The BIG Day

We did it!

Well, I did it - I ran my first marathon! I can't believe it's already been 18 weeks since I started this journey... I'm not gonna lie, I was a little hesitant at first... I honestly didn't think I could run a full 26.2 miles. But, I DID! And another thing that came unexpected... I LOVED IT! Honestly, it was quite exhilarating. Well, here's how it went down...

Saturday afternoon Blake, Gary and I drove down to Columbus and went to our hotel. We went to the expo to pick up our shirts and bibs - boy was that an adventure! It was probably about a mile walk from our hotel to the convention center where the expo was held. Once we got there the people at the shirt distribution area told me they only had larges in the full marathon shirts... WTF? Dude, I signed up for this race and asked for a SMALL shirt five months ago! :-( So, instead of getting a shirt that's three times too big, I just took a small half marathon shirt - same design and color, just had 13.1 on it instead of 26.2. They also had a form to fill out if you wanted to exchange shirt sizes. So I did. No biggie.

I definitely earned that bumper sticker!

We walked around the expo and I bought my 26.2 bumper sticker! Eeeeeeeee!! =-D Then, after we walked all the way back to the hotel room and there was only 10 minutes until the expo closed, I came to realize that I no longer had my bib... I left it on the table when I was filling out the form to exchange my shirt! UGH! Of course I panicked, freaked out and we drove to the expo. It was no easy drive either... One way streets and traffic... Not a good combo. But, I made it in time and a lady in the back had my bib! Thank goddess! (and yes, I meant GODDESS - I heard one of the actors on True Blood say it and I liked it. :)...) Anyways... On our way out, I almost got clobbered by a giant sign that a worker was taking down. He didn't even apologize... And to top it off, guess what my bib number was? 3666! YIKES! lol I found it more humorous than anything though. :)

We went to dinner right after that fiasco with Christa from Grunt Girls and some other runners. What an energetic and pleasant bunch! It was a very entertaining dinner. :) The only downside was eating around 8:30 at night... My stomach didn't like that... I'm normally hungry in the morning, but not that morning and I couldn't get myself to eat my Powerbar. So, I had some Honey Stinger Energy chews - they're like little gummies and sooooooooo good!

Before the gun shot!

We walked to the start line, which was really close to the hotel. The race started at 7:30 AM. I was a little stiff in the beginning and nervous about the miles to come. The marathon was a record breaker in terms of numbers - 4,300 marathoners! That makes it the biggest marathon in Ohio! =-D So glad I was part of that.

Around mile six I felt a little tired and luckily Blake brought along some more of the energy chews, so we shared a pack, drank some Gatorade at the water stop and I was ready to go! I stopped at pretty much every water stop and had Gatorade, expect for maybe two stops in the beginning.

At around mile 15, Blake started to get a little slower, so I asked him if it would be alright if I went ahead and he said it was fine... Now, don't make fun of him, because he did not train nearly as much as I did. He only ran the long runs with me during the weekends. He never really ran during the weeks, which is crucial. If he would have trained more, he probably would have left me behind. So, don't go rubbing it in his face that he got beat by a girl, because that's just ignorant. Thanks. I actually felt bad and like a terrible girlfriend for leaving him... But, I trained hard for it and wanted to do my best.

Anyways... I felt GREAT, and got faster as the miles went on. I signed up for TweetMyTime through the Columbus Marathon website, so when I started, crossed the 10K mark, 15K mark, 20-mile mark and finished it posted my time on Facebook. It was pretty neat! It was great too, because then I could go back later and see my progress. People kept telling me that after mile 20 it all goes down hill, but I actually sped up after mile 20! Mainly because I had some GU around mile 17 or 18. It was the first time I ever had it, so I was kinda nervous because I heard it was nasty. But, they must of had the newer stuff because it was AMAZING! I grabbed a vanilla and it literally tasted like vanilla icing. NOM NOM NOM! After that, I was set! All the cheering spectators and 100's of bands also helped. My endorphins were definitely kickin'!

