One week to go...

Oh My!! This time next week I will be finished with the marathon. I can't believe it's already here! When I think about it, I get butterflies in my stomach. I'm extremely nervous and also excited. 

Here are some thoughts about the marathon and this last week:

1. Tapering sucks. I mean...the actual tapering is great because I don't have to run insane amount of miles, but ever since I ran 20 miles I just feel like I'm supposed to keep doing that. I just pray I don't lose my stamina. With my runs this past week and with my 8-mile long run today I've been focusing on going a little faster, and I've actually felt really good. This week I have 3 short runs before the Mac Daddy of all runs on Saturday, gulp!

2. The weather in Indy. Ok, so right now I'm obsessed with checking the Indy weather for next Saturday several times a day. While temperature wise it looks good (40something - 50something degrees), there seems to be a possibility of rain. Yesterday the weather channel was showing a 60% chance of rain that morning and it changed today to only 20%. Please!!!! Anything but rain! I'd rather run in 30 degree weather with snow than run in rain. I ran the derby festival half marathon in rain and while I was good the majority of the time, by the end my feet and socks were drenched and rubbing and it was not good. So please say a prayer that the rain stays away...I'm already plotting and planning some rain strategies just in case. 

3. Food! I know what I'm going to eat marathon morning and will be taking it with me to the hotel. However, I was never consistent with dinner the night before so I'm not sure what I'm going to eat. This is especially challenging since we are traveling and I won't have what's familiar to me. I'll figure it out though!

4. Sleep. Not that I'm going to get much sleep the night before, but it looks like I'll be staying with my mom in her hotel room since sleeping in a room with 3 kids may leave me not getting sleep at all. Sorry Tony!

Please say a prayer for the weather and for me! I'm so excited that soon I'll (hopefully) get to call myself a marathoner. 

Happy Halloween!

I did it!!!

Well, the peak training week is officially over! I ran two 5-milers and a ten miler during the week with the culminating 20 mile run this past Saturday. I was so nervous for the run but it went very well!

I had planned it out with Tony the night before that I would pass by our house halfway through to get my water bottle refilled. He was ready!

I left home around 6:30am. It's been staying darker later in the morning, so I ran for the first 5-6 miles in the dark. I went my normal way and felt great. It was so cold though. It was in the 30's which was quite a change since it had been in the 60s/70s. I didn't wear gloves and I had frozen half the water in my water bottle so my hands were freezing. At about 10 miles I called Tony and told him I was headed towards home but that I would run inside because I had to pee so bad. So at about mile 11 I made it home. I literally ran to pee and threw him my water bottle to fill up and I was back out the door within a few minutes. For the next 9 miles I stayed fairly close to home. I have to say that although my legs were beginning to get sore, I felt great. The last 2-3 miles of the run were actually my fastest. I even went ahead and tacked on .2 more to the run because I felt so good. Of course as soon as I was finished, my body tightened up but I kept moving and did some high knees and butt kicks to help with the tightness and that really helped. I was very proud of myself and even made Tony snap a quick pic to document my achievement:

One thing I did different on this run was I didn't look at my watch at all. I wanted to run and not worry about my time...just wanted to survive the 20 miles. My watch vibrates and beeps at every mile so I knew how far I had gone. This seemed to help relieve some of my anxiety about running a specific time or focusing on how far I still had to go. 

Overall I had a really great run. I just hope when the big day comes that I feel as good as I did during my 20.2 miler. 

Now is the hard part...tapering. I feel like I should continue to run super long distances but I'm not supposed to. Today I ran 12 miles and from here on out until race day, 8 miles will be the longest run so my body can rest and get ready. 

Only 2 weeks from today!!! I'm so excited and so nervous...very mixed feelings. 

