How far did you run?

That's a question I get asked a lot. Most of the time people say it with a slight "you must be crazy" to their tone. Well, yesterday I hit a record with my mileage. I ran 13.1 miles. That was my first time running a half marathon distance. Hopefully when it comes time for the race my body won't be in too much shock since I've done it before.

People keep asking how it went, so I will tell you. Plus, I like to talk about running, particularly my running, so here goes!

First, on friday night I really didn't think I would be able to go. The forecast was for a lot of wind and I did not want to fight the wind on my first attempt at this distance. I finally asked Rick if I just ran straight south could he pick me up at the end. He said yes, so I decided I could do it. The wind was out of the northwest, so it shouldn't bother me. Miles 1-4 were pretty good. I was pretty slow, which was good, since I had a long way to go. The next couple of miles were a little tougher. I started on a pretty hilly section of the run and I kept getting a cramp near my ribcage. Also, I was getting thirsty. I hadn't planned a drink stop, which was just stupid. By the time I got to mile 7 I was pretty miserable and wasn't sure I could finish.

Right at mile 7 I turned and had to run directly into the wind for about a mile. A large portion of that mile was uphill also. I'm also getting very thirsty at this point. Like, I'm looking at the ditches that were full and wondering how gross it would be to drink out of them. I'm ashamed to admit how close I was to testing it. At 7.5 miles  I heard a car coming behind me. This isn't unusual, I run on a blacktop road. I could hear the car slowing down though. I'm thinking. "Terrific. The car is going to stop and the person driving is going to ask if I'm ok. Since I'm pretty much dying they probably aren't going to believe me when I say I'm fine." Oh wait, that's my car. And my husband! Praise God! I'm going to get a drink. I don't know if I've told all of you how fabulous and supportive my husband is, but I'm going to right now. He got up really early on a Saturday morning to come check on me and bring me a drink and Kleenex. Yeah, my nose runs a lot when I run. It will probably be a subject for a future blog post. Beware. Anyway, I drank an entire gatorade, blew my nose a couple of times and kissed my super duper fantastic husband.

After that I hit a really flat portion of the run and did great the next few miles. It had warmed up, the sun was shining and I really enjoyed myself. At mile 10 I was getting  kind of tired. And the hills had started up again. By mile 12 I was pretty much done. At 12.5 there was a huge downhill. I went way too fast and my side was pretty crampy when I got to the bottom. That is when Rick showed up to pick me up. I told him how much further I had so he drove to that spot and waited. After the long downhill was a pretty steep uphill. I did it and had about a quarter of a mile of flat ground to finish the run.

So, yes, that's 13.1 miles, but how far is it? For you local folks, that is the distance from Elk City to Independence. Or, the route I did, which is from Elk City almost to Havana. I am in shock that I can run that far! After the run was over I jumped in the shower and then went to soccer games. Both boys won!!

Saturday night was Elk Valley prom. Every few years I go with my husband who teaches there. This was on of the years. I thought I would share a couple of pics with everyone. Oh, and everyone please take note of the fact that I'm wearing heels. I ran 13.1 miles in the morning and wore heels at night. I'm obviously super-woman.

Here I am with Rick:

Here I am driving my dad's GTO. This picture really doesn't do it justice. The car was awesome and I looked very cool driving it (ummm, at least in my very humble opinion. If you disagree just hush!)