On Friday afternoon I checked in with "meteorologist" Dianna and we decided to go ahead with our scheduled Saturday plans—20 miles. There was a chance of rain showers for Saturday and Sunday, but we were lucky. The rain held off, and even though it was extremely humid, the cooler temperature was nice for running.
Friday evening I headed to Dianna’s house for carb-loading and relaxing. I had a great time and even though I have been eating much better for the past 3 weeks (salads everyday), Dianna probably saved me from making some un-wise eating decisions. (My sweet tooth "acted up" this past week. Around 10:00 every night I had extreme cravings for chocolate, which of course I had to satisfy with a handful of chocolate chips). :)
I ended up sleeping over Diannas to save time in the morning. But unlike sleepovers I had in high school—this time there were no pillow fights, junk food overloads, or talk about cute boys. Who am I kidding? Of course there was talk about cute guys!! ;)
This morning I woke up feeling really good, but extremely nervous. My last long run came close to being a disaster so I was worried it would happen again. At 7:30 Dianna and I were joined by Charlie and Dave for our first 10 mile loop. Normally I am quiet, but I was really quiet as we headed out on the trails, full of nervous energy. After awhile I found my groove and before I knew it, we were back at the house. We had averaged a 9:37 pace.
Back at Dianna’s house I changed into my new sneakers and refueled (peaches and a new Gatorade). We headed out for another 10 miles, this time on the roads and with Michelle. The next ten miles were difficult, but not impossible. I think I "zoned out" during miles 14 and 15. At that point I ate some gummi bears which helped, but around mile 17 I started "watching" a slide show of images in my head.
First slide— an ice cold glass of water
Second slide—a cold shower
Third slide—Lance Armstrong!!
I started thinking…Okay, I can get through this. If Lance Armstrong can survive cancer and go on to win the Tour de France a million times, I can certainly keep running. But…my legs are so tired. I wonder if I’ll be able to keep this pace on race day. I can’t believe I just ran 17 miles. Keep up with Dianna and Charlie. Don’t walk!! Don’t walk!! Hey, at least I’m feeling 100 times better compared to my last long run. I can do this. I know I can. Just a little longer.
A few miles later we finished, averaging a 9:10 pace for the last ten miles (actually a little slower for me because I fell a minute behind Dianna during the last mile).
Right now I feel really good. Granted, I did take a 2-hour nap this afternoon but I’m not sore and looking back I’m really pleased with how the run went this morning.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend. I had the best of intentions of catching up on blogs this afternoon, but my computer was acting funky. I’ll try again tomorrow. Happy Running!
Saturday, September 17, 2005
The Not So Scary 20 Mile Monster
Posted by April Anne at 11:15 PM
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16 comments:
20 miles. Phew. I've never been there. It sounds like you survived it well and can look forward to the tapering with confidence that "it can be done." Outstanding.
Wow, you rock!! I checked my new sneakers and I bought the same ones as you! I hope they give me the same speed! Just glad your not in my age group yet. Wait you may never be in my age group, I think I am at least ten years older!!
Wow, that sounds like a wonderful run. Another monster slain!
Awesome! Way to go on the 20! Glad you felt good the whole way through...this marathon is in the bag for you!
You were a total ROCK STAR, TROOPER!!! You got through the 20 miles now let the taper begin!
way to go aprile anne, you showed that 20 who's boss. great run!! and now, we taper!
good question about the music...i don't think i will but the thought does cross my mind from time to time...
ho hum. 20 miles.
(as i commented to dianna, can't you even pretend that it was a little hard...?)
:-)
Good job!
Way to go, now you can enjoy your tapering. I am looking forward to your tale of tacking Hartford! Have faith in yourself, you'll do just fine!
AWESOME!
and i know that 'Lance Armstrong' is just code for 'Wade'.
great job getting the 20 miles in... i'll have to try the gummy bear thingie..
YeeHaw! 20 miles - I'm 2 weeks out from that milestone. I only hope I can pull it off and still be coherent so soon after.
Hartford will be quick!
> My sweet tooth "acted up" this past week. Around
> 10:00 every night I had extreme cravings for chocolate,
> which of course I had to satisfy with a handful of
> chocolate chips). :)
Good on ya! A bit of chocolate (the darker, the better) is good for you.
>I ended up sleeping over Diannas to save time in the
> morning. But unlike sleepovers I had in high
> school—this time there were no pillow fights, junk food
> overloads, or talk about cute boys. Who am I kidding?
> Of course there was talk about cute guys!! ;)
So THAT'S what goes on at those sleepovers! I feel like an insider now.
> Right now I feel really good. Granted, I did take a 2-hour
> nap this afternoon but I’m not sore and looking back
> I’m really pleased with how the run went this morning.
Good job on the run, A-A!
BTW, how's school going?
WTG on getting your 20 miler done. I'm training for Philly Marathon and have a few weeks before I get to my 20 miler.
Nicely done April Anne. You are going to do very well in the marathon. You've got the training and the right attitude. Just smile your way to the finish line. :)
Hey April Anne. In answer to your question about web site visitors-- sitemeter.com and extremetracking.com are two free sites that you can sign up for. They even give you the code to add to your blog.
I run my 20 miler on Saturday. A little nervous, but your post made me excited.
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