Training Started This Week

Since I have decided to run the PF Chang marathon again, I have started training.  And, since it's SO stinking hot there is no way I can run outside.  I can't wait for the day that it's cool enough to run outside!  I especially love running outside during the holidays because it's so fun to see all the decorated houses!  But for now, I have to go to the YMCA.  If the boys are good and get ready and go to the kids place so I can exercise, I take them swimming afterwards.  Here are some pictures from today...

Oliver was putting his face in it like a drinking fountain then sticking his tongue out. 

 I try to meet my friend Kiera at the Y so we can exercise together and today she brought her boys swimming with us.  It's crazy that when we first met she didn't have any kids and we only had Jaxon.  Now, between the 2 of us, there are 5 kids...and they are all boys!!!  It's so fun to see them all growing up and playing together!

Yeah, so I'm running the marathon again!  I know I said I would never do it again, but I was so close to qualifying for Boston that I want to run it again so I can qualify.  They actually decreased the time so I have to cut more off my time, but I think I can do it.  

Training is very time consuming, but I really enjoy doing it.  When I told Devin I wanted to run it again he said with a big sigh, "You do?"  Then I told him that I know it takes a lot of my time, but he had to support me.  I guess it seems like it takes more time because of when the training falls...during the holidays and wrestling season.  But, around the time of the marathon we are planning on trying to have another baby so the timing is perfect.  I want to do this for myself before getting pregnant again.  And because of the scare with Ollie and the doctor being relieved that my body was in such good shape before getting pregnant that he thought it would heal itself, which it did, I want to be really healthy before getting pregnant again.  

So, anyone interested in running the marathon with me???  

There is a half (13.1 miles) if a whole (26.2) is too much.  

It's super fun!!!

Last Run

Last night was my last run before the marathon.  It was full of emotions--relief (though the biggest challenge is yet to come), excitement, frustration, joy, sadness, and gratitude.

Relief for knowing the workouts are over and it's just the race left.
Excitement for the race!  It's so close!
Frustration because I am unsure if I should wear my knee brace.  I haven't run with it before, but my knee hurts on my long runs so I think I might need it.
Joy because I have come so far and done so much to get here.
Sadness because the journey is almost over.
Gratitude for my healthy body and and strong mind that got me here.

I enjoyed it.

PS...My workout ended on a high note when a guy said I look like I'm 18.  Fabulous:)

Just Dance/Run

My recent favorite discovery while running is the fun thing to do of changing the words in the songs to match with running.

Lady Gaga's Just Dance is now called Just Run.

I discovered this while finishing my first 14 miler and was so tired.  The song came on when I had about a mile left and I started singing it out loud to get myself to finish strong.  It worked!

Thank You, Debbie Downer

The other day at the gym I was almost done with my workout when a lady came up and stood on the treadmill next to me as if she wanted to talk to me.  I took out my headphones and paused the machine.  She introduced herself and I can't remember her name, but we'll call her Debbie.  I introduced myself and our conversation went something like this...

Debbie, "I see you running a lot.  Are you training for anything?"

Me, "Yep, I am running in the PF Chang Marathon."

Debbie, "I've run it 3 times.  This will be my 4th."

Me, "Really, wow.  How is it?  I guess you probably liked it if you keep doing it."

Debbie, "It's pretty good.  One year it was freezing cold and I didn't do so well.  But I don't expect it to be like that this year."

At this point I am thinking, "This girl seems nice... offering some knowledge from her experiences."

Debbie, "Have you done a marathon before?"

Me, "No.  I've done a half, but this is my first full marathon."

Debbie, "How do you think you'll do?  Do you have a goal?"

Me, "Well, if I base it on my half..."

Debbie, "Which you can't."

Me, "...then somewhere around 4 hours.  I'd like to keep my pace at about 10 minutes a mile."

Debbie, "Which you won't."

Me, "Oh, yeah.  Well, I know I'll be slower than my half for sure, but I think 10 minute miles is reasonable for me."

Debbie, "Well, unless you are some amazing superwoman runner, you won't."  Yep, that's what she said.

Now I'm thinking something like, "Wow.  Okay.  You can go away now.  And, by the way, I am an amazing superwoman runner!!!"

Me, "Okay...hmmm..."

Debbie, "Yeah, a marathon is nothing like a half marathon.  You'll feel like you're gonna die!  It's pretty close though, huh?  I have a 20 miler this weekend and then we taper down."

Me, "It is coming fast.  Mine is just 18 this week and another 18 next week, then I taper.  Well, good luck on your training and maybe I'll see you at the race."

Debbie, "Yeah, nice to meet you.  Bye!"

