Iron Horse Half Marathon

I signed up or this half marathon early because I wanted to support the local races and this was its first year. I didn't even think about the fact I would be running it 2 weeks after my marathon. I was really unsure if I wanted to run this race but I am a race addict so I did. I felt very unprepared for many reasons:

1. For the past 2 months I have been perfecting running a 10 minute mile for the 26.2

2. I barely ran the week after my marathon and it was awkward and slow

3. This weekend was crazy busy!

I was so blah about the whole race I did not do anything to prepare. I had a girl I know go get my packet and didn't even go pick it up from her house. The night before I ate a huge Mexican meal and threw out some random running clothes. I rode up with a Lisa (my chiropractor's wife) and we decided we would try to run together. I was hoping to maintain a 9:00 minute mile and she is more like a 8:00 minute mile runner. It was a small crowd of under a 1,000 so it was not too hard to get out of the pack. We did our first mile in 8:15.... uh oh am I going out to fast? I decided what the heck lets see what you got! I can run 8:00 minute miles at shorter distances (3-6 miles) but have never been able to maintain anything better than a 9 something on the longer distances. Well Lisa and I just chatted it up and were at mile 6 in a flash. Every mile was 8:33, 8:45, 8:38! What the heck? On top of that it was a hilly course! It was never flat for more than a few minutes. But we just kept on trucking. At mile 11 we went up one last big hill and Lisa pulled ahead of me. Going down the hill I knew she was going to fly so I let her go. But I told myself not to pull back too much. When I looked at my watch going into the last 3 tenths I was running 7:45! Sweet! The clock was 1:53:00 even when I finished but I still waiting on my official chip time. Should be a minute or two faster. My last half back in March was a 2:32!

*Official time 1:52:11; 9th in age group, 8:34 pace!

Overall it was a great run! Chilly start (low 40s) but turned out to be a great morning. Plenty of water, great volunteers, nice country course with a lot of scenery. You would have to train for hills to be ready for it but I think I will run it again next year.

Sandal Season??

So the question is will I be ready for sandal season? I have never lost a toenail or had a black toenail but the marathon gave me another first! The 2nd toenail is all the way gone now and the big toe nail is falling off too : ( Guess this makes me a runner for sure! How long does it take a whole toe nail to grow out? Guess that is the good part about doing a fall marathon you can get your toenails back by sandal season. Makes me second guess that April Marathon!

Since I grossed you out with my feet I will leave you with something a little cuter...

Happy Halloween from my Mickey Mouse!

Black Cat Chase 5K

My mom at her first 5K! The Black Cat Chase is a fun Halloween themed run that is put on by YMCA. It was at 7:00 at night and was is downtown Franfort at the State Capitol. There were over 1600 people and a lot of people wore costumes. We started off at the old capitol lawn and ran UP to the capitol building. It was beautiful running towards the capitol all lit up! We went around the capitol and then the whole race was downhill to the finish. Mom crossed the finish line at 30:35! GO MOM! She is ready to do another one. There are a couple Jingle Bell Jogs coming up so I think we will do one of those.

2 Race Kind of Weekend

This weekend I am going to be a BUSY girl!

Friday night I am running in a Halloween themed 5K in Frankfort. It is suppose to be a real fun run. It is at night and there are over 1000 people that run in the race. The BEST part is that I am running with my mom. It will be her first 5K so I am really excited about that.

Saturday is the day of Halloween activities. We will be trick or treating downtown and taking part in all the festivities that it offers. I am from a small town so it will be limited. There is going to be a Thriller Dance at the end of the night. That should be interesting.

Sunday I am running in a half marathon. Not really sure why but I am. I signed up for it long ago and think I wanted to support the local races or something. But 2 weeks after my marathon I am just not feeling it. I was able to run "fast" the other night for about 3-4 miles but I still feel awkward running. My toenails keep flaking off so my toes are super tender. I have been getting blisters easier too. I think my feet were raw from the marathon and are blistering easier. But either way I am going to run 13.1 miles on Sunday.

* I FINALLY have a team for the Bourbon Chase. The race started 2 years ago and I have wanted to do it each year but never found anyone that wanted to do it. I am excited about a the group I am running with. I think we are going to have a lot of fun! You can read all about the Bourbon Chase here. Basically it is a 12 person relay that runs for 200 miles in 36 hours or less : ) If you want to get in at the cheap price ($1200 for the team which is $100 per person) you have to sign up by Thanksgiving. This year there were 220 teams and 44 states were represented! I went to the finish line and watched some of the teams come across and it is going to be a great time.

