Sunday, April 06, 2008

FEARLESS

Yesterday was my longest run before the half. I was so nervous about it, as you may have read, and was really worried that I would have a repeat of my last long run (which was no good, if you remember).

But, I am happy to report that I felt great, I finished strong, and ended up running 12 miles yesterday morning. Success!

We have been coached not to try anything new on race weekend. No new clothes, no new food, no new anything. So in light of that, I needed to go buy some stuff to be prepared for Saturday, so I went to the Athlete's House and bought a great pair of shorts (in pink, of course); some Powerade Gel since that is what will be handed out on the course, some socks and some Bodyglide. The shorts I wore on our last long run ended up rubbing a little burn on the inside of my legs from the piping on the hem. With new, piping-free shorts and some Bodyglide, I was not letting that happen again (those shorts are awesome; I highly recommend them).

I ate an enormous bowl of pasta - seriously, it was enough for three people at least - and drank 2 and a half Nalgenes full of water between 8 pm and bedtime. I got all my things together the night before, just like I will do for the race. I laid my shoes, socks, shorts, shirt and sports bra out by my bed, my rubber band and bobby pins on my bathroom counter, put my powerbar, fully charged iPod and bodyglide in a bag by my wallet and keys, and a change of clothes for afterward on my couch.

I woke up at 6:15 and was ready to go. Having everything in order made me feel much more focused as I headed out the door. The morning was chillier than I hoped it would be but it ended up feeling great. After a quick huddle with our coach, we were off.

The course we were running is where I had my first group run experience. I don't think I blogged about it because it was in November before I'd told anyone I was training for the half. I only knew one person out of like 100 there, and it was the first cold morning of the winter. I show up in the only running clothes I had: a long sleeve Tshirt, shorts and my very worn, very old New Balances. My bare legs stuck out like a sore thumb among all these people in sleek, black running tights and jackets and high tech shoes. I was scared. Out of the three that I was supposed to run, I may have run a mile and a half that morning. I got back in my car and thought, "what the hell have I signed up for?"

So it was very rewarding when I got to the bridge at 1.5 miles, where I had turned around the first time. I've come so far. I took water at mile 2, and again at mile 3.5. My running buddy's iPod died there, but he never wavered. We ran the first five miles in under an hour, which I was really excited about. I took my Powerade Gel at mile 5, we ran up to mile 6, and then turned around.

The area we were running in is very pretty, so there was lots to look at and be distracted by. In fact, we ran by Alan Jackson's farm twice and his wife Denise waved to us when she was pulling out of the driveway. The second half of the run went by without much trouble; I really didn't start feeling out of breath or energy until the last mile (except for one hill at mile 8.5 or so). My awesome running partner stayed with me the whole time, even up the last hill, when it looked like he was ready to make a sprint to the finish.

All in all, a great run. Exactly what I needed. I am ready and confident for the half. It took us just over 2 hours to run the 12 miles (but knowing that a Waffle House breakfast was waiting on me afterward may have provided a little bit of an incentive to hurry up).

So, thanks for your encouragement and prayers. I can't believe it's almost here!

6 comments:

  1. That is amazing. Congrats - you are going to do great on the day of the event!

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  2. LJ- I am so proud of you!I will definitely be praying for you. What an accomplishment! -Katelyn

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  3. awesome- you are no longer a novice. you freaking ran 12 miles in 2+ hours. that rocks.

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  4. Waffle House motivates you? It takes a lot more than Waffle House to get me going 13 miles.

    They make patches too for long runs. There's always some dumb guy who doesn't put patches on his nipples and ends up crossing the finish line with bloody nipples.

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  5. Thanks girls and Eric.

    But let's be specific - I said a Waffle House breakfast motivated me to run faster, not to run at all.

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  6. woo whoo! you're such a pro!

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Oh goody!

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