Mondays in Love: Race Week!

This is it guys. It all comes down to this. Just five days stand between me and the start line of the Top of Utah Marathon.

It's kind of hard to believe. Back in January I sat down one night and, all at one time, registered for the Salt Lake Running Company's training group, the Salt Lake Half, the Utah Valley Half (my A Game half for the year) and the Top of Utah Marathon (to avenge my standing PR at this distance). I've been training since the first week of February. In that span, I've missed only 2 Saturday long runs--one because I was sick, and one because I was in Paris. I've felt great about this. Training for nearly 8 straight months is a first.

A bigger first came this past week, though, when I cleared the 1000 mile mark for the year. I've never exceeded 1000 miles in a year, let alone by mid-September. I'm proud to finally join the 1000 mile club!

It's looked like a whole lot of long run miles and a lot of easy miles, and some other stuff mixed in.


Yes, there have been mornings that I've wanted to stay in bed. There have been days that I've been really, really tired and wanted a break from it. There have been plenty of times I've caught myself doing calf stretches in public and realizing that people were staring. But the effort put in has been worth it. I can't describe the adrenaline rush that came the day I sub-1:50'ed the Utah Valley half. Or the day I ran a 6:24 mile, having absolutely no idea I could do that until I tried. Or learning to nail my long runs. Or how great it's been to make friends, real friends, through running.

My next post will be the race recap. Heading into race day, I'm feeling excited, nervous, and prepared. I know that there is no certainty in the marathon. Anything can, and does, happen. But I'm hopeful. And strong. And thrilled to have taken this journey.

I'll leave you with the pre-race stats:

My race mantra (thank you Coach Mike, as always!): Run easy, run free
Race goals:
     A--sub-4.
     B--sub-4:10 (this was my goal at Cleveland, which in case you've forgotten, was an epic failure fueled by an epic lack of appropriate fueling, although it's still my standing PR)
     C--PR
Fueling plan: I'm using a pre-race fueling guide I got from RW a few years ago (my shopping cart looked ridiculous today, btw). During the race, I'll Gu every 6, and use an electrolyte tablet in my water every 10ish.
Pacing plan: Taken care of, as always, by pace bands
Expected weather: Very cool at the start line (maybe as low as 40), warning up to maybe the 60s by the finish.

The countdown is on. Wish me luck!!

Um...Monday?

I feel torn about this Monday. On the one hand, we had an absolutely perfect weekend visiting friends in STL. On the other hand, it's nearing the end of the semester and I'm grumpy and stressed. So you're going to get both sides.

BIG BIG RUNNING ANNOUNCEMENT
I did it. I signed up for Marathon #4: Top of Utah marathon, September 2014 in Logan, UT. The first half of it is a 2% downhill grade as you run down a canyon. I've heard that the course is gorgeous and I'll get to stay with a dear friend and colleague who lives up there. Training is set to start in June!

Question: are the RW training plans worth the $30? I've used the sub-2 training schedule several times, each time successfully, but I tore it out of an issue of RW. I didn't actually pay for it separately.

FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS, I HATE GIGANTIC LUXURY SUVS
I absolutely adore my baby's daycare. His teachers are great. The directors are delightful. And some, some of the other parents make my days happier ones. But some of them are entitled a-holes. On any given day, morning or afternoon--take your pick, I am greeted by at least one gigantic luxury SUV parked in at least 2 of the following 3 things simultaneously:

• a space reserved for handicapped drivers
• a second parking space
• a striped-off loading area for the handicapped spaces

One day I had to put my son in his car seat through the opposite side of the car, because the gigantic luxury SUV parked next to me was, naturally, in their space and mine. The owner, who approached as I was doing this, stood on the sidewalk and waited for me to back out so they could comfortably get it. Then she put her hands to her face and started shrieking because she thought I might touch the side of her gigantic luxury SUV with my side mirror as I backed out. That was the last straw. I opened my door and calmly explained to her that neither my mirror nor my need to put a toddler in his car seat through the opposite side door would have been an issue had she parked in 1 parking space. Her response: it wasn't her fault. 

OUR COMPLETELY PERFECT WEEKEND

We spent this past weekend in STL, primarily for my hubba-love's company Christmas party, but also to see our friends. While flying with small children is not the easiest thing ever done, so many complete strangers were so incredibly kind to us, and helpful, along the way. 

I started out the weekend at a cupcake happy hour with some of my favorite people. 

That night we dropped the kids off with some friends and headed to the Christmas party in our fancy clothes. I think I enjoy the party more than the actual employees do. :)

At the Kemp Auto Museum for the party--keeping it classy!

Friday night Mr. Joanna's company put us up at Union Station. I'd never been in the hotel part of it before and have to say, it's completely gorgeous. The picture only sort of does it justice!

Atrium of the Union Station hotel

Saturday we enjoyed breakfast with another friend, then headed to Springfield, IL to visit the Lincoln Presidential Museum with my dear, dear friend (and our boys' Godmother) MJ and her kids. The museum impressed me. The displays were very well done, the building organized in a way that made sense, and they had just the right mix of kid and adult-oriented content. I'd always heard it was worth the visit and it is!

plus, the Lincolns had great taste in wallpaper

Saturday evening we enjoyed some gooooood local pizza (read: NOT Imo's!) with friends. Sunday morning we had breakfast with our old neighbors, then headed for the airport for the long flight home. Icing on the cake, and a sure sign of a great trip? The rental car had WV plates. 