My eating is OUT of control since the marathon! I have been eating JUNK. "It stops tomorrow" "I won't do this next week" "Next week I am not buying that at the grocery" EXCUSES! EXCUSES! It is time to stop eating junk. I am really stressed at my job right now so that is 90% of the problem. I typically don't "eat my feelings" but I have started that bad habit again. SO I am going to say it one more time "the junk stops NOW". Time to take out my frustrations on the treadmill or the bike trainer.

Have a great holiday weekend with your family!

10 miles and Ramblings

On Saturday I ran my first long run after the marathon. 10 miles felt really good! I was able to run the first 5 in 44:30! I was wanting some speed work; so I pushed myself to that uncomfortable pace. I took a little stretch break and took a Gu but I was not able to push out that pace for the next 5 miles. I was also going uphill most of the way back since I was on the Pike. Overall I was happy with the run. I had some goals in my head and was disappointed in my final time of 1:45 but hope it was the hills.

With that being said I am going to go ahead and do the local half marathon on Sunday (Halloween). I have some goals in my head but the #1 goal is to beat 2:32 (my first half). That should be a done deal since at 13.1 during my marathon I was 2:14 for my half way split. I would like to be even quicker than that but we shall see.

I registered for a very important race this Friday. I am doing the Black Cat Chase in Frankfort with my MOM. My mom starting running this summer; she says I inspired her : ) She has been running 3 miles for the past few months and has decided to tackle her first 5K. It is suppose to a real fun race and I am looking forward to running every step with my mom. She is even considering signing up for a half marathon in the Spring.

DVR: Greatest invention ever! Since I am not marathon training right now I am getting in some extra miles on the trainer. My favorite show to watch is Biggest Loser; even though they are hands down the worst cast ever! I also watch Days of Our Lives, Amazing Race, 90210 and chic flicks! Nothing like an hour or so on the trainer to get me to 2010 miles.

GO KRIS! Kris is going to knock out her miles this week. She is awesome. Follow her new blog (linked on the side) as she trains a few ladies for their first half.

Post-Marathon

What do you feel like after a marathon? Well here was my week:

Cross the finish line - radiating pain in all parts of body, joyous yet wondering if your muscles will ever un-cramp! 4 hour drive home was a huge thumbs down. Best part was laying in the grass stretching at a rest area and looking over and seeing a guy with a medal doing the same thing!

Day 1 after - not sure if there was pain because I did not leave my recliner other than to pee and eat! I ate EVERY calorie I burned plus some.... I had fast food! GASP!

Day 2 after- back to work : ( Man my classroom is too far down the hall! I could not keep up with my kids. Walked a mile on the treadmill and that seemed to help

Day 3- Hello legs! Tightness was the normal "long" run tightness. Ran/walked 4 miles : )

Day 4- no pain during the day and ran 5 miles (slowly)

Day 5- biked 12 because foot was being achy again

Day 6 - rest because it is Friday and I do not work out on Fridays

Day 7 - Bring it on LONG run (10 miles) I will let you know how that goes!

I had read about a variety of post marathon feelings and I think I had them all!

Superwoman: Check

Need to sign up for Race Addict Anonymous: Check (I googled the next marathon all day the day after)

Fatigue: Check (I was shocked that I was tired for a couple days after)

Mopey: Check (had some post run blues)

Ready to focus on more manageable miles for the next 2 months! Still want to hit some 10 mile runs on the weekend but anxious to do some speed work again. Half marathons are in my future for sure but I have a feeling another will find its way back on my schedule sooner than later; maybe Spring?

Trying to find a NICE marathon in January 2012! I really want to run one the weekend before or after my 30th on January 11th. Mixed feelings on Disney so I am also looking into the Arizona Rock n Roll. Thoughts? Suggestions? I know that is far away but I am a planner and list maker : )

Indianapolis Marathon Race Recap

The stats for those who don't want to read my novel:

5 mile split 51:36, pace 10:20, Rank 723

Half split 2:14:17, pace 10:16, Rank 676

19 mile split 3:14:26, pace 10:14, Rank 608

Last 1.25 miles 12:25, pace 9:56, Rank 297

Net time: 4:27:46, pace 10:14

Division Place: 47

Gender Place: 151

Overall Place: 506

Pre-Race: I rode up with Jeremy and Crystal who were doing their first half so that Parker and Scott did not have to come up until the day of. We had a great trip up and found, hotel, shuttle location, race course and expo fairly easily! Packet pick up was quick and the expo was so-so. Not a lot to look at but I did get to Bondi Bands. I bought the pink one below since I eat at the Twisted Sifter at least once a week and a blue one that says "Run Like a Mother" because I love the book and follow the RLAM blog.

