Today Katheryn and I spent the day shopping and hanging out. It was a wonderful day. We made plans to go to the park when we were done shopping so I could get my 3 miles in and she and Mollie could run around and play.

All I have to say about today is that I am still sore. More sore now than I have been all week. I do not know if it is a combination of the massage and the run today but I am hurting. I have iced and slathered on Bio-Freeze. I finally found some recovery socks and wore those… nothing helps. Well, the recovery socks are only up to my knees and the worse part of my body are my quadriceps. Well, I thought it was my quad, but looking at some anatomical diagrams it appears to be something else. I had to call in the help of my daughter, who is studying exercise science, to find the specific muscle it is:

The “sartorius” muscle. It is the longest muscle in the human body and has a lot to do with the hip flexors and lower back. Since the pain is on my right leg, the leg that I experience the most hip pain, I guess I should not be surprised. Also, it is aggravated by low back pain, which, for some reason today I have had.

I have to get this core work going. Clearly my hips, abs and lower back need work. I will focus on those starting tomorrow. In the meantime I have to get better before Sunday. I have a 16 mile training run and I have to be able to cover those miles!

I am still recovering from the half on Saturday. I was pretty sore afterwards and two days of rest and a massage didn’t seem to help too much! I walked on Sunday and Monday to keep the blood moving, but nothing too strenuous. Today I will get back to training. I cannot forget the big race – 26.2 miles in February… I have a long way to go!

I have decided to change training plans. For these last 9 weeks of training I have been following Hal Higdon’s Intermediate 1 plan. It is a 5 day per week running plan with a lot of miles. By week 8 I was pretty tired and burned out. The 31 mile week really took a toll on me. I was tried and my body was really started to hurt from all the pounding. I could feel myself dreading the running.

After doing some different workouts with Scarlette I realized that what I needed was a plan that mixed things up a little bit and allowed for some variation. I found a new plan called ‘FIRST”. I had heard about it but didn’t really consider it or study it too much. I was going through some of my old Runner’s World magazines the other day and came across an August 2005 issue that had an article with large words, ” Tired of the daily mileage slog? Here’s how to run your best marathon in just 3 days a week”. Sign me up!

What I like about this is that there are 3 days of running and 2 days of hard cross training. I will still have to work out hard 5 days a week but will be able to get some variety. It is a 16 week program so according to my race date for the marathon I will start it at week 8.

Normally Monday would have been a cross training day, but I took an extra rest day due to the race. The rest of the week will be:

Tuesday: 3 miles, tempo run 10K pace
Wednesday: cross training
Thursday: speed training
Friday: rest
Saturday:  cross training
Sunday: long run, 16 miles – 10K + 60 seconds pace

My speed training is supposed to be 12×400 m at 10K-55 second pace. BUT, the nice thing is that the plan lays out some speed training examples, but I can really do anything I want as long as it is a speed workout, I am working hard and I do fast repeats equal to about 3 miles.

This week my cross training will be hiking hills and doing P90X. I feel like my legs need to strength and power so I will add in plyometrics once a week. When I am back at work it will probably also include the elliptical machine. I also have to start committing to some core work – this is crucial and I have been bad at fitting it in. I will be working on a plan this week.

On Saturday I race my first half marathon (Charlotte Thunder Road/Amica Half Marathon). I set this goal in January and worked hard all year to get in shape for it.  It was an excellent day and one I am very proud of.

After thoroughly enjoying my week of taper the big day was upon me. Friday was spent with my daughter and parents going to the race expo, shopping, eating and resting.  The race expo was very nice – and the packet pick-up was easy and we got a very nice technical tee. This one I could actually see myself wearing on my training runs.

I made sure to get a lot of sleep all week because pre-race jitters usually keep me up. I was prepared, my race geared was all laid out and there was nothing else to do but sleep, get up and run. I actually slept really well Friday night and woke up refreshed and excited. The taper is awesome – my legs felt good and strong and ready to run.  The temperature outside was COLD – it was 23 degrees when I woke up at 5:00 and not going to get much warmer. The good thing is that up until Thursday the weather forecast was a rainy, wintery mix for race day. Cold and dry and I handle. I was going to wear my shorts, but I decided not to. I brought my new running pants and wore my compression shorts underneath. For my top I decided on my tank top and a long sleeve wicking tee over the top. I debated about a light jacket, but I knew when I got going I would get hot.

The race start time was 7:50. I decided on a 5:00 wake-up to drink a cup of coffee, have an English muffin with almond butter and honey and water. After I ate I got dressed and took Mollie outside for a walk and my warm-up. I did some walking, a few short sprints and some stretches. It was the final test to make sure my outfit was going to be comfortable. It was.

