Home Sweet Home

Yesterday morning at 3:30, I woke up the kids so we could start the drive home from my sister's house. We had to leave super early so that we could avoid rush hour going through Chicago. I went through the city at around 5:00, and the traffic wasn't bad at all. The six-hour ride home seemed a lot shorter than the ride to my sister's.

When I pulled up to the driveway, I could see signs taped to the side of the house. Jerry made a few "welcome home" signs for me:

I love the Chuck Norris one! Anyway, it was good to see Jerry and the cats. Phoebe was mad at me for a little while and wouldn't let me pet her. But later, she was very cuddly. She missed me ;)

I've been in a terrible mood all day today, and I know exactly what is making me a total bitch very irritable... today is Day 3 of post-marathon rest. Any time I go more than two full days without running, my mood changes for the worse. It's not like I'm dying to go out and run, but running has a very calming effect on me, and puts me in a good mood. When I don't run for a few days, it becomes obvious to everyone around me ;)

My legs feel 100% back to normal, and I honestly feel like I could go out and run another marathon right now (hypothetically, of course); but I really want to give my body the rest it needs to recover. I went for a leisurely walk with Jerry this afternoon, to try and get a little exercise, but it didn't do anything for my bad mood. The fall colors are gorgeous right now, though! It was so nice outside today.

I didn't do my Wednesday Weigh-in today. Ever since the race, I've been pretty puffy--my rings are tight, and my whole body just feels like I'm retaining water. Running that distance does weird things to my body, and I expected that; I was also craving salt like crazy for the past few days, so my sodium intake has been much higher than normal. I didn't want to step on the scale, see a large gain, and then feel discouraged, so I'm going to give myself a few more days of being back in my routine before I look at the scale.

It's kind of interesting, actually. In the weeks leading up to the race, I was craving carbs like crazy! I couldn't get enough bagels, pasta, rice, sweets, etc. And ever since the race, I've been craving meat and salty foods. Even the day of the race, I didn't splurge on a dessert--I splurged on a margarita and Mexican food, which is pretty unlike me. I always choose dessert over anything else! I think maybe my body was craving the carbs for the energy to run, and now protein to repair my damaged muscles.

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After yesterday's post about the Hansons Marathon Method, a couple of people asked me what marathon plan I recommend for a beginner, since I think the HMM would be a very tough plan for a newbie. I've only tried a few plans myself, so I can't say from experience what is the best one out there. But the Hal Higdon Novice plan is a good one. That's what I used for my first marathon, and a lot of people use it for their first. I did end up injuring my knee during that training, but I'll never know if it was the fault of the plan or if it was bound to happen regardless. Thousands of people use that plan with success.

Another thing people asked me was how I liked the Flip Belt. This was recommended to me by a lot of readers, and when I saw them at the expo in Chicago, I had to give it a try! I put my phone in it, jumped up and down, and ran in place, and it felt very comfortable. I was sold. I bought a black one for $25. When I got back to my hotel, I loaded it up with my stuff, and ran around the room with it. It felt great, so I decided to wear it during the race. The guy at the expo said that you don't actually have to flip the belt inside out so that the openings are on the inside; he said that even with the openings on the outside, nothing will fall out.

The first picture shows what the belt looks like without anything in it. It's a stretchy fabric in a loop that you step into and pull up around your waist (there aren't any open ends to fasten). The second picture shows the little pockets (there are four--two in front and two in back). You slide things inside (I have them sticking out halfway so you can see them, but you would put them in all the way).

For the race, I loaded the belt up with my iPhone, two packets of Gu, and two and a half packs of Shot Bloks. I put my phone in front center, the Shot Bloks over each hip, and the Gu in the back. It was super comfortable, and I was thrilled that everything fit. I left the openings facing outward, because it was easier to get my stuff out that way.

I'm actually wearing the belt in this picture, and you can see it doesn't add much bulk:

As I was running, I absolutely LOVED the belt! It was super comfy, and it didn't bounce. I didn't have any issues with it until mile 20 or so when I realized that I was missing a full pack of Shot Bloks--they'd fallen out. I was bummed, but I had enough with me, so it wasn't a big deal. I think if I had flipped it so the openings were on the inside, I wouldn't have had that problem. But the guy at the expo promised me that nothing would fall out!

I'm still very happy that I bought the belt, and I'll definitely use it instead of any other belts I have. I'll just remember to flip it--hence the name, Flip Belt. They come in five different sizes (if I remember correctly): XS, S, M, L, XL. I bought a small, which said it was for size 4-6, and it fit pretty true to size. If anything, I thought I probably could have gone down a size just to make it extra tight against my body. (This is not a sponsored review; I paid for the belt, and just wanted to share my thoughts. But here is a link to the website, if you're interested in checking them out).

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Final thoughts on the Hansons Marathon Method

When I first heard about the Hansons Marathon Method (HMM from here on out), I thought it sounded too good to be true. The longest run was 16 miles? Sign me up!

When training for my first marathon, I used Hal Higdon's Novice Program. I'd used several of his programs for other races, and I liked them, so I figured it would be a good fit. Unfortunately, after my long run was up over 15 miles, I injured my right knee. Rather than taking time off of running to let it heal, I continued to run through the pain. It got so bad that eventually, I had to start giving myself walk breaks when the pain got unbearable.

My first marathon experience was miserable for a number of reasons, but a big factor was my injured knee. I walked a LOT during the last three miles of the race. The injury, plus the heat (the heat index was over 100 that day), and stomach issues made a bad race experience, and my finish time was 5:26:14.

