Sunday, April 28, 2013

7 more sleeps!!

7 more sleeps.
7 more sleeps!!! This time next week, I will *Lord willing* be able to say that I am officially a FULL MARATHONER!  (is marathoner a word? Well, it is now.)
So far I am feeling physically good (my mental state is all over the map though).  Joints feel fine. Feet feel fine. Cheeky foot bones are stepping off the cheekiness....all is well!

Yesterday was my last 'long run' on the charts...tomorrow begins my LAST WEEK of this training plan!!
Wow. I cant believe I've done all that!!


It was 44* at 6:30 a.m. yesterday so I decided to be brave and go with shorts (though my sissy legs were crying at me the first mile. After that they decided that my shorts decision was a good one).


The Lake was quite foggy when I first got there but it cleared off after 15 minutes or so.



Fishermen fishin'.


Grazers grazin'... (yep, 6 deer!!!)



Shortly before that picture I got to spend some time with 3 other deer who were pretty friendly and let me get quite close. I hope this video comes thru. I didn't get any pictures as I wanted to be sure to get video of them for my girls...



We went out to the Lake later in the day yesterday as a family and my 2nd daughter got this picture.  She's got a rockin' camera.


At mile 5 it warmed up enough for me to take my LS off. Still had on my ear warmers though. Nerd. At least I'm a nerd with warm ears!



I was pretty pleased with the time! This pace felt comfortably hard. Isn't that a weird pairing of adjectives?


Happy to be done and ready to get back in my car and go home for some pizza! (That's my mini-van in between those trees behind me. I thought it was quite awesome of me to have gotten it in my end-of-the-run picture without meaning to. Not everyone is this talented, don't be so hard on yourself.)



This was lunch a few times last week. I am really liking 'Sara Lees' 45 calorie bread!  I got some ham, provolone, tomato and lettuce in there with green pepper and cucumber on the side. I usually do NOT like raw bell peppers but I've been on a kick with them lately.  Taper madness is doing strange things to me, people.



So my plan this week is:
MONDAY: 3-4mi run and push ups
TUESDAY: elliptical, weights, planks
WEDNESDAY: 4 mi run and push ups
THURSDAY: light elliptical, light weights and planks
FRIDAY: light elliptical or walking on the treadmill and maybe a few push ups
SATURDAY: REST REST REST!!

I also plan to try to eat well and go to bed early each night.
So nervous, yet SOOO excited =)

The weather here has been great the last few days. It was 82* today! However the forecast calls for 44* on Thursday and rain!!  I just hope the 'possible' rain that is forecasted for next Sunday moves off or holds off from 7am-noon on that day =)




Thursday, April 25, 2013

A little of this, a little of that

Sorry, internets! Meant to get on here last night and post, but a nasty headache won the battle between some screen time and my nice, cozy, Temperpedic bed (they really are the best, people. No arguing).

So here I am! Headache gone, sun shining, kids playing nice.
It's gonna be a great day 



So here's what I've had so far this week:


SUNDAY: elliptical 20 minutes 4.6 miles
MONDAY: 4.1 miles on the 'mill 1% incline 41:15 (also did 20 x 4 sets of push ups)
TUESDAY: elliptical 20 minutes 4.9 miles (10 min of 1/1 intervals was CRAZYsauce), light lower and upper body weights, 1:30 x 3 sets of planks
WEDNESDAY: 6.25 mi run 1:00:45 (9:44 avg pace)   **more on this run below
THURSDAY: 3 mi run on the 'mill 1% incline 30:15

My run on Wednesday ROCKED. As I was starting the run, I decided on a whim to head over to the Lake...
Yep! I'm wearing COLOR, people!  Benefit of being fun-sized is that you get to shop in the little girls' section. Got this Fila hoodie for $11!




You'll have to squint, tilt your head and turn around 3 times to see it, but there was a good sized hawk on the roof of this house (you can click on the picture to enlarge). My 2nd daughter loooooves birds, but that wasn't the best thing I saw....)



I audibly gasped (isn't gasped a weird word?) when I saw this. Thought at first it was just a stump of the tree...


Nope. Its an owl!! A real rootin tootin hootin' OWL!!!!  I was BESIDE  myself with excitement. This is the first time I've ever seen an owl in real life (I know, I need to take a better camera on my runs.)




It was funny to look back over the run and see how much faster the 'post-owl sighting' miles were. I was so stinkin' excited to get home and tell my girls all about it =)

So, this means....
Only 4 more runs until the marathon!!!

