No Excuses

This morning, I hemmed and hawed. Should I go for the long run or not? It was windy. But warm(ish). I didn't feel super energetic. But I didn't feel any worse. Would today be a better day for it? Or should I wait until Monday? In the end, I told myself to stop with the excuses and just go. It was windy, yes. I didn't feel 100%, sure, but what was the guarantee that I would feel that way on Monday. And if I wasn't going to run 20/22 miles today, I was going to run 12/14, so either way, I was going to be out there for a while. Why not just go the distance? We can't pick the weather or how we feel on race day, so I knew I should just suck it up and get out the door. I mapped out a 20 mile route, suited up, and headed out around 10:00.

My run took me through some Topsham neighborhoods and down to the swinging bridge. The bridge was a bit sketchy, but surprisingly, the roads were actually in pretty good shape.  I meandered through Brunswick to Pleasant Hill, and then up against the wind to Woodside. The gusts of wind were fierce through this stretch, but luckily, once I got down to Maquoit Bay and headed back uphill, the wind was at my back and I welcomed the respite. I took Rossmore once again, smiling at the male Hooded Merganser bobbing in the tidal stream. There is just something adorable (or is it comical?) about this bird. I love watching them. Left onto Merepoint and then a quick right onto Simpson's Point Road. My Garmin beeped 12.0 just as I hit the boat ramp at the end of the point, and after a quick look out onto the ocean and islands beyond, I turned back to run the Pennelville fields. The winds had luckily begun to abate at this point, and the run through the wide open fields wasn't bad at all.

From there, it was back onto Merepoint towards Maine Street. The rest of the run was spent retracing my steps through Brunswick, across the swinging bridge, up Bridge Street and back home. In the last few miles, the clouds parted and the sun came out. I took off my gloves, and reveled in the fact that I was in the final push of a 20 mile run and was actually still feeling pretty decent. I finished up the run in 2:59:14, with 20 miles exactly. I'm glad I didn't let the excuses get in my way today!