The 20 Recap

20 miles.  ROUGH.

I got up at 5:30 to feed Goober, then quickly get ready and be out the door by 6:15 at the latest.  Unfortunately my "at the latest" turned into 6:30 as Goober took forever to eat, I couldn't find my Road ID, and the peanut butter was not cooperating with my bread and jam.  Excuses, I know.  But I had a reason to get out and start running by 6:50am on the trail...I was to meet my friend Leah at 8:30 for 10 miles, but I was running 10 miles solo prior to our meetup.  Oh boy!  10 solo miles!

Since my toes and feet are not in the best condition (missing 3 toenails, 6 black nails, and of course the ever-present foot neuroma pain), I wanted to try out running without my custom orthotics.  To be honest, I think they've been hurting me more than helping lately.  Basically, I'm figuring out what shoes I want to wear for this month's (!) marathon.  Eh, more on that later.

The route I decided to take was out 5 miles on the Orting Trail, then back to the car to meet Leah, then out 5 miles in the other direction, then back to our cars again.  It sounds so much nicer when it's broken into four 5 mile chunks* (thank you, Kerrie, for the idea!).  So, I'll break down the run in chunks, and bullet points.

First 5 mile thoughts:

• Hmmm, quite a few cyclists out this morning.
• Why are my calves feeling sore?
• Huh, I like this song.  *repeat*
• My water tastes like sink.
• Oh good grief, I don't want to be murdered behind this creepy looking house!
• Smells like Christmas! (as I passed an XMas tree farm)
• Railroad crossing???  EEK!  Sprint!
• I wonder how Kerrie is doing on her 20 miles in Chelan?

And then back 5 miles:

• I CAN DO THIS.  EMZ ran for 24 hours on a freaking TREADMILL....this is NOTHING.
• *crunch* Oh god, I stepped on a snail
• Wow calves, you can stop pestering me.  This isn't cool, ya know.
• Don't choke on that Shot Blok. Don't choke on that Shot Blok.
• Railroad crossing again.  Fartlek! AAAA!
• Man, that fence needs some serious TLC.  Giant paint chips all over the place.



Leah & I post-run

• I wonder if I can get a foot transplant?

Then I saw Leah in her bright orange Nike tank and she was rearing to go!  Hold on a second there, sister! I needed to refill my Nathan Hydration belt with some Crystal Lite Pure Fitness mixture and try and stretch the hell out of my calves.  Feet?  They were actually better than I expected!  And then we were off....

First 5 with Leah:

• A slower pace....ahhhhh...this feels alright.  I can do this!
• I wonder if Sam the Eagle is around?
• Baby cows!!
• Uh oh.  My stomach is not liking me right now.  No bathrooms on this trail either.  Oh god oh god oh god. 
• This weather is perfect for a run!  Upper 40s and overcast!  Yeah!
• Shut UP stomach!  You do NOT need to use the bathroom!
• Baby bison!!

Last 5 back to the car:

• Ohmygosh, I'm really DOING this!
• Don't inhale the alder seeds.  You choked the last time that happened. 
• I love the sound of Gus' reminding me about the miles ticking by!
• Ok, the slower pace kinda hurts. Kinda.
• That Shot Blok was STALE.  It's like eating an actual rock.  Don't choke. Again. 
• Yup, I drooled on myself.
• Calves.On.FIRE.
• Yeah Leah!  Mileage PR! 16 miles!

WE FINISHED!  We really freaking finished!  I ran 20 miles?!?!?!  Holy crap!

Oh Gus, you rock.

Assessment:

After this run I just want to be done with marathon training and focus on half marathons.  All I want is to say I'm a MARATHONER.  This is too difficult with a nursing 6 month old.  I'm drained (ha!).  Plus, who knows when I'll get to run a marathon again with my injured feet.  Perhaps I'll end up getting the surgery and it'll be better?  That's in the future.  I'm just done with worrying about running these long distances.  They aren't easy.  Plus, I missed my long run buddy, Kerrie.  But thank you Leah for running with me!!!  I appreciate it.  All I know is that it felt amazing to see 20.00 on Gus' lovely face. 

Weird fact: As soon as I got in the car after the run, Kerrie texted me to ask if I ran 20.  Wow.  Great timing!  Plus, she finished her 20 miles in 3:26 too!!!  Weird!  Her recap is HERE.

I forced myself to take an ice bath, and it definitely helped with my foot pain (YES!).  However, my calves are still sore, 4 days after this run.  I've never had this problem before.  I've iced them, stretched them out constantly, wore compression socks, heck, even rolled them with my version of "the stick."  Even the ibuprofen doesn't seem to be working.  It's weird I say.

OK, BRING IT ON MARATHON!  You are MINE!

*"Chunks" is a funny word.  Ha ha!  Chunks.