back to running

Yesterday I laced up my running shoes for the first time since the marathon. I went as soon as I woke up (about 9am) because I knew it was going to be hot and I knew I wouldn't want to leave the house.

It was about 70 degrees but after training all winter it felt really HOT! I just did my extended neighborhood loop--about 2.5 miles. I did it at about a 10 minute pace total but the weird thing was that I alternated running (and I think I was running WAY faster than I usually do) with walking and ended up finishing in 25 minutes. My pod was out of batteries so I had no way to tell exactly how fast I was running but I felt speedy for awhile, and then it got too much and I walked. I went without my ipod too just to enjoy being outside. It felt good. I made a fruit smoothie when I got back and I felt like I really accomplished something (even if it was a tiny 2.5-miler!).

Today Ryan and I took Marley back to Miami Whitewater for a stroll. We walked 1.5 miles in on the long trail and back for a total of 3 miles. It was hot again (we tried to get going early but I can't seem to get out of bed before 9) but overcast and this part of the trail was mostly wooded so it wasn't too bad. I was really looking forward to our Dunkin Donuts iced coffees on the way home (I resisted the urge for jelly munchkins). Overall it was a good walk and the pooch enjoyed it so much she fell asleep on the way home.

I will try to get out for a run tomorrow but I feel like if I can't get up early enough to beat the heat I may have to do some shorter treadmill runs. We're going out for sushi tonight--my first time! I can't really tell if I'm looking forward to it or not...

Marathon Weekend Part III

My surprise was when we got to the car, I was sitting in the back seat with my sister and mom when Ryan asked me to reach into the seat pocket to get a CD. I thought that was kind of weird but I did and found a little gift-wrapped box! I opened it up and inside was a white gold 26.2 necklace with the point made out of a diamond! Ryan had gotten it special ordered for me and it couldn't have been more thoughtful! I truly appreciate all the support he has given me throughout the entire training period and I couldn't have done it without him.

We did end up going to Red Robin for burgers. I got a chocolate milkshake which I NEVER get and proceeded to drink the whole thing. I truly wasn't that hungry for my burger when it came which I was very surprised by. We ran into Karrie and her family at Red Robin as well!

Then we headed home. I didn't jump in the shower right away as I thought I would. Instead my family and I sat out on the deck and enjoyed the beautiful day. I wasn't really all that sore right then, just weird things hurt like my joints and my back. My sister Kate highlighted my hair, I showered and then she cut it--a salon right in my own house! I proudly put on my "This little piggy..." t-shirt with my black sweatpants and proceeded to hunker down. My parents had also gotten me a beautiful silver necklace from Silpada, just like the one I had gotten my bridesmaids for my wedding last spring!

We had tentative plans to go to the Montgomery Inn but I couldn't bear to leave the house so Ryan got pizza from Aponte's and we had that along with some leftover apple crisp. I went to bed around 9 and proceeded to have a terrible sleep which I did not expect at all. My legs were restless and sore and I just wasn't feeling tired at all.

I woke up around 7 on Monday morning (I had taken the day off of work!) because I didn't want to miss spending time with my family. We went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast but I just wasn't feeling that hungry. In fact, this is how I pretty much felt for the first three days after the race: lethargic, no appetite, and flu-like. When people asked how I was feeling I replied, "Like I've been in a car wreck and I have the flu." My legs weren't particularly sore themselves and I wasn't having as much trouble with stairs like everyone said I would, I just didn't feel like myself. I felt drained.

I mustered up the energy to play some cornhole with my family to show them a classic Ohio afternoon. Then we drove them to the airport to say goodbye. It was great having them here and I can't thank them enough for all their support.

After they left I began to feel the post-marathon blues that I had read about on some Runner's World magazine discussion boards. I was sad that my time with my parents had passed since I had been looking forward to that for months. I was bummed that this event that had consumed every day of my life for the past four months was now over. I just felt like I had no goal, no purpose...

Luckily for myself and for my readers (if there are any!) I am going to start training for the Chicago marathon soon. I have officially not run at all since the marathon (about 2 1/2 weeks now) and am planning to get out and start either next week or the week after (school will be out in one more week and I will have the cooler mornings to get out). The official Running Spot training group begins in July. I am really looking forward to it and hope that with it being the second time around, being a bit more serious with my training from the start and the fact that it's a flat marathon I can shave some time off and get closer to the 4:30 time.

I now know that I can complete a marathon. I know that I can run 26.2 miles. Oddly, that is not enough. I want to do more. I will never be anything close to an elite runner but I will continue to run. I just felt much more calm and centered during my training. I am looking forward to continuing to run, improving my speed, and being a part of the running community. I mean I can't stop now--I have invested all that money into clothes and a case of Gu and running shoes and registration for Chicago and a hotel for Chicago and my foot pod and hydration belt and fuel belt and Runner's World magazine and several books...
Plus, it just feels good.

