17.6 and Counting...

This past Saturday morning, I made it through 17.6 HOT miles during my run with the Team in Training group. It was a beautiful morning, but the temps rose fairly quickly and I drank close to 50oz of fluids during the process. As much as I hate to get up early on Saturdays to make our 7am start time, I'd gladly get there at 6am if it meant avoiding the heat! Overall, I made it through much quicker than I originally anticipated...feeling pretty good in the end.

The first 8 miles were strong (minus the fact that I tripped at an intersection and cut my hand/bruised my knee). It was more embarrassing than anything, since the intersection was packed with cars, bikers, and other runners. I suppose it could have been worse. Needless to say, I will never hesitate at a yellow light again!

Miles 14-16 were the most difficult. At times it felt like if I stopped, I would just lock up and fall over. This forced me to run (or hobble) the entire time, except for 2 aid station breaks. My shoes also felt like they no longer contained padding after a while. It seemed like I could feel every little pebble as I ran along. I'm thinking about buying another pair, just to rotate. On the positive side, I think my new knee support wraps helped minimize the knee pain I typically feel (though not eliminating it altogether). Thankfully, right around 16 miles I caught a sudden second wind and was able to finish stronger than previous, shorter runs.

The first thing I did after finishing (besides stretch) was limp over to the market across the parking lot and buy some nice cold chocolate milk. The first thing I did when I got home was sit in a bath of freezing water (which was completely worth it).