My First Triple ... & Half & Half Virtual Race Report

On Saturday night, I had set the alarm for 5:15 am, to get up for my planned 20 miler. I was also going to incorporate a half marathon virtual race, that was being hosted by Neurosis of the Stay at Home Mom of 3 (HERE).

Well, it appears that however more my kids sleep, the more I want to sleep. Yes, I turned the alarm off at 4am. When Little Dude was an infant and I was getting up all night long for feedings, I found it no big deal to get up at 5am on a Sunday afternoon for a 3-4 hour run, when I was training for my first full marathon. Now, they both typically sleep from 8:30pm-7:00am and I can't seem to open my eyes a minute earlier. Anyhow ....

The forecast was close to 90 degrees and humid and a little wind. Hubby had 12 mi planned and I had 20. We decided that we were both going to try to do a double. I headed out first around 10:00 am. I was going to cut my mileage short and run 6 mi in the morning at 6 mi in the evening.

1. I headed out for my first six miles and ended up running ten. I made a turn around mile four that I knew would force me to do the few extra miles. I passed the bank clock around 11:15 am and it read 86 degrees. I was wasted and my legs were trashed even in the beginning. I felt exhausted and HOT when I arrived home.
   
   10 miles done
   
   
2. Hubby headed outside for an hour of running. I fed the kids lunch and scarfed down two oranges, that I was really craving out on my run. Then I headed down to the treadmill with the kiddos for a 5K.
   
   + 3.1 miles done =
   13.1 miles done
   
   This completed Neurosis of the Stay at Home Mom of 3's Half & Half Virtual race (HERE).
   
   
3. Around 7:30 pm, I decided to head out for another 6 miles. My legs actually felt much better than when I started out in the morning. They felt fresh and I felt a bit faster. My first mile was over 30 seconds faster than my first mile earlier in the day. I ran a four mile loop around my neighborhood, stopped home for some water outside, and decided to do a portion of the four mile loop again. I had completed another eight miles for the night.
   
   + 7 miles done =
   20.1 miles done
   

This was my first time doing a "triple". It was nice spreading the time commitment throughout the day. I don't think that I necessarily go the mental toughness that a typical 20 mile training run would have, but I did it. I could have cut the miles short several times. But, I kept my commitment to myself. I knew that if I returned home to my training plan on the refrigerator, that I would be disappointed if I hadn't complete all twenty miles I had planned. That's never a good feeling.

After (third) workout glow.