Sometime in mid August I decided that I was training enough
to justify trying a ½ marathon in October.
I signed up and never once thought I would fail. I cannot recall a time in my life where I
would have signed up for a ½ marathon with no qualms. That alone astounds me.
As soon as I signed up life started happening and my normal
training regimen went way off track. I
ran a handful of times in September (less than 5) and once this month. My longest run was 7 miles 3 weeks ago and it
felt good so I was not worried about the race.
Fast-forward the next 3 weeks – filled with life and
sickness- and here was October 11, 2015 and time to ‘race’. I still wasn’t worried. I solicited some
advice from supportive training buddies and left for the race knowing I could
do it.
My plan was to run 4 minutes and walk 1 minute for the duration
of the race. (Thanks Barb!) As I drove
to the race I was wondering if I would find ‘enough’ in this race. After finishing my other triathlons I have always
felt somewhat disappointed; I didn’t feel like it was enough for me. Would this race be enough? Would this make me
legit?
The first 6 miles were fantastic. I was feeling really good. At mille 4 I hit my runners high. I was running and singing, feeling
amazing. By mile 7 I was starting to
feel it and wondered how the next 6 were doable. But I kept moving. Around mile 10 it started to get hard because
I was getting sore.
By mile 11 my 1-minute of walking was actually painful as I
started to stiffen up. I also started to
cry and I cannot explain why other than I felt it was the hardest thing I have
ever done in my life. It ranks right up
there with my 2 difficult pregnancies. I
pushed through and crossed the finish line ‘running.’ It was 2 hours and 26 minutes of constant movement. A 12:41 pace.
I think my tears indicated that this truly was enough. I have ZERO desire to ever run a
marathon. With this knowledge, Victoria
70.3 will certainly feel like an accomplishment. Now, someone get me some Tylenol and Epsom salts.
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