Getting Over My Doubts About 26.2

Since last November, I have been thinking about running a marathon. However, until a few weeks ago, self-doubt about my ability to run that many miles prevented me from taking the plunge and signing up. After the Oakland Running Festival I felt so pumped and excited that I figured I should seize the moment, find a marathon, and sign-up. So I did. I signed up for the San Francisco Marathon on July 31, 2011. I noticed that the SFM listed various training programs - in particular an 18-week program that had recently started. In line with my record of self-doubt in the marathon arena, I figured I should sign up for the training program to stay on top of training and to stay motivated.

Up until last weekend, my longest run was 13.1 miles, and I had only completed that distance twice. But last Sunday, after returning from a short snowboarding trip to Tahoe the night before, I set out for my weekly long run. The 18-week training program suggested I run only 10 miles, which would be no problem. But, I was ahead of the game having just finished a half marathon in late March. Plus, it was a beautiful day, not too hot, sunshine was abundant but not oppressively strong, and the air was crisp. As usual, I set out for a run down to Lake Merritt (in Oakland) and back (H & C introduced me to this route, which you can customize by adding/subtracting how many times you circle around the lake). Around mile five I began toying with the idea of running more than 10 miles. I told myself, I would mentally and physically "check-in" throughout the run to see how I felt. At mile seven I still felt pretty good, and when I finished mile nine I found I was not nearly as exhausted as I anticipated I would be. So after completing ten miles, I just kept running, and running, and running. I looped back from the lake and meandered around the streets off of Piedmont Avenue. At first I thought I would maybe run 12 miles. But then I approached 12 miles and thought, well shit, I should just run a half marathon. But then I realized, why not try to set a new distance PR and break through my fear about running distances greater than the half marathon? And so I did, I ran 14.5 miles. I will admit that the last mile was rough. I ran out of fuel and had barely any water (I wear a very lightweight CamelBak on my long runs). My stomach felt more and more concave and grew slightly tense, but I finished. Most importantly, I won a small battle (in a longer war) against my fear of the marathon.