Yesterday, I had the weirdest run I have ever had. Don't worry, though, it's probably not what you'd think.
You see, after last week's horrible crash and burn incident, I had very low expectations for this week's long run. Last week, I only had to run 18. Yes, only 18. This week I was moving on up to 20. After the terrible wall I had hit last week at mile 16/17, I was dreading the 20 miles. I knew that I would fall apart either at the same point as last week, or maybe even sooner because of the anticipation and whatnot.
Beautiful sunrise over the Blue Ridge Mountains on the way to Roanoke
Regardless, I suited up and we headed north to the Roanoke River Greenway for a new place to run to keep it fresh. It was a beautiful, busy morning, and we headed off for part 1 of our 20 miler. We decided to chop our run in half so we could meet our running posse in the middle because they were going to run there too, just later that day. So, 1 mile in, I panicked, realizing that we had left our GU and Huma in the car, even though we were just going to probably eat it when we hit the halfway mark back at the car anyway, but I was freaking out, so my lovely husband ran all the way back then came to catch up to me with our sustenance, which ended up giving him 22.1 miles. Show off.
Halfway selfie!
A group shot... sorry it's crooked, but I was running
Some of the hills we encountered
Anyway, I made it through the first 10 miles, no problems besides the moderate anxiety of forgetting something for my run and then being in a new strange place. We met up with our friends, and they were nice enough to slow down for me for the first few miles. After some serious hills on the way out and some serious hills on the way back on the second half of our run, I realized that I was going to do it. I kept running and running, and before I knew it, I had hit mile 17, still running. Then I came to mile 18, still running. Mile 19 flew past me and before I knew it, my watch beeped at 20. I couldn't believe it... it was so weird! I had completed the entire distance. The distance that I have been dreading for 12 weeks of my training.... done.
And not only was it done, but I had met my goal. I really try to not set time goals for my long runs because I'm really trying to up the distance, not the speed, but I still had a general number in my mind floating around. I wanted to maintain less than a 13 minute per mile pace, which put me at finishing at anything less than 4 hours and 20 minutes. Well I certainly did. I finished at 4:17:53!!!!!! Not only did I not hit a physical or emotional wall, but I managed to finish in the time that I wanted.
Post-run shenanigans
I have a friend who is training for a marathon as well, and I really like what she posted one day on Facebook:
I totally like it except for the fact that she is THAT AWESOME. Regardless, here is your food for thought this week. It has been inspiring me for the past few weeks, and these words will continue to inspire me throughout my training, I'm sure.
No, the title of this post in not referring to The Wall by Pink Floyd, or the Wall Street Journal or any of those other walls. The wall referenced in the title is talking about my personal wall. You know, that wall that you hit when you're running and you just can't run anymore. I had experienced what I thought was a "wall" in my other long runs around mile 10 or 11. I had no idea that my real wall was less like this:
and more like this:
Ok, so I totally mean that figuratively, not literally, don't worry. But allow me to elaborate.
You see, I was feeling awesome. We decided to take our long run this week at a trail we'd never run on before. Well, we've had two races there, but no training run or anything. We trekked to the Riverwalk Trail in Danville, VA, about an hour east of where we live. This trail was exciting and new, not to mention FLAT in comparison to our normal Dick and Willie trail. I was so excited! We took off and it was beautiful weather, cloudy and in the 60s. It was a perfect morning for a long run.
Pre-run photos
We ran through woodsy areas, then under some bridges, and all the while, in the first 5 miles I had maintained a 12 ish minute per mile pace, which is ideal for my long runs, which have been averaging out at about 13 or 14 minute miles. I was so excited! The only reason this changed was we decided to stray from our predicted route to run across this really cool bridge that went over the Dan River. We walked over the bridge a little leisurely while sipping some water and enjoying our GU. It was very nice, but it slowed down the pace to about a 14 minute mile. Then, I went right back to the 12 ish minute miles. I managed to maintain that once again until like mile 15 (with a short watch-stopping break to enjoy a PB&J).
