Take your passion and make it happen…What a Feeling!

Take your passion and make it happen…What a Feeling!
State 23 – Boston, Massachusetts (The Boston Marathon!)
3:49:18

I sometimes have difficulty picking out lyrics or a song name to fit the mood of a marathon. For Boston, I had issues narrowing it down. While running, my decision was made on: Unbreak My Heart (Heartbreak Hill). The title that won out fit the overall sentiment to running the Boston Marathon.

If you have followed my write ups you know I once upon a time never imagined Boston was within my reach. An 8:26 average marathon (or faster when you don’t run the tangent) was something I didn’t think I could hold. But then, I dropped below 4 hours by a significant amount. I was still in doubt that it was within my reach, like I didn’t want to try for it because I feared failure…just like the flash dance lyrics go “First when there’s nothing but a slow blowing dream, that your fear seems to hide deep inside your mind.” I was asked “How do you know what you can or can’t do if you don’t try?” And that’s when I thought, I need to just work for it to achieve it. I needed to stop fearing the failure of not getting it, and just go for it (even if it took many tries).

Boston is perceived to be an elitist race because of the qualifying times. It was never meant to be for people to run it and feel superior to others but it was supposed to just be an individual defining moment. It was the first organized marathon and as popularity to run it increased; race directors wanted to make sure it remained well organized and enjoyable to run. Rather than a lottery, they decided to make it a qualifying race. The higher the demand to run the race, the tougher the qualifying times have become. They don’t make the qualifying times faster because they think it’s too easy, they are just trying to control the number of entries (maybe there is some elitist with this, but not to the level that some take it). Once again, after 115 years (2011) with a record sell out period in less than 8 hours, they will be once again reducing the qualifying times. And once again, if I want it, I’ll have to work for it and figure out how to train, eat, recover and race to shave another 5+ minutes off my current PR.

So…the training and race experience itself.

Boston Marathon training was midst Ironman Training. I think I ran a few less 8 milers on the weekdays but thanks to my friend Jeff, I managed to train long runs at 8:30s and the 18 & 22 mile runs were in the Hilly Morton Arboretum. With my long runs being completed in an 8:30 average, on hills, in icy conditions, and with many layers weighing me down, I thought a P.R. could be possible.

Caitlin got me a great book on the Boston Marathon. This book told you how to race it because it might not seem daunting when you drive it/look at the elevation profile but how and when the hills hit, it will kill. I compared it to Pocatello, Idaho and decided it had less pounding down…so I should be fine. Umm….Ha.

When I got to Boston, I started getting excited. Being submersed in the Boston Marathon atmosphere made me so proud to run it. This wasn’t just crossing a state off the list, but as Hal Higden said (see the end of write up with some quotes), this is the holy event of Marathons.

Boston Marathon starts 26.2 miles outside of Boston in Hopinkton, MA. You are taken out there, and have to run back. Boston supplies school busses to drop you off and then spend 3 hours outside waiting for the race to start. This can be no fun when windy and cold, but you can find (pay for) other busses that stay put so you can sit on a heated bus and wait for the race to start. CARA has 2 busses, so you better believe I was on one of them.

There were lots of first time Boston Marathoners on my bus and we shared the same excitement and fears.
Now Alison always says big races like this are the victory lap. You work for it, and then you enjoy it. BUT deep within the enjoyment, I had set two goals within my plan. I planned to start with a slight warm up and fall into a fast pace, leaving room to slow down if needed at the end, which would result in a PR or crash & burn. So the two goals were 1) PR or 2) if crash & burn, just stay under a 3:50.
The thought process here is, how do you know if you have faster in you if you don’t try? BUT this technique goes against all experienced Boston Marathoners warnings. I just figured, I would try it out anyway. I have consistently stayed under 4 hours for the past few marathons (minus Vegas where I drank and ran) so I figured I would try to defy the experienced and if I failed, I would still fall within a decent time.

Around 9:30 am we left the bus to gear check and walk from Athlete Village to the start. By the time we got in the corals (I was Wave 2 Coral 8), the race started right away and we were off…. The Boston Marathon!

My throw away jacket was off in the first mile. Mile 1 was in Hopkinton and my split was 8:20. Miles 2-4 were in Ashland, with Harley bike spectators at the 2 mile marker. The crowd support came and went. Water started at mile 2 and was at every mile almost always staggered on both sides. The water volunteers knew what they were doing and water handoffs were seamless without slowing down. Miles 2, 3 & 4 splits were 8:02, 8:02 and 8:05 respectively. At this point, there was some flat road, but from miles 1-4 we started at 490 feet and ended at 180 feet.

Miles 5-7 were through Framingham. We had a small climb and then went back down a little more. Thoughts as I was running: 1) A T stop was in the middle of the woods how weird that it’s not an actual city but just kind of coming out from the dirt. 2) This was so scenic for being so close to Boston- Chicago would not have this beauty if you ran 26.2 miles from suburbs to get to the city center. My Splits were 8:08, 7:55 and 7:59 respectively.

Miles 8-11 were through Natick. At this point my legs were already feeling it. Down kills hams! I was thinking back to the book, “Run to Overcome” (By Meb Keflezighi). Either him or his coach said if it hurts, run faster. I thought, alright Meb, I’ll give it a try! In this section my splits were 7:57, 7:57, 7:58 and 8:11. Most of this part was either flat or small climbs which after the down, it felt great…kind of.

Miles 12-16 were in Wellesley where the guys get Kisses from the screaming girls. What did I love about Wellesley? The newly paved blacktop. The soreness was slightly mitigated with the wonderful road. As this was the race to enjoy, there as a news reporter so some of us decided to slow down and get right in camera shot waving our arms like crazy just to be on the news. We all laughed together and continued moving on.

