20 Miles 3 Hours 44 Minutes 30 Seconds of Running!

So, how was the 20 miles?

How did it go?

How do you feel?

Are you crazy?

These are a few of the questions I heard after this morning's run and all I could say was, it was ok...I am BEAT and Yeah, I think I really MAY BE CRAZY...this is just nuts!!! Seriously, WHO DOES THIS TO THEMSELVES FOR FUN??!!!

Me, I guess. :o)

Today was an interesting run. Started out fine, although I INSTANTLY regretted wearing the tights and a tee shirt...it was HUMID out there!!!! But since the weather down here in Texas is just as crazy as I am, I had to make sure the tights would work if I needed to go the distance in them on race day and they were fine. We ran up 79, refilled waters across from Walmart, turned down Red Bud, bathroom and water stop at HEB, turned on Gattis for some more hills and then turned back around at mile 9 to head back home. My face was SO HOT today, so red...I was super thirsty and drank all my water so we stopped back in HEB to fill up (Thank God!) and then again at our Walmart drop off for the final fillup! I took 5 gels and 2 salt pills today and I was fine during the run.

Now let's talk about pace. I felt fine after getting past those first 4/5 miles, attacked those hills . . . owned them, and felt strong going up each and every one of them! I kept telling the girls that I dig the hills, something about torturing myself breathless but recovering smoothly makes me feel STRONG! I found my groove with them and am not afraid of the hills, even though they are TOUGH of course, I aint scared! :o) I'm starting to notice a little pattern with the longer distances...I hate the first 4 miles, start to get pumped up during miles 6-11, then start thinking about getting home and how I'm breaking up the rest of the mileage from there. Don't like the 13 mile mark, can't explain it but just wish the Garmin would skip Lap 13, LOL, start feeling strong again around 15 and maybe even a little cocky thinking I could run forever! :o) This is when I decided to do some aggressive attacking of the last couple of hills and started doing short little sprints...yeah, not sure if that was a good idea or not since I KNEW I wouldn't be finishing those last couple miles at 10 or less pace wise.

Heidi and Erika only had to do 18 so I had to go on and that was TOUGH mentally for me to turn down Exchange and know I wasn't going home but pushing through 2 more grueling miles alone. I was strategizing during the 18th mile and then when I felt like I just COULD NOT keep running I broke the 19th mile up in .25 increments which helped me mentally. The last 10th of a mile my legs felt like I was hobbling. I stopped in front of my house to walk it out for a bit and felt like I WAS GOING TO DIE!!!!! Yeah, it WAS tough!

Not sure how I'm going to do this marathon as far as pace goes, but I'm guessing I need to take it slower and not start off in the 10s for the first couple miles. Will that really work? I don't know. I don't like to "THINK" too much with this running stuff but DO want to finish strong.
Here is my pace broken done by mile:
Mile: Pace

1	:11:14
2	:10:53
3	:10:55
4	:10:51
5	:11:44
6	:12:00
7	:11:28
8	:11:38
9	:11:19
10	:11:17
11	:11:29
12	:11:34
13	:11:02
14	:10:55
15	:10:45
16	:10:33
17	:10:16
18	:10:41
19	:11:44
20	:12:01

I sit here now with sore knees and an upset tummy thinking about the craziness of the day. This running thing is TOUGH. I'm a girl and some of the stuff I deal with is just SO UNFEMININE!!! The WORST is having your period and running 20 miles on the 2nd and worst day to get out there (yeah, tell me about it!), the nonstop feeling like you are either going to pee or crap yourself while running. The occasional tummy rumblings, the gas (pain and passing of....such a bonding experience with your girlfriends!LOL). The bathroom stops in the woods or dark alley ways (I have YET to do either of these but girls, you know who you are!), the changing of feminine products on the road...hey you do what has to be done, period! No pun intended. :o) Then comes the ice baths, the "You smell like a grandma" ben gay patches, the DREADED stair case you have no choice but to go up and down a million times, the sore toes that EVERY ONE OF THE KIDS somehow find a way to step on, and let's not forget the black toe nails/missing toe nails (which I'm proud to say I haven't had that happen yet either!!!).

Then there are those lovely aches and pains...yes, the knees, the hammies, the quads, the calves, the glutes...oh they all ache but it feels good. It makes me feel like I DID something! Crazy as it sounds, this running stuff isn't so bad.

Now whether or not I'll EVER run a marathon again after Austin, not sure about that. This training is tough, the commitment is some serious stuff, and I'm just not sure I love it THAT much to continue on. We will see.

I don't know why I do it.

