A few pictures from the Country Music Marathon

My godmother, Annie, and her family live in Nashville, so we flew into town on Friday morning to spend the weekend with them. The plane was filled with runners, which was pretty exciting.

Here's my cheering section (Annie and Maren):


Me (in the blue) around mile 8. I ran with the girl directly in front of me and the girl in the blue hat until I lost them on a hill around mile 16. It was so helpful to have a support group. They were the best. All of the girls I ran with-- Jamie, Amanda, Dessi and Katrina, qualified for Boston, so maybe we'll see each other next spring!


Just after the finish line, with my mom (who walked the 1/2 marathon in a rocking 2:26) and my godsister, Beth, who also ran the half:


One more shot of the cutest baby cheerleader:


Last time the race was so hard that I really thought marathons might not be for me. This time I felt fantastic-- it didn't even start to feel like hard work until after mile 23. I wanted to build myself a good cushion, and when I started to get tired, I realized that even if I walked the rest of the way, I'd still qualify for Boston. I think I'm hooked on marathons-- they're such a rush!

Country Music Marathon-- the results are in!

I finished the race this morning! My official time was 3:27:38, which was 9th in my age group and 41st overall among women. I'll do a full report with pictures (if I can snag any from Tom's camera) when I get home tomorrow.

Yes, I am ecstatic! And yes, I'm already planning for a trip to Boston next April!

Emotional lability and exercise

Today I really pushed myself in spinning class. During the cool-down, when I was feeling all sore and endorphin-y, this song came on. Apparently it's one of the most popular songs in America right now, but when it comes to country music, I've got my head in the sand like an ostrich, so this was the first time I heard it. Pretty soon, not only was I tired and happy, but I was also crying, openly, in front of the whole class.

On Saturday, out for my long run, I was listening to Lynne Rosetto Kasper talking about a trip she took to Italy's Emilia-Romagna region. She was there more than a decade ago, doing research for her book, The Splendid Table, and in this episode of her show, she returned to one of the places she had visited while working on the book. She asked the proprietor, an old woman, if she had heard of the book. The old lady brought out a framed copy of the pages referring to her establishment, which had Lynne crying, which had me sobbing, trying hard to catch my breath, as I ran down the sidewalk in the subdivision.

I'm not normally much of a crier. That's not to say that I never cry, but it doesn't happen all that often. I'm more likely to tear up when I'm pregnant, or as I've recently discovered, when I exercise. Now that I've traded techno for podcasts to accompany my long runs, I've found myself getting misty-eyed several times over the last few months.

Which makes me a little bit nervous for the race on Saturday. With all of the emotions surrounding a marathon, the intensity of running 26.2 miles, and the 20-something country music bands along the way, I am sure to be a blubbering mess by the time I reach the finish line. I'd better to remember to wear waterproof mascara and sunglasses.

Take it and Run Thursday-- Getting me out the door...

Last night Eddie walked in the door after a three-day trip to Chicago. I was happy to see him, but I noticed that he had a weird expression on his face as he looked me over. When I asked him what was up, he said, "You know, if you had to pick a hobby, I think there a lot of worse choices than hard-core running. You could have become a quilter."

So there you have it, folks. It's a lot about looking good after eleven years of marriage and four babies. Maybe it's not exactly inspiration, but it's some great motivation. With a sweet tooth like mine, a more sedentary obsession like quilting could have had disastrous results.

Two weeks in review: March 31-April 12

Monday: 1 mi warmup, 10x400 with 400RI
Tuesday: abs and spinning
Wednesday: 8 miles at mid-tempo pace
Thursday: abs and spinning
Friday: 22 1/2 miles (12 1/2 in the neighborhood between 5-6:30, the rest at the gym after dropping the big kids off at school
Saturday: 1 mi warmup, 3.5 miles at 3.5% incline (8.3mph)

Monday: 1 mi warmup, 8x800 with 400 RI
Tuesday: abs and spinning
Wednesday: 6 miles with the jogger
Thursday: abs and spinning
Friday: 1 mi warmup, 4 miles at 4% incline (8.3mph)
Saturday: 13 miles-- seven in Silverlake neighborhood, 6 miles at Tom Bass park to do hills, 1:35:30.

