I went back to work this week after a vacation that began with me finishing my first-and last-marathon. I finished a marathon! My co-workers all wanted to know "How was it?" I told them all the same thing-it was cold, windy, hilly, awesome, ....
What I didn't tell them is that I don't remember much of the run, not 26.2 miles worth anyway. I know it was cold, my hands were so swollen I thought they were going to explode, my legs were like jelly.. But all of those memories are like background noise. The most vivid memories are these:
The morning of the run I was terrified as we walked to the square to get on the bus. What in the world had I gotten myself into? As I approached the bus, my husband gave his best "win one for the Gipper" speech, "Keep your mind in it and remember that this is something you will carry with you for the rest of your life". Then he took my picture and I got on the bus.
Once on the bus, the three of us had to sit in separate seats. Not long into our ride "Big Sis" turned around and said to me,"You're my hero." Was this the same girl who as an adolescent only ran with me because she knew she would get a smoothie at the end? "Little Sis" who was in the seat behind me said, "I hope we get there pretty soon; it's stinky on this bus."
When we got to our destination, we were handed plastic garbage bags to protect us from the rain. During the two and a half hours we waited, we had plenty of time to find things to laugh about including the man who looked like Pinnochio. We probably should have conserved our energy...
Along the route we heard people say "Bravo Bravo Mom and Little Sis!" (we had those names on our shirts)
At mile 20 I looked over and saw my husband standing on the sidelines. He gave me a kiss and promised to meet me at the finish line.
I guess what I remember most is "Little Sis" never leaving my side even though I knew she could have left me in her dust. When people started dropping out and were getting on the rescue buses, she said, "Do you see those people getting on the bus? That is not going to be you Mom!"
As we entered the Olympic stadium, I saw my husband. I was exhausted, freezing, and near tears. The look on his face is one that I will never forget-later he told me he thought he was going to cry. At that moment, all the training and sacrifice to get there was justified; I was a marathoner! Embracing my two girls at the finish line was amazing! My husband was right; this will stay with me forever....
.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
It all starts with a dream...
The night before the Athens Classic Marathon I had a ridiculous pre-marathon dream. This happens all the time, where someone is preoccupied with something so much in waking hours that it takes over in sleeping hours as well. The dream went like this: I had a marathon to run and had to get up at 4 am - all three of boys were tagging along. It was a pot luck marathon so I had a huge crock pot full of chili I was carting along. I needed to drop off my youngest at the free babysitting services my church was providing for the marathon. No matter that the church is 30 minutes from where my "dream" marathon was to take place. I dropped him off and realized I needed to use the restroom. I sit down on a toilet and start to um...use it. All of a sudden I see that I am not in a bathroom stall but rather right out in the open - on a toilet sitting behind the welcome desk at my church. The toilet is there to promote clean drinking water around the world...there are nicely dressed ladies at church walking around the lobby and I am praying that nobody notices me. Next thing I know I am at the marathon - getting ready to start. I walk down some steps to the beach and see a huge puddle of water in the sand. I look down and see that I have forgotten my shoes...
Then I wake up. This is exactly the dream I had before I ran the Athens Marathon on Sunday. I woke up giggling and told Ryan all about it dispite it's ridiculousness.
Here is my other dream, and how it played out - this time in real life. At some point in my life, I don't remember when, I decided it would be neat to one day, before I die, run a marathon. Then one day, three years ago, I was in Marathon, Greece with my boys and hubby, and I thought, why not do the original route? My next thought was to call my mom, who had instilled in me my running habit at a young age and had always also talked about running a marathon one day. I knew that her feet had sidelined her a bit but thought I would dream big. Why not run the marathon with her? Then we can both accomplish this huge goal together. The dream got bigger. We somehow were able to talk my younger sister into joining us on our journey. All three of us, living in different parts of the country, all planning to fly to Greece to run 26.2 miles.
Then to make the dream a reality - two years of side jobs, pinching pennies to put into our travel jar, paying for one bit of the trip at a time. Finding generous friends and family to take care of our boys while we were away. Oh, and of course the running. Lots and lots of it!
Finally, my mom, sis and I were at the Runners Expo getting our awesome Adidas running shirts for the race and our bib numbers. We spent the day before touring the city and then ate a pre-race meal of pita and tzatziki. Our feet were sore, we were tired, but we were one step away from our goal!