I really cant believe its that close. And I can tell you now, I totally know the full meaning of the phrase TAPER MADNESS.  My mind is immersed in it.  Its amazing HOW many emotions one can feel all at the same time.  Fear...elation...anxiety...excitement...confidence...hesitation

Pull me thru this one, Lord!!

What do YOU do to help you get thru the last week of marathon training?

Have you ever seen an owl in real life?




Saturday, April 20, 2013

"It's ONLY 12 miles," said the girl with the taper.

HAHA!  Yeah. I am easily amused. Especially by my own humor.

If you'd have asked me 3 years ago (when I was just dabbling in running) if I'd ever run a marathon, I'd have probably laughed in your face and then looked at you like you had 2 heads...No WAY would I have thought I could 26 miles...
HA! Take THAT 3-years-ago-didnt-know-how-awesome-running-is, Anna!!!

I'm almost done with my mountain
When I first looked at my marathon training plan, I saw a mountain. Here I was down in flat, prairie land and looming in front of me was Mt. Marathon-training. I was super excited to tackle it but had no clue what it (or I) would be like once I got to its peak. 

To me, the 20 mile run was the peak and I survived it! (and liked it in some weird, twisted, masochistic way)

Now I feel like I'm coming down the other side of the mountain, which the locals like to call Journey of Taper. Its filled with all sorts of fun places like 'IsThatAnInjury-ville', 'What-if-I-get-sick-town', and 'GO-AWAY-LITTLE-NIGGLE-village'.

Once I get to the bottom then its unknown territory.

THE MARATHON  *cue the dramatic music*

I'm sure there will be many peaks and valleys in that unchartered territory and I'm sure I'll tell you ALLL about them on May 5th =)

Anyway, I never thought I'd be one to say 'I'm only doing 12 miles'. But it is my reality after doing TWENTY last weekend.
12 today felt GREAT!
I got a few twinges in my ankle, knee, left arch and the inside of my left foot but none if it lasted long.  Twinges seem to be a part of my life lately. Along with frozen water bottles and small rubber balls that I roll with the bottom of my foot.
We runners are a strange lot.

I didn't fuel on todays run but I took a Gu with me just incase. I made sure to drink some water during my run even though I wasn't thirsty and chowed my peanut M&M's and pretzels after I was done. It really is the best tasting thing ever while I'm stretching. 



Here are some pictures from today's run:


*Starting out at 7 a.m.  Beautiful sky but COLD. We hit a record low of 23* this morning!


*This little dude (dude-ette?) was a cutie. And brave.



*Here are his shy buddies...


*He went back to make sure they were ok. What a guy.



*I loved the reflection of the sky in the lake


*Mile 8 and feeling great!


*My 2nd daughter who is super into birds and super into photography was GREEN with envy when I showed her this picture. A gorgeous hawk (although it could be a falcon, I don't know how to tell the difference). 



My over all pace was 9:56 which felt great as I don't think I've run a sub 10 pace on a long run since I did that 13.1 mile run with my hubs which you can read about HERE.  But you know what's funny. As I got done today I was thinking to myself How in the WORLD did I average 9:12 on a 13.1 mi run just a month ago?!' That run felt comfortably hard. Today's run just felt HARD.

I was very pleased with how well my arches, foot bones and calves felt during, and after, this run.  Like I said, some twinges during, but they all worked themselves out like good little joints and tendons should.  ::pats legs lovingly::





Do you see cool wild life on your runs?
--the coolest thing lately are the cranes at Lake Z. I would LOVE to see an owl!

What is your favorite kind of bird?
--overall: Bird of Paradise, I think....out of the birds we see around here: either male Cardinals or Black-capped chickadees




Thursday, April 18, 2013

Time well spent

Ya'll come here to read up on all my super cool workouts, right?
Let's get to those first before more exciting stuff....

WEDNESDAY: 20 min on the elliptical at almost a tempo paced effort (4.6 miles), upper body and light lower body weights, and 3 sets of planks (100-90-80 seconds each
THURSDAY: 4.5 mi run on the 'mill 1% incline 46 minutes.....also did 4 sets of 20 push ups
......This run was quite nice. Watched some Season 6 of Biggest Loser again. Not sure what I think about Ed getting back on the show.  Heba sorta rubs me the wrong way...My foot bones actually felt GREAT on this run! My right arch spoke to me in the middle of the run for about a tenth of a mile but then went away. Had a few knee tweaks as well that lasted about a minute each and then went away.  Overall it all felt wonderful.

