I ran 20 miles and I'm ready for 20 more!!!

20 Miles

Well, I finished running 20 miles today and I still feel really good. I am getting really excited for race day on October 28th. Meg, Carolyn, Bob, Al and I decided to get a head start on the trail before the other runners today, so we met in the parking lot in Reston at 6am. The other runners were meeting at 7. It was still dark, and I wasn’t quite awake while driving there. I tried everything to wake up on my way there – switching from heat to AC to heat again, windows down, windows up. It was the saving grace of the sleeve of Ritz crackers I brought with me to eat after the run that kept me awake while driving to the run site – it is nearly impossible to fall asleep while eating. So, after eating about 20 crackers I arrived at the run site and was surprised to see a handful of others who had the same idea as us. Apparently we all wanted to get this run finished as soon as we could.

I arrived a little before 6 and took a 5 minute nap in my car while listening to the new GD channel on Sirius (which is fabulous, I might add). When I woke up, “Going Down the Road Feeling Bad” was playing on the radio. Not a good omen to start a 20 mile run, but I interpreted it as if the song were saying the hardest part was behind me: trying to stay awake while driving to Reston. Megan and Al had pulled up behind me and were preparing themselves for the run. I got out of my car and realized it was much cooler than I had anticipated – I was freezing and wanted to start running ASAP. I got back in my car and put Bodyglide on my feet and other areas where I was afraid of chafing, and waited for the rest of our team to arrive. “Ripple” played softly through my speakers and I smiled thinking about the last concert I went to, watching an older, grayer Bob Wier sing one of my favorite songs with the Allman Brothers Band. Carolyn and Bob showed up and we hit the trail. At 6:15 it was still dark, but Al and Meg came prepared. Al had what looked like a strobe light one would strap to their head while spelunking. Meg had 2 lights and gave one to me to strap to my belt. As a group of 6 (another runner joined us for the early start) we were lit by 3 of us, thereby ensuring “safety first” on the trail.

Carolyn, Meg and I were very giddy – and were also very happy at the idea of getting a head start before the rest of the team. When we reached the 2 mile marker, Meg screamed that we were already 1/10th of the way finished. Great – only 18 to go.

At mile 5, the sun started to come up, and we had paired off into 2 groups. Bob, Al and the newcomer whose name we learned was Matt were about 100 yards ahead of us. Meg, Carolyn and I stuck together. We were already 1/5 of the way to our goal of 20 miles, and we were extremely happy.

The WO&D Trail could be the most boring place to run 20 miles. Runners World Magazine named DC one of the 10 best cities in the US to run in –why oh why were we stuck on this awful plain jane trail for 20 miles? There was no scenery to look at but power lines and backyards and the occasional soccer field. Mile after strenuous mile, there was gray pavement and green grass – it was taxing to me to find new things to think about to keep me going. I looked forward to calling Steve at mile 7 (yes – I brought my cell phone on the trail) to wish him luck in the LSAT. After that, I started to get a little bored, so I let my brain run free for a bit.

I returned to the thought I had in the car about the Allmans' show. It was such a great experience - great company, great music. It poured down rain that night just before the show started, but no one seemed to care - there were more important things to take away from the experience. There we sat on the lawn at the Tweeter Center as I have done so many times in my past, with some of the same friends who joined me for concertas on that same lawn almost 15 years ago. When Bob started playing Ripple, I thought of Sue Cowperthwait, an old friend who I have known since 7th grade. The song has always been one of our favorites, and every time I hear it I think of her and our silly antics teenagers driving around in my wood panneled Jeep Wagoneer listening to that song and singing it at the top of our lungs. At that point of the concert, I realized that it had been a long time since I talked to her last. I pulled out my cell phone and left her a voicemail, making sure she could make out the distinct melody of the song playing in the background. As I was running I must have looked so goofy to people watching me reminisce. I didn't care, and kept smiling as I remembered listening to my voicemail after the show. It was a message from Sue, who was there at the same concert!! She heard the same song and had the same memory, and left a very similar message on my own voicemail, without even knowing I had done the same on hers. Music can be such a wonderful connection between people. I know I'll always have that with her.

