Race

Okay, so I ran it. I actually drove an hour yesterday AM, picked up my packet, ran 3 hours for 13.1 miles, spent 30 minutes with my brother, and drove an hour back. Then I spent the afternoon on the couch in pain. I really should have gone for a walk but that didn't work.

Initially I was happy I finished. I haven't been running like I should - training? ha! That's a joke. And then this past week catching either bronchitis from MS or just a really nasty cough with a tiny bit of congestion wasn't good either. So the run was rough. The first couple miles I was okay, but just before the water stop at mile 2.5 I started to have some shallow breathing. I walked through the water stop and then headed out again. The rest of the race was a lot of walking with some running intermixed. When I'd start to run, my breathing would get labored so I'd walk. My legs were a little tight too, but it wasn't bad.

But then I got to thinking about it and realized how stupid I probably was in running it, but I just wanted to finish. And it didn't help that the first full marathon female finisher came in 4 minutes after me. Wow...I felt slow. It took me the same amount of time to finish 13.1 that it took her to finish 26.2. Sad. My time really depressed me. I felt like I had regressed three years in my running. Not good.

So I'm going back and forth. I have a pretty medal for finishing. But I finished 34 minutes slower than my half PR. But I can still walk. But my legs still hurt.

I have learned this:
- Don't run when you're congested - at least not 13.1 miles
- Training is a good thing
- P90X must return to my life ASAP
- Running must return to my life ASAP
- Proper fuel is important too (I had four bites of a PB sandwich before running - that probably didn't help)
- Stretch!!!
- If you're going to give yourself a "No-Slower-Than" time (NST) be smart about it (mine on Saturday was 3 hours...and I made that...but it makes me wonder if I had said 2:40 if I would have made that as well)
- Breathe and relax
and most important
- You can do anything you put your mind to - make sure you put your mind to the right things.