My legs are tired

I just ran 18 miles. It was amazing.

I woke up to my alarm at 6:00 a.m. and decided that there was no way I was getting up for another 10 minutes. So I hit snooze. I must have actually hit dismiss, though, because my alarm never went off again. Instead, I woke up at 7. A little later than I wanted to get out there, but I wasn't about to not run because of a little late start. I mean, 18 miles... it was going to be a big day.

Maybe two miles into my run, I felt pretty tired and was actually starting to question whether I'd make it the whole 18 miles. Maybe I'll just stop after a half marathon, I told myself. But I quickly shooed that me away and continued plodding forward.

On a side note, I am eating eggs and vegetables right now, and there are mushrooms in here that taste kind of like fish.

There were a few parts of my run where I felt a little wave of nausea come over me. It was weird... they just lasted for 5 seconds. Wonder if it was because of the gels I was taking? Here's what I consumed today: Pre-run cup of Gatorade, a nibble of a Clif Bar and supplements (glucosamine, calcium, multivitamin and fish oil), then caffeinated energy gel with a few laps of water at Miles 8, 10.5 and 16. Today I didn't drink any water except for when I was taking gels.

I also realized that I haven't been getting side cramps much anymore. I used to get them about 2 miles into my run, every time I ran. I only noticed that hadn't been happening anymore when I got the suggestion of a cramp around Mile 10 today, but it only lasted for a few seconds. Not complaining... I welcome their absence. They were/are mildly irritating.

Oh, it rained, too. For probably the last hour of my run. Started out quite nice... like a mist, and it was cool since it was pretty fresco outside—very refreshing. The rain picked up in my last two miles, not bad though.

I finished my run in 2:50:20, meaning it took just a bit longer than it took me to run 17 miles last week. I was hoping that'd happen. I still can't get over the fact that I'm somehow able to run for 3 hours. It's kind of mind-boggling, considering that one year ago I couldn't even conceive of running for a half-hour.

One other neat thing to report... I tied my keys to my shoelaces today, and after my run, when I lifted my foot to the step outside my apartment building to untie my laces and retrieve my keys, my feet were twitching uncontrollably... much like the severed leg of an insect, actually, but faster. It was pretty much the neatest thing ever.

And now my upper legs are ridiculously tired. So are the bottoms of my feet. I've been walking/sitting/standing/lying for the past hour or so and they've gotten a little better. Breakfast undoubtedly helped.

Other life news: I just received some Fleur de Sel from le Saunier de Camargue in the mail, and it's fantastic salt. I'm growing a kombucha mother in my pantry (will be ready in 11 days or so). My little brother graduated high school, finally. And we're celebrating Belgian Beerday in my apartment today.

Pace: 9:28