After not completing my 18 miles on New Year's Day I decided to rest my aching body all week and run 20 on Saturday. It felt good to rest my knees and feet, but I'm not sure it helped all that much after about mile 12. Dan and Dave ran with me. We probably looked pretty intimidating (or goofy) running in a pack like we did to start off. We were all pretty much dressed like ninjas, but it was it was early and everyone could see us...at least they thought they could. (You never really know with ninjas.) It was a pretty cold day and very overcast. Dan and I spent our morning tearing out a wall and some hardwood floor at my house. I figured it was a good way to loosen up the muscles. I'm sure it burned some energy, but I don't think it really affected my running. The next morning my hands hurt from swinging the hammer for 4 hours, but it really was no big deal. Breathing all the concrete dust may have been a small hinderance, but the air outside was worse anyway, so no big deal again.
We started at about 3:00 and did a quick 6 mile loop to get some miles under our belts. We moved along a little faster than I am used to for that long of a distance, but Dan and Dave just naturally run lots faster. I felt really good after 6. It was still cold enough that breathing was a problem, but my new Icebreaker long underwear kept me toasty. I actually had to open up my jacket to cool off several times. At 12 miles my body started shutting down. Dave and Dan went on faster than I could go. I kept thinking to myself, "just make it to the truck." Or, "just make it to Dave's house." Having something to drink every two miles really helped a lot. At Mile 16 I had to make a pit stop at Dave's house to talk to a man about a mule. What a disaster that would be during the race. Hopefully, there will be pitstops along the way to do your business. Needless to say, by the time I was back on the road I was about 15 minutes behind them. I pushed hard to keep going, but the final 4 miles were brutal. After the run I grabbed my stuff from Dave's house and limped home.
We didn't have any ice and there was no way I could have driven to 711 to get some, so I took a hot bath (with Charlotte's Princess bubbles) and tried not to slip into a coma. Some people say that if you can get through 20 you can get through the full marathon. However, I have a friend who has completed a bunch of marathons that tells me I won't believe the stuff I see around mile 20. People will be puking their guts out, laying down to rest, crying...apparently, it is not a pretty sight. Most likely, by the time I make it to mile 20, all of those people will be cleared out.
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