2011 Recap and 2012 Plans

In 2011 I ran 4 Marathons!

March: Virginia Beach Marathon

May: Cleveland Marathon

September: Presque Isle in Erie, PA

November: Marshall West Virginia

Each Marathon brought it's own challenge. I ran Virginia coming off a week long stomach bug and was so excited to set a new PR at my second marathon. Cleveland was the perfect marathon and will probably be the "easiest" for a long time. I wish they could all feel that good. Erie was a bad race : ( I started getting focused on breaking 4 hours and had a major meltdown when it did not happen. I could have had a bigger PR but let my emotions get the best of me. West Virginia was great and I loved running again! So close to that sub with a major PR of 4:03:00.

I only ran three 5Ks this year since I was focusing more on long runs and trying to save money on race fees. I do not see myself going back and doing lots of 5Ks anytime soon. They are fun but cost $15-$25 and I can easily save $200 by not doing all the 5Ks around here. I did do 2 of my favorites plus one with my family this past year.

May: Jennie Carol 5K

July: Buffalo Trace 5K

August: Railroad Days 5K

I will always run the Jennie Carol race since it is where I started running and this year I had a big goal for that race; break 24 minutes and I did! 23:30! I ran Buffalo trace with my mom and stepdad so that was a great race to be out there with them. Last, the best 5K around because it is fast... Railroad days where I broke 23 minutes!

In October I was on a team of 12 that ran in the Bourbon Chase relay. Hands down one of the best experiences I have EVER had. There are no words to describe how much fun our team had doing this race. There was nothing fast or speedy about it but we had fun being runners.

I ended the year with some great family time and less time "training". I have still been running and working out but I do not have a "plan" that I am on for the moment. I did some extra cross training, bike and even swam a few days. I am not one to make big resolutions and will not do it this year. We all know our shortcomings and know what we need to do to fix them. I am going to steal 2 goals from Racing with Babies and Redonkulous Runner...

#1: Stop having FOMO (fear of missing out). My race calendar is MY race calendar. I make it based on my goals, my needs and my schedule. I can NOT race every race I hear of and I need to focus on my training needs. Races will happen again the next year and it is not possible to race every race out there.

#2 Stop having food guilts. I am not vegan, gluten free, raw dieter, organic eater or even healthy for the most part. I eat what I eat and it is what it is. Another area of known shortcoming that I can work on but I will not feel guilty for them. I will run my 14 plus miles on the weekend and eat my cupcake with zero guilt : )

The rest of my goals will come from here..... The 2012 Race Calendar!!!

January: training

February: training

March: Publix Georgia Marathon on March 18th

April: Derby Festival Marathon on April 28th

May: Jennie Carol Memorial 5K on May 12th

June: Training

July: These are tentative and not set in stone due to the challenge level

July 14th Grandfather Mountain Marathon

July 22nd Pirate Triathlon at Fairport Harbor Lake Park

August: Railroad Days 5K (date not set)

September: Bourbon Chase on September 28th and 29th

October: Tough Mudder in Mayesville, KY on October 21st

November: training

December: St. Jude Marathon in Memphis, TN on December 1st

Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, Alabama (hopefully on December 8th; date not set)

I have worked on this A LOT and this seems like the best fit for me personally. It gives me 5 more states and 10 total at the end of the year. I wanted "12 by 2012" but I can not find 2 more races in 2 more states that are within driving distance. I want to do Bourbon Chase and ToughMudder so that cancelled out some races. But I will have 19 more years to get in the next 40 states so I think I can make that work!

The Grandfather Mountain marathon is ONLY if I can get Monica to go with me since there is weird lodging and I want someone to almost die with as we "run" AKA power walk up a mountain for 6 hours. Since I have some extra training time this summer that will not be consumed with marathon training I am going to attempt to get into one of the local gyms and swim for 6-8 weeks. IF I am feeling ready I am going to do the above mentioned Tri. Monica is planning on that one as well so it will make it easier in terms of travel. These are the two races that I am not set on.

Obviously cross training and strength training are two of my goals since I am going to be doing more than just running this year.

I am going to set my ticker at 1,500 miles since I easily ran 1, 000 miles this past year and I think I can manage the 1,500 miles next year. I am going to end this year just shy of 1,300 miles.

I still want my sub 4 marathon and will always have that on my brain. I have not picked a race for it to happen because we all know each marathon brings it's own challenges and I just need to train hard and see what race conditions are. It will NOT happen at the mountain marathon!

I have enjoyed reading all of the other recaps out there and can not wait to see where everyone else is racing in 2012. I am so excited to meet some other bloggers in Atlanta and would love for some people to put the Derby marathon on their agenda.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from my home to yours! Hope you are spending lots of time with those you love. So far my best gift has been a five mile run after SIX days off (thanks flu!) and it was at a pace that I am not ashamed of!

2011 Goals Recap

So I looked back at my 2011 goals and I really did not set a lot of goals last year. I had some statement like "here are some fitness goals and I have some other goals"..... yeah I have no idea what "other goals" I had so I am sure they were dropped by January 5th like most people. So I started my year like a crazy person and ran my butt off for a long time and kept really strong until fall. Fall came and I knocked out some big races and set some good PRs but then I hit a major wall : ( Not sure why but my workouts have gone to crap since my November marathon. BUT back to the good stuff...

PR some distances! Totally did that in a half (training runs, no real ones), 5K (sub 23) and 26.2!

Run some races : ) YEP! 4 marathons and a 203 mile relay and a couple 5Ks

Run 1000 miles.... and then some! Wanted to get 1,300 but the flu has me shut down.

Eat less cupcakes..... WTF! Who wrote that $#!+ on my blog..... yeah eat MORE cupcakes

2011 was a great year! I am very proud of my running this past year. I think I accomplished a lot even though I did not have specific goals.

