Correction....21 miles, not 20!

Well, Amber and I survived our "longest run ever". We intended to do the 20 mile loop that the training group did last Saturday. We had the instructions with us and had even mapped it out on google maps to make sure we wouldn't get lost. Well you would think with all of that preparation, two blondes could figure out the route. Here is the breakdown of the run....

We were supposed to start at Newport on the Levee at 7:00 AM. We had with us the map, 3 packs of jelly beans each, Ipods, fuel belts, pepper spray, tissues, heart rate monitor, visors, sunglasses....you get the drift. It really takes some preparation for these runs and hitting Palomino's for Happy Hour Friday night did not add any real value to my pre-night run routine. (Remind me not to drink the night before the marathon) So we really started at about 7:03. The first couple of miles were pretty good and we warmed up enough that when we passed my Jeep, we took off some layers. It was such a beautiful morning and we saw so many runners, many I am sure were gearing up for the Flying Pig race. One of the highlights of the run was when Bob Roncker himself pulled up next to us while we were running through East Walnut Hills to check and see if we needed any water and how the run was going. Now, I am not used to cars pulling up from behind us while we are running and we were a little concerned before we realized it was him! It was such a nice gesture from him, and we smiled for a good 5 minutes before we realized we still had about 10 miles to go! The part that we got lost at was trying to get on Eastern Ave from Delta Ave. Apparently, at that location where the two roads meet, Eastern Ave is called Riverside Ave. We kept on trying to find Eastern Ave, and went down a "no outlet" road and had to turn around and retrace our steps. While going down this "no outlet" road, Amber says to me very quietly, "I see a dog". We havent told you Amber's dog story, but while living in Tennessee a couple of years ago, she was approached by a dog while out walking through a neighborhood, and it acted like it was going to attack her. For some reason, she had her pepper spray with her that day (she rarely carried it back then), and she sprayed the dog. Dogs make Amber nervous when she is out jogging, so as soon as she saw the dog she pulled out the pepper spray. I had not seen the dog yet, but I could hear it start to bark. As soon as I saw it, I started laughing. It was on a leash in someone's hand and was the size of Toto from Wizard of Oz. I told Amber that even if she didn't have her pepper spray with her, I think we could have taken that dog! Well our run ended well, and we were pleasantly surprised that we had gone 21 miles instead of 20. Ok, we weren't happy about it while we were running, but now looking back, it is kind of funny.

Amber did OK on her ankle, but at intersections or water breaks, she would stretch it and rotate it so it wouldn't get too stiff. She is not going to run anymore until the marathon. She is going to continue "ellipticizing" and cross training up until that point. Today it was a little sore, but she says that it is nothing that she can not handle until after the marathon. Running is definitely a new passion for both of us, and we are even deciding on a fall marathon and plan to go through the training program again. (Maybe Seattle in November?)

I treated myself to a hair appointment yesterday (my last hair appointment was in December), but found sitting in the chair for almost two hours was not very good for my legs. We had planned to go to the HopAround last night so at 5:00 P.M. I downed a Starbucks Cafe Americano (ok, and a big chocolate chip cookie too), before heading out downtown. I am not sure if I hurt more this morning from running the 21 miles or partying too hard! I definitely didnt really get up until after 12! Amber and I did have a little celebrity moment with Gary Sandy as you can tell from the picture. Definitely a rewarding day yesterday accomplishing the 21 miles and meeting a celebrity. Two weeks left before the marathon.....I think we are ready.

Crystal