30 Miles in the Book

Lil Man came home from dinner and came running to my room as I haven't seen him all day. He asked me how my day was and I told him that I ran 30 miles today. His response "Wow!", then I told him that in 2 two weeks I run 52.4 miles and he said "That's far Meme, Wow!"

This morning when I woke up I was feeling strong, mentally and physically which is a complete 180 from yesterday 10 mile that I struggled through.

Traildog thought it was too early for a run

Traildog kept my spot warm.

I ran with my friend and pacer for Sierra and really enjoyed it. I did have some lows and I almost bonked at mile 21 but my friend forced me to drink some coke which brought a new life to me.

The first 8 miles were easy I was cruising along, I was fueling as needed as I was staying positive, I was chatting away and cracking jokes and I was happy. Always a good thing to be happy. But things changed by mile 14, I was really quiet. If she didn't know me she probably would have thought that I was just in the zone, but I was running low on fuel. My friend told me I was being too quiet and I quickly realized what was going on, I needed to eat. I inhaled a GU and not long after that my pace quickened and I was chatting and once again enjoying the run.

We were making great timing, and I was even talking to other runners on the run. I know me talking to others I was stepping outside my box. As we were running I was remembering AR50 and how totally different I was feeling now compared to that. I was running the AR50 course in reverse starting at Hazel. It didn't play with my mind but instead encouraged me stay focused, stay with my plan, and to finish strong. I knew I still had a ways to go.

I ran past trailmomma porta potty and then "our photo shoot park" and just had to laugh. It brought a huge smile on my face. We even ran past Turkeys and I almost doubled over from laughing so hard.

My friend and I had planned on making a pit stop at watt ave. for some coke. I was by this point really sluggish and my back was hurting and occasionally I would feel my ribs. We made it to the gas station and I was beat and also stubborn at this point. My friend was going to get a coke while I had planned on sitting down for a few minutes, but apparently that wasn't in the itinerary. She wouldn't take "no I am good" as an answer and made me drink half a coke and put ice in my pack. Ohh my God that coke was great.

I hadn't realized it but I needed that coke in a big way. I was crashing and hard and fast. The coke revitalized me and I was ready to tackle the last 9 miles. I took off and soon enough I found a fifth gear I didn't knew I had. I  held a 8:59 at mile 24, then a 9:22 at 25. I was feeling strong and then I was feeling really hot. I started to slow down a bit. Then I saw it, a water fountain.

 I soaked myself and immediately felt better and knew I was going to finish strong. I did finish strong, my last mile I held a 8:47. That was my fastest mile of day.

I am super excited that I was able to get this long run in. Mentally I needed it. I am glad that my body decided to cooperate with me and held up. Now, tomorrow is a different story. 30 miles in the book. Ready to tackle the Sierra Nevada Double in 2 weeks. But right now I am really looking forward to my taper, hopefully my body will focus on healing.

Traildog was happy to see me when I came home.