38.5

This is happening. For real. The NYC Marathon is just 38.5 days away!! I don't think I've been this excited for a race (especially a marathon) since Boston. After 5 years of dreaming, in 5.5wks my dream will come true. I will run through all five boroughs, enjoy the crowds, and get my finisher's medal in Central Park. I canNOT wait.

Everyone I've talked to who has run this race says to just enjoy it. Soak in the crowds, pay attention to the differences in the neighborhoods, talk to other runners. I'm not anticipating a record breaking race for me (I always say that, don't I?), but rather I want to do all the things above. I want this to be an experience that I will talk about like I talk about Boston - if you haven't heard me talk about it, I consistently say it was one of the very best days of my life, and still gets me choked up when I think about it.

I still have a few more long runs, and two more half marathons, in the training plan. I still have some planning to do with the schedule for the weekend. I still need to figure out how to carry my fuel with their rule of no packs. I still need to figure out what I'm going to wear!! All this will get taken care of, no doubt. Right now, I can focus on getting as ready as I can to have a fun, awesome experience.

That currently consists of eating well (again, I am working on a post about this...), diligently cross-training, and getting in 3 runs a week. It will inevitably consist of saying no to something fun so I can have time for a run or workout and saying no to something tasty and delicious, but currently placed on the "can't have" list.

So even though I may be Captain No-Fun for 38.5 days, on November 2nd it will all be worth it.

i'd like you to meet...

Ben is my brother.  He's almost exactly (like, nearly to the day) 18mos older than me.  He lives in Louisville, KY.  We get along well now that we're adults...but it wasn't always like that.  I mean, whose older brother didn't beat them up, tease them, and aggravate them on a daily basis?

Ben likes to cycle.  He's got two or three really nice road bikes.  He's never been much of a runner.  He once told me (I believe it was before my first marathon in '09) that he would NEVER be a runner.  He would rather shoot himself in the foot than run 13.1mi.  Fast forward to the spring of 2010 (see pic at right...).

He ran his first half marathon (I did it as well, obviously!).  He has done the Triple Crown of Running held in Louisville every year since then.  5K, 10K, and 10mi races held two weeks apart.  Three weeks later is always the Derby Festival Marathon and Mini Marathon. 

This past December I was with my family in Louisville after running the Memphis Marathon.  My brother casually says to me that marathon training has begun.  Wait...WHAT?  My brother who swore he would never run is training for a MARATHON? 

So we've been training together but separately for the past four months, getting ready for his first, my fifth, 26.2mi.  It hit me on Saturday that my brother is *actually* running a marathon when I received this text from him:  "No wonder the first person to run a marathon died at the end.  20mi was brutal."

In fact it is.  But it's all part of the training.  Race day won't be as brutal...it never is as bad as the long, lonely training runs.  And we'll have each other!  I'm super proud of him to be tackling this distance.  And I'm excited to be running alongside him.  April 27th will be a great day!

i'm still alive...

It's been a while, huh?!  I hope you haven't been too worried...I'm still alive and (more importantly?) still running.  There was a good bit of time when I wasn't and didn't feel like it.  But I put on my big girl pants, got through a few long runs on the treadmill, and had a darn near PR at a half marathon this past weekend.  I've started doing more cross-training (yoga, bootcamp) and it has made me like my running better...mainly because I'm not running everyday.

Anyway, I'm back to running and to writing.  Lucky you!  As I mentioned above, I ran a half marathon this past weekend down in New Bedford, MA.  It's still part of the 12 in 12 goal.  A goal that I'm still working toward, although it has been tweaked a bit these past couple of months.  I missed January and February, one due to my lack of training, one due to a winter storm.  But since I ran two in October and ran a full in December, I'm counting them for Jan and Feb.  The 12 in 12 ends when I cap off the year with the race that started it:  the Run to Remember in Boston on May 26th.  I can't wait to stop running half marathons every month!

What's next?  Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon in just 37 days!!  I was on the website today and started getting just a bit nervous...that hasn't happened for a race since, well, since December.  I suppose each marathon produces a bit of nerves for me.  I've got an 18miler on the schedule for this Saturday and a 20 on the schedule for April 6th.  After that...I'll be ready!  And if I'm not, I only have myself to blame...well, myself and this winter.  (Too much snow.  Way too much snow.)

a full spring schedule

It was my first full week back at it after a three week hiatus.  I dare say it went pretty well!!  I logged 25mi including an 11.38mi long run on Saturday.  I was thankful to have the help of a good friend during the last 5mi. 

Remember the whole 12 in 12 (half) marathon journey that we're on together?  I know it's been a while since I've mentioned it...  Well, I'm happy to say I have the rest of my races planned out!  Here is the schedule.  Feel free to join me at one, two, or all of these.  ;)

January - Winterlude Women's Retreat Half Marathon - Jan 19th - (Completely unofficial and running this on my own.  Since I couldn't find one that was legit in January, I decided to do one during free time while on a retreat with my church ladies.  Oh, and it's on the Cape...hello, beautiful, even in winter!)

