Coming back to the present moment, yesterday I took the day off in preparation for today's long run. I went to bed way later than I planned, it's so easy to stay up late talking when someone's recently died, all the memories and stories keep you awake. Oh, and I went to the store and bought TWO candy bars, ate one of them (those reese's stick things) and half of the other (a snickers). What can I say, I guess grieving makes me weak. But I finally went to bed around midnight or 12:30am. I got up at 7am and planned to start running by 8:45am as I had a 1pm flight.
I started right on time by running the 3 miles from my grandparents house to the beach, then I ran 4.5 miles down the boardwalk and turned around for a total of 12 miles. Besides the wind, which wasn't too bad, running at the beach is glorious. It is a beautiful, perfectly sunny day. Only bummer was I forgot my sunblock and visor so running into the sun wasn't so "cool", though I got to do the last 4.5 mile with the sun on my back.
The run got "hard" at about the same time as last week, around the 9.5 mile mark. And I was running really slow for some reason, I kept clocking 13 minute miles. I just kept reminding myself that this is a long run, take it easy, and don't judge. It is what it is and I'm not going to push myself.
I had a couple ideas why it was a bit harder than usual. One was I pushed myself during the last mile or so of my run this past Thursday and second, I did legs after that run so maybe they were a bit fatigued from the squats and lunges. Oh, and the other thing was there are a ton of water fountains so I stopped for water WAY more than I usually do, maybe 6-8 times, so maybe all those 10-20 second pit stops made the run harder? Doesn't matter so much now because I was able to finish, though I wasn't sure I'd make it. My right hip and leg felt like it was just going to give out during the last couple of miles. I found myself wondering how embarrassing it would be to fall. Falling during the last two miles of an Ironman = expected and cool. Falling during a training run at the boardwalk in front of tons of people with beach bodies = maybe not so cool. Good thing I didn't get to experience that.
So I cut things really close. I cooled off and stretched and my mom came and picked me up from the beach. By the time we got back to the house I had about 5 minutes to take a shower and get my stuff together. And it was hard to make my body rush. But I managed and got to the airport just as my plane was supposed to start boarding, only it was delayed an hour. Hey, time to blog! And eat a bag of potato kettle chips, I've been craving chips for days. I think I associate my grandparents house with chips, cookies and candy.
When I get home I'm going straight to visit one of my most-loved friends who experienced a tragedy last night. She lost her closest friend and I am heartbroken for her. That's all I can say about that right now.
Then home to see my babies and husband, who I've missed so much! I've never been away from them for this long. Miguel has been sending me a lot of text pictures, which is nice. Sounds like they've had a lot of fun while I was gone. Tomorrow will be a day with my family. I am supposed to go to the gym and do the bike and strength training but we'll see, I'm not fixed on that given that I've been gone and that Migue\ has a0soer game in the afternoon while they are napping. Flexibility is key.
And helloooo taper!! One of the ways I got through my long run today was to tell myself this is the *last* long run I have to do. Besides the race of course. But that's different, I'll be well rested and well tapered by the time that rolls around. Ok, my flight is boarding. If anyone knows if those pit-stops actually could have made my run harder I'd appreciate your knowledge. Happy Saturday everyone!!
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You are doing a great job of balancing it all right now MIchelle! I'm impressed!
ReplyDeleteGiven my lack of long run experience, I have no idea! Although Jeff Galloway reckons lots of water in your belly makes for hard work, so maybe there is something in it?
ReplyDeleteExcellent job on the long run! Good for you for getting out there. Do you think the pit stops may have made the run more difficult because they broke up the momentum of the run? I tend to slow down at almost every water stop during a half marathon. I need the water and if there is a sports drink I usually mix the two, take a few sips and get on my way. I tend to do this at a slow jog. While I respect the Galloway walk/run method of training, I am an all or nothing kind of person. I generally do not slow down to a walk when running. It is really hard for me to stop and start.
ReplyDeleteYou will do great on race day. You have trained well. You're ready!
Hope you have a safe trip home. So sorry about your friend's friend.
Yes, Aimee, I do wonder if it was the coming to a complete stop multiple times that contributed to the run being harder than usual. Since they were water fountains I had to stop the whole time I was drinking the water. At least at the event I can keep moving while drinking.
ReplyDeleteIngi - I didn't drink more than a few gulps at a time so I didn't have that much water in my belly. Let's just hope the real thing goes better!
Thanks for the support ladies! And you too Alice, I do feel like I've been doing well in light of things, always great to be acknowledged.