My weekend went by too fast and was pretty exhausting. Feels kind of good to be sitting down for a period longer than 2 secs. First things first...I know you're dying to hear my long run recap ;)
18 miles.
eighteen.
all I can say is, who AM I?!
I don't even know myself anymore.
Never in a trillion years would I have ever dreamed I could/would/attempt/want to run that far. I remember one time back in high school, senior year. I was in "Total Body" a class cheerleaders (and other athletes) were encouraged to take... basically PE on steriods... ok so no steriods, you get the idea. Anyway, we had to run twice a week on the track. We began gradually, adding a lap here and there until "test" day when girls were required to run a timed mile and a half. I remember the huffing and puffing, my heart flying and my brain begging me to quit. I made a deal with myself at that moment, if I could get through this, I would never make myself run again. EVER. This was my last PE class I'd ever have to take and after that, who could ever force me to run again? I loathed it.
Sort of funny now. Or ironic. But that's me, I guess. Tell me I can't, and I will. Tell me it hurts, I'll tell you it's fun. ...Told you I was weird.
So, back to Saturday. I woke up after a really hard sleep. The kind you have to really shake out of your system- must have been extra tired from the week. I got up and, as much as I'm embarrassed to say, turned on the Disney station of Pandora (don't worry- Cory has already left for work... he didn't get to witness this) and I danced around trying to wake up to "I wanna be like you" from the Jungle Book- don't lie, you woulda been shakin it too.
So, I get to our meeting point before the sun even shows it's face. It was blissfully crisp outside, mid 40's at 7am. This was the first time my whole marathon group was all able to run together- all 9 of us, for 3 hours straight. And I'm not kidding when I say this, get 9 women together, and there's a whole lot to talk about!
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| Hello, morning. |
The first 4 miles flew by- this part is always my favorite. It's backroad country miles that stretch on- and pair that with a clear beautiful morning- it's breathtaking. The next several miles where into direct sunlight- either a blessing in disguise or a little bitch. I was forced to watch the ground the entire time because my eyes teared up whenever I looked forward. Lucky for me, it really made time fly and before I knew it, 8 miles were down. I remember my friend yelling out, at the sound of her beeping Garmin, "ONLY 10 TO GO!!" and that was comforting- as weird as that sounds. I've done 10 milers countless times. I put it in my head that I was just starting my run- the 8 that had already come and gone didn't exist. I had brand new fresh legs and only 10 miles to go. WOO HOO!
I took a Gu at mile 6, and a couple Chomps at mile 10, and 14. I probably could have taken a little more in towards the end, but with only 4 left I convinced myself I'd be okay...and I was, until then end of 17. It was a suprising feeling- part of me was bored and just wanted to be done, part of me was thrilled to pieces that I'd come this far, and part of me was wanting to die.
Typically, it's only my calves that burn during long runs, but Saturday, every muscle was screaming at the end. Like I said, I probably would have been better off taking in more fuel. I also didn't eat hardly any carbs Friday- a mistake I won't make again! (every little bit helps, right?) But, I was able to pick it up for the last mile, which is a great sign of a good pace.
---> Side note, if you find yourself running positive splits (ie getting slower as you progess), then your pace is too fast. You should be running at a pace comfortable enough that you have some ammo left in you to kick it up for the last part of the run, but not so much that you don't feel like you got a good workout <----
All 9 of us finished with huge smiles on our faces. This was the longest that 8 of us had ever ran before, and we got all sentimental and gushy... weird what Runner's High will do to a person.
I stretched, foam rolled, epsom salt bathed, and stretched some more. I was only minimally sore Sunday, which is awesome to me. Must be doing something right, I guess!
Saturday night, everyone from the running group- marathoners to C25K'ers met for dinner and drinks at City Tavern to celebrate our accomplishments so far. I got the Hummus Wrap (which had no hummus, bummer). But, it was really fun to see everyone outside of our sweaty clothes!
Sunday was another typical Sunday- cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry. The cool air gripped me in it's teeth and forced me to go shopping for fall decorations- I got a bunch of really cute things for the house! My favorite was definately the Apple Cider candle. Holy yum.
Hope everyone is enjoying this cool weather! Pray for it to stick around!! :) Have a great week!
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