Monday Mumblings- Less than 3 weeks till the marathon!!

1. So the biggest news is that Friday I ran my longest run ever- my 20 mile run! Taper officially begins today, so it was a nice way to go out. At first I was kinda bummed because it took forever ( 5 and a half hours!)

But I did fall at about mile 6 and stuck it out.

It was pretty hot for January by the time I finished ( around 75 degrees). Still though, I RAN 20 MILES!!
Here are some pics from my run-

2. The first book from my Independent Study that I am reading right now is Betty Smith's
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It's almost 500 pages, so it is definitely a time commitment. But it is very engrossing and such a beautiful story. Read it!

3. We are racing in the Cupid's Chase 5k Saturday! I don't know what to hope for as far as time wise. I haven't been doing a lot of speed work and have been focusing on my endurance, so I am not really sure what to expect. But I did PR at this race last year, so I am really hoping to do alright. Still, I think it will be a nice change of pace from marathon training.

4. Right now I am in the midst of planning for our 3rd wedding anniversary trip! We got married during spring break because we are in school and I wanted to be able to do something without us missing class. I am really looking forward to it!

 

 



5. Taper is now here! I have been looking forward to it so much but it's weird now to think I have run my longest run until the marathon. I'm so nervous and excited and nervous and excited. Still kinda tired from my 20 mile run and that was 3 days ago. I can only imagine how I will feel following the race!

20 DAYS TILL MY FIRST MARATHON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



You take the good, You take the bad.... 36 days till the marathon

(Pics from my long run Monday)

I just wrote this long post that I deleted where I basically just complained about my hip problems this week but even I am tired of hearing about it, so I know everyone else is. Despite having a good long run on Monday ( no blisters! 4th longest run ever!), I have only run 2x since then. Wednesday was a horrible treadmill run where I only did 3.54 miles. Today I tried (after taking two days off) to do a long run. But no go. However, I did go further ( 5.86 miles) and my hip did feel a lot better than Wednesday. As soon as I came home though, I just felt awful. My stomach was hurting during the morning, my throat feels like it's on fire, my body feels achy. I just hope I am not getting a cold.

But anyways, it's really easy for me to get worried about things. I was born worried I'm sure. Like Dorothy mentioned to me in run group, since I am new to marathon training and it's so close, I am hyper sensitive to everything. So in an attempt to keep things positive, I'm writing a list of things I am grateful for:

- I am grateful that I have made it over 6 months in marathon training without an injury.

- I am grateful that my books and syllabus for my Independent Study Class were approved!

- I am BEYOND grateful for run group. Although I don't go as often as I should anymore, everyone is always so nice and helpful to me! Thank you Erin, Dorothy, Rain, Mick, and Joe! ( And anyone else I forgot to mention!)

- I am grateful my husband just left to go to the store to get me some soup and medicine!

- I am grateful that my presentation was approved for work and that I get to go to Corpus Christi for 3 days next month!

- I am grateful that I only have 2 more mammoth long runs before Taper. I know people complain about taper, but lately training has been hard and I could use the break in intensity.

- I am grateful that I got to spend time with my baby sister. It had been over 3 years since I last saw her and she's so awesome. I love and miss her so much.

- I am grateful that for Christmas I got three new Nike shorts! I guess people know I'm a runner. :)

- I am grateful for my Senior Poetry Workshop class I am taking this semester. First time taking a senior level workshop class so I'm kinda nervous but excited as I know it helps me with my writers block a lot. 

And this isn't really a "I'm grateful for" but it is a "Damn it, I need some cheering up!" so... 

I'm registering us for the Cupid's Chase 5k today! We just missed the early bird price but it's still really cheap. Like I mentioned before, we did this race last year and it was great! It was also the last time I PR'd in a race. And you know... PR's always feel good! 

Catching Up- 42 days till the marathon!!!

With finals, going out of town and starting a new job over winter break, I haven't been the best at keeping up with my blog. I don't know how other people consistently update. But here goes.

1. I ran my furthest run of the training season ( 17 miles) on December 16th, 2012 at Brushy Creek. It was extremely difficult but I was proud of myself for finishing.

( In all the time I have been running at Brushy Creek, it's only recently I noticed the dinosaur section. Sometimes when I am tired and stuck on the trail, I feel the dinosaur in the egg.)

2. I got several books that I wanted for Christmas. Currenly I am reading Barbara Walters memoir, Audition. It's really good so far.

3. I beat my original running goal for 2012 and ended up running 715 miles for the year! Almost twice what I ran in 2011! My goal for 2013 is 800 miles. 

4. If you are in to board games and I really am, I would recommend Zero. Vince and I recently got it at Target. It's a pretty cool Trivia game where the point is to answer the question with the least obvious answer and get the lowest points. 

5. Although I mentioned before that I was interested in doing the Rogue 30k in late January as I thought it would be good practice leading up to the marathon, I instead decided that I really needed new running shoes. I have been running this whole time in Nike Trail shoes that have ( in the last month) really gone down hill and are giving me blisters. So given the choice between registering us both for an expensive race or buying new shoes, I choose new shoes! I think I made the right decision. 

6. I would like to become a tea person. I don't like coffee and I love hot cocoa but there's not much variety there. I recently got a great tea set ( my first ever!) from Vince for Christmas and some really good tea so I just think maybe I could be that Tea person. Is a tea lady very different from a cat lady? I'm not sure...

7. I am really thinking about signing us up for a local 5k in early February here in Georgetown. It's the Cupids Chase 5k and last year I got a PR on the course so I am obviously a fan. It's a really good deal and it is put on by a friend of ours from run group. Prices go up by Jan.11th, but right now it's only 17 bucks which is a great deal. I'll let you know what I decide! It's about 15 days before the marathon, so I think it will be alright but might talk to some people who know more about things than I do before I make a decision. 

( The shirt from last years race.)

8. I have been trying to find more things to do that don't involve us eating out and that are relatively cheap. The problem with wanting to get out of the house is that you end up eating out a lot which isn't really cheap and doesn't help you lose weight. So last week when my little sister was here visiting we went to Peter Pan Putt-Putt Golf, which was only 8 bucks per person and for 18 holes, is a pretty good deal. We also took my family to check out Pinballz, which is another one of our favorite places. It's an oldtimey video, pinball, arcade game place. They have air hockey too which my family loves. There's not a cover charge and you just pay per game. So I'd recommend those two places. They are both in Austin, so it's a little bit of a drive, but worth it I think. 

( My dad and I fixin' to play Air Hockey.) 

(One of the statues from Putt-Putt golf. Doesn't it make you think of Reptar from Rugrats?)

I am kinda really freakin out about the marathon. It's only 6 WEEKS AWAY. I really think taper is going to throw me for a loop and I still have yet to do my 20 mile run!!!!! So nervous but excited. Recently on the website, they posted a pic of the finishers medal. I am hoping if I keep looking at, it will serve as inspiration for me to continue as I WANT ONE!!After training since last July for this thing, I just hope I finish!

( I think the yellow is the marathon one.)