Run 18 Miles, Walk 1.75 Miles and eat a Hot Banana!

Weather Report: Overcast and 61 degrees

My alarm clock was set for 5:00am and the plan was to be at Bonelli Park by 6:00am.  I had to drag myself out of bed because I was feeling really lazy!  I finally got up, got dressed and headed out the door.  My husband went along with me and rode his bike to keep me company.  This was his first time riding in Bonelli Park so he went picture crazy like I did my first time. I took advantage of him being there and made him take pictures of me too!



 

I had to drop water at a couple of locations before I got started so I ended up starting my run around 6:15am.  The goal for my run was to maintain marathon pace (9:00-9:05) and not burn myself out before I hit mile 18!  I tried to get my pace up to around 9:00 and not stay too focused on my Garmin unless I really felt like I was slowing down.

Mile 1: 8:55
Mile 2: 8:59
Mile 3: 8:57
Mile 4: 8:59
Mile 5: 8:46
Mile 6: 8:38

The sun made it's way out by mile six but the temperature was still tolerable. I changed my route around a little bit and boy was that a mistake.  There was some type of car show going on and there was lots of traffic, police and blocked crosswalks to say the least!  I had to pick up my pace to get the heck out there!

Mile 7: 8:59
Mile 8: 8:55
Mile 9: 8:55
Mile 10: 9:01

Mile 11: 8:53
Mile 12: 8:49
Mile 13: 8:52
Mile 14: 8:44
Mile 15: 8:38
Mile 16: 8:50

Mile 16...I felt this one!

Mile 17 and counting...

Mile 17: 8:09
Mile 18: 8:24 (uphill...ouch!)

Mile 18 never looked so good!

This is what I ran..

This is what I walked...

and this is what I felt like after running 18 Miles!

After running 18 miles, I had to walk 1.75 miles back to the car.  When I mapped the run out, Shawna and I were trying to avoid the hills of Bonelli Park that we hit in the very end. I guess I really over estimated that one! I was starving to death by the time I made it back to the car!  My husband had gone ahead of me to get his bike hooked on the bike rack of the car and he mentioned that he had brought a bagel with him.  I thought about that bagel all the way back to the car but when I finally made it back to the car he told me that he ate it and saved me nothing! Zero..nada!! I was a little irritated! The only thing in the car for me to eat was a left over hot banana from the morning, but I was so hungry that I had to eat it!

A hot banana never tasted so good!

I had a great week!  I was able to get 37 miles in and I felt really good about my long run.  This week I will be toning the miles down a bit and recovering! The Disneyland Half Marathon is just 20 days away!  I am excited about it and hoping for a PR!  I need one right about now!!