February - Half at the Hamptons - February 24th - I have done Hyannis a couple of times so I figured it was a good year to find a new February Half.  I'm looking forward to this one!

March - New Bedford Half Marathon - March 17th - Happy St. Paddy's Day!  I've heard about a big hill at mile 13 on this one...should be fun!

April - Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon - April 27th - Notice there's no "half" in front of the word marathon...that's not a typo.  My brother decided to run his first marathon this year, and what kind of sister would I be if I let him do it alone?  

May - Big Lake Half Marathon - May 11th aaaaaaand Boston Run to Remember - May 26th - I wanted to cap the year off by running the same one I started with (Run to Remember) but I have a couple of friends who wanted to run one in the spring as well (it had to be on a Saturday since one of them works on Sundays) so that explains Big Lake.  I mean, I might as well go out in a big way, right?!

Whew!  I'm tired just writing them out...  I'm not sure yet what the fall will bring (perhaps NYC?!) but I think I've got enough on my plate for now. 

long runs and taxes

There are a few things in life that you just cannot avoid.  As a runner, training for a marathon, one cannot avoid the long runs.  Long runs can range anywhere between 6mi - 22mi (or even longer if you're training for an Ultra Marathon - anything over the standard 26.2).  You recall a couple of weekends ago I ran two halves.  I counted that as a long run (and rightly so, I believe!).  Last weekend, I logged a slow, ugly 17miles.  This week, I've a 20miler on the schedule.

Long runs aren't meant to be easy; let me tell you they are not.  But they are absolutely necessary - for me, anyway.  I've heard of some people who never run farther than a half in training and go run a full marathon...more power to 'em.  I have to work hard for my marathons!  And I'm glad for that, I like seeing my hard work pay off.

Before the long run, I pack up my Camelbak, 3-4 Gu's, my phone, my ID bracelet, and another form of energy supplement (candy, shotbloks, gum, honey packets, etc).  I think about where I'm going to run, if there will be sidewalks, if there will be hills.  I worry about what the weather will be like and what I should wear.  But when the day of the long run comes, I just go out there and get after it as best I can.

Perhaps the thought of logging 20mi or running for 3.5hrs seems unreasonable to you.  It did to me before I started training for marathons!  I would have tried to avoid something like that at all costs...  But now that I do crazy things like this, I'm finding that I don't want to avoid these runs.  I want to pay my dues to make my experience at the marathon a good one.

Now, has anyone seen a weather report for Boston on Saturday?  ;)

18

On Saturday, I ran farther than I have since April 16th.  While that is only five months ago, it feels like much longer ago.  I love to run long distances...but I remembered just how far "long" runs are when training for a marathon.

Thankfully, when I woke up on Saturday morning it was overcast and cool.  I made my usual pre-run breakfast of a bagel (half with peanut butter, half with butter) and coffee.  I passed some time by watching episodes of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix - I was opposed to this show at one time but since starting it from the very beginning, it's become a favorite.  But anywho!

It was even a little bit misty outside (and 94% humidity!!) so I paired my capri pants with a long sleeved tshirt.  I ran the first seven miles by myself at a 9:30 pace.  Which I knew was too fast...I kept telling myself to slow down.  But I didn't.  I had a mini battle in my mind:  I was running the lake route so I thought I'm just running the lake route.  I'm also running the Melrose route so I still have another 11mi to go after this!!  The I'm just running the lake route mindset won the mini battle...

When I got back to my house after the first seven miles, my friend was waiting there for me.  She is training for a half marathon on Oct 6th.  Applefest in Hollis, NH.  The first of my half marathons that weekend.

We set out on a couple of smaller hills and headed down to Melrose Center.  It's about 5mi down, and 5mi back up to Wakefield.  So we went all the way through Wakefield Center to get that last mile in.  Whew.  I remember now how far a long run is - it's 18mi.

I felt good the first 7 when I was on my own.  I felt okay for the first 5 that we were together.  I felt not too great for the next 4 and the last 2 were pretty bad.  But thankfully I had Joci there with me to keep some pep in my step.  I took 3 Gu's - at 6, 12, and 15.  They kept me going but I know some Gatorade would have helped too.

Overall, it was a good run.  I'm glad to have gotten the miles in.  It was tough, but I knew it was going to be.  That's why we do training runs - to know what the marathon is going to feel like.  I was so glad to have a friend (who knows what I'm like at the end of a long run and won't judge me - it's not pretty) with me for the second half of the run.  Training gets lonely sometimes and 18mi is really far to run all alone.