Guinness For Strength

It's always a bad idea to change things for a long run.

It's a much worse idea to change everything. However, that's exactly what I did yesterday as part of my celebration of St. Patrick, and my poor planning is a large part of why this post is a day late.

Change one: the course. This was probably my smartest change, as it actually served a purpose. Among the 20 miles I would complete, 6.2 of them were the course for the Capitol 10K, which I'll run next week. It gave me a solid idea of what to expect and how to run my race. The downside was that it gave me a great big hill in the middle of the run. Can't wait to see that one on Sunday.

Change two: the bottle. In lieu of filling up my Camel Pak, I carried along a bottle of water, which posed a few issues. I had to stop for each drink, as the alternative was hitting my teeth on the plastic. As a result, I drank much more water than usual, and had massive cramping 90 minutes in. Plus, I hate running with things in my hands. I gave it a shot, but next time I'll just take the spot.

Change three: the beer. Yeah, I had a beer. After 16 miles, I stopped at a local restaurant for the first Guinness of the day. I met a friend, and we talked for a few before I headed back to the road for the last four. For the record, don't do that.

Overall, the run wasn't bad, but it was fractured. I expected it to be a little off, though, so I'm not concerned. Mostly, I'm glad I completed the miles, and in two weeks, I'll be ready for the next step.

And for a return to routine.

Saturday's run:
70s and cloudy
20.89 Miles