Looking Back

It is the time of year for reflecting on accoplishments and challenges, goals met and forgotten, good times and bad.  I started looking back by going to my first blog entry in February, 2010, when I wrote:

I am going to run a marathon. I have not decided when, or where, but I'm going to do it.
I started to train yesterday. I ran for 30 minutes and went 3 miles plus a warm up and cool down. At that pace, it would take me 4 hours and 22 minutes to run the marathon distance, IF I could keep that pace going for 4 hours and 22 minutes, which I definitely couldn't have done yesterday, hence the training.

This October, I ran a marathon, finishing in 4:20:30 (chip time), just a smidge faster pace than that tough first 5K run just 8 months before.  That feels like an accomplishment.

The reason I pushed myself to make this goal, and to get up off the couch and get back to running after a 3 month hiatus, was a serious case of something a little worse than the winter blahs.  This time last year, I was not in a very happy place.  Getting out for that first run was a challenge, and every once in a while, it's still a challenge to get out, but I'm so glad I took that first run of 2010 in February, and I'm so glad that I didn't stop when I had a bad day or when the weather got colder again.

Along the way to the marathon I completed two half marathons, PRing in each, and coming within less than a minute of a sub-2 hour half marathon time.  I also ran my first 10K race this year.

Without starting the year with a total mileage goal, I'm finishing with a little over 900 miles, which feels pretty good.  I've never tracked my mileage so closely before, but I know this is far more than I've ever accumulated in one year in the past.

I also didn't start with a goal to lose weight, but I've taken off a few pounds (some might say a few too many pounds), and have been more mindful about what I eat.  It makes me feel better when I run if I'm taking in good fuel, but it also makes me feel better when I'm not running if I'm eating things that are good for my body.  I have not felt as good as I have this year, in a long time.

2010 has been good to me in other ways too.  I had an amazing trip beyond the Arctic Circle with the BF, fun times with old friends in New York City, and while work has been going well, I think I've finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up (more on that soon).

Goals for 2011, coming soon!

Weight Room, Part 2

A couple of weeks ago, I made my first journey to THAT side of the gym.  I met with a trainer for a weight room orientation and wrote about it here.

I left my first session with mixed feelings:  I realized that the weight room was not nearly as scary as I thought, but we had tried so many machines and so many exercises, so quickly that I didn't know that I would know where to begin if I had to go back on my own.

Thank goodness for session two, which happened today!  The trainer let me start off by choosing my own method of warming up.  Rather than hop on the treadmill, I went back to the TRX which she had introduced me to last week.  After a quick reminder on the correct stance, I went through 3 sets of reps of the exercise she had shown me before and then she demonstrated a few other squat and sit-up variations to try while I was there.  Other than almost taking out a woman on the elyptical with my arm swing, that went pretty well.

This time around the gym, the trainer reminded me of the different machines we had tried before to work the same muscle groups and asked which ones I liked/thought I would actually do on my own.  Stepping up and down on the bench, thrusting a weight in the air in a Lady Liberty stance next to all the high school boys on the free weights?  No, thank you.  Using a pully machine off in the corner is more my style.  Thrusting my pelvis in the air with legs butterflied and balanced on a ball to work my thighs?  Give me hamstring curls instead, please.

By the end of today's session, the trainer had led me back around the gym, but this time letting me do 3 full sets of 10-15 reps of each exercise.  Giving me lots of guidance on the first rep, teaching me how to check myself on the second and leaving me to it on the third.  She set the weight and then let me go up or down as I felt comfortable.  She reccorded everything and gave me a copy of the program to work on for the next little while as well as a few new ab exercises to try out.

Here it is:

Hack Squat (split with lunges) 2-3 sets of 10-15 reps
Assisted Lift - 2-4 sets of 10-15 reps
Hamcurl alternated with Cable Pull Through 2-3 sets of 10-15
Ball Chest Press, Chest Fly and Tricep Extension - 2-3 sets of 10-15
Lateral Raise on Bosu 2-3 sets of 10-15
Low seated Row 3 sets of 10-15
Back Extension 2-3 sets of 10 without weight (for now)
10 minute Abs

I feel like I'm using pretty wimpy weights for everything, but ya gotta start somewhere, right?

After this second session, I definitely feel as though I could get through all of the above without much guidance.  Now it's just a matter of fitting it into my schedule!

Happy Easter?!

Uh, what happened to winter?

We have had the white stuff around here since late November.  The temperature has been up and down throughout December and we've had some sunny days and some snowy days, but the week leading up to Christmas felt down right spring-y!

There was still snow on the ground on Christmas Eve, but it was 9*C when I headed out for a run in capris and a lightweight long sleeve.  (I snapped a pic but am having technical difficulties uploading from my iPhone).  It was a slushy run, but I held a consistent pace for my longest run since my marathon back in October.  I've been going out consistently between 5-10K, but hit 10 miles on this run.  I had 3 quick breaks:  One to get a pesky rock out of my shoe, one to use the washroom at the rec centre, and one when I ran past the BF's sister in law to coordinate last minute plans for Christmas dinner.  And, all of those hilly runs with the running group have been paying off - I made it up THE HILL late in the run, without a break (though my pace did dip a bit).

I wasn't sure how I would feel after my longest run in months, but was surprised to find that I didn't feel at all tired or sore afterwards, which is helping my confidence as I gear up for another round of marathon training, starting soon!

Christmas itself was a whirlwind, as always, and I haven't been out for a run since the 24th, though the BF and I did go out for a nice 2 hour hike today out of town, higher in elevation, and away from the slush.

Amongst other things, I received these for Christmas:

As well as one of these:

I'm looking forward to reading the books and trying out the arm band soon!

What running related gifts did you get this year?





The Big, Scary, WEIGHT ROOM!!!

Is not so scary afterall!

Silly me!

My gym routine usually goes something like this:  Beeline to the treadmill.  Run.  Head to the mats.  5 minute stretch.  Get outta there.

Sometimes I look at the weights.  Sometimes I'll put myself on a steeper incline or run a faster pace and hold it until, that old guy is done on that machine, or that girl finishes with the free weights, but never, NEVER, do I venture over to that side of the gym.

To be honest, I've always found it a bit intimidating.  I don't know why, because that independent strength stuff was always the part of gym class that I was ever actually good at.  Somehow, somewhere along the line, I convinced myself that the weights were scary, that I didn't know what I was doing over there, and that I didn't need to use them.

Except of course, I know it would help my running if I did a bit of strength training now and then.  In November, I finally got around to signing up for a weight room orientation, and last week, I finally fit it into my schedule to go to that side of the gym. I met with one of the trainers, who I've met before through various aerobics classes that she teaches.  She is a powerhouse, can lift insane amounts of weight, and knows what she's talking about.

