Category: Running

3M Half Training Week 1 and 2

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It’s the start of a new training cycle, and I almost hesitate to share how my training goes. A majority of this training cycle is spent throughout holidays, travel plans, and a pretty busy time of year. But I am sharing it, more of a way to make sure that I do get my workouts in. I set some pretty high goals for this race so I’m determined to make sure that every run counts. I’ve also never run a big race this close to the beginning of the year, so the whole training through the holidays is new.

Let’s take a look at the last two weeks. These were all about the base miles. I took two-three weeks off after the marathon. I needed it, my body needed it. I was mentally worn out and my knee was in the worst pain I’ve ever felt. But I’ve been refreshed and now I’m ready to run, and I’m, dare I say it, pain free. Sure these past two weeks I didn’t get a lot of runs or a lot of mileage, but I’m back at it, and you have to start somewhere. More importantly, I’m running on a treadmill, and I think that explains all lack of motivation for weekday runs.

Week 1

Monday:

Tuesday: 1.5 Miles-Treadmill

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Friday: 2 Miles-Vail

Saturday:

Sunday:

Total Miles: 3.5 Miles

This week was spent mostly traveling to Colorado. And we did a bunch of walking, but luckily I was able to get a beautiful run out in Vail. Notice below the elevation difference….7000+ ft change is quite a bit and makes for hard running.

8000+ ft elevation!

Normal elevation

Strangely enough it was the first time I noticed my pain was gone, so I guess I should do all my running in Colorado.

 

Week 2

Monday:

Tuesday: 3 Miles-Treadmill

Wednesday: 3 Miles-Treadmill

Thursday:

Friday:

Saturday:

Sunday: 3 Miles-Outdoors

Total Miles: 9 Miles

From week 1 to week 2 I was able to add mileage, work on my weight training and get a few miles outside. It’s far from where I probably should be, but I’m working on it.

 

With only 8 weeks to go, I’ve got a lot to accomplish. Here are my goals for the 3M Half Marathon:

  • Sub 2:00
  • PR
  • Sub 2:00
  • Stay injury free
  • Sub 2:00

Notice a pattern? I want to run sub 2:00 so badly, you wouldn’t believe. It’s a downhill course so I’m hoping this will be to my benefit. It’s also in Austin, in January, so snow or cold weather shouldn’t be an issue. I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me, but there couldn’t be a better way to start of 2013 than running a PR!

3M Half Training Plan

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I haven’t released my 2013 race calendar yet, but I’m starting my next training cycle for the first race of 2013. In January I’ll be running the 3M Half Marathon in Austin, Texas! It will be my second out of state half and hopefully a lot warmer than January in Ohio. I honestly hadn’t heard about this race until recently when Courtney and Melissa promised me this would be an easy, down hill course where I could not only PR, but possibly break 2:00. And if that wasn’t appealing enough, they would also be running the race as well. Let’s see…flat, downhill course? Possibly PR/Sub 2? 60 degree weather in January? Awesome Twitter/runner friends also running? How could I say no to this? After a few weeks of going back and forth, I finally decided that if I were to ever run a half in Texas, this would be it.

I’m 10 weeks out from race day, not my normal 16 week cycle of training. I’m not too concerned on the short time frame though. I two weeks post marathon, so I may have lot a little endurance and speed, but I needed time off to recover. However, I think I’ve still got it in me that I can get some pretty quick long runs in before race day.

I’ve given a lot of thought to how I’d like my future training cycles to go. I’m hoping for more cross training, lifting, and healthier eating habits. I also know that if I want to have a fast half, I need to incorporate more speed workouts into my training. Once again I’ll be using Runner’s World Smart Coach as my training base to get me where I need to be in just 10 short weeks.

This first week will be difficult, as it seems I always start a training cycle on a week I’m traveling. I’ll be in Colorado for half of this week and some of next week. Since we know how things started my last trip to Colorado, I’m going to be paying more attention to hydration than my running. Plus after two weeks off I know I’ll need to ease into running again. I’m looking forward to logging some long runs and even running some of those major hills. Time to dust off those racing shoes….