14 miles and looking ahead

This morning I got a "break" and only had to run 14 miles. I have to tell you though, I'm sore. I don't think I have ever fully recovered from Monday's 18 miles and then I had to do another 9 on Wednesday. I've been trying to find ways to stretch out the soreness but the spots where I'm sore are hard to stretch (side of legs towards my butt). I only used 1 gel but drank all the water. The run wasn't too bad though. So funny that 14 used to seem impossible and now it's not even a "long" run. Immediately after getting home from my run this morning I washed my face and changed my clothes and had to bolt out the door to make it to Hannah's last volleyball game. I think that's where my problem is...I'm not getting to fully stretch out and refuel after my long runs because I always seem to have to be somewhere else. But, I did it!

Looking ahead, this is a hard running week. The hardest of all the training weeks. I have 2 five mile runs, a 10-miler, and the dreaded 20 miles next weekend. So I'm looking at 40 miles this week. Tony heads out of town again tomorrow morning so I might try to run one of the 5 milers before he leaves (he's back Tuesday evening). I know it will be hard after running 14 today, but I know getting all these miles in is critical to being successful at the marathon. I just didn't even realize how physically and emotionally exhausted I would be during training...but I am. After the 20 miler, I begin the 2 week taper which I slowly start running less and less in order for my body to get some rest and be in prime condition for the marathon. I can't believe it's only 4 weeks away!!!!

I may also have to get new running shoes this weekend. Mine are starting to wear down just a tad, but I still have a whole month of running left. So I think that will be the best option. I just really really want the exact same pair I have now because they have been really great for me. I didn't have any blisters and absolutely no marks on my feet after that 18 miler. I believe that's a sign of a good shoe!

That's it for now. Say a prayer that I make it through all my runs this week. I'll let you know how the 20 miles goes down!

18-miler!!!

I survived my 18 mile run!! Woohoo! I always get very nervous before a run and I was definitely nervous last night and this morning. I was off of school today thanks to Fall Break, but my kiddos had school so it was perfect timing. I took Emma to daycare while Tony got the bigger girls on the bus. Then I came home and got ready. I typically eat a banana and piece of toast with peanut butter but since we still hadn't gone to the grocery, I didn't have those items, ugh. So I ate a bowl of cereal (heeellloooo carbs 😉). I needed 3 gels for my run but 3 didn't fit in my little handheld water bottle pouch, so I wore a shirt with a small zippered pocket to help me. The weather was absolutely gorgeous...sunny and in the low 60s. 

Thought I'd tell you how it went according to which mile I was on:

Miles 1-3

Easy, peasy! I decided to start my run with my usual 4 mile route so I felt great. 

Mile 3.2

Beginning to feel like I had to pee. Ugh! Since I wasn't too far from home, I decided to head back that way and make a quick pit stop. I didn't know where or when the next available bathroom would be. 

Mile 4

Potty break! Tony thought something was wrong since I literally ran into the house. 

Miles 5-10.5

Felt pretty good! My time was still where I wanted it to be. At 5.5 miles I had a gel and chased it with some water. Gels are kinda something to look forward to when you're running. They aren't super yummy, but at least it takes my mind off of running for a while. I was running down Breckenridge towards the end of this little stretch and even got honked at...was it you?! Thank you if it was!

Mile 10.5

Wipe out!!! Yep...at 10.5 miles I tripped and fell. I was turning a corner and simultaneously trying to get my next gel out when I hit an uneven sidewalk and went down. Luckily I caught myself with my hands and the only mark I got was a small scratch on my knee. It happened quickly but I got up right away and started running again. I am very thankful I didn't end up with a busted knee or chin. At least I got to treat myself with another gel though!

Miles 11-13

I started to slow down just a tad and didn't have quite the energy as before but still felt pretty good. My legs were beginning to get sore, but nothing I couldn't handle. 

Mile 14

Felt great! I passed the half marathon mark and knowing I only had 4 miles left to go, I got a little spring in my step. In my mind I was even thinking "maybe I should try to do 19 miles"!

Mile 15

Haha...this is the mile where I changed my mind. 19 miles was wishful thinking...18 will be plenty for today. Still felt ok and even got to suck down another gel! Started my way back home with an easy 5k left!

