skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Well I did it! I ran 20 miles yesterday. I'm so glad that its over but at the same time I am nervous--finishing this run means the marathon is coming fast--and there is NO turning back now!
I'm glad I called my playlist "Dirty 20" because I was pretty disgusting after running for 4 freaking hours. But it went okay...it was mostly, well...BORING. I'm so glad that I had 2 podcasts to listen to, they really do make the time fly by. The last 4 miles were the hardest--my left knee started to hurt at the end, which is weird because I usually never have knee pain so that freaked me out a little. (Okay it continues to freak me out.) But I am SOOOO glad its over and now I can "relax" a little and rest up during the next few weeks.
I think this run was a little less climactic than the 19 mile run. After running 19 miles I knew in my heart that I could definitely do 20. But I am a little worried that I didn't make my 20 mile run as much of a true "dress rehearsal" for the marathon as I should have.
Technically you are supposed to pretend like your 20 mile run IS the marathon--from your dinner the night before, to breakfast, to the shorts, socks, shirt you will wear to the ways you will fuel during the run.
I had everything down except for the fueling part--I've been so nervous to eat gels and drink Gatorade that I've tried to use them as little as possible. But it became TERRIFYINGLY obvious during this 20 miler that I need to fuel more. I ate 1 gel during the whole run. Huh. Just to give comparison---when Stacey ran the marathon a few years ago she had 4. Soooo yeah, I need to figure something out and just bit the bullet. Yes I may have to use the bathroom more, but its better than hitting the wall. Okay yes, the wall is inevitable, but I can at least do what I can to put it off or get through it.
So 20 miles DONE! Still quite a bit more to go but I am actually getting really EXCITED for CHICAGO!!!!!!!
Tomorrow I am running 20 miles. I've just spent the last hour putting together a play list for my ipod titled "Dirty 20" because its 20 miles and its gonna be dirty. No seriously, after running for that long you are really just a hot, sweaty, dirty, tranny MESS. I fully expect that all of the above (hot, sweat, dirt...possibly a tranny?) and probably even more will happen tomorrow.
My play list starts with one of my all-time favorite songs: BAD by U2. Its the perfect song to start my journey. It reminds me of my time in Chicago--appropriate since that is where my marathon will be. Plus its a slower paced song so it will ensure that I ease into this ultra-long run. The rest of the play list is inner mixed with podcasts--This American Life and All Songs Considered, some INXS, New Order, Heart, Weezer, Cake, Rolling Stones, Violent Femmes, Bob Marley, Ryan Adams, Tom Petty and yes, Miley Cyrus.
Most of the songs I put on this play list are new---new as in--I haven't worn myself out listening to them on every run I've done in the last 3 months. Some are old favorites like "American Music" by Violent Femmes--I love that song and it reminds me of High School. Bob Marley will hopefully chill me out during miles 12,13,14 when I'm just beginning to get tired and my form gets sloppy. I hope to pretend to be on a beach with a cocktail...oh whatever, yes I hope that his songs make me feel high for a least a mile so I forget all the pain I'm in.
And yes, I added Cake's "The Distance"--totally a race/runner song. I don't really like it that much, but if I'm going anything tomorrow its sure as hell DISTANCE...but not so much speed.
And then Miley Cyrus, Rhianna, Nelly Furtado will just keep my spirits up and keep me going. Sadly I have to admit that I really love Miley's song "Party in the U.S.A." I know, its so sad. But I can't help it! Its super-sugar pop at its best and honestly when that song is playing I picture myself at a dance club in super high heels surrounded by thousands of gorgeous gay men. (Don't judge: running that far your brain does strange things...it conjures up images of me dancing with hot gay men. It could be worse.)
Well that is all for now. I have lots more to update, but I was supposed to be in bed an hour ago. I must sleep so that I can get up and run 20 F-ING MILES while my husband and dog sleep. I will give all the dirty details after the run is over. Maybe I'll give the top 20 Dirty things about running 20 miles. I'll have plenty of time to make my list....!
So in my last post I talked about my 18 mile run. A HUGE milestone for me and a run that went really well. I felt pretty good during the run and after.
