Longest Distance Ever

Distance: 9.0 miles
Time: 2:00:03 hours
Pace: 13:25/mile
Time of Day: 9:45 a.m.
Temp: 45°F, beautiful, bright, sunny

I ran 9 miles today! Nine miles! Of course, I had my DS running with me and encouraging me, but I did the running! I ran 9 miles.

I felt pretty strong during most of the race, but the last 1.5 miles was a struggle. Scott was an awesome running partner. He encouraged me and supported me through the entire race, but especially that last 1.5 miles. I said to him at about 8 miles, "Don't let me quit." He responded, "No, Mom. There is no way you are quitting at this point. I won't let you." The other thing he said to me was, "The first 7.5 miles is just a warm up for this last 1.5 miles." It was what I needed at the time.

After feeling so completely worn down last Sunday with my 7-mile run, I am really pleased that today I feel great. I am tired and my legs are sore, but I didn't feel like collapsing at the end of my run today.

One thing Scott had me do today was stretch every time we had to stop and wait to cross a street. A couple of times I stretched my hamstrings. One time near the end he suggested I rotate my ankles to kind of stretch them out. That felt great. He also had me really stretch at the end of the run, which I believe helped me not feel so sore this afternoon.

We ran a completely new route today. It is a paved trail over an old railroad line. It is flat (as in no hills) and runs along a couple of streams. The sky was bright blue; the sunshone brightly; a light breeze. It was absolutely gorgeous! And, by the way, did I mention I ran 9 miles today?