"Pain is weakness leaving the body..."

I am pretty certain I saw this quote on about 15 signs throughout the marathon on Halloween...and as inspirational as it should have been - by mile 19 I just wanted it to be over.

The Marine Corp Marathon itself was a good experience, I am happy I can check it off my list of "must do marathons" but I do not think I'll be running it again.

I was telling Sean when I was done that I should be writing down how I was feeling, because I knew after a week on vacation those raw emotions would have left, and they did - I'll try to point out the high (and low) lights.

This was probably the largest marathon I have ever run, therefore, the porta potty lines were EXTRA long. I should have known better then to wait in line in the "runners village" area...because I literally used the bathroom and had to RUN to the start line, which was 1/2 a mile away, in order to get into my corral so I could hopefully run with the 3:40 pacer. I arrived at the start with 2 minutes to spare and got going.

Lucky me chose the left side of the barrier to start on, turns out we got to go up a large hill while the people on the right side of the barrier remained on flat land. Me, not really thinking, figured I'd be running with a pacer and wouldn't need a watch...boy was I wrong. Running with the 3:40 pacer was just plain annoying because everyone was trying to qualify for Boston (of course) and felt the need to run in a pack on top of one another. People were stepping on heals, I saw a girl fall...it just wasn't fun. Around mile 9 I decided to run a "little bit ahead" and get away from the people.

Bad idea.

I haven't run a race in awhile so I felt really good. Turns out I picked up my pace a little TOO much and was on pace to run a 3:33 marathon - Yes, that is around what my "ideal" goal was...but it ended up killing me. Around mile 15 I decided to slow it down...and caught back up to the 3:40 pacer...by mile 19 I hit my wall. Unfortunately, because GU is no longer my friend I really had nothing to "pick me up" at the wall. Shot blocks, definitely did not give me the energy I need to continue at the pace I was going...I could barely even stomach them. The race went on, I started walking through the water stops...I was miserable.

I finally reached mile 26 and could not wait to see the finish line...until I realized - the finish line was no where in sight - It was at the top of a curvy hill!! Who does that?? When I looked at the elevation map prior to the race, I noticed the BIG hills in the beginning...but not the incline at the end. I felt horrible, but ended up walking during that .2 - the most exciting part of the race...and I walked!

When all was said and done I finished in 3:47:41 - Just about 10 mins SLOWER then Hamptons and 4 minutes SLOWER then Disney (and I had run a 1/2 the day before) - I tried hard to remain upbeat about it, but I can't lie, it is a little disappointing to not hit your goal time when you are set on it.

With this said, it'll only motivate me to work harder for Boston...always room for improvement.

Here's a picture of the elevation...just so you have an idea of my mental state:

Marathon Weekend!!

After months of training - the Marine Corps Marathon weekend is FINALLY here. It's funny, I don't know why I haven't written about this earlier - but Marine Corps is actually one of the first marathons I had ever looked into when I "caught the bug" of running 6 years ago. I remember reading about how it was one of the "top marathons" and the overall experience is "incredible."

I am looking forward to hitting the road bright and early tomorrow morning and heading to DC.

I'm sad Sean can not run with me on Sunday, but I'm happy I'll have his support throughout my run. It's going to be a challenge, but I'm ready to take it on.

Wish me luck!! :)

Marathon Registration...not so easy afterall

October 18, 2010 - I had been waiting for this day since October 2009 when I went to register for the 2010 Boston Marathon and it was FULL. There was no way, after all the dedication I put into qualifying for Boston - that I was going to completely miss out on my chance because I did not register in time.

I woke up Monday morning anxious to get my day going - I'm in "taper" mode for Marine Corps so a 3 mile jaunt was all I needed. I was dressed, showered and out the door for work by 8:10am (lately, I haven't been leaving work until 8:40...so this was a pretty big deal). I grabbed a coffee...arrived at my office set up my computer awaiting for registration to open.

