Making of a Marathoner

20 miles in 3:58

Twenty miles!

Before the run this morning, our coach said that 20 miles was more of a mental challenge than a physical one.  She was right.

Our course looped all around Shoreline and included three hills.  Here is the first half and the second half.

I ran with the 10:00 pace group again, but our run/walk ratio was diluted even further to 4:1 for today's mileage.  This means we ran at the same pace but walked more frequently, so the actual pace worked out to about 12 minutes/mile.  We finished just under the expected four hours.

Thanks to some hard work in a new exercise program this week (crafted by Wella, of course), I didn't experience any of the knee problems that pained me during the last three long runs.  Now I'm more secure about actually finishing the marathon.  It's amazing what a few targeted exercises can do to your muscles.

Don't get me wrong: twenty miles was not a breeze.  My legs were tired by mile 14 and I wondered whether I could finish.  The question was underscored by the fact that the course went by the finish line first at mile 18, so anyone needing to skip the last 2 miles would be able to.  At least one runner from our group said she would be stopping at 18.  My legs hurt and the idea of stopping sooner seemed like a totally evil, disappointing, insidious, yet very tempting option.

When we came to mile 18, though, I was totally determined.  Suffering what felt like defeat two weeks ago, I wanted a strong finish at 20 miles.  So I decided that I just didn't care how much it hurt.  We looped around Shoreline Rd, Charleston, and Amphitheatre Rd for the last two miles and even though everybody was sore, we finished 20 at full stride.

9 miles in 1:31

Our "easy" recovery run this week was "only" 9 miles. 

Since I ran into a few problems last week, I switched to the next slower pace group.  It's only marginally slower (10:00 versus 9:30), and honestly I think the only difference is that the 10 min/mile group walks slower.  And takes slightly longer walks when it's time to snack.  I couldn't tell much difference in the running pace.

Regardless, I stayed with the group for the whole run.  My left knee started hurting a bit around mile 5 but didn't become painful enough to slow me down.

On the upside, Wella took another look at my legs and gave me a few new exercises.  I hope that if I do these once or twice a day this week that I'll be able to finish the full 20 mile run next Saturday.

18 miles in 3:28

We drove up to San Francisco again today for our 18 mile run.  This one was daunting, and ultimately a little disappointing.

We met at 5:45 AM and carpooled up to the starting place in Golden Gate Park.  The course was another beautiful tour of the city, this time running down Ocean Beach and around Lake Merced. 

My knee started hurting again around the middle of the run, but it wasn't too painful until mile 13.  At mile 16, I decided to drop back from the group and walk the last two miles.  I was right at the point that continuing to run would have crossed the line from soreness to injury.  And injury is the ultimate nemesis: it can set me back weeks if I'm not careful. 

I had already adjusted my gait slightly to compensate for my stiff knee; I concentrated on using my hamstring and gluts to power my stride and lowering my kick to more of a shuffle.  But this strategy was short lived, as it only caused those other muscles to tighten up.

I finished only a few minutes behind the rest of the group, but it was demoralizing.  I was beaten.  I couldn't even limp down to the ocean to ice my spent legs (not that it sounded like a good idea, anyway...) 

The only good news is that thanks to the Myoplex protein shake I brought with me, this might be the quickest recovery yet.  Eating right after the run makes a big difference.  I'm starting to feel a little better.