Redemption

We had our infamous 22-mile run yesterday morning from Newport. I was dreading this big time for two reasons:

1) We were running the part of the course that I choked on two weeks ago. Yippee.

2) The route instructions took up almost an entire page in Microsoft Word. I know 22 miles is a long way but for some reason, seeing it all spelled out on paper really psyched me out.

Can I just ask who planned the Pig course??? "Let's have the runners do three bridges, then go up Gilbert THEN run through Eden Park! Wouldn't it be funny to make them run up Paxton? They won't be expecting THAT hill! Oh and then let's send them through the East End for the last few miles so that they can see how far away they are from the finish line...mwahahaha."

Ok, despite all these things, I actually had a good run yesterday thanks to perfect weather, free Gu from the Running Spot and my die hard running buddies. I really don't know what I would do without these people who laugh, growl, poke fun, and celebrate through each mile with me. We are the world.

Anywho. I struggled through the first 12 miles or so, but once we finished the ascent, I felt a lot better.


Since when do we take pictures at water stops?? Me and Tisha at mile 12ish...


In fact, I think I ran a negative split because I caught up with the speedy kids right before Eastern and kept up with them all the way back to Newport. Yay!

My finish time for the 21.7 miles was 3:16...roughly a 9:03 minute per mile pace. My goal was really just to finish without crawling, laying down somewhere, and/or hallucinating. (I was nonsense after the last 20 miler). So, I'm feeling a little more confident that I might be able to pull a reasonable finish time out of my @ss in three weeks. But who knows? The marathon is an unpredictable beast and any number of factors can throw the best-laid plans out the window. :-)