Tis' the Season, Fa La La La La La La La La!! So Friday I worked til 5-ish, then I went and ate dinner and went to the wine club holiday party. I only drank 1 small glass of wine though, as I knew I had to get up early and do my 20 miler the next day.
I woke up at 5:15 on Saturday and took the dogs (my friend was spending the night after the wine club party- she and Jason stayed later and came back home to sleep), for a walk. I got all my stuff together and headed out the door. It was chilly but not COLD out. The air was moist but it wasn't raining. I was dressed in a long sleeve compression-ish shirt, a short sleeve wicking shirt, and one of my running jackets on top, and my cwx compression capris on bottom, along with socks and the new-ish brooks running shoes, also a knit hat and gloves (which got shed pretty quickly into the run).
I got to the meet up spot, and hung out in my car until the group formed. No need to get cold before I need to. *smiles* I got out and hung out with the group for a bit, we had our instructions, and our mission moment. I asked Wilford to take a group pic of us doing the 20 miler (he nicely did and put it up on facebook :) ). And off we went.
I had been dreading this run all week. I really didn't want to do it. I knew I needed to, but I didn't want to do it. Our team is small, and I usually am out running by myself for a good chunk of the time. We have some great coaches, but we also have people who need more encouragement, or instruction than I do. When I trained for Nike, our team was HUGE, and there were always people around, even if we didn't run the same pace we could talk for awhile and then move on. I'm the middle girl. Runners faster and runner's slower than I am, but I'm pretty much in the middle of the group on most runs. Which means I usually get to hang with a coach for a little bit at the beginning and a little bit at the end of my runs. 20 miles is a really long way....boring, boring, boring running. TNT policy says we aren't allowed to use headphones during group training for safety reasons. I get it, and I actually think I run faster without music (I listen to my foot falls better), but I miss the distraction of music. Ohhh, but I'm such a lucky girl to have good friends, of whom I sent out pleas of you could come run some of this run with me, or ride beside me for a little bit, or just come cheer me on at my hard points! A few friends wanted to come out, but schedules and what not got in the way. One friend said she would try to come and ride beside me, but it was early on a Saturday morning (trust me, I totally understand not wanting to get out of a warm bed on a cold morning). My good friend Ruth made it out to ride beside me (very slow riding in cold temps) for a good chunk of my run. It was nice to chat and catch up, and keep my mind distracted through all those miles!! I felt good, I felt really strong, and HAPPY, so HAPPY!! Ruth headed back when I had about 4 more miles to go, she was cold, and had to get back to her car which was closer to the half way point of my run (it was an out and back). I kept running, feeling pretty good, but also feeling that last honey stinger chew sitting in my stomach just turning into a hard knot. Eating while running can be tricky at times. Figuring out the right combo of "food" is always interesting. I've been doing endurance sports for awhile, and just when I think I've got it all figured out, something throws me for a loop. It's okay though, because you learn from these things. I ended up walking for the last 2.5 miles, but I tried to keep my walk going strong. Walking is hard. Your feet hurt more (really they do), and you just want to be done, but it takes longer, because you are walking instead of running. Yeah...walking isn't fun, but since I do run walk combo's throughout my run, it wasn't torture either. I finished...I made it. I ran/walked my 20 miles. It took me 4 hours and 15 minutes. I found the porta john, thank you ATT for having that there, and afterwards felt amazing! I walked across the street, talked with the coaches, signed out, and headed home for my ice bath.
Yes, you read that right, ice bath. Brrrrrrr. Actually the cold water bath is pretty hard in and of itself, so I sit in the cold water for about 7 minutes and then add the ice in, for another 7 minutes. It's terrible. I HATE IT!! Jason made me some hot chocolate to try and keep me warm. This is one bath I wear clothes in, I should of had Jason take a picture of me in the ice bath. I wore some old tri shorts, and on top I had on a long sleeve cotton tee, and a sweatshirt, I forgot my knit hat. I had a book, but Jason talked to me, so that was good. Ohh and I had my phone. Smart-phones, I lover youse.
