Formulating My Plan for October

OK -- I'm not feeling very confident about the marathon in October... so I'm in the process of putting my training plan together. In addition to logging the miles in a combination of speed work, hill runs and long runs, I'm adding yoga, core work, a day of walking to lengthen my muscles and a day of rest.

I'll follow the Runner's World training schedule to build up my mileage to reach the 20 mile long run. I'll start mapping out exactly what each day and week will look like over the next 2 weeks. I will officially kick off my marathon training on June 6 with the Mendota Heights 5K, which I hope to finish in about 26 minutes.

For the next 2 weeks, I'll just run some easy 4-6 mile runs, maybe a 10 mile in there. We'll see!

Half Marathon Pictures!! May 24, 2009

Accomplishment and Relief; But Weakness Revealed

Holy French Toast - What an experience! On this beautiful morning in Minnesota at about 7:15 a.m., Sarah and I stepped off on our 13.1 trek. We joined the 4:30 marathon pace group, led by the awesome Pacer Pete from Baltimore. Boy did it start off feeling great!! Sarah and I had to pee nearly right away, but the lines for the porta-potties were too long. And amazingly, the ones in line were women - because of course men ran into bushes and tree lines to relieve themselves, easily. Sarah and I couldn't hold anymore, so at about the 4.5 mile mark, we followed 3 other girls into the bush to pee... I said to Sarah as we ran back on to the course, "Now we are real runners - we've peed in the bushes!"



All was well for me for quite awhile. My 10K split was 1:02 - not bad. We plugged along and finally caught back up with Pacer Pete. We stayed with him past the prison and into the start of the neighborhoods. All was still well. I had survived a few hills. I was still feeling pretty good. Then we came up to the hill / overpass over Hwy. 36... and I started to feel almost faint. I wasn't sure if I was going to be sick or pass out. So I listened to my body and slowed quite a bit. Sarah held back to hang with me for awhile, but when I hit the next hill at about mile 11, I had to walk it. Sarah went on, and I'm glad. I ran the straight aways and the down hills, which is when my knee really started to bother me. I couldn't see Sarah anymore, but I kept trying to keep going. My pace by this point was so slow, I could nearly walk as fast. I ran the last mile and was really feeling it in my knee. My breathing was fine. I crossed the finish at 2:18 - 3 minutes off pace, so I guess that's not too bad. Hey, I finished.



I iced my knee right away and sat with the ice as Sarah and I each ate an orange (a dry orange!). The ice really helped... But I told Cis that I really need to talk to Andrew about my knee - because I don't want that to hamper my marathon training or the actual marathon.

I have to admit, I'm more scared about the marathon now than I was before I ran the half today. I also understand even more how awesome Cis's accomplishment was of finishing at 1:57 for her first half.

I'm still very tired - and I took a great nap this afternoon.

So - One run is in the record books! I've officially run a half marathon! Holy French Toast!


* 10K -- 1:02:36
FINISH -- 2:18:09
PACE --10:33

Countdown

2p.m. on Saturday and I'm packing my overnight bag to take to Sarah's so we can set off early for Stillwater. I'm still feeling nervous, but I think my excitement is winning out at this point.

Sarah and I went to the health expo - if you could call it that - yesterday afternoon to pick up 0ur race packets. I think it took us all of 20 minutes to walk the vendors. There were a few neat things about the expo though. We were able to sign up for our pace group and get information about that. We will be in the more conservative 10:18 mile group. The guy at the table said we should stick with Pete, our pace group leader, until mile 10 at least. At that point we can decide whether or not to push ahead on our own.

The other good thing about the expo was seeing the mile markers that will be up tomorrow. Each mile marker is a current or historical picture of Stillwater.

After dinner at The Dock, right on the St. Croix, Sarah and I drove the half marathon route. It does have some hills, but in general is a flat course. Of course it may not feel so flat tomorrow.

Spaghetti dnner at Sarah's tonight. I baked banana raspberry bread for tomorrow morning.

Wish us luck! Until after the 13.1...

Last Run B4 Half

With about 3 days to go, early tomorrow I'll run my last 3 miler before the half on Sunday. I can't believe the big day is right around the corner! I'm feeling a mixture of excitement, nerves and even a tad of confidence. The weather forecast looks nearly perfect for Sunday, but I have yet to trust the weather guy. Regardless, Sarah and I will step off at 7 am on Sunday and give it our best.

Two Days 'Til Race

Only 2 more days until the Stillwater Half Marathon on Sunday, May 24. I have one more short three-miler tomorrow. The weather forecast looks great for race morning. Of course we know how reliable weather people can be ... I feel like I know what to expect, and yet I don't know what to expect. The only piece of new clothing I'm going to wear is a shirt. My black running shorts are great and I'll wear my signature hat and sunglasses.



Tomorrow is the packet pick-up and health expo - looking forward to lots of freebies!

Track work

After the half marathon this weekend, focus shifts to the Twin Cities Marathon. I'm going to add three things to my running: track workouts for speed, sit ups to strengthen my core, and weekly yoga for stretching and breathing.

97 Degrees?

Three miles is easy peasy, right? Well it kicked my patootie yesterday evening! I came home from work late and hit my trail at 6:15. It was an eye-poppin' 97 degrees ... and windy! I finished my simple three (in a good time too actually) but was more expended than I think I've ever been after three. When you're used to running in 65 degrees, suddenly running in 97 really had an effect on me.

Today is supposed to be 92 and I'm going to try it again. Two more short runs before Sarah and I run our half on Sunday!

Welcome to B's Blog

Welcome to my blog - a place where I will wax eloquently (share, journal, whatever you want to call it) about what I'm up to and what I'm interested in.

Currently, I'm quite focused on my running. You see, my two sisters and I are training for the Twin Cities Marathon on October 4, 2009. At the suggestion of my youngest sis, who we happen to call Cis, we've each started a blog to chronicle our journey to 26.2.

So, I'm new to blogging and new to the world of marathon training (although I've been a runner for years). You are hereby forewarned about my blogging skills. But I'm going to have fun learning to blog and reaching for that marathon goal.

Thanks for coming along on my adventure...