16 miles....mind over muscle cramps

I had my doubts about running 16 miles. First of all, I have never ran this distance in my life.  Secondly, I have been trying to come down with a cold for the last 2 days. I tried everything possible to prevent it from stopping me from  running today ie. lots of orange juice, extra sleep, multivitamins etc. So this morning I got up and armed myself with all the tips and advice I have received from my fellow runners. I ate my normal pre run breakfast then eat a cliff bar (I could only get about half of it down. Boy are those bars dense) I had planned my run route several weeks ago with a location that I had not run before with gravel trails and mostly shaded. My favorite places to run are those with beautiful scenery. I used my camelpack that fits around my waist and filled it with water. I decided to carry in my hand as long as I could powerade (fruit punch). I brought 2 Roctane pinneapple (which are great) and one TriBerry (which will not be repeated since it tastes like cough syrup! YUCK!) I also brought a small bag of granola. I ate the Roctane/GU every 45 minutes. I ended up hiding my powerade along the train around the 4.5 mile mark. The weather could not be more perfect this morning. My water lasted me until 12 miles which is when I relocated my powerade. The Roctane is excellent so this is what I plan on bring with me to MCM. I want to try the blueberry one next time. I did have some leg cramps start at 14.5 miles. They were the whole back of both legs. I managed to push through it with some self talk. Good thing no one was around since they probably would think that I had last mind. When I hit my 16 mile mark. I was in awe that I had actually done it. Stretched before I got into my car. Tried a cold bath with some ice and used my foam roller. So hopefully tomorrow I will not be incredibly sore.