So I'm doing a marathon next week....

The big day continues to draw closer. I have a tab constantly open on my browser with the home page for CIM. I've studied the course map, read all the FAQs, watched the videos, looked at past results. I go from being serenely confident in my probable success to scared to death of what will happen. I drive by the finish line going to and from the gym and picture myself running across it. Honestly, I'm pretty sure I got this. But, I can't help letting those little thoughts pop up...what if? What if I don't? What if something happens? What if it's too hard? My biggest goal for the day is just to keep a positive attitude, because that will be everything. Attitude will make or break me, and I'm choosing to make it!

Whatever happens, it's been an amazing journey and I don't plan to give up running once the marathon is over. I'll take some time off and start again in January, and maybe next year it'll be easier. I'll get stronger and faster and finish in 5 hours instead of 6.

I'm incredibly proud of my achievements. It's been difficult and I've stuck to it, thanks in large part to the support I've received from my family and friends, most particularly my running group, and most of all, my friend and coach, Kim. He's been absolutely amazing in getting me here and I'll be eternally grateful for that.

Here are some interesting stats from my training. This is just what I have tracked on DailyMile.com since I began official training on June 1 of this year:

• I have gone 413 miles. This includes running, stationary bike (only a few times), and swimming. This is .02 of the distance around the world.
• I have logged 100 workouts totaling 103.6 hours.
• I have burned 28 pounds. Sadly I ate enough to offset it that I really haven't lost any weight although I do feel leaner.
• I have burned 544.33 donuts
• In the beginning, I was happy to break a 15:00/mile average pace. Now, my short runs are often faster than 12:00 and my long runs are regularly under 14:00.
• In the beginning, 3 or 4 miles was tiring. Now that's a short training run and I have gone as far as 20.

How can I not be proud of that?

Just a little over a week until the marathon. Thank you all for your support. If you happen to be there and watch, feel free to hand me a piece of banana or a triple berry Gu. :)

I'm tired!

This past weekend I did the Clarksburg Country Run 20 miler. The good news is, I finished and under the time allowed. The unfortunate things is it was really hard--harder than it should have been. At around 10 or 11 miles in, I started to get tired and slow down. However, even then we were still doing OK pace-wise until I started feeling nauseous around mile 15. My stomach wasn't upset, but I felt like I needed to throw up. This kept me from fueling like I needed to as well as forcing me to walk more, and I really lost my rhythm. I started the self-defeating self talk and it just spiraled downward from there. I even had a moment where I was staring at the shoulder of the road, which was raised a bit so if you stepped off the edge of the shoulder you'd fall a couple feet. I pictured myself tripping in my clumsy state and falling. I actually had the thought, "Well, if I fall, at least I can lie down for a while." It was not good. Kim and Dante pulled me through, though, and I got to the end. I cried a bit when I finally crossed the finish line.

There are several factors that probably led to this. First of all, I should have been carb loading and hydrating for two whole days before the event. I did some the first day, but ate for crap and drank hardly any water the day before the event. That will not happen again. I will be super diligent about that from now on! Secondly, the weather had cooled down and then was warm again on the day of the race. I don't do well in heat anyway, and I suspect I got a little acclimatized to the cooler weather. Finally, the nausea might have been because I ate a flavor of Gu I've never had before. That may be nothing, but you never know.

The final possibility, and a real one, is that I was just fatigued. I've asked a lot of my body in the past few months. It's responded to everything I've asked of it like a trooper, but I'm tired. I've also been cross training and dancing and it seems like there's just so much happening. I'm overwhelmed. Part of that will be when our dance studio's showcase that I've been practicing for happens this coming Sunday so I can stop thinking about that and take a break.

So we talked it over and decided to alter our training schedule. We were supposed to do 23 miles this weekend, but decided to start tapering now instead. Many people only run 20 miles before doing a marathon, so I know it can be done. I'm strong. I just need a chance to recover a bit and I'll come back even stronger and ready to go. Meanwhile, I'll work on my cardio while swimming and I'll still run of course. We'll do 6-8 miles on Monday with some hills, I have a half marathon next weekend, and the rest will be short runs.

I got this. I just need a break! I'm still sore from Sunday. It's never taken me this long to recover from a run. I'm getting there, though.

I'm glad I'm in such good hands!

23 weeks in

Another month has gone by, and I'm one month closer to the CIM. I have to admit I'm getting tired. When this started, I had no idea the number of hours I would be spending on this! Not only the time spent actually running, but travel time, needing a nap after the long runs and losing most of the day, etc. Don't get me wrong--this is an amazing experience. But it is demanding!

Since my last entry, I have done a few really long runs. I did the Urban Cow Half Marathon and while I finished in decent time (for me--13:54) and had no real problems, I had hoped it would be easier since I'd done the distance several times before. However, it was hot and that really got to me. I do not do heat well.

