Beyond belief

This weekend I am joining together with my best friend and we will be leading worship for over 6,000 United Methodist Youth in Fayetteville, NC. Playing my guitar and singing Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night, and Sunday morning, I knew my schedule this weekend is going to be quite full. Also knowing that I was unable to complete my long run last weekend (supposed to be 14, but was only 4 because of some pain I was dealing with), I knew that I REALLY needed to get in my long run this weekend. So along the way this week I decided I would do it this morning before I head out of town. Fortunately it was not raining at all - it was cloudy and overcast, so I didn't have to deal with the sun at all. I did however have to deal with the wind - winds of 15-20 mph, with gusts up to 30 - and I felt every bit of that wind.

I ran 3 miles longer than I have ever run in my life. My previously longest run was the half-marathon (13.1 miles) that I ran a year ago. During my present training, my longest run had been 12 miles. I really am so proud of myself that I pushed through 16 miles today. The funny thing is immediately after the run one of the first thoughts that I had was, "I can't even imagine running 10 more miles to complete the marathon!" I was SO worn out (mental note - when I run that far, I need to take more than one energy gel with me), and all I wanted to do was walk (but I never did!), that the thought of running 10 more miles is just beyond belief. The funny thing about that is I remember when I first ran 5 miles, the thought of running 10 was beyond belief. I remember running 10 miles, and the thought of running 12 was beyond belief. And when I ran 12, the thought of running 16 was beyond belief. So while right now running 26.2 miles may seem beyond belief, I now believe.

Mi 1 - 8:31.13
Mi 2 - 9:01.57
Mi 3 - 9:38.63
Mi 4 - 9:26.41
Mi 5 - 9:23.3
Mi 6 - 9:24.44
Mi 7 - 9:39.77
Mi 8 - 9:52.98
Mi 9 - 10:09.5
Mi 10 - 9:56.01
Mi 11 - 10:05.29
Mi 12 - 9:50.97
Mi 13 - 9:55.11
Mi 14 - 10:00.01
Mi 15 - 10:26.81
Mi 16 - 10:50.54
Total = 2:36:12.47

I feel pretty good about my splits. Before I even saw the times, I knew that the last 3 miles were the most difficult, however I think that those particular 3 miles would have been the most difficult even if they weren't the last. I was running along Highway 70 back towards town, and I was running directly into the wind. I had to take my hat off because it kept wanting to fly off. Tractor trailers would pass by me and almost blow me back with the wind and the wind from the truck.

My Garmin tells me that I burned 2,229 calories this morning. Hmmm, somebody deserves something fat and greasy!