I ran in the Pittsburgh Marathon Relay with 4 friends yesterday. I had full intentions of doing a little running before race day. It never happened. I just really don’t like it. I honestly have to force myself to go for a run. On very rare occasions, I actually want to go. I run and get it out of my system by about mile 2.
So I am not really sure what came over me when I agreed to do this race. And not only agree, but chose, yes chose, to run the longest leg. It was either that or run up a huge hill. I’d rather go .2 miles more than go up that hill. My car doesn’t even enjoy that hill.
Our team was awesome. I honestly thought I would be sitting there waiting for about 30-40 minutes longer than I was. Everyone kicked that race’s ass and I was off and running before I knew it. Through the first half of the race, I had a long internal discussion. It went something like this:
“Listen, you don’t need to stop. Your legs are fine. Your breathing has evened out. You can do this. It is all mental. Just get out of your own head. Just think about all the people who wish they could do this and are physically unable. Just keep going.”
Then, my breathing started getting going all crazy again. I reminded myself to take a couple of deep breaths and relax. Then the pain started kicking in. My hips were on fire. My back started to hurt (I’ve been battling sciatic nerve pain for the last 2 weeks). At that point, my internal discussion turned into this:
“F*ck this. Now, it is physical.” I slowed to a walk and made a deal with myself. Only 50 or so yards, then run again. I looked out and picked a spot where I would start back up.
The rest of the race was kind of like this. Run as long as I could without being in too much pain, then slow down. But not for too long. I ended up finally making it to the end an hour and 10 minutes later. By no means a good time, but not too shabby for someone who doesn’t run and hadn’t trained.
I’m definitely feeling it today. My hips are super stiff, but the other soreness is the typical from a tough workout. I am so glad I did it, but I’m not sure I will do it again. You never know though. I am super competitive with myself, so if I decide I need to beat my time, I could be convinced.
On to the Spartan Race in July and Tough Mudder in August! Those are much more my speed. I love the challenge of the obstacles. If anyone has been thinking about doing one of these, please let me know! You can join my team!
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