19 Mile Saturday

So to be honest, I was as nervous about this run as I have been about any run before. When I attempted to do 18 miles two weeks ago, I missed the distance by a lot. My longest run up to today had been 16.5 miles. I knew that today was going to be a tell tale sign of whether or not I could do this.

I got up a little later than I had hoped. Another long week and school work had me going. I made myself get up at 8. I could not find my balaclava and that stressed me out something fierce. The windchill was around 10 degrees and I knew if I did not have it my skin would get baked. I finally gave up. I put on sunscreen and a hat and took my chances.

I decided to keep all of the run in the east side of Laramie this week. I have this nagging suspicion that the dirt roads were not helping the knee problem. So to make the distance I had to do two large loops, followed by a hook that would take me home.

The first mile is usually one of the hardest for me and today was no exception. I was cold immediately and the wind was blowing strong. After the first two miles the cold was no longer an issue. The wind treated me poorly the whole run...but I live in Laramie....so I deal.

I did have my first run-in with a dog. I was about three miles in when I looked over my shoulder and saw this dog running at me. I turned to brace myself but the dog just ran up to me...sniffed...and went on his way. He ran closed to me for a few blocks and then took off. Hope he found his way home.

After the first fool loop, I was feeling pretty good. The left knee was hurting...but it felt manageable. By the time I had hit Grand again (10-11 miles I think), I believed I would get all the way through. It was a good feeling. I needed to have a successful go of it. The second time up the hill on 30th I was really starting to drag. The pain was really starting to get to me. I just told myself to not look at the incline and to focus looking down. It helped.

The last two miles were incredibly rough. It seemed to get more and more difficult to get my legs up. Each curb felt like an obstacle. By the time I reached the destination street I was going pretty slow. I was still not walking though...and that was the goal.

So I made it! The time wasn't great...but ok. I am just happy I was able to get through it. 3 hours, 12 mins, 12 secs. I am running a half-marathon next weekend down in Littleton. I am excited to get out there with other people. Thanks for reading.

Route:
This
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=E+Harney+St&daddr=S+30th+St+to:S+26th+St+to:Russell+St+to:Reynolds+St+to:41.321009,-105.557499&hl=en&geocode=Fap4dgIdrgW1-Q%3BFZZVdgIdGFK1-Q%3BFZpCdgIdFEe1-Q%3BFc09dgIdxcK0-Q%3BFUCXdgIduNC0-Q%3B&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=5&sz=14&via=1,2,3,4&sll=41.331387,-105.575523&sspn=0.03287,0.076904&ie=UTF8&z=14

Then this:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=41.320881,-105.557585&daddr=S+30th+St+to:S+26th+St+to:Russell+St+to:Reynolds+St+to:N+30th+St&hl=en&geocode=%3BFZZVdgIdGFK1-Q%3BFZpCdgIdFEe1-Q%3BFc09dgIdxcK0-Q%3BFUCXdgIduNC0-Q%3BFTeCdgIdUFG1-Q&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=0&sz=14&via=1,2,3,4&sll=41.320429,-105.561962&sspn=0.032875,0.076904&ie=UTF8&z=14

Finally this:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=N+30th+St&daddr=N+30th+St+to:Willett+Dr+to:Business+I+80%2FE+Grand+Ave%2FUS-30+to:N+7th+St+to:41.315949,-105.58784+to:N+7th+St+to:E+Gibbon+St&hl=en&geocode=FRCBdgIdUFG1-Q%3BFchkdgId3FG1-Q%3BFb5kdgIdRUO1-Q%3BFctWdgIdoA61-Q%3BFQ5ldgIdmtq0-Q%3B%3BFVh1dgIdT9y0-Q%3BFVp1dgId2P60-Q&mra=dme&mrcr=0&mrsp=5&sz=15&via=1,2,3,4,5,6&sll=41.315723,-105.578141&sspn=0.016439,0.038452&ie=UTF8&ll=41.316465,-105.569215&spn=0.016439,0.038452&z=15

Addendum:
So putting this in only came up with 18 miles...grrr! Made the map yesterday. I am beyond annoyed. I guess if you added in walking I did 18.6...but that is not the point. Not sure why I keep having these issues with googlemaps. Anyway....takes some of the good feeling away....I will get this figured out one way or another.