11-mile Long run

Eleven miles along the Buffalo Bayou, what a way to end the week! Several running milestones were breached in the last seven days, including; Today's long run was my longest distance run to date. This week was the first time I broke the 30-mile week mark. In fact, this week I ended with 33.16 miles! Yeah me! Of course I had the 1-mile time trial (see prior post). Finally, if you look close enough you can see that most of my running paces have improved significantly. Take today for example. I ran a 11:30 pace. My usual long run pace is 12:00-12:30. Most of the other runs this week were under a 10:30 pace.
This week has been a complete roller coaster. On one hand it has been the BEST running week in my running career. On the other hand, the diet thing has been a little rough. Starting Monday, I plan on getting serious about my diet. I'll start with a trip to the grocery store this evening and scout out some new meals for the week. I have no intentions of trying to balance my diet while in Corpus Christi (Beach to Bay Relay), so I need to stick to a schedule before the trip.
I've increased my mileage the last two weeks by 10% each, so this week I need to back off a little. I'm so close to my running base I can taste it. I want my base to be 30-40 miles per week and a long run of 12-15 miles. Current plan is to hold this base during the Summer, until the Striders Marathon SMART training starts.
Today's run: I met fellow Houston Striders, Matt and Bessie Wright at their home for a pre-scheduled 11-mile long run. They have a favorite route, which consist of multiple rolling hills along the Buffalo Bayou. Before we started, both Matt and Bessie gave me some advice and tips about GU. I have never taken anything but water until today's run. We maintained a nice pace threw out the run. At the one-hour mark I took my first GU packet ever. I didn't like it, but the taste and texture was tolerable. Early in the run we had a lengthy discussion about hand and arm swing. It was hard to keep my arms lower and swinging straight, but I do see a difference. I'll work on my form more in the future. The other useful advice concerned the navigation of hills. I've read a few different articles, but there's a world of difference between reading about hill running and then actually doing it. Again, I'll work on my hill form more and see how it works for me. We took our second and final GU packet at the 1:40:00 minute mark. I had a Cappincino Love flavor, which I DID NOT LIKE. Twice I felt the stuff coming back up, YUCK. I told them the next time I feel like that I'll just puke and be done with it. I hit the water hard and tried to clear my mouth of the taste, which seemed to work. At the 9.5 mile mark Bessie must have felt good, as I noticed her pace improving. I maintained her faster pace and I started feeling good myself. We had a good, clean finish to a hilly 11-miler. I can see why they enjoy the route so much. There is a lot to see, in fact today we watched a bike road race for a small time. Matt told me all about the bats, the recent Buffalo Bayou improvements, and tons of other running tidbits. I had a great time and hopefully they will invite me to future long runs. Thanks M&B, you guys ROCK!

Activity: Run (long run)
Mileage: 11.0 miles
Time: 2:06:33
Location: Buffalo Bayou
How I felt (1-10): Overall 9.0