An Emotional Mess

With only two days until The Pig, I've become an emotional mess.  I don't remember being quite this excited about Detroit - it was more of a "I'm so nervous that I'm gonna puke!" feeling for the week leading up to the marathon.  Okay, not that I don't have that feeling as well, but the emotional, "holy crap I can't believe I'm going to do this again" feeling is taking over right now.

There is a huge emotional side to running - this is not intended to sound pretentious, but non-runners just don't get it.  I've compared crossing the marathon finish line to walking down the aisle at my wedding - those are the only two times in my life that I have felt that particular mix of emotions: excitement, pride, achievement.  And that feeling is what made me want to sign up for another 18 weeks of torture.

On the way to work this morning, I heard "Fix You" by Coldplay and was immediately reminded of this video.  If you haven't heard Ben's story, check it out - and start with this video:

If this doesn't get you excited to Do Life, I don't know what would.  (By the way, I'm looking forward to meeting Ben himself on June 28th here in the 'nati!)

48 hours to go.  I've got to pull myself together.

Flying Pig Marathon Playlist

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love running to music.  The music playing (okay, blaring) in my headphones has been my running partner every step of my training, and I seriously believe that it is what kept me pushing on those times that I wanted so, so badly to stop.  I distinctly remember a moment at Detroit (at mile 21 or so, when I thought I was going to keel over and die), when "Jesus Walks" came on.  The line, "The only thing I pray is that my feet don't fail me now," was not just a song lyric at that moment - it was my reality.  I probably started crying (like I often do once my mind becomes mush after three+ hours of running), and then I'm quite certain I started singing out loud (another side effect of the mind mush) - but I suddenly felt revived.  I doubt I picked up my pace very much, but I at least kept putting one foot in front of the other.

Because music is such a huge part of my running life, and because I know I'm always looking for new running music, I thought I'd earn some good karma by sharing the running playlist I'll be listening to on race day.

Now this guy is SERIOUS about his running music! (source)

Without further ado, here it is, in alphabetical order by artist (but I'll have the iPod on shuffle on Sunday).  Don't you go judging my many guilty pleasure songs, now ...

