I can now say I have finished a double digit run. I ran 11 miles this last Saturday, and it was a good first 9 miles and a really hard mental battle the last 2.
We started at 6 am. We started on a good pace and had a lot of fun conversations. On part of our course, we had to double back and make a loop through a neighborhood just to make sure we got our two miles in. Well when we were getting to the double back part of the run, the 4-1 group lapped us! Some of them will qualify for Boston, so we have some really fast people who use the Galloway method.
On the good side, when we got to the 9 mile mark, I felt a lot better than how I felt when I finished 9 miles last time. I truly think the last 2 miles were just mental for me. My foot was hurting, and I was bleeding on my right side. I got a bug bite or something the day before, and my shirt rubbed the spot bloody. The only reason I knew about it is because at mile 10, one of the other runners told me that I was bleeding... a lot. I didn't even want to look at it. I said, "Oh well, I'll look at it when I am done." "Said like a true runner," she said.
It was so hot and humid that morning. I sweat through my shirt, and I could've watered my lawn with all the sweat I had. I was proud of myself. I really felt I hydrated and ate well when running. We finished the run in 2:44. Very slow, and some people do a full marathon in that time, but how many people can say they are doing what I did!
When I was done, my legs and feet hurt really bad. I just wanted to lay on the floor and do nothing, but I knew that was the worst thing I could do. I went to the Meyer Center with my wife. I bought a new shirt, because I didn't want to walk around a bloody mess. I decided I was going to do some water walking and stretch in the pool. I took my shirt and shoes off and looked down. My toe nail on my left foot started throbbing, and it was changing colors. I have been told it is a rite of passage for runners to lose a toe nail. I have a feeling I will lose this one before my training is done.
The pool is just what I needed. I walked and stretched and felt really good after. I took a small nap and just had an enjoyable rest of the weekend. I love that I am running, and that I am living healthy, even if it causes me to bleed. Come run with me!
3 comments:
Great job! I knew you could do it!!
If your toenails are hurting after 11 miles, you may need to go up half of a size in your running shoes. My running shoes are a full size and a half bigger than my regular shoes. At first I had just gone up one size, and my toenails hurt on long runs/races. A shoe store guy told me that for shorter distance running you didn't have to go up as much, but if you were running half and full marathons and long training runs, you needed plenty of room in your shoes because your feet swell. So, you may want to try going up a half a size in your shoes. ;)
I love being in the pool, it's one of my favourite things to do!
Please tell me that you did at least some basic stretches before getting in a car and driving to the Meyer Center... I know you said you stretched after the pool and such, but just thinking of a 20-30 minute gap between finishing your run and getting your stretching in makes my legs ache sympathy pains for you. For me, if I don't do some calf extensions and some IT band stretches within the first 5-10 minutes after a run, my next run or two are hell. That being said, you obviously know your own body better than I do... so if it doesn't bother you, then feel free to disregard my concern.
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