And It Comes to and End - Week 14

I got my packet this week and I am runner #18338! Wave 3, corral 1!
This is my last week of official training. After this week I start my taper.  EEEEK!  I cannot believe my race is this close. 
I have mixed feelings about this. 

1. First, I am in shock and totally excited that I am getting the honor to run.  It has been a long road.  Not just the training, but the getting the chance to even sign up for Boston.  As most of you know, you have to qualify at another marathon to even get the chance to sign up.  My BQ time was 3:50.59.  I qualified in 2010 (with a 3:45.22 chip time) at the Thunder Road marathon.  However, that was not my first attempt.
1. Thunder Road 2009 was my first attempt (12/09) but it all fell apart as I got sick during the marathon.
2. Then came Myrtle Beach 2010.  (2/10) It all fell apart as I watched the snow fall.  The marathon was canceled and once again my Boston dream was out of my reach!
3. And the Thunder Road 2010.... 12/12/10 it all came together!
4. But then they changed the September registration process.  No longer are you guaranteed a "Spot" in Boston if you qualify.  They only take the fastest qualifiers.  So I had to wait until week 3 of registration to even try to sign up.  Then I had to wait to see if I made the cut. I did so...
5. I made up my training plan and continued the journey to Boston.
2. Second, I am totally scared out of my mind and intimidated by this race!  On my race packet it says, "There are many races, but only 1 Boston Marathon".  How can I even think that I deserve to be a part of the field of runners that runs this race.  I still feel like the novice runner I was in 2004 when I ran my first marathon.  But I am not a novice runner.  And now it is time for me to set some goals.

I have to be honest.  I actually set my goals before I started training.  Back in December, when I wrote up my training plan, I wrote it up for a specific time.  That time was 3:42.  So all my runs have been geared to this.  I have trained for that time and (Hopefully) I have trained for the specific Boston course with all my up and down hill training.  That puts my mile splits at an 8:29 pace on a course I have NEVER even seen.
However... After discussing my grand plans with several runners who have run this race I have made a final decision for my goals.
I have worked hard to get here and may never have the chance to run it again.  I don't want to regret not enjoying this race.  Sometimes pushing the pace makes the race not fun and normally results in me getting sick.  SO.... I plan to go an enjoy myself.  I want to give people Hi-5s... I want to have fun... I want to talk and laugh with the other runners.... I want to finish and have a smile on my face..... I want to be able to walk back to my hotel.
So I have NO time goal!  Gasp!  I have no pace bracelet or no time in mind.  The goal is to enjoy myself!

So here is the last week of training!

Monday was a tempo run!
It was HARD!  I had 10 miles.  6 of those were at tempo pace.  I warmed up 3 miles with Michelle then started the tempo pace.  She had to get to work so she started heading back.  About 2 miles into my tempo pace I see someone coming toward me.  It is Jonathan. I was so happy that he turned around to run with me.  He did the whole tempo part with me and was very encouraging.  I think he thought I was going to die though... He kept asking if I was OK.  I was, but it was just a hard run.

Tuesday I swam 1700... really nothing to say about that! Just a recovery day.

Wednesday was circuit!  This is speed work with a twist!  Five 1/2 mile repeats with strength training in between.  And I was sore afterwards!

Thursday was a rest day!  From training.

Friday was my pace run!
It was the perfect day to run!  Goal was 10 miles at my marathon pace (8:29).  Michelle came and ran with me.  We finished up with 10 miles at an 8:21 pace.  A bit fast.

Saturday was my last 20 miler!
When I got out of bed, I heard the pitter patter of rain hitting my window.  Maybe it will stop?  Ha!!!  No such luck. I met several friends at 0600 to start my last 20.  The goal was 20 miles at a nice "easy" 8:45 pace. 
WaHaHaHaHa....NOT!
We first did the "BiLo" loop in the rain.  This ended up being a little over 6 miles. 
Then we met the rest of the group. 
Troy had 15 miles
Erin had 18 miles
Siobhan had 20 miles
So we all hung out for that amount of miles.  We discussed some mind tricks to stay strong during a run.  Erin said she puts everything into the amount of time it would take to watch a certain TV program or movie.  For example.... 7 miles = a TV episode of "Person of Interest" with the commercials. So at this point, we have less time running left than the movie "Hunger Games".
We all ran DOWN David Taylor in the rain!  Got on the greenway and ran to the soccer fields.  Still sorta raining.  This gave us around 10 miles and Siobhan said we were half way done.  So an hour and a half (approx) left or the time it would take to see 3 "Sponge bob" shows come on and go off.  And I felt really good, even though we had been running under pace.... in the rain.
We turned down the Toby Creek extension... in the rain. Took a gel and continued to run back. 
Got back to David Taylor and Troy turned off.  That means I have a little over 5 miles left.... or an episode of "House"...without the commercials.... oh, and by the way, it was still raining.
about 2 miles later, Erin turns off and heads back.  She only has to do 18 and we are around 17 miles.  Wow!  At this point, we are still going under the 8:45 pace but I am still OK.  Tired, but OK.  we hit mile 18 and Siobhan says, "Seinfeld, without the commercials".  I know what she means... we have about 18 minutes left (at the most).
At mile 19 we get off the greenway (totally uphill.... I pretended it was Heartbreak Hill) and run the rest of the way in.  The last mile was an 8:10.
Oh, and by the way.... it was still raining and I was soaked...and looked like I had been in a muddy cat fight.  I had so much "chub rub" it wasn't even funny.  My back, legs, and everywhere my clothes touched me was rubbed raw.
It is funny!  After all that I look at my average pace for this 20 miler.  The average pace was 8:29.  My marathon pace.  Interesting.

