EggMcMuffin wrote: ↑Tue Nov 28, 2023 7:58 pm
I feel like something deep and profound changed within me during this run. I don't know what it is and lack the sort of literary chops and don't really even understand myself or my own life well enough to describe it even if I was cognizant of what this nebulous "change" consisted of, but I felt a switch flipping. Something is cooking. Something is brewing, little steam vent on the teapot screaming.
I think Strava bugged around 13 miles so I'm not sure this was actually 22.4 miles, but I know it at the very least closer to twenty by re-tracing my route it was closer to 19.5 give or take, but I think if I was razor precise in re-tracing it on a map it probably adds up to an even twenty, since I did a distance I KNOW to be two miles before setting off in the direction for two cities over, which put me 18 miles away from home at the end. I waited too long to do this run (I planned to do it during the daytime, but being the insane person that I am started at 7PM) and it ended up being kinda sketchy towards the end since a lot of the route was D E S O L A T E at night (and I saw someone clearly impersonating a police officer along the way...) and it was also like 42 degrees outside by the end.
I don't know. 20 miles is honestly a crazy distance to run, and I'm going to add another six to that in two weeks. Towards the end it occurred to me that I had been running for almost THREE hours, and had covered an amount of distance that I don't even like to drive, let alone run, and by the end arriving at my destination the enormity of what I had done really hit me. I literally ran two cities over, and in California that is like...a lot. I saw a lot of shit. I felt a lot of things. It was weird, man.
Also, running is definitely MUCH more difficult than lifting. Even walking around today I still feel sort of winded. It's weird, because at least to me it seems that once you hit a certain level of cardiovascular fitness you're no longer huffing and puffing by the end, rather, an enormous crash of fatigue hits you an hour later and you genuinely feel like you've been hit by a bus. Joints feel all weird, your legs feel like you've pulled your 1RM deadlift for a set of five, and you becoming overcome with an overwhelming, RAVENOUS desire for sleep. Luckily the pain other than just getting weird and winded easily isn't as bad as it was after the 17 miler. I think I remembered to keep my chest up and chin in during this run so it prevented a lot of soreness that I get when I start to slouch from exhaustion.
I don't think I'm doing another marathon for a long while after this. It takes up too much of your time and you start to feel a little unhinged towards the end.
I don't know if I'll go back to "seriously" lifting either. I've realized I really, genuinely love running, in a way that I didn't with weightlifting. I love picking heavy shit up but running always feels much more profound to me, especially after long or especially taxing workouts. I don't know if it's because I spent a lot of my life just sitting in front of a computer screen, but there's something in just covering long ass distances outside that really does something for me that benching or deadlifting doesn't do for me.
Sounds like you are doing well mate. Best of luck with your marathon!
What happened with the fake policeman? How do you know he was impersonating?
I agree that nothing wrecks you quite like long distance running.
Story time: I remember back in the army, we had to do a boot run (t-shirt, trousers, boots) through the snow for PT the week after Xmas leave. Most had done almost no training due to being on leave, so this was a wake up call.
It must have been around 10-12 miles, up and down hills, and there was definately a river at some point. It was a quick pace too and it was very cold.
I got back to my room afterwards, and just lay on the floor, waiting for my hands to get some feeling back so i can untie my boot laces to go shower. After that I then somehow drove 2 hrs to my parents home for the weekend, where upon arrival I promptly fell asleep (maybe 4-5pm). Slept straight through the night, woke up the next morning starving and still tired.
I have been tired and hungry after lifting, but never like that.
