September 28th

So, I’m not feeling as confident this week.  I’m actually really nervous for tomorrow and we’re "only" running 15 miles.  The overtraining thing is definitely true.  I’m at a point where I just don’t feel like training anymore, I'm ready for the marathon!  I’ve not done too well practicing during the week the last month or so and I’ve still been having serious leg pain.  I don't don’t want to return my new shoes and with 2 weeks left to the marathon, I don’t want to break in a new pair.  I hope that I’m not in pain tomorrow, that the weather’s cool, that I feel good and that we all have an awesome run. 

I’m also getting really nervous about how we’re going to feel after our marathon.  We’ve made arrangements to stay for 3 days after the race and see the city.  Are we going to be able to walk?  I’m not sure.  It sounds like 26.2 miles is pretty rough on your body no matter how much you train.  Ahhh… I’m being a little negative today, I’m sure everything will be fine.  Everyone has positive and negative days.  I just hope tomorrow is a positive one!

San Fran 16 days to go!

September 27th

It’s interesting, I think it’s possible to train too long for a marathon.  I was thinking that already when I talked to our coach about it.  I asked why so many people have stopped training at this point and seem to be worn out and she mentioned this happens a lot with too long of a training period.  I’m not sure why it works that way, but I can definitely feel it… seems like this is dragging out forever.  For the next marathon, I think 3-4 months of training would be better.  Oh and No fundraising lol.

20 miles scheduled

We met at 5:30am today.  I borrowed a headlamp to light my way as we run.  It was actually very beneficial.  A little ways into the run, I realized I had a crowd behind me.  Then I realized they were all making a conscious effort to stay behind the light!  Haha, wearing a headlamp made me cool… for a few minutes!  Michelle was back at practice today.  I’ve missed my running buddy!  The weather was muggy today, so that stunk.  It feels 100x’s harder to run when it’s humid outside and is tougher to breath as well.  Michelle’s knee was really hurting today, so we walked a lot.  The back of my legs were hurting pretty badly again today as well.  Kate made several comments about how zombies were going to come out of the trees and get us at any moment.  I laughed nervously at the joke while I looked around to make sure she was really kidding.  I know I’m ridiculous.

            Kate and I had a whole conversation this week about what we think about while running.  4 hours is a long time to think, but where does the time go?  I realized for our 18 mile run that my mind was all over the place.  As I mentioned before, I have a very vivid imagination, so for about an hour, I watched movies in my head.  I went through all of the scenes in the book I’m reading “A Series of Fire and Ice”, which was very enjoyable.  At another point, I made a list of things I’m thankful for.  I stare awkwardly at other people who run pass me and imagine what they’re doing with themselves or who they are.  But then for the rest of the time, I have no idea what I’m thinking.  It’s probably something like “keep running.  Ouch my legs hurt.  It’s hard to breath.  Keep moving.  Do not lay down in the road.  I need water” and on and on.  Kate says she thinks about similar things and can’t account for most of her brain time either.  However, we did get into a deep conversation about how she imagines a van pulling up and a bunch of guys jumping out to kidnap her or someone chasing her.  When it’s dark in the morning, these thoughts are what make her run faster.  Sick.  When I think about tragedy running, I imagine Other people getting caught or kidnapped, then I rush in to save the day… or more often, I run away lol.  Somewhere in that deep, philosophical conversation, Kate brought up zombies chasing her as well and that’s where the ‘jokes’ came from today.

Everyone has their quirks though, right?  To most people in the world, I’m a strong, independent woman.  It just happens to be that I occasionally get confused between reality and fiction and I’m a little afraid of the dark.

Wow, that was Completely off topic.  I think I’m a little delirious.  I have found that Kate and I get ridiculously silly on our drive home.  So ok, back to running.  We ran until about mile 4 and then we did some intervals because Michelle’s knee was hurting.  I probably could’ve kept running, but I didn’t want her to walk alone her first day back, so we walked together.  After feeling pain in my legs the whole time, I decided it would be best if I stopped at 10 miles as well.  So we cut it short.

"Short".  Ten miles seems like such a short distance now, I don't really have much to say about it.  We walked, ran, and talked the whole way and it wasn't super eventful.

Richard thinks my leg pain is from my new shoes.  Dinah mentioned my shoes are not made for walking, so the walking is probably a factor.  I really don’t want it to be my shoes, I really like them.  Not sure what to do about that.

