My First La Porte By the Bay Half Marathon

On December 4, 2011 I ran in the La Porte by the Bay Half Marathon on a whim.  Just 6 days before, after learning I would be a bachelorette for the weekend thanks to deer hunting season, I started the search for a local 5K race to have a little fun with.  Somehow I came across this race in my search, and before I knew it I was registered. Crazy, I know.  A half marathon just 4 weeks after a full is asking for pain, right?

It was a blast.

On a sad note, the Friday before the race, I learned my grandmother had passed away.  The visitation was the evening of the race, in New Braunfels.  That gave me plenty of time to run the race, then make the drive from Houston.  Knowing it would be cathartic, I decided to take it easy, but to go ahead and run.

The course was an out and back, taking you about 7.5 miles one way with the other 5.5 miles on the way back. The weather was awful.  65-70F and raining the entire time.  There was the Fred Hartman bridge in the middle.  Going both ways.  There was wind, spray from the traffic on the bridge, runners with no sense of ettiquette, and the entire course smelled like Deep Woods Off.

Did I mention it was a blast?

We started right on Galveston Bay in Sylvan Park and ran through some of La Porte's neighborhoods before turning out into the Houston Ship Channel's industrial area.  It was around mile 2.5 that I got my first laugh. The race turned onto Barbours Cut, which is a major trucking route for the ship channel. If you ever wondered how powerful running can be, try disrupting shipping traffic in one of the busiest ports in the world.  A very cool experience!

Just past the 3 mile marker, a man pushing a baby stroller passed me.  I know I'm slow, but that made me feel a little sick inside. Then we turned the corner and I could see the bridge.  Whoa!  Go on, baby stroller man, I'm saving some energy.

A bit past mile 4, we had one last water station before entering the bridge.  We had the shoulder and one lane blocked off for the race.  The rain was coming down pretty hard at this point, but I was pleased to find this part of the bridge was a very gentle grade. The tough part of the bridge was just after the 5 mile marker, and it was about a quarter of a mile up to the top. This was the last time until the final half mile that anyone passed me.  This was also where the we started seeing the leaders coming back at about 5.5 miles.  My goal was to make it to 6 miles before seeing them, so that was pretty close.

It was nice to get to the top of the bridge, where the La Porte PD had stationed some eye candy for the ladies.  He cheered us on as we crossed the top and started the descent.  On the downhill side, I passed a volunteer who had a cow bell and shouted, "We need more cowbell!"  He laughed and chased me part way down, clanging it as hard as he could.  We passed mile 6 on the way down and exited the bridge around mile 7.

The rain had let up by now, and the temperature was dropping.  We ran down to a boat ramp where someone was playing "Twist and Shout" in an endless loop from a loudspeaker.  That was about the extent of the course entertainment, which was fine with me.  I was high fiving the volunteers as we exited the boat ramp area at mile 8 and headed back for The Bridge.  Knowing what to expect this time, I picked it up on the gentle part of the grade and distracted myself watching pelicans flying under the bridge during the hardest part.  Back past the eye candy and down the other side, I decided to start picking people off.  The first 5 fell with no trouble, but there was one woman in a red shirt who was determined to stay ahead of me.  The afterburners came on as we approached the ramp off the bridge and I never saw her again.

I grabbed a cup of water just before the 11 mile marker and checked my Garmin.  Looking at my elapsed time, I realized I would have a PR unless I walked the rest of the race. Whoop! Halfway to mile 12 there was an underpass we had to go through and I looked up ahead to see if I could see the mile marker before starting the descent.  I did not see the mile marker but I spied...... baby stroller man!!!  Finally, a chance to vindicate my New York Marathoning self!  I passed him close to the top and kept right on going.  A pair of Gallowalking ladies toyed with me until the water station at the 12 mile marker, but I surprised them by not stopping to drink and left them in my wake.  With one mile to go, I started a gentle pick up, laughing again at those poor, confused truckers on Barbours Cut.