I was determined to redeem myself, and have a GOOD marathon experience, so I immediately registered for a fall marathon--the Detroit Free Press Marathon in October 2012. This time, I figured less running would be better to prevent injury, so I chose to do a three-days-per-week program that focuses on three good quality runs per week.

My right knee managed to heal, but once again, when my long run got up to about 15 miles, I injured my left knee. I had a very hard time with my training, but a better race. The weather was great, which made a huge difference. But once I hit mile 18 or 19, my legs just didn't want to run anymore. It was everything I could do to keep going. My legs just weren't prepared, and I had to keep stopping to stretch for a minute or two at a time.

I finished in 4:51:51, below my goal of 5 hours, but I wasn't happy that I wasn't able to power through and run the whole thing. I had to keep stopping to stretch for the last 10K or so, because my legs cramped up so badly. But I was happy enough with the time that I just decided I was done with marathons.

Jerry had to pull my pants on for me, because I couldn't move!

Then my friend Andrea mentioned running her first marathon, and in the excitement of being drunk in Key West at the time, I said I'd be happy to run it with her! We chose Chicago because it was a halfway point between our houses. I originally wrote my own training plan based on what I learned in my RRCA class. My knee, which was totally healed by then, started giving me a couple of twinges when my long run got up to about 14 miles. That's when I heard about the HMM, and considering the longest run is only 16 miles, I thought it might be good for my knees. I really didn't want them to become injured again!

I found the running schedule online, and started following that. But because it was SO different from everything I'd learned, I decided to buy the book to hopefully understand it better. The book was mind-blowing. It explained the science behind the whole method, and it made so much sense. Over the next few months, I ran hundreds of miles; I was running six days a week, 5+ miles each day.

I followed the schedule right to the letter. With the way the HMM works, you can't skip workouts or even swap your runs around. They have to be done in order for a reason. I just trusted the program, and to my surprise, I felt better than ever. I remained uninjured, yet I was running more miles than ever before (50-ish miles per week).

I started to second guess the training when "everyone else" was doing 20-milers, and I "only" had 16. But again, I trusted the program. I figured the worst that could happen was that I'd have a bad race. During the last week before the marathon, I felt like I was in the best shape of my life. I felt more prepared than I had for the previous two, and I wasn't even nervous about running the race.

To keep from being redundant, you can read my Chicago Marathon race report here.

My thoughts, now that the race is over? I think I found a winning program! My legs felt FANTASTIC through the whole race. If it weren't for my stomach issues, which I think was from eating too much during the race, I'm sure I would have finished in around 4:10; and that wasn't even pushing the pace. I felt like I could have gone faster through the first half of the race, but because I didn't have a time goal, I kept my pace on the conservative side to feel my best.

I didn't even start to feel remotely tired until about mile 19, when my legs were still going strong, but I started to feel the effects of all those miles. I'm disappointed that my stomach caused me problems for the last 10K, but I am really happy that I powered through and finished strong, even though I had to slow my pace to keep from vomiting on the side of the road ;)

The thing that has been most amazing to me is my recovery. I am so shocked at how quickly my legs recovered! About an hour after I finished, I speed-walked/ran the two miles to my hotel. I never could have done that after my previous marathons! I didn't have to take any ibuprofen, and by the next morning, the only thing that was a little sore were my hips. But I was up and moving around all day, and my legs felt great. Today, I feel 100% back to normal. (I'm still taking the Hansons' recommended 1-2 weeks off, though!)

Some things of note about the Hansons Marathon Method:

  It's very important to follow the program as-written. The runs are in a particular order for a reason, so you can't skip or swap runs.

  This program was NOT easy. It first appealed to me because of the 16-mile long run, and I thought the program would be a piece of cake. As it turned out, this was the hardest training I've ever done!

  I don't think I would recommend this program for beginners/first time marathoners, unless you are running 30+ miles per week, consistently. I ran over 200 miles in August and again in September on the Hansons Marathon Method beginner plan. That's a lot of miles!

  I would highly recommend reading the book before you start the program, because it explains in detail WHY the program is written the way it is. (Here is an Amazon link to the book, Hansons Marathon Method; if you are planning to buy it anyway, and you buy it through the link, then I get a small commission).

  It's very important to follow the pacing recommendations in the plan. If it says to do an easy run, then keep your pace easy. Again, there is a reason for this. If you do the easy runs too quickly, you won't be able to hit your paces on your faster runs; you are also risking injury. When I did my easy pace, I felt like I was going SO slow, but I just trusted the program.

  The downside of the program is that it takes a lot of time. I'm a stay at home mom, so I was able to be flexible with the times I could head out for a run; but for someone with a full-time job AND a family, it would be hard to juggle everything.

So, my overall opinion of the Hansons Marathon Method is that it's a very smart way to train. I was obviously injury-prone going into this training, but doing this program kept me injury-free through all of training and the race itself. I felt very prepared going into the race. My legs never gave up on me during the race, and I didn't "hit the wall". I also managed a 35-minute personal record!

If I was to ever do another marathon (I'm not saying I am!!), I would definitely do this plan again.

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Motivational Monday #36

It felt great waking up this morning knowing that I didn't have to run. My legs were a little sore, but within a couple of hours, I was feeling almost back to normal. I'm shocked! A lot of people have asked me if I'm going to write my thoughts on the Hansons Marathon Method; I definitely plan to, and I'll probably post that tomorrow. For now, let's check out these motivating people!

