Here I come 2009!

So with all of it's ups and downs, 2008 has come and gone. The downs were definitely low. Lower than I could have ever expected. But the ups were heavenly and life altering. It's hard to believe just how much happened this year. The last 365 days handed me a huge learning experience. So much happened that I never could have expected. Rob and I have been through a lot this year, a lot that most people don't even know about. I used to worry so much about my marriage. Not that it wouldn't work...but just a general worry. Like I was in constant fear of what tomorrow would bring. Now I'm not afraid. I'm not full of worry all the time. That worry used to cripple me before and hold me back from things I wanted to do and say. I was not happy with who I was back then.
Today, on December 31, 2008 I can proudly say I am the person I want to be. There's always room for growth, change and improvement but that's what makes me so excited for each new day now. Life is amazing and I take each day for what it really is. It's a gift. I feel stronger, more open, and more thankful.
I know a lot of my blog has been about running and marathon training, but that really is a huge part of my life. It's my meditation time, my growth time, my reflection time. It renews my energy, helps me set goals, makes me feel Strong, and fosters a better bond in my marraige. There are not a lot of things in this life that I feel like I was made to do..but running is definitely something that I feel called to. I'm so excited for upcoming race in less than two weeks. It will be the biggest running challenge I've ever had. It's a great way to start off 2009. I know throughout the whole thing, when I need an extra push, I'll think of how much I grew this year. There were immense growing pains and times that I wanted to just quit, but I never did. I proved a lot to myself this year and I intend to keep going! Welcome 2009!

13 More Days!!

It doesn't seem possible but the race is in 13 days! Holy crap! I am truly excited for the big day. Throughout the last month I've been getting sick of of all the training - to put it mildly! The better word would be HATING! I guess that's a pretty common thing to feel in the last month, at least according to Runners World magazine. Ever since we did our 20 mile run though, my spirits have really lifted. It's basically down to the wire now and I don't have any more long run weekends to worry about. Oh and even better, we're going to have a week in Disney World once all is said and done! I'm not sure if we'll be able to walk in the parks after the race since I heard the post race pain is pretty excruciating..I'm seeing those little motorized scooters in our future! Beep, Beep! Pain or not, I WILL be making my way through those parks, eating all the goodies I want! haha!

Speaking of pain, things on the recovery front have been going really well. After the 20-miler I had a good day or so of pain in my left knee and foot which really wasn't too bad. Rob, being the champion he always is, was like superman...no downtime at all for him! He recovered like a rockstar! Overall it left me feeling a little more confident that we won't be laid up the entire time we're in Florida. I'm still a little wary of my bad knee but plan on icing every day and night for the next 2 weeks.

I also got new running shoes this past weekend. (See the pic above) I know what some people will say about trying to run the race in new shoes but I'm not too worried about it. Throughout my training I've been wearing the Asics Gel Kayano 14 and they have been fabulous! I got the same kind this weekend, just the newest version (15). I'm going to try them out on the treadmill tonight to see how they feel. They say to replace shoes every 500 miles and I'm sure we've had at least that much since we started training in August. My clue that they were wearing out is that I now have 2 dead toenails...eww, gross I know! I haven't had that happen since I purchased the Asics, up until now. With my old Nike's that used to happen all the time. Turns out I was wearing the wrong size shoe back then. Well now that I'm in a monster size 9.5 I thought my little piggy's would have plenty of room. And they have. But after the last long run, I was a little scared when I saw the black toes pop up over this past week. I think my shoes are almost too big now. A little too stretched out. That's jut my theory but any excuse to buy new shoes I'll take! Plus they are super white which I love! I do feel a little like I'm betraying the stinky yet superb shoes that pulled me through my training. They'll never even see race day! How sad!! Hopefully my new shoes will treat me just as kind and I'll be well on my way to finishing a strong 26.2!

The Long Run - Details

Ok so I'm about to totally toot my own horn...Toot, toot!! We did it! We finished our 20+ mile run in 3 hours and 12 minutes. Not exactly Olympic-time but definitely good enough for me! It was awesome and brought about such a sense of accomplishment. I didn't want to be negative but I was really worried about this run after our experience last weekend.