The last turn of the race came and I could see the finish line just over a half mile ahead.  It was here that a man wearing those hideous minimalist toe shoes passed me.  Humbled, I picked it up even harder.  A woman in a local running club t-shirt passed me.  Baffled by the thought of being passed by someone wearing cotton (cotton!!!) in a race, I pushed harder yet again.  I was passing people right and left, finally catching the guy who'd told me that "slower runners keep right" just after the start of the race. (You couldn't get any further right without running in the dirt.) I didn't think he'd remember me, after over 2 hours of running, but heard a surprised "Hey!" from behind.

I crossed the finish line at 2 hours and 16 minutes, as the announcer called my name.  Smaller races allow for name recognition, which is a really nice perk after running 13.1 miles.  I got a super cool medal and the satisfaction of knowing I managed a 5 minute PR for the half marathon distance just 4 weeks after a major marathon, even with having to cross that bridge twice.  The post race festivities included pizza, sausage on a stick, live music and beer.  In short, if you ever get the chance to run the La Porte By the Bay Half Marathon, do it!

Unfortunately, I had to beat it back to the car, drive home and pack up for the 3 hour drive to New Braunfels.  Please take my advice: Do not attempt 3 hours of highway driving in heavy rain immediately after a PR half marathon.  I wonder when my back will ever stop aching.

My first NYC Marathon

On Sunday, November 6, 2011, I ran my first NYC Marathon.  Whoa, what an experience!  Over 47,000 people started the race and over 46,000 finished.  There was no half option to bail out to if you got tired.  The streets were crowded, the energy was high, and the weather was perfect.  At 10:40am ET, the last wave of runners passed over the Verazzano Narrows Bridge with me in tow, and just over 5 hours and 12 minutes later, I crossed the finish line.  I crushed San Diego by 14 minutes.

Overall, I finished much stronger and felt better the whole race than last time. I discovered that I probably race more conservatively than I could, because I am so protective of my health.  The crowded course really affected me mentally and physically, as I darted and dodged to keep up my pace.  The support from the crowd was AMAZING (more on that later) and the course was incredible.  The weather was perfect, sunny and cool.  In all, an incredible experience.

The start of the race was on Staten Island, basically a 2 mile long bridge, so one up and one down.  Of course there were guys peeing off the bridge on the downhill side so I was glad to be on the upper deck of the bridge.  It was just us runners here, with the helicopters recording our progress and the NYFD boats spraying water into the air to cheer us along.  Then we turned off the bridge into Brooklyn and the wall of sound began.  People were stacked up 3 to 5 deep, cheering us on, playing music, offering free beer.  It was so motivating, no one stopped to walk until well past the 5K mark.

The 10K (6.2 mile) mark passed quickly and easily for me, right on target pace, smiling and high fiving the crowd.  Clinton Hill (mile 9-ish) was where the hills started getting to me, not slowing me down, just making me notice. Very few places where the streets weren't packed with spectators, especially anywhere we passed under a bridge, where the cheering echoed and reverberated at least twice as loud as in the open. I cruised up to the Pulaski Bridge, and crossed the halfway mark (13.1 miles) into Queens feeling strong, though the crowded course was starting to get to me.

Mile 15, WHOA!  Here comes the Queensboro bridge.  A full mile uphill again.  When we hit the top, a huge group of us smiled, nodded, and cheered in victory.  Complete strangers, we had offered each other encouragement over that tough mile, and we bonded in victory.  At the bottom of the bridge was a line of port-o-cans with no lines, so I stopped for a quick bathroom break. Then it was into the wall of sound entering Manhattan for the first time.  Incredible; like a giant frat party for runners.  I can only imagine how it feels for ball players to hear the crowds cheering them on.