HIT ME WITH A BOARD OF BROKEN NAILS

I guess we haven't really broadcast it too widely, but we are waist deep in a fairly large renovation project. Phase 1 involved gutting the kids' bathroom and remaking it and part of a useless hallway-to-nowhere into a nice bathroom and laundry room. It's mostly been a lot of fun to see the project come together. Not fun? Coming home to difficult-to-move BOARDS WITH NAILS STICKING OUT OF THEM sitting face up right in front of my younger son's bedroom door (did I mention that he's ONE?). Or coming home to find ladders left set up on the stairs to the upstairs, leaving no safe way whatsoever to get kids to bed without moving the contractor's stuff. Or, for variety, coming home to find building supplies strewn all over the front yard. The new space will be great when finished, but in the meantime, #Annoying.

Lemme hear it. What crazy contractor stories do you have? 

YOGA LOVE

This week is the last week of my semester-long yoga class. This class=huge blessing. The instructor is excellent, plus I have little doubt that going helped to minimize the hip pain I was experiencing while training for Raleigh. I'm trying to decide if I have enough time to get from the spring class to the academic class I will be teaching. If not, I'll have to find some alternative for next semester, which is fine; there are a million yoga studios in this earth-loving city. 

That's it for this week's installment of Mondays. This week I'm going to try to find a running route clear enough of ice and snow to attempt. I'm pretty sure most of the country is in that quest with me this week. Stay warm, stay safe, and run strong my friends!

Mondays in Love: Potpourri

It's ThanksUkkahMas! In our house this means:

• new placemats for children to utterly destroy in under 1 month
• finding the box to return the fall paraphernalia to the basement 
• trying to remember which wrapping paper is "Santa's Paper Not To Be Used On Gifts From Parents Under Any Circumstance"
• Raking leaves and wondering how long either the City or our neighbors can stand to see the pile of bags before caving in and picking them up despite, apparently, there not being any city leaf collection
• Starting to plan holiday outings that include both small children and senior citizens, both groups of which have unyielding demands for cookies and drinks along the way.

But you know what else it's time for? Outrageous holiday catalogs! Want to pay $47 for pumpkin spice potpourri? Sure! Or read about other people making fun of crazy crap. 

All this is just a lengthy preamble to a Potpourri of Running post. Because I'm a week overdue for a post, and because 'tis the season to be crazy. Oh, and because I do what I want. 

First up, my Turkey Trot. The plan was to participate in the Orlando Turkey Trot, which benefits a senior citizens social services group. However, by age 8 I was the only person in my house awake on a weekend before about 11am. So, dragging anyone away from slumberland to join me proved difficult, so my Mom and I decided to make a donation to the charity then cover the distance later in the day. 

The good: It was adorable. My nieces (3 and 5 years old) joined us for the first half mile. My Mom headed inside with foot issues after about 1.5 miles. And my lovely SIL, Kdot finished out the 5k walk with me. It was really nice to just spend some time one-on-one with her (which we also did while shopping on Wednesday for pretty things)

yes, I am completely over-geared for walking 3 miles. Whatever. It was what I had on hand!

While away for Thanksgiving, we also got to continue one of my favorite traditions, the middle generation Christmas Martini. I love, love, love these evenings out with these people. 

Kdot, ODP, me, Mr. Joanna

And a brief November recap: it was a little light on miles after my race. I enjoyed every one of these miles. 

Miles: 44.9

Best run: easily the Raleigh City of Oaks Half-Marathon (race recap here). 

New shoes broken in: the week leading up to the race

New gear: I picked up a pair of Moving Comfort capris--my first pair of capris. Do you have these yet? If not, go now. Buy a pair. I love them. They are soft. The waistband is perfect. Love. 

Unexpected change: Both the Army ROTC and the National Guard have started showing up to train in my park before dawn, though not on the same days. 

Around now-ish, I've been meeting lots of runners, and have several leads on some running groups/running buddies that might work out. I am so in love with the outdoorsy lifestyle of this place!!

What's in store for December? 

• for starters, I intend to sign up for....wait for it....a full marathon for 2014!!! 
• Snow. That angry looking snow blob on the weather map? Yeah. That's us. 
• Too. much. travel. And we're not even going anywhere for Christmas. But we are getting to spend lots of great time with friends and family. 

How was your November? Did you do a Turkey Trot? What's in store for your December?

Mondays in Love: For the First Time!

When and where was your first time? Mine was in Detroit in October of 2009. Maybe for some of you it was much longer ago. Maybe you're a marathon virgin (of course this is about running! Geez people!). There is nothing else on earth like your first marathon finish line. I really do think it changes a person. Today I am very pleased to bring you into the world of a first time marathoner, to give you a glimpse of the experience or take you back to your first marathon memories.