Mile 3, feeling STRONG
Smushy gushy PB&J
Anyway, I hit the half marathon mark at 2:44, which is so much better than where it's been lately, pushing 3 hours. I was thrilled by this! And I was thrilled that I didn't have to use my inhaler until mile 10. All these things were going just amazingly.
Until my aforementioned wall... or as I like to think of it my crash-and-burn. We realized at about mile 16 that we were going to have to improvise to add some additional mileage. The trail was shorter than anticipated, so we would have to tack on some extra miles at the end. At mile 16, I began to slow down thinking of ways to add mileage to make it to 18.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
meets the Very Hungry Alfredo!
Once I hit mile 17, we could see our car across the park, and this is when the crash-and-burn situation occurred. I was falling apart. I was tired, I was frustrated, I was done. I fell completely apart. I could not go any further. We walked and walked just trying to get my Garmin to sing the glorious song of the heavens to let me know that we had made it to mile 18. It just wasn't happening. That mile was the longest mile I had ever gone in my entire life. I am pretty sure I was literally dragging my feet near the end when we were running in circles around the parking lot with a quarter of a mile to go. So, I ended up with a 13ish minute per mile pace, but that is the fault of miles 6, 16, and 17.
We got to eat at Golden Corral... Mr. Marathon was excited!
Once the watch beeped, I collapsed in the car and we made our way to Golden Corral for a victorious lunch. Despite my crash and burn and good attitude turned bad, I did it. I did it. I made it 18 miles, 15 of which, I actually did a pretty good job of maintaining a 12:48 pace per mile. That is something to be proud of. But mostly, I am happy that it's over. Until next weekend... where I have a 20 miler awaiting me....
Ok, so this past weekend was super busy and this week took off without me. I had a lot to blog about but I kept putting it off. Sorry!
Anyway, over the weekend I took my for real 16 mile run, despite the misleading alliteration from a previous week's post (Sweet 16 Minus 1 Plus 1 BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!). On Saturday, we set out on our separate routes-- my 16 miler and Mr. Marathon's undetermined distance, at his faster pace. The trail that we like to run on, the Dick and Willie, is 9 miles round trip, so my plan of action was to run it once the full length then go back to do 7 more. This was nice because I got to take a pit stop at the car and refill my water bottle and eat a PB&J that I had stashed for a mid-run picnic. It was not nice because going out on the trail is a lot of uphill, but then coming back is obviously downhill, and after already doing over half of my run, I really did not want to go back up those hills. But despite my slow pace and some persistent rain for the first 14 miles, I managed. I thought I was not alive anymore around mile 14.5, but turns out, I was! Mr. Marathon being the show-off that he is ended up doing 20, with the first 12 at his pace, then the last part with me. Even though we were moving slow, we did it!
Then on Sunday, we met with our new running friends. We have been running with this little posse for a couple of months now on Sunday mornings and it is so nice to have somebody to run with! I got left in the dust this Sunday because of the day before... you know... when I ran 16 miles.... which is officially the longest I've run???? (until this weekend.... gulp!) Anyway, I only managed 4, but the group was so sweet to run with me my 4 and then they took off on their remaining 6.
Part of the Sunday morning posse
So let me back up real quick and break this down for you. Over the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) we ran A LOT. I'm an elementary school teacher, so I have to show my work to prove it:
Mrs. Marathon did 16 miles on Saturday, then 4 more miles on Sunday. How many miles did she run altogether this weekend? 16+4=20
Mr. Marathon did 20 miles on Saturday, then 10 more miles on Sunday. How many miles did he run altogether this weekend? 20+10=30 How many miles did Mr. and Mrs. Marathon run combined? 20+30=50
Saturday was the day I had been dreading for 8 weeks. I have been semi-secretly working on a semi-secret mission for 8 looooong weeks and 161 looooong miles. I haven't wanted to announce it. I haven't wanted to jinx it. I haven't wanted to embarrass myself. I haven't wanted people to think I am any crazier than they already do. But now, I am starting Week 9, which is the halfway mark, so it's about time to make this known. I, Elizabeth Garcia, am training for a marathon. Like, 26.2 miles of crazy. Like for real for real, a full marathon. I have had this goal in the back of my mind since a year and a half ago. But something has always come up. This time, I have decided that no matter the excuses I can come up with (including my new-found asthma), I am going to run this marathon. No matter how slow I have to go. Which marathon? I'm glad you asked. The Savannah Rock and Roll in November is the race I have selected for my first. Wish me luck!
