Uncharted territory: 16 miles

Holy crap, I did it. I went 16 miles last week.

Notice how I said "went" instead of "ran"? That's because I can't fully say I ran the distance. Since I'm now abiding by the rule of the heart rate -- staying within my most efficient range even if it means slowing to a walk -- I couldn't run the whole time. The route was hilly, so there were times I had to walk a bit even in the first five miles. And by the last three, even a slight incline spiked my heart rate. But I never had to walk for more than a minute or two. And regardless, I covered the ground. I finished. That's the farthest I've ever run in my life (insert self-undermining comment here re: "I didn't really run the whole thing.") Prior to that, the farthest I'd ever gone was 13.5 miles, when I was training for a half marathon last spring and wanted to be sure I could manage the whole distance with a bit to spare.

It's too bad that my purist's definition of running doesn't allow me to totally own and celebrate my milestone achievement last week. I'm working on that. Of course, it would be my preference to run the whole thing without stopping. But everything I've read says that's not a reasonable expectation. For heaven's sakes, even star marathoners stop to pee, hydrate or fuel up. And for my first marathon, if I can just get to the finish knowing that running was my primary method of locomotion, I think I'll have a lot to feel proud of. I hope I'll let myself.

But back to the issue at hand: 16 miles, and the looming Seattle Marathon on November 29. Finishing that distance really, for the first time, gave me a glimmer of hope (and dare I say confidence?) that I will have what it takes to complete the full 26.2 miles. Incredible. And that, bar none, will be the farthest distance I have ever covered on foot at a single go -- including walking. When I did the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk the year before Little C was born, we did 24 or 25 miles the first day. I can't remember exactly. It may even have been 26 miles. But I know it wasn't 26.2.

So on marathon day, no matter how much walking I've had to do when I reach the finish, I'll know I've just crossed a big threshold for the very first time.