Half Marathon Training Run

My Nike+ running app said that today I should run a half marathon for my long run.  I was delighted to wake up to a beautiful sunny day with almost no wind and temperatures in the high 40's.  I actually was able to run the 13.1 miles outdoors instead of boring myself half to death on the treadmill.  I ran around Colleen Lake twice then back up to the West Gate and back for the 13.1 total. The gravel on that road is kind of tricky because it is very large gravel.  Often the rocks are the size of my fist so I have to be careful not to stumble and defeat my purpose by breaking an ankle or something.  But running on an uneven surface like that is really good practice for trail running.  I have ordered some new trail running shoes and they should arrive by Wednesday.  That road will be a good place to try them out.  I was planning to use my current shoes for the Lisbon Marathon, then continue wearing them for the 400 mile walk to Santiago de Compostela.  But at that point the poor things would have close to 700 miles on them.  Then, if they had not fallen completely off my feet, they probably would not be in shape for the New York City Marathon.  So I'm hoping to break in the new ones and use them for both marathons and the Camino.  I used the same model shoe for the Camino de Santiago last year and they were great.  So I think they will be a good choice.

Nike+ Coach says I need to rest for the next two days.  That could be tough if the next two days are as nice as today was!

Colleen Lake