MAIN EVENT OF THIS POST:

Last night I picked up my buddy Marie and we headed over to my buddy Karma's house for some good 'ol crafting time.  I don't get out much with the gals so when I do I'm always giddy with excitement (and I probably talk too much, chew with my mouth open and laugh at the wrong times, but for some reason they still invite me. *shrug*)


Our plan was to make Boston Marathon-colored hair ties to wear at our half/full marathon on May 5th.  My good friend, Jennifer bought all the materials and we just had to supply the hair ties and a sharp pair of scissors (apparently I overlooked the 'sharp' part...oops).  Karma was a wonderful host with a lovely home and a hubby who cooked us some excellent shrimp wraps! I've never had one before and they were restaurant quality for sure.  I love that all these ladies are so lovely and easy to be around. I love me some running buddies =)




*Finished product.  I did it! And it actually looks good!!!


*I'm a lucky lady to be able to call these gals my friends..


It's surreal to think that I'm only 17 days out from my first marathon. Only SEVENTEEN days!! I'm already a mix of anxiety, excitement, and fear.  I'm praying God's will be done with this race. BUT I'm ALSO praying that His will would be for me to cross that finish line on my own two feet and feeling slightly better than death. Not too much to ask, right??
=)

Are you a crafty person?


Do you get out with your friends often?


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Tangent Tuesday

I keep saying I'm going to pick back up with doing the Three Tangent Tuesday since oh, say, TWO years ago, BUT I kept forgetting (I think I need a blog post reminder calendar!)  =)

So. Here are my three 'betcha-didn't-know-that-about-me tidbits!

1.   I used to play clarinet (junior high) and saxophone (high school) but would have no CLUE what to do with either one now. I also played piano for a quite a number of years. I was never very good, but I still enjoy it! (I play a mean 'Chopsticks'!)

2.  Both my older brothers are incredible artists. Someone how I missed out on that gene and got the good looks instead.  Hee Hee

3.  Ok this is an embarrassing one!  In the 2nd grade, I peed my pants out of defiance to a teacher.  I really had to go to the bathroom and for some reason or another (another being she was just plain MEAN!) she would not let me go. I knew if I peed my pants, they would call my mom and she would get me and take me home, then I could give her my 'my-teacher-hates-me-and-is-SO-mean!' sob story and she would pull me out of that school and put in in another elementary school, which is what I wanted anyway.  My teacher was MEAN I tell you!! 

How are those for random??  =)



Play along and tell me 3 random things about yourself in the comments!

Representin'

 
Wearing a race shirt this morning on my run to show my support for Boston

8 miles this morning, around a 10:37 pace....then 20 x 4 sets push ups

Did a lot of praying on my run this morning. Running is such a part of my being. I think that's why when I CANT run, for whatever reason, its like ripping  a little part of me away.  Sad?  Maybe. But it' is what it is right now.

However, the events yesterday left me not only feeling sadness and shock, but overwhelming feelings of thankfulness and gratitude.  How amazing is my God that the biggest thing that was wrong this morning was that I could smell bacon on my run and not be able to eat it?!

Sometimes I feel like he lets me see tragedy around me to remind me how much he has blessed me with.  A friend sent me a message today. She is training to run the same race as I am on May 5th (though she is doing the half and not the full) and just found out that she has a stress fracture in her foot. So the race is out for her.  This is something I had FEARED last week when all that crazy business was going on with my foot.  Doing something to damage it in such a way that I would be out of the race.  I feel SO much sympathy for her as I can imagine how I would feel in her shoes. On the other hand, I feel so much gratitude and thankfulness that the Lord has seen me thru this so far!

I have loved seeing how much the running community has been pulling together the last 24+ hours. 
Tomorrow night I'm getting together with some running buddies and we are going to make Boston-colored hair ties to wear during our race on May 5th.  Some local runners also got the ball rolling on getting some remembrance bracelets made (which will be sold at the Expo the day before) and all proceeds will go to Boston.

I love being a part of such an awesome community.

Runners ROCK.

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Ohhhh, the many titles I could give this post...

'Hindsight is 20/20'...?
......as in will I look back and see what I SHOULD have done, but didn't?  Will I be kicking myself about those decisions?

