The Best Bday Party= 33 Miles + Remember.

Well, it happened and it was an experience I will never ever forget.  I had some really important people in my life meeting me all along the 33 miles, which turned it into the best birthday party.  Oh and the French toast… that was the best form of birthday cake on the planet.

Things started at 5:30 in the morning with three of my good friends.  We all were shocked over how nice the weather was.

Running with friends = the time flies by and I love getting to really talk to people with zero distractions while we are running… They joined me for 15 miles.

Then I met Andrew and the girls at Kneaders before Andrew took Brooke to school.

I didn’t have the strawberries and whipped cream but demolished the French toast and syrup.  I felt like I had the biggest burst of energy after eating these, so I might take some to my race:). I also took my Nanohydr8 with my breakfast so that probably helped too.

After the French toast Brooke wanted to join me for about .3 miles which was so much fun.  Then I ran for a minute over to where Candice was parked and she did 11 with me!

Jess met us, then my sis and Megan D.  It was so much fun and they kept me entertained with some really great stories.

Andrew did the last 8 miles with me while my mom had Skye!

A new Personal Distance Record!  The farthest I have ever gone before yesterday was 28 miles (about 8 years ago), so it was really fun to hit a new record and feel so good during it.  I did stop my Garmin for the Kneader’s stop and a few short breaks!

Here are 15 thoughts that I had from the experience.

*It felt so good to run outside in shorts.  It started in the 40s and then dropped down into the high 30s.  It got pretty windy and started to snow a little bit towards the end but the snow/rain storm waited to roll in until I was done with my run.  It was night and day compared to the week before ha.

*Fuel. Is. Everything.  I felt 500 times better for the 33 miler vs the 25 the week before (during the snow storm which made it really hard for me to fuel properly).  I fueled EVERY 30 minutes, on the dot.  I ate a pb and j sandwich on the way to meet my friends and then took these waffles (which were great), gummy bears and gels every 30 minutes along with the French toast stop.  I also had 2 24 ounces of Powerade along with a lot of water throughout the miles.

*And finished with Megan D’s cookies (she is selling them now… they are heaven) and a protein bar.

*And then the candy Candice gave me and then the candy Megan gave me too.

*Murph reminded me the other day in the comments… “Don’t forget to wear your lucky shorts or lucky socks!  Every runner has a clothing item or pair of shoes they prefer as ‘lucky’ but no one wants to admit they could be just a TINY bit superstitious.”  So I made sure to wear my lucky sports bra (what I wore for the St. George Marathon… a $15 one I got at Old Navy that for some reason I really love).

*I felt like I could have kept going which gave me a big confidence boost for race day… much different than the previous week.

*I don’t remember who told me this but they gave me the tip to break up the run to 3 x 11 miles.  Doing that made it so much easier mentally to realize I COULD DO IT before I started.

*Andrew was the event planner:). I just had my friends and sister text him to get my location whenever they were ready to meet up for some miles.  He did an excellent job coordinating the miles.

*Blue ice/snow.  The Caldera 3s are my absolute favorites for this ultra training.  I wanted to get in a dress rehearsal with my shoes and pack for this long run.  I have zero blisters and very happy feet after this run which I think is a huge accomplishment.  I also finished with zero chafing (I rubbed Dove deodorant all over my normal chafing spots which is what saved me).

*I tried to keep moving as much as possible (ps don’t you love the balloon that Rebecca tied on to my pack?).  If a friend needed to use the restroom then I just kept moving and looking like a crazy person running around the parking lot.  On race day I will be power hiking on the ups and taking walking breaks for fueling etc but I tried to keep moving as much as possible yesterday because we weren’t climbing a lot of hills or anything (900 ft of elevation gain).   I took about 15 minutes to sit at Kneader’s and then stops to hug friends, but that’s about it.

*It has been months and months since I have run up my favorite canyon.  It was so nice to have a chance to go up (a few times) for the run yesterday.

*I can honestly say I had so much fun doing this.  It probably won’t be a yearly tradition (#IWantMoreBabies) but it was a blast and when I told Andrew how much fun I was having at mile 32 I think he thought I was crazy.

And a few pictures from the rest of the day because I should really get in bed (I write my posts at night) ha!

Andrew sent me to get a massage and then my sister watched the kids so we could go get dinner together.

PS A storm came through in the early afternoon.. I am so lucky it waited for me to run:)

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I hope you have a Happy Valentines Day today!  My heart goes out to any of you that are feeling sad, lonely or lost today.   The biggest thing I learned from some pretty lonely days in the past is that today is really a day to celebrate the love we have for anybody/any pet/any passion/anything.. not just a significant other.  Your favorite Target employee that is so nice when they ring you up, your love for running or your running partners, your dog, your neighbor, your family, fresh air, chocolate… anything.  Like always, I’m here to talk if you are EVER feeling lonely.

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Would you rather receive chocolate, fruity candy or flowers today?

-A mixture of fruity/sour candy from Winco bins please.

Have a favorite birthday present that you’ve received in the past?

Have any running superstitions or good luck charms (in life or running)?

What is your current personal distance record?