Home
Mile 7
I've been walking for a while now. I just tried to run some for variety's sake, but that didn't last more than three minutes. Sigh. The idea of walking the rest of this marathon is extremely foreboding... but hey, I still feel great, right now.
Now the *real* fun begins -- the journey into the trails. The Mile 7 water station warns us of what is to come -- steady climbing trough mile 14, then downhill from there. Maybe I'll feel good enough to run at that point, and I can save time by coasting down the hills.
I just can't fathom the idea of still having to walk 19+ miles. That's over 5 hours of walking. But something inside me -- I don't know what it is (maybe I should tell it to shut up!) -- tells me that I have to finish, that I *will* finish.
Anyway, a month ago, I spent a whole day walking around Disneyland; how much worse could this be? (and the finish line thrills would rival those of Space Mountain!)
I also decide that I'll mentally break the race into more "doable" chunks. The halfway point is in 6 miles, which seems a very doable distance to walk. Yes -- much mental relief.
Mile 8
Walking along a gravel road, lined with greenery -- hey, I could do this *forever*! What a mental/ego boost I get out of *that*! This walking stuff is a piece of cake! We discuss the possibility of getting my fiance Bruce to train to walk a marathon with me -- this is easy!
But -- my longest training run was 5 hours, and walking this marathon would *greatly* increase the time on my feet. I hope this doesn't cause too much of a problem.
Mile 9
I am worried. The last bus, according to paperwork, departs the finish line at 4:30. We're well on pace to make it, but without much of a cushion.
My mom reminds me that there *are* people behind us, and that *they* will need rides, too -- no matter what their finishing time. Maybe doing all the complex math in my had is taking my mind off of reality.
How to speed things up? We could racewalk a bit -- my legs don't yet feel able to run -- but that would kill my leg muscles.
My compromise? Reset my watch to beep for racewalking 3 minutes, more slowly walking 2 minutes. There. That will increase our overall speed, but give my legs the needed rest from the faster walk pace. And it feels OK!
Mile 13
We've made the halfway point! We're still walking our modified plan, and my leg muscles only feel moderately tired. Yay!
I stop to dump some gravel uot of my shoe, which has been aggravating my right heel for a few miles. I put my shoe back on... yet maybe I didn't dump all of the rocks out, because I still feel a bit of irritation. Or could it be a blister? I *never* get blisters on long runs.
Dolores and Jessica, who have been laughing and joking with us over the past few miles, are still slightly ahead of us, running *their* plan. As we start to climb a steady, steep hill up the trail, they begin to bicker between themselves regarding how long it will take them to finish 7 hours? *8* hours???? They quickly hasten their pace and disappear out of sight -- I think the idea of an 8 hour marathon frightened them into speeding up.
But much to my surprise, the hill feels GOOD! That *never* happens when I run; hills usually take my breath away. But while walking, it allows me to use my leg muscles in a different way than before. I can do this!
On to Chapter 3 of the Alaskan Adventure!
The Alaskan Adventure Home
|