My Marathon: Why hello wall, meet my face....weeks 8&9

My Marathon: Why hello wall, meet my face....weeks 8&9: Well it's been awhile. Life just gotten busy the last two weeks between running a half marathon, traveling alone with 2 little people, survi...

Why hello wall, meet my face....weeks 8&9

Well it's been awhile. Life just got busy the last two weeks between running a half marathon, traveling alone with 2 little people, surviving my first earthquake, and dodging a hurricane, my hands have been full. Needless to say I have never been able to juggle, so I had to drop the ball somewhere <insert ball here>.

After my week of being completely unmotivated I headed back to Fleet Feet to trade in my Brooks. I was fitted into a sweet pair of Nike Zooms. As soon as the expert brought out the box I quoted the Spartan Sister and said, "Doesn't Nike make crap running shoes?"  I was reassured that they wouldn't sell me "crap". It was actually pretty funny because he brought me several pairs of shoes and I really liked the crappy shoes. They were supportive, comfy, and not bad on the eyes like most road runners. I left the store confident and satisfied. I wish I could say that about the 13.1 that followed.

My plan was to run my 1/2 on Sunday, but my fly by the seat of her pants mother invited me and my girls to VA. As a stay at home mom, my schedule is pretty, well, wide open. I mean Monkey Joe's and story time aren't appointments that can't be met pretty much anywhere. Instead of leaving Monday, we bumped the date to Sunday. No biggie, but we made this decision moments after I purchased my go fasters. We promised my 3 footer (Baby M...really not a baby anymore at 27mths) a ride on the carousel in the mall after our trip to Mommy's shoe store, her second trip in 2 weeks. I normally carb load before my long runs with a homemade ravioli bake, but this meal would be served in the food court of the Sav Mall. I decided that Sabarro would be great substitute. I think my taste buds were more in charge than any runner's logic. A runner would have realized that a sodium filled meal wasn't the best choice, but the large slice of meat lover's pizza was SCREAMING my name...kkkkAAAAATTTTiiiiEEEEEE. A dedicated athlete would have hydrated their body, but I knew I was running 13.1. I opted for a large Pepsi, followed by a refill. It was better than good; it was awesome.

When I returned home one would have thought I would have gone straight to bed to rest my body for the big day. 12:30 a.m. I finally laid my head down. The second I hit the goose down, my 2 footer awoke. Cutting your 2 front teeth is tough. I got her nestled all snug in her bed and returned to enjoy what was left of my own sweet slumber. In what felt like moments later (approximately 1.5 hrs later) the 3 footer awoke screaming my other name, just like the pizza, mMmmMOOOOOMMMMyyyy. I kissed away the ghosts and goblins and curled up in bed, only to be greeted by my alarm. Ready to run????

I got up, got dressed, and headed out. Did I eat? Nope. Did I hydrate? Nope. I was on my way to victory. The run was long. The run was hot. The run was.....AWFUL!!! I have heard about "The Wall" before, but we have never met. Mile 12 we said "Hello". We then proceeded to hook up like college students at Madi Gras. His hands were all over me. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. My jaw hurt. My legs felt like lead. My body was done!!!! I crossed my imaginary finish line and thought "DOUBLE WHAT????" I began to feel defeated until I thought about my choices. I mean hello??? Sabarro?? Pepsi?? 3hrs of sleep?? The sodium I consumed sucked any resources my 3 hrs of sleep gave me. Idiot. Just plain dumb.

On an up side, my shoes were great. My feet felt great and my knee was 20 again. Those were the only two good things about that run. 

Week 9 I was in VA with the 'rents. I literally dodged natural disasters left and right, an earthquake and a hurricane!! I squeezed in two runs while nestled up to our nation's capitol. I did however miss my long run due to vacation mode and Irene. 

The race is 67 days away. It's crunch time. It's make it or break it. I was always a good crammer in college, but you can't cram for a marathon. Your body takes more than the mind. I am learning a lot about myself during this journey....I am my own worst enemy. And it is time to crush the quitter in me.

Weeks 8&9: 30.1 miles

Lessons learned: Old habits die hard, until you choose to change,

My Marathon: I still got it...week 7

My Marathon: I still got it...week 7: "After last week's 'Sinus Break 2011'(so NOT the same as Spring Break 2007) finding the motivation to tackle my short runs was VERY hard! I w..."

