My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : I CROSSED THE FINISH LINE!!!

The Official Marathon Runner

Yep, that's me!

I'm a Marathon Runner. I ran a marathon. I ran the full 26.2 miles and only stopping for 2 potty breaks.

I am now part of the elite club of crazy people, who enjoy testing their bodies' limits. The nutcases, who pay good money to suffer through hours of pain and exhaustion for a T-Shirt and a bagel.

And, I'm already planning for my next one! :D

So here's how it went.

My friend, Mariah, and I headed up to Portland, Saturday afternoon. First things first, we drove around, trying our best to find and follow the marathon course, so to familiarize ourselves with the terrain.

After about 3-4 hours of backtracking and double backing, we finally made it to the end of the course.

We checked into our hotel, dropped off our bags, and found our way to the Expo, to pick up our bibs. :D

We enjoyed a little shopping, while gathered as much info about the race that we can get out of anyone that looked official. ;D

On our way back to our hotel, we plotted out our route to our corrals for the race.

With the alarms set for 5:40am, we headed to bed about 2 hours later than we had planned, but still a decent time.

Our fears of missing the alarm were proven to be feeble, after Jake texts me at 4:15am and my mother called at 5:10am. No worries about over sleeping or sleeping at all for that matter. ;D

After the alarm finally went off, we got dressed in our running gear. We headed down to our corrals, to wait for our turns to start.

Just a little "tid-bit".

{The Portland Marathon is a Boston Qualifier. That means there a "professional" runners there who take these events very seriously. That being said, Mariah, was hoping to get into the "B" corral, after realizing that they were the runners that were closer to her running pace. Well, that didn't end up happening. They had the "A" and "B" corrals completely barricaded off. The only way in was through the National Guard, who were checking each bib to verify that you were in fact in one of those corrals.}

Just as the marathon was about to begin, they sang the National Anthem. Which, of course gets me thinking about Jake and with all my anxiousness and excitement, emotions were high and I started to cry a little bit.

And the count downs begin...and the corrals start getting herded towards the starting line.

10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1...GO!

I'm off and running!

{okay I might be slow, but I was still running ;D}

I found it very ironic that my second song on my iPod, had a line and said, "Can't turn back now." Very appropriate, I thought. :D

About the 3rd mile, it started to hit me and the "hot-spots" started to kick in. It surprised me that they came on so early. On top of that, I had set my iPod to track the marathon for me, and it was off by about a 1/10 of a mile, which was messing with my head. So, when it shorted out because of some interference about mile 6, I shut off the tracker and just listened to the music. I think that was the best thing I could have done, because it would have just messed with my head the whole time, otherwise. And, this allowed me to focus on my schedule.

I had my whole run mapped out and scheduled in my mind.

Mile 8 - Eat my First GU and start looking for an open Porta-Potty

Mile 14 to 16 - Eat my Second GU

Mile 18 to 20 - Eat Third GU and start looking for an open Porta-Potty

Mile 24 - Eat Forth and Final GU

Mile 26 - RUN LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT! {because it does ;D}

I actually was able to follow my schedule pretty well, and it seemed to work well for me too. I didn't have any of the extra stresses or mental blocks come up from being desperate for a bathroom and I had a steady flow of energy to keep me going.

Also, I had bought a running belt, that has two 10oz. bottles, that I carried with me through the marathon. Even with all the water stations that they had, and that I grabbed drink at each one, I still felt thirsty 3 times when there was not a water station in sight. It was really great to be able to just reach back, grab a bottle, clench my thirst and keep going without missing a beat.

Even with all of this, I still had a hard time with the mental side. Like I said earlier, my emotions were high. There were points throughout each mile, that I just wanted to just stop all together and cry.

But, I did not stop! :D

I kept moving and kept running!

Even on the HORRIBLE uphill ramp to the St. Johns Bridge, that was at least half a mile, if not longer.

