Only 10 miles?!?!

This past week was my short run week following my 16 miler last week-end and before my 18 miler next week-end.  My 16 miler was an unexpectedly great run (http://mommyathlon.blogspot.com/2013/09/16-miles-and-10-to-go-102-that-is.html). Let's see what 18 brings next week!

In any case, for this week's 10 miles, I did a few miles before our group run started and I took on the Key Biscayne bridge 5 times.  I did bridge repeats over and over and didn't pass out and finished strong. They say incline work is great for strength and endurance and I have been doing this bridge for a year now. I used to be able to go over once.  It obviously works because I was going back and forth like nobody's business. It made me feel really good! I finished a great 10 mile run, hung out with the amazing running ladies of Mommyathlon and off to my house I went.

When I got home, my husband asked me how long I went and my answer was "I only did 10 miles". Then I started laughing thinking at how marathon training warps a runner's way of thinking. I remember when 10 miles was a huge feat and all of a sudden, marathon training has me thinking it is a very short distance. Short enough to be preceded by the word "only". Pretty cool (and crazy)!

16 miles and 10 to go! (10.2 that is)

So I had a 16 mile run to complete and I figured that it would be a great way to end the run by running a 5K to remember the mileage. It was going to be my first time running past 14 miles and we all know how badly that went a few weeks ago. I was feeling very confident and strong since I had changed my training and I registered for the Hyundai Hope on Wheels 2nd Annual Miami Children's Hospital 5K. I would run 13 miles then finish the last 3 miles with a 5K. I thought to myself, "I got this".

My husband and a best friend (Pedro) told me they would join me in my crazy 16 mile run and keep me company. I've been trying to convince Pedro to do a full with me. He's a good runner and a dear friend since I was 4 and he was 3. What better way for both of us to do our first full than to train together for it?! I'm still working on him! It's taking time. 

Our day began with a wake up call at 3:30am. I am not a morning person so I asked my husband why he let me register us for a 5K on the day we were doing a 16 mile run. I asked him if he didn't mind me being so crazy that I would think a 3:30am wake up call before a 16 mile run was a good thing? I told him he was a fool to go along with me. He laughed and then he grabbed my bagel straight out of the toaster with his bare hands. I remember thinking he must be burning the heck out of himself. I just kept staring at him in awe when all of a sudden he throws the bagel on a plate wincing in pain and shaking his hand in mid air then running cold water on it. I asked him "What were you thinking?!?!" to which he replied "What do you think? It's 3:30 in the morning, in my mind at this time "I AM INVINCIBLE!" This threw me into the worst laughing attack and I could barely breathe and eat for the next 10 minutes as I kept laughing hysterically. I was now up and ready to go! Thanks to the hubs for being able to make me laugh so early and for getting the blood flowing! 

We got ready and out the door we went to pick up Pedro. We began our run at 4:45am. When we were about to begin, I frantically searched the car for my Garmin and of course, I had left it at home charging. I was upset to say the least. As I cursed myself, I turned on my Nike GPS app and on we went on. Pedro and my husband told me to get over it and just focus on the run but I kept cursing at myself for a good 30 minutes.  Every mile that the Nike app. told me we reached sent me on another rampage and cursing frenzy of how I could not believe that I was not going to be able to track my lap times the very first time I reached 16 miles. My husband and Pedro patiently let me do this and ignored me each time I started again. Somewhere around 40 minutes and mile 4, I found a comfortable rhythm and we were all talking, laughing and I was feeling pretty good and very happy.

Miles 5-10 went by quickly or at least it seemed like it and then it was just a matter of thinking that we were about a 5K short of a half marathon but then I had to keep going for another 5K.  How would I feel then? I got very sentimental at this point and thanked them both for being so good to me and for being the best friend and husband a girl could ever have. Needless to say, they both made fun of me. We all figured right then and there that when I would cross the 26.2 finish line, I would be a mess of tears. That's fine, I don't mind crying in public.

We finished the half distance and to my surprise, I felt really good. We changed socks, shirts and on we went to the start line which we timed perfectly because the 5K began 15 minutes after we reached our 13.1 miles. I started off and kept marveling at how good I felt considering I had just run a half marathon and was going to run a 5K now. The minutes went by quickly as I visualized 26.2 instead of 16. I averaged that once I was finished, those extra 10.2 miles would take me less than 2 hours. Would I be okay to do it? I crossed the 5K line and got my beautiful medal which now will always remind me of these 16 miles and of the wonderful cause behind the 5K. I thought to myself of how many more miles I had in me if I had to keep going. I felt like there were about another 4 miles left in my energy tank. That meant I needed 6.2 miles more to do the full. I marveled that 26.2 will be accomplished! All I need to do is keep going with my training, stay focused and move forward. It will be here sooner than I know it but I will be ready. 

