I ran further than I’ve ever run – again!  Today’s run was 17 miles and I finished it feeling pretty good.  Yay me!

A couple of days ago, I was struggling to figure out WHEN I could actually get this run done.  My husband and I were invited to a Christmas Brunch on Saturday morning.  In order to run 17 miles BEFORE the brunch, we’d have to start running around 5:30AM…  Uh – not happening.  I’ve gotten used to leisurely starting runs – even on the weekend.  5:30 AM is NOT my idea of leisure.  I figured we could do it AFTER the brunch if I didn’t eat too much ‘junky’ stuff.  So, it was a plan!  Run at 2:00 pm.

Running in the afternoon would be a new thing for me.  I ALWAYS run in the morning – before I’ve had much to eat and before I’ve done anything to get too tired.  Why didn’t I think about this before I decided on 2pm?

We got to the brunch and there was a LOT of food – waffles, sausages, bacon, eggs, rolls, casseroles, cake, and on and on and on.  I got in the buffet line and FINALLY saw a platter of veggies and some fruit.  Great.  I’ll eat healthy.  Then, I saw the bread pudding.  I love bread pudding so I got a piece.   Then, I got some scrambled eggs, a slice of bacon, some little bacon wrapped sausages and – well, you get the picture.  No bueno.  The plate that I served myself was not healthy.  Oh – I forgot, the lady that I was sitting and talking with brought me a glass of some kind of sweet (really sweet) drink.  Alrighty then…

So, how’s this late running gonna work out???  It was around 2:30 when we started running at White Rock Lake.  I love it there.  It’s so pretty.  Take a look:  http://www.watermelon-kid.com/places/wrl/tour/tour_index.htm

And we were off!  Why are the first few miles always the hardest?  Am I the only one that experiences this?  Today, I didn’t let it get to me.  I was huffing and puffing like crazy, though. By 8 or 9 miles, I was in a groove and was chugging right along.  I was feeling pretty good.  I kept having to check myself and slow down because I kept getting into my little zone and started running faster than I wanted to run.  Is that a good thing or a bad thing?  I don’t know.  I kept having to slow myself down because I was really worried about petering out before the end of the run.  (How did poor Peter become known for weak endings??)

It was a great run.  At the end, I felt pretty strong – like I could have run another mile or so.  Really.  That never happens – at least not to me – and surely not lately.  It was dark by the time we got finished and it had cooled down considerably.  My hands were pretty cold.  My knees had started to hurt and felt like they were swelling, but they felt fine after I stopped running and walked around a little bit.  So:  17 miles done – CHECK!  I love having a good run.  It’s what makes me go out for the next run.

Now for random thoughts and what not…

1. Note to self:  DO NOT EAT BACON WRAPPED SAUSAGES AND THEN RUN.  No details, but let me just say, they weren’t worth it.
2. Accel Gel – I THINK it is helping me maintain more energy and recover faster after long runs.
3. I wanna try some electrolyte tablets next week.  Here’s what I’m talking about:  http://www.nuun.com/what_is_nuun/?ck=Yx_FIBN6AfMHLUHj&vid=Yx_FIBN6AdAHLU7e&cktime=96787  Does this stuff make any difference?  The only thing I know about this is what I’ve heard from the people at Luke’s Locker – and they kinda want to sell you stuff so I feel like they might not be TOTALLY objective.
4. Eating before runs is a good thing.  I need to force myself to eat more before long runs.
5. Drinking more than a couple of swallows of water during a long run is also a good thing.  I drank more water today than usual and I didn’t have to use the gross Porta Potty and I couldn’t feel the water sloshing around in my stomach like I thought I might.
6. It’s rough being a busty runner.  Rough.  I got new Body Glide that really helped my toe, but…  I’ll just leave it at that.
7. I forgot!  I got The Stick!  I love this thing, already! 

Well, that’s it.  Here’s what my week looked like:

• Monday:  5 miles – taking it easy
• Tuesday:  8 miles at marathon pace on treadmill
• Wednesday:  4 miles doing intervals on treadmill
• Thursday:  off
• Friday:  3 easy miles jogging with my dog (I was supposed to do 5 miles but I just wasn’t in the mood!)
  

  my dog Sophie

• Saturday:  17 miles
• Sunday:  off

Total:  37 miles

Here’s what’s on my schedule for next week:

• Monday:  4 easy miles
• Tuesday:  8 miles on treadmill
• Wednesday:  5 miles doing intervals
• Thursday:  off
• Friday:  19 miles
• Saturday:  4 easy miles
• Sunday:  off (Christmas!!)

Total:  40 miles

I haven’t said this in a while, but I can do this!