The good news is, even though I was trapped in an Easter candy merry-go-round for the first few days of the week, I eventually jumped off of that ride, and headed in the right direction on Wednesday. I ate really well, and then spent a couple of hours at the gym in the evening. Thursday was also a success when I doubled up at the gym...my 5 mile run in the morning, and then treadmill and Zumba at night...with a friend...shout out to Kathy!!!
Friday was fairly decent. I enjoyed the eats at our Royal Tea Party, but other than that I was light on the food. I didn't exercise at all yesterday, but that is a MUST at this point in the training. NO exercise the day before a long run! I was feeling better about today's run since I knew I had shed some pounds, and my body was properly fueled.
Earlier in the week I decided I wanted to do this run in a new environment. I was scared, lol, to map out my own run again (after the 16 mile run fiasco) and so I decided to see if there were pre-mapped runs already out there in cyberspace. I went to google and typed in "San Diego Run". I was given a TON of links, and one of those links was EXACTLY what I was looking for! I found an 18 mile route for this week, and then a new route for next week's 14 mile run, and then the following week's 20 mile run (eeek!). These runs are so neat because not only is there a map, but there are written text directions for the course, mile markers on the path, and "stars" where bathrooms and water are available.
This week's 18 mile run was completed at Coronado. You probably don't know this about me, but I am obsessed with Coronado. Some people love La Jolla, or Downtown, or Del Mar, or???...but me, I LOOOOVE Coronado! I love the beach, I love the atmosphere, and I love the exclusivity that an island has to offer. So when I saw this route on the running list, I knew that that was exactly the location I was going to pick!
I arrived in Coronado a little after 7am.
After I put all of my gear on, I went to put on my (fully charged!...won't make that mistake again) iPod, and realized I had forgotten my ear buds! UUUUUGH! I was gonna have to run this run without music. DUMB!
I started out at Tidelands Park which is to your immediate right when you get off of the bridge. I ran about a 1/4 mile south, and then I got to run under the bridge, and make my way onto Glorietta Blvd. After about 1 mile I could see the beauty of Hotel Del Coronado off in the distance...very exciting...that is, if you are a big fan of Coronado. ;0)
After that, I turned on Pomona Drive, and then on HWY 75 towards Silver Strand beach. This route was incredible! 99% of the time there was a specific bike/running path, AND more importantly, the ENTIRE run was 100% flat! This type of run is called an "Out and Back"...meaning you go out half of the distance (in this case, 9 miles) and then you stop, and turn around.
I had a BEAUTIFUL view for the entire distance! Literally, on my left side was the bay...
...and on my right side was the ocean...
I passed The Naval station, Coronado Cays...
Glorietta Bay Park, and Silver Strand Beach...
After 9 miles of running, I finally got to turn around, and go back the way I came. At the 9 mile marker, I did a mental check up, and discovered that I felt tired. :0( This is when I wished I had my music going to motivate me along. There were a TON of other runners, and their unsolicited "You are doing great" comments, were very encouraging. And in addition to all of the runners, there were even MORE bicyclists!
There were a few single riders, and an occasional small group of 3-4 riders, but for the most part I kept seeing massive groups of bicyclists traveling together like schools of fish! I was longing to be on one of those bikes! In my head I kept bribing the bicyclists for a ride on their bike...they responded back (in my head) "Uuuummm...NO!"...and then as I passed Granny and Grandpa on their beach cruisers, they responded (still, in my head) "Sorry lady, we need our bikes more than you." I just kept moving along. It was neat to see the flying fish leap out of the water, and it was great to feel the cool ocean breeze when the sun was shining down on me. I had remembered that when my girlfriend Katie ran her 18 mile run last week, that she had grown weary and started to cry. My body had been feeling fairly painless and so I thought the tears would escape my journey. But after I had traveled 15 miles, and exhaustion had settled in, there was a biker coming towards me with one of those kiddie trailers on the back being pulled by his bicycle. As the biker passed me, I saw the little rider sitting in the trailer, and as she looked up at me, she looked exactly like Beatrice. My emotions were so unexpected. I wanted to be at home. I started to cry. Which is really inconvenient...I became short of breath, and my nose started running...annoying!
I eventually pulled myself together, and continued on. I usually find great relief when I encounter the part in my long runs when I only have 3 miles to go. 3 miles is a super easy distance for me. But today, those final 3 miles seemed to take FOREVER! My knees started to ache, my lower back started to ache, and again, I was just tired. I reached out to my running team via text for support, and I began to get tons of encouragement through my phone. Different words are encouraging at different times, but in that moment, my sister Jenni's words are what gave me my final push:
"If this was easy, everyone would be doing it."
I just had 1 more mile to go. I was back in the residential neighborhoods. For me, the only thing better than the water in Coronado, is the Real Estate!
And after running under the bridge again, and passing by the play equipment at Tidelands Park, I FINALLY reached my van...the finish line! I ran the entire 18 miles in 3 hours, and 30 minutes...NOT a great time for me...but I completed what I set out to complete!
I have NO IDEA how I am going to run an entire marathon (26.2 miles) in 5 weeks...but after eating 2 cookies, and taking a long ice bath, things are looking up! :0)
Oh my goodness, how you can even remember what you were feeling along an 18mile journey has my mind boggling! I'm totally inspired by you, and hope I can even have half the positive attitude you have to get me through my training.
ReplyDeleteToday because I only had to run 8 miles I was thinking I'm so glad we are doing the full marathon. Doing a half seems easy (now)...but it takes so much to train for this race. (I wonder if we really knew then what we know now if we would have still signed up). It's an amazing journey & so cool to read about your experience along the way! I'm very proud of your dedication!
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