4 Weeks to Indy

Yesterday was my six mile run. 80 minutes. A pretty aweful time for me. I'm so greatful to Eric for his words of encouragement and his excellent perspective. He told me to remember, "It's just six miles." At first I scoffed. What do you MEAN it's "only" six miles! Jerk! But then he went on to point out that if I freak out over six, how will I react to seven, and the eight, etc. Okay . . . maybe he is NOT a jerk! He's so right! I have been reading that as my runs get longer I should have some kind of carb boost mid run to give me that extra kick and keep me going. So I tried this Powerade jel stuff. Banana-Strawberry. The packet said to take with water. Thank God I had the water. I cluldn't have choked it down without it! YUCK. Let me repeat, YUUUUCCCKKKKK! There HAS to be a better way. It was so gross. I will admit that I think it did give me a little boost, but at what cost?! This is definitely something that I will have to research before next weeks 7-miler. I am reading this book called "The Non-Runner"s Marathon Trainer", written by David A. Whitsett, Forrest A. Dolgener, and Tanjala Mabon Kole. It is based off of a class the first two authors teach at a University out west. The class is called "The Marathon Class." Those privileged enough to land a spot (by lottery) go through a 16-week training process in preparation for a full marathon. Once a week class is spent on the psychological aspects of such an endevor, the other class is spent on the physiological aspects. They run (jog) four times a week, following a precise schedule that includes one long run a week. At the time of publishing the class had been offered five times with up to 50+ people taking the class. Only one person hasn't finished their marathon at the end of the six weeks. That person admits that they did not finish because they did not follow the plan. Pretty impressive record! I am using this book to help me prepare for my marathon. It is very helpful. This week I learned that my running stance is wrong. Dang it. But now I know, so I can fix it. Also, they talked about how I don't need to stress so much about the time. That makes me feel a bit better, especially given my time yesterday. And I think it is good advice. For this year, I just want to focus on actually finishing. Its about proving to mySELF that I CAN do it, that I am strong enough and good enough. So I'm going to try to not worry so much about the time anymore. (But then I am kind of anal, so we'll see how that works out!) 4 weeks from now I will be running 13.1 miles through the streets of Indianapolis. I need to let that sink in . . .