Ok, so I've never run a marathon before. To date, the longest run I've done was 15 miles and that was on my own. This coming weekend's long run is 17 & a bit of a mental hurdle for me.
At the end of these weekly long runs, I have found myself asking "Self, how will you complete 26.2 as you seem so pooped from the _____ miles (fill in the double digit number here) that you just ran?" For example, sometimes I had trouble finishing that last ~2 miles as I did on Saturday....in the sun, slightly up an incline to Iwo Jima. I quit, I said "eff it!" and I know I should not have. Was this because I was running low on water, food, the sun beating down, not seeing any other of the running group around me?
So, knowing most of you have danced this dance before, what are some tips/suggestions/ideas to help mentally prep for 26 miles. I know people have said, oh, it's the rush, the crowd, the XYZ... One guy told me on Saturday that the first 20 miles were a warm up and the last 6 was the race.
Anyway, looking for thougths here.
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My main suggestion is not to be too hard on yourself. If I feel like walking for a little bit, I do and I don't feel bad about it. On my 12 mile run this past Saturday, I probably walked almost a mile of it total. Just like anything else (work or any other hobby), some days are just better than others. Make sure you're well rested, well hydrated, and everything else will work out. By the time the race is here, you'll know that you are more than adequately prepared for it, and truly, the adrenaline and crowd on the day of the race will get you through. And then you're likely to be like the rest of us maniacs planning where you're going to run your next marathon.
ReplyDeleteI had a bad run on what was supposed to be my 15 mile run on Saturday. I got a blister on my toe around mile 13. I noticed I was trying to run so my toe was not hitting the ground (more on my heel) and I decided to just make it to 14 (it was like 13.91) and stop rather. While I was kind of bummed that I quit at mile 14 instead of running 15, I am deciding to just chalk it up to a bad day and go from there. I am using the excuse that I did not run a single day between the last distance run (I had a cold) and Saturday so that was the reason. Better luck next time... or maybe I am maturing and listening to my body? Don't they say to do that sometimes-don't run if your body is saying no?
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