Day 85

Running rest day, woot woot!

I was nervous/excited to go to work this morning to hear everyone's take on the front page article published in Sunday's paper airing all of our dirty laundry. Scandalous! I'd say the range of emotions ranged from suicidal (our CEO) to angry/dramatic (the annoyings) to entertainment (my friends). I'll be honest, it's not a good thing for our organization at all, but people have short memories... I'm sure there will be some other front page news soon enough that will make people forget about how disfunctional we are. At least I hope.

For some reason, everyone at job number one became deathly ill over the weekend and still showed up today (yes Rebecca, you are the leader of the pack). I don't know if it's paranoia or what, but I feel like I'm getting sick now! Stay away from me sick people! I have a marathon to train for!!! If only I could get away with wearing a surgical mask for the next four weeks...

After work I went to zumba where I got to give Sarah the special present I made her the night before.

4th place ribbon!

Considering she's come in 4th in the last two 5ks we've done, I thought she deserved some official recognition. ;-)

It's early, but I'm going to crawl in bed now and read a book. If I really am getting sick, then I should get extra rest. Plus I have to run in the morning. I hope I feel ok... at least the first few steps will be exciting because I will cross the 300 mile mark right away!!

Day 84

Four weeks from today, I'll no longer be a runner - I'll be a marathoner. The race will be here before I know it. I can't believe I've completed 12 whole weeks of training. Incredible.

Today I was supposed to run 14 miles, and I had it planned down to the second. I was going to start at 6:30am - run 11 miles - and then at 8:20, Sarah was going to pick me up so we could run a 5k. Then I'd be done. Well... I woke up at 5:45 and it was pitch black and pouring rain. Running in the dark isn't too bad and running in the rain isn't the end of the world, but having them happen at the same time seemed dangerous. I waited for something to change, and eventually headed out, in the pouring rain, at 7:00 because I knew it would be light soon enough. Not to worry - I wore my safety suspenders!

I ended up running 7.5 miles, having to stop once to take my shoes off and ring out my socks (they were sopping wet). Then it was time to meet Sarah. Thankfully I brought some other clothes so I was able to put a dry shirt and socks on before the race. Even still, my hair was soaking wet - I'm sure people thought I looked pretty bad to only be starting a run (oh little did they know). The race was on the small side, but the course was nice, and it was a really great "change of scenery" for my long run. I didn't kill myself because I had been running, and still had to run more once the race was over, but I still gave it a good effort. I ended up finishing in 28:30 - a 9:12/mile pace!!! Awesome! Sarah was her usual cheetah self and ran 23:48 (7:41/mi). That's sick. Sick! Sadly there were even crazier cheetahs there and Sarah ended up coming in 4th in our age group. Since the field was small, I actually came in 6th!

1st and 3rd place losers!!

 
Then we headed to Sarah's parents' house for french toast breakfast. Holla!!! It was so good. After breakfast it was time to head back to the club so Sarah could teach her class - and I still had 3.5 miles to run. I was going to head back outside but as I was walking out I saw Lisa on the stair machine. Have I mentioned that I'm incredibly lucky that all of my friends run?? Lisa agreed to do the last part of my run with me, but so we wouldn't freeze and we could go different paces, we ran next to each other on treadmills. TREADMILLS!!! It is the first time I've run on a treadmill since probably January. They are so much harder.

Lisa, my treadmill partner in crime!

Even still I got all 14 miles done. I obviously took some gigantic breaks along the way, but I don't feel too worried about it - I ran 13 straight last weekend so I know I could have done it. Plus it was fun to have three completely different experiences. My average pace for the entire 14 miles was 9:44/mi... I think I'm going to try to do my 20 miler next week at a 10 minute mile pace. I hope I can do it!

The rest of my day was pretty uneventful - took a MUCH needed shower and then went to the grocery store. I finally have food again! I'm going to make a real effort to have October be a healthier food month than September turned out to be. The next few weeks ahead are going to be very busy, so it will be tough, but at least I've set myself up for success as much as I can.

