20 Miles

Good Morning

4am wake up call for our longest training run of the season before Oklahoma-- 20 miles!!!

Pre-run parking lot roundup and roll call.... (meet your cast of characters for the next 20 miles)

Sorry this video is so shaky... it was freezing and I was trying to keep from shivering so much- but not doing very well at it.

On the Course

Water stop #2

Danielle and Becky glowing and looking strong around 6-7 miles? in.... (hard to keep track looking back on things).

3 cheers for DRC coordinated water stops!!! When you're spending up to 3-4 hours a weekend running all over Dallas, these orange DRC coolers of water and Gatorade are a very welcome sight that springs up every few miles or so.

Here's Max enjoying a brief running break, while Jeff is apparently playing some sort of charades game in the background.

As a running group we all get in to trying new training and equipment ideas and sharing our favorite tips and tricks with each other. That's a water bottle tucked into the back of Danielle's and my sports bras, a trend which I'm proud to say I started in my group. :) In exchange I picked up Danielle's running fuel snack of Gummy Bears. I realize the sports bra/water bottle holder may look a bit dorky-- however trust me, after running at least 8-10 miles-- function will win over dorkiness every time. As to how guys can carry their water during runs...well, you're on your own for that men! lol. Personally I find wearing water belts really aggravating- and this was the one of the greatest tricks I've picked up in order to avoid it.

Made it all the way across town to my neighborhood and my favorite Katy Trail running path.

Mid-way water/food break at Mockingbird Station. Notice Danielle's (hypothermia girl) blue lips-- weather seemed to get a little chilly again so fortunately we found her a jacket.

Mile 15

Mile 18 water stop-- just 2 miles to go!

The Big Finish

Mile 20--- Made it! :) Notice how tired I am here- quoting my finish time as 3 minutes 42 seconds! lol. That's actually 3 HOURS 42 minutes-- after running that long clearly reading my watch correctly proves to be too taxing.

Note our fearless paceleader Jeff--how he finishes, checks on me, then runs back to run in the other runners in our group one at a time! It's great to have Jeff be in such good shape he doesn't have to worry so much about just surviving runs himself (like the rest of us) and can focus on making sure the rest of us survive. :)

Post-run Pizza Celebration

First the hard part-- getting out of the car and across the parking lot....

Max and Denise- 20 miles and still smiling

And Jeff- who not only ran 20 miles today, but will be running a full marathon tomorrow!!
Danielle, still in hypothermia prevention/recovery, and Becky anxiously awaiting FOOD, along with the rest of us.
A very sore, hungry and happy gang...

Overall today's training run was great!! I was really relieved to have this one feel so good because I wasn't feeling well most of the week. This was the first run I tried taking Tylenol pre-run and mid-way through and I think I'm a believer in that strategy now. I've been having some problems with joint pains and swelling, which I got the good news from my doctor is okay to run on so long as I can manage it.

Now I am finally home, full of pizza, and looking foward to an ice bath, a hot
shower, and a NAP!

Thanks to everyone who was a part of such a great run today, and to all of
you mile sponsors making donations for Susan's foundation. There are
10 more miles to fill before the Oklahoma marathon in just 21 days. I know we can
do it!! :)

According to my training calculator I've run almost 267 miles since
the start of the training season in January. Surely that's worth a $50
donation for a good cause, isn't it? :) Can I interest anyone in mile 19? After a long, hard morning of running that would be a great mile to have sponsored next. Any takers? :)

Have a great weekend everyone!