18 miles done! No knee problems, but other issues came about... I was doing okay, going a little slower than usual, knowing that I need to fit in 18 miles, then around mile 12 or so I began to have asthma issues. What's up with that? I kept running and took a gel, but not my usual Powergel with caffeine, I decided to try "Honey Stinger" made with honey, cocoa and b vitamins. It was sort of grainy, thicker than Powergels and it did absolutely nothing for me... There's potassium in it, which is supposed to help with cramping, but really didn't help with that either. At around mile 15 I started having calf cramps, not too bad, but mixed with asthma it sort of became an issue. Then I had side stitches... The asthma really threw me off since I haven't had to deal with it in a long time, so it threw my breathing pattern off... I had to rethink breathing. GAH! It sounds so dumb but getting a grip on the breathing with an unnatural breathing pattern helped, plus a Powergel with caffeine sort of helped, too. I did a run walk pattern between miles 15 and 18, otherwise my time would have been a little better... The bees... Oh, did I mention the bees? Around miles 3, 9 and 15 there was a swarm of bees that I had to run through. On the up side, it was GORGEOUS at the lake, it wasn't crowded, there was a nice cool breeze, and the temperatures only became on the warm side for a short time, then the clouds sort of moved back in for a little while and cooled things off. During my run, I kept thinking about some of the runners I know on line through their blogs, that they probably would have run circles around me... For me it isn't about speed, really, it's about finishing -- although I would really like to go faster. The fact that I can get out and run, albeit slower than most, is good enough for me.
Peace
3 comments:
You are a grandma! How cool. I want to skip straight to that.
Glad to hear you got the 18 miler out of the way and that you worked through all those issues. I would've been out at the bees.
Your attitude is great- just finishing. My sister-in-law ran a Marathon last summer and that was her attitude. We are still so proud of her!
Yes, I'm still having a hard time thinking about you as a grandma. Did you start having kids when you were 10 something?
18 miles, that's just amazing, no matter what your speed. Next time I'm at mile 5 and want to stop I will think of you.
Cheri,
I figured that if I ran through the bees that I'd be moving and they probably wouldn't bother me...
I've seen a lot of people not finish their marathon, and that has to be tough, so to just finish is a great day for me! That's great about your sister-in-law!
Donna,
Teeheehee... Yeah, that's it... Uh, I was a child bride? Thanks for the nice compliment. I had my daughter when I was 25. She had her son when she was 20. As for the running, it has really taken a long time to build up. Even though I did marathon training last year, these long miles are still daunting! Thanks for the kind words, :)
~Irene
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