First Half Marathon Distance and the Evil 5k

Lazy. I was lazy on Friday and I didn’t go to aerial yoga. I was feeling tired. I’d had a few late nights and the Packer game on Thursday went very late. And I’m so glad I stayed up for the whole game unlike so many who gave up after the 1^st quarter when things were looking so grim. I did a little yoga at home. I was so lazy I didn’t even do aerial at home, just regular ground yoga.

Saturday I had an 11 mile run in mind. The weather was nice. The dog woke me up at 4:30am which was also nice because I could get my run in and then take a nap and still get up at a “normal” Saturday time of 9 or 10. I wore my Saucony Rides. Long runs on the road means comfy padded shoes are needed. I love my Xodus GTX but those are for wet runs. It was foggy and beautiful but not wet. I went light and even then I wanted to remove layers. Music was a list of my favorites from Iheart. Dog was anxious to go. I can’t say I was. The distance was a bit intimidating. Only in spring, I couldn’t even run a mile.

The run started a bit rough. I couldn’t find my pace, Runkeeper was being a poop, my music kept stalling out, and the dog kept stopping to pee. Finally, everything started to bend to my will. I wanted to keep slow so I didn’t wear myself out. I started out with a half a pack of watermelon Gu with the plan of taking a half pack every 4 miles, raspberry was the other flavor. I think the Gu is very helpful with long runs. I could feel when it kicked in and when it wore off some.

The mileage went pretty fast except on some of those straight a ways. Oh, those were tough. I could see where I wanted to go and that spot just didn’t seem to get any closer. My fiancé’s words kept ricocheting around in my head between song lyrics. “Be kind to yourself.” I wanted to get on myself that my slow pace but I was doing fine. Speed comes after distance. The whole run was pretty comfortable. After a certain point, my legs were moving on their own as naturally as my body knew to inhale and exhale or how my heart would beat all on it’s own. My mind sang the lyrics, checking in with pain to make sure it wasn’t serious. Pain is part of my life so it is vital for me to check in and ask myself “real or not real.” While all the pain is real, what I really ask myself is the pain proportionate to the area. My body exaggerates it’s reaction to pain stimulus. But I did well. My miles slowly built in speed until my last mile was my fastest.

Around mile 8, I made a decision. In my previous runs, I had a nagging urge to run 13 miles but I wanted to trust the plan. However, I had decided to abandon the plan around mile 6. I can’t say it’s serving my running needs any more. I think I need more speed intervals. Distances were getting longer but my speeds were still turtle-like. Anyway, I decided to add 2 miles to my run. I was feeling good. Actually, I wasn’t feeling much at all. I hear that’s a good thing. I did some maths in my head and figured where I could find the mileage. About this time, I started getting dirty looks from the dog. I told her she was a border collie and to keep going. We past the zoo and she was surprised by monkey and elephant noises. When we past a local coffee shop, we ran into a pack of santas roaming on bicycles. I’m not sure which freaked out the dog more. At mile 11.5, I died. Those legs I couldn’t feel started to feel like cement, slogging thru cement. Part of me whispered, “Stop at 12. It’ ok. You still did great.” But if I could do 12, I could do 13. Pure determination got me thru. They say running is a mental game and I think I won.

The smile is because I can't feel my legs. 

Runkeeper had a virtual race on Sunday. It was a 5k and I thought that was doable.

I had just done 13 miles on Saturday. A 5k couldn’t be that bad. It was the longest three miles of my life. How I felt during the last part of Satuday’s run was how I felt during the whole run. All of it. I wanted to quit and go home, I wanted to stop and walk. I wanted to do anything but run. The dog felt the same way judging from the piercing glares I was getting. I tried to be positive but I think I used up all my positive thinking on Saturday. The good news is I’m stubborn. And I finished and I did not walk. It wasn’t my fastest time and it wasn’t my slowest run but it was definitely one of my hardest. Originally, I didn’t plan on getting a t-shirt for this race. It felt not quite like a race because it was virtual. After finishing this race, I realized I needed that shirt. I also want one of those 13.1 stickers for my station wagon.

Really, it was a triumphant weekend. I did 18ish miles. I did a half marathon. I ran thru all my discomfort and doubt to victory. A victory that seemed impossible in April.