It's Over

I went to bed Friday night hoping for a good nights rest, but that didn't happen. I dreamt nonstop about oversleeping and missing the marathon. All kinds of crazy things were running through my head. I was thankful when it was time to get up and get the show on the road. Enough already!

I crawled out of bed at 3:30 and ate my peanut butter & jelly sandwich while showering. I was trying to accomplish a few tasks at once. Chris' parents were here, so they took some pictures and video of us before we walked out the door that morning. I checked my list probably 4 times and made sure we had everything we needed. We hopped in the car and headed to a friend's house where her husband drove us to the starting area. Thank you Donna & Chris!

As we walked to the starting line you could feel the energy in the air. The temperatures were already quite warm and the sun was shining bright. We could see the Kenyans warming up and preparing for their speedy run. The portable potties were jammed packed, so before we joined corral 8 we waited in long line. People were crowding in and we made our way to the start.

I stood next to Chris as each corral began to start their run and was so happy to be sharing this experience with him. I was excited and nervous at the same time. Our corral finally moved up to the front and we heard, "Ready Set Go!" We were off! People were cheering for us on the sides of the street and it was fantastic.

Now, Chris is faster than I am and I was bound and determined not to start out too fast. Every time I looked up he was ahead of me and I was starting to get frustrated. He told me the night before that he would stay with me at my pace, but it wasn't happening. We would pass a band playing music and he would speed up even more! I finally told him that I just wasn't going to ruin my race and he needed to take it easy. We were back on track!

We saw Chris' parents and the kids cheering for us at mile 2. After giving everyone high 5's we continued on our way. We ran through beautiful parts of Nashville-zipping through all of the areas where old houses had been turned into music recording studios. We ran through water stops grabbing cups as quickly as we could while listening to the cheers on the streets. At this point, we were having fun. I snapped a picture of Chris with a few nuns, we saw a full marathon guy juggling tennis balls as he ran and we read all kinds of creative signs and t-shirts along our way.

At mile 11, we saw our family again and grabbed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from them.

Seeing them really lifted our spirits throughout the day and it was great having them involved in our run. The temperature was starting to heat up and the half marathon runners split off from the full marathon runners around this point. After the split, the route thinned out significantly because around 25,000 of the runners were running the half and 5,000 ran the full. I was feeling overwhelmed, hot and a bit discouraged. The fun was over! I forced part of my sandwich down and continued to drink. Every so often I would get goose bumps all over my body and I would take that as a sign to drink or I would think, "I am so hot!" and I would drink some more. Drink Drink Drink! They don't want you too drink too much and I didn't want to get dehydrated and not drink enough, so I was trying to find the balance that worked best for my body.

The heat was intense! We were pouring cups of water on our heads trying to stay cool and at mile 14 I walked for the first time. Chris was very understanding and we did the best we could. We would run awhile and walk a bit. There were people walking the majority of the time because it was such a hot day. When I run in 20 degree temps I always start out cold, but by mile 2 it feels like it is 60 degrees outside. So, in 90 degree temps your body heats up and it is almost unbearable! At this point, I told Chris that the Kenyans were already done with their marathon and probably lying in a hotel pool. I know I would have been!

I was looking forward to seeing the kids again at 19.5 and it took forever to get there! Forever! I had strict instructions from Chris not to complain in front of the kids. I put on my smiling I am so happy to be here running in the hot sun and 90 degree temperature face and we stopped for about 2 minutes to snap a few pictures and get smooches. We continued our journey at a slow pace feeling relieved when we only had single digits left. I ran into my friend Donna and was so happy to see her smiling because I had been thinking about her the entire time. She had found a friend to run with and she seemed to be in good spirits. At mile 23, I decided that I wanted to have a 4 hour and something marathon time and I was going to have to run the rest of the way to get it. I was constantly dumping water on my head trying to stay cool. It felt so refreshing! From mile 23 on we ran the entire way trying to encourage everyone we passed and feeling encouraged from everyone along the route. It really was a great experience to be out there even in those conditions!

