Burn out and Excitement

I have been training for my marathon for 13 weeks. As I do not run on Sundays and I ran six days a week on most weeks, this means that I have run 72 out the last 91 days.  Since the official training cycle started on the first week of March, I have run 430 miles. 

I have loved the training. It has been amazing to notice the changes in my body and the strength, speed and endurance that I have gained throughout the weeks. There have been work outs that have left me completely exhausted. On one occasion, I mentally broke down as a combination of heat, being unprepared and trying to run fast 13 miles got to me. But after few hours, I forget about it and I just have this amazing feeling of satisfaction of doing something hard.

While I have been a runner for years, it would be sporadic. The summer months would come, school would get really crazy, working nights and having a baby or something else would interrupt my regular running patterns. 

I have never run this much in my life. 

Yet this week, I did not want to run. Or I should say that I didn't want to train. I was mentally exhausted to think of the 40 miles that I would be running. I didn't want to try to hit the 8:30 paces while climbing the hills of my neighborhood. 

But I did it. I was grumpy before I would leave for my runs and then I would be happy when I got back. 

Hello New Mizuno Wave Elixir 7. 

Feeling fabulous after a 13 miler! 

These pink babies have carried me through 600+ miles. 

This grumpy feeling reminds of me of being pregnant at 38+ weeks.  I know I only had few weeks to go before the baby came, but each morning, when I woke up and I was still pregnant, I would get grumpy. I would get over it pretty quickly on most days, but I was mentally burned out of pregnancy.

Good thing I am not carrying this weight around me for 26.2 miles!

I think some of the training compares to pregnancy and having a baby. You put so much energy into training or growing a baby. Your body changes. You need more sleep. You need to eat more. You need the support of so many people and many people share in your excitement.  Then there is the actual labor can be described as difficult, life altering and so worth it. While I have not done my marathon yet,  I have a feeling that I will be feeling some of those very same emotions of relief, huge accomplishment and gratitude  as I cross the finish line.

One week to go!