10 Days!!!

Judgement day is coming and it is only 10 days away. This weekend I went outside and I did almost 19 miles. I didn't want to stop, but I had my reasons and I could have easily kept going. One thing I did have to do was come in periodically to warm up. I had to do this for a couple of reasons: 1. It was under 30 degrees. I have already have frost nip and I really didn't want to risk a cold injury. So every 5 miles or so I would come back in. 2. Because of the cold it was very hard to move my legs. My muscles were so frozen that it was almost like picking up cinder blocks. 3. Moving that much causes you to sweat. The sweat with the temps outside led to me getting cold too quickly.

So how has the training been going? Its been okay. Running a marathon is much harder than I thought and believe me I didn't underestimate it. One thing I didn't count on was how crazy cold it was going to be. Pair that with my job as a school teacher and I spent a majority of my time sick. I actually just finished recovering from a 3 week bout with bronchitis. I was actually really frustrated because I kept resting and every time I thought I was better, I would do a workout and then I would be sick again. I finally had to go on pregnazone to feel better and wouldn't you know it, it knocked it out within a couple of days. The cold threw a wrench into my plans, but I think I will manage. One advantage I have over a lot of people is that I live in a super hilly area and my training helps me to build up leg strength. It took me about 5 hours at a half trying pace to run 19 miles. I think being on a flat surface, with something to look at, and actually trying will help me do better.

My game plan is as follows. Run the first 13.1 miles at a quicker pace, but not too fast that I burn out. Pacing is important. I am going to take the advice of my buddy and eat a good carb rich breakfast so I have fuel. Then I am taking 6 gel packs and a couple jelly belly sport bean packs with me. Every hour I will eat something and snack on the jelly belly's periodically. I am carrying a water bottle with me. I am also downloading a book on tape, I am thinking the "Lady in Black," but I need a good story where the narrator has an interesting voice. I have a short attention span if things don't sound interesting. So if anyone has a suggestion, please let me know. Other than that I am keeping to my usual routine.

What I have learned so far is that after 17 miles you don't really feel pain anymore. I have also learned that i can't wait for this to be over. I will be honest, I don't like running more than 13 miles. I find this to be an agonizing process. Its pretty much what I expected, but I really detest this distance. So I can firmly say, I am excited to get this over with. I will be happy to achieve this goal and I will be happy to focus on half marathons. I like half marathons. I am doing the tapering part of the program, but there isn't much to taper since I haven't really been running the super long distances for very long. So I am happy to just be taking it easy.

One last check in before I go run. Wish me luck because I will need it.

Happy running!