My 20 mile Run

     

      I've had two phone calls from my family today asking me about my run. I am overjoyed to hear about you guys staeting up couch to 5k programs. That is exactly where I started in October 2012. Go you! I can't wait for new running partners. This weeks long run was solo and I could've used some company.  Twenty Miles is my longest run before my actual marathon. I was worried about that in the beginning. The difference between 20 and 26.2 seemed enormous, but really at that point you might as well keep going.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but when you've been running that long, you might as well just keep going.
        The 20 mile run is sometime referred to as the  "race stimulator." Basically it's a dress rehearsal for the big race. It is recommended that you wear what you're going to wear and eat what you're going to eat on race day. You should also test your plan for hydration and nutrition. This way,  if something isn't going to work, you can find out in advance. So that is what I did.
    One thing that was really worrying me is having to pee in the middle of the race. I always  have to find a bathroom around 7 miles. I usually run a 7 mile loop and use the bathroom at home. The thing is I HATE porta potties. I would rather squat in a bush but I really don't want to be arrested for indecent exposure at my first marathon. Also, I don't want to wait in line in the middle of the race. So these were some of the things I wanted to test

1. Bagels for breakfast
2. 12 oz of Gatorade with breakfast
3. Stop intake of fluids 1 hour before running
4. Take 400 mg of Advil before the run
5. Take 3 Cliff Shots (one serving size) every 3 miles
6. Carry my own fluids

        I was actually really nervous about this run. I set my alarm for 5:30 so I could eat breakfast and drink Gatorade an hour before I planned to leave the house. It was one of  those sleeps where you keep waking up because you think you've overslept.  Ian had class that day, so the boys and I were on our own. Wrex was babysitting but I was long gone before they switched on those cartoons. (I paid him well for this day) I left the house at about 7:30 am I had my lil fanny pack and I bought a special amphipod water bottle that straps to your hand.

surprisingly easy to run with and I'm so glad I had water, it was a HOT day

 I started out with Gatorade but I really craved water when I was running. So I took the cliff shots every 3 miles which was my nutrition plan to intake carbohydrates for fuel as I ran. The thing is cliff shots and Gatorade are so sweet together that I switched to water in my bottle when I looped back home around 7 miles. I filled this 12 oz bottle 4 times while I ran. (3 times with Gatorade which helps with electrolytes and carbs and once with water) I ran the loop twice and then I ran circles in downtown. I was tuckered out and bored around 14 miles. I thought of  how easier it was running 13 miles in Maryland with Nate and I cursed the altitude for a while. Then I time warped to 17 miles. I don't remember what I was thinking about but I looked down and my miles were getting faster than when I started which is perfect! Ideally marathon runners want to run negative splits, which is when you run the second half of the race faster than the first. That is definitely a goal I have and it can  only be achieved by holding back at a slower pace in the beginning. I'm not saying I ran fast because I didn't, but I stuck to my plan of running at my targeted heart rate instead of a specific timed pace and the result was, I could still pick up the pace at the end, so that impressed myself. My toes started to hurt and my quads hurt but at that point of tiredness, if I had to run 6.2 more miles I would just do it. You might as well , once you've been running for 4 hours and 20 minutes! Yep that's how long it took me. You might as well just keep going.
  I remembered hearing about people taking an ice bath after long hard workouts and I envied people with bathtubs. Then I realized I had a freezing cold creek behind my house. So the boys and I got our suits on and we braved the creek. It was so cold that it hurt to be in the water longer then 7 seconds, so I settled with dumping a plastic bucket of cold water on my legs. I chatted with my gals in my trailer hood for a while and then went inside for another bagel. I then settled down for another "Downton Abbey" Marathon where I was in and out of consciousness. I was so sore when I got up I asked Ian if we could eat out, I couldn't imagine cooking. The next day I was still sore. I'm feeling much better today and pretty proud of myself too.
     Thank you to all my friends who suggested new running songs for me, they were very motivating until the iphone battery ran out. Thank you to my family who checks in on me to make sure I'm still alive and kicking. Thank you for liking my running activity on Facebook and letting those cowbells ring in my ears. Thank you for reading this and keeping me accountable. I know I am so close, just 19 more days.

25 Days until the Marathon

   I believe a marathon post is due! I didn't post one last week because ....I was sulking. That's the truth.  I was going to attempt to put a positive spin on it, but there it is. So my last long run was suppose to be 18 miles. My running schedule was all off, I had rested my knee the week before and my foot started to hurt out of nowhere and I just knew that the right thing to do was get back on schedule. So I ran 7 miles on Friday and by the end of the run my foot pain had gone away. It was suppose to snow that Sunday, so I decided to get my 18 miles in on Saturday. The loop I run in 6.75 miles long and I usually do that twice and then run circles around town. During the first loop, every time I put my foot down it was like "ow, ow, ow" It hurt but I definitely felt like I could run through it. After the loop, I stepped onto a trail to switch it up a bit and the pain intensified so much that I decided to call it a day. I walked back to the campground. I was so disappointed in myself, I felt like I should have pressed on, but I convinced myself  that  the  18 mile triaging run was not my goal. My goal is to get to save myself for the marathon. I went straight to a Dr Scholls Machine and bought myself a fancy insert, hoping that would fix me. It didn't. That day the pain got worse and as I hobbled around a baseball tournament , I was convinced I was done for. Very upsetting. So I googled everything and looked up podiatrist in my area....In the end I diagnosed myself.
Peroneal tendonitis- Peroneal tendonitis is inflammation of the peroneal tendons which run behind the lateral malleolus or the bony bit on the outside of the ankle causing and swelling on the outer ankle.