Interested in learning more about the 3M Half? Thinking of running it? Check out the race page here. As an added bonus, flights from Akron-Canton Airport to Austin are the cheapest they’ve been in months.

 

Post Marathon Daze

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It’s been a week and a half since I ran the Columbus Marathon. It feels like it has been so much longer, yet it’s still hard to believe that I actually did it. The race took a lot out of me, a lot more than I had expected and it kept me in a funk through Wednesday night. After a half, I’m usually out of it for a few hours, but three days was something I wasn’t ready for. Hydration and hunger weren’t normal and I was really moody. Sorry to everyone who had to put up with me. Physically I was feeling rough for most of the week. Monday and Tuesday were the worst days, but luckily I’ve been able to bounce back for the most part.

Now that I’ve run one marathon, I get asked, will I do another? Yes! It may have been hard, but it was all worth the feeling of joy crossing that finish line. There really are no words to describe that moment and how amazing it is. I certainly have no plans of doing another one in the spring, but give it a year, and I may be running another 26.2 miles in the fall. I don’t plan on doing a lot, but I wouldn’t mind getting a few under my belt over the next couple of years. It takes a lot of time, hard work, dedication and heart to run a marathon. Timing has to be right, and next time I want to get the full 16 weeks of training under my belt.

So what have I been doing since the marathon? I’ve been enjoying time off from running. I knew I wanted to take a complete week off after the marathon, but it beat me up a little more than expected so I pushed it to two weeks of doing nothing but resting. No running, no biking, and a little bit of stretching. My body needed this, I needed it. After running non stop since last Christmas, I was on the verge of a big burnout. Taking these two weeks to recover has helped. I’m really focused on being a better running and improving my training schedules. We’ll be joining the rec center soon and with out a doubt this will help me with the winter training blues!

Perks of recovery? Taking a trip to see this little guy!

He is just too cute

As well as celebrating Halloween!

And of course, planning our vacation to Colorado!

Denver, I love you.

 

How do you spend time post marathon? Are you done racing for the season?

Columbus Marathon, Part 2

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Saturday, I was nervous. Sunday, I was ready. I tossed and turned all night, feeling pretty awake by 5am. I was up by 5:35 and full of anticipation, ready to take on Columbus. I spent the next hour pacing the hotel room, trying on different clothes, and forcing myself to eat. I knew I had to eat a decent amount to have enough energy for the entire race, but with each bite I thought it was going to come right back up. I managed to get down a Blueberry Clif bar and part of a blueberry bagel. I made my way down to the the start line and was right at my corral by 7:00.

Surprisingly I wasn’t nervous. I kept looking around, amazed by how many people were out here. I chatted with a few people, but as the air started to get colder, all I wanted to do was get going. Every couple of minutes the cannon would go off followed by fireworks, and each time it would take me by surprise. We were moving closer and closer to the start line, and soon it would be my time to start. I left my headphones out so I could take in every sound. With every step I was getting closer to running and with each step I had more tears flooding into my eyes. I knew if I cried right away I wouldn’t be able to get my breathing under control, so I kept thinking of other things, like how cold I was and how crazy it was that all these people were out here to support the runners they knew. I put my headphones in, started my Garmin, and began my journey of running 26.2 miles.

Mile 1: 10:43

I was cold, it was crowded and my teeth wouldn’t stop chattering. I was having trouble getting my breathing into a normal rhythm from my teeth shaking so much. I needed to figure out what would be my best pace so I looked around to find the closest pace group. I quickly found the sign with “4:45” on it. I picked up my pace and settled right behind the sign. At this point, it was my best guess at how to manage the giant crowd and how I wouldn’t let myself go out too quick. 25 miles to go, this isn’t so bad.

Mile 2-4: 10:34, 10:38, 10:37

I started to warm up and I got into a pretty comfortable pace. It was still pretty crowded so we would slow down or speed up at times, but overall I felt good. My music was playing songs I didn’t think I had on my iPod, but I tried to ignore it and focus on the race. By mile 3 I pulled out the iPod and changed the playlist, I instantly felt better having my “go to” music playing. I saw a fellow Second Sole RR runner from my summer runs with the group. I took my first set of Sport Beans at mile 4, with a plan to take them every four miles. I saw Elayna along the course and quickly sprinted across, gave her a hug and thanked her for coming. It meant a lot to have support along the way.