So now that I am done with my official training I start the taper.  And taper madness.  So I apologize in advance for everything I may say and/or do the next 2 weeks.

What payback looks like! - Week 12 of training

This week marks the second monster week of running for me.  It will end in a 20 mile run... the 2nd 20 miler of the training plan.  I did 45.24 miles of running this week and most of them were really, really hard!
As most of you know, my 1/2 marathon went great last week.  I felt great during the race and right after the race..... However, payback was coming.  I guess I can't expect to run like that and go right into the hardest week of training I have had thus far.
SO here is how payback goes in my world of running! 
It looks like sore muscles, stomach issues, tiredness, and lack of motivation!
Beware, this post isn't for the faint of heart.  ;0)

Monday was 10 miles, 6 of it at tempo pace.
Michelle and I started out the run.  I was going to run a 2 mile warm up, 6 miles at tempo pace, then 2 mile cool down.  But my legs were tired!  I was having trouble with my left leg feeling tight and turning over.  Payback! 
So at mile 2, I decided to do 1 more mile of warm up.... even though it was actually hot outside.
As soon as I finished my "warm up", I started into the faster miles.  Goal was to maintain between a 7:43-8:03 pace.  I ran the 1st mile, feeling good!  2nd mile, on pace but feeling a bit weird in the tummy. By mile 3, I knew I was having some serious stomach issues.  OOOOHH NOT GOOD! 
Payback!
Just in case you don't know, I have stomach problems sometimes.  The proper name is IBS and it never turns out well.  Especially when I am out on the trail with no bathroom in sight.  So I made the decision to try to finish what I started and try to hang onto some sort of pace.  Not the smartest plan....but hey, at this point I only had 4 more miles to go!  Four miles never felt so long.  I am sure I was a sight but at this point, I didn't care.  I painfully finished the run, kept the pace under an 8:00 minute mile for the tempo part, and mostly walked about a mile back to my car.  Then I was sick the rest of the day.  UGGG!

So Tuesday rolled around!
I met Bree at the NOMAD for a dreaded swim.  I was NOT feeling it today.  Was tired and sore from head to toe. 
Payback!
I swam 2000 meters in the cold pool.  I don't think I ever warmed up.  However, at the end of the swim, I did feel a bit better.
That night, we got the terrible news that a student in our church's youth group had been hit by a car... and it didn't look good.  I felt like someone kicked me in the stomach.  My girls are in the youth group with her and many tears were shed and many prayers were said for her that night into the wee hours of the morning.  There was not much sleep.

Wednesday morning rolled in and the news did not get better.  We got the call that Brittney (the student) did not make it.  As my children woke up, they asked about her and we had to tell them the news.    Brittney was in 12th grade... with her whole life ahead of her....and the first friend that was close to the age of my children to die.  What do you do when you pray and the prayer is not answered how you thought it should be?  You trust that God is in control.
We continued to pray for the family and started our day.  I saw a few clients then in my "lunch break" I went to do the circuit.  This is done at the gym and incorporates 1/2 mile repeats with strength training.  Needless to say, I did not want to do it.  But Boston is coming in about a month, and I have to finish this training.  So I started.  My quads were screaming at me and I actually had to slow down my speed repeats to a 7:17 pace, then I had to hold onto the treadmill as not to fly off the back. 
Payback for the race! 
After the 1st 2 repeats, I almost quit... but I decided to do 1 more and take them 1 at a time.  I did finish the workout with 5 miles and lots of strength training, but I was wiped at the end.

Thursday was a rest day from training.  I knew I would have to take it easy if I was going to finish my last 30 miles of the week!

