Reflections on Week #13

Sometimes it's the race, sometimes it's the swag.

I was hoping that by the end of this week, I would be confident in a decision on whether I should continue aiming for the marathon on July 25 or select a race farther in the future. Unfortunately that certainty has not arrived yet, and I'm trying to become comfortable with the fact that it might not be clear what my decision should be until it's July 26. So onward I go.

I still have mild soreness in my outer left knee caused by ITB syndrome, but it has not exploded with pain again nor impeded my running. I successfully completed all my mid-week runs – 5 miles on Tuesday, 9 miles on Wednesday, 5 miles on Thursday – and then saw the sports medicine doctor at the end of the week. His diagnosis: weak hips. The suspected cause: having kids. The treatment: strengthen and stretch my hips and glutes daily. Sure thing, it won't be a challenge to add another half-hour of exercising into my day... (I'm smiling wanly here.)

Unexpectedly, though, Saturday turned out to be my very favorite day of training so far. It was originally supposed to be an 18-mile run, but because I missed my 16-mile day due to the ITB syndrome, my coach had me queued up for another attempt at 16 this week. The 15-mile run from last month took every ounce of energy I could summon, so between a longer distance and a moody knee, I was quite nervous that morning.

Backing up a step, I have read about a mental strategy for marathons where you divide it up into three segments: 10 miles, 10 miles, and 10K. My coach also encourages me to think of the last few miles as the "race" part, where I am pushing myself to not slow my pace. For this training run, I decided to think of the first 6 miles as Warm Up #1, the second 6 miles as Warm Up #2, and the final 4 miles as the race. To further make this distinction, I downloaded an audiobook for the first time in my life (The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden) and listened to it through both warmups, jogging at a comfortable pace while getting lost in the story. Then when I hit 12 miles, I switched to my marathon mix of songs. It's impossible not to get a boost of energy from "Eye of the Tiger," no matter how ubiquitous the song has become or how one's feet might be aching. 

Not only did I feel strong and confident during the entire long run this time, but I added in one more mile to split the difference between where I was (16 miles) and where I would have been without the injury (18 miles).

17 miles.

That's how far I ran. Me! Ha!

I don't know why 17 miles specifically holds any significance to me, but for some reason, I am totally blown away by it. It just sounds so... far. So much farther than I ever would have thought I could run, ever in a million years. And it's not due to any natural ability or good luck, it was solely through hard work and persistence. I have not had the opportunity to pursue a personal goal like this in a very long time, and it feels so good.

I'm sure there will be more setbacks in my training, but nothing can change the fact that I ran 17 miles yesterday – something that not too long ago, I would have assured you I could never do. Don't tell my kids I was wrong about something.


Mileage for week 13: 36 miles

Total mileage: 288.6 miles

Days until marathon: 47 days

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