On the great recommendation I had from Demi we did a run from Charleston to Sullivan's Island. This was similar to a route Demi and her husband Jason did in preparation for their marathon but we modified it a little. We started in downtown Charleston at the corner of Broad St. and Logan St. We proceeded down to the Battery, onto East Bay St. and then started our trip over the Cooper River Bridge. I wanted to avoid doing a long run that involved going over the bridge but finally just gave into it. Finding a good 20-mile route isn't the easiest thing! After the bridge, we crossed over into Mt. Pleasant and continued to run up Coleman Blvd until we got to the Ben Sawyer Bridge that leads over to Sullivan's Island. That was out turnaround point.

The run started off great. I wanted to start at a slower pace than usual in an effort to conserve energy. It was a great move. As we got through downtown and went over the bridge I felt great. I thought that hill would really tear me apart but to my great surprise it actually gave me more energy. After going up a hill like that, flat ground seems 100 times easier!

Rob and I basically felt great all through Mt. Pleasant, right up until we did our trip back over the Cooper River Bridge. This is where I started to struggle. The attempt at the bridge was not so invigorating...in fact it was downright painful. Rob motored ahead of me as I fell back a bit. I eventually caught up but it ate up a ton of my energy. Once I got to the downhill portion I felt much better but still pretty worn out. After that I went back and forth from feeling to good to feeling pretty awful. The last mile and a half of the run was grueling but once again my wonderful husband talked me through it. Such a champ!

We got back home a little after 1:00 today and have been pretty useless ever since. My knees are throbbing...not injured but definitely sore. We've been icing, heating and compressing most of the day.

I am so thankful that Rob and I both had the strength to do this run today. It restored my faith in our abilities. My mantra today really helped pull me through too..."You're a machine and your were made to do this." Not sure where I came up with that one but it seriously worked and honestly made me feel stronger.

Throughout the next three weeks I plan to do a couple more long runs (probably just in the 10-12 mile range) as we start to taper down. We came close to 21 miles today and while I would like to get one more 20+ mile run in, I think I should concentrate on doing lots of endurance and aerobic activities that don't put my knees at risk of injury. That means biking, elliptical, strength training, and a series of shorter runs.

I am thrilled to be able to report a great run today. Thanks so much for reading and taking an interest in our training. It seriously keeps me going!! Love to all!

20+ Mile Run Was A Success!!

I needed a good laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CU2JhYM8tY

So I don't have a way of downloading videos on my computer right now so I just decided to post the link. This has to be one of the funniest things I have seen! Talk a look if you wanna have a good laugh for the day. This little girl shoul really be named Sasha Fierce!

New route, new clothes, new injury...

