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

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!)

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)

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

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)

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!!!

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