I still got it...week 7

After last week's "Sinus Break 2011"(so NOT the same as Spring Break 2007) finding the motivation to tackle my short runs was VERY hard! I was "gonna run" became a phrase I said several times after I hit snooze and listed a myriad of reasons not to pound any pavement. I did manage to get in two shorties this week adding up to a whopping 7 miles (should have done 12). The quitter in me would like to say "in my defense", but I will spare myself the long list of so called reasons and call myself out, just.plain.lazy. I won't lie, I kinda wished I never made this commitment. I kinda wished I had never blogged, not that I have thousands of followers, but sadly I have made myself publicly accountable. I didn't really want to do it any more. I mean who in their right mind wants to run 26.2 miles??? 4 years ago when I ran and 8:20 flat, ok maybe, today at 13:30, what am I thinking???? I must say it was a very inspiring week.

I did manage to remove myself from the couch to hit up Fleet Feet Savannah. I have always run in a neutral shoe, but after Spartan Sister and I chatted this week, she had similar knee pain that was caused by over pronating that developed over time. My body has been through a lot since my first visit to Fleet Feet. I have created and carried life x's 2 since my last visit (hell my feet grew an inch). So... I wasn't very surprised when the foot expert said "Oh yeah, you are doing a little something there." I was immediately fitted in a stability shoe. The very pale Kenyan told me he wasn't a doctor, but the pain I was describing should eliminate itself in about a week after sporting my new kicks. After a week of feeling demotivated I finally was excited to get back out there and conquer my 11 mile long run.

The alarm went off and I had a million and one reasons to get back in bed until Monday, but my super supportive husband convinced me otherwise. I laced up my new Brooks Adrenaline, strapped on my new Nathan water belt and headed out. I have shaved off a few pounds and by that I mean a cup size. I am looking slimmer, just not in all the right places ( oh yeah, I had to purchase some Body Glide, the name sounds kind of sexy...mmmm Body Glide. However I am using it to avoid chub rub from my arms, not the way I ever I imagined using a product called Body Glide). 11 miles here I come.

We had some nice sized storms the night before, so the weather was quite bearable. I was running and it was going pretty well. I got to about mile 4 when I really thought my toes were going to fall off. My knee was great, but my big fat feet were STRUGGLING! I had myself convinced that running back to the van, my sweet, sweet minivan, was the answer. After a short battle with the quitter and the winner I forged ahead, willing to sacrifice my lower phalanges if needed. I have a secret guilty motivator. His name is Meatloaf. "AND I WOULD DO ANYTHING FOR LOVE...BUT I WONT DO THAT", I carried on. I was glad I did, just a few moments later a truck FULL (ok, just 2) of young college boys drove by, rolled down the window and gave this fat footed, flat chested, mama of two a "hoot". Fuel for the fire. I was amped. Run on mama, run on.

This scenario would have been great if I were in the last leg of my run, but I still had 7 miles to go. 7 miles to play it all out. It occurred to me that these boys may have seen my performance last week. I may have forgotten to mention last week that as I was running I got nosey. I thought I saw one of neighbors and got a bit distracted. One second I was running trying to look all professional and fit and spy on their AM activities, the next I am air born, turned around, and landing in the dirt. Busted it, on a major stretch of road in my humble little Boro. I immediately jumped back up and kept going. I was laughing. I wasn't hurt, well my pride was majorly bruised, but physically I was fine. It was about 45 seconds after the hoot that it occurred to me I was steps away from my blunder. These college cuties may very well have been revisiting the site they saw last week "That's the chic who busted her ass!!!!", after all I am running right in front of a grease haven, hangover remedy, ridden strip on a Sunday AM. Chances are I have seen these boys and they have seen me.

I finished this week's run with my pride intact. I battle my 1st 1/2 marathon next weekend. I have mapped it, and I am ready to go. After this week I go full force with Hal Higdon's training schedule. I am terrified. I can't even fathom running 18 miles in a few weeks, but just a few short weeks ago I was only running 5 feeling the same way about 10 and today I finished 11. This (pardon my french) this shit is getting real and fast.

Week 7: 18 miles
Lesson learned: Don't try to keep up with or worry about the "Jones'", you will land on your ass.

My Marathon: And the journey begins here...

My Marathon: And the journey begins here...: "I am not an athlete. I am not a writer. I am a stay at home mom with a 2yr old and and 8mth old. I guess some may call me a rabbit by the wa..."

My Marathon: Week 1

My Marathon: Week 1: "So I have selected to use Hal Higdon's 18 week training program for the big event. Three short runs a week and one long run. It doesn't seem..."

My Marathon: Like a hamster on a wheel....(week 2)

My Marathon: Like a hamster on a wheel....(week 2): "Week 2 proved to be almost as eye opening as week 1. Did I mention to you that during the week my short runs are done in my neighborhood, my..."

My Marathon: A sweatband and a minivan...week 3

My Marathon: A sweatband and a minivan...week 3: "The 'dirty south' really isn't all that dirty. Muggy, sweaty, and down right stupid hot is probably the more accurate description. Week 3's ..."

