This week I hit a HUGE marathon training milestone: the dreaded 20-miler. Twenty miles is the farthest I will run until the actual marathon. I have at least one more of these left until race day on April 28.
After last week's crazy 18 miles, I was not looking forward to tackling 20 miles. We ran most of the OKC marathon route, and it was nice to get a taste of what the race will look like in a little over a month. Starting off at mile 1, I wasn't sure I could do 20. I was feeling nauseous, needed to pee, and my legs were cramping. But I soon found my stride and after a quick hop into a McDonald's around mile 5, I was good to go.
It's crazy how mental running is. There is absolutely nothing wrong with my cardio, but the 20 miles was all in my head. It's is a freaking long way, and I needed to just keep telling myself to keep running.
On this run I did something I have never done before: listen to a podcast instead of music. Up until today I have ALWAYS listened to music, but after reading a few running blogs where they swear by podcasts (at least for training runs), I decided to give it a try. I loved it!
Seeing as how it was a Sunday morning and I was skipping church to run (and was feeling bad about it), I decided to listen to one of Matt Chandler's sermons. He's a pastor in the Dallas area at the church my parents go to. You can download his sermons off iTunes for free.
I ended up listening to 2 sermons, and one of them happened to be about running. Well, running the race for Christ, that is. But it was a perfect literal metaphor (I'm going to pretend there is such a thing) for what I was doing; and it was also the perfect reminder to be thankful for the ability to run and be healthy and alive.
It's so easy to finish a run and say, "I did this." And I do say that, often. But the truth of it is that I would be able to do nothing without God.
Remember when I told you running makes me introspective?
Anyway, I have officially completed 10 weeks of marathon training, and as I look toward the last 7, I am filled with excitement to see this goal complete. I can't even imagine what it will feel like to cross the finish line.
Yay for marathons!
P.S. In case you're wondering what the blank spaces are on Tuesday and Friday, that's and hour of boot camp. No miles, obviously, but I logged it as a workout nonetheless.
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