But, next to the actual Finish Line, my favorite part of the whole race was just pass the 25 mile marker. That is where my babies were waiting for me! :D

My mom had brought the girls out to cheer me on. They were wearing their, "Run, Mommy, Run!!!" shirts that I had made them. Maddi was not happy that I didn't stop, but I couldn't loose what little momentum I had, even to give her a kiss.

excited to be so close to the end. After about the 3rd time, I figured that I wasn't going to be able to keep myself calm until I crossed the Finish Line, so I started to run as fast as I could. I was actually able to run pretty fast; fast enough to pass some of the people that had just passed me. :D

When I finally crossed the Finish Line, according to the clock 5 hours 1 minute and some odd seconds, I thought of screaming or shouting for joy, but I was too tired and all I wanted to do was catch my breath.

So, I waddled my way through to collected my medal, rose, seedling, finisher shirt, pendant, commemorative coin, caught up with Mariah and got my finisher picture taken. We made our way through the crowds; taking a moment or two to get a couple of our own snapshots.

So, here's what you've probably been reading this whole post for...my official time!!

26.2 miles

4 hours 52 minutes 10 seconds

Average Mile

11 minutes 9 seconds

I'll take it!!

Not too shabby for my first Full Marathon, complete with 2 potty breaks. :D

I made it! I survived!

And now on to the next one!!

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 202

Official Marathon Training

The irony of ironies, I take a week off from training to give my body break after the 20 mile run, and then the next week I get hit over the head with an awful cold! Which leads to another week off from training. Not the best scenario when you are literally just days away from running the marathon, that the above training has been for. Oh well, I guess there's not much that can be done about it now. Just have to start right back to it. :D

So, today was my first day back since last week's 4 mile run on the treadmill. And, I have to admit, I'm quite excited about my time today. :D

3 miles

22 minutes 14 seconds

Average Mile

7 minutes 24 seconds

Yeah, that's the fastest "mile" I've ever done...like my whole life, ever!

Feeling pretty accomplished about it too. :D

The funny thing is that, when I was running, I was thinking, "Oh my goodness! This is so much harder, after taking off nearly two whole weeks."

Little did I know, I was actually running faster than I had eve run in my life. So, DUH, it was harder. ;D

Still have a little bit of the sniffles, but I'll just have to run through it, at this point. :D

17 weeks 1 day down, 6 days to go! :D

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 195

Official Marathon Training

This time, I am proud to say, I did not forget to post about my run times. The reason for the long break between posts is because I didn't run them. :D

Not that skipping runs is any better.

But, after my 20 mile run, I decided to take a week off to allow my ankle time to rest. I, also, had another issue I needed to allow to heal. I had gotten two raw spots from my sports bra straps. I've gotten some a few time before, from my longer runs, but this time they were much worst. I wanted to have time to allow them to heal, as well.

So, that was all last week.

I was getting all excited for this week. My ankle was feeling good and the raw spots had healed completely. I all set! And then, I get a cold. :(

Talk about prefect timing.

It's 2 weeks before the marathon, and I had just taken a whole week off of running. I really couldn't afford to miss this week too.

Oh and to make it even more fun, the rain has set in, and it was pouring this morning. Definitely not the best running weather for someone with a cold.

So, what do I do?

I head to the gym to do my run.

I've found that I really do not like running on the treadmill. Even more so when it comes to my training runs. It's just so tedious, boring and really annoying when someone changes the channel on the TV that I'm watching. {I hate it when people do that!}

But, none the less, that's what I had to do this morning, to get my run in. And now, I'm exhausted, because I still pushed myself. I even got up to 8mph for a good 3 minutes, if not a little longer.

So here's the time for today.

4 miles

31 minutes 52 seconds

Average Mile

7 minutes 58 seconds

Not too shabby after a week off and fighting a cold.

And now that I've posted this, I'm going to go back to bed and cuddle up under my covers. Maybe I'll take a Vitamin C later, too. ;D

16 weeks 1 day down, 1 week 6 days to go!!!

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 186

Official Marathon Training

It seems I've done it again. I have forgotten to post my runs...oops!

