Kara's Running Blog

Less than a Week

2005-09-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that this marathon is on Saturday. I feel unprepared in so many ways. My runs have been few and far between these last few weeks as I have fought sickness and stress. Right now, I will feel fortunate just to finish.

Since I have last written, my husband has finished his master's degree and will soon be finishing a contract. This means that we will probably be moving (almost certainly) and so I have frantically been preparing my house to sell as we await news as to where we will go. I'm not sure if 10 hours of mulching is considered good marathon training, but I'll tell you that I was more sore after that than I was after my 20-miler.

My little sister, who is running the marathon with me, called on Saturday to say that her IT band had started to flare up during her last long run and she is worried about the marathon. I would be worried too, since my training lately has been minimal, but I've had too much else to think about.

I head out to Utah on Thursday and then Saturday morning I will get up and run it. I am sure that it will take all I have and a little more, but I have done it before and I can do it again.

I will report back afterwards.

Kara

To Yasso or not to Yasso....

2005-08-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

If you are famaliar with Marathon training, you've probably run across Bart Yasso's theory at one point or another. He says that you can complete a marathon in the same time (in hours) that you can complete each of ten sets of 800 meters (in minutes). Clear as mud? Let's see if I can clear it up. Let's say that you ran 800 meters in 4 minutes and then took a 4 minute slow jog brake, repeated 10 times. According to Mr. Yasso, this would put you in a good position to run a 4 hour marathon.

I just finished 10 Yassos yesterday with appropriate slow down times and my slowest came in at 4:12. According to Bart, that puts me right on target for a 4 hour 12 minute marathon. The thing is, well, it isn't going to happen. I know how fast I run. I know how my body reacts under 26.2 miles of pounding and the best I could hope for on a perfect day is 4:30 - and that would be a mighty fine day.

Here is where the theory starts to falter in my mind. Yassos concentrate on your short-term anerobic abilities. Sure, they help your speed and your body's ability to dispose of lactic acid. They may even do great things for your VO2 max but they don't really do much for your aerobic endurance. And frankly, isn't that what the marathon is all about? Wouldn't it make more sense to predict your marathon time off of your long runs? I'm not saying that the Yasso runs are useless. I think they are a great part of a marathon training program. I'm just not so sure that they are a great predictor of marathon time for the average runner.

Any thoughts?

Kara

Let the Marathon Countdown Begin.....

2005-08-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

3 Weeks Before....

This is the highest mileage week I will complete before running the marathon. It includes a 20 miler, a set of 10 Yassos with rests and a couple of 6 mile recovery runs. I expect to top 40 miles.

2 Weeks Before....

I will cut my mileage dramatically and start obsessing about the weather, my travel plans, and all sorts of other things that I have very little control over. I will also start obsessing about my diet, my health, my sleep and lots of other things that I have quite a bit of control over. I will make several calls to my sister to make sure that she is eating and sleeping as well and then we will obsess together over the weather. I'm looking forward to this week. It should be fun.

1 Week Before....

I will diligently start eating anything that claims to have a high percentage of carbohydrates in it. I will start making packing lists this week and probably put in at least two of everything just in case something happens. On Thursday, I catch my flight and from there it will start to get quite exciting.

The day Before...

Sleep, eat and register. The busses leave to go up to the "Top of Utah" at five the next morning, so we will definitely want an early bedtime. Fortunately for me, I will still be on Eastern time and this waking will not be near as dramatic for me as it will be for my sister. Unfortunately, I will still be used to Ohio altitude, so the 5000 ft starting altitude should be much more dramatic.

The morning of....

This is usually when I start to calm down, amazingly enough. Just when everyone else seems in a frenzy, I am just resolved that it will be whatever it is and I am ready to go run until I drop, plus a few miles.

Now...I just need to focus on getting through that 20 miler this weekend.

Kara

A Rough Run

2005-08-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

My marathon is 4 weeks from tomorrow and I had a rough run today. There are several factors behind it and it was only a 5 mile run, but I just felt sluggish and sore the whole run. It is days like today that I really wonder how I ever ran 26.2 miles and how I am going to do it again. I just didn't feel like I ever really warmed up. I am doing 10 miles tomorrow and hopefully it will go better.