Let me introduce our first time marathoner, Jessica. Jess and I go way back (1998!!) to West Virginia. We met at Spruce Knob when we were both Scholars in the (now defunct) West Virginia Scholars Academy--an experience as formative and awesome as it is difficult to explain. We spent a month writing 75+ page autobiographical theses and learning about the socioeconomic landscape of WV. This involved a lot of hiking, camping, spelunking, writing and eating amazing food. It was an experience that changed my life, forever, and that holds a special place in both our hearts.

at the 2011 annual reunion at Spruce

Some basic stats: 

• Jess ran the Columbus Marathon on October 20. Her goal time was: finish, but from her training runs she anticipated something around a 5:15. Actual time: 5:15:40.
• Previous running resume: the Parkersburg Half in 2011 (2:51:44), 2012 (2:47:23) and 2013 (2:32:45) and the Columbus Half (put on in conjunction with the marathon) in 2011 (2:37:42)

I had originally planned to shorten this post, but I want to let Jessica give her experience fully and in her own words. So much of this interview rang true for me, and it took me right back to that first 26.2 training cycle and race. I honestly got a little choked up reading it. Enjoy!

How did you pick your race? Location, the course itself, date?

I picked the Columbus Marathon because I live here, and thought it would be the easiest to start with - no travel, hotels, etc.  Also, being familiar with the city, made me feel a little more confident, and it was easy to order my family and friends around to be at certain rally points to cheer for me.  Finally, the course is relatively flat, so I thought that would help, and October would be cooler, so I liked that as well.    

How long did you train? 

I started "training" in one way or another at the beginning of the year.  I had wanted to run a marathon last year, but life threw a wrench in that plan and it didn't happen.  So when I decided to do it this year, I knew there were a few things I wanted to do.

First, I wanted to drop about 20 extra pounds or so that I was carrying around.  I figured the extra weight would be hard on my joints.  So from January through June, I watched my calories and lost about 15 of the pounds.  I really wasn't running too often (maybe one or twice a week for a few miles) and was just doing some light indoor exercising (yoga, aerobics-like workout videos, etc.). After June, I stopped monitoring my exact calorie intake, but ended up losing about another 10 pounds from June through October, mostly because of the increased physical activity.

Second, I wanted to incorporate strength training into my routine.  In previous years when I trained, I just followed a beginner or intermediate schedule I found online that just has you running your average pace four times a week and then resting or cross-training the other three days.  Even though it would say to run the short ones at a slightly faster pace and the long runs at a slow, comfortable pace, my goal was always just to get the miles in anyway I could.  And I always used CT days as rest days.  But I really wanted to do as much as I could to make the task easier on my body.  So I hired a personal trainer in July.  I worked out with him about once a week and he gave me "homework" training sessions to do on my other CT days.  I was sore a lot, but I could really tell a difference in how I felt physically by the end.  I really feel like it helped a lot.

What was your training like? 

When I actually started the running training, I found a beginner schedule online.  As with years before, I really wasn't too cognizant of the different recommended paces.  I just tried to get the miles in.  Towards the end, I did try to push myself more on the short runs with the pace, but it wasn't something I focused on.  So I didn't do any speedwork.

I trained mostly alone.  Occasionally I would do a short run with friends or family, but the majority of them ran at a slower pace than I did, so I really felt like I was doing it more for them than for me.  Also, I found that on the few occasions when I was scheduled to do a long run, but someone wanted to accompany me for the first few miles, running at a much slower pace than I wanted to actually hurt my performance for the rest of the long run after my partners would drop off.

I did go running once a few weeks before the marathon with a friend who runs at a faster pace than I do.  What I realized was that I could definitely keep up with her pretty easily and that I probably needed to try to push my own pace in future training years.  I think I'm probably capable of a lot more, but I just haven't figured out how to do that alone.  I might try to find some pace groups or something in future years, but my problem has always been that I have an extremely irregular schedule and it's hard to keep any sort of plan or schedule with other people.

My longest scheduled runs were 14, 16, 18, and 20 miles.  I substituted a half marathon for the 14 mile run.  The goal was to finish that half in under 2:30.  The two weeks before the race, I had extended family members visiting and had been traveling a lot, which meant my running, eating, and sleeping suffered.  I didn't make that goal, and I was upset about it, because it was totally possible, but I just couldn't pull it off that day.  Then the 16 and 18 mile runs did not go well at all.  I ran the first few miles of the 16 mile run with someone else, and I felt more tired than normal and ended up walking a lot.  I also hadn't planned well for hydration and found myself looking for water off my course.  Plus I wasn't in a good place in my head that day due to some stress at work.  So that was also a set back.  The 18 mile run I tried to do a day earlier than originally planned and it also went pretty horribly.  Around mile 12 I started having severe stomach and intestinal distress.  I gave up at mile 16 after walking probably three of the last four miles.  Again, pretty disappointing and it made me fear I wouldn't be able to do it.

So the 20 mile run felt like a make-or-break moment to me.  I tried not to put too much pressure on myself, but it was important to me to do well.  I was doing well and around mile 11.5, I realized that if I pushed my pace for mile 12, I could finish 13.1 in under 2:30.  I had a bit of an internal debate about whether that was a good idea - what if I ran out of steam at the end because of doing a big push in the middle?  I decided to do it, and I think it helped with my confidence a bit.  The last seven miles went pretty well.  My legs cramped up a bit, but I finished in under four hours, which was my goal.  I also didn't feel totally wiped out at the end, so that was good.  I was happy with that run and felt like I would be fine for the marathon.

What were your thoughts in the days before the race?

