I'm glad I waited a bit to write this post. If I had written this last weekend, it might have been filled with colorful language like ^*&( or %^& or ^%&&, etc. In fact, while I was running last weekend, I was thinking my recap post should be titled, "What the &*( was I thinking???"
The "highlight" (or "lowlight" as the case may be) of Week 4 was my 20 mile peak run. It started OK - I mean, I really tried to enter it with a good attitude. It was my last super-long run so I just needed to get through the next 4-5 hours and it would be all downhill after that. Well, long story short, it wasn't my best run. There were some very painful downhill moments at the end and I spent a good portion walking to finish the 20 mile course.
As usual, I was ok until ~mile 12 and then my legs started to feel like poop. I am starting to think that maybe I am more designed for the half rather than the full.
I was supposed to do a 5K the next morning through TNT but that definitely wasn't going to happen. Instead, I spent the day running around LG with my cousin and her two toddlers. Oh boy, the 5K may have been a more restful option. :)
I spent the next few days resting and limping around work. Finally, someone asked if I had taken any Advil and as soon as he said that, I literally wanted to smack myself on the forehead. It was a total "DOH!" moment, because, no, I had not taken any Advil or any other painkillers in general. I had been icing, stretching, foam rolling, etc. but had forgotten the most simple, obvious approach.
A couple hours after popping those little orange pills, I was feeling a lot better and was back to zipping around the hallways at work. I managed to make it to spinning on Wednesday with no problems. Thursday, I got back to running at our TNT track workout - my first interval session. One of the coaches gave me this lotion to use on my legs that had some aspirin in it which helped to relieve some of the soreness. Who knew there were all these fun shortcuts to pain relief???!!!
The interval workout ended up being a lot of fun. I couldn't run very fast but I felt better toward the end.
Friday, I rested to get ready for the Saturday long run. I had to run 12 miles and normally I always do my long runs in the city with the Nike running club but I looked at the route and there was no way I was going to tackle another hilly run during my "taper". So instead, I did my first long run with TNT which happened to be on the Coyote Creek Trail right by where I work. Sure, it's not exactly an exciting run, but it is flat, so yippee! Unfortunately, weather did not cooperate as it pretty much rained the whole time. I didn't mind, though, it actually felt kind of nice. The first few miles were kind of hard but I started to feel more comfortable by mile 5. I was so proud of myself because I managed to run the whole 12 miles through. I have to say, it is a lot more fun to do the long runs with TNT just for the cheering alone. :) Especially at the end when you can actually hear people cheering your name.
I had thought about doing a short run with Nike in Danville on Sunday but I wasn't feeling well. I only managed to do a short 3 mile run/walk around the LG trail. I'm sort of freaked out since this is two weeks before I'm supposed to run 26.2 miles???
But all in all... I'm hanging in there... I don't know how the marathon will go, but I *will* cross that finish line! :) Plus I watched this video clip from last year's marathon and I'm really excited for it now. I'm also a little intimidated because this race is going to be huge!!! Definitely the biggest race I've ever been in. I was so lucky with the Nike Half because we had "VIP" status so we got to start at the head of the pack, just after the elite runners. I wonder how long it will take after the gun goes off before I actually cross the *start* line???
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