WELL.....then I took the next day off (Monday)--which, by the way--one good thing I can say about these long runs: they allow me to actually LOOK FORWARD to Mondays. I usually hate Mondays. But since I've been training I love knowing that all I have to do the next day is get up, go to work, then come home and do NOTHING! And I usually allow myself to also enjoy a bowl of ice cream on Monday nights too! Okay lets be honest--the ice cream is the thing I look forward to the most! But I digress....
Anyway, so I took Monday off and Tuesday morning decided to run on the treadmill. Yes, I hate the treadmill, but it was still dark when I got up and honestly, I just wanted to zone out and watch TV while I ran. The first 3 miles felt fine, then suddenly I felt a pinch above my left ankle just below my calf muscle. I decided to just run through the pain to see if it would go away...well it got worse and didn't go away. In fact, after my run was over my calf was REALLY sore. OH GREAT.
So I took some Advil (Advil by the way is becoming a part of my daily routine--I take a multivitamin and then Advil...and then later more Advil. I know it can hurt my stomach but I don't care. My whole body hurts and it helps so there. I swear Advil is what keeps me going most days. Is this addiction? Can you get addicted to Advil? Hmmm...)
Advil sort of worked but just to be safe I decided to skip my run the next day. Thursday I ran with Stacey, who has just returned to running after quite a hiatus due to plantar fasciitis, and I was really looking forward to running with her again. I made it 2 miles before the pinch returned and had to stop and walk for most of our run! At that point I was getting really frustrated and really scared too. I took another break the next day and STUPID ME---wanted to still go ahead and try to do my long run that Sunday--13 miles. Surprisingly I made it 8 miles--and felt great! Then just into mile 9--the pinching came back. But instead of stopping, I wanted to see if I could go just a little further. I barely made it 10 miles. Which, looking back was probably pretty stupid.
Finally, I got in to see a Physical Therapist. She is a runner too--in fact she's run 30 marathons and almost qualified for the Olympics! She made me feel a LOT better--I was afraid she would just tell me to quit whining and take a week off, but she didn't! She actually wasn't too concerned about my calf. She it is likely just an overuse injury and that from here on out I can expect that every time I run SOMETHING will probably hurt. She advised me to keep running, but to STOP as soon as the muscle starts to cramp. (Oh Stopping...huh...what a concept!) Then go to the gym and finish the run on a bike or elliptical machine. YUCK. But at least I don't have to quit running altogether. (and yes its weird that I didn't want to be told to stop running. Hey...I've made it this far--why quit now!) She said that at this point in the training I'm essentially ready (HUH? Ready? I don't feel ready!) but that the important thing is to keep up my endurance, heal this injury and prevent any further injuries.
Thankfully each run this week got a little better. I was able to go a little further each time without cramping and I did cross train one day on the elliptical and the bike, which was boring but seemed to help.
Sunday was my longest run yet---19 miles. Anthony had to run 20 and I figured "Hey what's one more mile?" So I decided that I would aim for 20 and if I had to stop at 19, well then I did what I was supposed to do. We ran the Big Papio trail again--we started around 7:15 AM and finished around 11:00 AM. I felt pretty good most of the way. The hardest part of long runs is that they are boring. Yes I was with Anthony, but after 3 hours of running, you start to run out of things to say! But we soldiered on--we met another runner along the way who was training for the Dublin marathon! And I am happy to report that I was able to eat a Powergel without any...uh...stomach/bowel trouble. (Gross, I know, but hey there is NO bathroom on the papio trail!) I actually think that the gel is what got me through the last 6 miles. So I'll be trying that again during my 20 mile run.
At about 18.5 miles my calf muscle started hurting again. I was mad, but also thankful that I had made it that far without any trouble. I pushed myself to go to 19 and stopped and walked the rest of the way....okay, okay so I ran a LITTLE more, but I didn't get all the way to 20. Oh well! I did what the schedule said!
After the run I was sore, of course. My calf muscle hurt, but not nearly as bad as it had the past week, but I do have a new sore spot on my left shin. I'm icing it as I write this. My new best friends: ICE & ADVIL...oh yeah, and Ice Cream!
So this week--its 5,8,5 and 12 miles...then the following week will be my highest mileage week yet culminating with my longest long run of 20 miles and then its time to taper! I can't believe I'm already at this point! 18 weeks ago, October 11th seemed so far away and now its just over 4 weeks away. If I survive this training I think I can survive the marathon. But I still have a ways to go.....117 miles to be exact.
