Setting A High Bar

I didn't make it out for a run on New Year's Day. I was kind of bummed about it. The morning saw me getting up late along with Mrs. LB and we got up and went to get the girls, who'd stayed the night at their grandma's. We went over to my mom's immediately afterward, then straight to a birthday party and then... well, by then the day was all but gone.

But it's actually a good thing. Instead of saying that my first run of 2011 was a two-miler, I can say that it's a little longer than that.


I knocked out a 20-mile run. And just to put an exclamation mark on it, I did what blog buddy Lisa suggested, and ran 20.11 miles.

The run was tough. There is such a huge difference between 18 and 20 miles. You wouldn't think that; I mean, it seems like anything above 15 miles would be tough, but my sides hurt much more, my legs were heavier and harder to move after 20 than they were after 18.

I ran with my Lopers group, however, it wasn't all smooth sailing. I ran the first 14.75 with them, and the last 5.whatever by myself. That was the hardest part of the run. Just when I needed the support the most, they were gone! It was my own choice, though. I could have either run earlier or stopped at 15. But neither were options because we all set out for 18 miles, but some aches and pains flared up for others and I was the only one who elected to run further than 15.

The hardest part was going all the way back to our start/finish point and then having to go back out. Oh well. It gave me some mental preparation for Surf City, which has huge out-and-backs along PCH and the paved bike path.

Anyway, in 2009 I ran five miles on New Year's Day. In 2010, I ran 10 and set a high bar each time. On Jan. 2, 2011 I ran 20.11 miles, and while it wasn't on New Year's Day the bar was set high nevertheless.