We planned on getting there about 6:50. Everything went as planned. The race start was really nice. The Charlotte Convention Center was open and all the bathrooms were normal indoor bathrooms – NO PORTA-POTTIES!!!. There were plenty of bathrooms so no big lines. The starting line was right outside the doors we we could stay inside until the last minute. We walked around and I stretched until it was time to toe the line (well, I was pretty far back so my toes were not actually on the starting line!! )

I found a good position right behind a 10 minute, half marathon pace team. I didn’t know there were pace teams for the half so that was pretty exciting. The start was pretty fun – they had a couple of Nascars out and revved the engines before the gun went off. We were off!  My plan was to stick with the pace guy, but no sooner did we cross the starting line and I lost track of him. The marathon pacers were wearing bright orange shirts with their pace times on the back – apparently the half marathon pacers were unofficial so there were no distinguishing features. I lost him and never saw him again!

The first three miles were downhill and I was able to run a 9:30 pace. I felt so good. I had some worries about going out too fast, but it was a slight downhill and I felt great so I just went with it. I could always slow down when I had to.

Miles 4-6 leveled out and had small rolling hills through beautiful neighborhoods. I decided not to use my iPod since I will not be able to use it for the marathon. Plus I really just wanted to be part of the race and not zone out. I am so happy I did it this way. There were some really great crowds on the course and music at various places. People were constantly cheering. my bib came with my name on it so people would actually shot out my name – “way to go Laura”, “looking good Laura”… it was pretty neat.

I decided to take my first Gu at mile 4. The water station came and I got a cup of Power Ade (yuck, by the way). Then I took my Gu. Big mistake – I had nothing to wash it down with so I had a pastey mouth for the next mile or so. Luckily there were water stations every 2 miles and mile 6 came fast. This time I stuck with water.

At mile 6.2 there was an official check point and I clocked in at 1:04. From here to the end were pretty much all uphill. There were a couple of short downhills that I tried to run faster to make up for lost time, but it didn’t help much. My pace slowed considerable and I think around mile 8 I was at my slowest of a 10:18 pace. Mile 8 is also where I planned my next Gu. The plan was to take it before the water station, then grab a water to wash it down. I pulled it out and started to open it and dropped it. Now this was a big decision – keep running or stop and bend down (the hardest part) and pick it up. I bent down and picked it up – that was HARD. Luckily nobody was on my heels so I had room. I got it, opened it and took the first gulp. For some reason it was all I could do to swallow it. I thought I was going to gag but I didn’t. I have been doing so well with the Gu – I so wish I had brought some chews. I couldn’t finish the pack and just dropped it. I did get some Power Ade this station – it was gross, but I could feel my face crusting up with the salt I was losing. I really needed the electrolytes. and sodium.

I spent the next couple of miles thinking that I was just doing a training run. I was just doing mile repeats I told myself… I did them just the other day and survived so I could survive this.

Mile 10. Even though it was still mostly uphill I felt renewed – like I came out of long tunnel. Only 3.1 miles left to go – that is a 5K. I can run that in 30 minutes…. I passed the 10 mile clock and checked my Garmin – I had been running 1 hour and 44 minutes. I knew could pick the pace back up and be done in 30 minutes. I could – if the darn road would flatten out!!!  HILLS, HILLS, HILLS!

Mile 11, mile 12… the turn-off for the half. If I continued straight I would go the full marathon route – something I did not want to do! Turn right and I am 1.1 miles away from stopping! YIPPEE!  There was one big hill ahead. There was a water station that I passed by – I would like to think I flew by it, but I didn’t. Up at the top of the hill there were a bunch of teenagers playing loud rap music – it gave me the boost I need. I rounded the corner and saw the finish line and heard more music and crowds cheering. Then a detour!! WHAT!? I guess in order to get that final .1 mile they had to loop us UP and a small parking lot and done. It was the stupidest little hill you could ever imagine but it just about did me in. Finally back to the main road the finish was in sight.

I knew I had to do a couple of things. 1) Look for Katheryn and my parents and 2) smile. There are cameras all around at the finish line and I did not want to look like I was dying. I wasn’t – I felt great, but my face did not always portray that feeling. I spotted my family cheering and waving wildly. They had cow bells and pom poms – it was great. I tried to kick it in over the finish – I felt like Jackie-Joyner Kersey, but looking at the footage my dad took it looked like I was barely running!!! So funny!

I crossed the line and I was so happy to see that we got medals!!! I also got wrapped in one of those silver space blanket things that you see marathoners getting wrapped in.

I ended up finishing in 2:16:08. My goal was to finish before 2:20, more specifically 2:18. I did a bit better. My final average pace was 10:15.

I walked off to the side of the road with my water and waited for my family to catch up. It was so great having them there! It made it such a special race.