The marathon is two weeks from today. I'm nervous-- but starting to feel ready!

Take It and Run Thursday-- The best-laid plans...

I've trained for two marathons and used two different plans. For my first marathon, I used my own modification of Hal Higdon's intermediate training plan. I don't know what gave me the idea that I was had the kind of knowledge necessary to allow myself to modify his plan, but I did it anyway. I mainly changed the order of the workouts within a single week (moving the long runs to Saturday, for example), and substituted a second day of cross-training for one of the runs. Once my 3yo got put in a body cast and I wasn't able to get to the gym anymore, I also ended up doing shorter versions of the mid-week longer run. I got through the marathon, but came in about 20 minutes past my goal time, but I was also running sick, so I don't want to knock Hal and blame him for my sub-par performance.

This time around I've been using the FIRST to the Finish program by the Furman Institute. There are only three runs per week, which I really like, but they're hard runs. The speedwork is especially killer. I thought I might keel over this Monday when I had 8x800s at a 10mph pace on the schedule. Since pacing has always been an issue for me, I like that the FIRST program focuses on paces for each run. I know exactly how fast to set my treadmill for a middle-distance tempo run, for example. My main worry with this program is how it will translate to running outside, since I tend to do a lot of my runs on the treadmill at the gym, where I can send my kids to the child watch. I've also opted to do a "hill" run on one of the designated rest days. I run at sea level, where it's flat as a pancake, and the Country Music Marathon has a reputation for being somewhat hilly. I'm tapering now, but hoping to find a place nearby where I can do one of my last two long runs where there are natural hills, instead of the artifical ones my treadmill creates for me. I'll let you all know how I like this plan in a couple of weeks.

Take it and Run Thursday-- Feeling a little bit thirsty...

Like so many things as a runner, staying hydrated is just one of those things I sort of guess at. I know that I'm supposed to drink after a while, but when and what and how much?

When I was starting out, I'd put a big glass of water next to my treadmill, and jump off for a water break whenever I couldn't stand it anymore. As a beginner, I'd sometimes down a 24oz water bottle during a 2 mile run, and I know it was more so I could catch my breath than because I actually needed the water.

As the years have gone by, I find that the water by the treadmill is a good standby for things like intervals (after every 4x400, I'll allow myself a swig), but drinking gets a little bit more complicated when I move to longer runs and outside runs.

I've tried a little bit of everything-- water bottle in the bushes, amphipod, gatorade, accelerade, nuun, propel-- you name it. I've run races with my amphipod and run others where I stopped at the water stations. I've read just enough about hyponatremia to scare myself, but not enough to actually educate myself. I've also suffered (big time) from leg and bowel cramps at the end of long runs and long races. Obviously, I haven't found the perfect solution.

I know a lot about what I don't like. I don't like the way a fuel belt feels around my waist, or the way it starts to slide around as the bottles get empty. I don't like stopping my runs for a drink. I don't like wondering if a dog peed on my bottle as it sat propped up against the stop sign at the end of my street. I don't like brightly-colored drinks.

I do like Accelerade. At least, I like the Peach Mango and Grapefruit flavors. But they're expensive ($2/bottle at our local Target). About a month ago, I decided to order a huge tub of the stuff from Nashbar, and although the more gourmet flavors were less than they cost in the grocery store, they were still twice as much as the Lemon-Lime. Now I know why-- the Lemon-Lime tastes like watered-down milk with a little bit of citrus thrown in. Blech. Tomorrow morning, I'm planning to experiment with the Lemon-Lime and some lemonade Crystal Light. I'm really hoping that it makes it palatable enough. Otherwise, anyone want a huge tub of Lemon-Lime Accelerade?

It was so much easier when I just grabbed a swig of water whenever I couldn't take it anymore.

