Not Running the TC Marathon… And Really Happy About it
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The Annual Idiot Run!
I complete this run once a year. I’m calling it the Annual Idiot Run. It’s that run where I think I’m a superhuman bad-ass, immune to the heat, humidity and sun that is summertime. This year’s run went a little something like this…
I woke up, realized I had over slept and woke up the husband. We picked up the boys from different sleepover locations from the night before, met back at our house and were off to the kids’ golf lesson. On the way we stopped at the gas station for some breakfast and I grabbed a protein bar and an iced coffee.
While the kids had their lesson, the hubs and I hit the driving range where we spent the hour mopping our foreheads and complaining about the heat.
After golf we went home and I realized I still needed to run. We had some other things going on later in the afternoon so I just figured I would quick change and head out while I had a chance.
Should I bring my phone? Nah, it’s just 5 miles. I’ll quick crank that out in about an hour and be back no problem.
Should I bring water? Nope, it’s just 5 miles. I’ll use the water fountains around the park. But I probably won’t even need that because… well, duh it’s only 5 miles.
Should I eat first? Totally not necessary. IT’S ONLY 5 MILES! I’ll be back in time for lunch.
So I sprayed on some sunscreen, grabbed my watch and my sunglasses and was off.
Mile 1 was warm but I powered through it just fine. The first mile is really just the sidewalk and bike path that leads into the park. Once I got there though, the park was just empty. This is a huge park is usually teaming with families and fitness enthusiasts, especially on a Saturday afternoon. But there was nobody there. It was at least 90 degrees and about 11:30 am, extremely humid. Seemed a little odd but I kept running.
Mile 2 was really just terrible. I was starting to feel every bit of the heat, wished I brought water. I kept running because I still had that tiny voice telling me, “It’s a little warm but who cares! You’re a superhuman bad-ass, remember!?” Grabbed a drink from a drinking fountain at about 2.5.
Mile 3 I realized I had made a terrible mistake and really wished I brought my phone. If I had, I would have called my husband to come get me. It was really just awful. I started to feel light headed and slowed down to run/walk intervals. If you can call them that… it was more like run when I could, walk when I had to.
Mile 4 I found another fountain and just made sure to get as much of it in me and on me as possible. It really wasn’t pretty. I just wanted to get out of the park as fast as I could. I tried to run whenever possible but down to mostly walking at this point. It was really scary to realize the park was seriously empty so if (at that point I really thought it was more like when) I passed out, there wouldn’t even be anyone around.
Mile 5 I just walked out of the park and back to my house. Went straight for the ice and water and just sat there feeling sorry for myself. I re-hydrated. I showered. I ate a giant plate of pasta for lunch. I took a 2 hour nap. I promised myself I would never ever ever take the heat lightly again. I’d follow all the rules from now on. Just like I did after last year’s idiot run.
Two good things came of the 2016 Annual Idiot Run.
1.) I realized I’m actually not a superhuman bad-ass who is immune to the heat and humidity. I learned my lesson. No more runs at noon when it’s 90+ degrees. Runs will now be very early or very late until sometime mid September. I will remember to take my phone and some water. I’ll hydrate before I go. I’ll carb up.
2.) I also realized I was not having fun out there. On that run I had a long time to think about running and the summer. I realized I was completely dreading training for another marathon. I just wasn’t looking forward to hours and hours away from my family. I wasn’t looking forward to feeling broken for three days after an 18 or 20 mile run. I was excited about the adventure of training for such an epic event when I was training for my first marathon. It seemed like an awesome thing to do. But I realized now that I know what it takes, and I’m just not in a hurry to do it again. I’ve been marathon training for almost 2 years now and I’m just tired of it.
No more idiot runs. No more 2016 marathon training.
There are other goals on the horizon for me though. I’m really excited about this new goal of mine, which is actually an old goal. I’ll be talking about it tomorrow on my YouTube channel. Stay tuned! 🙂
Are there Benefits to Lazy Running?
Getting over this most recent (and honestly very minor) injury, I went out for a 4 mile run this morning. I started off with what I thought was really good effort. When I run I mostly think about running. I watch my pace, I think about my posture, my foot strike, my balance, my cadence, my breathing etc. The entire workout is a constant physical and mental effort to produce the most quality run I possibly can.
But not today.
After 2 miles of constantly monitoring every breath and foot fall, I was honestly just so tired of it all.
I just wanted to run. So I did. I just ran.
I was appalled by my heavy feet and swinging arms but I just didn’t care. I just didn’t have the energy today. I bargained with myself that I would just let myself run however I wanted to just this one time, to relax and just make it home. I promised myself I would put in a better effort next time.
I paid attention to what happened next, but had given up on trying to control it. My light and skippy, forefoot strike transformed into a very solid mid-foot strike and I gained an exaggerated (for me) oblique twist. The last little bit of residual pain in my left leg completely dissolved. And I watched my Garmin in awe as my pace naturally and seemingly effortlessly went from a 13 minute mile to a 10:30 minute mile.
With only 2 miles of this, I’m not sure if I’m onto something or if it’s a total fluke. But I do know that it felt good. Really good.
Race Recap: Delaware Marathon
I finally did it. I ran my first marathon after 18 months of training, injury, recovery, and retraining. So happy to have survived this accomplishment. I will never forget it!