We chatted for a few minutes about running and working on my core.  She commented on my posture and asked if I'd been in gymnastics - close - 18 years of dance.  Right away she built my confidence:  "I'm not even going to let you try these machines because they'd be an insult to your fitness level!"  She toured me around a number of machines very quickly, but let me try each one, working my quads, hamstrings, various arm muscles, abs and back, and showed me a few options for different muscle groups before showing me a few more exercises to do with the ball and free weights and plank and crunch variations on the mat.

It was all a little bit too fast for me, and I definitely didn't absorb everything, but I certainly feel less scared of that side of the gym.  I get a second meeting next week, so I'm planning to go in at least 30 minutes before hand so I can try out a few of the things she showed me on my own and then ask questions during our next session.

I'd like to venture onto that side of the gym at least once a week after a shorter run on the treadmill.  I don't think I'll use the big machines too much, but I really liked the exercises she showed me with the ball and on the mat and could definitely see myself incorporating those into a new routine.

What's your favourite strengthening exercise?

Catching Up...

It has been a while since my last post...

After the accident, my body was feeling pretty good within a day or two, but my mind was not.  The day of the accident (Thursday) and the day after were total right offs work wise, and I spent the whole weekend feeling emotionally exhausted, though I did get out for a 4 mile run on the Sunday in the sun.  I couldn't help thinking the entire time that I could have died, and yet I was out running, and feeling very, very, very lucky.

The following week was a whirlwind of trying to get caught up on essentially 2 days of missed work, plus facilitating a 2-day, out of town meeting, plus still being behind from the 3 days spent out of town on a work related trip the week before the accident.  Throw Christmas shopping and cross-country gift sending into the mix, and you get a pretty stressed out Amy.

I managed to get out for my 2 group runs on Tuesday and Thursday, and a hike this Sunday with the BF. I also finally made it to the gym for my weight room orientation.  More on that soon!  I also signed up for a marathon clinic starting in January, and registered for a marathon - but more on that soon, too!

Today, I finally feel like I'm where I should be at work.  I still have a to-do list a mile long, but it feels manageable.  I also feel like I should be able to get in some more running this week, now that Christmas shopping is done, packages have been sent out and Christmas cards are in the mail.  And I'm hoping we get a fresh dusting of snow so I can get out for my first cross country ski of the year!

Now I just need to get caught up on what has been going on with all of you!

Lucky doesn't cut it.

This has nothing to do with running, but I feel like I have to write about it.

I was driving between Vanderhoof and Prince George on Thursday morning, in my big white work van.  We'd had warmer temperatures for the past couple of days so the roads were fairly clear and I was zipping along at the posted speed limit of 100 km/h.  At one point, I came up behind a big, slow truck, waited for a passing lane, and passed.  The passing lane was slushy and the slush was pulling on the van, so once I tucked back in (right behind another big truck), I decided to just stay there, no matter how slow we were going.  Better be safe than sorry!

The truck was going about 80km/h on flat stretches, so I'm quite sure I was going a little bit slower as I reached the crest of the hill where I hit black ice.  The van I drive is fairly stable when filled with people, but when empty it feels like a tin can.  The back end slid out and I tried to steer into it, I never regained control, but just slid the other way across the highway.

Luckily, there was no oncoming traffic, but there was no way to get control of the van.  The road was like a skating rink, even with studded tires and sandbags in the back to weigh me down.  I went over the steep embankment and saw the trees below.  I don't remember exactly what happened next, but once I was no longer on the road, I felt the van turning over, and ducked and covered my head.  The next thing I remember, it was very, very quiet and I was upside down, hanging into my seat by my seat belt.  There was snow and earth coming in through the windshield and the driver and passenger doors had snow up to the windows.  Everything that was in the back of the van, sandbags, safety equipment, and my overnight bags were in front of me.  Once I got my bearings, I undid my seat belt, managed to turn my body around and was trying to climb out to the back door when a man came to the side door to help me out.  Another man was on his cell phone contacting the police.

The first man helped me get back up the hill to the highway and across the highway to his pick up.  The road really was like a skating rink, even to walk across.  The man let me sit in his pick up and cranked the heat to warm me up.  I was freezing and shaking, but did not have a scratch on me.  At the time, I didn't even feel sore.

Fire and Rescue, the ambulance and RCMP arrived all at once after about 30 minutes.  The paramedic couldn't believe how low my pulse was.  When the RCMP asked to see my license and I explained it was in my running jacket in the van, the paramedic explained that running was the reason why my pulse had gone back to normal so quickly.

I was taken to the hospital and was seen fairly quickly.  I was starting to get soreness in my neck, but the doctor confirmed that was just from the seatbelt and would probably get worse before it got better.  She was right.  She said day 3 would probably be the worst, but I actually feel better today than yesterday.  Perhaps being a runner/healthy person is helping here too?!

A co-worker picked me up from the hospital and I was able to call work and the BF.  We were able to go back to the van in the evening to pick up all of my stuff, but the van is a right off.  Seeing it was shocking.  The roof was dented in in the middle and the widshield was completely smashed in.  If I'd been carrying someone in the passenger seat they would have had serious injuries, if not worse.  It looks something like this, but with the roof going down in the centre instead of up:




source


There are not words for how lucky I feel.  Again, the roads had been clear for the first 45 minutes of my drive.  I was going at least 20km/h below the posted limit.  It wasn't snowing, raining, hailing, or sleeting.  There was just black ice on one hill, and I hit it.  But I literally walked away without a scratch and if I didn't have a cough that sounds like I've smoked 3 packs a day for 50 years, I would be trying to go out for a short run today.

Three Things Thursday

1.  A.W.E.S.O.M.E hike on Sunday.  We forgot the camera, but there was snow up past my knees, and the sun was shining and it was just a beautiful day.  The BF and I followed a trail that had been packed by a snowmobile for about a kilometer, then the packed part ended and we just waded our way through the snow.  We followed a frozen creek, and got into an area where it looks like mountain bike trails are being developed, then found our way back into familiar territory and a trail again.  Ever tried running in snow 2 feet deep?  Now that's a workout!

2.  Group run on Tuesday was balmy.  Yes, you read that right.  I left my house and it was -5*C, but as we ran it warmed up.  It wasn't just me getting warmer, the temperature outside was actually going up.  As we entered a field at the bottom of a hill a wall of warm air hit us and for about 5 minutes it felt like we were running on a humid, summer day.  We left the warm patch, but by the end of the run it was 2*C!  I've never felt such an extreme temperature change, have you?

