I'M.A.MARATHONER!!!!!!!!!!

I DID IT!!!! I'M A MARATHONER!!!!!  I finished the race in 5:13:36, which was way slower than my goal pace of 5 hours, but that's TOTALLY okay!  I am uninjured, learning very quickly that muscles cramp VERY easily during a very long distance race, and afterwards.  The weather was PERFECT for a race, for the most part, I thoroughly enjoyed running this race.  I know this sounds weird, but it feels like that the race goes by a lot faster than the training runs themselves.  I TOTALLY cried when crossing the finish line, and I'm now finiding it surreal that I just ran 26.2 miles. Like, how on earth did I just manage THAT? Dang!!!!

Now, onto the details of the race itself!

So, this morning, my alarm went off at 4:45 a.m.  This is one of the few times that I am willing to drag my butt up at that time. Even when my skating rink was having early skating sessions, I was getting up at 5 a.m. and that bad enough.  I'll be honest...I was going on maybe 4 hours of sleep, and it didn't help that I had to pee in the middle of the night, as I had been working a lot on making sure that I was hydrated for this race.  Regardless, I got up, showered, and got dressed in my running gear that I had set out the night before. I also ate my bowl of cereal like I've been doing, and made sure that I added lots of vaseline to make sure that I wouldn't chaffe in the race. I packed up my flip belt with my potential running essentials, my filled handheld water bottle, grabbed my drawstring bag from the expo that I had packed the night before, and made my way out the door by 5:45.  I made one quick stop at a CVS en route to the start line, to pick up some anti-diarrhea medicine, and I took one, just in case.  From there, I made my way to the starting area. By the time, the sun was just starting to rise, and I just knew this would be a beautiful race day.


Once I got to the starting area, I was already warming up, so at last moment, I decided to put my throw away jacket in my drawstring bag, in case I needed it later.  I made sure I used the porta-potty (there were about 50 of them in the starting area), then made my way to my starting corral (H), and got a few "before the race" pictures taken.  By then, my excitment was building big time.  At 7:03, the first wave of runners started, and about every few minutes, another wave went through.  One thing that I was not expecting was that my wave didn't get announced. That sorta threw me off a bit, as suddenly people from both corral G and H were running.  Oh well....I stepped across the start line, and I was TOTALLY excited about embarking on my first marathon! I was so distracted and excited about stepping across the start line that I TOTALLY forgot to start my watch! So, my timing of my watch ended up being off by about 1/4 mile, but it was still helpful for me during the race in terms of checking my pace as a whole. I just had to remember to check the BOTTOM number (the pace) and not the top number (distance). As that threw me off for a moment a time or two in the race...oops.



For the first few miles, I tried to stay fairly close to the 5 hour pacer.  However, she was running MUCH faster than an 11:26 pace (around early 11s instead).  I may have started out a bit too fast because of this.  After a few miles, I lost sight of her, and basically decided to then ditch my initial 5 hour  goal. It was not worth me getting super tired before half way through.  In addition, it was taking me a few miles to work out the kinks with my running, including my bladder psyching out my brain by thinking that I had to pee again.  Thank goodness this really wasn't the case, but I hate it when my body does that! Once my bladder was all "Just Kidding...keep running, we're good," I was able to focus more on the running.

At mile four, I got to see my brother briefly, and by this time, I had really warmed up, so I quickly game him my jacket, and just ran in a long sleeve shirt and running pants.  This ended up being a REALLY good idea as I forget on how much I do warm up with running.  I feel like I *should* know this by now, but I guess it was good that I sided on the error of caution.  The temps actually felt fantastic...40s, and although it was breezy at times, and I did have some headwind in the race as a whole, I was comfortable with it.  Also, since it was cooler, I didn't need to take my fuel as much I had planned.  I was able to take it about every six miles or so, and stomached it pretty well.  The only slight complication was hearing a bit of sloshing in my stomach when I drank water from the water station with it, but it didn't cause any other problems, and went away after a minute or two.