Because I struggled so much with my 13 and 14-mile runs, I was a little worried about doing 16 a couple weeks later. However, we went out and did it, and I made the whole distance! Woot! Doing that was a huge mental breakthrough. It made me realize that even though the last distance was hard, that doesn't mean I can't keep going up because my body will just keep getting stronger and responding to the training. I was starting to have doubts again that I could do the marathon, but the day I did 16 restored my faith. Average pace was 13:56, so I'm starting to regularly finish in under 14. I'm a little worried about the marathon, which has a 6 hour time limit so we need to average 13:44.

The next week, we were supposed to do 18 but started in the wrong spot and it ended up being 17.55...close enough. There were a lot of hills that day, which I have not trained on very much. Yet, I had my fastest pace at the 10+ mile distance with 13:43, and it was faster than all but one of my 5-10 mile runs. So, I was absolutely thrilled. AND I had energy left at the end--I felt like I could do another mile without much of a problem. I still felt mentally sharp, which is not always the case after a long run, at least until I get food in me. So, that was another triumph. This is something I love about running: you keep going a little further or a little faster and it's a constant rush to see those milestones and evidence of improvement. The weather was much cooler that day, and I think that made a big difference. Good thing it should stay cool now until the big event!

Yesterday was a cool down week and we "only" did 14 miles. We pushed hard at first and my hamstring started bothering me so we slowed down, which did the trick (along with a little stretching at the bathroom stop). We ended up finishing with an average pace of 12:56. Wow! Of course this is because it was a shorter distance, but that's great. Again, it gives me hope. It was pretty cold and threatened rain...perfect running weather.

Next week the Clarksburg Country Run, a 20-miler. I'd love to hit that 13:30 pace, but as long as it's under 14 and I stay sound (don't injure myself) and finish, I'll be happy. I know I can do it because my training is paying off. This will be the first time I do an event where I haven't already done the distance. On the one hand, I don't have the assurance of having already done it (not that I'm worried), but on the other hand, I'll have all the excitement of the event spurring me on. Cheering crowds, people holding funny signs, and....ahhhh....a finisher medal. Ok, and the t-shirt doesn't hurt either.

After that, we do a 23-mile training run, and then we start tapering off for CIM. I'll do the Davis Turkey Trot Half Marathon and the Run To Feed The Hungry 5K as part of that tapering.

The marathon is just about all I think about and I'm nervous and excited by turns that our goal is almost  here. I worry about hitting the wall on course. Or getting sick/injured beforehand and missing out. But I also picture myself crossing that finish line, and that will be an extremely awesome feeling.

And now to put in some time with my foam roller!

19 weeks in!

I've now been in training for 19 weeks and things are getting difficult. My last post was right before my first attempt at the half marathon distance, 13 miles (well, 13.1 for the official distance). I "bonked" around the 10 miles mark--I ran out of energy. I had to skip a lot of run intervals and was absolutely exhausted after. I was in the car and I had no strength in my limbs. It was a really weird feeling, but getting some food and electrolytes in me fixed me up. The next week, I attempted 14 miles, and my achilles started bothering me on my right leg at the 12 mile mark. I had to walk the whole last two miles. I was pretty upset...what if 12 miles is as far as this body will go? What if it's telling me to knock this crap off?

So we had a cool down week and I got sick, so my body got a lot of rest. However, I realized that my feet were really hurting after every run, even the short ones, so I thought it might be time for new shoes. I went to Fleet Feet, and the salesman said there was no support left. I'm not really surprised. So he fitted me for new shoes, which was an educational experience, and I wore them this past Monday for a 14 mile run...and I made it through the whole thing! We did skip a couple of intervals--one so I could eat (Gu did the trick!) and one because we were on city streets and there were a lot of lights/busy intersections and it was just easier that way. Although they were welcome breaks, I didn't *need* them per se. So that was a much needed victory! I was very tired at the end, but I feel like I could have gone a little longer if I had to...so that means I should be ready for the next step up, which is 16...right? I hope so!

In other news, on Thursday of this week we tried 4:00 run/1:00 walk intervals for the first time. we had a good pace at about 11:58, which makes me happy. Poor Kim had to have the same conversation with me we always have when the intervals get harder:

Me: (having not done the math yet and thinking it was slower than that) shouldn't I automatically be faster since my run:walk ratio is higher?
Kim: not right away. At first you'll be tired because of running longer.
Me: it'll get easier, right?
Kim: yes.
Me: I hope so.
Kim: it will.

He's always right, of course.

This Sunday is the Urban Cow Half Marathon, my first official half, although now that I've done the distance three times it's not too big of a deal anymore. But still, I'm very excited! My first real finisher medal (cow bell, actually)! I'm looking forward to it. I've dreamed about it twice and both times I got through it with flying colors.I"m sure that's a good sign.

Only about two months until the marathon, and only a handful of long runs between now and then. I'm getting a little scared! On the other hand, my body keeps getting leaner and I feel good. I just have to keep on chugging.

Nearly 13 weeks completed

I have now been in training for nearly 13 full weeks. Hard to believe it's already been three months!

My finish picture from
Davis Moo-nlight 10K
Facchino Photography

The time has flown by. I haven't had much to report or say, so I haven't been posting here much. How many times can you say "I went running today" and have it be interesting?

