Week 10 Long Run...DONE!

You have no clue how nervous I am on Thursday mornings and how happy I am on Thursday afternoons once my long run is done for the week! I seriously was a nervous wreck this morning. I started my day off with an early morning PT session so Shane could work his magic on my back and right leg before my 17 miler. I can tell we have reached that point in therapy when he is feeling like it is probably time for me to spread my wings and fly away. The point where he has taught me every possible exercise and given me every piece of advice but I just won't go away!! I just can't. Not yet. I am willing to space it out for fear of burning thru all my PT sessions in the first 3rd of the year. I am only going to see him now before long runs. Not before taper long run weeks. So basically 3 more times. I am just a little superstitious and when something seems to work I have a hard time changing. So far, I manage to do my long runs on days where he stretches me out, so I am convinced I need this in order for me to make it. See I get addicted to therapy. Not any particular therapist (just to make that absolutely clear for the millionth time) but therapy itself:)  Okay now that we have established I have a physical therapy addiction let's move on to the run itself.

My 17 mile long run was broken down into 2 parts. My favorite part was of course the first part when I ran the first 9 miles with one of my best friends, Jaime. Our goal was to go a slower more comfortable pace from the start. We did that. Jaime is working her way back up in mileage after her return from a second foot stress fracture. She is way too hard on herself b/c while her speed is back for short runs it is taking longer for the long ones. I think she is doing fine and still LOVE LOVE LOVE running with her no matter what the pace. I also know that in no time she will be kicking my butt and I will nearly die trying to keep up. I also know that when we both get bikes this summer and ride together she will kill me there too. Our overall pace for the first 9 miles was 8:57. Here is how it broke down. Jaime might kill me for posting this b/c it has been a LONG time since she has seen a mile pace slower than 9 minutes but keep in mind it was hot!

Mile 1 8:31
Mile 2 8:49
Mile 3 8:42
Mile 4 8:46
Mile 5 8:59
Mile 6 9:04
Mile 7 9:03
Mile 8 9:18
Mile 9 9:25

I will say I felt pretty good during those 9 miles. No real issues at all.
I probably had a 5 minute break while saying goodbye to Jaime, going to the bathroom, refilling water, putting on headphones, etc. Then I headed back out for another 8 miles. I felt okay for the first 4 but was starting to feel my leg more and more during the last 4. I got a little dizzy with 2.5 miles left but that faded. It was hot and I think I did a good job keeping up with fluids and food aside from that one brief episode of not feeling great. Since my first half was a little slower than our norm, I tried to push myself a little harder for the last 8 miles. My overall pace for the last 8 miles was 8:05.
Here is how it breaks downs:

Mile 10 7:56
Mile 11 8:12
Mile 12 8:18
Mile 13 8:10
Mile 14 8:07
Mile 15 8:04
Mile 16 7:59
Mile 17 7:52 (that made me happy b/c I always try and push it in)

I am very proud to have made it to the 17 mile mark. It is a new milestone for me! I'll take it!
Oh and I should mention as for my theory post. Doc says that the Mobic certainly could be causing the edema. I was puffy for about 3 days. I have since gone thru a serious diuresis. This morning alone I had to pee 7 times before my run and I hadn't had one sip of anything to drink. Crazy! Anyhow, I did go have some labs done yesterday to make sure I was not screwing my kidneys. My labs really couldn't look more normal. Okay I had one little thing that was elevated but it didn't matter. My bilirubin was 1.8. Not a number I really care about. My kidneys were just fine. As was everything else we checked. So I figured that meant I was good to go with the Mobic. In fact I took it last night and again this morning b/c of the long run. After my long run I had a message on my phone from my doctor saying despite my normal labs he would recommend I stop it at least temporarily. Ummmm....what?? Normal labs and you want me to make a change. Just kidding. I will try and lay off for a few days. He said switch to Tylenol or even ibuprofen would be better. I was fairly puffy and had only been on it daily for 2.5 weeks. I still need it to work without causing issues for another 8 weeks. So there is the update on that!

Have a great day!