'What will my story be?'....?
...as in what will MY injury story be? It seems most runners have a story about an injury they had and how they dealt with it (or didn't deal with and then the consequences they suffered) and how long it kept them out of the game...I really don't want that to be MY story!

'Read EVERYTHING, don't skip parts!'....?
...as in when reading about running injures online or in magazines, READ IT ALL, not just stuff that you think MIGHT apply to you...so when you deal with a little niggle or an 'off' spot, you have a better idea of what it was, how to treat it, and what to do to prevent it from happening (or happening again)

'Listen to your body, not your head'.....?
...as in what IS it about runners that make them think they can run thru things they shouldn't? Or press harder at a time they SHOULD be holding back? Then when they (we) get injured, they (I) start to pull away the runners fuzzy rainbow-colored veil and see the reality of what they are doing (this might go along well with title #1)!

*sigh*...well anyway, I got it done. Got what done, you ask?  Today's run....20 miles...

*gasp!'  TWENTY MILES!!!! 
I can gasp and swoon over that mileage now (and the first 10 miles, like 'woo hoo! I'm running 20 miles today!!!'....'YEE HAW! this feels GREAT! Of COURSE I can do another 10ish miles!....'Nothing's better than  long run!!'...
Oh naïve little Anna....

Let's back up a moment and go back to earlier this week...


Monday: 5mi run.....my arch on my right foot started to bug me.
Tuesday: elliptical/weights.... and my arch is still bugging me but not bad at all
Wednesday: TOTAL REST day.....decided to pass up on my 10 mile run ::tear::..I realized I needed to rest my foot more..wore shoes inside all day and that helped
Thursday: light elliptical/upper body weights...wore shoes again all day and did a lot of foot massaging, rolled it on a little rubber ball a lot and did a lot of calf/hamstring stretching. Also tried to stay off my feet more.
Friday: TOTAL rest day...wore shoes all day and did a lot of stretching again and rolled my arches on a frozen water bottle. Right arch felt great but my LEFT arch had a few 'off' moments this day..

So.  That brings us to today.


I really didn't know if I was going to run this morning. Prayed a LOT yesterday and last night. But I woke up this morning with NO pain so I opted to give it a try. I decided to drive over to the Lake this morning and park at one of the parking lots that's mid-way thru the 7 mile 'oval'. That way if I needed to ditch the run at any point, I wouldn't be super far from my car.
I took extra water in the car which was nice to fill up on the 2x I stopped at my car (MAN, its hard to get going again after that.  My car was a bad influence...'Get in-go home! You've already 7..you've already run 16! Take us home!'   
Car-0   Anna-1

Starting out at 7 a.m. ..... What am I in for?
*yes, I was the only one out there with a neck gaiter over my face at 30*. I am a WIMP when it comes to cold, people.

Gorgeous sky at mile 2!

I saw TEN deer out there the first few miles!!


See those gals waaaay back there in the background? Those are my super awesome running buddies, Megan and Kelli. I SO badly wanted to run with them but I knew my molasses pace would END if that happened and I NEEDED to keep it slow today....

This is what happens when you're so excited to see your friends. You forget the zoom is WAY out on your camera...good thing the camera loves Megan!! And my left eye.

I had stripped my jacket off at this point and put it in the car (and changed into a short sleeve over my base layer). this was at the start of mile 19. Getting ready for a distance PR.  What  you don't see here...I was tired. I was sore. And I was sore. Oh, and I was SOOOOORE!!!

This crane at mile 19.5 made me smile. I've NEVER seen a crane at Lake Z.

Finally finally FINALLY done!!!
20 miles....11:19 avg pace (lost 20 seconds in overall pace the last 4 miles or so. Lots of walking the last few miles.  If TWENTY miles was this hard, I'm going to need to CRAWL the last 6 during the race!!
Thank you Jesus for enabling my body to endure 20 miles of punishment! (actually 5, the first 15 were kind of ok!)  =)

Now here it is, almost 9:00 p.m.  I AM feeling better than I was at noon but I'm still pretty sore. My arches feels surprisingly good (but the bottoms of my feet are sore from 20 miles of giving the pavement a beat down), my knees are a bit achy...and I'm still walking a bit like Frankenstein (actually, I think he'd be more graceful than I) and my lower back has a weird thing goin' on.
There is a spot about 4" above my tail bone that is sore. For most of the day its only been sore to the touch (like a bruise), but the last hour I've been noticing it more, its only about 3" in diameter...any thoughts on that??  I did wear my hydration belt but I wear it about 3" or so lower than this spot.