Running: Two Weeks in Review (March 17-29)

last week
Monday: 5 miles on the beach
Tuesday: 6 miles, speedwork (1K, 2K, 1K, 1K, 1K with rest intervals)
Wednesday: 5 miles on the beach
Thursday: 7 miles on the beach (I love those beach runs!!!)
Saturday: 22.5 miles (just under 3 hours)

this week
Monday: spin and abs
Tuesday: 6 miles speedwork
Wednesday: 9.2 miles at the gym (was planning for 10 but a transformer blew and knocked out power)
Thursday: spin and abs
Friday: 15 miles, 12 by myself in the dark in my neighborhood, 3 pushing the stroller after the kids went to school
Saturday: 4 miles hills

Take it and Run Thursday: Building Miles and Going Long

On Saturday, I ran 20 miles. Then I came home, took a shower, went grocery shopping, and spent the rest of the day chasing kids and making truffles and frosting 100 cupcakes and outlining a workshop for an event I was in charge of at church on Sunday. A year ago if you had told me that I'd be able to run 20 miles and still go strong for the rest of the day, I would not have believed you. I think that for me, the ability to run long really draws on my motivation, and here are a few things that motivate me:

1) Someone to run with. On Saturday, I was planning to meet a friend at 6:30 for her last training run before her upcoming half-marathon. So I ran six miles before I met her, went with her for a little more than eight, and did the last six by myself. Even though I did twelve miles alone, it was so nice to have someone to talk to during the middle stretch. I probably ran a little slower, but I needed the social interaction more than I needed the speed. I recently joined a local running club, and I really think it's going to help me stay motivated too. Even though I love the mind-cleanse that comes from a solo run, the social butterfly in me also likes to talk when I'm out for two or three hours.

2) Someone to check in with. I'm on a message board for moms, and over the years, a lot of us have become runners. We have a weekly check-in thread, and I have learned so much from my girls over the years. They're the ones who made me believe I could run a marathon in the first place, who cheered me on to continue when Isaac got sick, who told me about training plans (I'm using FIRST to the Finish right now, and it's a fantastic challenge-- I love it!), who remind me to buy new running shoes when it's been a long time, who listen to me when I whine, and who make me feel good about myself. I couldn't do it without them. Let's face it-- going long takes a lot out of you, and it's great to have friends to check in with at the end to fill you up again.

3) Someone to run for. For as long as I can remember, my mom has been lacing up her sneakers and walking every day. Her current workout schedule (3+ hours at the gym, 6 days a week) makes my marathon training look wimpy in comparison. While I'm not advocating her extremism (yes, Mom, if you're reading this, you're way crazier than I am). But now that I'm a mom myself, I recognize that her example of physical fitness set a great example for me. I hope that I'm perpetuating the healthy lifestyle cycle for my own kids. Eddie, who always seemed somewhat indifferent to my obsession, has gotten really supportive of my running in the last year (and even running a bit himself!). So even though it seems sort of paradoxical on the surface, it's getting away from my family and getting in a good run that enables me to come back recharged and also set a good example for them.

It may seem kind of ironic, but I really do think that in this most solitary of sports, it's the relationships forged through and strengthened by running that keep me going the long miles.

So what does a runner look like, anyway?

Yesterday, I was talking with a lady who made a comment that I've been thinking about ever since. She said, "I could never be a runner. I have chubby legs. You have such a runner's body." Before I had the chance to set her straight, my other line rang in and I had to cut our conversation short.

Over the last six months, I've had several people comment on my "runner's body" and it makes me uncomfortable every time, even though I know they mean it as a compliment. I've been a runner for at least six years, and for most of that time, I don't think anyone would look at me and immediately assume I was a runner. But that didn't make me any less of one.

In the beginning, I wore baggy t-shirts to hide my mommy tummy, and hoped that running would help me get rid of it. Although I was happy to be able to run throughout my pregnancy, it's an understatement to say that I was in no shape to parade my bare midriff on the cover of Runner's World just a few months postpartum like Paula Radcliffe. For at least five years, looking like a runner was not a priority for me, but running was.

Last year, I got serious about losing weight, amped up the training, and voila, I lost my boobs and found some definition in my midsection. But now I worry a little bit about giving advice to my fellow running sisters. I know that I, as the unconfident beginning runner with the spare tire around my waist, might have felt like advice from a girl who "looked like a runner" certainly couldn't apply to me.

