First Long Run in several weeks

Saturday, April 28, was my first long run in several weeks.  I ran the mountain bike trails in Ridgeland.  This was my first time around the long loop, which is billed as being 9.5 miles.  My plan was to run 2 and 1/2 hours.  I arrived later that I intended, a bit after 8:00 pm.  The temperature was starting to rise.  My hydration pack was filled with 70 oz. of water on my back.  This is a tough trail run.  My Garmin said that I climbed 5300 feet, which would be big for me at this point.  I certainly felt it.  I had technical difficulties with both of my heart monitors and I had to run on feel.  My final overall pace was 12:47, slow as molasses on a cold day.  Nevertheless I really enjoyed the run through the woods.  The first 1 and 1/2 hours felt good.  The last hour was hard.  I finished with 11.75 miles in 2 and 1/2 hours of running.  The time on my feet was good, but the number of miles concerns me.  Is my aerobic fitness really that bad.  I know that at the end I felt spent.  At the hour mark, I ate some shot bloks and removed my shirt to cool down.  I try to get my hydration pack adjusted to avoid chaffing.  Unfortunately, I didn't get it adjusted correctly at the bottom.  I know have two bad chafed spots on my lower back, on my kidneys.

Overall, I really enjoyed this run and the trails.  I would give it a 4, if I had run faster and hadn't felt spent at the end.  So it's a 3, mainly because there has to be room for improvement.