Holy Crap That Was Hard!

So yesterday was a group run in Marin. It was a gorgeous day north of SF and it promised to be a great run....then we started running and realized, "Holy crap it is hot out here!" We all were hydrating as much as possible. There were several water stops along the way. Kael and I were running strong and keeping focused. We were mentally trying to decide if were were going to do 9.75 miles or 11.75 miles. There was a loop once we got to Tiburon that we needed to do to add mileage to get to the 9.75 distance. If we wanted to get closer to the 12 miles that we had anticipated doing then we needed to do that loop 2 times. April, our head run coach, had mentioned that the loop had a short but steep hill on it. So of course that was in the back of my thoughts the whole distance!
We ran through downtown Tiburon...wow the views were awesome! Once we got to either the turn around point or the point where the hill was we obviously decided to add to the mileage and climb the hill. After running what seemed a long time uphill I huffed and puffed and then finally blew out, "this is not a SHORT hill!" Kael laughed it off and of course we kept going...and going...and so did the hill! Once we got back down the hill I was ready to call it quits and run back to the car and I was honestly going to be happy with having ran 9.75 miles. But then Kael and I stood there just sort of thinking about it and wondering if we should go for it....and of course we did! We ran up the flipping hill again and it did seem to go a bit faster the second time then the first.
Though after running up that hill and back down it and then knowing that I had at least 2 miles back to the car I really did want to cry! My legs were starting to turn to jello. This was the furthest I have ever ran before and my body was starting to get angry with me. We stopped at the water stop to chug-a-lug water and then we took off again. Off and on on the way back to the car I had to walk b/c my legs just didn't feel like they could continue running. But of course they did.....
Kael and I ran 11.75 miles that day...it was hard and we were tired, but we have almost officially hit the 1/2 marathon distance and we still have 3 months to train.....so we are thinking of pushing to train seriously for the full....
I am open to the idea of doing it, however I will listen to my body and if it just can't handle it, then I'll be happy with the 1/2. Hell it only took me 2.5 hours to run 11.75 miles....that is faster then I even imagined!
All I have to say is that WE ROCK!
I do want to put in a special thank you for one of our honorees. She was in the school yard with her family and when Kael and I rounded the corner she was there with her 2 kids and her husband cheering us on to the finish line. I didn't have my glasses and so I didn't know who it was cheering us on. So as we started to run past her I said thank you to her and her family....her response, "No thank you for doing this." Then I realized it was Gretchen there to cheer us on.
The running has been difficult, but the one of our honorees will come out to a practice and talk to us and cheer us on and say such heartfelt thank yous that in all honesty I can't imagine not doing this event.....
So to our honorees....thank you for keeping me going!