Ok, so here's the stats from the last 2 weeks.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

9 miles

1 hour 12 minutes 41 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 4 seconds

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

5 miles

40 minutes 8 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes

My ankle was still tired from the 18 miles I ran the previous Saturday, so I decided to skip my 14 mile run scheduled for Saturday, September 10, 2011.

Monday, September 12, 2011

5 miles

40 minutes 49 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 9 seconds

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

10 miles

1 hour 24 minutes 33 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 27 seconds

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

5 miles

40 minutes 5 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes

Now for TODAY!!

And the big one!

My longest training run!!

{ 20 miles }

{It actually ended up being 20.2 miles, because I bumped the sensor, that connects into my iPod and keeps my mileage, at about 2.2 miles. Which means I had to restart it with 18 miles...2+18= 20 :D But, either way here's the total time.}

2 hours 55 minutes 21 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 40 seconds

I'm really proud of this time! At this rate, I'm totally on track for finishing the marathon in about 4 hours!! Not too shabby for a first timer!! :D

The best part of the today's whole run started just after mile 17.

I think I started to become delirious, because I started to sing along with my iPod. Not just mouthing the words, actually singing! As a matter or fact, I scared a girl riding her bike, when I came around the corner belting out one of the songs. ;D

I can totally do this!!

15 weeks down, 3 weeks to go!!!



My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 174

Official Marathon Training

I'm super behind on posting my runs. Over 2 weeks behind...YIKES!! I need to get on this.

Ok, since I'm so behind, I'm just going to run through them...no pun intended. ;D

Monday, August 22, 2011

4 miles

31 minutes 53 seconds

Average Mile

7 minutes 57 seconds

Tuesday August 23, 2011

8 miles

1 hour 7 minutes 10 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 23 seconds

I missed the 5 mile and 12 mile runs that week.

Monday, August 29, 2011

I ran the 4 miles, but I bumped the Nike+ insert in my iPod mid run, so I don't have the exact info.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

9 miles

1 hour 15 minutes 12 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 21 seconds

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

5 miles

40 minutes 27 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 5 seconds

Saturday, September 3, 2011

18 miles

2 hours 35 minutes 33 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 38 seconds

OH YEAH!! Look at that! 18 miles baby!! And that's without any potty breaks! Even with a pretty amazing time, I still feel like I could have done better. I started to get dehydrated about miles 13-14, and was already past all the stores. Whenever I passed a sprinkler, I honestly thought about stopping. But, I knew if I stopped, I wouldn't be able to get moving again. I definitely need to get one of those belts with the water bottles.

And that brings us to today...

5 miles

39 minutes 37 seconds

Average Mile

7 minutes 55 seconds

I definitely felt the fatigue today. I evidently didn't fully rehydrate my body, and it was very apparent. My throat felt dry right off the bat. Spent most of today drinking lots of water, to get rehydrate.

So, all caught up! Feeling pretty good.

Now to get some sleep for tomorrow's run. :D

13 weeks 2 days down, 4 weeks 5 days to go!!!

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 157

Official Marathon Training

I kind of changed up this week's schedule, not intentionally at first, but it's worked out pretty well. We're having Maddi's 3rd Birthday Party on Saturday, and I've kind of invited the whole ward. Well, at least all of those who have kids in the nursery, which is a big chunk of our ward.

So, inadvertently, I skipped my 4 mile run on Wednesday, rescheduled it for Saturday, and did my 16 mile run today. It really worked out, because now I won't be exhausted when I'm trying to host Maddi's party.

But, that left today with a lot of excitement. I ran my 16 miles, went to the store to get some last minute birthday items, took the girls out for ice cream {one of the perks of running 16 miles}, stopped off at the bank, took a short nap, and then watched a friend's kids, while I made the cake and cupcakes for the party.

I'm tired just from all the errands I had to run, let alone the 16 miles.

So, here's the part that you've read all of the above to get to...