Other than that I've been doing LOTS of stretching, massaging my legs, rolling my feet on a frozen water bottle and trying to take it easy (not too easy! That seems to make my legs more sore the next day, so I've tried to balance staying active and resting)...

Tomorrow the plan is an easy 15-20 min on the elliptical to flush out the legs!

ONLY 3 WEEKS UNTIL the BIG DAY!!!



When is your next race?
Marathon on May 5th!

What is your favorite distance in a training run?
10 miles!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

NOW what?!

So here we are, on Tuesday of a BIG week mileage-wise and  I'm dealing w/ anxiety from a possible non-issue. Every runner training for a marathon has anxiety about this stuff right? It's not just me??  Maybe I'm just coo-coo brained. It wouldn't surprise me.

APRIL 9th Tuesday: 10 min elliptical, short/light lower body, upper body, 3 sets of planks
....This workout was fine. I couldn't really do any squats as my outer right knee would talk to me, but other wise it was fine.  My arch is feeling ok SO FAR this morning, but it has me worried...it was a bit achy a lot of yesterday. I don't think its Plantar Fasciitis from what I read up about it though.  I probably need to wear shoes during the day right now (we have hard wood floors and I am ALWAYS barefoot) but my 'home' shoes bug my cheeky foot bone on my right foot and I do NOT want to aggravate that spot right now.
So anyway, that has me nervous about being able to actually complete my running mileage this week.

 But all I can do is PRAY and do what the Lord enables me to do this week. If I cant complete the mileage, than I can't complete the mileage and I need to make sure I don't throw a tantrum about it (ok, there may be a small tantrum throwing. Just keepin' it real, folks).

MONDAY: 5 mi run, push ups  DONE!
TUESDAY: elliptical, weights, planks DONE!
WEDNESDAY: 10 mi run
THURSDAY: 5 mi run, push ups
FRIDAY: elliptical, weights, planks
SATURDAY: 21 miles (!!!!)

I SUPER DUPER hope I can do the full 10 miles tomorrow, even if that means I need to cut Thursdays run short or cut it out completely.

On a lighter and more happy note. Food


I love a CLEAN THE FRIDGE lunch! Pasta salad, salmon filet, broccoli and lettuce/carrot salad w/ a little of my favorite dressing (Newman's Own 'Low Fat Sesame Ginger)

What is your favorite salad dressing?

Are you a 'leftovers' eater or do they normally get thrown out?


Monday, April 8, 2013

Pain-free 5 miles!

SUPER thankful this run went well!!
Monday April 8: 5 miles (52:34, 10:31 avg pace) plus 25 x 4 push ups....SPLITS: 11:09, 10:59, 10:33, 10:09, 9:43
Aren't them some purty splits?

I started out nice and slow the first couple miles just to make sure my feet were up for it. They felt 'cautious' for awhile but no real pain, I just knew to take it slow. After the 2nd mile I felt good enough to push the pace JUST a wee bit. That last mile was PERFECTION. Even ran almost the last 2 tenths uphill!
I ran on flat surfaces in my 'hood as the downhills seem to make those cheeky bones a little feisty.  There's not a very large area of flat so I did a lot of loops and out and backs and so on and so forth. These type of runs are hard mentally for me. I felt a little like a caged animal.  But I'll take being a caged animal to being a hamster in a wheel (which is what the 'mill feels like to me!)

This is the first time I've done 4 sets of 25 push ups in the last 2 weeks, too. Felt great!

So far I'm track for the week!  =)


MONDAY: 5 mi run, push ups  DONE!
TUESDAY: elliptical, weights, planks
WEDNESDAY: 10 mi run
THURSDAY: 5 mi run, push ups
FRIDAY: elliptical, weights, planks
SATURDAY: 21 miles (!!!!)



Sunday, April 7, 2013

Peak Week is Weak Week...plus some unexpected cross training!

I have been looking forward to this week since I first signed up for this marathon. I LOVE to run, so being able to run THIS much in a week was going to be a dream come true.
BUT.
Given the circumstance w/ my cheeky foot bones, I really don't know what I will be able to do this week, but, here's what I'd LIKE to do!

MONDAY: 5 mi run, push ups
TUESDAY: elliptical, weights, planks
WEDNESDAY: 10 mi run
THURSDAY: 5 mi run, push ups
FRIDAY: elliptical, weights, planks
SATURDAY: 21 miles (!!!!)

