Week Fifteen: Pacing Problems

Halfway point is creeping up on us and marathon anxieties start to appear.

"Yow. Ow. Yow. Ow. Ugh. Last night's running was NOT as easy as the first two sessions. My body really fought the notch up to 1:30 running spikes. This run, and those that will invariably follow which will feel like this run, made me question whether I've got it in me -- to follow through in training -- to finish the marathon. If I'm having this much trouble doing such a little way of running, what's it going to be like the first week of December when I have to move this body 20 miles?" Adrith

We start thinking about marathon coping strategies like cool dress, race snacks, and careful pacing.

"For a while I just gave up trying to learn to control my speed because my bigger problem was just going and sticking to the schedule. Worrying about control seemed premature then. Why do I give a hoot now?

I'm not looking to win this marathon. So much for worries about super duper speed. But I am aiming to finish, so I'm not off the hook -- I do have to worry about endurance. I won't finish in time if I go all the way through on my "slow" setting and I will die before midpoint if I try to barrel through the whole dang thing on my "fast" setting. For me to last I'm going to have to alternate between the two so I can keep moving but kind of "rest" during the slower bits so I can build up the energy to get through the faster bits. Unfortunately I have no "medium" settings because I don't know how to do anything but the extremes. Very definitely slow. Very definitely the fastest I can move. So I need to learn deliberate control over my pace. It's time. Which means I had a &%*^&(*$#!! hard time this morning!" Cat/Astrophe

But even though we're nervous about training, there is still great news! Adrith breaks over 100 miles walked, and together we've raised $1061 in funds for NF! Yay!

---

previous summary | back to archives | next summary