Eight and a half miles... woohoo!

I am exhausted.

I added on a little extra loop going round the downs and hey presto I've gone over the 8 miles mark. Can't say it was very enjoyable and I realise I am now going to have to keep doing this route at least once a week before upping the distance even further.

Beginning to realise (if I hadn't before) just what I've taken on. I keep having dreams about it and in these dreams I've finished and thought, 'well, that was a lot easier than I thought it was going to be'. That used to be OK but recently the dreams have continued with me finding out I've missed out the whole of the Portway section (about 7 miles) so they're not very encouraging dreams...

My ankles are aching. My shoulders are aching. My lower back is aching.

My instep blister seems to have hardened up (hoorary for running and boo hiss for wearing strappy summer sandals) but I have a new blister on my right middle toe. And I think I'm getting a black big toenail which I believe is a badge of honour among long distance runners.
So why I have one is anyone's guess...

The other thing is 'runners' face' - you wear a bra to stop your boobs heading towards your knees, but what about face fat? Jowls I mean - as you pound along you can feel every single bit of loose flesh which isn't packed up tight is wobbling - so surely it follows that eventually after a lot of running these bits will sag. Unless you lose the fat before this happens? Oh well. what it really means is that I must remember to smile (or grimace) as I hurtle along in order to keep my face firm against the ravages of pavement pounding...

Or am I being a bit paranoid here?