Week 17 - The Road to 26.2

Capturing those 20 glorious miles at the MD Soccer Plex...

It was all about the 20...it was the only thing on my mind for Week 17.  My focus inching toward Saturday morning was on visualizing it happening.  I held back a bit on my training for Thursday and Friday...I was really tired (work craziness coupled with watching too much Breaking Bad late at night) and intuitively I think I knew I needed to just save my energy and legs as best I could. Friday night was a controlled carb frenzy followed by a good full night's sleep.  It worked.  I was able to get those miles...but not without complication.  The good news is...I was able to get a solid 15 miles before my right knee started to twinge.  At mile 16...it was getting hard to run on it so I decided to just walk the last four miles. I was not even disappointed because in all honestly...I didn't care how I got the 20 miles...I just wanted to get them.  At the 16 mile mark, I could see myself needing to walk the last 10 miles of the marathon.  I was okay with that.  The weather was perfect...a mix of sun and clouds...temperatures in upper 60s/low70s.  I was winding my way around the Maryland Soccer Plex for over 5 hours...listening to music...focusing on my 3 min walk, 1 min runs...thinking about writing...smiling to people I passed along the way (this is a new secret I have learned...it really helps!!)...planning all the fun things I will do after I get those 26 miles.

After the 20 miles...I was hydrating...resting...watching soccer...watching Breaking Bad...hydrating...resting...gingerly walking up/down stairs...and then I was falling down stairs.  Yes...ridiculously early on Sunday morning...I fell down the stairs...luckily I slid feet first...but I fell.  Most of the impact was on my left arm...I have a lovely, gruesome looking bruise on my left tricep that seems to keep sliding further down the back of my arm.  Pretty gross...but it could have been so much worse.  All of the things running through my mind in slow motion as I was sliding...mainly...is this going to be the reason why I won't get my 26 miles?  Really??  It was instant perspective...after a monumental physical feat...I was brought back to center...stay humble...stay focused...be careful.  You are not as spectacular as you think you are...the hardest part is getting to the starting line...and you are not there yet.

Hydration evidence from during and right after...