3.  I am getting siiiiiick.  Those crazy hours I worked last week have definitely caught up to me.  Still, I went out for 4 miles today while the temperature was still above 0*C. I felt great while running, but the coughing started full on once I stopped.  Here's hoping a good night's sleep is all I need to fight it off!

Amy the Athlete

Don't you love days that start out ho-hum but finish with a smile on your face?  That was my day today.

After 2 14 hour days on Monday and Tuesday, I started my (work)day on Wednesday at 3AM, and finished at 10pm.  That's a 19 hour day, people.  Needless to say, I was zonked, but ambitiously set my alarm for 7am in hopes that I could get a run in before going to the office.  I pressed snooze every 5 minutes for an hour.  Bah! 

I hate that sort of thing because it is such a waste of an hour - you're not getting a good quality sleep in 5 minute intervals, and you're not up and running either.  Total waste of time.  So, I got up and was in a bit of a bad mood and mad at myself, and headed to work for some training in the morning and a meeting with my boss in the afternoon for my performance review.  Dun, dun, DUNNNNN!

The review went well, and I had absolutely nothing to be worried about, but that's not what gave me my smile.  I was given 22 feedback forms filled in by the youth that I work with.  Their comments were almost all positive, and even the ones that were constructive, were nice.  "I wish Amy visited us more often,"  or, "I wish Amy had more time to do activities with us,"  But that still wasn't the best part.  "J'ai apprecie quand Amy a couru avec moi et on a une bonne discussion," (I appreciated when Amy ran with me and we had a good discussion).  And, on another, "Amy is an athlete and inspiration,"  And on another, under strengths "Athletic."  I'm not too sure how "athletic" is a quality that makes me better at my job, but I'll take it.

I was a straight A student except for gym class.  I try to remind myself when I run that running makes me an athlete, but it's a mental challenge.  I still feel like the awkward kid in grade 9 who hid at the back of the volleyball court, couldn't do a lay up to save my life, and got comments like, "Amy has a positive attitude in gym class," but (kindly) never anything about my athletic ability.  There is a sense of strength that comes from the word athlete, that even after running a marathon, I have a hard time convincing myself that I possess.

I left the office, changed into my running gear and ran 10K turning those comments over in my mind.  I felt like an athlete.  And I smiled the whole time.

Happy December!

I think December 1st is one of my favourite days of the year.  It's when I stop being grumpy about Christmas music being in stores too early, decorations being around too early, advertisements coming on too early and start enjoying the Christmassy spirit.

This past weekend, my friend and I got together to do our 2nd Annual Christmas Bake-Off.  It was a day of absolute gluttony and sugary delight.  I had been (pretty) good all month at watching my sugar intake so I allowed myself one big SPLURGE.  I wish I had pictures of all of the goodies, but alas, I'm away for work this week and besides, I don't want to make you drool!

So the baking has gone well, but running has not.  I got to the gym twice last week (too cold outside) and got outside for one good run.  This week I've been out once.  I'm back in Calgary and the weather is actually not freezing, so I'm hoping to get out for an early morning run tomorrow before work! 

Looking back on November, I am pretty well with the countdown challenge overall:

10 - 5K Runs - I did 9
9 - Strength Training - I did 2 (but 2 is better than none and 9 was a pretty lofty goal for me)
8 - Ab Workouts - I did 7 (7 is much better than none)
7 - Yoga classes/DVDs - I did 5 (and just missed my class this Monday for work).
6 - Nights in bed by 10:30 - I did 8!!!  I was reading Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth and could not wait to go to bed and read my book.
5 - 10K+ runs - I did 2.  No excuses, I've just been enjoying extra weekend free time :S
4 - 5 mile runs - I did 4!
3 - Hikes - I did 2, but they were good ones :)
2 - Aquafit classes - I did 0.  :P
1 - Personal Training Session - I've booked it, but it will be in December when I get home from this trip.

Thanks to Aneta, for suggesting this type of challenge!  I am not thrilled with my results but I'm ok with the month given the crummy weather, freezing cold, lack of daylight, and absolutely no races on the horizon to train for.

In December, my goal is to do some form of exercise EVERYDAY, even if it's just 10 minutes of stretching or a 30 minute walk.  I also want to focus on getting in at least 4 runs over 10K.  Time to start racking up some points in the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge!

Black Knight Army Virtual Race

Race Day:  November 20th, 2010

Outdoor Temperature:  -23*C (-9*F), feels like -28*C (-18*F) with the wind.

Rec Centre Temperature:  18*C (64*F), feels like 25*C (77*F) with the humidity from sweaty bodies.


After our big dump o' snow on Wednesday, the temperature has dropped, and the compacted snow has turned the roads into skating rinks.  I am getting screws put into my shoes and am determined to get used to the cold and run through the winter, but in the meantime, I opted for the more balmy climate of the local Rec Centre to complete my run.

I admit, I felt a bit like I was cheating by running a race on a treadmill.  Does it still count, Black Knight?  I had the incline set to 1, and the pace set at 6.2 as I ran all 6.2 miles.  My goal was to run a nice and steady pace with no breaks.

When I first got on the treadmill there were 2 other people on machines near by.  I turned this into a competeition in my head.  I would stay on longer than either of them.  I would be victorious!  The first woman got off her machine after only 5 minutes.  That was too easy!  The other guy, who was right next to me, was very into his workout.  Time would tell who would win...

The first 30 minutes dragged on and on.  There is one tv and it is always on TSN, which this morning meant watching semi-final Canadian University football teams compete for a place in the Vanier Cup.  Gag me.  I wasn't really interested, but picked a team and tried to let it distract me.

My team was losing, but I beat guy the guy next to me in the competition of who could stay on their treadmill the longest.  It maybe wasn't fair because he didn't know it was a competition, but he should have guessed that I meant business.

Once he was off his treadmill, I really started to tune into my music.  Have you ever made up dance moves that go to the words in the song?  As in, if the lyrics are about talking on the phone you turn your hand into a phone and put it to your ear to the beat of the music, or if time is mentioned you point to your watch to the beat, etc.  If you've never done this, believe me when I say that it can be hours of fun.  It works best with cheesy pop songs, and luckily, that's what I had on my iPod today.  Years ago, a friend and I made up several dances to The Backstreet Boys.  We've performed in public.  They are pretty awesome.  Maybe one day I'll post a video.  Anyway, today, on the treadmill, I was coming up with new choreography (in my head) to Justin Bieber.  Baby, baby, baby, no....

That certainly passed the time.  Before I knew it, I was done!  My final time was 59:24.  Does slow and steady win the race?

Thank you Black Knight for hosting the Virtual Race.  If I hadn't had a race on my schedule I might have let the cold weather be an excuse for cancelling my run altogether.

