I started my run at the Children's Memorial Park. I ran along the river walk from there to Dodge, just past the Brandy Fenton Park. That's about 10-11 miles or so. It was the hardest run I've ever done. I didn't want to deal with cramps, so instead of eating a snack before hand, I ate my first serving of Gu Chews. I was going to bring the rest with me to be eaten about halfway into the run, as I always do with really long runs . . . I forgot them. I realized it about 2 miles in. Too late to go back.
It was also much hotter than I had anticipated. Good thing the river walk has drinking fountains every half mile or so. Things were going fine. I got to Campbell and was getting more tired and hot. But the cool thing about this stretch is we used to live/run over here many years back. I remembered how I would struggle to run the half mile from our apartments to the bridge without walking. And how excited I was when I finally made it to the park, about 1 1/2 miles. I was starting at Campbell, 1/2 mile before this point, so for me it was 2 miles to the park, with another 1/2 mile to Dodge. I was enjoying the pride of coming so far in my running, as I had already run about 3 miles to Campbell and was still only a little tired. Okay, really tired. And then I remembered . . . there are no drinking fountains until I get to the park.
Two miles until I have water. There was no shade. And I was getting hot. Those two miles were the hardest. By the time I finally made it to the park, I was ready to call Cruz to pick me up. I was out of energy, and I could feel that my body was just too hot. I spent a good 5-10 minutes drinking cold water and splashing on my face, neck and arms. I finally felt my body temp go down and I was felling so much better. I actually felt like I could finish this run without doing any danger to myself. So on I trekked to Dodge and back. I paced myself getting back to Campbell since there again was no water. I drank quite a bit when I got there, again cooling off my face and arms. And the temperature was dropping enough to be more pleasant.
The last 3 miles were really hard. I had water, but there were no carbs left in my body to help me keep going. And I had spent all of my energy on those two miserable miles, so I was running on empty. It became a mental exercise more than anything else. "Just run until 1st Ave. Just get to 1st. You can do it. Just a little longer." Then the same for the next half mile. "You're doing great. Just go to Stone. Just half a mile. Piece of cake." And so on, until the end. I couldn't even stretch. I just collapsed in the car and very tiredly felt very proud of myself. "No more long runs until the race. It's all easy runs from here." (I did stretch a lot later.)
That night, we spent in the emergency room with Simeon. He's fine - just a bad case of croup. I got 2 hours of sleep and then went to Flag the following morning. The morning after that, I woke up feeling like I had been run over by a semi. After a little stretching and food, I finally felt pretty good. The weekend was full of walking around, especially since I couldn't sit for more than 45 minutes or so without my legs cramping and feeling antsy. I finally felt good enough to go for a little run on Saturday morning.
When Saturday morning came, I laid in bed convincing myself not to go until I realized I'd just have to get up and get ready soon anyway, so I went. It was a huge payoff for the torture I went through a few days earlier. I ran along the southern part of the urban trail in Flagstaff (the part that goes to the fairgrounds). It goes behind a neighborhood and through the woods, meeting a house or road here or there. It was beautiful! And the temperature was perfect. Slightly cold, but great when you're running. The only issue I had was half way through my run I had a . . . *clears throat* . . . bathroom issue. And not the kind you can take care of in the woods. It caused me to walk about a mile of my run, but still I felt great and really enjoyed running in the beautiful outdoors. About a mile south of our hotel, I found civilization and quickly found a bathroom. Let's just say the last mile of my run was very enjoyable! All in all, a great experience. I think I ran about 4 miles and walked about 1 mile. I got cleaned up and felt great the rest of the day.
So, with all that said, and I know it was a lot, I have one easy week ahead of me. A few 3 mile runs and lots of stretching to get ready. Then, Saturday is the big day! I am so excited to cross that finish line, strong and happy. I start at 6:30 am and if I run 13 minute miles, which is slow but pretty realistic with water stops and the distance, I should be crossing the finish line around 9:15ish. Cruz will probably cross around 8:15ish. Here's the website for the race: http://worldcultureclub.org/Half_Marathon___5K.php
And here we go . . .
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