Shamrock Marathon Race Report

So I need to write an official race report....I don't even know where to begin! What a day! (photo: me at mile 19.)

Thank you for your kind words, good luck emails and post-marathon cheers...I appreciate you guys so much! Old School Runner suggested that I go for a Boston qualifying time next time and since he mentioned it, I'll go ahead and tell you guys what my original pre-marathon plan was. I'll turn 40 a few weeks before Boston 2010 which would mean I'd need a 3:50 to qualify. My original plan (that I totally got talked into because I never would have thought of it on my own) was to run with the 3:50 pacer and see if I could get it. That was the plan until Friday before the race. I started to think real hard about it and I was really concerned that the pace would be too fast for me to sustain for that long so at the last minute, I chose to run with the 4 hour pacer. The morning of the race, my friends were telling me that I should stick with the 4 hour guy until about mile 6 then take off and I could make up the time and still get a 3:50. That sounded like way too early to leave the comforts of a pacer so I decided against that as well. I really wanted this to be a good experience and I didn't want to have any regrets and if I had run with a 3:50 pacer and thus hit a wall, I would have really been upset with myself.

The 4:00 pacer was fantastic. He was really fun and hilarious and kept us dead on a 9:09 every single mile. There were a few times that I felt strong enough that I could go but I kept thinking it was too soon. He said several times that if we felt strong enough, that we should go but to wait until mile 20 or, if we were first timers, even wait until mile 22. I took his advice and at mile 22, left him behind. (Photo: me some time after mile 23ish.)

At that point, I still felt really, really great. Too good almost. I had a ton left in the tank so I just ran. When I realized that I could make a 3:55, I really turned on the gas. I got water at the 24.5 mark and I think that's where I lost that 30 seconds. I was a little bummed that I missed it by that little but then again, I was just so happy at how great I felt and how strong I finished.

Things that I did that I think really helped:

Pacer. I would recommend a pacer to anyone. It was so helpful. Like I said before, there were times I felt I could have taken off but I stuck with him and he made me glad I did. Having said that, there were times I was thinking about letting up a bit but I was terrified of losing him so I just kept listening to his voice - his corny jokes and crazy songs and before you know it, I felt great again. Pacers are the best people in the world.

Sport Beans: I ate a package of sport beans (the flavor on the far left of the picture) about 20 minutes before the race then every hour, regardless of if I felt like I needed them or not, ate another package. I really think they helped. I had so much energy, it was incredible.

Water: I made a point to get something at almost every stop. Even if it was just a splash of water to rinse out my mouth.

Pre-race Fuel: I learned my lesson after my first half (Historic Marine Corps in Fredericksburg last year). I ate a pretty good sized dinner the night before then the morning of, I had two eggs, two plain pancakes, a couple of bites of a bagel and a banana. Oh, and lots of water. Food, food, food.

I'd like to say there was something I did wrong, but I really wouldn't change a thing. I'm happy that I stayed with the pacer for as long as I did because I think it helped me stay so calm - not to mention filled with so much energy. Could I have left him earlier? Yeah, probably, but there is no way I could have known that. I had so many people telling me that the 20-mile mark was "the worst" and that "everyone hits the wall at mile 20!" that I had this huge fear of that point of the race. Note to self: don't listen to other people's horror stories! But I'm glad I stuck with him. I had a really good time, finished strong, finished happy and most important, with no regrets.

On Monday, I had some pain in my left knee. My left IT Band started hurting early on...around mile 6 which had me a bit nervous...and I think it's just left over from that. I also have a very strange pain in the bottom of my left foot that I've never, ever felt before. That pain has me a little nervous but I'm hoping it will be much better by tomorrow. I'm thinking that it was caused by my orthotic because there have been a few times since getting them that the left one felt a bit funky in that arch area. Then I have a bit of pain in my left Achilles but other than that, I'm good to go! Oh, and a funny thing - my shirt collar must have been rubbing on my neck because I have all these awful chafing marks on my neck right smack dab in the front. Pretty.

So I guess that's about it. Nothing too crazy to report - didn't seen any crazy outfits or anything. It was just a really, really fantastic day and just about the best feeling of my life. And a pretty good after party too!