Fruits and Veggies

Everyone ready to bust their bootie in the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge?  The challenge starts today and it is also the last day to sign up, so if you haven't signed up already, now's your chance!

One of the ways to get points in the challenge is to eat 7 servings of fruits and vegetables in a day.  I am not a fruit person.  I have been making it a goal this month to eat one peice of fruit a day and have been mostly successful, but I really have to remind myself to eat fruit.  I eat salad almost every day and always cook up a few veggies with my dinner, but I'm probably not getting 7 servings most of the time so I've decided that I want to focus on this part of the challenge.

So before we even get started, I knew I needed a little reminder on what constitutes a serving of fruit.  Is one apple a serving?  One papaya?  One grape?  I really didn't know, and I figured if I wasn't sure about this, others might be wondering too, so here's the lowdown:

According to Canada's Food Guide:

1 apple, 1 banana, 1 peach, 1 nectarine, 1 pear, 1 plum, 1 orange, 1 kiwi = 1 serving
20 cherries, 20 grapes = 1 serving
1/2 papaya, 1/2 mango, 1/2 grapefruit = 1 serving

For veggies, melons, and juice, etc., the general rule is 1/2 cup = serving, but there are exceptions.  1/4 cup of dried fruit is a serving, and it takes a full cup of raw leafy greens to make a serving.

While we're at this, the food guide recommends 1 dark leafy green and 1 orange vegetable every day.  Good thing I love squash and sweet potato!  What's your favourite orange veggie?  Fruit and vegetable juices are ok, but you get more fibre from eating rather than drinking your servings.  And of course we know that it's better to steam, boil or bake than deep fry our veggies, but a little reminder couldn't hurt!

For more info, check out: 

The American guide has slightly different guidelines, but the same general idea here:  http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/index.html

You might find it interesting to see the food guidelines in Japan: 

This is a running/sometimes other healthy stuff blog and not a political one, but if you're into a little healthy political debate, do a little online search for food guide politics and industry influence.  Interesting stuff!

Cold Sweat

Winter is officially here!

We got a big dump of snow yesterday and temperatures highs are expected to be around -10C (14 F) for the next week.  I think that makes it winter.

This is right about the time I would normally call it quits on the running front.  Well, actually, I think the latest I've run in the past was around Canadian Thanksgiving in October, before the teperature gets below 0C (32F)  (I didn't even have to look that conversion up - thank you B.Sc.!). 

I started running again in February 2010, but we had such a mild winter that the roads were clear and the temperatures were comfortable, so tonight was my first real wintery winter run.  It was -12C when we set out from the rec centre, but my body was warm.  I had a pair of long johns on under my pants, two longsleeves on under my jacket, fleece lined mitts and a headband going over my ears.  Add my headlamp and reflective vest and I was ready to go! 

Ack! Harsh wind!  The first road we were on hadn't been plowed to the edges so it was a bit tricky to know where to run.  Right off to the side of the road and you were up past your ankles in snow, but out of the deep stuff and it felt like you were in the middle of a road that was too busy to be in the middle of.  I found a tire track and concentrated on foot placement.  We weren't on that road for long and we were heading downhill on a trail.  No plowing, no shovelling.  It was well-trodden snow, but had hardened with the dip in temperature.  I was worried about rolling my ankle so I just took it slow until we were back on road.  Even then, there were some icy patches so I kept to a comfortable pace the entire time.  On the plus side of slowing down, I had no problem climbing a hill at the end of the run that usually does me in before I reach the top. 

We had a few stops at intersections to keep the group together and it was amazing how quickly I cooled off.  I was sweating, but I was cold.  Luckily, it was never too long before we were off again.

I definitely had the clothes right for this run, but need to get a neck warmer/something that comes up a bit on the sides of my face.  That was the only place that never warmed up and my skin is feeling a bit rough afterwards.  I'm getting screws put on and older pair of shoes over the weekend and will have them back by Tuesday's group run. 

Lazy Weekend

Monday morning yoga is the BEST!  I'm so glad I signed up for this class.  It makes me feel like I'm starting the week off right, and this week I was ready for a fresh start.

I took Friday off in lieu of Thursday for Remembrance Day so I had plenty of time over a long weekend to run.  But I didn't.  Do you ever feel that when your schedule is jam-packed you're able to get more done? 

Friday, I was definitely feeling the big hill we tackled on Thursday night's group run (and a lack of stretching afterwards), plus, I had ALL weekend to run.  Saturday, I woke up to snow, but thought I would go out in the afternoon, but I got busy baking, and pretty soon it was almost time for our friends to come over.  Even though I had plans for a hike with the BF on Sunday, I figured I could go out for a quick run beforehand on Sunday morning, but I slept in instead.  Oops.

Our hike on the weekend was really great.  We were on the Cariboo Waggon Road and came across a couple of old, creepy cabins.  There was a fair bit of snow on the ground, so it made hiking a bit more challenging, but it made it easier to find animal tracks - and we saw a LOT!  We kept coming across moose tracks, and they looked fresh.  We must have been following him pretty closely.

Amy Runs a Marathon, again?

You betcha! 

I knew before I even ran my first marathon that it wouldn't be my last.  The question wasn't if, it was just when I would run another one.  I've decided on this spring for the when, so now the question comes down to where??? 

Option 1:

BMO Vancouver Marathon - Sunday, May 1st.

The Pros:

• It's close to home
• The BF could come
• I have a few friends in Van for extra support
• The Candy aid station
• The giant hill in Stanley Park that is part of the half course is not part of the full course

The Cons:

• I ran this half marathon in 2010 and it was not well organized
• High chance of rain

Option 2:

Goodlife Fitness Toronto Marathon - Sunday, May 15

Pros:

• I grew up near Toronto and have lots of friends and family in the area for support
• Did you see the size of Marlene's medal?
• Better chance of better weather than Vancouver

Cons:

• Cross-country flight
• Time change working against me
• The BF probably would not be able to come

Option 3

 Mississauga Marathon - Sunday, May 15

Pros:

• It's my hometown! 
• Lots of friends and family for support
• I would run past two of the houses I've lived in and very close to the one I grew up in
• My 87 year old grandmother might be able to make it
• Better chance of better weather than Vancouver

Cons:

• It's a cross country flight away
• Time change working against me
• BF probably can't come
• Mayor Hazel McCallion, who has been mayor for my entire life and is the longest running mayor in the history of the universe might pick that weekend to kick it.  Chaos will ensue.

At this point, I'm leaning towards the Vancouver marathon, but would love to hear others weigh in.  I think knowing that I want to run a marathon in the spring will be another way to keep me motivated to run through the holidays and build up my base mileage before I start training.

