Warning, this blog is 100% about running, so if you would rather not read about that....stop reading. and don't worry, I won't feel bad.
To start off I would like to say that today I ran 16.42 miles in 2hr 40 min. My pace was pretty slow, but soon you will find out why. I have been extremely nervous about this run since I found out that my foot was injured a few weeks ago. I was worried about it because I was having to take 2 weeks off from running and then this would be my next long run. The farthest run I have done in a while is 13 miles and that was a month ago. So I was freakin out that I would be running 16 miles so soon. I started running last Sat but I only ran 7 miles. It was a test run to see how my feet felt and everything and while my legs were shaking at the end, my feet felt fine. Then this week I ran 4 miles, 8 miles, and 4 miles again. I as really excited to run again but after my 8 mile run I was so discouraged. it was so hard!!! While my foot was healing I went swimming, biking, Elliptical, everything I could think of that would help keep my legs strong without re-injurying myself. I worked mysefl pretty hard and was confident that I was keeping up. obviously I was wrong. THis week has been the hardest week of training I have ever done including the short runs. my legs absolutely killed all the time and my breathing was terrible. I felt like I was starting over. So when I was getting ready for this 16 miler today I was very nervous.
I started out like I always do with a 5-10 min brisk walk and then started jogging. As soon as I started jogging my legs were burning, worse than they ever have...ever! By the time I got up to 2 miles I was huffin and puffin and thought my legs were going to fall off. But I kept thinking to myself "don't worry it'll go away soon just keep pluggin along" and I did. When we hit mile 4 I seriously wanted to turn around and go home. At that point I really wondered if I would be able to even finish the run. I felt light headed, I had the hardest time breathing and my legs were aching even worse. But I knew that if I didn't finish this run, that there would be no way that I could finish the Marathon. So I kept running and hoped that I would soon "get in my groove" and finish the run. The difficulty of the run never changed. My legs killed the entire time, my breathing finally kicked in gear and became somewhat easier. When we hit mile 8 we stopped at gas station for a potty break and then I bought a pack of life savers to suck on...to save my life ya know. I stretched out quickly and then it was back on the road. At this point it had started to get very windy and rain somewhat. I was freezing. (that was my own fault though, I was in shorts) But once again I knew I couldn't quit. For some reason the song "oh when the saints come marchin in" popped into my head and I started singing it in my head, that got me through a couple miles. Anyways, I ran, and ran and ran. every part of my legs killed. But the good news is, is that my feet never hurt once...hooray. Okay so at the end of my run there is one last hill, the course we ran today was a slow but steady uphill for about 8 miles and then down, but at about mile 14.5 there was one last hill. I have run that many many times and it always kicks my butt, and I wasn't really sure how I was going to get up it, but I knew I would. the funniest thought came to mind as I was about to go up. I thought, okay I am one of those wind up toys and I am about to run out, so lets wind me back up good and tight so I can make it up this hill. Then the song "we are the champions" popped into my head and I booked it up that hill. then ran the last 3/4 mile at a 8 min mile. I was pretty darn proud of myself for finishing todays run. Every part of me absolutely kills at the moment and I can't bend over to save my life, but that is okay. Nothing a nice Ice bath can't take care of. However, at this point I am 100% confident that I will finish that marathon. If I could run today with my legs killing the entire way and wanting to give up from the very beginning, but still finishing. Then I can run the marathon. Oh yeah, one thing I wanted to remember. Near the start of our run a service truck with some guys in it passed by and cheered us on and then several miles later we passed them again and you could see the look of surprise on their faces that we were still running. They cheered us on again. I love it when cars drive by and give us a thumbs up or wave or cheer for us. It always give me that extra boost I need. I am glad to be running again.
4 comments:
Good for you Em- that's amazing! What a great example of not giving up. I love how you think of certain songs and even toys to get you through the rough patches. You certainly are a mom!! Hope you aren't too sore tomorrow.
You know, I actually never ever liked it when people I didn't know honked or something at me while I was running. I liked it when it was someone I knew, but other than that it made me uncomfortable. Maybe I was either really prideful or self-conscious. Either way -- I just preferred that they pretended they didn't see me.
however, when I was crushing on James and he was NOT crushing on me yet...I would always run about the time I knew he would be coming home from school, and I would run "my BYU route," or "temple route." This way I was bound to pass him by. As many afternoons as I tried this silly trick, I only saw him once, and he never saw me. I was so disappointed. I was trying to show off, and it never worked out. But of course he would see me working in the deli with my hairnet and meat/ice cream stained apron and shirt. I don't know how he fell in love with me....now that I think about it, he didn't fall in love with me until I wasn't working in the deli anymore! hahaha! so funny.
Way to go Woman! I am so proud of you!! Tell me about your running group...I thought all this time you were running by yourself.
I miss you guys.
-Mare
Em you are inspiring. Sometimes I think I want to be like Emily and run. and then I think I will never make it past two days and then quit because I am such a bad runner. Congrats Em.
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