Yesterday when I checked my bank account online, I noticed a very large charge had hit. A $255 charge . . .
What am I spending such an exorbitant amount of money on???
Yeah–that crazy thing I did back in November that qualified me for the New York City Marathon? Well, it got me in!!!
I am literally GIDDY with excitement! Isn’t if funny how you don’t know how much you want something until it becomes a possibility? No, I never thought I wanted to run a marathon before, but here I am, not even two weeks into 2012, and I’ve registered for not one, but two marathons! Who am I???
And of course, because I’m me, I’m nervous and anxious and worried about everything from my knees to my asthma to my shoes to where to stay to what to eat to how much to hydrate. But every time I start to worry about that stuff, I remember that I have YOU to help me through it! I would not be able to do this without my blogging friends, so thank you in advance for supporting me through this and for talking me off the ledge when I freak out periodically throughout marathon training. Let’s be real: we all know that’s going to happen. š
Now, to other important issues–my PDR long run slotted for tomorrow morning. 16 miles are on the schedule. Surprisingly, I’m not too freaked out by that. It’s only one mile longer than I’ve run before and seems totally do-able. Of course, typing that sentence, I realize how nuts it actually is. Who goes out and runs 16 miles? Yeah. That’s not a normal thing. Glad I’m in good company.
Anyway, the dilemma is this:
As you can see, the weather is going to be freezing ass cold tomorrow morning. The real feel–yep, that says 13*. Given that my hands do this when it’s in the 50s and I’m sitting in my house, I’m thinking running outside might be a horrible idea.
The alternative, then, is the treadmill. Aside from the fact that I find it somewhat lame to complete my PDR on a treadmill, this seems reasonable to me. I’ve already checked, and there will be plenty of shows on to entertain me for the 2+ hours I’ll be spending there.
But, I need advice!
How do you make it through a long run on the treadmill?
Varying speeds? Changing inclines? Walking breaks? Good playlists? TV/movies to distract you?
HELP!!!
hungry healthy MJ 
Congratulations!!
Thanks! How are you? You’ve been quiet lately!
New look! Me like:-)
Ok, so I just had a little freak out when I saw that your Real Feel is only 13*. Yowza. So I just checked mine tomorrow and it is 5*…..(insert bad word here!).
I have run group and I am going to brave it. Hand warmers maybe?
I have no treadmill advice:-( Sorry, but for some reason they kill my knees and so I stay away. Best of luck friend and I can’t wait to read how it goes. Get some good TV and you should be good to go!
I know–it’s the knees I worry about, too! Here’s hoping they’re ok!!!
Good luck with that 5*. EEK!!!
That’s so exciting, I know so many people who would kill to run that race! Congrats!
Congratulations! I get bored with 3 mile runs on the treadmill, so i don’t have much advice for you. Watching different shows definitely helps me, and I have started putting the incline between .5 and 1 so my shins don’t hurt quite as much…
Yeah, I think changing up the incline is key. Definitely going to incorporate that!
You know I’ve done insanely long runs on the treadmill before and honestly it wasn’t that bad. I get bored doing anything over 4 miles on the treadmill but for some reason 18 and 20 on the treadmill was a breeze – I think because I just resigned myself to the fact that I’d be spending an insane amount of time on there and it had to get done. I watched intense movies (Harry Potter, The Count of Monte Cristo), and every 6 miles I’d get off and go get fuel. The fuel breaks were literally like 1-2 minutes long so I didn’t feel like i was cheating because even when I do long runs outside I stop to take in fuel (but not during races, its weird). And I break things into smaller segments in my head and it makes it more manageable.
It’s not that bad, promise š
Yes, I thought of you, and that’s why I figured it’d be ok! š It’s funny, I do the break thing with long runs, too. Always around 7 miles. So I’ll plan on that tomorrow, too. Maybe just slowing down to walk a little and fuel? And I think I have to change the incline up from time to time so my knees survive!
