Eighteen - Take 2 - And A Whole Lot More...

So, I need to go back a few days here…

Thursday –  my first day of vacation – it was “Pamper Me Day” and it was delightful!!! I got my hair did at Taylor Made Hair Design – LOVE THIS GIRL!!!  Fingers and toes got special treatment at NJ Top Nails – this place was new to me. FANTASTIC service and affordable too! Coffee with my one and only sister Cindy-Lou-Who! Finally dinner with one of my BFF’s!! If I won the lottery – this would be my day, every day!!!

However I must back up just a wee bit more… See I may have celebrated the oncoming vacation a little much on Wednesday night… So imagine my surprise to wake after only 4 hours sleep and see FIVE texts, FIVE Facebook notifications, and ONE missed call on my phone. I’m groggy and hungover. I decide to start with the texts. Most recent first:

“:) OMG!! :) OMG!!”

Initial thought: WTH is she doing up at this hour!!

Anyway… Previous text…

“We got into Nike!!!!!!”

It took 3 hours for that text to set in! See, Nike is a Women’s half marathon that is SO coveted that they do a lottery to determine who gets to run it. Only 25,000 can run it each year. ONLY! I’m dying to know how many people register! Anywho – my favorite running buddy has been trying to get in for 5 years and finally, WE’RE IN!!! Let me share with you their email …

It goes on and on to tell me how they’re going to charge my account for this torture because I’m crazy, but that’s the gist of it  :)

Oh, perhaps I should mention that our medal comes in this…

But anyway…

Skipping ahead to Friday! Oh I relaxed! I window shopped! It was another delightful day!

Until…

I’m out on my run. Five miles. It’s doable. I’m kinda struggling. Tummy is a bit upset. I continue on.

4.something miles  - I meet the pavement!

I rolled my ankle on a pinecone?? Both knees got a wee bit of road rash. Garmin took the hit for my left hand. My right, however, HURTS!! Holding the cylindrical water bottle caused this hand to roll back into a very unnatural position. I pick myself up. Stop my Garmin. (Priorities). My hand throbs. Well hell. I have less than a mile to go. I wiggle my fingers as I run and determine I will survive. Oh my does it hurt. A little Neosporin and some ice and a good night’s sleep and I’m almost good as new.

Thank-freakin-goodness!!!

So, today.

Today was take-2 of my 18 mile run. There are no words. There is no comparison. First of all it was 41 when I left my house – 20 degrees cooler than last week!!!

We decided to run in Spokane since next week is Bloomsday, which is 7.46 miles and we need to complete 20. We figured we should map out a route.

Oh the nerves.

New territory? No house to stop in mid-point? We have to remember EVERYTHING we could possibly need?

I didn’t map out the course. Some friends did. I trusted them. I was given an index card with directions. Ooooh – like a scavenger hunt!! Get it right, you get a ride home. Get it wrong… um, it’s a long walk from North Spokane to my house!!! I best get it right!!

I take off… half a mile in… hill. BIG hill. You know, when someone works the streets of Spokane, you think they could mention there is a big ass hill on the route they suggested for you!!! Remind me to thank said friend next time I see him!!! (Editor’s note: apparently friend told us, we were just a little too excited to listen…)

I run and I walk and I run and I walk. I find a penny here and a penny there…  and then…

These kids tried to mug me for my pennies!!!

Three times!!!

I began to wonder what I would do if I found a penny in their claimed area. Would I give it to them? I mean, I’m all for helping kids. But really, they aren’t running 18 miles today. These pennies are mine!! Then I laughed. I was reminded of an outing in Seattle where my running buddy picked up 2 pennies, from the sidewalk, a few feet from a panhandling bum. Some stranger told her to give the bum the pennies. She might have responded that if he wanted them, he would have gotten off his tush and gotten them himself! Seriously, he almost could have reached him from his perch! I didn’t find any pennies here though. Dilemma resolved.

