18 miles

Sorry I've been away so long. It's been a hectic week and about to get even more hectic.

But first things first: I ran 18 miles yesterday!

It took a long time -- I'm still not where I need to be in order to Beat the Bridge -- but I made progress. It took me 4 hours, 42 minutes (and my goal for that distance is 4:28). While this makes me still doubtful about my ability to finish the race, I still have hope. It was extremely humid on Saturday, and by the time I finished it was in the upper 80s. I hope the weather will be a tad better at the end of October, though you never know. I also hope the energy from the race will help keep me going. Oh, and during yesterday's run, since I was starting from a remote parking area, I carried a big pouch on my waist with water and Gatorade -- so I was carrying a lot of extra weight.

Here's how the 18 broke down:

Mile 1: Goal: 14:52/ Reality: 13:26 (prior long run of 16: 18:20)
Mile 2: Goal: 29:44/ Reality: 27:04 (prior long run: 37:32)
Mile 3: Goal: 44:37/ Reality: 41:23 (prior long run: 51:32)
Mile 4: Goal: 59:29/ Reality: 55:37 (prior long run: 1:05:25)
Mile 5: Goal: 1:14:22/ Reality: 1:09:58 (prior long run: 1:19:52)
----bathroom break ----
Mile 6: Goal: 1:29:14/ Reality: 1:28:57 (prior long run: 1:34:05)
Mile 7: Goal: 1:44:07/ Reality: 1:42:49 (prior long run: 1:49:20)
Mile 8: Goal: 1:58:59/ Reality: 1:56:40 (prior long run: 2:06:34)
Mile 9: Goal: 2:13:52/ Reality: 2:11:08 (prior long run: 2:25:30)
Mile 10: Goal: 2:28:44/ Reality: 2:26:37 (prior long run: 2:41:24)
Mile 11: Goal: 2:43:37/ Reality: 2:41:05 (prior long run: 2:59:31)
Mile 12: Goal: 2:58:29/ Reality: 2:58:39 (prior long run: 3:17:03)
Mile 13: Goal: 3:13:22/ Reality: 3:16:19 (prior long run: 3:40:13)
Mile 14: Goal: 3:28:14/ Reality: 3:33:06 (prior long run: 3:54:09)
Mile 15: Goal: 3:43:07/ Reality: 3:52:46 (prior long run: 4:11:57)
Mile 16: Goal: 3:57:59/ Reality: 4:09:35 (prior long run: 4:30:15)
Mile 17: Goal: 4:12:52/ Reality: 4:24:32
Mile 18: Goal: 4:27:44/ Reality: 4:42:08

So as you can see, the first 12 were on schedule and after that it got sloooow. But here's the good news: I did mile 17 in 15 minutes (which is the goal), so it IS possible. I made a bigger effort this time to force myself to run more in those later miles by saying to myself "These are the important ones." I beat my last two long runs (last 12-miler was 3:04 -- yesterday's was 2:58-- and last 16-miler was 4:30 and yesterday's was 4:09).

I know this is a lot of numbers, but I'm typing this more for me to analyze. It's making me feel a little better.

How do I physically feel? Not awful! I iced a ton when I got home, stretched a ton and then went to work. Toward the end of my shift, I started feeling bad. It hurt to go down stairs and it hurt to walk up a ramp (I called it a "mountain"). This morning, I feel better. I went to church and was lucky enough to get the pew with the sole comfy kneeler, so my knees were thankful. I don't feel pain. I know I need to stretch and roll and ice today just for good measure. So I am very, very thankful.

Why am I so busy all of a sudden? I was asked, at the very, very last minute, to teach a class at Old Dominion University this semester. I was asked Wednesday. Classes start Tuesday. So I have a ton to do to prepare. I'll be MIA, I'm sure, for most of this week.

Eating hasn't gone so well. But I'll renew my effort this week.