I actually ran 20 miles yesterday!!

I was going to update my blog yesterday but I had a fashion show about an hour after my run and I just didn’t have the time. I know it was crazy to schedule a CABI show right after running 20 miles but a few of the ladies I hike with were going to be there and, since I haven’t been hiking due to my running, I haven’t connected with any of them for a long time so I made the effort and I’m glad I did. These ladies are wonderful people and I’m proud to be their friend.

The other reason I wasn’t able to update my blog was I ran on Sunday and Sunday night I have to work for a couple of hours to get ready for Monday morning. Oh well so much for excuses.

Anyway the run was one of the best runs I’ve had to date but ended up been the hardest on my feet at the end. Funny how that works.

I succumbed and bought a new pair of running shoes (IZumi) because I just wasn’t sure if the pair I was wearing (Brooks) had worn out or not. You can’t really tell by looking at them but after 300-500 miles you should be thinking about replacing them and my Brooks had 370 miles on them. I decided I would wear the iZumis for my long runs, and continue to use the Brooks for my shorter runs.

My strategy Sunday was to start out a little slower and run at a slower pace for the first 10 miles to conserve energy so I could finish the last 10 miles without dragging. I’m not good at pacing like that but it’s crucial for finishing a marathon. So I started my run on Sunday, at what I thought was a reasonable pace, not too slow but at the same time, not wearing myself out. At mile 2, I was feeling pretty good, as I usually do, and asked Harry the time. He said it was 18:40, a 9:20 pace. I told him he must be wrong but so far Harry hasn’t messed up the times but I still checked my RunMeter on my iPhone and it concurred. What the heck was I doing running a 9:20 minute pace, faster than I run on the treadmill. Well I better slow down.

At mile 6 I was running past a marina and smelt the kind of smells you only find at a marina, which is usually kind of yucky but on Sunday it was truly awesome. Then one of the new tunes (the Rosebuds) I had just downloaded to my iPod came on, people were out on the river and in the parks because it was a beautiful day and then and there I knew what a runner’s high was all about. Oh my gosh I was feeling great.

My time at mile 6 was 58 minutes so I was slowing down but still running under a 10 minute mile. I was thinking these new shoes were pretty good and obviously the carb loading I had done the days before was working. I kept thinking I could probably finish this run with a time very close to 10 minutes a mile.

At mile 10 I stopped for a minute or so and did some upside down stretches to pull my back, which starts to get pretty tight on long runs, and just general stretching. It felt wonderful and from now on I will always stretch at the 1/2 way mark on long runs. When I was done stretching I headed back feeling pretty good but noticed my toes on the left foot were starting to burn.

At mile 11 a lady came up from behind and started to run with me. It was Sara, the personal trainer from the gym who is going to run the last 4 miles of my marathon with me. We chatted for a while then she took off – what a beautiful runner.

By mile 14 toes on both feet were starting to burn so I stopped and took one of my shoes off to check to see if my sock was bunching up and causing my toes to burn. Unfortunately, I found nothing “afoot” haha so put my shoe back on and kept running. By the time I got to mile 18 Harry insisted he was going to go get the truck but I said no I was going to finish. And finish I did.

I wonder what my time would’ve been if hadn’t had the issues with my toes.

In any case, I think I’ll be able to finish my marathon in 4 1/2 hours and not the 5 hours that I thought it would take me. I now realize the fears I had of coming in last if I ran a sanctioned race were unfounded. But heh who knew.

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