I knew it would happen eventually–a week where I couldn’t get in my required mileage for one reason or another. I failed a bit in my training this last week because I wasn’t able to go running Wednesday or Thursday (Wednesday because I was feeling nauseated and a little lightheaded, and Thursday because I just didn’t have the time due to class and meetings after school). But I did ramp up my mileage on the other days just like I was supposed to, and let me tell you–I’m for sure feeling that today.
Saturday was the first time I’ve run 10 miles at once, and it was both exhilarating and painful. By my last mile, I was flying high on endorphins, but the second I stopped moving, I just about crumpled to the ground and never got up. You wouldn’t think that adding just a mile and a half to your longest run would make that much of a difference, but apparently it was.
Matt ran 12 miles on Saturday, and remarked to me that it was depressing that he was so wiped out, and he hadn’t even run a half marathon.
True story.
Sometimes a tiny little part of me thinks I’m crazy for attempting this marathon business, especially because I’ve never ever run in any other race–not even a 5k. And here I am attempting to train for a full-on marathon, almost the grand-daddy of all races (unless, of course, you count Iron Man and other such nonsense). But I think that my ignorance is part of what spurs me on—I think I can do it, because nothing has shown me otherwise. I love that.
I was able to run a 7-mile run on Tuesday, as well as 4-mile runs on Monday and Friday. Remember back in week one, where 7 miles was my max and I was wistfully thinking that someday I’d be doing that all the time? Well, that time has come, folks. And while it may not all be peaches and whipped cream, I am pretty dang proud of myself.
Highs of the Week: Being able to say I’ve run 10 miles at one time. And maintaining my pace throughout the whole thing. (Plus on a couple shorter runs, I improved my time).
Lows of the Week: Not getting those two runs in. I felt like such a bum.
Number of Miles Run: 25 miles
Average Time Per Mile: 10 minutes (sometimes faster, but very consistently at 10 minutes)
Question for the runners out there—this goo stuff you all tell me about: where do I find it? And is there a brand name I need to look for, or is it just goo? And do you recommend having it while on the run, or before, or what? Because right now I’m just running these really long runs without water or goo or anything, and I don’t know when I should start incorporating that kind of stuff into it. So what do you do?