Mile 5-6: 10:37, 10:33

I kept going, feeling pretty good. I made sure to stop at every water stop to keep myself hydrated, mixing water and lemon lime Gatorade (my fav!) The weather was warming up a bit, but I held onto my gloves  because I knew I’d need them for later when I’d probably be freezing. At mile 6 I decided I’d go ahead of the pace group. I had no intention of sprinting to catch the 4:30 group, but I wanted to give myself a time gap to fall into.

Mile 7-10: 11:09, 11:06, 10:57, 10:57

I started to remember this part of the course from last year. We went through Bexley, German Village and by Capital University. Lots of crowd support and some wonderful signs to put a smile on my face. I was a quarter of the way done and did a quick check on how I was feeling; legs were good, breathing was good, my mindset was good. I took my first Clif shot around mile 8, because at this point, I was already hungry. I was thankful that I was in a much better place mentally for this race than previously. I was at a steady pace and I had yet to walk.

Mile 11-13: 14:23, 11:05, 10:51

At mile 11 I had to break my pace and stop at the port-o-pots, I was definitely drinking lots of water. I spent a while waiting for one to open up, but it was ok, I wasn’t in a rush, I still had a long way to go. We were now getting close to the half way point, and there were more spectators and a great energy. I couldn’t help but be excited that my race wasn’t over yet. I asked myself, could I do that again? Sure, I felt like I had only run a few miles, I would feel good for at least another 5.

The closer we got to the the turn off point, the more I was surrounded by half marathoners. I panicked thinking I forgot to take a turn, I couldn’t see a single marathoner anywhere near me. Right then I saw the sign for the turn off, followed by Darren on the sidewalk taking pictures as I went by. I smiled, I felt good, I was so glad he made it to the race. I was running the second half. I was running a marathon.

Feeling great!

Mile 14-16: 10:54, 12:17, 13:32

After the half marathoners turned off I felt alone, most of the runners disappeared as well as the crowds. I felt like High Street was going on forever and I had no idea how long it would take to get to the Shoe. I stopped to stretch, and take some more sport beans. I could feel my body starting to tighten. It was starting to wear down a bit as I got closer to mile 16, and I knew this would be a turning point. The next miles would be my longest run ever, distance and time wise. My pace slowed down, but I wasn’t too worried yet. In mile 16 I suddenly felt weak, my hands started shaking and I felt that if I continued to run a few more steps I would pass out. I stopped. I drank a bunch of water, ate some sport beans and ate the only Gu I had left in my FlipBelt. I didn’t know if I would get to the finish.

Mile 17-18: 12:58, 12:11

I started to do a walk/jog combination for the next couple of miles to get my energy level back to where it should be. As long as I was moving, I would be ok. At this point in the race we were approaching the stadium, and I was excited for my chance to run through it. We came around campus and over a bridge to a winding path around the side. It was an amazing feeling come into the Shoe, but it was a short run through. Darren was there somewhere, but I didn’t look around. I just had to keep going. As soon as we entered, we left and would enter the darkest miles of the race.

The Shoe

Mile 19-21: 14:31, 17:57, 14:06

I honestly struggled from mile 17 to mile 21. But mile 19-21 were my slowest miles for sure. I went back and forth between walking and running. I felt like I was going to get sick, and wasn’t sure if I was better off running or walking. I felt miserable. Running a marathon was miserable. And it was hard. I was exhausted, hungry and in a lot of pain. I kept counting down the miles until I would finally be done. But I never once wanted to quit. I knew I had to keep going, I wasn’t going to give up. Right around mile 20 I stopped at the port-o-pots again, I felt over hydrated, but I clearly wasn’t. I thought I was going to get sick and didn’t know if I’d have energy to get me through the last 6 miles. I looked in the mirror and told myself to get it together. Yes, it was hard. But I signed up for this. And I wasn’t alone, there were plenty of other people that were hurting. I couldn’t give up now.