Now, I'm all for hearing advise from people who are experienced, but geez... Talk about a downer!  She could have tactfully said something like, "That's a serious goal for a first time marathoner, but remember, finishing is the ultimate goal, right?"  So she could get across the message that she thinks I might not really make my goal.  But, to flat out say I can't and won't, I'd say is pretty presumptuous.

Who is she to tell me what I can or can't do?!  And you know what?  I have to believe that I am amazing or else I wouldn't be able to finish!  This race is serious and unless I make my mind believe I can do it, I physically will not be able to.

I know I do not really know what a marathon is like, and I am expecting it to kick my butt, and I probably will feel like I am going to die by the end, but I feel like I am prepared.  At the time I ran the half, (13.1 miles) the most I had run by that point was 11.  Now I have run 19 and have followed the training schedule so I believe I will finish and meet my goal.  I think--and maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so--that a half marathon is a little bit like a full marathon.  I see these equations in my head:

training for half marathon=successful half marathon
training for full marathon=successful full marathon

I mean, I've trained, mentally and physically for this race.  Even if I'm not ready, I have to believe I am or I have lost before I started.

I have experienced the amazing things your physical body can do when your mind believes it can.  This race will be another to add to the list.

Maybe afterwards I'll say that she was right and I was crazy for thinking I could make it around 4 hours.

But, probably not.

Hand Delivered Christmas Gift?

Nope.  Today I was hand delivered my photo red light ticket--ugg!

It's my first ticket and I knew it flashed me when it happened.  It was taken on Halloween and I was SO mad!  I hate those things!  At least when you get pulled over you can plead with the officer to NOT give you the ticket.  These machines have no mercy!  Hate them!

Merry Christmas to me!

Oh, and that little bride and groom glass ornament I posted about a few days ago... Henry dropped it on the tile and it broke.  I saw that he had it, but went to the washroom to drop a dirty towel in the basket and when ran back to him and it was too late.  :(  At least he had this cute little smile on his face though!

AND... Tomorrow is my last long run before the marathon!  Yea!  It's 18 miles for the second time.  Actually, last week I thought about only having one long run left and was kind of sad.  I really enjoy being out in the beautiful weather for a good three to three and a half hours once a week.  I feel so free while I'm out there running all over the place.

Today when I ran I was having a killer pain behind my right knee.  I mean, it was bad.  I had to stop a few times and usually I'm able to run through any pains I'm having.  It started about mile 16 last week, but today it was there right when I started running.  That's pretty much terrible news because I have come this far without an injury and it would be SO sad if this keeps me from being able to race.  I'll be taking pain killers tomorrow for sure!

I better get to bed!

Night Run

The other night I did not feel like enduring another boring treadmill run so I put the boys in the stroller and I ran around the neighborhood.  Though they were so cute, I will not be doing that again.  It's too scary for me to run in the dark.

Half + .9 = 14

Yep, a half marathon plus eight tenths of a mile equals fourteen miles.  That was the run today and it was serious!  Good thing Gu tastes like chocolate pudding--yummy!  My hips were okay, but under my butt hurt like under my hip bones???  I don't know what that's about.  And now I'm having a weird pain in my right inner thigh that isn't like any other pain I've had before.  I hope it goes away because every time I move my leg it hurts...yikes!  Oh, and my face got a little sun because it took quite a while and I'm getting a little congested...noooooo!  I hate a stuffy nose!  (I don't mean to complain, I'm just documenting my ailments during training.)

Only 4 more miles and we'll be at our longest training run.  I can't believe we are this close!  I ran today with my mom and Louisa.  Those ladies rock!

Oh, and today we helped Devin's sis and her husband move into their new house.  It's super cute and the best part is that it's only 10 minutes away from us!  Yea!

Now, it's time to take a hot bath!

The Results Are In...

At the half marathon I ran 13.1 miles in 1:44:58. That averages out 8:01 a mile.

I came in 43rd out of 269 runners. I was the 12th female runner and 4th in my age bracket.

I'm pretty proud of myself! I hoped to make it under 2 hours, so I was very surprised and excited to see my time as I crossed the finish line.

It rained on us for a little bit. As the rain washed down my face it tasted salty. I don't think I've every prayed so hard for it to NOT rain than I did then. My hip also started hurting before the half way point. It's an old injury I first got my junior year. I'll be taking Glucosamine from now on.

Devin was there with Jaxon and Henry. They were so cute in the stroller all confused about why mommy was running like a crazy person. My Aunt Alisa and Uncle Danny and their 3 little ones were there for the whole race moving from spot to spot to cheer for me. They were even out there in the rain. It really meant a lot to me and I almost bawled every time I saw them. My grandpa lives near the course so he rode his bike and caught me once along my run to cheer me on. That almost made me burst into tears too! But each time I saw one of them, it made me run harder and do better.

