Legs of Steel

Brag WARNING:

I did it! I ran 13.1 miles yesterday! I ran the entire time, without stopping! Even better, I held a pace of 9:30 every single mile. I’m proud to say that – especially considering that it was going GREAT – running on air – until about mile 7. Dun dun dun… then… my legs felt as if they were made of steel. NOT in a good way. They felt like they weighed 100 pounds each! I just kept going… I could keep my mind off of it and just focus on the beautiful scenery for a while… but the last 2 miles seemed like FOR-EV-ER. Kept looking at my watch every .1 mile in disbelief. I’m not really sure how my legs were moving, but they were. I just kept the rhythm and focused on one one-tenth of a mile at a time…

I never got winded (yay!) I just had this weird, crazy, annoying thing where my legs turned into cement blocks! I think I need to do more hip strengthening exercises. Today my hips are pretty sore (and my knees, and my thighs, and my bottom…). At least I know now! And I am just super proud that despite my 100-lb “steel” legs – I kept going, NEVER stopped… and stuck to that 9:30 pace! I mean, that’s the pace I go even if I’m doing 3 miles! So, I am happy I could keep it for 13.1 whole miles without struggling to breathe (thanks, spin class!). I just need to strengthen some leg muscles so that I can loose some of that cement-weight. Unfortunately, I hate and avoid strength-training of any kind, so I need to get in a better routine of doing it. I have a few hip strengthening routines I plan to do weekly, if you guys have any other suggestions…

Anyway, enough about my legs of (literal) steel. The Big D Texas Marathon was great! Well organized, great scenery, breakfast tacos at the end (YES PLEASE!), and awesome finisher’s medals! (My full review is on BibRave here). The announcer even said your name as you crossed the finish line. I felt like I won first place! Though I’m sure that in reality I was just taking really awkwardly long, slow strides… In my mind, I SPRINTED across that finish line!

Now that I have officially run a half-marathon, I have a Personal Record! Personal Record by default is the best! Which, by the way was 2:00. I’m excited to have this PR that so I can set a goal for myself, which I have already done. My goal now is under 2 hours (1:50 or below) and also to work up my distance so that I’m ready for 26.2 miles in November!

All in all, I see why people don’t leave out the “.1” in “13.1” now! IT COUNTS!

Thanks for reading!