26.2 can eat my dust!

Well it's official.  I'm a marathon runner!  I still can't believe it.  Honestly it hasn't sunk in yet and it's been 3 days!  I'm starting to wonder if it ever will. 

For 2 weeks leading up to the marathon, my running tapered.  I know tapering is meant to help your body store up the energy it needs for race day, but mentally it started to take its toll.  I started to forget what it felt like to run 20 miles and the thought of running 26.2 was starting to really scare me.  I started to wonder who I thought I was.  Was this really my idea?  Did I really want to do this?  Was I cut out for it?  Well now I know I can answer yes to all of those questions. :)

During training my goal was to finish in 4 hours, however a part of me knew realistically it could be closer to 4:30.  As my runs tapered in the last two weeks of training I was averaging 8 minute miles.  My legs were going so fast my lungs couldn't keep up.  It was the weirdest sensation I've ever experienced as a runner.  I just couldn't slow my legs down during those shorter runs (one of them being 8 miles in an hour).  A new part of me surfaced and I started to think maybe, just maybe I could qualify to run Boston (3:35).  So now mentally I was battling the part that was saying, are you sure you're ready to do this?  While the other part was saying hey, maybe you could qualify for Boston.  Then the other part would come back and say, no way, not your first marathon.  Instead of stressing over something so silly, I decided I would just listen to my body.  If I qualified, great!  If not, no big deal - maybe I was just meant to finish.  I even thought about not turning on Map My Run during the marathon, but I knew I wouldn't really be able to do that.  I needed to have some sort of idea about how I was doing.  The funny thing is when I thought I started Map My Run, I had actually pressed pause.  Therefore, I didn't start it until later in the race and of course I didn't start it at an exact mile marker - lol!  I was doing math quite often to try and figure out how I was doing.  The majority of the time Map My Run was saying 8:04 minute miles.  I just couldn't believe it!

As I crossed the start line I noticed a 4 hour pacer so I decided to start the race hanging out close by.  Before I knew it, somewhere around mile 3, I had passed the pacer.  For a second I thought this might be a bad idea, but then justified it thinking if I started to feel bad I'd drop back until I saw him again and just try to keep him in sight.  Well, I never saw him again!  I remember feeling good.  My breathing was even and my legs were in a nice rhythm.  Then I encountered a decent size hill at mile 9.  I probably ran up it way too fast (I was practically sprinting bc I just wanted it to be over) for this early in the race.  Oh well, not looking back at this point.  I remember reaching mile 10 (usually when I start to feel like crap during a half) and thinking I'm actually glad I'm not finished in 3 miles.  I wanted to keep running!  Then at mile 15 I felt amazing...I think I was just on such a high.  There were several down hills up to this point.  I practically sprinted down all of them.  I took complete advantage.  I saw Brent at mile 16 so that was a nice boost of motivation.  It was also nice to think I only had 4 more miles until I would see Leaha.  She was jumping in to run the last 6.2 with me!  Those next 4 miles felt much longer than I anticipated.  When I got to mile 19 I could tell I was starting to get tired.  Right before 20 I spotted Leaha, Parker, my dad, my sister and her boyfriend.  What an awesome feeling!  20 was a turn around so I saw them on the opposite side as I approached it and again when I turned around.  I stopped to give Parker and kiss then turned to Leaha and said, are you ready?  She jumped in with some orange slices and jelly beans (my request).  I was able to eat the orange, but had no desire to eat the jelly beans - go figure.  At this point my thighs started to burn and they felt so tight!  I never experienced this before.  Maybe it was the beer I had right before mile 20 (only a swig) ha!  They were handing out free beer.  Who turns down free beer?  Clearly not me - even if I am running my first marathon!  Or maybe most likely it happened, because not only had I been running my fastest, but also the furthest.  Leaha was very motivating and encouraged me to push on.  Around mile 22.5 she decided to break off at 23 and meet up with Brent.  She felt as if she was holding me back.  This was when it really sunk in.  I had been running faster than I ever had during any long run!  I knew I was close to qualifying for Boston, but at this point my pace had dropped to 8:20 and 8:30.  As I did the math I soon realized, unless I picked it back up to 8:00 pace, I wouldn't make it.  It started to get to me and make me feel like I should just walk because it didn't matter anyway.  My legs were screaming at me to walk, people around me were walking and most of the people looked completely worn.  The motivation I had experienced at the beginning of the race (heck up until mile 20) had greatly declined.  People were just done.  I made the choice to stay in my own head and focus on running (heck I had less than a 5k left).  I didn't walk.  Miles 24-26.2 felt like an eternity.  I pushed on and crossed the finish line at 3:42!!  7 minutes off from qualifying for Boston.  At the end of the day, I can not have any regrets at all.  It's an accomplishment just crossing that finish line, let alone subbing 4 at my first attempt running this monster!

