Day 22 (14 miles)

This run went light years beyond kicking my ass.  The longest I ever ran before this was 8 miles and that was twice, once in college and once in seminary.  Figured if I went out slow and steady then I could run indefinitely.  WRONG!!!  First off, I became impatient after 0.30 miles and disregarded my Heart-Rate Zone alarm once it flew past 150.  I normally do 150 bpm of 20 minutes worth of cardio in the gym on weight days and 40 minutes worth on my off days.  But I guess this was my off day though I couldn't imagine going into to do weights tomorrow.  Come on!  It's Sunday; the laziest day of the week.  I broke down the run mentally in half and broke it down from there into halves as well to get 3.5 mile quarters.  Make sense?  Sure.  Well from there I broke down into miles with an additional 0.50 mile add-on extra which I told myself was hardly anything.  That's like 5 blocks.  I initially drank my cherry-flavored electrolyte water at the quarter marks (3.5 miles) with the GU energy gel (this stuff once saved my life, but that's another story) at miles 7.0 and 10.5.  I needed them both and decided that at my potty break point (Mile 10.0) I should refill my two 10 oz. water bottles on my running belt, sans electrolyte tabs.  I was doing alright until about mile 11.0 with 3.0 miles left.  The last leg is always the hardest.  But it was at this point that I saw my friend BeckyJo from SPU and her husband Darrick, cruising back to Seattle.  I shouted out, "BeckyJo!"  She turned and looked and Darrick randomly shouted out, "You know that guy!?!"  I would have made a shout out to Darrick but they were going by fast enough for me to only get in two syllables.  Sorry Darrick.  Next time.  At mile 12.0 a group of 4 girls with signs were sitting on the side of the trail next to their house cheering everyone on that passed by.  I got a huge long cheer because at this point I was really poking along compared to the majority who were zipping by on their bikes.  This long run gave me a new found sense of pride compared to bicyclists.  Speed does not equal effort or guts.  Especially when you're on a man made contraption and you're hardly doing any work.  So don't look at us runners like we're merely a obstructionist nuisance for you to slow down for.  I like biking too.  Don't get me wrong.  But you, my friend, with your spandex & faux-sponsor bike shirt, are in the little leagues.  When you feel like you want to grow up and challenge yourself the way God intended, then slip on a pair of running shoes and go at it.  But until then, stop your complaining.