16 miles

2 hours 18 minutes 46 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 40 seconds
Not too shabby, and it included 2 potty breaks. Thank goodness for grocery stores being open early. :D

This was a hard one. I've learned that there are some definite perks to running on Saturday mornings, as opposed to a Friday morning. The biggest one is that there are fewer cars out on a Saturday morning. That allows me to be able to run through intersections without all those annoying commuters trying to kill me.

And this was the first time some random guy honked and waved at me. I thought they looked familiar, but, even now, I still can't place them. But, I waved back anyways, because after running 7 miles, and still having 9 more miles to go, I just didn't care. Although, they were lucky they were on the other side of the street, because I was all ready to spray them with my pepper spray.  ;D

Anyways, an eventful day, none the less.

10 weeks 6 days down, 7 weeks 1 day to go!!!

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 154

Official Marathon Training

I felt pretty sluggish on the run today. I think I was ready to be done before I even woke up. ;D

Here's today's times :D

8 miles

1 hour 5 minutes 50 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 13 seconds

Staying pretty steady on my pace. It seems that I can maintain a 8 minute mile for the first 4 miles or so, and then every mile adds about 5 seconds to my pace after that. Which should put me at about a 10 minute mile pace for the marathon.

I'm okay with that, because that pace would get me finished {not including potty breaks} at about 4 hours and 22 minutes, way under my 5 hour goal. :D

I'm thinking I might actually be able to do this! :D

Now, to go eat more bread. ;D

I've been enjoying lots of my yummy strawberry jam on my wheat toast. :D

10 weeks 3 days down, 7 weeks 4 days to go!!!

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 153

Official Marathon Training

Another successful run!

4 miles

31 minutes 33 seconds

Average Mile

7 minutes 53 seconds

Feeling super awesome today!!

The best part is that the first 5K {3.1 miles} I ever ran took me about 33+ minutes and now I just ran 4 miles in less time. Oh yeah, awesomeness is so in today! :D

10 weeks 2 days down, 7 weeks 5 days to go!!!



My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 151

Official Marathon Training

Yeah, feeling super awesome right now...and super tired!

Let's get right to it...

15 miles

2 hours 12 minutes 57 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 51 seconds

So much better than I thought I would do! And it included a perfectly planned potty break. I've decided to focus the middle 5 miles around business that are open 24 hours. :D

The best part about today was that I found out that they have some "voices" programed in the Nike+. After I finished, the Nike+ gives me my stats and then, Lance Armstrong's voice comes on and says, "You just completed your longest workout yet. Congratulations!"

My first response was, "How did he know?" ;D

But, in all seriousness, this is the furthest I have ever ran in my life. At least, it will be until next weekend. ;D

I know it's crazy, but I almost feel like I could go for another quick run. Maybe just 3 or 4 miles, nothing too far. But, I'll probably go pass out on the couch. :D

I know I'm nuts. ;D

10 weeks down, 8 weeks to go!!!

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 148

Official Marathon Training

OK, before I get into my times, I have a little funny about my run tonight. I'm about half way through, minding my own business, when suddenly I feel something hit the back of my throat.

I had just swallowed I bug!

While I was coughing, in vain, to get the bug out of me, my mind thought, "This must have been how Arthur {from the Disney version of 'The Sword in the Stone'} felt when he and Merlin were fishes, and he realized he had just eaten a bug."

On the plus side, I got a little extra protein in today. ;D

OK, enough with the fun and games. Here's the important stuff.

4 miles

33 minutes 10 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 15 seconds

A little slower than the last 2 days, but I think that has to do with my soreness. Definitely need to think twice before I decide not to do any of my runs from now on.

But, the really exciting part about this week has yet to come. I have my 15 mile run to do on Saturday. This will be the furthest I have ever ran in my life...thus far, because the next week is 16...and so on.

