Yep. You read it right. It's not a typo. Today's run was 16 miles. It went really well. I was worried about it, not really because of the mileage, but more because initially I was slated to run it by myself. This was an incredibly daunting idea for me. But yesterday afternoon, Beth called me asking if I was running this morning. Ends up that the heat and humidity of Saturday got to her because of her asthma and she "only" made it 8 miles. Let's pause for a second here: if it had been me that had "only" made it 8 miles of the 16, I too would have been disappointed and wishing I had finished. I may even toy with the idea of running the next day. Another few miles, maybe even up to the additional 8 miles. But I wouldn't be on the phone calling my friend to see if I could run the full 16 miles. So that alone shows you what a rock star Bethie is. Back to yesterday afternoon: needless to say I was excited she was wanting to run because it meant I had a friend to run with plus a pacer. Awesomely awesome! We decided running on the lakefront would still be the best and to start 6-ish a.m. to make sure to avoid heat.
This morning I got up at 4:20 (why I'm still awake right now, I have no idea). Since it was ridiculously early I ate some Cheerios with fresh blueberries (yum!) and watched Extra only to be inundated with bikini styles on bodies that I do not have. Not motivation for running faster, mind you, motivation to leave, definitely. I met Beth at her house and we caravaned down to the lake front. We decided to run North then circle back South because of a triathlon taking place downtown. The weather was perfect for running. It was absolutely gorgeous out. I was particularly chatty today too. My big worry for the run was my knee. I worked on my form focusing on running straight on my legs, striding evenly, not favoring either leg. I thought the run went pretty quickly actually. Beth was battling a mental block. It's completely understandable. She ran 8 miles yesterday! Seriously a rock star! She was apologizing for being crabby. I thought she was pretty reserved. Besides, I was in a good mood, an annoying good mood. I think, maybe, I was trying to be in a good mood for both of us. I was just so happy to have someone to run with! At mile 13, we stopped for a sanity, I mean, water break. I was complaining about my knee starting to feel a little off and Beth was feeling tired in general. While we were having our little pity party, a young man ran by us. What caught our eye was that this man had no legs, he was running with prosthetics. Seeing him running (faster than us) despite a physical difference shut us up pretty fast.
We finished our 3 miles strong. Beth walked 0.1 mile in the last mile. I think she felt guilty about it. I mentioned 8 miles yesterday trumps 0.1 mile walk of today's 16 mile run. In the end, my knee held up. I think two things helped. One, I had been good about icing this week. And two, I did not wear heels this week. I am so glad that my knee never felt worse than just a little off. Well, plus, I prayed about it. I'm thankful that God chose to say yes to that prayer!
Beth stretched my legs for me, which felt awesome! Then she headed out on her bike to meet Tina so they could watch the triathlon. I headed home but not before stopping at Dunkin Donuts to get a bagel ("You just want it plain??" they asked) and a strawberry banana smoothie (so good!). I still need to ice my knee but it feels so good! I'm so happy about that! (I will still ice though.) I also need to lay down and put my legs up for a while too.
All-in-all a most fun run.
Total time to run 16 miles - 3:16:13
Total time to register for the IN marathon for the cheaper rate - 7 days
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