Well, maybe not the speed part. But I ran pretty damn far today!
Sixteen miles to be exact, my longest to date. It was hot and sooooo not as easy as I thought (based on my long run last week). But there were actually a few things worse than the "running 16 miles" part. Here are a few:
1. Getting up at 4:30am for our 5:15am start
2. Running through a puddle of vomit, probably from only a few hours earlier
3. Running past a dead possum, not smelling good in the Miami heat
4. Trying to get into every bathroom because we decided to pass up on the first one, only to find all the rest of them locked along the way
5. My shorts riding up incessantly after they were soaked with sweat, resulting in very chaffed legs
6. Almost getting run over by other runners who REFUSE to run single file when passing on a narrow sidewalk - jerks
7. Triple Berry GU is NOT as digestable as the Chocolate
8. The last two miles of the run having NO trees. NO trees = NO shade. And it was sunny. SUN-EEEEEEE!
9. The pain I felt in my legs that I never experienced as a Half-Marathoner
10. Realizing when I was done that I would still have to run another TEN miles to finish a marathon. Stupid math.
11.Trying to get down on the ground to stretch. HA!
12. The Ice Bath - Also a first for me
Yeah, an ice bath is nooooo fun. Who would have thought by simply sitting down in a bathtub, I would actually almost have a heart attack? I mean, this was shocking. Probably would've felt good if I had just walked in from the run, but since I stretched for 15 minutes in the AC, it was just cold. But I will admit, my legs feel way better now. I'll suffer for 15 minutes to be able to bend over and put on shoes for a few days.
Other than that, I had two other good runs this week:
Wednesday, 7/11 - 6.11 miles/61:00 - 9:59 pace
Thursday, 7/12 - 6 miles/60:55 - 10:00 pace
Saturday, 7/14 - 16 miles/3:06:56 - 11:40 pace
Total Weekly Mileage: 28.11
This is not nearly enough running to get me in marathon shape and I need to try to be better about being consistent. It's just hard with Dakota visiting for us to get to the gym. That and it's way more fun to sleep at 6:00am on a Monday than run 6 miles. Sigh.
Lastly, I finished The Nonrunner's Marathon Guide for Women. this week. It was a great book. A super easy read and hilarious. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who has a sense of humor, likes to runs yet feels a bit grumpy about it from time to time. It is not a serious running manual by any means, just a humorous look on a sport that is taken waaaaaaay too seriously by a few people from time to time, which is probably why I like it so much.
Days 4 - 5: Santorini!
1 year ago
8 comments:
OMG #3 makes me want to vomit just reading that *puke* Seeing it, OK. Smelling it under that hot, humid Miami air. NASTY!!!
I'm just about to head over to Borders, I'll have to take a look at that book! I'm up for a good read (although I barely have time to finish anything with the kiddies biting my ankles LOL)
You did AWESOME!!! Next year I want to do a full marathon but after some of these long runs I just don't know how the heck my legs will ever take me there LOL. 16 miles is a lonnnggg way to go and 10 miles after that is crazy LOL
Congratulations on your 16 miles! Don't worry about doing another 10, you'll be able to do it when the time comes. I laughed at the polar bear picture--I so related! I don't like ice baths, but I like the way they make my feet feel.
For #5, I use body glide. It helps. Thanks for the hint on Triple Berry Gu; I'll stick to chocolate and Espresso Love. :-)
Wow!!! Sixteen miles!!!! That is awesome!!!
I thought my seven-miler last Sunday was long!!! ;-)
Oh, and I agree with you on the Gu. I think the chocolate is the best one I've tried so far. The one that really made me gag was the Strawberry banana. Ick.
Sixteen miles - you are a supa-star!
I remember the 11 mile point of my half-marathon and literally tearing at the thought of those poor marathoners who had FIFTEEN MORE MILES to run!
Congratulations again on your big run :)
16 miles is a big milestone in marathon training and your run sounds great. Plus, the adrenaline on race day definitely helps push you through the second half. Personally, I enjoy the ice bath... I know all about #1 since I'm up at 4:45am everyday, but it is worth it in the end. My group run today didn't start until around 6:45am and it was brutal doing 13 miles under the sunshine...
Congrats on your longest run so far. I am sure you will look back on it in a few weeks/months and think - wow - that was nothing.
Wow, sounds like you had an interesting 16 miles. Chaffing...dead possums...bad..!! I've only ever had one ice bath and it was not fun. I think it definitely did help though, so I guess I shall learn to love them. I found it helped that I drank some really hot tea while I was in there though.
16 miles is so awesome, it is something to be proud of. I so understand your ice bath, my first was exactly the same. I have now done 3 after long runs and I think it is getting easier. I still haven't found a GU I like, but everyone says Hammer brands are good, I will try them next. Great job and enjoy the feeling, your next long run will be up before you know it.
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