Allowing the good to outweigh the bad

Well.. the good news is I ran my first half marathon (+) distance today. More good news is that I was able to control my discomfort level in my hips and knees and surrounding muscles by controlling my speed. I now know I can indeed run/walk/jog in combination and run a half.
The bad news is that I still cannot keep my heart rate under 140BPM.
Why is it so hard? I had a lot to think about in the 2.5 hours I was running. Maybe I need to run more slow runs until my heart adapts to pumping more volume of blood per stroke as I keep trying(!) to go slower. The outcome I'm trying to achieve is being able to eventually run quicker for longer periods of time with a slower heart rate, training my muscles to be more efficient using the (aerobic) fat burning pathway for energy instead of an anaerobic (glycogen, glucose) one. I think I understand the concept. The problem is I keep reading so much, and I'm over thinking things. As usual, I'm expecting immediate results, and when I don't get them, I question things all over again. 

 Another thing I was thinking about was Runmeter's live webpage that folks use to watch friends and family run during training or a race. Runmeter's app sends updated webpage code every 5 minutes. But the webpage itself does not update. At least that's my experience with watching my sister run. So, I just sent off an email to Runmeter asking them to just add a parameter to the web page when it builds it to refresh every 5 minutes or so, OR, set it to refresh based on the lap interval set in the users current setting. They are really good at responding, so I can't wait to see if they have already considered it, and just won't or can't do it for other logistical reasons.

I used the 'I Heart Radio' app on my run today, and it was such a great change from listening to my tunes play over and over again. The downside to THAT was that it drained the battery on my phone quicker than usual. I ran 14 miles, but the phone died at 12. I ran in silence for 2 miles, and at first it was kind of eerie, but then, soothing.

It was a drab morning. Foggy, but comfortable, high 40's. I took some pics. Yay!

On Shore Road, looking back in the direction of Oyster Bay

Looking toward Bayville - very foggy.

Changed the route of the run (of course).. went into Oyster Bay Park. I had my contacts on so I was squinting trying to see the pic.

Oops. Glad I was sans boogers.

14 miles

This route was interesting. I had originally wanted to just run Shore Road back and forth a few times for 12 miles (2 miles in one direction), but there was still so much sand, rocks, twigs, cables, machinery and barriers on the road - combined with the overcast sky, it was really kind of depressing. And GREY. So, I ran into Bayville, part of the route of my very first 5k, and then decided to venture into Oyster Bay Park, where part of the Turkey Trot was run.

Ha. I still can't believe I ran 14 miles. Booyah.

Magellan Data

Runmeter Data (Truncated)