This past weekend it was Kim's turn to run 20 miles. Of course I joined her since I needed to do my long run as well. Just because I ran a 10K the day before doesn't excuse me from my marathon training!
Kim and I have also been really lucky this year to be able to do so many of our long runs together. Good thing, too, since we're planning on running the Milwaukee Marathon together. Of course, at the marathon we'll be both be running the whole thing. No one will be hopping on their bike at any point.
Oh, you may notice in these photos that we're wearing matching tops. We didn't plan that. I showed up at her house on Sunday morning and when she opened the door I realized we were dressed identically. I love it when that happens.
Anyway, we drove over to Independence Grove which is this beautiful park where you can get on the Des Plaines River Trail. We met up with Bobbi who was finishing up her 20 mile run and kept her going for her last four miles. Then we were off to do what was supposed to just be another seven miles for me.
But Kim talked me into doing a total of 14.5 instead of 12. Why? Well, partly because we had to go further to get water than we had originally thought and partly because we figured out on Saturday that if I ran 14.5 I would have 40 miles for the week. I don't think I ever hit 40 miles last year. The allure of having a 4 in front of my mileage for the week was strong.
Doesn't mean I felt strong during that entire 14.5. Oh no. I felt like death for the last 2 miles. Kim was awesome, though, and kept me going.
And then I switched to my bike and encountered another first: first time falling off my bike. Luckily I fell over because I was going too slow and I fell into the grass. An abrasion on my left shin and exacerbating an already bruised toenail were the only damage. Well, and my pride.
Kim finished her last 5.5 miles strong! I don't think I was much help since I was still pretty out of it. I'd neglected to bring enough Shot Bloks and since I originally figured I was only going to run 12 miles I didn't take it all that seriously. Oops. Still, we finished!
The lovely thing about Independence Grove is that in addition to all the trails there's also a small beach on the lake. We went over there after our run to cool off in the water. Natural ice bath!
Okay, it wasn't THAT cold. Well, maybe a little bit. The sun that we wanted to go away while we were running waited until we were in the water to hide behind the clouds. Thanks, sun. Thanks a lot.
Regardless of my struggles it was a fun time and I'm happy Kim had such a good 20 miler. Now I'm really starting to look forward to the marathon!
Long Run with Kim by snmnstrz21 at Garmin Connect - Details
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