Week 9 Breakdown

Today I passed the half way mark for distance on my long run. I highly suggest that if you want to run long and consistently, finding a good friend to run with is essential.  There are times I don't want to run alone and today was one of them. I ran today with my buddy Sarah Seads.  We planned a long climb up Forbidden Plateau, but bailed when I got stuck in the snow in the parking lot and it was snowing hard without a chance of letting up.  So we ended up on flatter trails near the ocean and "enjoyed" 3 hours of slipping along on slushy trails.  What is with our weather this year? I must admit this was not my favorite run ever, but having your trainer and dear friend along to chat with was a total blessing. I'm too tired for much diatribe, so here's the run down for the record books:

Total Distance: 27K
Time: 3:06 (I blame to snow for slowing us down)
Fuel: 1 Rice Ball (Scott Jurek), 1/4 c golden raisins, 1 Apple Mango Kale Happy Squeeze Twist (Costco); 290 calories
Notes on Fuel: Rice Ball kicked in about 20 min after ingestion; not enough salt today; raisins gave me immediate stomach cramps; didn't drink enough cause I was talking too much
Post run recovery: I drained the ENTIRE hot water tank into my bath, poured in the epsom salts, and spent 20 min there trying to warm up.  Note to self: dress warmer even though you're sweating.
Plans for next week: Seeing as the snow is hindering my hill climbing efforts in the mountains, on Sarah's advice I'm going to do 2 hill workouts during the week to make up for lack of elevation training on my long run until the snow melts.
Gratitude: buddy to run with; husband who cooks you mahi mahi and mashed potatoes for a post run lunch