Mile 22-24: 15:26, 12:26, 12:15

Somehow, someway I got to mile 22. Because I don’t know Columbus very well, I never knew where I was in relation to the map or the city. I took more sport beans and told myself I had four more miles, just four more! I started to find a pace that was decent, I was feeling good all things considering. I kept going, and going. I felt almost free, a second wind. Everyone around me was walking, but I didn’t want to, I didn’t need to. I tried to figure out how I would approach the last couple of miles. I stopped at one of the water tables and filled up my hand held, I knew I would need as much water as I could get. I spoke with a gentleman who was also struggling. It was his first marathon and he was having IT problems, we shared the same thought that yes this was hard, but we’ve had a good day weather wise and the course was pretty flat. We had two miles left, and we were going to make it.

Mile 25-26: 12:53, 16:23

I took my ear buds out at mile 25. I wanted to cherish that last 1.2 miles of the race. I had come this far, I wanted to make sure I remembered the finish forever. I saw finishers walking to cheer others on with the medal around their necks, I wanted that. A half mile to go and the sun was shining. I took my last sport bean to have just enough energy to get me across the line. I could see the amount of spectators growing. The closer we got the the louder everything became. I started to get teary eyed, I was working myself up and I had to calm down. As I was approaching the turn, I heard my name called and let out the tears. I was going to finish a marathon! As soon as I turned the corner, I had to stop. I was going to get sick, not once, but twice. Nothing. I told myself to stop it, this is embarrassing. You’re fine, and you’re going to get up and finish this race. A few hundred feet from the finish, I had the energy of someone who had fresh legs, I picked it up and sprinted. I crossed the line. I finished. I finished a marathon.

Courtesy of @cbusmarathon

I was crying and smiling. A volunteer placed a medal around my neck and told me congratulations. I heard my name called, it was Darren. I went to the fence and as he reached over for my hand, I saw tears, something I’ve seen only one other time. He told me  how proud he was of me. It was the absolute best moment, such an incredible feeling. I walked towards the food, got my picture taken and let out a big sigh of relief. I was officially a marathoner.

26.2 Done!

I grabbed a small snack and got a massage. I was in a lot of pain, but at that moment I felt nothing. I wasn’t tired, I wasn’t sore, I was in a daze. I stood around to take in everything. I was an hour off my goal time, but I finished. I gave it everything I had and left it all on the course.

My biggest fan

Official Time: 5:28:10

 

 

Columbus Marathon, Part 1

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Saturday felt just like Christmas Eve. Excitement, anxiousness, nervousness; all of those feelings kept rushing through my head and turning my stomach. To say I had butterflies was an understatement. I packed everything the night before, but I was still worried I had left something behind, what could be worse than leaving your shoes at home. Once I was ready to go, we started the long drive to Columbus. I dropped Darren off with some friends so he could watch the Buckeyes, and I went straight to the hotel for a few hours. The plan was to get to the expo, relax for a while then have some dinner, keep the day easy and get plenty of rest for the race. Luckily, I was able to meet up with some fellow Muskie alums to check out the expo. We all ran cross country and track together, so it was good to have some familiar faces with me on this experience.

Muskies!

I’m going to run this!

Personally I didn’t think the expo was as good as last year. There was no wall of names with bib numbers, the official gear from Nike and Second Sole was limited to a few items in XL and the whole space seemed to be much smaller. It was a little bit of a low point, but I quickly got over it and spent probably too much on things I didn’t need. But you only have one first marathon, why not go all the way. I was lucky enough to score some great deals and walked away with a handful of shirts, a fleece jacket, some bondibands, some amazing new shoes and a few other things.

Asics GT-2000, Heaven for your feet

After the expo I headed out to have dinner with a high school friend who was also running her first marathon. We’ve been running together since we were 13, so there was no other way to prepare for the night before a race than having a home cooked meal and some cupcakes for good luck, just like we did in middle school and high school. It was a great way to get our minds off the race and catch up on life.