We hit the water stop just around mile 8 or 9 and I loved eating the sugary treats and gulping down the juice. I had been craving gummy bears and power ade for the last 4 miles, so this was perfect timing!!

At mile 10, Meg, Carolyn and I decided to break down the remainder of our journey mentally into 2 sets of 5 miles each. The boys were about ½ mile ahead of us, so it was up to us to keep the momentum going. We did. We told stories in great detail that kept us entertained for a few miles. The sun was strong and at this point, in our face, but we rallied through it. We all felt pretty good, and made it to 15 without a struggle.

We embraced the face we only had 5 miles to go, and pushed forward. The super fast TNT runners started to catch up to us, and pass us, but that was OK since we’d still finish an hour ahead of our normal pace group, having started out so early. Mile 17 came, and Meg started to fade. Her heel was hurting her, then her entire leg, then her back, and a joint connecting her back with her heel?? Something like that, but it wasn’t good. We took some time to stretch and drink water, and stretch again, but she was in serious pain. Each of us knew we only had 4 more miles, but that distance in such distress isn’t as easy at is sounds.

I hope you remember Meg from these entries. Many of you emailed me after I wrote about the 16 miler and the heat and the torture of being out on the trail in the sun on one of the hottest days of the year. Meg, as you might remember, was my hero that day, she stuck with me and wouldn’t leave my side no matter how much I begged. She is the reason I finished that run, and I was going to make sure she finished her 20 no matter what. We walked and ran, and walked and ran, but we stuck together.

We walked more than usual, which at first was frustrating because I felt so good, and I knew I could finish the remainder of our journey in no time. I had an itch to take off from my team and sprint the remaining 3 miles. I was feeling great, and I had hit the point where I was sick of being on the trail. It was getting hot and the sun was strong, but the breeze cancelled out any feelings of discomfort. I could easily run the last few miles without a stop and I’d be on my way home in no time. Then, suddenly, I had a realization. I didn’t need to prove the fact I felt so good to anyone else – because I had already proven it to myself. I knew I could finish strong, but that wasn’t the point right now. I would save my excitement to finish for race day. Meg and I walked the remaining 1.5 miles – and finished the entire 20 in less than 4 hours. Meg was limping, but she finished and was happy to do so. I was happy to be by her side.

About an hour ago I got a call from Meg thanking me for sticking with her through the hardest part of the run. That, to me, was the point of our 20 mile run today. I was glad I could return the support she showed me a few weeks ago. Sometimes you gotta know when to hold’em, and know when to fold’em, know when to walk away, and know when to run.

After everything, I feel amazing. My knees don’t hurt, I have no blisters and my energy is super high. I’m siked to have finished my last long run before the marathon – I know I’m going to finish strong on race day. I can’t wait.

I know I just quoted “The Gambler”, but that isn’t what helped me through this run. It is the song I heard right before I headed out onto the trail for our 20 mile run. It was in my head the entire time, and makes sense now that I read the lyrics. Here’s a little piece of gold for those of you who haven’t heard it in a while. For those of you who have, listen to it again. And then listen again. xo

RIPPLE
Grateful Dead

If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung,
Would you hear my voice come thru the music,
Would you hold it near as it were your own?
Its a hand-me-down,
the thoughts are broken,
Perhaps theyre better left unsung.
I dont know, dont really care
Let there be songs to fill the air.
Ripple in still water,
When there is no pebble tossed,
Nor wind to blow.
Reach out your hand if your cup be empty,
If your cup is full may it be again,
Let it be known there is a fountain,
That was not made by the hands of men.
There is a road, no simple highway,
Between the dawn and the dark of night,
And if you go no one may follow,
That path is for your steps alone.
Ripple in still water,
When there is no pebble tossed,
Nor wind to blow.
But if you fall you fall alone,
If you should stand then whos to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home.

La dee da da da, la da da da da, da da da, da da, da da da da daLa da da da, la da da, da da, la da da da, la da, da da.