 "Rolling In the Deep" - Adele 
 "Move Along" - The All-American Rejects
 "Crazy In Love" - Beyoncé 
 "Let's Get Retarded" - Black Eyed Peas
 "Hey Mama" - Black Eyed Peas 
 "Shut Up" - Black Eyed Peas 
 "Tighten Up" - The Black Keys 
 "Howlin' for You" - The Black Keys 
 "Stronger" - Britney Spears 
 "Born to Run" - Bruce Springsteen 
 "Machinehead" - Bush 
 "Fighter" - Christina Aguilera 
 "What a World" - Common 
 "Salvation" - The Cranberries
 "Free to Decide" - The Cranberries
 "One More Time" - Daft Punk 
 "You Gotta Be" - Des'ree 
 "Survivor" - Destiny's Child 
 "I Like It (feat. Pitbull)" - Enrique Iglesias 
 "American Boy (feat. Kanye West)" - Estelle 
 "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" - Fall Out Boy 
 "Like a G6" - Far East Movement
 "Dog Days Are Over" - Florence + The Machine 
 "My Hero" - Foo Fighters 
 "Long Road to Ruin" - Foo Fighters 
 "In Your Honor" - Foo Fighters 
 "Best Of You" - Foo Fighters 
 "All My Life" - Foo Fighters 
 "Times Like These" - Foo Fighters 
 "Shut Your Mouth" - Garbage 
 "Silence Is Golden" - Garbage 
 "Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)" - Garbage 
 "Parade" - Garbage 
 "Bad Boyfriend" - Garbage 
 "Run Baby Run" - Garbage 
 "Right Between the Eyes" - Garbage 
 "Oh No" - Girl Talk 
 "Let It Out" - Girl Talk 
 "That's Right" - Girl Talk 
 "Jump on Stage" - Girl Talk 
 "This Is the Remix" - Girl Talk 
 "On and On" - Girl Talk 
 "Get It Get It" - Girl Talk 
 "Down for the Count" - Girl Talk 
 "Make Me Wanna" - Girl Talk 
 "Steady Shock" - Girl Talk 
 "Triple Double" - Girl Talk 
 "Every Day" - Girl Talk 
 "Give Me A Beat" - Girl Talk 
 "Warning" - Incubus 
 "Winner" - Jamie Foxx 
 "Young Forever" - Jay-Z 
 "Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys)" - Jay-Z 
 "Run This Town (feat. Rihanna & Kanye West)" - Jay-Z 
 "A Praise Chorus" - Jimmy Eat World 
 "Sweetness" - Jimmy Eat World 
 "If You Don't, Don't" - Jimmy Eat World 
 "Big Casino" - Jimmy Eat World 
 "Jesus Walks" - Kanye West 
 "Champion" - Kanye West 
 "Stronger" - Kanye West 
 "Good Life" - Kanye West 
 "Can't Tell Me Nothing" - Kanye West 
 "Flashing Lights" - Kanye West
 "The Glory" - Kanye West
 "Homecoming" - Kanye West 
 "Touch the Sky" - Kanye West 
 "Celebration" - Kanye West 
 "Gorgeous" - Kanye West 
 "Power" - Kanye West 
 "All of the Lights" - Kanye West 
 "Monster" - Kanye West 
 "Runaway" - Kanye West 
 "Hell of a Life" - Kanye West 
 "Lost In the World" - Kanye West 
 "Heartless" - Kanye West 
 "Amazing ft. Young Jeezy" - Kanye West 
 "Love Lockdown" - Kanye West 
 "Paranoid ft. Kid Cudi" - Kanye West 
 "robocop" - Kanye West 
 "Street Lights" - Kanye West 
 "Tell Everybody that you Know ft. Lil' Wayne" - Kanye West 
 "Waking Up In Vegas" - Katy Perry 
 "Take It Off" - Ke$ha 
 "We R Who We R" - Ke$ha 
 "Mr. Brightside" - The Killers 
 "All These Things That I've Done" - The Killers
 "Suddenly I See" - KT Tunstall 
 "Born This Way" - Lady GaGa 
 "Telephone" - Lady GaGa 
 "Bad Romance" - Lady GaGa 
 "Kiss Me Deadly" - Lita Ford 
 "My Chick Bad" - Ludacris 
 "Into the Groove" - Madonna 
 "Shake It" - Metro Station 
 "The Climb" - Miley Cyrus 
 "Float On" - Modest Mouse 
 "Famous Last Words" - My Chemical Romance 
 "Welcome to the Black Parade" - My Chemical Romance 
 "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" - My Chemical Romance 
 "Helena" - My Chemical Romance 
 "She Wants To Move" - N.E.R.D. 
 "I'm an Outlaw" - N.E.R.D. 
 "Hot-n-Fun (feat. Nelly Furtado)" - N.E.R.D. 
 "Hot Like Wow" - Nadia Oh 
 "Promiscuous" - Nelly Furtado
 "B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad)" - Outkast 
 "Hey Ya!" - Outkast 
 "Fuego" - Pitbull
 "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" - Pitbull 
 "Hush Hush; Hush Hush" - The Pussycat Dolls 
 "C'mon Girl" - Red Hot Chili Peppers 
 "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)" - Shakira
 "Ricochet!" - Shiny Toy Guns 
 "Tell 'Em" - Sleigh Bells 
 "Kids" - Sleigh Bells 
 "Riot Rhythm" - Sleigh Bells 
 "Infinity Guitars" - Sleigh Bells 
 "Run The Heart" - Sleigh Bells 
 "Rachel" - Sleigh Bells 
 "Rill Rill" - Sleigh Bells 
 "Crown On The Ground" - Sleigh Bells 
 "Straight A's" - Sleigh Bells 
 "A/B Machines" - Sleigh Bells 
 "Treats" - Sleigh Bells 
 "Chocolate" - Soul Control
 "Eye Of The Tiger" - Survivor
 "Chariots of Fire" - Synthesizer Syndicate 
 "Live Your Life (feat. Rihanna)" - T.I. 
 "Whatever You Like" - T.I. 
 "You Wreck Me" - Tom Petty 
 "An American Girl" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 
 "Learning to Fly" - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers 
 "Beautiful Day" - U2 
 "Icky Thump" - White Stripes 
 "Frolic Room" - 311 
 "My First Kiss (feat. Ke$ha)" - 3OH!3

I had the hardest time narrowing the songs down to achieve a "reasonable" length of time, so this playlist is actually over NINE hours worth of music.  There would be nothing more devastating than hearing the last song on the playlist and not be finished yet - no chance of that here!  Lord help me if I'm running for nine hours (although, as a side note, it did take this sumo wrestler nearly 10 hours to set the world record for the heaviest man ever to finish a marathon in this year's LA marathon).

Four days and counting!

Holy Smokes!

I'm going to be doing THIS in five days!:

Deeeeeetroit!!

