Race Day

Clock time 3:45 and some change

Chip time TBA
http://www.racecenter.com/results/2009/res_b709.htm (posted by noon on Sept 28th, 2009)

Overall GREAT race. I'll share more details when I am not so busy celebrating. For all of you who made a mental note to accept my challenge sponsorship, get your checkbooks out.... I shattered 4 hours.

I am SO grateful for everyone who has taken interest in my training, in my fund-raising, in my race and in my life- I just want to say thank you.

some history

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Marathon

http://ctc.coin.org/marathon.html

9/26 The DAY before!!!!

So far so good- Had a WONDERFUL morning in Seattle, good night's sleep last night, a fine travel up to Bellingham, and only one episode of nervous nausea before I drove the course (and BTW whoever I told the course was flat... I was lying! Luckily I have trained on a few hills this summer)

Tonight's work out was to run 2 miles, easily. I started from the hotel (which is not in the most character rich part of town but I am delighted to be close to the start and finish of the race) I set out at about 6 and was running by the Bellingham airport which is very small and as I passed by the grassy air strip a small Horizon charter came in for landing, maybe 3 feet over my head, 5 at best. It was really exciting. The sun light all of the clouds into a metallic light show above the ocean and its scattered land masses while it simultaneously turned Mt. Baker's snow cap alpen pink. The setting made me feel like no matter what happens tomorrow, everything is as it should be.

Oh- and I nailed my times...
10:15- and I am trying desperately to keep the wolves of excitement at bay. Drinking tea (herbal of course) and am off to take a very hot bath.

Wish me luck!

9/25 Jet Plane

I am completely neurotic when I travel for a race. I'm lucky my mom and sister didn't get tired of my antics and leave me for a real vacation...

So anal... I just don't want to waste all of this preparation on some silly thing like forgetting boarding passes, not leaving enough time, ect...

9/24 the count-down

Today is another physiologically important memory game.

So I did it on a track in Reno (which took quite a bit of effort as my normal Reno track was getting ready for a Wolf-pack game not 1 but 2 days later. I found the preparation to be a bit excessive but then, I'm selfish). 3 consecutive miles at race pace. The goal was to start at 8 min. 30 sec. move to 8min. 15 sec. then to 8

Pacing is soooo technical...
warm-up-1 mile
1st mile-8:49
2nd mile-8:53
3rd mile-8:12

The song "making me nervous" by Brad Sucks is maybe the theme song of my life right now... Inexcusable that it isn't on my shuffle for the race.

I have never set time goals for myself and not only are we our own worst critics (as the cliche goes) but we are our hardest coaches..

9/22 final speed workout

Veteran Plan (I hope that I am actually worthy of this training plan... It has served me well so far)
Quality #7 - 2 reps of 1600m at race pace with 3 min rest between. AKA 2 separate miles at race pace.

Today was about instilling a sense of pace into my physiology so it remembers what that pace feels like without overdoing it the week before the race. I have two ghetto tracks in Bear Valley- I have talked about these before and though they are a little hilly and on asphalt, they certainly do the trick. I went out too hot. 7:35 which is 30 seconds faster than what I want to be running. The next mile was better. I thought of the smell of coffee and how much I would enjoy the first sip on my lips after the workout was done and I nailed my time... and I was able to calm down. Second round I ran a 7:56 which though it isn't right on target, within 4 seconds is pretty close and I feel satisfied with my workout and as always really happy I started the day with a run. The sun was shining and it felt like an Indian Summer... my favorite kind of morning.

oops

I missed a workout this weekend. Which probably means I should cancel my travel and quit running forever.

With one week left, I know that missing one little workout won't break the deal but I think it would have helped put my mind in the right place of preparation. I am disappointed I missed it but do not regret the way I spent my weekend.

9/17 Magic Speed Workout

Today I was not scared away from the track by the football team or the soccer team(s) or the girl's track team (that was probably the most intimidating of them all)
I did my 8x 800m sprints and am very happy with my results.
I averaged 3:37. I am so close I can smell it.

9/16 Birthday rest

Today is about rest and recuperation-
No calorie counting
No running

9/15 Long Run

Moral of today's run- Never wait.

Not one of my strongest efforts but satisfactory nonetheless. My route was planned out. I mapped it online (run.com is great for traveling) and I had the perfect number of miles on a flat course that winds through nice neighborhoods and by the river...

