19 MILES!

19.15 miles done! Freaking crazy. I honestly can't comprehend that my legs carried me through 19 miles of running. I mean... it's just craziness.

So, I carb loaded like a champ Friday 9:

Some kinda spicy shrimp pasta dish with garlic, spinach, and sun dried tomatoes. YUM. Enjoyed after my all time favorite appetizer: baked goat cheese in marinara with fresh bread. SO FREAKING GOOD. I ate WAY too much of the appetizer and only about 1/3 of my pasta.

I passed out Friday night before 10pm (I'm so cool!), after several internal panic attacks about just how long 19 miles really is. Not really sure why it seemed SO insurmountable, since less than a week before I tackled 18, but MAN! I was nervous and SO mentally shaky.

After a solid night of sleep, I woke up at 6:45am Saturday still feeling more than nervous. My mental game was just not on, but I pressed forward-- body glided everywhere, dressed, ate 1/2 an English Muffin with PB, and headed out by 7:15am.

When I walked out to this forecast I was excited about weather for the run.

Of course, that couldn't actually be accurate. I should have known better. When is the weather actually right?!?!

I wasn't even down my street before it started to drizzle. Less than 1/2 a mile into the run and it was full out raining. Not POURING, but definitely not just drizzling. It was a legit RAIN. And, while the "Partly Cloudy" ended up being "Rain", the temps were spot on, so I was actually on the chilly side while it was raining. Speaking of while it was raining... just how long did it rain on me? Oh... ya know... JUST the first SEVEN MILES.

Mile 1: 9:37
Mile 2: 9:38
Mile 3: 9:35
Mile 4: 9:36
Mile 5: 9:28
Mile 6: 9:24
Mile 7: 9:20

Yeah, I wasn't too thrilled with the rain, but I'm pretty proud of the pace I managed to keep despite slippery surfaces and my less than stellar mental outlook. I literally spent the first few miles mentally yelling at myself for putting myself voluntarily through this. HOWEVER, I didn't, even for one second think about turning around or not doing the run. I think I realized that around mile 7 and suddenly I gave myself a HUGE pat on the back. It was like I suddenly realized I'm much more tough than I give myself credit for.

From here, I was in the game. I realized I hadn't seen anything over a 9:40 on my watch and I was determined to maintain a 9:30 pace. Even bigger? It felt good. I felt strong. I started ENJOYING the run.  

Mile 8: 9:19
Mile 9: 9:07
Mile 10: 9:28 (not really sure what happened here... stop light maybe? Or I just slowed down a bit... I'm OK with it!)
Mile 11: 9:14
Mile 12: 9:04
Mile 13: 9:00
I stopped at Mile 13 to fill my water bottles and use the bathroom. I stopped my Garmin, but watched the clock and was stopped for 3 1/2 minutes. I ate a Gu and chugged some water when I stopped here, too.

Mile 14: 9:09
Mile 15: 9:08
Mile 16: 9:08

I stopped after mile 16 to call the Hubs to ask him to get me some ice. I again stopped my Garmin, but watched the clock and was stopped for about 40 seconds. At about mile 15.5 my left calf started cramping and hurting like crazy. Not long after that same shin started aching, as well. I pushed through, but definitely slowed down those last few miles. By mile 18.5 I was in PAIN. It hurt, but not in a "OMG I TORE SOMETHING" kinda way... just in a "ARE WE DONE YET?!?!?!" kinda way. My legs were rFINISHED and eady to be DONE.

Mile 17: 9:17
Mile 18: 9:11
Mile 19: 9:12
Mile 19.15: 1:37

Average Pace = 9:20/mile         

So, I was supposed to run 19 miles, but seeing as how I'm a complete freak of nature (you know this by now, right?) I knew I wanted to do 19.15 since last weeks long run ended up being 18.15. Freak. I know.

I got home and literally chugged some chocolate milk and got straight into a 15-minute ice bath. Hurts so good. Ok, that's a lie. The freaking ice bath just HURTS. I KNOW it's for my own good, but MAN OH MAN it hurts.

When I was in the ice bath, I looked at my stats for the first time. I was AMAZED at my pace. 9:20! WHAAAT?!?! My fastest LR ever-- and my longest distance! WOAH. I was (and am!) so proud! I pushed... hard. And, it paid off. I was (an am!) PROUD of myself. PROUD of what I did. PROUD of what I put my body through. PROUD of what I'm capable of. It's a great feeling.

Post ice-bath I sticked my legs for a few minutes (not long enough), went to a friends baby's birthday party, had some friends visit (where we went on a long walk, drank some beers, and had some delicious cheese fries!), and then I passed out at 8:30pm. YUP. 8:30pm. I was SO tired. Beyond tired. I woke up at about 10 and managed to watch a little of the Olympics before calling it a night around 11pm and I slept (hard!) til 8am the next morning. My body clearly needed the sleep and I was happy to oblige.  

Confession: I think I might still be on a runner's high from Saturday and I'm a so incredibly OK with that.