I was sooo nervous about this past Saturday.
Friday night I got in a good meal and went to bed early. 5:45am wake up call came real fast. Headed to the bus pick up and it was freezing. The ride out to Hopkinton was looong. The guy I sat next to said "There's only one way back" as the bus pulled towards the starting line. I thought to myself, "If this run doesnt go well, I'm so screwed."
I started running and kept thinking about what the coaches had told us. "This is a training run... do not give it your all... save it for the actual marathon." and "Pace yourself... the down hill at the beginning can fool you." The beginning of the course is downhill which is tricky... I wanted to use that to my advantage but that'd only get me in the end. I got out of Hopkinton and into Ashland without a problem. My friend and I got excited everytime we saw the next "Entering the town of" sign. Then into Framingham, Natick, and Wellesley. I passed the spot where Children's first cheer station is going to be and tried picturing everyone there. This was at about mile 14. "7 more to go for today" I said to myself. Things started to feel sore at this point. Came to the end of Route 16 and turned the corner. Entered the town of Newton and approached mile 17 and the last water stop... right before all the hills. "Oh shit" I said to my friend as I sucked down a Gu Gel (an energy gel that gives you caffeine, calories, and carbs so one can keep going - at first I thought they were nasty but I've gotten used to them). 4 miles of hills and we were done. Easier said then done is an obvious understatement. I looked at my time and I wasn't doing too bad... maybe I could do this in 4 hours? Up I went, and up, and up, and up. Other charity teams were out there as well and their stopping points were sooner than mine. Their volunteers and coaches were so great and cheered for us too as well as shouted out advice. "One more mile, keep your shoulders relaxed, keep your stride, you'll be there in no time" one man said. I can't tell you how important words like that are.
At one point I really thought that it would never be over. I told myself "You'll just keep running... the finish will never come... you'll never sleep again... you'll just be running forever." It seriously felt like that. And finally, the finish was approaching... or was it another water stop? Nope, it was the finish... thank god!
Done in 4 hours 5 minutes and 40 seconds! I was incredibly sore and so glad it was over but knew if I absolutely had to go another 5.2 miles, I could!
That night I was tired and sore but wasn't gimping around like I have after some past long runs. Took Sunday as my rest day and thought I'd need Monday too... but today I was actually able to go running. So, this long run did not kick my ass like I thought it would and my recovery time is shorter.
Now I taper off big time until race day... which is in just 3 short weeks.
I'm so excited... I think I'm going to actually pull this thing off!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment