What you do with the other 23 1/2 hours out of your day is up to you...

Many of you may have seen this video already...if not, watch it now. It's worth the 9 minutes. (Copy and paste link into browser.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo

Interesting way to look at it, huh? In case you haven't heard that exercise is THE single most important thing you can do for your health...well, it is. Not only to reduce your risk of practically every disease, but also to add years to your life. Do you want to die 5 years before you had to? It's been proven, as the doc in this video shows us. We've all heard that we should exercise for 30 minutes each day. Thirty minutes is a blink of an eye in the course of your whole day, and it doesn't have to be fancy...walking will suffice. I challenge you to find one person you know who couldn't do this...even prison inmates can meet the 30 minute requirement.

But...in case you STILL might think you don't have time for exercise, read below...

"Fat Burn" Versus "Cardio" Settings

One of the FAQ's I get as a health/fitness specialist is, "Which is a better program to do on the treadmill/elliptical? Fat burn or cardio?" Oh, how that "fat burn" setting is so deceiving.

If you've ever tried the "fat burn" program on a machine, you know that it was at a fairly light intensity. I'm guessing your heart rate and breathing never got to a point where you felt challenged. Shape magazine's December issue addressed this topic and summed it up very nicely.

"As long as you're moving, you're burning calories...But the harder you work, the higher that number will be....Preset cardio programs on most stationary bikes, treadmills and ellipticals shed calories by working with intervals--sandwiching challenging periods of training between easier ones. Fat-burn sessions, on the other hand, typically keep you going at a consistent pace and exertion level, but for a longer period of time....To get the biggest bang for your buck, choose the program that gets your heart rate up and keeps it there." Shape, December 2011, pg. 18.

So why do they label it "fat burn" if that isn't true? The confusion comes in because people have heard that when you are working at a lower aerobic intensity, most of the calories you burn are coming from fat. That is absolutely true. Almost 50% of the calories shed during lower intensity cardio exercise are from fat, which is a high ratio. However, you aren't burning very many total calories. Think of it like this: On the "fat-burn" setting you may burn 50 calories, 50% of which are fat, so you've burned 25 fat calories and 25 calories from sugar sources in your body. On the "cardio" setting, for the same amount of time, you may burn 100 calories, and say only 30% of them were from fat...that's still 30 fat calories PLUS 70 additional calories. Easy math.

If I could personally re-label all the machines in the gym to say "beginner mode" instead of "fat-burn," I would.

Light at the end of the tunnel...or at the beginning of the year, however you want to put it.

In light of the last blog post, we are rolling out a new personal training program that I am super excited about, which will both enhance what we're currently offering to our clients as well as open up more time in my schedule. (I'm excited enough to talk about it on my personal blog!) This is a program that other sites within the NIFS corporate world have successfully pulled off and recommended to me.

Our training program has evolved tremendously in the 3 years that I've been here. When I first started, we offered 1-on-1 training, but not many people knew about it, or else didn't take advantage of it. Starting in January 2009, we put a big push behind personal training, reiterating that it was a FREE service to employees, and from there, it took off. (Shoot, I would take advantage of that too!) Over the past 3 years, my client list has only grown...rarely anyone decides to quit their sessions, but new people are always interested. (At least I know they like me, right?!) In January of 2011 we had to cap people's sessions to one time per week, which helped open up space for new people. However, we're setting new records for the numbers of clients that my co-worker and I each have, and a wait-list of at least 10 people to top it off. (Which will only expand with New Year's resolutioners!) So, starting in January 2012, we are rolling out a new program called the Personal Fitness Quest, which limits personal training to a 12-week experience. While is is a limited amount of time spent with a trainer, it will be a more focused, more goal-oriented, and more include a more scientific approach. Week 1 is a pre-fitness assessment getting all the baseline measurements. Weeks 2-10 are training programs that start from the very foundations of strength training, progressing up to H.I.T. intervals and plyometrics by the end. Week 12, then, is a post-fitness assessment, so we will be capturing numbers (and hopefully seeing improvement) in just a short 3-month period. 12 weeks sounds like a short amount of time to be comparing pre and post assessments, but then again, in 12 weeks if you aren't making ANY progress, you've wasted a significant amount of time.

One problem I've identified with our current personal training program is that our clients, generally speaking, are less motivated than what they could be, because these sessions are guaranteed for them. There is no end date is sight, so it's just a given that they see me on their designated day/time, and even if they don't make improvements, they've got these sessions booked a year in advance. We're bringing back the intentional exercise and showing them that this time is to be valued and used to make major strides towards their goals. (We have clients who really do work their tails off and have shown major improvements, so I'm only speaking in general terms.) After the 12 weeks spent with a trainer, each client must spend at least 6 weeks on their own before being added back to the wait list. These 6 weeks will enable us to see new people who have not yet even had one session, and it will be forcing our clients to take total responsibility for their own fitness. After all, we're not teaching dependency. And it's not like we're throwing them into the deep end and saying, "Swim!" We're currently working on different tools to leave with our clients to make sure they're scheduling their exercise, staying accountable, and preventing injury while on their own.

Now the perks for us :) More quality time spent with our clients and a chance to revisit their new or original goals. More time to spend on our other job roles when we eventually limit our client list to somewhere between 10-15 Personal Fitness Quest-ers. While I don't love admin work (who does?), there is a LOT of it that has been pushed aside lately, and that can't be the norm. Not only do I have certain job requirements that I need to fulfill, but it also leaves me with a nagging sense of unfinished work when I leave for the day. The other thing to remember, is that in a corporate setting, I am not just a personal trainer. There is a whole population of the company that must be reached through other avenues: health literature, health fairs, smoking cessation, nutrition incentives, periodic health screenings, etc. Once you factor in the time it takes for planning and marketing of these programs, group fitness, and weekly admin/managerial work, you simply can't be spending more than 20 hours of your week doing personal training. Trust me, I've tried!

Our clients have taken the news pretty well. Of course they are all slightly bummed about spending 6 weeks or more on their own, but they know they have been spoiled with this free service, and they also see how I run through my day from appointment to appointment almost like it's an 8 hour workout! I've actually had clients ask me if I need a water or bathroom break before we start our sessions! So to refer back to my last blog post, when I feel more balanced at work, less stressed, and have ample time to plan for each individual appointment, I can do what I do better. I can bring my fresh face to their session with all the motivation and dedication they deserve, whether they're paying me or not. That's what it's all about for me too...the face time (and I don't mean the iPhone app!) that brings the immediate gratification of helping someone in my own way.

The Irony of the Healthcare Industry

I've been at my current job for a little over 3 years now. All jobs are ebb and flow with workload and demand from your clientele, but when working at a corporation whose growth (both with physical space and employee population) is always on the rise, the work load just flows, flows, flows. I look around at our department: I know I'm always busy--my weeks are scheduled with appointments to the extent where I end up with about 2 total hours of free time spread all throughout the week. By "free time," I mean unscheduled time to work on other things that have been neglected. The health fitness specialist (HFS) position, who reports directly to me, has had two staffing turnovers this year, and each of those brand new employees starts immediately with a full-plate, as they take over the prior HFS's client list and group fitness classes. Those poor girls would probably never believe that when I first started in this role, our team had plenty of down time. Oh, how times have changed. Our nurses are overworked, either constantly seeing patients for extensive new hire exams that our company requires or working on injury/illness cases. From there, the work spills over into our admin and support team. Truthfully, we all need a duplicate of ourselves to split our workload with.

Being a healthcare professional doesn't make us any less prone to job stress. It's true that we may have better outlets of dealing with that tension, but we fall suspect to it, regardless. The concern is when the job stress comes out, inadvertently, in our interactions with customers. Speaking for myself, I've had to be really careful with my responses when I get requests for new personal training appointments or new member orientations. Practically every time I sit back down at my desk, I see a membership application that a new member has dropped off. So, the thought running through my head is "oh geez...another one." I do new member orientations so often that I'm beginning to sound like a broken record (again, since we have an ever-growing employee population, the gym does too). I have to remember that this is (usually) a brand new employee who is excited about a new chapter in life: new job, new fitness routine, new goals, and I need to be there as a welcoming face and show my interest in getting them started and introducing them to all the fantastic programs we offer (those genuine feelings are within me, I promise!).

Same with personal training...when someone contacts me about setting up personal training session, the choices of reactions inside my head would be either screaming, rolling my eyes, or telling them to wait a year until I'm more free. But then I instantly remember that sending even slight messages of not being able to make time for a potential client or neglecting to come across like a motivated personal trainer is dampening the excitement they have of the goals they come to me with. Asking for help from a trainer is the first step from them--sometimes a courageous step, depending on the individual, and the worst thing we can do as a healthcare professional is come across as anything less than enthusiastic to work with them...honored that they are seeking out OUR expertise and sometimes taking a leap of faith to trust our judgement calls. In the larger picture, they are giving us all job security, after all!

I know I'm beyond blessed to say that I enjoy my job and that on most days it truly is fun. I have an awesome team of co-workers that make the best of our crazy schedules and are all team players. But, when I'm practically running out of the gym at the end of the day, avoiding making eye contact with anyone so they can't stop me with questions, paperwork, a lost locker key, etc. and then go home only to think about my to-do list as I'm falling asleep...that's the problem. And guess what: this is our supposed slow time of year.

New Heights of Fitness

Oh, hi blog. It's been a while since I wrote, but mainly because things right now are kind of routine in my fitness life. Just pulling myself out of my post-Thanksgiving turkey hangover, and trying to maintain throughout the month of December amongst all the Christmas parties. Other than my normal weekly schedule of group fitness classes, I've been maintaining my weight lifting and also running 1-2 times per week. I haven't done anything over 6 miles since the marathon.

I did try the thing I've always been saying I wanted to experience...indoor rock climbing. Chad and I both randomly had a Tuesday afternoon off work last week, so we dug out our Groupons to Climb Time that we purchased back in the summer. I've always heard what a good workout that climbing is, and after having done it myself, I concur!! I was in the middle of my first venture up the wall, probably about 4 feet from the top, and even though I was so close, my arms were shaking, my shoulders were burning, and I had to ask Chad to lower me down. I think part of it must have been nerves from getting used to the height and the feel of how to stay steady on the rocks. There's a big trust factor involved when someone is holding your rope and you are standing on a rock so small it's more like a pebble. Each climb after that was a fairly easy trip to the top, and I was much better at it than I thought I would be. I will admit that we purposely only did the "beginner" routes. There were rock paths marked in black tape that designated the easier climbs where you had a rock for right hand, right foot, left hand, left foot all the way up. I completed all of the black routes, so my goal for the next trip is all of the white routes, which is the next step up in difficulty level. While upper body strength is definitely a huge factor, as much as you can use your legs the better. My trick was to find the highest rock that I could grab onto with my hand, then use my legs to push up to that point.

I had done a pretty in-depth upper body workout the day before, so it's hard to tell entirely what was due to the rock climbing, but when the muscles in your forearms are sore for the next two days, you can bet it wasn't from the shoulder presses you did in the gym. Talk about functional fitness of pulling your own body weight! We tried some of the inverted walls where you literally are hanging on my sheer upper body strength--I didn't make it too far up those. You might think that it can't be that great of a workout when you're constantly switching off with your partner, but I found I needed those minutes to let my arms and heart rate recover.

I laughed at myself on one climb where the last rock that was available to pull yourself to the top had an impossible grip. I reached for it, but there was no way to hang on, so as soon as I lifted my other hand off the wall, I instantly slipped (well, more like slipped and then the rope flung me backwards into the wall. THAT left a mark.) I was complaining about how there was no way to grip that last rock because the ledge on it was facing sideways...then the thought hit me, wait, in real rock climbing it's not like they give you these irregular shaped knobs to hold onto every couple feet!

I can't wait for our next trip!

Osteo-what?? But I'm only 26!

Bone density is not something you hear a lot about in the exercise world. We harp on blood pressure, cholesterol, etc., but most poeple think low bone density and osteoporosis only affect old women. Wrong. It's not something that doctors regularly screen for either, so take it upon yourself to have this screening done if you get the opportunity, say at a health fair.

We recently had a bone density screening at work offered by St. Vincent. They perform a scan of your heel which shows your bone mineral density (BMD). The lower your bone density, the higher your chance of bone fractures, breaks, etc. I will admit, I know that my diet is lacking in dairy, so therefore probably calcium, but I was still shocked that out of our whole department, I had the lowest bone density of anyone who was tested! Mine was low enough to be classified as osteopenia--the warning stage leading up to full-blown osteoporosis. Bone density reaches its peak around the age of 30, and from there decreases throughout the rest of life...and I'm only 26 now!

First of all, had I not happened to squeeze in this screening, I would have never guessed or known...so good thing I did! As I was reading through the risk factors, the only ones that applied to me were that I am female, caucasian, and that my diet is lacking in calcium....so only two of which I can impact. I'm not sure if my family genetically has low BMD, so that is one thing I can check into. Since I've been logging my food in My Fitness Pal recently, I ran a report to see how much of my recommeded daily value (RDV) of calcium I was getting (which for women my age is 1,000 mg per day). On most days, I was falling between 40-60% of my RDA. Not good!! I saw 2 days, where my calcium intake was through the roof--like around 110-120% of my RDA. When I investigated further to see what I ate on those days that boosted my calcium so much, I found that both times, a Starbucks latte was what did the trick!!

I have been making a more conscious effort to include dairy in my diet in the past few days. Other sources of calcium include things like almonds, broccoli, which I eat very often, but just not enough apparently. I am going to start taking a calcium supplement as well, but you just really never know how much of the vitamins/minerals that you take are actually being absorbed by the body. For instance, I've known for a few years that my iron is low-- I rarely pass the "test" to be able to donate at blood drives due to low iron. So, I talked to a dietician friend who told me that if you take iron and calcium at the same time, the iron is blocked. So what things block calcium? From my research lately, I've learned that drinking any kind of cola--diet or not--can block calcium absorption. I woudn't say I have a lot of diet coke, but 2-3 per week would be average. I also learned that a way to test your supplement or multi-vitamin is to drop it in 6 ounces of water. If it doesn't dissolve within 30 minutes, that means your body isn't going to absorb it all. Typically, the chewable or gel vitamins are the most effective in this regard.

My only other thought was, I wonder if all this marathon training had any negative impact on my bone density? We're always taught that resistance exercise and activity that includes impact will help increase BMD, but marathon training is obviously beyond just fitness. I have yet to find any correlation here, so I'm sure it was a pre-existing condition.

My takeaway from all this is that I now have permission to eat more ice cream and make afternoon Starbucks runs :)

What to do with your collection of race medals

Do you ever wonder what to do with your race medals? Sure, some of them are meaningful and worth keeping, but there comes a point where you have collected several, and you don't feel sentimental about every single one of them. Unless you have a trophy room, you may find that your race medals are just stashed in odd places-- say, the jeans drawer of your dresser, like mine.


I recently heard about the organization "Medals 4 Mettle." You can donate your race medals and they are then passed on to kids with chronic illnesses or diseases as rewards for making it through stressful treatments, say chemotherapy. Check it out! www.medals4mettle.org/index.php

Now, for those of you who may be super-sentimental (the scrapbooking types), and you can't bear to part with your medals, even for a good cause, I've come across some cool ways to display them. If you run races in several cities, like I want to start doing, check out this idea!

Runners: Do more than just run!!

I've said this so many times that I sound like a broken record, but it's worth repeating once more. As a runner, the worst thing you can do for your training, for your appearance, for your entire body's systems, is to JUST RUN.

Every now and then, I come across an article that makes the Hallelujah chorus play in my head, and this was one of them. This article perfectly sums up all the pifalls and myths of running. Definitely worth the read: http://articles.elitefts.com/articles/training-articles/women-running-into-trouble/

Since the article explains in detail how just running will NOT shave off fat, will NOT guarantee a slim, sleek physique, and furthermore, will NOT automatically keep your metabolism on the rise, I won't say anything more on those points. What I will say is that strength training needs to become a runner's best friend. Why?

-With extreme amounts of running, i.e. marathon training, you can whittle away at your muscle if you aren't careful. You are burning a lot of calories, and (assuming you don't binge eat) you could very well lose weight. It starts with unnecessary body fat, but make sure that the pounds you may lose during running programs are the right kind. Have your percent body fat measured by a professional, ideally through the skinfold method, underwater weighing, or Bod Pod. Bioelectric impedence (i.e. the machine or scale with the metal strips where you grip it and it spits out a number) is not as accurate. The importance here is to track the breakdown of fat weight versus lean body mass weight. That way, you know the truth behind the pounds on the scale. I personally had my percent body fat tested before the training, halfway through, and 4 days post-marathon. My numbers were: 14.9%, 14.2% and finally, 13.6%--exactly what I was hoping to see. Obviosuly, overweight people should hope to see a decrease in their percent body fat, but with those of us at our ideal body, the goal should be that our percent body fat will either drop slightly or remain equal. My weight was the same each time I tested--there were weeks in between testings where my weight was way under normal for me, but could have been due to dehydration or coming off the heels of a long run. More importantly, the breakdown of my fat pounds versus lean fat pounds stayed the same, meaning I never lost muscle.

-Secondly, strength training = making your muscles stronger = making your muscles faster. All runners, but especially those looking to decrease their race times need to build up all the running muscles (quads, hamstrings, glutes, core). Why don't people grasp this? I have one friend in particular who has completed several half-marathons, always hoping to break 2 hours, but never does. After his last failed attempt, he came to me and said "Ok, I've got to try something new." I told him that strength training was the missing link, and even gave him a program of exercises. Never once saw him do any of them, although he was out running probably twice as much as I was all summer. Guess what...his last half-marathon time was 2:08. What does it take to convince people?

-Last, but certainly not least, resistance training strengthens the joints, and makes them better equipped for running. Stronger hips/knees/ankles and surrounding muscles lead to fewer injuries. Plain and simple.

Runners: if you already know these truths, TELL YOUR FRIENDS!

What's Next?

I called my grandma the day after my marathon to fill her in on my news. At the end of the conversation, she said "Are there times where you can just hardly believe how well your life has gone according to plan? You worked hard in college and had several job options waiting for you at graduation. You said you would like to buy a house after two years of renting, and you did. You must be in great health to even think you could sign up for a marathon. Does it all just hardly seem real?" Of course any grandmother thinks their firstborn grandchild can do no wrong, but honestly, she's right. Sometimes I'm amazed at how great I have it. So amazed in fact, that all throughout my life, I've had this lingering scare that something really bad is bound to happen at any point. Don't get me wrong--I've had my fair share of trials to work through, but when I look at people around me, even people within my own family, I've led a charmed life.

Finishing my marathon has been surreal. They say that .1% of the world's population has completed a marathon. (I just checked that stat to make sure it's still true--a recent estimate says that .13% have completed it, but that's not taking into account how many of them were repeats.) Whatever that small percentage is, I've officially joined them. Going back to work today made me feel like a celebrity--all of my clients knew about this weekend, so they asked me about it, then other people overheard and started congratulating me, so I really felt on top of the world.

At the close of a major phase of my fitness life, I am forced to think about what my next goal will be. While I do intend on backing off the running for awhile (just in time for holidays and colder weather!), I need to guard myself against staying in that downtime for too long. While my job certainly keeps me in shape, that alone won't cut it.

Triathlons have never appealed to me, mainly because of the swimming aspect. My idea of swimming is a quick dip just to cool off in the middle of a sunbathing session. There is also so much equipment involved in triathlons--wet suits, road bikes, etc. Things like mudathlons, urbanathlons and adventure races don't really peak my interest either, although I think they are very cool things. I'm just a runner at the core.

I've mentioned that I would like to start running other half-marathons either in different states or other ones in Indiana that I haven't done yet. I've officially decided I'm not running the Mini this May. While it is a major attraction for runners, after 3 times, it gets old. There are more exciting races I would rather spend time and money on. I want to map out my runs for 2012, almost making them into trips, and possibly planning other fun things in those particular cities. I would like to improve upon my half-marathon time, as well. An 8:30 pace will be my new goal for that distance.

The biggest goal for anyone's fitness is simply to have a goal. Realistic, specific, measurable, time-bound goals. It doesn't have to be anything crazy--maybe 5 real push-ups on your toes. Or running a race as small as the Drumstick Dash 2.3 mile version. Make a goal. Don't be stagnant.

I'll Always Remember the 5th of November!

For the past few months, I've been saying that November 6th would be one of the happiest days of my life. Well, I think November 5th at 12:45pm kicked it off. And the feelings of relief, accomplishment, life satisfaction, physical strength (and sore knees) has spilled over into today.

Except for waking up at 4am and never falling back asleep, I got a good night's rest on Friday. Saturday morning was brisk and chilly, but not nearly as cold as it could have been. Honestly, the nervousness never really kicked in at all. Usually those pre-race jitters in the corral are the worst, but this time I was relaxed and ready to start. It definitely helped that my friends Katie and Drew were there with me--I think anytime you have someone there to chat with either before a race or during, you'll feel more relaxed and not think about the crazy fact that you PAID MONEY to be shivering in the cold, at 7am on a Saturday morning, about to run for 4+ hours.

My overall pace was 10:45 min/mile, giving me a finish time of 4h 41m. I think it's funny when you tell people your finish time, and they tentatively ask, "And were you happy with that?" Almost like they wait to congratulate you until they know that you are personally satisfied with that time. So, yes, I am thrilled! My last long training run, the 23 miles, was at an average pace of 11:14, so to shave off 30 seconds per mile, AND to run 3 miles further, was great in my eyes. If you look at the splits between my first and second half, they are almost dead even. The first half was 2:19, and the second half was 2:21. My friend Dan told me that the winner of the marathon was a whole 15 minutes slower during the second half than the first, so I felt accomplished to know that my overall pace was very consistent. What those splits don't tell you is that within the second half of my race, my pace varied a LOT. Anywhere from 11:18 to 9:52, which will be explained later. I'm proud to say that my fastest mile was the last one!

I have to say, I felt that my training prepared me well for the marathon. If I haven't made it clear already, Jeff Galloway is THE man. The only thing I still question is how he says that your race pace will be 2 whole minutes faster than your training pace--for someone with my "magic mile" time, he predicted I should be training at a 12-min pace. But then, his estimate for my marathon pace was 9:52--where does that come from?? Good thing I didn't set out with that goal in mind. Even if that was possible for my body, I think I probably would have felt terrible during the race and missed all the cool parts because I was pushing too hard. Overall, I would recommend Galloway's programs to anyone.

