Getting started tips

I belong to a fitness message board and I got a PM from one of the members asking for advice on how to train for her first half marathon. I put together a really long reply to her and thought I would paste it here as well. Just so you know, at the message board we are known as The Firm YaYa's (The Firm after The Firm workout series, but most of us are into other forms of exercise as well and YaYa after the book "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood") Here's the reply:

Buffy,

Thanks for the congrats! First off ... you can TOTALLY do this. Two and half years ago I was in a pretty bad car accident where I was in the hospital for one month, in a wheel chair for 3 months and crutches another 2-3 after that. I broke my hip, pelvic bone (there is actually a large screw in there now), shoulder, ribs and had my spleen removed. For a time I never thought I would be able to sit up in bed unassisted much less walk much less RUN! At the time I started training for my marathon, I was at least 50 pounds over weight (75 over my pre-kids weight). I once ran an entire mile (in 5th grade) and never made THAT mistake again! After that in gym when we had to do it, I would walk half of it. So basically if anyone couldn't run ... I was really that person. I really thought that I would never ever be a runner. So if I can do it ... you can definitely do it!

Here's a copy/paste from a post I put up a while back on Yayas:

Basically as a group, we worked up to running a base 3 miles. Then we started a 7 week plan that is like this:

Week 1 - 3.5, 3.5, 5
Week 2 - 4, 4, 8
Week 3 - 5, 5, 10
Week 4 - 6, 6, 12
Week 5 - 4, 4, 10
Week 6 -3, 3, 8
Week 7 - 4, 3, 2, rest two days then ... 13.1

My running partner and I have strayed a little bit based on what our bodies are up to. Some days I wish I had another month, but at the same time, I don't have any room for procrastination at this point. I know I'll be running this marathon in a little over a month, so I HAVE to get my runs in each day.

Oh, and as far as building up the base 3 miles. For me, I started at an indoor track. It was 10 laps = 1 mile. The first week I would run 5 laps (so .5 miles) and then alternate running walking as it felt good (good being a relative term!) Those first few days pretty much killed me. I really could not fathom running even a mile. Each week I added 2-3 laps on to that base and continued alternating walking and running. After about 3 weeks I was doing a total of 2.5-3 miles, just with lots of walking. Each week I got a little closer to running it all. I remember at first I just couldn't even breath, and now that isn't really a factor at all. It does take the first 1.5 -2 miles to find the right rhythm.

I've been very careful and listened to my body because I do NOT want to injure myself. I bought good shoes from a running store (they watch you run and pick out shoes that work for you.) It was the first time in my life I bought shoes based on how they feel and not how they look! I still have a long way to go, but for those of you just started out or toying with the idea ... you can SO do this! I've been on this board since the beginning and I was always (still am!) in such awe of runners. I always secretly wanted to be able to do it. Never REALLY thought I could. Feels good to prove myself wrong!

I battled a shin injury and went out of town, so my training did not go as planned. I think it looked more like this:

We normally did the runs on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday which allowed for 2 full rest days before a long run.
Week 1 - 3.5, 3.5, 5
Week 2 - 4, 4, 6
Week 3 - 4, 4 (had shin pain and couldn't do the long run)
Week 4 - 4 (was on vacation and did no running!)
Week 5 - 4.5, 4, 10
Week 6 - 3, 3.5 (had to stop due to severe shin pain and took 6 days off)
Week 7 - 4 , rest two days then ... 13.1

What I would do differently is definitely give more time for training which would allow to add up the miles a little slower. This would also allow for taking off time if there is fear of an injury. You can see that I did not have very many long runs, and I went up in mileage quickly there. I think that is what tweaked my shin. It was always the week after the biggest long runs that I had the most shin pain. My shin is now just starting to feel better. I went for my first run since the half (about 10 days) and only ran for 15 minutes and walked the rest because it's still not right. When I train for my next half, I will build up my long runs more slowly that even that original plan called for. Something like this:

