Week 10: My Birthday Week

Week 10: My Birthday Week

 

My training for the week

 

Monday- ran 8.04 miles

Tuesday- rode 44.22 miles and ran 12.61 miles

Wednesday – ran 16.01 miles

Thursday – ran 26.20 miles

Friday – rode 33.56 miles

 

Hard Days

 

I work a regular 9-5 job.  This is perfect because I do not have to work weekends, making it easy to fit in my long runs.  When I can't run long on the weekend, this forces me to do them during the week.  Meaning very early mornings.  This was one of those weeks.  

 

 Too Early

 

Waking up that morning was not hard.  It seemed like I was waking up from a nap.  I sprung out of bed because I could not wait to wear my brand new running clothes that I got the night before.  I woke up, made myself coffee, ate some oatmeal, and I was on my way.  I had to drive about 30 minutes to meet my friend Ari, whom I convinced to come with me.  She is an 800-meter runner, so distance is not her thing.  While I do my long runs she will ride her bike.  Yes, my friend wakes up at 3 am to come ride her bike along side me for 4 hours while I run.  I am very blessed to have a friend like that.  When we got to our starting destination, we put on our extra layers, because it was 39 degrees out.  We put on our extra lights, then loaded up her backpack with food and water, and we were on our way.

 

The Run

 

During the run I felt great.  No knee, thigh, or foot problems.  Ari did mention though that I seemed loopy since I did not sleep much the night before.  We ran out 13 miles.  By mile 11 I really needed to go to the bathroom.  Since the last place I saw a bathroom was at a park about 2 miles back.  I ran a quick 2 miles back to the park.  Once I got to the parking I realized that the bathrooms were closed. I began to panic.  There were no bathrooms open for miles.  I found a spot and quickly left.  

Eating During the Run 

I didn't eat much during the run.  I had two packets of baby food and stopped at a McDonald's where I got water and soda. 

There is something indescribably gratifying about having to wake up at 3 am in order to get in my training runs so that I can still go to work and live a normal life.  Although I am exhausted by the end of a day like that  I know in my heart that days like this will pay off.  On race day I will know when my body is exhausted that this is what I trained for.  I trained my body and mind to work hard when all they want to do is rest.  In order to achieve something great one must make even greater sacrifices.  

 

I Am Blessed 

 

I am very thankful to have friends like Ari, who support me on my long runs.  To keep me safe, motivated, and energized.  This sport is very demanding.  It takes up a lot of

time and makes you very tired, physically and mentally.  It is relieving to know that I have friends and family who support me and understand the time and dedication it takes in order to excel in this sport.  I have to say that's is what I am most fortunate for.  They help me keep motivated and not feel so out of place when I need to wake up at 3 AM to go run 26 miles.  My friends and family help clarify the necessity of my tough training runs when I am second guessing myself. 

Thoughts

 I feel each  training run I've been doing is preparing my body to get used to the long mileage every week.  I feel better after each one.  I'm excited to run my 28 miles on Sunday and to let you guys know how that went