A word about that 20-miler

Let me just open this post with a lengthy excuse as to why I haven't updated yet. Or better yet, how 'bout I skip the excuse and just post? That works for me. Really though, sorry for not posting when I said I would. Life.

Alrighty, so my 20-miler...I have mixed feelings about my 20-miler. I was originally supposed to run it in Celebration, FL, while I was on a mini vaycay with the husband, but it didn't happen. We went to Disney World the day before I had the run scheduled and let me just tell you, not the best of ideas. I figured I'd just be walking around all day, and walking isn't running, so therefore it would've just been a regular pre-long-run day. Wrong. And let's be real, I did more standing in line than walking, and standing on those two feet of mine all. day. long. left me with some serious arch pain in my feet. I woke up the next morning to get ready to go run, and I knew my feet couldn't hack 20 miles. Ten, maybe 13 tops. Not 20. So, rather than risk getting injured, I postponed my 20-miler until Tuesday after work. It makes me sound like a pansy, but I swear to you, my feet HURT. My feet don't even hurt that bad after my long runs.

So anyway, back to my 20-miler. I made sure to eat balanced meals on Tuesday to prepare myself for the run. Normally I would never schedule a long run after work, but I needed to get it done. No more procrastinating. So as soon as I got home from work I ate some pasta and veggies, let it digest for two hours, and then went on my way. It took me around 3:42-ish. That's sort of what I was expecting, but I didn't end up finishing until after midnight.

So how do I feel about the run? It was hard. In previous runs I've always felt like I've hit the infamous "wall," but I must've been delusional. Now I know what it's really like to hit the wall. It was excruciating. The first 13 miles felt fine, but I really started to feel fatigued after that. My feet, my legs, my ankles, my calves, my hips, every part of my lower body was hurting. Knowing that I still had 7 miles to go was scary. I've never felt so much pain during a run. Ever. Probably at mile 17 or so I shed a few tears. Seriously. I just felt so defeated, and I wasn't even finished yet. Anyway, I finished. I did it. It may have beat me to the ground, but I did it. In a way, I'm glad it pushed me to my limit. Hell, it probably pushed me past my limit. But at least I'll know, if something like that happens during the marathon, I'll be prepared for it. My body can do it. It may hurt and I may be screaming inside to stop running, but I can do it. And now I'll know how to handle a totally defeating moment like that "mile 17 cry my eyes out" moment.

After my run I went home, opened the door, and my husband said, "How'd it go?" I didn't say anything. I just cried and he opened his arms to give me a hug. And then we talked about it. I told him it sucked, that I was scared for the marathon, and that it was hard. And then he gave me encouraging words and I felt better. I couldn't move my legs, but I felt better.

I can't believe it's 12 days away.

In other news, Christmas was fabulous, and I got loads of new running gear, so be looking for a post on that in the next couple of days. New shoes included!!!!!!!!!