Tiffany and I went over to Wheeler Farm and found some dirt roads behind it (for the tractor rides). It was really pretty and the longer we ran, the more paths we found. We ran by these little donkeys that we called unicorns, by horses, geese, cows, goats (freaky little things), chickens and roosters... all kinds of fun stuff to look at. We talked the whole time and the time really flew by. We stopped every 2-3 miles and alternated gatorade and water/gels. I stretched out that right leg every time and sure enough, it was fine. It will hurt if I stop taking ibuprofen, but at least it's manageable.
Tiffany only had to run 18 for her training schedule, so I ran the last 2 miles by myself. I was pushing an 11 minute pace, and kept remembering Tiffany's advice from her training book: "just when you think you need to go faster, you need to go slower." It was true. Everything was aching and I just wanted to hurry and finish. But I knew if I pushed it, I was gonna get hurt. So I just went nice and easy and honestly I'm not even that sore today. It took me 3 hours and 37 minutes to finish.. about a 10:50 pace I think. My ipod said I burned 2200 calories!
After the run, Tiffany and I drove all the way to Moab (about 3.5 hours away) for my grandma's 90th birthday. We had to get back home so we were only there for 2 hours and had to drive straight back. I was really nervous about being in the car for 7+ hours the same day as that long run (talk about getting stiff!) but it was fine. I feel really blessed that this is all working out.
So the marathon is in three weeks. I'm so excited and relieved that it's really going to happen! Woo hoo!
YAY! Okay, I'm sorry but reading this post seriously just got me so pumped! When you didn't post for so long I was totally worried that something bad had happened. Now worry has turned to excitement because I can't believe you're running a marathon in 3 WEEKS!! I'm so glad everything worked out with your leg. Injuries are so frustrating but sounds like you have yours under control. That's the same thing that happened to me, missed a few runs but with a lot of babying and a couple advils I was able to make it through!
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed with how smart you ran your 20 miler too. Stopping to stretch, running on dirt and slowing down, all so so smart! I can't believe you weren't even sore after either! awesome awesome! Well congrats on your big run and good luck these next few weeks. Your getting into the taper down zone which is really nice.