I can't finish this blog without thanking my mom ... I called her from my car on Friday morning in hysterics. I was in full panic mode and needed her to help calm me down. I didn't want to skip the 8 mile run, but I couldn't bring myself to go over that bridge. So, she told me not to do it on Friday - it wasn't worth it, but she would go to the boardwalk with me on Saturday morning - she would walk while I did my run. She said she'd be waiting for me when I was done. We went to the early Weight Watchers meeting (7:30am), had a quick bite to eat, and headed to the Jones Beach boardwalk to conquer another 8 miles!!!! I ran past mom twice along the boardwalk, and then when I was getting to the end, I saw her standing there with a big bottle of cold water!!!! It was so awesome to see her beaming with pride for me (seeing that water bottle in her hand was pretty awesome too LOL), waiting for me to finish the run!!! The next two Sundays will be a "family affair" on the boardwalk - both of my parents will go with me - they will walk the boardwalk while I do my runs, and that works perfectly for me!!!
I've conquered one of my fears - I ran 8 miles ALONE Saturday morning!!! That is the longest I've run on my own, and I was so proud of myself for doing it. I was supposed to do the 8 mile run with Stacy on Friday morning before work, but I psyched myself out so badly I actually made myself sick, so that run didn't happen. The distance didn't scare me, the run itself didn't scare me, what did scare me was the route we were going to take - we were going to run from Stacy's apartment over the 59th Street bridge into Manhattan, then turn around and come back to her apartment. That bridge is SCARY. It is almost completely uphill going from the Queens side to the Manhattan side!!! Plus, a majority of it is cement, which is very hard to run on - ironically, the downhill run on the cement is harder on my knees and back than the uphill run, but either way, I don't like running over that bridge!!! It is too intimidating for a long run - a short run might be okay, but not a long one. I prefer flat surfaces for the long runs and the hills on the short runs. The hills have definitely helped my endurance and strength because I can run 8 miles without too much exhaustion. I did "walk" a few times on Saturday, but I think that's just because of the sun - I was running in the sun the entire time. Last week, when we ran eight miles on the boardwalk, it wasn't sunny. But it's okay, I was listening to my body and slowing down when I needed to. I only finished 5 minutes slower on my own than when I ran with Stacy, so I don't think I did too badly!!!
I can't finish this blog without thanking my mom ... I called her from my car on Friday morning in hysterics. I was in full panic mode and needed her to help calm me down. I didn't want to skip the 8 mile run, but I couldn't bring myself to go over that bridge. So, she told me not to do it on Friday - it wasn't worth it, but she would go to the boardwalk with me on Saturday morning - she would walk while I did my run. She said she'd be waiting for me when I was done. We went to the early Weight Watchers meeting (7:30am), had a quick bite to eat, and headed to the Jones Beach boardwalk to conquer another 8 miles!!!! I ran past mom twice along the boardwalk, and then when I was getting to the end, I saw her standing there with a big bottle of cold water!!!! It was so awesome to see her beaming with pride for me (seeing that water bottle in her hand was pretty awesome too LOL), waiting for me to finish the run!!! The next two Sundays will be a "family affair" on the boardwalk - both of my parents will go with me - they will walk the boardwalk while I do my runs, and that works perfectly for me!!!
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_ Yesterday, I ran the farthest I’ve ever ran before – EIGHT MILES in 1:39:51. 8 miles is a lot of running!! I only "walked" once, and that was to stretch and pop my hip (it sound worse than it is, but every once in a while it needs to pop) ... if I felt like I needed to walk, Stacy told me to slow my pace way down and take little baby steps, but to keep running, so that's what I did. Just running the 8 miles was a huge accomplishment for me, but not stopping to walk for even just a minute made it that much better.
We decided to get to Jones Beach early in the morning for the long run. It would definitely be cooler with the ocean breeze and it would be mostly flat … two very important factors for a long run (at least to me anyway). We did our stretches; got our music and GPS devices set, and headed off on our run. The first three miles were do-able, and the last two weren’t too bad – maybe because I knew the end was near. But those 3-6 miles in the middle … wow … that’s when I was feeling every part of me ache and hurt and get tired. Those were the miles where my head tries to take over and I have to tell myself not to listen to that voice and to keep going. My breathing was also erratic; not to the point where I needed my inhaler, but I needed the “don’t panic, take deep breaths” pep talk from Stacy to get it under control. By mile 6, I was back in control of the run and was able to finish strong - I "sprinted" the last .10 (I put sprinted in quotes because I definitely wasn't running fast; I was just running faster than before). The faster I ran those .10, the faster I was done! Stacy had already hit the 8 miles, but, as usual, she ran it out with me - she even sprinted my last .10!!! We found out that the boardwalk is less than 8 miles in length … so we had to go back and forth a few times to make the distance. We even ran around the perimeter of an empty parking lot twice LOL!! It was nice to run so close to the sand and ocean, and it wasn’t very sunny, which was very nice too … it kept the heat factor way down. It was still warmish, but not hot and not humid. I wanted to stop for a SIP of water at one of the many water fountains we passed, but I wasn’t allowed … at least I’ll get water breaks during my half marathon!!! It was a good run - a run that I didn't realize I needed till after it was done. I'm still trying to get to the point where I run for fun, and these runs will clear my head. I'm still at the "am I done yet?" runs ... but yesterday did seem to clear my head a bit more than the others. Maybe it was the location, the scenery, the FRESH air (as opposed to car fumes); I don't know what made it so different, but it's great to be able to say I FINISHED AN 8 MILE RUN!!!!! |
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January 2016
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