November 8, 2014!
Now that this grand announcement is out of the way, I can tell you about my weekend. This weekend was a busy one! Labor Day is always a fun weekend for me because Mr. Marathon and I usually are both off and ready to relax. This year, we were both off, but we hardly had time to relax! We got to visit with our trusty 4-legged companion (the dog we get to dog-sit when his humans are out of town) starting on Friday. Saturday was the day I had been dreading for 8 weeks. I had my longest run to date scheduled for week 8 of my training plan-- a 15 miler. I have been slugging through 10 and 12 milers, but I had yet to break the 13.1 mark... until Saturday. And I did it! Slowly and painfully, I made it through. Completing this 15 miler really gave me hope that I can do it. I have 9 more weeks of training to make it through, but knowing that I can go farther than I have before really encourages me! I feel like I actually can do a marathon. I know that 15 miles isn't quite 26.2, but I still have 9 weeks to build up to it!
We saw a tiny turtle on the trail
Mr. Marathon and Slits were enjoying themselves
We look a mess! Ok, well I do.
We celebrated our 15.02 mile, 3 hour and 34 minute run with Chick-Fil-A chicken biscuits! Yum!
Still smiling :)
For dinner that night to refuel, we had a delicious corn salsa and chicken pizza!
This picture is from last week, not this past weekend.
Sorry we didn't take any pictures of our 12 miler.
So, this post is entitled Motivation Monday. However, I am writing this today, Sunday. And the events that are discussed in this post occurred on Saturday. Totally confusing, but also irrelevant. I just wanted an alliterative title. Sorry, but accuracy must be sacrificed for the art of blogging.
Anyway, Mr. Marathon had typed up a whole big long post yesterday intended for Facebook, for the MHC Inspire page, which is the page for the local triathletes, runners, cyclists, etc. but I said, "WAIT. THAT WILL MAKE AN AWESOME BLOG POST." So he waited. And here it is:
"So I have been in a bit of a slump lately (since last week), it's been hard to get out and run since I have been sick. But the thing that started it was my marathon training plan, that I started last week! However today me and Elizabeth did a 12 miler! And I got to see a lot of people from our area that were out and about! That made me feel extra good, because of how hard they were working! It made me realize that I too can work hard, and that I may fall off my path but the important part is that as long as I get up and get going again I'll be ok. I wanted to thank all the people that decided to go out and exercise this morning, because you made a difference in my life and in my training!"
Again, this picture is from last week. Sorry. :(
I thought that this post was so amazing. He has been in a slump due to his breathing, followed by illness, and thrown in the mix here is a new job, and new classes starting up. Despite everything being overwhelming, he was excited to start his new training plan. However, the plan only lasted three days in full force. And in those three days, he was already feeling the effects of just about everything hitting him at once. I was no help either, due to a new school year starting and I got sick too! Oh, and last week, we attempted a 10 miler, which went horribly, terribly wrong. We thought we should sleep in, be well-rested and ready to go by 1 in the afternoon, thinking that 80 degrees isn't THAT hot. Psych! It was! We got overheated, dehydrated, and overall defeated. But stepping out on an ambitious 12 miler yesterday, and then seeing all of our fellow MHC Inspire folks out doing the same, AND having my dad join us for 10 of those miles (THE LONGEST HE HAS EVER RUN WHAAAAAT) really made us feel the motivation come back. Now, we just have to hold on to it for dear life for the next couple of months for something BIG we have coming up...! But for now, that's our secret! Mr. Marathon wants to stick to his training plan now that he has found one, and he plans to use one for the very first time! We'll keep you updated on how well that works. Wish us luck! Or send us some words of encouragement. Or both!!!
