Skating Through 12 Miles With Jenn

Jenn and I always run first thing in the morning but we had to rearrange our schedule today. I headed out to Jenn's house this afternoon so we could get our 12 miler in. Our plan was to head to the Canal Path to run. Imagine our shock when we got there and were greeted with a very snowy path! We made it just under a tenth of a mile before we decided to head to the Metroparks and attempt path number 2!

As you can see below, the Metropark path was a bit better. However we quickly learned that there were a lot of icy spots and we had to be incredibly careful with our footing as to not injure ourselves!

We were enjoying our run and talking off and on but we were both really concentrating on our footing so there wasn't as much talking as normal. Before we knew it we were to the halfway point. Jenn was telling me that her dad used to take her to Lake Isaac and asked if we could stop and take a picture. Of course I said yes!!

The second half of the run seemed a lot harder. There was a lot more ice and we had to stop at a lot of intersections and my legs were not very happy with this at all! Around mile 10 Jenn mentioned walking back and running the last 2 miles on the treadmill. I told her she was stronger than that and we were going to finish this run! By mile 11 we were both struggling and just wanting to finish. My calves hurt, my legs were heavy, and I was having a hard time breathing since I woke up with a lovely cold this morning. I was never so happy to see my truck but then I realized we were a bit short of 12 miles so we had to run a little bit further and after what seemed like an eternity my Garmin beeped indicating we had finished our 12th mile! Upon finishing my entire body ached including my hips. Ouch was all I could say to Jenn! Notice that even though we had a difficult run today we were still smiling when we finished!

I even decided to practice my ice skating at the end!

Jenn and I had talked about taking an ice bath in the snow after our run. Once we got into my truck both of us were really looking forward to sitting in the snow. Believe it or not the snow seemed to help a lot. Nothing like using nature to get an ice bath in! Of course Jenn's neighbor thought we were completely insane. We had a blast posting the pictures to Facebook and Dailymile.

With the ice bath completed and our 12 miles run and done I headed home to get ready for our friend's Superbowl Party. Although I was disappointed that my Steelers lost tonight, I was thrilled to be able to enjoy quality time and great food with some fantastic friends!

Keep running, you're simply the best, and you inspire me!!

Hills, Snow, and Rain Oh My!!

The kids and I headed out to PA this weekend for grandma's 80th surprise birthday party. It was great to have the family all together! The party was great and we were able to get a lot of pictures with grandma and her many children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren! I packed outside running clothes in the off chance that the weather would cooperate for today's long run. I was pleasantly surprised to wake up to nice weather (well if you would consider 37 degrees nice weather). I put on my Garmin and out the door I went. I was cold at first, but was comfortable within the first five minutes of the run. My plan was to run five miles out and five miles back to get in my ten miles. I maintained that plan until I hit hill number eight at mile four. I decided to turn onto another street which was going well until I encountered hill number nine at mile five and a gravel road with snow and ice all over it. Needless to say that section of the run was my slowest mile (10:54) because I had to run with great caution as to not slip on the snow and ice. Miles six through nine included three more hills. At mile nine the sky decided to rain on my parade and of course add another hill to my day! So it turns out I encountered thirteen hills during my ten mile run today.

Now a question for all of the marathon runners out there. How do you mentally prepare yourself for the other 16.2 miles? I was quite tired after my ten mile run today. The furthest I have ever run in the last year is 13.1 (Cleveland and Columbus Half Marathons). While training for the half marathon I would take water with me but nothing else. I only drank water during the half marathons as well. I chose to eat a piece of peanut butter toast before my run today and I think it helped fuel me. I have no idea what to do when running further distances. Any and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. Do I do the gel packs? Do I drink something besides water such as a sports drink? Any other tips?

Keep running, you're simply the best, you inspire me!