Hey... this isn't a sprint!

This isn't even a marathon.

This is marathon TRAINING!

This week's lesson: it's a lot harder when it gets harder.

wtf? Last week I was a stud and ran four miles outside when it was less than 10 degrees outside. About 3 miles into the run I took off my scarf because I felt like I couldn't breathe well enough. Afterwards I realized that was a bad idea. My lungs burned and I couldn't catch my breath. But, I pushed on, and ran 7 miles the next day. That was a bad idea too. My runs this week have been crappy, and this morning I tried running the 6 mile run but ended up walking most of it. Anyway, it all made me really angry.

And both trainers told me that I needed to slow down, calm down, ease up, and get better. So what happens when you've dedicated 90 more days to running and you just can't? Marathon training isn't about just one awesome glorified day where you're tired but it's all worth it. It's having 3 more months to go, and worrying that it's all falling apart. It's looking at the previous 3 months, and not wanting to waste all that effort. It's getting a picture in the mail:

and realizing how far I've come, and how far I still have to go. Marathon training is seeing the forest AND the trees at the same time. It's not easy. It's falling short of completing a 6 mile run, but still believing/hoping/knowing that the 26.2 is possible.

Happy Monday!!

It's not all spandex and sweat around here. We're still making time for Cute.

My Parents Read this Blog

Training Week 2

yesterday's temp = 3F
today's run = 7.0 miles
last week's miles = 20
this week's miles = 20.5
next week's miles = 18

This week's thought: if marathon training isn't sexy, what IS sexy??

This is Kate O'Neill. She is an Olympic marathon runner. She finished third in the Chicago Marathon in 2007.

This is Gisele Bundchen. She is a Victoria's Secret model. A famous one.

I think I respect Kate more than Gisele. I think I'd rather have Kate's list of accomplishments instead of Gisele's money and fame. I think Kate is cooler. Is cooler sexier? Hmmm. I'd rather be Kate than Gisele. So maybe I'd rather be cooler than sexier. I can never be a Vic Secret model. I can be a marathon runner.

The ads have started pressuring people to get ready for 'bikini season'. The Resolutionists have begun to lose steam at the gym. I have run 60 miles in the last 3 weeks, and actually gained 3 pounds. I can't be in this to lose weight. I am just too darn hungry, and spend too much time planning the runs to worry about calories. So... sigh... I'm just running to run. Finish the 26.2.

There are 98 until April 30th.

Bi-Polar

Training Week 1

today's temp = 30F
today's run = 5.6 miles
last week's miles = 20
this week's miles = 19.6
next week's miles = 20.6

This week's thought: my trainers are insane.

I have trainers?? Sure. I have two "trainers". If you know me, you know who they are. If you don't, then let me introduce you to them: Trainer A (for Anal) has trained for 5 marathons and has finished 3 of them. He's currently trying to qualify to run the Boston Marathon, one of the country's most prestegious races. He has been known to say things like, "what angle to you hold your wrists at when you run?" and "if you don't do exactly everything I tell you to do, you are going to end up getting surgery on both feet by the end of the race."

Trainer B (for Balance) has run one marathon, and did so while drunk. He frequently says, "just put your shoes on and start running. The rest will sort itself out." Even if you don't know me, you probably can guess who Trainer B is.

Parts of me can relate to both trainers. I see the value of doing the research, tracking the miles per hour, adding up the calories and balancing out the healthy meals with the calories burned. Another part wants to be spontaneous and spur-of-the-moment, and I want to be the person who can step "out for a jog" and run 3+ miles without a real plan. I'm lucky that I have these two people in my life who can inspire me in the two ways I know I need to be inspired. I'm incredibly grateful to both.

Back to my original thought ("my trainers are insane")... now that I've typed all of that I realize that it's not they who are insane. I think it really might be me. Almost every day before I run I ask myself, "whose idea was this?!" and the answer always comes back in the mirror.

Gearing Up

-or-

Eso Si Que Es

Pre-training Week 5

today's temp = 22F
today's run = 6 miles
last week's miles = 19
this week's miles = 20
next week's miles = variable


Thought for the week: while wearing 3 layers of old ratty clothes does keep me warm, having the right gear on sure helps me feel like this is serious business. First of all, socks. Yes. Socks. Nike Dri-fit running socks. They're amazing. It's like someone is holding onto the arches of my feet every step I take. It's like wearing ace-bandages that are super comfy for the entire run. I leave them on for about an hour after the run to help reduce the swelling in my feet. Since they don't get sweaty, I don't ever mind. 


Secondly, my amazing brother, Jimmy, gave me Under Armour baselayer clothes. Electric blue shirt and black bottoms. I wore them for the first time today (you know, under the sweatpants t-shirts and sweat shirt). Uh-maze-ing. I'm not sure I really felt warmer, but I totally felt like a real runner. Whenever I got tired I'd look at the flash of blue sleeve and remember that I have real running clothes on and woot!! here I am! 


We have 15.5 weeks until the marathon. Sometimes that seems like a really long time. Sometimes it feels like there's no way I'm going to be able to run 20+ miles. Like, ever. 

With Very Little Ceremony

I've been thinking a lot lately about how we picked Sawyer's name. I only recently got comfortable with it. I mean, I've always liked the name, but I'd been wondering if it was going to fit him. What if, when he's 5, he really is an Adam or Gage (yeah, that was Stephan's)? I mean, you have 24-48 hours to pick a name that's going to stick forever... that's a lot of pressure and I'd been wondering if we choose wisely.

Then there are all the naming ceremonies that are celebrated around the world. I think every culture has one. My friend who is Greek told me about a naming ceremony they had for their son more than a year after he was born. And then, as if that isn't enough, there's a whole 'nother naming ceremony when the kid gets older (I'm thinking the whole rite of passage/confirmation/adolescent thing).

We don't remember our parents' picking our names. We just grew up with them and learned to deal. If we're lucky we attach meaning to our adult naming... but most of us don't.

So with all of this in mind, I started to cry on Christmas when Sawyer looked right at me and- for the first time in his life- said "Mama." It was like our own little naming ceremony for me. It wasn't just a random attachment of syllables like it was when he said Dadadadadada.... this was him looking at me, pointing to me, and giving me my new name. We might have more kids, but this one is the one who named me.

I'm blogging this so everyone can point to it in a few years when I wish he'd never learned how to say Mama. I'm not sure that day will come, but until it does, I'm going to savor this one.

In the Spirit

Orkut Scraps


[soundtrack: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas]

Me: You've been awake for 20 hours.

Him: Yep.

Him: Shut up!

Me: Did you just tell Bing Crosby to shut up?

Him: Not him, his background singers.

Me: What do you want at Caribou?

Him: A small mocha.

Barista: Is that all?

Him: How many shots fit in that?

Barista: It comes with 2.

Him: I need at least 4.

.......

Me: Look at this flier! It's for a metaphysical school.

Him: Uh huh.

Me: They have a 'Manifesto for Peace."

Him: You can take peace and shove it up your ass.

Barista: Small Moosed mocha?

Me: That's for this guy, right here.