I was really trying to focus on myself and what I thought was best for me physically and mentally.  I know in theory that that is something to strive for all the time, but I frequently ignore my needs for others, as many women do.  I was very concerned about my stomach.  I didn't want to eat something that would make me sick or upset my body, so I only ate where I wanted, when I wanted, etc.  I told my family and others that I couldn't do things they wanted me to.  It was a little intimidating to think that I was going to run 6 more miles on the day of the marathon than I had ever run at once in my life.  My 20 mile run had gone well, so that helped, but I was worried about the unknown that might come up in the last 6 miles.  Also, as with most runners, I was obsessed with checking the weather.  While I really hate running in high heat and humidity, I am also not a fan of running in really cold weather.  It looked like it would be in the mid-30s when the race started, and end up maybe getting to 50 degrees.  I was worried about being cold.  Plus, my nose always runs when I run in the cold and then I can't breathe through my nose and I just struggle a bit more.

Also, I was worried about psyching myself out of doing well.  One thing running has helped me with is to keep my over-thinking tendencies in check.  But that doesn't mean I don't still obsess about things too much sometimes.  Unfortunately for me, my family, who wanted to come and cheer me on, actually is somewhat detrimental to my mental health at times.  I was worried about whether they would distract me or take something away from the experience.  But I had some friends who really believed in me and I just kept in mind that I was really prepared for it and I would be fine.

How did you feel at the start line? 

The start line was a little crazy.  There were 20,000 runners registered and many thousands more spectators.  I decided not to have any of my family or supporters come to the start line to cheer me on.  I figured that I was sufficiently motivated to get myself across the start line.  :)  So, that meant I had to drive myself downtown and park and get to the start area.  The parking area was about a mile from the start line, but unlike the previous time I ran in Columbus in 2011, traffic was absolutely insane this time.  The race was supposed to start at 7:30am, but they said the corrals were only open from 6-7.  I figured that was their scare tactic to get people there early, but I was afraid they may not let me in if I was late with all the increased security this year.  I didn't get parked until 7:15, so I ran the mile to the start line, which actually ended up being a nice warm-up, but it was stressful.  I couldn't really get in my corral and just ended up in the very back of the 20,000 runner pack.  All of the rushing around and the time-crunch meant that I didn't have time to get nervous or really over-think things too much.  

Tell me about the 26.2 miles. What were the highlights and lowlights? What went well? What went wrong? 

I didn't get across the start line until about 25 minutes after the first gun.  So I was a little worried about my scheduled rally point meet-ups with my family and friends because my ETA for those places was going to be way off.  After the first two miles of dodging people and random clothing strewn about the course, I settled in.  The first 6 miles were really congested and I would sometimes get bumped or have to maneuver around others, so that was commanding most of my attention rather than my run or my pace.

This was the first race I remember where I felt like there were tons of spectators along the first part of the course.  Also, they put your name on your bib, and people would yell out your name as they cheered for you.  At first I was confused until I realized my name was on the bib, and then I just thought it was absolutely awesome.  So much support from total strangers was really amazing and I think I fed off of it.  I usually listen to music when I run, but I couldn't even hear it over all the cheering!

The overwhelming support was one factor that contributed to the most surprising and unexpected part of the race for me - I was super-emotional most of the race!  I frequently got choked up and wanted to cry.  I think it was partly because of the awesome support, which was very touching, especially given that I didn't always get that kind of support from others.  Another part of it was because of the sponsors of the race.  It was sponsored by Nationwide Children's hospital.  Every mile had a "patient champion," and in the race packet had been a description of the kids and what illness/condition the hospital had helped to treat.  Some of these children were amazingly brave and had been through so much in their short lives.  Many of them were there at their mile marker to cheer us on.  One of them had passed away a few weeks before the race, so they had a memorial at his mile-marker.  The last reason for my emotional state was because I was so proud of myself and it was the culmination of almost 10 months of hard work.   But I hadn't been prepared for the emotions that welled-up during the run.

Mile 11 my family showed up, and I was feeling pretty good.  It had been a little chilly, but not as cold as I had feared, so I was ok.  I finished the first 13.1 in 2:24 and briefly entertained the idea of possibly finishing ahead of my estimated 5:15 time.  But, the crowd (both spectators and runners), thinned drastically after passing the half and suddenly, I felt alone for the first time in the race.  According to my Garmin, I walked a lot of mile 15, which I don't really remember doing, but I remember drinking more than I should have and feeling more tired than I wanted to feel.  There was a stretch of a few miles that went right past my alma mater (OSU) and actually through the Horseshoe (football stadium), and it was the section of the race with the fewest spectators. I'm not sure if I was spending too much time remembering good and bad things about every part of campus or what, but I was a little unfocused for those miles, plus the energy from the crowd that previously fed me was gone, so I just floundered a bit.

As I approached mile 20, which was the second rally point for my family, I was doing better.  After getting a bit of a morale boost from the family, I embarked on the unknown part of the run - miles 21-26.2!  The number of spectators picked back up and my fellow runners at that point were super friendly and collegial.  As I passed people or they passed me, we would encourage each other or joke about things.  I was tired, but still doing ok.  Until mile 23.  It was mostly downhill, but then there was a steep one block hill.  A friend of mine who lived near mile 23 had said he would try to be out to cheer for me, but I wasn't sure he would show, especially given that my start time had been so delayed and I was arriving at mile 23 right at the end of the window that I had given him.  He wasn't there and I was somewhat disappointed because I was starting to hurt physically.  My knees and hips were hurting, but my joints had never really given me too many problems before, so it was uncomfortable.  As I walked up that little hill, I thought I might have to walk the last three miles because I was in pain.  I sucked it up though, thinking that I could crawl the last three if I really had to.