When I crossed the line, it took all I had to walk to get my medal.  My legs were absolutely done.  I had to sit down.  They were on fire and so achy!  I just sat there on the pavement by myself.  I didn't even care where my friends and family were.  I couldn't even grab the free food.  That's saying a lot coming from me. lol!  After about 5 minutes I finally made myself get up and walk the rest of the finish chute - which felt way too long.  I met up with  Sharlene, Leaha and Brent.  Without their support and encouragement, along with countless others (friends, family, co-workers, my students, their parents) I would have never been able to accomplish such a feat.  Throughout the race you would not believe the amount of text messages of encouragement I received!  It meant more to me than most will ever know. 

I'm still pretty sore.  Monday and Tuesday my back muscles killed me and walking down the stairs was a feat in itself.  I had to brace myself with the railing.  Today I could finally walk down the stairs normally.  Of course, I'm already thinking of running one more marathon before baby number 2!  But where and when?  I don't want to lose everything I've trained my body to do.  And obviously I'm going to bust my butt to qualify for Boston.  Speed work?  Weight training?  The thought of training through the winter for a spring race is less than ideal.  But running a marathon in the summer heat does not sound appealing at all!  Any suggestions? 

I told you they were encouraging!

14, 20 and Parker's first injury

Well 14 sucked sooooooo bad!!  I have never felt that bad on a run.  I waited until 3pm to run that day (I never run long runs this late in the day).  Brent had to work and I didn't feel like finding someone to watch Parker.  Anyhow, it was a pretty balmy day so I set out in shorts and a tee shirt.  In the first half I was warm...well for the most part.  There were occasional gusts of wind that made me pretty chilly.  By mile 10 I was starving!  Then I started to get pretty chilled around mile 11.  By mile 12 my knees were absolutely killing me and I would've done anything to get someone to pick me up.  My knees used to bother me pretty often in the past.  I can remember when I trained for my first half marathon they would kill me on and off.  And during practically every half marathon I've run (excluding the most recent) my knees are shot by mile 10.  However, during training for this marathon I really haven't had a complaint.  I was baffled as to why they were hurting so bad now.  Like I usually do, I pushed through.  It's not a sharp pain that I experience.  It's a dull pain below my knee caps...almost as if my knees tighten up.  When I got home I was freezing so I took a hot shower.  When I got out I looked in the mirror and my lips were purple...so weird.  I was still cold, so I bundled up and got in bed under the covers.  This wasn't helping.  I was pretty nauseous and getting hungry.  Brent soon came home with dinner.  About an hour and a half after I ate I finally felt like myself and the next day I felt absolutely fine.  I dunno, maybe I didn't eat or drink enough all day before I ran.  I also didn't plant nearly as much water or gu chomps.  Thankfully it hasn't happened since.  Of course this mentally screwed my anticipation of running 20 the following weekend.  However, that Wednesday I had to run 10 miles (my furthest weekly run to date) and I felt fabulous.  I averaged 9:00 minute miles.  This definitely gave me the boost of confidence I needed.  I also made sure to eat and drink plenty the Friday before.  20 ended up being quite amazing.  I ended up running my fastest long run of training.  I averaged 9:03 minutes a mile!!  Don't get me wrong it was definitely challenging.  At mile 18 my knees started to bother me again.  What the heck?  I knew this time it wasn't lack of energy or hydration.  I ate 2.5 packs of gu chomps and drank 34 oz of water!  So I tried to bend my knees more without changing how my feet hit the pavement (so nervous about hurting this stupid achilles again).  It helped a little, but they were still really bothering me.  I am so frustrated, because I felt great otherwise, but I really couldn't imagine running 6 more feeling that way.  The only hope I have to hang onto is that the week preceeding 20 I topped out my weekday mileage at 20 miles - making my total weekly mileage 40!  Hopefully having my mileage decrease up until race day will provide my knees with the rest they need.