September 19, 2012

I’m actually not dreading Saturdays run this week.  It’s only Wednesday, so I have a few more days to get nervous, but I’m not yet.  I try to be pretty positive in my blog, but most weeks I really dread Saturday.  I hate that I can’t go out Friday nights, that I can’t risk having a hangover so I hardly drink anymore, that I have to try to eat healthy and go to bed early, but I’m still tired all the time.  However, this week, I’m ok.  I don’t think Saturday will be too bad and I know that I’ll be able to make it through. 

Today is only Wednesday, so we’ll see how I feel on Friday!

September 18th: I reached my goal!!

I reached my fundraising goal today!!!!  I’m so excited!  It’s 2 days before final funds were due.  Last week (before our poker tournament), I didn't think I was going to reach my goal, but I did! 

Through this entire process, I have been so touched by the generosity of my friends, co-workers and sometimes, complete strangers. People have come out to all sorts of events, like Menchie's Spirit Night, a bowl-a-thon, a scavenger hunt, Tijuana's Spirit lunch, and a poker tournament. I have received encouragement from people in all walks of life and feel blessed to have this opportunity to push my mind, body and spirit while raising funds for an organization like LLS, an organization that has helped so many families and seeks to find cures for cancer to help so many more.

27 days until the marathon!!!

Poker Results!

Oh, I forgot to mention, our poker tournament went Amazing!  We had 40 people participate, most of whom registered the day of the event.  We gave prizes to the top 7 players and 1 to the first person knocked out of the game.  We passed out candy and sunglasses as people registered and the bar had a several drink specials.  Although stressful the day or two beforehand, it was a lot of fun!  And we made $1,200!!!  That’s $400 for each of us!  I was nervous how much we’d make with only a week left to fundraise and splitting between 3 people, but it worked out awesome!  Thanks to everyone who came out!  I’m now only $200 away from my goal!

(Above:  Us at the Poker Tourney)

September 15, 2012

We met in Lake Mary at 6am.  This run is tough because there are no stations to stop at for water or bathrooms.  It was so dark when we started out, I could barely see the people walking in front of me.  Sometimes, running so early in the morning is like a dream – “It’s cool, dark, and mysterious.  We’re trekking through the unknown back areas of Lake Mary.”  Hm, that also sounds like the beginning of a murder mystery book.  The atmosphere so early in the morning is calm and peaceful, yet scary at the same time.  I have a very vivid imagination, so every now and then I have visions of zombies jumping out of the woods at me or a big scary dog chasing us down.  Then I remember, I run faster than half my team, so it’s ok… I’ll most likely get away.    Haha, oh yeah, and that there’s no such thing as zombies, there’s no such thing as zombies, there’s no such thing as scary wolf dogs that are going to hunt us down either. 

Gwenda, Amanda and I stopped to use the bathroom at Panera, but the doors were locked.  I considered going on the side of the trail, but I reconsidered after all of my zombie visions.  Plus, it’d be super dark, I’d be alone, some rattle snake might bite me in the butt and then I’d never make the marathon.  Not worth it, so I held it for 4 or 5 miles. 

After our pit stop, Kate got far enough ahead of us that I couldn’t see her anymore so I ran with Amanda.  Side note:  Michelle is still out with knee pain.  Having been sick the past week or two, I decided not to push it too hard and did a lot of walk/run intervals today.  Amanda was ok with that and we had a nice time talking for the first 7 miles.  It’s funny, now that we’ve started running, I find I talk with people about things I would Never have mentioned before - skin problems, bathroom issues, food and stomach reactions, blisters on my feet, how bad I smell after running, breaking out, chaffing, etc…  So needless to say, we had plenty of things to discuss.  Haha!  It was nice run/walking with a different member of our team today.  I really thought the entire team would be super close by the end of training.  However, we’re a few weeks away from the race and I don’t feel like I know more than a few people and not very close either.  The ones I have gotten to know are super sweet and encouraging though.

            For the first several miles of our run, I not only had to pee, but my stomach was hurting too.  I have been getting hungry towards the end of our long runs lately, so I decided to add a second piece of peanut butter toast to my morning routine.  I never feel very well when I eat before running, but I think it’s very important to keep fueled.  By mile 3 or 4 I started to feel better.  So far the morning has gone from – having to pee, being eaten by zombies, wanting to vomit and then back to feeling nice.  I like when I reach the ‘feeling nice’ stage, but it is usually pretty short lived.  It’s like you get to a hill, climb over it and then fall down the other side.