Marathon Weekend Part II

My morning began when my alarm went off at 3:15am. I had all my stuff already out and even my coffee ready to brew so I was able to tiptoe around and not wake up my family who were on the couch and futon in the living room. I left at 4am and met Karrie and her husband Jacob at their house at 4:30am. Jacob drove us to Paul Brown stadium and we were easily able to get a parking spot close to the finish line to keep the walking to a minimum at the end. It was probably about 50 degrees and breezy as we headed inside the stadium. We stretched, visited the restroom before the lines got too long, drank gatorade, chatted with other Spot runners, got a group picture taken and mentally prepared ourselves. This picture is of us BEFORE any actual running had taken place.

At about 6:15 we headed out to the starting line and found the 4:30 Clif Bar pace team who we were planning to stay with if at all possible. At 6:30 am the gun went off and we shuffled our way to the front.

The first four miles went by pretty fast--over the bridges into and out of Kentucky. We stopped to use the porta-potties at mile 2 and then Karrie's husband was waiting back on the Cincinnati side at mile 4 to take some pictures. I at a Clif Shot and we checked our pace and we were right on with the 10 minute miles. I was getting nervous about the 4 mile uphill battle we were about to endure, however.

Eden park was surprisingly easy. We were still running with the half-marathoners so there was a big crowd, including a relay stop. I had absolutely no problems up the hills, probably because I knew at the top of all of them at mile 8 my family was waiting. We were still on pace at the end of all the uphill.

My sister Kate jumped in with us at mile 8 not after we had some Jelly Belly sports beans and posed for some pictures. We had a great 4 miles after that. We ran down Madison past the Spot and Bob Roncker dressed in his red spot. We ran through Hyde Park where there were bands and lots of people cheering and in costumes. Did I mention it was pretty much flat?

We were supposed to meet up with my Dad so he could jump in at around mile 12 or so. All of a sudden he popped out of nowhere, still in his warmup gear, and said that they couldn't make it to the meetup spot, but he wasn't ready to jump in now...I was worried for awhile that he wouldn't be able to run with us. We saw Ryan and my Mom about another mile up the road. The race had closed too many of the roads Ryan was planning to run down. Kate joined them and they went to find my Dad.

We had an uneventful next 7 miles or so. We ran through Mariemont which had about as many spectators as Hyde Park but we were quite a bit more fatigued so didn't enjoy it as much. We used the porta-potties for the second and last time (I thought I would have to go so much more!). By this time I was getting tired of the Gatorade and my Clif Shots (I had taken 3 total) so I was just drinking water to try to get the sugary taste out of my mouth. I guess we forgot what our running coaches had told us about taking 1 cup each of Gatorade and water and mixing the two together.

At around mile 19 we heard a great band covering the Grateful Dead's "Franklin's Tower." This put a spring in my step as I sang along and turned the corner to head up onto Columbia Parkway and get ready for the Columbia-Eastern last 7 miles of the race. All of a sudden my Dad and Kate were there, ready to run! They joined us for about a mile as we trudged across Columbia. It was possibly the most boring stretch of race but I was so excited my Dad was able to join us. We were also a little less chipper than we had been previously. This is when I really was starting to doubt that I could finish the last stretch.

Then we saw my Mom with her sign (one of many!) and Ryan cheering us on. My sister and Dad said goodbye and the four of them headed off to make sure they could park and meet us at the finish line. Karrie and I headed down the exit ramp onto the dreaded Eastern Ave.

This was the hardest part of the whole race. I was hungry for one. And thirsty for something other than Gatorade and water. Here is some proof: we passed by kids holding out doughnuts for the runners and I almost took one! We passed by a convenience store and I contemplated using my "emergency money" in my shorts pocket to purchase a diet coke. We passed by a woman holding a bowl of Teddy Grahams and I took a handful and it was the best thing I had eaten all day. I only wish I had more. We also got frozen orange slices on this stretch. Those were delicious and again, wish I had taken more than one. I couldn't stop thinking about what I was going to eat at the finish line and soon thereafter (Red Robin burgers were front and center in my head).

A fun part of the race was when the spectators read our names on our bibs and shouted, "Go Carrie and...Karrie...Go C/Karries!" It was really cute and brought a smile to our faces dozens of times. People seemed to really get a kick out of it.

Back to Eastern...the road just dragged on. It was flat and boring, with very little spectators. I was done. We alternated running about a half a mile and walking about a quarter of a mile. We had given up on our 4:30 time at this point (although our splits show that until Eastern we were on pace to run in 4:30!) but were shooting for less than 5:00. We ran into Frankie who gave us words of encouragement and kept us moving. We got to the "1 mile until the finish" sign and we decided to "let it all hang out" as Joe would say and run until the finish. Until we turned the corner and saw the biggest hill ever. We walked up. After that we ran all out (well, as all out as we could) until the finish. A coach ran in with us, keeping us motivated the whole way. I turned the corner and saw my family and Christy cheering and waving. I did not cry--which I was prepared to do. (I had almost cried at about 3 other parts of the race but I was so happy here there was no crying involved!).

