Marathon Comparison.

I’ve had a little over a week to think over the differences I noticed from running my first marathon compared to my second.  I don’t think I have a favorite of the two but there were still some notable differences and here are some of my top reflections!

1) Marathon #2 Medal > Marathon #1 Medal.  Sorry but there is no denying…

2) Marathon #1 had about 200 +/- runners while Marathon #2 had about 2,100.  Neither one of these races was very large compared to other large races but a 10x increase from marathon #1 to marathon #2 was pretty notable.  During my first marathon, I ended up running along the route on my own quite often.  During #2, I was never really far from anyone even though I was towards the back of the crowd during both races.

3) My parents, sister and puppy dog all spectated during marathon #1 but for #2, I was totally on my own!  I drove myself to and from the race finish and it made it kind of boring in ways… yet at least while I was running, it was easier to zone out and not have to worry about spotting my family.  But I would rather have someone out there cheering for me

Taking pictures of yourself is awkward…

4) After marathon #1, my legs hurt but I still tried to keep active with walking and other forms of working out and that just prolonged my recovery for like 4+ weeks… After the most recent marathon, I hurt so bad, working out was really not even an option so I was forced to take full rest days.  And one week out, I feel almost 100%.  My only complaint is a small amount of nagging hip pain.

5) The weather!  Marathon #1 was pretty warm and I ended up pretty sun burned.  Marathon #2 I almost ended up wind burned because it was pretty COLD!!  The temps in the morning were in the 30′s this time compared to the high 60″s last time!  I would rather run in the cold though so I kind of liked the change!

6) The mental struggle was much less during marathon #2 than it was during marathon #1.  It didn’t help that marathon #1 came right on the heels of a total marathon disappointment…  Even though I was totally untrained for this second marathon, I just knew that I was going to finish.  I knew it would end eventually so even when I was tired, I just needed to keep moving.

7) My second marathon was paced so much better than #!!!  Half #1 of marathon #1 was done in 2:08 but I finished in 4:38 (+ 22 mins).  Half #1 of marathon #2 was done in 2:23, finish in 4:51 (+ 5 mins).  It is really amazing how much easier that second half is when you start off the first half much slower than you think you should be going.

8) Marathon #1 left me wondering if I ever really wanted to train for and run another full marathon again.  Marathon #2 has left me wondering how soon I should sign up to tackle another

What a difference a few months can make.  And only a few more months until I can add marathon #3 to the record book!!

Race Flashback: 2012 Lakefront Marathon

Oh, you didn’t know I was running a marathon today?  Well, neither did I until 3:30 am this morning  I’d signed up for this marathon back in January with every intention of training for it after a good break from Cellcom.  Well, I never got said break after Cellcom because I ended up prolonging training for another 5ish weeks and the thought of training right away after Maritime made me cringe.  So I benched the idea, signed up for a half marathon the next weekend in Sheboygan and then was going to forget about.

Well, on Wednesday or Thursday I was struck with this overpowering feeling that I needed to do this race.  It was while I was out doing my lunch time walk at work and it hit me out of nowhere.  As soon as I got back to my office, that VERY second, I received the email confirming that the Sheboygan half marathon had been cancelled (long story for another time…).  A sign?  A coincidence?  I don’t know but all I do know is that it made it damn near impossible to shake the idea of running this morning.

I thought about it all the rest of the week but really could not decide for the life of me what to do.  I tried to come up with one negative for actually running it and I couldn’t.  Because nothing said I had to finish just because I started!  I picked up my packet on Friday night, 90% sure I would try it.

I helped with the packet pickup Saturday and became 99% sure I would attempt it.

When I somehow woke up this morning at 3:18am when my alarm was set for 3:30am, I was 100% sure.  (I was half hoping my alarm would not go off or something – lol).  So after said alarm went off, I started my morning preparations for a race.  Another side note, the weather was predicted to be in the 20′s this morning but it ended up never getting colder than the high 30′s so that was also a really positive sign.

