Some Firsts

I couldn't sit still for very long after the marathon. As soon as I started to feel mostly normal again, I started doing triathlon training. On Tuesday, I swam 1,000 m, mostly freestyle but also some backstroke during the first and last 200 meters. The 600 m in the middle was my "real workout." Right now I'm just trying to get comfortable in the water and with the fact that I can't just breathe whenever I want to. Eventually, I need to find a lake around here that I can swim in so that I will be prepared for the lake in the actual race...but that can wait a couple more weeks.

On Wednesday, I biked 13.34 miles (50 minutes) and discovered some of the more biker-friendly roads near our house, because I can't just ride around in circles around our neighborhood for that long several times a week. I swam 1,300 m on Thursday, very easy. I don't quite have that flippy thing at the end of the pool lane quite down yet, so I have had a tiny break between every 25 meter section...something else to work on in the next couple of weeks.

Today I did my first "BRICK" workout, which is a combination of any two of the triathlon sports. I have no idea why it's called a BRICK...I feel like "BRIM" would be more appropriate (Bike-Run-swIM), but who am I? Anyway, today I did a 40 minute bike followed by a 20 minute run (10.93 mile bike and a 1.91 mile run). That was also my first run since the marathon. I have to admit, the whole transition from biking to running was a lot more difficult that I would have guessed. I figured my leg muscles would be warmed up from the bike, so the run should be a breeze. True, some of my leg muscles were warmed up, but not the same muscles I needed for running. I wish I could say that after a few minutes the run was a easy despite the transition, but it wasn't. I was huffing and puffing the whole way, and never really hit my stride. I kept thinking, "I cannot believe I did this for 5+ hours a week ago. That's completely insane."All in all, I have enjoyed my first week of triathlon training. Nine more weeks until race day!

Personal Notes:
I haven't had any luck on the job front, really. I had an interview for a public charter school on Tuesday, but I didn't get the job. While that might be a blessing in disguise (it would have been about an hour commute each way), it is still discouraging. I have been approved to sub in two counties, but that doesn't feel like a huge accomplishment. I have been pretty spoiled thus far in life; most things have come pretty easily to me. So I am trying to embrace this struggle and not pout about it, because I don't think everything should be easy all of the time. That leaves very little room for growth. I know the right job will come along eventually!

It's been lovely having Rob home again. He took me out on a fancy date last night for no reason other than he likes me. Today we are going to go pick out curtains with our leftover money at Bed Bath and Beyond (from gifts we returned) and go to a cookout with some of our church friends.

The pups are doing well too--They both know "down" now, and Atlas is growing so fast! I swear her legs have doubled in length over the last 10 days. I'm kind of excited for her to be full grown, even though she's so cute now. I didn't realize how awesome mastiffs are until I decided to get one. We love her a lot:)

Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Race Report

I did it! I finished my first marathon. My time was just faster than those who walked the last 5 miles, but I don't care--I'm just happy to have finished.

I arrived in Seattle at 4:25 PM local time. After picking up my bag, our friend Brian picked me up and we went over to the race expo to pick up my "Swag Bag" with my bib, shirt, and other random goodies in it. Rob's flight wasn't due to arrive until 9:30, so Brian and I had some dinner near the expo. We were also right near the Mariner's ball park, so we decided to scalp some tickets in the nosebleeds. I got to see ex-Philly Raul play, still going strong at 41 :)

While we were there, Rob found out that his flight would be delayed an hour, so he wouldn't get there until 10:30 (poor guy--let me remind you that he was traveling from Denmark so he was beyond tired). Brian and I headed to the hotel after the 6th inning so that I could try to get some sleep before our 5AM wake up. He and Rob ended up getting back around 11:15 (I think?) I couldn't thank Brian enough for being our chauffeur/host all weekend. He even stuck around for the 7 hours it took us to prepare for and run the marathon!

5:00 on Saturday came way too early for all three of us. The race didn't start until 7:00, but we needed to pick up Rob's bib etc. before we started. That was the first lesson I have learned about big marathons; Even though the actual race started at 7:00, our "corral" (yes, like we're cattle) wasn't released until nearly 8:00--the 7:00 start time was for those runners who are actually talented.

