So as scheduled, Saturday was scheduled to be a "long" run. The way Hal Higdon's program works so far, you run three consecutive days mid-week - short, a bit longer then a bit shorter, and on Saturday you have your long, grueling run. The first week's long run was 6 miles, the second 7, the third 5 and now this past Saturday was 9. Higdon's formula has you progress for a few weeks then every third week you pull back on mileage - then surge ahead and keep adding. So next Saturday will be 10 miles but then the one after will be 7...and so on. All I know is that (1) I hadn't ever run 9 miles consecutively before this weekend and (2) I have to run 20 miles the morning after my upcoming birthday in October. Obviously, there will be some building up in between but I'm just sayin'....yikes.
So the thing about 9 miles is this: it's sort of like the 3/5/7 pound scenario, and if you've ever attempted any kind of weight loss you will know what I mean - you know how you can lose the same 3-5 pounds without a great degree of excitement but as soon as the scale reflects a loss of more than 5 pounds, say 7 pounds, suddenly it's a game-changer? Suddenly- it sort of clicks and you think "whatever I'm doing must really be working!" and it motivates you a bit to keep doing EXACTLY what it is you're doing? Then before you know it, you've lost 11 pounds, and so on? Well, that's what 9 miles was like for me. It wasn't the same-old/same-old 3- or even 5 mile run.
Since my husband and I had plans for the majority of the day on Saturday and since I estimated that the run would take me approximately 2 hours, I had to set my alarm for 5:30. This would afford me the necessary time needed to lie in bed and stress out over the task ahead of me. Once up, I quickly got dressed, passed on the morning java and just got going before I could change my mind. (Motivational tip: I have been known to sleep in half of my running/workout gear, i.e., sports bra, socks, etc. the night before I have to get up and out early for a run or workout, so that when the alarm goes off, I think: "I'm half-dressd already! All I have to do is stand up!" Don't knock it - it really works!)
So as stated, I got up early and was out the door by 6:15. Being that it was Saturday, I decided that the route should be main roads (less traffic on weekends but still not as scary as some of the pathways/trailways can be with no one else on them). Using my trusty smartphone app, I navigated myself 4.5 miles from home, turned around and headed back the exact same way (what's known in runderland as "out and back"). What worked about this is that 4.5 miles seemed to me to be the "goal". It's the same kind of phenomenan as when you are anxious to arrive somewhere that you haven't driven to before, and it feels like it takes forever to get there but then the ride home goes by in a jiffy.
What I discovered was that the second 4.5 miles was by no means a piece of cake but it also wasn't as heinous as I feared it would be. I also discovered that a great deal of positive thinking is going to have to take place toward the end of the long runs. (I really leaned on breath control and the yogic mind-body connection right around the same time that I was dashing around looking for a gas station that would permit the likes of me to use their ladies' room without the purchase of a tankful of gas.) I also realized I have to get a grip on the food/hydration balance, and that I have to find an external battery source for my phone so that the navigation and music keep flowing and also in case I have an emergency. There's a lot to work on.
The great news is that my legs felt pretty great later that day and the next day! And my energy level was ok! And after I did a little preemptive icing of my bunion, all was well! (Plans are in the works for an entire future blog entry about the bunion. Stay tuned.)
So even though I walked through my front door 2 hours later and said "I don't know if I can keep doing this", I think that I can. Just like Henry Ford said.
-Paula
To donate to my run: http://mskcc.convio.net/site/TR/FredsTeamEvents/Freds_Team?px=2654113&pg=personal&fr_id=2150
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