After my 14-mile run on August 2 I am sure I will be able to run those additional 12 miles and successfully complete my first marathon.
I never thought I would reach a point where I would classify running 14 miles at once as "fun" and "enjoyable" and "not that bad, really," but there it is.
We set out around 7:40 am Saturday; me on foot and John on bike as my Personal Support Crew. Water, Ultima, and Gu were on board along with a bag of toilet paper (just in case). It was a lovely morning, cool and dry with occasional cloud cover. Traffic was light as it usually is out in the country. I started off with a 9:17 first mile; it would be my slowest mile of the run but I did not know that. As the miles slipped past I felt better and better. They ticked off one by one: 9:09, 9:03, 9:03, 9:07, 9:03, 8:56, 8:56, 9:02, 8:49, 8:59, 8:55, 8:43, 9:02. See that? I ran the second seven miles faster than the first. And what is up with that 8:43 13th mile? I should have been totally dead! OK, it might have had something to do with my desperate dash for the Port-A-Potty in the cemetery. And look: my time for the "half marathon"-- 1:57:53-- is only slightly more than a minute slower than my time for the Historic Half from May. I ran another sub-2 hour half and I didn't even intend to. I did the distance at an average pace of exactly 9:00/mile.
We finished, I stretched, I ate protein, I rehydrated, I cleaned up, and then we went to B. Nektar Meadery in Ferndale to participate in National Mead Day. We came home with four bottles of mead and then, finally, those 14 miles caught up with me and I just crashed like a ton of bricks. Somewhere in there I came to the realization that I will be able to finish this marathon. I felt great Saturday. Really, spectacularly great, better than a person should during and after a 14-mile run. My legs weren't even sore, not one tiny bit.
I will be able to do this.
My route on Saturday:
The big green oval blob at right center is Four Mile Lake. The line bisecting the loop is the Detroit-Chicago railroad which is parallelled by Dexter-Chelsea Rd. My "half marathon" was in the cemetery. Yes, it is mostly farmland. Yes, it is flat. It is wonderful.
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6 comments:
This is a totally fantastic workout summary. I am so happy for you! I've been there, where everything is flowing. I have no doubt you can run a marathon, girl--it's definitely easier than some of the stuff you've already done. Although, this running with someone biking next to you -- I dunno -- sounds a little CUSH to me. I wonder if you had to carry your own water and Gu, how much would that have slowed you down? 2 seconds per mile? Next thing you know, you'll be getting daily massages and installing an altitude chamber in your bedroom...
Wow! Congrats on the most excellent run. I can't wait till I am logging those kind of miles.
Jenn
I've never tried mead - what is it like? Also, you can TOTALLY rock the marathon - I'm impressed with your sub-2!
What program did you use to track your run with Google Earth? Curious....
Laura-- Mead is great (I think, anyway)! It's really sweet; it is made with honey, after all. It smells like a meadow full of flowers and tastes just as good.
Ted-- That would be SportTracks. It's very cool.
Amazing! Congratulations. Such a huge accomplishment.
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