20

I was super excited to conquer 20 miles Saturday morning.  I stuck to my hydration plan at work all day Friday, got all my clothes and gear out the night before and ready for a (very) early alarm clock/dress in the mostly dark, foam rolled out all the stiffness of sitting all day at work.  And then I fell asleep while syncing my ipod.  I fell asleep before setting my 4:00am alarm.  I woke up at 6:45 and was immediately so upset about the whole situation.  I even woke up with one of the kids sometime around 12:30am and was so tired that I went to bed without checking my alarm, which is something I would normally do.

Instead of running, I made a trip to the running store and picked up a new pair of shoes.  My shoes weren't too bad, definitely showing a fair amount of wear, but the toe box on my right shoe collapsed!  It was pressing on my toes with every step on that foot, and I have two very sore toenails as a result.

I tried to implement the same plan in preparation for Sunday.  I did pretty good, maybe even nutritionally better.  And last night I triple checked my alarm!  I was up at 4:25 and running by just after 5:00.  Early to avoid the sun and heat.  Except today it rained, and rained hard for probably 2/3 of my run.  I love the rain for running, so it worked out great.  I made all 20 miles.  I felt great until mile 16, 17 and 18 were very difficult and then I rallied a little for the last two.  I finished in 2:52 (8:37 avg/mile).  I am thrilled with that time for my first 20-miler.  Projecting that pace, I should think another 50 or so minutes to finish another 6 miles is normal, but on the tale end of a marathon a challenge for sure.  I am going to have to move it on race day to meet my goal time, but anything sub 3:45 would be amazing!

I wore my new shoes for the first 10 miles, then swapped out to my old ones.  My feet are beat up.  The rain really took a toll.  I also had to ditch my music because the rain was coming down so hard I was worried something might short out.  I did good with hydration, I think.  I feel really dehydrated right now though, but I always struggle with recovery, so nothing new there (any suggestions are welcome!)

This week is an easy week to recover from the load of building to 20.  The timing works out perfectly because this Sunday I'll be volunteering at Ironman Wisconsin!

Anybody out there achieving big goals this week?  Or little goals?  All victories are huge in my mind!