"You owned that run!"

SATURDAY
Slept in until 8am and woke up ready to run! The 16 assigned miles sounded so much easier then 20 the prior weekend. Jeff and I headed over to Alki. From my 1st step of the run, I felt strong and focused. Stella prevailed through out the entire run. My average pace was 8:43. I finished hard, as assigned. It felt GREAT and I was pumped up!!! Jeff proclaimed "You owned that run!" Look out, Canada, here comes Stella.

SUNDAY
My schedule read: 115 miles!! Last super long ride!!! Follow race day nutrition. Transition run: 1 hour.

I am an exceptionally directionally challenged human being, very prone to getting lost. I really wanted to focus on riding rather then staring at maps, so I signed up for the Sound to Mountains Ride (Seattle to North Bend). This way, I just had to follow the painted blue anteaters on the road. The ride was 104 miles. In order to get the additional mileage, Jeff and I rode from home to the start at Magnuson Park. It was actually really peaceful riding at 6:30am in the mist. From the start, we turned out of Magnuson onto the Burke Gilman Trail and the mist became more like drizzle. The route took us from Seattle to Bothell to Snohomish to Lake Stevens to Munroe to Duvall to Carnation to North Bend. The rain was steady through about 60% of the ride with a slight wind. It was not comfortable.

Around mile 50 of 115, my mind starting playing tricks on me. It was screaming - I don't want to be here, why am I riding in the rain? For the next 15 miles, my mind drifted. My sunglass lenses were covered inside and out with drops of water making it difficult to see the directional anteaters. Then, I saw a rider coming toward me heading in the opposite direction in a TN Multisports jersey. She was tucked down in her bars in a tight aero/racing position, laser focused, and moving lightening fast. It was Johna Koenig! She did not see me, but she sent me a message loud and clear. Get on it, slacker! I snapped out of it. Thank you, Johna.

At mile 65 of 115, I stopped at the ride rest station and had a croissant and sent a text message to Jeff who was at mile 77. I am pretty sure that croissants are the way to go mid ride. It tasted fantastic! Maybe I should have a croissant with butter and jam in my special needs bag in Canada.

Speaking of eating, during a ride like this, I need to eat around 250-300 calories per hour and about 1000mg of sodium. This alone can be daunting. Here is a partial list of what I ate during the ride.

CarboPro= 450 Calories,
Electrolite Pills=24 = 4000 mg sodium
Power Bar Gels= 5 = 550 Calories, 135g carbs, 1000mg sodium
Power Bar Fruit Smoothie Energy Barb=220 calories, 43g carbs, 180mg sodium
Organic Energy Chews=320 calories, 80g carbs, 160 mg sodium
Croissant = 231 calories, 26g carbs, 424mg sodium
Other energy chews and shot blocks, ran out so I do not have the nutritional information

Back to the ride, the rain continued to come down pretty steadily. The course was on the hilly side. Little by little, I made my way to Bybee Nims Farm in North Bend, the finish line and the location of our car which we parked the night before. At mile 110, there was a never ending, killer hill up to Snoqualmie Falls. Just like Yellow Lake Pass in Canada! When I arrived at the Farm, there were 5 volunteers clapping. I was SO GLAD to see them. My bike computer read 117 miles. I did it! My longest ride!

Jeff was my bike catcher, as he reached to grab my bike, I was in a bit of a fog. He told me that he had finished his run and that I needed to get out there. I changed and headed out again. My slow run took me down a country road where I saw a deer and a friendly dog decided to run with me for a few minutes. Stella was no where in sight.

Sunday was my hardest training day EVER. It was designed to be that way. Riding on Sunday after the fatigue from the run on Saturday is going to help me in Canada. (well, it better!) Today, Monday, my muscles are stiff and the couch is my friend.