A Long Twenty Miles

This morning I officially accomplished the 20-mile marathon training run. Although it felt a little rough, I am so so proud of myself for finishing it.

I originally planned to go for 19 miles, but Ryan was struggling on his 22-mile run, so I circled back near the end to find him and help him make it to the finish.

I finished in 3:25 for an average pace of 10:17/mile. This is seriously exciting for me for a few reasons: 1) that I officially finished a 20-mile run. It really makes the marathon feel attainable to see that 2 in the beginning of the distance, and 2) This was a great pace for me for a long run. I even ended up with a negative split, and held a 10:05 pace for about 5 miles.

Ryan and I went out to the American River Parkway trail, and got going at about 7:30am. It was a perfect morning for running -- nice and cool with a slight breeze. But, I knew right away that it was going to be a little bit of a tough run for me because my hamstrings were super tight, right from the start. I think it is probably from a tough yoga session on Thursday night.

I didn't really try to push my pace at all, and really my goal was just to keep moving and finish the run. Maybe running those half marathons the last couple weekends helped me pick up the pace!

Even when the run feels difficult, I really try to focus on breathing, and thinking positively. I attribute this mental attitude to yoga. Janna, my yoga teacher, always says a few things that I think about on my runs:

"Where does your mind go when things get hard?"

"Who are you feeding, the Ego, or the Soul?"

Thinking about these quotes helps focus on not feeding your fears or seek external validation or wanting to quit (Ego), but try to be happy, loving, and positive (Soul). A bit more on Ego vs. Soul can be found here: from meditation.org.au I also like to tell myself that I am looking great, and beautiful! Enjoy the moment I am in, and know that it is making me stronger every step. Helps with the positive thinking and attitude. 

photo credit: livelifehappy.com

By the time I found Ryan, we were both seriously ready to be done running! We finished up with some stretching and got a sandwich for lunch. We've both been hungry all day, but we are lounging and resting our tired legs. Tonight we're going to laying low and and watching The League, and doing some foam rolling/stretching.