Definitely getting nervous about these upcoming runs. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to survive running them...I'm just not sure if my body will be able to keep it's control for that long. {if you've read my previous posts, you know what I mean}

Oh well, perhaps I'll make some adjustments to my routes to allow for a bathroom break or two. Thank goodness WinCo is open 24 hours. ;D

9 weeks 4 days down, 8 weeks and 3 days to go!!!

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 147

Official Marathon Training

HECK YEAH! I'm so loving this Nike+iPod!!

Another amazing time today!

7 miles

56 minutes 37 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 5 seconds

Pretty darn amazing...at least to me. :D

I'm feeling pretty good about my times now. I was kind of getting discouraged that I was able to run 7.5 mph on the treadmill, but couldn't even come close on my outdoor runs. Looks like I was just running further. :D

The best part is that it will tell me when getting close to the end and I can bump up my speed to finish strong. Because, I don't about anyone else, but I like to run a little bit slower for the greater portion of the run and then basically sprint to burn myself out at the end. Which works perfectly with Nike+, because it will tell me when I'm 400, 300, 200, 100 meters away.

Starting to love running again. :D

9 weeks 3 days down, 8 weeks 4 days to go!!!

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 146

Official Marathon Training

Yeah, it's been a few weeks, but a lot has happened...well, not so much with the my training.

But before I get to far into everything that happened, let me get in the times from nearly 3 weeks ago...yeah, it's been a while ;)

Tuesday, July 19th

6 miles

56 minutes 44 seconds

Average Mile

9 minutes 27 seconds

Wednesday, July 20th

3 miles

29 minutes 37 seconds

Average Mile

9 minutes 52 seconds

Yeah, those time are pretty awful in comparison to my other times. But, I think I figured out what that "cold" was...I evidently have allergies. I don't know what I'm allergic to, but I'm hoping that taking my allergy medicine will help me to breathe better and in turn run better. :D

Now for the exciting part, and the big reason I haven't posted in a while,

Jake came home for R&R!!

He totally surprised me by coming home a week early.

It's kind of funny how it all played out. At the beginning of July he had gotten his dates for R&R, which got him here the day after our anniversary. Well, since Jake works in the office, with all the officers, he started asking if there was anyway for him to leave just a day earlier. Then, on Wednesday the 20th, one of his sergeants came up to him and  basically said, "You have 2 hours to get to the flight deck, if you want to leave early." So, Jake grabbed his bags and ran. It was not until he got to Dallas, which was Friday morning on the 22nd, that he could finally call and make any arrangements for someone to pick him up. He has an uncle and aunt in Portland, and he made arrangements with them to pick him up and bring him to me. He then called his family in Vegas and told them to get going if they wanted to see him. And, finally he called my mom, to make sure I would be home when he arrived.

During all of this, I had no idea what was going on. I was getting anxious/annoyed, because I hadn't gotten to talk to him since Tuesday. He doesn't have that greatest of internet connections out there, so there are times I don't hear from him for a few days. But, if his connect is down, he normally goes to the MWR to at least send me a message or something. So, while he was in Dallas he got on FB and talked to me for a little bit, and basically lied about what was happening and where he was.

So, that brings us to Friday night and he walks through the door at about 9:30pm. By the time we got the girls back into bed and I settled down, it was nearly 11pm. Yeah, there was no way I was going to be able to wake up at 4:30 am to go run my 12 miles. So, I decided that I was going to take the while 2 weeks off of running and just relax with my hubby. I thought it was quite well deserved. ;D

While Jake was home we celebrated our anniversary, and we got each other iPod nanos for our anniversary gifts. I got a little something extra for mine, the Nike+, a little disk-like sensor that fits in my Nike shoes. Then I hook up the wireless receiver in my iPod and it tracks how far I'm running, my total time, my pace and my approximate calories. I am totally in love with it.

The best part about the whole thing...I found out I've been running a lot further than what I thought. For example, today I started my 3 mile route, but instead of finishing where I normally do, I reached 3 miles nearly 3 blocks earlier.

