Not gonna lie, running 18 miles on a treadmill is kind of rough. But, it can also be an opportunity to learn how to do something really hard. Here are the lessons I followed:
1. Prepare. Go over everything you need the night before the event and have it packed, ready to go. In this case, I knew the run was going to take me about 2 hours, 30 minutes. That told me I needed 8 gels, 5 salt tabs, and 2.5 liters of water. I also needed headphones so I could listen to podcasts or music, shorts, blister-resistant socks, a shirt, a watch, and comfortable shoes. By having all my supplies ready before hand, I reduce the chances of discovering I missed something during the event.
2. Pay attention to the little things. Every 5 minutes I take a drink, every 20 minutes I take a gel, every 30 minutes I start a new water bottle, every hour I refill my water bottles. Having these little milestones along the way not only keeps me fueled and hydrated, but also breaks up the big task into smaller chunks. By focusing on these tiny steps, I’m distracted from the daunting larger goal of 18 miles and the time just flys by (sort of 😂).
3. Periodically check-in with yourself. Every so often during this run, I paused to ask myself, “How are you doing?” I listened to my breathing, my heart rate, my legs. Do I feel hot, tired, or achy? Should I slow down? Maybe I should speed up? How’s my form? If anything feels out of place, I make adjustments. In this case, I was feeling pretty warm after the first 30 minutes. Instead of toughing it out, I moved to a different treadmill that had a ceiling fan right above it.
The goal of this run was not to suffer, but to finish feeling better than when I started. By following these lessons, I gave myself the best chance for success.