18 miles

I woke up this morning and my tummy felt uneasy. I wasn't sure if it was because I was nervous about running 18 miles or if I was ill. I started to call Ty and cancel, but since I had taken today as a vacation day to do this long run, and who knows how I'll feel on marathon day, I decided to go anyway. Just in case, I took an Imodium before I left the house. I packed four bottles of fluids, one of Heed, and three of Perpetuem, and threw a few gels into my waist pouch. I met Ty and Lisa at the library next to the park. The park has a one-mile paved loop for walking/running. We started by walking then began jogging. Ty and Lisa run here often and have a routine of walking up two hills, about a half-mile apart, and jogging the space in between. This sounded like a good plan to me. A couple of miles into it, Dee Dee joined us for a few laps. I felt okay until we had completed about 7 miles. At that point, I had to make a pit-stop. Glad there is a bathroom at the park. I popped an Imodium while there. I caught back up with them and we continued. I felt progressively worse. At about 12-13 miles, I needed to go slower and told them to continue on without me and that I would follow along at a slower pace. I almost quit because I was feeling so bad, but because this was my first long run with them, I didn't want them to think I couldn't do the distance, so I kept going. I slowed a little and added another walk break. I also switched from Perpetuem to water. I didn't like the consistency of the Perpetuem and was craving water. Bryan was coaching tennis on the courts at the park and cheered for me each time I ran past the tennis courts. He asked me each time how many more laps and said he would run the last one with me if he was between clients. I was glad to have his encouragement. It was hot and humid. Thankfully, I started feeling better for the last 3-4 miles. I finished about a mile after Ty and Lisa in 4 hours and 5 minutes. It was a lot slower than I had hoped, but considering the heat, humidity, and me feeling ill, I consider it a success. Yay!

After arriving home I ran straight to the bathroom and that's where I stayed for most of the afternoon. Sometimes I have tummy issues during/after longer runs so I still wasn't sure if it was running related or illness. But when Kyra came home from school with similar symptoms, I figured we must both have a stomach virus. Bummer!

After my shower, I screamed when I walked into the living room and found Tasha proudly looking at her "kill". There was a dead mouse in front of her! She must have killed it and brought it inside. YUCK!!!