Speaking of training plans, we've also recently become involved in a Run for God program at a local church. Friends of ours are heading up the program, and we're helping in any way we can. This program is going to begin in a couple of weeks, and it's going to be awesome!
Want to try something new? Well how about trying it with GOD! Have a spiritual connection with yourself and others, and then connect with yourself with exercise that's only as challenging as you want it to be!
If you are interested in registering for this program, registration will be Tuesday night from 5-7 PM at the Martinsville YMCA and also the day of the first meeting (September 8 at 6 @ the Y), so come on out!!!!!
As promised, here is Part Two of Mr. Marathon's crazy busy weekend last week. On Saturday, he ran the Helgramite Hustle Mud Run, but then on Sunday, we ventured to Blacksburg, VA, for the Triadventure Summer Sprint Triathlon. Of course, he was going to participate, and I was going to spectate and take pictures. That morning was an early one. We woke up before 4 AM to be there around 6:30 to get set up for a 7:30 start time. Once we finally got there by way of some sketchy back roads in some serious fog, we parked (in a field....?) and walked a good distance to the transition area. There, Mr. Marathon got checked in, picked up his packet, got body marked, and got body marked again.... with the correct number. Then, he set up his transition area. Lucky for him, his rack was still empty so he got the nice spot at the end! He got to show off his nice new bucket this way. Once he got all his gear set up and ready, we hiked up the treacherous lawn of the country club to the pool. The reason the lawn was so treacherous was because it had rained like almost literally the entire week before. It was very muddy and hilly.
Mr. Marathon was number 99 (not 66... ahem.), which means he had some time to wait before he started. Once he got in, it took him a couple of laps to find his groove. Then, after he finished grooving through his 300 meters in the pool, he was off back down the aforementioned treacherous lawn and down the hill and by the tennis courts then back on the treacherous lawn (seriously this transition was like a quarter of a mile at least.... if not a half a mile!). His T1 was much faster this time around because he practiced transitioning from being wet from the pool to putting on his bike stuff the night before.
Bike out
He was ready to rock it out on the bike in about a minute and a half. He headed out for his 10 mile bike ride, which was a little treacherous as well due to the rain. (Can you tell that I am diggin' the word treacherous in this post? Sorry but there is just no other word to describe these conditions!) There were some pretty serious hills on the course, but overall, he felt like he did very well, considering that he had been practicing a lot with his new cycling shoes. Oh, and he rode 60 miles the weekend before. No big deal.
No time to waste!
Then when he came flying in on the bike, he quickly transitioned to the run. His T2 was super speedy! He changed his shoes, changed his shirt, and before he was really even finished changing, he was OFF! Then, after a few minutes, someone told me that the running course, although advertised as a 3.1 mile (5K course), was actually closer to 2.4? So after that, I realized that he would be coming in even sooner than anticipated so I scampered over from the transition area to the finish line, and lo and behold, not even 5 minutes later, here comes Mr. Marathon, prancing down the final hill and through the muddy, and yes you guessed it, TREACHEROUS finishing chute.
Overall, he was very pleased with his performance. My watch (I began timing him when he began the swim... he doesn't have a tri watch yet) said it took him 56 minutes and some change, but his final time said 58 minutes and some change, then they updated the times due to a timing issue, and it said 59 minutes and some change????? Also, he was awarded with 2nd place in his age group at the event, yet online, it says he got first place in his age group.... with his 59 minute time. Either way, it was faster than last time, and he did a fantastic job, especially after the mud run debacle of the previous day. And, he got to hang out with some great guys from the MHC Inspire triathlon team.
MHC Inspire
Mr. Marathon showing off his award!
We celebrated with the MHC Inspire team
at Cracker Barrel for some pancakes!
This past week, we also celebrated
4 years of being Mr. and Mrs. !