Week 1 - 3, 3, 5
Week 2 - 3, 3.5, 6
Week 3 - 3.5, 4, 7
Week 4 - 4, 4.5, 8
Week 5 - 4.5, 5, 9
Week 6 - 5, 5.5, 10
Week 7 - 5.5, 6, 11
Week 8 - 6, 6, 12
Week 9 - 6, 6, 12
Week 10 - 5, 5, 10
Week 11 - 4, 4, 8
Week 12 - 4, 3, 2 (rest at least two full days), 13.1

General rule of thumb is have your weekday mileage add up to your long run mileage. Some people prefer to run 4-5 days a week. Three days a week worked well for us to have a full recovery day in between each run and two recovery days before a long run.

Once you start running 5 miles or more, you'll want to make sure you have water and some form of energy. I bought an amphipod from my running store which is basically a fanny pack that you can attached small water bottles to. Some people prefer to drive their route ahead of time and plant water bottles along the way. When I do a 5 mile run, about 45 minutes to 1 hour ahead of time I'll eat 1 piece of wheat toast w/ PB and half a banana. Find a good combo of carbs and protein that works for you, but do not eat a lot. You don't want to be nauseous because of all of the food in your stomach. Any longer than that I start using energy GUs or bloks (running stores have a huge variety of these gels, energy fruit snacks, jelly beans, etc. that are specially formulated with the proper amount of carbs and protein needed to keep you going strong.) You'll want to test them out and find what works for you, some of them are pretty gaggy. I was told to take one serving 15 minutes before the run and then take a serving every 45 minutes. They even have ones with caffeine in them which give an extra boost towards the really long runs.

If you run in the evening, allow at least 2 hours after a meal. I made the mistake of eating a stir fry meal 1 hour before a run, thinking that would be plenty of time ... oy I was so nauseous it was miserable.

So there's a whole lot of info ... I hope it helps! Oh, if you are working on building up your base mileage, try a rotation like Couch to 5K. You can check out my blog where I've journaled as I went along (it's a lot of reading though!): here I suggest keeping a blog or journal at Yayas so you can track you progression. It's very helpful.

Okay, enough from me. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Carrie

30 by 30 Week 1

5/26/08 -
Exercie - Yes
Cathe's Pure Strength Chest, Shoulders and Triceps (PS CST) plus 10 minute of Ab work

• Was not too hard ... have a better idea of which weights to start with next time
• I made it through every rep of the ab work which surprised me!
• Feeling nicely worked the day after

Nutrition - Yes
Stayed on track (even passed on the pancake breakfast at the church!) No real cravings. If anything, my calories were too low

5/27/08
Exercie - Yes
Running 15 minutes, walking 35 minutes
I set out to run for 45 minutes (which would be approx. 3 miles) but my right shin was pretty sore. I could tell I was limping as I ran to compensate and didn't want to aggravate it or get another injury. Walking felt good, so I cranked up the ipod and tried to keep a good pace going.

Nutrition - Yes
Went shopping today and bought most of my food from the produce section and frozen foods. Got some natural and/or organics of some of my favs (ranch, PB) which didn't have the corn syrup or partially hydrogenated oils. I did eat after 8pm, but I got back from my run/walk at 9pm and needed some more fuel so I had some PB on bread with a banana. I'll have to update that rule to be now late night snacking unless I am exercising late.

5/28/08
Exercie - Yes
PS Strong Legs and Abs (PS SLA)
This was 64 minutes that kicked my butt! I definitely have lots of room for improvement on this one. I had to be careful with my sore right shin, but beyond that it was just hard. I was feeling so low on energy even just doing the warm up. I was using relatively light weight

Nutrition - Yes
Had a couple of hurdles that I soared over. First was going out to dinner with one of the people I am coaching. I thought about what I wanted to get ahead of time, so I wouldn't be tempted to get something outside of my eating plan (I'm saving my free meal for Saturday with my sisters). We went to Hoppers and I totally passed on the fresh homemade bread (it looked so YUMMY but was white) and I got an Oriental Chicken Salad. It was very yummy. Then last night I had strong, STRONG cravings for anything and everything. It was weird, because I knew that I really wasn't hungry, I just wanted to eat. I was glad to go to sleep to get away from the cravings. Nights are always my weak point, but I prevailed!