For the next few miles, I was able to keep a good steady pace, and there were a lot more spectators on the Urbana side of the course (the 1/2 marathon route).  I did see one sign at a the beginning of the race that said, "Run as if an airline is about to steal your seat!" That, I thought was pretty funny.  Later on, I saw this sign  around mile 6.25 that said, "Move it! I'm stuck in my driveway," with this lady that was sitting in front of her house, with her garage door open. I also saw a few signs that said, "Out of a scale of 1-10, you're a 13.1!" I would point to my "First time marathoner" bib, and shout back, "I'm a 26.2!"  That caused a few laughs from the people on the sidelines.:)  I also took the time to shout out to a few poeple that I knew who were watch, gave people high fives, and provided encouragement for the runners around me.  A good chuck of them were first time half marathoners (they had "First Time Half Marathoner" bibs on them), which I thought was super cool! Basically, I was taking in the race atmosphere as much as possible.  I had a LONG way to go, so I figured I might as well enjoy it!

The rest of the half course went by pretty easily, although, as expected, mile 10 was long.  I also had the brief feeling of feeling kinda bad that I wasn't running with friends, as I was seeing people talking or running with others and what not....kinda wished I had a real life running partner with me in this race. However, I pushed that out of my mind real fast, and by that time, I was approaching a cheering section, heading towards mile 11, which brought my spirits up again, and helped me refocus.

About two miles later, I split off from the half marathoner to continue with the full marathon course. This split actually happened way better than I was expecting! I was actually kinda excited to make the split!  I just reminded myself that the next time I see the stadium, I will be the one finishing, and focused on making it to mile 13.  By this time, I was also starting to take out my list of my student's names, and dedicating parts of the race to them.  I was shooting for every mile, but that didn't quite happen, so I kinda dedicated the miles in terms of groups of three or four kids.


The one hard thing about the split through is the feeling that you're now alone.  Up until the split, I was with a HUGE group of runners, then I was suddenly by myself, with just a smattering of runners here and there.  However, I also had the random thought of, "Okay. The half marathon is done now. Let's just treat this distance as a long run."  I put my music on, as the crowds were GREATLY thinned by now, and the police were letting traffic coming through in various intersections. However, I was still feeling good as a whole, was thanking the volunteers, and giving drivers waiting to pass through a thumbs up sign as I ran past them.

The race started getting harder at about mile 15.  However, what cool at this point, was thinking back a few weeks when I first ran the 15 miles, then 16, then my 20 miler.  I think somewhere around this mark is where my pace started slowing some, but a power song suddenly came up on my ipod, and it boosted my spirits again.  I was also making sure that I was walking through aide stations, and still taking my energy gels.  I knew that I could make it to mile 20.  The real challenge was the last 6 miles.  I did keep seeing a group of runners ahead of me, so I wasn't feeling totally alone, and there was one lady, where around this point, we were taking turns in passing each other. I would get ahead of her when she needed a walk break or whatever, and then when I slowed down, she would pass me. It also became a running joke for us.  Also, around this point, I was finally remembering to stretch my calves and hamstrings every so often, as I would notice that they would start to cramp just a bit.  Once I stretch them breifly, I was good to go in the cramping department.  In addition, a few of the aide stations also offered bananas, which I would take a bit or two of, which really helped.

At this point, I was also thinking, "Okay. Make it to 18. Then make it to 20."  I briefly thought about how many miles I still had yet to run AFTER the 20, but I wanted to make it to the 20 miles first.  I do have to admit that it was a bit hard to see the much faster marathoners make their turn to mile 23, while I was making mine to mile 19.  However, I had to remind myself that I will be making that turn as well....just a bit later.  I was also getting pretty tired at this point, and decided to take an extra walk break.  However, it was really cool to hear this local radio station announcer state my name and that I was a first time marathoner.  Yet, there weren't many people around to hear this announcement....this is a part of the course that was pretty scarce in terms of population (and this pretty much continued for the remaining part of the course).  However, I just kept pushing forward, and eventually made it to mile 20.
Now, seeing the time clock for the mile 20 marker was pretty cool.  I did stop to have my picture taken at it briefly. I had only passsed 20 miles once before, and each step I took after that was a new distance record for me, and was bringing me that much closer to the finish line.  I was proud of myself for making it this  far, and KNEW that I would be able to finish.  The super hard part was the miles after mile 20.  I kept pulling out my list of students to dedicate miles to, along with my running buddy, and was really glad to see the scatterings of spectators and people cheering.  I swear, the spectators REALLY help with running morale in a race.  However, the harder part was that my pace had slowed quite a bit.  Running past 20 miles is no joke. It is HARD. I still took walk/stretch breaks through the walk stations.  I knew that I was getting closer to finishing, but it still seemed so far away. I know that after 20-21 miles, the last few should seem to be a breeze, but they are not!  My brain wasn't done, but my legs were.  It wasn't like I was hitting "the wall" per se...my legs were just tired.  However, what did REALLY help, was the "Superman" orchestral theme song popped up on my ipod, which I put on full blast, and basically got really into...got super excited again, despite my legs being tired, and pictured myself being Superman, with a cape behind me, flying (or in this case, running) all powerful, even with the headwind that I was now facing.  I probably should have played that a few more times during the next mile, but it was GREAT to get that boost.

