This week was all about running. I ate, drank, and slept running, it was all I could think about. I ran six out of seven days this week, I was at TC Running Company twice, I made two running related Internet purchases, and I got a gift certificate to a running store. It's like the universe knew that I had to focus on running this week. I hit two milestones, my first race with my daughter, and my longest run to date.
Monday would normally have been my PT/yoga day, but I wanted to get a training run in with Kayley. She loves to run fast, so I felt like we needed to try a "long" pacing run to get her ready for her first 5K on Saturday. I wanted to do 2.5 miles, but she talked me down to 2. We ran out the the stoplight at Hodgson (1 mile) and back. She did great, ran the whole time without a single complaint. We held an 11:22 pace. She's ready!
Tuesday I had 5 on the plan, but the weather had a different idea. I geared up, and walked out the door, saw a solid wall of rain in front of me, and turned right around and walked back inside to the treadmill. It's been several weeks since I ran on the old TM, but I sure haven't missed it. I lasted three miles before I threw in the towel. I took advantage of the extra time though to do my PT and some stretching when I was done.
Wednesday the sun was back out, and an oppressive humidity came with it! I had 10 miles on the plan. This would be my longest run in this kind of heat. I was worried that my 12 oz water bottle wasn't going to cut it, so I devised a new route that ran by a couple parks I figured would have drinking fountains. I felt great starting out, the sun felt really nice on my bare arms (coated with SPF 50 of course). As I passed the bridge where I would normally turn around, I picked up my pace a little, maybe running in the heat was going to suit me after all! I kept up that attitude until mile 7, that's when I sipped my last bit of water and my legs decided they were done. I was at one of the parks I mentioned before, so I walked around a bit, filled up my water bottle, did the best I could to wipe the ever-streaming sweat out of my eyes, and got back to it. For the next half mile I seriously considered calling one of my co-workers to come pick me up. I was dragging, I was sweating, I was really hating life. Then, like an answered prayer I didn't even know I was praying, I saw her...a woman running in front of me, keeping a nice steady pace, with her hair flowing in an unconfined cascade down her back, wearing jean shorts. Yes, she was running in honest-to-goodness denim cut-offs, on the hottest day of the year so far. Here I was in my wicking tank top, tech skirt and headband, barely able to put one foot in front of the other, and this lady was crushing it in jorts! I decided then and there that I was going to make it back to my office, come hell or high water. I picked up my pace again and finished the last two miles strong. I was pretty happy with myself for getting it done.
Earlier in the week, Katie, one of the women in my MRTT group had challenged us to try to get up at 5:00am and run five miles with her, so on Thursday I decided to take the challenge. I was up at 3:45 for some unexplained reason, so I made some toast, walked the dog, ate a banana, and waited. Finally it was 4:45 and I headed out to the Lino Lakes Y to meet up with her. The sun was just starting to creep out when we got going on the trail but it was already pretty humid out. We made quick conversation talking about her marathon (she just finished Fargo a few weeks ago ) and my marathon and before I knew it we were at the bridge that marked our turn around point. The sky was a beautiful shade of pink and we snapped a couple quick pictures just to prove our superiority over everyone else because we got up to run at the crack of dawn! We started back up again and this time talked kids and school and made a quick return back to the Y. We headed inside for a bathroom break and some free coffee, Katie then headed home and I hit the showers, I was on the road for work by 6:30, ready for a productive day...even though I was sure I was going to be ready for a nap by 1:00.
