20 km run

Today was the last long run before the half marathon.  20 kms.  I had not run in two weeks.  Kevin was concerned I may injure myself.  I know my body and was confident I would decipher it's whispers.  The run was fabulous - until 17 km - when I encountered what they call "the wall".  Now, I have heard of the wall, but never encountered it.  It is the moment during a run where your legs feel like 50 pound weights have been tied to your ankles, you can't breath and you feel like you can not move forward a single inch.  I saw the wall in the distance.  I thought I could be sneaky and avoid it.  I walked a bit to rest, took sips of my Gatorade, mentally pictured my success, closed my eyes for a moment to regroup.   I opened my eyes and smacked right into the wall full force.  My body lay in a metaphoric heap at the base of the wall.  I considered ending the run.  I could not go on.  Or could I?  I looked for a way around the wall and realized the only way to overcome it was to go over it.  I reached up and dug my fingers into the wall hauling my beaten body up inch by inch.  Fingernails broke off, blood, sweat, tears...it was ugly.  I reached the top and threw myself over the top.  I crashed to the ground on the other side laying in another metaphoric heap, surrounded by a cloud of dust.  The dust cleared, I was alive.  I overcame "the wall".  I picked myself up and finished the last 3 kms of my run.  I did it!  YAY!  I got home, stretched, stood in the shower hosing my legs down with cold water, had a shower, took some aspirin with built in muscle relaxers (thank you Linda!) made the best turkey sandwich of my life and crawled on the couch.  I am glad today is over, proud of myself and so excited I leave in 10 days for Italy!!!!

"The long run is what puts the tiger in the cat." - Bill Squires