T-20 Days to the Half Marathon: Part II

I DID IT!! I did it, I did it, I did it!!

10 miles hammered out on the treadmill. It took me 2 hours and 15 minutes, so it's not like I'll be tearing up the road at Disney, but I know I can struggle through 3 more on the big day. The biggest thing today's run did for me was give me the confidence that I can finish the half.

I got up at 5:30am today and ate a dry untoasted bagel, unsweetened applesauce, and water. Then at 7:00am I ate half a banana, with more water. I started running at 8am and took in 3 Clif Blocks every 45 minutes, and drank about 20oz of water. I know that wasn't enough water, but I didn't want to get off the treadmill to refill my water bottle because I was afraid I'd lose it.

I did a 5 minute warm-up and cool-down that are included in my time, and I did a few breaks of 5 minutes of walking within the 10 miles. For the majority of the run, though, I stuck to the 5/2 ration of running/walking. It seemed to work really well for me. My legs stayed mostly fresh.

I had this crazy burst of optimism and energy at mile 7, and ran the full mile at my 12 min/mile pace, singing along to Ricky Martin (She Bangs) on my iPod and feeling super. Then from mile 9 to 10, I thought I was going to go shooting off the back of the treadmill. This shows me that keeping to my racing strategy and pace is very important. I think that will be hard at Disney will all the distractions.

What a relief. I have been so keyed up about this. Running is so, so mental. I mean, clearly it's physical too, because my feet and ankles are killing me, and my lungs feel all nice and big and clear, but my brain totally controls the mind over matter.

I realized that I need thicker socks to help protect my feet from my hard inserts, and a new (slightly smaller?) sports bra. I also will need to wear a super-lame wrist sweatband thing, because I really hate wiping my face with my hands and then my hands on my pants.

I cannot believe that 9 months ago I was gagging and struggling to walk for half an hour with small stretches of running thrown in. That makes me really proud, because running isn't something you can fake. I've put in the work. Overall, I will leave you with this gem that sums up my feelings: “Winners compare their achievements with their goals, while losers compare their achievements with those of other people.”