Since a marathon is quite an experience, and it's overwhelming to describe everything that goes on in 4.5 hours, I'm going to sum it up by the high and low points...

Lows first:
1. I have NEVER had this happen during a run, but from pretty early on, my left arm was aching. Newbie runners fall into the trap of tightening their shoulders or holding them up too high when they run, which will make them ache after so many miles of arm swinging. I haven't had that happen in ages, let alone in just one arm. My left shoulder was getting more painful by the minute, almost like a nerve pinch back in my shoulder blade, and traveling all down my arm. My hand was swollen and red--both hands were at first because of the cold temps, but the right one warmed up and was fine--not the left. I got really concerned around mile 9-10 when my hand was practically going numb. I would squeeze it with my other hand and couldn't feel a thing, but my fingerprints would leave indents in the hand, it was that swollen. It eventually subsided, but at the end of the race, as soon as I stopped running, my shoulder KILLED. Just goes to show you, the things that happen during races are sometimes things you couldn't prepare for! I'm just thankful it was my arm, not my leg, so although it was uncomfortable and painful, it didn't affect my speed.
2. Somewhere around mile 14 I hit a wall mentally. Maybe because we had just passed the halfway mark, and as exciting as that was, it was only halfway. It also coincided with 2 miles worth of south on Meridian Street with lots of hills and pavement that was torn up from road construction. That's where the 11-min miles come in. I hadn't used my iPod at all until then, but I suddenly needed it.

Now all the highs:
1. Could the weather have been any more beautiful or perfect for a marathon?! October is a fickle month for running, but November is even more so. It just as easily could have been cold and rainy all day long, but instead it was pure sunshine and a temperature in the mid to high 50's by the time I finished.
2. Having friends to run with. After always running half-marathons alone, I have to say that the company was a welcome change for a full marathon. Even though the 3 of us all split up eventually and had different ending times, over half of the race was spent together.
3. Unexpectedly seeing my husband cheering at the corner of Kessler and College just before mile 13. The race route passed this corner which is just about 2 blocks from my house. (Tempting to just run home and stay there!) We thought for sure Chad would have gone back to bed the second he dropped the 3 of us off downtown, but he surprised us all!
4. Having a women stop to say that I had a beautiful running form. She said it looked like I was just effortlessly gliding...which is not exactly how I feel when I run! During one of my labs in college we studied running gaits, and I was one of the people the professor specifically had everyone observe while she pointed out the quirks in my form (short stride, slight right heel whip...), so a compliment about my form is something I never thought I would hear!
5. The energy surge I got around mile 17. I don't know if it was that I had started using my iPod and was just focusing on running at tempo with the songs or if it was the gel pack at mile 16 that did it, but either way, at mile 17 I was out of my funk and ready to start pushing it. From there on, the miles just ticked by: 8 to go, 7, 6, and then finally, those last 3 that I had never done before.
6. Having the opportunity to cheer on some hurting people that I passed. Not everyone feels good in those last few miles. Since I was lucky to be having a great run, I decided I would be that person that said a few words of encouragement to the strugglers who were walking. Some of the people I passed were clearly in pain--one guy in particular even looked like an experienced marathoner who may have pulled a muscle. All I said were just a few words like "You're doing great! You're almost finished!", but the smiles of thanks that I got back were priceless.
7. Um...finishing? That was the whole goal, after all. Beyond finishing, beating 5 hours was my time goal. I wouldn't be sorely disappointed if it didn't happen, but I would be lying if I said it wouldn't have bugged me. Thankfully, I smoked that :)
8. Having Chad there right at the finish line so that my emotional, post-race self could immediately start crying into his shoulder and saying "It's over! It's over!"
9. Crossing off one of the bigger points on my life's bucket list. This feat has been on that list since high school. I considered taking it off when I realized how hard running was initially. I thought maybe I could settle for just doing a half. But like I've said before, if there's a half, I've gotta do the whole. Beyond being on a bucket list, this was one of my life goals to complete before I have kids. Don't get excited...it will still be awhile :)
10. Running 26.2 miles when I'm 26. This just occurred to me back in October after my birthday, but what better year in life to run a marathon?

The obvious question is, would I ever do one again? It's like I was saying in the post where I compared running to a relationship--you just remember all the awesome parts about it, and at the end of the day, you think "That wasn't that bad!" But, I have to remember all the sacrifices I made during training, and the moments when running was anything but uplifting. I've decided that the only way I would do another marathon would be if my pace dramatically improved to the point where I could shave off about 30 minutes of my time. Since I don't foresee that being the case, I'm happy with one and done!

The rest of the day's activities included a hot bath with a sore muscle relief soak--just over-the-counter stuff, but it was awesome. It loosened up my tight back and hamstrings, and the eucalyptus scent was relaxing! For dinner, Chad and I went to Mama Carolla's to celebrate, then I made great use of that extra hour of sleep--what perfect timing for daylight savings! Today, the only lingering pain is in my knees--no muscle soreness to speak of--but standing up and straightening out my legs is a real chore.

To finish this post, THANK YOU to all of you out there who at any point asked me how my training was going or gave me good luck wishes or other words of encouragement before the race. It's so great to know I have a network of people who support me and who will be waiting to hear about all of my runs.

PS...the 26.2 sticker is already on my car :)

Marathon Tips from Bill Rodgers

For those of you who aren't familiar with the pro runner Bill Rodgers (I wasn't until about 4 days ago), he's a repeat winner of several marathons including Boston. He was announced as one of the Expo speakers during the Monumental packet pick-up, and someone at work told me if I ever had the chance to hear him speak, I should. Since I had today off work, I thought why not? He's now 64 years old, and still running marathons, although he said these days he prefers the half. We all know that running is hard on the body, especially the joints, and I couldn't help but notice as he made his way onstage he had a pretty distinct hunchback as well as what looked to be either a limp or funny gait.

