So Close to the Finish Line!

I last left off just days away from my 11 mile run. I had been training 4 days a week for WEEKS, very strict, very scheduled and things were going very smoothly. When I ran my 10 I felt GREAT afterward. Great as in: Fan.Freakin.Tastic. I figured that since my 10 were nothing short of awesome, 11 could only be better…oh sheesh was I wrong.

As some of you runners may know, a run doesn’t always go as planned, no matter how much psyching up you do before hand. I had done all my “regular” things I do before my long Saturday miles. I carb loaded the day before, hydrated with lots of water and electrolytes, I ate healthy all week, I got good sleep, I had a positive attitude. Once again, I decided to do my 11 on a treadmill because of the weather that morning. I can’t remember if it was storming, or if I just didn’t want to deal with the horrible humidity, but for whatever the reasons, I decided to hit the gym and get those 11 miles done on the treadmill.

I DID get it done, at a great pace, no stopping, straight through, but let me tell you it was not pretty and definitely not worth the good pace. Actually it was quite awful. I’m trying not to be overly dramatic here, but when I say it was horrible, it really was. I pushed myself beyond limits I’ve never pushed before which was the only positive aspect of this run. I never knew I COULD push myself that far because by mile 6 my knees started hurting bad, and by mile 8 I wanted to cut someone. Deep. I tried to slow it down but going slow just didn’t feel right and all I could think about was if I kept up my speed I’d get the 11 over with sooner. The last two miles nearly killed me or so I thought it would anyway. I was angry and somewhat emotional. My entire body ached and all I could think about was getting done. Once I hit 11, I stopped and just stood on the treadmill. The world continued on around me, but my brain was stuck on PISSED. I don’t know what it was, but honestly I hated the experience and I was upset that I wasn’t feeling elated, proud, and full of pride, like I had hoped. My legs felt like noodles and I had zero energy, which was probably a good thing because I wanted to hurt someone at this point. I hobbled down to the locker room, nearly drowned myself in the sink, and tried to regain my composer again. Again, I gave the words hot mess a whole new meaning. I drank an entire huge G2 after, ate a Snickers and put myself into an ice bath. It only took my body a day to recover, but it took my mind days to get over that bad experience. I didn’t want to run anymore, wanted to pull out of the marathon, and didn’t even want to talk about running. I took SEVERAL days off not because my body needed it, but because my mind needed it. I don’t know what it was, but mentally I wasn’t in the right place. Or something.

*12 Miles*

I was still pretty bitter over my previous experience but managed a few “short” runs during the week (I never thought I’d ever consider a short mile run to be 6 miles!) and started geared myself up for my biggest and longest training run ever….12 miles! Again, I carb loaded starting the day before, loaded up on electrolytes by drinking my fill of G2 and made sure I had plenty of GU packets. I decided that no matter what the weather or humidity, I would do my 12 miles outside in preparation of the marathon. I checked out an audio book from the library and was very excited to see if listening to a book, rather than music for over 2 hours would help me get through the “boredom” of running 12 miles.

Saturday morning I started out early; I believe 5:45am, in hopes of beating the sun and heat. The weather was relatively mild, not too awful yet and I felt good and mentally ready! I started out, kept my pace S-L-O-W and started my audio book. Before I knew it I was at mile 3. I stopped for a quick 30 seconds water/mental break and started up again. At mile 5 I stopped for a GU and water break and felt really good at this point plus I was really enjoying the audio book. I continued to mile 8, stopped for another quick water/mental break and was greeted by my husband who had come out to check on me, give me an “I love you” note and told me how awesome I was doing. He had asked me how many miles I was at and when I said 8 he couldn’t believe it because he said I looked great, not out of breathe or anything. He mentioned that I didn’t even look like someone who had just run 8 miles!!! Hearing that from him made me feel good and gave me more energy to carry on. At mile 9 I stopped quick for another GU shot and took in a few swallows of water, then I was off again. I hit mile 11 and felt great knowing that I was embarking on my longest run EVER and felt so proud. I sipped a bunch of water and told myself that I only had 1 more mile left and that I WAS going to do it! My legs were really aching by now and I was mentally ready to be done, but knew that I was on my last few moments of this major milestone. My adrenaline carried me through the last half mile and I completed with that pride I desperately needed when I did that horrible 11 the week before. I finished and hobbled home, beaming with happiness. I drank up tons of G2, took some Advil, and got into an ice bath to soak. It felt heavenly!

Again, it only took a little over a day for my body to recover and I felt great! It’s so strange how even though it was only 1 mile more, the huge difference in the way the run felt compared to the 11 and how it left me feeling was a huge and monumental difference. I guess it just happens like that sometimes.

I did it. I have completed training! I actually made it through all those (10) weeks of blood, sweat, and tears. I pushed myself, I took my mind and body places it’s NEVER been before. I opened up a whole new world I never knew existed. It feels good and I am very proud of myself and of my body. I am very grateful that I have the body to move, and that I have the mind to make my body move!

More soon as Chicago is in just a few days! I’ll be writing about my game plan this week and all the excitement I’m feeling!

This is big. Very big!