12 and less than 20

I apologize for not filling you in on last week's 12 mile training run. Wasn't much to report. As you know, our long runs take place along the coast from Loch Arbor/Asbury Park and go out and back depending on the mileage required for that run. We do for a few reasons - bathrooms (priority!), water, scenery, people watching, and it's motivating to run when so many other people are also out there being active in some way.

Due to scheduling conflicts with both kids having soccer games around the same time but at different fields, my mom and I stayed local for last weekend's 12 miler. At this point in the training schedule, a 12 miler is actually a distance we look forward to as a much needed break for tired legs. But we take for granted how much the mind can control the situation. Since we stayed local we just ran the streets around here. SUCKED. We were like 6 miles into it and we were both complaining of boredom. Horrible. Nobody was out there, we were just zigzagging the roads to try to get our watches to jump ahead a few miles. The boredom was also allowing me time to over think - like I don't do this enough! I was not happy with that run.

Yesterday was our last (hurray!!) 20 miler for training. I was having some anxiety. I just wanted to do it and be happy with it but I knew that was a long shot. My legs have been really tired, I have not hydrated well the last week, and my left foot's plantar fasciitis has not cooperated. It's not a run to skip though so we manned up and out we went along the boardwalk. We were doing really well for I'd say the first 12 miles - we were keeping a decent slow training run pace and the walk break we took were kept to a minimum.

Since it's also the time in training to make sure that race day attire works well, I had everything on that I planned to wear race day. I don't know WTF was going on but other than my socks and sneakers, it was ALL wrong. The tank I wear under my t-shirt wouldn't stay in place and I had to keep yanking it down. The super-cute 80's inspired Team McGraw cut shirt kept falling off (a good thing in a way since it means I've gotten smaller since it was cut!), my new pants turned out to be a little too big or something because they kept sliding. Wrong, wrong, wrong. This all needs to get fixed and pronto.

Anyway, after a decent 12 miles, it shouldn't come as a surprise that the return mileage was HARD. I didn't throw myself on the boardwalk or cry (I have been known to throw dramatics in during long runs years prior) but I did walk more than I had wanted. We were hurting. Legs were like lead. We could see Asbury's Convention Hall in the not too far distance but it just felt like one of those dreams when you're in a hallway and you're trying to get to the end but the hallway keeps getting longer and longer. Finally, finally, finally we were done. Just short of 20 miles.

For about 8 hours after, my left upper side/hip all the way to the tip of my big toe HURT. Not like, "oh I'm tired and sore"...but like, "Holy shit! What is wrong with my leg? Am I going to be able to do the marathon??" I just kept stretching, took a bit of Advil and woke up this morning A-OK.

The much needed taper is here. Although I'm looking forward to the marathon - I think I'm looking more forward to it being over. Maybe it's just where I am in terms of training right now. Or maybe it's knowing I'm still slow as hell.