I'm like the Duggars.... 18 and Counting

I don't know why, but I had it in my head that 18 miles was the "real" beginning to my marathon training. Prior to December 20, I had never run farther than 13.1, so I'm not sure why 18, and not 14 or 16, was such a big deal. Regardless, my first 18 mile run was on Saturday. Up to this point, I had done all of my runs solo, but had decided to join a local running group for my milestone. I woke up at 6:40 on Saturday morning and got ready to go. The temperature was in the low 20s, with a windchill in the teens. When I arrived, I found out that I was the one who had the longest run planned... talk about first impressions. I was actually slightly embarrassed at this. I find that I often get embarrassed when I tell people how far I run. I feel like I should be proud and show it off, but it's something I generally tend to keep to myself. I feel weird if Lauren sees me headed out the door in the evening for my run, especially now that it's dark, cold, windy and all around miserable running weather.

I took off with the 9-9:30 minute per mile group. We started on Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Island, and I made my way all the way up to Bethesda. I enjoyed running in the group, mostly listening to conversations and occasionally adding my own comments. As much as I am outgoing, I tend to stay quiet in new situations. Add in the fact that I was tackling my longest run ever and I was perfectly content listening more than speaking. I started with a group of about 8, but only had one other running companion up to the turn around in Bethesda. He dropped off around mile 11 to fix his Camelback, and I ended up running the final 7 miles alone. I felt great until about mile 15, and the last two miles were pretty tough, but I made it all the same, with about a 9:35 pace. With more than 2 months out, I know I'm in great shape to meet my goal.


Today, I did an easy 5 miles. It was going great until I had my first running accident of the season. I slipped on some ice with about a mile to go, scraping my gloved hand and banging my knee pretty hard. I walked it off and finished the run, but I now have a big red bump on my right knee. I'm icing it now, fearing that my rugby legs are going to make a cameo. I guess I'm getting soft after staying off of the pitch for the past 2 years. I should be fine, and probably lucky I've survived this horrible winter without any other damage.