About a minute away from the finish line! (I'm not in this one, though, as I'll save that one for after I see my Jazzercise ladies on Monday.) :)
In anything challenging, there is the proverbial wall. For me, I've encountered two such walls as of late: writer's block and the running wall. In the half marathon, the runner's wall came to me in the form of miles 8-10.
At mile 7, I was living large. I'd run through the Magic Kingdom, seen my parents, listened to the first half of my pump up songs. All was well.
Then I stopped to go potty.
Restarting proved to be more difficult than I thought. My knee pain kicked in (which probably had nothing to do with stopping, but, still). This was also the most boring stretch of the race for me. Up to this point, there were characters, picture taking stations, music, or, you know, a Disney park to look at, but now, we were back on the highway, and there wasn't a lot going on. The Clif recharge station was in this stretch, but since I had my handy packets of GU safety pinned in my shorts, I didn't need to stop. I did, however, get to run over about a thousand discarded packets.
I think my brain had a hard time wrapping around the idea that I still had five miles to go when I was already so tired. Plus, with every step, my right leg knee ached. So, at mile 9, I made the executive to move the IT band from the left leg to the right, leaving only my knee support on the left.
But with the sign proclaiming Mile 10, I felt a small surge of energy. I've run 3.1 miles a bunch of times. I could do it then too.
I won't say the last 3.1 miles were easy, especially with a climb up a winding overpass (cool people watching from above! not so cool to run up from the bottom!). But there was something about knowing I was only 30ish minutes away from the finish line, a medal, and my parents that gave me the push I needed.
I have no real advice for beating that mental wall. Focus on your breathing and form. Say your mantra over and over. Make sure you have heavy, pumping music when you know you normally hit that wall.
And then run like hell. :)
Wow, this could have been written about my first half at Sunburst 2 years ago! Swap out your knee pain/braces for my blistered feet & black toenails & we were like twins...lol. How did your short runs go? I think I'm due to run 4 tomorrow. I had to switch to a "lesser" plan while I try to get rid of my literal PIA!
ReplyDeleteWe ARE twins! Go us!
ReplyDeleteI did four yesterday... I did the first two fast, but the second two were slow, and I felt every step. I need to get back on track this week (I was planning to run today, but as you saw on Facebook, there were some car difficulties to attend to!). How did your four today go? I'm hoping the PIA (literal and figurative) leave you alone so you can get back to business!
You probably needed the rest anyway. How are your knees? I was wrong, 5 was on my schedule & I did it but it was painful. Probably headed for the doc & therapy before long & they will tell me I can't run which will result in me being admitted to a mental institution! My sister (lung cancer) is really sick & I really need this outlet (running), it is not a good time to be wounded :( Look for a PM on FB.
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