Saturday, August 04, 2007

16 miles this morning... a new PR!

This morning was hot, muggy, humid, and everything else you would not want on a 16 mile run day. Lately, I have increasingly questioned my decision to a) Run a marathon and b) Run a fall marathon which means summer training yeeeech. Nonetheless, I know I can't whine to all of you because many of you are doing the same exact thing... some of you even training for more challenging physical feats.

So, this morning came early with a 4:50 AM wake up call to get my stuff together and out the door to meet my group. The first couple miles were a little fast which I ended up paying for later. We talked about anything and everything and enjoyed the quiet and peaceful solitude before the sun came up. I got a little burst of energy at mile 7 from some GU and getting fired up from talking about someone that really pi$$ed me off lately... always helps while running!

I changed running shorts and my shirt at mile 10 as I was drenched in sweat, refueled, and hit the last 6 with a groan. I really struggled through miles 12-15 although it still did not pull down our average pace per mile and my running group even stated they were running faster than normal today with me there.

In the end, I finished the 16 marking a new running record for myself and I feel great- albeit a tad sore and I have some chaffing issues from my sports bra when it was wet against my skin (maybe change it, too?) despite lots of BodyGlide. I drove home feeling on top of the world and ready to tackle anything. It sounds so cheesy but I love it... running just makes me feel like I can do anything and gives me this fabulous aura of confidence.

This afternoon is our company picnic which I think I am going to skip in lieu of taking a nap in my wonderful bed, studying for the GMAT, and just enjoying NOT spending my entire weekend running around and doing stuff.

Happy trails to all!

6 comments:

Marcy said...

Great job on that run!!! ;D Ugghhh I'm jealous, I need a nap! LOL

Tiffany said...

Ahhh naptime... 1000 thread count sheets... snnnnnnnnnnoooooore.

MW said...

Congrats on your new distance PR!

you changed shorts?
During my run today I carried a water bottle, and just kept dousing my head with cold water! The wetter the better! ; )

JohnF said...

My coach encourages us to come up with positive thoughts to focus on during the runs, but I find that focusing on things that piss me off always makes me faster.

Mendy said...

Tiff! Wow! 16 miles! That's fantastic, even though you had some struggling issues. You pushed past them, and got it done! I'm so happy for you!!!

Too bad I won't be seeing you in Chicago - had to back out on the race, something about my leg needs to be looked at, and I need to finally pinpoint what's causing the pain. But,!!! we are planning on a trip to Chucktown soon, and I will definately let you know when!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on your 16 miler. You're well on your way to success in Chicago. I'm going back for 11th time. You're in for an amazing experience.

Keep up your great progress!