Seeing the number 26 sign was absolutely FANTASTIC!!! Chris and I had a little bit to give and we sprinted to the finish line! We crossed it holding hands up in the air and surprisingly I didn't cry. We ran it in 4:51:33- not the time I had hoped for, but we did it! I just wonder what our time would have been if the day hadn't been so incredibly hot. After we finished Chris & I had decided that our marathon days were over and we had no desire to do it again. Later that night, we went to the Dave Matthews Concert and he whispered in my ear, " I think I may want to do another one." The funny thing is I was sitting there thinking that the same thing!

Superheroes

On Friday morning, I met up with 3 of my running friends to do 8 miles. It was a beautiful sunny day and it felt great to be out there running my last long run before the marathon. It was a blast! We talked, laughed, complained and laughed some more. We crossed paths with a woman out for a morning walk and she looked at us and said, "You girls look like superheroes!" I thought how cool is that? We have been running hard for 16 weeks, our legs are strong and our spirits are high. We are getting ready to run a marathon! Then, I realized that sometimes after a run I really do feel like a superhero or that I can conquer the world. It feels so great to know that you just ran 15 or 20 miles. I am so excited to cross that finish line on Saturday!

This week I am tapering, so I only have to do a total of 7 miles. That just seems like a piece of cake at this point. I may throw in a few yoga sessions early in the week, but Thursday and Friday I am going to completely rest my legs. I am going to carb load both of those rest days and drink tons of water. I know that I will be nervous, but I have really trained well for this marathon and I am excited to go out there and get it done. Plus, I cannot wait to put that 26.2 sticker on my Suburban! :)

Lack of Running

I only ran 8 miles last week- not good! I just didn't feel like running, so I didn't. I ate so much chocolate over the weekend that I think I will just skip stepping on the scale tomorrow morning. I have to get all of my miles in this week- no matter what. I am hoping to meet with a few friends this week to accomplish that.

Two more weeks until marathon day. I have an official number and it is going to be here before I know it. I told Chris that I want to maintain a 9:30 pace and just enjoy the whole run. They have bands playing at every mile, so I am hoping the whole experience is just so darn fun that I kind of "forget" that I am running 26.2 miles.

We are going to the Dave Matthews concert that evening after the race. I am going to wear that marathon t-shirt with a smile on my face. I am a little concerned about my leg status though. After the last 2o, sitting and standing were difficult, so we shall see how I feel about an additional 6 miles and being crammed in stadium seats. A few beers may be necessary!

Sunny Day

I think I am still recovering from that long run last Saturday. I took a 3 hour nap this morning after getting my kids to school and after I woke up I felt like I could climb a mountain! It was absolutely gorgeous outside, so I went for an easy 4 mile run. The sun was shining and beautiful flowers were everywhere, so it was very enjoyable. On days like today running is something I love!

Yoga

I went to my very first yoga class today. I am so sore from my 20 miles that I probably won't run for a few more days. I went with an open mind and had no idea what to expect. Since I was clueless, I just copied everyone else. I grabbed mats, a blanket and took off my socks and shoes. Let the relaxation process begin- HA!

The whole experience was kind of comical. I guess I could relate it to being a little girl and eating dinner at my Grandma & Grandpa Brink's house. They were very proper and sometimes during dinner my sister and I would get the giggles. For some reason, knowing that you aren't suppose to be laughing makes it SO much harder to hold back the laughter. That is what I discovered today! I was trying to hold these poses and look just like the beautiful slender woman in the front row, but I would find myself giggling. I truly had to talk to myself (in my head of course) about how giggling right now would really not go over very well!

I did my best to do the poses and some were more difficult than others. I think it definitely helped me get a good stretch, which I know I needed. I wasn't able to mentally relax, but maybe that comes with time and A LOT of classes! At the end we covered up with a blanket for about 6 minutes with a woodsy smelling towel over our eyes. Who knew you got to snuggle in yoga! I am going to leave you with some of the funny things that popped into my head while I was in that one hour yoga class.

Shelly's Yoga Thoughts- Enjoy!

"How does anyone relax while doing this?"

"Oh shit, I think I am about to fall over."

"If Donna looks at me one more time I am going to bust out laughing."

"I really would be horrified if I got kicked out of here for laughing."

"Donna must not be enjoying this because I see her watching that clock constantly!"

"Gross! My yoga mat smells like feet."

