That half inch of snow overnight really changed my long run plans this morning and as a result I got all discombobulated again. The weather was actually pretty decent outside for a change (but that will change tomorrow 8-12″ inches of snow is forecast for our area), so I really wanted to do my long run outside.

I figured that the best place to do it would be from Planet Fitness and wander around Leighton Road and Outer Civic Center Drive out past Steve’s Appliance. Great plan and the roads were a lot clearer once I got to Augusta than they were in Sidney.

That part was not an issue.

When I got to Planet Fitness and changed, I noticed that I didn’t have my Garmin with me. Shit, damnit, that is the second time in about a week, I left it sitting in the charging station at the house. Not a biggie, but I wanted to get at least 12 miles in and it is a lot easier figuring things out when I am wearing my Garmin.

Dumbshit!!!

Okay, not the end of the world, I have my old reliable Timex Ironman watch in my gym bag and the Milestone pod, which I calibrated yesterday, so I figured that it would be fairly close. The biggest issue/problem I have with the Milestone pod is that I don’t have a clue on the data until the run is over, which is nice to look at, but doesn’t do a damn thing about helping during the run.

I figured that between the two and knowing most of the course, I would have a pretty good idea of about how far I would be running. However, there was another option that I forgot all about – but more on that later. Yeah, when I figured it out I really felt like a dumbshit.

This run isn’t really about speed, but the plan calls for something around a 9:07 pace. Not super fast, but then again not dogging it too much either. The roads were mostly clear with a few slick areas where the snow had melted and felt a little greasy underfoot, otherwise it was the correct choice to run this course.

Once I got out on Outer Civic Center Drive there was a bit of a breeze, but nothing terrible, so I kept plodding along. When I got to the Damon’s Quik Stop/Dunkins, I took a quick break. While sitting there thinking about contemplating the woes of the world, I remembered that I had a GPS app in my phone.

Dumbshit!!!

I haven’t used my phone for running in years and had forgotten all about it. I could have recorded the distance and looked at it to get the close-enough distance. So I decided to use the Strava app from there to the end of the run.

According to my Running Ahead I had run 5.3 miles by the time got to the Quik Stop

And Strava had me at 6.99 i.e. 7.0, so my total distance was somewhere closer to 12.3 miles,

Definitely, not the 13.14 that the Milestone Pod had my distance as. Just a bit of a difference, but it does make a difference especially on the pace and as you can see there is a bit of a difference.

Since I really wasn’t pushing the pace, the Strava mile splits are more along the lines of what I expected and why I added on an extra lap around Leighton Road to make sure that I got my 12.0 miles in. Using 12.3 miles total and 1:52:00 meant that I was pretty much spot on with my overall pace for the run.

Other than my brain cramps the run was more just keep going than anything. I felt really good throughout and my feet didn’t bother at all. The New Balance Beacons did everything I wanted them too.

Good day at the office, even though I didn’t do my part by bringing all the equipment I needed. 😉