Saturday, September 5, 2009

Call me Capt. Lead Legs

I was nervous about 15 today no question about it. With the stiffness building in my left leg, the chances of re-tweaking or doing whatever it is, I did to my IT Band increases. I set the alarm for 5:30 but for some reason it did not go off. I did wake up at 5:55 though, quite confused about why the alarm never went off. I am sure I did something wrong, but can't figure out what it was. No matter.

I was out the door at 6:25. And running by around 6:30. I decided to change up the pattern a little bit. The monotony of the same three miles is starting to where on me. I decided to go in south Laramie, much like I did while training for the last marathon. I am still a little unsure about west Laramie, if I had people that could come get my sorry butt if I broke down it would be one thing....but that is a long walk home if something goes wrong. But I digress...

The first few miles I felt cold....I usually warm up pretty quick, but today my hands just did not get warm for about an hour. It was really cool to see the full moon while running towards the west. There were a couple of times I had some dogs scare me....but all bark and no bite! After almost 6 miles I had to stop back home and use the facilities. I probably should change into dry clothes when I do that....might help with the chaffing

I decided to stick close to home for the next 9. It took my awhile to get back in a groove. This is a game weekend, so there are staffers all along my 3 mile route making sure people are parking in the right areas...I always wonders what goes through their minds when I pass them the 2nd or 3rd time.

The hill three times after a break almost did me in. It seemed to get harder and harder to raise my legs up and they just kept getting heavier and heavier. After about mile 12, it was all I could do to keep getting one in front of the other. That concerns me....

The one really good thing I will take from today, is that I didn't walk....God knows I wanted to do so. My pace could not get above a 10 minute mile the last 2 miles, but I did not walk. My time was slow (2 hours, 32 minutes and 31 secs), but I was able to labor on and get the mileage in.....Have a good weekend.

4 comments:

  1. Wow - amazing! Good for you! Today was the first day I ran for 25 minutes without walking; I cannot imagine running for 2 1/2 hours. You must be very strong, both physically and mentally.

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  2. Nice work, Sean! Way to persevere and get that mileage in. How are you feeling relative to how you felt back in the spring when you were 12 weeks or so out from Colorado race (not sure that NY is 12 weeks -- I'm just guessing)?

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  3. Oh wow -- I just realized NY is in early November and not early December. Same Q as previous post, but revised to be "8 or 9 weeks out"!

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  4. First, Jess thanks for the encouragement. 25 minutes is nothing to sneeze at. I think it is all relative. You spend a lot of your time practicing, I don't do that anymore, so this is how I channel things. Hope your foot is treating you better.

    Jon, as I look back, everything was so new, and every run was an adventure in a way. Now it feels like this thing that I do that has become a part of who I am. It is kind of a cool feeling. Pain-wise, the knee is a bit worse off now than it was then. I will say though, that the pain seems to subside much quicker during the rest of the day. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous for most every run. I just really want to get to the starting line. Truth be told, I am also gaining more and more confidence in being able to complete distance in the manner in which I want.

    It does seem crazy that it is so close. I was thinking about that this morning when I was reading Runner's World. It also got me thinking about what I need to do after, so I can keep growing as a runner, while still healing up over the winter months.

    Well thanks for all the support.

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