Sunday Sufferfest

Today was a day to remember in preparation for Boston, it is a very important weekend to ramp up the run training and to mentally prepare for a marathon distance. I was really not interested in doing a 3hr run this weekend, mainly because a major cold snap worked its way to Grande Prairie. It was -27 when we woke up this morning, ouch! Amber was determined to do the distance but wanted to wait until it warmed up a little, I agreed.

We ended up going out at 1pm when it was about -8 but with the wind chill it felt like -20. The first half was with the wind so it wasn't bad and I was going slower, I found some terrific new trails at the end of the pathway which was a really nice surprise. I felt fantastic during the first 21kms in 90mins even though the footing was really bad and I twisted my ankle on the way back. There was no damage so I soldiered on and kept to the training plan.

At the 2hr mark things really started to fall apart! My legs started to cramp up and I could tell my pace was slowing considerably. I was about 20mins from home so I said to myself just get home and things will be fine. Those 20mins were really difficult, I was running uphill and into the cold bitter wind so it was a mental trial to just keep moving. When I arrived home I was ready to call it a day, I was at 32km and my legs were spent, my face and ears were frozen and I was completely dehydrated.

I knew Amber was not going to quit early and that made me change my touque to protect my ears and get back out there. If she is going to go the distance, then there is no reason I can't, thanks for the inspiration AD. I started out again for another 40mins and the first 20mins were really tough but manageable. When I turned around at 35.5km I hit the wall, every step was painful and I was searching for some reason to keep going. I walked for a little while and told myself "this is when it counts, your going to look back on these workouts and find your strength in Boston. Imagine Lance is right in front of you and running strong, what are you going to do to keep up!" I started running again, not at the same pace but a slower pace allowed me to keep running. Looking at my Garmin I was comfortably running at 13km/hr, not the 15km/hr I was targeting, but today it's about getting the distance not the speed.

I shuffled along for another 20mins putting one foot in front of another doing whatever it takes to finish. I looked at my Garmin and I was approaching 39km when I turned onto our street and I was determined to hit 40km. I passed our house at 39.2km and it took every ounce of energy in me to keep going and get in another 800m. I shuffled along to the end of the street and almost collapsed when I hit our driveway. I was really surprised to see that AD was still out there and felt a little bit like a wimp, but after completing 40km in 3hrs and 2mins I gave myself a little credit and tried to rehydrate as much as I could. A great workout and a successful mental training day to prepare myself for Boston, next week is a little shorter long run but two weeks from now will be another all-out effort. Watch out Lance, I'm ready!