The weather was absolutely perfect! It was a rare sunny day in Seattle, and the temperature was in the mid 60's. Rob and I stuck together for the first half of the race. It started at the Space Needle, and wound through downtown and a nearby park. I was having some digestive issues (naturally) so I had to stop in a porta-potty twice during that first half. I was also running much slower than Rob wanted to, so I finally just told him to go on ahead--I was getting stressed feeling like I was holding him back! Soon after we split up, the worst part of the race began. They shut down a section of I-90, where it crossed Lake Washington. The bridge was designed for cars, so it was way too cambered for my taste. I spent the entire six or so miles fretting over the state of my knees. It was also out and back, so I was very discouraged by the multitude of runners coming from the other direction who were way ahead of me. It was also just so vast--we might has well have been in the middle of a desert. There were no trees, only tunnels. The tunnels would have been nice except that my GPS went out while in them, so I had no idea how far I had come. Miles 19-21 on this bridge were the worst. I wasn't sure I could finish. I desperately wanted to walk. The only upside was that a LOT of other people had started walking, so I was finally the person passing people, rather than the person being passed. I was relieved to get off of the bridge somewhere between 22 and 23 miles.

My watch had been fairly in sync with the mile markers all through the race, even despite the loss of signal in the tunnels. So when my watch told me I had hit 25 miles, I really picked up the pace (all things are relative: "picking up the pace" meant running 11:25). My watch told me I had hit 25.9 miles, but mile marker 26 was nowhere to be seen. I had just started thinking that I had somehow missed it when another uphill section started (so cruel) that ended with a curve. I thought, "Surely around that curve I will be able to see the finish line." No. There was another curve and another curve after that and there were people yelling to me that I had "less than half a mile left." Finally, when my watch was at 26.25, I came into the final stretch; the finish line was in sight! By the time I crossed the finish line, my watch read 26.48 miles. Brian and Rob were waiting for me at the finish line. Rob finished almost exactly 20 minutes before me. My official time was 05:32:41, but according to my Garmin only 05:02:59 of that was "moving time." That means I wasted nearly 30 minutes at water stops and porta-potties.

My body has held up okay. I had no serious injuries, but I was pretty pathetic on Sunday. I wobbled around Bellingham and Mt. Baker with Rob and Brian as best I could, but I would really like to go back there when I am good for something and can actually explore the town. My biggest problem was actually my hip flexors...they hurt so much that it was hard for me to sleep on Saturday night. Everything started to really feel better yesterday as Rob and I traveled back to Houston together and today I feel almost normal again.

I came in 82nd out of 105 in my age/gender group. But at the end of the day, I ran a marathon so I am quite proud. The whole point of this blog was to write about my journey to my first marathon, and now it's over. (26.2) milestone reached. So, the question is, "what next?"

Welllll...since I have a snazzy new road bike, I thought I'd give a Sprint Triathlon a go. I signed up for this one on September 1 here in Houston. It's a 500 m swim, 20 k bike and 5 k run. I don't think I really need to train that rigorously for it because it's so short, but it will give me something to work towards that won't totally wreak havoc on my poor joints. Maybe I'll try marathoning again next year with a time goal instead of a "I just want to finish" goal. Who knows?

If you're interested in looking at other (highly flattering) photos of the race, you can see them here. As always, thanks for reading!

4 days to go

Hello, friends.

The time has almost arrived. I am excited and nervous. I have stuck to my training plan and missed nary a day. I have iced, and foam-rolled and yoga-ed my way to this marathon mostly injury-free. It still hasn't really registered yet, but On Saturday morning, 7AM PST, I will be standing at the starting line with my running-hating husband at my side.

As I have said from the beginning, I will be happy with simply finishing the thing. I will be thrilled if I finish without taking any walking breaks. I will be ecstatic if I finish in less that 5 hours (highly unlikely, I might add.) But mostly, I just want to finish.

This last week+ of training has been nice: Five miles on Monday, six miles on Wednesday, a bike ride on Thursday, eight miles on Saturday, another bike ride on Sunday, three miles yesterday. Today was supposed to be a rest day, but I just returned from a short bike ride. I'm trying not to panic, but yesterday's run and this morning's bike ride instigated a twinge of pain on the outside of my left knee. It wasn't the achy kind of pain I'm used to all over my body--it was the not-good kind of pain. Hopefully ice and foam rolling will prevent any further damage!

I will write a lengthy race report when I return. Wish me luck!

P.S. Atlas has learned how to "shake." I tried to teach Bailey too, but she only gets it about half the time. Sorry about the obnoxious voice at the end of the video--It was one of the first times she got it and I was pretty excited.

Injury free training (knock on wood)

I got the inspiration for this unorthodox post on this morning's 5-mile threshold run through the neighborhood. As I was running, I thought how truly amazing it is that I have gotten as far as I have without hurting myself. This would be surprising enough given only my track record. Add to that the fact that I condensed a 16 week plan to nine weeks (thus adding more mileage each week than is usually recommended) and the fact that I have been running exclusively on concrete (the most unforgiving of surfaces for runners) and you will arrive at: amazing.