Somewhere I stopped my Garmin and forgot to restart it. UGH!! When you are running 18,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles, every 1/10^th on that Garmin counts! I got back to the car at 8.20. My running buddy had already been to the car and clocked it at 9.38. Crap! I lost over a mile!!!

I continued on. I’m slow. I’m blessed with many hours to think about many things. How I run. How my foot hits the pavement. How I should eat better. What color I should paint my bedroom. What to have for dinner. How we should do our community outreach for S2S this year. And on. And on. And on.

I get a text from my running buddy… she’s still looking for “Maxwell St.”… this really is a scavenger hunt! 

How fun!

Part of the fun of this course was we got to run DOWN Doomsday hill! I’ve never noticed how beautiful it is while crawling up it before…

Less than two miles to go and I’m dragging. I decide to walk along this trail we’ve seen runners on all day. Totally worth it for the view…

I finished up with a decent time. For me anyway. I felt SOOOO much better than last week!

I’m still scared to death of 26.2 miles.

It’s SO far!

Here are my winnings for today…

Note the index card in the back! I made sure not to lose it! I did NOT want to walk home!!!

Thank you for hanging out through this novel!

I revel in the support I get from my readers!!!

What do you mean I can’t have a nap…

… during a marathon??

18. Oh I cannot lie.

18 sucked.

In my opinion, today does not count.

First of all – due to the fact that neither of us has won the lottery, my running buddy and I had totally messed up schedules this weekend!! Therefore, she ran her 18 miles Saturday while I was at work, and well, I attempted 18 miles today.

Let me start with my day – well it started at 130 am – when my shift began - I prepared for a flight and talked to my crew and flight followed them until 730am when they finished up early, because they are awesome like that.

After a short nap, I started out on my run. My 1^st four miles were GLORIOUS!! Seriously, cloud 9! I couldn’t believe it. After that it got ugly. Very ugly. At 4 I stopped at Starbucks and used the restroom and refilled my water. At 6 I stopped at a friend’s to refill my water again.

At 7.5 I stopped to text my running buddy that I had curled up under a shade tree somewhere in the city limits. See, it was 70 degrees. Up from 61 when I started. Well above the 29 I’ve grown accustomed to running in. Not complaining here, but holy heat batman!!!

At 9 I was tired. Very tired. I was half way!!!

At 10 I walked. I was hot. I had to stop in the shade a couple of times to try and get my heart rate and breathing under control. I was frustrated. I’ve done 10 miles before. More times than I can count on one hand. Ugh!

At 12 miles I returned to my friends. She was gone. I made myself at home, sharing an ice cube or two with the dog. I stretched and relaxed and cooled down for a bit. It was time to keep going.

I’ll admit I walked most of the last six miles. At 13.5 I was pretty sure that time had stopped even though I had not. It had hit 74 degrees at this point. Oh how I miss the 30’s.

At 15.75 I realized my “alternate route” was much further than planned. I was nowhere near home. I was in a community that was shaded (hence it’s draw), but SO confusing to navigate. At one point I was convinced I was trapped. HUGE PHOBIA PEOPLE! I was momentarily panicked! Then I realized I had gone (referencing Garmin here) 15.something miles. I was still in my town. I wasn’t lost. Even if I had to go back and take an alternate route, I could find home. Disaster averted!

16.46 came around and so did the tears. I was frustrated. I should have been done by now. What a failure. How will I ever survive 26.2 miles when I feel so weak right now? CRAP! There are children lying in the street. Pull yourself together. What will people think of a 6 foot woman with sunburned elbows crying as she wanders the streets? (30 something years, never sunburned my elbows before…)  Yes, there were children, on their bellies, lying in the street. There was a garden hose and a sled involved. My sunburned elbows and I just kept going.

I reached home at 17.28 miles. Really?

I refilled my water and filled the bathtub for the dreaded ice bath and went back out to finish up. Around the block I go, averting the neighbors who told my friend I’m a “sweet girl, but we really hope she mows her lawn this year,” as they are out mowing their lawn…

Anyway – HOME!

17.92 :o/

Urg!!! I continue down the street a little further and turn back, ending in my driveway at exactly 18.00!

