18 Mile Success

Yes, my 18 mile run on Saturday was a HUGE success, plus a huge pick-me-up from the struggles I have been having!!
On Friday night my friend Becki, her husband Ryan and daughter Libby came and stayed with us.  Our husbands were going to tile our sunroom, plus for the first time, we were going to run in my neck of the woods!  I was super excited, and had picked out a 18 mile route that I couldn't wait to show them.
Me and Beck ate a good Mexican meal on Friday...a huge taco salad for me, and we drank tons and tons of water!
We went to bed around 10pm so that we could get a good nights sleep for our run the next morning.
I got up around 4:45am on Saturday, got ready and met Beck downstairs in the kitchen.  We both ate a banana and I had a whole wheat bagel thin with a little spray butter, and some peanut butter!  I also drank a cup of coffee, and some water.
Kris got to my house around 5:20am, and we all "suited up"...fuel belts filled with water and gatorade, GU, Garmin watch, Road ID and I-Pod.
When we stepped outside it was a crisp 55 degrees, and we were all freezin our little booties off, but after we got going, it warmed up!!!  We started out and decided to stop every 4 miles to walk, fuel and get a drink. 
Mile 1-4: Went really good and fast!  We talked, and I got to show them some of the local sites around me...where my son goes to daycare, where my son goes to the pediatrician etc. 
At mile 4 we stopped and walked for a short time...I decided to go back to my "roots" and try GU again. (I had used GU the whole time prior to marathon training, and since then have been trying a lot of different things...that I don't think were working)  I did a GU at mile 4, as did Beck, and Kris took a few swigs of her GU-tini!
Mile 5-9: The next 4 miles were a slight incline for part of the way, and lead us in to the next town.  At 6.5 we were running by a McDonald's, and Beck needed a potty break, so we all stopped.  I filled up my water bottle.
Then we headed back off and finished our 9 miles in great time.  We had about a 10:15 pace going...which we all felt good about.  At mile 9 I drank some water and did another GU.
The girls kept asking me how I felt, and I would tell them a quick..."good"....at mile 9, I said..."not to ginx myself, but I fell really good!"
We then turned around to run back....(I actually really enjoy out and backs.  The out makes me feel like that is the distance I need to complete...and the back makes me fell like that is the distance I need to get back to my house/car/etc.)
Mile 9-13: Again, a pretty good period...nothing much happened...Beck broke away from us a little, but not too far, and I held a good pace with Kris.  We again stopped to fuel at mile 13.  I drank some gaterade and water.
Mile 13-16: We decided to run 3 miles and fuel, and then only have 2 more miles to go before we were done.  The next 3 miles got a little tougher...my legs were getting tired, and then wind was blowing towards us, so it slowed me down a bit.  At mile 16 I was happy to walk and drink some water and I downed my last GU.  We then only had 2 miles to go....
Mile 16-18: When we started up again, they took off, and for some reason I couldn't get going, and they got ahead of me.  With the wind blowing at me, and my tired legs, I dropped down and was going around a 11:00 min/mile pace.  I just told myself that I didn't want to walk, that I could keep going, and it didn't matter that I was doing this alone...I could finish!!!
After about .5 mile I turned onto another road where the wind was blowing so hard, and I was able to pick up the pace.  I kept Beck and Kris in eye sight most of the time.
With only 1/2 a mile to go, I turned into my subdivision, and knew that I was going to finish this thing with great time!!!  I ran into my cul-de-sac with Beck and Kris cheering me on, and finished 18 miles in 3hrs 11min.  This was the same exact time I had run/walked my 16 miler in a couple of weeks ago.
I was super excited!!!  I had ran further than I had ever ran before, and had a great time (even with a few walking breaks)...Beck and Kris finished only 3 minutes ahead of me.


We stretched and talked about the run, and how it was a really good run for us all!  We all felt really good about it! 
I was super sore the rest of the day...and really worn out, but I was on a runner's high...I can tell you....I.NEEDED.THAT.RUN!  I hope that run will push me through my solo 20 miler in a couple of weeks, and through the finish line at Chicago!


Thank you for all of the encouraging words prior to my 18 mile run, and for all of my followers!  You help me out more than you will ever know!!!  (don't forget my giveaway HERE...It ends tomorrow!)


XOXO,
Stephanie