Letdown time

Last week I got a tiny bit of running in. I am losing a couple toenails, so running was painful. They are feeling better today. I did do some biking and rowing to keep moving. I find that if I am not exercising I get cranky and restless. This is such a change from last year at this time when my health had really deteriorated and I felt so crummy all the time. I can't believe how fantastic I feel every single day.

It was very odd to not meet at the park or the farmer's market to run yesterday. I felt a little sad. I miss it already.

I have started a new endeavor which has me very excited. I am taking part in a leadership conference funded by The ARC. It centers around learning how to navigate the medical, educational and political systems with regard to families that have members with disabilities be they developmental or physical or a combination of the two. I began this on Friday and had an all day training yesterday. The information is overwhelming and there is so much to take in, but I am very excited. If I can effectively lobby for changes in our system to get help and assistance for children and adults that are similar to my child it will be fantastic. There are some incredible people in the training with me, whose days are far more difficult than mine. I have incredible admiration for them already.

I do hope to begin training for another marathon soon. I am very antsy to begin a full running schedule again. My body is craving it and my mind is craving it.

All said and done - for now

I can't believe the marathon has come and gone. Going to San Fransisco felt very surreal. The flight to was smooth and without a hitch. I had a fantastic time in San Fransisco and utilized the little bits of free time to the fullest. We shopped a little - which is not like me. I hate shopping. But it was pretty fun. We ate very good food and just generally had a great time seeing the city.

Race day came quickly. I had a migraine Saturday night and woke with it Sunday morning. It went away during the marathon.

We were up bright and early Sunday morning. There was quite a bit of hurry up and wait for the race to start. The race was 23,0000 people strong. Only 1% of the participants were men. I didn't cross the starting line until after 7:30. The official start for the elite runners was 7:00 AM.

The race itself was incredible! The weather was perfect, the course is just gorgeous. This marathon is very walker friendly. There were participants stopping at Golden Gate Park taking pictures. I found this very amusing. There were people in groups chatting up a storm, walking as if it were a leisurely stroll.

I paced myself well, and worked at not starting out too fast and strong so I didn't defeat early in the race. I ran solid for the first 6 miles. Mile 6 was a mile long climb up past Golden Gate Park. I picked up and ran again solid until I got to the half way mark. I walked through all the water and food stations and the 3 big hills. I also walked miles 18 and 19. Once I got to mile 20 I picked it up again and ran the remainder of the course.

The course has a couple of killer hill climbs and there were a couple of daunting spots. They split the course at the 12 mile point in to half and full. It was a little tough to see the half marathoners heading toward completion. The other spot is a drop over Lake Merced in which you can see a huge part of the course. It feels rather intimidating. But there wasn't a point in the course when I felt I couldn't finish.

I was sore and stiff after, suffered a very bloody toe from a rubbed blister, but other than that I am still on the marathon high and looking forward to training for the next.

After the marathon, I was able to stand in the cold ocean to cool my legs down. I went swimming this morning and it felt very good to work slowly on my body.

My body has recovered quickly and I am antsy to start running again. I am not sore at all today and plan on running tomorrow during my lunch hour.

This marathon was just the beginning. Now I can start working on my pace and see if I can shave some time. I have the endurance and strength and I know my eating plan works well and fuels me just as needed for both a long run and for recovery.

Here are some pictures taken before, during and after the event.

My team that I trained with, minus our coach. We missed him terribly.


Carb loading the night before. I have used a protein heavy diet in training, so the carb loading was not good for me. I scrounged up protien later on that night to load up on:


Waiting to go to the starting area:


Walking through a water station:


Celebrating after with dancing:

The day fast approaches!

I can't believe that tomorrow morning I head to San Francisco for my very first marathon. I don't know if my body is ready, but it is time to go. I got clearance from the neurologist today to continue running and that running the marathon shouldn't pose any problems. I just need to listen to my body and slow down if I develop a headache that starts in the back of my head.

I had my very last short run today in preparation for Sunday. It feels sureal at this point. I have my running gear and all my stuff packed in my carry on. I got all the paperwork together, wristlets completed, etc.

I am super excited and filled with butterflies of anticipation. I have had such amazing support from my family and friends. They have really given me encouragement when I needed it most.

I am as ready as I'll ever be.

Thank you everyone.

So Far Behind

I know I know, I am so far behind in updating. I had a bit of a weird setback and had to stop running for 5 days. I missed a critical long run in there too. I suffered a migraine that I couldn't shake. It lasted almost 9 full days. I went to the Dr. about half way in to the thing and she gave me pain meds which didn't get rid of the pain. Instead they gave me the shakes and bad dreams. I am prone to migraines and headaches and I can't remember a period in my life without them. I rarely talk about them or tell anyone I have a headache. I get about 3-5 a week. I just have learned to live through them. It is part of life. Well this last one just didn't end and it was bad enough I had blurred vision, slurred speech and a numb kind of slack face. I had an MRI, which went very well, and I actually kind of liked being all closed off in that machine. It was very space age Dr. Who-ish. The results show that I have a birth defect. How weird is that? I have something called Chiari Malformation. The back of my skull is short and hence a small portion of brain matter extends beyond the skull line. The Dr. thinks that the slow increase in intensity of running put pressure on my spine and the fact that I am a little low on spinal fluid is probably what triggered the migraine. I of course kept running the first 3 days of my migraine, thinking that would get rid of it. This does explain my lifelong headaches which start at the back of my head and typically take over one side.

