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June 11, 2005, 7:00am: Running over a half-marathon nonstop.
| GOAL: |
14 miles |
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| LOCATION: |
Forest Park, St. Louis, Missouri
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| CONDITIONS: |
75°-80°, humid and breezy |
| RESULTS: |
14 miles |
TIME: 2:27:49
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PACE: 10:33/mile
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| TOTAL TRAINING MILES TO DATE (walking & running): 241 miles |
Getting Up Even Earlier
Well, I was ready to beat the heat this morning and decided to get running at 7:00am, instead of the usual 8:00am for Saturday morning runs. I can't believe it's daylight at 5:30am! (Maybe I should get up earlier...HA!) I would have NEVER thought a night owl like myself would actually want to get up at 6:00am on a Saturday morning and exercise for 2.5 hours straight. I must be insane!
The Run
The 14 miles around Forest Park consisted of running around the park twice, then going out a mile and coming back a mile. I felt it would be best mentally if I ran the first 2 miles right away, that way when I came around the second lap, I'd be done and wouldn't have to feel like giving up on 2 more miles. So, Shelly ran with me during Mile 1, but she took her walk break after that and I kept going. I had a pretty easy start and didn't run too fast. My body was taking it pretty good, so I didn't feel like stopping in the beginning. I was hoping I could do a complete 6-mile lap without stopping, which would put me at 8 miles. I took a GU to give me some energy, and I ripped through Mile 8 without any problems.
Then the mind games kicked in. I was thinking, "How would I feel if I actually ran the entire 14 miles without stopping? I'm over halfway there right now. That's like running a half-marathon nonstop! How good would I feel about that?" I kept thinking about it. As Mile 10 passed, I knew had broken a personal record from back in 2002; before today, I ran 10 miles non-stop only one time, and that was when I had lost 80 pounds and was running for about 3 months. I was about 20 pounds lighter then, but somehow today I was able to run past Mile 10 and just kept going. That was my first amazing accomplishment.
So here I was with 4 miles left in the run. Should I keep going with 45 more minutes of still ahead of me? I took another GU energy gel, which would give me energy around Mile 12 by the time it went through my system. At this point, I didn't care about pace; I was now determined to finish the run without stopping. There was one last big hill I had to run before the rest of the path was all downhill. I was really feeling the exhaustion, and I said to myself, "Oh God, please just get me over this hill. I pray that you can give me the strength to overcome this and be stronger than before." And within seconds, I had a sign that things were going to be alright. I saw my running partner Shelly running down the same hill I was going up. She was truckin' it! Just by passing each other, there was a sense of support that I so desperately needed. We just looked at each other and said, "hangin' in there!" and kept on running opposite directions. That little support was all I needed to finish.
After I got over the last hill, I started to cramp up. It wasn't from my legs or any other part of me which was numb from the constant pounding. The cramping was because I had to go to the bathroom! It was really hurting! It wasn't going to stop me no matter what, but I just wondered how much pain was I going to experience for the last 2 miles. The cramping went on for about a mile, then it slowly faded away. On that last mile, I just ran at an easy pace, and glided into home plate without any problems. I grabbed a wet towel, wiped my face off, drank lots of cold water and stretched. It took me about 45 minutes before I was able to get enough energy to drive home. I was drained for the rest of the day, taking a small nap later in the afternoon.
Comparing Today to Last Week
I was much better prepared for the heat today. A couple days of running on Monday and Tuesday really set the stage for dealing with high heat and humidity, and also getting an earlier start on the run made a big difference too. But most of all, I think I ran better this week than last because I was familiar with the course. I train most every day at Forest Park, so at any given time, I knew how much was running was left. Last week on the Katy Trail, I had no idea how much further I had to run, even though it was a simple out-and-back course.
| THOUGHTS: |
Now I can see why I pushed myself to run nonstop. It's such a great feeling to say I ran a half-marathon nonstop!!! Now, I need to listen to my body and take breaks if necessary. I've broken all my running records today, so I can relax with a smile. |
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I logged onto my website, and saw this photo on the Alaska webcam on my home page! FREAKY! Attack of the killer bugs in Anchorage!
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