5/29/08
Exercie - Rest Day
I think I'm going to change things a bit until my shin is completely healed (it's still bugging me). I am going to low impact aerobics on my running days. once it feels strong, then I will start running again. I've got my nephews now, so I'll do my workout this afternoon.

Nutrition - Yes

5/30/08 - 6/1/08
I went up to Logan for the weekend. I stuck to my nutritional goals, though there were some temptations. I did have about 5 bites of a yummy ice cream at the Mexican Restaurant on Saturday night. I had planned one cheat meal, and didn't actually want to cheat for the meal (weight loss was so motivating!) but allowed myself the ice cream.

30 by 30

Okay, so I decided to set some new goals now that I have completed my half marathon. This year I will be celebrating my 30th birthday (YIKES!) and I thought how cool would it be to lose 30 pounds by my 30th birthday?!? I have 5 months which means I would need to lose about 1.5 pounds a week. Challenging, but very possible. I figure if I can go from 0 to 13.1 miles in 3 months, I can do ANYTHING!

Exercise (I will breakdown my exercise plans into shorter goals.) Here is my plan for the first month:

• 3 days a week - Cathe's Pure Strength (It has 3 workouts that alternate strength training on all of the major muscle groups. I can start out light and add weight as I improve)
  
• 3 days a week - run (I am probably going to run another 1/2 marathon in August, so I'll want to keep improving on my running)

Nutrition:

• Cut out high frutcose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils and white flower. Use white sugar sparingly.
• Keep track of food at fitday.com. Here's a link to my fitday account: click here
  
• Add more fresh (or frozen) fruits and veggies
• Measure portions
• Nothing after 8pm (unless I need fuel after a late run)
  
• No calorie restrictions for now. I think if I follow the above then I won't have a problem with calories. Also when running and strength training, there will be days that my body will crave more carbs and protein.
• 1 cheat meal each week
  

Yesterday I weighed in, took measurements and took pictures. I will weigh in each Monday and do measurements and pictures every 4 weeks. I will keep track here how many pounds are lost.

A couple of pictures

I got some pictures from Triscia ...

This is the night before waiting for dinner. Triscia is in the very front. Middle row is Robin, Whitney (she let us stay at her house ... THANKS!), me and Sarah. Back row is Paige, Sherry and Emalia.



This is at about 4am as we are heading down to load the buses. From left to right it's Triscia, Sarah, Me, Paige and Robin.



You can kind of see us here. Robin and I coming out of the canyon. I'm in the hot pink shirt.



This is me crossing the finish line. If you zoom in you will see I look ready to die!

I DID IT!!!

Whew, what a weekend. I am still toast today! So, here's the run down ...

Friday was spent down at BYU for the last of the PTA convention. I snuck out early, since I still needed to pack. At 4pm me and 5 other girls from the neighborhood headed up to Ogden. Though we got stuck in some traffic, we had fun talking about everything under the sun (you get 6 girls together with no kids or husbands ... well you can imagine!) We stopped at Paige's sister's house in Layton which is where we were to spend the night. She has a gorgeous house. All six of us had our own beds (the kids camped out in the living room for us!) We then headed over to Ogden to pick up the race packets. There were a lot of people there and there was definitely an excitement in the air. We picked up our packets with our official racing bibs (my number was 4874) and then got our timing chips and t-shirts. We decided to eat dinner at the Union Station Grill which was right there, since we were starved. We took a picture of the group while we waited. We met Triscia's mom (she was getting ready to run her 31st marathon!) Dinner was so yummy, I will definitely have to go there again.

