The Long(est) Run...to date

Today was certainly a long run. One of which was my longest run to date, 15 miles. I will admit I was thinking about it last night, hoping and praying I would survive. And survive, I did. The morning began with a slight drizzle of rain which made me hopeful for cloud cover during the run. Unfortunately, that was not the case today. The weather forecast called for 50% chance of rain, and at 9pm tonight we are still awaiting the sky to open up. Oh well, I suppose we survived despite the scorching temperatures. We managed to find shade whenever possible and we stayed very hydrated. My fuel belt carries four bottles, each are eight ounces. I filled them three times today!! Overall, I felt strong on the run. There is a section of our route that I find to be a never-ending stretch, so today I brought my iPod. I found it to be very helpful during this part of the course. My running partners were not offended by me tuning them out and it was a nice distraction for me to push through the long part. At mile 13, my running coach said, "Jenn, you just did a half-marathon". I knew this meant only two more miles to the finish. It felt surreal knowing I would run beyond my limit today. And those last two miles seemed to last forever. The morning was bringing higher temperatures the longer we were on the road and I began to feel increasingly tired. One thing I will improve on for the next long run is to be more conscientious of my energy replacements during the run. Over today's 15 miles, I only consumed one Gu and tons of water. I should have probably taken another Gu, along with a dextrose tablet. All of this was in my fuel belt, but I kept pushing through instead of feeding myself. The heat does incredible things while training and my body was definitely feeling its effects. When we reached the finish, the pain in my hips and feet set in. My stomach had reached full potential of fluid intake and I needed to SIT! When we returned to our cars, my running coach had ice-cold popsicles waiting for us! I ate the popsicle faster than light speed and chugged a coconut water. Ah, it felt great to be done! When I got home, my husband had a lovely breakfast on the table for me of eggs, turkey bacon, toast, and fruit! I headed to the shower and then nourished myself with breakfast and my recovery drink. Immediately, I iced my feet and re-centered. After a nap, I woke up to much less body aches and a more revived sense of self. It's amazing how two additional miles can hit you like a ton of bricks! I know this is all muscle adaptation and it's part of the process to train my body. I will have two weeks of taper runs, until the next long run of 19 miles. Meanwhile, I will keep hydrating, stretching, and resting. I may not have had the clouds on my side today, but I had something from above guiding each and every step. I am grateful for today and I thank my body for pushing me beyond my limit!