There is nothing left to do but wait. The training is done and I have done all I could do to prepare for the race on Saturday. I followed the plan and put in the miles.  Now I have two days of rest where I will focus on nutrition and stretching. AND, I will try to avoid constantly thinking about the race on Saturday. I am trying to be in the “NOW” and not worry, but I seem to not have that skill. But I will try.

Another thought about waiting… I am SO happy I didn’t wait until my body was perfect to start running and racing. I think that a lot of times in the past I have avoided doing things because I was too heavy, or not fast enough, or whatever. Well, I still have extra pounds and I am still not fast but I am doing it! I am no longer waiting for something to happen. If I waited until I lost all the weight I had to lose I would have missed out on so much. I would have missed out on some exhilarating experiences and making new friends. I was having this thought and came across a quote from a great runner-philosopher, George Sheehan:

“There are those of us who are always about to live. We are waiting until things change, until there is more time, until we are less tired, until we get a promotion, until we settle down / until, until, until. It always seems as if there is some major event that must occur in our lives before we begin living.”

I am living – I am not “about” to live. I am so happy that last year I finally made the decision to start living. It was in September – and I think in the middle of the week. I did not wait until Monday, or the first of the month… or the new year… I just started.

Right now at work there are so many people that come up to me and say “after the holidays I am going to start exercising, too”. Fine, that is their business and I know I said it myself over the years. But now it just seems so ridiculous. I have had such a huge mental shift that I cannot even understand waiting until the new year or waiting until Monday.  I can’t even explain it.  Then I wonder what took so long? How do people all of a sudden have these epiphanies? I am sure I will never know but I am so happy I finally did!

Another good one from George Sheehan:

“Everyone is an athlete. The only difference is that some of us are in training, and some are not.”

I swear – I never thought I would be dreaming about running, but I did all last night. I wish I could say I ran the perfect marathon, or half marathon, but I couldn’t tell that is what I was doing. I was just running in a big crowd. I twas crammed with people and I was trying to plow my way through. I never seemed to get tired, which is good! I REALLY hope that my races are not that crowded!!

On my way to work today I listened to another great podcast (Endurance Planet) where the host interviewed an Ironman competitor. It was a great interview, as they all are on this podcast, but the best part was when he talked about his mantra. “Fresh and Loose”!! I can see this helping me – it’s catchy and fun. The neat part is that this is his motto for all aspects of his life – if he starts feeling stressed about something he thinks “fresh and loose” to break away from negative thoughts. I love it!

Today it was raining AGAIN and I was forced to run on the treadmill. I have to say that is the most painful workout there is. I really do not like it at all. The only good part is that one of my friends was also in there working out and we watched Ellen while we ran.

Tomorrow is my last run for the week before two full rest days before my race. I am so excited!

So far the weather for this weekend shows a high of 41 degrees and a 30% chance of showers. I will be “fresh and loose” and think about it as 70% chance of no showers!!!

I listened to a great podcast today on one of my favorite podcasts – Endurance Planet. The topic of the conversation was what kinds of positive mantras, quotes, inspirational sayings do people use to get them through races. The guest acknowledged that those things were important and the miles went on, but that in the beginning it is very important to be as relaxed as possible. He said that too many people get themselves all worked with with excitement and pump themselves up to run the perfect race. All that does is increase the adrenaline in the body even more than it already is. He suggests that runners relax as much as possible before a race.

How do you relax before a race? Deep breathing, light stretching and being present are some ways. He said at the beginning and through the whole race you have to be PRESENT. Too many times we are running and worrying about things – finishing time, how I will feel at mile 10, how sore I will be, how tired, at the end, did I train hard enough… all these things drag you down.

I never really thought of it that way. I know that I am not present during most of my training runs. I am always “worried” about how I will do in a race – will I finish good… I can imagine that these same thoughts that I have in my training runs will happen during the race.

He said something really interesting about pain. He said the elite runners are present and can make corrections in their runs. If they have a pain in their foot they do not dwell on the pain in their foot and keep worrying about the pain in their foot.  They do not think about how bad the pain will feel in 5 more miles. They acknowledge they have a pain and take immediate action to correct it.

For some reason this made so much sense to me as I was listening to it today.  Now the hard part will be to follow through. I tend to focus on the pain so I will have to keep this in my mind.

I also found something really good – I am not much of a prayer but this really struck me. Apparently it is from a book called Day by Day: The Notre Dame Prayer Book for Students:

Run by my side – - live in my heartbeat; give strength to my steps.  As the cold confronts me, as the wind pushes me, I know you surround me. As the sun warms me, as the rain cleanses me, I know you are touching me, challenging me, loving me. And so I give you this run; thank you for matching my stride.

This is the final countdown for my half marathon on Saturday December 12th. According to the full marathon training plan that I am following I should have done a 15 mile run today. Instead I have to start decreasing my mileage to begin my taper for the half. The taper week is a sort of active rest before the big day. Mileage is decreased, but intensity is not.

