The Big Day (Part Two)

 I knew my family was set up around mile 4 but as the race was set up, they could also see me during the first mile. I heard my sister in law yell my name as I went by and I waved  and could not wait to get back to them in a few miles. As crowded as the race was, it spread out pretty quickly. There were parts along the way where you had to bob and weave to get around people, but I don't think too much time was wasted compared to other races I've done.

The first few miles were awesome. I did not start off too fast or too slow and was very comfortable. We entered Epcot and ran around the big silver ball (sorry but I don't remember the technical name of that thing). I was already feeling a little warm so I took off my long sleeve shirt and gloves and tossed the gloves. I knew I would see the family soon and would throw my shirt to them. I know this is a silly detail, but after a while, I was feeling cold again and was wishing I had my clothes. As I left Epcot and rounded the corner near mile 4, I started looking for them. Michael was wearing a red jacket which helped me find him easliy. He handed me a gu since I had already used one of my planned ones and I threw him my shirt. I gave them some high fives and thumbs up to let them know I was doing well. Michael ran along the fence with me for a few seconds and I told him that I was happy with my time at that point but needed to make up a little bit for the crowded areas.

So the first hour of the race was great! I loved the feeling of being there, running through Epcot, and seeing characters along the way. It is an exciting place to run for the most part. Unusual problems started for me around mile 6. I started to feel cold and my arms had goosebumps on them. My hands started to swell and become somewhat numb. At the worst part I was using my teeth to open my gu. I still do not know exactly what the problem was, but I plan on talking to a doctor soon to get some ideas. During the race, I decided to try to run through it since my legs were fine. I didn't want to stop at a medical tent in fear that they would make me stop or at least for the fact that it would severly affect my time. I know, I know, this could have been a stupid decision, but I knew if any other problems arose, like nausea, or numbness in my legs, that I would stop at a tent.

The next ten miles were good except for the weird feelings in my arms and hands. My pace was still o.k. considering, and I finished the first half in 2:18 which is the same time as the half marathon I ran last spring. I do think I lost a lot of time because of my arms. I kept walking to try to shake them out and drank at every water stop, which I wouldn't have done otherwise, in case it was a hydration problem. Around mile 10 we were running through the Magic Kingdom. Except for finishing, this was my favorite part. Fans were allowed to come inside the park, so I got to see my family again and they got to take some pictures. It was amazing to run through the castle, but because I could not get my mind off of my hands, I did not fully get to enjoy that moment.

By the time my hands were recovering and feeling warm again my legs were getting sore and I was mentally drained. I figured the course would be pretty flat but the little hills inside the parks and the exits on all the highways were hard to get up and down by the end. I walked far more than I had planned during the race, and I blame that on my arms. Strange, I know, because you run with your legs, but I walked more during the first 16 than I needed to for my legs sake. Then for the last 10, I could not mentally push myself as I would have liked. I had not been able to let my mind wander as I usually do on a long run which I think affected my mental stamina towards the end. The miles seemed to get longer and longer as I reached 18, 19, 20 and beyond.  By mile 21, I was a little worried about my time, and was trying to convince myself that I would be happy no matter what. During miles 22-26.2, I could muster up shorts bursts of energy where I was surprised how well my legs were moving, but they were hurting in a way that they have never felt before!! I don't remember much about the next few miles, but I know at some point I ran through animal kingdom (don't remember seeing many animals) and Universal Studios (have no clue what was there except for that mirage of tall buildings). All I was thinking was that once I got out of Universal I was almost done. Those were the longest couple of miles ever! At mile 26 there was a gospel choir singing. Although I don't remember what they were singing, that was an inspring moment that helped push me to pick up the pace for the last stretch. No matter how painful, I was going to give everything I had to cross that finish line. I knew I had not gone as fast as I wanted to, but that moment was about finishing and finishing strong. As I rounded that corner, the fans were screaming and I heard Gene yell my name. I threw my arms in the air and took the last few strides to cross the finish line giving fives to Goofy and Donald along the way. I was thinking, "Thank the Lord I am finally done!" Soon I could see my husband but had to wait a little while to start giving hugs. I got my medal, got a picture taken, and got some post race food which I was looking forward to eating!

Finally I got to go see my family. I gave Michael a huge hug and then the rest of the group. We stood around for a little while because my legs were in so much pain. I had not hurt myself, but my legs were sore and stiff and just HURT. I did not want to walk to the car. I would have preferred for someone to carry me!! I told my family a little bit of how my race went and told them that I would never do this again (it only took a couple of hours to change my mind lol!).

The Big Day (Part One)

I don't even know where to start!! The journey is over in some ways and just starting in others. I will apoligize now for the length of these posts, even though I am just starting, because I know a few words just will not tell the story.