I knew the hills were going to get worse just after the half way mark. I thought all I needed was to get through heartbreak hill. My splits for 12-16 were 7:57, 8:07, 8:07, 8:15 and 7:57 respectively. I had my parents to look for somewhere between 15.5 and 17. Around 15 the difficult climbs started to take place and there was a long climb up so I concentrated on finding my parents. The fact I had my parents to look for helped me get through that climb but I knew I was reaching a point where I would start to slow down.

Just before mile 17 I saw my parents and we exchanged cheers as I passed. I had told myself if they were in arms reach I’d make it an excuse to stop and hug them, but, as this was a popular area, they were standing on a rock or something behind the first layer of people and were out of reach. I was just so glad we saw each other.

Miles 17 – 20 were in Newtown. These were the rolling hills that kill leading up to heartbreak hill (which isn’t so bad on its own, but after the hill before it or I should say the entire course before it….ugh!). Even though the hills were helly, the course was alive! Spectators were filled with energy and you could tell I was not the only one running who felt pain. As I was slowly dying, my splits were 8:35, 8:56, 8:43 and 9:11 (which hurt a lot).

I was exhausted & knew heartbreak was coming up. I didn’t realize when I was on it at first, I knew I was going up but it wasn’t as bad as the previous hill. How did I know I was there? The chalk drawings: ‘Thump’ ‘Thump’ ‘Thump’ …my heart was beating and breaking as I was losing steam. Heartbreak was my first > 10 minute mile at 10:08.

We were in Brookline now, so mile 22 was time for down and the cheers from Boston College. I regained some energy, slapping hands with all the spectators, trying to use the slaps on the and to control the pounding back down another steep hill. This is when I had my last sub 9 minute mile split. It was an 8:58.

Mile 23 was when I started to shuffle and already full out count my steps. I also started to take a few steps of walking every now and then with some stops to try to stretch out the cramps. Part of me thought ‘how can you walk when you qualified for this?’ The other part of me thought – whatever- it’s the victory lap, enjoy it…it’s Boston!

Mile 23 was 9:56; 24: 9:16; 25: 10:04 and 26: 10:35 and the .2 (or .3?) 9:54.
A lot of this was downhill. By the time I got to the Boston University section, I was drained. Fenway Park and the Citgo sign was a blur and at the underpass with < 1 mile left, I stopped to stretch. I couldn’t run well and my walk was a limp with cramps moving from my calves to inner knee to quads. I knew I’d get to the finish, I just didn’t know how. I slowly made my way and finally turned on Boylston St. I could see the finish! Slowly but surely I made it (and I could official wear my gear). :)

I might have crashed and burned, but I still gave it a try, and now I at least know I can rock the faster pace if I can just learn to hold it for another 6 miles. Everyone has their own technique on how to tackle the marathon. I have no clue if I would have done better or worse if I would have kept all the splits above 8. If I ran the 2011 Boston Marathon all over again, I would do the exact same thing. Each race is different and not just because of the course, but because of those around you letting off energy, and most importantly it’s just about the day you are having – mentally and physically.

I love running even though it can be painful to push through final miles of a marathon. I love marathons and love working on achieving my 50 in 50 states goal. This is my thing and I always thought it’d be great to qualify for Boston, but not until I was actually there, did I realize how big of a deal it was. It was less than 40 years ago that women started running marathons….and that started here...in Boston….what a feeling to be part of the Holy Event of Marathons!


…..Recently I’ve been reading a lot of running books which I wanted to share some quotes from them.

“I know I ran well today, but it wasn’t my best. The pressure was on. The first time (at Boston) is a challenge and you get a feeling for it, but I’m excited about next time” ~Meb Keflezighi (Run to Overcome)

“It was once said ‘Personality is born out of pain’ If that’s accurate then we runners are quite the personable bunch of characters” ~ Bob Schwartz (I run, therefore I’m Nuts)

“New York, Chicago, London & Berlin are merely marathons. The Boston Marathon is a holy event in the sense that the Masters in golf and Wimbledon in Tennis are Holy Events” ~Hal Higdon

“In the long run, life is a collection of moments that matter, the ones that you will remember for the rest of your life. In April, your moment is in Boston, on Boylston Street, under the Finish Banner. The moment is yours, celebrate it from that moment on, you are a little more special. You are a Boston Finisher! Congratulations and Welcome to the Club” ~Raymond Britt (Legendary BM Course Guide)

***Reminder: 2011 is a big year of racing for me with Boston and the Ironman. So I'm raising $11 per mile raced for ACS. To donate, go to:

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/DetermiNation/DNFY11IL?px=4909726&pg=personal&fr_id=35207

The Ironman Journey Part 4 - Phase I Complete: What I’ve learned

The Ironman Journey Part 4 - Phase I Complete: What I’ve learned

My training is broken down into 5 phases with a recovery week in between each phase. The first phase was called: “Adaptation Stage.” This stage was 4 weeks long, and when I compare to the conditioning miles over the fall, the mileage is actually lower. What is different though is the weight training, more pool time and the weekend mileage is higher while the weekday mileage is lower. There isn’t much running in this stage, and since I’m still in marathon training mode as well as Ironman training, I modify the schedule to increase the running mileage.

I’ve enjoyed this stage and I might kick myself later for saying this, but I’m ready to pick up the mileage. This week is a rest week, which I’m respecting the swim/bike/conditioning parts, but again, I still have the Boston Marathon coming up, so I’m not quite pulling all the way back on the running.