So needless to say, I'm a little frustrated today. All week, I've been really focused on my 20 mile run that we had planned for this weekend. In preparation, I spent some time in the gym and at home doing some running, stretching, weight training and even a little jump roping. I felt pretty good all week although I really didn't run very much -one 11 miler and one 4 miler. Knowing that I had this big run today I didn't want to do too much during the week and exhausted by the weekend.
In addition to my training I bought my official marathon day running gear! New Nike running shorts, visor, and tank. All fit great and is light weight, and even better, it was all on sale!!
The next issue to tackle is where the heck are we going to find a good 20 mile route. We've run in so many different places already and both me and Rob really like switching things up. Goose Creek (many times) Daniel Island (way too many times) Summerville, Mt. Pleasant and even Hilton Head Island. Doing the same route over and over can really get old! So from the beginning of this training Rob has been telling me about the West Ashley Greenway which is a ten mile trail - some parts paved and some not. We figured we could run 10 miles out and 10 miles back. Neither of us had been on the trail before but we tried to do some research ahead of time so nothing caught us off guard.
So this morning we left on our trek. I felt great starting off. The new clothes felt awesome..and as we all know when you look hot you feel like you can do anything (haha!). I had my favorite playlist filling my ears and my new favorite mantras solidly stuck in my head. Everything seemed like it would be great. But we did however run into a few liite problems in the beginning. As we entered the path we saw a sign at the end/beginning of the path that said "mile marker 7" - what the heck! We went to the beginning of the trail we thought we'd see a mile 10 marker. What was this 7 mile business all about? So we ran a bit in the opposite direction first hoping it would add another few miles. It did add a bit but not close to the additional 3 miles we wanted. Wwe figured we could just double up on portions of the trail though and we'd get our 20 miles in the end. So we turned around and started the main part of the trail. It was decent in the beginning but it was definitely more trail than pavement. That can be a good thing, since it's a bit easier on the joints. But it can also majorly suck, especially when there are uneven parts, rocks, leaves and even some spots of mud...oh and did I already say ROCKS! Ughh..those suck! I was not thrilled but was determined to go on! Like I said I was feeling great.
But all good things come to an end right? So we got done with one direction and started our trek back. That's when I felt it. My left knee started to ache on the inside portion. I tried not to focus on it and just kept moving. I went another few miles and finally got a sharp pain that made me stop. I didn't panic though...partially because my husband was kind enough to stop with me a help me stretch. Did I mention he's amazing? After that I felt pretty good for another few miles. I slowed down a little to drink some water and take one of my energy gels. Once I changed my pace though my knee pain got more and more noticeable..and painful. I didn't want to stop though. I still felt great other than my dang knee! But then I remembered what happened the last time I kept running on a bum knee. It wasn't pretty and involved, Dr.'s, PT, and lots of downtime. With only a few weeks to go before the big day I was not willing to put myself in that position again. I had to take a huge gulp and just swallow my pride....I stopped! I was pissed!! But deep down I know it was the right thing to do. Rob stopped with me and we walked back the few miles we had left..even that was painful! Gosh this stinks. I have major healing to do this week because I need to get a 20+ mile run in within the next 2 weeks. I know I can do it though and am thankful I still have a little time to get better. I'm also so thankful for my husband who when I told him to go on without me said, "no, we're a team." He is my rock!
So I've been icing, heating and wrapping (oh and napping) for the remainder of my day. I will get better and I will kick ass on the day of the big race, but man there seem to be some major bumps in the road sometimes. No one ever said training for a marathon would be easy though. And gosh why should I feel like a failure when I've never heard anyone say.."I only ran 14 miles today!!" haha!
So next week will be our "take two" on the 20+ mile run. This time we'll be staying away from trails. I about rolled my ankle two times and the last thing I need is another injury..one is plenty! Wish me luck and some speedy healing! Thanks for reading!

"Today, define yourself."

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. Maybe it's because my schedule dictates that I have to run for hours at a time, or maybe it's because my mind can't stop running even after my body does. One of the biggest, (and possibly most cliche) items I've been thinking about is that the mind really is a powerful thing. Throughout my training for this marathon I've had pretty good luck letting my mind do what it wants to when I run. That has always worked well for me. I don't count my steps or have to say things to convince myself to keep going. Lately, however, I've been having the hardest time letting my mind relax while I'm training. Before I would be thinking about my day, or what I wanted to eat for dinner. Now my mind has been saying things like, "oh my gosh how many miles do I have left" and "there's no humanly way I can get through this run." And the worst part is, my body listens to my messed up thoughts, and then it just stops. My legs have just been shutting down and once I stop it's so hard to start again and get back into a groove. So for the last few days I've been thinking a lot about mantras. I need some quick sayings that will motivate me during the race.
When I trained for this marathon 2 years ago I would always say to myself "Just settle in." It was my way of telling my body to relax and my mind to be patient. I knew there was a long road ahead and that if I wanted to get though it I would just have to stay calm, settle in and get the job done. I still like that saying and sometime it works. Especially when I start panicking after I see a mile marker, knowing how much farther I have to go still.
I've be scouring the Internet trying to find sayings, quotes, mantras, lyrics, etc that I think can keep me going. Some are bit cheesy but most of them I really like. Here are a few samples.
1. "If you run without sacrifice, congratulations, you just jogged."
2. "Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit."
3. "The miracle is not that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
4. "You're body no longer belongs to you. It belongs to the route, the miles and to the cause." (this is definitely one of my favs.)
5. "The road belongs not to the swift, but those who keep running."
6. "You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going."
7. (And this is my personal favorite) "Today, define yourself."

There are so many mantras I have found that I really like. I have a 20-mile run coming up this weekend and I fully intend to test a few of these out. Hopefully I won't need to start reciting these things until towards the end, but who knows...sometimes your body feels the weakest during miles 1 and 2. Even when I did a short run the other night, my body was still so tired and sore that I really just wanted to quit. Then, thank goodness, one of my favorite motivating songs came on and pushed me through to the end. It was Foo Fighter "Best of You". When they sing, "I swear I'll never give in, I refuse", something in me just pops and I feel like I could bust out another few miles. Those moments are great! Those moments renew that faith in me that I CAN actually do this. Then all of a sudden I bust though the wall and out the other side. My only problem now is the fear about just how many walls I'll have to break throuhgh on the big day! But then I'll just tell myself - Today, define yourself.