We decided to drive the course before we headed back. Don't know if it was a good idea or not. It seemed so long while we drove it! But I tried to stay positive and force any nerves out. By the time we were done it was about 9pm. The girls really wanted to go to Nielsen's Frozen Custard. I really wanted to go to bed (knowing we would be getting up at 3:30am) but we were having so much fun and I figured why not live it up?!? So we went and I shared some OH SO yummy ice cream with Triscia and Emmalia. We got into bed around 11pm. I had a room all to myself so I was able to fall asleep right away. Some of the others had trouble sleeping between creaking beds, snoring and nerves!

3:30 came awfully early. There was a certain amount of excitement in the air that made it possible to get out of bed. It did help that I had laid everything out the night before so I didn't have to really think yet. I loaded up on Ibuprofen and made my PB bagel. It was quite a feat to eat so early in the morning, but we needed the fuel. We loaded the bus around 4:20am. I looked around at all the people (there were tons of buses lined up). Everyone was chatting excitedly and I had this surreal moment. I didn't know people did this. I knew people ran races, but to get up at that hour and to be happy about it? Knowing what they were going to be doing to their bodies? To see the shear number of crazies (total there was 2000 running the marathon and 1500 running the half). Then I realized that I was one of those people. I was up at that hour ... I was going to run 13.1 miles! And I was excited!

The bus dropped us off at the starting point where there was a big line of port-a-potties, mini bon fires and load music (mind you it's not even 5am yet!) There were several houses around this area in the canyon ... I am sure they loved the wake up call! Now we got to wait until the official race start of 7am. Because the race comes out of the canyon, you can't just drive up to the start 20 minutes before it starts, the roads are shut down. So if you want to do it, you have to take the bus shuttle. So we camped out around one of the fire pits and took turns warming up next to it (there was too many people there for everyone to be right by the fire.) We joined up with another girl from our neighborhood and her sister along with Paige's sister and her two friends. Somehow that two hours went by fairly quickly. We went to the potty and stretched just in time to start lining up. The had signs of where to start based on your pace. The last sign was for a 10 minute pace. Robin and I run about a 15 minute pace so we just headed to the backish end of the herd.

We could hear the official start, but it was still a little while before we moved forward. This is what the timing chip is for. It goes around the ankle and times the exact time we cross the start and then various intervals throughout the race and times the finish exactly. We almost felt like crying as it started ... the good kind of cry! We started off slow and steady working to get into our pace. We passed the marker for mile 1 and were in shock. Surely we had only gone 1/4 mile. Going into the second mile was the only real incline of the course. We power walked it just as we planned since we didn't want to aggravate Robin's tendon injury. After that we started to get into a jogging groove. Miles 2 and 3 just blew us away at how quickly they came. I noticed that the muscles in my feet were tight and sore throughout the race. This is something I never noticed in training. I think it's from standing in the cold for two hours before the race. Robin and I had our opposite hi's and lo's which is so perfect for us. She pushes me when I can't go any further and I push her through her rough times.

Somewhere towards to end of the canyon, two marathon wheelchairs passed us. It was cool to see them. not too far behind were the first two male marathon runners. Each time they had a police escort asking us to move to the left of the lane to make room. So this is what we would would do as the came our way ... head to the left. Well, there was a group of three young guys that were probably about 7th overall, so doing pretty well. I told Robin they were coming so we moved to the left. At the same time, they moved to the left as well and ran into her. One of them shouted, "You suck ... keep your lines!" Well we felt horrible. We didn't mean to do that and were only doing what the previous police escorts had asked. Robin was about to cry. I told her that we had every right to be there and even though they had run more miles, we have been running just as long and are just as tired. So then a few minutes later another guy comes up and I was like, "Crap Robin, here's another one." We scrambled to get out of his way. Well, he was so nice and says, "Hey don't worry, it's your race too." We thanked him for being so nice and told him what those guys had said. He told us to ignore them. I told him that I hoped he beat them all! I am so glad that he came by at that point because it helped us shrug off those meanies!

