Cowtown Marathon Recap

Happy Wednesday.

Sunday was a big day for me. A marathon day. A day I had hoped about and trained for for many, many months.   After the catastrophe that was the San Antonio Marathon, I had my hopes set for something much better this time around.

The alarm clock woke me up around 4:30, and after a quick bagel + banana, we were out the door.  This race is in Fort Worth, and it's a family affair.  My dad started his journey into marathoning 5 years ago with this race--and since then we've all joined in.  My brother, soon to-be sister in law, husband and I have all at some point run part of the Cowtown marathon.  We all hoped into the car, and it was off to sunrise service. Sunrise is a small worship service the home church I attended puts on every year for the runners. It's a 5:30 worship time before the race starts. For me, it's a time to calm and collect before the race. Just what I needed.

It was a perfect 40 degrees outside at the start of the race.  We had planned for Sam, Dad and I to stay together for as long as possible, or until the split.  The half splits from the full around mile 10, and I wanted to stay with Sam until then.  Early on we all felt good.  Just trying to relax and let the race come to us.  We all got separated really early on--by mile 3 I was alone and had no idea how I lost my people.  We reunited at mile 4, where my Dad was having some knee pain.  Sam and I decided to continue on. 

(Why I'm posting this horrible picture of myself, I don't know. It's one of the few pictures we have from when we saw our ppeople and said hi.)

We ran together all the way until the split.  These were fun and easy miles--we had some conversation, some laughter, and a lot of fun. It was Sam's first race and first half, and he was strong and ready all the way through.   At mile 10 we split, and with a quick kiss, he was gone.

I knew mentally this was the time where it was going to begin to be a test.  Almost immediately, the course becomes much less interesting, and the full marathon heads directly south. Into a wall of wind.  This is when all my mental preparation began to kick in.  I did everything I could to stay in the mile I was in and not let my mind wander to further miles or how many more I had to go.  

 I knew because of scheduling + family wanting to see Sam and my brother complete their halves, I wouldn't see any spectators miles 10-20.  20 was the earliest they could get the halfers + get back in the car and find me on the trail again.  These were my miles to myself to redeem the race I had in San Antonio.

For most of the race, I tried not to think.  When I did, I had pre-rehearsed lines of "Yes. Mile 16. Great"  NOT "OMG 10 more miles."  I also did a lot of "Trust your training. Your body knows how to do this."  And just a bit of "You can do this within your goal.  It's worth the pain to make the goal."  

By mile 19 I was ready to see a smiling face.  I was THRILLED to see family at mile 20.  I knew seeing them would push me the last bit.  When I saw them at 20 I said, "It's getting hard." 

The last 6 were hard.  I did a few calculations quickly and knew it was very well within reach to meet my goal time.  I let myself breathe a little and backed off, trying to force my mind anywhere but the pain. I had thought about, accepted, and moved past all the pain earlier in the week, and I'm sure glad I did.  It's impossible to run that far without pain.  It hurts.  You keep going.

Mile 23 was the hardest.  Close to the end but a lot of steps left.  At this point, knowing how proud I would be to finish within my goal kept me going.  I started making shorter and shorter visual goals for myself.  Next tree. Next water stop.  Anything to keep the legs moving.

When I saw mile 25 I knew it was happening. I knew the hard work was paying off and the goal was real.  At 26 I started crying.  Running for me is so emotional, and the tears were a constant flow until I crossed the finish line.  So much hard work, so much doubt from the last race.  I did it.  Mind, body, and soul are united for me in running.  All focused on a singular goal: and it happened.  I couldn't stop smiling and I couldn't have been happier.   Knowing my husband met his goal time as well--it didn't get better than that.  

Week-of Marathon Prep

We're less than 72 hours away from the start of the Cowtown marathon, and as you're reading this we're probably in the car on the way up to Fort Worth.  Many people have asked about what the week before a marathon looks like--and for others it probably looks different, but this is what it looks like for me.

Rest

My miles for the week get cut in half, and a lot of time is focused on rest.  Lots of foam rolling, massaging legs and feet, and letting my legs have some time to prepare.  Also, getting enough sleep is key.   Your best night of sleep should be two nights before the race. Most races are on Sunday, so this means Friday night.  The night before is plagued with excitement/nerves, so it's key to get that good night of rest on Friday. 
 