Even after a year and a half of running, I still have those days where I am struggling to get through just a few miles. I often think that these days are really the best preparation I can get for the marathon. Instead of the miles just flying by and endorphins a plenty, I really have to think about it and push myself. Today, I must have looked down at my watch every single minute. Instead of taking things 1 mile at the time, I literally had to will myself to go just a minute or two more. I was living from rest time to rest time and allowed myself 30 seconds every 15 minutes to get a drink and walk. Now, that is real marathon training. Because, at some point in the marathon I will most certainly feel that way and I have now had practice pushing through it.

Kara

I've been very busy....

2005-08-15T11:46:00.000-07:00

I'm still around and still running, but it has been a very busy summer. What's on the agenda in the running world? Well, since you asked...

In less than 5 weeks, I will be running the Top of Utah Marathon with my little sister. It has a gradual downhill for the first 18 miles and then rolling hills for the last 8.2. At least, that is what the website says. Hopefully, the downhill will make up for the fact that I will be running 4000 feet higher than I am used to. I really have no idea what to expect with this race and so I am trying to go in without heavy expectations. Flying Pig went really well for me, so I don't know if I will be able to PR. I am just training the best I know how and whatever happens will happen.

In October, I am running the Columbus Marathon again. Okay, I'm not really running the whole thing only 4 weeks after Top of Utah, but I am relaying it with a good friend. We're each doing half which is about all I was ready to commit to at that point. She really wanted to run it, but didn't feel like she would be ready for a full in time, so it worked out well. All of the fun of a marathon, with none of the intimidation of 26.2 miles.

I ran an 18 miler on Friday. It was very hot and very humid and I came home with chaffing unlike any I had previously experienced. My clothes were also dripping and I probably should have showered at least twice, but I was too tired and only managed a short cold bath. I still finished the run in 3:03, but I am certainly praying that we don't have weather in the nineties for the marathon next month. I'll do a twenty miler in a week and a half and call the long runs sufficient.

That's all.

Kara

Race Reports, Vacation, etc.

2005-06-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while, but I am finally getting back into things. On Memorial Day, I ran the Lou Cox 5k. I cut over 7 minutes off of my time from last year and managed a third place in the Athena division. I also came in the top half of all entrants, which is pretty impressive for me.

Last Wednesday, I left to go home for a while and spend some time with my sisters and mom. I convinced my older sister and younger sister to run a 5k with me while I was out there, though both were quite hesitant. The altitude got to me a little - it is rough to run at 3500 feet when you are used to running at 800 feet, but I still managed to finish with a pretty good time - about a minute slower than the Lou Cox. They didn't have an Athena division, but my mom said I was probably one of the first 25 or so women that came in. That thrilled me. I'm starting to feel like a real runner.

I have a mini-marathon (13.6 miles) sponsered by the Air Force that I am running on Saturday and then next week I am going to start training to run the Columbus Marathon again. My husband is a consultant and we may not even be in this part of the country come October, but by the time we know, it will be too late, so I am going to start training and just hope that where ever we are there will be an October marathon. The last couple of weeks, I have been keeping a pretty steady 5-7 miles going 3-4 times a week, but I am ready to start increasing mileage again and adding in speed and hill work again.

Anyway, that's the update. I am sure I will be posting more now that marathon training is starting up again. Woo Hoo!

Feeling Lost

2005-05-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I feel sort of lost without a marathon training program to follow. I really am looking forward to mid-June when I start training for my Fall marathon. The running is getting easier, but I find myself cutting runs short or not doing what I had planned on because there is no reason not to. Last week I managed 23 miles. Thus far this week, I have done a 4 and two 6.3 mile runs. I'm sure I'll get in something this weekend, but I'm not sure how much. I guess that I am giving my body a little break before I start the heavy stuff again and that is good, but psychologically it is a little bit of a downer.

I've got my 5k on Monday and that will be fun. I'll report back then.

Weird Long Run Today....

2005-05-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

Remind me to pay homage to the GPS Gods before my next long run. They were apparently very angry today. Usually on a long run, I will loose signal maybe once for 2 seconds while crossing under a bridge or something, but today it was crazy. Was there a solar flare I was unaware of?

Anyway, I ran 10 miles today. I guess this isn't a long run when training for a marathon, but it is the farthest I have gone since the marathon, so I am calling it a long run. I am normally a very consistent runner and I believe that I was today as well, but my splits were really messed up from the "weak GPS signal". So, for the sake of amusement, I will reveal what the Forerunner documented as my mile splits.

