I can run 20, can you?

Well, it happened, I went and ripped off 20! As did my lovely sidekick the Bonnerator! It was an interesting week leading up to this huge day. There were a lot of mixed feelings going on, most of them not good to be honest. As most of you can understand, the thought of going out and running 20 miles can be quite intimidating. And we had run 18 twice, but still, it can just get to you mentally. And that 2 extra miles may not seem like a lot, but menatlly it sure is. Just that number, 20, it sounds so damn far. And where I had such a terrible run on Monday, coupled with the fact that I chose not to run again this week, I really had no idea how this was going to go. The funny thing is, every run is different. Just cause I ran 18 two weeks ago really well, does not for a second mean this 20 miler will be good. It will help you prepare for it of course, but you just never know how you are going to feel once you get out there.

So needless to say, it was one hell of a run for me!!! I kicked 20 miles of ass! So let me set the scene: We knew it would be a scorcha. We got this heat wave that has been up and down the whole left coast. Temperatures reaching 90 degrees Ths-Sat. It has not been that hot, in fact, not even close to that hot all year. So we knew the heat would play a big factor in our run. We show up to run at 6:30 and we are
off at 6:45. It was around 70 when we got there. And as we are told by our runing coach Joe, when you run add 20 degrees to the temperature for what your running temperature will be. Our high for our run was 86 I believe. You do the math.

The run starts off great for me. Towards the end of the week, Bonnie and I decided we were taking a no fear approach to this run, and it helped out a lot. Mentally I was not worried come the day of the run. Our first aid station (where there is water, etc)was at the mile 3 marker. I felt great, it was hot, but I knew it would be a good run for me. By mile 6 I started getting so pumped up for what I was about to accomplish on this run. I had never run this long and I was now glad it was going to be hotter than hell for the entire run. It would make the victory that much sweeter. This attitude helped me through the entire run. Bring it on!

Our friend Kurt caught up with us around mile 9 or so. He is training for the Rock n Roll marathon in San Diego, which is June 1st. Great guy, a good buddy of ours, and he's from Maine. Huge Sox fan. So he was supposed to run 14 for his run and ends up doing our 20 miler with us instead. What a stud. He was having a bbq later on, and he was not going to upstaged by running less than us at his bbq, love it! It was so great bc it was only bonnie and I running, and the more the merrier. It's nice having another new person to talk to. So the run is going good for me. I am sweating my butt off the entire time, but we have aid stations every couple of miles. And our coaches were driving around and offering water in between aid stations. This is what I mean about how nice it is to train with these guys, as opposed to doing it on your own. So no problems for me physically on the run, except my feet kinda bothered me for parts of the run, which was weird, they never do. But not after mile 16. At mile 16, I got into the zone. I mean I felt like I could have run the full at this point. And how sweet is that to feel that good at this point in the run. I started running a little ahead of Bonnie and Kurt. So at mile 18, we are along the water downtown, and I am still feeling good. At mile 19 or so, I start going at probably a 9 mile clip, and suddenly Kurt pulls up next to me. And he is obviously feeling good bc he starts running even faster than I am. So of course I am keeping up with him. I already decided during the run that I was going to finsih this run first out of us three, but Kurt had other ideas.

For the last mile, he and I are now running like 8 minute miles, holy crap. I was not expecting to be sprinting the last of my 20 miles, but oh well. Again, I am not losing. And I just love that silent competition between 2 men. Nothing needed to be said. So we are hauling, and Kurt suddenly forgets about our turn to get back to finish, so I slap him on the back to let him know he was about to now lose. He couldn't recover from his mistake and I finished like a bat out of hell. And I was greeted by Kurt when he pulled in with a nice soaking from his water bottle, ha! So Bonie comes pulling in and I was standing there watching her finish, and I was thinking about what we had just accomplished, and for whom I had done it for, and it was very emotional. This whole damn experience is unbelievably emotional, I swear I am not this sensitive usually.

So Bonnie comes over to me and tells me her GPS says we only ran 19. I am like you gotta be shitting me. Without even thinking, I ask her for her GPS and off I go again. I will not be denied 20 on this day. That last mile was so brutal it wasn't even funny. I was hobbling/running. Every muscle in my legs killed. But I kept talking to my dad saying this is all for you, I do this all for you. I ran my last mile and it hurt so bad, but I did it. I was so damn proud of myself. And imagine how my legs felt after just hauling for what I thought was my last mile on mile 19. I come running in and Kurt asks me if I ran that last mile for bragging rights, and I say no man, I ran it for Big Neil. It was my biggest accomplishment ever, and I will not soon forget the run, but even more than that, how I felt when it was comleted. And how pumped am I to have had such a good run for my first 20 miler. So the good news is, all my real long runs have been a huge success. Let's hope this trend continues.

So we do have a special guest speaker today. That is why I did not write about her run, she has a few words of her own to share. Ladies and gentlemen, the one and only, Bonnie Killion:

Like we say every run, every week....it is all mental. I was freaked out all week because I have not run in 2 weeks! Bright idea blondie, lets get lazy before your biggest run this training season. On top of that I had a few other issues to deal with but I don't want to make this a whining session. So like Sean said, we decided to change our way of thinking about this run this week. Our coach has us running 20 twice so we decided to chalk this one up to NBD (No Big Deal). If we are dying and can't do it or need to stop then we will because we get to rock 20 in 2 weeks. So with this plan in my head, I took it super slow (no personal record's for me on this one!). I'm doing alright pretty much the whole run besides the fact that it is FREAKIN hot, but I think of when I trained in Dallas in midst summer (102 degrees w/ 95% humidity), so this is nothing. At mile 15 was when I started to struggle because of this nice big hill we had to run up for almost a mile, then we turn around and get to go back down the hill - thank god, now I'm feeling OK again.....for about a mile. So at mile 16, Sean & Kurt kick it into high gear and I start getting those damn chills that kill - my body is saying I don't think so. Kurt turns to wait but I tell him to get outta here! (I am at the point right now where I just want to punch somebody, don't care who, anybody.) Long story short, I made it and all because of the 3 men than ran those last 3 torturous miles with me. Thanks Papaw, Dad & Dad(Big Neil)...Love yall.

It's Sean again. Well done Bonnie, not bad for her first blog eh? Before I sign off, I wanted to ask everyone if you remember, please take a moment out of your day on Thursday, May 22nd, to have a moment of acknowledgement on Big Neil's one year anniversary. I can't believe it has already been a year. I would appreciate it, so would my mom. Thanks for reading everyone, and your support helps us out more than you will ever know.

Sean