Half Training - Week Eight

I'm going to try REALZ hard to keep this short because my posts are far too long and blathery and peeps ain't got no time to be readin' these novels!!

I just got back from my TWELVE MILE RUN WHAT THE EFF?!?!??! I can't believe I did it. I mean I can't believe I DID IT did it! I will say this...I kept my promise of takin' 'er easy and stopping to stretch. I kind of had no choice. LOTS of super busy intersections! See I ran from my house in Bayview to my parents in Greenfield. This means nothing to most people person(s) reading this blog, but it's from Lake to 43rd St, with some wind-y-ness mixed in, which still makes no sense. Alls I know is that at my half way point which was "only" six miles, I looked to the north and could see downtown like super far in the distance and I got chills a little bit. Maaaaaaaaybe that could've been the yucky weather though...it was chilly, dismal, SUPER windy, and just generally the blahish day you could imagine. But I was kinda happy to be able to wear a jacket because I had a lot to carry. I've been all about bringing my phone just in case I seriously injure myself...so far so good!

So the run itself was good and bad. I mean not horrendous or anything, but I was really dehydrated. I had some delicious Bloody Marys with my mom last night :) And then a salty George Webb's MEGA breakfast of eggs, 'cakes, bacons, and 'browns MMMMM! I tried to drink as much water as I could, but omg, at mile 5ish, I was SO THIRSTY!!! I finally stopped at a gas station hoping they'd have a drinking fountain (bubbler, whatever, I'm from Iowa), and they didn't of course, so I had to cup my inked up hands (more crib notes) and drink from the faucet. Yikes. Hopefully I'm not bent over the toilet tomorrow! It barely made a dent in my thirst, so I just dealt with it at that point and learned my lesson. The funny thing is that after my MEGA breakfast at Webb's, the BF and I went to Sports Authority so I could buy some ankle weights and I scoured and asked about the Fuel Belt hand held water bottle. SA doesn't carry the awesomeness, so I walked away thirsty.

I think the biggest struggle were miles 7-10. I was just losing steam and sore and just like "why am I doing this again???" What kept me sane was two episodes of This American Life: "My Pen Pal" and "My Experimental Phase"...I had heard of This American Life before, but never really checked it out as I'm not necessarily and NPR/Talkish Radio type. But omg, this show is aaaaaaaaaaaaaaddicting!!!! I just get glued to every episode. Which translates to: um, perfect distance running companion??? YES! So these kept most of my attention away from pain and thirst. THEN because clearly my 12 miles were going to go over the 2 hour mark (and TAL eps are an hour long)...I switched Orange Bomb over to Girl Talk who, if you aren't already aware, is this dude who, among other things, mixes dirty booty hip hop with The Sounds of the Seventies. Seriously though, this guy's a genius and I went to his show here in Milwaukee awhile back and FREAKED OUT. I lost a flip flop. I lost 10 gallons of water via sweat. I danced on stage. It was amazing. ANYWAY! Gregg's music gets me through anything, so I started up Night Ripper and my last mile was absolutely the best mile I've ever run in my life. I didn't know I had anything left in my tank, but here it was!! I was fist pumping and rappin' along with Luda and just, yeah, freaking out all over the road! People in Greenfield, WI probably thought I was nuts.

So I did NOT bring my watch. But I left exactly at 2:00 and rolled in around 4:19. Now that includes all my stretch stops and dirty faucet shenanigans, so I'm all right with that time! When I got to my parents' house, I ran upstairs and immediately ran a COLD BATH!!! I didn't have any ice, but I wanted to try out this whole ice-ish bath phenomenon! Omg it's amazing! It really helps!! And I think I'd be able to withstand the ice too if I poured it in after sitting in the cold water for awhile. So yeah, I chatted with my mom and sat in the water for about 15 and then she drove me back home. THANKS MOMSI!

So yep! Only 1.1 miles to go and I'm there baby! Although next week is supposed to be 14...yowzah! Good times....good times.

Ok so I wrote a novel anyway. Then I'll spare you the details of when I ran 4.6mi during my lunch hour in the rain and didn't bring a hair dryer so pretty much had to be at my place of work with wet hair in two little buns at the top of my head for the remainder of the afternoon. Lesson learned! But I did that 4.6 in 9:05 minute miles, and THAT was awesome in my book!

Not awesome in my book?? PUSH UPS. I am absolutely terrible at push ups. I do the designated amount, but just SUCK at them. I'll keep trying though. It's all I can do! But yay for ankle weights! I'm hoping that in the final month of training for the Half, I'll be able to strengthen my legs more so it won't be as painful. Fingers crossed!

OH! One final thing...love Hammer Gel, but Hammer Gel Vanilla????? Yikes. It tasted like cold medicine. Very strange! No biggie...I still got my Espresso!