Days 32 & 33 - Exhausted

I'm happy to report that my 14-miler on Saturday went fanstastic! I was really anxious/worried about it before hand. I didn't sleep well the night before (darn noisy hotel) and I ate more than usual the night before a run (mmm... Buca di Beppo). I just wasn't sure how it would all turn out. Hubby and I got separated for about the first 3.5 miles. Not really sure how it happened, but he lost track of me and then I turned the wrong way (I'm horrible with directions, let alone in a different city). Cue panic on both of our parts because I didn't have a phone and we were in a section of town we weren't particularly familiar with. The good news is that we did end up finding one another and we were able to enjoy each other's company for the remainder of the run. I wanted to do the last 6 or 7 miles of the marathon course, out and back. As part of my positive imagery training, I wanted to be able to visualize the last few miles of the actual marathon. Our hotel was about a mile away from the finish line, so that's why it ended up being only the last 6 miles of the course. I really enjoyed running the course. Everyone says Columbus is "flat and fast". It wasn't exactly pancake flat, but it wasn't difficult, either . I averaged 9:50/mile throughout the run, so I can attest to it's "fastness"! It's amazing what new scenery, cool temperatures and no humidity can do!! Parts of the run were very pretty and scenic (and nostalgic since we used to live there)....there was a large stretch that was rather industrial. I'm thinking that part will be pretty poorly supported by fans and at mile 22 that may not be a good thing for me! As G beeped 7 miles, we turned around to head back. I had gone through all my water by 9 miles, so hubby rode ahead to the grocery store and got me another bottle of water. I got goosebumps as we turned the corner onto High St...knowing the marathon finish line was only about a mile away. There's a big screen TV on the side of the building where the finish line is. I did my best finish line impression for hubby, all while imagining my sweaty mug being splashed up on the big screen. I'm pretty sure the people around me thought I was crazy. I thought it was pretty funny. I really felt good the entire run. I took a Roctane GU before the run and then regular GUs every 45 minutes. Not one thing continually nagged me. Towards the end I could tell my knees and the balls of my feet were tired of the pounding. Running through German Village with cobblestone streets didn't help any either! We made many more stops than normal due to running through the city blocks and waiting for lights/traffic/etc. Although I was feeling relatively good at the end of the run, I was still happy to hear G beep at 14 miles. My longest distance yet! It's amazing to think that just 3 months ago finishing the HM was such an accomplishment and yet I had just surpassed that distance in a training run! We hobbled back to the hotel, took 600 mg of ibuprofen, and I took a much needed shower while hubby filled the ice bags. I iced my knees, shins, ankles, feet and hamstrings. Wouldn't you know the only place I'm sore today is my quads. Oops....forgot about them! I'm still quite sore today (2 days later) but managed to get in my 4 miler this morning.

As for today's run.....nothing exciting to report. I did 4.3 miles, usual route - just done in the opposite direction. My goal of sub 9:30/mile didn't happen. I'm just exhausted physically and mentally. And I think what's worse is that I know there's no end in sight for the next few weeks. Our training program just keeps building and building. Any words of wisdom to get through this spot? Our HM on September 19th will be our little break. That's ironic! Anyway, I'll keep plugging away....one day at a time.