Downhill From Here

It's been awhile! Sorry it took me so long to write about the longest run of my training. I did it in Bloomington since Chris and I had traveled that way to visit our alma mater for homecoming. I adjusted my schedule so I could get my run done on Friday when we got there. So I dropped one of my training days the week leading up to the 22-miler and then took Thursday off, which was perfect as that was our travel day. We drove to Louisville first and spent the night at Chris' parent's house and then drove the quick two hours up to IU Friday morning. Before we took off for IU I had a half a bagel with some light butter. It was good enough to hold me over until I had my GU 15 minutes before my run.

Conditions were unfavorable, to say the least. Low 40s, spitting rain and cold wind. I wore my long yoga pants, a t-shirt and a Nike running pullover. I also wore gloves and a winter hat. The night before I updated my playlist on my iPod so I had enough songs for a run that would last longer than three hours. Again I mapped my route on MapMyRun.com, wrote down the turn-by-turn directions on a piece of paper and folded it up to take along with me. And so, there I went.

I started slow and relaxed with the same mentality that I've tried to maintain throughout training. Just another run. I try not to think about the mileage, the time, or anything else related to the run really. My mind gets quickly filled with pointless thoughts, things going on in my life and my route surroundings. I started off feeling fine - running on the side of campus where I lived my senior year. It was neat to see everything again after not having visited for over a year. The first time I looked at my watch was around the 7.5 mile mark, which was great because I didn't think I had run that far at that point. I had to go to the bathroom so I found a place to do that and then I had my second GU. I had Chocolate Outrage here but at mile 16 I tried Blueberry Pomegranate for the first time - the GU with two times the caffeine. This is my favorite flavor so far!

Still truckin' along at 16, which is also about when I started to think about that sign I saw in my half-marathon. "Pain is temporary but pride is permanent." I smiled knowing how true it was. I would be done in the next hour at the most and sure it might be painful but I would be able to say I did it. I had definitely underestimated the hills in Bloomington. I thought nothing would compare to Raleigh. Wrong. They weren't worse but they weren't too forgiving either. During my long runs I tend to begin a countdown per say around mile six. Mentally that's not that bad to think about. I don't think about how long six miles will take me - but it helps me to get to 6, then only 5.5 left, only 5 more, okay less than 5, almost to 4, an easy 5K left ... you get the picture. Lots of talking to myself, lots of mental toughness. That worked until about mile 19 when I had three miles left but felt like I had a forever road in front of me. Hopping up and down curbs felt like lifting my leg with a 50-pound dumbbell attached to my ankle and facing any incline felt like I was running headfirst into a slanting rainstorm. Those last few miles really challenged me. But I did it - I pushed through it - involuntary noises, pain and all.

When I finished I did what you are not supposed to do after a run ... bent over and put my hands on knees. I was hurting pretty bad and painfully walked over to my car.

After showering and getting ready for the day - I was able to drive around campus and see my old stomping ground and the many new developments around Bloomington. Eventually I stopped and bought a banana for my post-workout snack. I wouldn't say that's sufficient for after such a long run but I had a nice, big dinner to look forward to so I knew I'd get the replenishment I needed.

I took Saturday and Sunday off, although I did walk all around campus on Saturday. Unintentionally I took off today as well. I will pick up training tomorrow with six miles hopefully and then four or five on Wednesday. I'm on the road again to visit my little sister, Taylor, at Ohio University. That means I'll have to rearrange my training again this week. I'll take Thursday off and do my long run after work on Friday. This past week marked the longest run of my marathon training, so now I will start tapering off. Friday will be 15, followed by an 11-miler the next week ... then, THE MARATHON!