At mile 18, some guy shoved me, hard, and almost knocked me down at the water station.  He found out the hard way that I am no wilting flower as I grabbed the back of his shirt and let him know that's no way to treat a lady.  I don't know whether he finished or not. I did not hurt him, but I think he went to the next porta potty.  After that, I sucked down a Gu and slowed down as I discovered that chocolate mint is not my flavor.  Started feeling better as we moved north into the Bronx and picked it up again. Until.... mile 21..... as we crossed back into Manhattan..... the guy next to me threw up on my foot.

I was so grossed out, I thought I was going to lose it.  Then I remembered I had already come over 21 miles and only 5 to go.  I was NOT going to let this stop me and I knew if I got sick to my stomach I was done.  On went my game face.  I did not look at my shoes and pulled my shirt up over my nose until the water station.  A volunteer tried to stop me, but once she realized what had happened, she helped me.  I grabbed a full jug of water and started dumping it on my feet.  Blisters be dammed, I was finishing this race.  She told me I was one tough mama and I was back off again.

Coming through Harlem around mile 22, a little girl really wanted to high 5 me. I cruised on by because my gloves were kind of icky by this point. Crying, she asked her mother how come the runner wouldn't give her a high 5.  It broke my heart, so I turned around and told her the truth, I'd been using my gloves to wipe my nose and didn't want to give her germs.  So I took off one glove and gave her a high 5 to make her day.  Her mother was very appreciative that I had turned around to make a difference for her little girl!  That gave me all the energy I needed to push down 5th Ave.

For anyone who checked my splits, there was a second bathroom break around mile 23.  The cans were on the wrong side of the tape, and spectators were helping runners to keep from tripping when they crossed over.  New Yorkers are so helpful that way!

Back out on the course, we turned into the park and it was hill city!  Also, being the first day after the time change, the sun was coming down fast and blinded us for the first 1.5 miles in the park.  People were trying to cross the road between runners and looked so confused as to why we weren't trying to avoid them.  Hello!  1) We've been running for 24+ miles already and 2) we can't see you for the sun in our faces.

As we turned onto 59th with less than a mile to go, I was a little loopy.  For some reason, I thought they had turned us out on Central Park West and was worried we would have to cross back over the other runners.  I thought maybe that was who was trying to cross over the course.  I kept thinking I should have had more than one Gu, but I was not about to try to stomach one now.  Then I saw Columbus Circle and the turn back into the park right after the .5 mile marker and all was well.  It was just low blood sugar panic, whew! I started a slow pickup to run past the bleachers at the finish line with spirit and strength.  When I hit the last hill with 200 yards to go, it was all out.  I sprinted to the finish with my hands in the air and a huge smile on my face.

I was bummed that I didn't make my time goal, but would have been more realistic if I'd known about the crowds.  Also if I'd known that I would constantly have to stop and pull something off the bottom of my shoe!  Among other things were a half finished Gu at 10K, a dried apple at mile 17 (that one KILLED my arch), and someone's cast off pace band at mile 20.  It's hard to pull industrial strength tape off the bottom of your shoe at mile 20, trust me. I was hopping all over the place like a jumping bean.  The course tested me, what with the crowded streets, the hills, being shoved and puked on, but I won in the end.  I finished.

After the death march to the bag check trucks the race organizers assure you is good for you, I hobbled out of the park at 77th, met DH at 66th, then walked slowly down to the 59th St subway station where I crammed us into a completely packed #1 train for the ride back to the hotel.  I pressed my fingertips hard against the roof of the train for balance since there wasn't even room to hold on to anything. So many congratulations for those of us wrapped up in those orange and blue space blankets, clutching our finisher food bags and proudly wearing our medals. All holding on to whatever we could for balance as the train rocked its way back downtown. What an amazing experience!  New York, you rock!

Resting and Carbing and Aches, Oh My!