Soon after dinner I left to pick up Darren and headed back to the hotel. The hours before I’d be waking up on race day were now limited to minutes. I made sure to set everything out, changed my race outfit about twenty times and had a good talk with my dad before I went to bed. Everything was becoming real now, the next time I woke up I would be running a marathon, and hopefully becoming a marathoner a few hours later. I struggled with sleep, tossing and turning, waking up every hour thinking I’d slept in, reassuring myself that my alarm was set, I wouldn’t miss this race for anything….

Country Runs

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As much as I’d like to share my marathon experience with everyone, it will have to wait a few days. I’m still taking in every moment from this weekend, including the pain that will most likely be in my legs all week. But I’ve been sitting on this post for a while, and wanted to get it out before the seasons changed and we lose all the beauty of fall. I’ve always loved that I lived so close to Lake Erie, it’s been such a beautiful sight to see the water and the city of Cleveland in the background. When we moved I was totally a little upset that I’d be leaving my beautiful city and my peaceful long runs along the lake.

Luckily I’ve been pleasantly surprised. Once September rolled around the leaves started to change and the beauty of the country roads I was running on really came out. I fell in love with every long run, partially because the routes I was running were so beautiful. The hills may have been a torture, but it was worth it for the pictures. I’m even looking forward to country runs in the winter to see the beautiful snow on everything. I’m starting to embrace my life outside of the big city, and loving these moments in the country.

Enjoy these last few days with leaves on the trees, winter will be here soon!

Lake Medina

The perfect path

It all comes down to this…

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It’s here. It is finally marathon weekend!! And the marathon is in two days. TWO DAYS!! After 110 days and almost exactly 16 weeks of training, the moment of truth is here. First of all, I apologize (not really) for all of the marathon talk. It is honestly all I have on my mind. I know it’s been coming up and I knew my days were numbered on when I would get to stand on that line, but it didn’t hit me hard until last night. There may have been a few extra tears in dinner, and they weren’t from cutting an onion. It’s crazy to think that I’m running the “ultimate” event, at least that’s how I see it. What is more unbelievable is that last May I ran my first half marathon. In the past 17 months I’ve run 8 half marathons and will now get to reach the next level.

I’ve set out some goals. Nothing too crazy, but something to think about when I reach a low point or two during the race.

  • Finish in 4:30. This may be a lofty goal, but it’s a best case scenario for sure. This puts me at a 10:15ish pace, a 2:15 half. A majority of my miles in my long runs have been sub 10, so I f eel like this is a possibility. But there is no guarantee on race day and I know I have to keep my pace slow.
  • Finish in 4:45. This is the finish time for my corral. I think this is a safe goal, it gives me extra time and I’d have a pace of 11:00. I never ran this pace during training, but I have a feeling that I may dip down to it in my final miles.
  • Finish. In all honesty, I just want to finish. I want to cross that line and become a marathoner. This is one of the most important days of my life, crossing that line is all I can think about. It means more than anything to me.

Now you know my goals, but what if you want to see how I’m doing during the race instead of waiting for my race recap? No worries, I’ve got you covered.

  • I’ve linked up my Twitter account to check in on my splits throughout the race with Real-Time Race Tracking.
  • You can also go online and sign up for tracking as well, I’m bib number 3978
  • I’ve linked my Facebook account to give real time tracking
  • Darren may also be tweeting live (he did a good job in Colorado)
  • You can also come to Columbus and be one of the awesome fans. I’ll be wearing something from the assortment below….

So many options

Goals. Check. Tracking. Check. Thank you’s….

I wish I could take each and every person out to dinner to thank them for all they’ve done, instead I’ll let you know on here. Plus I can save money for the expo. Seriously, I wouldn’t have been able to come this far with out the support, encouragement, hope and love from everyone. Friends, family, blog readers, twitter followers, you guys are all amazing. All the comments, well wishes, advice, I’ve taken it all to heart and will think about each and every one of you on Sunday. I can’t wait to come back next week and share the experience with you, the ups and downs, the tears and smiles. Every single moment. So thank you.

