Going out of my mind

I am going out of my mind. It doesn't help that everyday the pig sends an email telling you exactly how many days are left til the race -- like i'm not already aware!! Things are really quiet at work - which isn't exactly helping the days fly by... I think i'm more excited than nervous - but sheesh this is the longest taper ever!! i just want to get there and run that race! It's been so long since i've run a marathon it will be so nice to see where i'm actually at. ugh 4 days to go...

starting a business...

having finished with all of the preparations for my wedding and several of our friends weddings and baby shoewers - my sister and I are at a bit of a loss with what to do with our craftier sides.... so we're starting a little home side business. We'll probably never make any money at it - but at least it is something we'll enjoy doing. So what is this business you may ask? Well - my family really enjoys planning parties and showers. We like to make the invitations and favors and figure out unique ways to carry the theme throughout.
So - if any of you are tasked with planning a shower or party of some sort and need help with the details - let me know!
I'm having some difficulties with getting our website up and running - so in the meantime i've created a blog for the company....
http://scatteredshowersonline.blogspot.com/

check it out! Hopefully i'll get some pictures of our work up there soon!

mind tricks

Do you think that our minds play tricks on us when it gets close to a significant event? By this I mean - how much is our brain able to control what is physically going on with our bodies? For example - 18 days before my wedding I came down with a horrible stomach flu... Would I have gotten sick even if I had not been getting married in 18 days? Did the stress of planning the wedding weaken my immune system? Did the worry of the possibility of getting sick actually make me sick?
Ok now - 5 days before the pig... i have been coughing non-stop and my head is killing me. But the weird thing is - it's a dry cough - a tickle in the back of my throat - there isn't any signs of chest congestion.... So what is it? I wonder - am i fighting off some sort of bug? or is my nervousness making me sick? or... is my brain creating a safety net - something i can fall back on.... well you know i didn't make my goal - but i was coughing the entire week before the race... so considering that -- i did really well... guess it just amazes me how much of a mental sport this really is? So my plan for now -- positive think my goofy cough away before race day! and if it doesn't go away - consider it a good luck charm! ha! I really should seek therapy i think...

6 days til pigs fly!!!!

I can't believe it's almost here. There is such a huge amount of time that passes between "i'm going to run a spring marathon" to actually signing up for said marathon - to actually arriving at the week before the marathon. And.. I am actually for the first time ever - more excited than nervous. Nervous yes - don't get me wrong. But when you are going into a race - knowing that even if you have a lousy lousy walk up the hills kind of day - you're going to have a p.r. - it makes things easier. Ok - so here is the strategy for race day. Going to head out with the 3:50 pace group - if around mile 5 or so I feel this is too fast - i'll slow it down. My goal is to break 4 hrs - but i'm not going to start crying if I don't . This is the first marathon i have done in almost two years - and the first one where i have trained with a goal that was more lofty than just finish. I know i can go out there and run the distance no problem. i just need to make sure i stick with the pace team.
I am just so excited to be running a marathon again - it just seems like it has been so long since my last one - and i am such a ham - i can't wait for the expo and finisher's medal and the feeling of accomplishment. Even if I don't break 4 hrs - it's still an awesome feeling everytime you can cross that finish line! Wish me luck! I can't wait!

pacingly challenged

If i do not learn to pace myself during my runs - i am either going to make it to the olympics -- or more realistically - hurt myself. Ok - race is less than two weeks away - so yes i am in taper mode. I decide this morning to run for an easy 40 minutes. figure i'll go about 4.5 miles. Well i get to work today and map out the route i ran - yeah 5.3 miles at a 7:46 pace. For me - a 7:46 pace is not an easy pace - tempo run maybe - but not easy! how do i have no idea that i am running that much off the pace? I keep doing this - why do I keep trying to run faster than I am suppose? i know that really isn't a bad problem - but i'm afraid i'm going to burn out or something... or am i just capable of more than i think? ugh. i don't know.
Oh - i wanted to run the hermes 10 miler this weekend as a supported training run where you get a nice wicking t-shirt. Now i'm thinking there is no way I should do it - b/c i'll end up racing it - unknowingly and that would not be a good thing to do a week before the marathon!!! help me! how do i learn to reign myself back in?

20 miles, mr. hero and an early bed time

so i did my last (and actually only 20 miler since my first one was a bit of a fiasco) on Sunday. Forcast called for rain/snow mix - which did not help add to my apprehension. I was up most the night worrying that I would over sleep and that the 20 miles would be awful. Well I met Brian and Boris at 7 a.m. for our run. It rained on us lightly - but no snow - and was overall pretty nice conditions to run in. The run went really well.. thank goodness brian was there to reign me in. he kept us at a 9:30 pace - b/c as he kept saying "if your goal is to break for hours - we don't need to be running at an 8 something pace on a training run!" I have a tendancy to run like a puppy ... i get all excited and run way faster than I should. By the end of the run i couldn't wait to see the parking lot again - but i didn't feel horrible - i even joked that maybe we should have just done the whole 26. So that was good. My lower back and my shins seem to be the only items that are not happy with me. Oh - I ran into a girl while we were running that I went to college with. She is trying to break 3hrs in her next marathon - so i'm trying to get her to come out and join some of the running groups. It was good to see her again!

