My First Quarter Marathon, Come and Gone
So, I went into this on less than 6 hours of sleep, having worked third shift the night before. Now you know why I'm up at 3 in the morning typing a blog entry! Anyhow, I got up, got dressed, ate an apple and some cheese and almond thins, got my stuff together and away we went.
Prior to the Brewers 10k, I just wanted to turn around and go home. I hadn't run in weeks, and hadn't done 6 miles since the middle of August. I didn't think I could do it. I mean, I guess I knew I could, but I didn't want to. Today, I felt good.
There's something to be said for exercising when you're tired. You don't really have it in you to think of an excuse. You just go and do and then you're done and you almost don't even know it happened. Almost. At the end of this race today, I KNEW what I did. I knew as I hobbled to the shuttle with my DH and DS that I did it. Incidentally, my guys weren't at the finish line of the last race, so, this time, the hubs totally made up for it by not only being there, but letting go of the boy so he could cross the line with me! I loved that!
Today's race was the same in that I tried to talk myself into following the 5k-ers and finishing early. I don't want to do this, I told myself. You have to, I told myself. You let the world know you were doing this, I told myself. I know. You need to do this. You're right. Don't forget, you have another one of these in three weeks. Yes, in three weeks I will be in Chicago running a 10k with my running coach without whom I would be floundering. It's good it was so cold today. I think it really prepared me for my next race. The Chicago Lakefront isn't known for its heat and lack of chilly winds.
So, today wasn't just a 10k. It was a quarter marathon, 6.55 miles, not 6.2. It was a little longer, but the significance is the "M" word. Marathon. Today, I went 25% of my goal distance. It was hard. I still weigh around 260 pounds. I'm still learning about this running business. I'm learning about my body and all the parts that hurt when I'm done. I'm taking it easy so I don't break or wear out those parts. This isn't something one does overnight.
Here I am, though, thinking that in 5 months I can train my way to a half marathon for my birthday. *laughing out loud* People do this, you know. As I was doing my 3/2 intervals, 3 minutes jogging followed by 2 minutes of walking, I was thinking to myself, Do you really think you can do a half in 5 months??? I don't know. Do I? I can barely do 6.55 miles and I want to do double that??? Am I really sure I can? The answer is probably. I have 4 months to train after my next race and by training, I mean 2 short runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, one long run on Saturdays and weight training with some kickboxing at least once a week. Normal people take 12 weeks to train for a half. I am NOT normal people.
These are valid concerns, and I'm not giving up on the idea that I want to do this. What I AM doing is considering that I will be doing another half in May and maybe I should give myself more time to train. The kicker with the half in March is that it is on my birthday. Not only is it on my birthday, it is on my 40th birthday. I feel like I HAVE to half. Let me explain to you how crazy this is. On my 39th birthday, I weighed over 300 pounds. I had never run/walked/jogged/wogged a race of any sort in my entire life. Now, I have completed 2 5k's, a 10k and a quarter marathon. Wow is all I have to say to that now that I think about it.
Prior to the Brewers 10k, I just wanted to turn around and go home. I hadn't run in weeks, and hadn't done 6 miles since the middle of August. I didn't think I could do it. I mean, I guess I knew I could, but I didn't want to. Today, I felt good.
There's something to be said for exercising when you're tired. You don't really have it in you to think of an excuse. You just go and do and then you're done and you almost don't even know it happened. Almost. At the end of this race today, I KNEW what I did. I knew as I hobbled to the shuttle with my DH and DS that I did it. Incidentally, my guys weren't at the finish line of the last race, so, this time, the hubs totally made up for it by not only being there, but letting go of the boy so he could cross the line with me! I loved that!
Today's race was the same in that I tried to talk myself into following the 5k-ers and finishing early. I don't want to do this, I told myself. You have to, I told myself. You let the world know you were doing this, I told myself. I know. You need to do this. You're right. Don't forget, you have another one of these in three weeks. Yes, in three weeks I will be in Chicago running a 10k with my running coach without whom I would be floundering. It's good it was so cold today. I think it really prepared me for my next race. The Chicago Lakefront isn't known for its heat and lack of chilly winds.
So, today wasn't just a 10k. It was a quarter marathon, 6.55 miles, not 6.2. It was a little longer, but the significance is the "M" word. Marathon. Today, I went 25% of my goal distance. It was hard. I still weigh around 260 pounds. I'm still learning about this running business. I'm learning about my body and all the parts that hurt when I'm done. I'm taking it easy so I don't break or wear out those parts. This isn't something one does overnight.
Here I am, though, thinking that in 5 months I can train my way to a half marathon for my birthday. *laughing out loud* People do this, you know. As I was doing my 3/2 intervals, 3 minutes jogging followed by 2 minutes of walking, I was thinking to myself, Do you really think you can do a half in 5 months??? I don't know. Do I? I can barely do 6.55 miles and I want to do double that??? Am I really sure I can? The answer is probably. I have 4 months to train after my next race and by training, I mean 2 short runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays, one long run on Saturdays and weight training with some kickboxing at least once a week. Normal people take 12 weeks to train for a half. I am NOT normal people.
These are valid concerns, and I'm not giving up on the idea that I want to do this. What I AM doing is considering that I will be doing another half in May and maybe I should give myself more time to train. The kicker with the half in March is that it is on my birthday. Not only is it on my birthday, it is on my 40th birthday. I feel like I HAVE to half. Let me explain to you how crazy this is. On my 39th birthday, I weighed over 300 pounds. I had never run/walked/jogged/wogged a race of any sort in my entire life. Now, I have completed 2 5k's, a 10k and a quarter marathon. Wow is all I have to say to that now that I think about it.
You are an inspiration!! You can do it! Keep moving forward!!
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