Now onto Parker.  On Monday I took the morning off to go out to breakfast for Brent's birthday so I didn't get up early to run.  Instead, I ran after school.  When I got back from my run I opened the front door to the sound of Parker screaming and Brent yelling "Kristin, Kristin come up here".  As soon I reached the doorway to Parker's room I see Brent holding a bloody towel up to Parker's mouth.  He had fallen and knocked out his front tooth.  His lip then grew bigger and bigger right before our eyes.  Of course I panic, because that's what I always do in emergency situations.  Finally I got my wits about me and called my dentist who is also our friend (thank God!).  He calmed me down and instructed me to get Parker to calm down so we could get some ice on his mouth and give him some Motrin.  Well I realize I don't have any Motrin, but I could not bear to leave Parker and I was not letting Brent go anywhere either.  So I called my mom to see if she could go to the store and get us some.  Meanwhile, Parker was not letting me get near him with the ice.  Finally I got the courage to look in his mouth and I discover that the tooth is still there.  It is bent straight out and up into his top lip - no wonder he wouldn't let me put ice on it...ouch!!  Poor baby!  I call the dentist back and he tells me to do whatever it takes to get something cold in his mouth...feed him ice cream if I have to and get a pic to send to him.  So I'm feeding him a huge bowl of ice cream and he's crying as soon as it melts in his mouth.  He is not calming down!  My parents arrive, Parker calms down a little so my mom can look and I can get a picture.  I send it and my dentist replies with "I see the root.  You need to bend the tooth down and push it back up into his gums".  HA!  Yeah right!!!  I can't do it!  So I ask him if he would please let us drive over to his house...thankfully he agrees.  He pushes the tooth back in (several different times over the course of an hour) resulting in more blood and cries and sends us home.  Parker crashes on the way home and wakes up the next morning happy as a clam acting as if nothing ever happened.  The tooth is still in tact, but slightly lower than the rest of his teeth.  I let my dentist know.  He thinks it will reattach and all will be good.  Whew!!! I just could not imagine my little boy going to Kindergarten without a front tooth!  I mean seriously he probably wouldn't even get his next tooth until 1st or 2nd grade.  I was mortified thinking about it.  Anyway, we get ready for work and Brent takes Parker to my mom's as usual.  I call my mom to give her an update tell her I can't believe how happy he was this morning and she agrees - he's cracking up in the background and eating a banana.  Then about 20 minutes later I get a call.  My mom says "Kristin, no wonder he's so happy the tooth is gone!  He must have swallowed it." Ugh!  My stomach drops.  My little boy is going to be missing his front tooth for at least 5 years...waaaaaaahhh!!! :(  I know, I know it could be worse and I need to stop being so vain, but really his front tooth!!  Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it.  Time to get over it. lol.  The joys of having a boy.  I'm sure this is just the beginning. 

16, 12, 18

So two weeks ago I ran 16 miles.  I was so nervous about it for two reasons: 1.) 15 sucked and  2.) I was going solo.  But I ended up feeling great!  12 turned out to be fun because an unexpected friend joined me.  It was a hot, humid one compared to recent weather, but we made it!  This was our first time running together as well as her first time running 12 - she's training for her first half marathon - go Jen!!  This past Saturday I ran 18.  I had planned to run 6/18 with Leaha, but she had to bail (for a not-so-fun reason - poor gal).  This definitely had my nerves going - I went to the bathroom 3 times before I hit the road!  ha!  I started out feeling great...which scares me because it usually means I'll crash.  My first mile averaged less than 10 minute miles, so did miles 2, 3, 4, 5...I kept waiting to hit the wall, but I never did.  I ended up averaging 9:22 minute miles for the entire 18!  I was ecstatic!  I stretched, took an ice bath (only with the ice left in the ice maker) and sipped on a beer.  I wasn't sore at all the rest of that day or the following.  This run gave me the confidence boost I needed.  Not only do I feel capable of finishing 26.2, but now I think I may actually finish with a decent time.  Woohoo!!  And I only have one more long run! 20 in two weeks!  Bring it on. ;)

recovery at its finest!