It’s time, time to leave it all on the streets of Columbus and give this marathon everything I’ve got.

 

Why 26.2?

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Why run 26.2 miles? I used to ask myself this question. Throughout high school and college, I always thought that someday, somehow I’d run a marathon. It was on my bucket list I guess you could say. But it was a phrase that I loosely threw around. I had these hopes while I was running 6 days a week and racing almost every weekend. After college I took some time away from running. Not much, but I wasn’t running as many miles or as often as I had in the past. Then last year I made the decision I would run a half marathon, and I did it in the beautiful city of Cleveland. It was awful weather, but it was an amazing experience, almost too good to be true. After crossing the line, I immediately knew I wanted to run more half marathons. At that time I had no desire to run a full marathon, I had no interest in running any further than 13.1 miles…ever.

Over the summer I ran and trained for three other half marathons, along with a relay team for Akron Marathon. One of the Muskie alums Molly, a marathon expert, suggested that I think about it, maybe one day I’ll have a change of heart. Kimi, who at the time was training for her first marathon told me I should definitely do it, and like her, Columbus would be a great first marathon course. Throughout the relay I gave it a lot of thought, together as a team we completed 26.2 miles, was there a possibility I could do it on my own? While waiting near the finish for Molly to dominate her leg of the relay I found myself touched by every single runner that came past us. In my heart, I knew that I would run a marathon, that I would get my own chance to run past mile marker 26.

Talk about a “milestone”

About a month later I had reassurance that I wanted to lace up and try 26.2 miles when I watched the finish of the Columbus Marathon. If you are ever on the fence about running a marathon (or any race) watch the finish. I’m pretty sure I kept tearing up every couple of minutes. It was such a wonderful experience to watch, and had me counting down the days until I could register to run my own. Even better was watching Kimi finish, knowing she had put so much time and effort into her training, I knew I wanted to do the same.

Running 26.2 miles is going to be an experience, a year after making the decision, it’s finally my time. Why run 26.2 miles? This is why….

  1. Running comes full circle. I have been running for over half of my life time. It’s what I do, it’s who I am, it’s the one thing that has never let me down. I started with the 400m in middle school and continued my way into longer distances until now I’m on the doorstep of reaching 26.2. My running has changed over the past couple of years. I’ve finally come to the realization that I will most likely never run a 22:xx 5k again. And that’s ok. I want to focus on distance, I want to enjoy the hours spent running for myself, not for a time.
  2. Running the Shoe. One of the highlights for the marathon this year was being able to run through the Shoe. I may not be the biggest Buckeye fan out there, but I’m completely excited about this opportunity. I’ve only been to the stadium three times, but I have a feeling this will be my favorite and most memorable time there.
  3. Redemption. I have a bone to pick with Columbus. Last year’s half marathon wasn’t my best effort, I mentally gave up within the first mile. I was burnt out, I was injured (imagine that) and I was ready for the racing season to end. This year I want to show Columbus that I can handle it, and that I’m going to give this race all I’ve got.
  4. Running with Alumni. It makes me so excited that I don’t have to run the marathon alone, well kind of. I’ll be doing all 26.2 miles by myself, but I’m glad to know that cross country friends from high school and college will be going through the same race as me, experiencing everything just as I am, as we all run our first marathon. I may be running alone, but it’s good to know that I have some teammates out there on the course.
  5. Running 26.2. 5k, 10k, Half. I think it’s the perfect time to step up my game and challenge myself on a longer race. Who knows, it could be my new favorite race distance….

Columbus Marathon Training Review

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This is it, the final week of marathon training! My heart beats a million times a minute just thinking about it. It has all come down to these last days, and I hope to savor every moment. You only get one first marathon experience. This past week of training was almost nothing. I got bit by the sick bug for most of the week, and had a hard time shaking it. I finally got over it by the weekend, until it showed up again Sunday morning, right before my run. Lucky for me, my whole body was against me because I also woke up during the night with a cramp in my calf. Needless to say, this week was a bust for mileage. Taper fail? Possibly, but the miles I got in were fantastic. I had two strong runs and I felt better than I had for a long time.

