date night

This Saturday, Dave and I got a babysitter. Then we went on a date: an eight mile run.

Sounds torturous?? Think again! We got uninterrupted alone time (if you don't count Deacon), had some lovely chats, burned calories, and didn't have to spend money on overpriced theater popcorn.

Four weeks till Rushmore...(incidentally, I think it's the same time until St. George). Whoo hoo!

And the asphalt wins...

I headed out for a nice 9 mile run early this morning. The weather was surprisingly wonderful, with a light breeze that really cooled things off. It was still dark out, which usually makes this chicken too scared to run by herself, but I had two friends with me this morning. We started out and the first mile was completed in a breeze. A few hundred yards later, I was mid-sentence and next thing I know, I'm eating asphalt. The abrasions and bruises to my knees paled in comparison to my throbbing ankle. My worst fear has possibly come true. I've almost made it to the finish of this marathon training and I've injured myself. The biggest fear I've had from the get-go is that I would make it to the end and some sort of injury would prevent me from completing the race. Self-fulfilling prophecy?

I'm trying to remain optimistic, but the truth of the matter is that I know too much for my own good. Sprains take a long time to heal...and they're never quite the same again. My race is a little less than six weeks away, and that's the general healing time for sprains. I'm trying to beat the odds. Lots of ice, lots of elevation, lots of compression, but how much rest can I afford? I think I'll take tomorrow off and try to hit the gym on Friday and Saturday. I'll keep to the stationary bike to keep weight off the injured foot and to try and keep my cardio endurance up. Nothing like a three hour stationary bike ride to dispel boredom. I guess this is one way of getting out of an 18 miler this weekend...trouble is, I was actually looking forward to that run...kind of...in a sick, "I don't have too many more long runs left" kind of way.

treading

Sad news: my favorite neighbor moved.

Glad news: she gave me her treadmill before she left.

It's tough to run miles at a time in place. But for me it's even tougher to run with two kids. And so to break up the monotony of my peach laundry room wall, I downloaded Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert to my ipod. Of course, it has utterly sucked me in and even off the treadmill, I find myself listening to this woman's spiritual quest as I empty the dishwasher, nurse Lucy, sit on the toilet...

Anyway, it's good times. Cheers to technology!

Competers and Completers

If you have an hour and a half of your life to spare, you may be interested in this documentary about marathons and marathoners. I learned that there is a difference between competers and completers...I am just aiming to be in the completer category. I particularly like the part where the guy says, "When you cross that finish line...no matter how fast or how slow...it will change your life, forever." Cheers!

Marathoners and Masochists...

...I'm discovering, are essentially interchangeable.

Any guesses on how the 13 miler went today and how I'm feeling about it?

In three words--it wasn't pretty. I guess I just wasn't feelin' it this week. Amazing how it varies from one week to the next. My 12 miler last week was tough, but I got through it. Today was agony...which led to my conclusion about marathoners and masochists.

I'm feeling pretty discouraged. Can I really do 26.2 miles? I guess this is one of those times that calls for "gird up your loins" and "count your blessings." Or, "accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative." So in effort in cheer myself out of this slump, I'll focus on a few things that went well with today's run...

• I didn't die.......yet (Oh leave me alone, cynicism!)
  
• I finished
• No blisters or chafing
• No wilderness restroom stops (A public restroom beats the bushes any day.)
  
• NO GI DISTRESS WHATSOEVER!!! (This one really makes me happy, since I was soooo sick last week and I had blamed it on the GU.)
• Found a new gel that tastes great...and didn't land me on the porcelain throne post-run (Accel gel, chocolate flavor...tastes just like chocolate pudding and the consistency and texture was better than GU.)
• Jelly Belly Extreme Jelly Beans (Watermelon)--not as energizing as the gel and hard to chew while running but certainly tasty! I think I found my post-race recovery treat!
• My trusty Garmin made it through the whole 13 miles even though it beeped "low battery" at mile 6-- I heart you Garmin!

There now, I feel a little better...if only I could get these stiff hips out from this chair...

What's Fueling You?

A brief introduction is in order:

I'm Janette, married to Brian, cousin to Dave, mother of a busy nine-month old boy, and first time marathon runner. I did a half marathon a few years ago and swore I was never crazy enough to do a full, and yet here I am. Why am I here again? Oh yeah! A lot of it is because during this time last year, while a lot of you were busy training your tails off for your first marathon, I was busy gestating and being confused by pregnancy hormones thinking, "I'd like to try that someday." Well, now that I'm back to my right mind, there's simply no excuse for my poor decision making...I'm just hoping that crossing that finish line will make a lapse in judgment seem not so bad after all!

Alrighty...so let's move on. The purpose of my post today is to find out from a few of you veterans what sort of supplementation you used during your races. I've heard a variety of different things about a variety of different products. I've also heard that one should experiment with different products before race day. So, now that I'm getting up there in mileage, I'm ready to experiment. (For what its worth, I did my 12 mile run this last week...it went smoothly...challenging, but finished in 1:55:52. Definitely not a hare, but a notch faster than Mr. Tortoise.) Anyway, it was my first experience with Gu gel. Long story short, it wreaked havoc on my lower GI tract for the entire day. I was totally out of commission and I don't think I'll be trying that again anytime soon...unless someone can personally vouch that it only happens the first time you try it.

Additionally, I wanted to inquire about the frequency such supplementation should be used. I also wanted to hear a little bit about what some of you do to carbo load the day before and whether or not you eat before your races.

Rather demanding for my first post, eh? I promise I'll share some gems if I come across any on my own!

math

So, I finally got down my calendar and actually counted the weeks back from the half marathon to match it up to my training. Turns out, my original estimate was wrong. The 11 weeks starts this Monday! Great news for those of you on the fence and/or the committed slackers (ahem).