I just returned majorly pumped up from completing a seventeen miler!! I haven't run more than thirteen miles in two years. Last night, I carbo-loaded with some veggie pizza and some-mores with double marshmellows and double chocolate , of course. We had a fun campfire with my children and one of my best buddies currently on a postpartum hiatus from running, Dena (a kickass runner when she isn't nursing a newborn!!). The night was fun and the full moon sky was cloudy but beautiful anyway. Everyone was in bed by 9:30, giving me plenty of sleep.
I awoke at 5:00am to eat a peanutbutter sandwich and water. Lubed up the likely-to-chafe areas, put a band-aid in the spot where I blistered at the Johnny Kelly race and headed out. I started out tired and a little nervous, but by mile two I had found my groove. At mile seven, I stopped at my "adoptive" parents' house to re-hydrate and of course, go to the bathroom!! Then I continued on to the more picturesque part of the route. It was pretty, but I was struggling by about mile ten. I used mind over matter and got through some tough miles. Then at about mile thirteen, I said "to hell with this slow shit" and I kicked it in and ran the next four miles with ease. I am amazed at how sometimes you have to run a little faster during your long runs to actually feel better. I felt so invigorated at the finish, I walked a while to regroup and did some sun salutations, a yoga breathing/stretching pose. I was so happy. :)
I have a little secret that has helped my running incredibly and it is called YOGA! I LOVE YOGA!! I have been practicing yoga for only a month, but it has improved my running experiences tenfold. I highly reccommend it to any human, but especially us runners who take joy from beating up their bodies!! Rock on!!
5 comments:
You have it going! Seventeen is a big jump from the 12 you did at Johnny Kelly.
I guess doing New Haven's 20K will be a breeze.
I'm coming up for the weekend and look forward to the race. If you're on the Dianna Team HO/RBF we'll meet.
It was a great morning for a run and it sounds like you had a great one...too bad you had the 'early shift' and couldn't join our band of runners...we did get to see/hear the Steeple-Chasers go by!
I've also recently discovered yoga and I love it! Its just the best thing and has really helped me avoid injuries. Well done with your run too - 17 miles sounds a long way (too tired to try and convert it into kilometres!). I've run 4 marathons and planning to run my 5th in 3 weeks time, in Sydney.
Nice work Beth! I have found too many times that running really is mind over matter.
I'm happy to see another CT blogger/runner! Looking forward to reading more about you...and then meeting you in New Haven :-)
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