Austin Marathon Race Report Part 1

I blogged about it over at my other blog here. I am currently working on combining the two into one. The marathon showed me alot about myself so I figured, NEW SEASON of life means NEW BLOG!

STAY TUNED! LOL

Post Marathon 2 Mile Run

Since my knees felt BAD on Mon and Tue I focused on massage ( post race for 20 minutes and the next day for 1 hour...YES!!), stretching, ice and ibuprofen. Decided to go out yesterday afternoon for a 2 mile, easy run. Kept the pace slow, felt wobbly but no pain...THANK GOD!

Still feel good this morning!! :o)

Austin Marathon

I forgot to hit stop right away since I was just "in the moment" but it's pretty right on with the race results. I will post a race report soon....processing, processing....


GREAT GREAT GREAT GREAT RACE!!!

I'M A MARATHON MOM!!!!

I *WILL* run more marathons! LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!!!

It's RACE DAY Baby!!!

TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY! TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!VTODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!TODAY'S THE DAY!!!!!!


THANK GOD I FEEL GOOD!!! No rib pain, no leg pain, feel FRESH and ready!!! Erika and Heidi are running with me and with their smarts for the first half and my gusto for the end we are going to ROCK THIS MARATHON!!!!!

PB Toast, banana, coffee, some sweet lemon lotion from B&B, a little foundation and waterproof mascara and I'm ready to go!

Race Report to follow!!!!!
RUN RUN RUN!!!!

Getting ready!

Expo was good, not as great as the Rock N Roll, but it was good! I started to experience MAJOR rib pain yesterday, I mean BAD so I went to the dr. today! She said I have "Costochondritis", or inflammation of my rib bones. Could be from all the bad coughing in Dec/Jan and the bronchitis a couple weeks back. Oh Joy! LOL

I explained to her there was NO WAY I wasn't going to run tomorrow and she needed to figure out a way to help me do that. :o)

Her answer: Steroid Shot (YES!!! No pain now 2 hours later!!) ,800mg Ibuprofen to take today with LOTS of water to prevent kidney stuff, only tylenol in the morning and promising to her I would stay WELL HYDRATED, then the best part? VICODEN for after the race!!!!!!!!! Oh yeah! :o) I should just take it at mile 24...hahahahaha! Just Kidding!

Finished up my music.
Got the MASS AMT of gels. (lol)
Outfit washed and ready.
Bought a bigger pouch for my fuel belt to hold all those gels!
Salt Pills purchased.
iPod all set.
Garmin all charged up.

I feel VERY at peace about tomorrow. WOO HOO!

Chris is going to bring me so he can be there from the start to finish and my sister will bring Adrianna around 10ish to be at the finish for me. The other two would be miserable so they are staying behind with Grandma this time around. Maybe next year. :o) Chris wanted to be able to focus only on me, and I wasn't going to argue with that..LOL!

Dinner tonight at Gino's with family and friends.

Everything else is laid out for tomorrow so hopefully I can sleep tonight! Yikes! I just remembered I need peanut butter for my toast tomorrow!!!!!!!!! Okay, back to the store I go and off to guzzle MORE WATER! :o)

Tomorrow's Weather Forcast:

62-66 by noon.
73% Humidity (that's going to suck! HA!)

2010 Races...A Year in Review!

A "PHOTO" Year in Review that is! :o)

I could not have done what I did last year without the support of my loving hubby! I am PROUD of how far I've come and the example I am setting for my children. Yes you can read to them, help them with their homework, cook their favorite meals, all of which I do but to actually SHOW them perseverance, teach them by leading by example about NOT quitting, following things through, working hard and supporting others as well as being supported, THOSE are invaluable life lessons I want them to learn from ME!

This is why I run.

Marathon Course Details

This blogger broke the ENTIRE race down in sections, tons of tips, EVERYTHING!!!

So awesome! Wanted to save it to look back on post race. :o)

Well, this is it! I took all three kids up with me to the track and squeezed out those last 2 miles before the marathon!

I C*A*N N*O*T BELIEVE I am "officially" done training for my first marathon!!! I will say the training was HARD! It was time consuming, exhausting, brought up LOTS of feelings of self doubt, it was a challenge, I didn't do exactly what I was supposed to do but I got it DONE!

I specifically chose NOT to idolize the running. I didn't prioritize it above the family, I was EXTREMELY flexible and gave myself the permission to not follow the rules completely. :o) But then again, that's me! Why would I think a running schedule would be different than the way I do anything else. ha!

And now here I am. 3 days away from the marathon. WOW! I feel unusually calm and ready. This is strange. I should be panicking but I'm not. I should be scared to death, but I'm not. I ALWAYS do best under pressure. It's the build up that usually freaks me out so I guess that's how I got during the training but oh baby, I'm READY for the race! Something happens on race day and I'm so intrigued to see what Austin Marathon has in store for me!!!!

Expo Tomorrow!
Pre Race Dinner at Gino's with the family and a few friends Saturday!
Race Day Sunday!

3 Miles

Got an easy 3 done on the treadmill even though I have a headache from hell and just wanted to go to bed! LOL But I must say, it was easy and that made me H-A-P-P-Y!!


My mind was all over the place from thinking about the Expo Friday to Pre-Race Dinner Saturday night to the BIG DAY on Sunday!!!!! My awesome mother in law is staying with the kids so my sister and Chris can focus only on ME Sunday!! Oh yeah!!! :o)

Getting VERY EXCITED about the marathon!!!!!