A little shy on calories yesterday- 1,300 rather than my standard issue lean and healthy 1,800. That was a mistake.

I prioritized socializing with my sister and old friends rather than getting started early to beat the heat- this was another mistake, a big one. I ran 14 miles. I started on pace. Then I got very hot and realized I should have started slower than pace because of the heat and mild calorie deficit. I had to walk a bit-

Not very happy with my pacing nor my mistakes. But that is part of what training is all about- Learning what works and what doesn't.

Running in 85 degree temps does not work without proper preparation... Post run I had my favorite yogurt and honey snack from Starbucks and a humongous iced coffee- yes, it's true, another mistake- the middle size would have been totally sufficient. As soon as I got home- I had a MASSIVE headache and nausea. Thankfully I recovered in time to eat birthday sushi dinner. Even more thankfully, I couldn't access information on how many calories I consumed at dinner.

9/14 something new

I am nervous to run in a new setting tomorrow- I am neurotically trying to plan the details...

9/13 test

Today's run was not about time, which is hard to let go of. It was all about my calf. An entire run dedicated to one area of my body.

Though I am not thrilled with the way my calf felt today- it will be OK. I will take some motrin, I have ice on it now, stretiching and everything is going to be fine.

4 miles in 'the' shoes.

9/13 preparing

This week my morning heart beat is 43 weight is just over 136.
My calf feels dramatically better.
I am going to try and run tomorrow.

Workouts I have missed include

1. 8.5 mile tempo
2. 8 x 800m sprints, well @ 10k pace with 90 second rests. This is a crucial workout for deciding pace. The average of your hard efforts here in minutes and seconds roughly equal the marathon finish time you can expect in hours and minutes- It's a weird number trick, not an actual pace replication. I am now on the fence about weather to replace one of my future workouts with this one risking my body forgetting what the pace is supposed to feel like in order for my mind to know what times I should be shooting for- BIG decision.

I am nervous about tomorrow. Please tell me not to be.

Post Bad Run

My right calf is broken-

Recipe for healing:

1. Excellent massage from Amy Renn Wednesday and Monday
   
2. Nightly stretching, do you think it's possible to make up for an entire summer without adequate stretching (in conjunction with next bullet point of course) in 2 weeks? I'll keep you posted.
3. At least 4 days off- of EVERYTHING except walking. No running, tennis, dancing, jogging (with a soft 'j' of course), biking, swimming, flip-flops (this one's hard), and of course drunken lunges (this one is also hard). Which brings us to #4
4. Detox- put your serious pants on. This is not really inspired by the bad workout but is certainly reinforced by it. I do a detox annually, usually in the spring to kick-start running season. It is mainly no alcohol for an entire month. That month also includes calorie counting 6 days a week and one day of calorie freedom, aside from alcohol. That means I still get to experiment with new B&J flavors (favorite so far "kama sutra" and "Dublin Mudslide" available at the BVGS. I also get to eat out and not worry exactly how many servings of cream are in this. For this year's race I decided long ago I would do another mini detox before the race to clean up, tidy my body, sharpen it, make it a well oiled machine. No alcohol (except on my birthday) until after race day. I sleep better (which they say is one of the most pivitol training tools for good race day preformence especially in the month before the rce) and I almost instantly loose 5lbs- which tells me that is 5lbs I don't need for the race. My joints will thank me and hopefully the clock will thank me.

Wish me luck

9/8 Kicked in the Legs

This was one of my only bad workouts all summer.

Most often when I run, it's my time- I run through whatever turmoil or joys are happening in my life and let them slowly transform from mind consuming emotions into the salt on my forehead. All my thoughts meld together sometimes into solutions and sometimes into nothing. Whatever results the run yields, I always find relief.

Today I couldn't run away. My life consumed my run and destroyed it. I walked/jogged, (yes with a soft 'j') the last two miles, which was especially disheartening because though they are the hardest they have been the fastest and somehow easier for me the last few weeks because I know there are just a few more... In my recent long runs I have been shattering my final mile times, finishing my run feeling a little tattered and achy but overall strong, confident, proud and excited for race day. Today I was in tears.

