my first fifteen (miles)

On Sunday, I tweeted "I just ran 15 miles for the first time. Yay me. :)" What I really meant was "holy crap that was a long run and now I'm really tired and really hungry. Somebody feed me and find me a compression body suit."

The run went a little something like this:
Miles 1-9: Holy crap. This is going to be a long hard run. How the heck am I going to run 15?
Miles 10-11: Ok, maybe it will work out and I'll get it done.
Mile 12: Hey, feeling better, things are looking up
Mile 13: Ok, getting kind of tired but running strong.
Mile 14: Still not done eh?
Mile 15: Hey, I'm doing it. I'm running 15 miles. Yup- I'm tired, I'm sore, but I'm still running.

With an elevation profile like this- I think I know why the first part was so mentally (and physically) tough:

not sure why part of the graph is cut off- can't seem to fix it. but there were 15 miles and one more downhill!

At some point during that last downhill, I turned to Suz and said "Oh my god...everything hurts." And it was true. That downhill was brutal. The only way I could make it hurt less was to run faster (as strange as it sounds)...the less I had to work to slow myself down, the better it felt.

The best part of the run was feeling tired but strong at the end. Miles 13, 14, and 15 were our fastest (although looking at the elevation are you surprised?).

I finished feeling tired but happy with my first 15 miles. I also finished feeling happy that my half marathon won't be quite as hilly!

How do you usually feel when you've accomplished a new challenge? Does it leave you exhausted or energized?