[cakses]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I started a new work schedule and have learned the hard way that I am going to have to schedule in my work outs and not assume I can do them while my kids are in their YMCA classes LOL.

Today is a run day. I have tried intervals and I lose all momentum when I stop running and walk. It's like I have zero endurance. I am going to try again today though and just push through it. We will see how far I get!

[kittycat40]

HEY JENGUIN and MIDWIFE:

HAVE A GREAT RACE!!!

Thanks Jo, I'm going to start training and see which direction (half or whole) I go. Or my knees go, for that matter

Today I did 10 miles and felt pretty good. I set my alarm for 5:45a so I could leave early enough that I could be home to carpool to my 1st grader's school. In my concern for time, I fear I pounded a bit too hard and am looking forward, not, to some shin splints. love motrin. I brought the 3 little guys to preschool a little late so I could have a wonderful hot shower
Re: the weekly long runs, they have been anywhere from 7.5 to 12 so I'm going to increase them to a regular 10 plus and see how that goes. One of the reasons I want to schedule a big challenging race is so that I have some accountability in following thru with my scheduled work outs, not allowing myself get distracted.

Happy Friday cool runner chicks!

[cakses]

Slowed it down a bit and ran 2.8 miles. Would have done 3 but it was set on a program and my time ran out haha. Well at least I know I *can* do it! Will attempt another 2+ miler on Monday. Yay!

[nelie]

I did my training plan today (2 min walk, 2 min run for 20 minutes). My legs were a bit tired and one of my last run intervals was up a hill. Phew was I tired!! Tomorrow is 28 minutes of 2 min walk/run intervals. How am I going to survive?!

[Mrs Snark]

Good luck tomorrow Jenguin and Midwife!!!

[lene1974]

I ran my 3.2 miles Sunday perfect conditions and struggled through the entire flat run. Tonight it was dark, cold and very windy and I ran the 3.2 miles with hills and it was barely an effort. Funny how the body works.

I'm eager to hear how the racers did this past weekend.

[jenguin]

So I had a great weekend! But fair warning - super long post ahead!

My mom, sister and sister's kids showed up on Saturday afternoon. My sister and kids went to visit a friend and my mom went with me, dh and kids to the marathon expo. The expo wasn't exceptionally huge, but it did have some cool stuff. Of note were the cowbells provided for cheering on runners - we grabbed several for my cheering squad - lol! My kids and mom also made some signs and grabbed a couple more to make at home from the Brooks running booth. Team Prevention was giving out bags that included inflatable slap sticks and we ended up with a couple of those as well. We wandered around to the other booths and checked everything out, picked up my packet and activated my chip. That night my sister and kids were back and my brother and his girlfriend joined us. My mom had offered to make a spaghetti dinner so I took her up on it! We had a good evening chatting and having dinner. Before I went to bed that night I set out all of my clothes, my race number and my timing chip next to the closet upstairs. Downstairs on the counter I set out my Garmin, my FuelBelt (packed with a keychain cross my dad made and a handkerchief that was my grandmother's as well as my energy gels) and a towel to hook onto my FuelBelt.

I woke up Sunday morning feeling pretty good. Amazingly I had gotten a decent night's sleep the night before. I grabbed yogurt, a banana and water for breakfast. I was wandering around a little, making sure I felt hydrated but not over-hydrated and getting ready to, ahem, clean out my system - lol. The plan was for my sister and her kids to meet my family later as she didn't think they'd be up in time for the start. As it turned out, everyone was awake so plans changed and everyone was going to go to the start together. My nephew was getting some breakfast at the breakfast bar counter and handed me my FuelBelt (I guess it was in his way - lol) so I took that and grabbed my bottle of water, towel and cell phone and set it in a different spot. I called my friend who was running the half to figure out what time we should meet and discuss where would be a good parking spot for her. We decided on meeting at 7:30ish by the port-a-johns.

After a couple of pictures and me running up and down the stairs for various reasons and my brief stop at the door where I said "I feel like I'm forgetting something" but we were already behind schedule. We headed out the door and were on our way to downtown Des Moines in a couple of cars. I called my friend and let her know I was a little behind but should be there close to 7:40. We made a slight change to the plans to meet at the baggage check. We get to the parking ramp and my family was really slow getting out of the cars while I impatiently asked "should I just go ahead?" I did end up taking the stairs while they took the elevator and they beat me downstairs anyway - lol! I found my friend and then my dh found us, took our picture and she and I headed off to the start. We moved towards the back, both because we're not super fast runners and we thought it would help us to not go out too fast. As soon as I had a second to think at the start I realized I forgot my Garmin!!!!!!!! I pulled my phone out of my belt and texted dh to tell him. There really wasn't anything he could do as the start was in less than 5 mins but he later told me he did think about trying to go get it for me so I could have my mile splits from mile 12 on as that was where they planned to see me first.

