The Day I Ran 21 Miles

I'm still trying to figure out why I decided to sign up for a marathon. 26.2 miles. Was I temporarily insane at the time? And am I still insane for continuing to train for it? The jury is still out on that one.*

After a pretty decent sleep Friday night, I woke Saturday morning and got ready for my run. I did the big no-no and put on all new clothes, but I wasn't really worried about it. I managed to remember everything - even charged Marvin the Garmin. I was set to take on my 21 miler (even though I was shaking in my Brooks!). The morning was hot and stagnant, but nothing out of the ordinary for us Houstonians. Before we started, we held a nice moment of silence for those that have and still are suffering from 9/11.

The first 7 miles went by really fast. It was still really dark out, but we all managed to make all the correct turns and made it back to our starting point before sun up. I didn't even notice my watch for most of the first part. At the water stop, I refueled my handheld with water and ate half of my Margarita shot blocks. I didn't feel that I needed a GU yet, so I didn't take one. My friend E and I just kept chugging along. I felt really great until the sun really reared its ugly head and the heat got worse. Heat + already exhausted legs = no good. Our last water stop was at mile 17 and I started walking as soon as it came in my sight. I felt so tired! I ate and drank everything I saw. Peanut butter filled pretzels, pringles, shot blocks. Ugh! That was such a bad idea!

When we started on the last leg home, my stomach was sloshing. I had overdone it with the food and fluids and was even more miserable than before. Next time I'll know to stay away from all the yummy stuff until the run is completely over. It really made the last 4 miles killer. I managed to stay up with E until mile 19 or so when I slowed to a jogging crawl of sorts. I'm not really sure how I pushed through those last two miles and made it to the end, but I did. I ran 21 miles. It still feels like it was a dream, but then I stand up and feel the soreness in my hips and knees and remember that I really did run 21 miles. My ice bath afterwards actually felt amazing (and so was the glass of champagne).

Nike is in 4 weeks. Bring it.

*As much as I complain, I'm still having a great time with my training and am excited about the race. I'm just a complainer by nature. :)