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Celeste and her husband, Al, just celebrated their 5-year wedding anniversary by running their second half-marathon! When they were married in 2008, Celeste was very happy--until she saw her wedding photos. She was a little over 200 pounds, and she was pre-diabetic, on high blood pressure meds, and her doctor wanted to put her on high cholesterol meds. She joined Weight Watchers, and through a lot of hard work on her part, she now maintains her weight at about 140 (and is off her medications!). The couple began running races together, and they increase the number of races each year. This year, they are on track to run 30+ races! Here are photos of them on their wedding day, their five year anniversary, and after finishing their second half-marathon. (Celeste's blog)

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Carly and her friends did their first double-digit run--10 miles!--this weekend. They are training to run their first half-marathon next month!

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While at the gym a few months ago, a trainer asked Danielle if she'd like to join a Tough Mudder team and run the Tri-State Tough Mudder in NJ. Danielle was excited to challenge herself, so she accepted. This weekend, her team competed at the race, and 11-mile course with obstacles such as monkey bars, fire, getting shocked by live wire, crawling under barbed wire, and lots of mud! She felt great throughout the race, and was thrilled when her team completed the course.

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Erica ran her first 5K race! Her goal was a 31:00-31:30 finish time, and she ended up killing it in 29:52! She was thrilled with her time, especially considering the very crowded course (15,000 people) and a big hill.

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Rachel ran her second 5K, and to her surprise, won first place in her age division! She's lost 118 pounds so far, and has just 7 left to go. The photo of her in the red dress was taken for a story in her local newspaper about her weight loss!

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After losing about 50 pounds with Weight Watchers, Tami (far right in photo) hit a plateau. She decided to try the Couch to 5K program to shake things up a bit. After completing the program, she ran a 5K race--and officially caught the running bug. She continued to train, and just ran her first half-marathon! She's also lost 40 more pounds, for a total of 90 pounds lost. She has just 15 more to go before she reaches her goal weight. She says she wants everyone to know that no dream or goal is out of reach. It takes a lot of hard work, not luck, to get where you want to be. (Tami's blog)

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Nicki just bought her first pair of running shoes--Brooks Adrenaline! She also signed up for her
second 5K race, which will be in January.

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Maggie ran her first marathon yesterday--in Chicago! She raised $1100 for Girls on the Run, an organization that does after-school programs for girls in grades 3-8, to encourage friendship, leadership, and self-confidence. She said the feeling she had while completing the marathon was the exact same feeling of the girls when they finish their first 5K. She was super proud to cross that finish line!

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Don't forget to check out the Motivational Monday Facebook post, for more inspiring stories!

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Chicago Marathon race report

It seems so surreal that I ran a marathon this morning. It has been a REALLY long day for me. I woke up around 3:00 in the morning, and knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so I just watched TV for a while. I was planning to go down to the race at about 6:30, but once 5:00 rolled around, I started getting ready for the race, mainly out of boredom.

I had everything laid out the night before, so it didn't take long, and I was ready to go!

I wore my black/pink capris, the shirt that I posted about a few days ago, and the new Flip Belt that I bought at the expo--with two and a half packs of Shot Bloks, two Gu's, and my phone.

Caitlin had accidentally bought an extra Balbo Hospitality ticket when she registered for the marathon, and she gave it to me. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but from what I read on the website, it sounded like a VIP ticket for private tents, gear check, etc. before the race.

I really didn't want to try to rely on a bus or train to get to the race, because that was a disaster yesterday so I just got a taxi--much easier! The taxi drove me the two miles to just outside the Balbo Hospitality tent. We had to go through security to get in--they used the wand thing to scan my body, and they searched my bag that I planned on checking. After the Boston bombing, they weren't going to take any chances!

Once I got through security, I was able to check my bag--literally no waiting!--and go inside the food tent. The Balbo Hospitality was awesome! They had private gear check, private porta potties, free breakfast (tons of options, hot and cold), music playing, a tent to sit in until an escort took us to our corrals, and other things. I felt very special ;)

 

I also felt like a nerd, taking pictures, so this one is all I got! I sat around there for a while, and ate a very small breakfast--just enough to give me some calories, but hopefully I'd digest it before the race started. I had half of a bagel with some peanut butter.

I used the porta potties once before it was time to leave, and then an escort took a group of us to the corrals. I was in Corral G, starting at 8:00. I was freezing cold, so I was really ready for the race to just start already. I tried to make my way up to the front of the corral, between the 4:10 and 4:25 pacer. I didn't have a goal time or pace, but when I did my long runs, I was running about a 9:30 pace, so I figured that was a good spot to start.

Finally it was time to start. The only thing I really knew about the course was that people described it as "pancake flat". Well, I quickly learned that those people have never been to southeast Michigan! The course wasn't nearly as flat as what I run daily, so I definitely felt the hills (very small, but enough to make my legs feel heavy).

Around the first mile, I saw a sign someone had made that actually brought a tears to my eyes. It said, "Remember when you thought you couldn't do this?" and it just seemed like it was meant for me to see! I never thought I could do a marathon, or a half-marathon, a 5K, or even a MILE. I loved that sign, and I thought about it through the whole race.

I wanted to pay more attention to my surroundings, because I was running in Chicago, but I was just focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. I kept thinking about how much I still had in front of me, and it seemed like the race would never end. During the Detroit Marathon, it seemed like I blinked and I was at 10 miles! This race felt MUCH longer.

