16 miles BABY!

That's right - This past Saturday we ran 16 miles! That's the most miles I have run while training for this marathon and it sure was a nice thing to accomplish! I'm actually extra proud of myself because I almost didn't make it. We start running at 5:00 am and for some reason that is about the time I woke up. I must have shut off my alarm by mistake. So instead of starting with my group I was about 30 minutes behind them. Mentally, that was a hard thing for me to commit to since I was so late, but I told myself, "This is something you must do!"

Believe it or not, I actually caught up to them after the first 11 miles. I was SO happy to see them and they helped me feel strong enough to finish the last 5 miles we had left. Running with a group is seriously SO much easier than trying to accomplish it all by your lonesome. Especially since this was another tough run for me. Through the heat, pain and exhaustion, WE DID IT!

There were a few funny things that happened to me that morning during the run that I felt necessary to write down. Probably things that I wouldn't even notice in any other situation, but after running for 3 hours straight you start looking at your surroundings a little bit different.

FUNNY THOUGHT #1 - Let's see, it was at about the 7 or 8 mile mark when I starting approaching a pack of runners heading towards me. There was a lot of them and I could tell from a distance that they were all boys - maybe freshman or sophomores in high school. Now, with running there seems to be simple rules that everyone just knows. For example, you need to share the path with the other runners and bikes that may be out there at the same time. So really I shouldn't feel too cool about this, but anyway this is what happened. This small herd of young boys was running towards me and taking up the entire path. As we continued to get closer to one another I stayed as far to the right side as I could. Without hesitation ALL these boys adjusted and moved out of the way just for me. They began slowing down so they could get behind one another, some starting running on the dirt and they were even stumbling over one another - ALL for me. I laughed to myself because even though they did exactly what runners are supposed to do for other runners, I felt SO powerful and strong! From my perspective I was commanding them to GET OUT OF MY WAY! It was a really cool feeling!

FUNNY THOUGHT #2 - At about 12 miles I noticed two young boys sitting on the sidewalk beside the canal. These boys must have been 8 or 9 years old. There was a neighborhood on the other side of the sidewalk so I figured they probably lived in one of the houses on that street. I was curious what they were doing just sitting there in the 100 degree heat. As I got closer to them they said, "Hey we are having a car wash and garage sale just over there at our house right now." I politely told them, "Oh, thanks!" And I continued running down the canal. Here I was busting my butt - still not done with my run and they wanted to invite me to a garage sale and car wash. I just shook my head and laughed.

FUNNY THOUGHT #3 - The last 4 miles were extra hard for me. I felt good, but my legs were ready to be done for the day. I just kept them moving knowing that by doing so I would be that much closer to the finish. The route that we run has a bridge right before the end and you can see it from about a mile away. It's always a wonderful thing to see because you know you're so close to being done. Well, today I was especially happy to see the bridge and as I ran underneath it there was a woman running past me the other direction that gave me a smile and said, "You're so close! Just a little bit further." What perfect words that I needed to hear! Yes, I knew that I was almost there, but her encouragement helped me finish off strong.

I love seeing other runners out there! It's like a secret friendship that all of us have. Everyone says "good morning" and "hello" to each other as we share the common goal of making it from our point A to point B destinations. That women probably has no idea what she did for me, but I will definitely return the favor to someone else one of these days.

Rhonda, Kim, Michelle and me just after our run! Ready to run some more....NOT really!

From left to right: Rhonda, Me, Kim, Mimi, Heidi and Michelle - ALL ran 16 miles that morning! Way to go TEAM!