This morning I woke up from a blaring alarm clock, at an hour too early to be acquainted with Saturdays, regretting my decision to run a half marathon. I mean, one of my favorite things has been and always will be sleep, so can you blame me?
Only 2 weeks stand between me and the finish line, which means that I am in my 5th month of training! One might think that with so much time invested, I would be jazzed and ready to tackle this race. The reality is that I am itching to transition into the next stage of my life and not devote hours and hours to stretching, hydrating, running, showering, stretching again, re-hydrating and washing load after load of sweaty running gear. I know this to be true because other than my long run this morning, I logged ZERO training days this week. I was supposed to run 5 miles Monday, 3 miles Tuesday, cross-train Wednesday, run 5 miles Thursday and then take a much needed rest day on Friday in preparation for my 9 mile run this morning. I actually had an amazingly productive week, filled with countless tasks and accomplishments.. . but I didn't run. At all.
I went to bed last night with the sinking knowledge that my lack of training would most likely adversely affect my ability to run 9 miles but there is something to be said about having an iron will! On my 30 minute drive to pick up my friend Kelli, I prayed, listened to my favorite cd and reviewed 5 months of running accomplishments. When I started this process, I hadn't exercised for essentially 2 entire years. Despite my "get skinny 2008" crusade, I hadn't worked out consistently since doing Pilates with my sister Anna our junior year of high school. I wasn't a runner, but I started running anyways. In early June, the farthest I could run without stopping was 33 minutes. Sometime between June and today, I have gained enough endurance to run for 2 entire hours! On my drive, I reminded myself that I had the endurance to run 8 miles and therefore could not let myself walk any part of this mornings mileage sooner than the 8 mile mark. I was bound and determined to run the whole time but I had no idea how long it would take me to finish.
Unlike most runners, I didn't do this in high school, I don't love the sport and I have never run fast. It is my experience that most people who call themselves runners, run at least a 10 minute mile. Not so much for this kid. I average about a 12-13 minute mile, which I have no intention of changing because I learned early on in this process that if I pace myself, I can run a lot further than if I don't. I am proud to say that a 12-13 minute mile is a comfortable run for me, and when distances like 9 miles are being tackled, being comfortable is an essential component to success.
So, after mentally re-living my journey, I was feeling strong, confident and determined to run 9 miles no matter what happened. The morning started out cool, then turned humid, then started to rain with the humidity thickening simultaneously. I have learned that when I let the weather stand in my way, it does. So today, I decided that I didn't care how hot or uncomfortable I was. I just kept running. I finished 9 miles in almost exactly 2 hours. I know a lot of people can run a lot further given that same time frame, but for me, it was a personal best.
I am already trying to talk myself into waking up early enough this week to train like I am supposed to be but with life tasks such as finding car insurance, finishing up graduate school, maintaining my friendships, and getting things in order for my job, the challenge is greater than it seems. I guess I'll just have to take it one day at a time.
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