We heard a quartet sing the National Anthem and soon the runners were off! It was a little chilly to start, but it ended up being perfect weather for the marathon (high of around 65 degrees with pretty much no humidity and for the most part not a lot of wind). It took about 4 minutes to get to the start line. I ran with my friend until shortly before the mile 3 marker as that's where the half and full marathon courses split. While running with her we did catch up with the 5:15 hr pace group. I felt pretty good running and just kept going on my own. Miles 3-8 were slightly hilly, but also gorgeous. I had read that they were considered more than "rolling hills" but didn't think they felt too bad. Probably around mile 8 I caught up with the 5 hr pace group. It was just the pacer and a couple of other people. I asked them how close they were to being on pace and they let me know they were slightly ahead. I was excited as my main goal was to finish but my more secret desire was to finish in less than 5 hours. I decided to not get too excited as there were a lot of miles to go! One of the girls said "Join us" so I figured this would be a good way to stay on pace. I ran and chatted with them for awhile and found out the pace leader's name was Tom (which was my dad's name - and as some of you know, he passed away in August). It might be corny, but I took that as a sign my dad was there with me. I ran with the girl who invited me to join for awhile and asked her about her marathon experience (it was her 7th) and talked about getting to run around the Drake track during the course. At about mile 10 I heard someone screaming "Jen!! Go Jen!!" I turned and saw someone I recognized but couldn't place. He was on his cell phone and hollered "They said keep going!!" so I thought I'd figure out who was cheering for me later! We hit the 11 mile marker and I knew it was only about a 1/2 mile before I'd see my family and told the other runner they'd be waiting there. I then turned to look behind me and realized we couldn't see the 5 hr pacer any longer - lol. I rounded the corner into the track and my family was going crazy, screaming and ringing cowbells. It was super cool! I got to the side they were on and handed my jacket off to them. I attached a picture below - hopefully it works!I still felt really good at this point and later everyone told me they couldn't believe I was still smiling at that point! Shortly after the Drake track loop I the other runner was going at a faster pace than I thought I could keep up with so I wished her luck and she went on her way. I hit the 13.1 mile marker, which was one of the spots the chip was tracked and thought of my friend running the half, wondering if she was done. In our training runs she tends to be the faster runner (I found out later I was slightly ahead of her). I hit about mile 14 and saw my older daughter, her dad and his wife. It was super cool they were out there cheering for me! I then saw my family again around mile 15 and high fived the little ones. I attached a picture of that one too but I look a little cross-eyed! I didn't expect to see them that soon so I was really excited! Then at about mile 16 I saw my older daughter, her dad and his wife again. I told dd that I had high fived younger dd so it was her turn - she's a teenager so she rolled her eyes but then obliged. Off to a trail so there wasn't a ton of crowd support but the few people along the way were super supportive. At about mile 18-19 one woman was on a bicycle on a bridge above the trail cheering on runners. I hollered "thank you!" and she said "you're looking good - still smiling at mile [can't remember what mile]". I felt even better hearing that! Around that time I was kind of passing and being passed by a guy from Minneapolis who was cursing the hills and said he'd been hoping for a 4:30 finish. I got to the mile 21 water stop and it was the American Cancer Society water stop so I got a big boost there (I had raised $ in memory of my dad) and lots of cheering, hooting and hollering. Shortly after that, older dd, her dad and his wife were at that spot cheering and dd said "dad wants me to high five you again" - he was trying to document the moment in pictures. I haven't gotten the pics from him yet or I would share. She also told me my family was waiting at mile 23. At this point I was really chasing the 4:45 pacer, but my legs were starting to hurt quite a bit - I think those early hills were hitting me just then. I did a slight walk break but wanted to push to run so got back to running fairly quickly and caught up with two girls who said something that made me laugh and comment - I don't remember what it was though! I ran with and talked to them for a little bit, but ended up having to slow up a couple of times. I got to the 23 mile marker and realized I had to pee! I thought to myself that it's only 3 miles and I can make it that far! Shortly after that I saw my family. Younger dd was trying to take a picture and threw the camera (the digital one that was a gift to me this year!) on the ground! Luckily, she threw it in the grass and it is okay! I also saw my brother's girlfriend's face just bursting with pride (she's been one of my regular running partners lately as she's been trying to up her mileage) and I thought I might start crying. I got through it though and kept going, but slowed down considerably at that point. I ended up doing run/walk intervals, cursing the fact that I hadn't stopped at the last port-a-johns to relieve myself - lol! I also lost sight of the 4:45 pacer at this point. I got to the 25 mile marker and was sooo excited that I only had 1.2 miles left. Shortly after that, I saw an empty line of port-a-johns, looked at my cell phone and realized even if I stopped to pee I was still going to make it under 5 hours clock time. I still can't believe I stopped with only about a mile to go, but I couldn't stand it any longer! I finished my business and got back on the course quickly. Shortly before the 26 mile marker I saw older dd, her dad and his wife again cheering me on. I was excited but knew I needed to slow down until I hit that mile marker as I had promised myself the final .2 miles were for twin girls who were fighting a battle with cancer while my dad was (one of them lost her battle a week before my dad did and the other one is in remission and currently doing well) and I wanted to have it in me to run strong for those .2 miles. My daughter ran up to me and said "Run! You have to run!" I told her it was all part of my plan and got up to the 26 mile marker and started to run as fast as I could, which at that point really wasn't all that fast - lol! As I was running I heard my name from my left and looked and saw my friend who ran the half and her dd, then heard my name from the right and saw my family cheering me on! I felt on top of the world crossing that finish line and can't even explain what an amazing feeling of accomplishment I had! My family broke the rules and crossed through a little past the chute after I'd had my chip removed and received my medal to hug and congratulate me. My mom saw me and cried while hugging me. The same day would have been my parents' 40th wedding anniversary so it was a very emotional day for her all around, but she was so proud of me. It was very cool. My clock time was 4:58:17 and my chip time was 4:54:27, which worked out to about an 11:15 pace.