Total Miles Run: 299.9... I'm SOOOO close to 300!
Total Weigh Change: -4.1

Day 82 + 83

Not to worry - I'm still alive! Here's what's been going on...

Friday started off with an emergency all-staff meeting - all I can say is that I will be buying Sunday's newspaper and then I will be dreading going to work on Monday. This "happening" shouldn't make my job any more difficult, but I'm anticipating lots of drama in the office that will just annoy me.

With the meeting first thing in the morning and our big opening night concert that night, I had little choice but to do my run during lunch. It was the third day in a row that I had to do 7 miles - once again, if it weren't for all of my running friends, I have no idea how I'd still be doing this. Alyssa ran the first three miles with me and then Sarah ran my last four with me. Thankfully running with those two helped me keep a respectable pace. I won't lie... it did not feel good. My quads felt like they wanted to rip away from my legs. But I did it. :-)

Running date!

Best parts about my run (besides finishing): When Alyssa and I were finishing our 3 miles together, we ran into Marcia, so it was nice to see her. Sarah also wore her visor, which was funny - we were a couple of Jo's! That made me laugh.Then when I finished all 7 miles, I checked my phone and had the best text from Marcia. She wrote... "When the going gets tough the tough get going. And you are one 'tough cookie.' and just think you're most of the way through training. Very inspired by your dedication and determination:) maybe next year for me?"

I'm embarrassed to say - as proud/amazed I am that I've run further than ever before, and that I'm getting faster and faster, a big part of me has felt like a complete failure over the last three months. As much as it's been a dream of mine to run a marathon over the last two years, it's been my dream much longer to get a grip with food and feel good about my body. I never thought it would be possible to not lose weight while training for a marathon. I never thought it would be possible to run a marathon feeling chubby. But... I'm learning it's possible. I've read in several places that when you wake up in the morning, you start with a full "willpower bank account" and that as you have to use willpower throughout your day, your account diminishes and it gets harder and harder to stick to your guns. I've thought about that a lot over the last few days... I think I'm using ALL of my willpower to just get out and run, that I have none left when it comes to what I eat. I'm so scared that I'm going to feel fat running this marathon, and that as thrilled as I will be at completing it (which I know I will now), I will wish I had been thinner. I want to be proud of my pictures. :-( Why is this such a struggle for me?? I know everyone has their own struggles, and there are many that are worse than mine. And I know the majority of people would tell me I'm being ridiculous. But I don't feel ridiculous. It is a very real feeling for me. ANYWAY, I say all of that to say, Marcia's text really brought a smile to my face. I need to try to focus on all that I've accomplished through this. I am tough! I'm in the worse part of the training schedule, and I'm still doing it. I won't give up.

Back to Friday's activities... once work was over I got to have a free polish change on my toes at the club. I love when they hire new spa girls! They offered me a pedicure, but I was too afraid to have them scrape off my calluses, so I went with the polish change instead. They're bright red/orange! Very fun. After that I rushed home and got ready in 15 minutes for the red carpet opening night concert.

Alyssa and Anna were my dates, and I had so much fun watching the concert together. The concert was all Beatles music - we clapped, we sang, we waved our iPhones like lighters, we even stood up and danced. Not your typical symphony orchestra concert!

From sweaty running clothes to pretty dresses - we clean up well!

After the concert we headed to the after party and met up with Lisa! She was playing in the concert.

After Party Tent

There was a band playing inside the tent, and the place was packed - but once the desserts were snatched up (record time) and people realized the drinks at the bar were not free, it cleared out. Thankfully there was a creepy mannequin that we found entertaining (I think he's supposed to look like a Beatle).

Lisa, Anna, Michael (coworker), Creepy Mannequin, Alyssa, Babs

I don't get to have many fun nights with  lady friends, but we laughed a lot and it was a great time. We should do it more often!

