Distance: 12.75
Time: 2:06
So I took everyones advice to heart over the last week. I was on the road, traveling, and just wasn’t able to work in runs where I was at, so I was pretty light on mileage this week. However, once the dust settled and I got back home, I decided to map out a totally new route. One that I had run pieces of, but with some new stuff in it. Pednet pegged it at 12.75, which was close enough to the 13 miles I was supposed to run. So here’s what I did different:
I took only the minimum water and food
I took electrolyte replacement pills
I purposefully picked a route that had several hills in it, including one major, mean, ugly, rat bastard of a hill. Why? Because I am no longer intimidated by hills, it’s a fun route, and it gives me something else to bitch about… K?
I only looked at my watch to time my drinks. Since this was a new and hilly route, I paid no attention to pace or total time.
I ran the whole thing.
I started earlier (95 degrees and 80% humidity today… blech…)
I daydreamed, enjoyed the scenery, wondered, pondered, counted crushed beer cans on the road, played “road kill hurdles”, and generally goofed off and ENJOYED my run.
…it was beautiful.
Who am I kidding… I’m fat… 40… and not likely to ever do anything more than finish any race I enter. Why the hell was I taking it all so seriously?
Mostly because (and I still believe this, by the way) I feel that, while you can screw around and still run a 5K, if you don’t take marathon training seriously, you can really hurt yourself. So my new goal as I wind down my training and prepare for my longest runs is just to relax and enjoy it. I will probably never again train for/run a marathon. I just don’t like the distance. I am much happier with half marathons and 10Ks. But I’ve only got 2 months until the marathon and 4 major distance days left. I refuse to let this be a death march. Rather, I want it to be a victory lap. See, unlike all the other competitors who measure success by PRs and medals, I win just by getting there. If I toe that line October 20th I have won no matter what the outcome because it means that I have gotten back in shape and lost a major amount of weight. That’s my reward.
…and I get it BEFORE the gun goes off… LOVE THAT!
Posted by dabigleap 
