Wow, I’ve been MIA…seriously, marathon training takes up so much time and energy, and then I have my actual life to tend to, that blogging is always last. Makes me sad because I love to write, and express my thoughts, I want to be a better blogger, I really do, so hopefully I get better…baby steps, right?
Anyways, here we are with 6 weeks to go til the big day, and I actually feel ok. I thought my anxiety would be worse, but so far its been ok, maybe once its October I’ll actually start freaking out! I feel so lucky so far because I’ve done every run on my schedule except for 3! I was sick last week, and the week before we went to a baseball game that wasn’t planned, but still missing 3 runs out of 12 weeks of running ain’t so bad. I don’t think I’ve ever been so dedicated to a training plan before, I’ve done 9 half marathons, and at least half of those races I was lackadaisical with my training runs.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m following the Novice 1 plan, from Hal Higdon, some may think the mileage for this program is low, but for me it fits my lifestyle, and as a runner, I tend to do better with lower mileage, I suffer from plantar faciitis, and had an old hip injury, and when I do too much, my body suffers more. So far my plantar has been the only thing to really bother me during training.
In the last three weeks, I’ve run my longest distance runs 15, 17, & 18 miles. I never thought I would make it past 13.1 miles, but I have, and I feel much more confident that I will finish the marathon strong.
My 15 miler, was a true testament to my determination to finish what I started. I joined Nike NYC for a group run that took us from midtown, to the East River, to RFK bridge into Randall’s Island, and back into the city down the river again. I departed from the group and ran over the 59th St bridge back into Queens, and ended my run in Long Island City in Gantry Plaza park. It was one of our last really hot days this summer, the humidity was at 90% during the morning, there was no wind, and it was the hottest, stickiest run I’ve done. My pace was terrible, and I wanted to give up so bad, each mile felt like torture, but I was going to finish no matter what. It was so hot that I made mistakes fueling during my run, 4 miles in, I downed a bottle of Gatorade, later I took my powerade gel, and then again around 6 miles in another bottle of Gatorade, more gel, and then around 9 miles, I had water, because Nike ran out of Gatorade, and that was around the same time I left the group. All I remember is feeling the sun beam down on me, and making me feel like I was suffocating. Then I looked down at my hands, and they were swollen! Immediately I knew it was all the Gatorade and powerade gels I took, it was too much too soon! As I was crossing the bridge, and struggling to get over it because the heat exhaustion was killing me, I text my boyfriend: “4.5 miles left, and I’m doing horrible.” He simply replied: ‘you can do it babe, your not doing it for time.“ I don’t know why but his words made me start balling out crying, and not out of misery, because he was right this marathon wasn’t about being the fastest to me or doing it in a certain time frame, it was about finishing, that’s it. That text gave me the boost I needed to keep going those last few miles, when I hit Long Island City, I was boiling, stopping at every water fountain to splash water on myself, but 3 hours and 36 minutes later I finished my longest run, and I cried happy tears, because as much as I wanted to give up, it was never going to happen.
The following week I had 16 miles on my schedule, but I felt like I could do one more than that, so I set out to do 17 miles that day. Again, I chose to run with Nike NYC, and this time we were running the outside of Manhattan, from Midtown, down the East River to the Staten Island Ferry, then across to the West Side Highway, and all the way up to 96th Street in Riverside Park, then east heading into Central Park for the finish. It was finally beginning to feel like fall outside, and for this run, I wanted to work on fuel, and was hoping my pace wouldn’t be as bad as the previous week. I had a great long run, I stuck with the group most of the time, and this time I fueled with water, and coconut water, and took only one gel, and ate a Cliff bar along stops in my run. I had such a strong run, I think I must’ve been smiling the whole time, because I felt great, and was so happy I was off the struggle bus I had been on the previous week. I lost the group around 13 miles in, because I missed an exit we were supposed to take, and when I realized it I was about 14 miles in! So I went back, and even though I had left the group, I stuck to the planned route. Around 15 miles in I slowed down significantly, and I think it was only because I was trying to figure out where to go, and once I hit Central Park, I was able to pick up my pace again, and finished my 17 miles in 3:24, faster than the 15 I ran previously. I was ecstatic! I felt like I redeemed myself in those 17 miles, and proved to myself that I could run that distance at a pace I was comfortable with! I felt like a warrior, like maybe the idea of 26.2 miles wasn’t so crazy after all!
Then this past weekend I was supposed to run only 12 miles, since it was my recovery week. So much for that because I was sick the entire week, and only got one run in. But I chose to run 18 miles instead because, this week I have 18 for my long run, but have the Bronx 10 mile race and a baseball game on Sunday, and a concert the day before…so there’s no way I can run 18 miles before or after work during the week! I feel confident enough that changing my schedule and switching weeks won’t hurt my training at this point. I also had intended on running with Nike again, but since I had been sick, and was still congested and coughing, I knew I’d lose the group, and they were headed to the Bronx, so I really wasn’t comfortable being lost on my own, so I stood in my neighborhood! Now running that far alone is really not easy at all, there’s no one to push you but yourself! I ran the first 5 miles around my park, and then headed to Jamaica Bay for 5.5 miles out and back, and then finished my last two in my park. Now it wasn’t a bad run, I held my pace for awhile, but then the sun came out, and when its on me for too long I feel like I’m roasting, and it distracts me. And also I think running the sidewalks didn’t help either because I had to keep stopping. Mentally I was in the run, but toward the end, I got bored, and realized I need that group motivation for these long runs, so going forward I plan to run them with Nike til training is over. I finished my 18 miles in 3:55, and I was proud, because I had been sick, and did this on my own. And now I feel strong enough to tackle on 20 in a few weeks! This run was just pure satisfaction, because I proved to myself once again, that I can do this!
I ordered two pairs of sneakers while I was sick too, and I’m hoping one of them will carry me to the finish line in November. I’m also hoping they help with the pain in my plantar, it tends to flair up around 14 miles in, so hopefully a new shoe, kt tape, and massages will help!
Anyways, thats all I got for now, hopefully this time next week I’ll have a new post up! I promise guys I really am trying to be a better blogger! Just taking it one post at a time!!! XOXOXO, til next time!