As I got to mile 25, I felt better anticipating the end and maybe it was just the adrenaline, but my pain subsided a bit.  As I hit mile 26 and rounded the corner to the finish line, I wanted to cry, but I told myself I could cry when it was over.  I finished relatively strongly, and I was happy.  I didn't cry like I thought I had wanted to, but I was very proud of myself.  

My joints were still achy, but overall, I didn't feel too horrible.  I could walk normally.  I went out to eat with my family later and wore my finishers medal.  There were other runners there (not sure if they ran the half or the full), and they were walking very gingerly and looked wiped out.  I was pretty pleased that I had been well-prepared enough to not have the physical problems they were experiencing.  I was a little sore on Monday and Tuesday, but by Wednesday I was 100% back to normal.  

What did you learn about yourself in this process? 

I learned that I am stronger and more capable than I had previously thought.  I learned that I can set a goal, work hard, and achieve it in a more organized/methodical way than I had ever done before.  I learned that it's ok to do things for yourself and take care of yourself, and that that doesn't make you selfish.  I learned that I actually really like weight training because it makes me feel stronger both physically and emotionally.  I learned that people saw me as an inspiration and a role-model.  I had friends, co-workers, acquaintances tell me that they were so impressed with my accomplishment that they had signed up for a Pilates class, or a 5K, or a half-marathon and that felt wonderful.  I don't think I had ever been called an inspiration before.  I learned that I can get support from other places when I can't get it from where I want or expect to get it.  I learned that I was part of a larger community of runners and that I belonged, even if I am a slow runner.  I had sort of learned that before with halfs, but now I feel it more strongly than before.   

Do you plan to go 26.2 again? What would you do differently next time?

I do plan on doing a marathon again.  I'm not sure if I will do one next year or take a year off, just due to the sheer time commitment involved in a full training as opposed to a half.  I will definitely keep doing half-marathons - my hometown half is a definite one, with maybe one or two others next year if I decide not to do a marathon.  I would like to do a whole half without taking walking breaks as well, so that will be the goal for next year's half in Parkersburg.  Next time I also plan on trying to push myself more during training.  I will try a different, more advanced training schedule.  I will probably pay more attention to my pace during training runs.  I can't say that I will make bettering my pace during all runs my main goal with running, because it's also about running being a relaxing outlet for me, so lots of pressure wouldn't necessarily make it fun.  

Mondays in Love: Peak Long Run

We are t-13 days until the start line of the Raleigh City of Oaks half and I am READY! This weekend was the peak long run of the training cycle. I turned in 13.0 pleasant miles on Saturday afternoon, winding through two city parks and several neighborhoods.

A few posts back I highlighted some of the aspects of running in UT that distinguish it from running in the Midwest. One was the hills. I've been building one particularly grueling hill into my long runs the past few weeks. It is not to be taken lightly! But you know, perseverance wins. I swear it's getting easier week by week. But seriously, check this chick out.

The green line is elevation. This hill climbs about 220 feet in just under a mile. Hmmm...that doesn't sound like it feels. It feels like climbing Mount freaking Everest. I feel like my own personal George Mallory when I get to the top. Aside from that whole dying-in-a-mountain-of-ice business.

All this hard work culminated in this weekend's long run. Though the taper is not pronounced, it does exist in this training plan, and we're there. High five!

In other news (read: completely not related to running) from the weekend, on Sunday we visited a nearby state park, Antelope Island. What an amazing place!! If you ever visit SLC during the spring or fall, it's totally worth seeing.

Mondays in Love: Getting Race Ready!

We are 20 days from the start line and preparations are underway! This came in the mail this week and, well, I love.

I think I've mentioned my love of pace bands (available here) before. I used them during the Cleveland Marathon, the Lincoln Half (recap here), and perhaps one other time. They take the guessing out of timing your race. They do this by customizing each pace band to the specific race and to your goal time, accounting for warming up and hills. And, shipped to your house, they are like $7.50 or something. Compared to the cost of shoes, registration, and travel, it's a drop in the bucket. And no, they did not ask me to post this review!

I'm also just really happy with how training is going so far (knock on wood). Week after week, the paces on the training schedule get easier to hit. At this point, I have only two kinda intimidating training runs left--13 miles on deck this Saturday, and a tough tempo run next Wednesday. Then, that's it--it will be time to get this show on the road! 

Mondays in Love: September Recap

I spent the whole month of September very happily in training mode--my first full-on month-o-training since March. It was delightful. All those moments of "oh gosh, that speed work looks speedy" and "what pace?" and "I haven't covered that distance in months" turned into moments of victory and 4 weeks of workouts crossed off the training plan.

What did it look like? It looked like 32 EZ miles, 4 miles of speed work, 13 miles at race pace, 6 miles at tempo, and 31 miles in long runs. Total: 86 miles.

I'm already 24 miles in for October and I'm slated to hit 100 if all goes according to plan. This makes me so happy. 

October has always been my favorite running month. I've gushed about it before. Why do I love October? In high school cross country, it was race season. Since then, it's still race season (see here and here). In much of the nation, it's gorgeous. I remember my old park so fondly.

Fall here is mind-blowingly beautiful, but totally different. Late last week it rained in the valley overnight but snowed in the mountains. That morning was crazy/beautiful (see below, and click on it to get the full version, if you can--totally different feeling to the picture). Fall here is dramatic, and gorgeous, but, I'm told, very short-lived. So far it's great. 