The red is where it hurts

   So basically there is a tendon that connects the leg and the foot and it was angry with me. This is an overuse injury that people often trying a new sport or increasing  their activity level repetitiously end up with. The advice was to rest, ice it and stretch it. I of course thought the world was so unfair because I had a schedule to keep. Resting last week would mean that I never raised my mileage past 17 miles before my marathon and that scared me. Would I even be prepared? Then a few things happened.
    I went to the running store, again. I made a close friend with a gal whose name I never thought to ask . She poured on me a wealth of experience and knowledge. I ran on a treadmill while she videotaped it and I was relieved to see that I actually have good form. I'm not doing anything funky with my ankles, not running pigeon toed or inverted . So she sold me moon shoes (at least that's what they look like) They are basically anti- injury shoes that she said people with stress fractures have actually ran races  in them. I have not paid this much for shoes since I wore Creepers in high school and the last pair of Creepers I bought were for my wedding. So I came home with these magical, ugly shoes and renewed hope. She explained to me that with my schedule modified , most likely my body was starting to heal and healing hurts. But she thought I was spot on with my diagnosis and she said even if I didn't run any higher mileage I would still be ok for my marathon.  I had hobbled around  all week and I decided to rest a few more days even though I have my magic shoes which are called Hoka' s. you can read about them here http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-gear/footwear/Sole-Power-Nicolas-Mermoud-Minimalist-Running.html


No one mistakes me for a fashion icon, but this is a tough look for me to sport

    The other really cool thing that happened is that I realized that I miscalculated my training schedule and left otr a whole week before the marathon. This means that I found a whole 7 days extra to train. So even though I missed out on last week, I can still run 20 miles this weekend before I taper my mileage down to rest before the marathon. I was amazed at this oversight!It was so unlike me to make a mistake like that on a carefully , color coded schedule! But  I was OH SO Grateful!
    Last week was rough. I iced my ankle and the whole trailer smelled like tiger balm. I should have done something helpful like cross train or work on my abs but instead I ate a lot of candy and started watching Downtown Abbey. That's what made me feel better. On Friday I ran 4 miles and Saturday I ran 5. Then I rested. I'm hoping to get back into my schedule this week but I'm going to take it easy. My ankle does feel much better and I really do want to run 20 miles this weekend. I wish I had a better update but as of now I am counting down the days til my Marathon and hoping for the best.
That's my little story but how about those runners in Boston yesterday. AMAZING! Talk about inspiring. We all start one mile at a time though, right? Are you going to get out there and get your mile in today? I am.

Spring Break on the East Coast

   Before I do another marathon update, I want to write down all of our adventures we had on the east coast. After all, this blog is about my family and our adventures on the road. My mom lives in Maryland which gives us the opportunity to explore more of our beautiful country with every trip. We primarily made the trip for a wedding, but we always try to make the most of every day together. So here's what we squeezed in.
    My last post, I told you about Nate and his family. They drove 6 hours from their home just to be with us  that week. We decided to do something together with our families that we had never done before, so we rented a minivan and drove to Philadelphia. This was a 3 1/2 hour drive. It was such a hoot being together on that road trip. The van had a dvd player built in  and the kids watched Frozen and Brave. We broke out the girl movies in honor of our time with my niece. The boys were such good sports. The first thing we saw was the Liberty Bell. I had seen  it in 8th grade but since then, they have built an exhibit around the bell to showcase and display more of its history. I could've spent more time there, reading all of the fun facts, but with the four children we had in tow, it was more of a speedy walk down memory lane. The best part was actually seeing the bell. We posed in front of it and got our touristy pictures in and then we all tuned around to walk away. As we turned,  we hear the security guard yell out " DON'T Touch the bell ."You know that feeling you get, when you know it was your kid?.... Yeah .... I saw Houston with that sad look in his eye...filled with  shame and embarrassment. I mean what good is an exhibit of you can't touch it,  right? Never mind the obvious ropes around it....Anyway, Nate was thrilled that Houston touched it. He asked "which part did you touch"  and Houston stated proudly " the crack!" By the time we called Ian to tell him about our day, the touching of the liberty bell had become everyone's favorite part. Houston even said " I meant to touch it!"

Notice the guard rails!

     We went on to take a tour of Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed and the Constitution was later ratified. The tour was great I love this picture, it speaks volumes.


