The night of my race I was so sore. After our Victory Party I went back to the hotel and tried to sleep. I say tried, because I was very sore. Every time I moved I woke up. It was one of the worst nights of sleep ever! The next morning, it was really painful to do anything. However, I was in San Francisco and couldn't waste a day. I got up and going. I walked a lot, probably miles and miles. We flew to SLC that night and I drove home.
For the next 2 days I barely left my house. Mostly because going down my front steps was unbearable. Going down steps was the hardest thing for me for about a week.
About a week and half after my run I went swimming. I don't really swim. I did 10 laps (5 down and back) at the gym. It probably only equaled a half a lap on a track! I did half of it on my back. Like I said I don't swim.
The reason I bring this up is because the next day my knee hurt, a lot like it does when I go running. I guess I really should stick to my month off. I really just want my knee to stop hurting. 2 weeks after my race, besides my knee, everything seems to be great. I think some muscles & tendons are still sore since getting up and down sometimes pulls something.
All in all, I'm so glad I had this grand adventure and Yes, I would probably run another marathon, if for the right reason!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
John "the Penguin" Bingham
John writes a column for Runner World Magazine. He was one of the speakers at our Pasta Party.
I just thought I'd share some of his insights on runners:
*During a marathon you should never make any life changing decisions!
*During a marathon you WILL experience "Brain Melt."
*During a marathon you will come to the "Bite Me Zone." (This happened to me when I wanted to kick that guy for eating his hamburger and fries in front of me!)
*All long distance runners lie about their time. They tell you what the time would of been if everything had gone right!
*Warning to family and friends - marathoners wake up, on the morning of the race, with the emotional security of a 2 year old.
John's guidelines for telling your race time:
Under 3 hours just tell the actual time.
3-4 hours - round to the nearest 10 minutes.
4-5 hours - round to the nearest 15 minutes.
5+ hours - round to the nearest hour. This is where all the fun people are!
I just thought I'd share some of his insights on runners:
*During a marathon you should never make any life changing decisions!
*During a marathon you WILL experience "Brain Melt."
*During a marathon you will come to the "Bite Me Zone." (This happened to me when I wanted to kick that guy for eating his hamburger and fries in front of me!)
*All long distance runners lie about their time. They tell you what the time would of been if everything had gone right!
*Warning to family and friends - marathoners wake up, on the morning of the race, with the emotional security of a 2 year old.
John's guidelines for telling your race time:
Under 3 hours just tell the actual time.
3-4 hours - round to the nearest 10 minutes.
4-5 hours - round to the nearest 15 minutes.
5+ hours - round to the nearest hour. This is where all the fun people are!
Recovery
I'm told that you will need 1 day per mile you race to recover from all the pain, stretching, tearing, etc. that you've done to your body.
I will definitely take 26.2 days off, in fact, I think I'll just round it up to a nice even month off!
I will definitely take 26.2 days off, in fact, I think I'll just round it up to a nice even month off!
{4:58:58}
This was an amazing race. It was crazy and it was hard as can be! I am happy to report that I made my goal!
I really thought I'd be able to do it in 4:48, but I was only 10 minutes off so that was ok.
Here's a Message from Nike:
… Even with a new course for 2008 and a few additional hills, you rocked it out there! … In total, over 20,000 runners toed the start line and included participants from all 50 states, 25 countries, 5,000 Team in Training runners, 1,089 brave (and brilliant) men and 400 5-time or “legacy” runners. … You and thousands of others ran not only conquered the Nike Women’s Marathon, but also helped raise over $18 million to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!
This course is one that they say you will not get a PR time. It's hard. It's hilly. But I did it!
Start time was 7:a.m. We were there when it was still dark out. We were 2 blocks away from the start line. It took us 13 minutes to finally get to the start. It was starting to get lighter by the time we started, but it was still a little foggy.
We had chips on our shoes so that we could have an accurate time for us. So the clock time said it was 13 minutes by the time we got to the start.