My biggest concern is the weight gain. As I said, the mileage isn’t as high as my fall conditioning. I don’t know if it is winter, or if it’s the additional miles in the pool triggering hunger but I am nonstop hungry- and if you know me, I tend to gravitate towards the sweets. While in my ‘rest’ week, I’m trying to focus on this and change my habits to include more value add food. Also, I wouldn’t call it a weight gain of muscle mass, the weight training I do is multiple reps and not about building, just toning (my pants and handles of love also verify the type of weight gain).

The remainder of this Blog is brought to you by the letter “P”


Pills Pills Pills
Though I haven’t been successful on my nutrition, my awareness of the value add items have increased. For a long time I have had a pain that comes and goes in my left foot. This pain became an extreme nuisance a few weeks back. It was so great I started to wonder if it wasn’t circulation/nerve issues, but rather a stress fracture. I am pleased to report it wasn’t, but this put me on a whole track of worrying about stress fractures. I’ve heard too many stories from people getting them, and the thing is, once you get one, your body breaks down and becomes prone to more. So, I just started researching about my bones and how to prevent them. My concern isn’t so much about getting enough calcium as it is absorbing it. So now, I’m becoming a vitamin freak. I haven’t been into vitamins in the past, mainly because they make me feel weird and so I give up before my body can adjust. I need the fear of a stress fracture to keep me on it. I’ve ordered up on drugstore.com and now my daily routine includes Vitamin D, Vitamin K-2 and Magnesium. I’m only a week into this, and I still get nauseous from them like I expected, but I’m hoping this will slowly go away.

Paying attention to Pain
(Yes that is my foot in the picture, the pedicure is a little outdated but I figured a picture for the next part would be helpful to understand- my big toe!)
So what about my foot? It wasn’t a stress fracture, it was just more pain than normal. I decided it was time I didn’t ignore it and start researching it. I have self diagnosed it which I’m pretty confident in my self-diagnosis. The pain is usually increased after marathons, but this time it increased more as I had a 12 mile run in my new trail shoes. My new trail shoes will not be purchased again because they are not wide enough in the toe and I believe this is what triggered the increased inflamed pain.

If you don’t know what Morton’s toe is, it is when your 2nd toe is longer than your big toe (or so I call it the little pig that stayed home is bigger than the one that went to the market). My piggy that went to the Market is actually the same size as the one that had none (roast beef that is). When I was younger my big toes weren’t really growing. The fix was to break bones in my feet to stimulate growth, and my mom didn’t like the sounds of that, so, my big toes just didn’t grow like most. I can’t blame my mom, who wants to inflict that sort of thing on your body especially when there were no apparent issues with my big toes remaining small except for looking funny. The problem is the potential of Morton’s Neuroma, and the amount of pounding I do on my feet, that’s what I believe my issue is.

What is Morton’s Neuroma you ask? It’s basically an inflamed nerve in your foot that creates pain - it can be described as an electric shock, and yes this pain has been in my life for a very long time, I’m just like my Mom: High pain tolerance and able to ignore. I think I’ve concluded that this can always be an issue, but I don’t have to worry about further issue just because I run a lot. Since I have avoided the trail shoes, the pain issue has gone away. I also read that walking barefoot (flat foot toes spread) can be good for it, so you better believe I’ve pulled out the vibram 5-fingers and I’m trying to walk around in those more again.


People
The third “P’ would be People. What about them? I’m trying to make it to more spin classes and to weight conditioning classes but the problem is: I’m picky with instructors. I feel like Emily is my guinea pig, she tries out classes and she tells me when she likes them, then I go to them. Prior to Emily’s introductions, I had one class I liked which was recommended to me a long time ago and at the Union Station FFC. The problem with this class is I don’t think the instructor likes me. Actually, I take that back, I now KNOW the instructor doesn’t like me or she’s threatened by me or a combination of both. Her class is always a good workout, and she’s more real to being outside on a bike which is what I like and need if I’m going to a spin class. She has her followers, and she has her randoms, and then she has me. I’m like a random that I don’t go all the time, but I’m also more fit like her followers. The truth is, I’m intimidated by her and the people in her class, and maybe her issue with me is because I’m quiet, she thinks I think I’m superior than her class.
But so here are the stories of why I don’t like her attitude:

Alexis once or twice joined me in her class. Now, Alexis is a hottie, she looks good when she’s at the gym and she wears her beautiful engagement ring. Spin Instructor (we will call her Dusty), had a problem with Alexis the minute she saw Alexis, and she totally picked on her in class. Now Alexis might be a looker, but that doesn’t discredit her athletic-ness: she’s a marathoner and a TOTI not a TOFI. I knew Dusty had her catty ways of picking on people, but usually it was stories of people in previous classes, talking about how they couldn’t cut it.

Over the summer, Alison and I would go riding together early mornings on the lakefront path. It was our time together, sometimes we’d go hard, sometimes we’d cruise, and other times especially in zones that are difficult to go fast, we would go slower and chat. Now, Alison and I have matching real nice bikes (see other triathlon write ups), and I have a feeling Dusty once saw us on the path because the next spin class I went to she started saying how she is disgusted with people who spend money on bikes but then don’t go fast on the path. Maybe it was in my head she was talking about me, but the next incident made me decide that her comment about expensive bikes was indeed directed towards me.

Before the next story, in October Sheila and I went for a swim in Lake Michigan, sure it was a little cold in the water, but it was an 80 degree day and we wanted to take advantage. Dusty happened to bike by and see me as I got out of the water and said hi. I kind of laughed at that, but thought; maybe it will make her respect and like me a little more.

