7 miles and the freak-out

Workouts for the Week so far:

Monday: 1285 yd Swim

Tuesday: 3.09 miles Hill Workout (group run)

Evening: 16 min core workout

1.01 mile evening run

Wednesday: Rest Day

Thursday: 2.26 mile speed workout (group run)
Friday- 827 yd
Saturday- Rest/Lots of Walking Day
Sunday- 7 mile run

Before I get into today's run, a short recap of the week workouts- Really happy that I went to group workouts, glad I got a core workout in and I wished I would have gotten another swim in. Also, happy about getting a 7 mile long run in.

***** THIS IS A LONG POST! FYI ! ******

Today's Long Run is Long Run#2 in Marathon Training.

This Week's Splits Compared to last week's long run:

07/15-  12:29/12:46/12:55/14:29/12:42/13:14- 6 miles 1:18:37- 13:06 overall pace
07/22- 13:18 /12:11 /14:13 /13:35 /13:07 /12:56 /12:45- 7 miles- 1:32:14- 13:09 pace


This long run, as I'm sure I will say about every long run leading up to the marathon, was hard. I am out of shape. It's hard for me to believe that I lost so much endurance. I have been running for about 2 and a half years. Although I am not fast and I typically do not do long runs, I have completed two half-marathons and two 10 mile races. Therefore WHY WAS A 7 MILE RUN SO HARD?!

You may notice the 3rd mile split of today's run is in red. I will get to that devil mile in a minute.

We started today's run about 30 minutes earlier then last week, which I was really happy about. I also went to bed earlier and ate a better meal the night before. So going into the run, I was feeling better overall then last week's run. I wasn't having throat problems or allergy issues, I hadn't run in two days, my legs felt fine, the weather felt better. Which was good as I was aiming to run 7 miles today, my longest run of the year (so far).

I was very lucky because I had my husband who was running the entire run with me, I didnt take any music or my runkeeper app and had him take care of the distance, pace, extc. 

I started off with downing a gu as I was planning on running about an hour and a half and gave my husband the second one to hold on for me to take before the turn around. 

So we started off on the run at around where the ducks are at San Gabriel Park. They were actually pretty calm today, which was nice. They can get scary when they come after you quacking like mad, but anyways. 

Everything was going fine the first and second miles. As you can see by my pace, I went a little too fast the second mile compare to the first mile. I was starting to get really tired towards the end of my 2nd mile and was struggling to still keep my intervals up. Right around the three mile mark, I was really getting exhausted for some reason and I think the sun was maybe really coming out. I felt like I was drowning under exhaustion and humidity. 

Right before the turn around, my husband reached in his pocket to give me my 2nd gel. It was gone. At this point, looking at my water bottle that was almost empty ( we were about 3/4 of a mile away from the nearest water station at that point), lacking in energy and feeling hot, I started to lose it and fell apart.

This was the devil 3rdmile. Here I started freaking out, giving up on my intervals, mad about the gel, thirsty, and really worried. How can I think I can ever run a marathon? I felt ridiculous for even thinking I could run 26.2 miles when I was struggling to finish a 7 mile run. I was struck with how absolutely long a marathon is and told my husband that if we did a marathon, I was probably gonna DNF.

But just as quickly as I was freakin out, after taking a couple longer minutes to walk then normal, I got over it. I gave up on my intervals and just fartleked the rest of the run. Running every 2 light posts, walking one light posts, or running until I felt like it and then walking. All I wanted to do was to get to 7 miles. 

I should mention that in the 2+ years of running and racing, we have probably done about 20 races. I've been slow in all, but never DNF and yet, I am always convinced I am not going to be able to finish. 

Why? I don't know. 

I guess at the beginning of training, I don't have the strength and base that I have towards the end. On my last two half-marathons, I trained for 16 weeks and 17 weeks. I ran all my scheduled long runs and improved my half-marathon time on the second one by 7 minutes. Not a huge accomplishment, I know, but my point is, I know that if you put in the time and the effort, you will see results.

So why did I freak out in the middle of a 7 mile run? The weather? My insecurities as a runner? No gu? Thirsty? Tired? I've had all these before, but not been that upset. 

