My Baby's 16!

First of all, Happy 16th Birthday to my son, Jacob!  When he was born, people would tell me to enjoy every moment because time would pass in the blink of an eye.  These 16 years have truly been "a blink of an eye".  I honestly don't know where the time has gone, but I have been so blessed in watching the years pass and seeing a baby become a toddler become a boy become a young man.  Pretty soon, he will be off to college, and my eyes already fill with tears thinking about it. 

Love you!  Can't wait to see what you do with the rest of your life!!

We spent a very enjoyable weekend camping (and eating too many s'mores, chips, and oreos).  I had a 16 mile run on my schedule, and had every intention of completing it.  On Saturday, I woke up at 5:00 a.m., ate a little breakfast, and set out about 6:00 a.m.  The route I took was absolutely beautiful...I may drive here for every long run.

The sun just starting to peek through the trees

My goal was to complete the run in 3 hours.  I packed my 20-oz hand-held water bottle to bring with me...does anyone see a problem with this plan?  I discovered that this is not nearly enough fluid to keep me hydrated for this long of a period (and, no, there were absolutely no spots for me to refill it).  I was really feeling depleted about mile 12, but figured I could at least finish.  I pushed it to 14 miles, got a raging headache and felt a little dizzy, so I decided to stop at a local picnic area.  My husband had been fishing at a pond close by, and I called him to pick me up.  I'm a little disappointed, of course, about not finishing (really?  I couldn't even go two more miles??), but I knew I had to stop.  I didn't want to run with my camelbak, anymore, as it starts to get uncomfortable after awhile.  However, I think this will be something I just have to put up with, since that is the only thing I have that carries enough water. (sigh) I have a feeling that every long run from here on out will be some kind of learning experience.  I'm trying to feel proud that I even got out of my nice warm sleeping bag and stepped out into the cold dawn to run!   

So, the last week was:
Monday - 6 miles
Tuesday - 8 miles
Wednesday - 6 miles
Friday - 4 miles
Saturday - 14 miles
Monday (today) - 6 miles

Now, the only question I'm facing is whether to do the 18 miles that's on the schedule for this Saturday or scale it back to 16 and adjust the following weeks.  I think I'll just play it by ear, and see what happens.

Hope everyone else is enjoying the nice long weekend!!