My last "long" run was on July 18th, one of the hottest, most humid days of the year. I was very proud of myself for sticking it out in that weather, but it resulted in a foot injury that caused me to take an entire month off of running. I started back up last week, and since the marathon is only 6 weeks away, I have some time to make up for!
I ran 7 miles on Monday, in my super thin, flexible Merrell running shoes. They are almost like the 5-fingered shoes, just without the 5 fingers. Running so far in my Merrells after such a long break was a big mistake on my part. At about mile 3 my calves started to tighten up, and they were on fire by the time I finished. Stupid, stupid! Why do I do this to myself??? Anyway, I have been hobbling around with very sore calves since Monday. They are improving, but even just yesterday, I had to use the guard rail to support me going down stairs.
Today was a big day. My first long run in quite some time. The weather was much better than last time, but I started out with sore legs, so it felt like I'd already been running 10 miles before I even began. Oh, and because I wanted to get the run in before work, I woke up at the ungodly hour of 4 am. 4 AM!! Luckily, Margaret agreed to run with me; if not, I am sure I would have hit the snooze bar every 9 minutes until 7 am.
Some runs are good and some runs are not so good. I would put this one in the latter catergory. Every hill - both up and down - was painful, and we run a pretty hilly course. But, it was also a good run. It was humid, but not hot, and we got to watch the sun rise over the lake. Also, because NOBODY else is crazy enough to be out on the path so early, I didn't have to have my dog on a leash.
Although it was a struggle, I finished the 15 miles in 2 hours and 29 minutes, which is just shy of 10 minute miles. My half marathon time would have been 2 hours and 10 minutes, not bad for just a casual run - we are going for distance, not time in these long runs, and in fact had to slow ourselves down early on. Not so much of a problem later, but I will say that I finished the last mile in under 10 minutes, which I think is a pretty good accomplishment.
It's good to get that over with and to know that my knee and foot could handle it. I am not going to run at all for the next week - I really need to allow my legs to recover. Maybe a 7 miler next week, then 16-17 miles the following week, them I'm done. I will consider myself fully trained for the marathon on October 2. Wow. Can it really happen?
Training for a marathon, even when training with a friend (yes, Margaret agreed to run the marathon as well!), is a very personal journey. Unlike in team sports, only I am affected by how I do. Only I know exactly how my body feels at any given moment. Only I have to figure out how to train adequately without wrecking my body. And that is not an easy task. Only I have to dig down deep to finish those last few miles or even steps.
I wouldn't say it's lonely. But it is hard.
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