Inspiration/Visualization

A lot of the week, I consider and think about the pain.  The body wrenching, I'm so tired I want to quit pain.  Why? Because I know it's coming, and because accepting it now and deciding that the marathon is worth it is how I get through those hard moments.  Yes, every part of my body will hurt. Yes, it's worth it. This also includes copious amounts of pinning inspirational things on pinterest.  Sorry about that.

Food

The week before the race, diet is key.  You want to fuel your body with good food. My diet consists of lean meats, sweet potatoes, lots of greens, and some carbs.  It's not the carb-fest you might invision. That said, I am having spaghetti the night before the race.  Moderation is key. You don't want to overdo it with anything. Wanting dessert the week before?  Ok. Have a small bit of dark chocolate.  Your body will respond so much better on race day with the right nutrition.

The rest of the week is a mix of emotions. Excitement, nervousness, and thrill that it's here. Next time you hear from me, I'll be bearing the soreness and pride of the race.  I'm hoping to post a race-recap on here sometime next week. 

Pre-Race Running (and lack thereof)

I hate tapering. Before every marathon, the 2 weeks before you are supposed to cut down you mileage and allow your muscles to re-build before the race.  For me, it always becomes a time of laziness. A couple weeks of "why go out if it's only 4 miles?"

Add into that my birthday (yesteryday), Valentines, and going out of town to visit friends, and all my modivation is gone. I'm happy with a snack in hand and running far from my mind. 

That is, until it catches up.  Two days ago I went out to run and my legs were concrete.  CONCRETE. I couldn't get them to move. They were stiff and after each step I wanted to stop. I couldn't get my  mind in the right place, and the fears of "Oh HOW am I going to do a marathon" keep creeping in.

And so, I went a got a massage.  I let the therapist know about my running and leg issues and hoped for the best.   After an hour of tortue, she worked out a lot of issues and demanded I start foam rolling more regularly.  I have a roller, but sort of do it not that often. At all.

But, mostly I'm sharing all this to say: I'm 10 days from the marathon, and despite all the training I can still get nervous.  I can still doubt if I'm going to make it (even though I've done this race before.) And when you eat like crap, your body feels like crap.

scenes from our weekend

Saturday, I did my longest run before this marathon. 20 miles. It was supposed to be last week, but with working last Saturday, I had to miss my running group, and then it never happened during the week. Just setting aside that much time makes it nearly impossible to do during the week. It wasn't as hard as other 20 milers I've done, but I've come to learn at around 18 miles things will just hurt, no matter how many times you've done them. Hips, toes, shoulders, they all just ache at that much running.

After two weeks of VERY hilly routes, this route was pretty flat, and I felt that I was flying through it. I stayed strong up until mile 16, where my group headed back home (they were only doing 17) and I had to keep going. I had been preparing myself mentally for that break, and I'm glad I did, because it was still tough even after miles of "You're doing 20 today." "You are strong to do 20." over and over again in my head.

I didn't have a time goal, but I ended up finishing it in 4 hours 9 minutes. And I was thrilled. Not to mention burning almost 2,000 calories before breakfast.  I always feel more secure after the longest run before a marathon, and now I'm beginning to get a bit excited about Cowtown. Just a few more weeks!

Any run as good as that should be celebrated with a date night. I mean, I never have that many calories to use, so why not use them on a few good dark beers? 

running and the holidays

I mentioned before that my running life has been fairly non-existent since the marathon. That's the understatement of the year.  And with the Cowtown marathon coming up in only 58 days, there really isn't any time for this.

It's been a slew of excuses. It all started with taking a week off after the race, that turned into two.  And then the cold weather finally came. And along with it all the coziness of home and my bed at 5am. Add in traveling 3 times in December, celebrating an anniversary, and Christmas, and you've got yourself 5 extra pounds and a number of runs you can count on one hand.  Recipie for disaster.