While he didn't say anything that was completely new to me, most of what he said that you should be doing during your training, were things that I have been following over the past 6 months. Good thing, since it's the day before the race! Here were the tips he gave in the short 20 minutes that he spoke:

1. Get a shoe that fits your foot type, whether rigid or loose.
2. Cross-train. Do more than JUST run. He suggested weight lifting and yoga in particular.
3. Ease into a running program, and take time to figure it out. His opinion was that Galloway was the best running coach out there.
4. Spend 5% of your training on grass or dirt roads, which ease the impact of your foot hitting the ground.
5. Pace yourself on race day by either signing up for a pace group or using a watch.
6. Make it fun! Go out to dinner with your spouse or friends to celebrate all your long runs and races.

He added a few reasons why he personally enjoys the sport of running so much. First of all, it's uplifting to everyone involved. During a race it's not about a competition with others (except maybe for the Kenyans who are neck and neck at the finish). It's about everyone doing their personal best on that day. Secondly, it's something you can always return to, unlike with most other sports. Rodgers said he met a man earlier who's last marathon was 27 years ago, but he decided to make a comeback and do this race tomorrow. It's so inspiring to hear about people like that who are in the same crowd as you.

My agenda for the rest of the day is making a fun, new playlist for my iPod. I probably won't use it the whole time, because during races, I like to be more aware of what's going on around me, but it's good to have motivation with just the click of the "Play" button. Dinner tonight is homemade spaghetti and breadsticks, then hopefully falling asleep early. I still feel too relaxed, considering that tomorrow is THE day. Maybe the nervousness will hit me in the middle of the night. Or maybe it won't until I'm standing by the start line waiting for 8am to hit.

Barring any unforeseen injuries, next time I write, I will be a marathoner!!

T-Minus 2 days, 14 hours, 37 minutes, 39 seconds

Before you think I'm neurotic, I got that time off the race countdown clock on the Monumental's website. :)

I can't decide if I think the past 26 weeks of marathon training went by fast or slow. To think that I started back in May, right after the Mini, makes it seem like I've been training forever. I feel the same way when I think about all those runs in the hot, humid summer months. But then, to think that November has arrived, and the marathon is in THREE days? Crazy!

So the question of the week from everyone is "Are you ready for Saturday?" My definitive answer is YES! I know that I have followed a set training program, written by a pro-marathoner to a tee (almost--with the exception of the 26-miler). There were a couple weeks where I may have skipped out on one of 3 mile runs, but usually because I was doing some other form of equally strenuous exercise. I even ran during my two vacations--if that's not discipline, I don't know what is! Aside from following the training program, I've already posted about how I breezed through my 23 mile run, so that eliminates the question of can I physically run 26 miles. I can't guarantee how fast I'll be, but that's true for any run on any given day.

The stars are even aligning to the point that the weather forecast for Saturday is a high of 62 and sunny! Which means that the morning temps will in the 50's or so, and perfect for a run. I'll just bring a few layers of clothes and peel them off and toss them on the side of the road as needed. I secretly find some weird pleasure in doing that---it's just a freeing feeling to rip of a sweatshirt, "litter" it in the street and run away.

I will say that the reality of running 26 miles hit me hard when I looked at the race route. I almost wish I had never opened the file. The starting point is downtown at West and Washington--same as the mini. From there, we run south towards Lilly campus, back north to Monument Cirle, then on the Mass Ave cultural trail, then up north to Broad Ripple (practically passing my house), THEN instead of going straight back downtown, we run west to the IMA and finally back to the start/finish line. Hence why it's called the Monumental Marathon--passing all the major sites in Indy.

I decided to take this Friday off work. I had a "bonus day" I had to use anyway, so I thought what better time than the day right before the marathon? That way, I can sleep in to feel well-rested and spend the day hydrating, picking up my race packet, stocking up on some gel packs, etc. I'll be sure to check-in with one more post before race day!

Funny because it's TRUE!

I came across this picture the other day when I was browsing Pinterest. How hilarious is that?! We all have those rock star moments when you're finishing up that last mile, sprinting hard, feeling sleek and unstoppable. Then, you see some unflattering race photos and think, "Is that really what I look like with I run??" That's the curse of high-impact exercise...jiggling.

More often than unwanted jiggling or bouncing, I find that I always feel like I'm running faster than what it actually looks like to other people. Sometimes on light, easy treadmill runs, when I approach the last few minutes, I suddenly feel like I'm going faster than when I started--even if I never touched the speed button--probably just due to adrenaline. Then, I catch myself in one of the gym mirrors and it looks like I'm just jogging.

But isn't increased self-image one of the well-known benefits of regular exercise?!

A Race in Every State?

Lately, I've been thinking about what fitness goals or activities I want to focus on after the marathon is over. Since I'll be doing less running, and it will be getting colder outside anyway, I want to devote some of my Saturday mornings to trying out some of the group fitness classes at NIFS. I rarely make use of my free membership there, simply because it's out of the way, and I can get all of my exercise in at work. This would be one good way to mix it up so that I don't fall into that holiday/cold-weather/post-marathon slump and challenge my body in other ways besides running. Chad and I also have a Groupon for Climb Time that we've been waiting to use. I've never done rock climbing before, but have wanted to for the past couple years. Now I'll have more time on my hands to finally get that in.

Once spring rolls around with nicer weather and my joints have had a few months to recover from long-distance running, I would like to start back up on half-marathons. One obvious goal, as I mentioned in the last post, would be to increase my speed. But, another thing I would like to do is start traveling for other races besides the ones in Indy. I'm even debating on whether or not I want to do the Mini this year. After 3 times, the course becomes a little boring. The main reason I would do it is simply because if you don't, you feel like the only one in the world who isn't! Everyone at work will be training for it and talking about it. If races were free, I would do several, but paying $60 each time can add up!

