Richmond Marathon Training - Week 7

Week 7 in the can (does anyone even say that anymore?)

4 runs for not 30 miles but 29.75 miles, .75 more than my training plan called for.

Even though it's tempting to take credit and say this was my first 30 mile week ever, I won't because it's not official. I should have just run an extra quarter mile on Saturday but it was all I could do to finish the 14.

Training highlights:

• Longest run EVER completed on Saturday!
• Two fun "surprise" runs with my running buddy Greg.
• Continuing to suck it up and running outside when it's "hot" (keeping in mind that my definition of hot is anything above 80 degrees).
• Making myself do 4 miles on the treadmill while on vacation in paradise when all I really wanted to do was go to the beach and drink a giant frozen margarita.

Training lowlights:

• I had been planning to join a group run on Saturday morning for the long run, but I woke up at 4:30 am to pouring rain. As my fear of blisters is greater than my hate of the treadmill, I texted my friends to let them know I wouldn't be coming to the group run and instead socked out 14 long, tedious miles on the treadmill at the Y.
• Some arch pain in both feet. I have ordered a pair of insoles prescribed by BFF Steve to see if they help.

Running the 14 on the treadmill made me feel kind of invincible... like a torture survivor or something.

This long run also came with a mental break through. As I was driving to the Y, I was trying to convince myself that it wouldn't be that terrible. Even when I was planning to do the group run, I was feeling intimidated by the distance. What if I crashed and burned? What if my ankle started to hurt? What if I had to WALK? (I dread having to walk... it makes me feel like a big failure.)

Eventually I convinced myself that I would be ok by using one of my favorite mind tricks. Whenever I feel nervous about a run or race, I just tell myself that it is just running. That's it. And if the run is longer than it has been before, it will only be a few more minutes. What is another mile when I've already successfully run 13? It's 9 measely more minutes. That I can run if I just keep putting one foot in front of the other like I always do.

I think this mind trick is the only way I'm going to be able to do this marathon because this evening I made a kind of scary realization as I was driving back from a visit with my parents in Hagerstown...

Running the marathon is going to take me as long as it takes to make the dreaded drive from Hagerstown to Richmond.

Holy. Crap.

But this week for the first time ever I also started thinking that 26.2 miles isn't that far (yes folks, it appears that I have officially lost my mind).

I'm just going to continue to live in that state of mind for now.

If all goes according to schedule, week 8 will be my first official 30 mile week. Bring it on.