I haven’t been to Dusty’s class in a long time. Since Emily introduced me to other classes, I decided I liked instructors with awesome attitudes, and if I had to modify their class to fit my needs, I could handle that. Then, about a week ago, I went back to Dusty’s class. She spent the class picking on ME, not directly but as the class progresssed, she made it apparent it was me she was directing the comments to. She usually picks on people for not working out tons, but this time, her remarks were more in line with “some people spend more time at the gym than me, and if you are doing that Super Athlete, maybe you should take it down a notch. I work here” oh and the comment of “if you think you can go running on a treadmill after this, then you didn’t work hard enough in my class” (I really wanted to say “some of us are training for ironman so it’s called a brick workout!’ But I didn’t). So the great part about this is, I love my nickname- maybe she was trying to use a negative tone- but, Super Athlete? I’ll take it. After class she came up and talked to me, like she was my friend. This is a first. So I mentioned Ironman Training and said I’m also training for marathons right now- which of course she thinks is crazy, but I dropped the word “Boston” and then she acted like she got it.

But the point of this whole story about Dusty comes to a head soon of what I learned about people. I have complained about her to some of my friends, and it turns out my one running friends (Steve) has been friends with her for 10 years, and he defended her to a certain degree. I will not disagree with him; she would be a good 1 on 1 coach and could produce some great athletes. But then he made a comment of the sort like “Prepare yourself for a lot worse when you get into the ironman community”

And here is the thing, which I’ve known for some time: I don’t like and will steer clear from the people who like to talk themselves up by putting others down. Many in the ironman/triathlon and even marathon community are like this. Not all, but many are. People complete Ironman races because it makes them feel superior. We (Ironmen and Ironmen in training) are awesome and we do work hard, but seriously if that’s your only reason: Get over yourself!

I think that’s why I’m so drawn to the DetermiNation Community. When you have a charity athlete, they have many more reasons to complete an ironman other than to fall further in love with themselves. I love the attitudes of my Ironman Network. And I hope Veronica, Daryl, Andy, Alison, Michelle, Kristin, Heath, Maria, Tony(s), myself or any of my other Ironman friends never get a complex so big that we become part of the Ironman Community Steve mentions I should be prepared for. I plan to continue to avoid them.

I’m not going to give up, I’m not going to stop, I’m going to work harder

I’m not going to give up, I’m not going to stop, I’m going to work harder
Miami, FL – State 22
3:52:15

It’s kind of crazy to think it took 22 marathons for me to finally cross Florida off the list. I had done the half marathon in Tampa and the Triathlon in St. Petersburg, but had yet to do a full marathon. I had thought I would do the Florida Ironman and cross the marathon off like that, however, because of the family support in the Racine Half Ironman and the local friend/cheerleaders, and Veronica, my Ironman Partner, I decided on the Wisconsin Ironman.

Xavier pushed the Miami Marathon early in my marathon ‘career’ It had been a year since I’d been to Miami, so it was about time I made another trip.

I actually took a lot of rest time since Vegas. I got in a 15 miler two weeks after, then I took a full week off run/bike/swim over Christmas. I stayed off swimming for a total of 5 weeks as I got an outer ear infection that turned into an inner ear infection and fluid behind my ear drum. It took about 6+ weeks for the fluid to be drained and is almost a non-issue but still kind of there in the mornings.

My long runs were originally planned as 18, 12, 20, 12, marathon. However, I wasn’t feeling 100% the week of the 18, so I figured I’d rest and let myself get better, and my schedule turned into 18, 20, 12, marathon. Then the weekend of the 18, I got hit with the flu in a bad way. It actually took a week for me to recover where my body wasn’t absorbing fluids, I was going through over 100oz of water, additional Gatorade and orange juice and I was still dehydrated. I was still training in this time, but not at any level of intensity. I was nervous for the 20 miler, but with my new winter running partner, Mike, I got through it.

I got a 20 mile run in, but that was about it since Las Vegas. The question was: Was I ready? What kind of race would I have? And my answer was: Just don’t give up or stop, just survive it and cross the state off. Now in reality, I wanted to remain a sub 4 hour marathoner (when it’s not a drunk marathon).

Though I tried to respect the taper, I didn’t respect it that much. I’m two weeks into my Ironman Training. The program was given to me by a 50 marathon state friend (Idaho travels) Tony S. Tony had run marathons with this training program through late May/early June so I know it’s a schedule you can manipulate for your running, and I plan to do the same. BUT, as the mileage is so low right now, I wasn’t about to cut out any of the workouts just because I had a marathon.

Friday before the race I flew into Miami. Xavi, Michelle and Tati picked me up from the airport. As always, we had such a great time. Xavi and Michelle are great parents, and this was the first time I met Tati and I’m in love with that little girl. On Saturday, I left them (so sad), but then I met up with another new friend at the Expo. David told me he had a friend doing the Miami marathon and he’d put me in touch with him. Shawn and Erin are brothers, Shawn lives in Charlotte and this was his first marathon, though he knows endurance as he has done a half ironman. Erin is actually the medical director of the Miami Marathon. So, we wandered the expo for a bit.

Side track: I have had two Garmin 205s for 5+ years. I bought the one, and it stopped being 100% dependable just after the 1 year warranty was up, so I bought another for real cheap on amazon.com. After 4+ years they both sometimes work which was fine since I had two I have always had one that worked. One of them went out in Vegas, and hasn’t worked since, the other I brought to Miami, and Saturday morning it didn’t work. Since there is a newer even greater Garmin out there, the 310xt, I splurged at the expo and got it. My electronic troubles didn’t end there, as my ipod also stopped working on me. Sometimes it needs to just power down then it works again, but it looks like this time, that’s not the case so it looks like I’ll be getting a new ipod too. Luckily the shuffle was working, so I was set for the marathon.

