February 6, 2011

Terrific Ten

Ladies and gentlemen...for the first time EVER I banged out a 10 mile run this morning!  And on the boring treadmill no less.  (It is snowing AGAIN...)  This is how I feel right now:

Wanna know the really amazing thing about today's run?  Other than the fact that it was ten freaking miles?  I did not feel tired at the end!!!  Well, (let's be real) maybe a little exhausted, but I definitely did not feel like I was going to pass out/fall off the treadmill/die like I have after some runs.  This makes me SO happy because it means I've actually figured out fueling and pacing strategies that WORK for me!  

I knew I would need plenty of energy throughout this run, so I had my usual pre-long run snack of gel & water about 20 minutes before leaving for the gym.  During the run I sipped a water bottle of 1/2 powerade and 1/2 water.  This was the first time I've tried that, and I was really happy with it.  I felt hydrated throughout  the run.  I also had a second gel after 5 miles.  All of that sat really well in my super sensitive tummy, which is a major celebration!  

As far as pacing goes, I am ALWAYS slow.  But I've been working on starting off even sloooower on the long runs, and increasing speed veeeery gradually.  I'm running the race in 3/1 run/walk intervals, a strategy I started as I was recovering from my tibial stress fracture that I have really come to like.  For me, it totally works.  I have SO much energy at the end that the last few miles I can really kick up the pace.  I did the 10th mile with no walk breaks, knowing that this was the time to use all of that stored up energy.  And I felt great the entire run!  (minus some pain in my knee the last mile...I'm not worried about it, though, because it stopped immediately when I slowed to a walk for cool down and is feeling fine now.  Maybe my body was just was confused about the long distance I was suddenly expecting it to do!)

Besides pacing and fueling correctly, another thing I have learned while training for this race is the power of a positive attitude.  While getting dressed and on my way to the gym this morning I listened to my favorite pump up songs on repeat.  I talked the run up in my head, and reminded myself how I had dominated my 9 mile run last week.  What's one more tiny little mile?  I wrote my favorite mantra on my wrist:

Trust the Process
But you know what?  I'm not sure I even needed all of that.  The long and short of it is, I was ready for this run.  My body has come SO FAR in my training.  I was ready to run 10 miles today.  I will be ready to run 12 miles next week.  And in 3 weeks I will be ready to run 13.1.  Can I just say that I'm starting to get REALLY excited???

3 comments:

  1. Congratulations on the 10 miles!

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  2. Congrats on the 10 miles, that is an awesome accomplishment!! It sounds like you were really mentally prepared and it's great that you had so much energy at the end. Great job!! You will rock the 12 and then the 13.1 :)

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  3. Congrats! What a great day for you! :-)

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