Marine Corps Marathon 2012

It was fucking awesome. Here's me, still smiling, at mile 19. Richmond Marathon 2013! That is all.

Totally. Not. Running. (For the moment)

So that 20-mile race messed up my foot. I've been told to take a rest for the week. Which is making me nutty, as you can imagine. 11 days until the marathon!

Taper Time

Peak marathon training is OVER!! I can't believe it!! I'm now into my 3 week taper time, cutting my miles and resting for the big show. So far, it's nice. My body wants to sleep a lot, and I'm honoring that. Let's talk the week before the marathon, and see how psycho I've gotten...

Stonewall Jackson 20 Mile Ambulance Run

Today I completed the longest run of my marathon training cycle. A close-by town does a 20-mile "tune up" race exactly 3 weeks prior to the Marine Corps Marathon, which is exactly when you're supposed to do your 20. Husband and I figured we might as well get a t-shirt since we have to run the 20 anyways! I'd love to give you a play-by-play of the race, but it's really fading into one big blob in my memory. The first 5 miles were spent running at a 10-10:30 pace, easily chatting with the runners around me. The course was hilly, but I run hills all the time so it really was no big deal. We spent 4-5 miles somewhere in the middle running on a rocky trail. It was pretty, but unpleasant as you really had to watch where you stepped. Around mile 16 I started to really, really want to be done. We were running the same hills in reverse, and they suddenly seemed a lot larger. And more steep. In fact we hit a really large uphill at mile 17 (one that I daintily pranced DOWN at mile 3)and I ended up walking the think. The only reason I wasn't crying at that point was because I wasn't carrying water and didn't want to cry any out! At mile 19 I figured I'd better stop walk/running and finish strong. When my trainer first ran this thing 5 years ago, she ran a 3:44:07, and I was determined to beat it. My Garmin hit mile 20, and the finish line was nowhere in sight, VERY frustrating. The race turned out to be closer to 20.2, my finish time was 3:41:22. Here's the finish photo!

Now, I taper for three weeks. Then the BIG SHOW!

Almost there!

The marathon is in 33 days y'all. My training is peaking. I hit 40 miles last week, with my Saturday long run being 17 miles. I also experienced my first ice bath. Not. Awesome.

Check out the lovely black toenails. That's hot, right? I am feeling incredibly burnt out at this point. As in, I'm dreading my runs. My entire life revolves around getting ready to run, running or recovering from a run. It's all consuming. On October 6th, I'll run in a 20 mile race, and that will be the longest of my long runs. After that, I'll have a 3 week taper before the big show. I can do this...

A 15 miler

Yesterday I ran 15 miles, which is the farthest I've ever run. I did it without my running group, as the person I usually do long runs with had a race. Basically I ran the 7 mile loop around my neighborhood twice, then threw in an extra mile at the end for good measure. I felt really, really good. I stayed on top of my hydration, taking a salt pill every hour, along with water. I ate a Gu every hour as well, though I think I'm going to push that back to every 45 minutes because I felt myself starting to droop before the hour was up. I ran it at a comfortable 11:08 pace, which is acutally pretty fast for me at that distance. I think I need to stay off the scale until after the marathon. The weight fluctuations are scary. I can lose 3lbs during a long run, and wake up the next day 2lbs heavier than my original weight. And waking up heavier freaks me out, so then I don't want to eat the calories that I need to fuel my runs. Nasty cycle. Time to just let it go and focus on my training and eating as healthy as possible.

T-minus 75 days...

So I am just about halfway through marathon training. Last weekend I ran a whopping 14 miles. It really wasn't too bad, and I think that if this heat and humidity would let up, it would be even easier. I am running an easy 10 this weekend, and have a half marathon scheduled next weekend. My Monday tempo runs are up to 7 miles now, and my tempo pace is supposed to be a 10:15 or better. I've really, really struggled with this, as it is a hilly 7 mile course where I live and the heat has been brutal. Yesterday I ran it at a 10:01 pace, so I am definitely improving. I'm going to run a marathon in less that 75 days. No, really. I am!