Saturday. What a day.
I was up at 7:00 am, but wasn't sure if I would have time to complete a 20 mile run/walk and have enough time to get ready for church directory pictures. I had essentially talked myself out of even trying it, when Sherri said I would have enough time to get in a run that would probably take 4 hours. I downed a quick cup of coffee, had a few gummie-like pieces of candy, and drank a little PowerAde. Then I was out the door by 7:30. I left a pack of gummies and the rest of the PowerAde at my truck in the driveway. I was to run four 5 mile laps, and the fuel would be there. I planned on needing it, because I didn't really fuel up beforehand.
It was 57 degrees and cloudy when I started. It also looked like rain may be moving in, but the weatherman had said nothing about that. After the first lap, I did not stop for a drink. I just turned around and kept going. About Mile 7, the sun finally won the battle and beamed through the clouds. What kept this from being perfect? The increasing wind speed. However, every time I was about to really get mad at the wind, it would die down. It had reached 71 degrees by the time I finished. So, it was really almost perfect weather (to me).
At Mile 10, I made a quick pit stop. I ate about 5 gummies and drank a little PowerAde. I also wrote down my time in case something went wrong. (I was using my cell phone to keep track of the mile splits. My watch is still "dead", and the last time I used my iPod, sweat-moisture got into the armband and has affected the on/off button. I do not want to risk damaging it any further.) And something did go wrong, I closed my phone - I have an old school phone that flips open - and when I did, I lost all my per mile times. After 10 miles, my time was 1:36:46, a pace of 9:41.
After 15 miles, I made another quick stop for a few more gummies and a little bit too much PowerAde, because it sloshed around in my stomach for a little while. I also wrote down my time, and it was getting faster. My total time was now 2:23:25 for a 9:34 pace.
As I headed into my last lap, I had two things I wanted to accomplish: 1. No walking; 2. Finish with a pace of 10:00 or less. No walking would most likely be a "mind over matter" dilemma. Finishing in under 10:00, would be "no walking". I could run it slow - I just had to keep running. I am proud to say I did both. It was very difficult, though. It took all I had just to run downhill. My final time was 3:17:16, for a pace of 9:52.
As I sat on the porch, finishing off the PowerAde and savoring my accomplishment, my heart and mind felt ecstatic to the brink of exploding. The rest of my body begged to differ; it was on the verge of imploding. Seriously, though, my body felt pretty good for having run 20 miles! I went upstairs to shower, when all of a sudden, I found myself in the floor hugging the commode. I gagged a little, but never got anything up. I think I would have felt better if I did, but not eating anything left my stomach empty, I guess. It wasn't too long before the feeling went away, though.
We went and had the pictures done. Then we went to Houston County. Sherri went with her sister to carry some food to a family that had a recent death. Lainey and I went to my mom's. I was tired and could have taken a nap, but I wasn't really sore. When Sherri returned, we went to the high school to eat hamburger steaks. (The baseball team had a dinner to raise money.) I ate my hamburger steak, about half of Lainey's, my roll, half of Lainey's roll, was able to obtain another roll, and a big cinnamon roll for desert. I was starved. Other than the gummies, I only had a Fudge Round at mom's all day. I had 3 Dr. Pepper's, a Pepsi, and some chocolate milk after the meal until bedtime. By Sunday morning, I had only lost 1 pound!
I thought I would be sore Sunday. Not so. I don't know if it was all the chocolate milk (I've read it helps keep down soreness) or if I was still on a high knowing that I ran 20 miles. I talked to Shane (a former runner - LOL) Sunday afternoon. He said the soreness usually hits him the second day. So far, so good.
I believe this 20 mile run is the best run in my life!
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