I usually finish long training runs feeling like I need to download all my thoughts about it somehow. I know I could just journal it, but its more fun to talk with y’all
I did my longest run in nearly 2 decades yesterday (6mi) and felt great. I feel really confident about my ability to complete the half in November now and am spending today pretending that I’m not thinking about signing up for a full in 2023. Probably not Disney, but my hometown about 6 weeks later. But maybe Disney. Still got a week to decide, right?
That’s exciting! Congratulations!!!
I felt so good after my 6 mile run that I booked a hotel for Marathon weekend to do the 1/2 Marathon! Now I just need to register and contain my urge to opt for a more expensive hotel!
Congratulations on the long run! Talking about running is about the same as me talking about Disney, no one else wants to talk about it in the detail that I do so this is the perfect place!
I think running a full is a lot of mental work beyond the physical training. So if you have a half under your belt and you have the desire to run a full, then go for it!
Seriously though. I did cross country in high school and when I graduated (in 2004) I was so burnt out that I swore off running forever. And besides a random 30 minutes on a treadmill once every 3 years or so that’s how it’s been. Until January when I came here and saw all the marathon talk.
Running talk mixed with Disney is definitely a huge motivator!
For me, the challenge of proving to myself that I can do hard things gets me every time. When a long distance is feeling hard, I check in with my body and realize that I am actually fine to keep going. I’m amazed at what our bodies are capable of when we put our minds it.
It’s a long training cycle, no lie. And when you’re done you’ll probably want to take some time off. but you can do this. You have to tell yourself every single day that you can and you will. And at the same time you can’t think too far ahead; don’t worry about the 20 miler when you’re doing 15. Focus on today’s training today, while telling yourself that you are strong and capable and powerful.
Congratulations on the 6 miles! That is something to celebrate.
I found that a Marathon was truly a mental hurdle more than a physical one. The time on your feet is definitely longer, but that can be accomplished with a good training plan. The other thing to consider is fueling. I could get away without trying to replenish energy via gels/gus/sports drinks on shorter distances, but once you step into the longer distances, your body will run out of fuel.
I found the mental hurdle is the same one that I encountered for each and every new/longer distance challenge. I clearly remember not being able to run for 20 seconds without being out of breath. During that time, I could not even fathom running for a full mile. As I progressed and overcame each mental barrier, the stress associated with that distance seemed to fade away.
During the 2022 marathon weekend I recognized old mental barriers popping up to try and stop me from completing my task at hand. Since I have done these sort of distances before, they were easily dismissed.
When training with family and friends, I always remind them that we are not just training our physical muscles, we are also training our mental muscles. Pay attention to them during your training plans and recognize you are more capable than your mind is telling you. Learn to recognize it, acknowledge it and move past it.
My 10k this morning got cancelled because the heat index is 105 .
It’s beautiful this morning, but the longest distance for the event was 100k, so they couldn’t put it on safely. I’ll have to run it by myself Monday then I’m taking a month to focus on strength training for 6 weeks before I get back to building distance for the half marathon in Nov.
@TacoBelle20 where do you live?? That’s hot! My run this morning was super humid in South FL. I just focus on getting the miles in during the summer & don’t worry about speed at all.
I think we are getting close to summer here. I was able to do a run this week in shorts and a long sleeve shirt. It has been way too long running in 3 layers of clothing.
I’m in Texas. I live near Houston, but this race was closer to Austin. It didn’t end up getting quite as hot as predicted, but still solidly on the 90s by mid afternoon. Would have been miserable to be running by lunch time for sure.
I started running in January so I haven’t dealt with summer heat yet. It’s been pretty ideal conditions so far, but this week we’ve got our first heat wave so we’ll see how it goes. DH said he’d take the girls to school Monday so I can get running while it’s still comfortable.
For those running in heat, make sure you correct your running effort. The warmer it gets, the slower you should go to output the same effort.
This is typically based on taking the Temperature and adding the Dew Point to figure out the correction factor. Here is how I have been correcting my pace:
T = temperature in F
D = Dew Point in F
Add T and D together to get a number. If that number is in the ranges below, make the suggested corrections (i.e.) slow down by x%.
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