My legs felt really great, and everything was going so well. I was eating my Shot Bloks every couple miles, alternating water and Gatorade, and didn't have any stomach issues. I wasn't trying to hold a specific pace, but I noticed my splits were around 9:20-9:30. For miles 2-3, I don't think the pace on my Garmin was correct. There were lots of super tall buildings, which I'm sure messed with the satellites. I know I wasn't a running as fast as 9:00/mi or as slow as 10:20, which is listed for mile 3. I was starting to wonder what to do, because the pace on my Garmin was incorrect. I didn't want to run too fast. I just tried to pay attention to the times on the clocks at each mile marker, and see if my pace was at least a little on target (no faster than 9:15--that would have scared me).

I was surprised that it wasn't super packed (like sardines in a can). Yes, there were a ton of people in the race, but thankfully, there was room to move around them. There were a couple of spots where it bottle-necked, but other than that, the number of people running wasn't an issue at all.

The crowds were amazing! There were SO MANY spectators, which was awesome. It was actually so loud that if I wanted to chat with someone (and I did!), it would be difficult to hear. The crowd support helped a lot when I just didn't feel like running anymore.

Once I hit the 13.1 mark, I was pretty excited to see that I was on course for a 4:10 finish. That's faster than I ever expected! I kept moving on, feeling really great. At around mile 18, I was feeling really hot with the sun beating on me, and someone was offering popsicles. I almost passed by, but I grabbed one, and I'm so glad I did. It was SO GOOD. Yes, it was just a popsicle, but at the 18-mile mark of a marathon, when I was hot and starting to get tired? It was HEAVEN.

I kept up the 9:25 average pace until halfway through mile 20. I ate my second Gu (when I noticed that an entire pack of Shot Bloks had fallen out of my new belt!), and shortly after that, my stomach revolted. I got really nauseous, and it was all I could do not to stop and vomit on the side of the road. I slowed my pace into the 10:00's, which was discouraging because I had less than a 10K to go, but there was no way I could have kept that pace with the way my stomach was behaving. My legs felt great! But my stomach wasn't happy.

After that, I stopped eating/drinking anything at all. I tried a tiny sip of water, but it made me super nauseous, so I just kept running at the slower pace, hoping the nausea would pass. At around mile 24, someone offered me a Jello shot. My stomach was starting to feel a little better, and I just thought about how fun it was to be offered a Jello shot during a race, so I accepted. It was pretty strong (I could definitely taste the vodka), and surprisingly, my stomach felt better after eating it. I picked up the pace for the last mile.

At around mile 25, there was a man next to me that turned and ran to the side of the road, where the small wall barrier was. He put his hands on it, and then the whole thing feel over, and he fell right on top of it, stiff as a board. He'd completely collapsed! I panicked for a moment, because I'm the last person anyone would want to be around in a situation like that (I tend to panic and am no help at all), but a few other people went over to him; so I felt bad about it, but I kept running. I think I saw him at the medical tent later, and I was glad to see he was okay.

At around mile 25.5, I saw one of the wheelchair participants with course marshals around him. I felt awful for him, because he was struggling so badly to finish! The wheelchair racers usually finish early in the race, so he was out there for a long time after the others finished. I can't even imagine how hard it would be to do the entire marathon with arm strength alone.

There is a hill at mile 26, and I was surprised how many people stopped to walk there; it's the last two-tenths of a mile! I wanted to walk, believe me, but I was so ready to be done. I was SO HAPPY as I crossed the finish line! I finished in 4:16:38.

Compared to my Garmin:

I cannot believe I didn't take any pictures after the race! When I crossed the finish line, it took FOREVER to walk to the hospitality tent. I was really achy at that point. I sat down (with a beer), and Caitlin met up with me there. I decided to go take advantage of the free massage. There was NO wait at all, and within seconds, I was lying on a comfy massage table while two women massaged me for about 15 minutes--one did my back and the other did my legs. It was amazing!!

I was absolutely freezing after that (my whole body was shaking uncontrollably, and my teeth were even chattering). Caitlin was leaving, so I said goodbye to her, and then picked up my bag from gear check and changed in the semi-private changing area. I felt much better in a dry sweatshirt and pants. I realized that I could possibly make the 2:30 train back to my sister's house (if not, I'd have to wait until 4:30, and I really didn't want to have to sit around waiting).

I walked as quickly as I was able to where I was told I could get a taxi, and I tried unsuccessfully for about 10 minutes to get a cab. I decided to just start walking to the hotel, which was two miles away--ugh. At this time, it was just before 2:00. I had to go to the hotel to pick up my suitcase, and then hightail it to the train station. I started running (this is AFTER running a full marathon!) the two miles to the hotel, dragging my gear check bag with me. It felt like forever, but I finally got to the hotel at around 2:15. I got my bag, and the concierge got me a cab super fast.

Thankfully, my cab driver was a speed demon, and got me to the train station  at 2:26. I quickly paid him, ran into the building, dragging my luggage, and booked it to the train. I got on the train at 2:28, and it left the station at 2:30. The only downside was that I was super thirsty, and I didn't have time to stop and get a drink.

I totally made up for it later, though, because I went out for Mexican with my sister and the kids, and I ordered a huge margarita.

Dinner was amazing. I ate too many chips and salsa, so unfortunately, I was nearly full when my entree came, but it was the PERFECT post-marathon meal. I'm back on track tomorrow, but I wanted to splurge today after such a great race! With my 4:16 finish, I PR'ed by 35 minutes from Detroit (and 70 minutes from Cleveland!).

