Ouch!

Hurricane Ike spared Austin. I'd have loved some rain, but I'm happy we avoided any damaging wind. And I'm happy I was able to get the Saturday morning run in.

The Saturday morning run looked uncertain as late as Friday night. Yes, the funk had me hoping for a day off, but I still went through all the Friday motions anyway; I hydrated carefully all day, ate dinner early, shaved the legs, gathered the running stuff, and set the alarm.

In the morning Ruth's note on the website said "we're on." Skeptical, I checked the weather radar online, and it looked safe.

Thankfully the coaches decided to put off the "soul buster" run until next week. With all of my preoccupation with the hurricane and with Ken leaving town for the weekend I would not have had a chance to familiarize myself with the run and visualize it. I would not have been able to take full advantage of it and get out of it what its inventor intends.

But we still ran Mt. Bonnell. And I have a full appreciation for that m-f'er.

I ran the course as my coaches recommended we run it - hit it hard in the final three or so miles at marathon goal pace.

I don't know what my pace was (remind me to ask Santa for a 405), but I was pushing. I felt okay along Lake Austin Blvd and across the MoPac bridge until I felt the fatigue creep into my legs and up through my torso and down my arms. It's a really bad feeling. I'm afraid of it. It's one (just one - there is at least one other) of the fears that I had to confess to my coach when he suggested that I'm afraid. I thought of Kamran's remark that he spent some time training for 5K's so he could find out how much it hurt. I reminded myself that it's SUPPOSED to f'n hurt.

Sure, I slowed down and got passed there in the last half mile. But I think I got more out of that run than just 18 miles that took me up and over (and up and over) Mt. Bonnell. These training runs are for "that which you fear the most" to "meet you halfway." In this case it met me in the last mile.

Hello, pain. I'm Kate. I'm going to stop avoiding you.

Thanks, Coach.