What will 2012 hold? more running... DUH?!?!? and some PRs? Well I would hope so : ) Maybe some other races.... like an IronMan : )

Totally kidding about the IronMan but I am looking into some "other" races for fun. I might even tackle that swimming thing again for some stupid reason. I am hoping to have a set race calendar soon and I will post closer to the new year.

On the 5th day of Christmas....

Okay I have no idea of how the Days of Christmas work but I know my early gift is the FLU! Yep, I tested positive for the flu yesterday : ( Hoping rest, fluids and tamiflu are going to work wonders and have me feeling before Christmas. I am exiled to the bedroom to keep the rest of the family from catching it.

The Christmas spirit is going strong in the Montgomery house! Parker is so excited for Christmas! We mark off days on the calendar each day and countdown the days left. We have Elf on Shelf and he loves seeing where "O" (that is the elf's name) is every morning. Check out our festivity schedule:

Saturday, 17th Christmas with High School girl friends (check)

Sunday 18th @ 1:00 my dad's Christmas (check)

Sunday 18th @ 5:00 Mom's extended family (check)

Friday 23rd @ 5:00 My parents

Christmas Eve morning Scott's dad breakfast

Christmas Eve supper Scott's mom's dinner

Christmas morning: our own Christmas at our house

Christmas night: stepdad's family

December 28th/29th: go to Nashvile for ICE and stay at Opryland Hotel!

WOW! We are busy people but so blessed to have so much family to celebrate with. Gaining that 5 to 7 pounds will not be a problem for me! I was planning on being proactive and getting in 5 to 7 miles most days in hopes of fighting the holiday weight gain and getting closer to 1,300 miles for the year. But I will not be running for a few days with the flu diagnosis. Glad I had a good 12 mile run last Saturday.

Kona on DVR

Who has Kona on their DVR??? Me! Me! Me! I love watching Kona. I actually watched Kona before I was a runner. I randomly found it on TV and watched it thinking "WOW, that is crazy!" Running a mile was impossible for me at the time and I had never any hear of triathlons or Ironman. Obviously I already knew who won the race! I love both Craig Alexander and Chrissie Wellington so I was thrilled when I saw that they won. I did not read a lot about the race because I wanted to enjoy watching the Kona recap.

I love the fact that Chrissie and Craig did not flat out win it from the beginning so there was a little bit of excitement watching them win; even if you knew they were going to win the whole time. They are amazing athletes and showed up to win it and they did! I also love Mirinda Carfrae and love to watch her run.

I was disappointed in some of the age-grouper stories. I could have cared less about the Indy racer. I am glad they talked about Biggest Loser Tara but I think there could have been more coverage. I was really moved by the lady with colon cancer because it made me think of my mom since she was so close with her daughter. However, I always think there should be more coverage of the age groupers!

I did not think I was going to cry but when it showed the two older men at the end who were in so much pain and still trying to finish I was crying. Every time I see people of "older" status pushing themselves beyond anything I could ever do I get emotional. They were pushing past some serious pain and it was amazing to watch. Lew Hollander is amazing! I will cry whenever he passes away but I think he will make it to like 105 easy!

Overall I enjoyed it and will watch it a few more times! Who else watches Kona??

Recovery! Why Didn't I think of that??

Hal Higdon, Jeff Galloway, Greg McMillan, Bart Yasso and basically any famous runner or author in Runner's World all talk about this thing called RECOVERY. Yeah, yeah, yeah I do that, right??? I mean I don't run for a few days and I just run 5 or 6 miles the first weekend back from a marathon. Then my long runs are just 10-12 miles for a while : )

Okay! SO that is not exactly what they are talking about. There is this funny little rule about taking a day off for every mile that you race. HUH? So if I run 26.2 miles I should take 26 days off. Well not really but I should not do anything extreme or push myself. Well I did just that for the past month against my own will. I have been hitting the pavement, treadmill, bike, yoga mat etc... but I have been STRUGGLING! Runs have been awkward and not fluid. Cross training has been taking a beating on my body which is actually because I don't use any muscles besides the ones you need to run. I was out there trying to retrain for spring marathons on broke down fall marathon legs. My body basically forced me to recover no matter how much I was out there trying to work out and train.

However, tonight which happens to be a month after my marathon in West Virginia I RAN. Like I stepped on the treadmill and ran 5 miles without stopping to grab by side, drink water, take a break, walk for a minute. It was a fluid 9:00 pace with some dare I say it... speed work at the end. Don't get me wrong I have had plenty of decent runs the past month but they did not have that "Runner" feeling to them.

I truly underestimated how much I had put out there in West Virginia. That 4:03 (7 minute PR) must have kicked my butt because my legs just now feel like they used to. Hoping this is the start of a new trend! I am ready to sign up for some spring marathons and kick some 4 hour butt!

PEA-NUT BUT-TER!!!!!

So GU announced the other day that there would be peanut butter flavor GU! WHAT?!?!? I was so excited and was ready to drive to Lexington to find some but I decided to wait until I knew John's had some. I was able to get my parents to pick me up a few packets and I was excited to take one on my long run last Saturday. Since it was "just" 10 miles I really did not need a GU but I wanted to try it. So here is the review...

Smells like.... wait for it.... peanut butter : )

Looks like... watery peanut butter : (

Tastes like.... peanut brittle/the peanut butter in protein bars

Texture.... less sticky than other GUS and "goes down" well

My running partner tried it too and he agreed that it was pretty good. I think this might be my new no caffeine GU #2 to take with my on longer runs. The taste is not overwhelming good but honestly no GU makes me want to eat another one. The best part is the texture. The chocolate ones take too much water to get down and I was end of with a string of chocolate GU on my face. I think this GU would be great for a marathon because I would not wishing I had more water after I had left the water stop. I am going to try one or two more before I buy more but I have a feeling I am going to stock up for my next round of marathon training.

