2-0 of Pure Determination

First off, in case you missed it (wink wink - lol!), Sunday was my birthday.  Being a runner, we do crazy things like challenge a new distance for our birthday.  There must be something wired wrong in our brains - seriously!

But it wasn't to be.  It rained SO hard on Sunday.  Now, it rains ALOT out here, we're quite used to it ... but this was beyond insane.  I think all said and done it was around 60mm (2+ inches) or more of rain.  My husband got up with the dog twice that night.  The first time he came back to bed and questioned my sanity to even consider running in that kind of rain.  The second time he came back he actually forbid me to run in it.  HAHAHA - he's cute!

My running friend called me in the morning to ask if I wanted to delay it an hour or two.  That was all I needed.  I would have done it, but really did not want to.

Instead we opted to do a nice family breakfast where I stuffed myself silly.  My running friend and her husband came over and she brought me Elmo Ice Cream Cupcakes from Dairy Queen.  Dairy Queen does not make ice cream cupcakes ... yet she convinced them that yes, indeed, they do make them, and they're cheap.  She's such a shyster!  They were cute and they tasted great.  It never really did clear up so we scrapped the run idea all together and went out to a Christmas store.  So festive!

In the evening we had some other friends over and had a wonderful dinner of Rouladen (recipe).  Mmmm, one of my favourites!  My friend also gave me a bottle of Kahlua which I've stashed away and will savour for probably a year or more.

The running plans were shot ... except I have this crazy goal of running 156.9 miles this month to meet my goal of running 1000 miles this year.  I really can't afford to miss a long run.  So, we did what any normal human being would do.  We just postponed it to the next day ... which just happens to be a Monday, and I work full time.

I went direct from work to my friends house and we were on the road by about 4:20.  I think we got about 10-15 minutes of semi-daylight before it got dark.  The first 2 miles were tough.  After a full day of work, in the dark ... my mind just wasn't into it ... plus my legs were stiff.  But then we hit a bit of a rhythym and it wasn't so bad. 

We passed my house and I was getting too hot so dropped off my jacket in the driveway.  I would come to regret this!  The route was a more or less out and back ... just after we reached the turn around point the skies decided to open up.  UGH!  I had no jacket.  I'd forgotten my hat.  Yuck!  It was disgusting.

Around mile 13 I was done, but there was still a long way to go.  I kept trying to find a way to zone out or magically click my heels and be teletransported (there's no place like home, there's no place like home  ... Oh Toto, we'll never get there).  It didn't work!

This run was SO much harder than last week's 18.5. Yes it was a little longer, after work, in the dark, in the rain ... but still.  Definitely a run of pure determination!

When we got back to her house we did a short walk but our legs just seemed to get stiffer as we walked.  We went into her garage for some stretching and I just started giggling like a school girl.  I went into hysterics, which of course made my friend start laughing.  Her husband came out and asked what was up.  I told him it was either laugh or cry, so I laughed. 

Between stretching at her house and then again when I got home, I probably spent over 40 minutes - and I'm still stiff.  Alot of stretching going on here at work today too!  It seems to be just tightness though, not soreness (ie injury), which is great!

There you have it ... 20 miles on the books ... pure h-e-double 'l', but it's done!  I slept like a log last night.  Hubby got up with the dog again and I didn't notice either of them even move.  There's definitely an option for those who suffer from insomnia.  Run for 3 1/2 hours right before bed.  Knocks you out flat!

NOTES

Consumed prior to run: breakfast & lunch (which included a bacon & cabbage dish - probably not ideal)
Consumed during run: 1water bottle filled with Gatorade, 1 of plain water, 4 Sharkies
Immediately after run:  Hot Chocolate & a Wendy's Spicy Chicken Burger (oh soooo good)
Approx 2 hours later:  Fast asleep!

Stomach issues: Not so great, couple of emergency stops .. probably the cabbage!

Energy level during run:  Medium-low - no doubt due to the circumstances and time of day
Muscles: O-U-C-H! 

Aftermath:  Other than expected stiffness this morning, I feel pretty darn good.  Rather tired, but I'm not certain that's related directly to the run.
Things to try on next long run:  An umbrella????
 

Keep Active!

   

Heidi

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