Around the mile 22 area, I saw my brother again, which was really nice.  He knew that I was really tired, but it felt good to get a big hug from him.  Then, he joked with me by stating, "You're almost there!" Yes, I know I "only" had 4 miles left...but....that was 4.more.miles that I had to complete.   I turned around and straight up gave him the finger!  I am eternally grateful that he took this is in good stride, as I quickly realized that may not have been a good move on my part (I apologized later, and he was totally fine with it. He really didn't take it seriously).

Then, mile 24....those inclines.  I know I practiced running on them MANY times over the course of my training, and I knew they were going to be rough as heck, but it still didn't make them easier.  I hated those inclines right then....didn't like them during training, and liked them even worse during the race.  However, I knew that the only way to get to that finish line was to get my butt up and over those things.  My legs are beyond done at this point, and this was serious mind over matter here.  I DID get up the one incline, but had to take another walk break to get up the next one.  However, I got over that one too, and then proceeded to make my way to cross the intersection.

Just past the intersection, I there was a third incline, which I managed, and thankfully, there's just a normal road after the turn.  A few blocks later, I see mile 25!!!!  That's when it hit me that I REALLY was going to finish!  I know that I had stated to myself and other runners after mile 20, "Hey! We're going to make it!" However, seeing the mile 25 marker was when it really began to hit home.  I actually almost cried in front of one of the volunteers and a group of spectators. I crossed that final intersection, and moments later, the stadium came into view! OMG...I WAS GOING TO FINISH!!!  AHHHH!!!!!


At this point, I didn't really have much in the energy tank to start to run faster, so I pretty much just kept my pace. I one of my top power songs, which lasted until I made that final turn to head straight down into the stadium.  I put my ipod away, and just throughly enjoyed the feeling of FINALLY finishing my first marathon.  I made that FINAL turn, and....OMG.....THERE'S THE FINISH LINE! RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!!!! EVERYTHING about this training and this race made it 100% worth seeing THAT finish line, and knowing that I was literally seconds and feet away from crossing it!!! I started crying!  I couldn't help it!  I was so freaking proud of myself for finishing!!!  The next thing I know is that I CROSSED THE LINE!!!!! I DID IT!!!!! I'M A MARATHONER!!!! I was so overcome with emotion that I started crying tears of joy.  One of the guys I run with in my running club here saw me finish, and hugged me. I couldn't helped it, I was crying in his arms.  He asked me if I was okay, and needed a medic.  I told him I was totally alright, just totally emotional, and was crying happy tears. I don't remember if he said anything to me, but I do know that he was SUPER proud of me. I then got medal, then was introduced to Dick Beardsly, who was the guest speaker at the pasta feed last night (which I went to), and he gave me a huge hug. I think I even cried on his shoulder a bit. lol.  He then looked at me, face to face, and stated that he was SUPER proud of me, as what I have just done is something most people do NOT accomplish, and yet, I.DID.IT.   One of the stadium announcers was on the field, right next to me, at the time, and he witnessed some of the emotion going on from me at the time.  So, he decided to turn the mike on, and dd a briefly interview with me, which was heard through the whole stadium.  I was still in such shock and amazement, that I almost didn't know what to say.  I know that I was asked about what was the hardest thing about the race, and I stated that it was the training (which is true), but it made it so worth it in the end.