After the Expo, we went out for dinner, where I started to feel sick/congested. I tried to ignore it and drink fluids (I have since realized it was allergies, thanks Shawn for the Claritin, I didn’t take it on the marathon, but I took it after and it worked great!) At dinner, I met another great girl, Katie. She was doing the half marathon, which was her 2nd half marathon.

Sunday I woke up and my throat was super sore and I was congested and tired. I woke up at 4:00am, the race started at 6am. I did my routine of getting ready and left at 5:00am. As I was at the elevator, I made three more friends: Mary, Andi and Erin. They invited me to join them on their walk to the start and we decided we would hang out after the marathon.

I had to meet up with Luis (Xavi’s brother in law) as I left my phone charger at Xavi’s and he had brought it downtown with him when he came for the race. After getting my charger, Shawn and I met up (and Erin let us use the medical tent porta potties that were clean and no line). We entered the race coral and started together, though with different goals, we probably only took about 5 steps together.

You would think after 21 states, the 26.2 distance would feel short and easy, but the thing is, it still feels long. Thoughts that go through my mind early on are: really? I’m doing this again? This is so long. But...I do it and I know I’ll finish. It was still dark when we started and we went over a bridge headed to South Beach. It was real pretty going over the water. I quickly fell into a pace of 8:11 …mile after mile I was always clicking at 8:11. I knew I wouldn’t keep this pace throughout but it felt good for the time. We passed Taverna Opa, and a bunch of other bars I have visited on other trips. I started talking to another DetermiNation runner. He was from Georgia and was doing the half. We talked on and off for a few miles when we would be by one another.

Then around mile 8, I started to feel like I could get sick. I tried to push that feeling aside, but it wouldn’t go away. I started to search for porta potties along the course. It took until mile 12 until I found one. I stopped for a minute or two, and then I felt a little better, good enough to take a gu and water, which quickly came back up. I had no choice but to fight through as I wasn’t even at the half way point.

I resumed to a decent pace, still sub 9 minute miles, but it wasn’t long before my stomach started bothering me again. Instead of focusing on miles, I actually started focusing on porta potties, every time I would spot one I would think: Do I need to stop or can I push through to the next one? I ended up stopping a total of 3 times. I really just wanted to make sure I stayed under 4 hours, and though I did by nearly 8 minutes, I think I worked harder to keep pushing myself at this slower pace than I did for Detroit. So, I guess that means when fully healthy, I have more in me to push for new Boston times if and when they release them?

I really enjoyed our turnaround in Coconut Grove. The turnaround area is the same area where Kim, Sara and I spent the night before Xavi and Michelle’s wedding. And by night I mean, morning of his wedding: We cabbed it there from South Beach for Pizza, and then got stranded there at 5am and made it back to Kim and Damaris’ as the sun was rising. When we were stranded, there were runners running through the streets for their early morning runs. I tried to live off that moment to take my mind off the stomach issues. Smiling through those memories probably made the mile around there a favorite (it was around mile 18-19).

For the most part, the second half was in the shade and the sun wasn’t an issue, but around mile 22-24 we had an out and back that was right on the water and open for the sun to hit you. Of course, me loving the sun, I tried to find the good in this situation: I was getting a tan! But as I was baking and was thirsty (and fearful of every drink I had, that it might come up), it was getting more and more difficult.

With a mile + left, spectator’s were saying the cursed words you never say “you are almost there” Let me tell you, again, after 22 marathons, the last mile is not ‘almost there’ There was a hill just before mile 26 over a bridge. It reminded me of Roosevelt. The down after was great, but always feels long. YMCA was playing when I was running to the finish. I must have gotten excited as I tensed up a bit and had the ‘finish limp’ going on, but luckily I fought through it and was limp free crossing the finish. I later learned my new hotel friends, Andi and Erin, saw me cross the finish line.

After crossing the finish, I made my way through the coral, used the porta potty again, and then found a place to lay in the grass, in hopes if I were laying and still, my stomach would be nicer to me. I managed to talk to Rachel J. and Sheila some, but ultimately I laid in the sun for an hour.

It turns out Shawn finished in his goal time, but ended up in the medical tent, not just picking up his keys and phone from his brother, but for a little bit of what sounded like heat exhaustion. Katie also mentioned after she finished the half, she had some stomach issues, and Mary noted stomach issues too….hmm…was there something in the water they were giving out?

When I got back to my hotel, I got sick again but then slowly showered and made my way to the pool for more sun time. At which time, I met a guy from Michigan, who has the Ironman Fever. We chatted some, then I finally was feeling like I could keep food down, so I met up with Mary and Andi, and we had drinks and food out at the Bayside market area. Meeting them and chatting with them was so great. They are affiliated with Team In Training, and Andi shared so many different ways to fundraise (which I plan to bring up at the next ACS committee meeting). We wandered the city and made our way back to the hotel, at which time, I was in bed by 7pm!

I got to see a best friend and his family on this trip, and made so many new connections. I have met other great people along the way of my 50 states but I think it has been on the plane rides home. This time I was able to make friends with people where I could get the full marathon experience. A lot of times when I go places, I get the opportunity to see my friends who live in that city, but, I try to maximize time with them and I don’t stay around the marathon after the finish, I don’t stay in the hotels where I can meet other marathoners, and I just zip through the expo. Now, I do wish I had more time with Xavi, but it was nice to soak in the full marathon experience.

This was a tough marathon personally. From being sick through training, starting the morning off with another sore throat, and then stomach issues throughout – I think pushing to make sure I stayed under 4 hours took more work than the day I qualified for Boston. But the thing is- I’m a Survivor, I’m not going to give up, I’m not going to stop, I’m gonna work harder, I’m going to make it, keep on surving.