I managed to be ready to go and out of the house by 5:15 am (+ a few minutes to turn around and go back for my garmin!!!) or so to head to the finish area where we parked our cars and were then bused up to Grafton High School to start and then run back to our cars.

The bus ride was nice and toasty and it was also really nice to have the warm school to sit in before the race.  In theory they also had flushable toilets but in reality, the lines for those were SO long.  So porto-johns it was for me.  I ended up taking the time to go through that line twice and was very happy I did.  Darn cold always makes me have to pee so bad – lol!

At a few minutes before 7:30am, I threw my drop bag in the USPS truck to get driven to the finish and hoped and prayed my stuff did not get lost  I realized how spoiled I am to always have a cheer section at races and this was my very first time ever doing one all by myself!  No cheer squad, no pack mules, nothing!  After that, I walked the short jaunt to the start line and within 2 minutes, the gun went off!

WTF?! = Where’s the Finish?! lol!

I quickly realized I had failed to switch my garmin to running mode from biking mode so I apparently biked a marathon today  I tried to figure it out but this Garmin just pisses me off with how I can NEVER find what I want…  Oh well.  I figured either way I would know my distance and pace so it didn’t really matter.  I also ended up running with my phone which was nice because I would text and give updates to all my cheerers in other states or cities – lol!  Plus take pictures!

I started out with what I felt was a pretty conservative pace for me, about 11:30/mile but ended up really struggling to hold that so I ended up bumping it up to 10:40/11/miles.  Turned out to be perfect because that’s actually what pace I finished with, well 11:06 or something like that but I call that close enough.

The first few miles were kind of scary.  I still didn’t really believe I was attempting this and I kept feeling really guilty passing people because I kept visioning all their training runs when I really didn’t do any.  But after 5 or 6 miles, I realized that I could only run my race and not really worry about anything else.  We ran from Grafton east towards the lake and then wound down the lake shore towards Mequon.  We ran around my old college campus so that was kind of cool.  I have not been back there recently and it looked totally different!  New buildings and construction everywhere!  I crossed the 7 mile mat at about 1:20 gun time, not sure what actual time.

My tuition helped fund this bluff I’m pretty sure…

We then ran along Lake Shore drive (which I’d walked many, many times when in college) so that was cool and then wound around Bayside, Shorewood, etc.  I was feeling really good for the most part and the 13.1 marker came and went and I started to feel more confident I would finish!  I also managed to take out the 5:00 pacer and 4:50 pacer for awhile here.  I kept running and running but started having to stop at water stops because I drank all my stuff I brought.  I mixed half gatorade and half water and that tasted like gold!

Mile 15-16 was pretty emotional for me because that is where I was forced to give up at Cellcom.  It was that point that I decided, no one could take my race away today, especially me!  I was starting to feel sore by this point but I could tell everyone else was too so I wasn’t 100% concerned that my lack of training was totally to blame.  The whole way up until this point I was running to the .5 or 1 mile mark and walking 1 minute but I started getting distracted by the lack of seconds on my garmin and started running .4/walking .1 and this was much better for my tired brain and legs to comprehend.  I didn’t really slow down a ton either, from 10:53 average to 10:57 average up until mile 24 or so.

Miles 17-20 were pretty rough but they were at my last marathon too so again, I was no more out of it than in June when I ran.  Once I hit 20 miles, I knew I was going to finish, no mater if I had to walk the whole rest of it.  I also was doing surprisingly well time-wise and was on par for an under 5hr finish which I never in my wildest dreams imagined!  I was thinking 5:15/5:30 at my best…

how many miles yet??

Miles 20, 21 and 22 were pretty tough but then at 22 I took a Gu and had a good (relatively) streak of run/walking from 20-24.  At 24.2 I started to cramp in my quads so it really started to be painful at that point.  But just as I was thinking about the pain, I saw one of the marathon signs that said “The Pain is temporary, the finish lasts forever.”  That is one lesson I have learned all too well.  Even if you feel like you won’t make it, you really will and it will eventually just be a blip in your history – so run strong!

