Week 6, and 24 miles later…

Last night I decided I wasn’t going to be a wimp anymore and that I would get out there and meet some fellow runners while getting my long run in at the same time. After several back and forth posts between the Fox Valley Marathon coordinators, and my friend Rob from daily mile, I knew I needed to do this for ME.

Often I say I can’t, quickly followed with, YES I CAN…

So to my husband’s surprise, I set all my clothes out, charged my Garmin and made sure I had my breakfast bar and water bottle ready for the morning run. The group was running 14, and I had 10 on schedule so my goal was to at least get 10 miles in…

I tossed and turned most of the night…worried I wouldn’t finish…damn those mental devils that sit on our shoulders during training…

I woke up at 5:15 to my preset alarm, and quickly brushed my teeth and hair and got dressed. Nerves had set in, but I jumped in my jeep and hit Route 31 to meet everyone at Dick Pond in St. Charles. I read my husband’s facebook post to me, and knew, I could do this…

“So incredibly proud of my wife, who decided to get up at 5:15 in the morning to train for her marathon. She is my living proof and inspiration that we can achieve anything we want if you just have the courage to follow your passion and listen to your heart. Because at the end of the day… pass or fail… win or loss… you can look at yourself in the mirror, and with smile on your face say… I gave it my all, and nobody can ever take that away!”

The crowd was quiet, and I didn’t really meet anyone at the start other than a quick hello to Rob. I found my pace group (10:00 mile pace), and promptly at 6:30 we hit the road running.

I stayed with the group the first hour, and felt good at about a 9:50 pace. At mile 7 we stopped for drinks and a pottie stop, and I realized I was getting tired, hot, and worn out…I fell back from the group as we continued on to mile 8, but they were still in my sights. Yet as I saw them in front of me, those mental devils started kicking my ass…”Why are you in a group run if you can’t keep up with the group?” Bah, I wanted to cry…

But I kept pushing, and at mile 9.5 I took a couple sport beans and kept pushing. I would stay with the group for a bit, finally chatting a little, but realized I needed to get this done for ME, because I have never been one to quit, well, at anything…So I put in both ear pieces, and tried focusing on the music and trail other than the sweat pouring down my face.

Mile 11 was better, but by mile 12 I was spent…everything started to hurt, so I allowed myself walk breaks. A wonderful runner, Tammy, met me at mile 13, and stayed with me until the very end, walking and running that last mile. We hit the parking lot and I ran my farthest distance to date of 14 miles. Did it hurt? Heck yeah…mentally and physically, but I did it! 14 miles…2:25 finish time. YAHOO!

Thanks to all for the amazing support…xoxo

17 thoughts on “Week 6, and 24 miles later…”

Running groups rock! Glad you found them & got your run done. 🙂

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Published by Movin' it with Michelle

17 thoughts on “Week 6, and 24 miles later…”

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