After that was a bit of challenge as I needed to stretch, and find out where my brother was, he didn't see me cross the finish.  So I try to get myself down gently onto the astroturf, but kinda fell instead. I was totally fine, but that was a quick realization.  By this time, I was also given my race blanket, and one of those aluminum blanket things, and some additonal water. I didn't need the blanket, but the initial stretching felt really good.....sore...but really good. I got a text from my brother, and he met me near the field, and got a "marathon finisher" photo of me (I also had a few of those photos taken by the marathon photographers themselves).  Then, there was the challenge of going up the stairs to get my checked bag. That was a bit of adventure to get up, but I made it. I got my bag, and decided that I didn't really need to change, as I was going straight home, and wasn't cold.  I then met up with my brother, and made the trip back to my apartment, under the surreal fealing that I just finished a marathon.  I know it sounds weird, but it really is a surreal feeling! Of course, I'm still over the moon about this emotionally, but it IS very surreal, as I was thinking, "Gosh, I did THAT?! For real? WHOA!"

Now that I'm back at home, I'm now starting the recovery proccess. I have rolled out some, but have QUICKLY learned that it's super easy for my muscles to cramp up.  I haven't slept at all (yet), but I suspect that's from the caffiene in my fuel.  I know that I really need to work on rehydrating again, majorly get in some good food, and be prepared to be SUPER sore these next few days. I have a massage scheduled for tomorrow, which is going to hurt so good.  I will need it to releave the lactic acid build up, and get blood flowing better.  In the meantime, I will be having a celebration dinner, with a WELL deserved margartia! Cheers!!!

TOMORROW IS THE DAY!!!!

OMG.....tomorrow I will become a marathoner!!!  I'm now super stoked about this race.  The weather is suppose to be cool...40s, with 15-20 mph winds, but NO rain!!! YAHOO!!!!

I went to the expo this afternoon to pick up my race bib and swag, and when I picked THIS up, I just couldn't believe that I'm going to be running a marathon tomorrow! A.MARATON! It's TOTALLY happening!

Side note: I'm not posting my bib number, in case someone decides to cheat.  It's not worth the risk, and I've worked way too hard to have someone try and steal my number.




In the meantime, I also had these taken at the expo. I know that I haven't quite ran the race yet, but this is still totally okay, and I may not be able to bend down to fit into the frame tomorrow anyways after I cross the finish line.



I will definitely be reporting back tomorrow with a full recap!  Stay tuned!!!

Three more sleeps until race day!

I abtsolutly cannot believe that in just three days, I will be come a marathoner.  I have been so nervous and excited about this, and have been training for this event for so long.  When I first started training, April 22 seemed to be so far away. Now, I'm just a matter of days doing this race.  However, right now, I'm beginning to feel more excited about the race, but am now stressing over the final details of things to do here at home BEFORE race day morning. I'm sure that crashing out for a few hours this evening probably didn't help...but any extra sleep that I can get at this point will probably also help, as I'm not counting on getting lots of sleep the night before.

Alsofor those of you who may be interested in tracking me on race day, you can sign up to do so at this link.  Once you're registered, you should be able to type in my name (Janet Slater) to track where I am at in the race on race day.

http://illinoismarathon.com/logistics/tracking/

In a nutshell, here is what I have been doing since my last run last Tuesday, which was the weekly fun run with the funning club.
1. Upping my hydration, and adding electrolytes. I've been shooting for about 1/2 of my body weight in terms of liquids (mostly water), and with adding electrolytes once or twice a day.

2. Adding in additional carbohydrates.  You can pretty much say that I have been in the "carb loading" process for a few days now...helped out by having some pizza at my favorite pizza place in my hometown, which I went to over the Easter Weekend, along with trying some Brazilian food for the first time (which was quite delicious).  Here at home, I've got a pesto noodle salad in a big pot in the fridge, which I'm planning on eating off of these next few days.  I'm also having cereal in the morning (usual), I've also got some bagels and cream cheese on hand as well.

3. Getting things prepared for race day itself.  I get to pick up my race "swag" and racing bibs on Friday!  In addition, I have been making a list of what to wear on me to the start line, what to carry in my flip belt (CANNOT forget my fuel and hydration mix), and what to bring in the drawstring bag that I will have when I pick up my gear on Friday. This also involves making sure that my phone, ipod, and Garmin are fully charged on race day.

4. Trying to get a decent amout of sleep these next few nights. I'm going to be having a super early alarm (probably around 4:30 or so), as I will need time to eat, dress, stretch, and get out to the starting area in plenty of time to use the restroom/porta-potty, check my gear, do a few running strides to get my legs moving, a second stretch, then get into my corral.