It's been ugly. But, the past week has offered hope. Sam's decided to train for the half marathon, and that's got me all sorts of giddy. Between making him a schedule, researching for him and running some of our weeknight runs together, I'm excited.  I did get a lot of new gear for Christmas, and that's got to be one of the best perks of deciding to run 26.2 miles multiple times.  New shorts, jacket, and a fan-tastic new foam roller on the way.

It's not perfect, and it definitely needs work, but it seems as if my running life may have been resuscitated just in the nick of time.

The only race I've got lined up for 2013 is the Cowtown marathon on Feb 24th. I'm looking to add more (halves and fulls) to my lineup. What's on your list?

And, I'm on nike + running. You should be too. It's a great, easy and FREE way to log your miles. And as for modivation, it's helping too. 

friday's letters

dear weekend,

I'm so glad you're here. I've been waiting for this weekend since we left Houston. a friend's wedding, seeing good friends, baseball, I'm ready for it all. 

dear coffee,

i don't know what i'd do without you. let's stay friends forever.

I also found that you've rated our relationship #1. I feel the same.

if you're curious--see where your profession lines up in coffee consumption here

dear Austin,

i'm over the heat. sweaty bangs are not working for me. let's move on to fall.

dear running,

i love you. i love my new running group. even if we DO meet at 5:30 am on Saturdays.

dear blogland,

I really do love you. the women here are so real and encouraging.

I've recently stumbled upon this blog and this blog am in love with them both.

dear tea towels,

you are my newest obsession. cute and fun all while cleaning up? i'll take more of that.

or any of these.

by ohlittlerabbit on etsy; $8

by nellandmary on etsy; $19

by madderroot on etsy; $18

i run because

You may or may not know me as a runner.

I haven't always been this way--it's really just been a few years that I've been running.

There's not always time for it, I don't always feel like it,

but it's one of the best things I do for myself.

I run because I have to

I run because I like to

I run because I'll either be sore or sorry the next day

I run to eat

I run to sweat

I run to hear my heart pound in my ears

I run because it's cheaper than therapy

I run because I'm a runner

I run instead of doing chores

I run because it's hard

I run because it's easy

I run to prove something

I run to be proud

I run because I want to be fast

I run because I want to be skinny

I run because I want to be strong

I run because life is stressful

I run because work is stressful

I run because it's cheaper than shopping

I run for the scenery

I run because I see things differently

I run from doubt, self hate, and fear

I run because I really really really like dessert

I run because it's quiet

I run because there will be a day when I can't run

I run because I'm busy

I run because the stronger I am, the better I feel

cowtown recap

This past weekend was the cowtown marathon. 

 Let's be honest:

I hadn't really trained as well as I should have.

Something about a full time job and two classes getting in the way

But I got to run with dad

 

Forrest and Rachel ran as well

 and eventually, it was over.

and I immediately made my way to the ice cream.

Disney and a whilwind weekend

Hi friends! I'm so glad to be back!  It was a crazy weekend and I took yesterday off to recover.

I left early Friday morning to head to Disney world to run the Disney marathon!  

 It was an awesome time with my family, and I can't believe it's over.

We left Friday, went to Harry Potter world Friday afternoon.

Our race was Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon we spent as much time at Magic Kingdom as our legs would allow.

Sunday we rested a bit and flew home!

Like I said, it was a whirlwind, but it was awesome!

and now for picture overload!

two things, as a list

first:

the shop is back open! after a VERY long break and some great rest, I'm so happy to be back in business.

and new things are being made and coming soon! 

second:

I leave for Disney World in 2 days! 2 days! I'm running the Disney marathon, and I'm so pumped.

 

and I need help.

My running playlist kind of sucks.

and I'm going to want some good stuff.

and I'm in desperate need of some new music.

So,

What do you run to? 

(and yes, I know that I wrote this post a long time ago about not running with music. things change).

and, while I'm away running till my toes bleed, use the coupon code RUNDISNEY for 20% off! 

this is all I have today

running's on the brain.
i'm headed for a nice long one after work.
these are some of my favorite things to get me going:
(all from pinterest, of course)

running in the quiet

I run without music.
yes, yes, yes, all those miles in the silence.