First Class p. 2

We have been enjoying a mild fall - until today.  I woke up this morning to frost on the ground, and it stuck around all day.  There's no snow yet, but you can just feel that it's coming.  Perfect timing then, for my first Winter Running Class. 

I normally run mid-morning, so the first thing to throw me off was running in the dark, at 6:30pm.  This was a first!  I didn't know what to eat all day because I didn't want to go to the first class with an upset stomach.  Unfortunately, I was a little too cautious and ended up heading to the rec centre feeling a bit hungry instead, but better to be rumbling to be fed than rumbling to vomit.

The class started inside and our instructors spent some time talking about winter running gear and shoes.  Of all of the shoes/accessories, they recommended using screws in your shoes and will help us to "install" them once we have snow on the ground.

We headed out on an 8K loop and I was pleased to find that I was not the slowest after all.  There were actually 2 brand new runners and they made it around the whole 8K!  It was a loop I've done many times, but we ran in the opposite direction and it was dark so it felt completely different.  I could not normally be convinced to go out in the cold, at night, when hungry to run, but having the class to go to was great motivation. 

Looking forward to class number 2 on Thursday!

First Day of Class

Tomorrow is my first group run.  I feel a bit like a kid on the first day of school.  What should I wear?  What if everyone else is there with a friend?  What if they are all faster than me?  What if they are all ultra-runners and I'm just a lowly one-time marathoner?  What if I trip and fall?
I know that this is all very silly, and I am excited.  I'm hoping I will meet some people to run with in the future and maybe to train for my next marathon with (wait, what?), but mostly I'm hoping it will keep me motivated to run through November and December in addition to the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge.  In my head I've convinced myself that by that point I will have toughened up enough to the weather that it will no longer feel cold.  Ha!  Hey, a girl can dream.  This group is written up in the rec guide as a Winter Running Class, apparently we'll be given tips for winter running each week.  I'll be sure to share!

Speaking of the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge, have you signed up yet?

I can't wait for this to start.  Head on over to Amanda's blog if you haven't already signed up!

***

Yoga this morning was A-mazing.  I had to do some work over the weekend (never a good thing) and my back was all knotted up before class.  After class, I felt like I'd been on a week's vacation.  Well, not quite, but pretty close!

Extracting My Sweet Tooth

I looooove desserts.  Cake and ice cream and pie, oh my!  I blame my parents for this.  My mom for being a great baker and keeping a steady stream of cakes and cookies in the house which I grew accustomed to growing up.  And my dad for the sweet tooth gene - I definitely inherited it from him.

But alas, I know I'm a grown up now and have to take responsibility for what I'm putting in my body.  I've made changes to my diet in the past, and I've cut back on sugar over the years, but there's a little voice in my head that speaks up after dinner every night and it's demanding something sweet.

Towards the end of university life, I finally clued in that the can of pop (plus) that I was consuming every day wasn't very good for me and I stopped drinking pop.  I just told myself, "I'm not going to drink pop anymore," and that worked.  I stopped.  When I satisfy the craving I have about once a year for McDonald's fries, that comes with a kiddie size Coke, and if I ever go to the movies, I'll get a small Coke with my popcorn - but I can rarely finish it.  I don't even like pop anymore.

In June I decided to swear off Tim Horton's Iced Caps for the month.  I haven't had one since.  I didn't miss them all summer!  It was easy.

Heck, I gave up meat for 8 years!  It all started one day when I was thinking about how we don't really need meat in our diets and I said to myself (yes, I speak to myself a lot), "I wonder how long I can go without eating meat?"  Turns out I could go until I moved to China, where I took a little hiatus.  I've recently started eating small amounts of local meat - but not because I missed it, just because I was eating more processed food with my vegetarian diet that was coming from farther away and well, we're raising chickens in the backyard and that seems like a better option for my body and the planet.

Ok, meat's not a sweet, but the point is, I can give stuff up.  Except desserts.  I want dessert.  And I don't want fruit for dessert.  I can eat fruit in the afternoon when I want something sweet, and it will do.  But after dinner?  Fruit won't cut it.  Sometimes I can have a little piece of dark chocolate after dinner and that will be enough, but I can't do that every day.  Eventually that voice comes back and demands a slice of pie, or a bowl of ice cream or a slab o' cake.

I am trying, this month, to cut back my dessert intake.  I'm not trying to lose weight, I just want to eat less sugar.  But it's hard.  It's very, very hard.


***

I went out for a 10K run today.  It was a beautiful day, but not such a beautiful run.  I haven't been drinking enough water (again) and was very thirsty the entire time.  I also got a cramp about a mile in to the run that wouldn't go away, so I ended up taking a walk break almost ever kilometer.  It's funny how less than a year ago, I'd be thrilled to finish 10K in under an hour, but today, even though I finished in (just) under an hour, it was a bad run. 

Three Things Thursday

I have been at a Career Fair all day promoting the youth program that I work for.  I've had my laptop with me and was able to get caught up on a lot of work in between recruiting high school students, but somehow as things quieted down this afternoon, I accidentally wound up at the Lululemon website and sorta by mistake bought these:

1.

And this:

2.

 
And showed real restraint by not purchasing this:

3.

This and That

November is off to a good start!  Making my list of 10 has kicked my butt into gear.  Monday started off the week and month with a yoga class, and since I was at the rec centre anyway, I hit up the treadmill for 5K.  Tuesday, I was running around for work all day, but packed myself a banana for a snack and had a healthy lunch at a cafe instead of picking up fast food or a donut.  Today was another busy day, but I made time for a 5+ mile run followed by a quick ab workout in the morning by finishing up a bit of work after dinner this evening. Plus, I've limited myself to only 3 pieces of Halloween candy since Halloween.  If you saw the bucketful o' temptation in my kitchen, you'd be impressed! I've also been  in touch with two good friends over the phone who I hadn't talked to in over a month.  Yay!

A little more about that treadmill run on Monday:  For some reason, I run slower on the treadmill.  I thought the treadmill was supposed to be easier than running outside, but I definitely find it easier to run a faster, if (much) less consistent pace outside. I was busting my butt on the treadmill, but finished 5K in 28 minutes, which would be a comfortable pace if I was running outside.  Does anyone else find it harder to run faster on the treadmill?

Countdown Challenge

I have not been setting monthly goals for the past few months.  I only had one long term goal, and that was to finish my marathon.  Now that that's done, it seems I'm a bit of a useless lump without goals to keep me motivated, and I'm not the only one!

