Success

Dictionary.com describes success as:  "the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.

2.  a successful  performance or achievement."

Finally.  I can honestly say today's run was a favorable attempt, a successful achievement.  20 mile runs can often times be daunting, it's a long way from mile one to mile 20.  But, when you have a run like I did today, I can say that 20 miles is a great distance to run. 

I had wanted to run the Umstead Park trail this morning but with all the rain last night, and the ominous sky this morning, I opted for a pavement run in CH.  The Tar Heel 10 Miler course is a hilly course with a one mile uphill climb on Laurel Hill rd., so it provided exactly what I was looking for this morning--HILL work and distance.  I parked at the Starbucks and headed up the one mile long hill of Franklin St., then followed the majority of the Tar Heel course.  I had strategically hidden water bottles along my course prior to starting, every 2-2.5 miles so that I would stay hydrated for certain.  I hit Laurel Hill twice, once at mile 3.4 and again at 13.5.  Success....didn't walk up either time!  Success....nothing slower than 8:45pace today (and the slower times included big uphill battles).  Success....last three miles were the fastest.  Success....didn't dehydrate at all!  Only had a two pound water weight loss today (with 93% humidity, that's pretty good!)  Success....ran the last 7 miles without my music since I neglected to charge the iPod last night.  Success....remained positive, felt relatively strong, didn't quit early.  It's so good to finish a long run on a good note, to feel like you've achieved something great, to leave feeling empowered. 

My only concern was that my quads felt burnt out for the last few miles.  I know my legs have to be strong in order to run the course I ran this morning, but yet they don't feel strong enough.  So the question is, do I weight lift more or run more hills or what?   At least Grandma's Marathon is not this hilly, so perhaps I'll be just fine. 

Other issues...back of knee is still swollen, still hurting, but definitely bearable and better than it had been.  Having a hard time figuring out this gluten-free diet and managing my caloric intake (mostly the carbs), and that's affecting weight loss....  Thankfully, that's all. :)