20.8 miles! (part 2, read part 1 first- below)

In the hullabaloo at the start, i had forgotten to put on my knee brace for my left knee, and it bothered me a little bit for the first 10 miles. When we got back to the van, I put it on, and the pain went away (or at least didn't bother me as much). We chugged on Gatorade, refilled our fuel belts, then started miles 10-20.

The second half was okay, but all the hills at Umstead started to appear. It was as if w didn't notice them before; now each hill became a challenge. We kept going at 5/1, stopping only to get stones out of shoes, or to sneak into the forest to pee. I had eaten 1 Gu (vanilla) at mile 8, and needed another one at mile 14. I thus discovered that my favorite Gu flavor is Strawberry-Banana. Or at least when I had it, it tasted good. Miles 15-17 were okay, but mentally I knew this was farther than any thign I've run before. I hoped I had enough to do the last 3.7 miles from the Reedy Creek end. I needed another Gu (Lemon Sublime, not too bad), but I only ate half, since I didn't want to feel bloated. It was a good idea, as several times, the flavor almost went back up my mouth :).

The hill at mile 18 was brutal- a long sloping hill that didn't seem to end. I knew there was another one coming up on Graylyn. My hamstrings were burning, my quas were burning. My knee was under control, although it bothered me at the start. I also noticed that my right ankle was also starting to hurt. I tried to be conscious of my run form- heels up, strike the goud quickly. I decided my Asics were not giving me as much cushioning, and thought about buying a new pair for the marathon. Mile 19 was this hill at Graylyn, another long, steep hill. Since we were doing 5/1, it seems like much-needed walk breaks were in the middle of these climbs, yay! Jeff said, 1 more walk break, and we're there. My HR at these hills were in the 168 - 171, but it wasn't the heart, or the breathing. It was the leg muscles. And the shoulder muscles too. Mile 20, I just thought of the Graylyn gate as the finish line, and suddenly, I got an energy boost.

This was not the marathon, but only 20 miles, but I knew it was mind over body. I started thinking about the pledges I've already received, and the oral pledges from friends. I started thinking about GK, and that this was for a poor family in the Philippines. It was a good mental trick, I felt energized. My legs were burning, but we made it. 20.8 miles! We finished in 4 hours 29 minutes, almost 13 min/mile. My average HR was probably in the high 150s. This was my longest run - I have *only* 5.4 miles to go, and that should be the marathon. My legs needed extra strecthing; I knew if I got into the van and started driving, I might not be able to walk out of the van.

So here it is, 10 hours after the run, and the one thing that's still painful is my right ankle. Everything seems to be fine, although my left knee needs some babying. Next week, an easy run of maybe 8-10 miles. Then 24 miles on Oct. 13?