The GPS didn't start acting up until the 5th or 6th mile. I had planned to run about a 10:30 mile today and my first mile came in at 10:41. That seemed about right for a warm up mile. The next two miles came in at 10:17 and 10:21. As I said before, I am usually a pretty consistent runner and I can tell by my effort level how fast I am running. The next mile seemed a little fast for me, but not too off. It came in at 9:30, but I could tell that I wasn't pushing that hard and it seemed a little faster than what I was running. The 5th mile came in at 10:08. At 5 miles, I turned around. The course is downhill coming back and I expected my splits would start to get a little faster. Apparently, I was in for a shock. The 6th mile came in at 10:51. I knew that I had been running faster than that. It was downhill and I was feeling great. Oh well. The 7th mile came in at 9:54. That one seemed about right. The next mile was the biggest downhill part of the whole course. I felt like I was racing it and the split came in at 11:03. What? That is a very slow pace for me. I really wanted to hit my GPS at that point. The next mile came in at 9:29. Okay, whatever. My effort was exactly the same and I was on a less downhill part of the course. The last mile is where it really got weird. I saw the GPS keep flashing that it was loosing signal. It lapped me three times during that last mile. Apparently, it took me 9:27 to run the first half of the mile and 29 seconds to run the next quarter of a mile and another 28 seconds to run the last quarter of a mile. Hmmmm......seems a little suspect.

My husband is taking the Forerunner on a bike ride this afternoon. It will be interesting to see if he gets the same weird behavior. Luckily, I knew the trail I was running on well enough to document that I really had run 10 miles. Total time was 1:43 - which was pretty much what I was aiming for with a consistent effort.

Besides the weird GPS stuff, it was a beautiful run and a perfect day. I am starting to acclimate to the warmer weather though I didn't lather on near enough bodyglide today. I forgot how much I sweat in the heat. Now my husband is off for a bike ride.

Another day, another run

2005-05-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

I missed my run yesterday and I was feeling rather sluggish by today. I decided to go out and catch a few miles before the sun went down. I am doing speed work tomorrow, so I didn't want to push it, but I did manage to get in just under 2 miles at about a 10:30 pace.

More running updates

2005-05-16T08:20:00.000-07:00

I made it out 4 times last week for a total of 17-18 miles. Yesterday I felt tired and I am thinking of taking it a little easier this week. I don't know that I have fully recovered from my marathon yet.

I really wanted to get in some good speed work this week since I have a 5k coming up on May 30, but I don't want to push my body too much right now. The last 5k I ran was this same race last year. The 5k isn't really my race, since I tend to go close to the same speed whether I am going 3 miles or 20 miles, so I don't sign up for a lot of them. Anyway, I have decided to make a very conservative goal for this race. I just want to come in faster than I did last year. That shouldn't be hard, since my time last year was 33:56.

Beyond this 5k, I am looking forward to my half marathon on June 18th. I am not really sure how to train for this. The last one I ran, I did a 20-miler the week before and surprisingly enough had a great race. I might just go run it without much of a training plan at all. After that, I am going to set up a training schedule to run the Columbus Marathon again in the fall. I have two friends that are interested in running it as well, so I should have no problem finding people to do the long Saturday runs with.

Anyway, that's the update. Things are pretty boring right now, but still plugging along.

Back on the Road Again

2005-05-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

I pulled my butt off of the couch and went for my first post-marathon run today. It was a short three miles and it wasn't fast, but it felt great to be out there again. My first run after the Columbus marathon was terrible. I felt like a cardboard cut-out running through Molasses. This post-marathon run felt wonderful. Maybe I am getting better at this whole running thing.

So, to push away the post-marathon blues, I signed up for a few races this weekend. I'm running a 5k at the end of this month and a half marathon on June 18th. I also talked to a friend about training for a Fall marathon and she is very excited about the idea.

I'm back on the road again and thrilled to be there.

So, what now?

2005-05-06T06:31:00.000-07:00

It has been 5 days since I finished my marathon. I am pretty much recovered. I haven't done any running since Sunday, but I've been walking around quite a bit since my sisters were in town. I plan to start running again on Monday.

I know myself pretty well and I know that I work best when I have a goal. The Air Force is putting on a half marathon sometime in June at the local base and I have a friend from the gym that wants to run Columbus in the fall and could use a training partner for her long runs. I definitely want to keep running, but I'm not sure where I want this to go. Do I want to keep trying to get a marathon in every six months? Do I want to become a more casual runner? Maybe I should start working on my speed a little more before I take on a long distance again.

