#mile posts

[noir-poetography]

End of the Road

Photo by James Blatter

© James Blatter, 2017

[libbying]

Mental Tricks For Long Runs - Women's Running

Marathon long runs seem intimidating. These mental tricks can help!

Tried this method for this weekend’s long run -- 9.51 miles (ok, I meant to do 10, but I miscalculated somewhere...). 

I have a couple of challenges in my race training. Start with two potty-training 2-year-olds, add in that Sundays are my only family day and I have a desire to spend as much time with said toddlers and husband as possible. Add to that living in OH-my-FSM-it’s-so-hot Houston and that I HATE carrying too much crap on my body when I run...but I desperately need water and the occasional Gu or inhaler hit. Then add being kind of oldish and slowish and heavyish. So, I’m always on the lookout for something to make the long runs easier. 

As I’m in training for both the #nikewomensf half marathon and one in Houston in January, I’ve got plenty of long runs to do.

This weekend, I ran just over 2 1/4 miles over to the Whole Foods where I met the toddlers and husband on the weekly milk run. And then just over 2 1/4 miles back to the house. 4.7 ish miles down!

Picked up the husband and put the toddlers in the BOB, and spent a few minutes charging my phone (that interval timer plus Runkeeper and Nike+ apps take it out of my poor iPhone) and grabbed some cold water to put in the stroller. This part took waaaaay longer than I hoped it would, but hey, toddlers - what did I expect? We then ran a mile to Rice, the 3 around Rice, and then 1 mile back. 

Overall, the idea of breaking it down into short runs went much better for me. It let me do some of the run on my own while still spending time with the family. It let the kiddos come for part of the run, which they usually love (although this time they fell sound asleep and napped -- bonus!), and let me spend a little time with the spouse. 

We’d like to do better with the transitions next time, but this definitely improved the Sunday run!