a little boy turns one

Last Sunday we celebrated Parker's first birthday.  His cousin, Russ, turned one just two days after him so we decided to have a joint party.  It was so much fun to plan with my sister-in-law, Dara and my mother-in-law, Dana.  They plan some awesome parties and I really enjoyed being a part of the inside scoop!  With an awesome party comes much more planning and preparation than I could have ever imagined.  I definitely was not blessed with the gift of planning or hostessing for that matter.  I learned a lot, though and maybe one day I'll plan an awesome party...or I'll just call them!  I still wonder how my wedding came together so well...ha!  Maybe it's because I had two years to plan.

We were so blessed with a wonderful day full of love and laughter.  So many of our friends and family came out to celebrate with us.  There was yummy food and dessert, lots of good conversation, kids playing, loving family, proud grandparents, fellowship with friends, and beaming parents.  We couldn't have asked for anything more. 

It's hard to believe Parker is one now.  He has grown and changed so much in just one short year.  I can barely remember a time when he was only (ha only!) 9.5 lbs and all he could do was eat, sleep, poop and snuggle.  Sometimes I long for those days, but most days I am content to watch him grow and learn.  He never ceases to put a smile on our faces.  They say your life is never the same after you have kids...they're right and I wouldn't have it any other way.  Do we have bad days? Yes...well we used to.  Knock on wood, life has been real grand lately.  Our household has been quite content.  But we definitely went through our ups and downs figuring out this parenting thing - really this Parker thing.  It's amazing the difference in temperament from one baby to another.  We've learned we really have to just do what works for us.  However, I do think it's important to ask others for advice and especially for support.

I'm working hard to enjoy each moment with Parker.  I can easily find myself rushing from one thing to the next constantly thinking of my mental "to-do" list.  However, I think I've gotten a lot better at slowing down and just being in the moment, especially when I'm with him.  This life is flying by too fast to not take the time to "stop and smell the roses".  In fact just two times this past week, I was putting Parker to bed and he was not quite settled enough to lay him down.  Instead, I did something I haven't done in what feels like forever.  I rocked him.  It brought tears to my eyes.  I miss these tender moments with him.  Just watching his eyes droop, feeling his body relax in the security of my embrace and seeing the innocence in his face as he drifted off to sleep made me both sad and proud.  I am sad those days are behind us, but I am proud to be a mommy of such a wonderful little boy.  He is happy, loving, strong and healthy.  I praise God for the blessing he is to Brent and I.  He may not be perfect, but he is perfect for us.

15 miles can kiss my butt

So Friday I decided to take a personal day from work to run Saturday's long run.  I knew I was having Parker's first birthday party on Sunday and would have a lot of preparation to do on Saturday.  We decided to have a joint birthday party with his cousin, Russ.  They were born 2 days apart.  My in-laws are amazing party planners so I was excited to plan a party with them.  However, a good party comes with lots of prep.  Therefore, I thought it best to run Friday instead of Saturday (lately I've been worthless after my long runs). 

