Oh and, btw, I ran 16 miles ;-)

Stre-e-e-e-e-etching

 

 

 

Life is so full of so many worthwhile things, truly - so full, in fact, that even though I've been DOing a lot and writing in my mind a lot, I just haven't gotten to the screen to document the way I want to. I write this blog all day long in my head, but sitting down to capture the plethora of thoughts, images, ideas, inspirations... well, you know, I have 5 kids and a training schedule and I gotta stretch, and do laundry and dishes and feed the dog.
Anyway, my endurance run this past Saturday - 4x4 (aka 16 miles) went better than I anticipated. I got up early, made myself a yummy egg salad sandwich, gathered all my training paraphenalia and was on the trail just as the clock tower was chiming 8 am. It was cloudy, cool, and not crowded. Classic rock seemed to be the best motivator and I had Cliff ROKS, Gatorade and my saving grace, Jolly Ranchers - rewarded myself with one at the end of each 4 mile stretch and sucked on the fourth one that final mile - green apple (and Muse "Victorious") - totally  got me through.
Averaged just under 10 minute miles consistently. Am thinking maybe that's why I felt better than I have on previous endurance runs - I push it harder when I'm with Manda.... anyway, I'm fine with 10 minute mile average. Shit, I'm an old lady - that's pretty good! I didn't stop to walk. I didn't stress and fret. I just did my run, 4x4, beginning to end and when I was done, it felt good.
Manda was going to come see me finish, but she got lost and went to Wilmington instead (not my faulty directions this time! ha!) - so, when I finished (expecting to see her but not), I was tempted to say to some grandparents and their adorable kiddos in the parking lot who just happened to be getting out of the car next to mine "Hey - guess what? I DID IT! I just ran 16 miles! High 5!" ...but I didn't. I wonder what they would have done if I had?

Jolly Rancher Kisses - 14 miles

So, every weekend we have an endurance run. According to our training schedule, they alternate in length, so that two weeks ago, we did 12 miles, then the next weekend, 7 miles, and this past weekend we upped it to 14.
It was an ideal morning for running with bright clear skies, zero humidity, and even a gentle breeze. We followed online dietary instructions and fueled our bodies with a "breakfast of champions" - 2 eggs, 2 pieces of toast, orange juice, water, and a banana (actually, it also said to eat raisin bran with milk - but we couldn't deal with that much food!)

Then, we headed out to the Loveland Trail - nice, flat, spacious, shady trails that are well-marked to track progress (this is especially comforting for Miss Amanda as she likes ongoing input regarding distance and time). Thankfully, this time out neither of us were dealing with nasty cramps or other injuries - although Amanda did get another annoying cramp in the arch of her foot during our second round of 3.5 miles (so maybe 5 miles in).

I introduced Amanda to a Secret Trick of Endurance Running that I learned from a kind stranger round about mile 22 of the Flying Pig marathon (my 1st ever) in 2002. Just when I thought I couldn't keep going, she kept stride with me just long enough to gift me with 3 Jolly Ranchers. I tell you what - those sour hard candies saved me. Instead of focusing on the pain in my thighs or the blisters rubbing my feet, I became immersed in the taste explosion happening in my mouth - and it was good. ;-) So, on our way to the 14-miler, I stopped at Thornton's and added a large bag of Jolly Ranchers to our running supply arsenal. (Note: Green Apple is my fave; Amanda's is Watermelon - this is also good ;-)).

Amanda kept track of actual running time (so not including time we stop to stretch, consume water, take pics, unwrap Ranchers, etc) and reports that she finished the 14 miles in 2 hours and 6 minutes (so I guess ancient, slow madre-woman finished in approx. 2 hours and 7 minutes). Yes, I seem to have a chronic final-mile issue, regardless of the distance - if it's 12 miles, I'm hurting and giving myself permission to walk a bit between 11-12; if it's 6, I struggle mentally between 5-6; so, on this run, I stopped to walk at 13.25 (and wow, the walking felt good - but watching Amanda run on ahead didn't!).... so, I put a question out there to my i-pod shuffle - not sure what song was playing as I walked, but I told myself that I'd let the next song dictate whether or not I would pull it out and run to our finish at mile marker 42 (or not). And what song comes on? "Life in the Fast Lane" by the Eagles - Ha ha ha! No arguing with that one... I picked up my pace and happily ran to the end, really - to be fair - only about 1/2 a minute behind the super-trooper Amanda ;-)

lipstick cramps cooler toes

Today, we found that the folks who travel the Loveland Trail on Sunday morning are friendly ones.... so many "hellos" and "good mornings" and non-obligatory nods. Today, we ran 3 miles, 4 times, traversing the same path four times.... deer crossed the same part of the path each time, making for 8 deer sitings in all.... two yellow chick-a-dees followed us a few miles.... we saw a lady biking with her kitty in a cart, and I got a very-necessary i-Pod tutorial... figuring out how to make a playlist with not a single female voice keep me on track....
Bladder and uterus intact - what more can a marathon-trainee ask for? Lipstick? Yes... I had that, too!