26 days till Marathon day or 3 long runs. This weekend we
will be running our longest mileage yet, 21 miles. I appreciate your prayers
and encouragement. Marathon training does not get easier. The time and training
commitment is massive but I find it to be worth it.
Last week I ran once, cross trained once and experienced
something new: running 17 miles in a treadmill.
 |
| Long runs in a treadmill: I can say I've done that! |
I had the 12K scheduled for Saturday morning so the 17-miler
had to happen before that. I decided to take my training indoors because I wanted to make sure it happened. I thought about running the 12K long after I got my medal
but I decided to jump in the treadmill instead.
I took
everything I needed to get it done: Clif shots, water, electrolytes and
earphones. I took breaks every hour and almost went outside for the last 5
miles. It was raining, windy and cold so I went back inside and finished it. I appreciate
the friends who gave me shout outs on social media during that training run!
When I committed to run the Houston marathon, the decision
to train was well-established. There was no question if I was going to go out and
run 17 miles, that decision was made for me in June when I signed up for the Marathon. I’m glad for that commitment and I am thankful
for the health to train.
The night before the
12K one of my kids got the stomach bug, so I cancelled with the sitter and told
my husband to go run it while I stayed taking care of her. He went and ran the
12K and that morning I felt like my stomach was bothering me.
 |
| Zeke ran the 12K of Christmas! Congrats!!! |
I took care of the home base till Zeke came back and took
great care of all of us. I got some much needed rest that day. It turns out that not
having a break for over 2 weeks plus Marathon training makes you exhausted. I needed to run once more last week but I decided to take
that day off to rest.
This season of life taught me that training runs are not as difficult as recovering from them. I often come home and jump right back into caring for little ones. They don't understand sore muscles so I get jumped on a lot after those long runs. Ouch! I'm enjoying them while they're little but it's quite painful to have that "sport massage" after those long runs. I know, what a great "problem" to have. In everything I'm giving thanks.
I’m looking forward to the 21-miler Saturday. My goal is to stick
with my running buddies for the whole time and finish strong.
Another running related thing that happened is
that my dear Garmin has started to give out. The battery is growing weaker so
no matter how much I charge it, it shuts off after 10 miles or so. I’ve called
Garmin and I can trade it in for a new model. I’m praying that I will be able
to do that. If not, I’ll keep using my favorite App.
I pray that you and your family have an amazing Christmas season!
Previously in this Series:
• Houston Marathon 2015 Week 8
• Houston Marathon 2015 Week 7
• Houston Marathon 2015 Week 6
• Houston Marathon 2015 Week 5
• Houston Marathon 2015 Week 4
• Houston Marathon 2015 Week 3
• Houston Marathon 2015 Week 2
• Houston Marathon 2015 Week 1
Archives:
• Chicago Marathon 2014
• Houston Marathon 2014
Post a Comment