Soooo I have been sick of my "go to" routes that I've been using for my long runs.  I am such a head case when it comes to knowing how many hills I have to run or when I know exactly what's coming.  I'd rather run something I've never run before.  I thought about driving to White Clay Creek to run, but have never been there so was worried about the terrain.  Instead, I looked up some routes on mapmyrun.com.  I found a 14.8 and decided it would be easy enough to add .2 at the end.  So I dropped Parker off at my mom's, planted a water bottle along with some Gatorade chews and set out on my new route feeling quite excited.  Around mile 8 I started to feel thirsty which was perfect because that's right around where I had planted my water and chews.  I stopped drank, ate and stretched my achilles a little then hit the road again.  I had about 4 miles left and I was dying of thirst - this has never happened to me before.  It was not fun.  My mouth was ridiculously dry.  All I could think about was where I could possibly go to get some water.  I was also beginning to calculate the remainder of my route (by this point I was at a familiar distance from home) and did not think the rest of the way home would equal 4 more miles - maybe be 3 if I was lucky.  I continued on my run quickly remembering a friend who lives on the road I was getting ready to turn down.  I texted her to see if she was home.  She didn't get back to me so I passed her house. I began debating going straight home (another mile) instead of the round about way (2.5 more miles) when she texted me she was home!  WOOHOO!  I was ecstatic.  I practically sprinted there - lol.  This actually tacked on about a half a mile.  I chugged a bottle of water while we chatted for a bit and set back out.  I continued running and quickly grew thirsty again.  I had to stop and walk.  It was crazy and annoying.  I didn't understand where it was coming from.  Maybe I didn't eat or drink enough the day before....I dunno.  I began running again and as I approached my house I realized I would have to tack on another half mile.  I did it and ended up averaging 9:38 miles which made me feel good, especially considering I had walked.  However, I can not figure out why my calculations in distance continue to be wrong.  Mapmyrun.com says one thing, the Runtastic app on my phone says another and my car says another.  I normally use Runtastic, but I had recently run an 8 mile route suggested by a friend.  She uses her car to calculate.  When I ran it using Runtastic it was a half mile less.  Then when I plugged it into mapmyrun.com it was still off.  How do I know which is the most accurate?  Does anyone have any insight/advice about this?  I mean I guess it's better to run more (which seems to be what Runtastic makes me do) than less.  It just drives me nuts. 

Needless to say I'm driving myself nuts thinking about 16 this weekend.  I just feel like I don't have it in me.  In the past I have been nervous about running distances past 13.1, but I never lacked the confidence like I have been lately.  Not to mention how I really liked that route and would only have to add a mile to it, but am scared since I felt so crappy the second half. 

back on the blogging bandwagon

Well as you can see it has been quite a while since I last blogged an entry (November 2011 - insane!).  It's actually been an awkward while...so long that I felt weird writing an entry.  But it's been on my mind so much the last few months that I couldn't ignore it anymore.  I have to admit when I opened my page I was taken back by how long it has actually been - almost 2 years!! I had no idea it had been that long.  Then I discovered this little gem of an entry that I neglected to post from January 2012 (which must be the reason I didn't realize so much time had passed):

Well as you can tell I haven't been posting which means you can infer I have not been running...well at least not running 20 miles a week.  I kept up with 20 miles a week until about the second week in January when I discovered I was going to be a mom!  Yes, I am pregnant.  I am due September 12, 2012.  Therefore, I have yet again missed out on running my first marathon and I will not accomplish my goal of running a marathon before I turn 30.  Oh well, there could be way worse reasons than our first baby! I didn't plan on continuing to blog since I have nothing to write about running, but I just miss it way too much.  So here's a brief synopsis of the last few months.

I tried to continue running as much as I could.  However, I had some minor complications in the beginning of my pregnancy so my doctor recommended no running.  This lasted for about 5 weeks.  As you can imagine getting back to running after such a hiatus is challenging in and of itself let alone 2 months pregnant.  I was able to run between 2 and 3 miles about 4 days a week.  I walked on the other days.  About a week ago it became a real challenge - lots of pulling on my muscles/ligaments in my lower abdomen and feeling like I was going to pee my pants!  Ugh, such an annoying feeling!  Now I have taken up prenatal yoga, which I am loving, and walking.  Hopefully I won't get too out of shape...I have to run this marathon next year!

Now I am 22 weeks 6 days pregnant and our little one is 8 inches long and weighs 1.2 lbs.  It sure is amazing how quickly they grow!  My belly is definitely showcasing this, haha!  Recently I started to feel the baby move and Brent even felt a kick last week!  We are not finding out if the baby is a boy or a girl...we definitely didn't plan on this.  One day Brent and I were talking and we both decided we wanted to be surprised.  It was actually funny how nonchalant we were.

