Pleasantly Surprised

Distance: 18.78 miles    Time: 3:04:00    Avg Pace: 9:47 (an estimate since my app crashed...boo)


Yesterday I went for a really long run. It wasn't really a premeditated thing; in fact, I wasn't expecting to be able to run at all on Saturday. But when it became clear late Friday afternoon that I would have the opportunity to run long the next morning, I decided to go for it and tackle one of my marathon training routes.

I have really missed marathon training. Don't get me wrong, I am immensely enjoying my current exercise routine (more on that in another post), but it's the long runs I miss. I haven't had as many opportunities for a good long solo run in the last couple of months. It's due mostly to prioritizing other things: Matt's rigorous hiking schedule (he's potentially climbing two more mountains this summer... and he's already climbed one. Pretty awesome!), supporting friends in their own goals and races, leading my semi-formal running group, and pursuing other athletic/fitness related goals. There is only so much one person (and one family) can take on, and for the moment, super long runs is not high up there, priority-wise.

I've been wanting to tackle one of my long run routes from the marathon training days, partly to satisfy this emotional need for a long run, and partly to see if I still could. I've been a little worried about losing some of my endurance and fitness since I've had to drastically cut my mileage, and I figured what better way to test than to try to do what I did in March: 18+ miles...

So Saturday morning I seized the opportunity and just went for it. I got up at 4:30am and was out the door by about 5:15am, tracing one of my familiar routes and just hoping for the best.

As I ran I thought back to some of my training runs in March. Perhaps the most memorable was my 18-miler. I had been sick for a couple of weeks leading up to it, and though I'd done most of my midweek runs, I had skipped my 17-miler and was starting to get a cough. I'd pondered skipping my 18-miler, but when I floated the idea to Matt he responded with, "You can't keep skipping your long runs and expect to be able to run a marathon." Fair enough. So I went for it, chest cold and all. It might have been the most difficult and slowest run of my life... I carried tissues and coughed so hard that I kept peeing my pants a little. That particular day, Matt went hiking so my mother-in-law came over to watch Kisa. I told her I thought I'd be gone a little over 3 hours. I was gone almost 4. I remember mentally propelling myself during that last 3-mile stretch because my legs hurt sooooo bad that I could not bear to stop at stoplights (but of course I still wanted to because I was tired). I also remember finally coming home and lying in the tub while the shower ran, barely conscious. I honestly don't remember the rest of that day but I do remember being sore and icing for almost a week and cursing the grocery shopping I had to do the next day (which meant several trips up and down the stairs outside our front door).

Maybe it's not a good comparison because yesterday I was not dying of a chest cold (which later turned out to be pneumonia). But my run yesterday couldn't have been farther from that experience. It was a great run, in terms of pace and in terms of how my body felt. I didn't feel like death at the end of it; in fact, I came home and finished up the 60 minutes of Yoga X I had abandoned the Thursday prior. Then I showered, cooked my family breakfast, and we headed off to the farmer's market where we ended up walking another 3+ miles to grab some lunch. After that I went to my parents' house and cleaned their carpets.

This morning I woke up with very minor muscle pain, pretty impressive for the day after a run like that, especially considering it's been a couple of months since I've attempted a run of that magnitude.

It's pretty empowering that in the past 6+ weeks, instead of losing my marathon-level fitness, I've actually built speed and endurance even without running as consistently. I am loving P90X for this- because I doubt there will be a time in the near future when I'm able to train consistently at this level, but it's nice to know my body can still take that kind of a beating in stride.

I am continually amazed at the things my body can do: logically, I know that consistent hard work should lead to improved performance.  But I guess I just assumed that certain things would continue to be just as hard as they once were. I assumed that every marathon I run in the future (and oh yes, there will be more) would be just as hard as Eugene. I'm learning that maybe that is not the case. Training my whole body better has improved my running, increased my pain threshold and most importantly, added to my level of confidence. At the end of the day it's the mental game that matters the most.

Anyway. Only 11 days until the Foot Traffic Flat half marathon (my next race): I am stoked and ready to bring it, P90X style. ;)