TWELVE

This morning, I woke up with a pit in my stomach. There's something about KNOWING you have to run 12 miles that makes it extra scary. 

The weather, though, was on my side. A little bit of snow on the grass, but 34 degrees and no precipitation is always a win in my book. I had mapped out my run beforehand, so I knew where my major mile markers were. Since I like to be prepared for worst case scenarios situations, I planned to be near my parents house at mile 5.5 and near my house by mile 9, just in case a bail out was inevitable. 

So, off I went. I tried running slower than my normal pace, but I felt pretty good, so I didn't need to slow down too much. It was a nice day, and fun to be on the roads. I GUed at the appropriate intervals and still felt great at the halfway point. When I passed by my house at mile nine, my left knee started talking to me a bit, but on running I went. 

At mile ten, my body was confused why we were still running. I'd NEVER run more than ten miles at once before, and my body knew it. 

Then came mile 10.5. So, I'd strategically planned my run and had it all mapped out. So, as I was cruising along in Lydick, about 100 yards in front of me appeared a mangy looking dog. And he stopped. And he looked at me. 

Now, we know my love for dogs is not great, but there was something about this one that gave me the heebie-jeebies. My gut said turn around and walk slowly. I didn't hesitate (Don't panic mom, I know I didn't tell you this on the phone, but I'm fine and it's fine!). I glanced back about thirty seconds later, and dog was following me. Well, crud. I kept thinking, just get back to the main road. I walked more quickly, and once I got the main road, the pup had lost interest in me. Crisis averted. 

But by this point, my knee was SCREAMING. So the last mile and a half was a combination run, jog, limp, stretch, walk, cringe, scream. It was not a pretty way to end the run, but it got done. 

Regardless of the end of the run, most of it was awesome! I felt good and strong and like I can really do this. 

I've also learned that I DEFINITELY need to get some sort of support for the knee. Any advice on braces or supports? 

Oh hey. I ran 12 miles today.