I ran 16 miles. I keep repeating this to myself (and Jeremy and my parents…) because part of me is in disbelief that I not only ran 16 miles but it wasn’t that bad. Seriously. When I got back home from my run Jeremy even commented that he’s seen me come home in much worse conditions.
So why was this run so successful?
Rest day before my long run. Jess has me taking a rest day before long runs instead of after like I had been doing. I think running on well rested legs has made a difference. Not surprisingly my legs were tired by the end of the run, in the beginning though they felt fresh and ready to go.
Switching up my fueling. I’m still trying to find my perfect fueling combo– what both sustains me and doesn’t bother my stomach. I can’t even imagine choking down a gu to be honest so have been sticking to a combination of sport jelly beans + apple sauce. It’s not the perfect choice but works for me so far. I took a full packet of jelly beans at mile 5, apple sauce at mile 8 and then half a packet of jelly beans at mile 12. I didn’t feel my energy falter at any point and felt strong to the end.
My mental game was spot on. 16 has always been my lucky number. As cheesy as it sounds, going into this run I kept reminding myself of this. I didn’t let my thoughts go negative for a second and instead kept my mind focused on the miles and breaking down what was left in my head– it’s only two 8 mile runs! My GPS app usually spouts out my mileage and time at every mile. I decided to set it to just tell me the mileage. Being oblivious about how long I had been running ended up being useful for me. I won’t lie and say that 3 hours flew by, but it definitely didn’t feel like that long because I was totally unaware of time and how fast I was running.
For my route I just ran up the West Side Highway for 8 miles and turned around. It was almost hypnotizing and I think the mindlessness of the route helped as well. I was tempted to text Jeremy a picture of me at 145th Street with the caption “Started from west 10th street, now I’m here…”
Fact, brunch tastes better after a 16 miles run.
Every weekend I’m hitting new distance records. It’s both scary and thrilling to see my mileage creeping up considering the furthest I’d ever run before training for this race was 13.1 miles. At dinner post run, my mom said she felt like I was over the hump of marathon training now that I was past 15 miles. Sure, there’s still a ways to go before 26.2, but somehow it feels more doable after yesterday.
And hey, for my 18 miler next weekend I’ll have the Hamilton cast recording to accompany me. Makes me almost excited to run for over 3 hours…
This week’s plan:
MONDAY: Yoga
TUESDAY: 7 mile run
WEDNESDAY: Uplift Strength + Trapeze
THURSDAY: Interval run
FRIDAY: Rest
SATURDAY: 18 mile run (!!!!)
SUNDAY: TBD Spin class (possibly Soul Cycle?)
Congrats on that run girl!! It’s so funny, I feel the same way, my long runs can sometimes be easier than my shorter ones. I had to run 20 this weekend for Chicago training and I swear it felt easier than one of my 4-milers last week. It’s all so mental and when I go for those long runs I don’t feel any speed pressure, I just go out there with a steady pace and the knowledge that I just need to keep moving forward. The only difference between us on these long runs is I kinda love Gu! I think it tastes like frosting…I’m weird. Also I ate a pizza after my run this weekend it was DELISH. Looking forward to following the rest of your training!
thank you thank you. Isn’t it crazy? I think it’s all about the mindset and know you just kind of have to do it one way or another. Which flavor of gu to you use?
Been loving following your chicago journey, it prepares me for what I have in store!
I am so jealous that you are training! I hurt my back and am slowly getting it “back” to normal. I can’t wait to run again! BTW, I love your logo!
oh no so sorry to hear that! take care of yourself and heal up so you can get back out there, I’ve definitely been there before.
and thank you 🙂