31 More Days....

I can hardly believe it, but I'll be running my first marathon in just 31 days. Wow - just typing that sentence makes my heart beat a little faster. My husband and I have been training for the 26.2 mile run since August. I've been a runner for about 3 years and have completed many races including a half marathon but this will be my first full marathon. My husband is amazing and actually just started running in August. His progress has absolutely floored me. He could barely run 5k when we first started and just the other weekend we finished an 18 mile run together. He's the man!! I'm so happy to have a training partner like him. It's a huge bonding experience for us and I highly recommend training for a challenging activity if you want to make your marriage stronger....it works wonders!

When we signed up for the race it felt like we had so much time to prepare. And I guess we did. After all for those first few months I felt like my life was working, running, running and more running. But now with only 31 days left...yikes!! For the next month I plan on being DEDICATED beyond belief to this goal. I've wanted to do this for years and while I'm staying positive, I'll admit there are definitely days when I am so afraid of failing. I really believe that 80% of running is mental not physical..especially long distances. Your mind needs to be focused and determined to tell your body that it can, in fact, do this. I need to keep up the good thoughts and envision crossing that finish line like a rock star! I'll be posting a lot in the next 31 days so please keep up with my progress. Any tips or words of encouragement would mean the world to me!

Making it all come together...

Ok so one thing I've learned recently is that I'm definitely no Martha Stewart! I've been doing my best lately to pull my house together..decorate, paint, arrange furniture. I've lived in my house for a year and half already and it's amazing to me how long it takes to do all this stuff. The good thing is I totally enjoy doing it and I love to see the finished product. The downside is, my wallet and bank account do not look so kindly on the idea of sprucing up the diggs!! So I've been trying to look for great deals, and have actually had decent luck so far. My new best friend is Craigslist....I'm totally obsessed! I bought some porch furniture this weekend and I LOVE it! Now I'm trying to sell a bunch of my stuff from around the house that I don't use anymore (furniture, clothes, decorative stuff) to make these new purchases seem more justifiable!

I wish I was more of a Do It Yourself kinda girl. I love home makeover shows and looking through decorating magazines and books.....so yeah watching and tv and reading I'm good at. But actually learning and making something myself is totally another story. I think I'm just afraid to mess up so much that I end up spending more money than if I just bought something nice to begin with. Oh yeah did I forget to mention I can be majorly cheap sometimes!! haha! My husband and I are all about buyers remorse! I've learned that all this house work takes a lot of talent as well as a good bit of trial and error. And besides, I guess it's ok to muck some stuff up every now and then, after all it is our house!

All in all I feel like my house is becoming more and more of a home everyday. It's become our own as we add our little personal touches to everything. When I step back and just take it all in I really do just feel so fortunate to have everything that we do. It's definitely a blessing and one I intend not to take for granted. Rob and I are totally homebodies so having a relaxing space is important to us. I'm totally up for any decorating and do-it-yourself tips, so bring it on!!

I love these kids!

I recently went back home to Connecticut to visit my family. I hadn't been home since August 2007 . That was the longest I'd been away from "home". It still feels strange to call CT home now that I've lived in South Carolina for 5 years. But there's something about going back up North that stirs up so many old feelings inside me. It's like a time warp....stepping back into my life ten years ago. Life there is just so different - not better or worse - just different. It's a strange feeling when I'm back there. Comfortable and uncomfortable all at the same time. It's like I expect everything to be the exact same way that I left it. And it never is.

But no matter the changes, no matter the good memories or the bad, I have some pretty incredible people there that make me feel perfectly at home when I'm there. Some of the most important people in my life are in the two pictures above. I have two nieces and two nephews. They are amazing!!! Beyond amazing actually. They are so full of love and get so excited to have Auntie Amanda and Uncle Rob around to play with. The time I spend with them means the world to me. They make me appreciate so much about life and what it means to love.

It was a great trip home! I love my family!