Week 23 - The Last Long Run

After all these weeks of training, today was the last long run before the marathon. The month of October has been surreal for me. All year I have been training for this month. I've battled 4 injuries since January, experimented with different nutritional supplements, introduced new cross-training, decreased and increased my run days during the week, and even hired a personal trainer. All year, I have been working towards getting myself strong enough to withstand the demands of distance running. I am proud to say that I completed 18 miles today and never have felt stronger. I remember when I ran 15 miles for the first time. And then I ran 19 miles. And then I did a 26 mile split weekend, 13 on Saturday and 13 on Sunday. I kept waiting and waiting to really feel like I could beat this thing called running. Today, I felt like I beat it. We set out this morning at 6am. Some of us were planned to run 9 miles and others started at 4am and did 26! I couldn't have been happier that one of my running coaches, Nancy, was able to run this morning. She suffered from a foot injury about 3 weeks ago and hasn't been able to run since. But she was there this morning, along with my other coach, Mary. I knew in advance that Mary and Nancy would do 9 miles today. I had planned to run the remaining miles with Karen. However, Karen had to leave after only a couple miles. Nancy, Mary, and I set out for the 9 and it was smooth sailing (or running, I suppose). On the way back over Ringling Bridge, I told Mary and Nancy bye and did a lap in Bird Key to begin my remaining 9 miles. Mary and Nancy continued on to their cars and headed to the usual meeting place, Starbucks. As I began my first mile on my own I turned on my iPod and enjoyed just being with me. When I first started running I couldn't have dreamed of running 9 miles by myself. But now, it is almost therapeutic to have some time on my own. I either get lost in whatever song is playing or I get lost in my thoughts. I started to think about how we will be leaving for D.C. in 3 weeks. I'm so excited that Mike and Jason will be seeing me cross the finish line. Mike has seen me finish in 1 of the 4 half-marathons I have done, but Jason has never. I started to think about Jason. I thought about how much he motivates me. For most people I would think that the children look up to their parents for motivation. And that is true with me, my parents have given me endless motivation to follow my dreams. But at the same time, my son has been the driving force of MY motivation since his first day in existence in this world. It is because of him that I strive to be better. My quest to complete this marathon has become a self-discovery. Only in the last 2 years have I taken this interest in ME. Prior to Mike's "great idea" to sign us up for a membership at the YMCA, I had done ZERO in terms of fitness. Working full-time, school full-time, and mommy-hood full-time was on the priority list. But a series of events occurred, along with reading a few books, and I began to change what I was eating, drinking, doing, and thinking. I still remember when I told Mike my crazy idea to train for a marathon. I turned 30 last year and started a bucketlist. I told him by the time I'm 31, I want to run a marathon. He had his doubts at first, which was the reason I decided to do it! I am so glad that I did. The Jennifer I used to be wouldn't recognize me now. So, as I was running today I was thinking about this road I've been on this year. The tears were falling down my cheeks and I told myself not to get all emotional, I still had 9 more miles to run! I am so grateful for the family and friends that I have. There is a select group of people that have really touched my life this year. You know who you are. I could not have done this without you. On my last 2 miles, I ran into Stephanie's pace group. Steph saw that I was running by myself and she stayed with me. We ran the last 2 miles together. It was great. I just can't describe the camaraderie between runners, especially between Stephanie and I. She's the one who originally encouraged me to train and complete a marathon. And I'm so glad that I did. This experience has changed my life. I'm proud that I have successfully completed the hardest part of marathon training. The next 2 weeks will be taper runs and nothing I can't handle. And from a distance, I can already see that finish line.