Saturday was unremarkable. Worked job number 2 feeling exhausted (I got a decent amount of sleep so I'm not sure why)... took a nap once I finished work... then did dishes and laundry. The end.

Tomorrow I've got to start my long run super early because I'm using a 5k race with Sarah as the end of my long run, so I need to squeeze in all of my miles before the race starts. Then it's breakfast with my adopted family!!! I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!! I hope to spend the rest of Sunday making some plans and grocery shopping so that October can be a healthier month. Of course I want you all to send me good luck vibes on my long run, but even more importantly, send speedy wishes to Sarah - I hope she places in the top of our age division and wins some $$$!!!

Total Miles Run: 285.87
Total Weight Change: -6.6

Day 81

I woke up dark and early for my running date with Katie this morning. Thankfully it was getting light by the time we actually started running, but I pulled out my safety suspender vest thing just in case. I really am that dorky, but at least I'm still alive.

Why is my head twice as big as Katie's!?!?

I will admit I had a hard time getting started, and was very thankful to not only have Katie's company but that she was also fine with us taking leisurely breaks at red lights. My legs were tired from last night. I was supposed to run 7 miles today, but in order to run before work and not have to get up ridiculously early to run in the dark, I decided to split the miles - Katie and I did 5.3 miles this morning at a 9:50 pace. Slower than yesterday, but considering if you add last nights run with this morning's... it comes to 12.6 miles, so I think a 9:50 pace is perfectly fine.

Work was fairly uneventful, although I did realize that stairs and I are back to being enemies. I'm tired of walking around like I'm crippled at work. If only I didn't have to wear "work shoes" - I feel like that would help a little bit.

After work I met Anna for my second running date of the day. :-) I feel like I haven't seen her in so long, it was really nice to run together, even if it was for only 1.7 miles. Then it was time for zumba. Lately I've felt like "Old Lady Zumba" - between my knee and my sore quads, it's getting harder and harder to do all of the moves. Oh well.

In other news, our official half marathon photos were emailed to us today. I look like a giant fat cow in every single one of them. I don't think I look like I have a huge wide sick lower body in real life - at least I hope I don't. Did they seriously just find the most unflattering angle of all time to take pictures? I hope my marathon pictures turn out better...

One more day of running tomorrow, then FINALLY a rest day. I need it for sure. I feel like I've spent every free second running this week. I'm tired of being sweaty, taking showers, doing my hair, washing sweaty clothes, chafing, being hungry all the time. I know I'm in the thick of training right now but man... I could use a break.

Total Miles Run: 278.87
Total Weight Change: -6.9

Day 80

You know what's better than friends? Friends that tell you to stop whining and go run. I wanted to let my legs rest a little more, so instead of running in the morning, I waited until after work. That gives me hours to think about how I'm tired, how I'm hungry, how I don't feel like taking another shower, etc.

Well I am happy to report that as soon as I finished work, I changed clothes as fast as I could so that I couldn't have a chance to change my mind... and then I ran. The schedule for today called for 7 miles with 7 strides. I debated during all 7 miles whether or not to do the strides or save them for another day, but I sucked it up... and I did the strides. All 7 - although I will admit they weren't quite as long as the ones I've done in the past. My watch actually worked during the strides (amazing) and I couldn't seem to break a 7 minute pace during my sprints. Oh well. The training has been ramping up, so it's no wonder that I'm not a top notch sprinter. My 7 miles were faster than ever though. ;-)

Keep in mind the strides sped up my overall average pace a bit - but that's still pretty good!

You can imagine I was pretty tired and sweaty after I was done, so I was NOT happy to realize.... I no longer had my key. Ugh. Thankfully Andy was almost done teaching and was able to let me in. I'll have to deal with that tomorrow...

I'll also be running again tomorrow, but I've got a sweet running date lined up with Katie, so I'm actually looking forward to it!