I am excited for the marathon. It's hard to imagine running twice as far as I just did without stopping. But, when I started the training I never thought I could run 13 without stopping so it just takes time to build up to.

The results website also had this info:
4 Mile 32:03
10 Mile 1:19:15

11 Miles & Half Marathon

I ran 11 miles on Saturday. It was kinda tough. It was a little warmer than I would have liked and my hip started to get tired when I still had like 2 miles to go.

When I got home my arms felt like they were covered with sand. I figured it was dust from running through the cotton fields while the wind was blowing. A few minutes later I bit my nail and tasted salt. Then I realized that my body was covered in sweat salt. I licked my arm to see (gross, I know) and it was so salty. Next, I downed a Gatorade.

Also, I wanted to mention I will be racing in the Run from the Sun Half Marathon next week! Louisa found it and saw it fit right along with our training schedule so we signed up! If you are my family reading this, it would mean so much to me if you were there cheering me on. I'll be e-mailing you the details:)

I heart Zack Morris

I forgot to post this earlier, but this morning at the gym I had a little encounter with a guy coming between me and Zack. Okay, I don't really love Zack Morris, but I did LOVE watching Saved by the Bell when I was a kid. So...I was excited to see it was on one of the tv's at the Y this morning.

After I was finished with lifting, I claimed the machine smack in front of this tv. When I run, it's too much movement to read a book or magazine and I don't have an iPod (see my wish list below), so unless I have a friend on the machine next to me, running indoors can be boring. Plus, it seems like it takes forever because all I have to do is look at are the numbers in front of me tracking my workout.

Okay, back to the story...So, the captions were on so I started watching and reading so I could tell what was going on. Not like it's my favorite show now, but compared to ESPN, a Spanish channel, Good Morning America, and Good Morning Arizona, this was a great change for the Y! I was almost to 1 mile and loving watching my show when this guy came and asked me and the few people on the machines next to me, "Does anyone mind if I change Saved by the Bell?" No one else said anything, but I nicely said with a smile on my face, "Yeah, I actually like it."

Well, he didn't care. He walked right up to the tv and changed it to some dumb sports show WITHOUT captions so he couldn't even tell what was going on! Then, as he got on the elliptical machine in front of me he looked at me and said, "It was good when we were younger, but..." and he stopped.

Yeah, I was totally annoyed! First of all, I think he was like in his 30's when that show was a hit. I was like 3 so I don't know what he means "when we were younger." Was he a big fan when he was in his 30's? Really, it ran from 1989-1993. Second, it's not like he just walked up there and changed it. I wouldn't have been so annoyed because then he wouldn't have been aware to the fact that I was enjoying watching it. He politely asked and I politely told him and he rudely changed it anyway. Third, his channel did NOT even have captions, so he didn't know what they were saying anyway! (He didn't have earphones so he couldn't have been tuned in to the sound either.)

Okay, deep breath...K, so it wasn't really a big deal, but it's just that there is never anything good on in the morning and I get so tired of staring at those dumb digits on the treadmill so I was really excited to see a show that I like. Plus, I did think he was rude.

I totally made this into a huge dramatized story and I wasn't really that upset, but I just thought he was rude so I wanted to see what people thought about that. Would you have been upset? Not? Said something to him?

And for some reason, I thought of my friend Jami and wondered what she would do...haha...Jami?

Training Schedule Buildup and Wish List

I know I love running, but when I haven't done it for a while it takes a week or so of struggling through it before my body starts to get in shape and used to the workout. I started running last week with just a mile and today was the first day that I felt that feeling of loving running again. It just feels amazing. I felt like I could keep going and going! But I didn't want to push it too much to start out because I know it's important to start slow. It takes about 1 1/2 miles before I am warm, but once I get past that distance, I feel great! I'm sure I'll have second thoughts during the training, especially during the long runs! But, I really do love it!

To anyone who thinks they don't like running...try it and once you get in shape, you'll like it! Of course it's hard at first, but what new exercise isn't? It really is fun!

The marathon training schedule starts with 3 miles and today I only ran 2 so I have to build up a little bit more before the formal workouts start. Formal training starts on September 27. We will be in Disneyland then, (YEA!!!) so I'll have to make a little adjustment.

I got on the Nike website to check out some shoes and my wish list got longer and longer...I don't particularly favor Nike brand, but their website is pretty awesome with a lot of information. So...here's the list:

iPod

iPod arm band

Nike+ iPod Sport Kit

Bean Pod for Nike+ sensor to attach to my shoe

2 pairs running shoes

2 pairs running socks

GU packets

Body Glide