This past Saturday's run was the last "long run" of the training process. We started at 4 am and ran 22 miles. It was absolutely one of the most difficult runs of my life. Every step from 9 miles on was painful. By that I don't really mean pain - like you could take a tylenol and make it go away. I mean sluggish muscles, and leg achy- ness and general tired-ness. I don't really know why it was so tough, but I learned a lot during the 5 and a half hour run.
Primarily, I learned that no matter how bad it hurts on the day of the marathon, I have the mental fortitude to tough it out and finish. At about mile 14 my friend, Sue ( aka running mentor) suggested that it would not be entirely bad for me to quit for the day. I made the decision to do the mileage even though every fiber of my being shouted at me to stop.
When I finished, I was really happy that I had chosen to see it through.
We are now less than 3 weeks away from the marathon. The taper begins now with shorter week end runs and a general decrease in mileage throughout the week. I will run 12 miles this coming Saturday and 8 miles the Saturday before the race.
People ask me what my goal is for this marathon. Most marathon runners have a public goal and a secret goal. I will tell you that my public goal is to finish strong and to cross the finish line before they take the time clock away ( they stop the clock after 6 and a half hours from the start.) My secret goal is.....SECRET, DUH....
More along the way. Thanks for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment