Wow! I haven't ran 13 miles since March 21, 2010. Over a year ago! That's when I ran the Shamrock half marathon and, I must admit today's run was no where near as fun as that run, even with two injuries. Maybe it was because there was no crowd cheering you on by name(thanks to it being displayed on your bib), no finish line, no t-shirt, no medal and, no FREE BEER! What gives? Lol! Although I'm battling a little overuse knee injury(way to minimize it Tracey) I'm in far better shape this time around than the last time I ran 13 miles. Back then, I had no idea what I was getting into, having only been running for less than a year. Sometimes ignorance IS bliss.
Today's run was tough! First of all, it was humid as hell. We started promptly at 6:30 this morning, trying to beat hurricane Irene, and five minutes in I was sweating like a pig. The first three miles were rough which, is usually the case with me. I'm pretty consistent and it takes me a full twenty minutes(at least) to warm up and find my groove. By mile 3.45 I was thinking 'am I gonna be able to complete this?'. We're talking roughly 10 more miles to go! I was already getting into my head. I'm my own worse critic and, I'm extremely hard on myself. So, I make these types of challenges far more challenging than they need to be. Well of course, I stuck it out because along with being my own worse critic I'm also stubborn and a fighter and I don't give up easily.
I breathed heavily, sweated, grunted, and yes even walked a little. At one point, I mentioned to one of the ladies in my group that I was only doing 10, she was like oh cool, me too! I was exhausted, my knee was aching a little and I was suffering from 'runners trots'(luckily I made it home, what? tmi?). If you don't know what that is, google it! :-) I was saying those words to her but knowing the whole time I wasn't going to stop til my GPS hit 13. Well it didn't just hit 13 but 13.72. A few of us read the directions in the email wrong and made a double loop when it should have been a single. Oh well, what's another .72 when you've already gone 13?!
On Saturdays as a reward I usually hit Dunkin Donuts after my long run. The caramel iced coffee is to die!! Unfortunately for me, today was not a good day to do that. After burning 1,822 calories which pretty much burned off my breakfast of boiled egg and an English Muffin with 1tbsp of peanut butter PLUS the 'runners trots' I was depleted. Usually that first sip of my iced coffee is heaven, today? Not so much!
Overall I'd say it was an okay run. I'm not one to try to beat the clock. I just want to finish! Here's a quote I absolutely love because it reminds me of what I'm feeling when I'm out there running. 'In running, it doesn't matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, 'I have finished'. I have this buddy I sometimes run with and she too can be hard on herself. I've said to her a hundred times 'it doesn't matter if you're having a bad run, or need to take walk breaks, you're moving'. I truly believe that.
Can't believe there's only three weeks before my birthday. Now, usually we want the birthdays as far off as possible because, who wants to get older? Lol! But, this time around I want to move it back not only to avoid turning the big 37 but, because I have a half marathon that very same day! Who's idea was it to do that?! Hmmm
The Good:
1. I finished!!!
2. earned 32 Weight Watchers activity points (ca ching, I'm seeing Coldstone cake batter in my future)
The Bad:
1. hot and humid, though nothing new...it's been that way the entire summer of training
2. .72 miles more than we'd plan to do
3. running on empty
The Ugly:
1. chafing, oh my...the burn in the shower(forgot to put on my body glide)!
2. runners trot (sorry but, it's a part of running)
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PGRC
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