In early 2008, I decided to plot something long-term with the hopes of reaching a goal that started way back when I lived in NYC. In this instance, long-term refers to a 4-year plan which would roughly coincide with a birthday "mile marker" (as Kristin Armstrong likes to call them). Two main reasons for the 4-year time horizon:
- Feasibility of achieving the goal. I knew it would take time to be in a position to properly execute what I wanted. To me, the time commitment involved in this effort made it that I didn't want to do it just so I could say that I did it.
- This goal has a huge amount of people that also want to complete this achievement, which meant many people are denied the opportunity to participate in this event each year. After being rejected 3 times, you automatically get selected to participate in the event in the 4th consecutive year you apply.
So this goal is to run a full marathon. I knew that I would get in this year because of it being my 4th year of applying. But I found out from a friend a few months ago that JDRF is also a partner of this event, and they get allocated a certain amount of spots each year. A couple of months ago, I decided to apply for one of the spots knowing that there would be a minimum fundraising amount to keep the spot. This afternoon I found out that I received one of those spots for JDRF. To say that I am excited about this is a pretty big understatement.
But let us take a step back.
In terms of the 1st bullet, many of you know that I already run half-marathons and have done so since early 2008. My 1st milestone was obviously to finish a race. Then I knew that by the end of year 2 of this odyssey (that's kind of what it has felt like…. I know PNak is saying "wait until you do a 20-miler, Jill), I wanted to run a ½ marathon in under 2 hours. And by the skin of my teeth and with the help of two good friends, I did it. Fortunately 2010 went even better and I was able to shave another 7 ½ minutes off of my ½ marathon time over the course of the year. I felt good about sticking with the long-term plan that I laid out and while many people kept telling me that I "HAD to do a full" and I was ready, I needed to wait before I committed to anyone.
Why? Yes, I have been physically capable of running a full marathon (26.2 miles) for some time. But I wanted to be in a position where I could run it strong and have confidence in the later stages of the course. The other thing is that most people do not realize that my training DOES impact Marc on our weekends. For example, most long runs take place on Saturday mornings so that means things are fairly low-key on Friday and post-run, I may be spending time in the tub taking ice baths (uh-huh). Bottom-line I really strive to do what I say what I am going to do, and that means making goals that stretch you but are achievable if you work at it.
If I was going to undertake training for a 4-5 month period, keeping in mind mid-week running workouts, I needed to be "all in" before I asked Marc to come along. I am lucky that Marc has been so supportive of my fitness goals, but I didn't want to take advantage of that so I waited although he knew the plan from the early stages.
The fact that I am going to run 26.2 miles also means that my work at Crossfit is going to be even more important. On my 10-miler on Saturday, my arms started to get tired in the last ½ mile. You go as fast as your arms take you, and no, that isn't a typo. And this morning's workout really took its toll on my upper body. This morning's workout included some lunges with dumbbells, some push presses (basically pushing dumbbells straight over your head) and my "favorite" – renegade rows. What is a 'renegade row'? Well I'll link to a video that demonstrates the movement. No exercise at Crossfit will make me sweat like a 'renegade row' PLUS today I was told to "up my weight" on the dumbbells. Oy vei!
Well I got through the workout and I think my weight training gloves will take days to dry out because my hands sweat so much (ok, TMI), but I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't hurting after it was over. My hands have some issues from rheumatoid arthritis and holding on to dumbbells for what ended up being almost 30 minutes was really painful. I could have quit and had a legitimate excuse given the issue with my hands (known by my Crossfit coaches), but I wanted to see what I could do. I finished a good 5 minutes AFTER everyone else in my class, but the encouragement I got was great and really helped as I struggled through those renegade rows. My arms were hurting and my hands were in pain, but I got it done and was pretty proud of myself for not bailing, in addition to getting the form right on an increased weight.
When the e-mail came through this afternoon about getting the JDRF spot, I thought back to this morning's workout and smiled. Pushing through when you don't think you have anything left is part of training and helps build confidence. Getting my body strong to be able to handle the mileage will be critical. And this doesn't count the speedwork and zone training runs that I will be doing with Kim at TN Multisports! I know every training day won't be awesome, but I am looking forward to the journey with Marc, my running and Crossfit mates, and all of the people supporting me along the way.
I can promise to give the training and the prep my best, and hope that it translates well on race day. J