Love, love, love my hubs - thank you baby!

My awesome running buddies!

My awesome running buddies!

My awesome running buddies!

Off to breakfast with Alfie (my husband) and Pedro. We splurged!

Pedro - I hope you decide to tackle the full so we can share this!  Thank you for years of friendship!

This man was at my 2.5 mile mark and he was cheering us on telling us "RUN IT IN, you can do it, I can't!"
and I did run it in. I ran it in with all my might. There are some people that are so inspirational. This man was one
of those individuals.  I found his picture on some site on Facebook and realized he had finished the race then
gone back to cheer us runners on. I was so happy that I can always have something to remember him by.
Thank you stranger - you are so incredible! 

26.2 and all the miles getting there...

I've been horrible about blogging lately but I've been great about training and I'll take the latter! Following my almost near breakdown of my 14 miler and bonking, I refocused and continued my journey through this thing known as "full training". I became even more determined. My desire strengthened. I understand why people must be committed to this goal as it involves long hours of running many, many miles and your heart truly has to be in it. I trained for half marathons and it seems so easy now compared to this training plan. 

I rarely have spare time between the family, kids, chores, and now full training. The blogging has been put off to one side so I can give all my extra time to cross training, lifting and running and I am running a lot these days. I have a 16 miler planned for this week-end and it will be my next step up to getting closer to 26.2. I feel like a machine these days and the progression of adding more mileage is coming naturally now that I have learned some do's and do not's. That being said, it's NOT easy! But I'm guessing when I cross that finish line, it will be very worth it.  

I always try to see the positive side in things and so I obviously always thought I would make it to 26.2 but as an average woman, every once in a while, the question "Will I make it?" would pop up in my mind. A few weeks ago, I used to wonder and then I would think of all the ways I could ensure that I would make it. Lately, I'm changing. Instead of thinking of ways to get there, a calm, quiet voice speaks up and says "Sure, why not?!"

Therein lies the beauty of training. Through it, you begin to realize you are unstoppable.

Dear 26.2, 21 weeks has turned into 11. See you soon.

Hitting the (freakin' huge) wall

Wikipedia defines hitting the wall or the bonk as "a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by sudden fatigue and loss of energy. Milder instances can be remedied by brief rest and the ingestion of food or drinks containing carbohydrates. The condition can usually be avoided by ensuring that glycogen levels are high when the exercise begins, maintaining glucose levels during exercise by eating or drinking carbohydrate-rich substances, or by reducing exercise intensity."

So it was my turn to experience this condition on my first 14 mile run. I was already nervous as I have never gone past 13.1. It's not a huge difference. The mental part played a bigger role than the physical aspect. 

Mistake #1 - If you are recovering from a stomach virus your child gave you, it is probably a good bet to cancel a long run for a shorter, milder run. I went on my my long run as planned. Since I didn't feel great, I skipped breakfast. Um, yeah, you guessed it, that leads me to...
Mistake #2 - NEVER skip breakfast before a long run! At this point, and unbeknownst to me, I am a disaster waiting to happen. The errors of a newbie marathoner. On I went and yet another goof up. 

Mistake #3 - I forgot to charge my ipod - not a big deal when you are running with friends but when you are running the last 8 miles alone, some music will go a long way especially when you are used to it. I know many people that don't like it. I'm one of those that really likes it on long runs and it makes the time go by faster when I'm running solo. It would have been really nice since I was on my way to Mistake #4.

Mistake #4 - NEVER skip mid run nutrition. If you have to, because you are not feeling well, be flexible and cut the run short!

Mistake #5 - When running a new trail, be mindful to pay attention, no matter what state of mind you are in. My 14 mile run ended up being 14.75 because I was too busy texting my husband how I thought I was crazy for registering for a full - this was during my slightly depleted state of mind. We'll get to that!

Ok, so those are the mistakes, here is the story. I began the morning at 2am with an emergency trip to the bathroom. Hello mistake #1. You would think I would have cancelled my long run plan then but no, I kept with it as scheduled because I am very disciplined and very stupid. I think the latter is a more likely culprit. I woke up at 4:30 and then skipped breakfast since my stomach wasn't feeling great. Hello mistake #2 and thanks again to my stupidity for making sure I was about to go on a disastrous run. I was at our usual group meeting spot by 5:30 and went to get my ipod when low and behold, it was out of battery. F%$#! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Did I really forget to charge it before a 14 mile run?!?! I did, great. No music. Hello mistake #3 but then again, I already had a headache so maybe it was a good thing I didn't have music. 

