I was in Glendora over the weekend so I was a little worried about where I would be able to get 20 miles in. I always run at the top of town where it's quieter and I can run for miles without intersections, not to mention the air is much cleaner up there. I adjust this route depending on how long or short I need it to be, but the longest I've ever made it is 15 miles. I didn't know where I was going to find 5 more miles to tie in.
I started around 7:15 on Sunday morning with a few loops in my head to add hoping I could hit 20 miles. The route is right on the border of the Angeles National Forest so I decided I would climb up Glendora Mountain Road (GMR) and turn back to get some mileage and a good, gradual hill in. After the hill, I ran about 7 miles until I reached the halfway point in the run. Usually I head south and it gets busier on the road. I really didn't feel like cars/traffic/people so I turned around and went back along the mountains the way I came. This added some more hills into the run and when I got back to GMR I was feeling confident so I decided I would do it again. I was going about a mile up the road and it was tough, but it was the kind of hill that felt really good. I was huffing and puffing at the top and thoroughly embarrassed that on this particular day the firefighters were there doing some trails. When I got to the bottom of the hill, I decided to do it again (yup, it felt that good!) and then head towards my car. I was thoroughly proud of myself and feeling good and my pace really picked up on the way back to the car. I was at about 16 miles after the hills and thought I would get pretty close to 20. I was really flying and then something happened. All of a sudden, my knee did something weird and before I could even slow down my leg was off the ground and my body was not letting it touch the ground again. I hopped a few steps slowing down and tried to walk, but it hurt! I think I might have had a bad footstrike and popped my knee a bit, but I was too scared to take any chances. I walked the rest of the way to the car and it stretched out. I finished a little over 18 miles. The pain went away and I consider this to be a freak accident and a cautionary tale about uneven sidewalks.
I'm glad that big run is out of the way. I'm starting to feel confident about Pasadena. I stuck with my sports drink and never got hungry, despite skipping breakfast. I also realized that around miles 11-15 I hate life. I lose focus, get very tired, and question myself. In my last marathon, I definitely freaked out miles 15-18 so this seems about right for me. I'm really happy that after hitting those hills and getting to mile 16, I was so pumped. This gives me hope for Pasadena because I know those hills will be killer, but with each one I'll try to take some confidence. I'm feeling good about this one and might rethink my finish time. In the meantime, I'm getting a cold and I'm trying like hell to get rid of it before it gets serious. I'm going to bed early, hopefully this helps!
