Scratch that.

Yesterday, I was all for a spring marathon, today, not so much. I started looking into some spring races and decided that they can be quite expensive. There are not any races close to where I live, so we would have to drive to the race, stay in a hotel, buy food, the race fees, etc. It all adds up and can take up the whole weekend. The part that seems the least exciting- sitting in a car after running for 5 hours when all I want to is lay down and take a nap. I also started remembering my training runs once I got over 13 miles and recalled how not fun they were. I like the mid distance races and enjoy running them, so it makes sense to stick with that for a bit. I've already signed up for 4 more races this year (3 of them 1/2 marathons) and told myself that I don't need to sign up for anything else. But, this is what happens- I get an idea in my head and I want to follow through. Its a challenge- can I do it? Slowly, I'm learning that I do not need to follow through on every crazy idea I get. I don't know why I can focus on something small, like getting faster, perhaps that will be my next goal...

Someday I will know my limits and be able to know when to stop. Someday.

Party like its 1999.

Ten years ago, my sister and I threw the best New Years Eve Party. My uncle let us borrow his house, er, small mansion, to have a party. There was an indoor pool, sauna, whirl pool, basketball court and we invited a friends band to play... along with 30 or so friends to ring in the new year. It was a great night and I knew it would probably be one of the most fun new years I would have. NYE becomes a night with so much expectations, yet rarely ever lives up to it.

This year was just as I wanted it to be. A nice dinner with Adam and a relaxing night at home. We didn't have to deal with crowded downtown or paying expensive cover charges. It was just what I needed.

I don't have any resolutions this year, but I'm sort of toying with the idea of a Spring marathon. I'm running a 1/2 in June... but for some reason suddenly have the urge to do a spring race, a long race.

This might just be too much couch sitting talking... we'll see what happens.

Time to Think

After an insane few weeks of being constantly busy, I find myself in a lull. I'm thinking of it as the calm before the storm. I know this is short lived and I suppose a chance to get revived before another few weeks of mass chaos. But, I don't like it. I like having a to-do list with things that I can check off and forcing myself to move to the next project because I have 5 things to get done in one day and they all need to get done. Instead, I don't have that... and my mind wanders. Today's wandering subject matter: Races. How much money is too much money to spend on race entrance fees? I already have a list of 1/2 marathons that I'm thinking about for 2010, but now I'm thinking about a couple more races.

Here is what I'm thinking:
1. Polar dash 10 K on New Years Day
2. Winter Carnival 1/2 Marathon on Jan 23
3. Mpls 1/2 marathon on June 6th (already registered for that)
4. Red, White and Boom 1/2 marathon July 4th (inaugural race from the people who bring us the TC marathon)
5. Urban Wildland 1/2 marathon on August 7th
6. A Breath of Hope 5K September TBD
7. Monster Dash 10 Mile or 1/2 Marathon October 30th
8. NYC Marathon Nov 7 2010-- This is a big maybe.
9. Drumstick Dash 10K- Thanksgiving Day

Most of the races are at minimum $30, NYC marathon is $185! Of course, there's no guarantee on that either. Its a lottery system, so they don't charge you until you get into the race, but that's just running the race, that doesn't include all the travel time (plus NYC spending money) to get there. It would be nice sometimes if I didn't get such grandiose ideas in my head. The more I think about the NYC marathon, the more I realize that its probably not the best financial investment, and its getting to be a large enough expense that I probably need to consult with my husband on (in which case, he will probably disagree with the large sums of money that I want to spend, just to run through the 5 boroughs of NY). Of course, this makes the Chicago marathon seem that much more appealing... We could drive there to save money on travel costs... Or I just stop thinking about running marathons and stick to halves that are located in the city I live in. The good thing about most of the races, they are for a charitable organization, so at least I'm running for a cause, but I still don't think that justifies all the money I spend on this new found hobby. I'm also getting a gut feeling that its not good to over-extend myself to so many things. I think we all know that our gut tends to be right...

I am a Marathoner.

Three years ago, I ran my first 5K in 41:18. When I say "ran" I really mean, ran/walked. The next day I watched my one of my friends run the Twin Cities Marathon. We waited for her at mile 23 cheering runners on and cheering especially loud when we saw her. I remember thinking "this is crazy, I could never do that" but at the same time in the back of my head thinking "what if I could". I began running more, slowly building up the ability to run one mile without walking, and eventually two miles. I signed up for an indoor triathlon (400 meter swim, 12 mile bike, 2 mile run) and finished second to last in my heat, but I finished. I then signed up to run Grandma's half marathon, and was committed to doing it until I hurt my knee in a soccer game a month before the race. I think I was sort of looking for a reason not to run and used the injury as a good reason to back out. I was dead set on running a mid distance race because I signed up for the Twin Cities 10 mile and the Nike + 1/2 marathon in October 2007, just one year after my 5K debut. I again backed out of the 10 mile due to another knee injury from soccer and decided to walk the Nike + 1/2 marathon completely untrained. It took me 4 hours and it was sort of unpleasant, but I wanted to finish so I wasn't going to give up.

During grad school I ran off and on, but I still had some residual knee injuries. This last winter, despite grad school, I decided that I needed to take time for myself again and started running more frequently. But, I was still only running 3-4 miles regularly. In April 2009, I signed up for the Urban Wildland 1/2 marathon and the Twin Cities Marathon in the same week. With my track record of signing up for races, I had no idea if I would complete either race. I finished the Urban Wildland 1/2 marathon in 2:16:52 and ran the whole time. Yesterday, I ran the Twin Cities Marathon and finished in 5:14:36.

The marathon- It was a physical and mental journey, harder than I anticipated. I knew it was going to be tough, but there's something about being so close, yet still so far that can cause some vicious mind games. During my training long runs, I always felt good up until about 10-11 miles, and each mile after that was harder and harder. So, I knew after the half way point (13.1 miles) things would get harder, and they did. I was running with the 5 hour pace group thinking that we would be running 11:30 miles, but we were running at 10 minute mile pace for 10 minutes and would walk one minute and take 30-40 seconds at the water stops. This worked out for me for 17 miles but then, I just couldn't keep up the 10 minute/mile pace. I was getting light headed and feeling like I could pass out. I dropped back from the pace group and contemplated my marathon future.
Should I just stop right there? Should I keep going until I just pass out?

I slowed down to a walk and started to wonder if I would be able to finish at all. My head was whirling with worst case scenarios when I looked down at the pace bracelet on my wrist and saw I was only 2 minutes off my pace group. That suddenly jarred me back to reality and then I saw the 19 mile sign and I was back in the game. The last 6-7 miles were tough. A lot of the fans on summit had left and those that were there seemed to have minimal cheer left in them. Mile 25 felt like it was never going to end. And then the capital was in sight and I heard all the people cheering at the end. It was such a great feeling.

It still feels like a dream (except for all of my day after soreness) because I never thought I could say I ran a marathon. This was something that other people did, not me. I still don't feel like I'm a runner, despite the fact that I keep thinking about what races I wanted to do next. I used to be nervous to run 6 miles, now I'm not afraid anymore and know that I have the endurance and strength to handle just about anything I try. I am a Marathoner.

Pictures of the big day:

Mile 15 with the pace group. Still going strong. (Me in the purple)


Mile 20 "the wall," I smiled to myself when I got there as my 'wall' was mile 18 and I had already surpassed it.


Mile 23... Tired and ready to be done!


Nearing the finish line!


Crossing the finish line.


My parents with my Uncle Tim and his grandson greeting me at the finish.