We came out of the mouth of the canyon with about 5 miles to go. Taylor, Aubrey and Braden were there to cheer me on. I stopped for a second to pick up Braden and give them each hugs and kisses. It was SUCH a boost to see them. We then started to run a trail through a park. It was a pretty trail and there were people cheering us on more often since this area was more accessible. Another couple miles down the trail I saw Taylor and the kids. At this point I could only wave and blow kisses and I ran past. There was no stopping. I just felt the pull to get it done! With about two miles left to go, Robin said "Let's run it all, no walking!" I really wanted to, but my lungs were just burning. Normally the thought to run two miles is not daunting, but I just was dying. I pulled out my ipod and put on Josh Groban's "Don't give up" and took off. I got out of my head and just ran. As the song finished up I started feeling bad that I was not waiting for Robyn. I decided to take off the headphones and stay with her. She said I could keep them on, but I felt bad withdrawing from her when we were so close to the end. Every time I ran, my lings burned and it just killed me.

On the final one mile stretch, I couldn't do it anymore. I started walking while Robin kept her jog. I kept a fast walk so I never got too far behind her. I tried running a few times and it was just killing me. I decided to run the cattle run which is where all of the people were. I honestly don't know how I did it. It was like when you are learning to swim, and your mom keeps walking backwards. I felt like every step closer to the finish line that it moved two steps further. People shouted out encouragements like "You're almost there! You can do it!" I wanted to shout back but couldn't even do that. I didn't even have it in me to look for Taylor. It was all about one foot in front of the other. I just about burst with tears as I crossed the finish line. A paramedic came up to be and I told her I was fine, I was just going to cry. Someone handed me a water bottle and someone else put my medal over my head. Everybody was so nice and I was SO PROUD. I had DONE it! There was a misting station which I paused under for a minute. Then I remembered my ipod and didn't want to ruin it. The rest of our group was huddled together. I cried even more when I saw them. We took a group picture with our medals (can't wait to see how lovely we looked!)

I knew I needed to eat something, even though I wasn't hungry. They were giving out Jamba Juice (small ones) and wheat bread. So I grabbed them and started eating. The flavor of the smoothie was so good compared to the yucky GUs! I found Taylor and the kids and got down to stretch out. My body felt surprisingly good. Definite exhaustion and muscle fatigue, but my shins, joints and bones felt good. I was even able to make the walk to the car (very slowly!) I thought I would crash in the car on the way home, but I couldn't sleep. In fact I had a hard time resting even after getting home a showered. I would doze off and dream that I was still running. I didn't do much on Saturday besides stretching and kneaded the muscles. Yesterday we all went to church. We compared war stories and aches. Today I feel good, but am still sore. My right calf gets really tight, and it's hard especially on the stairs.

Robin signed up to do another half towards the end of August. I am thinking that I might do it as well. There is about as much time from now until then as there was from when I started from nothing. It might be neat to see the difference in what my body can do in these three months. I still have to look at the dates and see if it will work.

I will get some pictures up here sometime this week. I don't have access to them right now.

5/17/08 - 13.1 miles!!!
Saucony shoes - 83.35 miles

I'm here and alive and have two more days to go!!!

So I have been in hiding somewhat. I'll explain. Last Thursday I went to do my long run for the week (since my Friday and Saturday were full). My right shin had been bugging me quite a bit, well as soon as I started running it hurt ... BAD! I tried combos of walking and running and finally had to stop at about 3.5 -4 miles because it just didn't stop hurting. After seeing Robin through all of her injuries, I didn't want a stress fracture or to make it worse. I went through all kinds of emotions and really almost gave up on myself. I really just focused on what I had to do that weekend and didn't go there. Had a really bad eating day on Monday.

