I did survive the run somehow, and learned a few lessons along the way. I think that these are important for anyone looking to run longer distances to know, and I thought I would share them. Im sure that lots of other runners have learned these lessons, either the hard way or the easy way, but I figured I would share :)
Lesson #1: Sports Bras are worth it.
If you're anything like me, you walk past the sports bra display in Dicks and laugh. "Fifty bucks for a sports bra?! You have to be kidding me."
No, sadly. They are not kidding you.
During my run, the last thing on my mind was my sports bra. Afterwards, when I jumped in the shower, something awful happened. The hot water hit the skin on my back and I honestly for a second thought I was dying. Turns out I wasn't dying, but the skin on my back had totally chafed! I have no idea how this happened. My cheap-o cotton blend sports bra had caused the skin on my back to literally rub off. First it stung like a sunburn, and now it itches like no other! Bottom line: Invest in the good sports bra, unless you want your skin to rub off. And Im not sure how much you want to mess with that, especially in the bra region :)
Lesson #2: iPods are a great idea.
Two hours and forty three minutes alone with my own thoughts was more than I needed.
Lesson #3: When you're sure your body has had enough, and couldn't possibly go any father, you can put one foot in front of the other and keep going.
I hit a wall at mile 10.5. I was starting to fall pretty far behind my running partners, and I was insanely far behind Tim and our coach, Tom. Coach Tom ended up coming all the way back to run with me, and thank goodness he did. In someone's front yard in Southport, I had what I think is an Exercise Induced Bronchospasm. My chest got tight, and I couldn't breathe without making this awful noise. I was able to breathe my way through it using some things I had learned in yoga. After a couple minutes of walking, I knew I should start to run again. And I somehow managed to get it together to run another 1.5 miles to the finish.
Lesson #4: Your running friends are more than just friends.
The friendships you make with the people you run with are unreal. You are instantly bonded with them. I know how close I feel with the girls I run with that I met through Team in Training. I instantly bonded with Coach Tom, too. He gave me so much advice and I am really very thankful for him. After our run, we hung out and ate fruit and bagels, drank chocolate milk, and told each other how awesome they were. Running friends are the best.
Here are the stats from this past run.
Distance: 12.04 miles
Time: 2:43:50
Pace: 13:36 (Slower than I'd like, but this includes where I stopped for my bronchospasm so I think I technically ran maybe closer to a 13 min mile)
Temperature: Beautiful, sunny, and upper 70s
Miles on my Kayanos: Honestly, I lost count. I have 107 miles on my watch, with a few runs I have done without my watch. Let's call it 120 miles :)
Half Marathon Countdown: 11 days!
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