Imagine George Washington in the same room with these goofballs

 

Our next important thing to do that day, was obviously get a Philly Cheesesteak. So we literally walked these poor children a mile around Philly looking for this place I found on Yelp. Apparently , there was a Man VS Food episode done here and I am all about those kinds of places. On our way we accidentally passed Benjamin Franklin's grave, how cool is that?

   So we finally got our cheesesteaks, they were huge and delicious. We went to this place called DiNic's which has apparently been a Philadelphia Institution of Cheesesteaks for nearly 100 years. The sandwich was just as mouth watering as it looks, I felt bad that Ian wasn't there to enjoy it because it was right up his ally, but I sent him this picture, kinda the same thing...NOT!  The unexpected topping was a spicy broccoli rabe and the oh so spicy roasted peppers. It was a total gut buster and we loved it.

I should tell you that my wacky children ate a slice of pizza instead. Criminal, I know.

We finished lunch with chocolate from a little place next door that sold odd chocolates. Houston got a chocolate shaped like an ear

   The next evening I got to have a night out with the girls. True, I didn't know these girls, it was Sara's bachlorette, but I will take a night out with the girls anytime, any day and anywhere.  Vironica escorted me there and I had the pleasure of getting to know Sara and her friends better. We had Thai food in Alexandria , Virginia which was the cutest little town with cobblestone streets. I think this is where I hurt my knee, but it was worth it.

I thought I had a better picture, but goofy one's really are more fun

We also had lots of grandma time. We had frozen yogurt ( more than once)  and went to see a movie. We went to Mexican Food one day and she took me to my favorite purse store. I love Spring Break WOO HOO!

      Then there was the wedding. It was absolutely beautiful. It was at a plantation that I had never visited before. It was nestled in between farmland and what I believe is the Patuxent River. It was a beautiful ceremony. The only way to keep Waylon quite though,  was to sacrifice my pearl necklace and tell him it was treasure. ( Don't worry , the necklace was only from Target) It was worth it to see Jon and Sara united in holy matrimony.

How cute is he though, right?

The reception was in a barn. I loved the theme and the decorations. It was beautiful and the  bride and groom were beaming. We took advantage of the surroundings to take some really cool pictures.


Isn't my mom beautiful? I think so

It sounds like a full trip, doesn't it? Oh no , it couldn't end there. My mom seized the opportunity of having all of her grand children in one place and the next day threw the biggest Easter egg hunt ever. Of course there was a jumpy jump there too because grandma's house is magical like that.


all the grandkids

       After a week like that, it's a miracle I squeezed in a run at all! An extra bonus was watching the Cherry Blossom tree's coming into bloom. Every year around this time there is a Cherry Blossom Tree festival in DC. Well,  they have Cherry Trees in Maryland too and they bloom every year around my birthday. I've always wanted to see them in full bloom. Thanks to this never ending winter, I left the day they started to pop. What a treat. We had such a great time. My family is truly blessed to have all of these amazing experiences.

Cherry Blossoms!

Running with my Hero and marathon training week 10

  

   This is my brother Nate. (On the right.) He is one of my heroes. Nate is a naval corpsman. He has served in Afganistan and he is kind've a bad ass. He has treated wounded soldiers on battlefields and in hospitals in the US. He pulls all this off and is  still a devoted family  man to his beautiful wife and daughter . Seeing his wife endure the hardship of his deployment challenged me in my own marriage . Seeing her be without him helped me make the choice to go on the road. I have heard ladies compare military wives and line wives before but the difference for me was that I had the opportunity to be with my man on the road. Not every wife has the ability, resources or privilege to see her husband every night ( in either trade ) but I do . 

( his beautiful wife who has taught me so much)

       Nate inspires me in many ways , but in December he sent me a pair of running shoes for Christmas with a note that read " the sport needs you."  The truth was I hadn't ran for 4 months because I was frustrated with moving to a new area again, not knowing where to run or have anyone to go with . Plus the kids needed me every waking moment ( or so I tell myself .)  Nate's push got me back out there. I need running . Sometimes it's my only outlet.  I enjoy the peacefulness and I need that feeling of accomplishment when all the momma duties are never finished and always on repeat . This week I got to run with Nate . 

     We had been looking forward to it for sometime. We wanted to train together but his work has been so hectic, all of the training just couldn't fit into his busy schedule . So we decided to run a half marathon together , just the two of us. But , it's been a busy week. I've been on the east coast for a wedding and we celebrated with family all weekend long . I hurt me knee wearing the cutest platform Toms and I was scared that my running schedule would be ruined! I rested a few extra days and this morning Nate and I set out to run 13.1 on the military base nearby . I got to see some really beautiful things on our run. We ran past two huge hawk nests . We saw a family of cranes chillin on a few logs. We ran along the Patuxent River and I even heard the National  anthem play over the loud speakers. It was quite a treat but my favorite part was being with my brother . I could tell we started out a little slower than he was use to, but the long run at a slow pace gave us time to talk . That's one thing I love about long distance runs lots of time to clear your mind or hang out with a good friend . My knee did fine by the way. It wasn't a problem at all when I started running . I did have my first experience with shin splints though . That was no fun. Anyway, can't wait to be back home, but I was so grateful to spend time with my family.