14 Mile Mission ACCOMPLISHED!!

by Suzy

First of all, can I just say WOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO! We did it! 14 miles. I kinda can't believe it, even now, a few days later. It's really amazing to think that it works - the training, I mean - and that I really could go from 0 to 14 in a matter of a few months.

I've talked about my anxiety about this particular run, the longest in the training schedule - heck, it's even longer than the actual race distance. To top it off, I found the 12.5 mile run to be pretty rough, and even my recent shorter runs had felt difficult. So I had a lot of worry weighing me down. And then, something really lovely happened. Once we actually started running, none of it mattered.

We picked a new and beautiful run to help inspire and distract, so we drove over the bay to Sausalito. An absurdly large full moon was still in full glory as we drove, reflecting on the water as we made our way. The sun had just risen when we parked next to a marina full of houseboats, and the sky was brilliant orange and pink. So lovely.

It was chillier than we thought - actual frost on the ground! - but it was actually a nice distraction as we hustled to try and warm up over the first few miles. One stretch of the run was along a busy street, but most of it was on trails that meander along and follow the outline of the bay. We settled into luxurious, long, uninterrupted conversation, the type we rarely get to enjoy these days, what all the kids, chaos, etc. And amazingly enough, it didn't seem to long before we had reached our turn-around point in Tiburon - we'd gone well over 7 miles already, and everyone was feeling great!

Once more glance at the sweeping views of the bay and San Francisco, and we turned around for the second half. At this point, everyone was feeling pretty exuberant that things were going so smoothly. We were worried about Steph in particular, because she's had some problems with her ankle, but she was smiling and feeling great.

I've said this before, but it's really strange how different things feel from run to run. Sometimes it's just so hard, lead weights in the shoes and a strong headwind coming at you no matter what direction you're facing. This time, it was the opposite. It felt very serendipitous - everything just fell into place. There were a few small hills, and hills have been known to kick our butts because most of the time, we're running on totally flat ground. But this time, on the second half of our there-and-back route, we'd be jogging downhill and actually say things like, "Wow, this is great! This hill didn't seem so big when we came UP it!" Now, how crazy is that? But that's how it was.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy. Especially the last mile or so. It hurt, and we stopped the instant Steph's fancy-pants Garmin watched told us we'd gone 14 miles.

But it was very, very manageable. And enjoyable, even. Which was SO unexpected! Here we are - still smiling.





Soooo... after the run, we stopped in a cafe so the coffee fiends in our group could get a quick fix... we were in a hurry because Nicole had to get back for a previous commitment, but the "specials" board looked so good, and we were all so ravenous after the run, that we decided to eat there. What an excellent, excellent decision.

I ordered something called the "frooty tooty", which consisted of eggs, sausage, and pancakes packed full of fresh fruit. I added a side of hash browns and WOW. I literally squealed with delight when the food arrived. Yes, the food you see was all for me, and yes, I ate every last bite. The Garmin told us we burned something like 1700 calories on the run... and I'm pretty sure I got them all back in one fell swoop. And it was lovely.