We crossed the finish line in 4:59:40 so we beat 5 hours! We got our medals, I had some yogurt and we headed through the finishers area to find our families. Then it was picture time. I surprisingly felt ok at this point in time. I just wasn't in the mood to hang around at the finish line celebration.

We said goodbye to Karrie and her family and headed to the car (which was uphill a bit!) and off to Red Robin. The next post will be all about the recovery period the rest of the day and the rest of the weekend.

Marathon Weekend Part I

I've spent this past week recovering and catching up on my sleep. I was waiting until this weekend to begin to reflect on my experience. It will be a two-parter so get ready...

Friday night we went shopping at Jungle Jim's to get supplies for our big pasta dinner on Saturday night. We got tons of yummy pasta and good cheese and made it out of the store just before it closed. I had to tell Ryan to slow down when we were walking through the store so I didn't "pull a muscle." I'd hate for my injury to come while grocery shopping after months of running! When we got home I got out of putting away groceries by saying that it was my night to rest and I needed to go to bed. I got to sleep at probably around 11pm which isn't too bad considering how nervous I was.

Saturday morning when I woke up Ryan was already down in the kitchen making apple crisp. I was meeting Karrie at the expo down in Cincinnati to pick up our race numbers, timing chips, and goodies. We had a blast at the expo--there was anything and everything flying pig and running related. We got our posters, t-shirts, and messenger bags. We also got the cutest t-shirts about the months of training we had been through which I proudly wore the rest of the day and pretty much the rest of the weekend. We also stopped at the Bonbonerie to pick up the flying pig cookies that Ryan had ordered. When I got home there were flowers waiting for me on the table from Ryan's parents (thanks Steve and Deb!) and Ryan was hard at work on the meatballs and other assorted goodies. I headed up to Dayton to pick up my family!!! It was great to see them and I am so happy that they came down to visit for the weekend.

During the afternoon we got my parents addicted to Wii bowling (which again, didn't want to pull a muscle so I didn't play too much of), watched the Kentucky Derby and ate our huge pasta dinner (which Karrie joined us for). The Red Sox game started at 7 so we watched that for awhile and then I went up to bed at around 9. I got absolutely EVERYTHING prepared
* laced timing chip onto my shoe
* pinned safety pins to race number
* laid out tattoos, pace band, watch
* packed fuel belt full of Clif Shots
* got maps and notes out for Ryan and confirmed where they were going to be along the route
* laid out clothes--flying pig socks, green shorts, Running Spot tank and white hat
* prepared coffee and cereal for the morning
* set my alarm for 3:15 am...

...and then went to sleep...

26.2-we did it!

Many thanks to Karrie for all her support keeping me going, my dad and my sister for running with us and keeping us company during a particularly hard and boring stretch of the race, my mom for making and holding signs, Ryan for driving everyone around the course and being the most supportive husband I could ask for during this journey, Christy for cheering at the finish line, and the Running Spot training group and coaches especially Joe and Frankie for every word of encouragement. I could not have done it without you all.

less than 24 hours

I am less than 24 hours from my first marathon. In fact, about exactly 24 hours from now (7:40 am) I will be struggling up the Eden Park hills. Knowing Ryan and my family will be at the top of the hills waiting to cheer me on will help me keep moving!
Today I have to go down to the Expo and pick up my bib # and timing chip. I am going to enter Ryan's cell phone into the "Swine Line" registration so he can get updates on my locations throughout the race. I am also picking my parents and sister up at the airport at 2:45! I couldn't be more excited! I slept pretty well last night but went to sleep late (11-which is VERY late for me) because we were at Jungle Jim's and then I watched Grey's Anatomy before I could fall asleep.
I have a lot of emotions running through my head right now (I wish they were tapering and resting at this point too, but no, they're running). I am mostly just scared I won't finish for whatever reason. Or that I will be limping in for the last 6 miles. I don't really care about my time, I just want to be able to RUN most if not all of the race and FINISH STRONG.
I have been reading a lot of running blogs, magazines, books and discussion boards. Most people have a little inspirational quote on the end of their posts on the discussion boards. I saw my favorite recently and I don't know who to quote for this but it simply said: "Pain is just weakness leaving the body." I love it...I will keep it in my head through the pain...
Also, to the people who have commented on their blogs, posts, etc. about all the runners, "sitting on the ground and crying between mile 20 and 26" I say to you, "WHY? WHY would you tell me that? I don't want to know that! Let me find out for myself instead of worrying that it is going to be me."