Yesterday was an 8-mile run for the half-marathon training program I’m doing. After having a cup of coffee, a banana spread with peanut butter and strawberry preserves, and some water, I headed out.
I got a new pair of running shoes for my birthday. I splurged and spent the extra money for a pair of Brooks Glycerins. I’m not sure if it was a smart idea to break in a pair of new shoes for a long run, but I figured if they started to bother me, I could run by the house and change shoes if I needed to.
The run was going well. I tried not to pay attention to my pace. I knew that if I focused on my pace time, I would push myself too hard and I would run out of gas before I got to 8 miles. So I tried to take it easy and run at a nice pace. Things were going well, but at about mile 5 I felt a blister forming on the bottom of my left foot. However, I was worried that if I stopped to change shoes, I would lose the momentum I had, so I kept going.
At about mile 6, I hit a wall. My head started playing mind games with me. “This is too hard.” “I should just quit right now. Six miles is a good enough workout.” “I still have 2 miles to go and there’s NO WAY I’m going to finish.” I stopped to take a walk break and started talking out loud to myself: “You can do this!” “You’ve already done 6 miles, what’s 2 more?” I dug deep and I pushed on. When I got to mile 7, I looked at my watch and realized that I ran 7 miles at a faster pace than last week and I think that really energized me and I was able to finish mile 8 strong.
I’m so proud of myself! 8 miles is the farthest distance I’ve run so far! Only 5.1 miles farther and I’ll be running a half-marathon! Holy cow!
Today is supposed to be a 3-mile run, but my body is tired and a bit sore yet. Plus, there’s the big, fat blister on the bottom of my foot. 😦 So I think that I will just do a strengthening workout today and rest from running.
great run! the most i’ve done is 5 miles, but eventually i’ll work my way to 8 🙂 thanks for the inspiration
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Thanks, Chris! It has been a long journey getting to where I’m at now. For a while, 5 miles was my plateau. I couldn’t seem to get past it. But then once I was able to do 6 miles a couple of times, I was able to get to 7, and now I feel like a half-marathon is actually reachable! You’ll get there, too! 🙂
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As a non-runner, I am in constant awe of you runners! WTG on the accomplishment!
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Thanks, Michele! 🙂
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Just started following 🙂 (Not literally, you don’t need to look over your shoulder or anything 😉 )
Have faith and be proud. I was where you are now a couple of years back and I’m currently training for my 4th half marathon (with number 5 just after that). Enjoy rest days – they are important. Most of all listen to your body!
Blisters I’ve never suffered from. I buy my shoes a half size to a full size bigger than I usually have. I use good quality running socks and dust my shoes with talc. That might help you. I also run in Brooks. At the moment I’m putting my faith in the Defyance after a lot of injury last year.
Good luck! I will read with interest how you progress 😀
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Thanks for the words of encouragement! I always have to remind myself that rest days are important. I don’t normally get blisters, but then again, I don’t normally run for 7-8 miles at a stretch, so this is all new to me! I’m loving every minute of it, though! 😀
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Awesome job! I got up to 6 miles but then an injury felled me and I’m working back up slowly (it seems to be waaaaay too slowly from my anxious-to-be-fitter perspective). 8 miles is a long way – you should be proud!
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Thanks, Sarah – I really am pretty frickin’ proud of myself! Yesterday I would randomly announce throughout the day, to either myself or any family member that happened to be around, “I ran 8 miles today!” I can’t even imagine what it will be like when I’m able to run my first half-marathon! 😀
Also, I’ve suffered through 4 different stress fractures since I started my running journey, so I totally understand your frustrations! I’ve learned to not push myself too hard, too fast, and to listen to my body and take a rest when I need to! It’s hard, though! Once the running bug bites you, it’s all you want to do – injury or no injury!
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