My quest to run a marathon before turning 30 and my road to recovery after hip arthroscopy
Monday, April 25, 2011
Just a few days to go
I have two more runs before the race, 7 for Wednesday and 2 for Friday (which I haven't decided if I will do or not). I can hardly believe that the race is really here. The weather will be questionable according to the forecast, but Jennifer Ketchmark (our local weathergirl) assured viewers tonight that the rain will hold off until Saturday evening. We shall see.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Last 9 miler for this training
We JUST beat the ran, as it started pouring the instant I stepped in the house. Our timing has been phenomenal the last few runs, so I'm hoping we are good luck for missing the rain on marathon day. The current 10 day forecast has it in the picture, but I'm not fretting yet since it is still a bit out.
The run was great, although I noticed my hamstring bothering me the rest of the day. This happened after Tuesday's run too. I'm hoping it isn't anything too serious.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Early Morning Run
We planned to get out by 5:25 so I could be back in time to shower and leave for work. I didn't sleep that well because it stormed the entire night. I kept wondering when it was going to stop and thinking, oh man, I don't know if I can run in that!
We cranked out 5 miles in 46:13, which is fast for me. I think we were both motivated by the chilly temps as well as the pending return of the rain. I enjoyed the morning run and hope to do it again.
Last Long Run with the Group
Thursday, April 14, 2011
My Run with Dean Karnazes
Dean has been running across the US since mid February and today marks his 49th consecutive day of running at least 40 miles. He has a few scheduled events, like the one today, where he runs with the community. Prior to the run, he addresses the crowd each time and today was no different.
There were a lot of students from the Altamont schools, but only a few of them actually ran the whole 5k. This gave us plenty of time to run near Dean and he was nice enough to entertain our questions.
Mary initiated conversation first and asked him what advice he would give to first time marathoners. He noted that it was going to hurt and to not pay attention to the mile markers. Mary was nice enough to introduce me to Dean and he even called me by name then. I told him I was a big fan and asked him what was next for him. He joked and remarked that he would be trying 50 marathons in 50 states with 50 pizzas. Then he provided his real answer of running a marathon in every country. We gave other fans some face time and tried to avoid running into small children who don't know race etiquette, but snuck in a few more questions later on. Mary asked who he looked up to. He stated that he really admires Ann Treson (sp?) and told us a little bit about her success as a phenomenal ultra runner who beats out everyone, including males.
We made it into the group shot, which should appear on his running blog at Regis and Kelly's website. It was a great time and I'm glad I did it.
Last mid-week 10 miler
Sunday, April 10, 2011
The Reason I Run
2.) My middle toe on my right foot is completely dead. I made a last minute switch into my Smart Wool socks, which proved to be a wise choice. I can not rave enough about these socks, in fact, I should be an advertiser for them!
3.) I played around with some of my running routines due to last week's fiasco. This included only eating bread for dinner (don't ask me why I did that, nothing else seemed to sound good since I was so nervous) and the true Godsend...Imodium!
I drove to a meeting spot to catch up with Mary, a gal I occasionally run with. We set out from the car, which was parked by my school, to keep fuel accessible during the route and a bathroom as one of our many options. We took on the marathon route and thanks to a friend's Garmin, I knew exactly how far we were going and at what pace.
We started out a little faster than I probably should have, common running error, but fended well for the first 8 miles or so keeping it under a 1o minute mile pace. I was glad to show Mary around part of the course that she hadn't tested out yet and we had a lot to talk about. This was probably another problem, exerting extra energy talking.
We were mindful of trying to slow down and did just that, especially on the lovely gentle mile incline of the course that appears around mile 24. Despite our few breaks and best attempt to stay hydrated, the 77 degree heat just wore us out. The last 5 miles included a few walking breaks and a couple full out stops for me to control some of my dizziness. Thankfully we took advantage of Panera's ICE and cold water and dumped it on ourselves.
Thanks to Mary's constant encouragement, we came in at 3:43....this includes all stops since I never stop my watch. While it wasn't my best run, it definitely beats out last week's run and I know I can take on the marathon on April 30th.
Shortly after my return home, I tried an ice bath. Let me tell you, an ICE bath is just as cold as it sounds. My legs did feel great afterwards, so I may even consider it in the future.
I've learned a lot about myself over the last few months. One thing's for sure, I could care less what I look like on my run...never thought I'd be tucking in my shirt and wearing BLUE socks with white shoes. At the end of the day, though, there are way more important things to worry about.