Wow! I can’t believe it! I ran 10 miles today!
The training plan I’m following is from “Marathoning for Mortals” and the longest training run before the actual 1/2 marathon is 10 miles. And guess what: I did it!!
I was getting really frustrated with running on the street by my house because there are some wicked hills and it tires me out really quickly. I always have to walk on some of the hills. I really wanted to run a course that was flat enough that I could run the entire distance without having hills as an excuse to give up.
I decided to run the Silver Comet Trail. It’s an old railroad that they converted into a running and biking trail. It runs from Atlanta all the way to the Alabama border. I think it changes names and continues from there but I’m not sure.
The trailhead I started from is pretty close to my work. I think that I’ll bring some workout clothes to work and run some in the evenings. It would be a nice change of scenery from the dreadmill at the gym or the streets by my house. And it’s pretty flat!!
The run went pretty well. The more time that passes since it the better I feel about it! Does this happen to anyone else? When I first finished I was like, “three more miles on top of this is NOT happening” but by now, 10 hours later I’m excited about doing the 13 miles on 1/2 marathon day!
The first mile of my run was hard. It was chilly and I was wearing different gloves and a different vest then I usually wear on my long run. I think I should have not worn the vest. I was pretty hot about 1.5 miles in. Too late to turn around and leave the vest in the car!! So I unzipped and kept on going. The second, third and fourth miles got progressively easier. By the fifth mile I was feeling great!
On the way back I felt great until I passed the seven mile marker. Then I started to feel really tired. I had some gel during the sixth mile and had been drinking water. So maybe I needed another gel? I didn’t want to drink too much and feel sloshy. I’ll try something different next weekend during an eight miler at the beach!! (not ON the beach, a trail near it, running on the beach kills me)
So the last two miles were tough but I told myself that I would be fine, I was strong enough and it would prove to myself that I could do it! And I finished, and I CAN do the 1/2!
Three more weeks! I can’t believe it’s so close!