Jealous

Read Skinny Runner

Read SUAR

Read Running off the Reese's

Read Sweaty Emily

Read Sarah OUaL

So I totally blog stalk ALL of the above running blogs! Guess where they are all running at today?? VEGAS! When I saw the advertisements for Vegas. I wanted to go run it SO bad. But the cost of the race, getting there and the hotel was just way too much for this girl. It is on the bucket list and will stay there for sure. One day I will be running less marathons a year and I will be there. I just hope all the other "famous" runners are still there.

Granted my blog is nothing compared to theirs BUT it would have been my version of celebrity sight seeing in Vegas : ) Hoping all the Vegas runners do great this weekend and I will be there soon!

Well.... IT Happens

What Happened? Well....

Beth talks about it a lot and Cely hopes it does not happen in Vegas after binge eating and drinking.

Looks like Paula couldn't wait until the finish line back in 2005...

Yep I had "to go" and had nowhere "to go"! If you are saying "eww gross" or "I can't believe she said that" just remember Karma is unkind! If you run long distances and run a lot then you know running is unkind to the stomach and we have all been there done that. Most runners have had that nice 10 minute warning their body gives them and been able to head to the nearest potty. Well I had mine 10 minute warning and stopped at a gas station. Alright lets finish these last 2.4 miles, right?!?!?

NEGATIVE! Coming onto the last mile of my run I came to a dead stop and thought "OH MY". I looked to the left and right and I was in the middle of a road so I preceded to walk very carefully up a hill. Whew... pain is gone. Lets run again??? Made it about 50 feet and I was stopped again. At the point I am 1 mile from my truck but a couple tenths from my house. So I decide to running like a crazy lady to the house. Not so much I was stopped again by "THE PAIN" and eyed some bushes but thought that was not the best way to meet new neighbors so I hoped for the best and took off. Well the husband was not home so I had to open a gate, find the hidden house lady key and open a door. Which means...

I did NOT make it : ( Guess I can knock that one off my bucket list. Best part is I was at home with my truck still in the parking lot down the road. So I had to go back out for the rest of my run so that I would have my truck. Quite the 10 mile run : )

* Note to self: You can eat Mexican on Friday nights but NOT pizza! Stick with what works people!

Few of my Favorite Running Things

Pre-run food: Currently I am eating a lara bar with peanut butter. For long runs I will add a banana and for a marathon I may even eat another small granola bar when I get to the race site.

Running Fuel: I really love the tangerine with double caffeine but I do not take more than 2 during a marathon and only one during a long run. I have not really found another flavor that I love and hoping the new peanut butter GU will be my new favorite to eat in between the ones with caffeine.

Love my Garmin and will always have one! I really don't care which one I have.

Socks: These are my favorite socks and I do all long runs and marathons in these. I am so excited that a local running store has them buy 3 get 1 free right now.

Tempo shorts will always be my favorite short and I don't know why I buy anything else. They are awesome all year long. I love just sticking a pair of tights under them when it is not super cold.

Shoe right now is the Nike Pegasus. I have always been a Saucony girl but was feeling the need for something new. After an attack from a Brooks : ) I went to a running store and I was put in the Pegasus and am in love. I am currently in love with the above color and may sneak and order a pair!

Post race treat! I love a good cupcake after a long run and I wish there were mint chocolate chip cupcakes around whenever I needed a reward : ) But any other flavor will do.

I know this was a real original post and no one else has done a favorite thing post! Join the crowd people : )

I am finalizing my 2012 race plans and will post soon. I am having to knock it back a little because mommy can't be racing all the time. Since I live in the great state of Kentucky I can not get to races with out being gone for only one night most of the time.

Hope everyone is getting in the Christmas Spirit! I know I am with my lights up, tree up, stockings up, Santas out and wreaths on the door : )

Ramblings....

So after the Marshall Marathon my legs were hurting! Not all over but my quads were super sore from trying so hard to make that sub 4 at the end. I never give myself enough recovery and was trying to run again by the end of the week. I could not run "fast" at all! 9:40 pace was challenge for like a week.

Finally, 2 weeks later I am hitting 8:30 pace again on shorter runs and 9:15 on long runs! I have even been doing some speed work at seeing a pace that starts with a 7 again! Woo Hoo! I am so glad I found my running mojo again since it is Thanksgiving week and I am going to eat like 5,000 more calories a day!

I am also cross training like it is my job! I have been doing lots of DVD workouts and I am working out with the PE teacher at school who is also the High School soccer coach. He is having off season boot camp and we are doing all kinds of fun stuff! It is a nice change for me because the workouts are more of the athletic variety and I am doing moves I have never done. Lots of squats, push ups, lunges, curls, dips and pull ups! Which I think is also having a big effect on my runs. But I am willing to run slower for another month or so to get a little more fit!

I am off work for the next 5 days and hope to beat the holiday budge with a workout of some kind everyday. Granted it might be a ride on my bike indoors and a Jillian Michael's Shred but at least I will not be parked on the couch expanding my waist line.

My friend checked out Hood to Coast the movie and I fully plan on sitting in front of the TV long enough to watch that!!! I also finally watched the NY ING marathon and it was pretty awesome. So sad that Mary Keitany could not finish off her awesome run with a win BUT you can not surge that soon into the race and keep that pace. However, she proved she is awesome! The guy's race was uneventful in my opinion since Geoffrey Mutai was like 2 minutes up and no one gave him a a run for it. BUT can you imagine cranking up the treadmill to like 12 miles per hour and running for 2 hours and 10 minutes. WOW! All I want is to break 4 hours.

I also watched Marathon Boy on HBO and I was disappointed. I had already read about him in a Runner's World book so it was not that new to me and it was more about the politics around his coach Biranchi Das. Not sure that I would suggest watching it.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving with their family! I am so thankful for all of the great events I have coming up.... Time with my husband and son plus lots of time with extended family. Some time with my friends! I have already had a shopping trip/dinner with some girl friends and I still have a high school girls night get together coming up! Getting to see friends from out of town (Monica!) Today I am thankful for this little find last night...

