sweet, delicious runner's high

I'm using Hal Higdon's Novice 2 Marathon guide to train for my first marathon in March. I have (somehow) managed to stay pretty true to it for the past six weeks, but this week is making me nervous. My long training run is 14 miles.

... I've never run 14 miles...

Last week, I was supposed to run 9 miles and I gave up. List of excuses: it was cold and windy out, my legs were tired, I was tired, etc. Now it's this nagging splinter in my mind, making it tough for me to believe in myself. Luckily, fear is a big motivator for me. The feeling of taking on a challenge that seems insurmountable and then FINISHING is such a high. I want that high, I NEED that high. 


Today was a 4 mile run, my last short run of the week. I wanted to finish it in 35 minutes, for a 9:00 pace. I felt really strong as I started picking up the pace (maybe it was the amazing caesar salad I had for lunch at Mellow Mushroom!) and I ended up finishing at 34:13, for an 8:33 pace! Ahhh sweet victory. Sweet high. So what did I do to reward myself? I jetted to Bill's 5:30pm spin class at the Y. Now THAT was a mistake. We got these new bikes at the gym and whenever we brought the resistance up "a quarter turn", it felt like a FULL TURN. I was sweating like it was a BHYM class, for real. 


Side note: How is it so much easier to run before a spin class than it is to run after a spin class? I practiced a "transition run" after spinning a few weeks ago and felt like my legs were made of steel. I don't mean my legs felt jacked, just incredibly HEAVY. I think I might have made it two miles. Triathletes- how do you do the bike -> run thing so well??!

And here, for your viewing pleasure, is a picture of my favorite triathlete- Jimmy Krebs, emerging from the Gulf of Mexico having caught a red snapper during the swimming portion of his 70.3 (half ironman).

Gotta get your protein somehow!!