Mondays in Love/Announcement #2: Not my Gateway Drug

That's right, Mondays in Love is back!! I've really missed writing this series in the weeks and months we've spent getting here and getting set up.

Today's re-introduction post is Announcements, Part 2 of 2, as promised a few posts back. Some of you have heard this announcement already on Facebook, so feel free to skip down a bit to the part where this matters for my life as a runner. For everyone else, behold:

I bought a bike! 

Now, I know what you're thinking. Here's another runner who bought a bike "for recreational purposes" and before we know it she's going to be waxing ecstatic about triathlons. I know. We've seen it again and again and again. But I promise you, this is not my gateway drug to tris. There will be no wet suit. No fancy bike shorts. There WILL be a very purple pannier bag. That is happening. 

I thought it seemed like fun, and a fun way to cut back on vehicle use. From our house, it's a relatively flat ride anywhere from 0.5 to 1.5 miles to a variety of points of interest, everything from coffee shops to a Post Office to book stores and consignment shops. So, why not? 

I've ridden just a few times already and I've enjoyed it. I have a sense of accomplishment about getting errands run while skipping the car and getting a little bit of exercise. And once the kids are old enough, we'll be ridiculously adorable biking together to buy ice cream cones. 

Happy Monday in Love. 

Mondays in Love: Pre-race nerves!

(oops--somehow didn't hit the "Publish" button on this yesterday! Please pardon the delay.)
Two weeks 'til race day!! It's hard to believe this training cycle is coming to a close so quickly! The taper is starting, but fortunately for my sanity there isn't a huge drop-off in mileage or pace. There are other clear signs the end is near. Here are some signs I know race day is drawing near:

• I'm getting weepy thinking about the awesome support I got via FB, phone, prayer/thoughts, and even on-course during my last race (Cleveland, May 2011 for anyone keeping track!)
• I finished my longest training run (13.0--woot!!) and felt awesome about it!!
• I ordered my pace bands and made a hotel reservation for Race Eve. I thought about getting up at o'dark thirty (the middle of the night, really) and driving up on race day, but I've learned that with the kids, it's way easier to just pay the premium to stay close to the start/finish line. 
• I've started trying to commit to memory where the hills are in the course, so I can prep mentally during long training runs. 
• I'm portioning out my Gu supply so I have the *perfect* assortment of flavors and caffeine contents for race day. 
• I'm at about an 8 on the tension scale about breakfast on race day. I'm super focused on getting the fueling right, and figuring out how to do that from a hotel room. 
• I had a dream two nights ago that I was at the start line and realized I'd forgotten Body Glide. Panic ensued. 
• I've made a mental note at least 4 times today that I need to find a place for dinner on Race Eve where I can carb load. 

What goes through your mind as race day approaches? It's been a while for me. I'm loving this energy as it approaches!!

The Joanna's Loves Triathalon

This week's Mondays in Love is historic. A first. Are you ready for this?

I'm hosting my first triathalon. That's right. Right here.

On Facebook I recently posted, jokingly, that I'd like to do a triathalon comprised of running, yoga, and baking in that order. Enough people shared my enthusiasm that I thought, what the hell? Why not? Let's do it! 

So that's what we're doing! Here are the ground rules:

1. You must complete all three activities (running, yoga, and baking) yourself. No team "racing". 
2. Since this is the Joanna's Loves Triathalon, I'll hold it over Valentine's Day weekend, February 15-17. You have all weekend to complete the three activities. 
3. Once you've completed the events, post a comment on THIS POST telling me how it went. Also, feel free to send pictures to joannaruns@gmail.com. I'll pick a few and post them. Entries must be posted by Sunday, February 17 @ 9pm CST.
4. I will select winners based on quality of recap/pictures sent and will send prizes. The prizes will be really modest since I'm buying them myself (think GU stash, socks, or some similar thing), but there WILL be prizes!

Who's in? C'mon, you know you want to. This is going to rock. 

Mondays in Love: What?

That's about the only coherent response I can make about the last week. What? Chaos. Pure chaos.

It feels like reaching back into a fog to pull out any vague memory of what happened. But I can tell you that one of the biggest highlights was my return to organized yoga--LOVE.

While I'd done some yoga at home over the last 9 months, I hadn't gone to an actual class, and truthfully my core strength is still a complete joke. Last Tuesday evening I went to an hour-long yoga class at a studio near my house. Lessons learned:

1. If you attend a yoga class when virtually everyone in the metro area is congested, it's inevitable that someone in the class will sound like Darth Vader breathing. 
2. I got to chatting with the girl next to me before class started and told her it was my first class since baby (as in, please don't judge me!). She was really nice. She tipped me off that the class gets sweaty, which brings me to...
3. Yes, I got sweaty. But not so much from exertion. While doing a pose I saw the thermostat on the wall behind me: 78 freaking degrees! Who heats a room of 60 people to 78 degrees in January? And yet, 
4. Doing yoga in a hot room is amazing! My periformis, which has been in a knot for at least 2 years, actually released for a few days. Need.more.yoga. Is hotter better? Who has tried it? I need input!
5. I really expected the class to kick my rear end hard, and it really didn't. I felt great and bendy when I left, and was only a little sore over the next 2 days or so. Ideal. 

So there you have it--my return to formal yoga. How do you like your yoga? Hot, cold, class or at home? What works for you?