Tomorrow, I rest. :)  And the day after that, and the day after that... for at least a week, maybe two!

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Run Katie Run

What a day! I almost didn't write today, because the hotel doesn't have free Wi-Fi. But then I'd have to catch up tomorrow on everything, because today was so awesome that I couldn't just skip over it! So here is a $10 blog post ;)

I went for a three mile run this morning, at an easy pace. My final run before the marathon tomorrow! My legs felt strong, and I hope that they feel that good tomorrow, too.

At 9:30, my sister drove me to the train station, where I got on the Metra to take me into the city. I'd planned on eating lunch on the train, but I completely forgot to bring it with me, so I was starving by the time I got there. I was super nervous about getting from the train station to my hotel, and I had the directions for different trains/buses to take me there; but when I got off the train, I was blown away at how overwhelming it was.

The station was packed with people, all bustling everywhere, and I had no idea what I was doing. My anxiety got the better of me, and I had a full-blown panic attack at the train station. I don't know anything about public transportation, and I just freaked out about it. I stood against a wall for about 40 minutes, just trying to calm down enough to think. I was honestly considering going back on the Metra to my sister's house, and skipping the whole marathon. I know that sounds ridiculous, but my anxiety was that bad.

I was texting Caitlin, my Ragnar SoCal teammate that I would be meeting up with, and she even offered to take a cab to the train station to come get me. Of course I didn't want her to do that, so I finally felt okay enough to go outside and try to get a cab. It ended up working out just fine, and I got to the hotel.

Caitlin came to my room so that we could head to the expo together (I'm surprised she came, considering I acted like a total nut job at the train station! haha). I liked Caitlin right away! She's super nice and I feel like we have a lot in common. I knew she'd lost a lot of weight, but I didn't know just how much she'd lost until she showed me an old picture, and I asked how much she'd lost. She said she's down 238 pounds!! That blows my mind. She doesn't even look like she was ever overweight. (I don't want to share her before/after pics without her permission, but I'm hoping maybe she'll do a guest post or something--I was certainly inspired by her!)

We went to the expo, and made the rounds there. I ended up buying one of those flip belts that so many of you have told me about. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow. We did manage to get one picture before we left:

After the expo, we went to Cat's hotel to meet up with her. Cat is another person on my Ragnar SoCal team, but none of us had met before. She was staying with her friend Carly, so we hung out in their room for a little while before heading to dinner. We went to a little Italian place (I honestly can't remember what it was called) and it was FANTASTIC. I absolutely loved the host and the server, and the food was phenomenal. I got penne with a tomato cream sauce, basil, and mozzarella.

After dinner, I came back to the hotel room, and got a phone call from Rik, John, and Angela--they told me to look on Facebook, because they made me something. I had no idea what that could be, but I about died when I saw it. I truly have the BEST friends ever! I couldn't stop smiling after watching it.

Rik and Angela are in San Diego visiting John, so they spent the day putting this together. I absolutely love it, and it will be on my mind through the whole race tomorrow.

My final thoughts before the race:

• I feel SO much more prepared for this marathon than I had for the previous two. The Hansons training really makes me feel like I'm going to have a great race.
• I don't have a time goal (and no, I don't even have a "secret goal"--honest).
• The only thing I am nervous about for tomorrow is how I'm going to get back to my hotel and then to the train station from there.
• I thought I was going to feel lonely doing this trip alone, but I feel just the opposite. I have so much support (just look at the video!) from my family and friends.
•  Caitlin and Cat were so awesome that I'm really excited to meet the rest of my Ragnar SoCal team.
• A million thank yous to all of you who have sent me well wishes for this race! I really appreciate it.
• I need to get to bed so I can get up early tomorrow, so I'm not going to reread this to check for grammar or spelling.

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Cheesecake cream cheese

Today was a pretty relaxing day, which was nice. I did have five miles on the schedule this morning, and Jeanie had eight miles on her schedule, so we ran together. I looked at a map online to plan out a route. It went through a neighborhood and then along a short bike path, where Jeanie hadn't been before. Looking at a map always makes it seem so easy to navigate, but once I'm out there running, I wind up getting lost half the time!

I told Jeanie to set the pace, because I wanted to stay between a 10:00-10:40 mile (which is comfortable for her, too), and I tend to go too fast sometimes. Between the two of us, you'd think that we would have easily found our way to the bike path, but the neighborhood was really confusing! We made a wrong turn somewhere, and ended up just going down a bunch of streets to try and reach 2.5 miles, where I could turn around. When we were at 2.4 miles, we came upon the bike path, naturally. It wasn't a long path (less than a mile), so we ran that and turned around.

On the way back to Jeanie's house, we were able to find the much shorter route, so the run ended up being 5.1 miles total. Not bad, considering our long detour. I went inside while she went out to run 3 more miles.

After showering and breakfast, Jeanie and I took the kids out for some errands, and then lunch. Since it's "Pizza Friday", the kids wanted pizza. We went to Old Chicago. When I looked at the menu, and checked out the PointsPlus in the food, there was nothing that appealed to me. So I didn't end up ordering anything. I went outside and called Jerry to chat for a little bit while the kids and Jeanie ate. Jeanie had to go to Sam's Club, so she dropped me off at Panera (for my beloved bagel). It was nice to go sit there for a little while by myself.

