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!

Preparing for a Long Run

Well good morning!  Today is the day - the 20-miler.  This is the longest run of my training program and once this is over, it's time for the taper!  I've taken the day off of work to get this last really long run in and over with for the weekend, since tomorrow is this guy's birthday:

Those pills on the counter were for our dogs, I promise you.

I'm up early and I've got a little extra time today, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to explain how I prepare for a long run - because, believe me, preparation is involved.

Some people can hop out of bed right into their running shoes and head on out - if you are one of those people, I envy you.  On a perfect day, my long run prep time nears the 2 hour mark.  What takes so long?!  Well ...

First things first: food and drink:

Thirsty much?

Water is obvious - lots of water.  Coffee is and forever will be my drug of choice - I'm fairly certain that this body has not functioned without caffeine a single day in the past 15 years.  That last glass there may not look appetizing, but trust me when I tell you that is full of delicious nutrition - the green monster.  I've been drinking one of these blended creations nearly every day since December.  In today's mix:
-about 3 cups fresh spinach
-1 banana
-a small handful of fresh raspberries
-a tablespoon of Justin's classic peanut butter (the best $8 you will ever spend - actually, spend a couple more bucks for the maple almond and your life will change forever, trust me)
-a tablespoon of flax seed
-1 cup of milk (Jeff and I are total hippies now and bought our first half gallon of non-homogenized milk produced without growth hormones from a local creamery - ah-mazing!)

Once I've got my liquids down, I begin assessing the situation outdoors.  If I haven't yet, I map out my run and have one last check on the weather (STORMS today in the 'nati?!  You've got to be kidding me!).  I make sure my iPod is charged up and ready to go.  I already have my running clothes picked out ("picked out" is a loose term - I always wear a variation of the same thing).  When I do get dressed, I'll make sure to Body Glide it up - this is a VITAL step!  That stuff needs to go everywhere - the longer the run, the more Body Glide is necessary.

It's about this time that I start getting nervous.  I always get nervous before a long run - it never fails.  I am in the "sit and wait" portion of prep time.  With all of the liquids consumed above, I do not think it is a mystery what I'm waiting for.  There is nothing worse than having to "go" during a long run - this applies to #1, too.  I usually go pee about 8-10 times during prep time, and I always make "one last stop" before walking out the door.  During both Detroit and the Heart Mini half I made the mistake of skipping my "one last stop" and had to stop for a pee break during each race.  No fun!

Oh, I didn't even mention last night's prep!  I had a delicious pasta dinner that looked a little something like this (without the bacon, of course - this is an old pre-veg pic):

Did I mention that I'm married to the best cook ever?

Dinner was accompanied by lots of water and was followed by an early bed time.

So there you have it - how I prepare for a long run.  After popping a couple of Tums to ease my anxious stomach, I'll be on my way.  See you in four hours!

Running Blues

I'm not going to lie to you: these past few weeks of training have been ... kinda sucky.  I've been cranky as all get-out just thinking about running, let alone running for 3 hours straight.  I've wondered WHY?!  Why am I putting myself through this?  I'd much rather be sitting at home on my bum eating Reese's - but I've kept on pushing through.

So back to the why?  What is keeping me going?  First of all, I've made a commitment.  I've signed up to run the 2011 Flying Pig Marathon and, by God, I'm going to do it.  I'm all talk when it comes to quitting, anyway.  I threaten (to myself - yeah, so I talk to myself on my long runs - don't judge) to cut my long runs short by a couple of miles nearly every week, but I always end up finishing them out.  By the time I've convinced myself that yes, it is okay to stop running early, I'm nearly finished and figure I had better just finish up.  See?  All talk.

I think the turning point for me came a couple of weeks ago.  It was Friday afternoon, and a co-worker was chatting me up about weekend plans.  She was heading to a local casino with a 70s/80s themed nightclub, and I was heading to bed to prepare for the next day's 15-miler.  She casually asked how long that would take me, and I cringed at my own response: "Um, a little under 3 hours."  THREE HOURS?!  What am I doing to myself?  What kind of torture plan is this?

