Breaking down barriers

Today I ran my longest run ever- 16 miles! That's three miles more than my previous longest run, so it was an exciting milestone.

I could not have asked for better weather for this run. It was cloudy and breezy, and even though it looked like it might rain a couple times, it never did. The route had a lot of cutbacks and smaller loops, but it was still a fun route, and there was plenty of shade.

I've been a bit of a slacker recently with my running. Two weeks ago, when I was supposed to run 14 miles, I only ran 12. Then last weekend, I skipped my 10 mile long run altogether (Audrey came to visit me in Maine and I would've felt guilty abandoning her for two hours while I ran). So needless to say, I was nervous about being able to finish this run.

I'm happy to report the run was better than expected! The cool weather, running with the MTT, and five SAGs (water stops) along the way helped me have a great run. The SAGs especially were fantastic- they had water, gatorade, gummy bears, and gels for us. I loved eating the gummy bears midway through my run. I think they gave me extra energy, and they taste way better than a gel (although I did take one of those too).

I ran at a pretty slow pace. I didn't want to start out too fast and not have the energy to finish. I felt pretty good the whole time, up until the last 3 miles. By that time I was tired and I'd slowed down a lot- but I still ran the whole way, so I'm proud of myself. I ran part of the time with an older guy named Mark. He just turned 60 and is training for his second marathon. He helped pace me and was very encouraging!

Throughout my run, I focused on thinking positive thoughts. So much of running is MENTAL, so you have to have a strong mindset. I knew this run would be a new milestone for me, but it didn't seem out of reach. A couple years ago I would've never dreamed that I could run 16 miles, and definitely would never have guessed that it wouldn't be that hard! Today I had this mental image of myself breaking down barriers- like, running into a wall and having the rocks and debris explode to the side as I ran past the rubble. It may sound ridiculous, but that mental image made me smile and it was so encouraging to me today during my run.

After my run I hit up CVS for some post-race supplies, namely ice.

Then I took a nice cozy ice bath. Yes, I wear my clothes and socks in the bathtub. Only when it's an ice bath. An ice bath may not be the most pleasant thing in the world, but I've learned to appreciate them because it really does help with post-race recovery.

Now for some yummy food to replace all those calories I burned. Right now I'm loving flavored burgers. This is an Applewood Smoked Bacon and Cheddar burger from Kroger. It's a Private Selections brand (aka Kroger brand). I like to put TONS of ketchup on my burger. Don't judge.

Also good is Private Selections ice cream. They have many interesting and unique flavors.

The salted caramel pretzel was really good. The raspberry buttercream cake was just okay. But then again, I'm not usually a big fan of fruity ice creams. Give me chocolate over fruit any day!