Pre-Race Meal: O'Charleys! I do not do pasta!! I burp it up the whole next day. The sauces, garlic and butter are not my friend. During training I have done a high protein (plain burger, chicken) and a large baked potato. So I had a "pick 2" of grilled chicken breast, chicken fingers, baked potato and 2 rolls. I was easy on the butter, sour cream and only drank water. I was nervous about the chicken fingers since I have not had anything friend in a very long time but they sat well. I felt nice and full but not heavy. Based on the next day I will make that a regular pre-race meal. I also drank water like it was my job all week and the day before.

Race Day: I slept so-so; basically I was up every hour to see what time it was but I was able to go back to sleep. Woke up at 6 am, suited up and was out the door to the shuttle bus by 6:45 am. The shuttle was great (minus the fact that the drive got lost on the way there)!

The outfit: Under Armour capri leggings (LOVE), black running shorts over, long under armour tank, white wicking long sleeve tee, throw away sweater, thorlo socks, bondi band, Garmin, Go Belt with 3 Gus and 1 Cliff Blocks and my iPod.

Corrals/Port-a-Potties: The race site was great (minus being upper 30s). Lots of port-a-potties! and the corrals were nicely organized. This is where I met my pace group. I was nervous about starting by myself and being by myself the all day so I started look for a friend. I saw this couple (Jon and Kim) who were looking for the 4:30 group. I wanted to stay as close to the 4:30 group for as long as I could. This was my "A" goal. Well we finally found our pace guy; Iain. He was great! I could tell from the beginning he was going to great to have around. He had an cool accent (British? Australian?), a nice calm about him, had researched the course, gave us a plan for water stops and hills (he would walk them), told us how to go pee and catch up and told us he would never leave us. I committed along with 5-10 other people plus plenty of other but there was a "group" of us that knew each others names.

Miles 1-5: Uneventful! The weather was perfect and the scenery gorgeous! The trees were all changing and we ran around a campus and into Fort Benjamin Harrison State Park which was breath taking. We would eventually run in and out and in and out of this park! I felt like I was in an ant farm. There were parts we ran through at least 3 times but never the same way. It was nice because you could always see a "winner" coming or the back of the pack and give everyone a cheer! The one thing I was shocked about was how hateful people were! It was crowded on the narrow trails and people would get down right ugly. But my pace guy kept us at a stead 10:00-10:30 pace!

Mile 1: ditched the gloves

Mile 3: tied shirt around waste (I threw down the sweater before I started)

Mile 4.5 mint chocolate GU

Miles 6-10: Still having fun! We had a set group at this point. Jon, Kim, the 60 year old out to BQ, 52 marathons in 52 weeks guy, nameless lady and the 70 year old who was going for a 2:15 half marathon. I still felt good but did turn on music at mile 7 just to give me something else to think about. I did the one ear, low volume thing so I could still talk. Again the race just kept getting prettier and prettier! The sun was out, still cool and I loved every minute of it. This is also when I spotted Racing with Babies on the trail. I saw yellow and orange flash by and knew it was her! I ran up to say "Hello" but let her go on at her faster pace.

Mile 11-14: Yep! Still fun! Little pain in the calf, knee, arches here and there but nothing serious. I was able to see Crystal at mile 10 of her half and Sarah at the same time; these girls have done some great things this summer getting ready for their first half! Racing with Babies doesn't know it but I also saw her have to stop for another bathroom break at mile 14! I love seeing people along the course and I am sure I am borderline annoying with my cheering and yelling but it helps me and I hope I am helping them. I Gued again at mile 10.

Mile 15-18: The pain starts to show up! Anything over mile 15 is where my body starts to hurt! I guess it is lack of long runs and I have only been running for 1 1/2 years. I was hoping my parents, Scott and Parker would be at mile 17 so I put on my big girl pants and sucked it up! Instead of guing at 15 (the plan) I decided to open my Cliff Blocks at 17 and eat one every mile (until 22) to give me something to do during the feared "wall"; this turned out to be a great idea! My family was at mile 17 and I could not look at them for fear of sobbing like a baby. They kept me smiling until mile 18.

