Ok so I'm about to totally toot my own horn...Toot, toot!! We did it! We finished our 20+ mile run in 3 hours and 12 minutes. Not exactly Olympic-time but definitely good enough for me! It was awesome and brought about such a sense of accomplishment. I didn't want to be negative but I was really worried about this run after our experience last weekend.
On the great recommendation I had from Demi we did a run from Charleston to Sullivan's Island. This was similar to a route Demi and her husband Jason did in preparation for their marathon but we modified it a little. We started in downtown Charleston at the corner of Broad St. and Logan St. We proceeded down to the Battery, onto East Bay St. and then started our trip over the Cooper River Bridge. I wanted to avoid doing a long run that involved going over the bridge but finally just gave into it. Finding a good 20-mile route isn't the easiest thing! After the bridge, we crossed over into Mt. Pleasant and continued to run up Coleman Blvd until we got to the Ben Sawyer Bridge that leads over to Sullivan's Island. That was out turnaround point.
The run started off great. I wanted to start at a slower pace than usual in an effort to conserve energy. It was a great move. As we got through downtown and went over the bridge I felt great. I thought that hill would really tear me apart but to my great surprise it actually gave me more energy. After going up a hill like that, flat ground seems 100 times easier!
Rob and I basically felt great all through Mt. Pleasant, right up until we did our trip back over the Cooper River Bridge. This is where I started to struggle. The attempt at the bridge was not so invigorating...in fact it was downright painful. Rob motored ahead of me as I fell back a bit. I eventually caught up but it ate up a ton of my energy. Once I got to the downhill portion I felt much better but still pretty worn out. After that I went back and forth from feeling to good to feeling pretty awful. The last mile and a half of the run was grueling but once again my wonderful husband talked me through it. Such a champ!
We got back home a little after 1:00 today and have been pretty useless ever since. My knees are throbbing...not injured but definitely sore. We've been icing, heating and compressing most of the day.
I am so thankful that Rob and I both had the strength to do this run today. It restored my faith in our abilities. My mantra today really helped pull me through too..."You're a machine and your were made to do this." Not sure where I came up with that one but it seriously worked and honestly made me feel stronger.
Throughout the next three weeks I plan to do a couple more long runs (probably just in the 10-12 mile range) as we start to taper down. We came close to 21 miles today and while I would like to get one more 20+ mile run in, I think I should concentrate on doing lots of endurance and aerobic activities that don't put my knees at risk of injury. That means biking, elliptical, strength training, and a series of shorter runs.
I am thrilled to be able to report a great run today. Thanks so much for reading and taking an interest in our training. It seriously keeps me going!! Love to all!
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