32 for 32

My 32nd birthday was Tuesday.

I always give a present to myself every year. My present for the past and this year was running the Hudson Cross Country Booster 5K. I decided to give myself another present for this year: running 32 miles on my birthday.

The 32 mile run went well. My legs felt really good. I stopped to eat lunch with my husband after 17 miles. He made pancakes and they were really good. After eating four pancakes, I had a piece of birthday cake. My husband made me a marble cake with cream cheese frosting. Shortly after eating, I continued running again.

When I got past 26 miles, my legs were starting to get tired. I wasn't going to let that stop me. I was determined to run 32 miles. With three miles to go, my legs started feeling better. It was like someone flipped a switch. After a couple of stops to eat lunch, fill my water bottle and bathroom breaks, I finished in 4:50:59. I did it! I ran 32 miles for myself and it felt so good.

I was so happy to run 32 miles on my 32nd birthday. That was only the second time I have run that amount. This run will really help me out when I run my two ultras this fall. I'm sure at some point my legs will get tired. I know that I just have to keep going and I will reach the finish line.