Today is Thursday, June 2, 2011.  I am delirious with taper madness, that ghastly beast that haunts marathoners the last 3 weeks before the race.  My sources (Runner's World and Coach Ally) tell me I may experience the following symptoms:

1. A sudden, irrational urge to cram in extra miles.  Check.  These low mileage weeks are playing with my head.  My willpower is stretched to the max to restrain myself from long runs.  This is a very strange feeling - to think that 5 miles is "a short run."

2. Phantom Pains: You're walking across the room, and you feel a shooting pain in your knee.  And you start to think, "How the heck are am I going to run 26.2 miles when I can't even walk across the  room???" Check again.  My achilles tendons feel funny and the arches of my feet are alternating a strange ache I've never felt before. I woke up on Saturday with an ominous bruise on my left inner ankle.  Every joint in my body cracks and pops occasionally.  How do they predict these things???

3. Panic.  What did you get yourself into?  You guessed it - Check!  This one is starting to fade now, but over the weekend it hit something fierce.  Now I'm alternating between "WTF????" and "Can't wait to get started!"

4. Heavy Legs.  Tissue repair, along with the increase in Carbs and water can give you a very normal but disturbing feeling a week before your race.  Check again.  Another very strange feeling.

5. Weight gain.  As you eat more carbs, it helps to store more glycogen and water... which will help you on race day!  So don't weigh yourself and wear comfortable clothes.  Ahem, I am not breaking out the elastic-waist pants, but yes, check again.  I cheated this morning and stepped on the scale.  I was shocked, SHOCKED!!! to have gained 2 pounds.  (Just kidding - I totally expected and hoped for that.)

So I guess I'm doing this thing right.  Somewhere along the way, I turned myself into a runner and it feels good.  San Diego - look out!  I'll be there soon!!

Ferocious Friday - The Last Friday Long Run

It's taper time, folks, and today was the last sort-of longish run before the marathon next Sunday.  Two hours per our team training calendar.  Being the last quality day, you'd think I'd want everything just perfect, but nooooooo....... let me be the poster girl for doing everything ass-backward.  I survived and am in fine health, but let me break down what not to do (unless you want to carry a bucket when you run).

Rule 1: Carb-load the day before long runs; your body needs the stored energy to break down after about an hour's exercise.  What Mona did: Yogurt and fruit for breakfast the day before, followed by Mexican for lunch (we'll get to that in a minute) and a grilled chicken salad at the airport for dinner.  In my defense, it was a travel day, but still I could have tried to find a couple of slices of bread or some pasta somewhere.

Rule 2: Don't try any new foods the day before or the day of the long run.  What Mona did: Tried a delectable new Mexican specialty called Machaca, along with a bunch of spicy salsa.  I knew before I finished lunch I was going to regret that, but damn it was good!!  If you ever get to Phoenix, go to Carolina's and order the Machaca mix burrito.  Holy yum, Batman!

Rule 3: Eat something easily digestible before your run, including simple carbohydrates.  What Mona did: Had my usual breakfast shake (good) only without the banana (bad - there were none in the house).  The shake wasn't bad in itself, but the lack of the banana left me without a good part of my fuel.

Rule 4: Get out early, before the heat.  What Mona did: Gave herself some extra sleep in time since she didn't get home until almost midnight the night before.  It was almost 80 degrees and about 1000% humidity when I started and closer to 90 and 1,000,000% humidity by the time I finished.  Blech.

As you can imagine, my run this morning was not the most comfortable experience of my life, but I felt like a ferocious beast for gutting it out and finishing the whole thing.  The second mile was the second hardest part of the run, getting my body woken up and adjusted to the 2 hour time difference.  I really felt the stress of travel in my neck and shoulders as well.  Somewhere after about 1.3 miles breakfast was arguing with me and I was wishing for that bucked Tony Horton used to talk about in P90X.  I fought it off and started feeling pretty good going into mile 3.  Cruising along for the next 3 miles or so, a breeze picked up and the sun went behind the clouds.  I gave thanks and carried on, sucking down Cytomax and water as needed.