Lord willing, I can make MOST of that happen =)

So, today, I took my chickies to Skatedaze as a late birthday present for Photographer-Girl (my 2nd daughter who turned 11 in February).

*in front of SkateDaze*
Matching yellow shirts=momma being able to see/count them easily among 897 other kids in the roller rink!

*I look terrified here, but I WAS really having a good time.*
Momma got her skate on, too. Oh yes I did. I was quite the rink rat back in my day. Back then, my crew and I tore it UP on our quad skates (roller blades scare me).

Many more pictures of this venture will be on my other blog by tomorrow HERE

What workout are you looking forward to the most this week?

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Feet by Jesus!

Let's just start off with the  most important bit of information here:
THIS RUN HAPPENED!!!
Thanks to my bestest friend Jesus for wrapping my feet in his protection =)
I was really really concerned last night that we would get out there and I would be able to go 10 feet and have to call it quits.
BUT.
I  DIDN'T!!

The main info:
15 miles (10:20 avg pace)

THE DEETS:



So, we were supposed to set off at 8am when my 'rents got here but they didn't show until a little after 8:30 so by the time we drove over to the Lake it was around 8:45. I opted to have us drive as I wanted to make sure we would have access to more water (didn't want a repeat of last weekend!). We planned to do 2 laps of the Lake (each is around 7.4 miles) and get our water in the middle (I had my hydration belt so I would just refill my bottles. Hubby didn't carry any water so he made sure to slosh up at the 1/2 way point).
I ate a banana and some PB ahead of time (I usually only do 1/4-1/2 banana but I had been up so long by the time we left that I was STARVING so I opted to splurge on the other 1/2)  =)

It was AWESOME to be able to wear shorts for this run. It was 50* when we started out but the wind was cu-RAZY!  (I actually wished at the beginning that I would have worn my ear warmers, gloves and face warmer. I'm a wimp and I know it!)


I warmed up enough to take off my LS in between mile 1 and 2. There were a LOT of people out today. We even saw some roller bladers out there!
My feet (and knee!) felt great the whole first lap!  I stopped to take my first 1/2 pk of Gu at mile 6 (also, my little pouch I wear on my hydration belt broke around mile 3! Hubs carried it the rest of the way for me. So glad I brought him along)
Stopped at the van between mile 7 and 8 to get some H20.  I had drank almost both of my flasks so I'm glad we had extra to refill with.

Getting ready to start the second loop...
The wind got a shot of Red Bull or something as we were going over the dam at the beginning of the 2nd loop. It was not only CRAZY windy (as in had to yell to hear each other) but it got noticeably colder (and I had just left my long sleeve in the van!), AND then started to spit down rain as well! Not the nice misty rain, but the cold, wind-blown, pelty kind of rain. Bleh.  Thankfully it didn't last long.

Momma can take pictures WHILE running! Talent, people!

I'm pretty sure there's a limit to how much stuff you can have around your waist while you run. I'm pretty sure I've exceeded that limit.

I don't know how many times I forgot he was wearing that thing on his arm under his sweatshirt. I DO know that I slap his arm a lot when he makes me laugh. Oops! Sorry honey!
 
Ducks.  That's all.

 
So. My foot started to bug me a bit around mile 10, so I merely hopped to the side of the trail and ran there for most of the remaining 5 miles and had no issues! (the wind blew me there half the time anyway-no joke)...I was able to hop back on the pavement every so often the last couple miles. I am SO thankful I was able to complete the distance though!

The wind (and running on the grass for the last 1/3 of the run), made this run feel much harder than our 13 miler a couple weeks ago (even though the pace was more than a minute faster per mile than this run!)

DONE!

It started raining again RIGHT when we took these pictures and it was COLD and it was WINDY. I usually walk for a few minutes but it was TOO cold to walk so I did a slow jog back to the parking lot and stayed in the shelter of our van to stretch. BOY was it cold!!

Refuel with Pepperjax? Don't mind if I do!
*Funny story here: as we left the Lake, hubs was like 'Let's get Pepperjax for lunch' and I was all 'YEAH!'...we drove almost the whole way there before we both realized that neither of us had anything on us other than our driver's licenses! Grrr.....thankfully, hubs was willing to go back out after we got home and pick it up. He's a keeper

Cream filled donuts are the BEST reward after a long run (right up there with a hot shower, fuzzy socks, and feet-up-on-the-couch time!)

Do you have any favorite post-long run foods/treats that you look forward to?