The beautiful scenery on today's long run
It's been awhile
since my last blog post and I promise,
there's a perfectly good reason for that. Training has been really intense.
Just an example, to date I've run 106.5 miles for the month of August. That's
crazy!! AND I still have a week left in the month of August. It's year #3 of
marathon training and I'm getting in double the number of miles that I did in
year 1 and 2. Which brings me to the topic of today's blog post…HOPE! I am
extremely hopeful, based on the way training is going, that this year will be
the year for a PR (personal record). My marathon times are 5:45 and 6:30
respectively. I would LOVE to get a sub 5:00 and like I said, I'm hopeful that
will happen.
One of things about
training for a marathon is retaining that hopeful spirit. Marathon training is
grueling, intense, tedious, slow and sometimes painful. Whether it's a 20 week,
16 week or 12 week training program, you have to DO the work every single day
with that one goal in mind…marathon day. I know from experience that you only
get out of it what you put into it. Last year was a perfect example of that.
Having the attitude of "I've done this before" I allowed myself to
slack off on some of my training runs. Looking back I NEVER ran a 20 miler
before race day and on race day, that was evident. But last year's disaster has
definitely inspired and motivated this year's training. I am working harder
than ever and I HOPE that is evident in this year's race.
On to today's
training run…
I had my first 20
miler scheduled for today. Following last weekend's 16 mile run, it was going
to be a stretch to make it to 20 miles but I was hopeful that I could do it.
Midweek it became clear that the heat and humidity were going to be a factor.
We've been under a heat advisory and highs have been in the mid 90s with heat
indices at about 105-107 degrees. I've been fortunate this year to not have to
deal with the heat and humidity much so I was dreading this weekend's training.
Yesterday, I ran a short 8.25 mile run and it was definitely hot but not
necessarily unbearable. So that gave me some HOPE and confidence going into
today's run. I was prepared last night to go to bed early so I could get up and
do at least half of my running in the morning before the sun came up. I set my
alarm for 4 AM. Sometimes we runners do crazy things. That is definitely one of
them. So this morning, funny thing happens, no alarm! I look at my clock and
it's already 5:45am. I accidentally set my alarm for 4 AM on Wednesday morning.
Boo. So that was set back #1 today but I was determined to retain my HOPE for a
good, long run. I hydrated well this morning and equipped myself with my trusty
handheld water bottle, which holds 20oz, and my spare water bottle in my hydration
belt, which also carries 20oz. I had about 5 servings of GU and Clif Shot
Blocks altogether. I had on my moisture wicking hat, tank with built in bra,
and my spandex biking shorts. Starting out it was actually nice and cool and I
thought "This is going to be easy." But at 6:15am, about the time I
was headed out on the road, the temperature was already at about 75 degrees,
the sun was just coming up, and the humidity was at about 80%. UGH! It didn't
take long before I realized "This is going to be hard."
One of the things
I've been doing recently on my long runs is listening to podcasts. I've noticed
they make the miles go by so much quicker AND I feel like I'm learning
something. One of favorites has been "Another Mother Runner". If
you're a mother runner like me, you should definitely check them out. A LOT of
useful information. So recently on one of their podcasts I was listening to,
they were talking about embracing "the suck". That is all that stuck
with me today. Lol. Today was so sucky. My allergies were going haywire. My
tank top was one I've never worn before and it gouged into my skin pretty bad.
I have lots of blisters were the straps and the underneath of the bra were
rubbing against my skin. At mile 10, I was about to say "I'm done".
But then….HOPE. I held on to that notion of embracing "the suck" and I was hopeful that today's very long and
hard run would make marathon day so much easier. I held onto the HOPE that once
summer was over I could fully embrace and relish in 70 or even 60 degree runs.
I held onto the HOPE that I will PR. I just held onto those positive things for
as long as possible and then lo and behold, I got my second wind. Then just as
I was getting back into the groove, around mile 13, I ran out of water.
Seriously?! I was about to accept defeat. However, I just so happened to be
close to my aunt's house. I quickly texted her to see if she was home. Success!
I stopped at her house right at mile 16 and got 2 refills!!! HOPE!
After that, I just
wanted to be done. I knew I wasn't going to make the whole 20 miles but I was
happy with anything over last week's 16. So today I logged a total of 17.25
miles. That is still progress and considering the suckiness that was today, I'm
pretty proud of that. Today was a learning experience and a small victory for
my mental capacity as well, which is a BIG part of marathon training.
Enjoying my ice bath after today's long run...got a lot of sun today too.
And lastly, during
any long run, I always trying to keep the reason for this year's marathon at
the forefront. I am running to raise money for the American Cancer Society. In
that, there is HOPE for a cure. I am reminded that I'm not just running for myself
but for the countless others that have been affected by this terrible disease.
As a reminder, you can donate at http://determination.acsevents.org
and search for my name: Amanda Winchell.
Thank you and happy
running,
Amanda