I have to give a huge shout out to my husband who drove my friend Amy and I down to the race and drove all over the race course taking photos like my own little paparazzi and my friend Nancy who planted the seed in my brain and even drove down to VA Beach to cheer Amy and I on. You guys are the best!!

This photo is my husband and I enjoying the post-race beer party. They gave me 4 beer tickets - woo hoo!

Finally - A Run Outside!

Yesterday's schedule only had me running 3 miles so I decided to stop being such a baby and do it outside. I figured I could be cold for 3 miles plus, the weather for the rest of the week screams treadmill. I went out to the trail and I can't tell you how great it felt to be back outside! I ended up running a lot faster than I had intended and a bit longer - 5 instead of 3.

Weird injury though. After my 12.4 treadmill hell on Saturday, I went to the grocery store but other than that, I was in the house all weekend so I never put on my shoes. My feet were, as always after a long run, sore but nothing too terribly out of the ordinary. But then yesterday when I put my shoes on to take Quinn to the bus, the top of my right foot screamed in pain. I thought something was in the shoe so I took it off but it looked fine. Put it back on, took a couple of steps and, OUCH! What the hell? It felt like the tongue was the problem so I kind of wiggled it around but it still hurt. I got Quinn to the bus and drove out to the trail. When I got out of the car, I messed with my shoe a bit more then just ran. It hurt on and off during the run but when I got home and took off my shoe, I found a big 'ol bruise on the top of my foot! It starts on the top, bone, of my big toe and spreads across the middle of my foot. I have no idea what this is all about. Maybe my shoe was too tight during the long run and then yesterday's additional run was enough to make the bruise appear? It's sore though, that's for sure.

Today's schedule calls for 4 miles then rest tomorrow followed by 7 on Thursday. I have more time today than I will on Thursday so I'm going to flip those two days and try the 7 today - hopefully my foot will chill out. This weekend is a long 14 miler that I'm recruiting my friend to run with me.....that should help big time. Hopefully we don't freeze our asses off!

Something that has absolutely nothing to do with running: My mother got my boys this alien maker thing for Christmas. It is the coolest! I can't get enough of it.....er...um, I mean, they boys love it but they always need my help!

I totally forgot to post my solution to my Spenda problem! I've been so hooked on the stuff for years and recently woke up and read all the awfulness that is being written about it. So I've been trying to find a better substitute. I didn't want to go back to regular sugar because my addiction to it in my coffee/tea was so bad 9 years ago that I'm convinced that if I used it again now, I'd be right back to my old addict self. Not pretty. On Monday, Joy Bauer was on The Today Show giving the usual nutrition tips and she said that it takes about a week for you to get used to not having that sugar taste. She said to try and stop using any kind of sugar or sugar substitute for one week and that by the end of that week, you should be totally fine without it. That's all the motivation I needed....that and for some reason I was feeling full of self-discipline. I started on Monday and am happy to report that I've made it this far with zero Splenda! Yay! I know, I know, it's not that big of a deal to most people but for me it's huge! The coffee is still not tasting great to me, but it's not as awful as it was on Monday morning either so I'd say that's progress. How's that for cold turkey?! Of course, this is all coming after I found this super cute Splenda-holder thingy. I can't tell you how many packets of the stuff is floating around at the bottom of my purse. I dig and dig for it when I'm anywhere that doesn't have it available for coffee. I could have used this thing!


In training news, I ran for 7.5 miles today on the treadmill and then took my usual 1 hour strength training class. Fortunately for me, she was 100% focused on the upper body and abs today....my quads are about ready to quit on me this week. At least they are as far as regular walking around, sitting and sleeping are concerned but as soon as I start to run, they are totally fine. I felt like I could have run a lot further today but wanted to hold off since I have a long run scheduled this weekend. Tomorrow is a day of rest that I am very much looking forward to. I'm trying to follow the training schedule from the Shamrock's website. I'm joining it 6 weeks late but I'm not too concerned because my regular base mileage wasn't much lower than what they were up to. Having said that, this weekend is supposed to be a long 12.4 miler....haven't pulled one of those out in a while.

Routine is BACK!

So if you are a mom and you are anything like me, today is a very happy day. Back to school!! Woot! Don't get me wrong, I love my sweet little angel faced boys and have enjoyed the 2 weeks of 24/7 togetherness, it has truly been a blessing but oh you should just see how cute they are climbing up the steps of that big yellow bus! It is just adorable!!

