Livin' the Dream in Lima

Yesterday I ran my second marathon. The day started just before 5am when I woke up to pouring rain and thunderstorms outside. Great . I knew that rain was in the forecast, but hoped and prayed that there wouldn't be any. I got my stuff all ready and ate my Clif bar and we got on the road. By the time we left the hotel, it was only sprinkling outside.  I met up with my BFF Talen before the start and we were able to do a nice little 6 minute jog warm-up together. It was so much better to have someone to stand around and be nervous with. Also - the rain had completely  stopped, which was so so awesome! Trying to stay warm before the start. Pretty soon it was time to start, so we bid farewell and I lined up with the 3:15 pace group (7:27 pace) and she lined up with the 3:25 pace group.  And then the gun went off and we started running! The start of a marathon or half-marathon always seems so anti-climactic to me. So much excitement, and then all of a sudden you...

So... the marathon is rapidly approaching. As in 62 hours until I toe the start line.  Am I excited? YES!  Am I nervous? YES! Am I ready to just get the darned thing over with? Absolutely YES! So let's talk goals for the Illinois Marathon.  Love this quote. My training cycle this spring has gone really well. I've PR'd in the 5km, 4-mile, and half-marathon, all while training for this marathon. I've completed several  long runs - two 18's, a 19, two 20's, and a 21. Along with a handful of 15-17 milers. And I have felt strong! (Unlike a lot of my training runs for last year's Flying Pig .) I think the secret to my great long runs has been the fact that I've had running buddies. I've also gotten the hang of mid-run fueling, which has helped a lot. At the finish of the Columbus Half-Marathon last fall. So, based on my training cycle and recent PR's, I've decided to go for a 3:15 , which is a 7:27 average pace.   Wowza, see...

Getting closer! 6 days to go until the marathon. This was my second week of taper and I'm not gonna lie, I'm getting antsy. I just wanna RUN this race already! I wanted to get in around 35 miles, but got in 40. My only 'speed' workout was a 5 mile GMP run on Wednesday, in which I averaged 7:24 pace. It felt pretty easy, which is a good thing.  I gotta say... it's pretty crazy when your 'long run' of 9 miles seems like nothing.  Weekly Rundown 4/16/2012-4/22/2012 Mon - 5.5 miles easy Tues - 7.7 miles easy Wed - 5 miles @ GMP (7:24 avg); 7.3 miles total Thurs - 5.4 miles easy Fri - 5.5 miles easy Sat - 9.1 miles LONG plus 4 striders Total - 40.5 miles This week, it's all about rest. Which is hard. Well, not hard running-wise, just hard mentally. But it will totally be worth it! I'll definitely be popping in with a Goals post, once I have my mind wrapped around it. --- Other notables of the weekend... My Business Man & I...

Since I'm in my taper for the marathon, I've got a bit more time on my hands. It's been glorious. Amazing how much free time you have when you're not running 55-60 miles a week. I already got my run on this morning (5.5 miles nice & easy!), so I had a wiiiiide open afternoon. Naturally, I found myself in the kitchen baking up a storm. Every Friday at school, a teacher signs up to bring breakfast goodies to share with the rest of the staff. Donuts, bagels, whatever they feel like sharing. Tomorrow's my day. So, instead of stopping by the grocery or Panera, I decided to make some home-baked goodies for breakfast. I love scones, so I thought I'd go that route. First I whipped up a batch of my absolute favorite  scones in the whole wide world, Cream Scones . (A cranberry-orange variation.) But then I got to thinking... not everyone likes a sweet breakfast! You know, there are actually people out there who go straight for the sesame or cheddar bagels in...

