I think they call that character building

This week was a rough one. I had been dreading it since the beginning of the training. I'm headed to Mexico in 6 and a half hours, which will be delightful. However, I haven't even really had any time to think about it yet because of everything leading up until this. Mileage-wise, this was a big week. Wednesday I put in 10 miles that were a bit challenging due to some cramps between mile 3 and 6. Additionally, my long run is scheduled for Sunday, but since I'll be in Mexico, I had the great debate as to how to get those miles in.

After much consideration, I decided to change my 5 miles on the schedule today to my long run. We had parent-teacher conferences until late last night (alas the dread) and conferences in the morning. It actually made the most sense to get some of the miles in before school, so I decided to run to school. I also ran home afterwards in the rain. After a quick wardrobe change and some fueling, I headed out again for about 12 miles. In total I was able to get in 17, which was really supposed to be 20. I am a little disappointed since I've followed my training to a T. Many people assure me that this is not going to blow my training. I hope that is the case.


I could go into more details, but should check over my packing and head to bed. Needless to say, I ran in the rain, with little emotional stamina, and ended up with a bloody foot. Thankfully it's over and I can relax in Mexico...Adios!

I should have also taken a picture of my shoe because the blood went all the way through to that too. Not actually sure what happened!

5 miles done

Ellie joined me for the first two miles of my run yesterday. I wore my steal of a shirt...$3 on the clearance rack at Wal-Mart and enjoyed the benefits of Daylight Savings. It felt great to be running while it was still light out. Nothing too exciting to report from the run other than the fact that it is done!

Cheater

I officially cheated on my running group this weekend. To make a long story relatively short, I arranged to run with Mary and Cass, who I met through a mutual friend, at 5:30am on Saturday. I needed to get in my 12 miles before going to work and to my surprise, the two agreed to run that early. Well, thanks to my sister, she was able to watch the kiddies and I didn't have to run so early. I still wanted to run with Mary and Cass, so I ditched the group run at 7am for a run with the girls.

Little did I know that we would actually pass my running group about halfway through our run. I lowered my head in shame, but then yelled across the road, "I'm cheating on you!" Both Mary and Cass commented that I was not good at being incognito.

Maybe I should have borrowed their outfits from the Allerton Trail run to be a little less conspicuous...Mary is pictured below as Mario and Cass as Luigi.

Or, I could have gotten dolled up like when we all met. I guess I'll know for next time.

As for the run, it was great. We meandered through Champaign and encountered a bit of wind. It was nice to have some new conversation and catch up since our last run together which was in December. All of us had come a long way since then, Mary, a seasoned marathoner, continued well with her advanced training and Cass, a newbie like me, was working through some ITband issues, but has been successful so far in the training.

Both are moms too, so it was nice to talk about the kids, but most of our conversations were centered on running tips, upcoming races, and ailments.

We came in at 2:26, which included 2 bathroom stops and a couple of quick stops for refueling.

I have a pretty big week ahead--5 miles today, 10 on Wednesday, and instead of my 5 miler on Friday it is going to be as close to a 20 miler as I can squeeze in. I'm headed to Mexico Saturday morning, so I'm getting in as many miles as I can before leaving.

Ugh...

Motherhood strikes for the first time. I guess I shouldn't complain that this is really the first time being a mom has interfered with my running plans for this training session. I intended to run right away after school and get my 7 miles in before picking up the kids. Both children have been fighting colds since Sunday and today TJ was a mess. I received a text from our sitter requesting that I pick them up as soon as possible so that TJ's nap wouldn't be interrupted. I was glad our sitter was thinking ahead, but I had to create a new plan for my run. I dreaded this part because I knew a treadmill run was probably inevitable.

After M&Ms dance class, I reluctantly made my way to the gym and watched a few sitcoms while I ran. I did come to a few realizations:

1.) I can officially join the "I hate treadmill club."
2.) I pushed it too hard the first few miles.
3.) Sadly, I am most comfortable at a 10:41 pace. I was hoping to learn that I could crank out my 7 miles at a faster pace than my slow, long runs on the weekend...epic fail.

A few highlights, though, were that I did push through and finished with an average pace of 10:10, I successfully completed 1 minute planks twice, and I felt comfortable in my new running gear that I purchased with my mom two weekends ago.

P.S. I had Tony take a picture of me in my new gear. After I took a closer look, it looked like I peed my pants. This is quite the conundrum because looking at that area now, it doesn't remotely appear like it seems to in the picture. So, I decided to delete the picture:)

A few more firsts

When I started this training, I told a number of people that I was used to running in the heat and that it didn't bother me. It was going to be an adjustment running in the cold. Well, I've adjusted. What I thought I really wouldn't adjust to was rain. I went out in the rain tonight, something I don't think I've ever done before. Another thing that I wouldn't normally do is add hills to my routes. Tonight I didn't do the hill once, I did it four times.

I'm also saying things that just don't sound right. I recall reading my Iron Woman friend's blog and her commenting about her husband, who is not an avid runner, saying, "Oh I just have to run 4 miles today." That is what I told my husband as I headed out the door. Four miles used to be significant for me. Not any more. Wow, where's the Jill I've known the last 29 years?

