I Ran 18 Miles!!!

5 am came awfully early on Saturday and it was rise and shine for what would be by far the most challenging run yet. I met my training group at the West Orange Trail-Winter Garden Station at 6 am and we headed out in the darkness for our 18 mile run. We started earlier than normal since the run would take a few hours and it has started to get pretty hot by 9 am.

It was so early that we heard roosters as we started on the trail...then saw them running around people's front yards, it is a bit country out that way. The sun rose quickly by 7 am, around 4 miles into the run. I had paced with some new girls that I had not run with before, Amanda and Stephanie, who were super nice. We would end up running the entire course together and be a good support team.

My leg was a little stiff the first few miles into the run as usual, but started to feel better by mile 4. To say that the run was hard would be an understatement, it was incredibly challenging. Once we passed the 12 mile mark, which passed our starting point, it was very enticing to stop right there at the sight of my car. But we had to go 3 miles out, and 3 miles back. Thinking of the run in small segments is a great mental technique for making the run a little easier, when you think of shorter destinations the task does not seem as daunting.

As we progressed to the 3 mile destination, we found the section of the course that was wide open with no tree cover, and it was around 8:45 am, and it was getting hot. The sun was beating and there was no sign of relief in sight. Once I hit the 14 mile mark my legs, hips, and everything else started to feel pretty tired and sore. I had to take a few walk breaks and used the water stations to do quick stretches before heading back out. We all as a group started to feel the pain at this point, and seeing the turn around point was a huge relief. All I could think about was the finish line, a cool drink of water, and sitting down.

I searched for some inner strength along the 3 mile journey back, and kept chanting to myself "you got this" to encourage my legs to keep moving. It was good to know that even at mile 17, I was able to push it harder and pick up the pace, which will definitely come in handy on race day.

Seeing the "finish line" was a God-send and it felt so wonderful to sit down and stretch. My training group and I were all in the amazement that we just accomplished what we did. 18 miles is an incredibly long distance on foot, and I was able to do it in 3 and a half hours, which was not bad all things considered. If I can improve on that a little bit in the next two weeks and save up more energy, I think I will be able to run my goal time of 4:30.

Taking the suggestions of my team members, I stopped on the way home to pick up 2 bags of ice that I would use to create an ice bath. And let me tell you, I think that may have been worse than the run itself. It was FREEZING!!! I think I was supposed to stay in it for 15 minutes. HAH, I was in there for maybe 2 minutes but it felt like forever. As terrible as it was, I do feel pretty good today and think that may have helped.

Next week is hills, then the big one, 20 miles! More to come...