-- unknown.
Today's post will be about.....can you guess? Challenging yourself. I realized over the past few weeks that I've been asked by a number of people why I am training for a race that is so torturous and why the heck I'd want to do something like this. My answer is that this is a personal goal and so far, through these 11 weeks of training, I've learned so much about myself.
B and I had a wedding this weekend out of town. We knew we would have to incorporate a long run into our already jam-packed weekend. The weekend included a visit to Heinz Field to watch our Hokies play Pitt (and get disgustingly crushed), a wedding, and then of course, a long run. So where would we squeeze in this long run? There are a few factors that go into planning a long run when a wedding is involved. 1). Do we get up early on Saturday morning and run 16 miles before the wedding and be exhausted at the wedding or do we 2). Not drink a lot at the wedding but instead consume a lot of water and carbs, and wake up early the morning after? We opted for the latter. This means one glass of wine at dinner for this lady. What do I love the most about weddings besides the dancing, traditional cutting of the cake and dances, bridal party introductions and watching a newly married couple very much in love? I love drinking at weddings! Yes, I said it. Who doesn't love drinking at weddings??? So, there ya have it. I challenged myself not to have more than 1 drink at the wedding and did I do it? Yes!
But really, that's not really what this post is about because only having 1 glass of wine at the wedding wasn't difficult. Looking back on this busy weekend, what was really challenging was prioritizing and actually fitting in the run. We got home late from the wedding and I set my alarm for Sunday at 6:30 I've mentioned before that I am not a morning person, so getting out of bed this early for a long run is hard. By 7:00 I was dressed, ready to go, and eating breakfast with my husband and in-laws while we watched the sun rise. Once I was awake and in the mindset to run, it was a beautiful morning.
We ran 16-miles again yesterday and it was hard. I debated whether to run this weekend's long run because I've been having a lot of pain in the arch of my right foot. "Coach Brad" thinks it's normal and once you hit a high mileage such as 16, all sorts of new pain arises. However Sunday morning it hurt a lot (probably b/c of the dancing and standing at the wedding), and I didn't know if running was the best decision. We decided I would start the run and see how it felt. At about mile 4 it loosened up but by mile 12 it started cramping really bad again. Do I stop, do I keep going?? I didn't know what to do so I kept going. This morning I'm icing it and again, taking it one day at a time. The good news is that I finished the 16 miles.
Looking back, yesterday was another challenge that I accomplished. Every long run (although supposed to be enjoyable for most) is a huge challenge for me. I laugh thinking about how I used to be a 3-4 mile girl and that was the most I'd ever run. Sometimes I have moments where I take a step back and realize holy sh*t I am running 16 miles and this is freaking awesome!!!!!
So why am I doing this training? Do I think I'm crazy? For the most part, yes. Do I enjoy it? Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Do I feel like a million bucks after a long run is done? YES! Is this entire training making me realize that I can do anything that I put my mind to? Absolutely.
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| In-laws, Sue & Dean who biked with us and served as our "mules" for 16 miles! Awesome support! |
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| Only while running in Western PA do you find a random train to hop on for a photo opp. |
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