Finally! Back to my sweet routine! And in all honesty, they were excited to go back too. Kids do love that routine as well. So today it was off to the gym to get back into my spinning on Monday schedule. I managed to get up there a couple of times over the winter break but the class schedule, obviously, wasn't the normal one so I did my fair share of slacking too. And don't get me started on how much crap I ate and how full my recyclable bin got if you know what I'm saying. And I clearly didn't do a bit of blogging either. That was mostly because I didn't want to type in, "Today I'm eating and not exercising...." for 2 weeks straight.

I love a fresh new year. It's all so exciting. I am still very proud of all that I accomplished in 2008 though....it was my best year ever as far as building a better me goes. But now it's 2009 and time to set some new goals!

And my new goal is going to be my hardest one yet. I signed up to run the full marathon in Virginia Beach, the Shamrock Marathon on March 22nd. Yeah, that one I swore I wasn't going to run. That one that I said, "I'm not letting anyone talk me into anything...." and then said, "I will only run a marathon when I can give it the time and respect it deserves..." haha, that one was my favorite. So there it is. I clicked the "Register Now!" button just this morning. I have 74 days to get my ass in gear. Are you laughing at me yet? You should be because I am!

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday and are set for a great 2009!

I Resolve to Cross Train.....Again...

I'm back on my 'gotta cross train!' fix. I seem to get all anxious about my lack of cross training every 3 months or so. Here we go again. I'm all anti-paying the big bucks at the gym so yesterday and today, I went to two different county rec centers in the hopes that one would be the answer to all my 'I want to cross train but I don't want to deal with annoying gym-type-people' prayers.

The first, where I went yesterday, is a very small center but I like it. I went there quite a bit last fall and winter before I got a treadmill and was perfectly happy there. The Pros: (1) it's small - I like this about it because it is very down to earth if I can use that saying when referring to a gym. In all the times I've been there, I've never once seen a woman in full make-up which is a good sign. I did have that issue with the kid eating a candy bar on the treadmill next to me that one time which was totally annoying but other than that, no problems. (2) it's fairly affordable - I can pay $5 at the door and workout all day if I wanted to. The Cons: (1) it's small - they don't have any classes and I'd really like to get into a strength training class and maybe even try (gasp!) spinning. (2) it's kind of far away. Yesterday I drove straight there from the bus stop. Once I got in, I ran 5 miles and rowed for 15 minutes then had to leave because I needed to hit Costco and if I had stayed any longer, it would have been pushing it for getting back to the bus stop. My plan was to run, row and bike but I had to leave before getting to the bike. So that kind of sucked.

Today I went to the much closer, much bigger rec center. The Pros: (1) it's size - this place is big. They have an indoor (and soon to be outdoor) pool, a big fitness center, classes, racket ball, basketball and probably some stuff I haven't seen. Now, to be honest, I'll never play racket ball or basketball and I'm not one for swimming...I just thought I'd throw them out there because they sound good. (2) the classes - today I took a one hour strength training class that was similar to the super-popular body pump class (which is one of the reasons why I wish I had a Golds membership). This class was awesome. The instructor was fantastic. I'm pretty sure I wont be able to raise my arms above my head tomorrow and squatting may be difficult. It was perfect. (3) the location - very close to home....10 minutes max. The Cons: (1) I'd have to go with size here. The fitness center always seems to be pretty busy. At the small place, I can stay on a machine for longer than 30 minutes because there is never, ever a wait. At this place, I am assuming that people are always watching you to see how long you 'hog' a machine.

So what to do? I think I'll just keep paying the $5 daily fee at the big place so I can take the Tuesday/Thursday class because I really love it. But $40/month seems a bit steep for a rec center.

In other cool news, there were two women from my running group in the class I took today. After class, we were catching up on our fall races (they both just ran the Marine Corps Marathon) and they brought up the Shamrock Marathon and Half Marathon that Chia was telling me about. I told them that I didn't know if I was going to go because I might not be able to talk my husband into another overnighter for a race. They said they had a big group of people going down for it and I could jump in with them - cool, right? I wont even tell you about the fact that they were both trying to talk me into running the full marathon instead of the half. I laughed so hard, I snorted.