Although, around mile 18 my right hip-flexer and calve started cramping up - so I had to stop every mile or so to stretch them out and then was on my way.

Once I got to mile 25, I was in disbelief. Did I really just complete 25 miles? Do I really only have 1.2 miles to go? Then I saw the 1/2 mile sign up ahead and started striding it out. We have our names on our bibs so spectators were cheering us on by name and as I sped by one guy he was like, "Wow, there ya go Colleen, look at her speeding through!" :)

All smiles. :)

Then, down the hill of hundreds of spectators... The end was near! I could see the time clock and people crossing the finish line! I passed by so many people that 100-200 meters... According to my marathon results, I passed 347 runners between mile 20 to the finish and only got passed by 12. :)

I couldn't help but smile as I crossed the finish line. I took it all in as I crossed. I actually started tearing up, as lame as it sounds... But I was just so emotional by what I had just accomplished. I did was only 1% of the population has and ever will accomplish. I trained for and ran a FULL 26.2 miles! Now, I didn't break down crying like a baby, but there was definitely a tear. :)

I grabbed some water, waited for Blake to cross and we headed off to the food area! I treated myself to some chocolate milk. We headed back to the hotel - boy was that a painful walk/wobble! Blake and Gary had Chipotle while I got Panera! NOM! Then we headed home. And of course, I slept on the way home.

I was really happy with all the comments I received on Facebook. It really meant a lot to me that people cared. My hope is that people didn't take my blog or any of my posts about training for a marathon as narcissistic or  arrogant, because that was not my intention at all. It was to motivate myself and maybe even others to train for a marathon, half marathon, 5K or even just to get off the couch! It was to keep my friends who care up to date on my training and so I could look back and see what I did wrong and what I did right later.

On my "journey" I've learned A LOT. But the main thing I learned was that I can do ANYTHING if I just put my mind to it and commit. I know it's corny/cliche, but so true! Alright, I'm barely five-foot tall, weigh a little over 100 lbs, my body has been through hell with my eating disorder - yet my little body was able to run for four hours! Nothing but a little hard work and optimism, and I guess athleticism. :)

I'm actually hoping to run in the Toledo marathon in April or the Cleveland in May. It's just I really want to work more on speed for shorter distances, like 5K's. My goal is to finish a 5K in about 21 minutes. I really like the idea of blogging about my running progress - so I think I'll keep it up! Once I set my next running goal in the next couple weeks I'll start blogging again.

Until then, stay fit my friends! :)

First 20-Miler

So, I know it's a little late, but here's a post on last weekend's race! Blake, Gary and I ran in the Akron Marathon Relay last Saturday. We all did more than one leg of the race, even though you only need five people and we had five! :) Overachievers. Here is the outline of the relay legs:

Relay Point	Leg	Location	Miles
Point #1	First	0 mile/Start	3.5
Point #2	Second	3.5 mile/High St.	5.7
Point #3	Third	9.2 mile/Brown St.	6.3
Point #4	Fourth	15.5 mile/Sand Run Pkwy	2.8
Point #5	Fifth	18.3 mile/Sand Run Pkwy/Revere	7.9

 All three of us did the first two legs, but Blake and I ran all the way to point five! We handed off the snap bracelet to one of our team members and she handed it off to the last guy, but we just kept going since we were scheduled to run 20 miles that day.

Surprisingly, I REALLY enjoyed running 20 miles! Never thought I'd say that... I mean, don't get me wrong, it was pretty tough, especially after mile 10, but not as bad as I initially thought it would be. It was great to have so many spectators cheering on the thousands of runners and the pacers, they were AMAZING! Especially the one we ran with, which was the 9:55 min/mile pacer. He was so hilarious and motivational. I only hope he's at the Columbus Marathon in three weeks!

