So I ran a race under-prepared for the first time EVER.
I knew I needed to start putting up higher mileage. I am
committed and determined to run the LA Marathon on March 9th.
Coming off an injury has been harder than I expected. I don’t know why I thought I would get right
back at it where I was. Even my training runs were proving slower and more
difficult, but somehow I thought I could go back to my normal pace for a half
marathon.
I picked an inexpensive, locally run, flat course and it was
awesome. Awesome AND windy!
The Camarillo Marathon taught me a lot of important
lessons. Some that I needed to learn and
some I needed to re-learn. Here they are
in no particular order:
Train for the race you want to run.
I kept telling myself, and anyone who would
listen, that this was just a training race and time wasn’t important. Saying something doesn’t always make it true.
I ALWAYS want to go faster and feel
better. I really wanted to be sub 3
hours. Alas…
I didn’t run further than 6.5 miles prior
to this race. Mile 8 mile training run
turned into a really long walk. And my
race day showed this.
A half marathon IS a big deal.
I’ve started taking 13 miles for
granted. I’ve done a lot of half
marathons, so it’s become less of a big deal. BUT it is. When you are “pace challenged” like me and
coming off of an injury there is a likely chance you will be running for 3
hours. That is 3 hours of continuous
exertion. This is not easy no matter how
many times you’ve done it. This IS a big deal
Nutrition is important.
I haven’t been eating right. It was the holidays, blah blah blah. Insert Lame Excuses here.
I need to make better choices. My recent choices have made me feel heavy and
yucky. I need choices to make me feel lighter and stronger. I will say, I took some advice and tried
peanut M&Ms instead of GU or Shot Blocks during the race and it worked! I
bought the Fun Packs and ate one every 5 miles.
The sugar and protein was just what I needed and I stomached it much better.
I’m gonna try the pretzel ones too…
Finding the positive can be easy.
When the “wheels fell off my wagon” at
about mile 9, I felt really defeated. As
I watched the 3 hour pacer get further and further in front of me, I gave up
for a minute. Then I thought, “This is
the furthest I have run in almost 3 months! This is a win.” I ran/walked the rest of the race, enjoying
the scenery but not the head wind. I did
my best and felt very confident for my 9-miler the next week.
PS- The 9-miler went AWESOME!
It’s not giving up if you finish the race.
I did. Even though I didn’t hit my super
secret time goal or run the whole time.
I made it through the finish line.
I was in pain, but I was happy.
It was a good day.
I’m still not 100%. I
am slowly doing more mileage and making every effort to eat better.
I’m focusing on being healthy so I can finish the LA
Marathon and feel great.
This is all I can do now that I’m back in the saddle.
Cody, Me, Neil
Camarillo Marathon and Half Marathon
January 5, 2014