Monday: Sick Day

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: 1.5 Miles

Thursday: 2.5 Miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: Sick Day/Calf Cramp

Total Miles: 4 Miles

So now I’m left with one final week of runs before the big day. I had my ups and downs throughout training, but this coming Sunday it will be all worth it. I’m proud of how far I’ve come and how much I accomplished. Even though I had knee issues, I didn’t let it get in the way of my goal. I’ll admit, I thought about backing out after I lost the second month of training. And preparing for a marathon in 8 weeks wasn’t really ideal. But things happen and you over come them. Not every race or training cycle is going to be perfect. It’s the little things that go wrong that will make you a stronger runner.

My thoughts exactly

I certainly had runs that I absolutely hated, and others that I didn’t want to end. I started my training on familiar, flat routes along the lake and ended my training along hilly, unfamiliar territory. These were the runs that made me question why was out there, but these were also the runs that made me confident I made the right decision in running a marathon. Even though I never hit that 20 mile training run, I’m confident that I’ll be able to do it in just 6 days.

What I’ve learned:

  • Training for a marathon is possible. I couldn’t imagine running further than 13.1 miles when I started. To know that I’ve done it, and done it more than once makes me think that any length of run is possible. Little by little distance running isn’t so far.
  • I love long runs. I’ve always loved long distance running, but I truly enjoyed my weekends runs more than my weekday ones. There was just something there that made me excited to go out and run a half marathon plus every weekend.
  • Hills aren’t that bad. I was pretty nervous and upset when I did my first couple of runs after moving. I couldn’t find a single stretch of flat land. I’m still not brave enough to tackle the big ones out in the country, but I’d like to think that the small and medium ones aren’t bad.
  • I’m a cold weather runner. The weather was miserable this summer. I’m pretty sure I’ve never sweated that much in my life. To say I was excited for the 50 degree weather was an understatement. But what I’m actually excited for is snow. It’d be interesting training for a marathon during winter…
  • I am a runner through and through. This week, this moment is what I’ve spent the last four months, if not longer, preparing for. I’ve brought my running full circle from the 400m in track back in middle school to now with 26.2 miles. I’ve put in the hard work, I had disappointments and moments of pure joy.  Running the training runs alone, I learned so much about myself, it’s hard to put into words. I know I’ll learn so much more on Sunday.

Columbus Marathon Training: Week 14

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It’s officially taper time! This also means that there are only two weeks until the marathon, two weeks! I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone by. Just over a year ago, I made the decision that I would take the next step and run a marathon, and to think that it’s almost here is still unbelievable. I wish I could say that my hardest runs are past me, and that I’ve done everything I could have to make sure that the marathon is a success. But I can’t.

It’s no secret that my training has been challenging, and not up to standards. I’ve gone through pain, and recovery, and pain again. I lost a complete month of training, something I know will show up on race day around mile 20 when I have feelings of doubt. But my main focus in these next two weeks is to keep my pain to a minimum. After last weekend’s long, hilly run, my body has felt a little beat up.  I felt it this week on both my shorter and longer run as well.

Monday: Rest Day

Tuesday: Rest Day

Wednesday: 3 Miles

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Rest Day

Sunday: 7 Miles

Total Miles: 10 Miles

For the next two weeks, I’m going to listen to my body and ignore my training schedule. I still want to get three runs in a week, but I’ll keep them short, easy and most likely on a treadmill. As much as I’d prefer to be outside, my daylight after work is limited. I also think it’s best for me to be on the flat surface of the treadmill, and if any pain happens, I can easily stop.

Other things I need to do in the next two weeks? I still need to figure out what to wear for race day. The weather has thrown me for a loop with the freezing temperatures, but it looks like it should warm up. Luckily I’m great at over packing, so I should have plenty of options. But most important, I need to figure out which colors to wear. I also need to update my playlist on my iPod. Over the past few weeks I’ve found some great songs, and some not so great songs. I need to shape it up so I’m not playing with music, but focusing on my running come race day.

What do you do during taper? Any suggestions?