The Marathon Training Blog

Saturday was 12-mile run number two. (I'm a little off schedule due to the week I was nursing my hip, so I'm running a combo between my plan and Steph's plan though she's training for a race 2 weeks before mine.) It was tough from the beginning. But I think I know where I went wrong: I didn’t sleep well the night before so I wasn’t at all rested, and I decided to have part of a banana for breakfast instead of my usual PowerBar. I think a banana is better post-run, it seemed was a little too bulky to have before a long run. Other than that, I guess there will just always be days where even 3 miles seems harder than your last 12.

I really didn’t think, even at mile 4, that there was any way I would make it to 12. But I also didn’t want to disappoint my friend, so I kept quiet and hoped for the best, all the while wondering how long I would make it before I had to stop. As Steph and I talked and ran, we discussed motivation, confidence, and visualization a lot. It was so helpful and motivating. What started out as a talk filled with self doubt, turned out to be what got me through those really difficult 12 miles.

To sum up:
1-- One thing I’ve always heard in yoga classes is to just accept where you are that day in your practice. So while today may not be my best performance, instead of feeling bad about it or letting it make me doubt my ability to finish the race, which will only make the run that much more difficult, I should just focus on how I’m going to get through it and then put it aside. I slowed my pace, accepted that this would be an awfully long run, but that I would finish it.

2 -- I have to remember how much I’ve accomplished. Yes, 26.2 miles is a long, unimaginable distance, but who would have thought (I never would have thought) that I could run 12. When you’re struggling to run 3 miles, 12 may as well be 26.2. You know? So I have to remember how far I’ve come, be proud of it, and remember that every step I take -- even the ones that are slower than I would like or more painful or difficult than I want -- are aimed at helping me get to a bigger goal.

3 -- Stop thinking about when my legs are going to giveout or the big hill coming up and focus on the steps right in front me.

4 -- Think about what it’s going to feel, sound, and look like when I cross the finish line in November. Visualizing myself doing it makes it seem more possible and achievable.

5 -- Pep talks are crucial. I shamelessly command my friends to give me pep talks about various things in my life, but I need to be better at doing it for myself. So during those last 3 miles when my quads were really feeling like dead weight, I kept telling myself, “You’re almost there.” And Steph is the pep talk master! Her words are my new mantra: "Walking is not an option."

I also did some reading about motivation and visualization and marathons and stumbled on to a pretty cool, though old, but still relevant article, aptly titled, Mind Over Marathon.

Also, in more concrete terms, when I felt myself dragging, my posture was getting sloppy, which wasn’t making the run any easier. So I focused on keeping my head up, instead of looking down and hunching over, and picking up my feet instead of shuffling, and somehow that did make the steps easier.

I was so happy to finish. And so very proud of us.

Unlike the previous 12-mile run, I wasn’t completely wiped out and recovered much faster, with less soreness. I’m not sure exactly what I did right, but here’s what I think helped: I ate right away. I usually take the train home, shower, etc, before eating anything. But this time, I ate a snack right after. I drank a ton more water. And I had a bowl of oatmeal and fruit instead of a fatty egg and cheese sandwich (a post-run fave).

The good news is, because I did so many things right, was less sore than usual, and because I felt so good about finishing the run, I was pepped up to run the next day. And managed to do 4.5 miles. Now this is why I love running.

So I didn't accomplish everything I set out to do this weekend -- track down those electrolyte jelly beans, find the perfect socks and figure out what I'm going to wear to run this fall and possibly on race day, but hell I ran 12 miles!

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• #1 Comment from bgilmore725 
  9/23/06 7:09 AM | Permalink

  As I was reading your steps (the summary), I applied them to what I do professionally (teach elementary school), and found they are great suggestions for anyone attempting something challenging and new. 1) Accept where you are that day in your work, project, profession, career. 2) Remember that every step you take, even the ones that are slower or more difficult than you'd like them to be, will help you reach a bigger goal you have set for yourself. 3) When you feel like you can't move forward another inch because you are so tired (like at 2:30 when the kids are dismissed, and you still have five hours of work ahead of you), focus on what has to be done right now.  4) Think about what it is going to feel like, sound like, and look like when the year is over,  and the kids have learned everything you have taught them, and the tests are passed,. Visualizing yourself at the end of the year helps you see what is necessary and possible to do for the students right now.  5) Each day, give yourself a pep talk. Create a personal mantra "Slacking off is not an option,"  or "Giving up is not an option,"  or  "Saying 'this kid isn't going to pass'," is not an option. Your advice for good posture while running applies to other real life situations... good posture can help all of us get through our work day! Following your advice would mean we could go home at the end of the day and not feel completely wiped out, our feet and legs wouldn't be so sore from standing on our feet all day, and eating lunch at lunch time would give us the energy needed to deal with daily classroom challenges. Yes, good advice for everyone, Jennifer. Thanks, Bea!
  
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