What'd you do this morning, Jess?

Well, I'm glad you asked that question, homies, because I ran 20 miles! Yeah, I did!

Okay, so now that I've blurted it out, let me back up and give you the full report: Last night, I was very good and went to bed at 9:30, and actually, I pretty much fell asleep right away and slept pretty solidly through the night. Right up until my alarm went off at 3:15 am. Yes, you read that right: 3:15 am. Let me tell you, that is the middle of the night, my friends, but I got up, got ready, and met the group at 4:30.

My partner and I decided that the best way to do the 20 was to break it in half: do two loops of 10 miles. I was whole-heartily in favor of this option because I like the mental sense of halfway, so we set off at 4:30, did our first 10, then stopped to use the restroom and recover a bit, then we went on and did the other 10. Of course, we stopped at all water stations, where I took just water but also dutifully swallowed the GUs I had with me (yuck! does anyone ever get used to these? they taste like snot!), and my partner had to make a second bathroom stop. But, otherwise, we were full steam ahead.

Granted, the last 3 miles got tough and we would run for half a mile, then walk for half a mile, and you'll see us slowing in the numbers below; still, I made it until 16.5 miles before needing to walk at all, and despite needing to walk some of the last portion, I was mentally and emotionally fine -- big difference from 2 weeks ago! So, without further ado, here are the numbers:

Mile 1: 10:45 (exactly the pace I wanted)
Mile 2: 10:38
Mile 3: 11:12
Mile 4: 12:04 (huh. oh, I know why this is slower -- I forgot to stop the timer when we stopped at a water station here)
Mile 5: 11:11
Mile 6: 11:13
Mile 7: 11:02
Mile 8: 11:02 (this is right within the target range)
Mile 9: 10:58
Mile 10: 10:51
Mile 11: 10:50
Mile 12: 11:03
Mile 13: 10:56
Mile 14: 10:55
Mile 15: 10:43
Mile 16: 10:55
Mile 17: 18:50 (and this is where the walking begins and where we needed to take an emergency bathroom break -- but all the previous times are pretty consistent, don't ya think?)
Mile 18: 14:42
Mile 19: 13:07
Mile 20: 13:39

Total Time: 3:56:45. Not too shabby. I figured it would take us 4 hours, so that time fell right within the perfect range. But get this, total calories: 2717! Yup. There's nothing like burning nearly 3000 calories before 9 am!

It's a huge relief to me to get that 20 done. I might do another in 2 weeks, but if I do 16-18 then too, it will be fine. Getting this beast outta the way feels like I've climbed the training mountain and now I can see the valley below -- and seeing an end to this training is the best view I can imagine at this point.

Before I go, I want to include a few side notes from this morning's run: I wore my new kicks and they worked well -- no blisters or anything; my second-in-command-toe on my right foot is definitely blackening; I got chest chafed a bit from my sports bra -- it was dripping sweat, so the chafing is no surprise, but I didn't even notice until I got home -- I suppose I'm immune to pain at this point; and lastly, there are some absolutely reckless drivers out there: we had to yell some obscenities at one guy who yelled out the window at us as he flew by and literally rode the white line -- I kinda thought my partner was gonna meet a similar fate as that duckling earlier this week; it was scary.

So, I hope everyone has an excellent holiday weekend -- I know I will now that I have that big run behind me. Tonight? Poison, baby! Tomorrow? Poolside drinking and bbq-ing! My life is pretty sweet.