I will say this. I'm training for the Wasatch Back race with eleven of my favorite sisters-in-running. We're all different shapes and sizes, all run at different speeds, all have good runs and bad runs, all have to convince ourselves to get out and hit the pavement some days. And we all look like runners who can be proud of the steps we take each day.

The Week in Training-- March 10-17

I've decided to reinstate my "Week in Training" posts now that the marathon is less than 7 weeks away. If it bores you, don't read it. I'm using the FIRST to the Finish training by the Furman Institute for Running and it's a much more intense training than I did last time.

Monday: 1 mile warmup, 6 sets of 3/4 mile sprints (9.8-9.9mph) followed by 1/4 mile jog (done)
Tuesday: abs and spinning (done! Took Isaac and Maren back to the gym daycare for the first time since October and it felt so liberating! I'm glad the 5am spin classes are part of my past!)
Wednesday: 10 miles at marathon pace (7:40 min/miles). I hope to have a chance to run outside and use my new Garmin! (done, at the gym, 8.2 mph pace)
Thursday: abs and spinning (done, along with 1 mile at a 5% incline at 8.5mph)
Friday: 15 miles (done-- 8.2 mph, 1/2 marathon pace 1:36!-- I love the gym daycare!)
Saturday: drive to Florida (still hoping for 3 miles of hills, but I won't be too broken up if it doesn't happen)

Take It and Run Thursday-- Gear, Gadgets and Equipment

When I started running, all I needed to be happy was an old pair of shorts, a cheap pair of sneakers, and about 45 minutes with no children in my arms. Life was so simple. As I've gotten progressively faster and more competitive, it seems like my need for stuff has increased exponentially. Here's a list of just a few things I cannot run without:

* My treadmill. On days like today when I have a sick kid home from school, plus my preschooler and toddler, there's no way I can get in a workout without a treadmill. I did have to stop three times in a six-mile run this morning, but I finished it. I have a pretty basic Horizon T20, and even though Eddie said it was just going to be an expensive clothes hanger when we bought it, I've gotten tons of use out of it. It got me through three Minnesota winter and three (so far) Texas summers. When I upgrade, I'll need a faster model, though. This one goes up to 10mph, and sometimes when I'm sprinting, that's not quite fast enough.

* The Jogging Stroller. Next to the treadmill, the stroller is my most indispensible item. I started out with a used Baby Trend double jogger (try running that thing up the hills of Southern Minnesota with 80 lbs of kids in it), and traded up three years ago to the Dreamer Design Ditto. Although the current model apparently has some problems, the one I have is a great stroller. A couple of months ago I pushed my six-year-old and my one-year-old through miles 14-20 of a long training run. Maren and Isaac are probably a little bit too familiar with the stroller for their liking, but having a sane mommy is a very good thing.

* The iPod. Enough said. I will add, though, that since the discussion about music on Runner's Lounge a few weeks ago, I started downloading podcasts. My current favorites to keep me going on long runs-- The Splendid Table (dreaming about that post-run feast) and This American Life. I've decided that the running podcasts don't do it for me-- I'd rather think about something else (preferably food) while running.

* The Shoes. Right now I'm running in Brooks Axioms and Asics GT-2130s. I love both of them!

* The Clothes. As long as they have a pocket, I'm good. I need a spot to stash my cell phone and my shot bloks. I love anything by Sugoi, but since that stuff is often out of my price range, I find myself settling for the Target workout gear instead. I have one of those amphipod extra pocket things, but I haven't gotten the hang of it. It chafes my waist.

* The Hydration Sysytem. I have an amphipod. I've recently decided not to race with it anymore, because I feel like it weighs me down, but I like it well enough as my security blanket for long run training. I used to think that hiding a water bottle in the bushes (filled with water or accelerade) was kind of amateur, but I'd rather be amateur and feel free.

* The Fuel. Before a run? A banana and a couple of Immodium before a race or a very long run (learned that one the hard way). Fuel during a run? I love the cran-razz shot bloks and the Jelly Belly Sport Beans. I've tried some of the gels, but they always seem to upset my stomach.

