A Sweet Weekend and a 20 mi Training Run

First off ... don't forget to check out my sidebar for all of my current giveaways! The kids and I have been having a lot of fun this week. You can join in the fun by entering!! GOOD LUCK!

Well, we pretty much had a whole weekend with nothing planned (other than relaxing and running -- if you can call a 20 miler relaxing!?!). My house is pretty much cleaned, all bedsheets have been washed and the laundry is all put away. Little Diva is ready to start school on Wednesday; the backpack is ready to go. I even got out to the grocery store ... all by myself ... can I say complete bliss?! I loaded up on good stuff and fresh fruits and veggies.

My wonderful low-key weekend started with a meet up with three great gals from high school. We met up at Daisy Cafe & Cupcakery (HERE). We loaded up on cupcakes and walked down the street for some pasta at Bunky's (HERE). I don't normally get out to eat in downtown Madison. The atmosphere at both places was really nice and relaxing. We had a great time. Half of the group was pregnant, so we didnt' indulge in drinks. Which was a good thing. I didn't get home until just before 9 pm and then headed out for a quick four miles. Maybe I worked off one of the cupcakes?!? Maybe?!?

I also received the latest additions to my Bondi Band collection on Saturday. I was so giddy to open the package. I wanted some new bright colors (that would match everything). I think you will agree that I succeeded!!! The fabrics always differ from pattern to pattern. I was really happy with what I received. The only bummer is that the Marathon Momma band was sent in brown, where the image showed black on the website. I guess I'll just have to invest in some more brown/pink combination running outfits!!

Remember ... If you want to place an order, use coupon code "FIVE" at checkout to receive 5 Bondi Bands for $25 + shipping. A great deal!

Sunday, I wrote this post (HERE) about hubby and I both having long SOLO runs planned ... and dreading it. It was difficult to manage, but we both did fit it in. You can read hubby's 20 mile not-so-good training run report (HERE). He wasn't feeling it. He got out first thing in the morning, while I cleaned up the house and played outside with the kids. The afternoon consisted of moving our lawn chairs from yard to yard for four hours, while the kids decide which neighbor's swimming pool or sprinkler they were going to play in. We had an early dinner at 4pm, so that I could head out for my evening run.

Here is my 20 mile not-so-good-turned-decent training run report!!:

The forecast was for a high of 88 degrees. I had the windows open in the house in the morning. But, it was quite unbareable after hubby returned from his run and lunchtime. We turned the air conditioning on and it ran all day long.

I had my outfit and running gear all layed out the night before, so that I didn't have to fuss too much about getting it all together once I finally was ready to head out.

I've mentioned before that I have bunions and ugly feet. Since my last marathon, I've been getting blisters on both bunions. Sadly, we were out of blister bandaids, so I accessorized my ugly feet with some leopard print bandaids we had on hand! The kids and I had painted our toenails that afternoon. Yes, even Little Dude got some sparkles on his toes (sorry, he begged for it!).

I also weighed myself quickly before I headed out, because I wanted to see how things differed when I was done.

I had 20-24 miles on tap. I knew that I wasn't going to have enough time or energy for 24 miles or four hours of running last night. After our our early dinner, I loaded up my bags and headed out to the Capital City StateTrail (HERE) at 5 pm. I arrived at Olin Turville Park (HERE) at 5:20 and headed out.

I headed out and two miles in I was already thirsty. My legs were tired and I felt week. At mile four I finally just let myself walk, which I never do. I walked up a huge hill and downed an entire bottle from my fuel belt. I kept going. I ran through a prairie and saw a deer staring at me, less then 20 feet away. It was so neat to see her and gave me some momentum to push on. I wasn't feeling good. The sun was starting to go down and I was headed west. The sun was glaring in my eyes and I didn't bring my shades. My face was dripping with sweat and I was hot. I approached six miles and decided that it was going to get dark before I finished even 15-18 miles. I wasn't feeling well anyway. It really made me realize how much daylight we're losing now and how sad that summer was coming to an end. So, I turned around at mile 6 and headed back. I allowed myself to walk and downed a mint chocolate Gu (HERE). I never walk, so I was feeling helpless and upset with myself and wanted this to be over. My Bondi Band was soaked and my hair was dripping down my back. My neck ached and I felt like I had the chills. As I headed east it was a bit easier, as the sun wasn't in my face. I also ran through some trees and some shade again, which made me cool down a bit. I allowed myself to walk again as I shook out my legs (they felt like lead). During the last three miles, I drank an entire bottle of Gatorade from my handheld water bottle. It tasted like sugar and completely disgusting. All I wanted was water at this point.
I approached the car just over two hours. The Alliant Energy Center said 82 degrees on it, but my car said 88 degrees at 7:30 pm. I'm going with my car, because .... that's how I felt!!

I blasted the AC and pull my goodies out of my cooler. I downed two bottles of ice water and an orange that I had pre-cut. I'm really into eating oranges post-run lately. I also downed a can of Diet Mountain Dew on my way home. I called hubby to let him know that I made it back to the car. I told him that I was coming home to finish out a few miles in our neighborhood. The sun was almost down.

I got home and said hi to Hubby and Little Diva. Little Dude had fallen asleep early while watching a movie. I filled up my handheld water bottle again with ice water, used the restroom, and headed out. It was dark.

I was planning on doing 3 to 4 miles ... maybe 6 if I felt really good. Though my hips felt uncomfortable at first and my legs didn't want to work, that soon eased up. I zig-zagged through the neighborhood and felt great. I was happy to exchange the sun for the moon! It was much cooler, though a bit humid. I felt stinky, sweaty and salty.

At mile four, I decided to just say I was half way done and do 8 miles. I figured that if i felt good enough to do 6, that I wouldn't be happy with myself if I didn't do the extra 2. What's an extra twenty minutes?!

I arrived home at 9:20 pm.

I did it ...... 20 miles done

I took off those pretty leopard print bandaids and had some nasty blisters on top of my other blisters and caluses. I'm definitely going to need a pedicure after this marathon is over.

I weighed myself and was down four lbs from 4 1/2 hrs ... 20 miles ... and seven bottles of water and Gatorade ... earlier. Completely craziness.

What did you conquer this weekend?