Today for the 12 miler I got to join Scarlette for her run which turned out to be perfect. The mileage decreased but the workout called for some of the miles being at race pace, which I do not usually do on my long runs. We ran 4 slower than race pace, 4 at race pace and 4 “cool down” miles. I think we all laughed at these so-called cool down miles – they were the hardest of the night. Aside from just being tired it was starting to get dark and COLD. By the time we finished it was 37 degrees. Total running time was 2:09.

This 12 miler was so much better than the one I did a few weeks ago. I am sure I am a bit more conditioned, but also the company was huge. I didn’t always run right next to the others, they ran a a little faster pace, but it was nice knowing they were there and we did get to chat for a few miles in the beginning.

For taper week there are a things that need to be done to make sure on race day I will be at my peak:

• Reduce mileage
• Maintain intensity
• Avoid hills
• Get all the race gear ready
• Eat clean – higher percentage of carbs, but not necessarily calories
• Hydrate
• Avoid alcohol
• Stretch and foam roller
• Ice and rest

My plan for the week:

Monday: 15 min or so on elliptical and core work, stretching
Tuesday: 4 mile run
Wednesday: 30 min tempo run
Thursday: rest
Friday: rest
Saturday: RACE!

I tagged along on another training session with Scarlette.  She was scheduled to do hill repeats and speed intervals and I thought it sounded fun (yes, fun has a new meaning these days!). We met up and headed out for a 10 minute warm-up run to get to the hill. The hill didn’t look so bad at the bottom, but the last few feet at the top were hard. I guess they were supposed to be hard so that’s a good thing.  Each time at the top I had to pause and catch my breath before running back down to do it all over again. We did this four times.

Next we ran to a flat part of the road and did minute long sprints, “hard effort” were the instructions. We had to sprint for a minute then run back for a minute at a recovery pace and do it all over again.  It is MUCH harder to run fast than it is my normal happy pace. Again, it is supposed to be hard so it was a good thing. One interval I looked down at my watch and we were logging a 7:14 pace. I could never sustain that for long, but hopefully it will come in handy at the finish line when I have going in for the win (haha).

I feel so energized now. I have to have a rest day tomorrow but right now I feel like I could go out for another run. I think mixing the training up, taking an extra rest day AND, most importantly, having some company has helped SO MUCH. I really need to reevaluate the rest of my training.  I am certainly going to start doing hills and speed training regularly. I will still stick to the same mileage plan of incremental increases, but instead of just straight running I will mix things up.

During my Christmas days off hopefully I will be able to join her for some more workouts. I also need to reach out to some people in the Spartanburg Running club. One lady offered to run some long runs with me, but I never took her up on it. For some reason I am intimidated to run with other people. I just feel like I am so slow and do not want to hold anyone up. I also breath so loudly! When I get self conscious about this I start trying to breath quieter but then I do not get enough air flow. I know – SO STUPID. Nobody cares. You would think that one of these days I would get over some of this weirdness.

Despite my renewed motivation to run I will take my rest day tomorrow. Sunday is going to be a tough workout – 12 miles. I will once again join Scarlette and do 12 miles a new way – 4 warm-up miles, followed by 4 mile repeats (fast miles with a bit of a recovery in between) then a mile mile cool down. (I know – WHO cools down for 4 miles:)!) I am really looking forward to it. It sure sounds a lot more interesting than running around in circles for 12 miles!

I had a great run today with a friend. We hit the trails and ran through mud a good bit of the time. It was a beautiful day and a really nice change of pace from my normal training run. There is something special about running in the woods and having to really pay attention to getting over all the rocks and roots in the path. You can’t really zone out so much on a trail run like you can running around the track. It is also fun getting dirty – my lower legs were full of mud splatter.

I plan on doing more runs on the trail – as soon as hunting season is over I will be hitting John’s incredible trails. I have not appreciated what I had in my own back yard until today. I always thought they would be too rough to run on, but they are not too much different than what we did today at the equestrian center.

We have miles and miles of trails – many of the miles John cut with his own hands. I cannot wait to get out there with the Garmin and map my run.

The rest of the day was relaxing and productive. I managed to get a good bit of cleaning done. I had a sudden urge to get all the dust out of the house. It is amazing how much can accumulate!

Tomorrow I will skip my normal rest day and hit the hills. I only have a week left to get in top shape for the half marathon. There are a few hills on the half marathon route so I need to make sure my legs are ready for them. I cannot believe the race is almost here!

Ok – I have typed this post TWICE and some how it has deleted itself. I really do not have the energy to type anymore. Just know that I will do 6 miles tomorrow, hopefully outside, and I am happy.