After the run I was STARVING - so i knew i was going to go through a drive through of some sort to get something in me quickly - also knew that this was the last day i could really splurge on my diet since i'm going into taper mode (I can not gain ten pounds during my taper again!!) Anyway I wanted to make my splurdge really worth it - didn't want to waste it on a crappy cheeseburger - so I got on the highway and headed straight towards mr hero for my all time favorite - mushroom cheesesteak! I know most people think that is gross - but i drool over their billboards that have pictures of cheesesteaks. I honestly shoveled half of the sandwhich into my mouth as I was pulling out of the parking lot. Overall felt pretty good - tried to take a nap and couldn't fall asleep - so come around 9:30 I went to bed and slept like a baby straight thru the night! Thanks brian for running with me and keeping me on pace!

big baby

I am such a big baby sometimes!!! Especially in the morning. If you were to see me in the mornings (especially on the days the alarms goes off for me to get down to the gym) - you would be embarrassed for me. I spend more time whining and moaning and trying to rationalize why I shouldn't actually get out of bed. I probably waste a good half an hour of exerecise time because i'm laying there feeling sorry for myself. And then the best is when i get up to swim - you would think someone is asking me to take a dip in arctic waters filled with man eating sharks. If I don't get so whiney that i actually change out of my swimsuit once i'm at the gym and do something else - I walk so slowly out to the pool and then sit on the edge of the pool like i'm walking the plank. I am seriously ridiculous. And everytime after I am done with my workout I say "oh i'm so glad i got up and went to the gym today - i think i'll do it again tomorrow" then comes tomorrow morning - and i'm back to walking the plank! new goal: stop being so whiney and dramatic in the mornings!!! (see that loophole allowes me to be whiney and dramatic at other points during the day!)

hill research

I went for a very nice 10.5 mile run on saturday. Kept a very even overall pace of 8:39 - with the last mile being an 8:25... Got to wear shorts and get some sun on my face. Well when i got home I decided to take a look at the elevation changes that I run around my house. The 10.5 mile run I had just completed included a hill that was about 350 or more over about 2.5 miles. I run that hill all the time - it's a good workout - but it doesn't intimidate me - i just run up and over the darn thing. Well...
After doing some research - I learned that the largest hill on the pig is 280 feet over a 2.5-3 mile stretch. I can do that. Everyone keeps telling me how hilly cincinatti is - and looking at the elevation chart - it is indeed hilly - but I realize now - that it is nothing i can't do - or haven't done before. Will i be prepared for the hills - i think so - could I have prepared more or better?? sure - i'm sure I could have. But I guess what i've learned is - why am I spending some much time worrying about these infamous hills with out finding out what i was really up against? moral of the story - don't freak out about something - with out doing your research first!! 26 more days til the pig - and one more 20+ mile run!!!

time to stop and smell the flowers

Last week - i thought about/worried about my 20 miler all week long - to the point on making myself sick. So - i figured it wasn't going to go very well. In retrospect - there is a reason why people do runs in the morning. Waiting until after noon to do a 20 mile run on half a ham sandwhich is not go a good idea. Nor is picking a 20 mile route through cities with names such as "seven hills" or broadview "heights." ugh -- let me just tell you - if i am not ready for the hills in cinci after this workout... i will never be ready!!! so the run was not my best 20 mile run - especially mentally. Around mile 14 - i wanted to just quit - i was so stinking hungry that i was going to be sick. Well i went on to mile 17 - where i decided there is a point where you need to push yourself - and there is a point where you need to listen to your body. So - i stopped - called steve to pick me up - we headed directly to the arby's drive thru where i proceeded to cram a large sandwhich into my face. i wanted to go finish the run after that but steve wouldn't let me. It was a really tough run - and more valuable than had I done the full 20 on a flat course. Still i was a little disappointed and on monday morning decided i need to shake out some of my running demons. I only had about 30 minutes to get a run in- so i booked it - ran a little over 2 miles out and then booked it uphill for a negative split and about 4.25 miles in 33 minutes! nice. I guess a bad run is just that - a bad run - it is not necessarily some evil omen that is dooming you to run poorly for the rest of your life. it's just a bad run. I'm going to go run cinci - it will be my first marathon in a year and seven months - hopefully i'll break four hours - but if i don't - who cares - anything will be faster than my first two marathons! I need to stop pressuring myself - and remember i do this for enjoyment. Sometimes we get so bogged down with times and schedules and paces and workouts - that i think we forgot the most important measurement -- enjoyment. I need to set a new goal of truly enjoying each time i am able to get out there and pound the pavement!
oh - in non running news - i finally got all of my wedding proofs!! woo hoo!!