I guess I will start where I left off last time. Even getting to the rental house on Thursday evening did not give me the proof I needed that it was about time to run 26.2 miles. We settled in and then grabbed a bite to eat and went shopping. Though it doesn't really matter in the scheme of things, the huge house we rented was amazing and the nice bathtub and hot tub did help me to relax when I needed to. A lot of my family came too, my mom and Gene, my sister, brother-in-law and nephew Colin, my mother-in-law and brother-in-law, and then a couple of surprise guests, my sister-in-law and her husband, and of course, my kids and husband. We had a great weekend together and everyone agreed that this should be an annual gathering.

Friday morning was the first time everything started sinking in. We drove to the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex to go to the expo and pick up my race packet. As soon as we took the exit from the highway, we could tell that this was going to be a busy place. We had been talking about how many people were going to be running that weekend but we didn't have an actual figure. As we began the trek to the entrance, the excitement rushed over me!! Now I felt that the race was emminent and a sense of pride for just being there was overwhelming. I picked up my bib and shirt and we walked around for a while among the crowd. As I walked away, I was pumped, but I still had to wait another day.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing, playing games and grilling and then my sister and brother in law showed up as a surprise. Jen said while she was here, "I hope you feel loved" and I totally did. My family was my biggest support system and I could have not done any of this without them.

Saturday we spent a few hours at Downtown Disney. The kids had been having some fun, but they finally got to do something geared towards them. They could have spent hours playing with the legos outside the lego store and looking around at the Disney store. They bought a few things, we ate lunch, and walked around a little bit more before going home to relax again. There were only a few hours left before I needed to eat my pasta and try to get to sleep.

Waking up at 3:00 in the morning is not something I ever wanted to do, but that was the plan for Sunday morning. We were warned that we needed to allow extra time for the traffic getting to Disney that morning, so I figured I needed to go to bed around 7:00 to make sure I got enough rest. Of course, I never thought that I would be able to get to sleep at that time and I thought that so many thoughts would be running through my head all night. Thankfully I was wrong!! I went to bed around 7:30 and probably got to sleep by 8:30 and slept well all night. Just to make sure, I set the alarm on my phone for 3:00, 3:05 and 3:15 to make sure I was up on time. I was out of bed by 3:05 and ready to go by 3:50. I thought my hubs would be dropping me off at the starting line and coming back to see me finish, but some of the family decided to wake up to wish me luck and then some went with us to watch me start, see me a couple places along the way, and see me finish.

As we drove into Epcot on Sunday morning, I said my goodbyes, hopped out of the van, and made my way to the starting area. It was crowded and it took quite a while to arrive at my corral. I settled in to wait for the starting gun and found a few people to talk to. One man warned us of the curves in the roads as you were taking the on and off ramps on the highways. Now this is something I warn others about!! A few minutes before the start, the Anthem was sung, Mickey roused up the crowd and fireworks went off. It was time to run.....after I waited about 20 minutes for my corral's turn.

The Last Days

I sit to type with lots of different thoughts going through my head. Of course, the upcoming race has gone through my head many times throughout the week, but surprisingly, I have not been dwelling on it. It's part of my nature that things just don't sink in until they are about to happen or have happened. Don't get me wrong, I get stressed out easily, but it's usually from actual events, not from thinking about upcoming events.

A friend who recently ran a marathon told me that the week before her race was an emotional roller coaster for her and I feared that I would be the same way. So far this week has been pretty relaxing. The boys went back to school today (hallelujah) and I have spent my afternoons doing a few chores around the house and doing little else.

My mind has wandered to the race daily, and I worry a little about my time, and my legs, and the ungodly hour that I have to get up that morning. The most recurring thought in my head is what it will be like at the finish line. All kinds of emotions go through my head from tears of joy, to tears of pain, the thrill of finishing and even the disappointment of taking too long. I've been good about my eating habits the past couple of weeks and hope that I am getting enough fuel and water into my body.

But mostly, I am excited!! The kids are so ready to go to Disney for the first time and I know that it will be even better than what they are expecting. I am excited to be able to say that I am a marathon runner no matter how hard it is. I am excited to spend time with my family, especially my little nephew who is coming along and I am excited to go back to a normal schedule (whatever that means) after my race.

For now, my emotions are under control but the next couple of days could change that completely. We get to Orlando tomorrow and then it may ALL sink in. I appreciate all your prayers and support friends. It means the world to me and I will think of you all as I am running on Sunday. (I will have plenty of time)

Where has the time gone?

Two weeks from now, hopefully, I will be relaxing with family after having completed my first full marathon. I am almost afraid to write my goal time as I am almost afraid to even have a goal time. When I started training, I just wanted to finish in less than 5 hours. That would put me at about a 11.5 minute mile. As I continued to train I made my goal closer to a 4:45 finishing time. I go back and forth in my head with whether I can do that, but I will be thrilled with anything less than 5 hours, I think.

