15 miles!

Today I ran my first 15 miler in prep for the L.A. marathon. It was suppose to happen last week but the run was quite rough on me so I didn’t make it.

However, today was a lot better for a number of reasons. One, we started early before the sun came out. Our goal was to start about 5:30 but we didn’t make it out until 6:15. It was okay. But when the sun started to come out all I could think about was man, if we were out 45 minutes earlier I could of save my skin from the sun’s exposure. Thankfully it wasn’t in the heat of day and I didn’t get tanned that bad.

So, we also took snacks. The day before I got 2 tangerines and some fruit chews for us as snacks. Running 15 miles shouldn’t be done without any replenishing. I think that is why last week my running part A.B. almost passed out! Ha! It wasn’t funny then but we laugh about it now.

We got a couple of bottles of water. I also tossed some jelly beans into my back pocket just for some extra juice. I wasn’t nervous the day before as I felt I was preparing pretty good. The only thing I didn’t do was drink enough water; I don’t think I even had a liter. Can you believe that? And I did have a brownie during the middle of the day because I did proctoring. Someone offered it to me and I took it like it was gold. Ha! For dinner I do have two pieces of nut raisins slices of bread with jam, I needed some carbs. Then I made dinner, salmon and veggies. It was so yummy. I felt quite prepared and most importantly I felt light inside which is always a good feeling. I woke up in the middle of the night only to not be able to go back to sleep. I fixed the play lists on my IPOD which was really cool. I felt like I had new music even though it was rearranged differently.

To complete the prep, I had a banana about 3:30 in the morning and a handful of raisins and then I called it a night. I was up within the next two hours with gear on and ready to go. We walked up to the park and felt the cool breeze. A.B. was cold, for me it was just right. Once we got into the park the weight of the run was on me. People often asked what goes through your mind when you run. What do you think about?  Everything! I think about the past, the future, last night, getting through the next loop, hoping my mind doesn’t give out and make me stop, how much farther I have to go.  I mean jus everything.

So, when we started I had a personal goal. I wanted to run the first two loops totaling about 6.7 miles without stopping. Then I would pause for water. Afterwards, I’d run the third loop and pause for some tangerine and more water. Then coming to the 4^th loop I run straight through until the end. I knew I’d lose m running partner on the hill and that was okay. However, visually it messes with my mind to see her gain space on me like that. But I had to remember we each are running our own race. We each tackle the hills and running differently.  There is something about having her in view on those first two loops that inspires me. It lets me know that ‘m not far behind and that I am still a contender. And for the first two loops I could see her. After that, I knew she was ahead of me but just wasn’t sure how far. 

The other cool thing about running Sunday was that there was a triathlon on in the park. How motivating!  Man, even though they weren’t going to start until 8 o’clock when we would nearly be two hours into the race I was still amped to be among some other fellow runners. Doesn’t get any better than that right! Sure enough as I came around for the third loop I was running right them. What a nice preview of marathon energy.  On the 3 rd loop I could feel the effect of the hill but I took my time. I told myself I only had one more to go, although I knew good–and-well I actually had too. Then when I came around for the 4^th loop I was hurting while coming up the hill. But I talked myself through it and just pushed until I got to the top. I allowed myself to take a complete pause and stretch. I looked behind me constantly to see if A.B. was coming and she wasn’t. Thank God. If she was I would have died because I knew I still had a good 2.5 miles left. I began again determine to finish the 4^th loop and when I did I was so happy to make it to mile 13. Now, I was chartering path that I hadn’t done in a while not since last year’s marathon. I could feel it boy could I feel it. I still kept pushing myself, I said just make it through the trespass way that would lead to the final hill. And, I did. I walked for about 3 minutes and then ran up the hill. And then it hit me, the urge to go the bathroom! Oh no, I was a good 15 minutes from being able to come in at 3 hours. When I checked my watch at mile 13 I was just 3 minutes behind my 13 mile time from the last run. I rushed to the bathroom, felt a lot lighter afterwardsJ and headed back on the trail.

Man, I had some sprint in me. All of a sudden my legs were spry and I was sprinting home. Home I could see it. And finally I made it right on time with 2 minutes to spare to 3 hours.  It was done.

I feel the pain, my stomach is a mess, my legs are soar, my butt hurts but I’m happy. 15 miles! Baby, 15 miles!

cde