October 25 - (Un)Sweet 16

That's Laura and me, somehow managing to smile, after running our 16 miles.

So last night before a pasta & pesto dinner, I pretty much swore off going to the 16 mile group run this morning. I was over it, not interested, not going, no way, no how, no thanks. It had been a tiring week, my running didn't go too well during the week and I was not feeling up to a distance of 16 miles. But I got up at 4:05, ate my toast/peanut butter/banana/water combo, then went back to sleep until 5:15. And at 5:40, off I went. And by no means did I "enjoy" it but it's done and over with. There were several moments of doubt, mostly early on, throughout the run, several in which I was trying to figure out an escape route and figuring out how to call someone to come pick me up. (I am not kidding.) But I trucked on. When I arrived (2 minutes before we were set to take off) I had the urge to go #1. With no bathrooms in sight I had my first "squat" experience. Most of it ended up on my leg, so I ran back to the car, wiped my leg off with another shirt and headed down the hill to meet the group. Around mile 5 1/2 I asked one of my group members how far we'd gone, and that was my answer. Not even 1/3 done. Reaching the halfway point was golden, turning around was like saying there's hope! We went a bit too far, but still turned around. At mile 9 I had my banana Hammer gel and some water and tried a few of Laura's Sharkies (note to self: don't do that again). The weather was humid and gloomy the entire time but around mile 9 the mist kicked in and it was misty the entire way back for the most part. My new Dri-Fit visor worked well, blocking the mist. Most of the run I chatted with Laura. She had a rough week too. At about mile 14 we turned past the school board (boring!) and onto the Riverwalk - running on the wooden planks until we reached the Main Street bridge. Up and over the bridge we went (slowly) and after getting part way through the Riverwalk someone informed us we'd already hit 16 miles. Music to my ears! A few of us walked the remaining half mile back to the Y. So glad to be done. Hips, hip flexors, knees...they all were aching. It took about 3 1/2 hours. Came home, sat in the ice bath for 10 minutes, took a warm shower, and am now contemplating what's for lunch. Honestly I'm not so sure about this whole marathon "thing." It's a good challenge but am I supposed to "enjoy" these super long runs? Because honestly, I'm not.