Holey moley!

What a run today! It was supposed to be a typical Sunday "long, slow, run" (or as we use to call them: LSD, long slow distance). I met up with Lynne, Marshall, Kevin, Jenny, and Dan and our original plan was to run 90 minutes. No problem, I've been doing that for awhile now.

Then last night, Lynne called and said we were running 2 hrs. No problem, I thought. I need to up my distance anyway. It will hurt but hey, I've run 12 marathons, I can do it (this is called denial, which seeps into my brain once in awhile).

So, we start off and I feel great. An hour passes and I still feel great. We're laughing and talking and having a good ol' time. Then 90 mins passes (or slightly less) and Lynne and Dan head back. Kevin, Jenny, Marshall, and i decide to go longer. We do a short loop around Bittersweet Park.

Then, Kevin and Jenny peel off to head back to the Parks house. At this point it's about 1 hr and 40 mins and I'm still feeling pretty good but starting to tire. The sun is finally coming out of the clouds and it's getting HOT.

I think to myself "I can eek out another 20 minutes" but as we approach the 2 hr time limit, I'm feeling tired, sore, and ready to end this run. After all, that's all I had mentally prepared myself for. Marshall and I have had a wonderful conversation about the IM we are training for, which is a perfect way to end the run.

But nooooooo....Marshall has another plan. He says we're going another FIFTEEN MINUTES!My legs are saying OH NO, WE'RE NOT! The sun is now glaring down on us - it's after 10:00 AM and hot, hot, hot. I stammer and studder and ask "what??????" He said something about "running through the pain" but all I could think about was jumping into the lake and snoozing on the soft green grass for about oh, 5 hrs.

15 more minutes....ok, I can do it....but why am I hobbling like an old lady??? Why am I sweating so much now I can hardly see through my sunglasses? Why can't I stop when my legs are hurting so bad??? Why do I have to "run through the pain"????

Because I want to do an Ironman, that's why.

So, thanks, Marshall for pushing me through to the end. I may not walk for a week but hey, I did it and I know the mental toughness will help me on race day. You are going after this thing with great gusto and I admire you for it.

What else did I do sinced Weds, when I blogged last....on Thursday I ran 5 miles and swam 1000 yds......rode 40 HARD miles with Lynne, Marshall, and Paul on Friday (the Parks are kicking my butt!).....and walked a 5k with my kids on Saturday....and then today, ran 2 hrs and FIFTEEN MINUTES! All in all, a very good training week.

So, now I'm mentally gearing up for the big stuff ahead of me. July, August, and September are going to be the high-mileage months and I need to be very focused. I'm actually feeling pretty good about the biking and running...I think I'm ahead of Gale Bernhardt's plan but still lagging a bit in the swim. I stayed up late Sat night watching YouTube videos on freestyle technique but somehow I don't think that counts as training....

Oh well, as long as I hang out with Marshall, I won't have to worry about slackin' too much!