            The run today was 7.5 miles out and back, then an extra 1.5 miles out and back to do 18.  Around mile 7, I started running by myself and Amanda did intervals with Jessica.  For my next race, I would like to get a watch to help me do timed intervals.  They seem to help a lot and I think it could be good for picking up speed.   My new shoes felt so much more comfortable, I didn’t feel any blisters while running today.  The weather was so much cooler too, it felt nice to be outside and enjoying the weather. 

I tried GU today and while I hate the consistency, I liked the way it made me feel.  I used two of them.  The first was the coffee one with caffeine in it.  I liked the caffeine, but I ended up getting the GU all over my shirt agh.  So I’m walking along at mile, I dunno, 10, trying to use my water bottle to wash my white shirt off so it doesn’t have brown stains all over it.  I felt a little vain as people walked by staring at me clean my clothes, but oh well.  Looking good is half the run, right?  Anyways, I think I’ll get the GU again. 

            A new pain started today towards the last 4 miles, right behind my knees.  It hurt pretty intensely, but walking was more painful than running, so I ran as long as I could.  I am very concerned about hurting myself with only a month to go until the race.  I really hope this doesn’t get worse.

            I made it back from the first 15 miles and was preparing to turn around to run out 1.5 miles and back when I ran into Jesse.  I do not know how that man has so much energy or maybe it was because he didn’t just do 15 miles.  He says to me “ok, let’s try to up your speed these last three miles!  Let’s get down to a 10 minute mile!”.  Uh, No!  That would be 1.5 minutes off my time, when I’m struggling to keep going after 15 miles and I’m in some intense pain.  Getting to the “finish line” at 15 miles and then turning back around to run another 3 out and back is a very difficult thing to do.  You see the end – the cars, the recoverite, the bed that waits you at home – and then you turn around and run away from it.  Not fun.  Needless to say, we did Not do a 10 minute mile.  The last little stretch, I did power through the finish line though!  I love the exhilaration of pushing hard through the end, no matter the pain I’m in.

My total time for 18 miles was 3 hours, 40 minutes.  With all the walking I did, I think that is a very fine time.  Now off to my ice bath and 4 hour nap!

18 Tomorrow

Tomorrow we run 18 miles.  I’ve been so stressed about fundraising lately, I haven’t run in… well almost 2 weeks.  Last week, I had a cold or something.  I kept getting a fever and felt very congested, so I decided not to go to Saturday’s practice.  I think the 15 miles the week before really did me in.  My feet were so blistered, the thought of doing 16 or 17 miles was terrifying.  In reality, doing the miles hasn’t been too terribly awful (I say this after not running for 2 weeks), but I’m trying to run as long as possible and that’s the tough part.

Michelle is supposed to stay off her knee for a week after seeing the doctor who told her she tore a tendon or something.  Kate twisted her ankle when stepping off the sidewalk and has been in serious pain.  She should probably stay off of it as well, but she’s going to try to run tomorrow.  I’m worried she’s going to seriously hurt herself.  I hope not.

I’ve really enjoyed not running for 2 weeks, but I’m really worried how tomorrow is going to go.  I’m trying not to think too much about it.

New Shoes!

I bought new shoes today!  They're Brooks Pure Cadence.  I drove over to Fleet Feet in Altamonte in 5:00 traffic, but it was worth it.  Daniel helped me and did a great job.  I really like that store.  He thinks my blisters might be from over pronation, so he set me up in some Brooks Pure Cadence shoes.  They’re def different looking, but I’m excited to try them.  He also gave me tighter socks to wear, so hopefully they won’t rub as much.

I’ve heard it’s a bad idea to run long distance in new shoes, but at this point, they can’t hurt much worse than what I’m already wearing, so I’m going to give it a shot.  They have a slightly lower incline, they are super lightweight and have a nav band that goes across the top of your foot to help keep it secure.  No more pulling my laces so tight you can barely see them.

After we picked out shoes for 45 minutes, he helped me choose some running aids.  I grabbed a sample package of Recoverite (Hammer) and a few Gu's to try.  One thing I've been doing wrong is drinking the Nuun with the Stingers.  Apparently, you are not supposed to have two electrolyte items at the same time.  He agreed that I'm probably having too much sodium.  This week I'm going to cut back to 1/2 a Nuun on Friday and 1/2 Nuun Saturday morning, plus lots and lots of water.

