Marathon Training - Week 21 Wrap Up

Nov 5th-Nov 11th ~ 35.9 Miles

Day 140 ~ 6 Recovery Miles
Day XX ~ Rest
Day 141 ~ Boot Camp & 3.5 Miles
Day 142 ~ Run 8 Miles
Day 143 ~ REST
Day 144 ~ REST
Day 145 ~ 18 Mile Long Run

Meal prep this week - My Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl

I swear, I should just skip rest days so I can keep the numbers right. I'm kidding. I'm kidding.

So, Marathon training is FAST wrapping up. I had one more long run this week, which my chiropractor advised against. Not the ENTIRE run, but no more than twenty miles.That was after telling me no more dancing on pine cones, which of course made me laugh harder than it should have. See, I had a major panic after my long run Wednesday night. I kept having these super sharp, pretty painful spikes in the side of my knee, so much so it felt like my leg was going to buckle. It didn't happen a lot, but it happened frequently enough to cause concern.

When I finished running that night, got home and got settled, the muscles above and below my knee got super tight, and I still had that spike of pain every once in a while. I stretched. I slept it off. Everything felt like it was going to be fine on Thursday, then I had to walk up three steps at work. Let's just say I was on the phone with the doctor's office as soon as they opened Thursday morning.

Dr. Wonderful asked me everything I'd done as usual, then I told him about the pine cone during my last long run. I don't know if I shared the pine cone story, but... running UP Neshoba in the almost sunrise, my foot landed on a freaking huge pine cone. If it had been a snake, this might be a very different conversation. Anyway, my left foot rolled forward and to the left. I screamed like a banshee, nearly gave Yella a heart attack as she lunged for me. We laughed it off, and I kept running. Everything fine Saturday. As you can see, everything wasn't fine. Dr. Aaron informed me that I had a new injury, to which he taped for me, which gave me a fairly successful run on Saturday.

Since we're talking about Saturday--like my segue? Anyway, it was cold and early, and my heart really wasn't into doing two laps of eleven miles around the same dreary parts of downtown and midtown Memphis. I figured out where to cut a mile out of the loop, which would've given me the twenty, but ugh... LOOPS! There's nothing I hate more than running a loop. So boring. I'll do it, but I'd rather visit the dentist on no caffeine day. Yeah. No.

Kirsten, my brilliantly insane running buddy, told me she hated loops too. We commiserated while running in the cold, watching our breath, and charging through downtown on how we could get the miles without doing the loops. She was deep in thought, doing math while I happily plodded along to whatever dance club jam was coming out of my phone while she muttered numbers beside me.

Eventually, her plotting and mathing led us to changing the plan and going off course for one of the funnest, most epic adventures of my marathon training. We took off toward the river and ran cross state lines! We went from Midtown Memphis, to Downtown, to Arkansas, and back again. There's been so much good change in my city, change I'd never seen until now. Martyrs park was so freaking cool. It would've been a lot cooler if we'd been about 20 minutes later and the bathroom at the visitors center had been open...

The last few miles weren't fun for either of us, but I had an injury, and we were both cold and flu season hungover. We still made the best of it and laughed along the way. Two more long runs before the big day!

Marathon Training - Week 19 Wrap Up

Oct 22nd-Oct 28th ~ 32.8 Miles

Day 126 ~ REST
Day 127 ~ REST
Day 128 ~ Boot Camp and Run (4.5)
Day 129 ~ Run 5.25 Miles
Day 130 ~ 70 Min. Dance, 3 Mile Run
Day 131 ~ REST
Day 132 ~ 20 Mile Long Run

Meal prep this week - Greek Orzo Salad

When marathon training makes you feel like a freaking rock star...

Okay so, back in August, when I looked at the calendar for this training, I looked at the mileage and immediately started thinking about what kind of jewels I wanted on my urn and what kind of flowers I wanted at my memorial because there was no way in hell I would ever get through this without dying. The first, twelve mile run (though I had done more than a dozen half marathons) had thoroughly convinced me that I wasn't cut out for the marathon distance. Some people just weren't built that way. Another really bad long run almost made me call it quits and walk off the route. I think it was pure stubbornness that kept me going that day, but whatever it was, I'm grateful for it now.