Yesterday went out for a short run (which is now four miles--a distance I was concerned about when I first started) and for the first time I broke the 12:00/mile pace. In fact, we've been regularly running around 12:30 on the short runs, which is a fairly recent accomplishment and I was very happy about this--but beating that by :44? Wholly cow! I was listening to my favorite workout music on Pandora (Nine Inch Nails, Tool, Rage Against The Machine, etc.) and I just felt motivated to go fast...and I didn't seem to get too tired, so I just kept it up. Runkeeper's GPS jumped around a bit and told me I went 3.98 miles, but then I checked mapmyrun.com and discovered it was only 3.76, so if you saw my facebook post that said 11:07, blast it was actually 11:46. But damn...still very fast for me! It felt good to be able to run like that.

Tomorrow I run 13 miles, and we usually end up going an extra tenth or two, so it's basically a half marathon although not official. Pretty exciting. When I look back at my earlier posts and being nervous each week about going 4, then 5, etc., and now I know I can do 13 because I did 12 last week and 10 the week before that...that's pretty cool. I do worry that I'm going to reach a point where my body just says it can't do anymore, but so far it's been a trooper. Knees feel fine, I'm not overly sore the next day, etc., although of course I'm pretty tired after a long run. Knock on wood!

Monday I'm running a 5K in the Labor Day Races in Davis. It's part of A Change Of Pace's Tour de Fit, for which I'll get an extra medal after I do three of the designated races. This is one of my short runs for the week, and since it's only 3.1 miles I plan to push my speed as much as running conditions allow. There's only so much under my control so I can't get too obsessed about it, but I want to see how fast I can get it done. I have several races lined up for this fall and I'm looking forward to doing them (and getting the t-shirts and medals, ha!)

I far surpassed my goal of 100 miles for the summer as part of that challenge--153 as of yesterday. I'm going to continue tracking it to see how many I end up running by the time the marathon gets here. I don't think I'd run 153 miles in my whole life to this point, let alone in three months! Woot!

What a journey so far!

I did my long run yesterday--8 miles with an average pace of 13:48, which is my fastest long run pace to date and rivals a few of my short runs. I have to say, around mile 5.5, I started getting really tired. So I slowed down a bit, but then I got a second wind and finished without wanting to die. I was a little worried there for a while, because I hadn't run since my long run the week before, which I didn't run all of because of the heat and my ankle. I was relieved to be able to pull it off!

I have 10 miles this weekend, and I have to admit I'm a little nervous about it...but kind of excited at the same time. I am definitely seeing a shift in my attitude toward running! In just about two months' time, I've gone from hating running to enjoying it, being nervous about running four miles to knowing I can do eight. This process has really been huge for my outlook on life and myself: every week I have to challenge myself to go further, and every time I have risen to the task (even if I didn't rise quite as well as I'd hoped last week, I still made it). I get emotional about it sometimes when I think about it too much. I feel like a rock star, and it feels soooo good to feel this good about myself!

Total for the summer: 83. Closing in on my 100 mile goal!

Body, don't fail me now!

I probably need to thinking about stretching more. My Achilles tendons, particularly on my left leg, are starting to protest. I've been icing and using ibuprofen, but Saturday I tried to do my long run (supposed to be 7 miles) and only got two miles in because of the pain. Gave it a couple days off (I did swim, but since I do breast stroke the tendons aren't aggravated), then tried again yesterday. I taped both ankles up with KT Tape and hit the trail, sporting my new water belt and armband cell phone holder.

The first mile was pretty fast (for me), but then I started feeling some minor pain so I stopped and stretched on my walk intervals. That definitely helped, but the tendons continued to bother me. I continued on and went the full 3.5 miles out, so I was committed to the whole distance. It got to the point where I had to stretch on every walk interval. And then the heat started getting to me because I got out there too late--it was only maybe 78 or 80, but that's hotter than I'm used to. I ended up just ignoring the intervals and running on the flat and downhill portions and walking the uphills. Thankfully, the extra walking really helped and it got to the point where my leg didn't really bother me anymore and I was able to keep running in small distances (1-2 minutes at a time) all the way until the end. Now I'm going to take three days off in hopes of it being better for my 8-mile run on Saturday, although I may swim tomorrow. I just hate it when I have goals and my body doesn't want to keep up!

I do think the swimming in between is helping me a lot. It seems like each time we up the distance or change the intervals to be more challenging, it's not as hard of a change as it used to be. Not that it's easy to run 7 miles yet, and not that I'm not huffing and puffing and sweating and getting tired, but somehow it's all easier. I don't get nervous about running further because I know I can do it. If I made 7 miles yesterday in adverse conditions, I know I can do 8 when I'm feeling right. I also want to add biking soon, but maybe I should give the tendons a chance to heal. I'm also going to try doing some yoga to help with flexibility and such, so maybe that will help.

Total miles for the summer: 75. 3/4 of the way to the 100 mile goal. Cake!