5. Be prepared for the weather. At this point, it's suppose to be in the low/mid 40s with 15-25mph winds at the start, then warm up to around 50 by noon. We have about a 50% chance of rain at this point.  I personally would like to see a bit of sunshine, and a bit warmer temperatures, but this beats constant cold rain, or thunderstorms, causing the raceto be cancelled.

6. Trust my training on race day.  Walk through water stations as I planned, and don't focus so much on time.  My main goal is to finish in one piece, uninjured.....sore and tired, sure.  However, I don't want to be injured.  I also do want to enjoy the race experience...read the signs, give kids high 5s, say hi to people I may know, or get a quick hug, etc.  My thoughts of finishing in 5 hours are just bonus, as I never know what may happen in a race.

7. When the going gets tough....keep thinking about my buddy that I run for. I'm also thinking of making a list of all of my student's names that I work, and dedicate a mile to each of them. I will also have some power songs on my ipod at the ready, and keep focusing on crossing that finish line.

8. Have a plan on what to do when I finish the race. My brother will be watching me finish, and will give me a ride home, so that part is covered.  My other thought is to rehydrate/refuel some, stretch, and get into dry clothes for the ride home.  Then, from there, shower, and possibly refeul some more, and crash...although that may depend on what my body feels like doing after the shower.  Of course, there will be a blog about the race itself with my medal in hand. :)

9. Have a celebration dinner at some point. Currently, I'm thinking of having either Chicago style deep dish pizza, or mexican food with a margarita or two.

10. Enjoy the fact that I will be in the top 1% for something...and that's for running in a marathon!

Let's Do This!

Sickness during taper week?

I'm now in the downhill slide before the full marathon, I figured that these last few weeks would be easy.  Well, what I haven't been prepared for is getting sick.  I haven't ran since Tuesday (fun run with the running club, and did 5 pretty easy miles).  I haven't been able to run since I've come down with something that feels like a very mild cold.  It's not strong enough to really make me feel like that I have to stay at home and miss work, but it's just enough for me to feel a bit under the weather. At first, I thought it was mostly allergies, as I do tend to get nasal congestion and a post-nasal drip (which I thought may have caused the sore throat I had), and it does tend to dip a bit into my chest.  However, after a day or so, it usually clears up.  I'm now day 3, and still don't feel back to normal. I don't think I have a fever per se, but have felt a bit warmer than usual, and I slept A LOT yesterday (as in crashing out around 5 p.m. and waking up at 6:30 a.m.).  

So that being said, is getting sick(ish) during taper time really common?  I have heard that it's a possibility as sometimes, training can basically supress one's immune system, making one more likely to get sick once one's body is more rested.  For me, I know that anything is pretty much possible as I also have been working with students who have been sick, and sometimes, allergies can make me feel a bit sick too (although my allergies are mostly nasal, and are usually easily remedied).  

That being  said, is there anything different that I should do, beyond the normal stuff that one does when treating a cold (rest, fluids, hydrate, some OTC meds if needed, etc)?  In the past few years, I generally don't get nearly as sick as I use to, but I still want to have some time to get in a few short runs, plus maybe one mid-distance run before the actual marathon, so that my body still remembers what it will need to do on race day.  

Thoughts?

taper week 1-20 days left!

Well, after that 20 miler last weekend, this week is really rather boring.  What I've been finding out is how hard it really is to run any distance after 20 miles.  My body totally needed extra rest days, so I only managed a 4 mile run, as well as the 12 miler.  Both runs were hard.  I didn't even go to the fun run this week to give myself some extra rest.  With my four miler, at this point, you would think that I would be thinking, "Hey, it's ONLY 4 miles." I call bull on that one because that was a run that kicked my butt all over the place.  Granted, I was trying to run a bit faster as a way to work on speed, and I took a few different roads, as I have been super board with running some of the same routes. However, I think I ran too hard, because I ended up wearing myself out too soon, so I needed walk breaks.  The one good thing about the run was that I briefly met up with two other female runners, who seemed to be younger than me.  Little did they know that I was "racing" them, and they were pretty fast. I managed to hold them off for a few blocks, although they were just steps behind me. However, I heard one of the runners say something along the lines of, "Oh. This feels easy."  That messed with my head a bit as that run was anything BUT easy for me.  I was really glad to have that run behind me.