On race day, the weather was low 40s and unseasonably cold for Athens. We took a bus to Marathon, where we spent 2 1/2 hours shivering, teeth chattering, waiting for our race to begin. I may have used up a bit of energy just freezing and waiting, with no where to get warm, no where to sit down. Cold winds and icy rain falling on us. I wore tights with a running skirt, short sleeved shirt, long sleeved shirt, a beanie hat and some hand/arm warmers I had fashioned out of a pair of striped socks I bought at the 99 cent store. I was still cold!
The race itself felt long - the hills started at about 5K, with winds at least 40 mph. Some of the wind was at our back until we hit the 24K mark, and then they started blowing against us and to the side. The wind and the cold were tough. At 20 miles the course began to go downhill which was when the running got hard for me. My stomach was nausious from GU and hunger pains and my back wasnt happy with the downhill pounding it was getting. I feel like I walked a lot that last bit.
At 27 K my hubby and step dad were there, cheering me on. Then at the end, I turned the corner into the Ancient Olympic Stadium, hit the straight-away and saw the hubby smiling and waving me on. I ran to the finish, like so many dreamers before me, and crossed through to the other side.
Then I wake up. This is exactly the dream I had before I ran the Athens Marathon on Sunday. I woke up giggling and told Ryan all about it dispite it's ridiculousness.
Here is my other dream, and how it played out - this time in real life. At some point in my life, I don't remember when, I decided it would be neat to one day, before I die, run a marathon. Then one day, three years ago, I was in Marathon, Greece with my boys and hubby, and I thought, why not do the original route? My next thought was to call my mom, who had instilled in me my running habit at a young age and had always also talked about running a marathon one day. I knew that her feet had sidelined her a bit but thought I would dream big. Why not run the marathon with her? Then we can both accomplish this huge goal together. The dream got bigger. We somehow were able to talk my younger sister into joining us on our journey. All three of us, living in different parts of the country, all planning to fly to Greece to run 26.2 miles.
Then to make the dream a reality - two years of side jobs, pinching pennies to put into our travel jar, paying for one bit of the trip at a time. Finding generous friends and family to take care of our boys while we were away. Oh, and of course the running. Lots and lots of it!
Finally, my mom, sis and I were at the Runners Expo getting our awesome Adidas running shirts for the race and our bib numbers. We spent the day before touring the city and then ate a pre-race meal of pita and tzatziki. Our feet were sore, we were tired, but we were one step away from our goal!
On race day, the weather was low 40s and unseasonably cold for Athens. We took a bus to Marathon, where we spent 2 1/2 hours shivering, teeth chattering, waiting for our race to begin. I may have used up a bit of energy just freezing and waiting, with no where to get warm, no where to sit down. Cold winds and icy rain falling on us. I wore tights with a running skirt, short sleeved shirt, long sleeved shirt, a beanie hat and some hand/arm warmers I had fashioned out of a pair of striped socks I bought at the 99 cent store. I was still cold!
The race itself felt long - the hills started at about 5K, with winds at least 40 mph. Some of the wind was at our back until we hit the 24K mark, and then they started blowing against us and to the side. The wind and the cold were tough. At 20 miles the course began to go downhill which was when the running got hard for me. My stomach was nausious from GU and hunger pains and my back wasnt happy with the downhill pounding it was getting. I feel like I walked a lot that last bit.
At 27 K my hubby and step dad were there, cheering me on. Then at the end, I turned the corner into the Ancient Olympic Stadium, hit the straight-away and saw the hubby smiling and waving me on. I ran to the finish, like so many dreamers before me, and crossed through to the other side.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
PR
All three of us are in Greece now! It was a long trip to get here - more than 24 hours of travelling in all but so fun when my mom and I met up in Holland and then met my little sis in the Athens airport!
It is now 2 am in the morning and I have terrible jetlag still after two days here. Somehow I am able to stay awake all day but it isnt helping me sleep at night. I need to officially wake up in 3 hours to get ready to head out to Marathon on the free bus shuttle from Athens.
It has been a fun trip so far filled with lots of good Greek food and culture. My mom, sister and I were talking today about the race though, and how this particular race will most likely not provide us with finish times worth bragging about.
First of all, my little sis is in a different start "block" than my mom and me. That means that she has to start 4-8 minutes up from us, cross the start line with her timing chip (due to the rules of this marathon), and then walk really really slowly until my mom catches up with her - therefore my awesome little sis who is sticking with my mom the entire way, will actually have a slower time than my mom by 4-8 minutes.
Also, the wind here is brutal - we actually almost got knocked off our feet a couple times on top of the Acropolis (I know, you feel so sorry for us, right?) :) It is super strong, gusty and wintery winds - our hope is that they will blow us UP those big hills, but we won't know until we start.