During mile 7, a started to feel a rumble way down deep in my tummy.  I'm sure Mexican food lovers know the feeling I'm talking about.  I heard Coach telling us in practice, "Don't poop your pants!"  So I dashed home as fast as I could.  With that out of the way, I headed back out to finish up.  This is where I ran into a quandary.  In the marathon, that time would count.  So should I could it toward my 2 hours?  A quick clock check and the overheated sauna that greeted me as I walked back out the door both said yes, and I didn't argue.

I picked it back up right at mile 7 and made it to 8 right as the sun came out full force.  Talk about brutal.  I brought the pace down and seriously got into the Cytomax.  Now I was feeling the effects of the dry desert air, the airplane air, and the lack of proper fueling.  I sucked down a Gu.  Why didn't I think of that before?  That helped.  The sun hid behind another cloud and on I went.

Mile 9.  The Wall.  Thanks to the Cytomax, it wasn't all psychedelic like Pink Floyd's wall, but it hurt all the same.  Both sides suddenly cramped.  I was looking around for that bucket again.  Side stitches suck.  I walked about a half mile trying to work it out.  Coach's voice came into my head again.  "Listen to your body!"  "Don't be a hero."  I looked at the time again, getting later.  The sun came back out and started baking the sidewalk.  Another little voice reminded me that I had nice cold cottage cheese and blackberries at the house.  Then Coach popped into my head to say, "That last part of your workout when it gets really hard, think about that as the last 6 miles of your marathon.  Push through it!"  I turned the corner and jogged about another half mile to the house.

Almost exactly 2 hours.  Pretty much a perfect storm of bad conditions.  But I made it.  Full on Beast Mode.

Until next time, start slow, finish without a bucket.  :)

The Osyter Urban Adventure Race: Get You Some

Race Report!!!  I love being able to share race reports, because it means I finished a race!  Yesterday, some old high school friends (four guys and me as the solo female on the team) and I who reconnected on Facebook last year met up in Austin to do this crazy adventure race.  Basically, it's a hub and spoke thing, where you get a clue, have to travel on foot or bike to a location, participate in a challenge, and go back to the hub for the next challenge.  Three of us did this race the last time it was held in Austin, so we knew what to expect; the other two, not so much.  I don't think they were expecting for three of us to be tied together while mashing an avocado into guacamole, but we did and they took it in stride.  It was a blast!

Leg 1: We biked to a park, where one team member had to pull themselves up a hill on a wet tarp, and then slide back down the hill.  Our team did it with style!  Then we had to solve a puzzle to figure out where to go next, which was to a restaurant where we mashed up the guacamole.  This was gut check time.  Three out of the five of us are flatlanders.  The hills in this leg were kind of nasty, but we had a local on the team who took us into account and said he kept us away from the really bad ones.  We made it to the restaurant, made the guac, and took it back to the hub to prove we'd completed the challenge. 

Leg 2: I had to sit this one out.  My long run from Friday came back to haunt me just after we started.  That swimmy feeling came over me and I thought I was going to pass out.  The guys went on without me, and came back cussing me.  They had to do a bootcamp and one of the exercises was carrying someone.  Guess it's good to have one little chick on the team!  Then they did a slackline course and came back.

Leg 3:  I fueled up the half hour the guys were gone and was back in it.  This was the LONG leg.  We cycled about 6 miles one way to an indoor rock climbing facility.  There were a couple of climbing challenges, one where a team member was blindfolded and the other where a team member had to swing from rings to get from one side of the room to the other.  Then it was back to the bikes and ride 6 miles back to the hub.  The flatlanders fell behind the leaders on the way back and they had to wait for us at the gate before we could all go in together.  The hills got us again, but we made it back.

