Two goals accomplished in one day!

Today I accomplished two of my personal fitness goals:
1) To run 20 km (in training for my 1/2 marathon) and
2) To run in just a sportsbra and shorts! I have never felt comfortable doing this, but today I did! And Ryan said I looked great.

The run was one of the most challenging runs ever. My legs started stiffening up around 15 km, but what I think really killed me was the 33 degree weather. I know I know, I should have gone earlier; but I tried! I was ready at 10 am, but Ryan always has so much stuff to do before he ever leaves the house we didn't get there till 1 --> the hottest part of the day.

About an hour before the run I drank 1 L of water and had two of my pumpkin-banana spelt cookies! An awesome high-protein snack.

I had done this route before, so I knew what to expect. We rode our bikes 5 km to get there, which warmed up my legs before my pre-run stretch. I waited for my watch to locate the satellites, and then we were off along the Lakeshore trail! Ryan rode his bike next to me, and once in a while he would go off and bike around then come back. But at around 8 km he went off and I didn't find him again until 15 km!!!! He couldn't find me either, but I was dying. He was my water person and I was almost tempted to drink the water out of a decorative fountain. I had to stop twice between 8 km and 15 km (for about 15 seconds each time) because I was cramping. This was the most challenging part of the run. Then, Ryan and I found eachother, and I drank a whole 500 mL bottle water. I immediately felt better, the sun was covered by the clouds, and the remaining 4.5 km was a breeze! The last .5 km was extremely difficult though. I didn't think I could finish, but Ryan was telling me that I could do it, so I pushed through it. And I remembered Lance's quote " Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever". And I knew I would never forgive myself if I quit my run!

So now, after this grueling run, I know that I am capable of doing the 1/2 marathon. I am going to taper down my distance now, and will probably do a lot of 5-10 km runs and a few 12-14 km runs.

What my Garmin had to say:
Distance: 20.01 km
Time: 2:02:41
Calories: 1,269
Average Pace: 6:07 min/km  (I know I was going drastically slower in the second half of the run though)
Average HR: 153
Max HR: 174

Then, we had to ride all of the way back. I'm glad I convinced Ryan to come to fresh with me so that I could have a smoothie. The thought of an ice cold smoothie is pretty much all that kept me going near the end.

Spinach, broccoli, mango, orange, raspberry and greens powder