Week 1: 18 Mile Run

So according to our marathon schedule, we were technically supposed to do 20 miles today, but my partners asked if I would be good with only doing 18 instead. Uhh...yeah! I'm a-ok with that. We're still 4 months away from the December 10th Dallas White Rock Marathon. I'd say we have some time...Because of hectic schedules, a few of us decided to do our long run today instead of our usual Saturday morning run. It worked out perfectly for me and allows me to do my long bike ride tomorrow.

So--Thon created a "Dallas White Rock" Simulator Course that worked out perfectly. We met at Stacy Pool and the first two miles consisted of several little up and down hills as we made our way through the Travis Heights neighborhood. The next 14 or so miles were on the ever-present and loyal Town Lake Trail. I knew from the beginning that I was going to have mental battles all morning long. Physcially, I felt fine. Mentally, I was just "off." I've been that way all week. I'm just continuing to chalk it up to major PMS, moving, etc. Lots of distractions that are occupying my little noggin' the last few days. I just didn't want to be there. I'm glad I was running with my best partners as it truly is what got me through... Well, that and the conversations that ensued over the 18 miles! They told me not to blog about it so I won't. Suffice to say that we all come from different religious and cultural backgrounds . Some of us have thicker "skin" than others, that's all... ;-) ("fore" whatever that's worth)

The run itself was a lot slower than a normal run, which worked out fine. We stopped for water every chance we could get and Amy even dropped a stash of Gatorade for us along the way. I believe Mike said that our overall pace for the 18 miles INCLUDING our stops was a 10:08. That's actually a lot faster than I thought it would be since we stopped a lot and took our time. Luckily, none of us were on a serious time crunch. With about 4 miles to go, I finally emerged from my little funk and became a bit more chatty. I think I was just happy to see daylight and know that I was going to finish this training run feeling strong and not depleted. We picked up the pace towards the end. Mike and Amy really found a spring in their step! The last mile was pretty tough as we re-entered the Travis Heights hood and ran the hills again. Those little boogers were tough! Knowing that Stacy Pool was just around the corner certainly helped. We all finished, hi-fived each other and then proceeded to soak in the pool for 10-15 minutes. It certainly was a great way to start the weekend and I felt like my normal self had finally returned.


Congrats to Mike and Hava for closing on their house today!