This past weekend sure was a busy one for us! On Saturday, Mr. Marathon hit the mud at the Helgramite Hustle Mud Run at the Smith River Fest in Martinsville. Because of all the rain from the previous days, the mud run was EXTRA muddy... in places that weren't really intended to be muddy. The more mud the merrier, though, right? Mr. Marathon was the reigning champ for the race, seeing as he came in first overall last year (READ ABOUT IT HERE!). But this year was a little more challenging, because of the extra mud caused by the rain as well as a couple of other factors.
First of all, we need to back up a week to last Sunday... a week before Mr. Marathon's busy weekend. After a Sunday morning training run with some friends, a bumble bee decided that it was in the mood for some Mexican. Kidding! But seriously. It stung Mr. Marathon, and he had never been stung by a BUMBLE BEE before. Wasps, yes. Yellow jackets, yes. Sweat bees, yes. But a bumble bee? Never! If anybody has told you that they don't sting, THEY ARE LYING. Because they do. And it did. It stung him right in the hand on his right index finger. It was totally painful when it happened, but the after effects were a little more serious. His hand swelled up to like twice its natural size and it was itchy and hot for a couple of days. After copious amounts of Benadryl and cortisone cream, his hand started to feel better (and look better).
Lining up to start
Now fast forward to Saturday. While running this mud run, Mr. Marathon was running and performing the obstacles just fine and dandy. Until after the first major uphill in the first half a mile, that is. That's when he started noticing something a little off. His breathing was affecting him at this point. His throat felt as though it was closing up, and he started wheezing A LOT. However, he is pretty good about controlling his breathing, which helped him to not panic while this was going on. He made the connection between this breathing issue and his bee sting after the run. After spending lots and lots of quality time in an allergy center (for all my testing) he considered maybe it was an after-effect of being stung, because he obviously had some kind of reaction to it. I think I'm going to chalk this one up to sympathy asthma because of me.
Climbing the cargo net
Splish splash... but he was NOT taking a bath!
The scene of the crime:
notice his soapy, slippery left hand!
But that's just one extra challenge he faced at the mud run. The other one is my personal favorite. There was a large slip-and-slide about halfway through the course. Mr. Marathon breezed down the slide looking strong and holding on to a close third place overall spot. When he got to the bottom of the slide, he put his hand down to slow himself down and prop himself up when all of a sudden, he popped up to take off running and something felt odd on his left hand. No, he didn't get stung by another bee, don't worry! But it's worse. Kidding. Kind of. Anyway, he felt that something was missing from his ring finger on his left hand. Yes, I'm talking about his WEDDING RING. He immediately turned around and raced back to the slide, which fortunately was still close by because he realized this pretty quick. As he was frantically looking for it, there was a photographer who also helped him dig through the mud (the same one that took that picture of him on the slide!). A good minute later the photographer found it! He slapped it back on his finger (tightly and cautiously, with love, of course) and balled up his fist tight for the rest of the race and he was off! However, by that point, he managed to make his way to fifth place and decided to just cruise and maintain his fifth place, which he did. Fifth place overall, but first place in his age group ain't too shabby considering everything he went through!
Smiling coming to the finishing chute....
despite everything
Some of the age group winners
Axton Fire Department had their trucks there to hose off participants
Ramiro sliding down
the slip and slide
On a more positive note, Mr. Marathon's brother, Ramiro decided to participate as well! This was his first 5K, let alone a 5K mud run. He had a great time participating, AND he won 3rd place in his age group! Wowie zowie! Speed must RUN in their genes... get it.... RUN? HAH.
Another positive note about Saturday was my dad ran this race as well. Even though he's run 5Ks and 10Ks and all that good stuff, he got to run a MUD RUN! Pretty awesome for an old man! Not to mention the fact that he placed first in his age group, AND he helped an older woman over an obstacle. A winner AND a gentleman!
That's my dad in the gray shirt!
Sunday was an eventful day for Mr. Marathon as well, but this post is long enough, so be on the lookout for Part II, coming soon!
I just love this picture. It shows Mr. Marathon's
good sportsmanship and great attitude. :)
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