14 miles. 14 miles. 14 miles. This would be, by far, the longest I've ever run. Prior to this would be the 9-mile massacre that wasn't mostly a limp. So I had only my 8 mile run as a base. I was nearly doubling that. And I had been on vacation and only run one day upon returning home. I can't quite describe it but I was... scared. I suddenly got the feeling that my entire training - my entire ability to run the marathon itself rested on this run. I had half-assed my way through the training up until this point, and now the running gods were either going to smile down upon me or smite me in a shower of Nike + iPod chips. I couldn't fight the feeling that if, at this point, I wasn't able to make this run happen - no quitting, no excuses, no cheating - that my marathon bid would be one big, embarrassing blip on the Eddie Mouradian radar.
Uncharacteristically, I had been thinking about the run for the past week or so. Even while in Disney, I would let me mind wander to mapping out a suitable route. I had it in my head that I would run from my parents house, and set up little water stations at various friends and families' houses to stop and get a drink and maybe use a restroom if need be. Thank God, Tropical Depression Danny was just off the coast, because it was a cool and rainy day - the kind of running weather that real runners dream of, and annoy everyone else about. While I don't consider myself a real runner, I get the appeal to a breezy 70 degrees with occasional rain sprinkles. I just have the decency to keep it to myself and the baker's dozen of people who read this blog.
The hiccup in this plan, that I really hadn't realized until the day before the run that nearly every one of my friends had moved out of our hometown, and that oddly, my family and extended family were all on vacations. Normally, this would lead me to the gym (not for 14 miles) or to the couch (better luck next week!). I then remember that Jilly's cousin (and our marathon-in-training parnter) Heathaaaa had been running at Eisenhower Park - there is a 3 mile running path, as well as bathrooms galore. This might be right up my ally.
It also, incidentally, happens to be the location of the 7th Annual Summer Hope Benefit on Friday, September 11th, 2009 supporting the Summer Hope Foundation's mission to donate funds to cancer research facilities, and to provide solace and hope to those affected by cancer. And wait, whoa, the invitation to the benefit and a link to it on our website is right here! So weird.
I woke up early, this time for serious, and grabbed a yogurt so i would have a little something in my system. The anxiety of the run (or the two cups of coffee and 20 ounces of green tea) kept my sleep restless and my dreams unsettlingly rapid, but I still managed to hurl myself out of bed a little after 8 am. I knew the weather was going to be cool - but better safe than sorry. Also, the forecast threatened thundershowers and torrential rain like a grade school teacher threatens spelling tests. I started to feel like the meteorologists on the major news channels were mean bullies with big hair and fake tans.
I headed directly to the supermarket and bought a six pack of gatorade and a gallon of water - I would be able to leave this in my car right by the running trail and stop for drinks after every 3 miles. Check and check. I was starting to get nervous - if I kept on removing all the obstacles that I placed in front of me, I just might do this.
The start of the run, was mildly disastrous. You see, the starting line has two arrows: a red arrow leads you to the three mile run, the white arrow to a one mile run. Great. I was obviously going to follow the red arrow four times around and then the white arrow twice. Simple. Except that by this time of the season, with all the rain or wear and tear sometimes the arrows were completely invisible. I actually ran a fake mile just trying to follow the wrong arrow. I must've looked like a real creep running, literally in circles, muttering under my breath about the damn arrows.
Once Eddie Got His Groove Back though, I found myself feeling really good. I wasn't achey, I wasn't bored, I wasn't tired. All of my issues that came up, were all mental - and for the first time I was able to see through and see past them. I'm not going to lie to you I walked intermittently the last mile or two, because that was the time that my body was begging for me stop. But I pushed through. I finished 14 miles.
The weight of that victory was heavy on me for the rest of the day. I now get it. At the height of my training in a few weeks I will run a max of 20 miles. The marathon is 26.2. That kind of scares me - but the theory is, if you can run 20, you can run 26. It makes sense, but as I've said before, I'd just kind of like to make sure. However, after 14 miles, which is just barely more than a half marathon, I don't think there is any amount of mileage I couldn't do. I also think that I can probably lift a car right now if I needed to, but that's not the point. The point is, In just about 9 weeks, I'm going to run a marathon. I have no doubts.
The Breakdown of the Day:
The Playlist:
Over You - Daughtry
Better Man - Pearl Jam
Leavin' - Jesse McCartney
Lips of an Angel - Hinder
The World I Know - David Cook
One - Mary J. Blige & U2 (consistently the song that gets me to run my fastest mile - weird)
Umbrella - Rihanna & Jay-Z (I thought it was endlessly funny that I was running in the rain to this song)
The Taste of Ink - The USed
Love Today - Mika
Who's Lovin' You? - The Jackson 5
Are You That Somebody? - Aaliyah
Rock Wit U (Aww Baby) - Ashanti
Kiss Kiss - Chris Brown & T-Pain
Torn (remix) - LeToya & Mike Jones
Crazy On You - Heart
Somebody Told Me - The Killers
Body On Me - Nelly & Ashanti
The Carpal Tunnel of Love - Fall Out Boy
Gold Digger - Kanye West & Jamie Foxx
Mercury - Bloc Party
SOS - Rihanna
Still - Great Lake Swimmers
The Old Apartment (live) - Barenaked Ladies
Road Outside Columbus - O.A.R.
Hush, Hush - Pussycat Dolls
Because of You (remix) - Ne-Yo & Kanye West
Chop Me Up - Justin Timberlake
Fell In Love With a Girl - The White Stripes
Musunderstood - Bon Jovi
Dreaming with a Broken Heart - John Mayer
Die Without You - Brandy
MFEO - Jack's Mannequin
Mr. Brightside - The Killers
Sam's Town - The Killers
The Heart of the Matter - India.Arie
Bonus Mosh Pt. II - Taking Back Sunday
The Workout:
14 Miles / 12.5 minutes per mile / millions of calories
The Picture:
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