Wednesday, April 12, 2017

WWU - 20/10, Let's Not Do That Again...

This is the face of someone who just ran 20 miles:
Her longest run ever!

I mean, look at her.  Diane ran for over five hours on Saturday, and not only is she still standing, she's smiling!  She even said, when we finished the run, that she felt like she could run more, which bodes well for her marathon next month.  She's so ready for 26.2 miles!

Her day started with Jeff - they met up and took off running shortly before 4:00 am, and ran a five mile loop; then Cary joined them and ran the next five mile loop with them.  I was waiting for them for the next five mile loop - Jeff and Cary dropped off at that point and I headed out with Diane.  That went really well - she was feeling good and the weather was nice; my car thermometer said it was 52 degrees when I drove there, and while the humidity was high, it felt comfortable.

The sun rose while we were running, and as we got back to our starting point, where we refilled our water bottles, the wind kicked up.  We ran into the wind for about two miles, which wasn't super fun; then we hit our turn-around point and had it at our backs, but by then, the sun was up and we were wishing we had our sunglasses.  We normally are finished running by this time of day, but with such a long run, that wasn't possible; any case, it was good for Diane to run with the sun out like that as her race doesn't start until 8:00 am.  She even practiced for race day by wearing sunscreen (again, not usually necessary as we are vampire runners), wearing her earbuds connected to her phone (even though she wasn't listening to music for this run since she had company), and of course, with using all kinds of fueling options.

I had my usual Tailwind and Bolt energy chews, and felt OK until about mile 8 - then, I just wanted to be done running.  We had been on an incline, plus we were running into the sun, but honestly, mile 8 seems to be my kryptonite mile - I just start to feel like hell around that point.  It will surprise absolutely none of my regular readers to hear that I swore off ever running a half marathon during those last two miles, LOL.  Seriously, I was so done.  Luckily, Diane wasn't - which is also why she's going to run a marathon soon - she likes this!  Crazy woman.  I took a couple of extra walking breaks while Diane ran ahead, but I caught up to her at the stop light; traffic was really busy by then so we had to wait a few minutes for the signal to change so we could cross the road.  We've learned from past runs to keep moving, because it's amazing how fast you can stiffen up when you're at the end of a long run and you have to wait for a green light to keep running, so we were the weirdos walking in circles at that intersection - but it worked! 

Once we crossed the road, we were about a half mile from the end - Diane went on ahead of me while I did shorter run/walk intervals.  Finally, FINALLY I was finished.  I'd hoped that this 10 mile run would go better for me than my previous long runs, but once again, I hit a point where I'm done...except that I'm still miles away from my car, so I have to keep running.
Diane and I - 20/10 miles DONE!

I was super thirsty when I was finished running.  I'd had most of two big bottles of Tailwind, so I was hydrated, but I wanted pure water.  I ended up drinking straight from the jug of water that was at our refill station, and stopped twice on our short walk back to our cars to drink more; I even carried the jug into Blue Baker so I could keep refilling my water cup without having to walk back and forth to the drink dispenser.  I continued to drink water throughout the rest of the day and into Sunday, and I finally felt quenched.

We drove to Blue Baker and met the rest of the crew, who were fed and rested and relaxed.  I sat there and alternated drinking water and coffee, waiting for my appetite to come back.  It took about an hour and a half, but finally I was hungry, so I went to the counter and told the woman there that I needed bacon.  I must have looked like I REALLY needed bacon, because she handed me a plate with five pieces on it - normally you get three.  It hit the spot!  I also ate a cranberry walnut muffin, but after that I didn't eat again until dinnertime.  It's weird how running longer distances affects my appetite so much; hmmm, maybe I should run that far every day?  Nah.  I'd fall apart before I lost any weight.

CC and Loretta came in shortly after Diane and I got to BB; CC ran her first post-baby 5K race that morning, while Loretta pushed Mason in his stroller for the family 1 mile walk.  I got to hold Mason:
He's a happy little guy!

And then we went home for a well-earned nap.  Oh, but before I dozed off, Diane dropped by with an early (really early, it's not until June) birthday gift for me - she said she didn't want to wait on giving it to me because she knew I'd probably buy it (and once I opened it, I laughed, because I actually had this in my Amazon cart):
Kathrine Switzer's book!  She is the first woman to officially run the Boston Marathon (although you can see by the picture on the cover, once the race director discovered A WOMAN was running his race, he physically tried to rip off her bib and pull her from the course).

I spent several hours on both Saturday and Sunday reading the book - it's really good and so inspiring, and I cannot believe that once upon a time, in my lifetime, women weren't allowed to run long distances.  I'm forever grateful that she and several other women pushed hard to make changes regarding running so people like Diane can run a marathon, if they want to. 

16 comments:

  1. Wow well done Shelley (and of course Diane too). I'm getting tired reading it, so imagine if you run it like you did.

    I have read about this lady, didn't know her name but I do know this happened back then.

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  2. FABULOUS! Even with the torturous last two miles, you make me wish I was there with you guys so I could run too. I always want nothing but water when I finish long distance runs as well. It's like my body is sick to death of flavored drinks.

    Diane is going to rock her race - she's definitely in the zone.

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    1. It really is the more, the merrier when it comes to gutting out those long runs - one day you WILL be here for some good Texas running!

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  3. How fun for Diane and how nice of you to run with her! I've done all my long runs alone--but it's ok. I always feel like I need to check in while I'm training.

    Will you go to Diane's race to cheer her on?

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    1. We absolutely would have gone to her race (it's several hours north) but as it turns out, we'll be flying out that day so I'll have to stalk her via Garmin Livetrack. Hate that we'll be missing it, though.

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  4. Diane is so lucky to have such a supportive crew to run with (you and Jeff are awesome friends). She's gonna do great at her race and I hope you report on it!

    If I remember correctly, we have the same birthday, no? Or very close.

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    1. I can't remember (but that's not surprising) - my birthday is June 2. Same?

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  5. Congratulations to you for pushing through! That's interesting about being so thirsty. And good that you paid attention to it!

    Amazing (and weird) that women weren't allowed to run long distances. I might have to check out that book!

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    1. I'm about halfway through the book and it's just fascinating to read about women and running in the 60's and 70's - we have come a long way!

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  6. I think it's fabulous how your running crew has rallied around Diana for such wonderful support as she trains for this marathon and completes these long runs!!!!! Ya'll rock!!!!!!

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    1. Thanks - we have a tight-knit group and there's a lot of support, both during the training runs and also at breakfast - Diane has been given a lot of feedback from the others who've run marathons.

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  7. Ooo! I should read that next!

    Mason!!! <3

    Gah, isn't it crazy how some runs just totally do that to your system - dehydrate you, completely mess up your appetite? It's now getting to be time of year for those :(

    Diane is gonna rock her marathon, I know it! It's so great you all kept her company while training. And I also think it's great you run in the dark when it's cooler. It's better for your skin, too!

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  8. I think it's so awesome how you guys are all supporting Diane's training! I remember doing some of my long runs for HM training alone and thinking THAT was challenging, I can't even imagine tackling 20 miles by myself!

    Good job pushing through those last 2 miles! That's a long time to keep going when you're done.

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  9. Catching up!!!! Yay Diane! And YAY for supporting her.
    OMG, that baby smile???? Made my ovaries twinge. They stopped right away, but still..... LOL

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  10. Mason is so adorable!! What a cutie :D

    Diane sounds very well prepared for her race!

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