Friday was a 10 mile pace run!
I was physically feeling a bit better.  Matt and Bree volunteered to go downtown with me for this run.  Matt and I drove to the DOWD YMCA and met Bree.  They both were doing 6 miles and I had 10 so we started together then split up.  All in all, this run went pretty good.  I was able to see both Bree and Matt at different spots on the run and when I finished, they were waiting for me.  My average pace for this hilly run was 8:26.  I tried to let the down hills pull me and keep the effort the same on the up hills.  It seemed to work.

Saturday was 20 miles!
I started this run at 0600.  I did what we call the BiLo loop.  This is about 5 miles.  My stomach was acting up a bit again so I decides to go to the bathroom  and take a gel before meeting the rest of the group. 
Then I met up with all my UCRR buddies and we started running.  The miles ticked off quickly and I was able to learn a lot of useful Baseball Stats from Jason and Troy!  Then Michelle chimed in!  WOW!  I was clueless in this conversation but it was entertaining. 
At mile 17, Michelle left and Troy said he would run me in.  I knew we were pushing the pace, but I was just hanging on wanting to get it done.  Troy, on the other hand, was chatting and singing "The Climb" as we ran up the last hill! When we finished, I looked to see the average pace was an 8:32 pace!  And the temperature was 71 degrees! 
I quickly ate a protein bar because my blood sugar was low and I was shaking.  I knew I had to wait until it stabilized before I drove home.  So I stood around chatting with everyone until I could safely operate a motor vehicle.
Then I took a shower, got my girls, and we went to Brittney's funeral.  It was sad for all of us, but I know that she is with Jesus and would not want to come back.... So, as a believer in Christ, I find comfort in the fact that she is happy and I will see her again someday.

And Sunday is The Big Attic..... and I wake up to find my Abigayle is sick with some kind of bad cold/fever thing.....  Oh NO!

Week 10 - 2/27/12 - 3/3/12

This week marks the beginning of my monster runs!  My 20 milers.  From here on out, I will be completing 20 mile runs every other week.  By the end of March, I will have completed 3 twenty milers and will begin my taper.... Good grief, this marathon is getting close.
I also started reading Jeff Galloway's book, Marathon, this week.  Currently, I do not follow his run/walk plan in the marathon but I found his insight into mental preparation intriguing.  If you have ever run any distance, you know that running is not only physical.  It is also mental.  I know that at each starting line I stand, I have always been physically prepared.  However, there are times I have stood at that starting line and mentally, I was not prepared.  These are the marathons I have bombed!  So I thought it would be good to start preparing, mentally, to run Boston.
In the chapter titled, "The Power Of Rehearsal", Galloway talks about the Left Brain vrs the Right Brain (p. 93).  He says that the left part of your brain is the logical part.  It is the part that will start telling you that you are crazy as you stand at the starting line.  It is the part that sends the negative messages that make you want to go back to your warm bed and forget the crazy notion of running 26.2 miles.  The purpose is for self preservation.  Running 26.2 miles is crazy and your left brain knows this.
However, at this point in time, I have been through too much to turn back.  So, as crazy as it is, I will choose to shut the left brain off and run.  This is accomplished by actively engaging the right brain.  Your creative part of the brain.  He gives some suggestions such as:

1. "Diffuse the stress by saying that your not going to push yourself."  Focus on the fun and how easy it will be.
2. "Focus on the positive effect of your marathon experience." How has this changed you...how focused you are....how you are a better person because of it.
3. "Gain a vision of yourself crossing the finish line." Think about the feeling you will have, the medal around your neck.
4. "Walk or jog around." This helps with relaxation and engages your right brain.
5. "Tell a joke."  Laughing helps to engage the right brain.
6. "Have a number of positive success stories."  In training, from others, from other races....I will draw on when I qualified for the race! :)
7. Breaking the race down into smaller events that are not challenging is helpful.
8. Rehearse the marathon in your mind, and envision yourself doing well even when tired.

All these tips, and more, can be found in his book.  I have enjoyed reading it.  I also followed his plan when I trained for my first few marathons and really had great experiences.
I also would like to add a few more thoughts to this though....

1. I have a friend that says, " Your body can handle so much more pain than you think."  This is true, so don't be afraid to push.
2. The more you accept the pain of the marathon, the better you will endure it.  The left brain is right.  Running 26.2 miles is hard and somewhat hurts.  If I am to do well, I just need to accept this.
3. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
4. I am the one who puts pressure on myself.... no one else does.  So just go out and enjoy the Boston experience.

So with all that said, I start my first monster week.  This week included 46 miles of running, ending with 10 wet miles on Friday and 20 soggy miles on Saturday.

