I have been dreading this 20 mile training run for about a year. When I saw a 20 mile run on the training schedule back when I first decided to do a marathon, this run scared the heck out of me. I have done 7 Half Marathons this year and this 20 mile run would make #8. But there was no race, no medal, and I had to run for 7 miles more than that. The furthest I'd gone before this run was 15.5 but 13.1 of that was the Biggest Loser Half Marathon and the rest was the trek to and from my car. That broke it up a bit and it didn't seem as bad. And then the 16 miler I was supposed to do, I only made it to 9 because of my calf. So this was going to be a big deal for me. I was stressed about it all week and I didn't even do my weekday runs because I was still sore from my Vegas weekend. (So much walking before and after the races too!)
My first thought was to do it around my house so that I could stop if I needed to, I could use the bathroom at home, grab a snack if need be... And then I thought, that's the problem. If I can stop whenever I want, I won't finish it. So I chose the Cedar River Trail. It's 10 miles out and 10 miles back. I know that I can make it as far as halfway, and it's a little bit downhill on the way back so I figured this trail would be my best bet.
My husband was going to run it with me but his achilles is still really, really painful from the half marathon. I guess that's what happens when you go from zero to half marathon in 4 weeks. I think that means I'm still on my own for the marathon. So instead of running with me, he rode is bike. He kept a bag full of gels and goos, and water bottles for me and stayed with me the entire time rolling along at about 4 miles per hour. And it was FREEZING out. Literally freezing. When we got out there the temp said 29 degrees. I stayed pretty warm because I was running, but slowly biking along, he was so cold. He's the best husband ever. I owe him big time.
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| Best husband ever. |
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| It was so slick out, sometimes I'd walk because I felt my shoes slipping. |
I started out ok. I made it to the halfway point at a pretty good pace considering my foot still hurts. The calf did really well but the part of my foot that I've been told has a stress fracture was sucking. Every step hurt. I had half of a clif bar at the 10 mile mark and I think that was a really bad idea. My stomach was upset and I was kind of afraid I was gonna lose it every time I started jogging. And there were no bathrooms or porta-potties for miles. So I walked, and walked, and walked. And got cold. Oh man it was so cold outside! Especially when I'm covered in sweat. Brrrrr. I jogged as much as I could stand.
I'm glad I picked the trail though. It forced me to keep going. The road next to it was closed due to downed trees from the windstorm the other day so I didn't even have the option of sending my husband back to the car and coming to my rescue. Also, there's so many other runners and bikers out there saying good morning and hello the whole way. It's so motivating. I'd barely see anyone if I did the run near my house. One really crazy hardcore runner passed by me a couple times and by the third time he smiled and said, "Great job!" So nice.
I made it! 20 miles! My goal was to finish in 5 hours, it took me almost 6. Even though it was awful, I have a ton of confidence now that my marathon will go great. It'll be warm and wonderful, and there's always a billion porta-potties during races. I'm not worried. I will not be bringing a clif bar! I might finish in 7 hours instead of my planned 6, but that's ok.
I'm sore today but not any more than after a half. I'm going to do my best to get both of my weekday runs in this week, and do yoga at least once, hopefully twice. And I have the Seattle Half Marathon on Sunday. And then I have two more 3-4 mile weekday runs, a 6 mile taper run... and then my marathon! Eeek! So much less stress now that I'm done with this run though! :)
