First rule of Zombieland: Cardio

(Feeling strong at Valley of the Moon!)

I survived marathon number 2.

Ok, now is not the time for modesty. I did more than survive. I knocked 20 minutes off my previous time. I'm sore, but I'm moving. My knees aren't killing me. In fact they feel great. My hips are very sore, but they always are. And it's Tuesday again! Tuesday Night Race time! I'll decide when I get there whether I'll be doing Farm or Lightning. I SHOULD just do farm. But I never do what I should do. I checked my calendar for what I did after the Mayor's marathon. It was pretty ridiculous. long walks at kincaid. hiking bird ridge, hiking flat top, running, biking, swimming etc.

So maybe I'll just do Lightning after all.

marathon stats:

official time - 4:28:28

41 out of 60 total

16 out of 22 women

average pace: 10:15

first half pace was 9:46 (first half time approx. 2:08)

second half pace...10:32.

Sooooooooo I didn't make my ambitious goal of 4:20. But I had another goal in my head of 4:30 and if I hadn't made that one I was going to be upset. Put out if you will. If I didn't make 4:20 I wasn't really going to be disappointed. I think it's within my ability to run a 4:20 though. Maybe next year. Overlal though I am very very very pleased with my run. I went out fast. I probably shouldn't have. But I was feeling so good. I was running some sub 9:30 miles there for a little bit. But the first part of the course had a lot of downhill. I hit the wall with 6.5 miles to go. Had to walk a little. And definitely walk/jogged up the last hill. I tried to jog the flats and walk the up of that last half mile uphill. I feel like I handled it ok.

Major thanks to Krista for jogging almost 2 miles with me at the critical half way point. Also thanks to Micah for being there to cheer me on. Always great to see familiar faces!

More thanks to Paul for being my photographer and cheering me on at multiple locations. Definitely gave me something to look forward to!

(Smoking it at Westchester Lagoon)(Last long grueling uphill to Kincaid!)

Bicycle Pin-Ups!

When I bought my bike I felt like I had just bought a flashy sports car. When I think of fast cars I think of hot women sprawled across the hood. So, here's my version. Major thanks to Gavin Tate for the photography work.

What if?

There's one aspect of training that doesn't get much attention, and that's the mental aspect of it all.


I'm physically ready for Saturday, but psychologically I am like a scared little child. I've spent weeks on the physical. Hours and hours and hours running. But I've spent more hours worrying about every little thing that could go wrong. And despite the hours of training, the psychological has me doubting just how physically ready I am for this race. Did I get enough long runs in? I only ran 16 miles this go around, what if I can't run more than 20? What if I'm slower than I was in June? What if I can't finish? How much of a failure will I feel if I'm slower, have to walk, am dead last, or hurt myself running? How much will that feeling of failure permeate into my every day life and how long will it linger?

This isn't the first endurance event I've done. This isn't the first time I've tackled these feelings and ended up victorious on the other side. I don't think it matters how many times I've been successful in the past, each new event presents it all in my head as something completely new. There's always a reason why this time it's going to be different.

This isn't a call for encouragement or sympathy. Just a window into what I'm thinking the week before the big day.

My ankle is feeling good. My throat has been sore for a few days though. I've got a few days for it to heal up though.

Tuesday Night Race tonight. Gonna take it super easy. It's at Bartlett which means crazy hills.

Tomorrow I'm going to take an easy swim. Thursday is an easy 3 miler. Friday is rest rest rest. Saturday is race day at 8am starting from Kincaid Park. If I make goal pace I will be at Goose Lake at 10:10am (10 minutes after the half marathoners start from Goose Lake. I'm hoping to be able to cheer on Kate, Jeri and Janelle as we cross paths right there at Goose Lake. For those of you out there...please please please! feel free to make it out anywhere along the trail to cheer me on. There is nothing quite like seeing a friendly face at mile 15, mile 20, etc. to distract from the monotony. Lots and lots of viewing points...Goose Lake, Valley of the Moon, Westchester Lagoon, Lynary Park, Earthquake Park, Point Woronzof. If you want an estimate of where I might be at any of those points just let me know.

12:10 at Kincaid. It's going to happen.