If you have ever had Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream then you understand. Monica tooke me to have some when I was in Cleveland in September and I think I think about it weekly! SO GOOD! So much for not expanding my waist line : (

Race Shirts; What to do or not do...

Since I am running out of my own thoughts : ) I will share this oldie but goodie! This one always makes me laugh! I have added some of my pet peeves!

1. A shirt cannot be worn unless the wearer has participated in the event. There is an exception, though: "significant others" and volunteers are exempt. I REFUSE to wear a shirt for an event I did not actually run. I went to SC for a half and it snowed out the event. Even though I ran the distance while I was there I will not wear the shirt since I did not run the actual race.

2. Any race tee, less than a marathon distance, shouldn’t be worn to an ultramarathon event. This goes double for the wearing of sprint-tri shirts to Ironman and Half-Ironman events. It simply doesn’t represent a high enough "cool factor " and sends a red flag regarding your rookiness. It's like taking a knife to a gunfight. It's probably best just to wear a generic name-brand athletic shirt, and go hide in a corner until race time. Ultra event.... umm I got nothing on this. But I do wear my 5K shirt to a marathon because I think a lot of people always think it is my first : )

3. When you are returning to a race in which you have previously finished, then wear the shirt from the first year you completed the race. Don’t short-change yourself by wearing the shirt from the year before. It doesn’t adequately display the feat of accomplishment or the consummate veteran status that you are due. I rarely do a race more than once so I don't have much on this one. If I do repeat a race it is a 5K and I do not run in cotton so I never break this rule.

4. Never wear a race event shirt for the (same) race you are about to do. Only rookies do this. It displays a total lack of integrity and might put the bad-heebee-jeebee-mojo on you for the race. Wearing a T-shirt of the race, while currently running said race, is discouraged. It’s like being at work and constantly announcing "I’m at work". Besides, you wont have the correct post-race shirt then...unless you like to wear sweaty, pitted-out clothes on a regular basis. If you do, then go back to the swamp, Gomer. This is my pet peeve!!! DO NOT wear the race shirt to the race. You have not ran the race yet. This is as bad as wearing your bib on your back.

5. Never wear a shirt from a run that you did not finish. To wear a race shirt is to say "I finished it". Exceptions: see guideline #1. If I DNF I know I would follow this rule since I won't wear the shirt of a race that was cancelled.

6. A DNF’er may wear a race shirt if... the letters DNF are boldly written on the shirt in question (using a fat Sharpie or a Marks-A-Lot). I would just throw it away.

7. During a race, the wearing of shirt from a previously completed year is acceptable. Wear the oldest T-shirt you have from that race (see guideline #3). This is probably a good practice because you now have no excuse to drop out since you’ve done it before.

8. If possible, runners should buy significant others T-shirts which can be worn without regard to running the race. (see guide #1). Keep in mind, they support your "running Jones" more than you think. They also have ways of punishing you that you can't even imagine. Or maybe you can. HA! Like my husband would wear a running shirt!

9. Volunteers have full T-shirt rights and all privileges pertaining thereto. So there. Remember, you can always volunteer for a race and get a shirt. I encourage this as your civic duty to be a member of the running community. Races don't happen without volunteers, folks. Totally agree which is why I was ticked when my Stepdad got the wrong size shirt for Bourbon Chase. I signed up way in advance and was bummed that he did not get the shirt. He worked just as hard driving as we did running.

10. No souvenir shirts: therefore, friends or anyone else not associated with the race may not wear a race shirt. If your mom thinks that your Boston shirt is lovely, tell her to QUALIFY for Boston herself, & send in her application early for next year, so she can earn her own shirt. A downside to this: she still has plenty of time to write you out of her will between her training runs for the big race. Note that your mom CAN wear your finisher's shirt under one of these 4 conditions- 1) you still live with your mother; 2) she funded your trip to the race; 3) she recently bailed you out of the slammer; or 4) All of the above. There is an exception to this guideline: (refer to # 1...If you are a "non-traditional family," and your mom actually is your Significant Other). Agreed! You can wear my 26.2 shirt when you run 26.2

11. Always wear the race shirt of your last race at the current race’s pre-race briefing. The more recent the race, the better. This is a good conversation starter. However, avoid the tendency to explain how that it was a training run for this, and this is just a training run for the next, etc. It just sounds like your rationalizing mediocre performances. Sometimes it’s best to live in the here and now. I love to read other people's shirts at races. I have some of the best conversations with other 50 staters when I see their shirts from other states. Chances are if they have on an Oregon shirt and you are in West Virginia then they are a 50 stater : )

12. Your t-shirt should be kept clean, but dried blood stains are okay, especially if it is a trail race or a particularly tough event. If you're an ultrarunner, you can even leave in mud and grass stains, (and porcupine quills). Not washing-out the skunk scent is pushing the macho thing a bit too far, though. Doubt I will ever bleed in a shirt but I did have a pair of shoes with blood from a toenail and thought it was pretty cool!

13. Never wear a T-shirt that vastly out-classes the event you're running. It’s like taking a gun to a knife fight. Or like unleashing an atomic bomb among aboriginal natives. You get the idea. So my marathon shirt to a 5K is a bad idea???

14. Also: never wear a blatantly prestigious T-shirt downtown or at the mall among non-running ilk. People will just think you have a big head, which you do. You'll also get stupid questions, like, "how long was that marathon?" If it's a shirt to a 50 or 100-miler, they'll think it's a shirt for a cycling event or just think you're totally nuts, which (of course), you probably are. If I have to say "This marathon is 26.2 one more time I am going to scream! YES they are ALL 26.2; even that one in Boston.

15. Never, ever, borrow a race finisher's shirt from another runner to wear to an event that you didn't run. If you do, remember that in Dante's Inferno, he wrote about a special Hell for characters such as you; right between Tax Collectors and Lawyers. Again you can't wear it until you run it and finish it!

