long run today

Distance: 12.51 miles
Time: 2:05:19
Pace: 10:02/mile
Temperature: ~79 degrees
Time of Day: 7:45 a.m.

MapMyRun was being finicky today so there is no picture to accompany this blog entry :( Today's run was much better than last week's long run. The weather was probably 5-10 degrees cooler, and I hydrated and ate properly last night. I had a cup of coffee with an espresso gu and headed out with my new geisha water bottle. I went down to the Western Ave bridge and started on the Boston side rather than heading toward the Eliot bridge.

It's so much better than when it was under construction last year--no more stinky gravel path! The shade from the trees was quite pleasant. I wish I'd run on this side more during previous long runs. I'm going to miss having the luxury of doing long runs on weekday mornings. The Esplanade is much less crowded, and the catcallers aren't out in full force (except for one that yelled "Mmm! Calm my soul!" from his bike).

I'm still a bit confused about how to pick up the Cambridge side of the path after crossing the Museum of Science bridge. I ended up running through East Cambridge and picking it up at Wadsworth Street, where I usually come off the path to Broadway. The second half of the run wasn't as pleasant as the first because of lack of shade. I felt better after hydrating at the Eliot boat house water fountain. I decided to stop at Whole Foods for some sparkling water after the run--I suppose I could have gone another half mile to make it to 13 miles, but I'm still happy with the run!