I'm also wondering how much time I really want to dedicate to running this summer. Training for a marathon is time consuming. At the same time, it is fulfilling in a way that I can really appreciate. So...I don't know what is next. I am going to give myself a few weeks to try and figure it out. My only plan for now is to get myself out there 3-4 times a week and fully recover from this last marathon.

Flying Pig Marathon

2005-05-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I did it. I ran the whole 26.2+ miles of hill after hill. True, it flattened out at the end, but even a slight incline feels like a hill at that point. I believe my chip time was 4:46, an improvement of over 45 minutes off of my last time.

So, here is the play by play, for those who are interested:

The Start: It was very crowded. We had the half marathon participants and the relayers and the full marathon participants all crowded along a small section of road. I saw the pace team I had signed up for on the other side of the road, but there was no way I was getting to them. I couldn't even move and people kept trying to push by me. I decided to just stand still until the race started. A few minutes later, we were off. At first, I couldn't move at all and then we started to shuffle forward a little. I was still about a block away from the starting area at this point. Within about 5 minutes I made it to the starting line.

The Bridges: The first 4 miles cross over three bridges. Two of them make the long journey over the Ohio river and the third is a smaller bridge on the Kentucky side of the Ohio river. Each bridge consisted of an uphill grade to the middle and then a downhill grade. In retrospect, there was not much at all about this course that could be considered flat. I spent the first few minutes just trying to establish my pace and my first mile came in at 10:17, a little faster than I had planned on, but still reasonable. There was so much excitement that it was hard to hold back. The second mile came in at 9:26 and I knew that I needed to slow myself down. It was okay to have splits like that on the half marathon, but I was going to be struggling at the end if I did that now. So, I managed to slow myself down a little for the third mile and came in at 10:09. Unfortunately, I sped up again on the fourth mile and clocked 9:41. Still, my pace seemed to be evening out a little and I had little reason to worry about going too fast since I was soon approaching.....

The Hills: From mile 5 to 9, there are some pretty intense climbs on this course. The incline started in mile 5 and I slowed down my pace a little because of my fear of burning out in the first half. Looking back, it was a wise move to make. Mile 5 came in at 10:40 and mile 6 came in at 10:56. Mile 7 continued with the upward incline and came in at 10:50. Miles 8 and 9 still had a number of hills, but there were a few downhills mixed in as well and my times started to improve a little. They came in at 10:20 and 10:13.

The Neighborhoods: From mile 10 to 17, the course weaves through several neighborhoods full of rolling hills. Luckily, there were as many downs as ups through this area and even a few flat areas to rest my poor quads and hams. My times came in pretty consistently through these miles with a low of 9:49 and a high of 10:24, with most times coming in right around 10 minutes.
The Wall and Beyond: Right around Mile 18, I started to get tired. The hills were not as intense, but they were still rolling along and my legs were getting tired. Luckily, I was still doing great psychologically and kept pushing through. Mile 18 came in at 10:58 and Mile 19 came in at 11:05. It was my first mile over eleven minutes and I still felt like my effort was the same if not more than the early miles that were coming in at 9 1/2 minutes. My body was just getting tired. Still, I felt like I was well on my way to a sub-5 hour marathon (my goal) and so I continued to push. By mile 20, I started bargaining with myself a little. I would run 4 minutes and then reward myself with a 1 minute walk break. Surprisingly enough, it didn't affect my pace near as much as I thought it would. Maybe Galloway has something afterall. Mile 20 came in at 11:03 and mile 21 came in at 11:10. I continued pushing through Mile 22 and 23 and they came in at 11:25 and 11:13. By the time I passed Mile 24, I was really tired. I kept telling myself that I had less than 25 minutes to the finish if I could keep up a decent pace. Unfortunately, a few more hills were being thrown in the mix at that point and my legs were just shot. I tried to continue my run 4- walk 1 pattern through the last few miles, but would often have to walk on some of the sharper inclines and I was getting really tired. Mile 24 came in at 11:53 and mile 25, which included a huge hill that I walked, came in at 12:41. I finished the 26th mile in 12:06. My Forerunner said that I actually ran 26.7 miles. This is probably because I was forced to weave in and out of runners a lot and ended up on running on the outside of curves to avoid the crowds. I guess those little bits of distance add up over that many miles.