Updating my blog obviously has not been at the top of my list of things to do. We are smack in the middle of the Christmas season and the time has flown by. It seems at times that I have been training forever, but now with two weeks left I wonder if I have done enough. Maybe it's just me, or maybe it's all runners, but I think I will always feel like I could have pushed a little harder in my training, I could have eaten a little better the past few months, I could have rested a little more, and could have been a little more prepared. Nevertheless, I am excited, nervous, and as ready as I can be at this point.

I could check my gps ap on my phone and kind of find out how many miles I have done the past few months, but I could not do it completely accurately so I will just give an average. In October, November, and December, I ran anywhere between 21 and 35 miles a week. I can't tell you how I felt exactly on each of these runs but a couple stand out in my mind.
On November 19th I set out to run an 18 miler, but did not make it. I had already done a 15 and 17 and felt ok, but with each added mile, you add more nerves. On top of the nerves, I had been sick that week and before I was even at mile 6, I knew today was not the day to try to do 18. I decided to finish at 11 miles and try again the next week. I could have crawled through 18 that day, but it would have done more harm than good. The next Saturday, I went out again to try for 18. I think I was by myself because it was right after Thanksgiving. I felt great the whole way and had no problems until the last mile. My ankle was popping which is painful at times but I refused to let it stop me. I finished 18.03 miles in 3:04 and was AMAZED at that time. What a difference a week can make. That's the day that I decided my goal time was not fast enough. I finished with 10:10 minute miles and I can live with that. Not exaclty what you would call fast but, for me, a good time for a long distance.

The other run that stands out to me does so for not such a good reason. My 20 miler which was probably more like a 19 something miler, was so much more difficult. It wasn't the last two miles that did it to me, the problems started way before that. That 20 defeated me that week and I came home crying and disappointed. It was my last really long run during my training and it was hard to end it like that. The problems started around mile 14 with some sharp side cramps that did not want to go away. Up to that point I was feeling pretty good and pushed myself through my normal stops. I think that was my first mistake, out of routine. I realized after having to walk at mile 14 that I would not reach my time goal for that day, but still thought I would do o.k. At mile 16, I realized that my gps was not working well and was not tracking accurately. That was the last straw to kill my momentum. I have no idea what my actual distance was because of my gps, but I know my body did not feel like I hoped it would and I did not finish in a good time. It made me even more nervous for the actual marathon.  That's the day I decided my goal time might not be what I wanted it to be.

I have learned a lot so far in my training and expect to learn even more in the next two weeks. I'll share some of my wisdom (LOL) in the next post.

Week 2

Week 2 which could also be considered week 11, was similar to the first week. Monday I ran an easy 3 and then did a cardio/strength training class that was not so easy. I have not been to a class like that in quite a while as well and my body felt the effects for days! Tuesday was spin class which made my legs even more sore! Wednesday's speedwork included 4  1/2 mile fartleks (increasing speed every minute or so) along with hill repeats and a total of 4.15 miles. Thursday was 5 miles and much needed yoga, and Saturday was 9 miles. The long run was great so I am happy with the new program. Now if only I get back on track with the food!!! Total mileage: 25+

Week 1 Take 2

So this week is the second official start of my marathon training. I say that almost laughing! I am disppointed that I am having to start over but also happy that I can save up some of my energy and do my longer runs in the somewhat cooler weather that should be headed our way soon. Last week was refreshing. I took extra time to rest and really enjoyed my shorter long run on Saturday! It was amazing and when I was done, I felt like I could have gone farther. I think that's a good feeling to have sometimes.

Monday was a short 3+ mile run. It was a hoilday so I saved my run for the evening and ran from here to the Muriel's house. That was kind of fun since it was a totally new running route for me. Tuesday I did spin class again. Wednesday was the usually speedwork which included 1/2 mile repeats and a total of about 3 1/2 miles. Thursday was a nice outdoor 5 mile run and some upper body work ( a note about that; my muscles are losing some of their strength for sure. I can not do the weight that I was doing a few months ago nor do as many reps without getting tired. I don't want to lose my muscles but find it hard to fit it all in. Maybe now that the kids are in school I will be able to find a balance). Saturday I did 8 miles and felt great again.
Total for the week: 19+

Week 9

So because of my crash last week, I decided that this would need to be an easy week for me and then I would restart on Hal Higdon's 18 week plan next week. I tried to rest when I could and get over the cold that I caught. I did an easy 3+ miles on Monday and Thursday, spin class on Tuesday (which I have not been to in over a month or maybe two), speed work on Wednesday and 6 miles on Saturday. I love the fact that this is an easy week for me now!! Saturday's run was beautiful!! The weather was perfect and even cool at the beginning and I was done and home before the gym was even open. So next week will be week one again, but I am o.k. with that. And that means that my race is only 18 weeks away. YEAH!!!!! and OH NO!!!!!!