I love feeling the sense of accomplishment as I sit and reflect on my run 12 hours later. 12 hours ago I thought THIS SUCKS, this isn't normal, why do people do it!!?? But now I sit back and think, well it wasn't THAT bad, no actually, it was AWESOME! LOL

Like I said, I think I'm a little crazy.

How in the HELL am I going to add 6 more when I barely made it to 20?

All heart, I guess.

Here's to "Running My Race"!! Now the taper to race day begins! :o)

A Runner's Accessories!!!

Who doesn't love to accessorize, right??? And who would have thought there would be more to running than just shoes? Chris ALWAYS makes fun of all the "extras" that go into Fashionable Running.

You know what I'm talking about . . .

The Clothes! Shorts? Tights? Tank? Tee or Long Sleeve?
Arm Warmers? Gloves?
The Socks!
The Shoes!
The Sports Bra!
The Bodyglide!
The Fuel Belts
The Water Bottles, handheld, backpack, etc.
The Hats, Visors, Headbands!

I made a little mosaic with some ideas I have...trying to get a VISUAL!!!!

NEVER MIND THAT BUT NOW WHAT COLOR??!!!???!!!??!!!?!!?!?!?!?!?

And let's NOT FORGET the jewelry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There are SO MANY cute things you can get!!! I love the simple necklace and want the charm bracelet too!!! I mean seriously, check out the charms!!! You KNOW I'll be adding on the Tri charms, and all the races I've done too! LOL

OH BOY....
DECISIONS,DECISIONS, DECISIONS!!!!

4 miles

Treadmill AGAIN....felt fine but was SUPER thirsty tonight, only brought 8 oz on the treadmill and didn't want to get off to fill it! LOL Nothing really to write about tonight, but did THINK ALOT about the marathon. NEED to get my music in order before this race!!!! That along with my outfit, plan Adrianna's birthday party, our trip to Dallas to get her American Girl doll, the Daddy Daughter Dance, oh yeah and Valentines Day/my Sis's bday!!! HOLY CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And as I'm waiting for my Garmin to upload, I'M HACKING UP A LUNG!!!!!!!!!!!!Kimmers ALWAYS cracks me up with her comical little pictures so I found this and it's TOTALLY what I feel like right now!!! My ribs and back are KILLING ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4 Miles

This week and next will be tough since Chris is gone mid week, ugh! Will have to improvise, forget about the long mid week run and just still get my 3 days of running in, at least for 30 minutes each time and be satisfied with that.

I am concerned about this cough. It's a hoarse hacking cough and it sucks! It's at its worst when I come to a stop. I'm going to just consider it bronchitis recovery/cedar fever and continue to listen to my body. Had a good pace for the first 10 minutes and then did 2/1 sprints on the treadmill tonight and it felt good. Knees are a little sore, but nothing some ice packs and ibuprofen won't take care of!

Time for a quick bubble bath and bed!

16 Miles

Since I clicked "mode" before allowing it to locate the sattelites, my first .11 miles on there but we went by Heidi's garmin so I KNOW I didn't cheat myself at all.

Today was TOUGH! But I'll first start by the awesome stuff. This course was GORGEOUS!!! We ran through Sun City in Georgetown and I was in love. Hutto sucks as far as scenery and elevation goes for sure. We started off fine, my chest didn't seem to bother me much even though it was cold out. First 6 miles went by abnormally fast, guess it was all the talking and admiring the TREES all around us! We made a stop for the bathroom and water at a little mini mart and that is when the coughing fit happened! Coughed so much I had to use the inhaler but tried not to focus on it and just get back out there....it was WAYYYYYYYY to early to think ANYTHING negative!

Heidi then led me to a little trail somewhere right in the middle of the run and I've never seen anything so pretty! I LOVED being in the woods. (would NEVER do it alone though, FOR SURE!) All I could see in front of me and around me were beautiful fallen leaves, creeks and little bridges to run over and I just fell in love...definitely the best part of the run even though it did hurt the bottoms of my feet. (the rocks and the uneven ground) I'm also attributing some of my left knee pain to this!

I hung tough even after the next and last bathroom trip having another major coughing fit. This was at mile 13 and sort of did me in...last 3 miles were harder than last week's 18 miler. I told myself that it was probably because I'm still recovering and not to be hard on myself...I DID THE 16 and that's what mattered!

The course was a seemingly NONSTOP incline with hills and the trails. Definitely the toughest course I've done yet so I'm very surprised that my pace was almost the same as my 18 miler which had a good portion of it flat (down 79). I huffed and puffed like a baby wanting to walk the last .5mile but did it.

Heidi was encouraging, conversation was great, all in all AWESOME RUN!

As usual, my runner's "high" comes when I'm FINISHED running....LOL!!

