Long Run Success - FINALLY!

Source: 30.media.tumblr.com via Hugh on Pinterest

Terra and I, and my new running buddy Alice, you know like the camel (thanks for the name Dedra) had a 15 mile run to do this weekend.

But my morning started off with a volleyball jamboree.  Through my church I run a volleyball program for 12-18 year old girls.  There are 13 teams and about 150-200 girls that come.  Anyway, today was our jamboree.  My job is to get all the games started and make sure everyone is where they're supposed to be.  We had 25 games today.  It's tiring.

Terra and I started our run at two today.  It's an unusually warm day for western Washington and we felt it!  First day of running this year in a singlet!  (I can't believe how many people we saw on the trail in long sleeve shirts, even jackets!)  Luckily my buddy Alice was there for me.

I am a huge fan of my new hydration pack.  Instead of taking big drinks of water, I was able to keep my mouth wet by sipping it occasionally.  It was awesome.  It was a little heavy and strange feeling to start with, but I quickly got used to it.  Actually, the thing that bugged me the most is that my pony tail made a weird sound when it swished against it (and my right shoe was squeaking which was totally annoying, but that's not backpack related).

I had a phenomenal run. Best long run I've had in this training cycle so far.  I managed a 7:48 pace (my goal pace was 7:46, so I feel pretty good about that) the entire time.  We did have a few short stops to make sure we were taking in enough water and cool off (we're not used to this kind of heat, it's just under 70 degrees).

I am thrilled to finally have a long run under my belt that I feel good about.  This was also the first run that I really drank as much water as I should have, maybe those two things are connected....  Towards the end I was getting anxious to get done, but it was so awesome to realize that it was just my mind and that physically I still felt really good.

What a relief.

It almost makes me think I can do this marathon thing (again).

Secret: I almost gave up on the marathon last week.  I had just about decided not to run it.  The only thing that kept me going was know I'd already paid for it.  Plus I wanted the medal.  


Oh yeah, thank you, thank you, for voting for me!  Please keep it up!