Conclusion: Though the course was difficult, I felt very fulfilled at the end. I had cut over 45 minutes off of my previous marathon which was on a much easier course. The spectators at this marathon were amazing and the organization was great. I would recommend it to anyone.

Thanks for reading.

Let the lists begin...

2005-04-25T19:03:00.000-07:00

The next two weeks are going to be crazy. I have two friends coming in for the marathon and then on Tuesday, my two sister and her kids are coming to visit. It will all be fun, but very busy and my mind is running through things faster than I can keep track of them. Which, for me, means I must start making lists. Lots of lists. What to clean...what to eat...what to pack...who to call....etc.

So, today I started trying to figure out what I was going to need to pack for marathon day. I figure that maybe if I can start writing things down, my mind won't be so cluttered and this is one list that I should be able to easily get out of the way. So, here goes:

1. Basic Hygiene Stuff. This includes deodorant, shampoo, soap, contacts (I wear daily disposable), glasses, brush, pony tail holder, BodyGlide (lots and lots of BodyGlide).

2. Stuff to eat. Yes, we will be going out for Pasta once we are down in Cincinnati, but I need to have something that night before I go to bed and something at 5:00 that morning and more during the run. I plan to bring two Clif Bars and seven Accel Gels.

3. My Garmin Forerunner. I would be lost without it. I've done all of the training for this marathon with it.

4. The Video Camera/Digital Camera. I need to have evidence. Otherwise, my family may not believe me. I should also include their chargers since we have a tendency to drain batteries unintentionally.

5. Stuff to wear. This is where it starts to get tricky. Unless every forecast I can find is wrong, it is going to rain on us. So, I need to dress in layers and prepare to get wet. I'm going to bring two pairs of running shoes and a worn pair to change into after. I'm also bringing my favorite compression shorts, a sports bra, socks + an extra pair in case they get too wet, and two dri-weave shirts (one shorts sleeved and one long) to layer. I'll pack dry clothes for my husband to meet me at the finish with. I should also pack an umbrella or two and some garbage bags to keep us dry until the run starts. I am thinking about buying a pair of $1 throw away gloves to keep my hands warm at the beginning.

6. Picture I.D. and Stuff. I hear they actually check it before giving you your number at this expo.

7. Ibuprofen, Tylenol.... and maybe a little Vicoden. You never know how you might be feeling after a marathon. Also, I should bring my other regular medications. Marathon day is probably not the best day for me to forget to take my birth control.

Well, this is all I can think of right now. Please comment if something comes to mind. You might save me some major grief later on.

Only a few more days.

Surviving the Taper

2005-04-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well, I am officially in the taper. I only ran 2 miles on Monday and I will probably only do 5 today. There are all sorts of weird things that start going through your head when you are in the taper period before a marathon. With the huge cut in running, you have a little too much time to think. So, I have compiled a list of what to expect during the taper, which is based on my own experiences and is by no means comprehensive. Please feel free to add your own.

1. I have forgotten how to run. I find myself doing a quick jog down the hall or in the grocery store because I am convinced that I have forgotten how to run. After all, I've been doing so little of it, and I am suppose to run 26.2 miles in less than 2 weeks and it would be really bad if I just got there and had completely forgotten how. I wonder how long it would take me to walk 26.2 miles?

2. My left knee is feeling a little stiff. Or maybe that is my right knee. No, it was my right knee yesterday. I must be injured. Is that a limp I am detecting? That pain in my arch, is that plantar fascitis? Oh, no, it was just a lego in my shoe. Maybe I'm okay, except that my quad feels a little tight today or is that my IT band....

3. I'm getting fat and lazy. Sure, most of America couldn't run 5 miles straight if you paid them, but after topping 30 miles for several weeks in a row, cutting that in half makes me feel, well, lazy. I'm just not used to not feeling fatigue and lactic acid build-up in my legs all of the time.

4. I haven't done enough hill, speed, distance etc. training. I should probably go do a 20 mile tempo run this weekend through the hilly district just to be sure. Well, maybe not.

5. What about the weather.... or the crowd or that hill at mile 6? There are all sorts of things that I have no control over and yet, I still seem to enjoy obsessing over them. What if my husband can't find me at the finish line and I have to take up residence in Cincinnati? What if there is a huge pothole and I trip and break my ankle and the medical tent is still two miles away? What if I get the flu the day before?

Well. There you have it. Just a short list of things to expect as you approach the big day.

There is no rest for the paranoid.

