3 months ago I hadn’t run for many years. In 3 days, 13 hours and 58 minutes (don’t you love those count down clocks) I will be trying to run a marathon.
It’s so easy to post photos on social media that only show the highlights; not the blood, the liters of sweat and the tears. Here’s one now:
Some runs make you feel invincible, some runs make you feel defeated, every run makes you stronger.
My last long training run made me feel defeated. Here’s a breakdown of my internal thoughts:
0km: 0:00 Out of breath and sore, “Am I running right? This feels really uncoordinated… Is this how my arms usually swing?”
5km: 0:32 Sunrise over the city and settled into a rhythm, “This is such a beautiful sunrise!”
10km: 1:07 Eating my first Caramello Koala, (chemical power gels can go to hell) while watching hot air balloons over the lake “Wow, this is great!”
15km: 1:41 Halfway – My shirt is chafing under my arms and I’m getting over it “This is hard… ”
20km: 2:22 Another Caramello and a short recovery walk.
21km: 2:30 A sharp pain in my knee (my good knee) and I was walking again, then I was crying. Not quite sure why but it all seemed like too much. “Why am I doing this? Can I back out now? There is no way I can finish this race in the time given. They will close the race and I’ll get a DNF.”
22km: 2:40 Alternating between walking and running, crying again when a sad song came on.
2:58 Another Caramello.
25km: 3:10 Running again “Only 5km to go!”
3:25 “This isn’t so bad, maybe I can keep going”
30km: 3:44 Home, carbs, ice bath and a 1hour nap/pass-out.
I started training 3 months ago. I’ve endured hypoglycemic crashes, open wounds from rubbing, blisters than haven’t healed since January and getting lost more than once. I had no idea about fueling for long distances or training plans.. and honestly, I still don’t. But it’s all too late for that now.
So here’s my plan:
- Between now and the race eat lots of carbs (for the record: beer is a carb)
- Give the marathon a go
- Plan A: Don’t seriously hurt myself
- Plan B: Finish within the 7 hours
- Plan C: Finish the distance no matter how long it takes
- Eat lots of everything after the race
But even if the running isn’t a success, the fundraising has been, $1,863 raised thanks to my amazing friends and family! https://runningfestival2016.everydayhero.com/au/cos-and-the-big-3-0
justcoslife 