Having made the commitment to "run the Harwich 1/2", I set out to train for it. My daughter-in-law told me that the body can run double what it's trained for, so after running Falmouth's 7.1 miles, I started training for the Oct. 4th Harwich 1/2 Marathon. I decided to be very very faithful to my training plan which required me to set the alarm for 5am five mornings a week and be out running at 6 am. In that first hour, I get dressed and do basics, make a pot of coffee and drink a cup or 2, eat a banana (or a 1/2 bowl of oatmeal if I'm out of just about everything in the cupboard - I can't stand the stuff), pack my hydration belt with Clif Shot Bloks, a bottle of SmartWater, my cell phone, house key, and get mentally ready to run. Typically my friend Jan pulls up in her enormous GMC Yukon at 6:00 on the dot and off we go.
Weekly runs are usually around the neighborhood; due to its topography, my neighborhood is a perfect training ground for Cape Cod races: rolling shaded hills and open flat roads & views of Cape Cod Bay with its wide beach as a reward for finishing our run. A typical week's total mileage is 30-35 miles. This past week we ran 3, 5, 7 and 6 miles on each of those four mornings and then did a long 13.1 mi run along Cape Cod Canal this morning for a total of 34 miles. I've been doing this since the week after Falmouth (Aug. 9th). One of my toes is starting to turn a funky color but I understand that this is normal for long distance runners.
I drove the Harwich 1/2 race route yesterday. It looked hauntingly familiar - shaded rolling hills, flat roads leading to a beach along Nantucket Sound - a double Falmouth! - and an unexpected turn onto the Cape Cod Rail Trail - the Cape's bike route for cyclists. A spectacular race route to be sure. Driving the race route seemed endless, but I watched the mileage on the dashboard and what I thought was one particularly dreadfully long stretch turned out to be only 2 miles! I can do that!
The rest of the training plan calls for me to taper off a bit on my long runs. I'll miss next week's long run - I'm running the Central Park 4 Miler on Sat. with my son & daughter-in-law. (I'm more excited about that than anything. What an experience to run a race together! I can't wait.)
The following week's plan is to run a 10 and then a 9 mile long run in order to allow my body time for recovering and regrouping before running the 13.1 mile race.
So I think I'm done for now. Not done in - just done. I've finished the bulk of my "1/2 mary" training. The next few weeks will consist of 5 miles on those 4 mornings and a tapered long run for two weekends. That's it.
Harwich is 4 weeks from today. Am I ready for the half? I hope so. I think so. :-)
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