Beautiful 10 Miler

2005-04-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well, this was the last long run before the marathon, though, to be honest, 10 miles doesn't seem like very long anymore. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful run. I ran the first half with a good friend. She is usually a lot faster than me, but she seemed to be dragging a little today. Just as we were finishing, I asked her if everything was okay. She admitted that she just found out that she is pregnant and has been feeling tired. What a wonderful excuse. I am so happy for her, though I fear I have lost a long distance running buddy.

The second half of the run was beautiful as well. My belly button started to chafe a little towards the end (probably the only place I didn't Bodyglide) and I have a big welt on it now, but if that is the worst thing I can say about the run, I will count it a success. Final time: 1:38.

My husband went out after I came home for a bike ride with his friend. He agreed that the day was about as perfect as they come and felt great after 36 miles.

Random Running Ramblings....

2005-04-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

The subject today is time. I have discovered, though not recently, that there are only 24 hours in each day. I have a husband. I have two small children. I tutor. I teach at the University, though I am taking a break right now. I have church and other activities. I have a huge yard that I can't stand being in an imperfect state. I am trying and seriously struggling to learn to play the piano. In the middle of all of it, I am training for a marathon.

Now, those of you who are runners and especially those of you who have trained for a marathon know the tremendous amount of time it can take. Right now, as I am looking forward to Flying Pig in less than three weeks, I realize that my life is revolving around this single event and I think that I am feeling a little guilt and selfishness because of this. Many of my other roles are being neglected at times because of the running and it bothers me.

At the same time, I feel so much like I need this in my life. I have felt more self-satisfaction and love of life in the last year than I have for many years. Several times a week, I get to do something for me. I have time to be alone with my thoughts and sort them out. I feel that I come back from a run stronger and more ready to take on the demands of my many life roles.

So, there you have it. That is the conflict that I feel from time to time. I have noticed that if I leave for a run at a time where I am feeling the weight of my other life obligations, that the run becomes much harder. I find myself feeling undeserving and guilty and physically tired before the run even starts. I should be home with my family. I don't have time for this. I should be doing something else. The negative thoughts can ruin a run in a matter of minutes.

Last Sunday, as I was running the half marathon that went so well. I just shut them all out. All of the negative thoughts. I knew that the run was going well and I started saying to myself, "I deserve this. I have worked hard and I deserve this." I told myself how excited my kids would be to see me at the finish and how proud my family was of me. For a while, I let it be okay and I had one of the greatest runs of my life.

So, now I wonder how much of this running thing is psychological anyway. How much of your performance do you feel is affected by your mood and how much by the general physical shape you are in? Obviously, I am not going to become a world class marathoner if I just believe in myself, but I think that it does make a difference in my performance and especially how I feel about a run afterwards.

Xenia Half Marathon Race Report

2005-04-10T09:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't believe it. I had a perfect race. Really, the best I could expect under any circumstances. The weather was beautiful. It started out at fifty degrees and topped out a little over sixty. The course was fairly flat and not too crowded after the first couple of minutes....and I won! I actually won the Athena division. I've never won anything athletic in my entire life. Granted, it was a small race with just over 400 participants.

I started out way too fast, but was able to maintain the pace and ended up on coming in somewhere around 2:06. I don' t have the exact time because I forgot to turn my Forerunner off and didn't look up when I went under the finish line, but that is pretty close.

I just kept getting sub 10 minute miles and I wasn't feeling tired and then they got faster and faster. Mile 9 and 10 came in at 9:07 and 9:14 respectively. I slowed down a little after that, but I felt good and finished strong.

When I crossed the finish line, the girl looked down at my tag and said, "Hey, you're the first Athena in, let me get your medal and plaque." So, now I have a plaque on my wall, sitting above my desk and it says First Overall Athena, Xenia Half Marathon. Wow, I feel so athletic.

A little nervous....

2005-04-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week I typed an entire post about my interval training and some of the other workouts that I had done this week. I'm close to 40 miles for the week and it will be downhill from here to the marathon. Anyway, I typed the post and I went to save it as a draft and then it was gone. I was too emotionally tired to relive the week's runs again at that point and so I let it go.

So, now it is 9:30 on Saturday night and I am starting to feel just a little nervous about this half marathon tomorrow. I've never done a half before. My husband asked when he should be at the finish line and I really wasn't sure what to tell him. I figured somewhere between 2:10 and 2:30, but a bad day might bring an even slower time and I just don't know what to expect after such a heavy training week. I was sore until Wednesday after that 20 miler.

