4/5-(15 miles) Um did I just do that?!?! I’m OVER THE MOON happy!!! I was worrying and worrying about this long run for weeks because I just wasn’t sure if I could do it & I did it and at such a faster pace than I thought possible! My quote on my running calendar today perfectly explains how this run went! It wasn’t easy at first but I did it! So I will walk you through my morning, I woke up rather reluctantly at 5, but then didn’t get out of bed until 5:30 because like I said I was very reluctant to run. Eventually I got up, ate a bag of cereal and half a granola bar, drank some water and set out around 6:10. It wasn’t that cold out around high 20s-low 30s, no wind and sunny. So honestly it was a very nice morning for a run & I saw way more runners out than usual. I started off at a slow pace and in my head I broke up the long run into 3, 5 mike segments to make it more manageable. The first 5 miles were less then great. My legs felt okay, but my motivation wasn’t there. I had to stop after 2 miles due to stomach issues. So I stopped, went to the bathroom and then continued on my way. I felt a lot better for a few miles. These miles were spent mostly in the engineering quad and on the Urbana side of campus. The next 5 miles started out rather slow. I couldn’t believe I still had 10 miles to go because it seemed like I had already been running for a while. Eventually I just focused on what I was running and tried to forget how much more I had to run. I started running through some of the Urbana neighborhoods by the soroties over there and eventually I started to speed up in the later miles. Some of these miles dragged, and I wanted to quit, but I got through it. The last 5 miles!!! This was shocking the best segment of my run. All of my paces were in the 8 minute rage and I was shocked. When I hit the 10 mile mark I realized I was almost done and I realized I could defiantly do this. So I kicked it into high gear and began to get faster. I didn’t think I was going to get a half marathon time under 2 hours, but your girl did it! I was so happy!! The miles 10-13 I was averaging 8:20 pace which is great! Post half I was just riding that Runner’s high for the last two miles and I finished with a mile of 8:15😎 I’m so happy with this run and it affirms to me that I am ready to crush this half. You can do whatever you set you your mind to & running is proof of that! Post run I took a quick shower, legs up for 10 minutes, pulled in my compression socks & sweat pants and went to eat breakfast before class. I went in on a great post long run breakfast of oatmeal/yogurt, eggs & FRENCH TOAST BAKE! When I saw they made this morning that was all that was getting me through the run at some points😂 The only soreness I had was some knee pain (I think I need new shoes), slight glute soreness towards the end, some shin pain at some points and then shoulder tightness. I did try some fueling during the run around mile 6 when I was losing hope in myself😂 All I had were gummy bears & pretzels. I liked the gummy bears, but they somewhat froze so I had maybe 5 during the run and 5 right after the run. As for the pretzels I only had around 3. I don’t really think any of it helped. Maybe it gave me a bit of a boost for the end, but I’m not sure. I think I’m going to try some Gatorade chews and salt tablets instead. That is all for my workout today! Longest run ever & those last 5 miles had me feeling like a beast💪🏻 Off to class, then I will properly stretch, do some work, eat & maybe take a little nap. For lunch I had some chicken chili which was actually real good + potatoes & veggies. My afternoon before class was actually lowkey. Without barre, I stretched a lot, talked to my friends, took a super short cat nap and then did some work. Later in the day my hips became sore (from sitting in class post long run for 2 hours) I’m hoping they will feel okay tomorrow. It’s just my one hip so😬 This was one of the longest days I’ve had in a while tbh. Post class I took a little walk, drank some hit chocolate and then had a lecture. Then I took another little nap/rested, and headed to bible study. Then I had some pasta & salad for dinner which was SO good before walking 20 minutes to play intramural sand volleyball😂 I initially didn’t want to go, but it was so fun even though I was freezing. I finished my night by watching la la land! I’m so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow omg I literally can’t wait to go to bed! I got 41,00 steps today so your girl is another level of tired🙃 I’m thankful that my body allows me to do what I love & I’m thankful for the ability to run & move & walk & jump