But in the end, I did it. I ran all 7 miles. If it hadn't of been for my husband, I know I would not have been able to do it. 

Sometimes I feel like because I am not fast, because after 2 years I still walk a lot, that I am not a "real" runner. I mean, I consider myself a runner, but others who run a lot faster then me, would not consider these paces "a runner's pace". I guess I just need to remember something I hear a lot of people say:

You are running your own race, not someone else's. So there. :)

The kind of run where you get a blister on your thumb

This is a pic from my long run at Brushy Creek today. We started by Olson Meadows Park. 

Workouts for the week:

Monday- 1.42 miles at Lake Pflugerville
.64 open water swim
Tuesday- 1.57 miles- (early morning route)
Wednesday- 862 yd swim
Thursday- Rest day
Friday- 1.79 miles- treadmill
933 yd swim
Saturday- Rest Day
Sunday- 6.0 miles run at Brushy Creek

So, pretty happy with my workouts for the week overall with two caveats: I didn't do any core work and I wish some of my runs during the week would have been longer. 

But, I really want to talk about my long run today. 

This was a difficult run for me but ultimately good. We stayed up late eating pizza and pasta and as such started the run late. When we started, it was about 8 am after my warmup. I would have liked to start about an hour earlier. My allergies were hurting me and my throat felt like it was closing up. I felt heavy and tired and didn't know if I would be able to make my goal of running 5.85 miles in 1:15:00.

And (duh)  I didn't run at that pace. To make up for not running the speed I wish I did, I ran .15 miles more. 

My splits for the run were:

12:29
12:46
12:55
14:29- bathroom break
12:42
13:14-

So, I think my splits were decent as I was happy they were pretty consistent, other than the bathroom break and the last mile.

I ended the run with a blister on my thumb and a blister on my right foot. How do you get a blister on your thumb during a run?!

I know it sounds like I am complaining about the run. And it sounds like that I guess because I AM! Honestly though, I ended up putting the smiley face on this run for 3 reasons:
1. I haven't run 6 miles in over 3 months.
2. I finished and went further then planned.
3. It was so nice to see all the runners out today.

I think seeing other runners out there when I am doing long runs helps a lot. Although I have done races and have run about 12 times in 2 and a half years with my husband, I generally am a solitary runner. I run by myself because I like to be alone mostly during runs, I'm not that fast and I take walk breaks and I know that's not other people's style necessarily and it's good stress relief.

However, sometimes when you are in a "bad place" during a run, i.e. you have a blister on your thumb and sweat dripping from your ears ( why is my body so weird?!) it can be helpful to see people on the trail. The variety is amazing and distracting and inspiring. Today I saw a group of young guys booking it, lots of girl friends walking and talking and several steady, smooth runners.

When I see these people, I remember that running isn't just about me. I am not the only one dealing with the heat and humidity. I am not the only one who is tired. I am not the only one who appreciates how great and hard at the same time running can be. I think running helps you to develop a respect for the effort it takes to do the sport, even if from some people, it looks like they are exerting little effort, I know that having the discipline and drive to get to the point where they CAN go that fast is worth something.

LONG TRAINING RUN #1 for the marathon IN THE BOOKS!

Bringing Back the Running Blog with some Kinda Maybe Big News!!

This is a pic from my run at Lake Pflugerville today. I ran only 1.42 miles, but I followed it up with a .67 mile swim in the lake, so not that bad.
Anyways, today is the FIRST day of me and Vince training for the Austin Marathon in February. Now, before I get carried away, let me issue a big disclaimer-WE HAVE NOT YET REGISTERED FOR THE RACE. The major reason is because the race is $$$. Also, I am out of shape since my last half in November. Also, 26.2 miles is a lot. However, training for a marathon is not the same as doing a marathon or committing to do one. So, since the marathon is about 7 months away, we have been running for over 2 years, I think if we stay committed to a training schedule, I should be able to at least FINISH a marathon. So, while we are not a 100% sure we are doing this race ( I think when I pay for it, I will be 100% sure lol) I am going to start training till I make up my mind!  The Austin Marathon has a time limit of 7 hours, so I want to train for 6 hours and 30 minutes, to give me some breathing room for being tired and for bathroom breaks.
Is it weird to be excited for a training plan and not an actual race yet????