Alright, I did it! I officially ran the distance
of a half marathon. Something I literally never thought I would do! My goal was
to write this right after my run, so that things would be fresh in my mind, but
when I tried, the last thing I wanted to do was sit in front of the computer
and type, I was so tired. So here's what went down!
On Saturday night, I took some melatonin
pills to help me have a good night sleep. My intention was to get up at 6:45,
eat some food, and rest a little until my run at 8. But go figure, I work up at
7:45. So, I did the same things, just an hour behind my intended time. I made
sure to go to the store and pick up my energy bars to take on my run. I finally
made it to the forest preserve around 9 and began my run.
The weather was great. The sun was shining
and I couldn't be happier with that. It usually takes my .50 miles to warm up
and get comfortable. There was a light dusting of snow on some areas of the
trail, but nothing worth continuing about. I was looking forward to listening
to my music as I had updated my playlist! There were a few people walking and
running on the trail as well, which I love.
While running, I remembered something that
someone told me earlier that week. And take this as some advice for you
"encouragers". I was speaking to someone about where I like to run,
at this particular forest preserve. She told me that her and her husband like
to walk there and it is nice, but I need to watch out for coyotes or wolves (I
can't remember). She continued to tell me that these animals not only are
prevalent in that area, but since it is a more rural area, they are breeding
with dogs, AND that they travel in packs rather than alone, because they have
the dog pack instinct in them. So, here I am, minding my own business running
and jamming out to music when all of the sudden this thought pops into my head.
Now, I am sure she was just sharing that story with me to warn me, but the last
thing I want to be is afraid when I am running that a pack of half wolf/coyote
half dog will be lurking about watching my every move, planning their
attack.
Anyways, I am going to not worry about
that too much. FYI, skip this next paragraph if you are of the weak stomach. Of
all the running I have done, one thing that I have learned in preparation for
my long runs is to definitely use the restroom before hand. Yes, I am talking
about going #1 and #2. Now the only reason why I am going to talk about this is
because I am blogging about my total experience, and this is what happened to
me on my run. So, about mile four I realized something. I forgot to go to the
bathroom (#2) before my run. It was something I told myself before I went to
bed the night before. Long story short, I wasn't about to stop my run and go in
the forest, so I sucked it up and moved forward. I did have gas throughout my
run, and later learned that I had sharted just a little bit in my pants.
haha/ew I know! (You are the one who chose to follow my blog) So yes, go both
#1 and#2 before your longs runs. It is more important that you will ever
realize.
Moving on from that story... For the most
part, my run went really well. As always, at point of the run various parts of
my body got tight and sore. I really need to continue my leg strength
conditioning on my short run days. The wind does make it more difficult, but
you just have to muster through that. I wore my leggings, turtleneck and
pullover, gloves and earmuffs throughout the run. I stayed warm, but not hot
which was very comfortable.
Once the run was over, I walked for a
while because my body was sore and tried but I didn't want to just stop and
leave. When I got back to my car, I did my stretches. I brought some G2
Gatorade and drank some of that and finish my energy bars to restore some of
the nutrients that were lost.
So, here are the details of my run:
Distance: 13.22
Time: 1:45:02
Pace: 7:56 mins/mile
Calories Burnt: 1947
I was really pleased with my result. The
more important thing was that I wasn't exhausted and ready to die by the end.
This is promising for the remainder of my training.
More updates to come. Happy Running to you
all!
Until the next run,
cody!
:)
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