17 Miles

I was dreading this run, because of the way my two 16 milers went. At the 4 mile mark, I thought to myself, "I have just under a half marathon left". This didn't do too much for morale. After a few more miles, I was feeling that this 17-miler was going better than either of the 16s. That feeling ended before I reached mile 14. I kept moving, and probably could have walked faster than my jog. I also seemed to be going uphill faster than running down. The ITB in my left knee was in pain. I didn't want to over-extend it or have it strike the ground any harder than it had to. I learned my lesson with my right knee.

It took me a PowerAde, water, chocolate milk, Dr. Pepper, and almost 3 hours before I could pee. My legs (especially knees) are killing me. My whole body is drained. So, I have decided NOT to run the Country Music Marathon. The CMM has been my goal since I injured my right knee in November and was unable to run the Memphis St. Jude's Marathon in December. Instead, I will decrease my mileage and look for another half or full marathon that is further down the road.