Physical: I definitely feel well prepared. During my last long run (10 miles), I was not huffing & puffing or dragging myself along. I never once thought, "Good God deliver me from this!" and I only stopped to refuel and rehydrate. About mile 7 my knees did begin to ache. My legs gradually grew tired but never felt like they would give out. It was slow but steady. I attribute the success to a solid training schedule and weekly strengthening exercises. Both have helped to keep my body feeling strong especially for the longer distances. One change I need to make is my mid-run snack. Although my muscles and joints felt ok after the long run, my stomach was upset. As soon as I stopped running, I felt ill. I immediately ate another snack, which did not help that much so I kept eating until my tummy settled. I think I need a little more sustenance during the run. Distance runners, what do you think?
Mental: Mostly confident, however I skipped a couple runs this week based on busyness and hot & muggy weather (in October? weird) and started to get down about it. I think the runs may have been helpful, but ultimately, I don't think missing them will disrupt my progress that much. At least that's what I tell myself to combat the guilt. Also, my competitive side wants to increase my speed a bit as my pace has slowed way down with the +7 mile runs. I was warned this would happen: start off with a goal of simply finishing the race, and as training goes on and competitiveness swells, start thinking time, minutes, speed... I'm trying to listen more to my body than my growing ambition.
Marriage: Great! Simply encouraging one another has been healthy and well, encouraging. Although we typically do not run together, we've started most of our long runs together and have followed the same route. I've been so impressed with Steve's diligence and hard work! He's pushed through aches and pains, improved in pace, and run more than he ever has. I'm also thankful that we've been able to share in the each others' training successes and talk through some of the disappointments without feeling like we're competing. That is divine intervention people.
--
Here's a photo from a 5k that our church staff ran:
2 comments:
Woohoo!! Way to go, sounds like you're doing awesome. I had 11mi yesterday, too. Felt great, and I'm excited for the race (still 6 weeks away! ugh). I still haven't gone public that I'm running it, so it's kind of nice to be incognito and secretly training (mostly I want the option to dip out without a shot to my pride if Addison, say, stops sleeping again the week of the race, ha).
About being sick to your stomach, it does sound like maybe you didn't eat enough before? What do you eat before a longer run? Mid-run less than 12 or 13 miles I don't drink or eat anything but I do suck on 1-2 shot blocks (huge gummy candies. oh yes.) But everyone's different so your body may be wanting more food during the run, too. Not sure what you drank while running but you could also try Gatorade instead of water and see if that helps. OR if the sugar in Gatorade actually made you sick try water instead.
Long response! Just so excited for you guys! Cmon race day!
after long runs my stomach was always horribly upset. i talked to meredith byrne about it, and she said it sounded like my intestines were tired from the run, too. she explained it MUCH better than i did.
did you do your 10-mile run in the morning? that can change things, too. make sure to do at least one long run in the morning so you can see how your body reacts to your breakfast/fueling routine.
if you did it in the afternoon (and i think you did?) it could have had more to do with what you had earlier in the day...
sooo many variables.
Post a Comment