Can you believe we only have three “long” runs left before the marathon?!?!? I know there are a few more Saturday runs beyond Sept. 11…but 10 miles is going to be a piece of cake after running 20!!
PJ has said it a few times, and from my personal experience I agree, that the next few weeks are probably the most challenging. We’ve been training for a couple of months now and our bodies are getting tired…but we’ve still got another six weeks until the big day, and a 17, 18 and 20 mile run, and that’s a little too much to feel like the finish line is just around the corner.
Here’s the thing though…it really is all worth it…and in the end, if you can run 20 miles…you really CAN run 26.2! I had a hard time believing that last year…6.2 miles seems like a lot of “extra” miles to run on race day! I would be lying if I said the last 6.2 miles easy. Quite honestly, they are pretty darn difficult!! By the time I got up the big hill somewhere around mile 20-21 my foot was killing me and I was beyond exhausted…but by that point none of it mattered…
When I got up that hill I also knew that I only had 6.2 miles left to finish my first marathon! I knew I could go 6.2 miles, even if I had to walk it all (which I didn’t!) and there was nothing that was going to stop me from finishing. The crowds cheering for you on Summit Ave are AMAZING!! There is nothing more motivating then having thousands of people cheering and telling you that “You can do it!!” Yeah - the last 6.2 miles of my first marathon were probably some of the hardest physically that I ran all summer, but I can honestly say they were the also the best 6.2 miles that I ran all summer!!!
Hang in there for the next few weeks! I am already excited for marathon weekend because it was such a great experience for me last year!
· I LOVED the Expo…walking around with tons of other runners and getting free stuff! Make sure you plan some time to walk around and look at everything.
· I LOVED getting up on race morning…I was so nervous I thought I might be sick, but it was the best kind of nervousness possible!
· I LOVED waiting for the starting gun with thousands of other people…someone in one of the apartments was cooking bacon too and it smelled AWESOMEJ!
· I LOVED the first few miles of the race…I literally didn’t even feel like I was running I had so much energy!
· I LOVED the cheer zones along the race course…people are pretty much throwing huge party just to cheer for you!
· I LOVED seeing my family at various points along the course…they made it easier for me to keep going!
· I LOVED it when I made it to the top of the big hill somewhere around mile 20-21…I had to walk some of it, but when I made it I knew there was nothing left to stop me from finishing.
· I LOVED making it to the top of the final hill on Summit Ave and looking down the hill to see the crowds, the massive American flag, and the finish line…there are not even words to describe how I felt at that moment!!
· I LOVED crossing the finish line and knowing that I HAD DONE IT!!!! I was exhausted…but all wanted to do was find PJ so I could give him a huge hug and start celebrating!!!
· I LOVED that as we were all walking away to our cars I got to take a picture of the bus on the big TV screen…’cause that meant all of us that had worried about getting picked up by the bus had no cause for concern!!
· I LOVED wearing my Twin Cities Marathon Finisher shirt after the race…I still like to wear it!! J
· I even LOVED being so sore for the rest of the week after I finished!!! It’s a great story to tell when someone is asking why you’re walking down the stairs backwards!! J
I could probably keep going…but you get the idea! In just a few short weeks and you’ll be able to make your own list of things that you loved about your marathon experience…and running the 17, 18 and 20 mile long runs will just seem like a distant memory!! J
PJ has said it a few times, and from my personal experience I agree, that the next few weeks are probably the most challenging. We’ve been training for a couple of months now and our bodies are getting tired…but we’ve still got another six weeks until the big day, and a 17, 18 and 20 mile run, and that’s a little too much to feel like the finish line is just around the corner.
Here’s the thing though…it really is all worth it…and in the end, if you can run 20 miles…you really CAN run 26.2! I had a hard time believing that last year…6.2 miles seems like a lot of “extra” miles to run on race day! I would be lying if I said the last 6.2 miles easy. Quite honestly, they are pretty darn difficult!! By the time I got up the big hill somewhere around mile 20-21 my foot was killing me and I was beyond exhausted…but by that point none of it mattered…
When I got up that hill I also knew that I only had 6.2 miles left to finish my first marathon! I knew I could go 6.2 miles, even if I had to walk it all (which I didn’t!) and there was nothing that was going to stop me from finishing. The crowds cheering for you on Summit Ave are AMAZING!! There is nothing more motivating then having thousands of people cheering and telling you that “You can do it!!” Yeah - the last 6.2 miles of my first marathon were probably some of the hardest physically that I ran all summer, but I can honestly say they were the also the best 6.2 miles that I ran all summer!!!
Hang in there for the next few weeks! I am already excited for marathon weekend because it was such a great experience for me last year!
· I LOVED the Expo…walking around with tons of other runners and getting free stuff! Make sure you plan some time to walk around and look at everything.
· I LOVED getting up on race morning…I was so nervous I thought I might be sick, but it was the best kind of nervousness possible!
· I LOVED waiting for the starting gun with thousands of other people…someone in one of the apartments was cooking bacon too and it smelled AWESOMEJ!
· I LOVED the first few miles of the race…I literally didn’t even feel like I was running I had so much energy!
· I LOVED the cheer zones along the race course…people are pretty much throwing huge party just to cheer for you!
· I LOVED seeing my family at various points along the course…they made it easier for me to keep going!
· I LOVED it when I made it to the top of the big hill somewhere around mile 20-21…I had to walk some of it, but when I made it I knew there was nothing left to stop me from finishing.
· I LOVED making it to the top of the final hill on Summit Ave and looking down the hill to see the crowds, the massive American flag, and the finish line…there are not even words to describe how I felt at that moment!!
· I LOVED crossing the finish line and knowing that I HAD DONE IT!!!! I was exhausted…but all wanted to do was find PJ so I could give him a huge hug and start celebrating!!!
· I LOVED that as we were all walking away to our cars I got to take a picture of the bus on the big TV screen…’cause that meant all of us that had worried about getting picked up by the bus had no cause for concern!!
· I LOVED wearing my Twin Cities Marathon Finisher shirt after the race…I still like to wear it!! J
· I even LOVED being so sore for the rest of the week after I finished!!! It’s a great story to tell when someone is asking why you’re walking down the stairs backwards!! J
I could probably keep going…but you get the idea! In just a few short weeks and you’ll be able to make your own list of things that you loved about your marathon experience…and running the 17, 18 and 20 mile long runs will just seem like a distant memory!! J