But you know what?  I got up the next morning and ran those 15 miles - cranky or not, I've made a promise to myself.  And when I was finished, I limped around the house with a smile.  Because I know that the feeling crossing that finish line is what I'm chasing, why I'm torturing myself week after week.  I am running to earn another one of these:

... not to mention bragging rights.  Oh, and those delicious Reese's eggs - thank you, Easter.  I'm telling you, this girl knows what she is talking about.

Flying Pig Training Re-Cap: Week 7

Success!  Another 100% week.  That's only the second one so far, so I guess I shouldn't toot my own horn too much.

Monday, 2/7 - Zumba

Tuesday, 2/8 - 4.3 miles in 46 minutes (10:46 average)

Wednesday, 2/9 - 7 miles in 1 hour, 18 minutes (11:05 average)

Thursday, 2/10 - 4.1 miles in 45 minutes (10:57 average)

Friday, 2/11 - off

Saturday, 2/12 - 14 miles in 2 hour, 42 minutes (11:24 average) - including 5 miles of run/walk

Sunday, 2/13 - off

While I'm very pleased that I managed to get all of my miles in this week, I'm a bit disappointed at my times.  Well, I guess I shouldn't say "disappointed" - I just know that as the mileage builds, my pace gets slower and slower.  My goals for the Pig include (in this order):

(1) Finishing.

(2) Finishing in under 5 1/2 hours, thus beating my Detroit time of 5 hours, 38 minutes, 26 seconds.  (This would be "the public goal.")

I want to be realistic, though.  The Pig is hilly - very hilly.*  So finishing is goal #1.  Anything beyond that is a bonus.  Onwards and upwards (literally)!

*Holy crap, that course is hilly.  Whose idea was this, anyway?!

2011 Flying Pig Training Mileage Stats

Scheduled (This Week): 29

Completed (This Week): 29 (100%)

Scheduled (Overall): 153

Completed (Overall): 125 (82%)

Learning to Fly

Well, it is official: I am registered for the 2011 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon, and training is underway!  I had been wishy-washy about signing up for a second marathon (I ran the Detroit Marathon in October 2009, then took just a liiiiiittle too much time off afterwards ...), but with the encouragement of friends and family (here's looking at you, CW), I've pulled the trigger on embarking on a second round of punishment a challenging, yet rewarding journey.

Claire and me post-26.2 in Detroit, October 2009.  I was lucky I could even stand up to take this picture!

Lots of people ask me: "You've done it, you finished a marathon.  Why not cross it off your list and move on?  Why on earth would you want to do it again?!"  Trust me, I've asked myself that same thing.  In fact, that is part of the reason I put it off so long (I more or less took a year off from running post-Detroit).  There is no sugar-coating it: marathons are hard.  And training is a huge commitment - not only of time, but of mental and physical energy as well.  So wait a minute - why am I doing this again?

Because crossing that finish line is a rush like no other.  Months of preparation, miles upon miles of training runs, countless aches and pains, hours of weekend and evening "free time" devoted to a seemingly endless training program - it all culminates in that one moment when your weary legs carry you across the finish.

Crossing the finish line!

So here I go - after a year of excuses, I'm taking the plunge again.  But this time, some things will be different.

A few months ago, I became a vegetarian.  A huge part of a successful training program relies on a solid nutrition plan - including adequate (but not excessive) protein to feed hungry, overworked muscles.  Most Americans get their protein from meat - chicken, pork, beef, and fish.  I need to learn how to eat a balanced diet, including an appropriate amount of protein, in order to fuel a challenging running regimen.

I want to make another change this time, too.  Excluding the meat aspect, my diet while preparing for Detroit was filled with the wrong kind of carbs (pizza, anyone?) and too many "reward" foods.  These poor choices caught up with me very quickly post-marathon: I kept eating, but stopped running, and I gained back about 15 pounds that I had worked so hard to lose before starting training.  While marathon training is NOT the best way to lose weight (I'll post more on that some other day), I don't want to set myself up for a second round of weight gain.  (I would be lying if I didn't say that losing a few more pounds in the process wouldn't be a welcome side effect, though.)

So that is the challenge: train for and run the 2011 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon, while maintaining a healthy, nutritious, meat-free diet.  Welcome to Meatless Marathoning!