Here's my new on-going list of half-marathons I would like to try in the next few years (I know the links don't actually work here...technical problems with Blogspot...but just copy and paste into your browser if you want to check any of these out).

1. Geist Half Marathon: I know it's still in Indy, but at least it's a different scenery than downtown. I've heard the course is hilly, so probably pretty similar to the terrain at Ft. Ben. www.GeistHalf.com
2. 13.1 Chicago: I would do any of the Chicago half-marathons since it wouldn't be too much travel time, and that's always a fun city to visit! www.131Chicago.com
3. Go! St. Louis Marathon Relay: I actually almost did this race a couple years ago before part of our group had a conflict with the date. I think it would be a blast to get a group of people to do this race and then spend the rest of the weekend exploring St. Louis--a city I've never been to. www.gostlouis.com
4. Disney's Princess Half Marathon: What girl/woman doesn't have a favorite Disney princess?! (Mine would be Belle, partly because that's what my younger brother called me when he wasn't old enough to say Mechelle!) This race would obviously take some more detailed planning and some vacation days, but I would love to do it once. It's also way more pricey than normal races--the early bird rate is $130 and it goes up from there. The start/finish line is at Epcot. It takes place in February, so the Florida weather wouldn't be hot enough to be a concern. http://espnwwos.disney.go.com/events/rundisney/princess-half-marathon/
5. Kentucky Derby Festival Half Marathon. Having been born and raised in Kentucky until we moved to Indiana when I was 14, I've always held the Bluegrass State near and dear to my heart. Most of my family still lives in that state. I've always wanted to go to the Derby, so perhaps I could make a couple trips to run this race the last weekend in April, then return the first weekend in May for the actual Derby. I suppose that means I need to find a big, gaudy hat first.... http://www.derbyfestivalmarathon.com/

Marathon Relay

This past Saturday, I did the Ft. Ben Harrison Marathon Relay. I ran the half-marathon there last year, but had never before done a marathon relay. There were 4 of us girls total, and the legs of the race were 5 miles, 7.5, 6.55 and 7.15. I was person #3, running the 6.55 mile leg. I had never done a race of this distance before, so I really had no idea what my time would be. I expected it to be somewhat fast, but the only races I've done before have been my half-marathons and a 5K, which was two and a half years ago. The last 7-mile training run I had, I was able to keep a 9-minute pace, putting my finish time at 62 minutes. A year ago that would have been completely normal, but lately with marathon training, my overall pace has slowed down. I shocked myself at the relay with a finish time of 54 minutes--in other words, an 8:17 pace! A few years ago I would have never thought that was possible! It makes me really curious what my pace for my next half-marathon will be--8:30-8:45 could be a good goal.

Our last runner crossed the finish line at 3h 55m. I think we all had a secret hope of beating 4 hours for our combined finish time, since our average pace for the group was 9 mins/mile. Besides, when else could any of us say that we had a marathon time under 4 hours?!

If you ever do a relay marathon, be sure you know how they are timing the legs. As soon as the race was finished, there was a tent where you could get a print-out of your results. I thought something was a little fishy with the time they showed for my portion, because they listed it at 51:35...while I would certainly like to say that was true, I know that a pace of under 8 minutes would have been pretty impossible, plus I obviously had my Garmin that was saying 54 minutes. Only later, when we looked at the results online, did we find out that the times they show for each leg were NOT for the actual distance that you ran, but rather at the closest timing mat to your exchange zone. So, the 51 minutes they showed for me was for 5.9 miles, not the full 6.55 that I ran. This also means that the pace they show for each runner online is slightly off. Your best bet during any race, but especially a relay, is to always have your own watch too! And if you don't have a Garmin (and don't like doing math) www.coolrunning.com has as pretty handy pace calculator!

The Ft. Ben Harrison race has options for either a full marathon, half-marathon, or the relay, which means all runners are racing at the same time. The funny part about this is that all the relay runners appear pretty fast compared to the full marathoners, since we only had to do short legs. By the time I started in on my leg, the marathoners had just crossed 13 miles and were either slowing down or just remaining on their steady pace---which meant here I was flying by all of them. In fact, I only got passed by one person, and she was also doing the relay. Most of the other girls said they were breezing past people too. Sure, is a confidence boost at times, but we also felt bad in a way. The marathoners sometimes let out a sigh or groan as we passed, as if to say, "How can you be feeling THAT good this far in?" You could see their agony as some of them were tiring out and starting to walk--it is a very hilly course. I decided if I ever do this again, I will put a sign on my back that says "Don't mind me...I'm just doing the relay. Keep up the good work! You're looking great!!"

Epic Fail

Even though I'm a subscriber to Shape magazine and have found many good articles in it, sometimes you have to ask yourself, what am I paying for here? I feel like with ANY magazine I read in the health industry...Shape, Fitness, Women's Health, Self, etc., they all have the same basic articles, just re-worked. They always feature a workout, which generally never shows you anything brand new...normally just takes an old familiar exercise and re-names it, or adds one complicated addition to the move--I've tried many of these and they're just plain awkward.

I realized just how repetitive all magazines are yesterday when I was reading one from our fitness center shelf: earlier that morning I saw a feature on The Today Show about how hair braiding is the new trend for fall. I then saw an article in this particular magazine about braids and using them to update your look...but then I realized the magazine I was reading was from February 2009. We all know trends in fashion repeat themselves over and over, but the same can be true with fitness in the media.

