Marathon Training Week 13: OMG, it happened

Apologies for the long, ramble-y post. I got a lot to say, yo. 

Ah, the long awaited and highly anticipated 20 mile run.

Going into this run I was REAL nervous, I think we can all agree that it sounds insanely daunting. Even though I did 18 miles last week with no problem, I spent all week leading up to this run psyching myself out.

This is the run I’ve been dreading since I decided to run a marathon. It sounds like so much more than 18 miles and for many people it’s the highest mileage they hit before the grand finale. I personally will be running 22 miles next weekend before taper time. Which I guess is good because a marathon is only 4 miles more than that. And I can like run 4 miles in my sleep. Not really, but in theory.

Of course I spent all week obsessively checking the weather and therefore freaking out about the supposed hurricane that was making it’s way towards Manhattan. That ended up not being the case but the weather still sucked. So damn cold, a little bit misty and insane wind. Like the kind of wind that makes you feel like you’re going to flyaway. Just what you want when you’re running for 4 hours.

After seriously stalling my long run, it was finally time to head out, face the weather, and conquer my fear of 20 miles in the cold, windy, mist.

Once the initial shock of “CRAP IT’S COLD!” wore off and my fingers warmed up, I started feeling good about this run, similar to my past two long runs. It also really helped that the Hamilton cast recording is 2 hours and 43 minutes long, which covers a decent amount of miles.

For my route I decided to do something similar to last week– start from the West Village and run to the West Side Highway, go south, end up on the East River and then cross over the Williamsburg Bridge, hit 10 miles and then turn around to head home. I like this route because it’s relatively mindless but not as boring as heading straight north on the West Side Highway (which I did honestly enjoy too for my 16 miler).

I always wondered what people think about when they are running for that long. I thought about a lot of stupid things like:

• what am I going to eat when I get home? I settled for egg drop soup, dumplings and fried rice because all my favorite brunch places were no longer serving brunch by the time I got home.
• what outfit will I wear to dinner at night with my friend? Sweat pants, sports bra, tank top and a comfy zip-up because real clothes were NOT happening.
• my workout plan for the week.
• when I would maybe do laundry. Ugh, never because I’m tired all the time and hate doing laundry
• … And every so often encouraging phrases to myself.

I counted down the miles, breaking up the run into teeny tiny runs– it’s only four 5 miles runs, that’s not so bad! I thought a lot about my fueling breaks too and got really excited to eat a stupid sugary gummy. It’s the little things when you’re running 20 miles.

I also rapped along to Hamilton, weeped a little when people died in the show, and let that push me through the first 13 or so miles.

All was going well until the final 2 miles. I feel like this is always the case, no matter how long my run is I feel GREAT for most of it and then the last 2 miles absolutely murder me. Between the gusting wind and my poor, tired, cold, body, it was really tough. Also, I had just run 18 miles so no shit it was tough.

I spent those last 2 miles crying a little bit (only a little in the like “I’m so drained when will this end” kind of way…), audibly screaming UGH whenever the wind picked up, and saying little mantras to myself like “Suck it up, Kleinman it’s only 2 more miles”. For whatever reason I always refer to myself by my last name when I’m running. It makes me feel like I’m actually an athlete instead of a former drama nerd who’s pretending to be remotely athletic.

The truth is, despite the crying and screaming I was doing, I knew I could do it. I could push through the final little bit even though it hurt, even though I was SO over the weather. And then it happened, my nike gps told me 20 miles and I threw up my hands in victory like I always do after a long run.

All I could keep saying was “Oh my god, it happened” over and over again. I did it. I ran 20 miles. Holy crap.

Was it amazing, I mean no, but it also wasn’t a total suckfest considering. And now I’m less than 1 month until the marathon, and in 1 week I’ll be in taper town. Dare I call this the homestretch?

This Week’s Plan

MONDAY: Yoga
TUESDAY: 8 mile run
WEDNESDAY: Uplift Strength + trapeze
THURSDAY: Interval run
FRIDAY: Rest
SATURDAY: 22 miles
SUNDAY: Spin class TBD