Friday, August 25, 2006

The 18 Mile Day

First, just in case you didn't know, 18 miles is a long, long way. It must be at least 10 miles longer than 16 miles. Must be. Or maybe it just felt that way because I only got four hours of sleep. I went to bed on time, but I couldn't sleep. Couldn't shut my mind down - thoughts were whirling. I finally gave up at midnight and tried to quiet my thoughts by sitting in front of the computer for a half hour. It worked and I finally crawled back in bed at 12:30. Only problem was the 4:30 wake up time.

Sonya, Jenny and I headed down the trail at 5:15. Our plan was a 10 mile out and back, then run through town to a country road for a change of pace. We ran two loops of the road, and back to town bringing us to 18 miles. That last three mile loop was tough - we were all getting a little stiff in the hips and knees, and maybe a little silly too. Jenny and I were laughing so hard at one point that we stumbling around the road, bent at the waist, with tears in our eyes. All over nothing. The good news is we finished! Whoo-hoo! 3:46:43.

Rob and I had a prerace meeting at Starbucks just to check in with each other and make some sketchy plans. I think we are on track for tomorrow. Eric and the guys left for HTC about an hour ago, and Riley is heading out on a date in a little bit, so I'll have the house to myself for the evening.

Also, thanks everyone for all the congratulations on my new job. It's going to be fun! There are six of us on staff and we manage five preschools and about 16 classes. I'm looking forward to building the program even more. It should be challenging and interesting, and best of all, it's a job I love.

I'm signing off for the weekend - I might manage to get a crew report out Sunday, but you may have to wait till Monday or Tuesday if I'm too tired. In the meantime:

Good luck to Puddyrat at Ironman Canada...to Matt at the Bulldog 50K...to Eric, Steve and Patch at HTC...to Annette at HTC...to Margaret at HTC...to Jack at the Half Marathon (whose name I can't find)...to Elizabeth at the CRIM...and finally to Rob at CCC (he'll be fine, he's got a stellar crew and awesome pacers)!

14 comments:

Rose said...

Wow - great run! I love the part about laughing so hard it was hard to stand up. I'm thinking that might be the point? And congrats on the new job and good news. It has certainly been a full week for you, and the weekend hasn't even started!

Anonymous said...

have fun this weekend!!!

Anonymous said...

WOW - 18 on four hours of sleep - you ARE superwoman! I get loopy on 4 hours of sleep without having to exert any physical energy, so i can't imagine doing 18 like that. Have fun this weekend, crazy girl! I'll miss you tomorrow on my long run. =)
Wendy

Wes said...

Freakin awesome! You are my hero! We'll miss you over the weekend, but take comfort that you are out for a good cause (and will be back :-) Look forward to hearing all about it!

Unknown said...

Congratulations on the new job and you are right I have a stellar crew that will get me to the finish despite the miserable shape I am in.

Sarah Elaine said...

Lots to celebrate - job, 18 miles with friends and an exciting weekend to look forward to.

Can't wait for the update when you get back!

Sarah said...

Great run! Have fun crewing. : )

Legs and Wings said...

First, congrats on the new job. You are such a pro! Second, congrats on the 18 mile run because that's a heck of a long way. You know, maybe Rob should have been with you to keep you from all that silly behaviour, laughing and stuff. Ha!!

Sue said...

Wow, 18 miles is a long way. I can't imagine ever running that distance. Well done and it sounds like you had fun as well!

Neese said...

18 miles!? that is so awesome, but even more so the memory of the laughing spell, so cool, that's the joy of running with others.

JustRun said...

I hope you found some time to catch up on your rest! Race reports can wait... running half asleep is never fun. :)

D said...

Congrats on your promotion!!!

I miss those training runs w/my girlfriends where we laugh our heads off and solve the world's problems. I have been running w/a new club 1/week and they are tough to warm up to....

Can't wait for the CCC report.

*jeanne* said...

The new job sounds wonderful, especially since you love it! Congratulations!

Yes...18 miles is LONG.

I didn't do mine this weekend. I was supposed to do 18. Did 10. Oops. Life got in the way, and I didn't adjust in time.

Good for you for getting 'er done! :-)

Taunya said...

Good for you! Great time too, I must say for that distance.

I love running with people that make me laugh...makes the miles melt away.