14 miles done! Longest run ever, ever, ever, EVER!!

Feeling pretty awesome having finished the 14 mile long run!!  That's more than a half marathon!  Definitely the longest distance I've ever run at one time - EVER!  And while I wish I could do it a little faster, I am damn proud of the accomplishment.  I never thought I'd actually be able to run a marathon.  It's always been on my "bucket list" (I f@*%ing HATE that phrase!), it's always been a lifelong "dream" goal to run a marathon.  Back in my teens and 20s I knew I wanted to do it (and I've ALWAYS hated long distance running, so I really have no clue what that desire was all about- must be the masochist in me...) and expected I would "someday", but after hip surgery (and with that the realization that I'm not actually invincible - huh?  I'm not??) I kind of thought that running a marathon wasn't a realistic goal to have anymore.  Now that I've actually made it (more than!!) halfway there, it feels like this accomplishment is totally within arm's reach and I'm kind of peeing my pants about it!!

Now I just have to keep my ass in check and make sure I don't slack off during my vacation this week. Vacation = relaxation to me (well, as much relaxation as a mom of 2 crazy boys can get!) as well as LOTS of beer drinking (10am? sure! it's beer o'clock!) and LOTS delicious, naughty food and I find it VERY easy to forget about my workouts...Can't let that happen this week!!  Ok, maybe beer and junk food won't be avoided...let's be real...but I can't ditch out on my runs!!

Playlist Compiled

Finally spent some time on my Marathon playlist.  I ended up with 125 songs which I'm sure is WAY more than I need - iTunes tells me it's almost 8-1/2 hours of music!

Survived 12

I haven't been that great at blogging lately, huh?  I've been feeling a little burnt out from marathon training, and I think that's also triggering a lack of motivation to blog about it too, clearly.  I did get the 12mi run day out of the way though, so I'm pretty happy about that - although I pretty much still dread every other long run.  Running the 12 was much more enjoyable (not necessarily any easier, but definitely more enjoyable) because I met up with Erin and ran with her instead of running alone.  To me, that is key.  I had to get up at 4:30am on a Saturday morning to do it, but I'd probably do just about anything and drive just about anywhere to avoid running alone on the long runs.

We met up at the Minuteman Bikeway in Lexington, MA.  Sidenote: What a beautiful town Lexington is!  The cutest little downtown area!  Definitely now on my list of - would totally live there - locations.  Last week was actually supposed to be a recovery week and we were only supposed to run 6mi for the "long run", but since Erin was going out of town for work this week she decided to swap the weeks, so I did too.

I liked the Minuteman Bikeway as a running path a lot because it was very shady and flat.  Actually looking at the elevation profile, I am quite surprised to see that it's not quite as flat as it felt, but the change in gradient was very gradual, so at least you aren't looking giant hills in the face like at Winnekenni.

"Flat-ish" running path

The only negative aspect of the Minuteman Bikeway (besides it being quite a drive) is that it starts to get pretty busy.  That, and the fact that it's been a super hot summer so far, makes getting up at 4:30am totally worth it, so that as much of the run is completed as possible before the path gets too congested and before it gets unbearably hot out!!

It's quite nice to be in the recovery week this week and not to be dreading a LONG, long run again (at least not until NEXT week...)

Hills Be Damned!

So I survived the 10mi run on Saturday morning, but just barely...  Ugh, it was one of those runs that makes you question whether or not you can actually successfully complete the marathon no matter how long or hard you train for.  Those runs just plain suck.  Since I've been having trouble with my hip, I decided to try incorporating more trail running so that I'm not pounding the pavement all the time.  However, I think the trail at Winnekenni is just FAR, far too hilly.  Also, I started getting this sharp shooting pain occasionally in my right heel during the second loop.  Ugh, it's like my body is just looking for ways to fail me...Trying not to get myself too worked up about it (perhaps plantar fasciitis?) and just put it down to that I really, really need new running shoes...

Check out that elevation profile...

Considering the Chicago Marathon is supposed to be very flat, and that I found the super hilly run on Saturday too much to bare, perhaps it would make more sense to run the long runs on routes that are more similar to what the actual marathon will be like.

Yup, I'd say that's pretty flat!

Ok, now I get why so many people say that the Chicago Marathon is a great choice for first-timers.  That is seriously one flat course!!  That's pretty freaking awesome.  Well, I know that I can walk faster than a 15min/mile pace (I practiced on the treadmill the other day), so at worst, provided I am injury-free enough to at least walk, I WILL complete this marathon!!

St. Peter's Fiesta 5k - Gloucester, MA

So much fun!  It's been YEARS since I ran in a 5k race.  And it was just really fun to meet up with friends and also have my cuties on the sidelines cheering us all on.  They made me smile so big.
UPDATE: Results!  Time: 31:40  Not too shabby!

Just spotted my boys!

Fisher, Erin, Becky, Micah, Phoebe & Me

The route

After the race we hit up the Cape Ann Brewery (of course!) and had some delicious brews, good food, and great company.  My big guy recently announced that he wants to be a drummer in a rock band when he grows up, and the band that was setting up was awesome enough to let my guys play around on the drums.

The big guy living the rockstar dream!

Gotta be just like big brother!!

I said it's been forever since I ran a 5k, but I did do the Warrior Dash last summer.  That was about getting as muddy as possible and the fun obstacles (and beer)...so I don't really consider that a "running" race (although the BEST running races always involve beer somehow!)  I definitely didn't care about my time.  I just wanted to have fun, actually do all the obstacles and get some cool photos.

Stuck in the mud!

FIRE!

(This was pure photo op - the fire wasn't even that high, so it wasn't even a real 'obstacle', but still awesome!)

Another muddy photo op.

FINISHED!

(That giant hill in the back was SUPER fun to slide down in the mud!)

I definitely want to do more obstacle/mud races, but yesterday reminded me that I also enjoy just the simple challenge of a straight up 5k.  I'm kind of looking forward to when marathon training is over, just so I don't have to be so concerned with getting an(other) injury and can sign up for more of the fun stuff!  I don't think it would be wise to attempt the Warrior Dash or Spartan Sprint or any of the rest prior to the marathon because I got pretty pretty banged up doing the Dash last year (also got a nasty case of "Dash Rash" all over my legs that was NOT pleasant!!)

But hopefully I'll get a chance to run another 5k or other race as part of marathon training because it definitely adds an element of fun to training.  And maybe I'll sign up for the Rebel Race since it's a month after the marathon and only 10 minutes from my house!  Or maybe the Spartan Time Trial at Fenway!  That just sounds so fun!  And there's an event my 4yo can do AND just to have access inside Fenway Park is awesome!  Hmmmm, decisions decisions!