I got a pumpkin pie bagel with their new New York Style Cheesecake cream cheese. Holy yum, that was amazing! The cream cheese was SO good, and tasted just like cheesecake. The bagel was 10 PP and the cream cheese was 4 PP. A high PP lunch, but definitely worth it. And hey, I'm carb loading ;)

The rest of the day, I felt pretty lazy, but I just read my book and texted with Jerry. I really wish he'd been able to come with me this weekend--I miss him!

Tomorrow, I'm going to take the train into Chicago. I'm super excited to meet up with Caitlin and go to the expo, and then we'll meet Cat and her friend for dinner. It's kind of strange that I'm not at all nervous about the marathon. Going into it without a goal time/pace has really helped me to feel excited rather than nervous. I'm pretty confident that I can finish the race, and I don't care what my finish time is, so there isn't any pressure. Honestly, I think I'm most worried about getting back to Jeanie's after the race; a lot of walking and trains, while carrying my luggage :/

Jeanie took the boys to the drive-in tonight, but I want to get a good night's sleep, so I'll be in bed early. I don't think I'll sleep very well tomorrow night, so I'm hoping to get ahead tonight!

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A run before sunrise

My day started pretty early this morning. I woke up before 6:00, and couldn't fall back asleep. I was too impatient to wait for sunrise to head outside for my run, so I decided to run in the dark. I don't know why I'm so scared to run in the dark; I used to do it all the time the first year that I started running. I don't have a headlamp, so I just put on my reflective vest. It was 43 degrees this morning, so I wore long sleeves and my running tights.

It was pitch black outside, and street lights are scarce. There aren't ANY street lights along my favorite route, so I had to alter my route a bit. I had six miles at an easy pace on the schedule. As soon as I started running, I got halfway down my street and then decided to turn around and go get my pepper spray. I felt much more comfortable when I had that with me, but it was still scary!

I kept picturing all of the roadkill on the side of the road, and hoped I wasn't stepping on any of it. My pace was much slower than I thought, probably because I was being so careful with my footing. I decided that I really don't like running in the dark!

When I got home, I got ready to take a shower, and Paolo followed me into the bathroom, like usual. He likes to wait for me to get out of the shower, because then he goes inside to drink the water off the floor of the shower. I have no idea why he does this--I give him fresh water every day! Today, though, I decided to try something different. I put him in the bathtub, and turned on the cold water to just a very tiny stream. Paolo was thrilled.

I figured he would take a drink and then jump out. When I got out of the shower, he was still in there. I got dressed, and blew my hair dry. He was still there, lapping at the water. He finally got out, after about 35 minutes.

I finished packing for the weekend, and got everything loaded into the car. I picked the boys up from my parents' house (they spent the night there), and then we were off. The trip to my sister's house is a little over six hours. I was worried about doing the trip on my own (well, alone with the kids). It ended up feeling like a very long drive, but we made it. The boys were SO well-behaved. I am truly shocked at how good they were.

We stopped for lunch at Subway (I wanted my now-daily bagel, but there aren't ANY options along the Ohio/Indiana turnpike), but other than that we were in the car the whole time, and I was so achy when we finally got to Jeanie's. My butt hurt from sitting so long. I don't even want to think about what the drive home will be like, after having run 26.2 miles!

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Never going back

When I told my kids that we'd be leaving Friday instead of Thursday, they were extremely disappointed... so I ended up changing my mind again. We'll leave for my sister's house in Rockford tomorrow. I'm a little nervous about making the drive (I've always gone with Jerry), but I'm sure everything will be fine.

Right now, I'm just worried I'm going to forget to pack something for the race! I (finally) am 100% decided on what I'm going to wear for the race. I made my shirt today...

At first I thought it might be a little too nerdy, but I got an overwhelmingly good response to it on Instagram, so I decided to go ahead and wear it proudly :)  I'll be wearing that with my black and pink capris, so if you are running or spectating in Chicago on Sunday and you see me, please say hello!

Jerry was off work today, which was nice, because we got to spend the day together before I leave tomorrow. Today was a rest day, so after the kids left for school, Jerry and I headed out to run some errands. The check engine light was on in the car, so we had to go get that scanned--turns out it was nothing. Then I spotted a place to get my hair cut (I don't have a "regular" salon, and I just go to any place that takes walk-ins--I know, I'm super high maintenance!). I didn't get any cut from the length, but I had her put shorter layers in it so that my ponytail won't slap my neck so hard when I run.

We went to the mall, so that I could get my free Victoria's Secret panties. I think Jerry was more excited to go to VS than I was, haha. While we were there, he saw a cute nightie and kind of insisted that I get it. I didn't complain! We stopped at Michaels, so I could get the iron-on stuff for my shirt. I ended up getting printable iron-on transfers, so that I could just print my photo and iron it onto the shirt. It was actually really easy to do. And I had the letters at home, so I just used those. I like the phrase "never going back"; I actually thought of getting a tattoo that says "never go back" (I'm not going to, but I thought of it!).

Finally, we went to Panera for lunch. I've been obsessed with bagels for the past couple of weeks. I've literally eaten a bagel for lunch every single day for about 12 days now. Usually, I get cinnamon raisin or pumpkin bagels and top them with Cinnamon Raisin Swirl peanut butter. Today, I got a salt bagel with chive and onion cream cheese. The salt bagel was SO good!

Speaking of carb loading, today was my Wednesday Weigh-in ;)  I was hoping to at least maintain last week's weight of 136.5, but my body must love bagels, because I lost another 2 pounds this week!