Around mile 24, we ran down the same hill I’d had to run UP at Summerfest in 2011 so that was pretty cool.  Well played LFM with the DOWNhill version over the uphill version  Mile 25 I decided to walk for .2 to bring me to just 1 mile to go.  But man, that 1 mile felt like it lasted as long as the first 24!!  My average pace slipped from 10:57-11:03 or something like that at this point too.

Finally I started seeing the “Marathon finish ahead” signs.  Unfortunately, the “finish” was not as close as I was hoping and I had to pass like 5ish of those – ha!  But FINALLY I saw the real finish and just went for it!  It was a tight finish line which stunk so I had to pass people with a tight squeeze but I didn’t think I should have to finish at there pace, should I?!  I felt like I was running fast but I’m pretty sure it was not “fast” ha!

After finishing, I got my medal (which is ginormous!!) and went to sit down!

beaut.

My legs hurt so bad!!!  I honestly could not make it the .75 miles back to my car so I took the shuttle – ha!  I also was not really sure how in the world I was going to drive a stick shift car!  OUCH!!  Luckily it was mostly highway home so not too much clutching.  That really killed the ole quads…

But I did make it home in one piece and immediately threw some lunch in the oven to bake while I ice bathed.  (I forgot to mention I was HANGRY since mile 1!! – bad, bad planning.  Pretty sure my stomach was literally growling on numerous occasions.) I did take gus at miles 5, 11, 17 and 22 so those helped like 5% with the hunger issue. I managed 10 mins in the ice tub and then a nice warm shower and some food!

I am still in shock that I finished.  I was pretty darn close to ugly Dawson tears after I finished because I was that shocked it was over.  But crying took entirely too much energy so it was a just a couple grunts that I managed – ha!

I know that this was not necessarily the smartest thing to do but I can’t live my life being so afraid of all the “coulds”.  I would have quit if I ever once felt weird pain or something like that but somehow my prayers of “Dear God, please just let me finish!” were answered

Maybe this was also a little Marathon Karma coming back to be on my side after Cellcom didn’t go as I was hoping.  It’s really true that everything works out in the right timing.  And apparently today was the right timing for me to get marathon #2 finished.  26.2 x 2 while I’m 26.  I kinda like that

In case you are a numbers person, here are my Garmin splits (totally forgot to stop it though so that last distance/pace is not really true but it seems like it might have paused after a few seconds?)

Those seem close to even to me?? But maybe not, what do I know about these things…

My official finish time : 4:51:23; 11:06 pace (unofficial as of 10/7).  

And here are my reflections from Marathon #2!

• Marathon’s truly are 90% mental.
• Gatorade is delicious.
• Doing a race without my family was not the same but was a whole different kind of challenge.
• Still in shock.
• Race Volunteers are AWESOME!
• Fall is my favorite, favorite time to run in the midwest.
• This race was my best, worst decision to date.
• Pain is temporary when you’re running.
• Running for fun is the only way to do it!
• Running carrying an extra pair of socks is the best thing ever.  My packet pickup co-worker suggested it and it’s awesome!  They make great gloves for like 2 miles and then a nice hankie for the next 24 TMI?  Nope, honestly genius!
• Don’t try this at home
• I wore brand new pants + top.  Oops.
• 97 days until I have to do this again.  This time I will do a few training runs
• Probably some others that I am forgetting that I can maybe post about later this week…

Marathon #2, Done and Done! Whoop!

Begin Again.

103 days.

16 weeks.

4 months. (+/-)

Until…

I haveget to run another marathon

I’ve written here before about this race and I really am excited for everything about getting to be in Orlando, going to DisneyWorld, etc.  But I am extremely nervous about training for and running another marathon!  My last marathon took everything I had running-wise and I’ve been really struggling with getting my running mo-jo back ever since.  But something happened last weekend at my half marathon, I realized I am totally capable of running this 2nd marathon if I just decide I am going to do it.  I didn’t stress out and train for this half marathon but I was still able to just show up on race day and have fun.  I don’t kid myself that the same thing would happen with a full marathon but I did realize I won’t have to give my whole life over to marathon training to make a finish happen.  And finish time does not matter – at.all!

