10 miles?

On Saturday I set out to run ten miles in preparation for my half marathon coming up on Sunday. I had never run 10 miles...ever. But everything was set and I was feeling good. My husband told me to go and run as long as I needed and he would take our daughter to the park, feed her and put her down for her nap, so I knew I didn't need to be back for anything. I was prepared with Shot Bloks, my iPod and a new running top as I stared ten miles in the face.

When I stepped out my front door I could not have asked for better running weather: blue skies, sunny, mid-50 degrees and a slight breeze. Off I went...until I had pee. Only about 1.5 miles in and I had to pee! Are you kidding me?! With 8.5 miles left I knew there was no way I could hold it, so I looped back and ran home to use the facilities which I am glad I did because I felt much better afterward and ready to really hit the ground running now.  I ran and I ran. I use my iPhone straped to my arm and a running app (RunKeeper) to track my progress so it's a bit difficult to keep a constant check on my mileage, for me this is a good thing as I would probably check it every 30 seconds if I could. I ended up stopping to walk about 2 or 3 times to pop a quick Shot Blok, check my mileage and change what I was listening to (or turn it off all together to run in silence), I maybe stopped for about 30 seconds before I was off again.

Overall, I felt really good. I've always known that running is just as much a mental sport as a physical sport but I think I truly grasped it on this run. Because I was in a mental space to run 10 miles, I knew I could do it. I wasn't going to try and run 10 miles, I was going to run 10 miles. I had nothing that I needed to rush home for, the weather wasn't making me too hot or too cold, and I could just fully enjoy the run at my own pace and accomplish my goal. However, as mile 8 hit I started to feel like I was almost done and in the home stretch and my body started shutting down, I was breathing heavier and uneven, my feet were beginning to drag and my mind was convinced that I was almost done when in reality I still had 2 miles to go. Instead of heading in the direction of home, I turned around and picked myself up to get through the final miles.

At about mile 9, I was thinking how lucky I was to be looking at the beautiful mountains while running on this gorgeous, clear day and that I should quickly take photo to post on the blog. The RunKeeper app has a camera button built into it but I had never used it before, how difficult could it be? I stopped, pressed the button, snapped a photo, saved it and began to strap the phone back onto my arm when I noticed that my mileage and pace had gone BLANK! The stopwatch part was still moving but everything else was 0:00. I had no idea what to do or how to get it back. I tried a couple buttons but nothing worked or brought it back. In my anger I sprinted towards home and just hoped and prayed that when I officially stopped the run it would all magically reappear and I will have accomplished 10 miles. So when I made it home and pushed the button to complete my run everything reappeared! I was so relieved except for the fact that I had only run 9.47 miles. I tried to restart the run but I don't think that's an option or at least I couldn't figure it out. I was disappointed and relieved all at the same time and just decided to be done with my run regardless. So I didn't quite make my 10 mile run but I am calling it "close enough" due to technical difficulties.

Here is the crooked and not-so-great photo that ruined my run!

Less than a week until the Girlfriend's Half Marathon in Vancouver, WA. After this 9.47 mile run I can honestly say that I feel much more prepared and excited for 13.1! Bring it on!

Katie