16. The Bad Ben Guideline: All children or grandchildren of mine can wear hand-me-down race finisher's shirts for races that I've run in. When they are asked, "did you run in that 100-mile trail race?" They can proudly respond, "no, but my daddy (or grandad) did." If your progeny has put-up with you being an ultrarunner, they have said rights too. If you have completed an Ironman, your kids also have the same rights. They've put up with a lot of crap (or outright neglect) over the years, and deserve to wear them. I will happily give Parker any and all my running shirts : )

Might be a marathoner if...

1. You go out for a 5 to 6 mile run and you run 8 because it just didn't feel right to turn around at "only 3"

2. You spend all of your recovery googling like crazy every marathon in the surrounding states.

3. You have a printed 2012 calendar printed and are planning long runs and making sure vacations and birthdays don't interfere.

4. Your truck gets broke into (nothing of value in it so no big deal) and you are more pissed about the 26.2. magnet being stolen.

5. You take your child to a different park and realize this is a great place to run hills.

6. Thumb holes make you yell out in excitement when you realize your near winter jacket has thumb holes.

7. You can't figure a tip in your head but you can figure split times for a 9:09 pace while running.

8. You run in cold gear when it is 45 because you want to see if it will be warm enough for the winter.

9. You say things like "Boston", "PR", "negative split", "fartlek" and "Garmin" and just assume everyone around you understands.

10. You assume everyone reads SUAR and Skinny Runner daily as opposed to the daily news. If they had not blogged about Kim K.'s divorce, Jessica Simpson's baby or the Duggars #20 baby I would have no idea what was going on in the entertainment world.

I am in the process of finishing off my 2012 crazy running plan. I will post soon! It is going to be fun in a ridiculous, torturous kind of way!

1/10th of the way there!

On Sunday I ran the Marshall Marathon in West Virginia which makes #5 ! Only 45 more states to go. The hope is 50 by 50 : ) or sooner but I am going to have one more year and then back down once I have to start flying.

I do not have a really long race recap and I do not have any pictures at all. My friend Crystal as some on her blog; see Am I Runner or just crazy in my side bar.

The race is small and there are no frills. Expo is strictly a packet pick up and takes a matter of minutes. The parking is great because you can park within feet of the start line and there are no lines at the potty! No starting mat so your time is just gun time (probably was like a 15 second difference for me at the most). The course is a 2 looper now and that is not that much fun. However, there was a really nice part by the river and you were able to that 2 times and 1 river part like 4 times. The only thing I like about running the same thing twice is that you know where the up hills and down hills are so you can plan any stops or walks around that.

My goal is still obviously to make sub 4. I knew this race was not going to be but knew I should do closer to 4 hours since that is what I would have done in Erie if I had not had my meltdown. So to cut to the chase.... I ran it in 4:03:18 (clock time) 4:03:14 (Garmin time) 4:03:23 (results time) which is around a 9:13-9:17 pace. So close to that 3:59:59 at a 9:09 pace : ) I wish I had ran my first half a littler faster. I think it was 1:58:30 but I was TALKING to someone I had met! Imagine that. But I LOVE talking to other 50 staters and finding about other races. I put my iPod in around mile 14 and was super pumped up! Eminem had me nailing some 8:45 miles for a little while and then around 18 I started really feeling the pain from my "fast" running. I really hung in there until 20.5 and I started to slow down. I had little burst of speed but my mile 24 I was hurting! I knew it would take 9:00 minute miles to make it in under 4 hours so I just accepted by PR and ran a steady pace in.

I am excited to say I finished a marathon WITHOUT crying and was actually smiling. I even gave a little "woo hoo" when I crossed the finish line with my football!

READY for 26.2

After a slight scare of a sickness : ( Aleeve D Sinus/Cold to the rescue! I was able to get in my 13.1 this weekend and I killed it! I wish it had been a real half marathon because I ran faster than my PR. My old PR was 8:34 pace for a total time of 1:52:?? but today I ran 13.1 in.....

1:51:41 (8:32 pace)

Super excited and ready for West Virginia. Not saying I am going to PR there or do anything spectacular but it just nice to show up for a 26.2 with a "I am a strong runner" attitude! Looking forward to seeing all the other KY runners that are going to be there. State #5 down only 45 to go!

Some updates.... 7 to be exact

Since BBD from tagged me for 7 fun facts I thought I would turn it into a quick update on my life with some random thoughts and updates on myself!

1. I have a new house! Well actually I have a 70 year old house : ) Scott and I moved to a house "in town" and I am LOVING it. It had recently been fixed up and has lots of charm about it. I already feel like it is a home instead of a house. The best part is I live in my favorite area to run. I know lots of great little running routes from my house and I can easily go for a night run when Scott is home. My weekend runs are shorter because I do not have to drive to run. I can actually run 7 tenths of a mile to meet my running buddy.

2. My running mojo has left me : ( Actually just the treadmill running. If I can run outside I am all over it but I loathe the treadmill right now and that is odd for me. It is in the garage now but I was starting to feel that way before the move. Hoping the in town living will help me get 3-4 outside runs a week and then I can cross train the other days inside.

3. I am so Type A it is crazy! You would not know I have been in my house only 2 weeks. Minus the garage everything has a home and I can not stand to wait to get something done. So I have been super busy with house stuff. I think my OCD like tendencies get worse with age.

4. I have no idea how many miles I have ran : ( I was trying to keep putting in my miles once I went over 100 but just haven't cared that much about putting in my miles. Guess I should have made a bigger goal! I have also been running "naked" a lot. So my runs during the week are 4-6 miles. I just run familiar routes and enjoy myself.

5. I have BIG Plans for 2012! Like crazy ambitious. No one get all IronMan excited or anything. It is 100% running : ) Hoping to have a final PLAN soon.