I was so upset when I started I shot my wad early. I left the start gates hungry for release and payed the price in the last quarter of my run. I was breaking 7 minute miles in the first half and exponentially suffered the extra minutes I should have saved for later. My calves screamed in mile 1, my camelbak felt like it weighed 15 pounds, and I hated everything on body. It was awful. I was so disheartened. This was the last long workout before my race and I desperately wanted to nail it. I started at 8 and woke up methodically. My running was dominated by hunger to let go of everything and do just one thing for a few hours - run. I got so carried away by anticipation that a crucial workout disintegrated because I couldn't harness mind and keep my feelings at bay.

I also forgot my lunch and made the really well thought out (imagine my most sarcastic tone) decision to stay at the river for just 1 hour in the sun, then repleantish- BAD decision. Though the sun was wonderful and actually healed quite a few things, I spent 2 days recovering extra sore muscles.

However bad that day was, I know I am not alone. I read an article at the river that day in October's issue of Runner's World which was titled something like Tips from Elites and one of the elites said "don't beat yourself up because of one bad workout, move on and make the next one better." This was of monumental help for me to see.

20 miles Average time- not willing to disclose. total time 3 hours 37 min.
In retrospect, it could have been worse. I traveled the entire distance even though it was ugly. I put my big girl pants on and sprinted half the damn, as I always do, and my times were not as horrifying as I thought they would be.

9/4 Speedwork is so hard

My calf hurts, my body hurts... I went bouldering yesterday and did something funny to my calf (maybe in conjunction with new lightweight running shoes?) which I brilliantly tried to run through this morning after a later night than I needed for today's workout...

Quality #3 - 3 sets of 1200m @10k pace, 1 min rest, 400m @5k pace, 3 min rest

Average 1200m-5 min. 43 sec. 400m - 1min 59 sec.

This is the 15-20 seconds faster per mile than what I want to run the full marathon in and I am nervous. It was hard....

I think I am on track but it is so easy to talk myself out of it- "Only my second marathon, I don't do all my prescribed workouts at pace, 26.2 miles is such a long way"

9/2 18 Miles - Guess where

18 miles, Average time 9.5

I feel faster every time I do this run. Not by much but every ounce of improvement helps my morale.

Quotes

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the grey twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” Teddy Roosevelt

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out where the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place will never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory or defeat.” TR -again

8/31 Better

Tempo today- 8.5 miles 1hr. 21 min. Osbourne Ridge then 5k around Bear Lake loop

So good. Though I have said this before, I will say it again- I LOVE tempo runs, I love that I do them on trails because it is refreshing to have a change of scenery: feel the dirt with my feet, be surrounded by nature, watch every step of the single tracks very carefully for rocks and the other rapidly oncoming terrain and have a more all-around dynamic run.

I am proud of my accomplishments and simultaneously rashly intimidated by not meeting my goals.

8/30 Speedwork?

Today's speed work was VERY discombobulated.... I did everything I possibly could have to de-rail my workout this morning. Moral of the story is that sometimes it is a triumph just to be running, even though it isn't just the way you want.

Speed work was the name of the game and I was SO excited to to work on a real life track, not my ghetto one in B.V. Village. I made it out of bed on time (only because, by the grace of the heavens, I have occasional insomnia) and made it where I wanted to go- the UNR track. After a little searching and meandering through campus I found the track and a good parking spot. 7am on a Saturday morning. Why on earth was it full of football players? Though I shouldn't have let it deter my workout, I did. I could not muster the courage to go run around the football team @ practice and all of their followers.... Maybe I didn't have enough sleep and wasn't thinking clearly. Maybe I just wanted to have my own workout void of sharing public space with anybody else, let alone a football team or maybe it was a blessing in disguise.

While I miraculously made it running and on time with my new running shoes out for a test-run, I did not remember my watch. When I made it to the park after a long internal debate about how important it was to have my running watch on a speed day I was so relieved to just run. Tracking progress is an integral part of improving fitness and readiness for the race but today it was a triumph to run in the park through the geese, in my new shoes (which I could barely keep up with), above all odds and without restrictions or organization. It was obviously a struggle to let go of the latter... I did speed-work. I didn't do my prescribed work out but I did it. Sometimes it doesn't have to be pretty, you just have to take the first step.

Total time ?
Total mileage? maybe 3?