2 Miles

Well, I went out there still a little stiff from Saturday and ran with Kim. Her hip hurt so we kept it slow and short! Later on that night I came down with a SEVERE virus! Couldn't get out of bed!!! Sweats, chills, bodyaches, difficulty breathing, etc. Went to the dr. on Thursday since I was STILL IN BED and she said it was a bad virus and bronchitis. Dr. ordered NO RUNNING until Monday the 24th.

I'm going to try to do 16 miles with Heidi in Georgetown...we'll see how it goes!

18 Miles

Well this was my LONGEST DISTANCE TO DATE!!!!!!!!!!! I felt GREAT!!! My training isn't going as well as I was hoping. My schedule just doesn't allow for intense training and I just have to be okay with that.

I've lowered my expectations of what I'm going to achieve with this marathon. It's my first and it's very doubtful I'll get close to a 4:30. I'm just hoping to finish it, that's all. I love the way I feel AFTER a run, and that keeps me going, well that and I paid $125 for Austin Marathon...I have to finish! LOL

Seriously though, I LOATHE the shorter distances. There is so much planning and thought that goes into the big miles that it just seems more "worth it"...not only that but I feel strangely GOOD when I'm on these long runs. Maybe it's having a group around me, maybe it's getting past the first hell 3 miles and moving up. I don't know. I just like it.

I was very doubtful about this run.

I woke up, it was COLD and RAINING but we did it and DID IT WELL!!! I was thrilled. I conquered those hills like nothing, one at a time. How did I do this? I am not even doing 100% of what I'm supposed to be doing???!!!! Sheer will. Determination. Heart.

I have no other explanation. But it did build up my confidence for the marathon for sure!!!

3 Miles

3 Miles

4 Miles

IT WAS COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLDDDD!
33 Degrees today to be specific.

I had on my compression tights, tank, arm warmers, white pullover, gloves, ear warmer and baseball cap and felt good. Brought 8 oz of water...it was almost too cold to drink, finished it up on my cooldown.

I felt good, had a great pace the first 2 miles and then leveled it out to bring me to what seems to be my average for short runs 10/mile.

I feel good at this pace.

Still trying to warm up 20 minutes later...LOL

12 Miles

Forest Creek with Tobie.

I was worried and convinced that if I felt as bad as Wed I would NOT register for the marathon, put it behind me and MOVE ON.

Well, it started off rough and turned out GREAT! The hills were a beast but I conquered them and felt great at the end.

Thank you God for answering my prayer this morning and revealing to me that I NEED to be a finisher with this.

I NEED TO.

18 Miles next weekend....HOLY COW!!!

7 Miles

This was supposed to be 8 but I'm LUCKY I made it to 7. This run was BRUTAL. I had a very upset stomach, humidity was horrible and I had to BATTLE MY MIND every SINGLE STEP!! We looped back to Erika's house, picked her up and BECAUSE of her I was able to get 2 more miles in. Her encouraging words helped me. I wanted to jump on her back and have her carry me in, seriously, felt like crap afterwards but at least I did 7.

She reminded me that I haven't been consistent with the busyness of the holidays and after a week of doing what has to be done, I'll be fine. Let's hope so. :o)

3 Miles

Was planning on running right after spin but just couldn't, LOL, my legs were tired!!! So, I tucked kids in bed, popped laundry in the dryer and hopped on the treadmill for 30 minutes. These mid week runs are tough to schedule when Chris travels.

RPM

Went back to RPM Class for the first time in MONTHS!!!! It was T-O-U-G-H but I LOVED IT! Felt great to be back at the Y today, kept my heart rate between 60-80% the entire class.

Awesome CrossTrain Day for me! :o) Worked muscles in my legs that I don't necessarily work as hard when I run. LOL


60 Minutes RPM

10 Miles

I woke up this morning and thought I was going to just QUIT! Why am I running a freaking marathon anyway?????? What was my motivation in this to begin with? Yeah, it wasn't from a pure, good heart. But that motivation has changed a bit. I needed to go on this run, not do the 16 like I was supposed to since it would affect my family time on our Sunday together, but at least get out there and do something and process my thoughts while pounding the pavement! :o)

I came to the conclusion that I "do" like running. The strict and rigid training schedule though is a different story. I am a MOM and WIFE first, runner last. When it affects my family, I go into "Ditch it" mode. BUT, I just can't do it with the running. I need to finish what I set out to do, to prove it to MYSELF that I'm not a quitter, I'm a finisher. So with that said, no I may not be able to do the plan EXACTLY the way I'm supposed to and I'm fine with that. I've had to lower the expectations for race day to "finishing" and NOT finishing in 4:30 or under 5. So here's to lowering expectations. :o)

Feeling some freedom in that.