I'm really excited to be under 135 for the marathon. Now I'm only 1.5 pounds over my goal weight. This week is going to be tough, because I'll be in Illinois all week. My sister knows that I want to stay on track, though, so I don't think it will be too hard at her house. I'll only be in the city for about 24 hours, so the damage should be minimal. But I always tend to gain weight after a very long run like that, so I won't be surprised (or upset) if the scale goes up a little next week, as long as I stay on track.

Well, I've got to get packing for my trip. I'll be writing from my sister's house, and probably from the hotel, too.

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Gu, Shot Bloks, and other fuel

I got some bad news from Andrea yesterday. She's not able to go to Chicago with me, because her husband's grandma is very ill. I'm not mad about it, of course, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. Going to a destination race alone doesn't have much appeal! At first, I was tempted to just say "Screw it!" and not go myself. But I trained for this race all summer, harder than I've ever trained for anything, and I know I'd regret not going.

So, instead of going to my sister's house on Thursday, I'm going to go on Friday. I'll stay there Friday night, and then go into the city on Saturday via train. I'll go to the expo, and dinner, and then to the hotel (Andrea switched it to my name, so at least I have a place to stay on Saturday night!). On Sunday morning, I'll run the race, hop on a train, and go back to my sister's house. Very anticlimactic.

A couple of my Ragnar SoCal teammates are also running Chicago, and when I mentioned what happened, they said I could hang out with them on Saturday. I was excited to meet them anyway, so it worked out well! I'm going to meet up with Caitlin and go to the expo, and then we'll meet Cat and her friend for dinner. The only time I think I'll feel kind of lonely is Sunday morning. I'm nervous to go to the race by myself, because I have a terrible sense of direction!

Anyway, I'm done feeling sorry for myself, and I'm starting to look at the positives of going alone--I can go to bed early, wake up early, not have to share a bathroom, take my time getting ready, etc. And I'm very excited to meet up with Caitlin and Cat!

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This morning, I had five miles at an easy pace on the schedule. Usually, I do speed work on Tuesdays, so it felt kind of strange to be doing just five easy miles. It was in the low-40's this morning, which felt great for a run! I wore some UA Cold Gear tights and a long sleeved top. I even wore a light pair of gloves, since I wasn't going to be running hard enough to keep warm.

I felt really amazing today, and my legs wanted to go fast... I could feel it. But I held back, and tried to stay between a 10:00-10:40/mi pace. I want to save all of my energy for the marathon on Sunday. It was actually pretty hard to run that slowly when my legs wanted to go faster; every time I found myself spacing out, I noticed my pace would get down to the low 9:00's, so I would slow down again. I'm taking that as a good sign that tapering is working, and I'll have lots of energy on Sunday.

I decided to do a five-mile out-and-back run. When I got to the end of the road, where I had to go either right or left, I was confused for a minute--I couldn't remember where I was going. Then I realized I'd forgotten to turn around at the 2.5 mile mark! BAHAHA, that has never happened to me before. I was so lost in my thoughts that I forgot to turn around. I hardly ever do "just" five miles anymore, so I'm used to going all the way to that road and turning.

Thankfully, I only went about 0.33 miles past where I should have turned around. So when I got home, I'd run 5.65 miles instead of 5. I kept my pace pretty close to 10:00 the whole time.

Tomorrow is my rest day; Thursday, I have 6 miles easy; Friday, 5 miles easy; and Saturday, 3 miles easy. It just seems so... easy :)  Then, of course, Sunday I have a tough 26.2!  I plan on taking at least a full week off of running after the marathon, both for my physical recovery and my mental recovery from running hundreds of miles over the last few months.

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A couple of people have asked me about the difference between Gu and Shot Bloks, and why I use both. Gu is a packet of a sugary gel, with the texture of frosting, only a little thinner (the chocolate reminds me of chocolate frosting):

The Shot Bloks are like gummy bears, only a cube-shape:

One packet of Gu offers about 100 calories and 20 grams of carbohydrates. It's roughly the equivalent of three Shot Bloks, which are 90 calories and 24 grams of carbohydrates.

Carbs are really important to eat while running long distances, because your body can only store so much. Once you run out of what's stored in your body, then you "hit the wall" and it's not fun at all. It's not mandatory to use Gu or Shot Bloks, or other brands of similar items. You can use any form of carbs--dried fruit, dates, candy, whatever sits well in your stomach and digests easily.

I personally prefer to use both Gu and Shot Bloks. I like Gu, but I can only handle two packets of it before my stomach starts getting icky. When I did the Detroit Marathon, Rik had some Shot Bloks, and since I couldn't stomach the thought of another Gu, he offered me a couple of those. They didn't bother my stomach at all!

The general rule of thumb that I follow during the marathon is to eat about 100 calories per hour--so either one Gu packet or three Shot Bloks. The Shot Bloks are nice because you don't have eat them all at once. I like to stagger them every couple of miles. The Gu is pretty messy, so I eat the whole packet at once. It's important to drink water with the Gu or Shot Bloks, so I usually aim to eat them just before a water station.

I like the Margarita-flavored Shot Bloks, because they have extra sodium--210 mg--and, well, they taste good! The Gu only has about 55-65 mg of sodium. So basically, I use both Gu and Shot Bloks for variety, and taste preference; but it's important to find what works for you. There are a ton of different products targeted for running and other exercise, but you can also experiment with natural foods, if that's your thing.

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Motivational Monday #35

There are a ton of motivating stories to share today, so I won't waste space with an intro. Congrats to everyone!