Here's today's times

3 miles

23 minutes 42 seconds

Average Mile

7 minutes 52 seconds

I couldn't believe it, and I'm still having a hard time believing it. So, evidently I'm running at a much faster pace than what I thought.

No wonder I was able to keep about a 8:20/8:30 pace when I did the Sauvie Island Half Marathon.

I'm of course going to test it out and make sure it's correct, but I'm sure that there have been plenty of other runners, of whom are much better than I, who have tested it. And, I highly doubt that they would keep it on the market if it were not working correctly.

Did I mention that I'm super excited about this? Well, I am! :D

9 weeks 2 day down, 8 weeks 5 days to go!!!

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 125

Official Marathon Training

WOW! It's been nearly a whole week since my last post and I've got 3 runs to catch you all up on.

So here we go. This is my time from last Wednesday, July 13th.

Treadmill 5K {3.1 miles}

24 minutes 54 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 2 seconds

I'm pretty sure this is my best, over all, time, so far.

Then there was my long run on Saturday, July 16th.

Treadmill 7 miles

1 hour 4 minutes 47 seconds

Average Mile

9 minutes 15 seconds

Definitely my worst time on the treadmill, since I started the training. But, that's what I get for taking 2 weeks off from my weight training and then deciding to go full throttle 2 days before my long run. Just a little {okay, a lot} sore. But, I'm sure my cold didn't help any either.

Then there was today!

3 miles

27 minutes 49 seconds

Average Mile

9 minutes 16 seconds

About the same as Saturday's pace.

9:10-9:15 has kind of become my average pace, actually. I'm okay with that, because if I can keep up at least a 9:30-10:00 pace, I'll finish the marathon in 4 hours and about 10-25 minutes. Not too shabby for my first go through.

Not that I'm making any plans to do another marathon anytime soon. Maybe I'll work towards a triathlon first. ;D

So many exciting things going on right now. I'm training for the marathon, we have Lizzi speech therapy, potty training Maddi and Jake will be home for R&R in less than 2 weeks...AHHH!!...SO EXCITED!!! :D

So much to be doing and so little time to be doing it all in!

6 weeks 2 days down, 11 weeks and 5 days to go!!!

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 119

Official Marathon Training

I nearly missed two postings in a row. And there's so much to talk about. :D

Well, I'll start with yesterday's times.

3 miles

28 minutes 7 seconds

Average Mile

9 minutes 23 seconds

About average for me, but wait until you see today's times...

5 miles

51 minutes 17 seconds

Average Mile

10 minutes 16 seconds

And here is where I have so much to talk about! So, if you've been following my posts, you'll already know that I've been having issues with needing to "go" in the middle of my runs, and it's not #1 that's the problem.

Today has been the worst so far.

I woke up a whole hour earlier than needed, to give me plenty of time to have everything done with. And, I thought I did just that, so I head out on my run. But, without fail, my body decides, mid-route, it really needs a bathroom. This was the first time that I had to stop running to retake control of my body. It's absolutely awful to still be over a mile from home and to be so desperate for a bathroom. But there I was walking, as quickly as I could, not only because I wanted to get home, but also to finish with a decent time.

Luckily, my body and I finally reached an agreement and I was able to continue running on and off until I finished my run.

Ahh...the joys of training our bodies to bend to our will. ;D

5 weeks 3 days down, 12 weeks 4 days to go!!!

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 116

Official Marathon Training

Another week down, and another long run done! :D

This morning's run was a little extra eventful. About 2 to 3 miles into running my hair tie snapped. I had to take it out of my hair and hold onto the hair tie until I could find a trash bin. Which, I didn't think would be so difficult, but evidently there are not many public trash bins on my route. The one time I wouldn't have minded it being trash collection day. ;D But, I finally came across one at a bus stop. Have to be consciences of our environment, no litter bugs. :D

Now, I have chosen to go running early in the morning, partly because my mom can watch the kiddos for me and that there's hardly anyone else up at 5am on a Saturday morning. Most normal people are still fast asleep. This allows me to run through my routes with little to no interruptions, such as having to stop for cars at intersections and other such nonsense. ;D

The down side to this time of the day, because no sane person would be awake at this time, there are very few places open. This only becomes a problem when I need to use the facilities at about mile 5 on my route, and even if I ran straight home, it would still be at least 3 miles away. But, luckily for me, about mile 5 on my route this morning was a Shell gas station and they were open...cRaZy people!

