That’s the furthest I have ever run in my entire life. There isn’t a marathon or half marathon in my near future. I guess I’m just doing it to see how far my body can take me, although, I do hope to do some sort of marathon, half marathon or triathlon before this upcoming summer!
So at 10 am yesterday morning, I layered on a running tank top, Nike dri-fit long sleeved shirt (that I got at the thrift store for $8!), a quarter zip running jacket and a an old sweatshirt. I was nervous to say the least. The furthest I had ever ran before yesterday was 15 miles. That was last week, and if you ask me, I was on the verge of death.
I felt amazing miles 1-11. Then again, I was running a 9:45 mile pace, but I’ll take what I can get. The roads were completely empty and the mall was closed. It was so strange to see; it’s like the world stops on Christmas. Lucky for me, Dunkin’ Donuts stays open on Christmas, so I was able to buy a bottle of water that I carried with me for 14 miles.
Around mile 12 I still felt great and I got the crazy idea in my head to run 20 miles instead of 17 miles. Because, you know, if I can run 17, I can run 20, right? I was cursing myself for that decision around mile 14 because once I get an idea in my head, I HAVE to do it. I know, I’m crazy. Mile 14 ensued boredom, some knee pain and the beginning of blisters. By mile 15, I was telling myself to take it one mile at a time, and with each mile came increasing pain in my feet, ankle, knees, hips, and eventually my chest where it felt like a very large man was sitting and crushing my lungs.
Despite the pain, I willed myself to keep going and I’m so glad I did. I finished 20 miles in 3 hours and 20 minutes. Not the fastest time, but I did it, and the sense of accomplishment that comes with being able to go that far and do that much overrides the discomfort of the run.
I think I need to find myself a marathon to train for, so at least I have a valid excuse for this craziness.
I got home with endorphins running high, as well as the urge to throw up or pass out, but I did neither. Instead, I ate as much food as I could stomach, took a shower and promptly feel asleep for two hours.
When I got up, my family, my boyfriend and a friend of my mom’s joined us for dinner at a Chinese restaurant. It was completely packed, and despite our reservation, we waited for a table for about 30 minutes. It was worth the wait. The food was great and I have been craving good Chinese food for over a month now! I didn’t take any pictures of, you know, food, but I did snap about a thousand photos of Russ and me.
That’s the only one that we both look somewhat decent. I ended up passing out around ten last night and woke up bright and early to hit the gym for a very, very, very light work out.
The rest of the day will be filled with errands and then I’m going to attempt to make my own pasta. It should be interesting.
Until next time,
Adios