***Reminder: in 2011 I'm raising money for the American Cancer Society. To learn more or donate please go to:
http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/DetermiNation/DNFY11IL?px=4909726&pg=personal&fr_id=35207

The Ironman Journey - Part 3 ...First Official week of training.

The training program I'm on is a 34 week program. It's a long program but it's great and the first few weeks is actually a nice break from the miles I had been putting in for keeping conditioned. I plan on manipulating the schedule but the main goal is to get everything in. I have officially completed week 1 though I have 2 days left which is just more running ... it's like dual training, because i have the Miami Marathon next week.

Training doesn't just include run/bike/swim but it also includes core work and weights for the upper and lower body. There is a test, called the Cooper Test - Run and the Cooper- Test swim. The idea is you take this test at the beginning, middle and end and see if you have improved your running and swimming.

For the run, you warm up for a mile, run your best for 12 minutes and then cool down for a half a mile. I modified this just because of where I was at. I was in San Francisco in Golden Gate Park and I was trying to find a part that wasn't super hilly. So I warmed up for 1.5 miles, then ran fast for 12 minutes then had almost a mile cool down.
Now when you do this test, there is a chart and you see where you fall. You either rank Poor, Average, Good, or Very Good" Veronica and I renamed these. It is Grenade, Hot Mess, Smokin, and Hot Damn respectively. Of course we are aiming for a Grenade Free America...nobody likes Grenades!
The Cooper test run I was Smokin at 1.6 miles or 7:36 average. I'm going for Hot Damn next time closer to a 7:00 average.

For the swim, you swim 400 meters warm up, then kick 6x50meters then you swim fast for 12 minutes and cool down 100 meters. I followed this one to the exact. And, though I wouldn't say I'm super wonderful at swimming, I came out to 28 lengths or 700 meters which the cooper test grid says HOT DAMN. Of course I still want to further improve this. going for an extra 100 meters next time.

So, week one is done. I do have to say, I'm ready to pick it up...but I guess I should enjoy the low mileage while it's here.

...What i really need to work on and add to my training Journal, is nutrition, that's not going so well right now. I blame the 0 degree weather - comfort food gets you through the cold :)

Ironman Wisconsin - The Journey Part 2

Dear Readers,

With just under 37 weeks to the Ironman I thought I would post another update. Training programs are beginning. I do not plan on paying for a training group, rather do a program on my own. I have one picked out that's a 34 week program, and starts mid-January. Doing it on my own is what's best for me so i can modify to fit my 2011 racing schedule.

Though still subject to change here is what I'm looking at in 2011 for races:
1/30 Miami Marathon
4/18 Boston Marathon
5/20 American Triple T - Super Sprint Tri
5/21 AM: American Triple T - Olympic Tri
5/21 PM: American Triple T - Olympic Tri
5/22: American Triple T - Half Ironman
5/31: Vermont City Marathon
9/11: THE IRONMAN
TBD: Winter Marathon

These races put me at 386.34 miles raced. Which- with my goal in 2011 to raise $11 per mile raced, it means i have to raise $4,249.74.

Now- it would be in my best interest to have another Half Ironman in July or August for training purposes of the Ironman. In order to add that in the schedule I NEED YOUR HELP.

Because I vowed to raise $11 per mile raced, I have to raise approximately $800 more in order to add another half ironman.

Visit my Team DetermiNaiton page at : http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/DetermiNation/DNFY11IL?px=4909726&pg=personal&fr_id=35207

If I can get enough money raised in the first half of 2011, I'll add another Half Ironman to better my Journey.

Thanks!

Tara

**Please note it mentions i'm raising money for the Chicago Marathon, that's because I want the funds I raise to be recognized for Team DetermiNation Chicago rather than the National Level- it all goes to the same place, but I want Chicago to have the recognition since it's those in Chicago who inspired me.

CARDIO VACATION

I’m trying a little experiment that I decided is part of prepping for Ironman Training. In 2010, I logged over 5,000 miles running, biking and swimming. As my blog says, I am ADDICTED to endurance. As 2010 is coming to an end, and I have recently been hit with an ear infection that seems to be a little beyond ‘swimmer’s ear’ it’s a good time and idea to rest. It’s time for a CARDIO VACATION!

The idea behind my cardio vacation is I will take a full 7 days off of cardio (or maybe just biking, running and swimming?). My cardio vacation started, Sunday Dec. 18th.

What does one who spends a big chunk of their free time biking/running/swimming do when they are on a Cardio Vacation? This is what this blog entry is all about. I’m curious if I will go stir crazy. I believe I haven’t taken more than 2 days off running since Jen’s Bachelorette party in Vegas, April 2008.


And now the Cardio Vacation Blog:


Day 1: Sunday. Since my ear was super bothersome, I took a day of rest. This doesn’t differ from days that I might take off because I’m extremely hungover. However, this time, I wasn’t extremely hungover, just resting.

Day 2: Monday Morning: Slept in (til 7:30 instead of 5:30-6am wake up). Gotta do the push-up challenge (yes I’m still doing that- I just like to not move from Week 2 day 3 )

Evening: Lindsey offered a private class to some of us at her place. This was THE BEST yoga class of 2010. I thought, maybe I should add another yoga class in on my time off. Even if it’s on my own, with Joyce’s instruction cd she made prior to moving to New York.
After Yoga, I went over to Keri’s to watch the Bears game. I got home around 10:30pm and didn’t feel guilty because guess what- I get to sleep in on Tuesday! I thought, maybe I should add another yoga class in on my time off. Even if it’s on my own, with Joyce’s instruction cd she made prior to moving to New York.