The excitement that I had built up reminded me a lot of the days I would sit at a computer waiting for N Sync tickets to go on sale (lame but true). On the phone...on ticketmaster.com... determined to get the best seats available. 9 am finally arrived - I logged onto baa.org - filled out all my information, I was so excited that I even filled out the "un required" fields like - what place I came in at my qualifying race (1165) and how many Bostons I have run (2 but only 1 with a number). I hit submit...and the screen cleared, telling me to re-enter.

Not a good sign - I immediately got nervous, figured I did something wrong and tried again. After 5 attempts I logged onto the Facebook page (thank God for social media) and found out that I'm wasn't the only one having these issues...I believe all 26,000 who were able to register eventually - hit this same roadblock. Instead of working, like I should have been doing, I spent the next 2 hours trying to register for this race. I began thinking that this just wasn't going to happen...Then FINALLY I took someones advice on Facebook, followed the link they provided and got through.

PHEW...

When I got home from work I decided to take some time to read what people were saying about the process - clearly people were upset throughout - and when it was announced that the entire field was full by 5pm...there was outrage. The number one complaint was that charity runners are taking all the numbers. These are people raising money for some incredible causes, and as a charity runner myself, running a marathon for a charity is probably one of the best experiences I have ever had. To all those people who did not get a number and still want to run - they should consider running for a charity.

Second complaint was that the qualifying times are way too easy (specifically for woman) - they are allowing "every day" runners to be accepted to the race because "anyone can run a 3:40 marathon." - Yes, I must admit, now that I've run a 3:40 I can say that it wasn't has hard as I had once thought...However, it took me 5 years to figure out that I could push myself to that point. I'm sure that the BAA will eventually changed the qualifying time but honestly - I think anyone who thinks that should just get over themselves.

All these people who are upset because they didn't get to register and are completely ripping apart the Boston Marathon need to realize that 1. You aren't going to win Boston...and if you were, you would have a number - so clearly you don't "deserve" it as much as you think you do 2. I read over and over again that Boston has lost it's "prestige" - if you really didn't care then you should go run a spring marathon somewhere else.

Some of the other complaints included that the BAA wasn't prepped for this kind of response, they should open the field limit to over 30,000 and so on.

Whatever people are saying...doesn't really matter to me. I'm beyond excited that I will be running the Boston Marathon because I earned my spot. I busted my ass and I qualified. I can not wait to get to Hopkinton and just run.

Before that...gotta get through Marine Corps 8 DAYS!!!!

Time for the taper...

It's hard to believe there are just under 3 weeks until the Marine Corps Marathon! Over the past few months of training I've learned a few things

1. Do not run too close to the trash barrels in front of the Met

2. Do not drink 4 glasses of wine the day before a 16 mile run

3. Gu is no longer my friend

4. I am a better runner when I have Sean with me

5. Running with a Garmin watch can be VERY discouraging

6. Next time I ask Sean's dad for a good hill work out - find out how big that hill REALLY is before attempting to sprint up it...

7. I do enjoy the occasional after work runs in the park

8. Although life has been busy, I still managed to keep up with my training...definitely not as difficult as I had anticipated...just needed to find the time

9. Running part of the Boston Marathon route for my final 20 mile run made me SO excited to run in 2011

19 Days to go!!

No Excuses

Once again - I've had almost 2 weeks pass since my latest blog post!! I guess my busy schedule is really getting the best of me...and my updates. No big deal though - I can do a quick recap.

My past two long runs have not been the best. 2 weeks ago, I ran a 18 mile loop around the tip of Manhattan - would have been an enjoyable run if I didn't feel like I was going to pass out for the last 8 miles. Not the best feeling, and probably should not have finished, but I'm too stubborn to give up on a run - even when I'm hurting.