Aneta at Confessions of a Rambunctious Runner and I decided to team up to challenge each other for November.  Aneta suggested we come up with 10 things we can work on in our work outs, with a twist.  For number 1 on the list, we have to do it once, for number 2, we do it twice, for number 3 we do it thrice (?), and so on.

I thought the idea sounded like fun and was excited to make my list, but coming up with a realistic one turned out to be a bit of a challenge in itself.  10+9+8+7+6+5+4+3+2+1=55 workouts!  There are just not that many days in November!  Not being big on strength training, (as in, I never do strength training), I decided I could start with 5-10 minute sessions for this month after my shorter runs.  The same could go for ab workouts.  These are things I know I should be doing, but never seem to have make time for.

Here's what I settled on:

10 - 5K runs
9 - Strength Training (5-10 minutes)
8 - Ab Workouts (5 - 10 minutes)
7 - Yoga Classes/DVDs (or other exercise videos)
6 - Nights in bed before 10:30
5 - 10K + runs
4 - 5 mile runs
3 - Hikes
2 - Aquafit Classes
1 - Personal Training session

Ok, I know going to bed before 10:30 isn't exactly a workout, but as it is getting colder, I'm finding going to my cold bed when I'm nice and toasty under a blanket on the couch is getting harder and harder.  This means I stay on the couch until I fall asleep, wake up and brush my teeth, go to bed and can't sleep and then have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, so I feel lazy all day, which means I don't want to workout.  It's a bit of a problem.

You might notice that while this list of ten addresses running and working out, it doesn't address the bad food habits I've been picking up (again) since my marathon.  So Aneta and I decided to make another list of 10 to address food.  Same rules apply - I can have 10 of number 10 on the list, but only 1 of number one on the list.  This was perhaps an even tougher list to make.  I know that I would like to never stop for fast food, but given the travelling I do for work, but I've made my list and I'm going to do my best to stick to it.

If you'd like to join in on this challenge, let Aneta or I know and we'll add you to our little tracking device we have on Google Documents.  I'll let you know how it goes at the end of the month!

Three Things Thursday

1.

Halloween is so much fun!  I'm not dressing up this year, I don't have children to dress up, and we live on a street without a lot of kids to come to trick or treat, but the BF and I are celebrating the "holiday" with Zombie movie week.  We've watched Zombieland, Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later.  28 Days Later is so disturbing, but those zombies can RUN!  What's your favourite spooky movie?

2.  I always neglect strength training in my workouts.  This is because I don't really know where to start, aside from sit ups and push ups and find all of the machines at the gym to be kinda intimidating.  I'm thinking about signing up for a session with a personal trainer.  It's a bit pricey, but I think it might be worth it as I use the gym a lot more in the winter.

3.   My yoga class on Monday was a bit of a dud.  Well, the class was ok, but I got some bad news right before I went and had trouble focussing on yoga and not letting my mind wander.  So this morning, I got out a yoga DVD that I used to do all the time but haven't done in ages because I got a bit tired of it.  Just like running a route that I haven't done in a long time, going back to this DVD after a long hiatus was great, familiar, but refreshing at the same time!

One good run.

One good run.  Sometimes that's all it takes to feel like you're getting back on track.
Like many others, I've been struggling to get back into the groove with my running and diet since completing my marathon.  I'd been out twice, totalling about 10K, but have been feeling little motivation to get out to run. 

This week, I made it a goal to run at least 3 times.  I didn't run Monday.  I didn't run Tuesday.  Today, it was dreary and damp.  Wah, wah, wah.  I decided to go to the gym and hit the treadmill for at least 3 slow miles.  After 1.5 miles, I went a little faster, then a little faster when I got to 2 miles.  At 3 miles, I wanted to up the speed a bit more, and decided to do another mile.  When I got to 4 miles, I decided it would feel great to run 5 miles, so I sped up a bit more and did it!

The good news is that I felt no pain in my hip during this run, and the weather is supposed to improve for tomorrow and Friday.

Oops...

Oh my.  I've done it.  I bought a box of these:

Last week.

It's almost gone.

And I still haven't bought myself any of these:

But I want some.

Number of weeks since marathon:  2.5

Number of runs since marathon:  2

Number of calories consumed:  ~2 billion

Percentage of calories coming from sugar:  ~98%

It was supposed to be a quiet week at work so I was supposed to do a lot of running, but it's not really working out that way.  Here's hoping I can get out there tomorrow for a solid run!

Ooo cha cha ow!

Finally, after 5 days of complete rest, and 5 days of "I'll start running again tomorrow," I went out yesterday afternoon for a slow 5K.  How could I not?  The sun was shining, the temperature was 16 *C (61*F), and there was a warm breeze in the air.  There aren't many days left like this in the year.

As soon as I had my running shoes on, I felt pain on the top of my right foot.  It felt like I had a bruise there, as if someone had stepped on the top of my foot.  Hard.  Wearing high heels.  I took my shoe off and rubbed my foot - no pain.  Shoe on - pain.  Weird.  I decided I would see how it was once I started running, and went down the driveway.

The pain in my foot continued while I walked towards the road, but disappeared immediately as soon as I started to run.  Well, not so much disappeared, but instantaneously jumped from my foot to my hip.  Ouch!

With every step there was a sharp, pointed pain in the back of my right hip/upper butt.  I walked a couple of steps and the pain jumped back to my foot.  I decided I would go one kilometer nice and slow and see if the pain went away as I loosened up.  It definitely faded, but took about 15 minutes before I didn't really feel it, and that was only when I went at a nice, slow pace, on flat.  On the downhills or if I picked up my pace at all, the pain came back.

I made it the full 5K and finished feeling good.  I stretched out and really focused on my glutes and lower back.  I felt fine for an hour or so, but then I went from downstairs to upstairs and by the top step I felt pain in the same place.  I remembered having this pain right after the marathon, but with my week plus of rest, hadn't felt it in a few days.  Over the course of the evening I was achey and it was hard to get comfortable to fall asleep last night.  I'm still achey this morning.

Any ideas what this could be?  My own internet self-diagnosis didn't turn up anything that sounded like the pain I felt, at least as a running injury.

Now What?

So, the marathon is over.  What now?  Well, for starters, I'm pretty sure my time is up on using, "I just ran a marathon," as my excuse to eat everything in sight. 

The day OF the marathon, I was all about healthy eating.  Cookies in the finishing chute?  No thank-you!  Since then, it has been a no holds barred, pig out fest.  An extra glass of wine at dinner?  Sure, why not?!  Donut for a mid-afternoon snack?  What the heck?!  Vietnamese coffee in the morning with sweetened condensed milk?  Give 'er!  I just ran a marathon! 

Now that over a week has passed, I'm fairly certain that the sluggishness I'm feeling is more a result of an enormous sugar crash rather than post-marathon exhaustion.  It certainly isn't because of any running I've been doing since the marathon!

