seven weeks to 'M' day...

I'm pooped. And I hurt. And I probably cried a teensy bit today, all of one or two tears, they were present around mile 16. I'm not trying to whine, just trying to be honest. And I'm not gonna lie, I was nervous about the 18. I was still sore from my 16 and the hill last week and feeling a bit of burnout on everything this week. I was certain this run would be fugly. BUT.... yes there is a but. Good news, It wasn't fugly.

To my amazement my time was faster than my 16 miles last week, I have a feeling that was thanks to the fact that I just wanted to be done running. It was a beautiful sunny day, and the Kansas wind wasn't too horrid. It did provide some resistance on the six miles we did right into the wind, but other than that it wasn't bad.

Katie and Jenn had to do nine miles and I only ran four before they showed up because I was so tired this morning that my body felt heavy so I took it easy. Those first miles alone weren't easy, miles one - three were rough for me, I was tired and my legs were aching, but after mile three they finally loosened up. After those first four I set out with the girls to do 14 more. They ran about 7.5 miles with me, and I'm so glad they did! They helped me keep my pace up. I peeled off from them with 6.5 miles left.

I was carrying sport beans (I just can't get past the consistency of Gu) and finished off one and a half pakcages total during my run. I also managed to finish off an entire 32oz. bottle of PowerAide through those 18. After I left the girls I just wanted to have those last miles over with so I pushed through sore legs and finished pretty strong, but was spent after I finished. I went home and took an ice bath, stretched and surprisingly feel a little less sore than after my 16 last week, but I'm still pretty sore.

I kept reminding myself this is the price I have to pay, these miles count for something and that kept me going. I ended up running those 18 in 2:44:37... a pretty big victory for me.