MTT Week 15- Fifteen Miles

Hey, guess what.  I have a secret.  Running is HARD!  OK, so maybe this isn't so much of a secret as common knowledge, but I thought it would be good for people to know. 

Today I ran 15 miles!  This is 1.9 miles farther than my farthest run ever, and boy did I feel those extra 1.9 miles.  The run started pretty normal.  I was back with the training team and with my running buddies.  I was back in my old shoes since my new ones aren't quite broken in yet.  I was well-rested, well-fueled, and ready to go.  Off we went!

Things were fairly easy for a while.  We chatted and laughed, I listened to one of my running buddies tell stories about her work I talked about how things are at the kennel (busy!).  I hit my groove fairly quickly, and I was relaxed and happy.

Around mile 10 I started to feel tired.  OK, so I was tired before mile 10, but it wasn't until mile 10 that I started wondering how long it would take before the run was over.  No big deal.  It was hot, I was tired, and I'd just run 10 miles.  I was two-thirds of the way there, and I knew I had more fuel in me.

At mile 12 I really, really, really wanted to be done.  I actually felt this way during the half marathon too, but it wasn't as bad, and I was only 1.1 miles from the end.  Today was much warmer than at the half, my buddies and I had stopped to use a bathroom, and I was tired.  At this point, though, I was four-fifths of the way done.  I knew I could do it.

The last three miles were excruciating.  My legs hurt, my feet hurt, my fingers hurt, my hair hurt.  One of my buddies had stopped to walk, and I kept praying the other one would, so I would have an excuse to walk too (my competitive nature would not allow me to walk when she was still running).  I prayed for a red light, so I would have to stop for traffic.  I prayed for the God to send a freak thunderstorm so I'd have to seek cover.  I just wanted this run to be done. 

The last mile was the longest mile I've ever run.  I can't really call what I did running.  It was more like a shuffle / hobble combo.  My running buddy and I continued this until we reached our finish.  OH WHAT A GLORIOUS SIGHT! 

Upon finishing, I would have happily chopped my legs off.  I was in pain, and my legs were the source.  I had to do something, so I took my shoes off, and a giant blister was revealed.  Although not the source of the pain, I wasn't too pleased to see it.  I hobbled across the parking lot and flopped into my car.  Oh to sit!  This is why chairs were invented!

When I got home, I drank a nice, cool glass of chocolate milk (so refreshing!) and then I did my next brave thing for the day.  I grabbed a 10 pound bag of ice, filled my bath tub with cool water, climbed in, and dumped the ice in.  Yep, I took my first ice bath.  For all those wondering, yes it's cold.  After the 15 miles I just ran, though, it felt quite nice.  I can see me doing that again.

So, here's the verdict.  I just ran 15 miles!  I so very pleased.  As hard as what it was, and as much as I wasn't sure that I'd be able to finish, I did finish.  Not only that, because I pushed through and finished 15, I know that I'll be able to do 16, 17, 18, and more.  I only have to run another 11.2 miles before I've completed a marathon, and I have the confidence I'll be able to do it.  Here's to two more months of training!