The story of my Hat Trick (number 3):

Memphis - VERY hilly course on slanted roads - ahhhhhh - Did I say it was hilly and all the roads were slanted....not good on an IT band that is always ready to get annoyed. We should have known.....


1st Half - Ran great 1st half for me with the help of Tralaine (sister), Robert (Carthage friend), and Angie (sisters, sister in law) around 1:58, ran with a lovely stomach cramp from mile 11-15 and my quads started getting tight at mile 14 and it only got worse from there. By mile 16 my feet and some toes were hurting and knees started in very soon after that. This was all followed by my IT band and hips. Told everyone at the end, while trying not to cry, that I felt like I was running on someone else's legs. Never have my legs felt that bad from top to bottom. Hope they never feel like that again.

2nd Half - Never wanted to quit, always knew I would make it, but was not a happy racer. Had to walk through all water stops and between some miles after mile 16. Was by myself for 10 miles until I hooked up with 3 ladies from the St. Louis area who helped me through 1.5 miles and then Angie found me at mile 25. Wow, what a relief that was...to have someone to talk with to get me through the end. We ran in the last mile (without stopping to walk even though we wanted to) and finished in 4:18. Not really excited about that time (same as my Vegas race) but will live with it until the next one. Still looking for my 4:10 and my 3:59:59 but guess that will have to wait.

Thanks for all the well wishes, can't wait for the next chance to hear them again. Anyone wanting to run with me is welcome. Run on....

1 Hour Til Race

Never gotten to post an hour before a race yet...kinda cool!

After a decent pasta dinner, 8 hours sleep with wake-ups every hour after midnight....I feel great. Eating a bagel with peanut butter now and all I have to do is put on my body tattoo pace table (how cool, will take a picture and share later), stretch, apply some Vaseline, and brush my teeth. Sub 4 sounds do-able this morning but will have to keep reminding myself of that as I run. Will be very happy with 4:10 baring no injury issues. Ghost pains have been lurking all week, especially in the right knee area. Can say it doesn't hurt now :-)

Can't wait to share the good news later.

3 Days 'til Race Day

So maybe going snow skiing the weekend before a race wasn't the best idea. Not only did I not get in my 12 mile run but had to run 8 miles in thin air on a treadmill. Probably tired my legs out skiing down some sub-par runs since they haven't had enough snow yet and almost injured myself by a kid running into me and bruising my shins and calves wearing ski boots....but boy was it fun to be back on the slopes. It has been at least 3 years since Michael and I have gone skiing and today I think it was worth it; but better check back with me on Saturday afternoon.

Have run my last 2 runs of the week and am now trying not to psych myself out too much before the 26.2. Noticing lots of aches and pains and shortness of breath but know all will be good on Saturday morning at 8am. Right now low temp is supposed to be 43 and a high of 60. Hoping for a flat course with no wind. Keep your fingers crossed..... SUB 4 I hope.

How Could I Forget???

How did I ever forget to tell you that I RAN 23 MILES on Saturday! Woohoo...what a great feeling to be done with that run. Can't explain how wonderful I feel to have that one checked off. Finished in 3 hr. 54 min. which is, of course, slower than I can run on the actual race but no worries cause I have no injuries. Wish I could say that for everyone.

Don came down so he would have others to run with and was only able to make about 6 miles before his IT band started hurting so bad he couldn't go on. Hope he plans on taking some more time off to heal and come back and be able to run the whole thing.

So we started off Friday night with dinner at our house followed by a couple rounds of True Colors. Started running at 8am and after a few stops for bathroom breaks, drinks, and snacks pulled through with Robert pushing me on. Debbie ran with the girls who offered to ride their bikes to keep her company. Little party afterwards with Bellini's, brunch, and massages....it just doesn't get any better than that.

15 miles coming on Saturday :-)

I Can Smell It

The race is getting so close I can smell it...yesterday was our 18 miler leading up to next weeks 23 miles; our longest run. The schedule only calls for a 22, but it is a mind thing. I have this little belief that you can always run a 5K so that would mean that when I get to 23 miles I only have a 5K left and you can always run a 5K right :-)

So back to yesterday...had a run better than ever; did some slow stuff and did some fast stuff and think it might be still possible to get a sub 4 marathon time (barring no injuries between now and then). Ran with Debbie some, Robert some, and by myself some and felt pretty good. Took a couple of short breaks; maybe 10 minutes worth total that I can't take on the race, but might walk through. But the best thing ever about yesterday was the face that Tralaine pointed out we will all probably run together: Angie, her, Robert, me, and Don....keeping my fingers crossed; that would be awesome...the more people to talk to the better:-P

I have been eating a little better but not great. Need more protein I'm sure. Need to be drinking more water; like 3 more bottles a day, but it is hard getting water down when the weather is getting cooler. Did my sit ups/push ups 2 times this week. Will shoot for 4 times next week. Only have one night of training in Joplin so shouldn't be too bad of a week. Plan to run 4-6 Monday (recovery), 10 Tuesday (tempo), 6 Thursday (intervals), and 23 Saturday...wish me luck.

It's Time for the Second Build

It's been a while...forgot to blog after my 20 miler...went pretty slow but had lots of people to run with so the time passed pretty fast. Don came from KC, Julie came from Joplin, and of course it was Debbie, Robert, and myself. Had good times and only the quads felt bad. Pretty happy all in all.

But what a wonderful recovery week I had last week with a 4, a couple of 6's, and a 12 miler for my long run. Started off the week this week with a nice 6, then got new shoes Tuesday, and wore them for the first 3 miles of my mid-week 10 miler on Wednesday and started to feel like I had pretty severe shin splints before I got back to the house. Went back in to change back into my old Nimbus' (at 370 total miles) to finish up the 7 miles I had left and all was well. What was even better was that I had Chanti back to keep me entertained so all was well. Did 6 miles today (not a fast one) and didn't do so well, started to feel like I hadn't eaten in days and had no energy. Hoping for a better run on Saturday....planning a 16 miler with Debbie, Robert, and maybe Julie.

Lost a couple of pounds last week but they are of course back this week. Had to go out of town for half the week and that is never good, a Sonic cheeseburger and Pizza Hut buffet night with the guys and I am right back where I started. Hoping I have made better choices since then but not great ones. Here's hoping it gets better cause I am not making any big life changes until I can prove to myself that 115 is attainable & maintainable again.

Memphis is only 5 long runs away...let's go for it (16, 18, 23, 15, 12, race)!!!!!!!!!

It's a Recovery Week - Yeah

Now that we have logged our 18 miler and 20 miler I am needing a recovery week. All knee pain is gone but the "splinters" in my quads are screaming at me. My 18 and 20 were slower than I wanted but trying to keep from having an injury is in the back of my mind all the time.

We did have a big group for the 20 miler...Don came from Kansas City, Julie came over from Joplin, and we of course had Debbie, Robert, and myself. I have named us The Carthage Running Club...the CRC for short...think it will catch on :-)

Switching next weeks recovery week with this weeks is probably the most exciting thing that has happened to me in a while. To know that my mid week run is only a 6 and that I have only 12 miles to run this weekend is more than exciting....it makes giddy :-P

The schedule for long runs from here on is 12, 16, 23, 15, 12, race day! And I need new shoes.