6. I don't think it is real money if I buy it online. Drop $100 on 2 pieces of running clothes in a store NO WAY! Log in to running warehouse and throw down $100 on tights and jacket; no problem! That can get you in a bad situation pretty quick! Usually I check the credit card balance and box stuff right back up once it comes in.

7. I use to really like the color brown for clothes and home goods but now I am more into lack and gray! How is that for random??

If you read my blog feel free to blog about yourself. I would be very flattered to find out people actually read my blog. Here are the blog I stalk:

Running off the Reese's

Skinny Runner

SUAR

Redonkulous Runner

Sweat Once a Day

Blonde Ponytail

Plus I read the blogs that are in my sidebar : ) Thanks for following along! Ready for a cold Marathon #5 next weekend with my running buddy who is running his first marathon!! Then I will take a little "time off" and then at the first of the year I will begin training for my BIG PLANS :)

Quick Update

So I am not blogging at all for many reasons! After Bourbon Chase we finally moved! Pictures are coming : ) So between moving, unpacking, closing (that was a drawn out process), waiting on cable guy, waiting on internet guy, hooking up internet, decorating a house, learning where stuff is in a new house and shopping for the new house : ) I have also had you know work and raising the kid : )

No really life is great! I recovered for a few days after Bourbon Chase then started working my way back towards my marathon in West Virginia. I have had a few decent medium runs and one killer 18 mile run! I ran the first 10 miles in a 8:29 pace and then the last 8 I was able to stay at like a 8:50 or something. Should have pushed out 2 more miles but I saw my house and quit.

Today I ran 22 miles (actually 22.7 since I ran to the meeting spot) and it was great! Okay as great as 22 miles can be. I wanted a 9:40 pace just to have one last slow long run but ended up with a 9:48. Not sure what West Virginia will hold and I really do not care. If you know anyone running West Virginia on November 7th send them my way.

More detailed updates in the future! I have been reading when I have been able to with my super slow high speed internet : ( and wireless is another issue!

Bourbon Chase Recap

Bourbon Chase is hands down one of the best experiences of my life! It was fun, exciting, funny, challenging, impossible, exhausting, and rewarding! Above is one half of me team. Our name was Running Under the Influence (RUI). I was runner #7 in Van #2.

Getting ready to leave for Maker's Mark. Our Van #1 took off at 11:15 am and was predicted to be ready to hand off around 4:30 pm. Check-in was quick and to the point. We just had to sign our waivers, check our equipment and get our bibs. There was a little bit of wait time to check out the distillery until my time to run since I was the first runner in Van #2. Our first van did well minus loosing a few minutes due to the insane heat and there were a few hills that were more"difficult" than their "easy" rating. I was super pumped taking out of Maker's Mark and went out a little fast because there were HILLS waiting on me. I am 100% sure those were the worst hills I have ever ran in my life and there are not words for how challenging it was. I was suppose to stay around a 9:10-9:20 average. I have no idea what I ran because my Garmin was all wonky and did not keep signal and stopped working : (. I was projected to finish in 58 minutes and nailed in right over an hour! SWEET! Considering I had blistering 4:00 sun beating down on me and there were ridiculous hills. Van 2 continued to kick butt and knocked out almost every other run below the predicted time! We ran to Perryville, Ky to hand off to Van 1 around 10:00 pm and Van 1 headed to our houses to sleep. The split time showed we were running a 9:49 pace at that time.

Sleeping at our houses was the best idea ever! There was nothing better than crawling into a big ole' queen bed at my parents house and snoozing hard for 3 hours! (All the sleep I would get)

Good morning 3:40 am! I hopped out of bed ready to go at 3:13 and was ready to kill my run #2. It ran right out of Danville where I live! I was even more pumped to find out Van #1 was taking even more time off our total time. We were getting nothing but faster! Split times later showed Van #1 had taken our pace down to 9:42 : )

I killed my second run and ran it at an 8:50 average which gave us another 3 minutes for the good side! Our Van smoked these six legs bringing our team pace down to 9:28! We handed off to Van #1 at Four Roses and were hoping their 2 hour power nap would keep them strong for their third and final leg. Most of their runners did great and were able to kill their runs. However, the heat was picking up and took some wear and tear on a couple runners. It was 85 degrees! I do not know our time for those legs but there is going to be a dip in the pace because we had an injured runner on leg #30 : ( While I was waiting for my hand off a volunteer comes yelling team # 372, #372 and I get ready to take off BUT she hands me a a pair of SHOES! WHAT?!?! The guy before me is in so much pain he is running in his socks! The officials would not let me run to him so 2 of our guys go get him and find him killing the final mile at a 7:00 min something pace! What a trooper! It cost us some time but I was ready to take on Duncan Hill!

No picture of my leg 3 outfit but here is where we napped to get ready for our third and final run. We loved lounging in the grass at Woodford Reserve. We met some awesome people and had a blast just relaxing. Some people were able to sleep but I was not. My final leg was suppose to be a killer! The whole run if people see that you are runner #7 they would all talk about the run up Duncan Hill and a runner on my team had been in Van #2 last year and told me it was basically a mountain for 1.5 miles. When I was able to take off out of Woodford I promised my team I would do it in an hour! It was 5.6 mile run so that would be slightly over a 10 minute mile. I ran out of Woodford at a steady 9:20-9:30 pace for the flat 2 miles leading up to the hill and then there it was. Straight up hill! I just took it a chunk at a time! I would take a few walk breaks in the shade to keep from overheating. Many vans stopped and cheered me on a van stopped and filled up my handheld with ice cold water. When I started the descent I dumped some cold water down my back and picked up the pace. I was hitting some 8 minute paces so I felt great! There was one last climb until the exchange and then there was my van. I gave them the 1 hour I promised!

We continued to hit our times on the nose! The last runs were the best! We were so sleep deprived and pumped up on the thought of finishing. I got a nice pick me up when I took a little cooler shower on the side of the road. Nothing like a big tarp, cooler full of water and some baby wipes to make you feel 100% better. This is the only shower I had the whole weekend. Can you say BO? Our van was quite smelly!

