Week 14 DONE

Done Done Done. 20 freakin' miles. Unbelievable!! It was pretty uneventful though - I found myself moving slower than usual...but I think this was because I was bored. My music wasn't entertaining me...the wind was just annoying me...I was alone on the same route I always take. The boredom was the worst of the day. My foot held up nicely with the moleskin padding, lots of lube and looser shoelaces. My hamstring on the other hand was tight but nothing I couldn't handle.
I tried to follow coach's advice and find a "happy place" but I couldn't focus on anything. I started planning what I would pack in the backpack that Chris is going to meet me with after the finish line...and I remembered that I wanted to let me friends & family who are coming to cheer know that they should wear something red...and to wear sneakers in case they need to hop the barricade to give me a pep talk. I found myself singing out loud and then I felt like a freak so I stopped.
I did pass someone who must've been training too since I saw him when I was around mile 7...then I saw him again when I was at mile 17.5 and close to tears. He however, was running uphill at a good clip and did not have a look of pain or fighting back a cry. Damn.
And, as usual, my path crossed with the asshole who I see every single weekend and he still refuses to acknowledge me. I say good morning to him every weekend..and every weekend I get ignored. He's in his mock turtleneck tucked into running tights and he run/shuffles with a stick. This totally amuses me because the neighborhood I see him in is totally suburban so it's not like he's fending off wild dogs or thugs. So again, I see him this morning and get ignored. Then around mile 7 I stopped for a quick pee break and Chris told me I smelled RANCID. Thank you - I love you too :) Anyway, I see this guy again when I'm around mile 9...we happened to turn onto the same street heading in the same direction and he was going slower than me so I had to pass him. I decided to pass close by so he could get a nice whiff of eau du body odor. Gave me a moment of satisfaction.
Later - when I was around mile 15, I was in the urban area I run through. I run through 2 different towns and they range from sprawling properties in what long ago was farm land...to regular suburbia on postage stamp lots (where I live) to a little ghetto. So I'm in the ghetto area and coming towards me on the sidewalk is a quite intimidating guy with tons of gold chains, sagging jeans, big Northface jacket concealing a weapon perhaps, and what does he do...says, "Mornin' - how you doin?" My response was, "Crappy" which made us both chuckle.
I'm drawn by the differences in these people and how they interact with others. Perhaps thats why my major was Sociology.
I'm looking forward to tapering - I'll tell you that. I don't know about this distance. Perhaps I'm more of a 1/2 marathon runner. I COULD enter the lottery for the NYC 1/2 in March...and really work on improving my speed. Or I could take a break until the spring and then sign up for some races then. I just don't know what the future brings with me & running. I AM going to start riding my bike again...I'm kind of interested in the women's only mini triathlon down the shore but that means swimming in the open waters. Jaws could be out there....which is another way of me saying that although I can swim, I don't know if I can swim THAT well. My gym offers a triathlon swimming course so maybe I could sign up for that over the winter.