Success!

Happy to report we finished our 15 and 17 milers with success - and no crying! We felt as good as possible - you know, given minor aches and pains that come along with hours of running - and we seem to be recovering well. We crossed the (self-imposed) finish line side by side and we were elated to stop - although we both felt that we could have kept going, which is good considering that next weekend we will each have to run a mile longer.

On our new route we saw a lot of things to keep our minds off of the run, including a lot of beach bbqs (I so wanted to grab someone's beer as we ran by), houses for sale that we wish we could buy, volleyball games, boats and children wrestling. We even ran through the middle of some awards ceremony - for a running race, ironically.

As I was running yesterday I was also thinking about what I've learned during these last 10 weeks or so, in regards to training for a marathon. Some of these include:

1) Turning the bottle on my fuel belt to the front feels a heck of a lot better on my back - and way less bouncy (discovered, oh, yesterday - in week 10!)

2) There really is a lot of road kill - who picks those all up, anyway?

3) Under Armour makes the absolute best shirt for running and Asics rock

4) Eating is more fun than ever

5) Advil is a miracle

6) It really does help to have people cheering you on - and making dinner for you while you are out running (thanks Charise and Jeff!). Which makes us slightly bummed that our first marathon is so far away and none of our family or friends will be there.

7) Running a marathon is like buying a new car - suddenly everyone you know has (done) it.

I kept that last point in mind a lot while I ran - being a (slightly) competitive person, it motivates me to think of all the people I know who have already done this - many more than once. So if they can do it, so can I!

Next week - 18!