Feb 21, Second Long Run

Last night I became a little anxious in anticipation of the running this morning. I hadn’t exercised for the entire day and knew that it would begin soon. I guess this is just what happens when you put a large chunk of effort towards a goal, and each workout feels great.

It was absolutely beautiful out at the Baylands this morning, around low 60’s, clear sky, enthusiasm, and water belts. We went out in phases and for different distances. My group was running 8 miles, and because we hadn’t warmed up we went out really slow, though some people sped on. There were volunteers at the 1.5 mile point, which seemed to take forever to reach, probably because we started really slow. They cheered us on, offered drinks and an opportunity to rest. I had a water belt and had drunk a Strawberry meal replacement shake around 6:45 and didn’t need much hydration or rest.

I stayed with the pack for a while and then decided to challenge myself, physically and mentally. I made short goals to catch up to the next person, hang out with them for a few moments and then move on and catch the next person. Sometimes it took a really long time. At around the 3 mile point I began seeing the other groups heading back towards the starting point, and seeing how it’s a 4 mile there and back I knew the halfway point was near.

As I neared the halfway more familiar faces and jerseys began appearing, all of whom had already finished the first 4 miles and were on their way home. It’s really uplifting to have people chanting “Go Team,” smiling, waving, and telling you good job. I remembered this and tried my best to offer the same encouragement on the way back.

The halfway point was a line written in flour, and seemed out of place being right before an underpass, but it was a great feeling knowing that it would only take another 40 or so minutes to finish. On the way back I kept imagining that these were miles 10-18 of the marathon. It would be unfair to consider it miles 18-26 because those are the miles that people tend to forget due to muscle and mental fatigue. I was tired, but knew that keeping the pace was necessary to combat giving up, plus it would put me down if I knew it were possible to finish stronger.

I stopped 3 times to catch my breath and have a sip of energy drink (nothing bad, just tea extracts). I started to recognize all of the familiar turns and there were a lot of people on their way back to the start, each time passing people I tried as best as possible to say at least something to them. At one point, one of the Captains, Andrew, was singing to keep his feet on pace. It was pretty cool, though I could tell that as a result he was losing his breath, but having a great time.

At around the 6 mile point, right before the volunteers the outside of my foot began to bother me a little bit. I figured it was probably a blister or something and tried my best to keep from changing my stride or thinking about it, as those might lead to some kind of compensative injury. I passed the water station, waved and continued knowing that in about 10-12 minutes I would be done. I began running with somebody with around 1 mile left and we slowed our pace a little for a few minutes. With about ½ mile left I told him that I was going to start speeding up and that he was welcome to join me. I rounded the last turn and lengthened my stride, finishing strong. During that time my foot began to feel like it was cut, but didn’t hurt enough to really care.

It was a great feeling to finish, especially with lots of cheers and smiling faces. After finishing I stretched for a while and talked to a couple people. Today’s run was a lot of fun, and I highly suggest the Baylands trail that starts at San Antonio Road and Terminal Avenue. For those interested, I finished in 1:08

I hope everybody has a great day.

Take care,
Ryan