The C-Dub will be at my doorstep on Saturday afternoon - yessssssssssssssssss!  She'll be earning her FIFTH* one of these on Sunday:

*Right, Claire?  This is #5?  Sorry, I'm starting to lose count of your awesomeness.

Let the countdown begin!

Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 17

I am going to miss this.

Monday, 4/18 - Zumba
Tuesday, 4/19 - off
Wednesday, 4/20 - off
Thursday, 4/21 - off
Friday, 4/22 - 4 miles in 42 minutes (10:36 average)
Saturday, 4/23 - 3 miles in 32 minutes (10:49 average)
Sunday, 4/24 - 8 miles in 1 hour, 28 minutes (10:59 average) 

One week from now, I will be FINISHED running the 2011 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon.  FINISHED!  Unbelievable.

Today I ran my last long run of training, a lovely 8-miler complete with a bit of unanticipated humidity (thanks, Cincinnati).  As I was trudging up hill #2948, sweat dripping down the back of my neck, '80s Madonna blaring in the headphones, it hit me: I am going to miss this.  As crazy as that sounds, there is something about running that hooks you.  All I've done this entire winter is complain.  I've made my friends, family, and co-workers swear to me that they will never let me sign up for another marathon - that this is IT!  And now that it's almost here, I'm starting to wonder ... what about #3?

2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats
Scheduled (This Week): 19
Completed (This Week): 15 (79%)
Scheduled (Overall): 453
Completed (Overall): 369 (81%)

Short Runs Rule

With only 8 days until The Pig, I have been enjoying much shorter runs in comparison to a few weeks ago.  I already feel like I'm regaining some energy and am keeping my fingers crossed that this down time will allow the last of my aches and pains to subside in preparation for the big day.  I plan on doing my last long run of 8 miles tomorrow morning, but today and yesterday, I enjoyed a 3- and 4-miler, respectively.

The best part of short runs?  Having enough time and energy afterwards to take these stinkers for a walk:

Sure, they look sweet and innocent there.  But this is what happens when they have too little exercise and too much unsupervised time:

I love how Jugdish has that "We are in SUCH big trouble!" look on his face, and Susie's like, "Yup - worth it."

SOTR: "Hey Mama" - Black Eyed Peas (Happy Birthday, Mom!)

Wednesday was my momma's 50th birthday.  Today's song is dedicated to this awesome lady:

With my mom on my wedding day in September 2007

My mom started running in the past few years, and we often share running music.  The very first song on the very first running mix I made for her was "Hey Mama" by the Black Eyed Peas:

Mom's been up in the gym just workin' on her fitness ever since - and she's not afraid of the big 5-0.  Case in point, her Facebook status on her birthday: "Today I'm 50!  It's dinner at 4, bed at 8, and stretch pants from here on out.  50 is awesome!!!!!"  Sally O'Malley agrees:

Happy birthday, Mommie Dearest!

"NO WIRE HANGERS!!!"

Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 16

The taper is a beautiful thing.  The decreased mileage is giving me a chance to at least pretend I have a life outside of work and marathon training.

Monday, 4/11 - Zumba
Tuesday, 4/12 - off
Wednesday, 4/13 - 4 miles in 43 minutes (10:45 average)
Thursday, 4/14 - 4 miles in 41 minutes (10:18 average)
Friday, 4/15 - off
Saturday, 4/16 - off
Sunday, 4/17 - 12 miles in 2 hours, 14 minutes (11:12 average)

That said, 12 miles is a distance not to be taken lightly.  Not being prepared for a long run, whether physically or mentally, is setting yourself up for failure - trust me, I've done it too many times.  Many training schedules feature "step-back" weeks, during which the distance of the long run actually decreases from the previous weeks.  This allows your body to rest a bit (to get ready for the following weeks, which ramp up the miles yet again).  It's really easy to think, "Oh, well, 13 miles this week is NOTHING!  I did 18 last weekend and 17 the week before - this week will be no problem."  And while that may be true, you still have to respect the distance.  ALWAYS respect the distance.

Source

2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats
Scheduled (This Week): 26
Completed (This Week): 20 (77%)
Scheduled (Overall): 434
Completed (Overall): 354 (82%)

SOTR: "All of the Lights" & "Runaway" - Kanye West

One day a few years ago, it hit me: I love Kanye West.  He may not be the most polite man, but you can't deny his incredible talent.  His newest album is no exception.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (source)

I LOVE this album.  There are so many perfect songs, it was difficult to narrow it down to just one (so I won't).  First up, "All of the Lights," which seems to be gaining popularity with the masses:

That said, my personal favorite right now is "Runaway" (even though some of the lyrics are a bit, shall we say, obscene?):

There is an amazing full-length film - I definitely recommend investing the 34 minutes:

Lovvvvvvve Kanye!

Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 15

I'm on the taper, I'm on the taper (<--to the tune of a child singing, "na-na na-na boo-boo!").

Monday, 4/4 - Zumba
Tuesday, 4/5 - off
Wednesday, 4/6 - 5.25 miles in 56 minutes (10:41 average)
Thursday, 4/7 - off
Friday, 4/8 - 20 miles in 3 hours, 52 minutes (11:37 average)
Saturday, 4/9 - off
Sunday, 4/10 - off

I did it!  The dreaded 20-miler is officially behind me, and I have entered the taper!

In other awesome news, Nike's website finally has splits data back up (I LOVE my Nike+, but my mom put it best when she said that she thinks they have only one person - just one guy in a little cubicle - supporting the website for the millions of people using it, because it is always having some sort of issue).  Here are my stats for the big 2-0:

MILE	TIME	AVG.PACE
1	10:47	10'47"/mi
2	22:14	11'27"/mi
3	34:14	12'00"/mi
4	46:08	11'53"/mi
5	57:09	11'02"/mi
6	1:08:29	11'20"/mi
7	1:19:35	11'06"/mi
8	1:30:38	11'03"/mi
9	1:41:55	11'16"/mi
10	1:53:00	11'05"/mi
11	2:04:22	11'22"/mi
12	2:17:07	12'45"/mi
13	2:28:34	11'28"/mi
14	2:40:40	12'05"/mi
15	2:52:07	11'27"/mi
16	3:03:24	11'17"/mi
17	3:15:44	12'20"/mi
18	3:28:15	12'30"/mi
19	3:40:55	12'40"/mi
20	3:52:16	11'21"/mi

Miles two and three are super hilly - hence the longer per mile times there.  The dip at mile 12 is easily (and legitimately) explained by my mid-run stop at home (filled up the water bottles, grabbed another Gu, and took some ibuprofen) ... hold on, tangent.  Remember this?:

Best. Movie. Ever.

Okay, sorry, what was I saying?  Oh yes, I had a two-minute pit stop at the homestead a little over halfway through, and because I didn't want my iPod to re-set like last time, I didn't pause it.  It makes sense, though - the clock isn't going to stop running should I take a break during the Pig!

Anyway, the run was actually pretty good.  The weather cooperated for the most part - it spit rain here and there, but I didn't get poured on (like I had feared).  The looming rainstorm did bring another unwelcome little visitor: HUMIDITY.  Holy shitballs, how did I forget that I live in the Humid-Nati??  Apparently, anything above 45-50% is considered to be high humidity.  Cincinnati averages about 70% humidity - that's a year-round AVERAGE, folks.  Summers are brutal here.  And I got my first taste of 2011 humidity on Friday.

Somehow, by the grace of God, the humidity let up after about an hour, and the rest of the run was quite pleasant, weather-wise.  I felt really good - well, as good as you can feel running 20 miles on your day off.  I think I made a mistake with my Gu intake though - around mile 15, my stomach started growling (uh-oh!).  I had taken two Gus and half a pack of Shot Bloks (one Gu at about mile 4, Bloks at mile 8, and Gu #2 at mile 12), but in hindsight, I should have brought along one more Gu.  A growling stomach during a run is not good ... two miles later, I hit the wall.

My troubles are evident in my split times.  All of a sudden, I completely ran out of steam.  It was one foot in front of the other for miles 17 through 19, and the last mile was true agony.  I was in a lot of pain in every sense of the word - physically, mentally, and emotionally.  But, as you always must do in marathon training, I pushed through and shuffled my way back home and straight into recovery mode:

Chocolate milk, Propel, and water: recovery fluids of champions.

Oh, but my 20-miler left me with something to remember it by: a HUGE blister on my right heel.  Remember that teeny little blister from last week?  It apparently got all of its little son-of-a-blister friends together and threw a party in my shoe for all 36,900 steps of the run.  I took off my shoe and was greeted by a disgusting gum ball-sized blister.  I'll spare you the photos (yes, there are photos - I had to show Jeff the proof!).

All in all, the 20-miler wasn't half bad.  And hell, what's another 6.2 on top of that?!  Nothin'!


2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats
Scheduled (This Week): 35
Completed (This Week): 25.25 (72%)
Scheduled (Overall): 408
Completed (Overall): 333.75 (82%)