Leg 4:  Back to the bikes, we rode over to a park where we thought we were going to do something pretty silly.  Two team members were to carry a bucket of water to the top of the tower, where a third team member would stand at the base, blindfolded.  The first two team members were to fill a cup held by the third team member.  Local safety officials didn't show up for this leg, so we ran an obstacle course instead.  Then we were directed to go to another part of the park, where one team member ran to the other side of the lake while another did a stand up paddle across.  They switched positions and did the reverse coming back.  Meanwhile the rest of us had to flip a 1/4 full water bottle over a table until it landed on it's bottom, upright.  And back to base camp!

Leg 5:  For the final leg of the race, we ran to a nearby park..... well, some of the team was starting to cramp up and limp by now, so it wasn't all running, but we made it..... where we did Parkour.  This one was hard.  We had to go up a staircase, backward and upsidedown, to a deck.  Think feet first, like a crab.  Tougher than it sounds!  Then one team member had to run around the deck railing, assisted by another team member.  Then, we all had to go over the railing and traverse the cross braces that supported the deck.  Again, hard, and I was seriously worrying about splinters getting into delicate places.  Once that was done, we went up a terraced seating area, using only the terrace walls.  Finding your balance on this one so late in the race was hard.  The we ran (walked/limped/shuffled) back to home base and we were done!

Team Brazoswood 88 ate the Oyster in less than 5 hours, covering over 30 miles and completing 7 challenges.  I can still feel the burn in my quads and glutes, but put my 5 miles in this morning to start a proper taper for the marathon.  Just three weeks to go!

I think I killed my iPod

The title is true.  My iPod bravely entertained me through 18 miles this morning, whereupon it decided to curl up and die.  It will not respond to anything at the moment.  Bummer.  It is too young to die.  It didn't even reach it's fourth birthday, poor baby.  Oh wait, as I type this a message just popped up that Apple is "Preparing iPod for recovery."  iTunes to the rescue!!

In all seriousness, I ran 18.04 miles this morning.  That's a full 2 miles longer than I've ever run before.  My strategy was to run it in thirds, with hydration every 3 miles and fuel at the 6 and 12 mile marks.  I knew I had the first two thirds in me and was comfortable figuring out the last 6 miles based on how I felt.  The way the first third worked out, I ran 6.2 to get me back to the house for a quick bathroom break.  Swallowed my Gu, topped off the water, and was back at it.  As soon as I was back outside, I took off again and made it to 12 miles.  Swallowed my Gu Rocktane, stretched, and walked a bit.

Now, when I say I walked, I wasn't dilly-dallying around.  I was still passing people, just not other runners.  As I walked, I decided on my final 1/3 strategy.  Walk a half mile and run a mile 3 times, then see what I had left in me for the final mile.  Well, guess what?  I did that 4 times and just about had a victory party in the driveway.

Why the celebration?  It's hot in Houston already.  Heat kills a good long run every time.  It's uncomfortable.  You start worrying about dehydration.  The streets start to stink.  Just not fun.  So around mile 14, I started thinking I might bow out early, between 16 and 17 miles.  I tried to tell myself to get out of my head and focus on breathing, form, the music from my (still dead at the moment) iPod.  Focus about ANYTHING, but not on stopping.  This is why long distance runners will tell you it is as much mental as it is physical.

To backtrack for a minute, my run started this morning by being interrupted before I'd made it a quarter mile.  A neighbor down the street stopped me to ask how far I was going.  I patiently stopped the timer, popped out the headphones and replied, 18 miles and that I was training for a marathon.  Turns out, he runs a marathon every year or two.  So we chatted for a few minutes about training techniques, long run distances, hills vs. flat courses, and then he told me to take off before it started getting hot. 

Flash forward to mile 16.  I'd distracted myself as long as I could.  Even though I've run 2 miles I don't know how many times in training, it just seemed like a little too long for how warm it was getting.  It was over 80 degrees, the sun was bright, and there was very little wind or shade to be found.  I was mentally prepared to run up to the park, walk the quarter mile loop around it once, and head home for 17 miles and change in total. Guess who just happened to drive by right then, honk, and wave?  The neighbor.  I smiled, waved back, and finished all 18 miles.  Sometimes life hands you just the right pick-me-up exactly when you need it.