I can't pinpoint exactly what has made the difference here; I haven't done any of the "strengthening" exercises that the first PT recommended last winter, nor have I altered my stride, which is what the second PT recommended last winter. I didn't buy different kind of shoes and I didn't start following a strict diet. So I'm just going to cover the changes that I did make, and let you decide from there.

1. Mental change(s)
1. I stopped letting myself worry about how slow I was. In the past, my mind was so consumed with not wanting to be a slow runner that I didn't focus on other (more important) things like breathing, cadence, posture, et cetera. I also didn't get to enjoy my runs as much because I was constantly disappointed with my time. Running is every bit as mental as it is physical. Some might even say it's more mental. My fixation with speed took the joy out of running, and made it easy for me to get down on myself. This time around, when I started to feel that way I just reminded myself that my goal is distance, not speed. I want this now even more than I did when I signed up for the Birmingham marathon. I failed before,  and now I have to succeed. Mental attitude has also helped me to stop thinking that every little niggle is the makings of a debilitating injury. I just keep telling myself that I simply can't be injured. I don't know how much this has actually affected my well-being, but I think too many people underestimate the power of the brain. Not that I'm into that "Power of Positive Thinking, the-world-is-yours-to-command" nonsense, but I do think attitude plays a role. 
2. Breathing
1. I read an article in Runner's World several months ago called "Running On Air." You can read the whole article here if you are so inclined, but the Sparknotes version is this: the stress from the impact of a runner's foot hitting the ground is greatest at the first step of an exhale, because that is when the diaphragm loosens up and makes your core the least stable. The author suggests that runners at least even out these extra-awful impact forces by making their inhale to exhale ratio uneven. So, breathe in for three foot strikes and out for two, or 4:3 or 2:1 or whatever works best for each individual. That way, the hardest blow will be divided evenly between both sides of the body. Implementing this breathing technique forced me to focus on both my breath and my cadence, which let to two other results that I might not have anticipated: First, my footfalls became softer because I was paying attention to when--and consequently how--my feet were landing. Second, I started breathing in more deeply ("belly breathing") which increased core stability while inhaling.
3. Stretching and Foam Rolling
1. Like many runners, I was a bit stingy with the stretching in the past. I hate stretching (who doesn't??) and I wouldn't suffer through it for more than 10 seconds per muscle. This time around I have forced myself to do at least 40 seconds per muscle, with a full minute on the IT band. This is particularly difficult after a long run, when my whole body wants nothing more than to lie down and never ever move again. Ever. Those are the hardest moments that require the most will power, second only to the finishing the last two miles of a long run. I have also foam rolled every evening after a morning run. And I'm not talking the quick back and forth that I did before. I have been rolling painfully slowly up and down the muscles, and when I find a particularly painful spot I stay on it for 20-30 excruciating seconds. Choice words leave my mouth during those 20-30 seconds that I have never uttered in any other circumstance.
4. Last, but not least: Small Dietary Changes
1. I haven't been dieting, as I said before, but I have been sure to eat lots of carbs the day before a long run, and lots of protein the day following a long run. I was always pretty good about the carbs (there's basically nothing in the world I enjoy on my palette more than good bread and/or pasta), but I wasn't very good about protein, which is pretty important for muscle recovery, in case you weren't aware. Those of you who know me at all know that I don't particularly enjoy meat... it kind of grosses me out. I usually only have some form of it at dinner and I only do that because I don't want to make my poor husband become a vegetarian too. But as any vegetarian (or ex-vegetarian, in my case) can tell you, protein is easy to come by if you want it. So I have been making many protein shakes and eating a lot of greek yogurt after my hardest runs. And of course, lots and lots and lots of water. All the time. 

I think that about covers the positive changes I have made this time around. I hope someone, somewhere might find this helpful. And of course, the superstitious part of me needs to proclaim that I haven't actually completed the Holy Grail of running yet, so I might be eating all of these words in a couple of weeks. But there's that negative thinking again, so I shall now bid it adieu. 

Eighteen!!

For the third week in a row, I am congratulating myself for running the longest distance I have ever run.  Thankfully, this 18 mile run was a lot more pleasant than the 16 mile run last weekend. I felt surprisingly good up until mile 15 or 16--those last couple were a bit if a struggle, but nothing like the last four miles of the 16 mile run. Very encouraging!

