20 miler, 20 ounces, 20 reasons to keep going…..

“20 miler” is pretty self explanatory.  “20 ounces” might need some context…

This morning was my first 20 miler of this training season and Meaghan’s second.  It was warm and humid early on, only to get hot and humid before we were done.  No worries though; for I planted two water stops along the way.  Turns out, we would need a bigger boat fluid source!

Halfway through the run, the heat was getting to us both.  You know that woozy feeling you get when your head decides that running is a terrible idea, even though your legs keep working.  Yep, that’s the feeling.  The 10 mile mark was the home of the first water stop.  The guardrail along the street was supposed to serve only as a good place to stash the badly needed water and Gatorade.  Today however, the guardrail also served as a chair.  For me.  Meaghan took the pavement.  What?  We’re sitting?  We got up and headed toward the second water stop at mile 15.

After our water stop at mile 15, Meaghan suddenly needed a Coke – or some soda with full sugar and bubbles.  Fortunately, we were running through Governer’s Academy at that point.  There has to be a coke machine somewhere, right?  Problem was, neither of us had a dime on us.  And clearly, we’d need at least $1.50.  Never fear, Meaghan’s here!  “Excuse me….”

Yep, as a girl rode by us on her bike, Meaghan waved her down.  “Excuse me, you’re going to think this is crazy, but….”  Our new friend Lisa-on-the-bicycle would save the day!  She dashed off to her apartment and fetched a dollar and some change and flew back to us.  She seemed stunned that we were running 20 miles.  I was stunned at how nice she was and how apologetic she seemed that she couldn’t give us more.  Really good karma over at Governer’s, really good karma.

We dashed into the air-conditioned Student Center (gotta remember that air-conditioned part next time) to find a glorious vending machine.  No Coke products, but plenty of 20 ounce bottles of Mountain Dew!  After filling Meaghan’s water bottle with the sugar-filled, highly caffeineted, bubblicious soda, I took a couple swigs myself and we were both feeling the jolt we needed.  Hats off to Lisa-on-the-bicycle.  You rock!!

We finished, and we got a good story out of it.

Lastly, the 20 reasons to keep going today –

1. ‘Cuz we could
2. We had nothing better to do
3. We ate/drank to prepare for 20 miles
4. 20’s are supposed to be hard
5. We’re tough
6. Our tans were fading before today
7. There was a breeze during mile 20 (wouldn’t have wanted to miss that!)
8. Good practice for gutting it out in our marathons
9. Used enough body glide for 20 – wouldn’t want that to go to waste
10. Good practice to identify where to apply future body glide (guess I missed a spot)
11. Good mental practice
12. Important for our confidence
13. Important for our stamina
14. Important for our sanity
15. Scott would’ve gotten ultra worried if we hadn’t finished
16. Blogging about a 17.5 mile long run just wouldn’t feel right
17. Nothing better than the 20 mile feeling in your legs
18. Nothing better than a 20 mile “therapy session” with a friend
19. A Century cycle ride covered the same route as ours (couldn’t look bad in front of all those cyclists!)
20. Our new friend Lisa-on-the-bicycle sacrificed $1+ for the Mountain Dew to ensure we keep going!  We had to keep going to make her proud :)

Here's wishing all of you either a Lisa-on-the-bike or a lemonade stand when you need it most!!