This past Saturday, Melissa and I got up early and drove to Charlotte for the second marathon preview run. I am not a coffee drinker, but caffeine was needed. We stopped at Starbucks and got 2 coffees since Mountain Dew is probably not the best thing to drink before a run. I actually seemed to like the coffee, so this might be something I do now. We got to the YMCA at about 6:30, signed in and went looking for a toilet. The YMCA doesn’t open until 7:30 and last week we found a porta-potty in the parking lot across the street. However, it was not there this week! So here you have 500 runners about to run at least 13 miles and no bathrooms? Come on Run For Your Life, you guys should know better. We finally found a construction site with a few porta-potties about 2 blocks away. We used them and got back with little time to stretch before the run started at 7:00. This not being a race, we just took our time and left a little late, at about 7:10. My heart rate was registering high on the Garmin, but I determined that the chest strap must not be accurate when it is cold. I put my hands over the strap and my heart rate immediately went down. It said at one point it was at 220! I would be dying! I settled into a comfortable pace and started to catch up to the slower runners. Around mile 7, after holding it for a few miles, I needed to pee bad. This may be the only bad thing about the coffee. I ran into a gas station only to find that the restroom was out of order! I ran back out and decided that I could probably go on the side of the building without anyone noticing. I was nervous because there was a cop in the parking lot and I was pretty sure urinating on the side of a building breaks some kind of law. It took forever to get all the pee out, but I did and unnoticed. Back to running. I was able to maintain a 10:06 pace for 17 miles including the pee break and one stretch break. So super excited to run this far. Now, the question is, do I taper for the next 2 weeks like Melissa, or do I try to get a 20 mile run in this Saturday? What do you all think?
JustKev.in •
From Lazyman to Ironman, one inactive guy's journey to triathlete (and everything else under his beer helmet.)
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Well just in case you would have gotten caught, I’m sure you could have asked the cop if you could run beside the cop car on the way to the jail house instead of riding in back? You’re nuts hahaha Do you have to wait until Saturday? Can you try a 20 on Wednesday? then taper
My vote is to do another 17 or maybe 18 and then taper…. Is it really necessary to get a run of 20 miles in before the event? Other than the mental aspect I dont think your gonna achieve anything more than you would if you ran 17 or 18 (now if your looking at running a full 26.2 vs 17 that would be a different story). That way your legs arent used quite as bad.
But thats just the opinion from the guy that doesnt run
Either way… I think your gonna do great! TTPing will never look so good!
can you ttp on the side of building with a cop in the parking lot?
Crystal, Crystal…
you of all people should know the proper rituals of TTP’ing.
For those of you who do not know… you should NOT TTP on the side of a building with a cop in the parking lot. NOT A GOOD IDEA!
Andrew’s advice is spot-on, I think … it is all a mental game at this point. If you can run 17 miles at 10:06, then you could walk the remaining 9 miles and still finish in time. And you won’t do that. The sports medicine guy told you that if you can do Blue Ridge, you got this – it’s a matter of willpower and not getting hurt. The only way you’ll not complete the 26.2 at this point is if you get hurt. And the only way you could get hurt is if you do too much …
All that said, I have a huge mental burst after running 20 miles, so I do get why that’s helpful.
The guy I was running with on Saturday for a few miles said he had his 20 miler this coming Saturday. So some programs have tapering later than ours – so if you did decide to go for the 20, you would probably be fine as others are doing it too.
And GREAT JOB on the run! I was so proud of you as i saw you getting further and further ahead of me!
Oh, and I forgot to mention the best part of this post – you like coffee! YAY!!!
[...] Ok, that’s not really true. I’ve been busy with work and an out-of-town friend visiting also, but I have been on a total runner’s high since that run and I am so stoked about the marathon now. Chris and Kevin requested that I write about the run yesterday, so here it is, just for you guys. (Read Kevin’s version of the run here.) [...]
TAPER!!!! Run 10 next weekend and rest rest rest…tired legs never help one’s cause.