Faith

They say that if you do Crossfit, you should be able to do anything, like run a marathon. Crossfit will make you a well-rounded athlete and damn it, you can do anything if you just do your Crossfit! Go run a marathon on Tuesday if you want - you've done Helen before! Well, I'm not quite ready for a marathon yet, but if you remember a few months ago I signed up for a half-marathon. This is coming up in a few weeks. Most people train for something like this. I've been doing Crossfit. Most people run various distances multiple times a week. I do pull-ups. I also do running drills. But before yesterday, I had never run more than 4 miles at a time.


So Saturday morning, I ran a 5K - 5KLove. It was a lovely event and actually, it was a little more than a 5K - 3.31 miles according to my Garmin. I ran it at a 9:23 pace, which is a good pace for me. Could I have run it a little faster? Maybe. But there will always be another 5K.


Sunday morning was a preview run for the Eugene Women's Half Marathon. It was advertised as an 8 mile preview run of the course. This was a test of my dedication. I couldn't sleep in. I had run the day before. But I knew I had to do this. So I showed up on Sunday morning with the number 8 in my mind and the promise of a mimosa at the finish. The organizer then said it was really a 7.15 mile run and then gave us a map. He explained the map and said he didn't want anyone to get lost. No problem!


So we start running and it's along the bike path and I'm following a couple women who walked every once in a while, then would run a slightly faster pace then me. After the 4.5 mile mark, I decided to walk a little too. Then we weren't seeing the other runners so much. I just kept following, keeping up enough so I could see them. Then another group of women passed me and caught up with the couple ahead of me. Then they all stopped and congregated and looked at the map. Then they looked at me. 'Do you know where we're going?' All I could think was that they better know where they're going because in my head, I'm only running one more mile. But they didn't, and we went out of our way. As we circled back downtown, we ran into other people who followed the right path. I clocked in at 1:24 for 7.86 miles. Not bad for my first long run after a 5K. 


I was surprised how I felt during and after the race. I didn't feel nauseous at all. I'll feel nauseous during a one mile run, but not the 7 mile run. I ate some eggs and grapes beforehand. Not like, together or anything. Anyway... I feel really stupid for saying this, but my feet hurt like hell at the end of the run and I hadn't even considered my feet hurting. My back was feeling pretty bad too. My back was hurting most of the week - I think it was due to all the flying/driving done the weeks before. The run just killed it though. This could lead to a long post about sports bras, but not right now. Too much to say.


I ran a lot this weekend. I know I run more than the average non-runner, but I don't think I run that much. I'm putting a lot of faith in Crossfit and hoping that by going religiously, I'll be able to finish this half marathon in under 2:30. I'm pretty sure I can do that.


What will help me along the way? 

My Garmin, of course! It keeps track of everything! Pace, time, distance, heart rate (if I ever figure that thing out), elevation, laps, whatever! Then I plug it into the computer and it spits out all these numbers. Then I sync it to a website that posts it to facebook to annoy all my friends! How fun! I get really mad when it runs out of batteries or I forget it - what's the point of running if I don't have proof of what i just did? Then I'd never know I ran a 9:23 pace on Saturday and a 10:47 pace on Sunday. Honestly, if I didn't have my Garmin, I wouldn't be running as much as I have been, which isn't much, but I'm hopeful that it's enough.