We chose one of the hilliest Marathons in the world. Not an ego booster time from that either.
Something that we did yesterday that you are really not supposed to do, is we toured and walked all over Athens all day until our feet were sore. This is our own fault and please if you want a PR do not follow in our footsteps!
The jetlag thing might not help either, but after writing this blog entry hopefully I will have bored myself back to sleep and all will be well again...
My mom had a great point last night as we were all just sort of hanging out and laughing together. We have not exactly set ourselves up for the fastest marathon times ever here. But since this is each of our alpha marathon (and for my mother, also her omega, according to her...), then each of us, regardless of time, will later today accomplish a Marathon PR for ourselves. And hey, as my hubby says, we will beat out at least 6 billion people in the world by just receiving a marathon time at all. That has to count for something, right? :)
It is now 2 am in the morning and I have terrible jetlag still after two days here. Somehow I am able to stay awake all day but it isnt helping me sleep at night. I need to officially wake up in 3 hours to get ready to head out to Marathon on the free bus shuttle from Athens.
It has been a fun trip so far filled with lots of good Greek food and culture. My mom, sister and I were talking today about the race though, and how this particular race will most likely not provide us with finish times worth bragging about.
First of all, my little sis is in a different start "block" than my mom and me. That means that she has to start 4-8 minutes up from us, cross the start line with her timing chip (due to the rules of this marathon), and then walk really really slowly until my mom catches up with her - therefore my awesome little sis who is sticking with my mom the entire way, will actually have a slower time than my mom by 4-8 minutes.
Also, the wind here is brutal - we actually almost got knocked off our feet a couple times on top of the Acropolis (I know, you feel so sorry for us, right?) :) It is super strong, gusty and wintery winds - our hope is that they will blow us UP those big hills, but we won't know until we start.
We chose one of the hilliest Marathons in the world. Not an ego booster time from that either.
Something that we did yesterday that you are really not supposed to do, is we toured and walked all over Athens all day until our feet were sore. This is our own fault and please if you want a PR do not follow in our footsteps!
The jetlag thing might not help either, but after writing this blog entry hopefully I will have bored myself back to sleep and all will be well again...
My mom had a great point last night as we were all just sort of hanging out and laughing together. We have not exactly set ourselves up for the fastest marathon times ever here. But since this is each of our alpha marathon (and for my mother, also her omega, according to her...), then each of us, regardless of time, will later today accomplish a Marathon PR for ourselves. And hey, as my hubby says, we will beat out at least 6 billion people in the world by just receiving a marathon time at all. That has to count for something, right? :)
Friday, November 4, 2011
Short and sweet
Got a confirmation email today with my bib number and pick up info for my registration packet. Yay!!!!!! Praying that Greece doesn't change currency or leadership until after we leave. Making sure our camera is in good working condition in case we catch something newsworthy in Athens or in Istanbul (course would like to come home safe and sound!). Wondering where the roller coaster ride for the US dollar is going to land while we are there...
Thursday, November 3, 2011
9 days, phew!
One funny thing that can happen when you register for an event (or book a hotel, or rent a car..) from another country is that sometimes the over-communication that we are used to in USA, doesn't happen. In the Middle East and in Eastern Europe especially we have found that we don't always get the confirmation emails that we would prefer to get. It isn't a criticism, just an observation of cultural difference.
Last March, when I registered for the Athens Classic Marathon, I didn't get a confirmation email. My husband reassured me that a bill appeared on our bank statement, but I always had a nagging doubt in the back of my mind. A part of me believed I would get to Athens, go to the Expo, stand in line at the registration table, get to the front, and find out I am not actually registered. Then I would have to sit on my butt with a $3000 dollar marathon left un-run.
So imagine my relief when I received an email from the Marathon organizers earlier this week soliciting money for charity. I texted my mom and sister a very loud "PHEW!" (if texts can be loud, that is).
This week we are still in the taper and only 9 days away from our race. I have run three 1-hour runs this week and have one more to do - next week is even slower. I am focusing on hydrating, staying healthy, injury free and also spending time with my kiddos. I am usually thrilled to get time away from my boys, but the 10 days away from them is making me anxious and a little melancholy.
My mom seems to have her packing list well underway, and I have taken a step back in that department as my main focus has been preparing the house and the kids for our 10-day absence. I did send a care package to my mom and sis this week and finished the "gift" that we are exchanging at our celebratory, "we-finished-a-marathon-alive" dinner on Monday the 14th.