Now I begin the taper process, where I start gradually reducing the miles each week until the race.  So guess what I'm going on Sunday?  The Oyster Race in Austin.  http://austinoyster.com/ That's about 20-30 miles of biking and running, while solving riddles and completing challenges like kayaking, rock climbing, and throwing fish at each other.  It's going to be a blast.... and my next blog update!

Happy Friday!!  Start slow, finish strong.

LSD is Good for Runners

I'll bet you did a little double take when you saw that post title.  It's been fun learning the runner's jargon these last few months, so I wanted you all to share in the fun.  LSD for runners, well I was going to say it's not mind altering but it is (we'll get to that in a minute).  When a runner says it was their LSD day, that's their day to run long, slow distance.  So, please don't report me to the authorities or anything drastic when I say today was my day for LSD.  And it felt SO good!

If you recall from last Fridays LSD report, I had a hard time of it, and I've been taking a lot of time to listen to my coaches as well as doing some research of my own.  I discovered my problem and have a fablous running report today - I feel great after 16 miles on my feet!  My problem was simple pride - I was going too fast.  What I'd been trying to maintain on my long runs was my typical easy run pace, and that's just way too fast for really long distances.  So I took the advice of someone who told me that to be on pace for a long run, I should start out uncomfortably slow.

Being a natural jackrabbit (my previous serious running experience was as a sprinter), it took me a long time to figure out how to pace myself just finish a normal distance run.  To run even slower than that took every ounce of my willpower, but I was determined to have a great Friday this week.  I went out the door an hour earlier than usual to allow for the extra time, and got to watch the sun come up.  Nice way to start the day.

Starting my run, I decided to target splitting the run into five 5Ks with a short walk/water break in between each one.  That worked well for the first three, and was going quite well in the fourth one when I was suddenly overcome with hunger.  I'd had a Gu at 6.4 miles and hadn't expected to need more fuel just yet.  Actually, to tell the truth, I did not think it was possible for the human body to even feel hungry after running 12 miles.  I always thought fueling was just something you did because you knew you needed to do it whether you wanted to or not.  Hearing my coach in my head ("Listen to your body!") I stopped and pulled out a second Gel.  It was the one I hadn't wanted to try last week because I've never tried them before.  Well, I ate it.  It was nasty.  I officially do not like the Powerade gels.  It didn't do anything bad to me; I just didn't care for the flavor or the texture.

From that point on it was run a mile, walk a quarter until 14.75 miles, when it was run a half, walk a quarter, run a half.  Yes, I was a little wobbly, but I was not totally wiped out.  The muscles I'd been having trouble with in my hips and glutes felt better than they had since before last Friday's long run.  Not only did I not crash, I went straight into the house, got my post run snack and a cup of coffee, and went upstairs in my wet running gear to log into my computer and get to work.  Wow!  I figured it out!

Okay, that go a little long, but I am so excited to have accomplished this milestone, I just had to share the experience.  I was really dreading this run all week after last week's pain and misery, but I did the homework I needed to do and made it what I really wanted this time around.  Go me!

Now, back to this thing about LSD and it being mind altering.  Distance running is as much a mental sport as it is anything else.  It's about commitment, thinking about how far you've come and how far you have left to go.  It's about focus, thinking about your cadence, stride, and pace, while listening to the feedback your poor, tired body is giving you.  It's about choosing to keep moving forward and doing more.  As crazy as it seems, your mental self-talk is critical after you get to a certain point, and you have to have your own personal pep rally in your head.  Because ultimately it's about encouraging and allowing yourself to achieve your goals.

Until next time: Start slow, Finish strong!