Guess who was at the Akron Marathon Expo the night before? HAL HIDGONS himself! I saw that he was going to be there that night and was so excited, but not excited enough to stay the whole time. We got to the expo, got our stuff  and left! It was just nice to be in the same building as the man who created the training plan that has worked so well for me so far. Also, not to mention how amazing and inspiring he was as a runner himself back in the day!

So, now an overview of the morning and after the race that day. I ate a PowerBar (Apple Cinnamon Crisp), some Gatorade, and made about six bathrooms stops before the gun shot off. Of course, I had the butterflies in my stomach, but that's just expected now. After the race I wasn't all that hungry, so I took a shower first and then had a PB&J, banana and yogurt for lunch. But, a few hours later I was STARVING. So, note to self - eat after finishing even if you're not hungry!! It'll catch up to ya later...

Well, tomorrow morning is my last double-digit run before the marathon! Twelve miles tomorrow, four miles Tuesday, three miles Wednesday and four miles Thursday... Not bad! Boy, is my body going to love these few weeks of tapering!

Well, that's all I can think of to write right now. My brain is throbbing from reading all evening for school... That's what I haven't really been posting as often, GRAD SCHOOL! I know one thing it won't stop me from ever doing though - RUNNING. :) I'll promise you that!

Stay fit, my friends! ;-)

Runners LOVE Vizslas

It's been way too long since I last posted! I've just been so super busy with grad school, work and my puppy. I figure now is better than never! It's about 9:30 PM and I have to wake up at 5:00 AM tomorrow morning, so I should probably be sleeping, but I'm not tired... Anyways, in this post I'll talk (write) about last weekend's Duathlon and then my preparation for 20 MILES tomorrow at the Road Runner Akron Marathon. 

Good thing Gary took pics, since this guy got in the way of my professional finish photo!

BLAKE! Needless to say, he beat me. :)

Last weekend was the Portage Lakes Triathlon and Duathlon. Blake and I competed in the Sprint Duathlon, which was a 5K run (3.1 miles), 12-mile bike, followed by another 5K run. It was not AS BAD as I thought it would be! It was pretty chilly in the morning, but I felt pretty good overall during the race. My overall time was 1:52:15. My first 5K was 26:56, 12-mile bike was 55:57 and my last 5K was 26:35... Not the best, but I didn't want to burn out, even though I felt like I could have pushed myself harder afterwards. I think I'm going to do more duathlons and actually train for them next year. They're a lot of fun!

On another note. We also met Miles' brother's owners at the Duathlon! One of them was competing in the triathlon. Runners LOVE vizslas! Here are some pictures of my little pup. Well, he's not so little anymore, about to be 14 weeks on Monday! Can't wait until he can start running with me. Dexter's (Miles' brother) owners said they've already starting running a couple miles with him. I tried running a little with Miles that same day, but he kept getting in front of me and whining. May take a few more tries. I'm also going to check with the vet on Monday first to see if it's alright if I start running him. Don't want my baby getting hurt, he's got a lot of training and races ahead of him!

Well, tomorrow is the Road Runner Akron Marathon! I'll be running in a relay with Blake, his dad Gary and two other people. Blake and I will be starting at the beginning and running to the last leg of the race to 19 miles, run an extra half mile and then run back and get on the bus to ride to the finish! I'm thinking (hoping) it'll be somewhat easier running with thousands of other people for 20 miles than just the two of us. It'll keep our minds of the pain! :)
Here is my preparation check list for a big race like this:
1. Dinner - Whole wheat pizza with broccoli and green pepper, with some almonds on the side.
2. Prepare breakfast - PowerBar and Gatorade!
3. Set out clothes and have bib by them
4. Put sensor on shoes.
5. Go to bed early (ehh, not happening!)
6. Set alarm for 5:00 AM (BLAH!)
7. Ice lower back for 20 minutes
8. Lay in bed and visualize how I want the race to go. Mentally go through the run and prepare myself for the ups and downs.
9. SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP

About to go complete steps 7-9 now! I'll try to post again tomorrow on how the 20 miles went.

