Start time: 8/2/03, 6:00am
Location: W&OD Trail
Activity: Running
Distance: 18 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 2:2 (mostly)

Phew! I’ve been trying to climb back up to speed this week, and while it was a tough journey, I think it was well worth it. After having a couple of weeks off, last Saturday’s run was a lot tougher than it should have been, so I knew I had to stop slacking off. I got some good solo runs in on Tuesday and Thursday, so I figured I was ready for this Saturday’s 18-mile run.

The farthest I’d gone this year was just 14 miles, and one of those miles had been walked in, so I was already mentally prepared for the idea of just maybe doing 17 miles, but I’d play it by ear. One great boost of encouragement this morning was that my parents were going to be water volunteers! That meant that they were helping man a water stop at the Vienna Community Center where they’d be pouring water and Gatorade for runners, offering pretzels, and generally keeping us from collapsing into a heap. It really meant a lot to me for them to be out there that early in the morning; trust me, it was very much appreciated! (If you’re interested in helping out this way and live in the DC area, let me know!)

There were only six of us this week—so much for that huge group of people we started with in our pace group back in May! Hopefully we’ll have some of our missing in action members back before too long! We set off at a reduced running pace (starting with the 16-miler they slow us all down a little more so we don’t burn ourselves out before the marathon itself!); Lindsay and Scott were going to run the full 18 miles, Madelyn and Beth were planning on just 17 miles, and Julie and I were both playing it by ear. The first 7-mile stretch went really well, running from the edge of Arlington all the way through Vienna. (Although we did watch one group miss the turn-around and keep running. We hollered at them that they were going too far but they said they couldn’t hear us. Oh well.) So naturally, things got tougher on the way back.

It was probably nine miles in that we lost Madelyn and Beth; Madelyn has always been pretty vocal about her lack of ability to run through the heat, and today was no exception. We turned around and the two of them had slowed down a bit, so we waved to them for good luck and kept pushing forward. By the time we got back to home base (14 miles in) we were a little tired but so far, so good. It wasn’t until soon after the 16-mile point that I finally started to really drag; nothing was hurting badly, but I was just feeling exhausted. It’s no small wonder, since I was already three miles into brand-new distance! I told the rest of the group that when we hit the next water stop, I was going to adjust my running pace and slow down a little bit, and Julie thought that sounded like a good idea. Lindsay and Scott headed off, almost leaving a dust cloud in their wake.

The good news is that the rest of the run went really well; we didn’t get in that long after Lindsay and Scott, and Madelyn and Beth made it in soon after that with 17 miles under their belts. This was a really important run for me because it pushed me back up to where I should be in terms of progress. It’s always tough to catch up when you’re behind, but I’m feeling good about being back up to speed now. Next week is just a 9-mile recovery run… piece of cake!