A marathon is 2 1/2 times more of today?

It's 3:44 in the afternoon on Saturday, June 16, 2007. Today was my longest run ever! And let me tell you, it was no picnic! I went slower than I wanted in order to stay with a group, as it really helps the time go by and we keep each other motivated. Good thing I didn't keep the pace that I wanted to initially because I would have really struggled towards the end. The last mile and a half was tough enough without having over-excerted myself in the first miles. Man, the Chicago Marathon will equal two and a half times more of today's distance- scary.

Today it was already over 80 degrees and ultra humid at only 7 o'clock this morning. However, that didn't seem to dissuade anyone out there. There had to be hundreds and hundreds of runners, walkers, bikers, rowers, and swimmers along the lake front today. It was really inspiring to see so many people out and encouraging each other. As I crossed my way back to base camp one of my mentors, Amy, yelled, "Way to go Jennell! Whooohoo!" Man, that felt so great!

JTH

P.S. My Fred Sanford walk is back and probably for the next few days. Apparently the muscles really take a beating and can really swell once you begin upping your mileage. So I was warned to resist the temptation to return home after the run and take a soothing hot bath. Instead I was instructed to plant my legs in ice cold water for as long as I could take it (this helps limit swelling). I filled the bath tub up with cold water and counted to 10 about 4 different times before plunging my lower body in. Whoa- hello! Invigorating and surprisingly soothing after a couple of minutes. I followed this up with a quick cool shower, some Tylenol (ideally it should be Motrin- anti-inflammatory properties, but all I had was Tylenol), 2 huge cups of water, a bowl of Special K Red Berries with sliced bananas and vanilla soy milk, a documentary on spiders and a two and half hour nap. Such bliss!