So I logged into my favorite training program creator, Smart Coach, and put in all my specifics and it put out a plan that only requires me to run twice a week.  I’m not sure if that’s the best idea ever but it seems so much more doable for me at this point in time!  I’m also not going to stress about getting all my long runs done either, probably more like 80% of them or so.  I don’t want to hate running by January 13, 2013 like I did by the time I toed the start line on June 24, 2012!  I’ll likely add a few shorter runs during the week in lieu of those long runs.

I’m going to restart my Marathon Monday posts so we’ll call this week one!  Next week I will recap all my workouts from the past week, a little running, a little biking, a little whatever!  Somehow I’ll make it work and be a marathoner x2!  And Sister will be a Marathoner x1!!!!  It’s going to be a busy couple of months but now it’s game on!

Race Flashback: 2012 Maritime Marathon

Oh my goodness!  Where to even start?!?  Warning: this post is gonna be a LONG one!  How about we start at the beginning?

5:50 am. Departure time. Sister and I stayed at my parents house on Saturday night to be a little bit closer to the start line on Sunday morning.  I thought about checking out a hotel in the area but when I did a quick search everything was full and not super nice looking.  A certain little pup came along to be my cheerer!

6:35am.  Arrival in Manitowoc. Sister, Croz and I stopped at a gas station about 3 blocks from the start and then headed to the start line area.  This race was pretty small but was organized SO well.  I honestly cannot say enough good things about this race.  We lined up to start by a fire truck and after a few minutes of announcements, a racer sang the National Anthem and then a gun shot, and we were off at 7am!

7am.  I started a really long run and Sister went off to try to meet up with the parents.  They actually sailed up to Manitowoc to stay overnight on the boat so she had to pick them up since Sailboats are not really land vehicles  This worked out SO well because I was able to shower at the Marina facilities after the race and have an ice bath that consisted of me hanging in Lake Michigan at a whopping 62 degrees!

7:30am.  First cheer from the gang!  I ended up seeing them probably 18ish times along the way!  It was such a spectator friendly course and they were able to pretty much keep just ahead of me and get me what I needed and take LOTS of photos of me running

8:30am.  I got to run along a beautiful portion of trail right on the beach.  This was one of my favorite parts by far!  The sun finally peeked out at this point too.  Time for some sunglasses.  Mile 9-11.

9:08am.  Halfway point!  I made really good time getting to the half way point but then slowed a little in the second half.  I didn’t end up bringing my Garmin so I was just doing whatever felt tolerable for the duration. Sometimes this meant keeping a good pace and sometimes that meant walking for a while.  I was pretty consistent running 9 minutes walking 1 for the first 13-15 miles.  Then the walking breaks got more frequent and closer together!

9:45am.  Saw this really cool hang glider flying over the course.  Picture was taken by Sister but I thought it was pretty cool too and would have taken a picture if I had a camera.  Also around this time I passed the 15 mile mark and therefore was in the new distance territory for a race!  So exciting!!

10am.  Most inspiring moment of the race by far.  This man ran/walked this flag for 26.2 miles in honor of all the men and women serving our country.  This was his 5th marathon in 8 weeks and his birthday.  I would be lying if I said I didn’t have tears in my eyes when he told me that.  I know it boosted my spirits at this point as I was definitely starting to appreciate the distance of a marathon… but at least I was not carrying a heavy flag the whole way so who was I to complain!

10:15am.  Getting really tired but just kept ticking off the time on my watch to walk/run.  This was about mile 20-21 and it was at this point my stomach started doing flips and all gu and clif shots were tasting like poison.  I ended up doing ok with just switching to my homemade gatorade like drink from here until the finish.  (1-2 oz juice, 1/4 tsp salt and water to the top.)  Also I felt so alone by this point!  The race only had about 255 full runners and I was near the back so it was lonely going!  At this point I had switched to run 4 minutes/walk 1, repeat.  Once I passed mile 20, I remembered thinking – I have never run this far before!!!  PDR!