Tomorrow I am going in for a sports massage and then this weekend is cleaning and packing and a little running! The taper really baffles me I admit. It seems like not running is a bad idea...but if my Runner's World training schedule tells me not to run, then who am I to question?
Last March, when I registered for the Athens Classic Marathon, I didn't get a confirmation email. My husband reassured me that a bill appeared on our bank statement, but I always had a nagging doubt in the back of my mind. A part of me believed I would get to Athens, go to the Expo, stand in line at the registration table, get to the front, and find out I am not actually registered. Then I would have to sit on my butt with a $3000 dollar marathon left un-run.
So imagine my relief when I received an email from the Marathon organizers earlier this week soliciting money for charity. I texted my mom and sister a very loud "PHEW!" (if texts can be loud, that is).
This week we are still in the taper and only 9 days away from our race. I have run three 1-hour runs this week and have one more to do - next week is even slower. I am focusing on hydrating, staying healthy, injury free and also spending time with my kiddos. I am usually thrilled to get time away from my boys, but the 10 days away from them is making me anxious and a little melancholy.
My mom seems to have her packing list well underway, and I have taken a step back in that department as my main focus has been preparing the house and the kids for our 10-day absence. I did send a care package to my mom and sis this week and finished the "gift" that we are exchanging at our celebratory, "we-finished-a-marathon-alive" dinner on Monday the 14th.
Tomorrow I am going in for a sports massage and then this weekend is cleaning and packing and a little running! The taper really baffles me I admit. It seems like not running is a bad idea...but if my Runner's World training schedule tells me not to run, then who am I to question?
Saturday, October 29, 2011
14 days to go...
This past week was the start of our three week "taper." I did two 5 mile runs, a one hour spin class, a two mile run and then today I ran 14 miles. I felt good all week although I have that nagging feeling that many runners get during the taper, that they aren't running enough.
I checked the athens classic marathon website and read that there are 14 days until the race. What?! Yes, just two weeks away - hard to believe! The temperature in Athens is highs in the low 60s and Istanbul seems to be a tad bit cooler than that...hopefully this week I can actually start to do the girly, wardrobe-planning thing.
Today a funny thing happened though - I ate a normal pre-race meal of toast with peanut butter, banana and honey, with some coffee. But then realized that with all the Halloween and School Fall Festival prep last week, I still had no GUs. So, McGyver style, I used what I could find to pull off a running replenishment miracle. I filled my fanny pack with two fig newton cookies, four candy corns I found in the bottom of my tea canister (they were from last year...eww!), and for good measure, two sugar packets. Then I filled a water bottle with Gatorade, grabbed my hyper dog, and went for a run.
It was one of the best runs I have had in a while! I am seriously considering ditching the Gu/Cliff Gel thing altogether, because I know they upset my tummy. I just thought of them as miracle food, and thought maybe they could run the last 8 miles of the marathon for me. I'm not even kidding there. However, in order to take in enough of the icky sugar gels to help me, it ends up tying my stomach in knots so I can't even stand straight. The cookies and candy and gatorade seemed to do the trick just fine and I felt strong for the entire run.
Of course, 14 miles feels like small potatoes after running 19, but it was nice all the same. Also I am happy to report that my hyper dog turned into a pokie little puppy by about mile 10 and I had to drag his butt down the mountain that we ran up today (in the sun!). Sometimes it seems like he can never get worn down and even though now he seems fully recovered and hyper again, 12 hours later, at least for a few miles today I felt like I actually tired him out.
So, with 14 days to go I am still learning and tweaking my training plan. I understand why people swear to never run another marathon after they run their first marathon. The time, the running and the training are brutal (and all those porta potties!!). But I also understand why people run their first, and then start to plan their second marathon. Learning is a process and until you run those 26.2 miles, I don't think you will ever be fully prepared to run 26.2 miles. We'll see after the race which camp I fall into - maybe both!
I checked the athens classic marathon website and read that there are 14 days until the race. What?! Yes, just two weeks away - hard to believe! The temperature in Athens is highs in the low 60s and Istanbul seems to be a tad bit cooler than that...hopefully this week I can actually start to do the girly, wardrobe-planning thing.
Today a funny thing happened though - I ate a normal pre-race meal of toast with peanut butter, banana and honey, with some coffee. But then realized that with all the Halloween and School Fall Festival prep last week, I still had no GUs. So, McGyver style, I used what I could find to pull off a running replenishment miracle. I filled my fanny pack with two fig newton cookies, four candy corns I found in the bottom of my tea canister (they were from last year...eww!), and for good measure, two sugar packets. Then I filled a water bottle with Gatorade, grabbed my hyper dog, and went for a run.