Needless to say - my afternoon on that saturday consisted of me having excruciating pains in my stomach, unable to drink any type of fluid and I was severely dehydrated...at points I was curled up on our hardwood floor in so much pain, I just couldn't move. I really thought I was going to have to go to the hospital! Luckily, I had Sean by my side all day and eventually I was able to get some gatorade down, then some water, and finally I could eat.

Note to self - next time I have to do a long run...do not have 1/2 a bottle of wine the night before - whoops!

1 week later - I ventured out again! This time for 16 miles, I made it a point to slow down at any point I felt sick, and drink PLENTY of water - and yeah, not wine the night before. Even with that though, I still had points of feeling nauseous! It's getting frustrating because it's totally slowing down my progress - I'm hoping that it's just the fact that we switched brands of bread (and we will be switching back to what I had before!) and nothing more. I finished my 16 miles and could function, which is all I cared about after what happened the week prior!

This Saturday I will be running my first 20 of training - We are getting into the final stretch! I really hope that I feel better then I have the past couple of weeks, and can keep up a decent pace. We shall see.

My week day runs have been ok, I know I'm not pushing myself as hard as I could be, but I don't know what I can do to kick it into gear. My legs just don't seem to want to move as fast as they used to! Perhaps its all just in my head? I need to stop making excuses and just keep on running.

Quick Update...

These weeks are going by MUCH faster then I anticipated! The marathon is just over 2 months away - it's about time to start the 15-20 mile runs!

Last week my long run of 12 miles was quite successful - I ran my 12 in around the time I ran my 10 2 weeks prior (shows how much I was dragging that week). This week I will be pushing my long run of 14 miles to Friday morning (tomorrow) . This way I can enjoy a relaxing weekend down the Cape with the girls without having to worry about throwing a 14 mile run in there. The bonus to doing it Friday is that I will be able to run 11 of it with Dee! It's been awhile since we've ran together...and it is much needed! I can't wait.

On another note - poor Sean has a case of IT Band syndrome and has been out of commission for 2 weeks now :( I'm hoping we caught it soon enough so he can gradually get back into the swing of things. Keeping my fingers crossed that its nothing more serious!

My feeling is that any day I am too busy to run is a day that I am too busy -- John Bryant

Too busy to run? Not so much - but I'm definitely becoming quite exhausted.

I need to find a balance between work, life, weddings, friends and training for a marathon. The goal of this blog was to keep track of my thoughts and feelings throughout training - but I seem to only have time to update it during my 9-5! (That's fine right?)

Other then being completely drained, I have managed to keep up with the schedule! A few weeks ago, I ran the worst 10 miles of my life. No joke..It was absolutely miserable. Sean came up with a complicated route throughout Central Park - We left together, and I'm pretty sure he's just being nice when he tells me he finished just "15 minutes before me."

The minute I started running I knew it was going to be a bad one, not the best way to approach 10 miles on a hot summer morning. Sean was out of sight within 10 minutes of us reaching the park - and at that moment, I shut down. My legs hurt, my head hurt, my stomach hurt (I did not eat the proper food prior to this attempt). It was excruciating. Me being overly...confident, decided that because it was only 10 miles, there was no need for water. I had to stop and walk 5 times - I don't even stop 5 times during a full marathon!

Needless to say, almost an hour and a half later I was finally done - and in a tremendous amount of pain. I did not have an ounce of sweat on me because I was so dehydrated, completely covered in salt! You'd think I just went on a 20 mile run or something - It took me about 6 hours to recover from that one.

No good - I spent the next week trying to build my confidence back up, and did a decent 12 mile run in Easton the following weekend.

The thing is, we have all these great events going on in our lives for the next few months, we are constantly having to adjust the schedule. I think 3 of my longest runs will end up being at 5 am on a Friday morning because I won't have time to work it into a weekend. Not a major problem, I'm just hoping that the lack of doing long runs with Sean, and our hectic schedules don't completely hinder how we do on race day.

Guess only time will tell - Just gotta keep on running :)