I have been getting a lot of weird looks about this recently.
but running is some of the most peaceful moments my mind has.
my body may be aching, screaming, and altogether throwing a huge hissy fit.

but my mind is quiet.
focused solely on getting one foot in front of the other.
and breathing.

there is no more worry about school
no more worry about where to live
no more thoughts about work

just utter quiet. 
and peace for my soul.

545 am runs and a new 1% change

Yes, I woke up at 545 this morning, of my own choosing. and I don't have to be at work until 830.
and NO I do not take that long to get ready in the morning. the hubs and I went running.
because running at 5 and 6 in the evening when it is 100+ degrees outside
is about what I imagine Hell to be like. nd I actually like running.

You may remember my 1% change of getting out there and running more often.
well now, there's a little more modivation behind that

Yes, it's true. I am signed up for a new race. a half marathon
In Flordia. and I get to go to Harry Potter land.
(sidebar: I have 50 pages left in the 6th book, and don't know the ending. If you leave a comment and ruin it for me, I won't be your friend anymore.)

I am excited to be training again. I love training, but after the races I seem to fall off the running bandwagon. my hope for this time around, and with this 1% change is that it will be a life change, and I will be a runner for life, not just runner for this race.
(keep your eye on that little mileage counter down there in the bottom right)
I'm counting on you guys to hold me accountable.

Our 1% change for this week involves our food.

The hubs and I both want to be healthier people. to be around for each other, and kids, grandkids, and great grand kids. so I cleaned out our pantry. and threw out the crap. (which, there was a lot of). we made a huge huge HUGE mistake on Saturday. In a moment of weakness, we ate churches chicken. I felt like silmy greasy regret immediatly after. and I knew all the work it would take to rid that from my body.

and now I am seriously comitteed to seriously looking at the labels of everything we eat. and the goal is that most of it will be fresh--fresh veggies, fruits, and not have labels at all. lots of fiber, lots of grains. We kicked it off on Sunday by eating a raw dessert that I saw on a friend's blog a while back. it was kind of intimidating, but once I made it--super easy. and my body felt good.

I am excited to hear ya'll 1% changes!

trail running

 I run.  it's my fastest way to burn the most calories way to stay in shape.
aka....I get it over and done with the fastest.

but...we have recently given up our gym membership.
so we run outside
in the summer
in Houston
(but later in the evenings)

maybe I will sweat off the pounds I want to lose.
it's been fun for us to do together.

tonight's mile and a half felt like 5.
but we're going to have some smokin' bods come fall.

Don't forget about the giveaway--you still have time to enter! 

Run the Race

Last weekend Samuel and I went to Fort Worth for the Cowtown marathon!  We had a great weekend visiting my parents (we had not seen them since the wedding!!)

Thanks to Mom, Dad, Gran and Papa I had these new running shoes for the race: 

Samuel and I both got new running shoes for our birthdays from family.  What an awesome gift!  We took our gift cards and got them on Valentines day...maybe not romantic, but we were happy!  (and the only people in the store!)

The morning of the race Travis Avenue had a mini-worship service before start time.  What a great ministry and a way to see the church active in the running  community!

Then it was time to get started...and of course the nerves kick in...so Dad and I took a picture.  He's a pro.

Overall Cowtown was great!  I got  PR (woohoo)--with less training than last year's race!  It took me 30 minutes to find Mom and Sam after the race..not the best set up this year.  Cowtown should go back to the old course.  They should be reminded of the saying "If something isn't broken, don't fix it!" 

Here I am after the race finally able to smile and feel my legs again!

Yes, that barn behind me says "sheep"...not the best idea to have runners who are gasping for air run through the (very very stinky) stockyards. 

This weekend is a big one for us...we have bank day tomorrow!!  Changing bank accounts is about the last thing on our list of changing names/combining everything.  We will be the first people at the bank in the morning because we are so darn excited!!  Goodbye Bank of America, Hello Chase! 

Tonight we are going on a date!  (Thanks to a movie gift card from my aunt and uncle)...still not sure what we are seeing (we have not been to a movie since last summer).  True Grit, Black Swan, The Fighter and King's Speech are all in the running. 

We have a birthday dinner for a friend tomorrow night--we love learning more and more about Houston--there are tons of great places to eat!

Looking forward to a great weekend in our great city!  Enjoy your weekend!