It was one of the best runs I have had in a while! I am seriously considering ditching the Gu/Cliff Gel thing altogether, because I know they upset my tummy. I just thought of them as miracle food, and thought maybe they could run the last 8 miles of the marathon for me. I'm not even kidding there. However, in order to take in enough of the icky sugar gels to help me, it ends up tying my stomach in knots so I can't even stand straight. The cookies and candy and gatorade seemed to do the trick just fine and I felt strong for the entire run.
Of course, 14 miles feels like small potatoes after running 19, but it was nice all the same. Also I am happy to report that my hyper dog turned into a pokie little puppy by about mile 10 and I had to drag his butt down the mountain that we ran up today (in the sun!). Sometimes it seems like he can never get worn down and even though now he seems fully recovered and hyper again, 12 hours later, at least for a few miles today I felt like I actually tired him out.
So, with 14 days to go I am still learning and tweaking my training plan. I understand why people swear to never run another marathon after they run their first marathon. The time, the running and the training are brutal (and all those porta potties!!). But I also understand why people run their first, and then start to plan their second marathon. Learning is a process and until you run those 26.2 miles, I don't think you will ever be fully prepared to run 26.2 miles. We'll see after the race which camp I fall into - maybe both!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Confession
Well, I am officially a wimp.
Last week I was a working mom and spent five nights up till midnight working on a catering job I had on Friday night. I also ran my 6 mile run, did some plyometrics, did sprints, and did a nice tempo run plus hills for 8.5 miles. Then the Friday of my event, I ran a quick 5 miles. My running was on schedule, my chocolate mousse was made, my key lime components, frostings and cake pops were ready to go. By the time I finished my 5 mile run on Friday morning I felt on schedule, and good to go. I had even been a good mom all week, staying up late so that the boys didn't have to see me working too much.
All I had left to do was finish the final components of my dessert, attend the wedding (who happened to be of close family friends), set up the dessert buffet, and after the wedding head on home to crash in bed.
Oh, and then run 20 miles.
If I were catholic, this would be my confession. I did not run my 20 miles this weekend. I have run 18 miles twice and 19 miles once. I have run hundreds and hundreds of miles over the past year to first prepare for my half marathon last May, and then to prepare for this upcoming Marathon. But I did not run my 20 miles this weekend. I started to question my discipline right after my five miler on Friday morning. In the shower at the YMCA, by some weird freak accident, my razor sliced three long scratches into each of my shins while shaving. It stung. A lot. And when I run, I sweat out salt. A lot. So much, in fact, that I have to basically scrape off the salt crust from my body when I am done. The thought of pouring salted sweat all over the cuts in my legs was not sounding too good. Who ever even CONSIDERS the pain one might feel when salt is poured over a freak shaving accident induced wound on ones legs? I have not read one thing in Runners World about that.
Then at the wedding, they had the most amazing food ever. It was chips (greasy) and salsa (spicy) and beans (fiber) and chicken enchiladas (protein). Hmm....I savored every non-carbohydrated bite of it. And the thought crossed my mind again, that perhaps running 20 miles in the morning on the most unsuitable pre-race meal ever might be a bad idea...or at least a really bad experience in the making.
The thought also occurred to me, that I was out of Gus. And then the other thought occurred to me that I had stayed up past midnight (for me this is WAY past bedtime) and on my feet for five nights in a row.
And on Saturday morning, I stayed in bed until 9 am. I drank lots of lots of coffee. And I sat around the house all day basically doing nothing.
Now I have a decision to make, as we are now about three weeks out from the Marathon. Do I do the 20 miler next weekend? Do I do four, 5-mile runs and say I ran 20 miles only in increments? This is the start of the taper, but sadly I have the 20 miler hanging over my head now. My plan as of this writing is to run four good, hard runs this week and then on Saturday, I will see how I feel. This is my first marathon and my goal is to finish, not to get an amazing time or a PR (although technically no matter what it will be my best ever marathon time!).
I think in marathon training as with any distance race training it is important for us recreational runners to be easy on ourselves. We run and we run and we follow our plans but there will be great running days and then days we just aren't feeling up to it. Some days we don't want any more rice and oatmeal, or sticky carb gel-type food. Some days our feet hurt, or we get the flu, or we have to get up early to take our kids to school. That's okay. Obviously the hope is that there are more good days than bad. I feel like most of the posts are about the days that are hard, but there are some really fast, fun running days in the mix too. I plan on seeing a lot of good days in the weeks ahead!
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