Finally called Robin to come up with a plan Monday night. Tuesday was bad for both of us so we decided to go this morning. Unfortunately she slept in (yea I got to go back to bed!) so I went on my own tonight. I got in 4 miles (really don't want to do much more than that so close to the race, but I could have) and feel so much better now. Today was the first day that my shin didn't hurt immediately from the time I woke up. While running I noticed it, but it wasn't PAINful. The first two miles killed (don't they always?) but I started to get the groove back for the last two. It felt so good to be able to do it. I was really afraid that I wouldn't be able to do the race on Saturday ... and not by choice. I feel much more confident after today's run.

So today I went and got a new running outfit, cause a girl's gotta be cute, right? Got some more gels and energy chews. The next two days I will be gone all day for PTA convention ... Thursday night I have SELP and then Friday night we pick up the packets. What a full couple of days!!! (Oh and me and my sistas are having our first home show up in Logan on the 31st! ... lots to get ready for for that to happen!)

5/8/08 - 3.5 miles (Lone Peak track)
5/14/08 - 4 miles (Iron Mesa track - 2 miles w/ hill)
Saucony shoes - 70.25 miles

12 more days!

Only 12 more days until the 1/2 marathon. Here is a description of the marathon (us halfers are starting at mile 13.1):

START
The start of the Ogden Marathon is just below the red Rock Outfitters Ranch which is located 8 miles east of Huntsville on Highway 39. The start elevation is 5400 feet. here, runners will enjoy music, warm fires and plenty of Porta Johns.

START TO MILE 8
Runners will quickly understand why the Ogden Marathon is coined "Utah's Spring Run-Off." Runners will enjoy the easy, gradual descent down Highway 39 following the South Fork of the Ogden River and passing numerous campgrounds. The course flattens out at about mile 6 and runners will pass the first marathon relay exchange at mile marker 7. At mile 8, the course turns north onto Highway 166.

MILE 8 TO MILE 13.1
The next 5.1 miles are relatively flat with several long stretches. Runners will begin running around the east and north side of Pineview Reservoir. Spectacular views of the late, Ogden valley, Snowbasin Ski Resort and numerous horse properties with old, rustic barns will be enjoyed along the way. The second relay station (for the start of the third leg) is at mile 13.1 and the start line for the half-marathon. This start line/relay exchange is at Eden Park and will feature much of the same vibe as the marathon start line with warming fires, music and partying. This is a popular spectator spot. be sure to check out the historic buildings including JM Wilbur & son General Blacksmithing on the left and the Eden general Store and historical church straight ahead on the right.

MILE 13.1 TO MILE 17
Runners will head west again. Views of Wolf Mountain Ski Resort (formally Nordic Valley) can be seen on the right side of the mountain. At approximately mile 14, runners will encounter the only real hill on the course. Fortunately, it is only a half-mile long and is a gradual climb. Runners will be rewarded with full views of Pineview Reservoir at the top. The next several miles head south along the east side of the lake. Runners cross Pineview Dam at mile 17 and begin the biggest descent of the course.

MILE 17 TO MILE 22
The 6 miles from the dam of Pineview Reservoir to the mouth of Ogden Canyon account for almost 65% (approximately 617 feet) of the total elevation drop. This is definitely one of the runners' favorite legs of the race. Runners now will run along the roaring Ogden River in beautiful Ogden Canyon. Breathtaking views of pine-covered slopes changing into steep rock faces will be encountered along with quaint homes nestled along the river's edge. the third relay exchange point (for the start of the fourth leg) located at The Oaks restaurant will be passed at mile 18. The Oaks rest stop is always one of the runners' favorites with loud music, volunteers in costume and funny signs and banners. another point of interest this section is the Indian Trailhead located on the left at Coldwater Canyon (approximately mile 21). Leaving Ogden Canyon at mile 22, runners will pass the Ogden waterfall located on the right side of the Ogden River and the hot springs on the left side.

