"If you're going to stagger in front of a car, make sure it's an Aston Martin and not some dishwasher haulin it on his way to work on Park Ave."

20 Miles. I did it! I did it! Woo Hoo!

This run was historic for me and I was a bit concerned and nervous going in. The mindset is completely different for 20 miles than for 16. At least it is for me. I have a tendency to experience the "middle mile yuk syndrome" . During these miles, I feel tired, my quads hurt and I am generally grumpy. It usually lasts for a couple miles and then some weird second wind comes into play. This week it happened at mile 7 and again at mile 13. Honestly, at mile 13 - everything in my body was screaming at me to stop. I was able to muddle through it, though and continue on.

Today's run was actually quite fun! I can't say I expected it - but when you trek with great running buddies anything can happen. We had some pretty funny (delirious) moments. Sue, Tim, Rachelle and Beth were all there making it super fun! We giggled so much between miles 15 and 18 that I had to run away from Rachelle so I wouldn't (to put it delicately) pee myself! The headline of today's post is a direct quote from the run!

The aforementioned group was running fewer miles than I had committed to. Tim did 14, and Rachelle and Beth did 18. Sue was our supportive cheerleader on her bike as she was recovering from a 50 mile run the previous weekend and had some wicked blisters. After Rachelle and Beth finished their 18, I was momentarily tempted to call it a day. But I dug deep and with Sue's help, knocked out the last 2 miles. We got back to our starting point with half a mile yet to go and I obsessively ran around the block so I could see my garmin cross over the 20 mile mark. I have the picture to prove it!

So, the run was complete, ( 4 hours and 30 minutes later) and I was so happy! I took off my shoes (aaaahhhh), hobbled to my car, drove to get a chocolate milk and headed home for a delightful nap. When I woke up at 1230 pm, Caleb ( my wonderful, caring son) made me french toast and bacon! Yummy! After burning 2000 calories, it hit the spot! I did get out of bed to eat - and my legs were not as sore as I thought they might be.

Today ( Sunday) my legs are sore - but not dreadfully so. All in all, I am really pleased. I feel confident that I can complete a marathon now. I wish I had started training sooner so I could have gotten a bit faster but I will just have to be okay with it. I won't break any time records - but I will finish.

I am hoping to do one more 20+ miler (preferably 22) during the training. We are down to 6 weeks till the race.

I guess that is all for now. Thanks for reading!

Jules