There's a funny little story that goes along with that, and if you want to hear about it, you'll need to ask me later, because it's a little too much for a post. ;D

So, I get everything taken care of and head back out on my route.

I had put a band aid on a spot that had gotten rubbed a little raw from Monday's event. And, it decided to start coming off and flapping in the wind. It was driving me crazy, so I grabbed it off and held it in my hand. Now I had to find another trash bin. ;P

But, after all that excitement, I finally made it home and in pretty good time, all considering. :D

10 miles

1 hour 36 minutes 42 seconds

Average Mile

9 minutes 41 seconds

Not bad, for including a potty break. :D

I think I should make notes of where I can stop off on my routes, so I don't have an issue next time around. :D

5 weeks down, 13 weeks  to go!!!

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 115

Official Marathon Training

So, I'm getting really good at not posting, but at least I eventually get around to it. ;D

Without further ado, here's what happened on Wednesday.

3 miles

26 minutes 53 seconds

Average Mile

8 minutes 57 seconds

Getting better! :D At least I was under a 9 minute mile ;D

It will be nice, after my cousin heads home, to be back on my regular routine. Not that it hasn't been great having her here, just been a little crazy with all the training.

It was really great, after the the half marathon, I was not terribly sore afterward. As a matter of fact I remember telling my mom, after I had a chance to rest of a little bit, I felt like I could have gone for another run. ;D

I guess you know you're starting to become a real runner when you think of a half marathon the way that a regular person thinks of a 5K.

I've been thinking about doing another half just for the heck of it.

It's like, 13.1 miles, no biggy. ;D

4 weeks 6 days down, 13 weeks 1 day to go!!!

My Story of a Marathon and How I Survived it All : Day 112

Official Marathon Training

A little behind on my postings. Yesterday was the 4th of July and instead of doing my scheduled 3 mile training run, I did a 1/2 Marathon. :D

My previous time on a 1/2 Marathon was 2 hours 27 minutes 17 seconds. Not too bad for my first time. :D

This time around I totally SMASHED my previous time!

13.1 miles

2 hours 14 seconds

Average mile

9 minutes 11 seconds

And that included a much needed potty break. ;D

The best part of the whole thing was that I was trying to stay ahead of the 9 minute pacer and evidently she was running a little faster. For about the first 8-9 miles I was keeping with about a 8:10 to 8:45 mile! Super amazing in my book. As a matter of fact, when I realized how fast I was running I did a little happy dance/wiggle. The people behind me laughed. ;D

Oh, and another GREAT part about yesterday, my ankle did not give me any trouble during the event. It of course started up shortly after, but at least it did not hurt during the race! :D

It's funny when I talk to people, who haven't done these types of events, about how it's not 13 miles, it's 13.1 miles, they're like whatever. But, that .1 mile is just as important as any one of those 13 miles, because you run past the 13 mile marker and you are still not done yet.

I guess, it's one of those things you have to experience to fully understand.

But, enough about yesterday. Let's get to today!

Today was on the verge of not happening, because I didn't know whether or not I should run after doing a major event yesterday. But, I was able to sleep in a little this morning and although a little stiff, I felt pretty good...ankle and all.

As a matter of fact, this time around, I was not as sore afterward. I think I was more tired than sore.

But back to today...

5 miles

47 minutes 10 seconds

Average Mile

9 minutes 26 seconds

Not too shabby for the day after an event. I think I'm getting pretty close to keeping a 9 minute pace. It's funny that I seem to be able to run a faster over all pace on the longer runs.

Getting excited!

4 weeks 3 days down, 13 weeks 4 days to go!!!