We dropped off our last runner and hauled it to downtown Lexington for our final run in as a team! AWESOME! We finished around 7:30 Saturday night! Needless to say we were not wanting too party to hard. A few guys went and had their free shots of bourbon and then a few members of Van #2 went to grab some Mexican on the way home. I was finally in bed at 11:00 that night..... whew! I was tired!!

Will these Wild Turkeys do it again??? This turkey has been saying no for weeks that this was a one time event BUT I think I could be talked into it : ) There are many members who are already wanting to sign up on January 2nd for next year. I am going to check out marathons for 2012 and see how it looks for me. I do know this much.... I am going to go find the nearest Mountain and run myself up once a week every week for about 6 months if I sign up again.

Final time for Running Under the Influence: 32:16:00 which was a 9:32 pace. I am so proud that we were able to kill our runs and ended up actually speeding up the entire race! On the final 12 legs we only lost 4 seconds off our average pace which I think it great!

All in all I loved my team! the volunteers (most of them), the officials and my favorite people were the other runners! Runners who help other runners are the best! I met so many wonderful teams that were so encouraging and pleasant to be around. It made the trip that much better!

I will end with best quote of the trip:

Setting: Pulling up to an exchange to hand off to the next runner

Me: "Is everyone ready to get out of the van?"

Most people: "Yeah, lets go!"

Some silence

John from the back of the van: "Umm I am naked ("neck-it")

More silence : )

Guess he was needing a little cool down!

The Good Things of the Week

This week has been slightly stressful with the moving issues but there were a lot of good things too! Bourbon Chase is here! We run our 12 person, 203 mile relay next weekend and I am super excited. Our shirts finally came in and they are great! We had a sponsor buy us tech shirts and t-shirts with our team information on them. We went with a drinking theme since it is the BOURBON Chase and we run from distillery to distillery. I do not drink bourbon and will not drink any of the free bourbon but we wanted to honor the theme. The back of the shirt is in the shape of a Maker's Mark Bottle and has all of our names, sponsor names and running words. We also had some additional sponsor money so are vans are only costing us pennies and we have some free food/snacks for the race. I was really worried the Bourbon Chase was going to cost a lot but honestly it is the cheapest race I will run all year!

NEW SHOES! I never did blog about this but Brooks are the DEVIL (as far as my feet are concerned!) The Brooks felt like there were nails being driven into my arches. I ran in them a couple of time and liked them but once I hit the road for a long run I was feeling differently. Fortunately I was able to sell them to another runner who likes Brooks. I went back to my Saucony but was still feeling like I needed something new. SO I went to a local running store and had my feet measured and talked about my running and where I have aches and pains. They brought out a lot of shoes but the Nikes felt the best. I was very shocked but I have worn them in the house all day and ran on the treadmill and they seem like they are going to work for me. I am so excited about all the colors they come in. I am not fond of the neon pink I have right now but it was the only color they had for me and I wanted to buy from them since they took the time to work with me. Good thing is I will need another pair in about 4 months.

I also broke down and spend some major $$$ on work shoes. My feet are killing me at the end of the day. So I bought some of those hideous looking Dansko shoes that all the teachers and nurses wear. They too feel great! I am hoping for happier feet at the end of the day.

Weekly workouts

Scott and I moved out of our house last week! We had a close date on our new house of today but the loan under writers are questioning the appraisal of our house since the lady flipped it so quick. SO we are loving with my parents for now and that is greatly impacting my working out. I miss my treadmill :( they have a treadmill but it just feels different to me. However I have been loving their elliptical and having been doing better about abs and arms. Can't wait to be in my in town house where I can run in town!

Running Sucks!

A few weeks ago I purchased my running sucks shirt and I love it! I actually purchased two Cancer Sucks shirts for a friend that is dealing with breast cancer. When I saw the running sucks shirt I knew it would be perfect for post long run days and great for after my marathons. The shirts are a great price, come in quick and are soft & comfy! Here is the blog and the Etsy site if you are interested in getting your own Running Sucks shirt. There are TONS of colors to choose from.

Lessons Learned

After my race I went shopping for some retail therapy and to stretch my legs during the 8.5 hour drive home. I found this Nike Store with a huge 'Hit the road not the wall" sign", how appropriate! I was hoping there would be a shirt but I could not find one. After my mile 23 shut down and pity party I had some serious reflecting to do.

1. Don't set big goals! However, I do not think a sub 4 was the impossible but it was a stretch since it was asking for a 12 minute PR after not doing a marathon in 4 months. I have always had an A, B and C goal. While I have played with the other goals in my head I had never thought about anything else but the sub 4.

2. Envision the other options. I have read many strategies on envisioning yourself finishing and rehearsing how you would feel at the finish. During all my long runs and training runs I have had these visions of me crossing the finish line under the big clock saying "3:55:50" and my parents would come hug me and I would be SO excited. When I saw that number get to 4 hours and 4 hours plus some change I didn't have another vision in my head.

3. NEVER think other people will be disappointed. I do not know one person that would ever second guess my effort at a marathon but I felt like so many people were cheering for me to meet that sub 4 I was embarrassed to cross the line with anything else. I started thinking about what I would say and what my reason would be. So silly now that I look back on it but I once I thought about "disappointing" my parents I started crying and even became hysterical at some points. Once I started crying that much my chest started to tighten and my breathing was a mess.

4. USE your mantra! My Mantra is "get mad at it" and "push"! It took me 1.5 miles to get mad at it and push it out. I kept letting myself get distracted by other things; shirt, ipod, iphone, time truck and other runners. I totally lost focus on what I was doing.

5. Do NOT run with my phone. There are medics and volunteers on the course. I should have never called my parents and husband to tell them I had not made my goal. Instead I should have pushed hard to gain my time back and get closer to my goal.

