I chose to honour the situation by buying really beautiful and expensive new kicks. Damn, they are nice.

I didn't do any running this week since this very embarrassing incident last Friday where I fainted in the doctor's office after getting a shot. I was tired and hadn't eaten anything...but still! I'm not exactly the fainting type. I was worried that my blood volume was low from dehydration associated with running, so I took some time off to recoup. I even canceled my blood donation appointment because of this. Unfortunate.

But after a week of slacking, I felt restless. I decided that I was going to a) put my new shoes to the test, and b) see if I was strong-willed enough to run a long distance solo. Since our last long distance was 10 miles, I figured it was fair to try for 11.

It was hard, but I did it. Because I'd barely moved my body all week, I felt like garbage from the beginning. I was cramped from neck to navel the entire first quarter; luckily this dissipated after a long walk break across the giant bridge. The second quarter was boring. The third quarter was kind of scary because it had suddenly gotten dark and I was paranoid about tripping (this was slow quarter). The fourth was full of exhaustion and stiffness in my joints and muscles. In the end it took me just over 2 hours to run the distance...

At first I was beating myself up thinking "good job, Kate. At this pace it'll take you 5 and half hours to run the marathon"...but then I realised that I had just run ELEVEN effing miles, with nothing but my own volition to keep me going! With that in mind, there was nothing else I could do but accept the fact that I'm a superstar.

;)