So far this year, I have woken up every Saturday with big dreams of completing however many miles my marathon training program calls for. And just about every Saturday, I have come home defeated because I came up short. But not today. Not. Today.

I woke up a bit before 7am so I had plenty of time to stretch. I’m not the best at stretching but after my ridiculously tough crossfit session yesterday, I wanted to feel as loose as possible.

working da hips

After getting loosey-goosey, I drove to 54th & the Monon to meet Meghan and Adriana. We wanted to get started a bit earlier than the rest of the crew so got about 1.5 miles in before we met up with Amy and Karen. Today is Amy’s birthday so we approached the deck screaming and shouting “Happy birthday” quite obnoxiously. Also at our meeting point I saw my former running group – Matt, Roberto, Mark and Coach O. These were the guys I met every Saturday for our long runs. I hugged them all and then went on with my girls.

Karen and Amy were doing 12 miles; Adriana doing 15; and Meg and I doing 20. So we planned our route accordingly to protect as much time with each other as possible. The weather was simply amazing for February. Sure – a bit chilly at the start but with the sun shining, the pavement clear and the wind low, we couldn’t help but count our blessings.

And we were clearly not the only ones to do so. HOLY MOLY the Monon was crowded. It was like summer out there – tons of runners and walkers taking advantage of the nice weather. I even saw my first robin! My mom taught me at a young age that you are supposed to make a wish on the first robin you see each spring and so I did. (It’s a secret!)

I felt a little creeky until mile 4 when I finally hit my stride. I was a pace nazi today…each time I felt us creeping up on speed, I slowed us back. We had a lot of miles to do and there was no need to gun it. In fact, my training program called for our marathon pace + 45 seconds today which meant we should have been running around 10:30 miles. We instead hovered in the 10 min/mi pace the entire time. At mile 8, we took a break up at the Monon Center. The Carmel Runner’s Club had set out snacks and Gatorade for runners and we didn’t shy from stocking up. They even had gel packs. Now in the past, I have had issues with those. The last time I tried one was during the Chicago Half Marathon maybe 4 years ago. I almost threw up at the texture. It was strawberry flavored and was warm after sitting in my pocket the entire race. I swear there were maybe some strawberry seeds even floating in there but regardless, the minute I tasted it, I gagged. I haven’t gone back since. But this one was chocolate and so I thought I’d give it a whirl. What a surprise! It was amazing! Tasting just like chocolate syrup (which I could squeeze straight down the gullet), the texture didn’t bother me at all. As I described this to the girls, who also have never been a fan of gels, there were some hilarious commentary that just isn’t bloggable. I will say that I am very glad the man in front of us had headphones on as this topic was discussed.

But after that gel, I felt a noticeable difference. Maybe it’s the fact that I haven’t had much sugar in the past couple of weeks due to being on the Paleo diet, but there was an instant kick in my step. We weren’t even halfway done but I knew I was going to get through 20 miles today.

At mile ten I announced to Meg that we were halfway done and I could just feel her disappointment. It really did feel like we had been running longer than that. Plus, the poor girl had the flu earlier this week and her body was still recovering. Knowing exactly how it feels when you are trying to put one foot in front of the other and your body begs you to stop (i.e. two weeks ago), I could totally relate. So we just broke it into chunks. For instance, at 9.5 miles, we stopped for some group pictures.

rocking those fanny packs

Naturally, as we approached the deck in Broadripple, our pace picked up. I think we all acted as if our ending point was the same as Karen and Amy’s, which just wasn’t too smart. When I looked down and saw a 9:11 min/mi pace, the pace nazi came back out. Holding us back, we got to Broadripple and paused to say farewell to the birthday girl and Karen. It had been another amazing run full of laughs and great conversation. Right as Adriana, Meg and I started back up, we saw JD. He had completed 12 miles and though I tried to convince him 6.5 more with us would be good for him, he wasn’t having it. I did, however, introduce him to Adriana which was just a hilarious exchange. Here she is, wearing what looks like a bank robbers outfit, talking in her thick Romanian accent and being completely high on sports gels. Not to mention, this is the kick-boxing grand champion girl I mentioned a few weeks back. So when she jokingly talked to JD like she was going to mug him of his GPS watch, I think he may have believed her!

Bandit, Meg, Amy and Karen

Only 1.5 miles to go before we got back to our cars and dropped our bandit, Adriana, off. At this point, I offered Meg a few proposals: 1) quit at 15 and be proud as hell that she ran the whole 15 especially after having the flu. 2) Run 2 more miles with me for a total of 17 and know she’s a badass for getting through all 17 and being in great shape more than two full months before her marathon or 3) Run all 20. She decided to play it by ear but knew she had more mileage in her than just 15.

So on we trudged. We were definitely wearing too many clothes at this point. Starting at 7:45am and ending after 11am made for difficult outfit planning as the weather warmed. But our pace was still strong – 10 minute miles with just a brief couple walking breaks. After some discussion, I think we both decided she needed to quit at 17. There was no point in her pushing her recovering body any further. So as I set in my earbuds and cranked up the music, I said my farewells and took off for my final 3 miles, hans solo.

Maybe it was Shoop that got me going. Or Lupe Fiasco. But my feet caught a bit of fire. Those last three miles felt amazing and when I looked down, my pace was always under  a 9 min/mi pace. I caught myself smiling as I made that pavement my bitch, footfall after footfall. My legs ached and my stomach growled, but I was going to get through twenty miles today.

Anytime I am running alone, and nearing the end of my long run, I imagine I am finishing a race. I pretend that my friends and family are alongside the trail, cheering me on with the finish line in sight. I imagine that a PR is just within reach and so I pick up my pace. I know it’s silly, but it’s this vision that encourages me to finish strong. So when today, I crossed that 20 mile marker, I was flying*. (*Ok, “flying” might be a bit dramatic. My last mile was a 8:51 min/mi pace but that’s fast for me running that many miles).

I did it. I woke up wanting to do 20 miles and this time, I did it. It isn’t my first twenty-miler, or even my tenth. But it’s the longest this body has run since October. And after an injury that sidelined me for 2.5 months, I feel like I finally got my running groove back. I couldn’t be happier.

even with walking breaks I averaged a 10:13 pace