I did 12 Miles Yesterday and it hurt!

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Introduction
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Training for my first marathon thus far has been absolutely fun....... until this weeekend. I completed 12 miles and I had to ask myself the tough question as I rounded the corner to my home, feeling every step and running while my calf muscle was cramping for the last 3 miles - I had to ask myself, and I already knew the answer..... "Could I turn around RIGHT NOW and do this all over again?"

And sadly enough, the answer to that question was "Hell No!!" :-)

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You Gotta Earn It
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Someone gave me a great piece of advice last week. A good friend of mine who runs triathlons told me that "running is a commodity that is earned." I see know that you have to earn the right to run without worry about a certain distance. For example, I don't even blink at the thought of running 3 miles or 5 for that matter. I know that I can walk/run a cool 10 miles too, but the thought of 26.2 right now is enormous.

As I train I know that will become less and less of a problem because there was a time when I first started that I couldn't even fathom running 5 miles straight, but this week I ran five miles at a 9:32/mile pace.

I finished the 12 miles in 10:53/mile pace.

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What's Next
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Next up, I'm doing a half marathon on the 4th of November. It should be fun. I'm looking forward to it. I really need to run under some race conditions and really focus on maintaining MY PACE and not getting caught up in the race hype that can actually cripple you deep into the race.

Right now the immediate "next thing" for me is ICE!!!

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Closing
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I'm trying to get Traci and Rufus to do the 5K with me when I run the half marathon. I truly believe that fitness is a family affair.

Take care and if you're looking to get in great shape just check out The Bodyweight Workout