Wednesday, Sept 5, 2012

We ran hills today.  My calves are still killing me and it was so hot outside.  I’ve really got to practice in the afternoons so I can get used to the heat.  We did a 1 mile loop to get some hill training in.  I think it was great – although really tough.  The first mile, I lead the pack and we ran a 9:15 mile.  I’m excited I was able to do that, even if it was only for 1 mile!  I would love to be able to run a 5k averaging 9 minute miles.  The second two miles were tougher, but I ran it and ran almost the whole thing.  I was Not leading the pack by the end, but I wasn't too far behind.  There were a few minutes where I was certain I was going to pass out or vomit.  I can't believe that this far into training, I can still feel so bad after such a short run.  That's a little frustrating.  I want to just start loving running, but it hasn't happened yet.

We kept it at 3 miles today so we could get used to the hills.  This is definitely something I need to add into my weekly training, if I can even get back to daily running.

Also found out that Michelle, Kate and I will be staying 3 extra days in San Fran!  And for no extra flight cost!  I'm really excited and hope we're all feeling ok after the marathon.  I need to start researching what to do.

Poker Tournament!! 9-12-12

Whoo Hoo!  We've got things rolling for our upcoming Poker Tournament!  Most of the events we've had in the past appeal to our group of friends, but I'm hoping this event will appeal to some of the people we haven't reached yet.  I met a guy through our local bar who sets up charity poker tournaments and he sounded super positive about the event.  Michelle, Kate and I each chose an event to plan and then we're all splitting the profits.  This is 'my' event and with only a few weeks left to fundraise, I Really hope it goes well!!

http://orlandopoker.blogspot.com

September 1, 2012 - 15 Miles

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with myself when we’re done with this marathon.  I’m busy every second of the day between work, training, fundraising and trying to be social.  On my lunch break, I’m constantly calling people or companies to see about donations, I’m setting up websites, posting events on facebook and other social sites, and writing thank you letters.  I’m worried I’m going to go stir crazy after this is done.

Saturdays run was really tough.  I tried to eat what I did last week – a Publix sub for lunch, pasta, chicken and veggies for dinner, drank a glass of wine and chugged lots of water and electrolytes.  I took melatonin to help me sleep.  I felt good in the morning:  well rested and hydrated.  The weather today was horrible though.  at 6am we started our run, with the moon still high in the sky and stars out everywhere.  That was pretty cool since the moon is almost full.  Being up so early is very peaceful, I wish I could do that on a regular basis.  The air was so thick and heavy, fog could be seen covering open fields and hills through the first 5 miles of our run.  Michelle is still having serious knee pain, so she did not come to practice this morning.  I was trying to prepare myself for 3 hours of alone time, but instead, Dinah ran with me.  She gave me good tips about running faster.  To run faster, you don’t need to take bigger steps, you just move the bottom part of your legs quicker.  She said it shouldn’t be much more effort on your muscles.  For going uphill, take smaller, quicker steps.  For going downhill, lean into it and allow your body to fall forward.  Downhill is time for your cardio and muscles to rest a little.  Stairs are a terrible idea for hill training – running up a parking garage is much better.

Dinah has been sick for the past week – vomiting, high fever and stuck in bed.  So while I was sad that she has been feeling so poorly, I was thankful she was not pushing me too hard today.  In fact, she was fine with doing walk/run intervals for the latter half of our run.  By mile 10, it was blazing hot outside.  Between the humidity, the heat and the sun beating down on us, today was a real struggle.  When we reached Kilarney Station, both of my feet were severely blistered.  I’m getting blisters all over my feet nowadays – the ball, the side of my heel and the back of my heel.  The bottom of my feet, specifically the outer arch of my foot, are in intense pain beginning around mile 8.  Recovery from foot pain is taking me several days.

I was relieved when we got to mile 12 and I started to feel a chilly breeze, “finally, it’s getting cooler”.  Dinah gave me the weirdest look when I said that.  Apparently, it’s a really bad sign when you start to get chills while running.  Soon after, I felt like I’d hit my ‘wall’… I had goose bumps and it was taking all of my mental energy to keep going, because I felt like laying down and crying.  After pushing through that point for a little bit, things got better and I felt ok.  My hands were so swollen by the end of our run, even my wrists were swollen.  Since I don’t sweat very much at all, I don’t know whether I’m drinking too many electrolytes or not enough.  I don’t feel like I’m sweating them all out, but everyone keeps telling me the swelling and cold chills are because I haven’t had enough.  My brother suggested I try drinking less electrolytes this coming week and focus on water.  He also suggested chugging pedia-lite the day before our run.  I’ve used it to help with hangovers, so I might as well try it for running, right?

(before and after)