I decided in my infinite wisdom that a marathon one week out from Boston was a good idea. After all I needed to get in around 70 miles this week and we won't live in Dallas next year so I HAD to run this race. Makes perfect sense. Oh and you read these stories of Ultra runners who go out and run a 50 mile race and then marathon the next day and Marathon Maniacs run back to back marathons all the time. Ok I am done justifying my insanity. I actually still think the marathon was a good idea especially when the idea was for it to be a training run, not to run too fast, just to go out and get in some good clean miles. Yah, well that all went out the window. There were a myriad of reasons running through my head as to why it would be good to push myself today. I had read my friend Heather's Race Report for a 5K she did awesome in yesterday, I had just read some Ultra Blogs, and well I just started to think that I needed to run hard and outside my comfort zone more. I really want to do well in Phili and it seems I really need to step up my training if that is going to happen and on top of all of that, it is just fun to run hard. Or at least it was fun for the first 15 miles or so. So I just went with it. You are going to laugh but I didn't look at the course elevation changes before the race so, I had no idea, this course was HILLY, like even the hills had hills, it was brutal. I charged on. I ran the first 13.1 miles in 1:49 and at that point I still felt great. It was about mile 17 or so where my wheels came off and I had to hang on for dear life. I had to concentrate on just running. That toe that has been numb since Rocky well it picked today to really hurt, so I kept searching for even pavement to reduce the pressure on it. In the end I finished with a 3:45 (2nd in my age group and somewhere in top 100 overall) and I am happy with that but, I know I can push more. I had already run close to 50 miles this week going into the marathon so, I am hoping with a few days of light running next week I can kick it into high gear at Boston and if the weather stinks, I am just going to enjoy Boston for all it is worth and not worry about time. There is nothing worse than stressing when the weather is kicking your booty.Sunday, April 11, 2010
Big D = Lots of Hills
I decided in my infinite wisdom that a marathon one week out from Boston was a good idea. After all I needed to get in around 70 miles this week and we won't live in Dallas next year so I HAD to run this race. Makes perfect sense. Oh and you read these stories of Ultra runners who go out and run a 50 mile race and then marathon the next day and Marathon Maniacs run back to back marathons all the time. Ok I am done justifying my insanity. I actually still think the marathon was a good idea especially when the idea was for it to be a training run, not to run too fast, just to go out and get in some good clean miles. Yah, well that all went out the window. There were a myriad of reasons running through my head as to why it would be good to push myself today. I had read my friend Heather's Race Report for a 5K she did awesome in yesterday, I had just read some Ultra Blogs, and well I just started to think that I needed to run hard and outside my comfort zone more. I really want to do well in Phili and it seems I really need to step up my training if that is going to happen and on top of all of that, it is just fun to run hard. Or at least it was fun for the first 15 miles or so. So I just went with it. You are going to laugh but I didn't look at the course elevation changes before the race so, I had no idea, this course was HILLY, like even the hills had hills, it was brutal. I charged on. I ran the first 13.1 miles in 1:49 and at that point I still felt great. It was about mile 17 or so where my wheels came off and I had to hang on for dear life. I had to concentrate on just running. That toe that has been numb since Rocky well it picked today to really hurt, so I kept searching for even pavement to reduce the pressure on it. In the end I finished with a 3:45 (2nd in my age group and somewhere in top 100 overall) and I am happy with that but, I know I can push more. I had already run close to 50 miles this week going into the marathon so, I am hoping with a few days of light running next week I can kick it into high gear at Boston and if the weather stinks, I am just going to enjoy Boston for all it is worth and not worry about time. There is nothing worse than stressing when the weather is kicking your booty.
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8 comments:
Great job Tara, you continue to inspire me!
You are amazing! Are you going to be running in Philidephia, PA?
Yes Sue. Is that where you live and if so do you want to pace? So far Heather, Anna, Bethany B, Becky and Jill are all coming. We can set up a tent and you all can pace as much or as little as you want. We would love to have you.
You are so awesome, you always amaze me with your running whether it is the distance or the pace you are an inspiration. I really hope that toe does not give you problems next weekend.
WOW. YOU.ARE.AMAZING. and as always I am so proud to call you my sister. I brag about you all the time. Rest up...Boston is going to be fun! You will do great and I can tell you are going to ENJOY the ride.
over the weekend i must've said, "my running friend tara is doing a MARATHON as a training run" like a dozen times...the concept just astounds me! you totally rock! fantastic time, especially w/ a hilly course.
Thanks Mamas. It felt good to just run and enjoy. Next week I will really hold myself to a goal and see what happens and I am pretty sure that toe is broken but ehhhh there is nothing you can do for that right?
Running a marathon with a broken toe? I love it! You are so hard core! ;)
I'll get in touch with you about pacing. Thanks!
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