* The Timing System. A few years ago, I got a cheap Timex watch, but I never really figured out how to work it. My timing has been, at best, haphazard. Maybe that's why I always go out way too fast and then fade big-time. After months of drooling over them, I ordered a Garmin 205 this week, and it should be here before my long run on Saturday. If I can just figure out how to make it do the things it's supposed to do, I think it will really help me.

Take It and Run Thursday-- Strength and Flexibility

This is my first post with the Runner's Lounge weekly "Take It and Run Thursday."

Last fall, when I started training for my first marathon, I was going to do everything right. I had a very detailed schedule, which included four days of running, two days of cross training, and two days of abs classes to help with my core. As soon as my kids went back to school, I showed up at the gym every Tuesday and Thursday to pretend that I could keep up in an abs class before I headed down to the spinning bikes. It was great. I noticed that my sloshy tummy was getting firmer, and I loved the challenge of the spinning classes.

Then life intervened. In October, my three-year-old had a health crisis, and suddenly, my goal for the marathon was not to get a qualifying time for Boston, but instead just to make it to the finish line. I still ran four days a week, but my cross-training and strength training went right out the window.

A few weeks later, I got injured. It was a strained hamstring-- nothing too serious. Nothing I couldn't run through, at least. Then I ran the marathon. As I predicted, I finished, but I didn't do as well as I had hoped back when I set my original goal. My parents met me at the finish line and drove me home. When I got there, I could hardly walk. Once the inital soreness that every first-time marathoner goes through wore off, I realized that I had hurt my knee. For a couple of weeks I babied it, then I decided it was time to get back to my schedule (I had a goal to reach, after all, which meant another marathon, post haste!).

I've never been much of a strength-trainer. If I'm going to be in the gym, I want to be doing cardio. I want to be burning those calories, dangit! And frankly, the thought of going into the weight room really scares me. All of those muscle-bound guys who know what they're doing, and me, who has no clue. I've done quite a bit of yoga, but the kind of yoga I've done has usually been of the prenatal variety, and the strength and flexibility benefit of prenatal yoga is probably roughly equivalent to touching your toes two or three times and taking a walk around the block.

And let's not even talk about my core. For years, my midsection was the part of my body that I pretended did not exist. I was always fairly broad through the rib cage, and having four babies in quick succession didn't help matters much. I usually did my best to hide it under lots of layers in slimming black.

Then, as I was recovering from my injury, the February issue of Runner's World arrived in my mailbox, with that beautiful picture of Josh Cox on the cover. I read the cover story, and this paragraph hit me like a ton of bricks:

"A strong core also helps address overuse issues. "If we don't have a strong center, other muscles have to stabilize us," says Toni Dauwalter, a physical therapist whose clients include 2004 Olympic 1500-meter specialist Carrie Tollefson. Over time, the extra work can lead to injury. Mahon cites a litany of problems relating to the lack of that steadying hand: patella tendinitis, piriformis syndrome, sciatica pain."

Overuse issues? That's exactly what I was suffering from (an IT band injury). The next morning, I was back at the gym, for the first time since October. Since that day, I've made it a priority to attend at least two abs classes a week. Some days, I can't get to the gym, and instead I'm doing pilates or yoga (not the goofy prenatal yoga) at home. Since I finally think I might be injury-free, it seems to be helping. And the side benefit? For the first time in memory, I have a decent-looking stomach. After years of hiding it under t-shirts at the beach, I think I might even show it off a little bit this summer.

On being injured...

When I was on the high school swim team, I loved to practice. I hated to compete. At the end of each season, we'd have a big conference-wide swim meet-- the biggest meet of the entire season. My freshman year, I came down with bronchitis and got out of the meet. I wasn't thrilled to be sick, but it felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. The next year, I was sick again. By my junior year, I found myself standing outside, shivering in a wet bathing suit, hoping that I'd get sick again. I didn't want to actually come out and say I didn't have the chops for the meet, but I didn't have the chops for the meet.

