Today I set out to finish what I started (and couldn't finish) two weeks ago. Today I ran 12 miles. I didn't really have a choice. I ran 6 miles up the road and then I had to get back to my car. It's a lot easier to find the will power to keep going when you don't really have the option to stop.
The run this morning started EARLY. I got up at 6 to eat and get to the Dismal Swam Canal Trail to meet with some of the Hampton Roads Runners. It's a local (free!) running group that meets at races and for group runs all over the area. I have been following them on Facebook and Meetup for a couple of months, but I was never brave enough to actually go out and run with them. Faced with a 12 mile run after a DNF on the last long run, I found a group run that worked for my mileage and my schedule. I knew going out that they would be running WAY faster than me, but I was excited to try out the Canal Trail with some other people. When I say "with," I really mean that we were on the same trail at the same time. It was COLD while we were waiting for a few others to get there. I wore long sleeves with a short sleeved shirt over top, long running pants, my rocking hat, and my gloves.
I got there and found the people I was supposed to meet. We headed to the trail head and got going. They took off at their pace and I plodded along at mine. I knew that I would wear myself out if I even tried to keep up with them, so I just did my own thing. After a while, they were gone and I was on my own. The Dismal Swamp Canal Trail is an old road that had been kept up as a walking/running/cycling/horseback riding trail. It goes 8.5 miles toward North Carolina and is marked every quarter mile. (There are signs warning you about bears. I'm not sure what I would have done if I had run into a bear this morning.) Today, it was the site of a local running club's winter distance series. There were people all along the trail setting up water stops and turn around points. It was nice to see people. That road could get long and lonely.
It's amazing how easy 6 miles is when you have to run 12. I got to the 6 mile turn around point pretty easily. Right at the turn, the men from the running group had already turned at the 7 mile point and were heading back. They asked how I was doing and kept on going. About that time, my ankle started to hurt. I stopped and retied my shoe to try and help. (It did for a couple of miles.) At about 9 miles, the leaders of the distance series race started to pass me. I saw my super fast friend, Susan, and conjured up some energy to give her some enthusiastic support. There were distance series runners for the next two miles. That was the best (while not the easiest) 2 miles of the run.
So many of those runners, who had just started their runs and who were running fast enough to make it look easy, shouted encouragement to me as we passed one another. There were a lot of "great job" and "keep it up" and even just "good morning." It lifted me up. It helped me keep going. At mile 11, one of the women that I met earlier in the morning had caught up with me and was passing me. She asked me how I was doing. By that point, I had gone a mile farther than I had ever run before. I told her that every step was one step further than ever before and that I was tired. I didn't even get into how much my legs hurt.
I walked more in the last 2 miles. I would run for about 2 minutes and 15 seconds and walk for about a minute and a half. It took everything I had to get going again when it was time to run. I got SLOW.....very slow, But, I finished. And next time, it will be easier.
But for now, my body hates me.....
I forgot to turn on my Garmin until a quarter mile in, so my Garmin time is a little off. I did my 12 though. Now I only have 1 mile left. I can do anything for 1 mile. My husband put it into perspective for me. I train at about a 13 minute mile and the pace requirement is a 16 minute mile. That gives me 39 minutes of buffer time. I think that I could crawl a mile in 39 minutes. I can really do this....I can finish a half marathon and I can do it without getting swept!
Today's Stats:
12 miles in 2:37:41 (13.1 minute mile)
From the Garmin:
11.8 miles in 2:34:41 (13:06 minute mile)
Moving time: 2:32:41 (12:57 minute mile)
I'll take it!
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