11am.  Just a 5k to go but that felt SO long at this point.  Nothing hurt specifically but everything hurt all at the same time.  Mile 23ish.

11:38am.  A finish line has never looked so sweet!  Almost.there!

11:38:47am.  I.Am.A.MARATHONER!!!

12:00pm.  Pose for lovely pictures with the dog.  got carbs?  Might never walk again.

12:05pm.  Stuff face with peanut butter cup blizzard provided at the finish line!  Life is good again!  Ice cream is my favorite.

12:15pm.  Look at my medal and realize that I have accomplished something I have been wanting for so long.  It took a false start at training, a false start at marathon finishing but I made it.  And it turned out so nice in the end.  My parents and pup could be there to cheer me on, the weather was cool and breezy with a few bursts of hotter sun.  So much different than the marathon that would never be.  Things really do work out in the end if you are just patient and persevere and try not to be defeated when it seems the cards are not stacked in your favor.

All in all, this race was awesome!  It was an inaugural event so I was a little nervous considering my history with the Summerfest half mary last year.  But this race could not have gone any better.  The volunteers were so wonderful and always asking if they could help.  The course was so amazing and was an out and back which turned out to be a good thing for me because it was so pretty you wanted to look at everything again.  Also it was pretty neat seeing the winners speed past you when you were just getting close to halfway!  The course was very well marked with one instance where I followed someone a little bit the wrong way – oops! We got water bottles at mile 25.2 to carry with if we wanted (really needed that at that point!) and the finisher chute was anything but crowded for me which is one of my pet peeves.  I could grab my medal, my water and chocolate milk and then walk a bit and sit.  All my legs could handle after all that running.

I have become a firm believer in the carbo-load phenomena as well.  Sure I felt like a bloated, disgusting pig those three days but on race day I know it helped!  I didn’t need as much gu/clifs as I normally do and I never bonked.  Not even sort of.  Starting at mile 18 I did get quite tired but I don’t think that’s what they mean by a bonk or the wall.  I remember this “bonking” feeling when I started training for a marathon a few years back!  I never thought I couldn’t keep going and I just had to slow a little and start walking more often but I had been running for 3+ hours!

As for my pace.  I surprised myself with my half time!  2:08:something.  This was probably a little fast but I couldn’t really say I was pushing too hard at all the first half.  I tried to keep a “comfortably uncomfortable” pace this half and did slow a little in the second half.  Since I don’t have my splits I don’t really know my slowest miles but I would guess mile 25 was right up there.  My last 5k took about 38 minutes so that shows this was likely my slowest section of the course compared to the previous miles.  I didn’t run much in mile 25 because I was just mentally done and hitting mini hill after mini hill that felt like mountains!

I really cannot believe it happened!  I am a marathoner and might not ever take my medal off  I also got to cross the finish line to cheers from Mom, Dad, Sister and Crosby and that is pretty darn awesome.  Sometime my family is pretty nice even if my sister is a Pester and so, so mean  (a hilarious post for another time… Let’s just say I found a journal my 8 year old self penned and laughed so hard it hurt!)

Now I think it’s time to stop thinking about running for awhile and tackle something else instead!  My legs feel the need for a break that is about 5 weeks over due  Now just to decide what!

Other random tidbits:

• I have awful awesome tan lines on my legs from my shorts…
• I ran in BRAND new shoes for this race.  Pretty good christening for the new pair.  I know you are totally not supposed to do this but I would have been in so much pain with my old pair and I knew these were the exact same, just new so I lucked out there.  I can tell they ran much better and left my legs in marginally better shape than the oldies would have!
• Marathons are painful to run but I am surprisingly less sore today than I thought I would be.  I feel like I was more sore after the Cellcom 15 miles than I am today after running 26.2!  I am still walking a bit funny though…
• I need to get one of those bumper stickers with 26.2 in the oval because now I really earned it!
• I wish I could run this race every year but I don’t know if I will be up for another Marathon next year that is the same.  Maybe I can run it as a relay or something
• Ahhh!  Still cannot believe it!!
• I AM A MARATHONER!!!!

