Lovely evening.
I'm at the point in training where I tend to mistake endurance for speed. I start off my runs feeling like a superstar because I've built up endurance. But since I'm feeling so great, I start to pick up the pace. The first mile is a gone in a blink. Miles two and three: I'm cruising, damn-near flying. Even miles four and five are easier than usual. But then mile six comes along and I start to get a feeling in my stomach that is somewhere between "where is the nearest bathroom" and "I told you so." During mile seven the feeling becomes compounded with "shit, I WAS going too fast" with a side of "why are my quads so tight" for good measure. Mile eight is torture. By mile nine I'm debating how to exit this run early with my head up. Mile ten is a slow, degrading decline into a walk while runners are whizzing pass me on all sides.
As you can guess, this isn't a morale booster.
To get my morale back up to where it belongs--since I am running MY FIRST MARATHON EVER! in less than 45 days--I've spent the evening on blogs/nursing my now-blistering finger. It gives me hope that there are other people out there in the same condition struggling through the longer runs trying to keep those feel going in front of one another.
I also revisited the Disney Half-Marathon I ran back in 2005, thanks to the disposable camera I decided to take along for the race. Note to all you Disney runners in January: take a camera! The disposable ones are cheap and light. You will see incredible things no other marathon can offer...such as Sleeping Beauty's castle:
Wow. That actually is an awful picture. Was I even smiling? And those people in the background...are they walking? How are people supposed to know this was taken during a marathon?
Oh well. That's my Disney picture. Hopefully yours will come out magicallier.
4 comments:
I'm planning to get a cheap or tiny camera to carry with me. Who snapped this picture for you? A friendly race volunteer or another 1/2 marathoner?
Try some fartlek style runs to satiate your desire for early speed. I have the same problem. Allow yourself to run 1/2 mile at your faster early pace and then hold yourself to a 1/2 mile of greatly reduced pace then back up to the faster pace for another 1/2 mile, etc. It's like giving beer to an alcoholic...but only once per hour. You really look forward to that ration! And you have more fuel in the tank later in the run to continue.
Thanks for the advice...I think I'll try it out this weekend.
That picture was taken by one of the race volunteers.
oh, cool pic! you know, I was wondering who took all the pictures of people on the course that I see all over the place. Are there race volunteers around every time there's a character or something that runners would want to be photographed with?
(P.S. That's actually Cinderella's castle...Sleeping Beauty's is the one at Disneyland ;)
You are doing great, hang in there. Most of us are jealous of your speed :)
Try some silvadene on the burn, it will take the pain out immediately!
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