Wow...The miles keep coming!

I can't believe how many miles we are putting in each week. 5 miles each day (or there abouts) and 13, 14, 16 + every Saturday! It makes those first few weeks seem like nothing.
On Sunday Nov. 16th Mike & I ran the Silver Strand 1/2 Marathon as part of our training. This was only our 2nd 1/2 marathon, and the 1st was 7 years ago. It started off going really well, but Mike was watching his knee. It had been bothering him since the 14 mile run. About 2 miles in to the run, we had to slow it down to take it easy on it. Since we were running right by the parking lot where our car was parked (about mile 5) Mike made the sad but wise choice to sit the rest of the race out. I continued on my own to the end and let me tell you, it was HOT about 90 on the coast!!! It was not the same not being with Mike at the finish line, but he was there snapping a few pictures and cheering me on!
This past Saturday was the run we have been looking forward to since day one...our Train Run! We caught the train at the Solana Beach station and took it up to Oceanside where we got off and began the 16 mile run back. Off we went on a thankfully much cooler run and before we knew it we had traversed one whole city, to Carlsbad! Mike ran until he needed to give his knee a break, 8 miles. Again, I pressed onward. The miles seemed to go by pretty smoothly until the last one...I began the mental battle of "boy, my feet hurt" or "my legs are tired" and "gee how much further do I really have?". Then out of nowhere a runner behind me just called out as he sprinted by "You're doing great! Keep going" He wasn't even part of the Team, but it made me smile and my stride even picked up a bit. As it turned out, I was only about 3/4 of a mile from finishing! That was the longest run I have ever done and I can hardly believe that in weeks Mike & I will run 18, then 20 and then 26.2!
After the run we joined some of the Team for pizza...We are always starving after our runs! One of the more seasoned runners made the comment that the first 15 to 18 miles of marathon running aren't so bad, but at some point it just becomes a matter of pain management! I can see that! I must say that we are finding that we are recovering much quicker after these long runs than we did earlier on, so our bodies must be getting stronger!