When I made out my marathon training schedule back in June I remember thinking how far away December seemed on the calendar. I wondered if I would be able to complete the longest run of my marathon training outdoors. Mother nature has certainly been showing her love to me. I’m still running almost every single run outside.
The big news of my training week is obviously my 22 mile long run. This is the longest distance I will run before the marathon. I ran it by myself as I have done nearly all of my runs. I ran a a relatively flat route because I wanted to get a feel for my pace and time because the Disney course is fairly flat.
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If I ever doubted my ability to run a marathon I don’t anymore. I knew that running to 22 miles was necessary for me to psychologically and physically feel ready for this marathon. This isn’t true for everyone training for a marathon. I think the most important thing is to do what feels right, be flexible and enjoy yourself.
Needless to say the long run altered my schedule for the remainder of the week. Here’s a look at how it went.
|
Date |
Scheduled Run |
Actual Workout |
| Sunday, 12/4/11 | Rest Day | 22 Mile Run |
| Monday, 12/5/11 | 4 Mile Run | 30 minutes on Arc Trainer; upper body strength training |
| Tuesday, 12/6/11 | Rest Day | 5 Mile Run |
| Wednesday, 12/7/11 | 4 Mile Run | 4.5 Mile Run |
| Thursday, 12/8/11 | Rest Day | 8 Mile Run |
| Friday, 12/9/11 | 4 Mile Run | Rest Day |
| Saturday, 12/10/11 | 9 Mile Run | 9 Mile Run |
On Monday I was in absolutely no mood to run at all! So I didn’t. Instead I went to the gym. Tuesday was a scheduled rest day, but the weather was decent and my husband was home so I took off for an unplanned run and ended up going for 5 miles. Wednesday I ran my 8 and 9 mile runs around home. The route is quite hilly, but I was bounding up those hills with ease.
The other night at a party my friend announced that I was a runner and I would be running a maraton. I still feel funny when other people call me a runner. Somewhere in my head I think I am supposed to look differently in order to be considered a runner. The truth is that marathon or not I would have been out there running anyway because as Marion would say, it makes me feel awesome. Runners come in all shapes, sizes, colors, ages and levels of fitness. What matters most is that we are all out there running and doing something we love. I am a runner because I run, race or no race and it is awesome!
Aim 
Hi Aimee! You are totally awesome! I hope your awesomeness level is not up so high that you can’t hear me! hehehe
So you ran the unofficial pre-marathon marathon of 22 miles. Wow. Wow. Wow. Look at how comfortable you are in your own skin with a huge goal accomplished. It took a tremendous amount of personal commitment and belief in yourself. Can you describe what you’ve mentally gained as a person from this accomplishment? Besides utterly off-the-cliff awesome?
🙂 Marion
LOL! It’s hard to describe Marion. I knew that I was prepared physically, but running is much more a mental sport. During the 22 mile run I think I finally reached a place where I didn’t think about finishing the run, I simply enjoyed it. My mind was clear of doubt and negativity. I was confident that I could do it and I did!
Aimee – I am so proud of you!! You are most definitely a runner! Thanks for your continued support this week – I appreciate it!
You bet Biz. Thank you too.
You are so awesome, Aimee! I am in complete awe of your running! You know, this past November marked one year since I ran my first half marathon. Since then, I haven’t been quite sure if I wanted to run further distances. I’m just not sure I have it in me. But, you are inspiring me and making me question my doubts! Uh oh…. 😉
It is a bit addicting Marisa! You did great on your first half.
I think Sharkies are just okay. I too, hated the large package and I didn’t think they were gummy enough 🙂
That’s funny Errign, I think that’s why I liked them because they weren’t too gummy.
Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the nice comments.
Have you seen the documentary Spirit of Marathon? It’s really good and available to stream on Netflix if you have it. I bet you’d like it, it’s so inspiring.
I did watch it Michelle. I loved it. Made me cry! It was so inspiring to see so many different types of people striving for their own personal running goals yet crossing that finish line is just as emotional for each one.
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