English Harbor, Pigeon Point Beach Antigua

I am visiting my daughter, who lives on the island of Antigua in the Caribbean.

Last week, my long run was in temperatures ranging from 28 degrees to 50. This week, it was 80. The jump in temperature really takes a toll on the body, AND it mentally plays with you too.

Fueling

I took my water bottles and belt and started out with a camel-back for even more water, but half-way down the road my back was soaked through and somewhere there was a leak.

I turned back around and left it at the house, hoping I could conserve the sports drink (homemade recipe here) that I’ve been using.

It was a nice morning, pretty breezy, and the sun was just coming up…so I started out, deciding to run 6 miles out and back in case I needed to stop and get more fluids.

I found whole grain Pepperidge Farms Goldfish pretzels at the store here, so I used those for fuel even though I swore I wouldn’t use just pretzels since they make my mouth so dry.

I freeze my water bottles half-full on hot runs and fill it up with water the rest of the way before I go out to keep the water cold

Marathon Training is Mental Training

The run itself was exhausting, but the mental challenge was much more harrowing!

I was ok the first 10 miles or so, but by mile 12 I was VERY irritable.

It was very hot, my legs were tired and here on the island there are very little areas where there are sidewalks and the cars seem like they are solely on the road to play chicken with pedestrians.

I had  HAD it and by the end… I was keeping my head down under my hat and didn’t care if they hit me anymore.

It actually seemed to help since I wasn’t making eye contact. They drove around me without trying to get me to go in the dirt.

I don’t usually use any self-talk during a run, but for this one I needed to.

I actually said “You got this” at mile 14, lol.

At that point, I was back in my daughter’s neighborhood, and it would have been so easy to quit.

I knew that if I did that afternoon I would be so mad that I didn’t finish.

I started eating and drinking at every half-mile after that, and it seemed to help.

This run really hit home for me how mental the marathon is going to be.

Being on the road for hours can get tedious and little strains and being hungry or thirsty can work on your psyche and cause you to think you really shouldn’t be doing this.

Self-doubt creeps in and that can include regret for signing up for a race and slumps can happen where we feel like running is work, instead of something that is, in reality, a choice. 

(Read When Your Run Sucks)

While I won’t have to deal with the extreme heat issue in Buffalo in May (UPDATE: Well, I was wrong, lol. It was in the mid-80’s by the time I finished the marathon. You can read my recap.) the miles are still going to be long and the mental exhaustion is still going to settle in.

I will probably be really cranky by the end, surrounded by lots of other rather cranky people, haha!

If you are interested in running with mindfulness, I highly recommend the book Mindful Running by Mackenzie L. Havey. The exercises and philosophies discussed can really help you deal with the mental side of things. 

After the run, I was saying to my daughter that I wished they had those pouches that the kids use to squeeze fruit out for adults and she said Amazon has reusable ones that you can fill and wash.

I was so excited! I think I am going to try my favorite rice pudding and see if I can tolerate that. It won’t be dry, and I could eat rice pudding all day. I can’t wait to try it.