The Infamous Mile 19

Well, Marathon Fans, it's getting down to the grindstone. The countdown has started: T minus 18 days until the big event! Since realizing that the marathon is less than three weeks away, I've given up drinking, have been going to bed at 10pm, and have stopped eating sugar altogether. Okay, so maybe that last one is a stretch, but the drinking has ceased (believe it or not). I've also calmed down a bit since the show has opened. The weekday rehearsals have stopped, so I now get to actually see my family every once in a while. Proof that I was spending too much time away from home: my little sister didn't recognize my picture in the Crier last week. Luckily, my mom did, so she pointed out the obvious similarities to my doubtful sibling.

If you haven't caught a show yet, check out www.thepear.org for ticket information for Three Sisters, the production I will be in until September's end. I can't promise you that the show will be light, funny, and comedic. In fact, I would highly recommend you have a few drinks before you come to sober up. My parents, who came to see it last Friday, suddenly realized why I've come home this month in such a foul mood. Crying every night on stage while repeatedly berating your job, your love life, and your future will take quite a toll on a young lady such as myself.

The running has been going very well. Hill repeats have become the modus operandi as of late. They stink, there's no way else to describe it, but they get a little easier every time. (Hill repeats, for the novice runner, consists of repeatedly running up a stretch of steep hill, hamstrings straining, calves afire, then resting at the top while your burning lungs are doused with cool oxygen, and then walking down muttering obscenities to yourself about having to repeat that experience 8 more times.) This morning wasn't too bad: I went up around the neighborhood, where there are some long hilly climbs. It was amazing though, to see how the seasons change through a runner's workouts. This morning, for example, was the first time I've seen my breath condense on the exhale. Plus, my headband, riddled with sweat after two hills, froze my forehead on the jog home. Who needs fall foliage? I know Autumn has arrived.

The only running hurdle (if you will) has been my recent separation from the team. Granted, I've been keeping up with my workouts, but I have not seen my teammates in quite some time. It was quite a shock, then, that more than a handful of them showed up at my 25th birthday party this past weekend. It was odd to see them in regular clothes - I almost didn't recognize everybody. It was also a shock to see them at night. We usually blink at each other on our 6am Saturday runs. So jarring was the experience, I asked one of my running buddies (who looked so lovely in her party clothes) for her name and tried to re-introduce myself! You know you've been away from the track too long when.... However, I was pleased as punch that they showed up and we had a great time just shooting some pool and chilling out on a Friday night.

As for the mileage, I was worried about the 20 mile run two weeks ago, but it turned out to be one of the best tests I've had during my training. The morning of, I got up at 6am, and (having slept in my running clothes) threw my shoes in the car to go meet my carpool at Lucky's. Well, 15 minutes later, I suspected I had missed the bus. So, I thought to myself: "Sarah, you have to run today, you can't finagle it at any other time. And you're going to have to do this by yourself. And you haven't brought your iPod." I whimpered a little bit after thinking this. Then, I bought some water, drove around the neighborhood and hid it in various shrubbery, and odometered the route I would run. Starting from the local library, I ran through three towns (Los Altos, Mountain View, Sunnyvale), had some water along the way, looped back to the store in Los Altos, got some more water, and then huffed and puffed back to the library for the last five miles.

Let me tell you, that mile 19 mark is a bitch. There's no polite way to describe it. It is truly a mind-cramping physical browbeating. Your whole body and your whole brain are pounding on you to stop stop stop. And I found myself singing aloud in order to keep going, and when that didn't work, I just started yelling at myself: "Just finish it! Don't quit! Argh! My f***** legs!" (This outburst elicited quite a few glares from the Saturday-morning strolling public.) But, my legs were seriously cramped. I mean, there is nothing like a 'mile 19' to make you a believer in the power of day-before hydration. When I got to the car, it was all I could do not to keel over and cry from sheer joy at the wonder of automatic vehicles. After stretching a little bit, I realized I needed an ice bath, and soon, so I headed home to relax.

The only thing that stinks about finishing the 20 mile run without your teammates is that there is no one to cheer you on and commiserate with you afterwards. That, and I missed out on the ritual Hobee's breakfast gorging. Returning home, I was greeted by Mom, who cannot seem to grasp the importance of looking at least a tiny bit impressed when someone says "I just finished a 20 mile run on paved road, on my own with no music in 4:45." Luckily, Dad was running that far too that day, so when he got home, he said "Great!" and understood why I then needed to take a 2 hour nap.

All in all, I'm getting excited for the event, and since we're only running 10 miles this weekend, I can hardly believe my luck. I mean, I only have to run for 2.5 hours on Saturday, which, crazy as it sounds, is as exciting as finding out you don't have to go into work for a week.