Miles 16-18

Holy crap, will this run ever be over? Seriously. I was just so over running at this point. I was tired and sore and out of water. I was super close to being done but the time was going by so slow. I seriously think I looked at my running watch every .1 mile. 

Woohoo!!! I did it!!

As soon as I stopped running and walked, my legs tightened up all over. From reading blogs and articles on long runs I knew I needed to keep moving, so I did. I had about 1/3 a bottle of Gatorade (which I'm totally against- but more on that later) stashed in my mailbox. I was so thirsty so I grabbed that and walked for another 5 minutes or so. 

When I walked in the door, Tony was standing in the kitchen so I had him snap a quick pic documenting my success!

Whoa sweat! My shirt felt like it weighed a ton afterwards. 

After getting more water and stretching a bit, I treated myself to an ice bath. Totally cold but it felt good. I sat in the tub for 10-15 minutes and then showered. 

Over the next 5-6 hours I actually felt pretty good. Tony and I went on a lunch date to Qdoba (I was ravenous!! Typically when I run far I feel nauseous so this was a nice change of pace).  I even grocery shopped and was on my feet for almost the rest of the day. 

Fast forward to now...I'm exhausted and very sore. I took another shower and did a little foam rolling. I'm going to treat myself to some ice cream and call it a night. I'm beat! I just hope I'll be able to walk tomorrow 😜

Long runs and even longer runs...

Yikes! I haven't blogged in almost a month. I really wanted to document my training but life got in the way again. Ugh! So, to catch everyone up, 4 weeks ago I ran 15 miles. That was the longest run I had ever completed and it felt awesome! Seriously! That was such a great run. I used the handheld water bottle and tried the running gels for the first time and all was good. Yes I was extremely sore when it was over, but I didn't feel like I was going to die, so I consider that a good run! I was even able to smile for a picture afterwards:

The week after that 15-miler was not good. Tony was out of town (yet again), I had open house one evening at work, and my parents couldn't help out quite as much that week. I was only able to run 1 time during the weekday (and I'm supposed to run 3 times- not including the long run). When I did my 16 mile run that Saturday afterwards, I was hurting. It was not a good run. I felt slow and sore and exhausted. I had such high hopes for that run since the 15 miler had gone so well. 

That week was so difficult. Tony was gone again (he had a 5 week stretch of being out of town and only home on the weekend), and doubts started creeping in. I have one mid-week run that is getting longer as well and that particular week I had to do 8 miles on a Wednesday evening after teaching all day. It took everything I had to make it through that run. I wanted to quit so bad. I was on the brink of breaking into tears. I just felt exhausted and drained and thought "why the hell am I putting myself through this?"  I seriously came home and laid on the floor in fetal position while my mom got the girls ready for bed. I was just so beat (I had also run 16 miles on Saturday, 4 on Monday, 5 on Tuesday and 8 on Wednesday= 33 miles in 5 days). I went to bed that night by 9:00. 

That next week was better. After 2 weeks with long runs, I got a break. My long run was only 12 miles (I was totally able to handle that)! For now, my doubts are gone. Running is a huge mental game though... I am working hard at trying to remain positive and take it one step at a time. Tony is home for a while so hopefully scheduling running will be easier. 

This past week was good. I was able to get in all 3 runs (one of those was a 9-miler and one was at Lake Rudolph where we went camping). I was supposed to do 18 miles this weekend but since we were camping I didn't do it. I am off tomorrow because of Fall Break but my girls are in school, so it looks like as soon as I get them on the bus I'll be running. Say a prayer for me that I am able to make it through my 18-miler without all those doubts sneaking back into my head. My new motto:

"She believed she could, so she did".  

I'm determined to run this marathon. 

I'll let you know how my 18 miles go...think about me when you're driving to work tomorrow. Maybe you'll even catch a glimpse of me running down the road. Just give me a honk and a thumbs-up for a little encouragement.