I have to admit, I do regret being on a blogging hiatus for my pregnancy practically first year (just 4 days shy) of my son, Parker's life.  However, life's too short for regrets, especially about such a silly matter.  So here's to blogging again.  It will be interesting to see exactly how many entries I will actually write now that I am a full time working mom training for my first marathon (yet again!).  I'm currently in my 9th week of training!  Funny, I thought I would have been able to run it this past May.  It took me a bit longer to get back into running shape than I imagined due to 16.5 hours (2.5 pushing) of  labor resulting in an emergency c-section.  Even though I didn't make the Delaware Marathon I was able to run the Delaware Half.  I was very pleased with my time (2 hours - not my best, not my worst).  I am officially signed up to run the Philadelphia Marathon on November 17.  Eeeeek!!  Training has gone well thus far.  I've had some interesting feelings of dull pain in my achilles, but it doesn't hurt to the touch when I'm finished.  I'm taking this as a good sign.  I'm stretching, but admittedly not as much as I should.  Hey it's better than nothing.  Especially after a 7 mile run on a Wednesday morning when I've been trying to get out of the house by 7:15 with a dawdling husband and a hungry, playful little boy (who will be a year in 4 days - aaaah I can't believe it!). 

Needless to say training has been a little different as a mom, but I have to admit it's been way easier than I anticipated.  Heck, I'm half way done at the end of this week.  I have been following Hal Higdon's Novice 1 program...well almost.  I have done no cross training unless you consider vacuuming, teaching or carrying around a 24lb kid as cross training.  It's amazing how much muscle mass I have lost since pregnancy.  I really should do some kind of weight training, but I just can't fit it into my schedule as a mommy working full time -  which we will leave to discuss in a different entry.  I will leave you with some good news...going back to work after a year off has not been nearly as hard as I had imagined - praise the Lord.  I am so thankful for supportive family, friends and colleagues - this has made all the difference.  Beer has helped too. ;)

Black Friday , 11 miles and Many Thanks!!

So like I mentioned in my last blog I have been running 20 miles a week.  I had read in Runner's World that it's a great idea to run a slow, long run the day after Thanksgiving since it's a great carb-loaded meal.  What a great idea!  Why didn't I think to do this before?  Then I soon realized that the day after Thanksgiving is Black Friday.  I always go shopping on Black Friday and this year I set out at 10:30 pm and didn't arrive back home until 8:30 am.  Obviously with such little rest, it would've been a bad idea to run a long run.  Therefore, instead of running I slept until 1:30, went to parents for left overs and slept for another 2 hours.  I awoke to find this picture, taken by my lovely sister, posted on facebook!  I guess you could say I was tired.  So I planned on running Saturday.

Well I had only run 9 miles by Saturday so I was due for an 11 mile run if I planned on reaching 20 miles for the week.  I set out nice and slow planning to run 5 miles then stop back at my house for some sport jelly beans (from Leaha - thanks!) and water.  After that I planned to run my normal 6 mile loop, thinking if I had to I could always call Brent for a ride home if it proved to be too much.  I didn't have to call him and I ran as planned.  As usual, I felt better than I expected.  I probably felt my best around mile 7, which is amazing!  I ended my run 11 miles later in 1:46:21 and I wasn't even sore the next day.  I should mention here though, that my 4 mile run on Monday was pretty tough.  This makes me realize that running really is a mental sport.  If I am setting out to run 4 I will only run 4, but as you can read if I set out to run 11 I can run 11.  It never ceases to amaze me what my body is capable of doing! 

In case you were wondering, Black Friday wasn't even worth it.  I will never go at midnight again.  In previous years I always went in the morning and I made out much better.  I did get a new laptop for $300 and Brent's gift for half the price, but other those I have nothing to show for all that time and loss of sleep.  

As you can imagine running 11 miles gives me plenty of time to do some thinking.  I spent this run thinking about the many things I have to be thankful.  I must have thanked God 20 times for healing me and giving me the ability to run again.  I also thanked him for blessing me with an amazing, loving husband, a caring, supportive family, and thoughtful, encouraging friends.  I even thanked him for the blue skies, balmy weather, and the wind at my back - all perfect running conditions.  I thanked him for a happy, healthy, fulfilling life and for being an amazing, loyal God who loves me through and through.