Marathon training update

Yes, that is a picture of Willa demonstrating how best to use a blood pressure thingy.  No, it has nothing to do with me running.  I think my ADD is getting worse as I get older.  And also, I don't take pictures of myself running.  (And as a side note: do you guys have the Vine app yet?  Because the video I posted on there of Willa playing doctor that day makes me almost pee my pants every time I watch it.  And she gets so mad...Did she swallow the giant marshmallow?  She needs to barf it...I even laugh when I type it:)  

Back to running.  Let me start by telling you that I am still very much looking forward to the marathon and am still planning to run the full thing.  That being said, I was very mistaken about how exactly that happens.  What I mean is, I really thought in my mind that a person could just run and run and run for any amount of time, but they would just feel tired or slow down significantly.  This is the belief I had after running a few half marathons in the past, and doing a few training runs that were in the 10-13 mile range.  Last weekend, I had a good chunk of time and the schedule called for a 16 mile run.  The weather was perfect.  Cool and a little rainy.  Just right for a few hours worth of running.  The first 10 miles were awesome.  10-13 were very, very slow.  At around 14, my body stopped moving forward.  I stretched a lot and made it go to about 15, and then I walked half a mile.  Then I resumed running till I got back to my car, but I'm pretty sure that "running" was actually slower than the walking.  It hadn't occurred to me that my body could just decide it wouldn't run anymore.  I had made a few vital mistakes.  I think the most major of mistakes was not having anything along on the run to eat or drink.  When I left my house, I hadn't intended to do the full 16 miles, so I didn't take any portable snacks with me, and all I had was a big cup of water.  It would have been really inconvenient to run with a cup and straw.  Duh, Allison.  Pretty sure you are supposed to replenish carbs and electrolytes AT LEAST every 60 minutes during a long run like that.  My second major mistake is that I just plain haven't been running enough.  I have been hitting almost all of the long runs, but almost none of the midweek, shorter runs.  I think that would really help.  So, from here on out, I am going to make sure to run at least 4 times a week, hit the long runs, take along one of the many gu packets I stocked up on and maybe some dates, and ideally have a buddy who will ride a bike to carry my water.  And a banana. And me, when my legs stop working.  

There were a few other minor issues with my 16 mile run.  The first is that I ran on the Mopac Trail, which takes you almost immediately out of town, but you only come across one porta-potty on the trail and it is about 3 miles in.  Whattayado when your big cup of water attacks your bladder half a mile in?  Well, you could tiptoe into a cornfield, only to realize that on the other side of the cornfield is a country club.  Or you could keep on running until you come to a horse trail that is pretty tree-lined and just stop caring what other people think.  The second issue was a tiny spot of underarm chafing.  I wondered just how necessary runner's lube would be.  I got my answer.