Mal and I headed into uncharted territory this morning. We each ran fourteen miles, which is the longest distance that either of us have ever run. Hooray!! I was psyched to finish today! 
As you probably know, I’m in the process of testing out fuel for my long runs, so I tried a Honey Stinger on this morning’s training run.
The other day, Monica sent me a whole slew of her favorite products to try out. I really liked the Honey Stinger – Gold, which is pure natural honey with no flavors added. The consistency made it easy to eat while jogging (I didn’t have to stop and chew) and the flavor didn’t leave a weird taste in my mouth. (It tasted like regular ol’ honey.)
After eating my usual, go-to breakfast, I got my running gear, which included loading up my Spibelt.
My Spibelt holds my iPhone and “fuel” for the run. It would also probably fit an ID, cash, a key, or other small items. (A few people asked what fits inside my Spibelt, so I just wanted to let ya know! ;-))
When Mal and I arrived at the South Boston Running Emporium, our coach gave us a map of our 14-mile training route, which started in Southie, looped around Boston Common and the Charles River and back to South Boston.
We started down D Street to Summer Street and past South Station.
Which brought us to Downtown Crossing.
And then to Boston Common.
Where the first water stop was located (about 2 miles into the run).
The next few miles took us around Boston Common and down Beacon Street to the Charles River.
I love running along the Charles! It’s so pretty! 😀
Around mile 5.5, I crossed over the river to the Memorial side.
Around mile 6, I slowed my pace and ate the Honey Stinger. It went down, no problem!
Then, I continued on until I hit the Mass Ave bridge.
The Head of the Charles was happening today! 😀
Miles 8-11 took us down Beacon Street, around Boston Common once again, and looped back through Downtown Crossing. We followed Summer Street to L Street and back to the South Boston Running Emporium.
The final couple of miles were killer, but I pushed through and finished in 2:09:30 (9:15 pace).
- Mile 1: 9:12
- Mile 2: 8:51
- Mile 3: 9:26
- Mile 4: 9:09
- Mile 5: 9:09
- Mile 6: 9:04
- Mile 7: 9:10
- Mile 8: 9:07
- Mile 9: 9:21
- Mile 10: 9:46
- Mile 11: 9:27
- Mile 12: 9:05
- Mile 13: 9:36
- Mile 14: 9:36
Once I finished, I stretched and rehydrated with a packet for orange-flavored GU Recovery Brew, which was pretty good. It sort of reminded me of Tang.
Breakfast
Mal and I said goodbye to our team and drove straight to the Wheelhouse Diner for breakfast. I ordered my usual: 2 eggs with homefries, toast, and coffee.
Ya can’t go wrong with this breakfast! 😉
Then, Mal and I had the busiest day ever… and it’s not over yet! 😯 More to come!
61 Comments
You have such BEAUTIFUL autumn weather! I’m truly jealous!
Ooohhh your pictures make me miss Boston so much!
You are awesome. What a run!
The stinger chews are really tasty too!
Congrats on your new running milestone (pun intended)!
Congrats on your run! I competed in the Head of the Charles when I was in college. You brought back some great memories.
Wow, congrats on your run! It looks like it was a beautiful day to do 14 miles. I’m really intrigued by the honey stinger. I prefer to go natural and usually pack dates, but honey seems like it would be a nice option for longer runs.
random question on your SPI– where do you wear it, with the pouch in the front or the back? I’ve tried both and it still kinda bounces a little–I have the same content, iphone and gel— I cant figure out what I”m doin wrong here.
@Tammy: I got it from the Spibelt website.
Great job on your run. I need to get me a spibelt. Looks like it would be usefull. I’m training for a 1/2 in 3 weeks and have been looking into some kind of belt to carry cellphone and some race nourishmnet. Looks like a beautiful place to run especially with the water.
And there I thought the ~5 miles I ran were impressive. Stinger or not, you rock!
Wow! Keeping up that pace is impressive for all those miles! I am training for my first half marathon and am wondering how you built up your endurance. Were you always able to keep up such a fast pace???