Stay fit my friends!:)

The Race Doesn't START Until Mile 20!

Blake and I ran 19 miles today! WOO HOO! A little bit of chaffing and sore legs later, I feel pretty good! I felt pretty good the whole time too - just had to slow down a bit the last few miles... Last night Blake and I made our whole wheat pizzas for dinner - it's our ritual dinner before a long run, and it works! Then about 45 minutes before the run I had a power bar and some Gatorade - which kept me pretty full and energized until the last three miles. After our run we had our favorite - PULP! I was pretty much hungry all day too... A couple hours later I had some Sun Chips and then three more hours I made lemon pepper chicken, whole wheat macaroni and cheese (I'm addicted to it no) and some peas and corn. Now it's almost 8:30 PM and I'm hungry AGAIN! :)

Blake made a good point during the run; it's true, the race doesn't start until mile 20... My legs were tired, sore and if I have to run seven more miles, I would have had a different mindset... It's hard to say how I'll be for that 6.2 race since I've never ran that far before. But, it'll definitely be interesting! Also, note to self, WEAR COMPRESSION SHORTS! The lining of the built-in underwear of my running shorts does some major damage to me inner thighs... I've been walking about like a baby with a diaper on all day! -lol-

Well, in two weeks I'll be running 20 miles at the Akron Marathon as part of the relay with Blake, his dad and some chick. Instead of just running one leg of the race, I'm going to start at the first leg of the race and keep running until I get to 20 miles (Blake is going to do that too). It should be interesting...

Also, next weekend is the Portage Lakes Duathlon in Akron, which is a 5K run, 12-mile bike and 5K run. I'm supposed to run 12 miles next weekend, so I'll just run six more miles on the Sunday after the race - if I can still move!

That's it for now. Getting ready to watch the season finale of True Blood! :)

Labor Day 5K: PRing and Missing the Power of Speed

1st Place Women 20-29!

Today was the Aurora Labor Day 5K at Sunny Lake Park. I not only finished first in the women's 20-29 age group, but also PRed! I ran about a 23:30 5K, a whole minute faster than my time last year at this race! Considering I haven't done ANY speed work at all, that's pretty damn good! My first mile was a 7:30 minute mile. I felt really good too, especially the first mile. The last mile though, I started to get a little tired and slowed down a bit.  But, I think taking a rest day yesterday was a good idea. My legs felt pretty fresh for the first couple miles. Blake was about two minutes ahead of me and his younger brother, Ian, was right behind me pretty much the whole time. I encouraged him the last half mile or so and then.... The last 200 meters the little booger sprinted past me towards the finish! -lol-

Adding on to my 10 + medals. :)

That's alright though, I'm just proud of myself for PRing! I've been running like 24-25 minute 5Ks lately because I don't train for shorter distances and I just run at a comfortable pace. But, after this marathon I'm training for SPEED! I never thought I'd say this, but I actually miss speed work! I used to despise it, but it's so worth it! My goal is to place in the top three overall women - and I know I can do it too! The lady who placed third overall today ran a 22:49! I hope to finish in 21-something at my next 5K, which won't be for a long time since it's already September...

Today is also Miles' 10-week birthday!! YAY! In a little less than six months he'll be running with me. :) Can't wait!

Well, off to take a shower and relax. Have a Happy Labor Day, everyone! :)

My little trophy showcase. Everything from 5Ks to Duathlons. 

Happy 10-Week Birthday, Miles!! :)

Slightly Disappointed, But Even More Proud

I'm a little disappointed in myself, but at the same time, proud. This week was supposed to be a 31-mile week, but ended up being only 21 miles... Why a ten-mile difference? Well, Thursday I was supposed to run eight miles, but it turned into a seven-mile run due to a pop-up storm and the fact that my legs were just killing me. Then, yesterday I was supposed to run 13 miles, but since I didn't wake up until around 9:30 AM and by the time I got outside to run it was around 10-10:30 AM and the humidity was hard to bear, my 13-mile run turned into a painful five-mile run... I was ready to give up around mile two! It was so hot and humid, plus my legs were still pretty sore... But, I pushed myself to get to the five-mile mark... Afterwards I felt like I ran 13 miles! I was sweating profusely!

