Wednesday, December 20, 2017

WWU - Holy Moly, TWELVE MILES!

When we train for a half marathon, we usually top out with our longest run being 12 miles, and that was what we did on Saturday.  Now, my last three long runs (of 8.9, 9, and 10 miles) have gone pretty well for me, so I was thinking that this run would be a decent one, too.  The weather was perfect for running, coming in at 39 degrees with little wind, I was dressed right for the conditions, and felt like I was rested and fueled properly.

Because she'd had an extraordinarily stressful and exhausting week, Diane wisely opted out of running, which meant that it was just Jeff, Cary, and I for our running and gabbing session.  We started at 5:00 am, while Karen, Julia, and Andi started at 5:30, and Brian was somewhere in-between, as he was on water duty.  It was fun to run into the others throughout the route, and one of the new roads that we've been running on for nearly a year now finally has working streetlights, so that was really exciting, to be able to see where we were going.

But it was early, too early, when I started to feel fatigued - I think it was just past the 6 mile mark, which, when you are running 12 miles?  That's not great.  I will say that in looking at my Garmin stats now, I can see that our speediest miles were 3 through 8, which probably accounts for the early fatigue, but oh boy, it got rough, especially in the last couple of miles.  Of course those were when we had some short but significant little hills to get up, and that made things seem worse.  Jeff was also wearing out, but thankfully Cary was the little engine who could, and she not only kept going but kept encouraging us to move forward, and we all finished the run together, despite my telling them at one point to go on ahead and leave me - I wasn't being (too) dramatic, I just didn't want to hold them back.  Jeff joked that he was afraid I'd lie down on the sidewalk and freeze to death, but that didn't sound too bad, actually.

Coming into this run, I had harbored thoughts that maybe our upcoming Houston half marathon would be easier for me than it's been in the past, but honestly, it's just plain hard for me to run 12 (or 13+) miles, and I need to remember that...because as this run showed me, it IS hard, but I can do it - no, it's not pretty, but I will finish.

********************

After the run, we all changed and then went on to Blue Baker for our annual white elephant gift exchange.  We have a $10 limit on our gifts, and while we do the thing where you can steal an opened gift or open a new one, no one ended up stealing this year - I think we all wanted to unwrap a present!  Hijinks ensued, as you can imagine, and while I can't show all the pictures as some are a little risque, here's a taste of our fun:
Jimmy opened Logan's Run, because OF COURSE.  
For the second year in a row, Jeff randomly selected a gift containing emojis, LOL.  Also please note Jimmy photobombing in the background - I didn't notice this until I uploaded the pictures!
Diane needed help to reach for her gift...
Which turned out to be a belly bag!
Karen got some potty-talk items...
While CC opened another belly bag!  Mason managed to sleep through our craziness, sweet baby.
 
The gift I choose had a card that read "for warmth and comfort after a long run" - freshly baked ciabatta bread slippers!
And they were my size, woohoo!
The gift Andi chose was the result of an inside joke, and I about died when she opened it - yes, that is a young teenage Shelley, on the beach, I'm sure on a sailing club camp out.  Whenever I talk about growing up in the sailing club, Brian has the idea that we were part of a ritzy yacht club, which we weren't, but that doesn't stop him from saying YAAACHT CLUB in a Thurston Howell the Third voice every time.
There were even two membership cards, so of course I swiped one from Andi.  I bet my original SJSC membership card is in a box around here somewhere...when I have more time, I'll have to dig it out.
I brought books for Logan and Mason, and look at Logan, following along as his mama reads to him!  These Renegade babies are already so smart.

As usual, it was a fun morning and a great finish to our heavy-mileage training.  Except for the actual race next month, it's going to be much easier from now on, whew!

20 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear that the run was challenging, but I'm writing to say thanks for all of your posts. I love reading about your group and your antics. Looks like so much fun! It gave me a big smile...and that's no small feat at 6 am!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well thank you for this comment - you made me smile! :)

      Delete
  2. Yes. They don’t get any easier. Why is that?

    You can do it. The race is always better than the 12 miler.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very true about the race being better than any 12 mile run. I'm going to hold onto that, thanks!

      Delete
  3. 12 and 13 miles are always tough, heck 10 miles is tough...lol. Great job sticking with it.

    Those gifts are hilarious! Does white elephant mean that it is suppose to be a gag gift? What emoji gift did Jeff get last year? And are those bread slippers real slippers or real bread? Inquiring minds want to know!...lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, they are gag gifts. Last year Jeff got the poo emoji TP, a cup, and I think a little stuffed pillow that Paco eviscerated. The bread slippers were real bread! CC had them made at Blue Baker the night before - the counter people had a laugh, knowing that they were for our group!

      Delete
  4. I love when you get to your longest run and realize, yep, I can do that and pretty much no matter what I'll finish. Good for you guys!

    The slippers are freaking me out just a little, they look TOO REAL.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They slippers were real!

      Yep, I know I can do the half marathon now, so that 12 miler paid off in more than one way. :)

      Delete
  5. Distance running is hard! If it wasn't challenging, we'd all lose interest. LOL. Congrats on the 12 miler. You'll do great in the half. I adore the bread slippers. My dogs would probably eat them up!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats on that 12 miler! You are so ready for your race. And you can carb load those slippers.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I can't imagine trying to run 12 miles being anything other than H.A.R.D.!!! But glad you made it, and also it was good planning to have your fun party after the hard run.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, it was nice to have the party afterward to erase some of the run...

      Delete
  8. Kama Pootra! Ha! What fun! I cannot believe those are really slippers. They look like bread!

    How was your fueling during your 12 miles? Bonking half way through a long run is so tough. I am glad you finished!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Y'all are hilarious and I wish we had a running group like yours here! You don't quite know what you're missing until it's gone. Those bread slippers are hysterical! Glad y'all had a fun white elephant exchange! Great job on the 12 miles...maybe Houston will be better than you think? Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know, I'd be really sad if I didn't have my running group.

      Delete
  10. How fun!!!!

    Man, I’ve missed reading your posts! I can’t stay away from the blog world so long again!!!

    ReplyDelete

Comments are now moderated to prevent spammers from leaving, well, spam - but rest assured that as soon as I read a real comment, I will publish it. So please, comment away, even though the blog is officially closed. Thanks!