This morning I head out for my last run as a non-marathoner. It's a five mile tempo run, same as last Thursday, but I'm not going to go quite as hard as I did last week. I'm in taper and you're not supposed to run a lot, far or hard during this week. My body needs to REST for Saturday.
Here's the deal with a marathon. It's 26.2 miles. It's 42 kilometers. We aren't made to run that distance. Ok, there are a few people that are, Dean Karnazes and Suzy Holt Goodwin being two of them, but not most humans. Did you watch the Boston marathon? The woman that came in second collapsed at the finish. She is clearly one of the best runners in the world and COLLAPSED at the finish. If you've been reading my blog, you know that the farthest I've run is 20 miles. And I only did that once. Before you get worried, that is normal. In fact, I have friends that only run 18 miles in their training for a marathon. If you run more than 20 in the time leading up to the marathon, it's likely that you'll get hurt. But you still work your body hard during training. Tempo runs (running at a faster pace for several miles), speed work (even faster paced intervals on a track with slower recovery jogs in between), hill work (sprinting up hills over and over and over), and long runs (16-20 miles) take a serious toll on your body. And then you go and run the full distance. Go watch a marathon if you've never been to one. They are actually really fun spectator events (if you want to start this weekend, I think there's one being held in High Point ;) ) You'll see the athletes, toned and lean, collapsing, convulsing, crawling across the finish.
WHY?
Because, well, just because. Because we can? well, maybe. Even runners that have finished marathons in the past have to drop out of races sometimes. so "because we can" isn't a good reason why, because maybe we can't. BUT (and this is the appropriate answer) BECAUSE we can TRY. EVERYONE can at least TRY to accomplish such a daunting task.
I used to say I would never run a marathon. Actually, I used to say I'd never run past three miles. But it hooks you somehow. And I'm hooked. So this Saturday, I will try. I won't be trying quickly, but I'll be trying.
I'm scared, nervous and anxious. Some of those feelings are alleviated because my friends Amanda and Ben are going to come out and pace me for several miles each. My parents are volunteering and then going to set up somewhere on the course to watch me run past. If you are going to be bored early saturday morning, and feel like going for a slow job, come out to High Point and hop on the course with me for a mile or two :) If you don't feel like running, come out and volunteer with registration or packet pick up or aid stations OR you can even come see me at the finish...I hope to finish around 12:30. The website with info about all that is ncmarathon.org
If you come out just to watch be sure to look for Holmes on the half marathon course! This is his first. He has rocked his training schedule and this should be a really great race for him!
So back to the taper thing...this week is boring. I ran three miles on Monday, have five today and that's it. I went to the gym yesterday and dawlded on the elliptical for a while before my abs class. Tomorrow, I'll probably do some walking speed elliptical work just to stay loose, then maybe take Riley for a long walk on the greenway on Friday. But no more running. The body must heal and rest. SO HEAL AND REST GOOD BODY. I hope I'm prepared!
Non running note : I received an A Plus in my Phonetics class! I finished my anatomy final and I think I should be getting an A in that class as well! I have a three week break until summer session starts...when I'll be taking FOUR classes and logging observation hours. EEK! But if you know me, you know I hate being un-busy, so I'm pretty psyched about it.