48 Hours.

Friday again!  Man, this week went fast again, not like I don’t say that every single week but whatever  This is a very special Friday though because it is Marathon Eve Eve!  And to celebrate, how about some randoms!

1) I will be standing at the start line of a Marathon in about 48 hours.  This is absolutely crazy!

2) If you didn’t catch this yesterday, I did a guest post over on Kimberly’s blog about my plans to switch things up a bit and focus more on Insanity for a while after Sunday.  I also really liked her post from earlier this week about making yourself have an “On Second Thought” moment and find the positives in everything.

3) I thought race medals were no longer that exciting to me after my Disney medals but then I saw the picture of the marathon and I got really excited again!  It’s shaped like a football and is no joke!  So excited for this baby!

4) In normal years, this marathon actually finished in the football stadium for the Packers but since they are doing a big reno this year, the finish line in in the parking lot of the stadium and the finish line is touted to be the Greatest Tailgating Party Ever!  I hope people don’t get too excited because watching runners seems even more boring than watching a football game

5) To all the new followers from yesterday, WELCOME!  Hopefully I don’t scare you away too soon

6) Speaking of marathons (because that’s all I seem to be able to think about this week…) I got an email yesterday that Walt Disney released the 20th anniversary marathon course!  It looks so much better than previous years and now involves running on a speedway and also through the sporting complex at ESPN Sports Center.  Makes me even more excited I just bit the bullet and signed up when registration opened

7) On a TOTALLY unrelated note, I really want to update my bedroom a little bit… I’ve had the same bedding/decor for 5ish years and I’m getting tired of cleaning all the dog hair off of the dark navy blue coloring the comforter is now.  I don’t plan to repaint but want to update the other stuff… And I really want these lamps from Target…

8) I totally thought last weeks Grey’s Anatomy was the season finale… and then I saw comments about the new episode this week.  What the heck?!  I guess I have to watch that on ABC.go.com… This is one of those shows I don’t really love but still want to keep up with for some reason.

9) The forecast for Sunday now involves slightly cooler temps but a larger chance of T-storms.  Progress, right?!?  Either way, it’s gonna be OK.  I’ll just bring plastic baggies to wrap the garmin and ipod to keep them safe!

10) I still need to update my playlist!!!!!  I plan to have a special one for miles 20-26.2 with all the best songs.  Gotta wait until then to hear them for some extra motivation

11) I have skipped all my regular exercise classes this past week and instead did more walking and yoga.  It’s been kind of nice to take things easy for a good reason  Hopefully my legs are still able to run on Sunday… the longer I go between actual exercise sessions, the more I doubt I can do it.  And as much as I hate yoga, it helped loosen my tight legs so much yesterday… maybe I better give it another chance…

12) I guess that is enough for right now!  I’ll be back some this weekend to hopefully update you that I finished a marathon!!!  Yikes!  Marathon Weekend has begun!

Happy Friday!

Mental.

This morning’s run was all mental.  Physically, nothing was holding me back but mentally, mentally I wanted to turn around at mile 1.  Then I had a revelation.  I don’t want to run the Disney half marathon in a few weeks.  I want to be running the full marathon.  I think because my motivation to start running was someday crossing the finish line of the marathon at Disney, I was feeling like I somehow failed myself by doing the half.  This had me in a really foul mood for quite sometime and I came thisclose to turning right around and going home to sulk… and then I came across some footprints in the snow.

These are not THE footprints... just some I found online

I told myself I would keep running until the halfway point of my nine mile run or until these foot prints ran out, figuring the latter would occur soon.  Well, lets just say, I turned around because of the former!  A few times along the way, I kept thinking that the footprints had disappeared and I was thinking about turning around and then sure enough!  There those damn footprints were again so I knew I needed to keep going because of the initial deal I made myself.

