It was COLD* this morning!!! The first part of the run was into Fort Clinch State Park. It is heavily forested and, at that time of the morning (pre-dawn), it was darker than dark. Really, it was completely dark. Fortunately, 2 runners in our group had flashlights so we could see a little of the road before us. I was feeling good; really good. And, I was pushing the pace a bit. I got the hook though, and was threatened with being kicked back up to my assigned pace group if I didn't settle down. So, I settled down.
By mile 5, it was light enough to see everything. We ran down a boardwalk to the beach and took a group photo. Then we started back out of the park. On our way out, one of the women in our group screamed and stopped running completely. She was staring up at the trees and pointing. I was expecting to see someone hanging there, by her reaction. What we saw instead were hundreds of HUGE spider webs extending down to just above our heads. Each web had a very large banana spider in the center (think: Harry Potter "Chamber of Secrets" on spider size). We had been running under them for the past 5 miles, so no big deal to MOST of us. A few needed major convincing to continue the run, however. It actually took one of us saying, "Well, we're going. You can stay here with the spiders or run on out of here with us," to get everyone moving again. In all, we covered a little over 7 miles in the park.
After Fort Clinch, we turned and ran towards town. The sun was well up, and it was a beautiful morning! I did not start feeling any fatigue until 9.7 miles. Then, I just felt somewhat tired. I was still OK until mile 11. That is where I hit the wall today. From there on, it was tough, no lie. Just as I hit the wall, my friend, Jayne asked,"Hey Linda, what's 16 squared?"
"What?"
"You know, 16 x 16?"
"256"
"OK, thanks. Wait, I meant 16 x 12"
"Sorry, only 1 math problem per morning."
"Dang it." With that she pulled out a calculator and a course map, and started some sort of odd calculations - all while running! This kept me entertained until mile 12. The run should have ended there, but didn't.
And the run was actually 12.3 miles. I do believe that very last 0.3 mile was the toughest of all. The psychological part can be every bit as tough as the physical sometimes.
Now, I am tired and a bit achy. But, overall, I feel really good. And, I feel like I CAN run the half-marathon next Saturday. After all, it will be only 0.8 of a mile farther than I ran today. And, I have convinced Jayne to run it with me.
It's all good. Really good.
Group photo at Mile 6
*Relatively speaking, about 65 degrees - cold for all of us
6 comments:
Of course you can run 13 miles! You display amazing determination and tenacity. The real challenge is getting you to ease off a bit on your mileage so your IT band can heal!!
You will be running with the "Fasties" in no time! For those who do not know who the Fasties are, it is Pace Group 1, they run at a pace of about 6 minutes per mile! Go Linda Go!
Linda, what a great story, you'll easily be moving on to your next challenge in a week,a marathon.
Ha! Check the calendar, dear. The marathon's in February!
You rock! Good luck tomorrow!
Ken
Thanks, "Guess who?" and Ken!
I can't wait to hear your report on the half from this morning. You are full of determination and rockstar qualities!
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