I got the green light to go back to running and can run the full marathon as long as I am not experiencing a migraine. So, last week I started running again on Wednesday lightly and I did a long run on Saturday all by my lonesome. I completed 16 miles. I saw maybe 5 other people out on the trails that day. It was eerily quiet. The summer had been packed with runners, bikers, etc. But this past Sunday was Bellingham's first marathon, so everyone was in rest mode in prep for Sunday. It was a little spooky running that dark trail in the wee hours of the morning. It was a good run and I felt strong. I am however worried about my ability to complete the Nike Marathon. It is just 2 weeks away and suddenly I feel very ill-prepared. My coach and mentor say I will do just fine. I have had some really good long runs in without much trouble. They assure me that I am strong enough and have the right kind of determination to complete 26.2 miles. I however, don't feel that confidence right now.

Yesterday I did my tiny 3 miler and I will get some good mid week runs in. I just can't believe the time is almost here. I am filled with trepidation and doubt today.

Brrrr

I broke down and got cold weather running gear. I had to bundle up for Saturday's long run which was only about 15 miles. We have a 20 miler this coming Saturday and then we taper off. I can't believe it is almost time. It has gone by so quickly. I don't like the new shoes I am in. I miss my old ones. I scrounged around online to see if I could find a pair of the Mizuno's. The company discontinued the shoe I was initially wearing. I managed to find one pair in my size and ordered them. I am hoping they will be here by the end of the week so I can run in them Saturday.

This last week I had a hard time staying motivated to run. Between the rain and cold weather, having a cold and switching my running time from first thing in the morning to about 7 in the evening I hit a wall and really didn't want to run at all. I am still feeling a bit unmotivated and I am hoping the motivation I have consistently had until now returns soon. Maybe it is a bit of fear too, fear of the end of this big push and the doubting of my ability to even complete the marathon successfully.

Fall

Fall has definately settled in. I need to get cold weather gear. I have been putting it off, not wanting to accept that it is fall now. I have been running in the rain, and while I didn't mind it so much in the summer, it has a chill to it now that I am not enjoying. Trying to fit my runs in tihs week has been a challenge, but I seem to be able to find odd times here and there.

I have a rotten cold and ended up not running on Tuesday. I was feverish and just felt like crap. The thought of running was just a bit much. I loaded up on Emergen C and feel tons better.

Last weekend's long run went well. I was officially on my own and the thought did cross my mind that this was my opportunity to just blow it off. I didn't, I got up before daybreak on Saturday, made it out the door and got in my miles.

My knees and the backs of my legs get achy at about the final third of my run. I am not sure if it is posture related or gait related. It isn't so much a tightening as it is a dull ache. It is similar to when you have been sitting too long in a kneeling position and when you stand you feel that ache in the back of your knees.

I can't believe the marathon is just a month away. I am so excited and terrified all at the same time. I fear I won't make it and finish. I am having dreams where I forget to show up or I show up and the marathon is already over.

I am already wondering what is next when this is all done. I don't want to stop running. I think I might take a couple weeks off and rest, but I want to keep running even though I am not a natural runner and I spend a lot of mental time talking myself and my body in to running. I have had too many benefits both physically and mentally to stop at this point.

September already!

I can't believe it is September already. It seems like it was just spring and I was contemplating running a Marathon. Now it is very official. I got my registration confirmation packet and I am good to go. We are having a beautiful fall. Temps will be in the 80's this week. Only the 2nd time since school was out in June that we have had this warm of days. I am thrilled.

The kids are settled in school and I am trying to figure out schedules and running times. Last week I ran in the mornings after dropping my oldest off at school. It felt so nice to run on a treadmill. While it is a little boring, it is so much easier than running on pavement or trails. And I can run much faster on a treadmill. I really like that! This week I will run at the highschool track in the evenings. My schedule is changing so I work early in the morning so I can get out of work by 3:45 to be home to meet my youngest off the bus. No more daycare. My boss is such a great guy. He has been so flexible and kind.

The long run this past Saturday was by far my best run since training began. It was also one of the longest. But I managed it well and ran all but 25 minutes of it. I did walk 3 hills and on the return route, walked a bit through our local farmer's market, picking up a nectarine to eat. Then I ran pretty hard the final 2.5 miles.
My legs recovered nicely, however yesterday's short run was the most difficult short run yet. My legs felt like spaghetti and were so fatigued at the end I felt like giving up. I managed to push through, but really had to convince myself to finish.
I feel ok this morning. My legs ache a little, but not near as much as I expected.

Today is a glorious day of rest.