After talking to some people at the finish line I dragged my family over the ACS tent and they were very generous, letting the kids have cookies, snacks and drinks. There was also a massage therapist there so I took advantage of that and let her work on my legs. I'm also attaching a picture of me after the massage, which is probably within a half hour of having run the marathon. I think I look pretty good for having just gone 26.2 miles - what do you guys think?

Ok, so if you made it this far, thanks for reading! If you have ever considered running a marathon I want to tell you that all the hard training miles were so worth it, and some of those training miles were very, very hard! But the ice bath after the marathon was ridiculously painful and cold - lol! I do think that helped me though. I work on the 7th floor and took the stairs this morning (although I did take the day off yesterday, but walked to the park and the grocery store with my 3-year-old). I feel a little sore today but have felt worse from a good weight lifting session. I'm so excited that I accomplished this goal!

[lene1974]

Oh Jen, what a great story! I love that you took the time to give us the details. Under 5 hours is ridiculous and you look amazing after running 26.2 miles! I'm so sorry about your Dad but it sounds like he was with you all along your journey. Congratulations!

[kittycat40]

Jenguin-
I'm smiling as wide as you are in that last picture. Wow, so great. I can't even say which part was most wonderful... just all of it. Fabulous!!
Kitty

[JulieJ08]

Jenguin, thanks for posting the blow-by-blow. It is inspiring!

[MBN]

Thanks so much for posting your race report. You clocked an AWESOME time !!!! Wear that medal with pride!

[midwife]

Congrats, Jen!! I enjoyed reading your story. What a great time you had for your marathon!

My half marathon was Sunday as well.

I worked at a booth on Saturday at our marathon registration to raise $$ for my dd's cross country team, so I was pretty busy and didn't have time to get too nervous. Most of my family had other obligations Sunday morning but my dd (whose team worked the finish line), my running partner and my sister in law drove down together Sunday morning. I must've peed 4 times in the hour before my race started and then when we were lining up, I felt like I needed to pee again.

My running partner ran the full marathon and that started before my race so my sister in law and I lined up for the half. She is a lot faster than I am so she took off and I just kind of hit my pace. I felt really good and at mile 1 I was at 10:36. It made me a little nervous cause I wasn't sure I could maintain that pace.

I never did practice drinking on my training runs which was foolish. I tried some water at mile 3 and almost puked, cause I didn't walk while I drank. So I just kept on keeping on. At mile 9 my time was 93 minutes, so I was keeping my pace pretty well. I did stop and walk a few steps a mile 10 to drink a couple of ounces of gatorade. I kept thinking---3 more miles, such an easy run. The last mile seemed so long though. I thought briefly I would hit 2:15, but when that thought crossed my mind I still had the 3 miles to go and I would have had to run them in 25 minutes, which would have been world record pace for me! So I just kept to my pace and came in at 2:19, which means I ran my last 3 miles in 29 minutes (and that is my fastest 5K time ever anyway). My avg mile time was about 10:30 which for me is really good. My daughter and her friends were working at the finish line so that was fun to have them cheer for me at the end. Even her coach cheered for me, so that was kind of fun.

Then I foolishly worked the night of my race and only slept about 2 hours between Sunday morning and Monday night.

So next time: I need to practice drinking while I run so it doesn't trigger my gag reflex and I am NOT working the night of any race over 10 miles ever again. Nope, not me.

Next year I want to do a marathon. It seems....survivable.

Congrats again, Jen!!

[kittycat40]

Midwife, thx for the update.... been waitin on it!!
and you came away thinking about a full... super cool
Congrats to you on an awesome race!!

[Mrs Snark]

Jen -- Fantastic report! Thanks so much for sharing, you make it all sound like so much fun! You should be so proud of yourself. All the miles you ran in training paid off and you had a wonderful race, CONGRATULATIONS!! And you LOOK fantastic!! I look worse after 5 milers!

Midwife -- Great job!!! What a fabulous pace and to have your fastest 5k ever right at the end -- INCREDIBLE! Way to go! CONGRATULATIONS! It will definitely be a good idea to practice drinking if you're going to tackle a full now!

Thanks for sharing your race reports, you two! They were both so INSPIRING!! If I hadn't already done my morning run I would suit up right now and go bang one out! I'll be thinking of you both on my next one, that's for sure!

[lene1974]

Midwife~great job on the 1/2! Doing your best 5K time at the end is fantastic! I love that you guys gave us all the details. I'm always wondering what others are thinking about or going through during these long runs. (besides "am I almost there yet")
Congratulations!!!!