Goals

We're a day and a half out from race day and I've decided to publicly announce my goals for the race. All the running blogs and advice sites say to set three, so here are my three goals:

1. Finish
2. In 4:10 or less
3. In under 4 hours

Based on my training runs and the health of my body, I think I can solidly say I can do one and two. Three will be if the stars align, my adrenaline kicks in, and mentally I can hack it those last six miles.

I've already decided that, after this race, I will be treating myself to a massage and a much needed pedicure!

"Make it Right"

After this past weekend at Paul's, Ben is able to add a few more patches to his boy scout sash for home improvement skills. Since we've discovered TLC's Holmes on Homes, Ben's man crush on Mike Holmes has made him into his own general contractor and he's learning to "make it right!" Almost six years ago we were hanging pictures on our apartment walls with mollies. We've come a long way.

Ben has:
- tiled the master bath
- laid hardwood floors
- installed a new garage door opener
- installed our kitchen faucet, garbage disposal and drains
- repaired my broken washer (more specifically, my broken lid switch)
- replaced the guts to all four toilets in the house
- replaced sink faucets
- installed a chair rail
- installed lighting fixtures
- built a fence

The two most recent additions to his sash come from this past weekend:
- hanging drywall
- replacing a load bearing wall with a header

It's kind of exciting that Paul has a house that he's completely remodeling, because it's giving us a chance to learn how to do projects on someone else's house besides our own. Now that his sash is filling up, he's suffering from a massive case of oversimplification. Things that are clearly not do-it-yourself projects are wickedly basic. Heart surgery? Cake walk. It's just like plumbing.

Emotional wreck

Warning, this post is again about running.

I'm about to enter my last week of tapering and part of this process, besides running, includes reading inspirational stories about marathons, quotes, pictures, etc. Anything that will keep you pumped up, even if you are only running a fraction of the miles you had in past weeks. Today I took some time to look up some first time marathon bloggers. I found several blogs about runner's personal experiences during their first races.

While most of you know I'm a emotional wreck to begin with, reading these peoples stories didn't help my case. I was a sobbing mess and I was only at mile 12 of my first blog. I cried after my very first half marathon in Indianapolis, partially because I thought I was lost in the sea of thousands of people and because I thought I'd never find my family. Then there was the fact that I'd just conquered, at the time, my biggest physical and mental challenge yet. For some people, the feeling of finishing a race you had been training months for will bring a person to tears. Apparently, for me, just reading about someone else's finish brings me to tears.

I'm warning my friends and family now; I will be an emotional wreck. In one post I read, a girl ended up breaking down in tears several times throughout the race, just knowing that she was on pace to be an official marathoner and all her training was paying off as she passed each mile marker. How does that thought not give you goose bumps or bring a tear to your eye?

It's all in the numbers...

15 weeks

47 runs
45:49:44 hours of running
294.41 miles
30,532 calories burned
60,000 calories replenished
2 pairs of running shoes
1 hydration belt
1 Nike sportband
3 new sports bras
2 new running shorts
2 chaffing scars... on my armpits
3,000 ice cubes
12 gel packs
1 failed training run
4 hotel treadmills
2 runs in the rain
800 gallons of water
1 contused 5th metatarsal
2 lbs lost
1 amazing husband who trained with me just so I didn't have to do it alone. Such an amazing guy, so lucky to have him as my husband, best friend, and coach.

Writer's Block

Wow I knew I had writers block, but almost two months have gone by without a peep. Sorry about that fan(s)! I was a little worried about a fan uprising except I realized that it's tough to up rise when there's only one fan and zero pitchforks!

My writers block might be due to my marathon training. I feel like lately all I do is think about running. Planning new routes, recovering from a run, or having sleepless nights anticipating the following mornings longest trek. I always thought running was supposed to be stress free, but for me it's causing unwelcome anxiety. I'm hoping I can calm these nerves prior to race day!

These last two weeks have been my taper weeks. I've added taper weeks to my list of "things I LOVE." They rank right up there with chocolate chip cookies and the smell of fresh cut grass. I'm sleeping better, running faster, and mentally welcome all run days. The training blogs tell you to fully invest in the taper weeks. Many amateur runners feel like they won't be able to run the full 26.2 if they aren't running 24 in the weeks prior. Well, if I read one that tells me to stop at 20 and enjoy the taper weeks, then I'm going to stop at 20! I can tell my muscles are recovering because my pace has been a good 20-30 seconds faster per mile this last week. My body is holding up nicely, surprisingly enough. I've been icing religiously and taking ibuprofen when I feel any twinges.

I recently read a story in Runner's World about a guy who just ran his first ever five miles. He was so proud of himself, as were his friends who helped him get to that point. He said for the rest of the day he wondered if people could tell he had just ran FIVE miles! As accomplished as he felt, surely the supermarket clerk could tell, or his waitress at dinner. I had to laugh at this story, because if you've ever completed a distance that you've never done before you feel great. You go on about your day thinking, I just ran X miles, I wonder if he/she can tell? For me it makes me want to blurt it out as I order Chicken Fingers & Fries at O'Charley's while pre-ordering my donuts for dessert.