Not only was this run longer than last weekend's, but I also ran it faster (12:13 average versus 12:30). Granted, I did get a 15 minute break in there around mile 11.5, because our new couches were delivered mid-run. The delivery guy called me when I was over a mile and a half from the house and told me they were going to be there in 10 minutes or less, so I ran relatively quickly back home to meet them, which helped increase my over all average and gave me a 15 minute break while they moved the couches in. Still, I felt really good when I got back to the house and after I resumed the run, so I'm going to say that the 15 minute break was not necessary and I would have been fine without it. I listened to East of Eden for 3 full hours of the run, and I am really liking it (Good recommendation, Bud Davis) 

Now I have officially completed the most grueling week of my training. I ran 5 miles Monday, 8 miles Wednesday, and rode the stationary bike for 50 minutes on Thursday. On Thursday afternoon I drove into Houston to buy this beauty:

54 cm, aluminum women's road bike. She was quite a steal. Kind of heavy for an aluminum bike because it has so many gears, but still much lighter than my last road bike. I saved about $300 off the sale price because there were some scratches on the frame (purely cosmetic), so it was over half off the original price. She is really a much nicer bike than I should have been able to afford. I took her out for a short ride around the block on Friday, and this morning I rode 7.3 miles. I haven't named her yet--I was thinking Maya. Any other suggestions?

Personal Notes:

• I miss my hubs. He hasn't even been gone a week yet! I had a hard time sleeping the first two nights he was gone, but I seem to have gotten over it.
• I took Atlas to her first puppy training class. I didn't like everything the instructor said (i.e., don't have water available for her at all times; instead, just give her water when you feed her) but below is the result of less than a day of practicing. It's a 6 week course.

• I was invited to and am attending a "Substitute Blitz" next week for Katy ISD. As far as I can tell it's like speed-dating for determining which teachers you want to sub in your school. Katy isn't the district that I live in, but it's close enough. I haven't heard back from the Elementary school I interviewed with over two weeks ago, so my hopes are fading on that one, especially now that school is officially over.
• My new neurologist here is insisting that I get an EEG--I haven't had a neurologist want an EEG since I was in 9th grade. It's nice that he cares, but it's really not going to tell him anything. He also made me get blood work to make sure that my medication dosage is sufficient. I have been on this medication/dosage for over 10 years...I think it's effective just as it is. Anyway... the EEG is tomorrow, bleh.
• Our washing machine broke the day after Rob left town, so a new one will also be delivered tomorrow. It's front loading, so I'm excited :) It wasn't fun spending that money though :(

Sixteen

Let me tell you something about myself: With the exception of The Melting Pot, if something I want is 16 miles away from me, chances are I will not drive there because it's just too far. I will either give up the desire or find something similar within a reasonable distance. So, the fact that I ran that distance yesterday morning is really quite insane.

It was so hot that I ran in just a sports bra. (For me, that's really saying something because I have always hated and always will hate my belly.) There were lots of faster, less awkward looking runners out there. My hips were aching something fierce and my quads were sore from the word "go." No part of my body felt normal or in sync at any point during those 16 miles. In short, yesterday's run was not pleasant. In fact it was awful.

I thought that as I completed longer runs I would start feeling more confident about completing the marathon, but I have noticed that the opposite is taking place. If I'm feeling worn out by mile 10 and can barely convince myself to run six more miles, how much worse is it going to be when I finish 16 miles and then have to convince myself to run 10 more??  Especially because Texas is so flat and Seattle is so...not. Even running up the miniscule inclines in our neighborhood was painful toward the end of that run. I'm really nervous to be perfectly honest. But I am doing all I can do.

Quick recap of the rest of my week:
Monday: Ran 5 (interval)
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: Ran 7 miles, 10k pace
Thursday: Swam laps until a bunch of old ladies kicked me out for "Aqua Aerobics" (3200 meters)
Friday: Rest
Saturday: 16, while listening to an audiobook (which definitely helped pass the time)
Sunday: Maybe Yoga?

This upcoming week will be the most intense week of my training. Then there will be an easy "recovery week" and an even easier few days prior to the marathon. So, if I can just make it through this week in one piece, I should be okay (until the marathon, anyway). I plan on foam rolling at least every evening of a running day, hopefully every single day. I might even plunge into a few ice baths :[

Personal Notes:

• Rob leaves for Germany/Denmark on Wednesday and will be gone for over two weeks. I won't see him again until we are in Seattle the day before the marathon!
• I have a few possible job prospects, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
• The new puppy seems to be adjusting pretty well. I'm just glad that most of the downstairs has hardwood or tile flooring; We have had a LOT of accidents! Today she threw up on our friends' white carpet (luckily, they are dog people and didn't seem to mind). I can't wait until she starts teething too... But I'm kind of in love with her, so that will probably be okay too:)