I needed to run 20 miles.
I was dreading running 20 miles.
I didn't really need to run 20 - Coach Lesley told me it would suffice for me to do 16 or 18 and more important that I have a good run than a bad one with a lot of miles. I entertained doing less more than once.
But I needed to do 20, to just mentally *know* I could. In my heart I feel that if I can run 20 I can do 26.2 - it was an important number to hit for my mental preparedness and a huge milestone in the face of all the bumps in my training I've hit along the way.
But I will not lie. I was dreading it.
My 16 miles and 18 mile long runs hurt. A lot. And they weren't very encouraging that I could actually pull off much more. I also dreaded it because as much as I like to run, running for 3-4 hours just doesn't give me a thrill. I mean I get bored watching my favorite band in concert after 2 hours or so, so ya know. The prospect of running for a million hours… Well. That's just tough to get amped for.
But be that as it may, I sucked it up and headed out for the 20.
I did things way different this time. I decided that I would do my own "Galloway" experiment with walking and running. Since I'm not aiming for any sort of time on this thing - my big goal is just to finish, I would see if that would do me any better. I also purposely slowed my run waaaay down.
What a huge difference.
I will not say it was easy but even at 20 miles the "wall" never came. In my last two runs I hit walls around 13 - 14 miles and thought I was gonna die.
The first 13 I walked for a tenth of a mile at the end of every mile - it actually made things enjoyable. I walked, hydrated, popped a jelly bean and let go of any sort of "time" deadline. It really kept me fresh. Past 15 I walked much, much more and that was more because of stomach cramps than leg issues. Again, I was OK with walking as I needed to. I didn't berate myself - I know that for me and where I am at with training, I'm going to be walking a lot those latter miles so I might as well embrace it.
Sure I will be slow, there will be no record breaking time, no BQ'ing that's for sure :D but I will be a marathoner and I think this approach will not only allow me to finish but keep me injury free and make the experience a good one!!!
Now, hopefully I'll have the discipline on game day to keep my roll slow and stick to the plan!! ;)
20 miles! No matter what happens from this day forward, no one can take that away from me and I'm soooo happy about it.
XO
Jen
11 comments:
Jen. This. Made. Me. All. Kinds. Of. Happy.
So. Freaking. Awesome!!
Congratulations! 20 is a huge accomplishment!
You're going to have a fantastic time in San Diego
That is so great!!! you're right, if you can do 20, you can totally do 26.2. Amazing!!!
oh hell yeah!!!! That is just flat out awesome. Doing 20 means that 26.2 is not far behind and for sure you will do it. You are going to rock San Diego....no pun intended.
Super happy for you.
Wow, super amazing job!!! I haven't done 20 yet, but it's in my not so distant future....well probably not until this fall, but CONGRATS!!! I love the attitude and the way you approached the run. Great job!
Congrats! That is such an amazing accomplishment! I haven't done that kind of run & it scares the crap out of me that its not too far off! Well done!
Congrats!!! So cool to have that under your belt already. HUGE MILESTONE!!! Well done!!
Thanks, all :D I really appreciate all the comments!
yet again, you have managed to completely inspire me. Way to Go!!!
HOLY FREAKIN' CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!! I am crying as I am reading this post. I am so FREAKIN' proud of you!!!!!!!!!!! I knew you could do it - I know you can do it! Oh, happy day! This is awesome!!!
No matter what you do, you will FINISH this race. On some days, I still can't believe I did. Sure, I would of loved to RUN the WHOLE thing, but I couldn't, and I am okay with that. You and I have had really similar training seasons in that our schedules have gone far from what was planned. When I ran 20 miles, I felt like come hell or high water, I would run 26.2 - now you know how that feels!! Way to go!
I'm excited beyond belief for your marathon!! :)
:D thanks you Sara(s)! xo I'm getting excited. Sara P - I think of you soooo often on my training runs and I'll b especially thinking of you and mom on Sunday!
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