Fab Fourteen

I had a pretty good run today. Fourteen miles! Yippee! For the most part, Mr. Right Brain did a good job. There were a few times starting at about mile 9 or 10 that Mr. Left Brain started telling me how tired I was. I did choose to believe him sometimes. It was very warm this morning. Probably one of the warmest long runs we've had.

Our route was the long side of the lake, up the gravel road to Raleigh Lagrange, back the long side of the lake to the Shell. Then back to the Visitor's Center, around the Chickasaw Trail and one loop of the lake. I had mapped it online and figured it to be 14 miles. Or close to it...

For the first 7 miles, Lindy and I ran alone together (if that makes sense) while George & Julie headed on. I had eaten a gel at about mile 5 without water. Probably a mistake. My stomach was thinking about cramping up a bit. But I made it to the Shell where we had some water, Accelerade (disgusting, but apparently necessary) and some yummy oranges. It was so hot and I was already dripping with sweat. The last half, Julie stuck with Lindy and George hung with me. Lindy's IT band was giving her some fits today. I hate that. She walked more than she usually does but kept saying she was ok. I know she was hurting.

When we got back to the Visitor's Center, we already had run a little over 10 miles, so we just needed to hit the Chickasaw Trail to total our 14. Small mental victory there to find out I was closer to finishing than I had originally thought.

At one point on the trail, a guy was running toward me and said "GO TEAM!" (I had on my TNT shirt) Just the encouragement I needed at mile 12 to end my walk break and start running again. Thank you Mr. Bandana Head Tattoo Arm Man.

During one walk break I passed George, who was also walking. He said "You walk faster than I do." I turned around and said "You RUN faster than I do." Sure enough, he passed me later.

Before I knew it, we were back at the Visitor's Center. 14 miles completed. And I felt good.

Shelby Farms was pretty today. Saw several families of baby geese today and also 4 turtles sitting on a log. Enjoyed the scenery. The sun was extra shiny after our day of stormy weather yesterday.

I was quite proud of the way Mr. Right Brain put the kibosh on Mr. Left Brain. I thought about a lot of different things today. My dad, of course. Some other thoughts that kept my brain busy. Anything to keep my mind off my tired legs and how hot I was.

I had some great music today including:

• Pretender by The Foo Fighters
• These Are the Days by 10,000 Maniacs (good running song)
• Lovesong by The Cure (great song)
• List of Demands by Saul Williams (from the Nike commercial)
• Tempted by Squeeze
• Abracadabra by Steve Miller Band
• Brandy by Looking Glass (she's a fine girl....what a good wife she would be....*love* that song)

I got this little belt thing last week. It's like a teeny little fanny pack. Isn't he cute? It's called a SPIbelt (small personal items belt). Holds my gels, key, chapstick. Can also fit a camera or phone. It's small but kind of stretches. I didn't want to put anything in my shorts pocket since I got that ouchy chafed blister spot last week. Anyway, this little thing did the trick. I'll use that for sure in San Diego.

A cool bath when I got home - yowie! One of my PT friends told me it helps to keep some of the soreness away. Lunch (which I enhaled) a hot shower, and then a little nap. I'm moving a bit slow this afternoon. But I feel pretty good. My body is definitely getting used to the longer runs. Well, maybe not getting used to it. Just not having as much difficulty as before.

Hard to believe we are almost done with this whole thing. Next week is 20 miles. I'm definitely going to need to get psyched up for that. That's the peak of all this training. Then 2 little runs of 12 & 8. Then the marathon. Can't believe it. The end is in sight.