What if a Moose attacks? What if a bear attacks? What if I step on a porcupine? What if it snows? What if there's ice on the trail and I slip and fall? What if I run out of water? What if I get hit by a bicyclist? What if no one comes out to cheer? What if my ankle isn't really up to it? What if my ipod malfunctions? What if I'm not dressed warm enough? Dressed too warm? What if my car breaks down trying to get to the race start? What if...What if...What if...?



Post publishing edit: Can't believe I forgot to put Kate in there for doing the half! I'm so proud of you Kate for making this your 3rd half this year! Can't wait to help you train for a full for 2012. You have always been such an inspiration to me as well as a dedicated friend. You better make it hard for me to catch up to you!

RICE!

I had started out on an update Tuesday afternoon, I was feeling pretty good about my last long run, my speed was doing ok, and I had written a little bit and was going to finish the entry later in the evening.

And then I rolled my ankle at the Tuesday Night Race. It's doing ok, but Wednesday morning it was extremely cranky. Thursday morning it was just sore. Thursday afternoon it only twinged while making circles, and now, Friday after a morning ice session and advil I think I'm ready for my last long run tomorrow. But I did lay off my 7 mile speed workout yesterday to let it heal.

I was coming in to the last 2 minutes or so of the race and I just landed on my ankle completely wrong. I couldn't tell at the time what kind of damage had been done. Too much adrenaline and what not running through the body. And I calculated it out as doing 9:30 mile pace which for any sort of hills is definitely good for me. I went to trivia after the race but I was feeling rather paranoid about not being able to run the marathon. I haven't worked as long for this one as I did the first one, but I have put in quite a few hours and I am really looking forward to trying to beat my time. Perhaps I was overdue for an injury, since I've been basically injury free since I started running over a year ago. I'll be extremely bummed out and disappointed and depressed if I can't run next Saturday but I also don't want to run on an injury and be off exercising for a much longer time. I did not sleep well last night and I know it's because it's been a few days since a good workout.

We'll just have to see how the run goes tomorrow.

In other news my 16 miler last weekend went great. I took Ike out to Kincaid and we did 16 on the trails. But I don't know the mileage of the trails very well so I just did my 8 mile loop which is Margaux, Jodphur and Mize. and then I turned around and did it backwards. Nice combo of up and down, not too much up and up like doing Lekisch. And doing the loop backwards was almost like doing a new trail. Although Roller Coaster is just not much fun backwards. I'd like to learn the distance of the trails out there so I could do more of my long runs. But after the marathon, I think it will snow before I have a chance to do another long run. And here is my main question, why is there not a marathon on the Kincaid trails? I would do it. I think it would be fun. There's enough trail out there you wouldn't have to repeat anything. Maybe next summer I'll just stage one myself. Figure out the distance and spread the word.
All it needs is a catchy name...

Last week was tough. I worked 5.5 days. I didn't miss a work out, and I had social engagements for almost every night. I definitely can't keep that up. I have a lot going on right now socially and I have a feeling that that is what is going to disappear, almost completely when Ironman training really hits. I think I can still find time to hang with my friends at least once a week, and see family frequently, but if I am not already in a relationship by then, dating is just not going to happen. Too stressful. Not enough time. Wouldn't be fair.

So one of the big things I'd really like to do before my Ironman comes around is get to a race weight of 145. And I'd like to reach that goal before heavy training starts, since I know from past experience training for my marathon and such that I don't really lose while training. I'm about 155 now, I didn't think I could get below the 160 mark which was my goal that I reached at Christmas. I really struggled maintaining that until June when I somehow managed to control the food cravings and dropped 5lbs over 6 weeks. It comes and goes being able to be in complete control. My wager with Kevin right now is helping me stay at 155, and maybe by the time I go to visit him in Kodiak after the marathon I'll be a couple lighter. I told him I'd abstain from beer until getting there. A feat that is a big challenge with all the available homebrew I have right now. A 6 pack of deliciousness that Micah made and 2 kegs on tap in the garage from Pat. But staying off the beer cuts out a lot of calories. 5 points a beer! That's a 40 minute run! But lighter is faster and more likely to stay injury free. My knees and hips will thank me if I can drop another 10. But here's hoping it comes off the thighs and not the chest. I can't afford to lose anymore from that department. The last 5 lbs I swear came directly off my chest. I'll have negative boobage if I'm not careful.