I’m SO glad to get a re-do on this “run” next week! I will start at 4 am if that’s what it takes to avoid the heat.

Oh – and please forgive me – but I’m praying for rain for Memorial weekend. 

SWEET 16!

Miles, that is!

Yesterday I completed my first 16 mile training run. For some reason this run did not psych me out mentally. Now 18 and 20, those scare me, but 16 I was ready for. Or so I thought!!

See, normally my running buddy and I talk about where we are going to run and almost always we run into each other somewhere in town. Not literally of course. However, this week, the night before our run we scratched our big plan to venture out of our sleepy lil town to run in the big city. So, we each went to bed without a plan. Well, allbedamned if at 3.46 miles I didn’t look up and see my friend at the same intersection! So cool!!!!

After a brief discussion about how poorly I had calculated my intended distance, I foraged on towards 15^th Street. Now there is a portion of 15^th I don’t care for, due to lack of sidewalks and, well, for some reason about a mile or so just seems to feel like it takes forever. Nonetheless I continue on. I get to midtown (?), well, that is what I will call it anyway, and I notice they have the pavement marked every few feet or so. I look down and see a marking that says 26!! No way! That’s what I’m training for! I see 18 and 22 and there is 26 again and again! How cool is that! Okay, I know they aren’t really trying to prop me up for the insane adventure I have committed myself too, but nonetheless I smile every time I see it!

On and on I run. Or walk. Or run. Now due to the aforementioned miscalculation of distances, I’ve run from my house (we’ll say the Atlas Dog Park for those in the know) to 15^th Street to Sherman to 4^th(ish), stopping at a friend’s to potty (thanks friend) and back to my house. Guess what – big ole circle(ish) and only 12.5 miles!!! So I hop in the car and drive back to midtown and head out for 3.5 more.

I thought it was cheating to stop for 10-15 minutes while I relocated my car, I mean this will NOT be an option during the marathon! Well, not so much. My calves had a lot to say about restarting my run!! Ouch!

I wandered around, somewhat aimlessly, to finish my mileage.

At 14.77 I realized I had gone .77 more than ever before! Whoa! I’m tired.

Near the end of the run, I was bummed. Really, I had gone for hours and only found 6 pennies…

I arrived back at my car at 15.84… ugh!

Around the block I go… and what do I find??

Are you kidding me???

16 miles! 31 cents! Phenomenal!

It gets better!!!

You see. My running buddy. This is her 2^nd Marathon. Crazy. I know. She loves it.

She is a true inspiration! When I struggle, she fights. She encourages me to keep going. There is no sugar coating in marathon training. It’s hard. It’s painful. Keep going. You’ll survive.

I arrive back at her house. Alive. Having survived… this is what I’m greeted with…

Mimosa’s and jelly beans and everything I need to revive my very tired feet!! Foot soak and nail polish and the most amazing socks ever!! Oh, and of course a bucket and shovel. I just ran 16 miles. For the fun of it. I’m in no position to ask why I’m being given a bucket and shovel. I do, however, promise it will reappear on the beach, come summer. Probably filled with some fruity refreshing beverage.

What a fantastic day!

I hurt. I’ve taken an ice bath and for the first time since discovering such a torturous activity, it does not take away all my aches.

It seems as though this run last for two days.

You see, today I’m fondly aware of having pushed the boundaries!

My quads speak!

My calves speak!

All day long.

This evening, as I prepare to write this blog, I am bummed that I do not have a picture of the random support of strangers I saw along 15^th Street. So I call up my running buddy for a short walk. Armed with a flashlight (that we forgot) we head down the street. For blocks and blocks there are no markings. My friend asks me if I was sure that’s where I ran. Yes. Yes. I’m sure. And then we see a 25. A 30. 22. 25. 30. 10, I think. We’ve walked blocks and blocks. We’ve almost reached the point where I turned off the street. My friend eludes that I have actually gone crazy. That I was seeing something that didn’t exist.

There it was. In all its glory.

See it?!?!

I’m not crazy!

Well…