Mondays in Love: Race Announcement!

I am thrilled to bring you the first Mondays in Love of 2013! I always enjoy writing these, but this week's especially has a warm place in my heart. This is big:

I have registered for my first endurance race post-baby!

You may recall that I vowed not to enter a half or full marathon until baby boy turns 1. In one way it's been hard to honor that promise, because, well, I love to race! Except in races where I bit it hard on the wall, I've generally had a blast running half and even full marathons (see here, here, and here). But at the same time, it also hasn't been that hard because I've been really, insanely busy over the past few months. There will be some reprieve from some of the chaos soon, which will free up some time for training. 

I looked for a race reasonably close to home, in April or May, and on a reasonably easy course. On the suggestion of a friend, I gave the Lincoln Presidential Half Marathon a second look and decided that it fit the bill. I will be running in Springfield, IL on April 6!!*

Training will officially begin late this month. I am SO excited about finally having a reason to make a training plan--complete with color coded runs and weekly mileage totals--for myself. I'm not shooting for a PR. I don't have a concrete time goal, but will set one once I do some speed work and time trial miles to see where I'm really at on pace. 

I love this time of year when people are picking races and setting goals. Do you have an exciting new race picked for the year? How did you handle goal setting for a return to racing?

*full disclosure: yes, this is a few days before baby boy turns 1. Whatevs. 

Mondays in Love: Staycation!!

Pretty soon I will be making decisions and signing up for spring races. Before we get to those decisions, I'm enjoying running when I wanna and having some extra family time. It was a thankful Thanksgiving in that way. Rather than doing a traditional Thanksgiving, my brood and I really needed a break and some down time, so we planned a whole staycation and had an absolute blast.

We stayed at a hotel with a pool (HUGE hit with the kiddos), went to the Thanksgiving parade and saw everything from the Grinch to this:

Yes, a huge shopping cart. wth??

We went out to a fancy Thanksgiving dinner, played games, and went to the Arch. The baby woke up just in time to take in the sights. 

I topped the weekend off with a perfect 5 miles on Sunday, done with a smile on my face and early winter in the air. Life is good this holiday season!! Were you thankful for running this year? 

Messages for Runners

This week you get a message I love and a message that clearly need to be put on notice. The first is from this month's Runner's World and really inspired me. The second, complete with its actual grammatical errors, is something I received at work. I can't make sense of either of these "handy tips" we got. Can you??

Mondays in Love: First 5k in the books!

The time had come, the time had come, post-baby 5k, it was time to run! 

Except.....not. On Wednesday I went to check packet pick-up information for my Friday evening 5k and realized that my registration had gotten totally botched. I'd registered through a Groupon and hadn't read the fine print that said I'd needed to register online by a certain date. So to run, I was going to have to drive to the edge of the earth, pay the full price registration, and chance whether the race was actually going to happen with Isaac moving in. So, I bagged it.

Enter a local charity 5k to save the day! And even better, it was in the park near my house, I could register race day, and it benefited a great cause. So Saturday morning I literally ran down the street to get registered before the start. I got there, registered as quickly as I could....then realized I was an hour early. Oops! I stretched, paced, sat for an hour before lining up.

I was nervous. Yes folks, nervous about a 5k. I knew I could do the distance, but it was a moment of truth. Could I sustain a pace? Could I come in under my goal time of 30 minutes (which I'd kept to myself)? Was I going to get passed by 8-year-olds eating peanut butter crackers? .....and.....GO!

Mile 1: Getting started, I felt like I didn't have a lot of power in my legs. But maybe half a mile in I loosened up and got into the swing of things. I did a pace check about .4 miles in and realized I was going way too fast. I decided to just run by feel and check pace at the mile splits. So I settled in.

Mile 2: Fortunately for me I know the park so well that I could anticipate the hills and knew when to push it and when to hold back. At no point did this run feel easy, so anticipating the course was a huge help.

Mile 3: I knew my pace had slowed down some and I was feeling tired. The thought crossed my mind that I could walk a bit, but I quickly squashed the thought. I knew every step of the way to the finish line--I've run it a million times. So I envisioned the course ahead and put my head down.

Finish: I came across the finish in 28:28--well below my 30 minute goal. I was, as I've been many times, humbled and thankful to run so substantially slower than a did I year ago. The bottom line is that I've got my first post-baby race in the books! It can only get easier and faster from here.

I picked up my goodie bag and walked back up the street to my boys. This is the stuff Saturday mornings are made for. Love.the.race. <3

Mondays in Love: Olympic Fever!

Like many of you, I have Olympic fever! I smiled all over my face when a friend of a friend on fb said that after watching some track events, she signed up for her first road race in 9 years. Love it!! I love what the Olympics can inspire in each of us. For instance, this commercial resonated with me:



Ok, so maybe I'm dramatizing, but I kinda feel like this kid right now when I run. And the message encourages me, and reminds me that my fastest race times all happened after I had my first kid.

Then, Runner's World. I've read my September issue cover-to-cover and would have pitched it in the recycling already, but I'm loving having the "Runs For Glory" section to give me some context on the runners and expectations for each event. RW had Shalane Flanagan slated for the bronze. It was painful watching the race this morning, but I couldn't have been prouder of how she finished--with nothing in the tank. She gave it her all, and when she needed a hand, Kara was right there at the finish to walk with her. No medal, but they did us proud.