One summer, also in high school, I enrolled in a dance camp with the Connecticut Ballet Theatre. It was several hours a day, four or five days a week. For the first few weeks, it was really fun. Then it got kind of hard. Then my knee started to hurt, and I realized that with an injury sidelining me, I could watch all of the other girls busting their butts, without actually having to do it myself. I even had my mom take me to an orthopedist, who looked at my knee, proclaimed that nothing was really wrong with it (I was hoping to need surgery, which would ensure me a guilt-free break for at least a couple of months), and sent me on my way.

So I guess what I'm saying is that when the going got tough for me, I used to fake injuries or fake sickness. I knew I could probably push myself harder, but it was an easy way to take a break when I couldn't mentally deal. Right now, I'm in a pretty good place mentally, as far as exercise goes. In fact, with everything that has been going on with Isaac, I've really needed the exercise and both the stress-relief and the accolades I get from it to keep me going with a smile on my face.

But as I've mentioned a few times over the last few weeks, my knee has been bugging me. It felt great during the half-marathon last Saturday, and then started hurting on Saturday night, leaving behind a nagging pain. On Monday I tripped over a bicycle helmet in the garage (yes, I was carrying Isaac, and thank goodness he is fine) and twisted my ankle, smacking it into the concrete of the garage floor. It bled and swelled up like a balloon. But it's fine. Well, mostly fine. It's still too swollen to fit into a running shoe.

So I rested. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. This morning, I went swimming. I hate being injured, really hate being injured twice over (three times if you count the sore hamstring), and especially hate the fact that the injury falls at a time that will likely make it impossible for me to do the full marathon at Country Music in April. But over the last few days, I've come to appreciate a few things. This time, I'm not faking it. I'd be out there if I could. I probably should have rested six weeks ago, but I couldn't bring myself to "wimp out" enough to do it. I've also mentally adjusted to the idea that I won't become a gordita overnight, even if I miss three days in a row of exercise. And in a couple of weeks, when I come back recovered from all of my injuries, I am going to be invincible.

My faith in running has been restored

I did the Surfside Half Marathon this morning. I had really, really low expectations for the race, considering that I've been hurt for six weeks and hadn't done a training run longer than 10 miles. As I was walking up to the registration area, I ran into my stake president, who is my age, lives in my neighborhood, and is the husband of a good friend. Anyway, he said he was shooting for a 1:45 and if I wanted to, we could run together. So we did, for the first five miles, when he told me I was too fast and I broke away. It was a gorgeous race! The entire thing was on the sand, three miles in one direction, six and a half in the other, then three and a half more in the first direction. After I left Jon behind, I just kept passing people. It felt so good not to hurt! The race tends to be kind of slow, because the sand slows you down (30 seconds to a minute per mile, according to those in the know).

Anyway, I finished at 1:45.03. I was the second woman overall, and about the 12 or 15th runner overall, I'm guessing. I got interviewed for the paper and got a really cool glass plate for the second place finisher, lol. They had a big bbq afterwards, and if I hadn't been so worn out and kind of sick feeling, I think I would have enjoyed it. Actually, it's the first time I've felt like I really loved running during a race in I don't know how long. Usually I love the training, but hate the racing. The two main guys organizing the race afterwards pulled me aside and asked me who I trained with. When I told them "my jogger and my treadmill" they said I needed to have a coach and a training group, because they thought I would benefit from it.
Anyway, sorry to be a braggart, but I'm still on a high. My knee felt great the whole time too, so that was really encouraging. But, as always when I finish a half, I couldn't fathom doing 13 more miles when I got to the finish line. Maybe the half marathon is really my distance.

The race is so beautiful on the beach too! If anyone wants to run it next year (they have a full marathon too) you know where you can stay!

I'm on a spinner's high

This morning I had a fourteen mile run on the training schedule, and I was just too scared to do it. My knee hasn't been great, and I really don't want to screw it up further. Besides, it's all messy and puddly here after several days of nonstop rain, and I didn't want to sully my brand-new shoes. So I headed to the gym to run a couple of miles to feel out my knee, then take a spinning class.