My Marathon: Mmmmm bacon in the city...week 4

My Marathon: Mmmmm bacon in the city...week 4: "Staycation=no motivation!!! Man not going anywhere can be exhausting!!! The hubs, me, and my sprouts spent the last 9 days just hanging out ..."

My Marathon: 22 vs 32.....week 5

My Marathon: 22 vs 32.....week 5: "It's hard to believe that in 3 short months I will be lacing up and hitting the pavement for 26.2. The big race just happens to me my 33rd b..."

My Marathon: I think my children hate me...week 6

My Marathon: I think my children hate me...week 6: "Becoming a mother was a pretty awesome experience. When I had Baby M I knew I was born to be a mommy. At 4 weeks she slept nearly 12 hrs a ..."

I think my children hate me...week 6

Becoming a mother was a pretty awesome experience. When I had Baby M I knew I was born to be a mommy.  At 4 weeks she slept nearly 12 hrs a night. She was such an easy baby, happy, healthy, and down right adorable. I balanced family and work like a pro and life was breezy. When we found out we were pregnant again in such quick succession (almost 9mths to the day) we thought to ourselves, we have got this. Famous last words.

I think somewhere there is a quote by Bill Cosby saying that parenthood really begins when you have more than one child. I don't think I have heard truer words. When baby E came on the scene it became clear that the best financial decision for our family was for me to quit my job and stay home and hand raise our precious commodities. All this talk about "the hardest job you'll ever do", what???? This will be a piece of cake....

In the last 9 months I believe I have slept through the night a total of 3 times. You see Baby E was VERY different from her big sister. Until E was about 7.5 mths old she would greet me every 2-3 hrs for a quick drink and a snuggle. Lots of folks would say "Big deal. You stay at home. Take a nap". Ya that old phrase "sleep when she sleeps" well that only applies to one kid!!!  As soon as my newborn baby slipped into slumber, my tumultuous toddler was ready to GO! My easy, breezy Baby M had overnight morphed into an octopus with ninja like speed ready to attack, explore, and challenge EVERYTHING! I was so excited when Baby E finally began sleeping through the night. I remember the first time it happened. I opened my eyes to see a reasonable hour flashing back at me. I took a deep breath and rolled over to continue to enjoy this peaceful serenity when BAM!!! Utter panic fills my veins, WHY DIDN'T THE BABY WAKE ME UP??? I run into to check on her (like every mother does the morning of this milestone) to check to see if she is breathing. I found her sleeping snugly in her crib. That night I looked forward to weeks and months of silent slumber to return once more, but in the wee hours of the morning a storm hit. My little toddler tornado began waking in her sister's place. And the cycle continues...

It's been really fun here the last few months. On many occasions my husband awakes to find me wrapped up in a snuggie spooning with a life size Dora doll on my daughter's bedroom floor. I get up, get to bed, and the baby wakes up or it's time for my short run. Needless to say sleep deprivation has become just a part of my life, kinda like stretch marks. Ain't nothing you can do.

As if the long nights weren't enough, another fun thing about 2 kids is TWICE the germs! It's like being tag teamed by the Williams' sisters. One's coughing, the other's sneezing, I am hopping around the court hoping to dodge what they are serving, but with my sleep deprived immune system I was bound to get struck. Struck down, summer sinus infection 2011, yuck, yuck, yuck.

My short runs were nonexistent this week. I decided to skip Tues and Wed b/c I just didn't have the energy. I attempted Thurs, but the skull crushing headache at 5am kept my shoes at my bedside. I decided to skip all my short runs and tackle 10 miles on Sunday. It was actually a nice break for my knee which had been acting up here and there for awhile now. The first mile was full of lots of loogies and sniffling, but I was back into the swing of things by mile 2. During my long runs I often replay the weeks events in head and even though it had been a really long, tiring, germ filled week, it had also been a pretty awesome one too.

My 9 month old took her first steps this week. Watching my kids take their first few steps, well there is really nothing that compares to that. The pride I have felt both times is just indescribable. The Tornado, although still rips and tears all over the place, is now ripping and tearing with perfect little manners!!! They are growing up so fast and becoming these remarkable little people. I was actually a little grateful for the summer sinus slowdown, I got to watch my girls just be them. No schedule, no appointments, no errands to run, they were just two little babies who literally changed overnight. My infant will soon be a toddler and my toddler a preschooler.

During the last mile of all my runs I (like I assume most 1st timers do) I imagine this is mile 26. I envision who will be there cheering me on. Will I raise my hands up? Kiss to the heavens? Do an Irish jig? And I don't know for certain what I will do that day, but I do know one thing to be true, I will be running into the arms of the two most incredible creations on this planet. And that is what makes this journey so sweet.

Week 6: 10 miles
Lesson learned: Some people see their kids as hurdles. I see mine as the finish line.