Dieciocho

That means 18 for you non-Spanish speakers out there:) I ran 18 miles today and I didn't even die. Sure, I came close a few times and my feet sounded like hammers on the pavement by the end but I finished---in freaking 2:46:00---which is a 9:16 mile average! This goes down in history as both the longest run I've ever done and probably the fastest, too.

I found a new running partner named Krista who is basically a badass. She's the crazy one who ran two half marathons and a full last spring and is planning on another full and half this fall. She also hasn't run more than 8 miles all summer and managed to bang out 18 like it was nothing. Me on the other hand? I've been training all summer long like it is my job and I was struggling on this run.

We stopped 4 times to stretch, drink, and eat and we stopped the clock on those breaks---which may or may not be cheating? I forced us to walk a half of a mile at 15 to regain composure but other than that it was pretty flipping fabulous to complete such a daunting run. It was full of lots of good conversation which I'm finding helps a whole lot on the longer runs. Who knew? :)

And now, dear readers, I feel that you need a dose of harsh reality: Running isn't all puppy dogs and rainbows. In fact, it's nearly impossible to be a foot model while training for a marathon as evidenced by my hideous feet right now. I have developed some wicked blisters on the tips of my toes [weird! and kind of freaky] that deserve their moment in the spotlight.

Here are my feet right after a run. Please look closely at my third toes on each foot. And yes, that is a tattoo on my big toe--it fades out after a run, but it's a star with an arrow going through it:

So then on Rightie there is this monster:

I'm pretty sure it's a bad thing when the blister goes underneath my toenail, right? I've heard horror stories about runners losing their toenails and I don't want that to be me! It hurts like a little biyatch, too.

Then Leftie is sporting this sucker:

This one has gone down a bit and is now more of a callous but it's still painful. It's just not as frightening as Rightie's new addition.

I'm sure these bad boys have something to do with my new shoes but also... once you start running for nearly three hours something has to give, right? I just hope they don't get much worse or I might have to get brave with a needle [I love that stuff, you know]. I thought the other runners out there might appreciate the dirty details of training:)

So now the rest of my weekend is fabulously full: I'm off all day today since I worked on Sunday. Today I get a massage that I've been putting off for far too long. Then we are going to the Brewers game tonight and I cannot wait for the sausage races and a nice cold beer. Tomorrow we are going to Madison for a wedding all day long [squeeee!] and then Sunday Nate is leaving me for Minnesota where he'll visit a friend until Tuesday. Lots of pictures to follow for sure and I promise no more blister pictures [for now at least].