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Amanda ran her third half-marathon--the Allstate 13.1 in Atlanta! She knew it was going to be a difficult race when she saw the shirts that read, "Run head over hills in Atlanta". The hills were killer! But she still managed an 11-minute PR with a finish time of 2:37. She said her proudest moment was watching her best friend, Jenni, cross the finish line. Amanda got Jenni into running a year and a half ago, and has loved watching her grow as a runner.

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Amber completed her first 5K race--a run for chocolate! She says she has a long way to go on her journey, and she's very sore after the run, but she's proud for finishing strong (with her husband's support, as he ran with her). I love what she wrote here: "The best part of the run was as we crossed the finish line, the announcers could see the names attached to the chips on our bibs on their laptop. As we crossed the finish line they were cheering "You did it Amber! Great job! Way to go!" All the volunteers were cheering for me too. It made me cry. It helped me forget the way I felt after running in gym class."  I think a lot of us know what she means by that feeling of running in gym class!

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Crystal ran her first 5K race this weekend! Despite spraining her ankles three weeks before the race, and the elevation increase at the location, she pushed herself to finish and she had a blast! (Crystal's race report)

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Desiree inspires me, because she just doesn't give up! When she signed up for her first 5K, she just hoped she wouldn't be dead last. And it turned out that she did come in last; but she didn't let that stop her from being proud for finishing, or from signing up for another race! She ran another 5K this weekend, and again, was hoping not to be last. There were several walkers, and she passed them, which was promising; but then the walkers took a shortcut, taking about 3/4 of a mile off of their distance, and crossing the finish line before Desiree. So she finished last again (her caption of this pic had me cracking up--she said, "At least now I can say that I've actually had an opportunity to run from the po po" ;)  Desiree is proud of her finish, and has plans of training for a 10K next! (Desiree's race report)

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Hannah completed her very first 5K (a glow run)! She was never a runner, and only had two months to train, but she decided to go for it an do her best. She ran/walked, and even with a side stitch, she finished under an hour, which was her goal. She said she had so much fun that she plans to do another! 

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Ivayla ran her first half-marathon this weekend! She felt on top of the world crossing the finish line in 2:34. She did the Wineglass half-marathon--the medal is made out of a wine glass!

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Stacy ran her first 5K race this weekend! She says she's always wanted to run a race, but was very intimidated by the "hardcore runners". Her goal was to finish under 45 minutes, and she ended up crushing that time, finishing in 36:48!

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Jennifer completed her first 18-mile run yesterday! She's running her first marathon in a little over a month. And believe it or not, she was a self-proclaimed couch potato just 10 months ago!

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Joyce completed her first half-marathon on Saturday! It was raining the entire race, which made it very difficult, but she persevered. She started running in 2012 as a way to keep off the 75 pounds that she lost through healthy eating and exercise!

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Kathryn ran her second marathon on Sunday! She pulled her calf muscle and had a very difficult race, but she managed to push through and finish strong. Oh, and did I mention she did this AFTER losing 120 pounds?!

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Laura has been a runner for 15 years, but has always struggled with her weight. Two and a half years ago, she decided to take control of that and she joined Weight Watchers. She lost 46 pounds! For the past year, she's been doing short triathlons; but this weekend, she completed her first Olympic distance tri! I had no idea how far that was, but it's an impressive 1500 meter swim (nearly a mile), 40K bike ride (nearly 25 miles), and a 10K run (6.2 miles). She finished in 3:20!  She had to work through a fear of open water swimming, but she did finished, and she's proud! (Laura's blog)

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I love this picture of Mary and her husband at the finish line after Mary ran her first marathon! Despite tendonitis for the last 10 miles of the race, she managed to complete the Portland Marathon yesterday in 6:43. She had amazing support from her family and friends, and is super proud to have pushed through the pain to finish the race! (Mary's blog)

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Rhonda has been training all summer to run her first full marathon--at age 57. And at the Portland Marathon yesterday, she finished in 5:45! She took up running a few years ago after losing a whopping 80 pounds!

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Shannon has done five 5K's over the past year--she deliberately chose the fun, untimed ones. After taking the summer off due to injury, she signed up on a whim for a 5K race. With an injured foot and a stroller, she walked much slower than ever before, but she is very proud of herself for getting out there and doing it, regardless! She said she doesn't "run for cookies", but she does "waddle for beer" ;)

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In yesterday's post, I mentioned I was stalking a friend online who was running his first marathon--well, that would be Thomas! (I plan on introducing my whole Ragnar SoCal team soon, but Thomas is our Runner #3). Anyway, Thomas had an ambitious goal of 3:45 for his first marathon, and he crushed that goal at the Portland Marathon yesterday... finishing in 3:36:42!! By the way, Thomas wasn't always a runner; he got into running to help lose weight, and he lost 50 pounds! Now he's running 3:36 marathons ;)  (Thomas' blog)

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Amanda ran her first mud/obstacle run this weekend! She was terrified going into it, but succeeded without any injuries (except the typical bruises and scrapes). She was very proud of herself for doing this race at 280 pounds. Her husband stuck with her, and they finished together!

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Pamela not only reached the 70-lbs lost milestone this week, she also managed a huge PR on her 5K! After her last, she said she was going to "leave that 48:35 in the dust"; and she finished this race in 38:16! She said it's surreal that she went from a 20:07 mile pace on her first day of training to a 12:20 pace at her race. She plans to go for a 10K soon!

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Don't forget to check out the Motivational Monday Facebook post for more stories!

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