20 miles in 20 hours

I ran 16 miles today. At one time. I have never done it before. Up until now the most I have run at one time is 13.1 (well slightly more... if you run the outside of a race course you run slightly more than the actual mileage). I actually realized that I ran 20 hours in 20 hours. Per my training schedule, I ran 4 miles last night. I usually work out before work, but due to pouring rain and a physical need to sleep yesterday morning, that didn't happen. So Sarah and I went to the gym after work and ran on the treadmill (while watching Hoarders- it's like a moth to a flame). And then I ran 16 miles today. 20 miles in 20 hours. Kind of cool :-)

It felt great. Well... emotionally and mentally anyway. Physically it felt both great and painful at the same time. It was a beautiful day for a run. It poured all day yesterday so I was a little worried, but the blue skies came out just for me this morning. So I started in Balboa Park, ran down to the harbor, around Seaport village and the convention center, and back up to the park. Here is my route for anyone interested in running 16 miles (hah):
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/28745524

The first 8 miles were great. I was feeling fantastic- the water was sparkling, the weather was cool but not too cool after the recent rains.  Halfway through my run, I decided to eat (drink?) my chocolate Powerade energy goo. I have had the Gu brand chocolate goo before and I didn't think it was too bad. But the Powerade stuff... ugghhhhhh. It ruined the rest of the run for me. I can't even explain it. The aftertaste was worse than the actual taste- it tasted like bad tequila. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true. I don't recommend it. So after that, I got a stomachache. Figures. I think it was a combination of sore abs (I did some core exercises last night, note to self don't do that before a long run) and the bad goo. And maybe I didn't eat enough before my run this morning. But I pushed through the last 8 miles. The first 8 averaged around 9 minutes/mile. The last 8 averaged around 12... I walked the last 2 miles. My legs were done to the point of being overcooked. My ass hurt. My hamstrings hurt. My hips hurt. My quads hurt. Needless to say, I spent about 20 minutes stretching before I headed home. I have never been so happy to see my car.


After my run I was craving a diet coke. I have noticed that after good runs that happens to me. Does this happen to anyone else? So I went to 7-11 and once there decided that I wanted a Coke slurpee instead. SO GOOD. Just what I needed. And after burning around 1700 calories, I didn't feel bad at all. 


I got home and foam rolled. Ugghhhh the joy and the pain. My IT band actually didn't give me trouble during the run, which makes me hopeful for the marathon. But foam rolling was a little bit excruciating. Afterward I felt fantastic. I showered and then plopped down on the couch to watch a movie with my boys. I lazed around the apartment for a good while and then cooked up some salmon, broccoli rabe, and harvest grains (gotta love Trader Joe's) for dinner. Mmmm I couldn't get enough of those grains. Good thing Jeff is on a low carb kick before our cruise, more carbs for me!


After today I am both hopeful and also a little more anxious about the marathon. I know it's still a few months away, but 16 miles was difficult. I am hoping that with training these long runs become easier. I have to say though, no matter how difficult it was, I feel like I accomplished something new today. And in training that feeling is just going to keep on coming.