3 Miles

Oh boy, what a CHANGE in the weather!!! Did a nice quick 3 Miles...felt good but HOT!!! I am READY FOR AUSTIN!!!

A little bit nervous about the warmer race day forcast since I have NOT trained in the warm weather but it'll all be good! I'm CONFIDENT of that! :o)

6 MORE DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8 Miles

Saturday's Long Run....LOL...doesn't seem like long distance anymore! :o) Had an easy run, knee hurt so I was being very conservative! That's usually hard for me to do...LOL

Saving these legs for AUSTIN BABY!!!! LOL

5 Miles

Jumped on the treadmill at the Y since there was NO WAY IN HELL I was going out there in these temps with the wind the way it is, ice on the road...NOPE! Was going to switch it up and just do 3 today and 6 tomorrow but wanted to burn some extra calories and just did 5 today so I guess I'll do 3 or 4 tomorrow. :o)

Knee still hurt when I increased the speed to 5.7-6.4 but I just kept backing it down and didn't do an incline today. All I kept thinking was OH NO, MY KNEE! What if it hurts like this on race day??!!! OMG!!! Then I just stopped my thoughts in their track and said I would NOT let them take over!

I will be fine.

5 more runs before RACE DAY!

4 Miles

Okay, the taper week 1 has begun! :o) Took it easy and enjoyed a great run with my good 'ol budding Kimmers! Had knee pain but was trying not to freak out! LOL Stretched a couple times and just got the mileage done.

Pretty much laughed the whole run and realized that's one of the NUMBER ONE reasons I love running...the social aspect of it! :o)

6 more runs til race day!!!

Oh the Taper . . . . . . bleh!

Well, I've been training best I can...NOT exactly by the plan, but best I can. :o) My body IS ready, but am I???? This running thing has torn me apart! Not just all of my muscle fibers in these legs, LOL, but my mind too! I've always been FULL of self doubt and this marathon is a beast I'm trying to conquer. I want to overcome my self doubt. Everyone else out there seems to think I'm so "strong", why can't I believe it??

I have to believe, truly believe that I'm ready for this thing. I am tired of doubting my ability. I will not be defeated by Austin Marathon, I just won't...I just can't! I've been spewing out a ton of "This WILL be my one and only marathon I do!" and "This running crap sucks!" but to be truthful, I DO love to run. I'm overwhelmed by the training, I HATE to feel so restricted, and suffered a big loss when my running buddy decided long distance and endurance running wasn't for her (even though I AM happy she made the best decision for herself OF COURSE!). I have been doing so much anti running talk lately I'm driving MYSELF crazy!!!! haha!

So what does this all mean for me?

Will I continue running?

Will I continue on the marathon path after Austin?

Oh God I don't know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's easier for me to just say it's too much and I don't want to do it anymore. This is what I'm telling most of my friends and family. BUT, I do love the big miles. I do love the feeling after a long run. I do love the sense of accomplishment I feel after completing a 13+mile run.

Is this all just a bunch of anxiety? Is this normal to feel like this just after I'm finally in the BIG numbers distance wise? Seems to be so. In fact, as I Google it, I keep finding the terms "Taper Tantrums" or "Taper Madness".

It's real and it sucks.

ESPECIALLY for someone like me who is already nervous that I haven't been able to follow the plan exactly like everyone else has. I'm full of anxiety. I'm scared. I feel random aches and pains. My knee hurts. My RIBS feel broken from all the coughing the past two months and the bronchitis.

Yep, classic signs of the tantrum that most runners feel in the weeks leading up to the marathon. I have to review my blog and remember that I DID do a 20 miler, I DID do a 16 . . .etc. I AM ready.

Now I guess I just have to try to keep my sanity, stop thinking my bones are broken, muscles are torn, damaged, lungs are in bad shape, etc....STOP PANICKING GINA!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL

I found this poem and got a little giggle from it!

Now for a little entertainment!







I run.
I like it.
I'm GOOD at it.
This is all I can say for now. :o)

9 Miles

Today was supposed to be a 12 miler but at mile 2 my KNEE HURT!!!! Not just hurt, it hurt pretty bad, felt like I was limping for a bit there. I started to feel a little better around 4ish but still wanted to be conservative since the marathon is 2 WEEKS AWAY!!!! So, I decided not to head down Red Bud with Erika and Heidi, but turned around at the 5 mile mark and head back home. Right around 7 miles the knee pain flared back up and it was something I couldn't ignore. I WILL NOT INJURE MYSELF this close to the marathon! LOL

So I took it easy which KILLED me since I usually start doing some sprint intervals when I approach the toll road for those last couple miles, but I kept it slow. Once I reached Exchange I was LIMPING, running, but LIMPING so I kept it up right to 9 miles and then shut my Garmin off AND WALKED home the last .25mile.

I'm not feeling depressed or down. I just need to make it through this marathon so I will rest as much as possible over these next two weeks! LOL

4 Miles

First run of the week since my 20 miler and I'm okay with that! :o)

Met up with Erika and Kim at Anytime Fitness and hopped on the treadmill for 45 minutes. It felt SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD to be in a "REAL GYM"....I now know for sure what's next for me after this marathon!!!!

IT'S ALL ABOUT WEIGHTS BABY!!!!!!!! OH YEAH!

It just feels so NATURAL when I'm in the "gym" environment...I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!

2 more weeks until the marathon and I can kiss long distance running GOODBYE!!! LOL