Every train has a caboose

Today's long run is COMPLETE! I ran 7.5 miles in 1:41. That figures to about a 13:47 minute mile. While this is slow, it's a bit faster than my norm, so I was excited about that. And excited that I did the run today. I was the caboose this morning. The LAST one to finish. (There were two ladies that quit after 4 miles. So maybe I wasn't quite the very last....)

Today's run was a 6/2 interval (run 6 minutes/walk 2 minutes).We kept the route in Shelby Farms and ran along the south side of Patriot Lake, up a gravel trail along Walnut Grove until it hit Raleigh Lagrange. Then we turned around and came back up the trail and returned to the Visitor's Center on the north side of Patriot Lake. That was 4 miles and a good spot for a little restroom visit and some gel. George gave me some orange Hammer gel yesterday - like Gu, just another brand. It was a bit more tolerable. It almost tasted like orange. I sucked it down with lots of water. Then we were off to finish our last 3 miles. We ran the Chickasaw Trail. I guess the gel did give me a little bit of energy. At least enough, combined with the quick pit stop, to make it the last 3 miles.

Julie the Mentor ran with me today. Sometimes, she ran ahead but then came back to get me. It's nice to have somebody to run with because it really does make the time go by faster. She knows her stuff and is very encouraging.

I really didn't have any shin/calf pain except one little place on my shin. So I think that's a sign of improvement. At one point, during my precious 2 minute walk interval, I had to take off my shoe and rub my toes. But I must have been pretty fast at this, because once I got my shoe on and was ready to run again, Julie said I had one minute to spare. YEA!

When we were finishing up, Julie had gone on ahead just a bit and I was running the very last hundred yards or so into the parking lot (aka The Finish Line. aka the GLORY LAND). I ran by this very fit, very tall, very young, very handsome guy who was stretching before what was probably his weekly 20 mile run. I must have either reminded him of his aging mother or he was afraid I was going to go into cardiac arrest right in front of his Jeep and he thought I needed some encouragement because as I ran by he said "Nice hustle this morning. Looking good. Keep it up." I smiled and said "Oh thanks a lot. That's real sweet." and figured a 40+ year old married turtle with snot running out of her nose probably wasn't his type....

When I got to the finish area, there were only a few people left waiting on us. Nice of them. But they do have to make sure all the crazies are accounted for. Lindy, another mentor who is nursing a stress fracture and couldn't run, was there waiting and she had brought Krispy Kreme donuts and bananas. I liked her immediately! I consumed the donut in about 4 bites. It was so delicious, I almost cried.

Music that kept me moving this morning was some Lenny Kravitz, Billy Squier, No Doubt, and the Go Go's.

I felt pretty good today. Don't get me wrong - it's a long way. And it took a long time. But, I ran 7.5 miles! So I'm excited.

Progress made:

Ran 7.5 miles in improved time.

My fundraising total is now $1,901! That's almost 50% of my goal.

Lesson learned:

The caboose makes it to the same place the rest of the train does. Just not at the same time.