Sunday, March 27, 2011

The last long run

We are less than one week out for the big half marathon! That means today I ran my last "long" run. I was scheduled to run 6.5 miles. So, technically that doesn't seem very long after my 9, 10, 11 and 12 milers. Banging out 6 miles was no biggie. Funny how one year ago I thought that 6 miles was impossible. Now here I am thinking it's a "short" run! Funny how things change.

Next on the schedule for this week is a 4 miler and a 3 miler. And then I am done. Complete. Finito. My 16-week training will be complete. I have to say that I am ready for the training to be done. I need to take a step back and take some time to NOT run. Sixteen weeks is a long time to train. And this winter has been a horrible winter to train outside. It's amazing I got through it. Thank goodness for the gym. But really, who wants to run long runs on the treadmill? Fortunately, the weather cooperated at the end for the really long runs. The longest I ever had to run on the treadmill was 7 miles. And that was plenty.

Let's review the lows of the 16 weeks:
1. Crappy winter
2. Icy streets
3. Cold, freezing, windy weather
4. One week of training missed for my sore foot
5. One week of training missed because I was sick

On the flip side - let's review the highs from the past 16 weeks:
1. Running further than I ever have in my life
2. Proving to myself that you can train your body to do anything
3. Pushing myself
4. Bonding with my running buddy - Janis. (What else do you do when you run for hours on end? You chat, chat, and chat some more!)

And of course, the biggest high will come on Saturday when I cross that finish line!

And so here we are. Five days until race day. Let's hope all of these weeks of training paid off.

2 comments:

Darlene said...

I can't wait to hear about it. I know you will do GREAT!! When you're done, you won't want to train for a while but then you'll miss it.

Suzy said...

You have got this!! I am hoping for good weather.