Mile 18-22: "Hi" wall, "Bye" wall, "Hi" wall, "Bye" wall. Did I hit a wall? No. Did I see the wall? Sure did! It went something like this:

The wall: "just walk, if you walk now you will still make your C goal!" "Lots of people can't even say they have done a marathon, who cares about your time!" "Who does this?"

The Anti-wall" "That is just stupid! You have stuck with it this long; you better suck it up" "You have hung with the group this long, DO IT!" "Waist up you are fine!"

We had this conversation for a long time! But anytime Jon or Iain would see me slipping behind he would come back for me.

I had told myself I would stick with my pace group until mile 20 and then drop back on my own and just run/walk/shuffle it in on my own. Well my pace group was having no part of that plan. Iain and Jon were like "You are strong". At one point they boxed me in and would not let me fall back! LOVE them! Finally I said "I feel like hell!, How do you all feel so damn good?" The 60 year old spoke up and said "I feel like hell too but I am going to die trying to qualify for Boston" Ianin spoke up and reminded me I would not be human if I didn't hurt! So at Mile 22 I sucked it up and counted down the last 4 miles!

Behind me is the pace group (I was running ahead to see my family). I have a better picture from the finish line. Will post the close up picture tomorrow.

Mile 22 - Mile 26: I had been breaking the run down into "5Ks" 17-20, 20-23 and 23-26! That helped and I had one Gu left. It is my super caffeine one. I knew it would not actually kick in but I told myself it would help. So at mile 22 I tore it open and started "sipping" on it. It was nice to have some flavor and I talked myself into thinking it was giving me a boost. Let me start off my saying I was in PAIN! But I was able to push the pain aside and but my sights on the finish. These 4 miles actually went by quick! We were ahead of pace and knew mile 25 was a possible hill so there was no walking or slowing down in case it was needed at mile 25. Mile 24 I put in both ear buds and cranked up the music! Iain was trying to tell me how great I was doing but the tears were flowing so I had to tune him out : ) I listened to "Where the Spirit of the Lord Is" and Shackles. Nothing like a reminder that God is awesome to make you think you can do anything! Keep in my right before that it was some old school rap with lots of angry curse words! I have a diverse playlist on my iPod.

Coming up on the finish I put it into high gear and went for it! My pace group came across together. By this time it was Iain (pace leader), Jon, Kim and 60 year old BQ lady! The others had dropped in that mile 17- mile 21 loop that was the "wall" for many! Seeing people hit their wall was sad. There were so many people walking and sitting down. It I had not had my pace group I could have easily joined them.

Do you see the pain in my face? My calved cramped up so bad! I could not walk! But there were a lot of other people around me who looked the same so that helped! The game plan was to hit the hotel, shower and go to Louisville for Mexican and Cheesecake Factory dessert but I just wanted home! So we decided to get on the road for my favorite restaurant Guadalajara and I grabbed some of Crystal's birthday cake!

2 tacos, 1 enchilada, 1 tostada, bean dip, chips, salsa, margarita which was followed my a piece of mint chocolate chip birthday cake that I brought home with me.

What next? Another Marathon? YES! I will do another marathon. However, the training is time consuming so it will be awhile. So I am going to try to get in 3-4 half marathons in the next year and then train for Disney World (January 2012, close the my 30th birthday). I am going to put my bucket list of future races up soon. Right now I have Midway, Ky in 2 weeks (if the pain is gone) and want to sign up for Virgina Beach Half in March and Rock-n-Roll half in Nashville in April.

26.2

I finished! I am too tired to blog and upload pictures so here is the mini recap.

Great race, great course, AWESOME pace group beat my A Goal (4:30)

4:27:46! Freaking thrilled! I am on cloud nine. I will have a huge blog tomorrow with pictures since I have no plans of leaving the bed, couch, recliner : )

My Bag is Packed!

I am going to admit that I have my bag packed already! Since I am taking it easy this week by biking and going on light runs I will not need my good running stuff so I decided to go ahead and pack. My husband saw the bag and was like "I wouldn't expect any less". Basically I am Type A to the tee. I have also e-mailed directions and times to the family coming up. Anyone out there wondering what to pack for a marathon? Well here is what is in my bag:

Running shoes : )

Thorlo socks

Capri running tights (45 degree start, 65 degree finish and prevents chub rub)

Running shorts to wear over tights (prevents camel toe and other TMI views)

Long Under Armour tank

Long Sleeve Wicking shirt that can be tied around waist when I get hot (mile 2)

Sweaty Band

Hat in case it rains

Throw away shirt to wear while waiting

Throw away gloves (will be off within one mile)

Running belt stocked with 3 gus and 1 thing of Clif Blocks

Garmin

iPod with new playlist

Standard Pre-run breakfast (2 cereal bars)

3 bottles of water (I hate buying over priced water at hotels)

The after Marathon outfit:

Really tight Skinny Jeans to show off my running legs! HA! Or maybe for the compression.

