Quench Gum, Pepper Spray and the Pinewood Derby

Ok, so you're a little puzzled by my title, understandable. But, believe it or not, these items were key in my 18 miler success today. I'll explain.

Last Saturday, I "enjoyed" my favorite pre-run breakfast of peanut butter toast. Well, for some reason, that breakfast turned on me and my 16 miler turned into an 11.5 miler when I hurled in someone's front yard...TWICE! So this morning I did a HUGE no-no, I skipped breakfast. When I trained for my 1st half marathon, I ALWAYS ran on an empty stomach. When I trained for my 1st marathon, I was told in no uncertain terms, I should NEVER run on an empty stomach. Well, I did today and it was AWESOME! Not once did I ever feel nauseous. I happily chewed my Quench gum. Folks, if you haven't tried this stuff -- it is absolutely wonderful. And no, this is not a paid endorsement but Quench, if you're reading, call me and we'll talk...

After only 1.5 miles into my journey, I was startled by 2 dogs. Granted, they were someone's pets and not strays, but when 2 big dogs come out of no where, you don't pay much attention to whether they are wearing a collar and tags. I am a HUGE dog lover and normally would not have been scared but they were both barking, showing teeth and drooling! I stopped dead in my tracks and couldn't help but scream. At the same time that I was taking Pepper Spray out, a car came by and both dogs just froze. The driver of the car slowed down and kept looking back at me while I quickly walked away. When the dogs retreated back to their house, the driver, seeing I was ok, went on. Luckily, I didn't have to spray them but luckily, they didn't attack me. People, your dogs don't bite you because you're their owner. They don't know me and I don't know them -- keep them put up for goodness sake!

When my nerves finally calmed down, I started running again. And in the beginning, I took very few walk breaks -- it was amazing. My body seemed to drive this run. After last Saturday's run that was so mental and full of positive, self-affirmations, my body told my head "take a rest, we got this." I decided to end my 1st half at the church where Ian's cub scout troop was conducting it's annual Pinewood Derby. Although the race was over, I managed to show up just in time for a slice of pizza, a refill of my water bottle (with ice too!) and to see my son presented with a 3rd place trophy for the Weebelo's division. Not a bad mid run rest I have to say. I stayed just a short time -- I didn't want to get stiff. So off I went to finish out the 2nd 9 miles.

This had planned to be a blog about what an awesome 18 miles it was. Although in many ways it was the best 18 miler I've had in a long time, it was not without its challenges. At 11.5 the calves began cramping. This always seems to happen since it first happened in Little Rock. Sometimes it starts at 8 miles, sometimes at 13 miles, today it was 11.5 miles. It was so bad at times that I thought I would have to quit & call for a ride home. But I told myself that it didn't matter how long today took, I wanted and NEEDED to get all 18 in and well, I am proud to say, that's just what I did. Today, I found that person inside me that I thought I killed in Little Rock. But she was still there and I'm so glad she was. Today was the 1st time since LR, that I truly felt like I could do 26.2 again.

At 15 miles, I was running again. And even though I was averaging only 14 min miles by this time, I felt like a Kenyan! When the cramps would start, sometimes I could stop them by just slowing down. But, I never called it in and that's what I'm proud of most. Tonight, when I log today's run, I'm not going to log the time. I don't really care how long I was out there in terms of hours/minutes/seconds. I was out there for 18 miles -- yeah baby!

A couple of ibuprofen and some ice for the legs, I'll be good as new tomorrow but for now...

Gotta run!
Lisa