So yesterday was a pretty big day in the running world. The Boston Marathon. At school, I asked each of my classes with a big smile, "Do you know what today is?!?!"  Here's a few of their replies... "your birthday? national cupcake day? national 'don't give us homework' day?" (Hmmmpph... in your dreams!) "No," I said, "The BOSTON MARATHON!" And then I proceeded to educate each of my classes on one of the most prestigious marathons in the entire world. They were most surprised by the $150,000 prize money for first place.  During one of the class periods, about 3/4 of my kids actually had to leave to go to an assembly, so can you guess what the rest of us did? Oh yes... Boston Marathon coverage, live, blown up on the Smart Board. The best day ever. My kids kept asking me if I was racing, would I be in the lead pack? Haha... oh children thanks for boosting my ego by even considering that thought. (Don't worry, we we...

First week of taper, done. Not much was different about this week - just a cut-back in overall miles for the week (48 for the week) and a shorter long run. I got in a solid 6-mile tempo run on Tuesday, averaged 6:40 pace. I actually almost look forward  to tempo runs now, which is something that's never happened before.  My other big workout of the week was my long run, 14 miles with the last 3-4 miles at GMP. I decided to tackle this run alone, because as much as I love running with my running buddies, they won't be at the marathon! Mentally, I needed to do a tough long run on my own so that I know I can do it come race day. I ran a big 10-mile loop back to our house, so I could do my GMP miles on my usual tempo route where I know the mile markers. I hoped to hit 7:27 pace, as that would put me right at 3:15 for the marathon. (Which I know there is a pace group for.) After my 10-mile warm-up (hehe... 10 miles... as a warm-up? have I gone mad?), I picked up the ...

Last Friday night, my Business Man and I started the journey home to visit our families for Easter. It's about 390 miles, and usually takes about 6 hours. No big deal. Well, usually , it's no big deal. Until we hit traffic about 120 miles from the Bean Town. And sat there. And sat there. And sat there some more. We moved 2.5 miles in 2.5 hours. No joke. We had one opportunity to make an [illegal] U-turn about 20 minutes in, but we thought that it would certainly  clear up soon. Hmmmph. Now, I wasn't too upset at first, because I was busy reading my book for book club next week. That is, until it had been multiple hours, and I started to get hungry. Like Iran21milesthismorningandcanonlyeatsomanyReeseseggs  hungry. Yes... the one time I didn't pack a cooler full of snacks is the time we get stuck in traffic for 2.5 hours. Let's just say I wasn't the most pleasant person to be in a car with. Finally, we made it up to another [illegal] U-turn spot, and ...

Lucky #13... fortunately week #13 was good to me! Last week was the biggest week of this training cycle, and to be honest, I'm glad it's over! While I definitely felt BA with my workouts and mileage, I am ready for a cut-back week. I put in 62 miles total, which is a weekly mileage personal record. Never been in the 60s before! (And I'm not sure I'll ever be there again. :-P)  I had a really great track workout - 4x1600m that went super well. (Aside from the whole locking myself in the stadium and having to climb a 6 foot fence to get out. Heh.) I felt strong on my long run , which was supposed to be 20 miles but ended up being 21.4. The last big long run of this training cycle. Funny that my 14-miler on the schedule for this week seems like nothing.  As for next week, since I'm three weeks out, the first week of taper is here. I'll be cutting my mileage a bit, down to just 45-48 miles this week, along with a 13-14 mile long run. I'm also ...

Ahhhh... sweet sweet Spring Break. I've been waiting for this all year long. Well at least since we came back from our long weekend in February. Hehe. This year we only get 3 days off school (compared to last year's entire week), but we are done with school before Memorial Day. So it's definitely worth having a shorter break. So what did I spend my first glorious morning of not having to be at school by 7:45am? Oh... just waking up at my normal time of 6:20, but going for a 20 mile run instead of going to work. As much as I love teaching, running will always win in the "more fun" department.  21.4 miles of running & rainbows makes for a happy girl. I met up with my running buddies Jim, Amy, & Kevin for a long run. Kevin is training for a 100-mile ultra marathon which is crazy , and Jim & Amy are always game for a long run. We ran around town for a bit before running Kevin home (out in the country) and then running the 5+ miles back into town. ...