The first two miles were fast (.75mi at 9mph, followed by .25mi at 10mph, repeated twice). The spin class felt awesome. So I decided to do it again. Another fast mile, followed by another spin class. My knee feels fantastic, and for the first time since the marathon, I've gotten that endorphin rush I crave from exercise. I also feel like my speed is coming back, which really excites me! So Arlynda, I really do think cycling (and cross training in general) combined with the core classes I've been taking, are doing their job to strengthen my knee. When Isaac got sick, I stopped going to the gym at all. I either ran at home on the treadmill or pushing the stroller. I quit all of my cross-training (which had been two spinning classes a week). I quit working on my core (I'd also been taking two core classes a week). I was doing the minimum amount of training possible because the rest of my life was just too complicated. Now that I've been injured and Eddie has had a more flexible schedule, I've incorporated those back into my workouts (especially since the running has sucked) and I think it's going to help me be a better athlete overall.

By next week at this time, I really hope to be hitting the pavement for a good long run. But if I'm still not there yet, I'm so glad to know that the alternative is pretty great too.

Marathon report

The short story is that I finished in 3:55. Go me.

The long story... For the last two weeks or so, I've been feeling sort of off. I've had a sore throat and enormous lymph nodes. I've been really tired. I have mono. Now, after the kind of fall I've had, any sane person probably would have taken the mono as a sign from God not to do the marathon. Not me. I guess I need lightning or something. Eddie and I talked back and forth about it and decided there wasn't anything really dangerous about me running with mono, and I knew that my time probably wouldn't be my best. I was cool with that. I didn't even really tell many people about the mono, because what kind of idiot runs a marathon with mono?

This morning, I started the race strong. Too strong. I met up with this cool LDS guy (Steve) from Wisconsin, and we did the first thirteen miles together. He needed to come in at 3:30 to qualify for Boston, and we were both feeling pretty confident that we could do it. I finished the halfway point in 1:40 and was in first place at that point. Around mile 12, I started to cramp. First my calves cramped. Then my quads cramped. Then my bowels cramped (not a pretty sight). The last 13 miles were so hard. I had to stop and walk every half mile or so and try to get the cramping to stop. I tried squatting, stretching, drinking all of the electrolytes I could, but nothing was making them go away. But I finished. And all things considered, it wasn't so bad. I was the 59th finisher of about 400 runners, and I'm guessing about the 15th to 20th woman.

I'm also down a toenail and one of the cramps hasn't completely subsided. Eddie says he's sure that the cramping was a side effect of the virus. Lucky me. But I'm already thinking about the next one and how I'll run smarter next time (without mono, for sure). Yeah, 3:55 was 15 minutes above my goal pace, but considering how I was feeling, I'm just glad I finished.

I'll post pictures when my mom wakes up. They're on her camera. She walked the half marathon and I think it did her in!

Marathon update

The marathon is two weeks from tomorrow. I guess I should be feeling all pumped up and excited. I should be glad that I don't have to run like a crazy woman over Christmas break because it's time to taper I should be picking out cute clothes to wear for the race and pumping my brain full of positive thoughts.

I'm feeling stressed and nervous. I haven't run much in the last week, mostly because it's been nearly impossible to find the time with Isaac. I used to turn the tv on in the playroom, close my bedroom door, and let the kids fend for themselves while I did a quick 4 miler on the treadmill (it takes me almost exactly as much time as a show on Noggin). But I don't dare do that now that Isaac has become Body Cast Man. He doesn't fit in the jogging stroller either (believe me, I tried). It's really just the next five days I have to mentally survive without a good running solution. Although Utah is out for Christmas (you can't fit a cast like that in the cheap seats of an airplane), my family is coming to "help" over the holidays, and in my book the greatest help anyone can give me right now is 30 minutes to myself to take a quick run.

