Loooong Runs

So the last two weekends my long runs have surpassed the furthest distance I've ever run--which is 13.1 miles. I've trained for and completed 5 Half-Marathons so you'd think that one or two extra miles wouldn't be that big of a deal. BUT IT IS.
You see there is a big difference between training for 13.1 miles and just running that distance as part of a training program. The furthest I've run while training for a half is 10 miles. So I wasn't really looking forward to getting up SUPER early last Saturday to essentially run a half-marathon...by myself.
When I'm getting ready for a race its much easier to prepare--I've tapered my mileage for the week before and gotten lots of rest. But since this is just another week of training I wasn't tapering...during the week I ran 15 miles...and I wasn't feeling all that rested! I was sore and I was really crabby that I had to get up at 5:30 to get the long run out of the way. From now on these long runs are going to take well over 2 1/2 hours...yikes! So I'll have to go to bed early on a Friday or Saturday night, stay away from alcohol, eat only healthy food, and not make plans to go out or put myself in any situation where I might injure myself....which for me means walking down stairs in high heels...Sigh.
But I DID IT!!! I got up early on Saturday...well not as early as I wanted...the alarm was set for 5:30 but...well...come on its SATURDAY! But I wanted to be done with the 14 miles by 9:30 because we were leaving to go camping with friends at 11:00.
The run didn't start too well. I was feeling really tired, lethargic and bored. I brought my ipod but decided to leave it in the car for some reason. After about 10 minutes I regretted that decision but there was no way I was going back for it. But after the 4th mile, I started to feel better! I've officially decided that it takes me 4 miles to warm up. After that I get into my groove and feel pretty good. I wouldn't exactly call it a "runners high" or anything, but I feel like I really settle into my stride, my breathing...its almost peaceful. ALMOST. Don't get me wrong--if someone came up to me at mile 7 and said "I will pay you $25 to stop running now." I would seriously consider it.
After I had gone 11 miles I stopped to get a drink. Which wasn't the best move. You'd think that after 11 miles another three wouldn't seem too bad. But while it might hurt to run, it hurts even worse to start up again. I was really getting sore and tired and, YES--bored so I decided to put on my ipod. DUH. I guess all I needed was a little Rhianna and Black Eyed Peas to get me going because those next three miles flew by! And before I knew it--I had run "the furthest I've ever run!" Woo hoo! I'll be saying this a lot from now on....its exciting! Especially when its over!
Today I ran with Anthony which made things MUCH easier. We definitely ran faster than if I had been by myself but he had his SUPER COOL Garmin GPS/robot/personal trainer thing with him (which I REALLY want and NEED by the way.) so it was fun to be able to accurately track how far we'd gone, our pace and the best part...how many calories we burned!
Anthony is one week ahead of me in his training schedule so he only had to run 11 today. But at least I had someone to run with for the majority of the time which was great. According to his Garmin we did 11.6 miles together. So after he left I did the rest of my run--about 3.5 miles....ok...truth be told it was probably just under 15 miles but I really didn't care at that point. The point is its done.
And next week I only have to run 11 miles! Ha! That is so funny to me...ONLY 11 miles.