Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Marathoners and Masochists...

...I'm discovering, are essentially interchangeable.

Any guesses on how the 13 miler went today and how I'm feeling about it?

In three words--it wasn't pretty. I guess I just wasn't feelin' it this week. Amazing how it varies from one week to the next. My 12 miler last week was tough, but I got through it. Today was agony...which led to my conclusion about marathoners and masochists.

I'm feeling pretty discouraged. Can I really do 26.2 miles? I guess this is one of those times that calls for "gird up your loins" and "count your blessings." Or, "accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative." So in effort in cheer myself out of this slump, I'll focus on a few things that went well with today's run...
  • I didn't die.......yet (Oh leave me alone, cynicism!)
  • I finished
  • No blisters or chafing
  • No wilderness restroom stops (A public restroom beats the bushes any day.)
  • NO GI DISTRESS WHATSOEVER!!! (This one really makes me happy, since I was soooo sick last week and I had blamed it on the GU.)
  • Found a new gel that tastes great...and didn't land me on the porcelain throne post-run (Accel gel, chocolate flavor...tastes just like chocolate pudding and the consistency and texture was better than GU.)
  • Jelly Belly Extreme Jelly Beans (Watermelon)--not as energizing as the gel and hard to chew while running but certainly tasty! I think I found my post-race recovery treat!
  • My trusty Garmin made it through the whole 13 miles even though it beeped "low battery" at mile 6-- I heart you Garmin!
There now, I feel a little better...if only I could get these stiff hips out from this chair...

2 comments:

lacy lee said...

Way to go! I remember feeling the same way (can I actually do this??) But then I did. Your body will just bust out the miles (if you stay on schedule, at least). It's cool like that :)

I used the Gu on race day without problems. Otherwise I loved a good cliff bar about half way through a monster run.

You're doing awesome!

Anonymous said...

great read. I would love to follow you on twitter.