As for my 12 miler...again, same thought...if I ran 20 last weekend, 12 should be easy, right?  Oh.heck.no.  That run also kicked my butt.  I even found that I could take full packages of GU beforehand, and about 4-5 miles in, be okay, and that was still a rough run.  Is it normal to have very rough runs like this in taper weeks?  I even had the nasty thought of "What if I don't finish this marathon" pop in to my head, which I had to mentally push out of my head. I will only DNF this race due to an extreme emergency where it's not safe for me to do the race.  I literally had to tell my brain, "'Did Not Finish' trumps 'Did Not Start.' Unless there's an exterme circumstance, you WILL be finishing the marathon, so shut up and keep moving."  I have no idea what my pace was, as I didn't bring my watch (forgot to charge it), but I think I finished the run somewhere around 2:30, which was definitely slower than a few weeks ago.  I think some of it may have been temperature related, as it was in the 60s with sunshine.  I have to admit, the gentle breezing was welcoming, as this was warmer weather run than I have done in a while, so t that probably affected my energy some, too. I'm hoping that on race day, we'll have maybe some slightly cooler weather, but still warm enough for me to comfortably run in a pair of capris and a t-shirt or tank top.

As I go into next week, my hope is to get in more of the shorter distance runs, and maybe hit a slightly longer mid-distance run for a change.  I'm only suppose to do 8 miles for the long run, which is entirely do-able.  After that, I'm really hoping to get really good rest for most of the remaining two weeks, so that I can be ready to go on race day.

20 days and counting down.....

Janet

Marthon medal reveal!

For anyone that is interested, the medals have been revealed!  It's birthday themed as the U of I is celebrating it's 150th anniversary. I'm totally excited about owning the marathon medal once I finish! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzZYeVcj8_s&feature=youtu.be

At this point, I have not ran since Sunday.  I was planning on going to the fun run tonight with my local running club, but my low back has been sore today, so I'm deciding to play it safe and give it another rest day.  I do plan on doing as many of the taper runs as possible over these past few weeks. In addition, I have a massage scheduled for both this weekend and for the day after the marathon to help with soreness/recovery.  

20 MILES!!!! YAHOO!!! TIME.TO.TAPER!!!

BIG NEWS!  I.RAN.20.MILES!!! 20.MILES!!  YAHOO!!! I can now start tapering, to make that FINAL push to be a marathoner!  I know that this wasn't originally in my plan, but I decided that I wanted some extra taper time, so I figured that if I can do 18 miles (as originally planned), I can push just a bit harder to do 20.  I now can do the taper runs over the next two weeks or so, and really give myself about another good week or two of rest/no running. I think this was a smart move on my end, as the extra time off will allow for me to push through those 26.2 miles on April 22.

I know you want the details, so here is the run down.  As a whole, this run was easier in spots, and way harder in others. Miles 10, 15, and 18 deserve an extra special finger from me.

So anyways, my 20 miler started out pretty much normal. I woke up about 2-3 hours before I planned to run, had my bowl of cereal, along with my cup of coffee.  However, the one concerning point was that my back was being a bit pesky with some muscle soreness.  Knowing that I was going to be attempting to run this distance, I went ahead and took some Aleve and rubbed on some arnica gel.  I decided to try out a new running tank top, along with a pair of shorts knowing that the weather was going to be a bit warmer today...good practice for if I end up running a warmer marathon.  I packed up all of my fuel, plus a few extra things (my ipod, some extra vaseline, and some some chapstick) into my flip belt, and then made my way to what is the starting line of the race.  I knew I had a BIG job ahead of me, and I totally had the thought of "OMG...I have to start here, and end THERE."  However, I knew that to get THERE (mile 20), I had to start by putting one foot in front of the other.  So, I just took a breath, and decided to go from there.

I started off the run what felt to be really slow, yet comfortable pace for me.  This went pretty well, and I took some walk breaks while crossing streets (with my watch still running), until I hit somewhere around mile 5.  For some reason, I started feeling kinda bloated and gassy, but in terms of that I really needed a burp, but it wouldn't quite happen.  I have no idea what caused this, but it was rather uncomfortable.  I'm thinking that I may have needed some actual water at that particular point, but that still has me baffled...maybe it was my GU gel or hydration mix....I don't know.  However, I am thinking...just to be ont he safe side...take something like Gas X for race day.  Eventually, the gass did go away somewhere around mile 6 or 7, thank goodness.