So, thanks to those footprints in the snow, I finished my 9 mile run this morning (and maybe a slight case of the crazies for letting some feetprints be enough motivation to keep me going – ps why isn’t it feetprints when it’s two feet making the prints? Sorry again for the crazies ).  Some runner out there will never know that he/she kept me from giving up on myself this morning!

The weather was a bit warmer than last week and my gloves actually  were hardly necessary but it still served as a nice insulator to keep my water from freezing.  I ended up working up quite the sweat running despite the snow!  I also fueled at the halfway point with my favorite Clif Chocolate shot.

When I got back from my run and Sister returned from hers, I was bitching and moaning about how much of a loser I am and how much I am not motivated to run Disney and she was pissed at me but then we finally determined that I was just being disappointed in myself for not being brave enough to sign up for a full marathon and so she talked me into just biting the bullet and signing up for a marathon in May.  The Cellcom Marathon to be exact!  This race is in Green Bay so it will be a little drive, but nothing super taxing and we know a few good places to stay and eat up there.  Normally this race would involve a lap around Lambeau Field but not this year because of some construction but I decided that was not enough reason for me to change my mind about this.

Guess I won't be seeing you in May

I know I previously talked about waiting until next October to run the Lakefront Marathon but then we determined that I am not going to be happy until I at least try.  I live my life waaaaaayyyyyy too much in my own comfort zone/bubble thing and I guess maybe my case of the mentals this morning was what it took to make me crazy enough to just sign up for a marathon again!  So I guess now I am officially “training for a marathon”… not sure how this will go but I am glad I am at least brave enough to take the steps necessary to go for something I have been wanting for the last few years.  So here goes nothing!

Big Plans.

So, I have big plans for next running season!  I already have a huge list of races I would really like to run!  I don’t know that I will end up deciding to do all of these races but half of what keeps me sane all winter long is the promise of the races to come next year

The first race on my 2012 agenda is of course the half marathon Sister and I are signed up for in WALT DISNEY WORLD!  Hard to believe in less than a month, we will be in Florida preparing to run through the various Disney parks.  I have a bad feeling this half is going to ruin me for all other halfs because it is going to be soooo fun!

My most ultimate goal for next year is to complete a marathon… 26.2 miles in the year that I am 26 sounds very fitting, don’t you think?  So I plan to sign up for the Lakefront Marathon right here in Milwaukee.  I have gone back and forth mentally between traveling somewhere fun for my first big mileage race and staying close to home where I can sleep in my bed the night before, eat all of my food and not have to worry about packing anything… I rather prefer the sounds of this at the moment   Not to mention the race fee is very affordable so worst case scenario, if I am not able to complete this thing, I am not out a small fortune (I know, not very positive thinking…) This race is scheduled for October 7, 2012 so taking this into account, I am not planning to run any half marathons come summer and instead keep my training runs to prepare for a full marathon.

However, I would still like to get in one or two half marathons next spring.  Sister and I are already signed up for one more traveling half marathon… oops… we signed up to run the Country Music Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon in Nashville!  We both are really hoping to see what kinds of PRs we can do at this race since we have decided Disney is about completion and also having time to enjoy the run, take pictures, etc.  I am also kind of thinking about doing the Green Bay Half Marathon and run through Lambeau Field.  I feel like since I am from Wisconsin, this is just something that would be cool to say you have done! But I might decide to save this race for next year as it would be kind of close as the Nashville race in April 28, 2012 and Green Bay would be May 19, 2012… But either way, after these races are over, I should have plenty of time to rest a bit before starting a training plan I intend to adhere to for Lakefront.

This morning I went on a bit of a race registering spree and signed up for two other shorter races as well.  The Madison Shamrock Shuffle and the Bellin 10K.  I also have a little bit of a want to maybe attempt the Summerfest 10K just to see what kinds of changes and improvements they make after last year’s absolute disaster!  I would also like to find a 5K or 10K that would allow me to travel but I am not exactly sure where I would like to travel to!!   Maybe just a visit to the relatives in Minnesota or something??   Maybe I can also finish at least a 5K in my Vibrams!?

