Come Hill or High Water...

Exhausted
Right now, as I write this, I am exhausted. But it's a good exhausted. It's the kind of exhausted you get after going a distance longer than you ever thought possible. It is an invigorating kind of exhausted.

Twenty-one Miles and Still Smiling!
I'm sure there are people out there who would label me as crazy for thinking getting up at 4 in the morning and run-walking 21 miles is great fun. I know you don't think that, RBFs. You are all crazy, too!

And it really was fun! I ended up with three other girls who were going at the same pace I was going. Better yet, they were run-walking like me. We decided on 3 minute walk:3 minute run as our walk:run interval. One of the girls had a Garmin so it was even easier to keep track of our pace.

I ended up going on ahead of the group at about half-way through because I felt their walking pace was a tad slow for me. I felt like we were out on a leisurely stroll every three minutes. I didn't mind too much, though, because my plan was to take it easy for the first half and step it up a notch for the second half.

Bring the Hills!
I was determined to run when my running interval was on, regardless of the hills. Well, regardless of the up hills... because of my knee, I did not run down any hills. And run up hills, I did. And I loved it! Yep, I just get crazier and crazier.

Running Pretty
OK, not pretty pretty... but not ugly. I was able to run without looking like a wounded animal. I didn't even feel like I was running like a wounded animal. Things felt pretty good in the knee/leg department. It wasn't until around mile 14 that I started to feel little twinges of pain in my injured leg. The twinges were slight, though.

Mile 17
Mile seventeen was our final aid station. I could not believe it when the volunteers reminded us that there were only four miles left. I found myself saying, "That's all?!" I stretched a little, grabbed some pretzels, filled my water bottle, and kept going.

Mile 18
This is when I started to feel tired. Sore and tired. My left heel was hurting, my muscles were complaining, and my darn leg was getting more twingie. But, still... all was bearable.

Miles 19, 20, 21
Ouch, ouch, ouch. But still going, going... done!

The Tide is High, but I'm Movin' On
By "moving on", I mean "going in"... but that doesn't work since Blondie did not sing it that way. Since the end of the run ended up right at the beach, many of us decided to go in to help our muscles recover faster. The ocean water was cold. Very cold. It also felt like paradise for my tired, aching legs and feet. The tide was very high this morning so we did not have to wade far in order to get a nice lower body ice soak, courtesy of the Pacific Ocean.

The Final Analysis
Since I ditched Garmin Girl, I don't know my exact pace or time (I forget to set my chronometer... again!). I figured out that it probably took about five and a half hours to get through the 21 miles. I did stop a few times to stretch. I also stopped at a couple of the aid stations to chat and spread cheer.

So do I think I can do the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, based on today's run? You bet! I expect to be cutting it close time-wise, especially if it's hot the day of the race. But assuming my leg continues to cooperate, I will do this!!






I will do this!

Comments

Anonymous said…
So excited for you; I knew you would decide to do it~!!!!!
Melanie Tait said…
GOod job Sara! It's looking great for you to be rocking it out soon. What a great idea the 3 min walk/3 min run. Awesome.
Unknown said…
Very cool, Sara - I'd die if I tried to walk/run 21 miles! You are a) gutsy; b) crazy; or c) both! Oh, like the new template - always something different! Mark
Glenn Jones said…
Sound good Sara! I'm glad you were able to put in the miles. Hopefully, you are still feeling pretty good today - the real test is how you fell th next day!
Oz Runner said…
way to go on the 21 miler!
RunningLaur said…
Great work on 21 miles - sounds like you're all ready for RNR!
Sarah said…
Wow...way to go!!!! Sounds like your stratgey worked very well for you...awesome!
RunToTheFinish said…
yeahhhhhh you did it!!! way to go!!
Kathleen said…
That's great! I hope you recover well as well!
Aka Alice said…
Oh hell girl. You did 21? You can do 26...by 21 miles at the RnR, you can smell the barn (obscure reference to horses who smell the hay in the barn and start running faster to get there...forgive me).

I'm so proud of you!
Irene said…
I can very much relate to this post! We did our 20 miler yesterday... Ditto on the "ouch, ouch, ouch." The good news it that you did it. Now it's all about taper madness...

You did great! Pat yourself on the back!
robison52 said…
Sounds like fun to run 21 miles with a group. I always train like the Lone Ranger, and I don't even have a Tonto. During the hot summer months most of my long runs are on the treadmill anyways, but would love to find a group this coming Fall during the weekends.
MCM Mama said…
Great job getting the 21 miles in! Sounds like you'll do great at the RNR marathon.

I'm so jealous of the soak in the ocean! That sounds like it felt wonderful.
I coomented on Facebook...but couldn't resist...you ROCK!! I love the idea of going in the ater after a long run...
Mel-2nd Chances said…
Great job on the 21! I'm excited for you. I totally relate to the ouch ouch ouch :D
joyRuN said…
Great great job!!!! You rock :)

Popular posts from this blog

A Few of my Favorite Things Giveaway & Happy Blog Birthday!

There's GOT to be a Better Way-- Part II

My Marathon