Also, at this point on the course, miles 5-7 are always tough on me.  I think it's the boring scenry, and I always hate that incline that happens just before mile 6, and there's another one or two around the water station.  I know that on race day, these miles will go on way faster with haveing a bunch of runners with me, but in training, it has always been mentally challenging for me.

Once I hit mile 8, the next two miles are on a path around a local park.. I know the paths VERY well, from running on them with our local running club for our "fun run" that happens each week now that the weather is warming up some, and the days are getting longer.  However, I was also realizing that I soon would be needing more water in my bottle, so I goto check the water fountain to see if it has been turned on yet....it has not...grrrr. At this point, I figured I would still be okay until I got back onto campus (mile 12 area), so I could refill then. So, off I went to continue on with my run around the park.

I get about 3/4 around the park, and for some dumb reason, I decided to try another water fountain. Nope. I don't know why I may have thought that one would have been turned on when the other one wasn't.  Oh well....back to the running.  I finish mile 9, then continue to onto mile 10.

Mile 10....this one was hard as it's just long mile.   For whatever reason, this mile always feels extra long with no end in sight, and it often feels kinda deserted...you might see a few people here and there, but that's about it.  Plus,there's one point, just over a small incline where you think you're at the end, but nope....you have an intersection plus another few blocks, just mess with your head. Around this point, I started sorta bargaining with myself....."Come on. Halfway! Keep it up!  Just two 5 milers left! Go slow these 5 miles, then faster for the last 5! Okay...you can grab water on campus, and continue to take your breaks, but let's try to go faster towards the end!" Ha. Yeah. Right. My legs weren't having it right then.  My legs were telling my brain, "Uh no..maybe faster the last mile or so, but no. We're going our speed. Take it or leave it." I finally get to the end of that mile, and turn on what I thought was the street that's mile 11. Well, as it turns out, I wasn't fully paying attention to which I street I turned onto, as I ended up turning a block sooner....whoops.  I was kinda wondering why I wasn't seeing as familiar territory for this mile, so I looked at a street sign as I was running by, and sure enough, I turned a block too soon.  Oh well....no big deal, I'll still end up where I will need to be...will just have to run the extra block to get back on track.

Mile 12....at this point, I'm starting to think, "Okay. Hit 13, then it's a 5 miler, then two more to grow on. You're almost half way there," However, knowing that I desperately was going to need water, I decided to make a stop on campus to get that taken care of.  Unfortunately, the first building I went to was closed for Spring Break.  Thankfully, another building about a block or so away was open, but it took me a few minutes to find a water fountain that didn't give out warm water.  I eventually found it, got my refill, a drink for myself, walked back outside, and restarted my watch.  I ended up being a bit off the course because of this stop, but at this point, I didn't really care, and knew that the distance was more or less the same had I gone straight on the race course.

Around this time, I could really start to feel when my body needed the energy.  Running past 13 miles still isn't easy for me, so I had to keep telling myself to keep going until I hit X intersection, then I could take a break, or whatever.  What is a bit nicer about this area is that there is more people around, so I don't feel as deserted, compared to mile 10. However, I knew that once I hit mile 15, I had a bigger challenge ahead of me to hit mile 16, which, at that particular point, was my longest distance I have ever ran.

Mile 15....like mile 10 feels very long, and since I have ran down this road so many times during training, I found it very boring.  Plus, I could feel the energy in my legs starting to drain, as I needed to refuel some.  However, I stuck with my plan on taking part of a GU (about 1/2 a package) every two miles, with hydration in between.  However, around this point was when I was also thinking, "Hey. Just a few more miles, and I'll be at 20. Once I get to 16, it will just be 2 to 18, then 2 more to 20. Right now, this SUCKS, but it's doable."  I think that's what kept me focused to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Mile 16....holy cow, that incline sucked, and I nearly turned on the wrong street again, but thankfully, caught myself in time, and just continued down the block. At this point, I'm also eternally thankful for streets where I can wait a few moments to cross because my fuel hasn't quite hit me yet, and legs are feeling it. I also learned a lesson with this mile...at this point, my feet are swelling quite a bit, so I may need to stop and loosen up my shoes some.  My toes felt fine, as I have the shoes laced to allow for extra room at the toe box, but the rest of my foot needed some extra room, so I may need to allow for that if I need it.

