ohhh friends. I'm in a lot of pain (makes me think of this) but I did it. I, Katie Leann Heideman, ran 9.6 miles last night. I haven't run in a full month (hang head in shame) because I responded to some significant life stress in laziness and apathy. I knew I needed to either get my butt back in gear or give up on the marathon because it's only 3 months away and if I continue training this way, that day is going to bring a lot of pain.
In usual Katie form, I decided to go big or go home. I knew I needed something to kickstart me into running again, and I knew a five mile run wasn't going to do jack for my motivation. Plus, at this point in the timeline, my mileage should be up.
So AJ (my 15 year old cousin who is a naturally gifted runner who is trying to get in shape for soccer but is out of shape just like me) and I ran a 10 mile loop between our two houses (we lost .5 miles due to some poor navigation haha). We agreed at the beginning that we didn't care at all about our pace... we just wanted to finish. And that we did. We held a 12 minute pace for the for the first 4 miles, 13s for miles 5-8 and back to a 12 for the last two. All in all we averaged 12.7 minute miles. I'd like to be able to run faster than this come marathon day, but I honestly don't care right now. I ran for two hours. Two hours! I've definitely never done that before.
I was nervous heading out-- AJ and I acknowledged how crazy we were-- but I managed to fend off my other cousins suggestion to "just go for 5" and AJ's mid-run question "are you sure you want to do the full 10?" We stopped twice (once at my house for water/bathroom/blister attention and once at the burger king drive through for water) but we never stopped to take a breather, to stretch or to walk up a hill (and let me tell you, our route was FULL of hills). I had a great head game headed into the run and I know that pulled me through. I'm becoming more and more convinced that where my head's at determines what I'm capable of. I had decided that I was going to finish the run even if it was the death of me and that translated into my unwillingness to stop when usually I would have.
It's a phenomenal feeling to accomplish something new. I have a terrible memory so it's difficult for me to remember whether or not I've done something before... this I know for sure is new. Up until yesterday, the furthest I'd ever run was 4.5 miles... now I've run 9.6... more than double my previous distance.
I don't have a devotional thought for you today or a motivational message... my brain is mostly mush. But I do want to thank you for reading and encouraging me. It means so so much to me. I often think of this blog and particular individuals who have expressed their belief in my capabilities in the middle of runs and it provides motivation. I need you guys... I know I can't do this on my own. Thank you.
So, it would appear that I am still planning on running the Cape Cod. I think I can actually do it, too :)