I also have two issues with my booty that I'm afraid might affect my marathon performance. I'm sure that you'll be excited to know that the rest of this post will be devoted to my bottom. If you don't feel like reading, don't. Yes, I am turning into an old lady. The first problem is a literal pain in the butt. It started out about six weeks ago, shortly after my first 20 mile run (when Isaac was home from the hospital the first time but not yet mobile). We're not sure if it was caused by the running or all of the heavy lifting I've been doing, but Eddie and I think it's ischial tuberosity, and if that's the case, then from what I've read, not much can be done about it. Rest doesn't help too much, stretching doesn't help much, medications don't help much.

The other problem is that I haven't quite figured out the right formula of protein bars, drinks and gels to keep me from needing to find a portapotty on the marathon route. I'm usually good for the first eight miles or so, and then my colon decides to relax. On my last 20 miler, I spent a good five minutes in a construction portapotty, and I don't have that kind of time to waste if I'm running injured and still want to come in under 3:40.

So you can talk to me in fifteen days about the marathon, but right now, I'd just as likely bite off your head if you were to politely inquire about it.

Getting my head in the game

Those of you without older kids might not recognize the High School Musical reference in my title, but we've been listening to HSM and HSM2 for months around here, so I have the dorky songs in my head more often than not. Anyway, I think I've got my head back in the running game. Isaac's illness threw my training for a loop, but I'm back on track. I did 15 miles two Saturdays ago, 20 last Saturday, and twelve today. I have another 20 planned for next Saturday and 15 for the next Saturday, and then I'll be just two weeks away from the race. How did it get here so quickly? The funny thing is that twelve miles now feels like a short run. I can hardly believe that one month today I'll be slapping that 26.2 sticker on the back of my van and driving it with pride.

seventeen

When I looked at my workout schedule at the beginning of this week, I was still hurting so much from my half-marathon last week that I didn't think I'd be up for a seventeen-miler by Saturday. Sunday was bad. Monday was bad. Tuesday was better. By Wednesday, I felt back to normal, so I didn't have a good excuse for putting off this first killer long run on the second half of my marathon training. Last night I scouted out a new route. I was too nervous to go to bed at a decent hour. I just didn't want to do it.

Lately I've been feeling like my focus on speed is taking all of the fun out of my workouts. When I was in high school I was on the swim team. I loved practice and loved my teammates, but I hated meets. I always conveniently got "bronchitis" when it was time for the big all-conference meet. I think the bronchitis was all in my head and I was just nervous for the race.

I felt the same familiar pit in my stomach last week at the half-marathon. I wanted to finish well. I wanted to run fast. I didn't want to embarrass myself. Until I crossed the finish line, the nervousness didn't subside. It was a great feeling to finish well, but I didn't enjoy the race as much as I had hoped.

On Tuesday, when I was feeling mobile enough to go back to the gym, I discovered that as part of the new gym renovations, they had installed odometers on the spin bikes. At first, I was excited for the challenge, but by the end of the workout, I was feeling like my innocence had been stripped away. For the last six months, spinning has been a break from running-- what I do where I don't keep track of times or measure how far I go. But now I can do those things, and I don't really think I like adding that dimension of competitiveness to that part of my life.

This morning, I kicked my booty out of bed and got running. After last weekend, when I felt like I was practically killing myself, I decided that I wasn't going to look at my watch, wasn't going to go all-out, and was just going to run at a comfortable pace until it was done. It was a cool, misty morning, my head was clear, and the run felt fantastic. I finished 17.1 miles in about 2:11 (I looked at the clock when I got home) which means that even though I wasn't in race mode, my time was only five seconds per mile slower than my all-out race pace last weekend. I'm finally starting to believe that I can do the marathon (I honestly think I could have done another nine miles today). I'm also contemplating leaving the watch behind. It might cost me five seconds per mile, but it would be worth it not to be stressing about my split times for nearly four hours.

My old (secret) mantra was, "Boston here I come." My new mantra? "Who cares about Boston-- just do it." I'm not a big fan of hills, anyway.

And in totally unrelated news, I'm heading to the airport in about ten minutes to pick up my mom. She'll be here (as I just informed Eddie) for nine days. She keeps an even more relentless pace than I do, so I doubt I'll have much time for blogging. I'm running the Great Pumpkin 5K on Saturday, so I'll definitely do a race report, but other than that, I may be scarce.