My road back to healthy living started today.  Not with a run, but with a yoga class.  Options are limited for yoga in a small town, so I've been without yoga over the summer and early fall.  Classes at the rec centre started up again this morning.  I knew I was going to be stiff, so I took it fairly easy.  It felt great to get a good stretch in downward dog and to loosen up my back and shoulders. 

Tomorrow will be my first post-marathon run.  I know I'll take it nice and slow and will just do 5 easy kilometers around my neighbourhood.  But then what?  I know I don't stay motivated without a goal in mind, and with the weather getting cooler, I need as much external motivation as I can get.  There have been many springs and autumns in my past where I have decided to "take up running."  The past two summers, I've had success in sticking to a plan and running through the heat.  I cannot say the same for winter.

Last year, I ran through the spring and summer to train for my first half marathon.  Race day came, I ran, I was happy, and then I stopped.  I did not lace up my running shoes for over 3 months.  November was miserable, by December I was miserable, and through January I'm pretty sure I was making everyone around my miserable too.  February I started running and BINGO!  Happy Amy was back in town.  This year, I'd kinda like to skip the miserableness and just stick to the happy.

There aren't any races coming up in my area, and after the bundle I just spent in Victoria, travelling to another race is not in the budget for awhile.  I'm 225 miles away from hitting 1000 for the year, and since this wasn't a goal of mine in January, it seems silly (and a bit unrealistic) to make it a goal in October.  So, I've decided that by the end of December 2010, I'd like to be able to run 10K in under 50 minutes, and the half marathon distance in under 2 hours.  I think both are reasonable goals since my 10K time is 52 minutes, and my half time is 2:00:53.  Now I just have to get the times down without an actual race happening!  Hrm, Virtual Race, anyone?  I need a bit of time to get organized, but I'll host one once the snow is a'snowing!

The After

As soon as I crossed the finish line I was imediately in a daze.  Good thing there was nobody directly behind me because I'm pretty sure I just stopped for a full minute and didn't move until I saw someone coming towards me with orange slices.  I couldn't even focus enough to grab one, but in the back ground I saw the volunteers with the medals and that was something I could muster a little energy for!

I got my medal and almost started crying (again), but I think I was too dehydrated for my body to produce any actual tears.

Next up was the food table.  It actually all looked really disgusting.   I couldn't fathom the idea of eating, but forced down an orange slice and grabbed a Power Bar and a yogurt for later.

I kept shuffling forward and found a place to stretch out a bit.  I was completely disoriented and didn't know how to get to where I was meeting the BF, even though we'd picked a very obvious place in front of the provincial parliament building.

After a bit of stretching and a few moments of sitting down, I was able to negotiate my way through the crowds back to the lawn.  Turns out the BF had a hard time getting through the crowds too, so I was waiting for him for a few minutes and had some more time to stretch.

We sat on the lawn for a while watching the crowd and other runners come across the finish line before heading to our hotel.  With a few pics along the way:

After a shower and a little nap, we were off to drinks in the Bengal Room.  I'd been looking forward to my celebratory cocktail for a long time!

And then for dinner.  It was Canadian Thanksgiving, and this vegetarian decided if there was ever a day to justify eating meat, it was after running a marathon!  Besides, the 5 course meal featured local, pastured bison and free-run turkey.  Yum!  Don't forget the wine pairings...

The next day we slept in until the last possible second before checking out and going to catch the ferry back to the mainland. 

I was so-o-o-ore.  Lucky me, there was a 20 minute massage available on the ferry, and I jumped at it.  It helped a bit, but after sitting in the car for the 10 hour drive home, I was very stiff.  Tuesday I felt a bit better, and was not sore at all by Wednesday, but I've been dragging in the energy department all week.

I thought I might run today, but instead enjoyed a little extra free time this Saturday!

Amy Runs A Marathon

If you missed the drive, the expo, and the days leading up to the marathon, you can get caught up here.

After bringing just about every piece of running clothing that I own, I'd settled on shorts and my green tank which had been my outfit for most of my long runs during training.  I kept my throw away sweater on until the last moment and handed it to the BF.  It was 13*C (55*F), cloudy and breezy, but no rain.  I had two Gus in my pocket and 2 stuffed into my handheld.  I was ready.

The BF stayed with me right until the gun went off, and thank goodness - I was a pile of nerves and he was making me laugh with silly advice.  At the gun, he took this video:

The gun went off and it was a slow walk to the start.  Crossing the start line I felt really emotional and almost started to cry.  I couldn't believe I was doing this!  I managed to pull myself together and focused on the crowd, the scenery and my pace.  I had my iPod turned off because I figured the first few kilometers were going to be crowded, and I was right.  We started right behind the provinicial parliament buildings and did a loop around the block before heading down Government St in front of the famous Empress Hotel.

Source

Km 1 - 7

Just before we got to the hotel, I spotted the BF off to the side.  He missed me, but he got these photos of the start of the race:

I quickly realized that I'd put myself too far back.  I was slow, but not that slow, especially at the beginning.  Without being too aggressive, I slowly moved my way up as we ran up Wharf St. with views of the harbour and turned the first corner along Johnson to loop around downtown.  This was mostly slightly uphill, but I was feeling comfortable with my pace.

The first 3K went by quickly.  My plan was to run 3K, walk a minute for water, run 2K, walk a minute for water, run 2K, walk 2 minutes and take a gel and some water.  This is the way I'd done all of my long runs and I knew I could get to 30K fairly comfortably following this schedule.  After that, all bets were off, but at least I'd have the first 30K down.  After 3K I didn't feel like I needed a break and there was a downhill coming up, so I waited an extra 500 metres til the end of the downhill for my first walk break.  I didn't really want to walk for a full minute, but I wanted to stick to my plan.  After about 45 seconds I had to start running again.  I just couldn't help it!

Another 2K and we were in a residential neighbourhood.  There were lots of supporters out cheering, and one house had Chariots of Fire playing on a loud speaker!  After another 2K we were into a loop around Beacon Hill Park.  As I ran in, the leaders were heading out.  Man, they are fast!  At this point the road narrowed as runners were going in both directions.  I had planned on turning on my music at this point, but because it was still pretty crowded, I kept it off and just enjoyed the run and the comments from the sidelines.  There was a lot of crowd support through the park as the tail end of the half marathon was also looping through in the other direction. 

At 7K I took my first scheduled Gu.  My right shoe was too tight and my foot was falling asleep.  I've had problems with this in the past, and once I start getting that feeling it can be very persistant.  I quickly got off the road and loosened my laces.  Luckily, that solved the problem.