I began my run. I had my fuel belt on with water/Gatorade and completed the first 8 miles. I felt ok at this point. I had skipped any mid run nutrition as my stomach was still off and there were no places where I could comfortably go to the bathroom. This now brings me face to face with mistake #4. Running for 14 miles without any nutrition is simply dumb, but we already established I was having an "I am stupid" day didn't we?! So of course, it made sense to me to not have anything so I wouldn't develop "runner's trots". This is where I believe my stupidity completely takes over because instead of cutting the run short, I not only decide to continue, but I also decide to continue on a new trail. Hello mistake #5.

Luckily, I had replenished my hydration belt at the car and was armed with ice cold water/Gatorade. This was the only smart thing I did this morning as it kept me from completely losing it on what was the next couple of miles. On a new trail, I was cautious to look at the signs I needed to remember so I could find my way back but then it happened. I hit mile 11 and my head tells me, why are you doing this? My legs scream STOP. My body says I'm done, I'm not doing this. And I start walking. It was my turnaround mile to go back to my car and the thought that I needed to complete 3 more miles makes me feel lost and alone and desperate to get back to my car. I pull out my cell phone and text my husband. I say "This is stupid, I can't do a full". He responds "of course you can, you're having a bad run, it happens". He has no idea that I have gone out without eating and with a stomach bug. I start thinking of how much I hate him for being so cheery while I am in the midst of a complete breakdown. Then I start feeling sorry for him because he is the world's best husband and he doesn't deserve to have a mean wife that hates him. He texts me back that I am a very strong woman. I text him that I am an idiot and I am never doing a full in my entire life. He texts back that it is silly to make that sort of decision on a bad run. I go back to hating him then I start thinking how sweet he is and how I am the mean one. An incredibly good looking couple, fit and trim and running fast suddenly blew past me and I hated them both for feeling so great while I was thinking that I should sit on the floor, cry and call someone to pick me up because I was never going to get out of this trail and when I did, I was going to beat my husband up for being so great and supportive and he deserved a better wife so I was going to make him pay. Then I thought, what the hell is wrong with me?!?!  

My stupidity had tapered off and one intelligent neuron that was working at this point came up to bat and quietly reassures me that I am having my first experience with hitting the wall and that I am probably very low on sugar and not thinking rationally and that I need to just keep putting one foot in front of the other so I can get back to my car. Another man jogs by and I'm thinking if this guy bothers me, I will spray him with mace, he's weird. I get a "good morning". I eye him coolly and keep walking. I feel that this last mile and a half has taken longer than my first 10. I looked up, a weird sign and a dead end. S%$#! I took a wrong turn. I had been texting my husband when i took a wrong turn and missed the trail marker to get out of here. Damn him, this was all his fault. When I saw him, I would hurt him and make him pay. 

Ok, it's time to put on my big girl panties and run and find my way out of this. I start running and I tell myself I will do 5:1 intervals. Run 5 minutes, walk 1. So I look down at my watch after 2 minutes and realize, I just can't. I kept walking. I finally see a recognizable sign and turn. Another man jogs by me and I start having irrational thoughts of macing him if he attacks me. He smiles and says "good morning". I think ok, he's just another runner. Keep it together and get out of here without hurting anyone.

I finally make it out of the trail and realize I have hit mile 13 so I say, ok, now try to get to your car with a slow run. I start putting one foot in front of the other and I'm happy to see I can manage a very slow trot but I'm moving towards my car and I figure I will be back in the ac of my car in about 13 minutes. That didn't happen either. It took 25 minutes as I had gotten lost and overshot my mileage by .75. I almost did 15 miles. 

Once I got to my car, I met up with friends and managed to eat a hefty breakfast and started joking of the situation and I came alive again. I started thinking rationally as well. I managed to look and see how one mistake led to another and how my full marathon inexperience had led me to make all the wrong decisions this morning. My husband texted me as I ate and asked if I was safe. I texted him back yes, and that I loved him. I was aware again that he is indeed a great husband and that I didn't have to physically hurt him.

I got home, iced, took an eternal shower, iced again and passed out for an hour. I dreamed of running, and racing and crossing the most phenomenal of finish lines. I woke up and made notes on my training plan of things to remember, things to do, things not to do... I regrouped.

I hit the wall and now, I had learned to climb. 

Dear 26.2, I'm still on my way...