Mile 17...This mile actually went pretty well! I had a power cong come on, my fuel hit me just enough to have me run just a bit faster for about 1/2 mile. By this point, I know that 20 miles is definitely doable, which puts a little pep into my pace.

Mile 18.....this mile was hard as it's what I was suppose to go initially in my training plan.  This was my newest distance.  By this point my legs were getting really tired, even with taking half a GU gel at 16. I felt like I was back to runnig a pace that equals to a tortise trudging through mud.  However, I then perked up when I realized I was close to mile 19! I then started telling myself, "Just make it to 19, then it's ONE.MORE.MILE! You got this! You're already at 18.60 something...that's STILL a new distance for you. Come on! Keep going forward! You can take a break at the mile 19 intersection...take the very last of the GU packet, hydrate some, stretch, and then keep moving forward. 20 miles is TOTALLY doable!"

Mile 19....omg....ONE.MORE.MILE.  I was totally pep talking myself outloud through here..."You got this! LAST MILE. Come on! You're a bad@$$ for doing this.  Think about your buddy. You two are in this together.  Let's do it!"  At this point, I am tired, but have a bit more energy in my legs, because I KNOW I will hit that   20 mile mark.  Then, just at the right time, a power song that I have for my buddy and I on my ipod happens to come on (my music was on random to help me from getting bored music wise during the run).  I crank up the music some, and look at my watch....19.6 miles....I can totally make 20 miles before the song ends.  When the chorus comes on, I kick up the pace, and then see my watch turn to 19.75...omg...I'm totally doing this.  I keep jamming out to the song...watch turns to 19.90.....just one tenth of a mile to go.....still jam to the song.....then suddenly, my watch buzzes for me the last time. 20 MILES!!!! I DID IT!!!  I totally cheered outloud for what I just did!  Then....I start crying some.  I couldn't help it. I just could not believe it. I had just ran 20 miles for the first time ever, and I actually felt like I probably could have ran one more after that. This means that I will be ready for my first marathon on April 22!!!!

Looking back, I remember being so scared of these upper miles. However, I am SO PROUD that I am now on the downhill slide before this race. Am I still scared of those last 6 miles? Not nearly as much now, knowing that I just hit the 20 today.  I think that as long as I keep doing what I have been doing, especially with this last long run, I should be good to go with tackling those last 6. I may have to mentally break them up, like what I did with these last few miles today. We'll see what happens on race day itself.  Also, let's hope that we have good weather!  Today was also windy at times, so I was also battling some head wind throughout the run (do I get extra bad@$$ points for that), and that kills everyone's pace as you have to run with extra effort then.

As for after this run, I did get a few mental reminders about what I will need to do once I finish the race.  First of all, I will need to hydrate.  I found that my body sometimes craves just pure water during a run, so not only will I try to take some actual water throughout the aide stations, I will totally need water afterwards.  Second, stretch.....gentle stretching iis a must after this long distance race. I will definitely need to focus on my hamstrings and quad, and even my back.  However, I will also have to be very forgiving of myself as I usually have very good groin and hamstring flexibility (as in I can do straddle splits, and have my head touch the floor with knees out the side on a butterfly stretch).  My body will have just gotten done with a marathon, so it will need some time to regain it's full flexibility.  If possible, it wouldn't be a bad idea to get a short massage done on the field to start working out the kinks.  Thirdly, keep walking as much as possible...at least until I get home.  The movement will help with bloodflow, and hopefully offset additional tiredness until I get home. Last of all, warmth.  Once my body gets done with running, esepcially in cooler weather, it gets cold VERY fast.  If we're expecting a cool weather marathon (say 50s or below), I will definitely need to make sure that I have warmer clothes in my bag to change into once I grab it.  Also, having a small towel in my bag may not be a bad idea in case I get wet from either sweat or rain.

 

Also, one last thing. If someone runs 20 miles and their hair still looks nice afterwards...they're not doing it right. :)  Happy Running!