I am super excited! I only get nervous for a minute or two. I feel very ready! My training has been light due to daily demands and a couple of brief illnesses but I really feel like my body is ready for this. The weather is suppose to be beautiful and my family is coming to watch. My parents, husband and son will be getting up at the crack of dawn to drive to Indianapolis to watch me finish and then they are taking me for a victory dinner. Since I am never hungry right after I am going to go shower and then drive towards Louisville (sorta half way between Indianapolis and home) to eat. I have picked Los Aztecas a yummy Mexican restaurant my husband and I ate at in August for our anniversary trip. I will be stopping at The Cheesecake Factory for a huge piece of cheesecake on the way home!

Thanks to everyone that follows! If anyone out there is doing Indianapolis let me know!

1 week!

I did a 10 mile run today and then it will be taking it easy until next Saturday. I feel good about next week and only have three goals:

1) finish

2) not be last

3) not have to crawl : )

My run today was great and I felt strong! I found a new Gu I like; Mint Chocolate and that will be in my belt for sure next Saturday. I am trying to enjoy a low key week and get ready for the "big day" : )

Another celebration for me is that I am one year smoke free. I started smoking when I was in high school and was a moderate to heavy smoker during college and when I first got married. I did not smoke during my pregnancy and made it until he was about 3 months old before I started again. I only smoked one cigarette a night when I was smoking after that. When I started running 5Ks in May 2009 I was still smoking but when I signed up for my first half (February 2010) I decided I should stop smoking. SO the end of last September/early October I smoked my last cigarette. I do not know the exact date but I know it has been a year or a little more since I smoked. I will tell you that it is not easy. There are MANY nights I want to go out on the deck and smoke with my husband. There are MANY times when I am stressed and I think about smoking. But is obviously not the choice to make for many reasons.

Today I am loving that the Ironman World Championship (Kona) is on! Really bummed that Chrissie Wellington had to drop out due to sickness. I have a lot of respect for these athletes and love watching the phenomenal accomplishments they make. I will never go to Kona or do an Ironman anytime soon but I still love to watch it! Definitely worth setting your DVR on December 18th to record the NBC special on Kona; you will be motivated by the pros and age groupers.

I am already looking into future races; some on my radar are:

Nashville Rock n Roll Half (with parents)

Virginia Beach Half (Mom and Brother?)

Disney Marathon January 2012 close to my 30th birthday

Outerbanks Marathon (fall 2011, fall 2010)

Race to Recovery HIM (June 2011)

Who knows? Just need to have something on the calendar to keep my butt in motion!

20 miles...

Thumbs up for:

* Ran the first 8 by myself and had a great time! Listened to some new music to and the time went by fast.

*Met up with my fried Crystal for the last 12 miles and that always helps.

* The song "Shackles" by Mary Mary for getting me to the end. I am sure people were giving me second looks as I was giving praise running down the road.

*My little 10 mile cheer that made some lady stop and stare at me! Seriously people running is fun!

*2 buses parked at the back of a church (see my thumbs down and you will figure it out)

*My mom who came to check on me : )

* The pike for being beautiful and giving me a good workout.

* All the other runners out on the road today; I really like the "older" men and women out there who inspire me to still be running when I am 60+

* Clif Blocks the cran-razz flavor; I look forward to my mile beep just so I can eat another one.

* My always faithful tangerine 2X the caffeine Power Bar energy gel that gets me going! Ask Crystal who was probably thinking "please shut up" when she joined up with me.

* Last long run before the big day! Can you say taper?!?!?

Thumbs down:

*Mile 15-17 when I had some weird calf pain that was enough to make me cuss.

* Steven Tyler did not inspire me to run harder. I love Aerosmith and have a huge crush on Steven Tyler but he was not doing it for me today.

* TWO bathroom breaks.

* The pike for all the hills (it is a love/hate thing)

* The viscous rottweiler looking dog that came lunging at me! Thank God for invisible fence or I would have been a doggy treat.

Overall I was very happy with my 20 miler! Hoping those other 6 come easy : )