"I hope my disastrous yoga poses aren't ruining Amy's happy yoga moments"

"I cannot be doing this right!"

"I am probably only burning 10 calories this entire hour!!!"

"How did Chris break a sweat while doing yoga?"

"No one in this class is sweating"

"Are you kidding me? You want me to cover up with this blanket?"

"I wonder how many other people have covered their bodies with this same blanket? UGH!"

"What the heck are we suppose to do with this white towel that smells like pine trees?"

"When am I going to get to Walmart to get Kort's soccer ball returned"

"Wow- the yoga instructor has tattoos on her feet"

"I wonder if I will do this again"

"Breathe, focus, reach, relax...."

"I am glad this is over... I don't know if this is my thing!"

Recent Events

We set out early Saturday morning and met the running club for a long run near a nearby winery. It was a beautiful morning and the temperature was perfect. The majority of people were doing 13.1, but a handful of us were running 20. Chris and I started out at about a 9:15 pace and that was fast for me since we were doing such a long run, but I was giving it my all. Around mile 7, he started feeling really good and before I knew it we were at an 8:40 pace- Yikes! I ran that pace for 2 more miles and decided to slow down. I love that I can run with him and not feel like I am holding him back, but I knew that if I was going to run 13 more miles I was going to have to ease up! I put my music on and went into a zone.

At mile 13, we were back at the winery and I needed a bathroom break. The ladies working at the winery were kind enough to let me use their restroom- it was absolutely necessary and I won't go into more details! I headed back out and believe me my legs did not want to move. Oh my gosh, I just wanted to collapse! Getting started again was very difficult, but I had 7 miles left and my kids had to get to soccer games at noon. I attempted to eat a few peanut butter crackers, but they were disgusting and I spit them out. I took another Roctane and prayed it would kick in and give me the energy I needed to finish.

I told Chris I needed some conversation because the time wasn't passing quickly enough for me. We had the discussion earlier about topics of conversation when I run with friends versus running with him. When I run with friends we talk about food, kids, periods, food, aches & pains, food and running- did I mention food? He told me he would rather talk about sex, drugs and rock & roll. Anyway, he was feeling bad for me, so he was more willing to transition to my favorite topics while we finished the last 7 miles. I love that man!

We ran out 20 in 3:10 although I did stop my watch during bathroom breaks. Of course, that isn't going to be an option during the marathon. We walked around like 80 year olds the rest of the day and fried in the sun at the soccer field. Chris was kind enough to text me from across the soccer field and let me know that I was walking like Frankenstein. I didn't care because I was just happy to be able to walk.

Running and Running and Running

I feel like all I do is run! Seriously, a friend of mine told me I run for a living and I believe that is true. If only I could get paid for all of these miles I am putting in. In the month of March, I logged 114 miles and actually had two 40 mile weeks back to back! That excited me! I have always wanted to get a 40 mile week and to have two of them was a great accomplishment. I really wish I knew my lifetime mileage- 14 years worth of running.

Last night, we went to the trail to run. We loaded up bikes, helmets and water bottles and set off to do 6 miles. The kids did a great job biking while Chris & I ran along side of them. He decided to take off at 4 1/2 miles and I just continued at my pace with my loyal bikers. I finished 6 miles in 52 minutes, so I was quite proud of that. It is always great to see improvement and my pace has definitely improved.

I am doing my last 20 miler on Saturday with the Clarksville Running Club. It ought to be a fun run since there will be quite a few runners out there. I thought I was only going to get three 20 milers in, but I am going to do one more. I was told by an Ultra Runner that you will have a much better marathon experience if you get at least 3 or 4 in during training, so that has been my goal. I want to cross that finish line wanting to do another marathon.

I am really curious to see how I feel after the marathon. I don't know if I am going to feel like a load of bricks have been lifted off my shoulders or miss all of the running. I would like to find a half marathon sometime in May or June to run. I want an official less than 2 hour half marathon time. Chris and I have signed up for the Muddy Buddy in early May and I am really excited about that. I suppose you can compare it to an adventure race and that is something I have never experienced before.

I am taking today off to rest my legs, play UNO, build forts and hopefully get my house clean! Have a great day!