6. Do NOT do complicated math when you are delirious from running 23.5 miles. At 18 and 20 miles my time was spot on! I should have stopped calculating. It was slowing me down and I was wrong with my math. On the way home from the race I pulled up the 9:09 lap times and my lap times and I was within seconds for every mile until I feel apart. If I had not stopped to walk I would have been a 4:03-4:05 easy; possibly a sub 4 if I had pushed out the end.

7. Realize that if you are going to be a 50 stater you have plenty of more races to get it right and you have to be slower on some races.

8. Make friends. I made friend with a guy named Ryan from 5 until mile 15ish but never remade a friend from that point. The people I had been noticing and thought about talking to did finish ahead of me. The mental distraction of talking to others is a huge benefit and mental trick.

9. Start your GARMIN when you cross the mat not at the gun. STUPID mistake on my point but I was always wondering how much I might be off from the real race time.

10. Learn from it and move on! The race is over and I have plenty more races. PLUS it is no big deal if I do not go sub 4. I should just enjoy the excitement of completing each race and doing the best I can that day.

Marathon #4 Recap; Presque Isle, Erie, PA

Let me start off by saying I finished!! For those of you that do not want to read the entire post.. it was a 4:10:00 which was a PR by over 2 minutes. The race was great! Nice small town, BEAUTIFUL scenery AND the weather was perfect. Low 50s start and 70 at the finish.

I drove to Cleveland on Friday to stay with my friend Monica and headed to Erie on Saturday. The weekend was great! Nice and low key with lots of good food and good company. We found our hotel and expo with no problem. Plus we made a great choice to get the pasta dinner at the expo. $10 for a full meal and we were able to eat at the park and enjoy the scenery.

Brrr! It was cold at 5:30 am! We were good little girls and went to bed at 8:30 pm and were up and ready to roll by 5:15 am. There was a lot of wind and it was a little chilly so we rocked our trash bags until the start. We were all able to make our important bathroom stop in the nice park restrooms before it was super crowded then it was wait time.

Miles 1-15 were perfect! Everyone knows that I wanted a sub 4 marathon and have trained my butt off for that time. I was nailing my mile times and feeling PERFECT! I met a guy named Ryan a little before mile 5 and we talked and kept it stead all the way to mile 15. I made a pee stop in the woods and perhaps this was an omen but I PEED in my pants : ( I held it for too long and could not get my shorts down quick enough. Good thing it was hot enough people might have thought it was sweat.

I also left Ryan because he had run 30 some miles the day before at a 24 hour run in Cleveland. He is a marathon maniac and it was so much fun to talk running with him.

If you make this picture big you will see there is no smile on my face at mile 19 : ( At mile 18 I was on the nose to make right at a 4 hour marathon; maybe even a few seconds short. As I got closer to my parents at mile 19 I was super emotional because I knew they were watching my time and I was starting to doubt whether I could hold it or not. I broke into tears when I saw them. They did not think anything of my tears since I cry at every marathon. I did not tell them I was doubting myself and they did not reassure me I was going to make it. Barry knew at that time that I was 90 seconds ahead of schedule. Well I guess my marathon brain was messing with me because miles 20-23 I was doing BAD math in my head. I just kept figuring that I was minutes too slow. The more I thought about it the "slower" I got. I was running 9:15-9:30 but was freaking out because it was not a 9:09 which is what it takes to get under 4 hours. I was not stopping to look at the time I had in the "bank" from running some miles under pace. Mile 23 a time truck pulled up beside me and I figured I had 29ish to run the rest of the race. I told myself that was a good pace on a good day when you are just running 3 and convinced myself I did not have it in me.

This is when I did something I NEVER do. For the first time I stopped and walked. Not only did I stop and walk but I pulled out my phone and called my parents to tell them I was walking it in. At this point I was crying so much they did not know if I was hurt or not. I then called Scott and told him I was "F***ing pissed". In a very nice way he told me to get it together and run it in for a PR which was still very much attainable. I fixed my stupid iPod and started listening to my favorite running songs on my iPhone. At mile 24.5 ish I told myself to kick it in for a PR. It took a while to jump start my legs again but I was able to knock out some 8:45 paces : ) My stepdad had ran to check on me and found me a little after the 25 mile marker and I was running so "fast" he could not keep up with me. I was super ticked at myself for so many reasons! It took me a few minutes to find the joy in finishing a marathon in 4:10:00

Notice the lack of shirt as I finish. I was so mad that I took my NEW Saucony dry fit shirt and threw it down! Seriously I must have been out of my head from low blood sugar or something. I learned many lessons this past Sunday and am still reflecting on the whole situation. There will be more blogs about this race for many reasons! I need to re-look at my strategy to take sub 4 and I need a small attitude adjustment after the way I reacted to failure.

JUST 10 miles : )

So today was a great day because I ONLY ran 10 miles! WTF?!??!! Who says that! But seriously after weeks of 16, 18 and 20s you will take 10 in a heart beat. I was super tired and grumpy for the first 5 but I stuck my music in my ears and really picked it up for the last 5 miles. The past was sub 9 for sure (8:50 I think) so I was super excited about that. Now it is time to give the knees and hips a break with less runs and a less demanding pace and be ready for Erie! I am going to get the bike on the trainer and do bike, run, bike run and then a rest day when I travel. Monica and I plan to shake out our legs with a 3 mile jog the morning before and then it is race day.

Most people know I have my eyes on a sub 4 marathon. I think the possibility is there but I also know it is a big jump from my 4:12 in May. The plan is to go all out at this one and learn from my mistakes. If I crash and burn I will drag myself into a finish and have a better plan for training and my 26.2 in West Virginia in November. In the past I have been real conservative in the beginning and had nothing in the tank at the end SO why not give some more in the beginning and see what that does : ) I have trained harder this time around so I am hoping I will be able to suck it up at the end and fight thru the pain better than before. OR I will take a finish however it comes.

Thanks for those that continue to read and follow along!