I Survived, Kind Of.

EDIT: I survived the 12 miler yesterday (just barely)! I met my two friends at 89th street around 4:30, and we ran down to the end of the boardwalk, took a 5 minute break, and ran back. I think it took us around 2 hours, so we kept a really decent pace. Honestly, it was the toughest run I've ever had. I almost cried with happiness when we arrived back at the cars. I kept telling the girls that if they weren't with me I would totally have been walking the rest of the way back (they said the same thing to me which made me feel better--misery loves company!). While the girls are not training quite as much as I am, they both have done a few halfs in the past, so I was a little nervous that they'd smoke me, but we kept the same pace. The reason for my misery was, once again, my stomach. The girls said their stomachs were bothering them as well, and I think part of it had to do with the fact that we were running so far so late in the day (something my body isn't used to). I also don't think I hydrated or fueled properly. I ate a bag of Jelly Belly Sports Beans (I swear they were exactly the same as regular Jelly Bellys) around mile 9 which helped for about 5 minutes.

I was so thankful that I'd thought to pack a cooler with 3 waters which we chugged at the end. The thought of those waters was the only thing that kept me going! My stomach felt so off and I really thought I was going to throw up. I made it home and crashed on my bed. The last thing I wanted to do was think about food (although I had barely eaten that day), but I forced myself to get up an hour or two later and made a small dinner of whole wheat french toast and an apple with PB. Didn't help. Went to bed early and feel great today, actually (although my legs are feelin' the burn). While it was not a fun run overall, parts of the run were very enjoyable, and the girls and I chatted the entire time, which was great. I loved getting to know them better and we are definitely going to train together again sometime soon.

So, there you have it, my last long run before the 13.1 in two weeks. Let's hope the half goes better than this, or I may never want to run again...!