Here is my training shirt from the group. They're quite nice. Also, to respond to a comment, it is hard to pinpoint my exact weight loss since my body hasn't been "normal" with being pregnant twice the last 3 years. What I can say, is that I've lost at least 12 pounds from where my weight typically was. Specifically, I have lost at least 7 pounds since starting to train for the marathon. As a note, it is not recommended to use marathon training for weight loss and I am not promoting that. I am eating like crazy, that has never been a problem for me. My weight loss is probably a combination of both running a lot as well as still nursing little TJ.

Another New Milestone...18

It's days like today that reaffirm my decision to train with a group. I guess I know myself well in that I wouldn't be able to do this without others. Likewise, it was a blessing in disguise that the half marathon trainings were all on Saturdays which forced me to switch to the full. It has proven (knock on wood) to be a positive switch.

The long runs will be earlier on Sundays now...meeting at 7am, yowzers! I went to bed early and had my alarm set for 5:30. Since most of my stuff was set out the night before, I didn't have a lot to do in the morning before meeting a few members of the group to carpool to the Mahomet Lake of the Woods location. We left Donna's house (pace leader) around 6:30 and made it with plenty of time.

Can you see how excited I am? I hope I don't look this bad every day!

It was cold. Very cold. Much colder than I thought it would be. We all stood between cars to block the wind until everyone arrived and the conversation stuck to how ridiculously cold it was. I imagine Mike (pace leader) was actually the coldest since he recently shaved off his massive beard and the rest of the hair on his head.

We headed out with the usual from our group to start the first of 3 out and backs on the bike trail. This was only the second time I have been to the Lake of the Woods, so everything was relatively new for me. A few of us decided that ignorance is bliss when running often. Aside from it being colder than what we have been accustomed to lately, the course was also significantly hillier than what I am used to.

Del, a Mahomet resident, was the first to point out all the hills and prepped us for each approaching hill. It became quite the joke, but at least it gave us something to talk about and even kept our minds off of all of the hills. We didn't realize that ice skating was part of our training since parts of the trail were icy, but we all managed to stay on our feet.

The group seems to be getting a little closer as evidenced by our conversation. We seem to talk not only about upcoming races and our current pace, but also about our families and personal lives. We have a lot to share (thankfully since we're out there for so long) since our ages cover multiple decades, as someone pointed out during a previous run.

There was little debate today about stopping at the water stops every 3 miles. We all tried to take it a little easier since this is the first of our longer runs. I appreciated knowing that there was a heated bathroom on the trail, but we all only stopped once.

Some highlights from the 18 miles include Del making fun of Donna and another runner who smile a lot while they run, us making fun of Del's hill analysis, the start of our "Top 10 things a pace leader should do" including block the wind, cheer the runners on, and present the group with mathematical equations or other solutions to pace related questions, Del saving Donna from falling on the ice, our mad sprint away from the aide station to make sure the "fast group" didn't lap us, and of course, Dan's homemade brownies waiting for us at the end. Oh Dan, you are my kind of man.

I felt pretty good throughout the run. My legs were a bit sore the last 5 miles or so, but I'm blaming that on the hills. All in all, I'd call it a good run. I'm feeling pretty confident right now despite the fact that I refuse to move from the couch.

Did I mention it was cold? My long, hot shower did not remotely warm me up. I resorted to multiple layers, a large blanket, and kisses to little M&M.

Another Post Without Pictures

This week my runs were on Monday, Wednesday, and today (Friday). I brought my running clothes to work and did each run right after school ended. I'm really starting to like this routine, I get my runs in when it is still light out, I spend some more time with the family since I'm not sneaking away, and it seems easier to get it done then instead of waiting until 7:30 or 8:00pm when I have no desire to run.

I completed 5 miles on Monday on part of the marathon route. It was quite windy and cold because I forgot gloves and some sort of head covering. I didn't notice it after the first 1.5, but boy was it tough until then. I'm starting to know this part of the course quite well, which I am not sure if it will be to my benefit or not. There are a few houses I look forward to passing--one including the Wrigleyville sign on the porch. Those are hard to come by in Central Illinois, it seems as if everybody is a Cardinals fan.

Wednesday called for 9 miles. This is a pretty big mid-week run for me and this is the kind of week that has been one of the reasons it's taken me 29 years to even attempt a marathon. 9 miles had been my long runs on the weekends. Putting them midweek not only frightens me, but it also stresses me out trying to figure out when to get the run in. It is no surprise that I am not speedy, so an hour and a half run is a bit trickier now that we have 2 kids. I hit the road by 2:53, which put me back to my car at 4:23 with plenty of time to pick up the kids and not feel too guilty about it. The run took me to different parts of Champaign than one's I'm familiar with, so it made for some great scenery. I also felt fairly good after the first 4 miles even though I was a little hungry and probably less hydrated than what I should have been.

Today I did my 5 miles around school as well. This time I ran 3 miles and then met a colleague back at school who was wanting to run 2 miles. Despite the wind, I somehow was putting in closer to 9 minute miles, which is flying for me. It was nice to meet up with my friend for the last 2, even though we "ran" into a bunch of students on our loop around the school area. I'm sure it was quite the scene for them to see their teachers running. Quite shocking considering most of them think we live in the school.

Sunday will be a big one for me. I plan to hydrate as best as I can tomorrow so that I will be fresh for the 18 miles. I'll be carpooling with 3 others from the running group to run in Mahomet. Once again, I'm both anxious and excited. I hope this is a good one for me!