Day 3: Tuesday Morning: Slept in. Had breakfast at home, that didn’t consist of a protein bar. What a concept.
Evening: Starting to feel gross.Bulls game with Mayer Brown- Thinking- maybe I shouldn’t drink much so I can wake up early tomorrow and do Joyce’s yoga CD. I would like to go to some dance class/aerobics class Wednesday night, but I scheduled a Massage at 5:00pm. I really should let the goodness of that soak in. ..Thursday…I wonder if there are still classes available on the 23rd? I wonder if I can find anything around my Parent’s house- HA that’s a joke. Maybe I should allow myself a 6 day rest and on the 7th day- run again? What if I forget how to run?

Day 4: Wednesday Morning: Though Anxious yesterday…still slept in. But did the push up challenge norm.

Evening: Massage!!!! Then walked to pick up my car from the shop, and then… watched a movie and asleep by 9:30. So nice! I’m actually enjoying this. I’m not as hungry but still… I’m starting to get a little nervous about weight gain.

Day 5: Thursday Morning: Decided to walk the stairs in my building up and down, just two times. Makes me feel a little less lazy.

Evening: Was looking into some flirty girl fitness classes, but everyone is out of town already, so I just made plans to go to a class there next week with Keri. The opportunity presented itself to go back to Wisconsin early so I first went shopping at Akira (Merry Christmas to me- Love, Mom and Dad), then made my way back to Wisconsin.

Day 6: Friday Morning: This is the tricky part, I am in Wisconsin. Facilities to workout are limited, and food in my mom’s fridge is plentiful. I decided to have a ‘Tara Made’ aerobics class. LOTS of fun, it’s kind of like dance parties with my niece. Also did the push up challenge and some abs. I’m really close to shortening Cardio Vacation to 6 days long. I will do my best to hold off one more day.

Evening: It was snowing large flakes, which made me really want to run. I figured, I might as well go for a walk. So Mariah Carey’s 2010 Christmas Music andn I went for a winter wonder walk….then it was Christmas Eve :)

Day 7: Saturday: Christmas Day- the Final Day. I decided to continue on with my aerobic routine fun and did that for an hour. Then I found my mom's ab roller....oooh fun! :p I thought about going for a walk, but I feared I might just start running, and I’m so close to finished with this Cardio Vacation, I decided to stay in and eat some cookies.
Day 8: Cardio Vacation is over. I had to define Cardio as Run, Bike or Swim because if I became 100% Sedentary, I really would not have been a nice person. It was a nice 7 days off to not be worried about mileage, but I am ready to run again. I think I’m still not going to log my miles for the remainder of the year. We’ll start a whole new calendar in the New Year.


…now time to go on an 18 to 20 mile run :).

Raise Your Glass

Raise Your Glass
Las Vegas, NV - State 21
4:14:49

Running a marathon in every state creates a risk of getting bored. You can only PR so many times. So what has been my strategy to keep things interesting? Well, I add an ultra here or there and I started to also complete triathlons. I finally qualified for Boston, so what next? I think my future will one day include a 100 miler, and of course I will go back to trying to get a new PR. BUT for state 21, it was time to have some fun.

If you were to ask most marathoners, especially first timers, what are the basics of preparation, I'm sure some would say they give up drinking for a bit before and if they don't give up the drinking for a long time, they certainly would say you don't drink the night before a race. Sleep would rank up there in importance. And then of course your nutrition and hydration during is key.

If you don't take those four factors seriously (Sleep, Soberness, Nutrition and Hydration), you put yourself at a greater risk of having a bad race, and potentially not finishing. Well, I just have to say: 'Raise your Glass if you are wrong in all the right ways" I most certainly was wrong in all the right ways in Vegas.

While most stay on the strip when in Vegas, my co-worker, Lily offered up her time share which was off the strip near the Palms, and provided a free shuttle service that runs every 30 minutes between the Time Share and Planet Hollywood. I arrived on Friday, and Ashleigh and Nate drove in from San Diego. The moment I stepped off the plane I grabbed a drink waiting for Ash and Nate to pick me up from the airport (okay partial lie, I had some work to take care of first, then i put a dollar in a slot machine...THEN I got my Triple Shot Vodka Red bull drink).

We spent most of our day at the Venetian and Caesar’s Palace. We didn't excessively drink, but we drank enough to keep a steady level of drunkenness. We stocked up our fridge with all sorts of liquids for the weekend then we went out for dinner. I'm sure I would have done just fine with one martini not two, but....Nate decided a second was in order.

Friday night was a good night for sleep, I slept maybe 6 hours. When I woke up I wasn't feeling the greatest from the day before. I managed to get a 4 mile run in but not without feeling extremely sick. So I decided Saturday would be a beer day.

Back track to training: On my 18 mile run I realized that if I went out the night before a run, I started my run strong. But once the hangover hit, I had to slow down, and even walk. With the 20 miler, I got a good night's sleep, and got drunk on the run, and it was a great run (Thanks for joining Sheila and Veronica, and Rachel A- Thanks for bringing me beer refills on the path!). What I learned in training was this: I must stay drunk on the entire run, otherwise it's game over.

There was a lot of walking going on Saturday as we were under the impression the Expo was at the Mandalay Bay (read directions Tara!). We Casino jumped from the Excalibur, to the Luxor to Mandalay Bay (all the while playing the slots- being conservative as I am, I broke even on that round). The Expo was actually at Sand Expo which is connected to the Venetian, so we once again spent a great amount of time at the Venetian (I'm actually a pro at finding my way around there by now!). I made it through the expo pretty quickly and then we had lunch.

Rather than going out too hard on Saturday night, we decided to go see David Spade. This was a great idea, because I was still doing the goal of Vegas (drinking), but it wasn't excess, and I had been on my feet long enough for the day that it was good to sit for awhile. After dinner, we did a little more casino hopping at Harrah's and Planet Hollywood. I was in bed by 12:30-1ish giving me maybe 4 hours of sleep before the Marathon.