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| Sunrise over Rice Creek Nature Area |
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| Where were YOU at 5:30 Thursday morning? |
Saturday was a big day. Kayley's First 5K! We were up and at 'em around 7. The plan was a light breakfast (even tough Kayley insisted she could eat "a lot" of pancakes before the race. I convinced her to keep it simple with some cereal. Since I didn't want to hassle with parking at the school, we decided we were going to ride our bikes the two miles to the race. We left a little before 8 and had a chilly ride (it was 47-degrees!). When we got to school we saw our neighbor Jen, the race organizer, looking cool as a cucumber at check in. We got our goodie bags, bib numbers and some licorice strips, and were ready to go. We headed outside where Kayley met up with Joshua and Tommy, two friends from her class. They preceded to tear up the playground like it was recess, even though I kept telling them, "hey, you guys have to run three miles in a little bit!" I opted to head back into the gym to wait for the start...I was still pretty chilled and wanted to warm up before hitting the road. Finally it was time to start. They began with the "fun run" which was a race around the school for the younger kids. Some of Kayley's classmates were doing this race, but she made sure to tell everyone she was doing the 5K. After the fun run finished, the Principal led us to the start line. I was surprised how many people lined up, I had assumed that most of them were just watching their kids do the fun run, but soon we were in a sea of people. Kayley saw some older kids that she knew at the front of the pack, so she told me "Mom, I'm going to run with them". I reminded her that she needed to pace herself, that she had three miles to run and if she started off too fast she was going to get really tired. But she assured me she'd be okay, so I let her go. The race started and I met up with Jen and another mom named Nicole. They both had older kids who were ahead of them racing fast. I told them that's where Kayley was, but that I was pretty sure if I stayed back here I was going to catch up with her before too long. I was surprised when we hit the one mile mark and I still didn't have sight of Kayley. I didn't know how fast we had run, but with as winded as I was, I had a good idea that we were under 10 minutes. I actually started to get a little worried about her, but finally at the 1.5 mile mark I saw her, she was slowing down pretty significantly, so I waved good bye to Jen and Nicole and ran up to her to see how she was doing. She said she felt good, but was starting to get tired. I told her I wasn't surprised since she ran the first mile so fast. We saw a water stop just ahead, so I asked her if she wanted to walk a bit and get a drink of water. She did, so we grabbed some cups and sipped while we walked. After a minute, I asked if she was ready to run again and she said "yes". We kept a steady pace for a while more, and when we turned onto Lexington, we passed the 2 mile mark. I told her "Okay, from now on this is the longest you've ever run before, so lets do this!" We ran on and after a few minutes more she said she wanted to walk again. I told her that walking was okay, but that when I walked on my long runs, I liked to pick a "running point". Something I will walk until I get to, then I start running again. I asked her if she saw any place she'd like to pick as a "running point" and she indicated a crosswalk a few yards ahead. I said "great, when we get there we'll try to run the rest of the way". We got the the crosswalk sign and she said she was ready to run again, so we started back up. We could see the school at this point and I figured we probably had just under a half mile left to go. She was a trooper. She told me at one point "Mom, my legs are SO tired", but when I asked if she wanted to walk, she said "no". The path we were running on had been marked with motivational sayings every few yards. Each time Kayley ran over one, she'd read it out loud and it would give her a burst of energy. I had to laugh when we passed "Run, Forest, Run" chalked on the ground. She looked over at the line of trees we were running besides and said "Yeah, come on forest, run!". We rounded the corner that was going to take us to the finish shoot and I told her, "okay, this is it, what ever energy you have left, use it now". So of course, she kicked it into a different gear and left me in her wake. I was more tired than I thought I would be, so I just let her beat the snot out of me....losing is not something I do easily, even when I'm losing to my own kid! I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch, :35.22 unofficially, Kayley was likely just under 35 minutes. We got our finisher charms from the principal and partook of the Popsicles they were handing out at the announcers table. When I finally got a chance to check my running app I noticed the pace on my first mile...9:32, which meant that Kayley had done it under 9:30 for sure. She never ceases to amaze me, and I can't wait to do this with her again!
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| Posing with the spoils of our victory, 5K Foot Charms and Popsicles! |
This be a little TMI for some of you, but it is important to note for me, so here goes...I was thankfully up early enough for my GI system to regulate itself before I left, one of my biggest fears for the marathon is that I'm going to have a bathroom emergency and not be able to get to a porta-potty in time, so this was a good sign for me. However, approximately one mile into the run, my bowels came a knocking. Now, I knew that McCollough Park was only about a half mile away, but I didn't know if there were toilets there...I hadn't planned on having to stop so early on. But I couldn't chance it, so I turned into the park and thankfully saw a porta-potty right in the first parking lot. I couldn't have got there a moment later! This was a little frustrating,but I shook it off and kept going. It was a chilly morning, only about 39-degrees when I started, I was thankful I had opted for a jacket over my arm sleeves. I passed a couple other runners and gave a swift hello (they both had on shorts and short sleeves, BRRR!) I was hitting my stride now and holding a great pace. I stopped to fuel at mile 5 and turned down Hodgson Road towards home. I started thinking about the first time I ran this route, It was last New Years Eve and I had challenged myself to run 1000 miles for the year, but I started the day at only 992. It was FREEZING and snowing, but I really wanted to hit that milestone. I remembered how I almost called my husband half way through to pick up me, but somehow managed to make it home...my fingers were nearly frostbit and I had icicles on my eyelashes, but I had done it...my first full year of running and I had gone 1000 miles! Anyway, I turned into my neighborhood and was surprised when Strava-lady said "Distance, 9 miles" a half mile more than I planned. I guess my impromptu bathroom break gave me a nice little cushion to make sure I had mapped the distance of my second loop correctly.