One last thing - can I just say how happy I am that Modern Family is back on TV? I love that show. Now if only The Biggest Loser and Downton Abbey would start!

Total Miles Run: 271.86
Total Weight Change: -5.9

Day 79

Dear Babs,

WTF?!?

Love,
Your Quads

I woke up this morning with the tiniest hint of a sore throat. Not cool. I'm trying to stay positive... I don't know what I'd do if I actually got sick. I also woke up with incredibly sore quads.

We are not friends today

I am also not friends with chairs or toilets either, because both of those involve squatting.

Job number one kept me pretty busy, especially since there was a meeting and a report that I had completely forgotten about... my mind is so focused on this training program that I am starting to feel "out of control" with work life. It doesn't help that this is a busy time of year anyway (and unfortunately will get much busier before the marathon takes place).

Then, since it's Tuesday, I had to work job number two. It was fine... I just felt tired and really wanted to sit down. 

Now I'm back at the apartment and I think I'm going to call it an early night. I'm so tired and if I am getting sick, I could definitely use some extra sleep. I've got to run again tomorrow - but I think I'll save it for the afternoon so that I don't have to wake up so early. And that will give my quads a little longer to rest.

Goodnight! On second thought... maybe some ice cream will help my sore throat. ;-)

Day 78

Before you read this, please trust that I am not an idiot and that I do listen to my body.

I took a "personal day" from job number one today, and I am sooooo glad I did. I slept in until 8:00. I watched morning tv while enjoy a real cooked breakfast. I drank my coffee and looked through a magazine. And then..I couldn't put it off anymore... I had to run.

Run? Didn't I just run a half marathon yesterday? It's true, but the marathon training program called for a 20 mile long run yesterday, and a half marathon is 7 miles short. There was no way I was going to run 7 miles the morning before the race started (I would of had to start waaaay too early) and there was also no way I was going to skip a post-race breakfast party to run an extra 7 miles once I finished. So... I did some research and learned that it is possible to split a long run (although you shouldn't do it regularly). Splitting a long run isn't as beneficial as doing it all at once since you've had time to rest, and it also doesn't give you the same mental workout as running for 3.5 hours straight would - but it is better than nothing.

Since I had a night's rest after the half marathon, I tacked on two miles (not my own idea, but what was recommended)... that meant I needed to run 9 miles today. I had a hard time getting out the door. I felt nervous the entire time I drove to the club. And when I finally started running it took me a tenth of a mile to look like a normal runner and not look like I was limping. After that... I honestly felt physically fine. I did throw myself a two mile pity party - I wanted to cry because I felt so sorry for myself that I had to run such a long way, but eventually I got into the groove and just did it. I did stop after 5 miles to eat a gel and refill my water bottle, but otherwise I ran the entire time.

I was amazed that I could run 9 miles the day after running a great half marathon... and not only did I run 9 miles, I ran them well. I felt like I could have gone longer if I had more water and another gel. I'm shocked.

9:52 pace - the day after my awesome half!

After my run I refueled with some chocolate milk - it's supposed to be great for recovery. Unfortunately my stomach didn't agree. It was a good thing I had the day off of work because I spent the next couple hours curled up on the couch feeling gross.

Here's where you'll all think I'm nuts (if you don't already). Sooo... my stomach calmed down... and I went to zumba. :-) My legs still felt pretty good - my quads were sore and my feet hurt a little, but I felt way better than I did the previous week after running 18 the day before. My favorite part was before class... as we were taking off our sweatshirts/jackets, Sarah and I realized we were both wearing the race shirt we got from the half. Haha. Twins! It looked a little silly, but hey - we earned those shirts!!

Alright, I have to work both jobs tomorrow (barf) so I need to get things ready for that. And I promise promise that tomorrow will be a rest day.

Total Miles Run: 264.58
Total Weight Change: -4.4