Kms 8-14

The next 3K I was feeling great.  We were coming along to the ocean front.  There was a wind, but it would gust up for a few moments and then die down, so it wasn't too much of a problem at this point.  We were running along Dallas Road - beautiful homes on the left, Ocean on the right.  It was cloudy, but still no rain.

At 10K it was time for another walk break, but I could see a bit of an uphill coming and decided to save the walk break til half way up the hill.  The road was wider again and the crowd was starting to spread out a bit, so I put my music on at this point.  1/4 done.  5 more kilometers and I'd see the BF for the first time.

At 10K, I checked my Garmin.  58:33.  I was going at a faster pace than I had planned, but I felt great.  I tried to slow my pace down a bit, but it was a struggle.  Every time I checked, I was going faster than I wanted to, and I'd slow down for a bit, but somehow I kept sneaking up to a faster pace again.

The course had a strict 5:30 cut off, so around here we started seeing the marathoners that had gone out at the early start at 6:30am.  My favourite was the guy with the "Screw Cancer" shirt.  Indeed!

Kms 15-21

The BF was waiting for me at the 15K corner as planned.  It was great to see a familiar face and smile!  He told me I was looking strong and snapped these pics:

Around this bend was a long, steady downhill.  At the bottom was a man in full kilt attire playing the bagpipes.  From there we were back along the water, and the wind was now gusting from behind.  It was around this point that I started feeling an achiness in my hips/glutes.  Nuts!  I wasn't even half way yet.  I was otherwise feeling strong, and stuck with my plan, run 3K, run 2K, run 2K with 1 minute, 1 minute, 2minute brisk walk breaks. 

It was around here that the leaders started passing in the other direction and there was lots of cheering.  I pretended everyone was just cheering for me and kept going.  I was still feeling good, but was looking forward to the walk breaks a bit more.

The sun was starting to come out, so it looked like we would be spared a downpour or even showers.  It was still windy, but not too bad on the residential streets.

The BF was there again just before the half way mark.  We'd found a spot where he could park and walk about a kilometer back and forth to see me at 15K, 20K, 27K and 32K on the out and back course.  He had a gel ready for me, but I didn't need it as I'd been able to pick up an extra one from an aid station.

At half way I checked my Garmin again. 2:02:06.  I knew I was still going too fast because at this point my pace was not far off my best half marathon pace and I knew I couldn't keep that going for the rest of the race.  I was still feeling the ache in my glutes, but it wasn't getting much worse (yet), but now my big toe was starting to hurt. 

This was new as I've never had a blister on my big toe before and wasn't expecting it.  There wasn't much I could do, so I tried to not pay it much attention as I went down another long downhill before the turnaround. 

Kms 22 - 30

My first 3 - 3K chunks had felt great, now it was starting to feel tough to go 3K without a walk break, even with the big downhill.  There were now lots of people going in the other direction and it felt like I would never get to the turnaround.  Even though I was past halfway, I wanted to be heading towards the finish line instead of away from it!

Now it was time to go back up that long downhill I just coasted down.  The glutes were telling me I couldn't do it.  I broke the hill into chunks and ran/walked it.  A lot of others were doing the same.  When I got to the top I stepped off the course to try to stretch for a couple of minutes. 

At 27K I passed the BF again.  This pic shows that I was starting to get a little wooky.

I stopped for a minute to stretch some more next to him.  He was worried that he wouldn't make it back to the finish if he met me again at the 32K mark as we planned.  I told him that I knew I would take longer to finish the last 10K, but he didn't think he'd be able to park and wanted to see me cross the finish line. 

The next 5K are a bit of a blur.  I was feeling really emotional again and almost started to cry.  My legs were fading, but I was still able to talk myself into sticking to my plan.  The bagpiper was there again.  I don't remember much else.

At 30K, I was still holding onto my overall pace.  30K split:  3:00:11

Kms 31 - 42.2

At 32K the BF was there again. 

It was great to see him again, but I was pretty distracted by something else:

Oh, hello Wall.  Nice to meet you.

Hrm, you are not very friendly.

It looks like you're going to be sticking with me for a while.  Let's make a deal:  Forget my 3K, 2K, 2K plan.  You let me run the downhills and the flat bits, and I walk up the hills.  Sound good?  Good.

Suddenly this "flat" course felt very hilly.  This course that seemed to only have 2 downhills on the way out seemed to have an awful lot of uphills on the way back.  I.  Was.  Dying.

I felt like I was shuffling more than running.  Every song on my iPod annoyed me more than motivated me.  The wind was now coming straight on and felt like it was pushing me backwards.  Even the crowd support started to get to me.  When someone yelled, "You're almost there!" with 8K to go, I wanted to strangle them.  8K seemed like forever.  But then there was 7K, then 6, and then 5K.

At some point I passed this guy who the BF had seen earlier on:

I heard somebody say that he walks the marathon every year in full army gear.

I had walked enough that my pace was way down, but I realized that if I could just keep running the flat parts, I could finish in under 4:30, something I had secretly hoped I could do, but had not even mentioned to anyone as I didn't think it was really possible.  After all, it was only a year ago that I ran my first half marathon in 2:25!

At 3K someone called out another, "You're almost there!"  And I knew I was.  I almost cried (again).  There was only one more little hill.  I wanted to walk so badly, but just kept running.  I wanted to finish knowing I'd given it everything I had.  I kept saying, I can do this.  I can do this, until it became, I'm doing this, I'm doing this.

1K left. 

800m.

A guy on a bike was calling out to the crowd to cheer more.  This was fine.  Then he started calling out to runners to run faster.  If I'd had an ounce more energy I might have pushed him right off his bike.  All I could do was focus on the next bend, then the next bend, then the next bend.

400m.  I could hear the finish line, but I couldn't see it.

200m.  The finish line was finally in sight.  I couldn't even look for the BF.  My eyes were focused on the finish line. I heard them announce my name, but I couldn't even raise my arms as I crossed the line.  I think I managed a smile.

Finish line pics coming soon....

What I did RIGHT:

• I carried my own handheld.  This let me take breaks when I wanted/needed to, and keep going through the water stations.
• I brought my own Gu.  There was only one aid station with PowerBar Gels in Vanilla (blech!) and Strawberry Banana and they were out of Strawberry Banana on my way back.
• I kept my music off for the first 10K. 
• I ran my own race.  There were people I passed and who passed me, but I didn't try to keep up with anyone.

What I would do differently next time:

• Not much in the race itself.  Maybe pass off the handheld for the final 10K?  Anything I would do differently would be during training - more strength training, one more long, long run, miss fewer runs, and not do a 3 hour hilly hike 7 days before the marathon!