12 Miler down...and some work bitterness

Well as we all know, my half marathon training has been sporadic at best the last month or two. I really really wanted to knock out a 12 before Napa on July 19th, as much for my mental confidence as for the physical training benefit. I decided yesterday was the day, and I set my alarm for 5am to try to get it done before it got hot. The high yesterday was 94 and it was pretty humid. The first 7 miles were flat, then the last 5 were the Cooper River Bridge with its steep hills. By the time I got to the start of the bridge, I was super hot and tired, so I took pretty frequent walk breaks on the uphill portions. I finished up a ultra-pokey 12 miles in 2:22 (slower than my last half marathon in March) but at least I finished! My fuel belt was completely empty by the end, which is unusual for me, and I definitely had the cold-chill feeling. Oh and as I was looking at the very visible salt coating covering my entire body once the sweat dried, I decided to rub and scrub it in as a sort of makeshift salt scrub. Kinda gross, but also kinda cool:)

I came home, drank a Hammer Recoverite and took about a 15 minute ice bath, which sounded great when I was running but in reality I hate them just as much in the summer as in the winter. But they do work wonders for the legs! It was my first time to try the Recoverite but I really liked it. At that point, mixing some powder with water was about all I had the energy to make or consume, and the citrus flavor was not bad at all. While I was ice bathing, Rich made me a delish strawberry vanilla protein smoothie. I typically tend not to eat enough immediately after a long run, and then I spend the rest of the day feeling sluggish and yucky, no matter how much I eat later. After Rich got home at 9 last night, we walked the dogs which I think helped loosen my legs up. I slept in my Recovery Socks and then walked the dogs another mile each (so about 3 miles for me) this morning, and my legs feel great today.

On a side note, today is my Monday..meaning I work today and the next 5 days. Oh wait, actually it's the next 5 evenings, 2:30-11:00. I can't even log onto Facebook because all the "Woohoo 3 day weekend" "It's almost Friday" "I love the 4th of July" messages are just depressing me. Yes, I'm bitter. I shouldn't be, but I am. Working weekends and holidays and evenings sucks. I wonder how many alcohol poisonings and fireworks injuries we will have at the hospital over the next 5 days...at least it should be interesting.