15 Miles (the bad and the ugly- there really wasn't any good)

So, it has been 2 days since the run that I have been dreading writing about. It was SO HARD!! It was so hard that I have been questioning my decision to train for this distance while mothering 3 children and being a loving considerate wife to a fire chief. It has made me doubt myself in so many ways and really dislike running for a few days (gasp!)
The first 4 miles was good- Dave and I talked, I listened to music, and I just ran like I normally would. We made the turn at Lorainne and University and it started to go downhill- yes my friends the run started getting bad at mile 4 and I had 11 more to go. The initial problem is I had never run this route before, I had never been down this road at all so I couldn't gage the distance (which i need) and then there was the lack of anything- I didn't see another car at all for about an hour and a half. Once again, Dave was wonderful throughout this whole run- he kept encouraging me to keep going and my mind kept screaming at me to stop. When we got to the end of University (who knew that it ended, I have only lived here 7 years!?!?!) I was half way done and it was REALLY hot (89 degrees) and I knew I now knew how far I had to run home. I have always heard people say respect the distance and on this day the distance schooled me. I was a mess and literally shuffled my way home very very slowly. The only positive being that I did finish (there wasn't any way else to get home) and that I learned a few lessons. I learned that I need to fuel and hydrate better, my way just isn't cutting it. I also am very thankful that this race starts early in the morning because from now on long runs are going to be before the sun comes up and not at high noon!
I know that I can do this and that it's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard people would be running marathons every day. I also learned that my goal isn't what is good for someone else, it is only for me. So what if it takes me FOREVER as long as I finish the task. I didn't give up and I am still following my plan- it may need some tweaking but I still keep taking it one step at a time. I also learned that I need to wear sunblock because these crazy running tan lines are the worst!!!