Here’s my video recap of the weekend and the race. 🙂
Marathon Countdown: 5 Days
So… I’m running a marathon in 5 days. But seriously folks, *I* am running a *marathon* in *5 days*! I’m freaking out. Like honestly seriously really really psyched up for this race. The good news is that this is following all the normal race feelings. I’m almost always cool as a cucumber until I get “the” email.
(Vlog from this past Sunday.)
“The” email is the one that has all the important stuff you need to run. It basically says this: You have to pick up your bib and swag, you need to park somewhere for that and you need to park somewhere on race day. You need to show up on time on race day. Remember to drink water so you don’t die. Here’s the giant course you have to run through and here are where we’ll give you said water so you don’t die. You have to finish by this time or else something not so cool will happen. You can store your stuff over here and your entourage can cheer for you over there. You can order pictures from said ordeal at this site. Etc., etc., etc.,
And so I read through this and all I can think is “oh crap”. I actually signed up for and trained for this giant thing and now I have to go do it. I talk myself out of the same tree every single time. Usually it’s just the first time at that distance and this is a big one.
The real bummer about this race is there is a very EASY out. After you run 13.1 miles you can take a simple turn, get your medal for the half marathon and call it a day. They’ll give you the appropriate time for the half and everything. All you have to do is stop running. Get your banana, take your pics! You can go home to air conditioning, naps, cupcakes, the works. Be done in half the time! That will be, by far the biggest challenge I am going to face on Sunday. I know that is going to be extremely tempting. Especially if it’s as warm as it’s going to be.
But I didn’t start this thing to run a half marathon. Been there, done that. This is my time, I’ve earned it, and I’m going to do this. That’s what I’m telling myself anyway. 🙂 If you have any other words of wisdom 5 days out of a big giant thing, please share. I could use it!
Marathon Countdown: 14 Days
Just two weeks from today I will run my first marathon. I’ve trained as well as I can up until this point and am just getting through the next couple weeks one day at a time. I’ve also started working on my dissertation for my Ph.D. this week which will make things a little more complicated. I’m going to focus on balancing adding the grad work back as the running continues to taper off.
As I’m writing this I realize I didn’t write about last week’s Hot Chocolate 15K at all! No PRs there but it was a fun day with friends and chocolate. Here are some pics from the event.
Also found a new bike path this week! Every time I think I’ve run every road I can get to from my house, this town surprises me. I really do feel lucky to live in such a run-friendly neighborhood.
Big Milestone – The 20 Miler!
So excited and relieved to have been able to run this distance today! Feeling more excited about and committed to my training than ever this week. No long blog post today but here is a short video recap of today’s marathon training run.
The Super Soggy Sixteen Miler
What’s fun about running 16 miles when the first five are through a cold rain? You might think not much but when we look for it, we can find the sunshine in just about anything. Even what I’m calling the Super Soggy Sixteen Miler.
Wet and rainy view from this Saturday’s long run.
I spent most of last week not allowing myself to recall past difficult 16 milers (see Race Recap: Zumbro 17 Mile Trail Race and Marathon Training is Hard). Or the fact that I’ve had issues spring up including “the injury” and now this pneumonia right around the 16 mile training run. It would have been very easy to allow myself to start thinking some really negative thoughts such as “I’m not meant to do this”, “the universe doesn’t want me to do this”, “my body’s not cut out to be a marathoner”, etc. Every time I would start to think those things I would purposely stop myself and remember that it’s just about a half marathon followed by a 5K. Piece of cake right?
The first few miles were cloudy with mist. Not lovely but not bad either. And then at about mile 3 the heavens opened up and the real rain came out until about mile 5. Two miles of rain is enough to get seriously wet. I felt like a swamp monster for the remaining 11 miles. But that was IT! That was really the only problem with this run. Just the sheer discomfort of running in wet clothes. No injuries, and I finished the planned distance. My feet were a little more raw than they might have been from the wet shoes but I’m hoping that will turn into better callouses. (A girl can dream right?)
On to 18 or 20 and beyond from here. It’s about to get fun. Trying to find new routes and ways to keep it interesting. Look out Delaware Marathon. I have 6 weeks. And I’m coming for you.
Is Treadmill Season Over Yet?
I cannot tell you how completely excited I am for Spring. It’s been a relatively mild winter for Minnesota but it has been cold enough and icy enough to keep me inside and on the treadmill throughout the majority of my training runs. I need to get outside soon for pure peace of mind if nothing else. 🙂
The half marathon I’ve been training for (RnR New Orleans) is now less than 2 weeks away! I am so completely psyched to get out and race again. It’s been over 6 months! I have also never actually trained for a half marathon before so I’m excited to see how the training will affect how I feel during and after this race. I am not aiming for a PR this time considering the injury recovery but I would really like to finish pain-free and happy. 🙂
Let’s Try this Marathon Thing One More Time
When I decided not to run what would have been my first marathon in October 2015, I more or less dropped this blog too. Grad school and a promotion at work consumed my life and I focused on those things and recovery. But now I’m back and feel like I have something to write about again!
I’m registered for the Delaware marathon on May 8th. I am very excited for this race and am trying to do everything completely by the book this time as possible. I’m running my miles to the very best of my ability, working with a coach, watching what I eat, and this week even started adding back in strength and cross training. It’s actually feeling like it can happen this time! I’m especially excited for what will be the first race post injury: Rock and Roll New Orleans half marathon. My only goal for this race is to genuinely have a good time and not hurt myself. I think it’s a reasonable goal. 🙂
Run to Race 