So I guess for right now,  I will just have to focus on getting through Disney but then I can start planning for all of these other races I am signed up/want to sign up for!  Although after Disney, maybe all these races will seem pretty boring??  Ahhh, probably not!  I have an addiction and it is called running  I am excited to see where 2012 takes me!

What about you?  Any races you are planning to do next year?

You might just be obsessed with running if…

1) Your next two vacations include runs.

I'll be running past this Sugar Mill. In Hawaii. In 18 days!!!

2) You are actually looking forward and very excited to run a half marathon even though you are not following any “training plan”  (No PRs here folks!)

3) You use stupid acronyms/sayings like PR, BQ, negative splits, shod and PDR like they are words normally people understand. (Personal Record, Boston Qualifier, running faster the second half than the first, wearing shoes and Personal Distance Record)

4) You own more exercise clothes than regular clothes.  And you have to do a whole separate load for that kind of laundry each week…

5) You drink so much water, people probably think you have a problem.

6) Your main wish in life is running a marathon.

7) You have a blog that pretty much only talks about running, running and more running.

8 ) You have the ugliest nine toenails in the world (your welcome there are no pictures)

9) Running shoes are a budget item and not a fun expense.

10) You cannot fathom going more than three days without at least running around the block!

Man, I need a life!

Wednesday Workout.

No, it's not quite this colorful up north yet But soon! (Hopefully, unless a windstorm takes the leaves down before they finish changing...)

Today felt like fall again!!  Even though I am not a fan of being cold, cold, I really do like this level of cold that allows me to wear sweatshirts and sleep under quilts at night  But since it was still pretty nice outside tonight, I gave the sister a little outdoor boot camp workout.  Guess once it gets cold, cold, we might need to make them Book Camp:Basement addition??

Tonight’s workout included the following:

Warm Up – Interval Jog around the .5 mile block (1 min walk, 1 min jog, repeat)

Weight Superset #1 – 20 Squats, 10 Reverse Lunges on each side, 10 Side Lunges on each side – Repeat this 3 times, trying to make each set a bit more dynamic (read more jumping around like a crazy person)

Cardio Superset #1 – 30 seconds Heisman‘s, 30 seconds Starbursts (thanks to STUFT Mama ), 30 seconds running in place – Repeat this once, each set more dynamic and/or faster than first round

Weight Superset #2 – 10 Bicep curls, 10 overhead tricep extensions, 8 shoulder presses – Repeat this sequence three times.

Cardio Superset #2 – 30 seconds Jumping Jacks, 30 seconds Tire Jumps (can’t find a video for this one put just wide legs stance and then quick feet), 30 seconds kick-ups (kick yoru knees to yo booty quickly) – Repeat this once.  Again with the gaining dynamics

Abs/Back – 30 second plank, ABCs on the BOSU (full arm plank and then rotate the BOSU and trace the alphabet), 15 V-Sits, 10 side crunches (one side each time) – Repeat once. Then do 3 sets of 10 back extensions on the BOSU, exercise ball, etc or Supermans if you don’t have equipment.

I should mention we did all of these exercises using the BOSU tonight but they would all work just fine sans BOSU – probably just won’t engage your core AS much but still plenty since these are mainly Plyometric inspired moves

As always, remember I am not a trainer – just a person typing up my routines I make for my sister so proceed at your own risk

And also, remember to cool down and S-T-R-E-T-C-H!!  I was just thinking about how I have been neglecting my running stretching this morning when I was running and my knee and ankle were a bit funk so I found it very interesting that Tina at FFF also posted about her forgetting to stretch after running!  Wish I would have had this revelation a bit more in advance than 3 DAYS before my half marathon!!!  Oops… hopefully this knee thing was just a random slept funny thing!!  Either way, I will be sure, sure, sure to stretch and stretch and stretch until Sunday because darn it if my race will be ruined because of something stupid like that!!

Is it Friday yet???…