YAY! Congrats :D. That is so exciting! And I would definitely be running inside too…that is way too cold out haha. I’ve never run more than 8 miles (outside or inside) but I definitely found varying the speeds, watching tv, and having a good playlist really helpful! Also, I put a magazine over the time so that I wasn’t constantly staring at it haha.
YES! Oh, that’s KEY! I always hide the time (my gym has treadmills that let you do that). Great ideas! š
Congrats on getting in! You’ll be great!! I’m just hoping that I will get in. I know how you feel. I wasn’t sure I would ever take on a marathon, now I’m signed up for two. Bunch of crazies!! I’m not sure that I could run that far on a TM but I would try to switch things up as much as possible. We’re lucky. NC is ONLY supposed to get down to 39 tomorrow.
16 miles?? Phissshh….you got that!!! I’m doing 15 tomorrow.
I am not a fan of treadmill running but when I was traveling for work I had no choice. I was lucky enough to be on one of the treadmills that has the little Tvs built into them and found watching a movie really helped keeped me from getting bored. Congrats!!!
Thanks! The treadmills at my gym have TVs, so I think I’ll be ok!
I did 14 on a treadmill. Watched a movie and stopped when I needed to go to the water fountain to get more water. Can’t say it was fun though but it was nice to not have to carry any gear and stuff. Good luck!
WHOO HOO! That’s awesome girlie! Im so excited for you… I cant run for more than 3 miles on the treadmill….but only because Im so worried about falling off I cant stand it. Im SO clumsy…. I would put on a really good tv show or movie.
My PDR is tomorrow…9 miles. Who am I??? yikes! We can totally do this.
xoxo from Trinidad
YAY! Congrats on getting into NYC! Can’t wait to follow your training for it.
As for treadmill long runs, I usually break them up into three parts; for a 16-miler, I might do a 6-5-5 combo, taking a quick break to get a drink or walk on “regular” land between each set of miles. If you have access to a TV, I’d suggest a good, but not too complicated, film or TV series to help pass the time. I once had to 10 miles on a treadmill while in Texas for work and ended up watching Richie Rich (the one with a young Macauley Culkin) the entire time, and it was pretty awesome!
Ooh, I like that idea of 6-5-5. Seems so much more do-able. I’ll probably end up watching Food Network. My gym has a limited station selection, but who knows? I might get lucky and find some Richie Rich! š
Woot on getting into NYC!!! I cannot WAIT to read about it š
You have the opposite problem that did I when I was marathon training. Instead of 18 degrees it was 85 (at 4am)! That’s a tough call on the long run in that weather though. My hands get like that too (thank you Raynaud’s which I’m guessing you have too. It BURNS like no other, doesn’t it?) so I feel ya. Maybe you could do 5 on the treadmill so you get all hot and sweaty, then take it outside for 6, and then go back and run another 5? Yes, I’m clueless about running in the winter!
Congrats girl! Excited for you!
YAY YAY YAY! Congratulations on getting into NYC! I’m so excited for you! The weather this weekend is absolutely nasty, and I’ll definitely be driving to the gym to run on the treadmill instead of going outside tomorrow as well. Good luck on the long run:)
Congrats!!!!
I did 10 on the treadmill this AM because it was snowing with a wind chill of 5. It actually wasn’t as tortuous as I thought it would be…but 7 is usually my max- Use Pandora app on my iPhone and usually bust out some techno music to run to.
OK #1…I LOVEEEEEE the new website, it’s beautiful!!!!!!!
and #2…SO excited for you being registered for NYC!!!!!!!!!!!!! SO so proud of you.
Thank you! ā¤
Hi and Congratulations on your NYM entry! I’m not a TM runner, but I love Megan’s suggestion to break up the long run into 3 parts. That would be so much easier mentally. Hope it goes well.
Thanks, Amy! It did–follow up post in the works! š