My Alarm went off and I kept to most of my normal morning routine: An hour to wake up, move around, do my sit-ups (it's a mental thing where I think if I activate the core before the long run, I will have a good run), and have breakfast. As this is a drunk run, breakfast included a beer.

I planned on meeting up with Evelio at the start and hope to literally run into Tony on the run. Evelio was easy to find. The gun went off at 7am but we started with Coral 12 so it took some time to get to the start. I managed to jump out of the coral and go to the bathroom before we started. I handed Evelio my beer when I did this which I then thought. that could be disastrous... I might lose him and never see my beer again! Luckily I found him within a minute or two of the run (running fast where I'm sure people thought I was crazy).

It's amazing how long the strip really is, but you don't realize it until you are running it. Around mile 3, Tony and I were e-mailing trying to find each other (yes e-mail...that's what Tony does I guess because I attempted to call and he wouldn't pick up). He was ahead of us then. I was running low on beer already, but I figured I would find someone on the run giving away beer. Around mile 5 there was a beer stand, but we didn't see it until we passed it and I didn't think much of it thinking, this is Vegas, I'm sure there will be more (wrong).

Since I had my phone out e-mailing Tony, I was also getting work e-mails. Alice was busy working (it’s quarterly reporting season). I almost wrote her so she could have a fun e-mail between all the work, but I was trying to minimize my phone use to just finding Tony and Ashleigh.

Ash and I had planned to find each other around mile 12 to give me another beer. However, we missed each other. I was 12 miles down with only 2 beers. Now I know it is ONLY 2 beers, but add running to two beers at 7am, after a night of drinking...that's enough to make you start to feel miserable when you don't have a third. Evelio saw the unpleasant Tara as I yelled at a runner for stopping right in front of me at a water station…I maneuvered around them but managed to get citomax dumped all over me by the volunteer and I just wasn't happy. So, he said it was time we make a stop when there is a place to buy some beer. This is a little harder on the second half. Though the first is up and down the strip (and to the old strip), the second part is all industrial and pretty bare. This is pretty common for marathons with halves.

We saw places we could stop at, but they were on the other side of the road where you have to cross over the race. I didn't want to draw any attention to people to make them think we were cheating, so we just had to make our way to the gas stations that were on the same side of the road. Finally at the 25K we were able to stop and fill up. I waited out by the race in hopes to see Tony pass as Evelio went on in the gas station. He ended up taking about 10 minutes to complete the transaction. As I waited, I received some comments from runners passing, like "what's wrong with you, you look fine and you are just standing there like a spectator!" When Evelio came out, I learned, he was joining in on the fun as he got himself a beer as well and put it in a 'to go' container. We finally saw Tony for the first time as we were passing in opposite directions on the out and back. At this moment I was very happy, and half way done with the current beer, singing Poker Face or some other Lady Gaga song- I don't remember which one the band was playing.

There were a lot of cheerleaders from high schools on the course. Of course, with the next beer fully consumed in 3 miles, I was not just running a marathon, but pretending I was a cheerleader, attempting toe touches (these cheerleaders loved me). At mile 18 we stopped at another gas station for a bathroom break and another refill. Somewhere along the way, Evelio and I decided Gus and Nutrition were not in order on this run. So the only thing I really consumed was the Beer, and a few water stops when I didn't have any beer (but maybe 5 water stops at max).

We continued on, and the last part of the marathon was pretty boring with out and backs on a frontage road. Lucky for me, I was not boring, and I did what I could to entertain myself and Evelio. We were breathing in the wonderful car exhaust air and making our way to finish. I had one more bathroom stop in there (usually I can sweat off the need to go to the bathroom- but apparently not when it's beer). We crossed the finish together (second marathon I've ever started and finished with one person) and I felt GREAT. I got a text from Caitlin, she saw me cross. Apparently she turned on the live feed just as I was crossing - now that's pretty cool!

The party didn't stop there though. Ash and Nate greeted me at the finish, took me back to our place and took off to avoid the Vegas to Cali traffic. I fully utilized what the timeshare had to offer (soak in the hot tub then read my book by the fire), and then I got ready for one final fun night in Vegas: The post race party. I swore off beer when I crossed the finish line, so it was back to Vodka. The post race party was at Encore - XS. I was so happy to make it to a club in Vegas and dance. I went with Evelio and his friends and I made friends there. They let us dance up on the platform with stripper poles, and I happened to find a girl who is a teacher at a studio like flirty girl fitness....so... she taught me some tricks on the pole, where I proceeded to make a fool of myself I'm sure, but it was so much fun. I don't know if I'm more sore from the marathon or from that pole- but my right arm is all bruised (I kept on my bracelets....silly me).

And yet still, the night wasn't over. I needed ot learn how to play Craps. I never got to see Mike Evans on the race, so we met up at the Mirage and I watched him lose some money (only after winning $600!). I do have to say, when I was rolling that dice, I made many people a lot of money- go me for rolling the dice! :)

I tend to make friends post marathon on the flights home. I met Jeff on the flight home from Fargo (he was also in Vegas but we never managed to meet up), and this time I made friends with Christine- from the suburbs of Chicago. ...an Ironman and Marathoner...like Jeff, with her own inspiring race stories.

This Marathon wasn't just about the race; it was about the entire weekend. It was about having a good time, about celebrating my accomplishments over the last 20 states. It was learning that I've managed to make the Marathon so routine, that even skipping the most important elements to preparation (Sleep, Soberness, Nutrition, Hydration), that I still can manage to complete it in a respectable time. Raise your Glass- Cheers!