Well, anyways... Like I said, I am also sorta proud of myself this week. Normally, I would have been so disappointed I wouldn't be able to stand it and probably would have kept running and hurt myself. I tend to push myself too hard and in the past it's led to injuries or burning myself out. It's not like I skipped out on my 20-mile run! It was just a shorter, long run - no biggie. Not going to lie though... I even Googled, "Is it alright to skip a long run?" -lol- Someone actually skipped out on a 20-mile run! Now that, that would be bad, considering I only have one 20-mile run in my training. Missing out on a full 13 miles won't kill me. Heck, maybe it'll make me even stronger for having a shorter mileage week!

Friday after work I went to Kent State's Recreation Center for the FIRST time as a KSU student! I went on an Elliptical for about 20 minutes and then did upper body. KSU's rec is A-MAZ-ING! I'm so used to BGSU's tiny little, old rec center. KSU has multiple weight room and cardio areas that I couldn't decide which one to go workout in first! Check out the YouTube video to the right about Kent's Rec Center. Pretty sweet, huh? I'm going to try to go there more often after work on Mondays and Fridays since I don't have classes - maybe even on the weekends for my cross training!

Well, today (Sunday) is going to be a REST day. Tomorrow is Labor Day, so you know what that means? The Aurora Labor Day 5K! That's the main reason why I am taking a rest day today - so that I can run well tomorrow and MAYBE even PR... Maybe... It's supposed to be a five-mile run tomorrow, so I'll run two after I get done with the 5K as a cool down. I'll do another post tomorrow to let ya'll know how I did! :)

Have a great Labor Day weekend! :)

Seven More Weeks to go!

Whew... Eighteen miles down this morning! Only seven more weeks until the BIG day! I can't believe how fast this training/summer has gone by... I start my first week of graduate school this upcoming week - YIKES! Excited/nervous at the same time. But, I've already posted about that, so I won't bore you with the details. :)

Anyways, this week was pretty good running-wise. I did five miles on Monday and Tuesday, with a full body strength training workout after the run on Tuesday. Rest on Wednesday, ran eight miles on Thursday and then another rest day on Friday.

Dinner!

Blake and I were going to run yesterday (Saturday) morning, but we decided to have Miles sleep in his cage since he's been sleeping with me in my bed every night. Not a good idea... he cried ALLLLLLLLLLL night. He may have slept for three to four hours at the most, which also means I only got about three to four hours of sleep on and off. I felt dead the next day... So, instead of dragging myself out to run, I took another rest day! I've actually taken three rest days this week. One was on Wednesday, Friday and then Saturday. I felt pretty good this morning though. We ran the same place as last week - the trail at Silver Springs in Stow. My stomach felt a little yucky when we first got there... The night before I had lemon-pepper chicken, whole-wheat organic macaroni and cheese and green beans for dinner. For a snack I had some Triscuits last night and then this morning about 30 minutes before the run I ate a Luna Bar. I think it may have been the Triscuits. Maybe I'll try having yogurt or something the night before.

Around mile 17 is when I started to feel it. I just wanted to be done! I was also getting a little hungry. But, I finished! We ran 18 miles in about three hours and nine minutes. Not bad considering we walked up some big hills and stopped a couple times to drink. Overall, the run was pretty good. I didn't feel as good as I did last weekend, but not too bad either.

After our run I drank some low-fat chocolate milk. :)

Well, this week is another 5-8-5 week and then a 13-mile run during the weekend. Not too bad!

Have a happy Sunday! :)