Mondays in Love: First race!!

I have big, BIG news:
I've signed up for my first race post-baby!!

On August 31 I will be running the Torchlight 5k. Not only is this my FIRST RACE BACK (just in case my enthusiasm wasn't obvious already), but they will have food trucks at the finish of this early evening race. Know what that means? I can bring my whole family and they can dig in and enjoy while momma's out running her booty off. That's a win for everyone as far as I'm concerned!

You may remember that I discussed the possibility of doing a 4th of July 4-miler. What I'd forgotten was that we'd previously purchased tickets for Six Flags and a Cards game for that same day. Also, it was 104 degrees out. So....that race really didn't happen. No biggie. I can't run 4 miles yet anyway.

Ok ok, so back to the good part--my upcoming race (eeee!! So happy I can't stand it!). I have about 6 weeks until race day. That's long enough to shoot for a better goal than "finish alive." I ran 1.85 miles on Saturday without stopping, so I know I can do the distance with a bit more training. But, with 6 weeks, I also have a little opportunity to work on starting to get my pace back in check. Current pace: slow. Goal pace: less slow. Ha, sorry--with my Garmin still busted (more on that later), that's about all I know for pace right now.

The big question right now, how am I going to find the time to run more frequently? 'Cause right now I'm at about once a week, on Saturdays. I've decided to pick one day a week that I can consistently be in bed ridiculously early, letting me get up and run in the morning before work. It's not much for someone who ran a marathon 14 months ago, but it still means doubling my weekly mileage, and I'm gonna take that for now.

Mondays in Love: Winning

http://www.thesuperficial.com/charlie-sheen-is-tila-tequila-now-03-2011/0307-charlie-sheen-winning-00

Wait..that's not right. Runners don't have tiger stripes. So why am I winning? 

WIN: The heat wave has broken. I could have gone running midday today! The rest of the week is supposed to be lovely, especially for July. Some days we have highs in the 80s!!

WIN: Last time I weighed myself, I was back to my Christmas 2010 weight!! This was my first goal in weight loss post-baby and it makes me so happy. I can now wear most of my pants. The "4th trimester" is over. So far, 16 down, 14 to go. Next goal: another 4 pounds.

WIN: Yoga. I'll explain: So, I've had a really hard time finding minutes in the day to sneak in a run, and I'm neither apologizing nor feeling bad about it. And baby is still too young for a jogging stroller, so I can't run during the day with him. But yoga? Yoga I can do at home during the day while baby is sleeping (I'm still home two days a week). And holy cow but I need it. I remember this from after Big Brother was born, too. In the last week or so, suddenly I'm realizing how crazy stiff I am. My knees hurt. My calves and hams are stiff. My back is creaky. So yoga? Hells yeah. Bring it.

HOPEFUL/POTENTIAL/FINGERS CROSSED WIN: Baby brother is to the age that he should start sleeping through the night any time now. When that happens, it will become much easier to get a good night's sleep and hopefully get in more of those morning runs. I can't wait!!

Mondays in Love AND On Notice

I've got a two-fer for you today--Mondays in Love and Mondays on Notice.

Mondays in Love: Anniversary Edition

It's been a lot of things:

It's been 7 years, 3 states, 1 PhD, 2 houses, and 2 babies. 

It's been his support of me through fundraising, watching kids, and cheering me on through 

3 marathons, 6 half-marathons, and thousands of miles.

It's been me and my hubby creating a crazy, chaotic life that we love. <3

Mondays on Notice: Running Gear

I have not one, but two pieces of running gear I need to put on Notice today. I'm hoping someone can give me some insight on the first. 

That's right, my Garmin has died again. And this time, I can't get it to turn back on. WTH?!? I only got my Garmin two years ago and this one is already a manufacturer replacement for the first, which stopped recording maps. With this one, I could never get it to stop trying to find satellites, and I think it just finally killed the battery beyond what I can charge. Or not. I don't know. I'm going to call Garmin Support tomorrow, but does anyone have ideas of what I could do? I REALLY don't want to have to replace it.

Second, it took me a mere embarrassing two years to completely clear this spot of floor once we moved in. And once I got everything picked up and put away, I still had one stubborn pile left...my pile of Runner's Worlds. Am I the only person who doesn't get every page of them read and ends up with a pile? At what point do you commit an afternoon to reading through them or just pitching them? 

Run strong my friends! 

Mondays in Love: My Maiden Voyage!!

Ohmygoodness, I have SO much to catch y'all up on after taking last week off from blogs while the circus* was in town for the kiddo's birthday. Some of it you're gonna have to wait for the Weekly Check-In to catch up on. But the most exciting piece, right here, right now:

I WENT FOR MY FIRST POST-BABY RUN!!

I did a 3 mile run/walk with my neighbor on Saturday. You know what? It put a HUGE smile on my face. Was it slow? Yes. Were my legs sore the next day? Yes. Did the effort level feel like I should be moving way faster? Yes. And I loved it. I am BACK! I can't wait to hit the roads again. 

My next time out I'm planning to do regular run/walk intervals and pick up the pace a little bit during the run intervals from what I did on Saturday. I am 100% OK with the fact that it's going to take a while to get back into top racing form. I'm just thrilled to start the journey! 

* circus (n): the congregation of my entire family at one time. That's 4 kids ages 4 and under, my husband and me, my brother and his wife, my parents and my MIL.