Back on my Bullshit
I took a step back a couple weeks ago, and it was the right choice. But I got back running and did couple of runs last week, including my toughest trail run to date. I set my fastest 5k time, at 30:25, which was great, and then over the weekend, I decided to see if I could complete my long run in preparation for a half marathon.
I signed up for the Rattlesnake Mountain Half Marathon, which is coming up in 8 days. Frankly, I am a bit worried about it, but the cutoff is 5.5 hours after the race start and I am fairly sure I will be able to at least hobble my way through the finish in that time. For me, pulling something like that off within my first few months of running sits firmly in the "previously unfathomable" category. Essentially I am going from couch to Half Marathon in 12 weeks, while being, by BMI definition, borderline obese. Turns out, fat dudes can run. Of course I am losing weight, though when I took my break I went up in weight a couple pounds. Unfortunate, but, I am back to running.
The main reason I am worried for the half marathon is that I did do 8 miles on the half marathon course, and was entirely tapped out by the end of my run. That's a lie I guess. I was hitting a wall by the end of my run. My legs took 4 days to recover entirely from the effort, but in addition to the 8 miles, what really killed me was running the steep ascent of the course in reverse, which is not something I will have to do come next week. I ran almost all the way down and truly gained a new appreciation for downhill pain. I assumed downhilling was easy, and for my cardiovascular system, it was, but my quads took a pounding and I was hobblejogging the last few hundred meters to the car. What really sucked is I am the kind of person who needs that 0.1 mile or more over my goal distance, and I was back to the car in only 7.8 miles due to starting at a different area near the base, so I had to run away from my car and back, which sucked. There's nothing fun about it. Just bare accomplishment though, knowing I can push a little more if I have to. Really, I know my legs kind of seem to hit a point of pain and then just start feeling heavy. I can keep moving, and I am sure I will have to dig into that reservoir on the half marathon. It's nice to know what that is, and that I have it I guess. I suppose everyone does, it just takes a lot to dig into it and keep digging.
The thing about the course section I ran, and the course overall, is that there is 2700ft of gain. I did all but the last 200 ft or so of it. That turns the half marathon into more of a .... 3/4s of a marathon in effort. I likely expended a half marathon worth of effort on my 8 mile run, really. Or close to it. I'm happy about that. I am happy that now, in my mind, running 4-5 miles has gone from a daunting idea to being more of a "that's easy". I mean, it isn't easy. But when I started running the 3.7 mile loop around my neighborhood, I was wheezing and coughing and in pain and spitting up all kinds of shit from my lungs.... it was nasty, and miserable, and not fun at all. I had no ideation early on that I would really be going for a half marathon so soon, just that I should start moving, and training, so one day I could do something like that. Those early runs sucked, a lot, and made it feel like I should quit, while I hobbled only somewhat better than at 12 minutes a mile. Now they're coming easy, and a half marathon seems possible. It's really weird to be 29 and to be making strides in fitness I should probably have been making sooner. I've had spurts of fitness that lasted 3-6 months and petered out. Hopefully this half marathon is just the first real step towards more races, more long distances, and hopefully a Marathon before I turn 30. I know it's biting off more than I can chew, and I may end up limping into the finish, but I want to do it, and I am going to try my best to finish it.
I signed up for the Rattlesnake Mountain Half Marathon, which is coming up in 8 days. Frankly, I am a bit worried about it, but the cutoff is 5.5 hours after the race start and I am fairly sure I will be able to at least hobble my way through the finish in that time. For me, pulling something like that off within my first few months of running sits firmly in the "previously unfathomable" category. Essentially I am going from couch to Half Marathon in 12 weeks, while being, by BMI definition, borderline obese. Turns out, fat dudes can run. Of course I am losing weight, though when I took my break I went up in weight a couple pounds. Unfortunate, but, I am back to running.
The main reason I am worried for the half marathon is that I did do 8 miles on the half marathon course, and was entirely tapped out by the end of my run. That's a lie I guess. I was hitting a wall by the end of my run. My legs took 4 days to recover entirely from the effort, but in addition to the 8 miles, what really killed me was running the steep ascent of the course in reverse, which is not something I will have to do come next week. I ran almost all the way down and truly gained a new appreciation for downhill pain. I assumed downhilling was easy, and for my cardiovascular system, it was, but my quads took a pounding and I was hobblejogging the last few hundred meters to the car. What really sucked is I am the kind of person who needs that 0.1 mile or more over my goal distance, and I was back to the car in only 7.8 miles due to starting at a different area near the base, so I had to run away from my car and back, which sucked. There's nothing fun about it. Just bare accomplishment though, knowing I can push a little more if I have to. Really, I know my legs kind of seem to hit a point of pain and then just start feeling heavy. I can keep moving, and I am sure I will have to dig into that reservoir on the half marathon. It's nice to know what that is, and that I have it I guess. I suppose everyone does, it just takes a lot to dig into it and keep digging.
The thing about the course section I ran, and the course overall, is that there is 2700ft of gain. I did all but the last 200 ft or so of it. That turns the half marathon into more of a .... 3/4s of a marathon in effort. I likely expended a half marathon worth of effort on my 8 mile run, really. Or close to it. I'm happy about that. I am happy that now, in my mind, running 4-5 miles has gone from a daunting idea to being more of a "that's easy". I mean, it isn't easy. But when I started running the 3.7 mile loop around my neighborhood, I was wheezing and coughing and in pain and spitting up all kinds of shit from my lungs.... it was nasty, and miserable, and not fun at all. I had no ideation early on that I would really be going for a half marathon so soon, just that I should start moving, and training, so one day I could do something like that. Those early runs sucked, a lot, and made it feel like I should quit, while I hobbled only somewhat better than at 12 minutes a mile. Now they're coming easy, and a half marathon seems possible. It's really weird to be 29 and to be making strides in fitness I should probably have been making sooner. I've had spurts of fitness that lasted 3-6 months and petered out. Hopefully this half marathon is just the first real step towards more races, more long distances, and hopefully a Marathon before I turn 30. I know it's biting off more than I can chew, and I may end up limping into the finish, but I want to do it, and I am going to try my best to finish it.
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