10 and 11

Well I haven't blogged in awhile, oops! So this means that enough time has passed that I've completed both my ten and eleven mile long runs.

Ten miles went well. It was my first venture into the double digit mileage and I was really nervous. I wasn't sure if I was going to take my usual route or just stay in the neighborhood, but by the time I got to the end of my first mile, which also happens to be the end of my neighborhood, I decided to keep going. My first five miles or so were really easy and I was feeling good. I had taken a gel before I left, but I didn't feel like I needed another one yet and I really like being able to run naturally. At seven miles I was back in my neighborhood and starting to get tired. I don't know if it's being so close to home and realizing I'm not done yet, but I always seem to get more tired as I enter my subdivision. I decided to take a gel to get me through the last few miles and I was glad I did. I was very tired and my feet were aching when I finished, but I did it! Ten miles!

So yesterday my task was eleven miles. As I get up there in the mileage, one more doesn't seem like a big deal each week so I was nervous before my run, but I also knew I could do it. This day for some reason I didn't feel like leaving my comfort zone, so I stayed in my neighborhood. It was COLD (around 30 degrees when I set out) and the wind was starting to pick up and the thought of those big hills I usually conquer seemed too much. So I decided that was okay, I would just run where I wanted to go and stayed in my neighborhood. I had also taken a gel before leaving for this run and didn't take another one the whole time. I really didn't feel like I needed one and just didn't want to deal with eating it. Could I have run a little faster if I had taken one? Maybe. But I am really trying not to be preoccupied with time on these long runs; I just focus on finishing. I always have a loose goal time in mind and most of the time I meet it or end up around it. I finished the eleven miles in about two hours (two hours and two minutes I think was the exact time). I am starting to get a feel for what my half time will be. My goal has always been 2.5 hours and seeing that I could finish the eleven miles in two hours gives me thirty minutes for the last two miles and change. I know I can do that! I am also really glad I have decided to train up to 12 miles instead of the ten that the program suggests. It promises that "inspiration will carry you the last three miles". But I say that inspiration isn't going to carry me anywhere and I better be prepared. So next week I add my last mile and then I will run the full 13 for the first time on race day. I didn't want to train up to 13 because I really did want to run it for the first time during my race.

Just three more weeks! I can't believe it is getting so close. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was sitting in my chair getting my hair done and my hair stylist was telling me how she was going to run a half marathon. That was the first seed that was planted in my head about it. Even though I couldn't even run a mile at that point. Even though I hated running. I still wondered if I couldn't run 13.1 of them. After training myself up to running three miles five times a week I decided I could do it and signed up. That way there was no going back because I had already paid my money. I had my doubts along this journey as to whether or not I could really run 13.1 miles. My injury back in January was especially disheartening because I really did wonder if I would be able to run again. I struggled during the middle weeks when I was running seven and eight miles as my long runs. I remember feeling so tired after those runs and wondering how in the world I could almost double that mileage for my race? But I stuck with it and kept going and found my rhythm. Now I am here talking about my "short" runs of five miles and how they are so easy. Never in my life did I think that running five miles would be easy! I am so proud of how far I have come and all I have accomplished. I can't wait for my race!