My Longest Run... since having kids

Yesterday I finally got that 8-miler done.  She was a bit squirrelly... but nuttin' I couldn't handle ;-)

The pace was supposed to be "maintenance," which for me is supposed to be 10:00/mile.  As you can see from the numbers below, I was kind of all over the place... that's why I used the adjective squirrelly.  And I must say that I don't really know for certain if those times were taken at certifiable mile marks because I went off of googlemaps and sort of fudged where to gauge the miles would be.  It was an out and back, so I was noticeably quicker over the same distances on the trip out.

This is the farthest I have run since November of 2001.  My legs are feeling it.  At this point in my fitness and life, 8 miles now warrants an ice bath.  Wish I had realized that when I finished the run :P  

The best news is ... my hip did not hurt.  did. not.  Super YAY!  It is feeling stiff and sore now, but no pain at all while running.  I almost cried when I finished... partly because of the no pain, partly because it has been so long since I have run that far, and partly because I was super hungry.  I had to leave before breakfast in order to get the run in before my husband needed to go out for the day.

Yeah, when you are lolling about in bed thinking you have a cush life while your husband makes everyone breakfast, it is a sharp jolt of reality when he comes in to announce that he needs to leave soon so you'd better a get a move on if you're going to fit that run in.  Soon?  How soon?  Like "exactly as long as it takes to throw on the clothes and do the run" soon.  No brekkie... No potty...

As most of you know, running really gets things moving...  I think that is partly why my first half was faster.  I was racing to the portapotty at the turnaround.  I realized I was going to need that bad boy pretty early on in the run. It became my focus... my goal.  Even though it meant running an extra 0.1 mile ;-)  Thankfully, it was still where I had remembered it to be.  And even more thankfully, it was not too nasty.  And it had paper!

Unfortunately, my 'needs' were complicated by another factor.  Let's just say that I am really glad I didn't listen to that ShutUpandRun girl and wear my green bikini even though I was having my period.  If any guys have made it this far, I am sorry if you are grossed out or uncomfortable... but this is what we women deal with.  You have no idea how hard it is to not lose your tampon when you are trying to take a dump... especially in a portapotty.  And speaking of tampons... I am so annoyed... my favorite brand has been discontinued!  As I was lamenting this fact this morning, my husband suggested I look for an online forum that might help me deal with this loss.  He thinks he's so funny sometimes.

These are my rockin' splits from my X-Treeemly long run:

9:25
9:50
9:43
9:54
10:15  – post-poo... I think everything was readjusting...
10:02
9:56
10:08  – I hit my Wall at 7.8 miles... I almost stopped... I think it was lack of food more than anything
______
1:19:13 total time (this factors in the 2:40 potty break... I always subtract those)




Now I get to go grocery shopping with my kids... o, yay.  This is bound to be exciting, and I'll tell you all about it later ;-)  What makes it all extra exciting is that they are off for 10 days.  TEN days... in a row... right now.  You know better than to get me started on their school and days off.