This past Saturday, our long run was 13 miles. This marked the first time I have run 13 miles two weeks in a row. This Saturday we will run 9 miles before the half marathon on the 21st....meaning I will run 13 miles 3 out of 4 weeks. Never would have thought that would happen when I started training almost a year ago?!
Running 13 miles this past weekend was daunting. Plain and simple - I didn't want to do it. But I got up and went to Fleet Feet. It was different this week because we actually ran the course for the Fiesta Days half marathon, so we all carpooled to drive to the start. Let's just say that for me it was not good to see how far I was going to have to run. The run starts out in the country on a 2-lane road so it felt like we were driving for a long, long time. This just added to my running anxiety.
Then we started running. The course is hilly and the first hill is the worst and it's at the very beginning of the race. Fantastic! Once my legs stopped burning from running the hill I tried to not think about how much further I had to go. I think I played every mind game I could to take my mind off of what I was doing. What also helped was trying not to get hit by cars. It's a 2 lane road with hardly any room to run...if you did have any path it was 12-36 inches wide. There were lots of curves and turns and cars go pretty fast. So the stress of trying not to get killed kept me on my toes.
At the beginning I allowed myself to walk around mile 4. I wasn't really tired physically...I was just mentally exhausted. To my surprise...I never walked again. I usually don't allow myself walking breaks because for me that always leads to another walking break...and then another. It's a slippery slope, so I fight it as much as I can.
Of course at the end, I was very proud of myself for finishing and I felt great about completing the run. On Sunday I went to hot yoga and all my little aches and pains disappeared. Hot yoga is definitely hard but for me it really offsets the wear and tear of running.
This week's training schedule:
Monday rest
Tuesday rest
Wednesday 5 miles
Thursday 5 miles
Friday rest
Saturday 9 miles
Sunday hot yoga
Happy Running,
Suzanne
You are so right about walking breaks! I never really thought about it before. It is kind of like breaking the seal when you're drinking. You're fine until the first bathroom trip, then you always have to go!
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'm glad you mentioned this. I cannot go 13.1 miles without walk breaks yet, but maybe if I can thinking in these terms I can step myself from walking too soon or too often!
Exactly! Yes, for me once I allow myself to walk I keep wanting to stop even though I don't necessarily "need" to.
ReplyDeleteOne other tip I heard from a runner was to limit how long you let yourself walk to a time (30 second or 2 minutes)...I've tried that but it just depends on my "running mental state." Sometimes I'm just going to walk for awhile. :-)