Redemption

All I can say is..it is really nice to be on this side of the 17 miles.

Actually, my run went very well. I had made a trip to my local running store (Fleet Feet) the day before and bought some sport beans, body glide & a fancy new water bottle. I went to bed early and much to my husband's dismay set the alarm for 5:00. My friend, Linda was meeting me at my house at 6:00 and then she was following me down to a bike path for the run. I didn't even want to attempt to map out a 17 mile course so I thought it would be easier to do the bike path (which was awesome). I definetly made the right choice and plan to do as many runs there as possible in the future.

Unfortunately, I woke up at 3:20 and could not fall back to sleep. I was too anxious about the task at hand. Eventually, I got out of bed only to find that it was raining. At the time, it was just a light drizzle so that wasn't going to stop me. Eventually, Linda arrived and she followed me in her car. She was only going to run the first 7 with me and then I was on my own. As we were driving, it started raining harder. And harder. I was expecting her to start flashing her lights in an attempt to tell me she was turning back. But, we continued on and eventually the rain let up a little bit. But it was really still raining pretty hard. Once we arrived at the bike path, I was happy to see other cars in the parking lot with 26.2 stickers...we weren't the only lunatics running in the pouring rain.

The water bottle I bought was the kind that straps onto your hand. It has a neoprene holder which helps keep the fluid from warming up. It also has a little zipper pocket for a key or beans or something. I was a little skeptical at first, but quickly I realized that I LOVED the thing. I had Gatorade in it and every time I went by my car (which was a total of 3 times), I'd fill it up with more Gatorade. I found it much better to sip fluid along the way rather than downing a whole bottle in one shot. I'm a believer in those bottles now. The one I got is by Ultimate Direction. It's GREAT! If you don't have one, you should go out and buy one immediately ;-)

So, Linda ran with me for the first 7 miles..we went out 3.5 from the car and back. 7 miles done. Bye-bye Linda :( I was on my own now. I quickly used the bathroom (yes they even have a bathroom there - major bonus!), refilled my bottle, and headed out in the other direction 2.5 and back..that makes 12 done. Got more Gatorade and my iPod and then off I went for my last 5 miles. I felt pretty good at that point. Not really too tired. I was running 4 minutes, walking 1. After Linda left, I picked up the pace. I think all of my running intervals were right around 10 minutes or under so I was moving at a decent pace (at least between miles 8-17). It wasn't until 15 miles that my legs started feeling really tired. But, I only had 2 miles left so I knew I could do it.

Since it had finally stopped raining (at 15 miles!), my wet clothes were really starting to bug me, the cord to my headphones kept getting in my way and that was bugging me, everything was bugging me. But, then I started getting into my music and before I knew it I was finally finished. It took me 3:15 which I know is slow, but I don't really care. I was so happy I did it. I have to admit I was pretty proud of myself.

So next I have a 20 miler to look forward to (in 3 weeks). I don't even want to think about it right now. My legs are still a little sore, but all in all I have to say I feel really good. I went out for a 4 mile run this morning. Very slow and easy, but it was good. Still can't imagine 26.2 miles, but you never know. I didn't think I could do 17 either.

Thanks to all my running buddies for your advice & support!