Saturday, I ran the longest distance I've ever run in my life. Let me back up and say that I had been dreading this run since August. I'd had nightmares about failing out before hitting twenty miles. Those who know me know I don't commit to anything I don't feel like I'll succeed at. Not a great way to live life, but I'm not emotionally equipped to deal with being a failure. Not yet. That's a whole different kind of blog. We'll work on that eventually, but for now... I don't fail. Period. Like I said... stubbornness.

The night before the 20 miles I was stressed the hell out. You would've thought it was race day. I made a pile of clothes, checked and rechecked them. Moved them so they didn't fall in the cat's water bowl. Moved them again so they wouldn't fall in the tub. Moved them again so my socks couldn't roll off and get lost. I packed my CamelBak with Twizzlers and M&Ms and two Honey Stinger waffles... more water than I really needed and a frozen bottle of Tailwind. Everything was going to be fine. It was going to be great... even if it took me all damn day to get back to my car.

My bottle of Tailwind never unfroze, neither did my face and fingers. But the cold was no big thing... just motivation to get the miles done faster so I could thaw out in a hot bath. Right?

Daniela and I split at about twelve miles. Kirsten, like most people who live in Memphis this time of year was battling ear and sinus infections, and didn't need to risk being in the cold. I'll go ahead and tell you she still feels bad about that no matter how much I tell her it's okay. It's still very much okay with me. Kirsten, I still love your silly ass.

I was ready for my little 8 mile adventure back to my car. A-okay! Well, it was until I nearly slid my booty across an icy bridge. Losing your footing after running like 14 miles is an interesting jolt to the system... that's all I'm saying. Things tingled where things shouldn't tingle. My heart was in my throat. Scared the poo out of me (thankfully, not literally speaking.) I took that opportunity to fuel while my heart shoved itself back in my chest. And I still had to cross that bridge one more time...

I carried on my little adventure, finding the fatigue setting in real good around the 17th mile. My legs were over it and though I still ran every half mile interval, they were being shortened every time. I was starting to get grumpy, but still had myself in check pretty good. Then my phone died, taking with it the music that made me just happy enough to be out there without giving up. So now all I had was my thoughts.

Running is very much a mental sport, and at this point, my longest run ever had the potential to turn into my worst run ever. I still had about 2 and a half miles left to go, in silence, and... ANDDDDD I was going to run right past the trail exit that led back to my car. Do you know the temptation to stop and call it quits was SOOOOOOOO huge. I mean, it took a fair amount of willpower to keep going. I honestly believed I wasn't going to make it. I'd stopped to stretch, to re-focus and figure out a way to get through that last little bit without my music and without someone to talk to, when a man in a bright green shirt came jogging... errrrr running by me. He gave me an sympathetic smile and a soft good morning. Okay. Okay. Fine. Since he was being that way--all nice and junk--I could keep going. When I rounded the next corner, there he was... doing the same exact thing I had been doing a few seconds ago.

Of course, I had to ask, "how many miles?" To which he said seventeen. He started walking with me and I wasn't the least bit creeped out by this. He was one of my people. A runner. I learned in the next fifteen minutes or so that his name was Craig and he's 55. He'd only been running for a year and a half, and was also training for his first full marathon as was his wife, who was battling a cold and couldn't be out there with him. Thanks to random stranger found on trails, I got through the rest of my run with no problem. I was REALLY appreciative of my rebel spirit and breaking my parents' "don't talk to strangers" rule. LOL


While I'm on the subject of thanking people for their contribution to my training, I would be remiss if I didn't point out the people who have been there on those early, EARLY mornings... in the heat and in the cold...

The ones who have pulled me through some pretty miserable middle-of-the week long runs, while also being a part of the pretty incredible middle-of-the-week long runs.

The ones who have called me when it was obvious I needed a head check, the ones who have been there to get and give sweaty hugs.

Even as I sit here and type this, the list goes on and on, to the instructors at the gym who know it's cool to go all drill sergeant on me because now wasn't the time to slack, to the friends who promise to be there in whatever capacity I need on the big day. Most importantly, and I'll have more to say about him on game day, but thanks to the ONE who has been putting up with my moodiness and my cravings and (no, I'm not pregnant, but like another friend said... I'm birthing a marathon here) most importantly loving me no matter how much of a brat I'm being. I fully acknowledge this was a group effort, and I couldn't have gotten this far without these crazy, wonderful people.

"Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you even when you don't see it yourself."

~ Edmund Lee