27 miles of training

So yesterday I finished my very last long training walk. I did 27 slow miles with friends. My goal was just to be on my feet for 9 hours (though it ended up being longer than that because I was hurting and took lots of breaks). I had decided long ago that my training for this marathon, since I needed to prepare for 8-9 hours on my feet, would be accomplished by walking, rather than running. Running for 8-9 hours would mean a crazy number of miles.

I was a little worried the day was going to be a wreck when my very first friend wasn't at our designated meet point on time. I texted her a couple times and was trying to figure out what to do when she called to say she'd completely forgotten and was so sorry. So I decided I'd drive to the start point and start solo.

At 6 a.m.

In the dark.

I called hubby to let him know this was the new plan and he wanted me to wait until it was light out or I had company, but since I already was going to be walking until 3:00, and I was awake and at the lake, I didn't want to.

So I started off solo and in less than 3 minutes had another text from that same friend saying she could pull on clothes real quick and be there to meet me in about 10 minutes. I told her that would be awesome if she didn't mind. So I kept walking and within 15 minutes of my start, I was walking with a friend.

And then the trend continued. I counted each "shift" as lasting one hour. I planned some friends would do singles and some would do doubles. Some people had joined me for a shift on one of my other training walks, some came out to keep me company for the first time. One friend had 6 miles of running on her schedule that day, so she ran 3 on her own, then met me to walk a double, and was planning to run the remaining 3 to her car after she passed me off to another friend, but she said that walking with friends was so much more fun than running alone, so she ended up walking a triple shift -- 9 miles and an entire loop around the lake.

One of the suprises of the day was that I walked with the wife of one of my best running friends for the first time. It was the first time we'd had a lengthy conversation alone. Before we'd always been in a crowd, and almost always with her husband, so I didn't feel like I knew her very well. But when she heard I was walking, and she extracted a promise from me that there really wouldn't be any running, she said she'd join me.

The funny thing was, talking to her, I could see why I like running with her husband so much. He's an awesome, sweet and fun guy. And talking to her, I can see that they're a great match -- she was so interesting and friendly and we really had a great conversation. The three miles we walked together were over before either of us realized it. Another high point of our talk was that I realized she is really excited about a possible trip to Germany next year. I'd asked him a few months ago if he'd want to run Berlin in 2013 when I do (not run together since he's a lot faster than I am, but run the same race the same day). He'd said he'd check with his wife and think about it. She told me that she's been researching the race and sending him all kinds of info to convince him he should do it. That would be a lot of fun.

But by the time I got to about mile 23, I was starting to really struggle. My shoulders were hurting from the pack, and I was having tons of pre-blister foot pain. I actually stopped at mile 25 because of some really sharp pain in my right foot (the one I'd attempted to protect with moleskin). I stopped and took off my shoe and sock and it was clear a blister had formed and popped. Ugh. But when I started walking again, it was actually a bit less painful. And while I'm still hurting a bit today, I don't think it's even close to as sore as I was last time.

So now I'm officially tapering. I'm going to try to do a bit more time with the pack, but no more long walks. I will try to do one more long run with the vest next weekend, and that will be it.

Anyway, I decided to celebrate yesterday's feat with the most unhealthy meal ever. There is this restaurant here, Snuffer's, that is famous for their cheese fries. I eat there now maybe once every 2-3 years. But that was my planned reward for finishing my final training walk. I went and ate more than half a large order of cheese fries. I was a bit disappointed I couldn't finish, but I think it's safe to say I replenished the 2700 calories I burned on my walk!

Haha, thank goodness this isn't someplace I eat often! Neither my stomach nor my waist could handle it...

A few photos from the day (and note, in the pic of the cheese fries, that is the closest hubby's hand ever got to that plate -- he didn't eat a single one.  I don't understand how  they're not appealing to him...) (and the dark photo is a very distant view of downtown Dallas from my starting point):