#LRhatersanonymous–The First 20+

“I’m either going to show up for tomorrow’s 21 miler refreshed and back in the game, or without a shot in hell at survival.”

– OUaL, Friday 3/9/12

Spoiler : I survived.

It wasn’t pretty, but given the 4 full days off and cram-session I did at the end of the week to get the week’s miles in, I’m trying not to let a tough long run mess with my head.

I mean, they’re supposed to be hard.  Right?  Kind of?

Ok fine, here’s the story :

Sat-Tues : Work trip to Salt Lake. Lots of fun, food, drinks, and standing all day in heels.  0 miles ran.

Weds : Freak out training is busted, run twice to bandage the plan.  4 easy in AM, 5 speedy in PM.

Thurs : Bail on original plan of 4 long hill repeats ala this workout.  Feel like a giant weenie for pussing out.  Two repeats and a hilly loop.  7.5ish total.

Fri : Easy 4.  Spend all day trying to convince myself to move LR to Sunday.  Realize it won’t work.  Find solace in carbs & compression.  Say a prayer.

Pro Compression Hail Mary.

(Floor is open for debate on which is worse : my photography or my obnoxiously bright Friday night outfit.  Party on, Garth.)

Anyways, Saturday came and I managed to wake up, feed/coffee, and dress myself in a timely enough fashion to get out the door early enough to beat the heat.  (foreshadowing – I love summer in March)

The run itself wasn’t THAT terrible.  I got really lucky with shade along the route and there were a TON of people out which made it fun.  (Hi Laura & friend!)  I’m pain-free, my new socks are sweet, and staying pretty consistent with my target pace.  My fueling still needs some work, but overall I feel like things are coming together pretty well.

There is one piece I’m still struggling with, though.  Kind of important.  I’m sure I’m not the only one.  Actually I’m pretty sure this is why most people can’t/don’t/hate run(ning) distance.

STAYING THE F OUT OF MY OWN HEAD.

3 hours is a long time.  For anything.  I can hardly do anything for an hour straight, let alone making my body work consistently for 3 times that long.  Then you add in the mental solitude part and it’s just disaster.  DISASTER.

Boredom, self doubt, confusion, anger, bartering– it’s like a therapy session at a mental institute or AA or something during those LRs.  #LRhatersanonymous

(boredom) “lalala look a rabbit! what should we have for dinner? you should redecorate the bathroom. did you finish that report for work? I wonder when the Indians play today. ohhh wasn’t that race in Cleveland today? how far have I gone? are we done yet?”

(self doubt) “seriously, 9 more miles? HA yeah good luck. your legs are already dead. you took 4 days off. you want to run WHAT in Eugene? you’re out of your mind. this sucks. you suck.”

(confusion) “gel now? are you hungry? is this too fast? is this avg lap pace or actual pace? should I have turned there? is this real life?”

(anger) “WHY THE FUCK DID YOU SIGN UP FOR ANOTHER MARATHON?!! WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO LEARN?! THIS IS SO IDIOTIC. YOU’VE BEEN RUNNING FOR 1/8TH OF A DAY. STUPID. YOU’RE SO DUMB. AND YOU HAVE BUTT SWEAT AGAIN.”

(barter) “you can eat whatever the hell you want and nap all day. just finish this run. the faster you go the faster the IPA gets drank. do not steal that little kids bike. sarah don’t do it.”

Anyways, the final 2-3 miles were HARD, and not in the ‘just gut it out, it’s supposed to be tough!’ kind of way.  More like a, ‘if this car hits me I could have an excuse for cutting the rest of this run short. it’s ok, I’m wearing RoadID…” way.

Real healthy.

So Operation Don’t Hate the LR is still a work in progress.  I’ll get there.  Hopefully.  Otherwise everyone in OC is in a huge amount of danger.  This mental instability is just a small step away from a Criminal Minds plot line.

The good news is I did recover like a champ. Ice, rehydrate, boat, play with dolphins, vitamin D.  Living in SoCal – and having friends with boats – isn’t so bad I guess.

Sarah OUaL

I’m sure you heard already, but half of So Much Cooler Online – Ultra put out a pretty rad showing at the San Diego Half this weekend.  SR, Nicole (HRM), and Pam all with huge PRs.  I am not worthy of my spot on this team.  You ladies rock.  Serious.

Pam, SR, Nicole (from HRM)