Yep, then it was shower time, and get ready for the first of 3 parties I had to go to. I actually only made it to two parties, because I did crash (I was just so tired). I felt pretty good all day though. I ate yummy food, and had lot's of water, and coke's cause ummm yeah. I'm sorry I missed the last party, but sleep was so AWESOME!
I got to the meet up spot, and hung out in my car until the group formed. No need to get cold before I need to. *smiles* I got out and hung out with the group for a bit, we had our instructions, and our mission moment. I asked Wilford to take a group pic of us doing the 20 miler (he nicely did and put it up on facebook :) ). And off we went.
I had been dreading this run all week. I really didn't want to do it. I knew I needed to, but I didn't want to do it. Our team is small, and I usually am out running by myself for a good chunk of the time. We have some great coaches, but we also have people who need more encouragement, or instruction than I do. When I trained for Nike, our team was HUGE, and there were always people around, even if we didn't run the same pace we could talk for awhile and then move on. I'm the middle girl. Runners faster and runner's slower than I am, but I'm pretty much in the middle of the group on most runs. Which means I usually get to hang with a coach for a little bit at the beginning and a little bit at the end of my runs. 20 miles is a really long way....boring, boring, boring running. TNT policy says we aren't allowed to use headphones during group training for safety reasons. I get it, and I actually think I run faster without music (I listen to my foot falls better), but I miss the distraction of music. Ohhh, but I'm such a lucky girl to have good friends, of whom I sent out pleas of you could come run some of this run with me, or ride beside me for a little bit, or just come cheer me on at my hard points! A few friends wanted to come out, but schedules and what not got in the way. One friend said she would try to come and ride beside me, but it was early on a Saturday morning (trust me, I totally understand not wanting to get out of a warm bed on a cold morning). My good friend Ruth made it out to ride beside me (very slow riding in cold temps) for a good chunk of my run. It was nice to chat and catch up, and keep my mind distracted through all those miles!! I felt good, I felt really strong, and HAPPY, so HAPPY!! Ruth headed back when I had about 4 more miles to go, she was cold, and had to get back to her car which was closer to the half way point of my run (it was an out and back). I kept running, feeling pretty good, but also feeling that last honey stinger chew sitting in my stomach just turning into a hard knot. Eating while running can be tricky at times. Figuring out the right combo of "food" is always interesting. I've been doing endurance sports for awhile, and just when I think I've got it all figured out, something throws me for a loop. It's okay though, because you learn from these things. I ended up walking for the last 2.5 miles, but I tried to keep my walk going strong. Walking is hard. Your feet hurt more (really they do), and you just want to be done, but it takes longer, because you are walking instead of running. Yeah...walking isn't fun, but since I do run walk combo's throughout my run, it wasn't torture either. I finished...I made it. I ran/walked my 20 miles. It took me 4 hours and 15 minutes. I found the porta john, thank you ATT for having that there, and afterwards felt amazing! I walked across the street, talked with the coaches, signed out, and headed home for my ice bath.
Yes, you read that right, ice bath. Brrrrrrr. Actually the cold water bath is pretty hard in and of itself, so I sit in the cold water for about 7 minutes and then add the ice in, for another 7 minutes. It's terrible. I HATE IT!! Jason made me some hot chocolate to try and keep me warm. This is one bath I wear clothes in, I should of had Jason take a picture of me in the ice bath. I wore some old tri shorts, and on top I had on a long sleeve cotton tee, and a sweatshirt, I forgot my knit hat. I had a book, but Jason talked to me, so that was good. Ohh and I had my phone. Smart-phones, I lover youse.
Yep, then it was shower time, and get ready for the first of 3 parties I had to go to. I actually only made it to two parties, because I did crash (I was just so tired). I felt pretty good all day though. I ate yummy food, and had lot's of water, and coke's cause ummm yeah. I'm sorry I missed the last party, but sleep was so AWESOME!
No comments:
Post a Comment