The weather was a bit chilly. 2 days before it was really warm low 80's. The day before we went for a quick 20 minute run and it was windy and cold, but then warmed up to high 70's. Race day it was overcast and cool. This was actually good for me. I over heat if it's too warm out.
For 2 miles we were sardines. It was hard getting around people. You had to be careful not to trip over dropped clothing. One lady fell right in front of us. It was a little nerve racking. We were averaging almost a 13 minute mile for the first 2 miles.
We had a few hills around mile 4 and then we just kept going up and down! There was a really long hill in the Presidio area that was lined with all the different team posters. They were so great to see. They had inspiring messages and portraits of those they were honoring. I ran by our team poster and smiled!
All along the coarse there were choirs, bands, djs, cheerleaders, bagpipes, etc. It was great. Even though I had my ipod, it was nice to run by those spots, and there were many.
I had my name on my shirt. I can't even tell you how happy I was that I did that. It was so uplifting, encouraging, and motivating to have someone look you in the eye, call you by name, and talk to you.
We ran 5 miles in Golden Gate Park. I think our course map said it was suppose to be less, but by that point I couldn't really remember what that map had said! My son, Keyan, ran all 5 miles with me. I had my one bathroom stop in the park. Thankfully there was no wait at all. They were well prepared! There were so many porta-potties!
Once I left the park I had a few miles down the Great Highway and then we went downhill to Lake Merced. We went around Lake Merced (which seemed to be a really long slow incline). Next, it was back uphill to the highway, then back to the park for the finish.
I had started the race with my hydration belt. At mile 16 I left it with my family. Nearly every aid station past that point I stopped and took 1 glass of Gatorade and 1 glass of water. I also did what they told us not to do and that was eat something while racing that you haven't eaten before while running, but I was so HUNGRY! Some lady gave me some licorice. I had a Ghirardelli chocolate, and a Luna bar. I was lucky. I seemed to fair OK eating those. I think there was no thinking straight at that point!!!
My coach was there at 1.5 miles left to go. I looked at my watch and asked, "can I make it to the finish in 10 minutes?" He kind of cringed. I said, "can I do it in 12 minutes?" He said, "12 minutes, yes, you can do it in 12 minutes."
He ran me in until I had .2 left to go. I wanted to pick it up a little, because I wasn't sure the exact seconds that I needed to be in by to make it before 5 hours. But I was spent. I wasn't able to pick it up at all, so I just kept going one foot in front of the other until I hit that red (pink) carpet!
I really thought I'd be able to do it in 4:48, but I was only 10 minutes off so that was ok.
Here's a Message from Nike:
… Even with a new course for 2008 and a few additional hills, you rocked it out there! … In total, over 20,000 runners toed the start line and included participants from all 50 states, 25 countries, 5,000 Team in Training runners, 1,089 brave (and brilliant) men and 400 5-time or “legacy” runners. … You and thousands of others ran not only conquered the Nike Women’s Marathon, but also helped raise over $18 million to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!
This course is one that they say you will not get a PR time. It's hard. It's hilly. But I did it!
Start time was 7:a.m. We were there when it was still dark out. We were 2 blocks away from the start line. It took us 13 minutes to finally get to the start. It was starting to get lighter by the time we started, but it was still a little foggy.
We had chips on our shoes so that we could have an accurate time for us. So the clock time said it was 13 minutes by the time we got to the start.
The weather was a bit chilly. 2 days before it was really warm low 80's. The day before we went for a quick 20 minute run and it was windy and cold, but then warmed up to high 70's. Race day it was overcast and cool. This was actually good for me. I over heat if it's too warm out.
For 2 miles we were sardines. It was hard getting around people. You had to be careful not to trip over dropped clothing. One lady fell right in front of us. It was a little nerve racking. We were averaging almost a 13 minute mile for the first 2 miles.
We had a few hills around mile 4 and then we just kept going up and down! There was a really long hill in the Presidio area that was lined with all the different team posters. They were so great to see. They had inspiring messages and portraits of those they were honoring. I ran by our team poster and smiled!
