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!

Full Week Report

I came off of a runner's high leading into my short week of running. Since the long run was on Sunday, I only had to run Tuesday and Thursday this week. It was a nice break, but I think that it negatively contributed to my long run on Saturday.

Tuesday was an easy 4 miles that I did right away after school. We were scheduled for more snow...yes...more snow. I was able to sneak the run in before any snow came and enjoyed myself.

Thursday was a busy day for me since Tony was leaving right away after work to head to Vermont for a wedding that he was in this weekend. I escaped school without anyone seeing me because I left before I was supposed to. Luckily our principal doesn't give us the evil eye even if she had seen me duck out early. I was dressed oddly because I hadn't fully intended to run outside, but it was so nice I couldn't pass it up---sorry no pic. Since I didn't pack my running jacket, I put a vest that I had worn all day on over my gear. I spent 4 of my 7 miles playing through a confrontation with an acquaintance that occurred this week. I won't go into the details, but needless to say I was not happy that I devoted over half of my run to a man I don't see eye to eye with on nearly anything. I stayed fairly close to school and was able to get in at least 2 miles of the actual marathon course.

When I picked up the kids from daycare our babysitter could tell I had just come from working out and that prompted my telling her that I was training for a marathon. She asked how far that was and later asked if it was a mini thing or a full. It baffles me that many people have absolutely no concept of what a marathon actually entails.

My parents were nice enough to come visit for the weekend while Tony was away. This also allowed me to run with the group on Saturday, something I don't always get to do since Tony works most Saturdays. The group was a big one (at least 50) and we looked pretty mighty when we first started out, but spread out quite a bit as the 12 miles went on. All in all it was a decent run (2:15 with one bathroom break and 3 water stops), but I didn't feel as fresh as I had the week before for an even longer run. Fortunately the others felt similarly, so that made me feel a bit better.

Some highlights from the morning included a reappearance of the yellow devil horns, the local news filming our group outside of the running store (I was about 2 feet too far to the left to make the frame), Del coining the race the "Stupid Ass Marathon," meeting some new runners--one who even knows my husband, and getting our group shirts (picture to come later).

Next week is going to be a tough one and to top that off, the run moves to 7am...ugh.

16 miles...A New Milestone

I was a good combination between nervous and excited for Sunday's run since it would be the longest I have ever run. I got a decent night's rest, only to be woken up around 4:30 by Tyler and the horrendous rain that was pounding outside. After feeding Tyler, I went back to bed and prayed that the rain would stop in time for my run. Thankfully the running gods listened.

I met the group just before 8am and used the most disgusting port-o-potty I think I have ever seen before we left. It was significantly colder than the 50 degree temps the forecast had shown, so I was pretty chilly in my capris and lighter jacket. Fortunately I threw in a headband for my ears.

The route was an 8 mile loop that covers a good portion of part of the marathon route. We had our usual group with both pace leaders, so I knew it would be an entertaining run. I noticed the wind right away and it really didn't let up until around mile 5, so that made the run colder and tougher.

We had great conversation throughout the run, so great that I only checked my watch once before we finished and that was at mile 13. I felt phenomenal. My knees and hips did ache a bit starting at about mile 10, but I think that is to be expected. The group took a short bathroom break and quick stops at the water station, but we were still able to come in just under my goal time with my watch reading 2:59.52.

I'm probably not pushing myself as hard as I could, but everyone keeps telling me with a first marathon, you should just put the miles in and enjoy it. I'll take that.

I felt pretty good the rest of the day and was even perky enough to chase M&M around the house by dinner time. I hope I feel this way in 2 weeks when I have my 18 miler.