MILE 22 TO MILE 26.2 (THE FINISH LINE!!!)
At the mouth of Ogden canyon, runners will turn and enter onto the Ogden River Parkway which runners will follow for approximately 3 miles. The fourth and last relay exchange occurs here at mile 23.1 just before the Dinosaur Park. Along the parkway, runners may encounter walkers, bikers, fishermen or families enjoying the parks. Only one mile of the course is run in an urban setting on the final stretch from the parkway to the finish line at Grant Avenue and Historic 25th Street. Once on Grant avenue, the finish line will come into view.

Here's the map is you want to see: http://www.usatf.org/routes/view.asp?rID=101421

Robin I got up early this morning to run 4 miles. I was exhausted! It's been a while since we got up so early. I struggled to have enough energy (note to self, must bring energy gels next time). Robin forgot to take her Alleve and was experiencing pain. We didn't want to push it too far, so we ended up doing 3 miles. She's really struggling with the injuries she had and now she's doubting her ability to run it. I hope that she can do it, but it certainly wouldn't be worth major injury.

5/5/2008 - 3 miles

I need to start keeping track of the mileage I am putting on my shoes.

Saucony shoes: 62.75 miles

Dum da da DUM ...

Guess what? I ran 10 miles on Saturday, that's what!

I was having such a hard time before hand. Robin couldn't run, because her doctor told her she couldn't run until Monday. So, I could either go with her to the gym and get my 8-10 on the treadmill, or I could go on my own (the other runners were running at 6:30, but they run faster, so I'd basically be on my own.) I couldn't imagine doing either. Really I just didn't have confidence in myself being able to run that long. I was practically in tears beforehand and Taylor asked what he could do to help. I told him that there wasn't anything he could do ... I just had to go and do it.

I found a park that has a 1 mile loop and talked to Taylor and the kids about hanging out at the playground while I ran. They agreed. We packed a picnic for them and lot of water and energy gels for me. I loaded my ipod with upbeat music. I planned to do at least 8, but really wanted to do 10. The park was beautiful and the temp was perfect. I was strong the first two miles, however 1/3 of the mile look is a very steep and then very UPhill run. The up was killing me. So, I decided to finish the rest on the 2/3 mile loop which was slightly hilly, but pretty level. By mile 6 I was feeling strong and decided to go for 10. At mile 8.5 I was regretting the decision, but kept going. Aubrey ran a total of two of the miles with me (this is with NO training!) I ran out of music on the ipod, but started over again. My last lap was quite emotional. I blasted Josh Groban's "Don't give up!" and was tearful as I finished.

What I learned:

• I CAN and WILL finish the marathon (and it won't kill me!)
• I DO NOT like the peach banana gel shot ... GAG!
• The Orange vanilla gel shot was bearable as were the strawberry bloks
• Stretching is important, including upper body (I got really tight in my shoulders and back and had to walk while stretching it out several times)
• It's not the end of the world if I need to stop and walk.
  

It took me 2 1/2 hours, which is pretty consistent with our 15 minute mile pace. Slow and steady I tell ya! It was such a feeling of accomplishment.

5/2/2008 - 10 miles

Got my Wed run in ...

I swear I posted on Thursday morning, but I can't find it anywhere! I'm losing my mind! Hehehe. So Robin and I went for our 4 miler on Wednesday night. I have to say, it was QUITE pleasant to run without waves of nausea! I was actually feeling quite strong, which was very nice. Robin is having right hip pain (from compensating for the left leg shin injury) and was having a hard time. We did do the 4 (4.5 with warmup) but did walk some towards the end, because of the pain she was having. He doctor says she can't run until Monday, so now I am left to figure out what to do. She might go to the gym on the elliptical so I could go there and run the treadmill (two hours on a treadmill?) or do my own run. I don't know ... I think either way will be tough. Definitely need to pull out my ipod!

I've kind of got some nerves going about Saturday. it felt good to be powerful on Wednesday, but I KNOW I can run 4 miles ... I've done it several times. I've never run 8-10 miles before. So I am working through this today so that I can be strong tomorrow. I think of Dory from Nemo, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming ..." maybe I just need to turn off my mind and just keep running! ;)

4/30/2008 - 4 miles