I went into the house to go to the bathroom (AGAIN!) and encountered a sleepy Kayley who had just crawled out of bed. Everyone else was still down for the count, so I went to find the iPad for her to play on while she waited for Dad and Logan to get up. I gave her a quick kiss and promised to be back soon, scarfed down half a banana, filled up my water bottle and was back at it. I felt really strong as I started the second loop. I had considered taking my jacket off when I was in the house, but as a cool breeze kicked up, I was glad I kept it on. I turned on to County Road J and forgot that I normally run this road coming the opposite direction...I was staring up a gradual and LONG hill, one which I normally enjoy since I'm going down it! But I put my head down and plugged along, knowing that encountering a hill at mile 10 was going to seem like nothing compared to the hill I will encounter at mile 22 of the marathon. I felt good up until mile 12, when I fueled again, but somewhere around mile 12.5 my legs lost steam. I soldiered on until mile 14 when I hit the Rice Creek fields. A walk break was inevitable at this point, so I decided I would take one last bathroom break and fill my water bottle. I got back out on the trail and actually felt really revived, I am guessing that the fuel I took at mile 12 was finally kicking in, but I also realized, I only had 6 miles to go. Six miles was totally doable, a 10K, an "easy" afternoon run for me most days. Yes, I was going to conquer those six miles with gusto! Okay, I only conquered the next two miles with gusto, then I needed another walking break at 16.5. But it was okay, I had held a great pace so far, and despite my THREE potty stops and having to rummage in the dark for the iPad for two minutes, I was right on the time track I wanted to be. I walked for a minute, picking out my "running point" just ahead. When I started back up I made a deal with myself, no more walking. Even if I had to just barely shuffle, I was gong to run these last 3 miles. I turned up my music when "Runaway Baby" started playing. This song always gives me so much energy. I started singing out loud. I'm sure I sounded like an injured cow, bleating out the words in between breaths, but I didn't care. I had a renewed energy that came from knowing I was so close to being done. I continued to sing out loud to the songs, ignoring a few looks from passing walkers and bikers, they didn't know...they had no idea that I had just run 18.5 miles, longer than I'd ever run before, they had no idea that I was almost home after pushing myself to do something I never could have fathomed doing a year ago. They could look at me however they wanted to...I felt so awesome, nothing was going to dampen this! I turned down Turtle Lake Road and knew it was coming, finally Strava-lady said "Distance, 19 miles". Believe it or not, I actually started to cry. I was really overwhelmed by the idea that I had just run 19 miles, I was overcome with excitement about the race, and how finally after 17 weeks of training, I finally felt like running a marathon isn't something other people do, it's something I am going to do! I sped up a little more and sang a litter louder. I turned into my neighborhood and decided instead of taking the flat route straight to my house, that I was going to run up the hill that circles down to it. I was actually afraid that if I took the direct route that I was going to end the run on 19.9 miles, and I NEEDED to hear Strava-lady say "Distance, 20 miles". I was not disappointed. Hearing those words as I turned the corner to my street was an incredible high. I got to my driveway and savored it for a minute. Then I took a deep breath and went inside...I could hear Bill, Kayley and Logan in the kitchen, which surprised me since it was surely past breakfast time, but there they were, all waiting for me, ready to whip me up whatever I wanted to eat. Kayley asked "Mom, how far did you go?" And I said "20 miles honey", which made me start tearing up again. Kayley said "Are you sad about it?" and I said "Nope, I'm just really proud of myself". She just shrugged and said, "Okay, want an egg sandwich?". Boy did I ever!
After breakfast I got into the tub to soak in silence for awhile....and if you are a Mom, you know that "soaking in the tub in silence" doesn't actually exist. Thankfully my husband also knows this, so he took the kids to the park, for two hours. Taper began right then and there...and I couldn't be more excited!
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