6 Miles and the bigger race

Yesterday I ran (ahem...I use the phrase "ran" rather freely. I jogged about 1/2 of it, power walked the other half) 6 miles last night in 93 minutes. That translates to 15.5 minutes per mile. Not stellar, but steady for me. Because the Spokane Marathon states in it's rules that you cannot run with headphones on, I ran it without. It was the first time I ran without headphones, so I was stuck with just the noise in my head for an hour and a half. The voices went something like this:

Mile 1: Just walk, your calves need to warm up.

Mile 2: Ok, they're flippin warmed up now, they're @#$% BURNING! What have I committed myself to? Why am I doing this? What was I thinking? Oh, look at that nice house...

Mile 3: Running now, downhill, but still, running! It's nice out tonight, just cool enough.

"All I want is a proper cup of coffee made in a proper copper coffee pot,
I might be off my duck, but I want a proper cup of coffee from a proper copper pot.
Iron coffee pots and tin coffee pots don't do so much for me,
if I can't have a proper cup of coffee from a copper coffee pot then I'll have a cup of tea"

....Song running through my head courtesy of "Trout Fishing in America", Oliver's favorite band right now.

Mile 4: Dude, I'm BADASS! (still downhill at this point)...Then, I had to pay the piper. All that downhill meant I had to go UP at some point. A new route tonight meant a lot of uphill but a very good glute workout.

Mile 5: I only have 2 miles left, I only have 2 miles left, "All I want is a proper cup of ARRRRRGGG GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!"

Mile 6: As the sweet little Punjabi man shuffling along on the sidewalk across the street was gaining on me, I somehow found the energy to beat his 85 year old bones to the crosswalk. I am soooooo coool!

But, I did it. Every long run on a Sunday means I've gone further than I've ever run (or hiked for that matter, my longest backpacking adventure was 5 miles...I am such an outdoors woman!) so it's an accomplishment for me every time. October 11, here I come!

Speaking of marathons...My friend Dana, AKA Mommybrain and Toddlerbrain, (you may remember the sandwich pictures just for her pregnant tummy!) is having some issues with pre-term contractions that are being somewhat persistent. If you have time, please drop by her blog and leave a note of encouragement! She is a WONDERFUL mom, funny lady, and good friend. It breaks my heart that someone who is trying her best to be a great mom and wife still has to suffer through scary times like these. Pulling for ya girl!