I wasn't even nervous until today. Before now, I've had too much going on to worry about it. I've always just thought of it as a training run for Flying Pig and now suddenly I am worried about my time, which is just silly. I've always told myself that I will do the best I can do for that day and that is all I can do.

So, I had pasta for dinner tonight. I've packed my Bodyglide and Sunscreen. I've checked and rechecked the weather. I set my alarm and my husband's alarm. I'll show up in the morning. I'll run and I'll finish and then I will come back and report. Maybe it will be a great day and maybe it will just be another notch in my mediocre running career. Either way, I'll be glad I was out there.

20 Miler.....

2005-04-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

So, Sunday was the big day. I ran my 20 mile run. The longest I will go before this marathon and I had the worst run to date. I started out too late in the day and didn't eat or drink enough before I went out. The wind was gusting at 30 mph and the weather was about 20 degrees warmer than what I was used to running in.

The first couple of miles went slow. It was a 2-3% uphill grade into the wind. I obviously wasn't thinking clearly either, because I dropped my water at 2 miles and I wasn't turning around until 5 miles, leaving me with no hydration between 2 and 8 miles. What a terrible idea. I started going quicker at the turn around and managed to get back to the water, but I was in pretty rough shape by 10 miles. At that point, my time was 1:45, which is about 5 minutes slower than my normal 10 mile training runs have been coming in at. I figured that I would make it up on the second half, but that didn't happen.

I grabbed a bottle of water and another of Gatorade from my car and started the second half. I planned to drop the Gatorade at 2 miles and keep the water with me. The problem was that I kept sipping on the water and it was gone shortly after I dropped the Gatorade, so I was looking at another 6 mile stretch with no water. The wind was getting more unpleasant and the heat was getting worse.

The 17th mile was the slowest I have had since my last marathon. It was all I could do to keep moving at all. My Garmin Forerunner logged it at 13:45. Ouch! I was just willing myself to get to the Gatorade. My mouth was so dry that I couldn't swallow anymore and I started to have stomach cramps and dizziness.

Finally, I looked ahead and saw the spot where I dropped off my Gatorade. It was gone. Someone had actually taken my bottle of Gatorade. I've been running on these same trails for several months and I've never had anyone take my water or Gatorade off of the trail. This was a bad time for a first. I just about cried, but kept running at a slow pace. Another half mile past and a friend who had been running with me earlier ran back into me. She let me have the rest of the water she was carrying (about 8 ounces) and it was enough to keep me running the last mile and a half. Total time: 3:45 - about 20-30 minutes slower than I expected this run to go.

I'm hoping that I made all of the mistakes and everything hard happened on this last long training run, so that I can have a great marathon day. Next weekend is the Xenia Half Marathon and then there are only 3 weeks until Flying Pig. After the run I had on Sunday, I feel like it would be quite a victory just to finish.

About Me....

2005-04-02T13:10:00.000-08:00

Hi. My name is Kara and since I have enjoyed and been inspired by other people's running blogs, I would like to start my own. I have been running for just under a year and would be considered by most as a "back-of-the-pack" runner. As a self-proclaimed non-athlete, I am usually proud just to be participating in races and finishing before the finish line closes.

I am 29 years old and married with two small boys that keep me going all of the time. I think I took up running as a way to maintain my identity as I raise my young sons and also to keep fit as my metabolism is definitely not what it used to be. I also teach Math a few evenings a week at the local University.

I ran my first marathon last fall in Columbus, Ohio. It was a very long day for me, but I made it across the finish line and will proudly say that it took me 5 hours and 33 minutes to get there. My fastest race to date was the Turkey Trot that I ran last November - 5 Miles in 50:49. That is almost a 10 minute mile and quite a feat for me, especially since my average pace was 14 minutes per mile when I first started running. It is also the only race where I have placed in the first half of my division. I came in 22 of 78 in the Athena division.

So, my next big adventure is the Xenia Half Marathon next weekend and after that I am off to Flying Pig Marathon on May 1. My primary goal is to make it to the starting line of these races. The next goal is to finish. I am really hoping to get a sub-5 hour time on the Flying Pig, but I will be happy with a finish.

I have a 20 miler this weekend that I am running tomorrow and it will be the peak of my Flying Pig training before I start tapering. Anyway, that's me. Feel free to comment anytime on this blog. Thanks for reading.