All along the coarse there were choirs, bands, djs, cheerleaders, bagpipes, etc. It was great. Even though I had my ipod, it was nice to run by those spots, and there were many.
I had my name on my shirt. I can't even tell you how happy I was that I did that. It was so uplifting, encouraging, and motivating to have someone look you in the eye, call you by name, and talk to you.
We ran 5 miles in Golden Gate Park. I think our course map said it was suppose to be less, but by that point I couldn't really remember what that map had said! My son, Keyan, ran all 5 miles with me. I had my one bathroom stop in the park. Thankfully there was no wait at all. They were well prepared! There were so many porta-potties!
Once I left the park I had a few miles down the Great Highway and then we went downhill to Lake Merced. We went around Lake Merced (which seemed to be a really long slow incline). Next, it was back uphill to the highway, then back to the park for the finish.
I had started the race with my hydration belt. At mile 16 I left it with my family. Nearly every aid station past that point I stopped and took 1 glass of Gatorade and 1 glass of water. I also did what they told us not to do and that was eat something while racing that you haven't eaten before while running, but I was so HUNGRY! Some lady gave me some licorice. I had a Ghirardelli chocolate, and a Luna bar. I was lucky. I seemed to fair OK eating those. I think there was no thinking straight at that point!!!
My coach was there at 1.5 miles left to go. I looked at my watch and asked, "can I make it to the finish in 10 minutes?" He kind of cringed. I said, "can I do it in 12 minutes?" He said, "12 minutes, yes, you can do it in 12 minutes."
He ran me in until I had .2 left to go. I wanted to pick it up a little, because I wasn't sure the exact seconds that I needed to be in by to make it before 5 hours. But I was spent. I wasn't able to pick it up at all, so I just kept going one foot in front of the other until I hit that red (pink) carpet!
Friday, October 17, 2008
My Goal
All along my goal is to run a marathon in under 5 hours (sorry, no Boston Marathon for me). 11 minute miles comes out to be about 4 hours and 48 minutes. I'm sure I can do that. You also have to take into account at least 2 bathroom breaks, and from what I've read about last years race, the bathroom wait time was 10 minutes. So I figure that 4 hours 48 minutes is a good time to go for and anything faster is just icing on the cake! :)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Countdown to Race Day!
I fly out to San Francisco in a few hours.
The only workout I will have between now and the race is a 20 minute team run in San Fran.
I'm worried about the bathroom breaks. Some people have said that last year they had to wait 10 minutes in line. I'm worried if I stop for 10 minutes I won't be able to get moving again.
I'm also worried about the last 10k, since I haven't run that yet. At this point I guess there is nothing I can do about it and I know I can walk a 10k. I'll crawl in if I have too!!!
26.2 miles is a very long way!
Amidst all my worry, I really am excited and know that this is probably the biggest thing I've accomplished since my kids were born.
The only workout I will have between now and the race is a 20 minute team run in San Fran.
I'm worried about the bathroom breaks. Some people have said that last year they had to wait 10 minutes in line. I'm worried if I stop for 10 minutes I won't be able to get moving again.
I'm also worried about the last 10k, since I haven't run that yet. At this point I guess there is nothing I can do about it and I know I can walk a 10k. I'll crawl in if I have too!!!
26.2 miles is a very long way!
Amidst all my worry, I really am excited and know that this is probably the biggest thing I've accomplished since my kids were born.
Taper down for race day!
Since my 20 mile run I've been a slacker at posting what I've been running! 20 miles was momentous for me!
In the last 2 weeks for Saturdays we ran 10 miles and then 7 miles.
I did just over 2 miles on an crossramp machine at the gym. I also had a 4 mile run in their somewhere. That's pretty much it. Take it really easy they say, and so I did!
In the last 2 weeks for Saturdays we ran 10 miles and then 7 miles.
I did just over 2 miles on an crossramp machine at the gym. I also had a 4 mile run in their somewhere. That's pretty much it. Take it really easy they say, and so I did!
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