Monday was a pace run:
Goal was to get in 10 miles with 4 being at my marathon pace.  It was wet and rainy when we started and despite my long sleeves and tights, I was cold.  I am sure 4 miles of my marathon pace was in the run somewhere.  However, they were not all consistently together.  Michelle did this run with me and we had to reroute, dodge trucks on the greenway, and tiptoe through mud.  My average moving pace was 8:31 and it took me 1:34.14 total time.
I also miscalculated and accidentally did 11 miles.  That's going to leave a mark!  Someone said that it is better that I went long than to come up short.  However, this is not true during the "Monster Weeks".  Doing more mileage than the plan calls for does not help. It will only make you more tired when you enter the weekend long run.
After the run, I felt great.  Nothing was hurting and I wasn't even that tired.  I went home, did some paperwork on the computer for my job, then got up to go pick up the girls from school.  When I stepped down on my left foot, I almost hit the ground.  The pain that radiated through my foot and into my leg was almost unbearable.  My neuroma was back!!!  I wasn't all that worried though.  If I could just get through the day, I would call the doctor to set up another shot!  GRRR!  I wanted to put the shot off as long as I could though.  This last one lasted about 9 weeks so I knew the longer I waited, the better.

Tuesday Swim
I swam 1500 today.  It was slow going but I was just trying to help my muscles recover from yesterdays run.  My foot was no longer hurting, but was tender.  I could feel the nerve, but it seemed OK.  If it hurt Wednesday, I was going to bag the circuit run and go get my shot.  I told Matt to pray and I started praying as well.
I also decided that I'm tired of being dehydrated...so I upped my drinking (of H2O).  I filled up a milk jug (16 cups of water) and drank 14 cups of it.

Wednesday was Circuit
I do this on the soft dreadmills at the Simmon's YMCA.  When I got up, my foot was good.  I decided to go try the run and see what happens.  As I started running, I could sort feel something...but I think it was my foot hurting because I had been walking weird on it. 
Because of all my water drinking, I took an electrolyte pill.  This was an AWESOME run!
Circuit consists of a 1.5 mile warm up, 5Xhalf mile repeats (at a 7:13 pace - 8.3 on the dreadmill), and a 1 mile cool down.  During the repeats, I do crazy strength training stuff.  It is so AWESOME with a total of 5 miles!!!  Then I went to work and saw clients until 2000!
Tomorrow I will start taking my resting heart rate.  I do this so I know it I am over training!  The procedure is as follows: before I get up, I take my heart rate for a minute.  I do this a few times and take the average so it will be more accurate.

Thursday was a rest day.  I'm glad it was because I saw clients from 0800-1800.  I was tired at the end of this day.
My resting heart rate was 47!  I also drank about 13 cups of water.

Friday was my short long run.
Resting HR: 40!
The goal was to do 10 miles.  Just run 10 miles.  I woke up to thunder storms and was wondering if I was going to have to complete this run on the dreadmill.  Matt and I dropped off the girls at school then headed to the DOWN Y to start.  By the time we got there the storms were gone.  It was still rainy but not thundering.  Took an electrolyte pill and I headed out to start my run.  I LOVED this run.  I did not take music and tried not to look at my garmin.  I did not worry about pace. 
I love to talk to God when I run.  I prayed for 10.12 miles (Averaging an 8:52 pace with a total time of 1:29.42).  It is amazing how quickly the time passes and how wonderful the run is when I get my focus off of me.
After the run, I went to visit a friend in the hospital.  She is our "Woolly Lamb" in our Sunday show.  She is one of the sweetest people I know.
Then I went home, took a shower and put on my compression socks for the rest of the day.
I drank 14 cups of water!

Saturday was my 20 miler!
Resting heart rate was 37!  I thought this was low so I took it more than normal!
Storms rolled through the Charlotte area all night.  We lost power several times.  My dog and my 11yo ended up in the bed with me and Matt.  So needless to say, I did not get a lot of sleep.  When I woke up at 0500, it was still storming. I decided to push my 0630 run back to 0900.
Michelle was going to meet me for some of the run so I thought it may be a good idea to go a bit early and get a few miles in.  I started running at 0840 and got 2 whole miles in before meeting up with Michelle and starting our run.  My Legs were tired, but not sore and the plan was around a 9:00 average pace.
Michelle ended up running with me until I got to mile 13.  I knew she was leaving and I had 7 more miles to go....I was tired, and had a fierce headache!  So bad I had to take some Advil.



Me getting ready to go back out for 7 more miles!

However, I engaged my right brain by pretending I had not run yet.  I told Michelle that I was going to go out and just run 7 miles.  And that is what I did.  It was actually a great run. 

I was tired at the end but that is to be expected.  I completed this run in 2:54.03 with an average 8:42 pace.  20 miler #1 DONE!

Next week is a step back week and I run a half marathon!