8-mile workout!

Yep, that's right...I managed to get in an 8-mile workout today. And I'm now sitting on the couch wondering when Steve will be home so he can fetch me something from the bedroom. It's not so much that I'm sore, it's that my feet just plain hurt. My orthotics have been great in terms of ensuring I no longer have shin pain, and a variety of other ailments, but they are made with a hard surface and that's definitely not helping with the plantar fasciitis issue. Which really just means I need to go back to wearing the boot on a daily basis and doing the other exercises and stretches to make it easier to walk.

Anyway, back to the run. I got about a two hour later start than I had anticipated. But I had a great workout, and most importantly, I covered the entire distance. As mentioned in an earlier post when I knew I had to get for real serious about the training, I purchased a run/walk program where my workouts are delivered to my inbox each day. And from what I've read about all marathon training programs, the key is the long run on weekends. Although it's not ideal, you can skip an occasional workout during the week, but it's not advised to cheat on the long runs. So although I wanted to crawl during the last mile, I still covered all 8 miles. Which is huge!

I had a great route picked out that took me up the shops of Montana Ave, around the Brentwood Country Club (and past the Brentwood Farmer's Market), down San Vicente, along the street where the famed Santa Monica Steps are, to Ocean Avenue, back up Wilshire and across Lincoln to home.

It was a warm day and sunscreen really would have been a good idea. Water probably would have been great too. Unfortunately Steve and I had a plan for him to meet me at about mile 5 1/2 but we missed each other. I still am unsure exactly how that happened but whatever :) But what this really meant was that I didn't get my personal water or snack station, not to mention cheerleader/bike support. At mile 7 this would have been really handy since I barely had enough energy to keep going...but I did...barely.

The route was really great. A nice mix of inclines and declines. And probably the highlight of the whole thing (besides that I actually did it) was that I am 98% sure that John Krasinski (Jim from The Office) blew by me on a bike. That almost made up for my husband not blowing by me on a bike with water and some sort of fuel for me. Seriously, Steve was biking with Clancy, there's no way I could have missed him. And yet I did.

I had a great playlist of songs that alternated between 3 minutes (running) and 2 minutes (walking) so I didn't have to look at my watch and that worked out really well...again. In fact, I need to find more songs 2 minutes in length. So if you're reading this and you have iTunes, look in your library, see if you have songs that around 1:58 to 2:02 in length. If the answer is yes, pop them onto a CD and send me a copy. Please. While you're at it, drop some songs that are 3 minutes in length too. Yes, seriously.

As I was running, I had some serious doubts, and everytime I felt them creeping in, I just started talking to myself. Saying things like "You're doing a great job Molly. You're going to be successful and you're going to complete this run." I had just read something in Fitness or SELF about how just hearing and saying positive words like that helped. All I know for sure is that it helped me just focus less on the negative and more on the idea that I'd actually finish the run. Which I'd like to say again, I did.

Anyway, when it was obvious that my husband and I missed each other, my thoughts were preoccupied with "how am I going to finish this without passing out from not having anything to eat or drink yet today?" I stopped during my walking breaks to take warm water from the drinking fountains along Ocean Avenue and then after my last spurt of running in my last mile, I dragged my sweaty schlepy self into Panera. One look at me and the nice lady who saved my life behind the counter handed me a real cup for water. It was hands down the best cup of water I've ever had. (I wonder how many times I'll declare that during the rest of my training?)

I finished the last mile mostly walking and then got home only to be locked out because Steve still wasn't back from not finding me. About 10 minutes or so after I got home and attempted to stretch a little but, Steve and Clancy showed up, sufficiently tired and collapsed on the floor and couch of the apartment respectively. It was as if the fact that I myself had just done an 8-mile workout was lost and irrelevant to both of them. Oh my boys, I love them- thankfully!

My body was tired during the run, but overall, it was a good workout. More than anything, I was and am so proud of myself for getting out there and doing it. Next week's 9-mile run will be done with Amy who's visiting from Milan by way of New Hampshire. She is going to run the marathon with me. Which makes me very very happy.

So one real week of training down and after a day of rest, I'm back at it on Tuesday with a 42-minute working. I'm ready!