half.
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