18 Miles!!!

Wil got us up and moving at 7:05 today. He toasted bagels, I mixed Powerade for our packs. We were out the door at 7:30, loaded with bus passes, cash, and a fistful of chocolate Hammer Gels. Today was 18-mile day.

The sun was very low in the sky when we set out. We ran down to the Fred Meyer, then joined the Burke-Gilman. Steam was rising off the cut and the sky was turning from pink to blue. Gorgeous! We ran under the Fremont Bridge, then out past Gas Works and to the University Bridge. Found our way on to the stairs up to the bridge, and then the real routefinding began. I wasn't sure where exactly to turn down, or if there was a nicer road to run on that would go through. So we stayed on Eastlake all the way to the bottom of the lake. By this point I was already feeling a little tired, though I enjoyed running somewhere new.

Then along the S.L.U.T. tracks to Westlake, where we rejoined our usual route. Over to Dexter, across to 2nd, and then down to Jackson. As we got closer to the stadiums, we started seeing Seahawks jerseys and I was glad that we were down there early because running past crowds of fans wouldn't have been pleasant.

We turned on to the waterfront, and started the trip home. Part of me was thrilled that we were headed home; part of me was worried that we were still 8 miles from home. But on we went, through the sculpture park, running into a 5K/10K course along the way. (We ran on the grass past the finish chute and refrained from hitting the water stop.)

Then past the railyard, where we got stuck behind three people and a dog... none of whom appeared to have any spatial awareness. Luckily, we had just squeezed past them when the cyclist zoomed up the ramp. Yikes! At some point Wil raised his arms and said "wooo!" because we'd completed a half marathon. And weirdly enough be both felt okay.

We made our way up to Gilman (or is it Thorndike?) and kept heading towards the locks. I was really slowing down at this point, but another shot of Hammer Gel perked me up. (mmm, chocolate...). Wil stopped to refill his water bottles at the locks and was stopped by another runner, asking what he puts in the bottles, how long they last him, etc. He very happily told the woman that it was a "10K belt", but that we'd just run 16 miles and he was only now needing a refill. Yay for bragging about miles!

Then across the locks, where the big lock was empty and stinky. Past the Lockspot, and up on to Market. Truly the home stretch now, but I was dragging. To make sure we got the mileage in, we veered down Shilshole towards Fred Meyer. Plod plod plod. Then when we got to 11th we turned for home. Another few blocks up the hill, and we were done. EIGHTEEN MILES.

The last few blocks walking home were really, really rough. My knees, my feet, my calves, my right hip, my right achilles, everything hurt. After we got home and stretched, I could barely make it up the steps to the back door.

Now, a few hours later I am very stiff, very sore. Wil is napping. But did I mention that we ran 18 miles today?