My biggest pet peeve, however, in health magazines is the advertisements. They can be the EXACT opposite of healthy! You read an article about realistic weight loss, only to turn the page and see an add for some kind of pill or supplement saying you'll lose inches off your midsection...in 4 weeks...with no dieting. Case in point (and this tops ALL the scams I've seen), I saw an ad in Shape for "2-Week Bootcamp Extreme Diet." Now, keep in mind, they did not use the term 'boot camp' to suggest that you exercise; it means this is a "doctor-developed hardcore diet," according to the box. It consists of 4 bottles of tablets labeled Fat Burner, Carb-Blocker, Colon Flush, and Bloat-Less. Alarms going off in your head, right?! The best part of all is that the main headline is "NO PAIN, NO GAIN!" I can only assume this is referring to Bottle #3...the Colon Flush.

Shame on you, Shape magazine. Get your funding elsewhere.

A Boost of Confidence

Well, I did it. Even though the race itself hasn't been completed yet, the last long training run has!!! And to not have a big, scary run looming over my head all week anymore is SUCH a good feeling! I can't explain it, but this run was different than almost all of my other training runs. In fact, I haven't had a run this great since the 12-mile run that felt incredible.

Even starting from the week and the night leading up to the run, I didn't have the nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach like I normally do. I was dreading the time it would take, and assumed I would feel like hell at the end, but I had a weird sense of calm. I drank a Gatorade this time the night before the run as well as in the morning before I left. I didn't know if that would do any good or not, but I definitely think it helped me feel more hydrated than normal, because I built up my store of electrolytes. My route this time was less of a mental block than my 20-mile, where I did four 5-mile loops. My friend Sarah, aka the running event planner, had me starting right at my house, jumping on the Monon (which is .2 miles from us), then running north to meet up with her at Main Street in Carmel. She had a Gatorade ready for me there, and then we ran together further north to 161st Street in Westfield, which was my halfway point. From there all I had to do was run home, which is an easy way to think of it. (Even though someone reminded that Broad Ripple to Westfield is a long car drive.) Sarah ran back to Main Street with me, gave me a fresh Gatorade, then I ran the remaining 8.5 miles alone. So, essentially, I broke the run up into thirds. I took two gel packs, and had one at mile 12 and one somewhere between miles 18-19. The entire run felt great.

I would be thrilled just to be able to say that I never hit a wall or had extreme cramps or felt on the verge of death, but my pace was also faster than my 20-mile run...by a whole minute per mile! I had intended to keep a 12-min pace, but since I started later than planned, waiting for the sun to come out, I told Sarah I would bump my pace up to 11-min to get to her faster, then drop back down to 12. I felt so good that I never had to, and although I haven't uploaded all the info from my Garmin yet, I'm pretty sure I had a negative split for this run! The reason I don't know for sure, is because after I passed 15 miles, I refused to look at either my distance or pace on the Garmin. I didn't want to know the distance, even though I could guess pretty well based on where I was on the Monon, but seeing it makes it that much more real. I especially didn't want to know when I passed into that 21st mile, because that uncharted territory is where it always goes downhill for me. I didn't peek until I knew I was within the last half mile, and then, get this.... I was able to speed up at the very end! Unheard of lately!

Perhaps the best part yet... I knew I would have been able to run an extra 3 miles :) Again, a feeling that has been unheard of in my recent long runs where I doubt I could have gone another HALF mile even if being chased by a wild animal.

Minus my legs getting stiffer by the minute post-run, I didn't feel sick afterwards. I did, however, spend the rest of the weekend taking naps, eating, and watching Grey's Anatomy (yayy for Netflix!).



Did I mention it was BEAUTIFUL outside?! Fall is my favorite season anyway for a variety of reasons (my birthday, football, bonfires, anything having to do with pumpkins and apples), but the leaves on the Monon made for a spectacular view. It was a real fall wonderland with the bright orange and yellow leaves swirling from the sky and crunching with each step.

When new runners are just starting out training for a half-marathon, you always hear them say that once they got past 6-8 miles, it became easier for them, and the miles just started ticking away. I would completely agree. Perhaps with full marathon training, you have to make it to 20 before it seems like something you can confidently do. All I know is that however this run happened, it was JUST what I needed.

Gel Pack Review

There comes a point in marathon training where you should introduce gel packs. Most people that I talked to who have completed marathons said they never used gels during their training, but then the day of the race they did, so they all recommended using them during training. This way, your body becomes accustomed to them and you know when in your run to take them for the most benefit. I've seen several people even use gel packs during half-marathons--personally I think that's a little unnecessary, but it all comes down to what you need to perform your best.

I usually use mine halfway through a run, and then if I need a second, it's within the last 5 miles or so. The biggest key with gel packs is that you need to take them before you feel like you need them. At that point, it's too late. Not that you won't finish the run, but you would have been better off to not reach the point where your body feels like it's crashing. Gel packs are more or less a preventative measure during a run--keeping your endurance up and replenishing sugar/nutrients in the bloodstream.

Some gel packs have caffeine, so that's one thing to pay attention to. I honestly haven't noticed a difference between the ones that do and the ones that don't, but I'm a coffee drinker, so someone who rarely has caffeine in their diet might notice it more. The best thing is to try a variety of brands, flavors, and caffeine options to try to narrow down which ones you prefer. Interestingly enough, I liked the exact opposite ones that the Blue Mile employee recommended, so that just shows you it all comes down to personal preference. Here's my review so far:


Power Bar: 2-4 out of 5 stars, depending on the flavor. If you're just looking for a good taste, don't go with this brand. I expected with any of the gel packs, I would have a problem with the sticky consistency, but even though this gel was the thinnest in texture, I hated it the first flavor I tried, strawberry banana. Maybe I expected it to be just like yogurt, but it was clear, runny and extremely salty too. I later tried the chocolate and vanilla gels, and they were much better, but still had that salty edge to them. I will say though, that I really feel the effects of this gel pack maybe more than the other brands. They keep me going strong!


Gu Roctane: 3 out of 5 stars. According to Blue Mile, Gu brand is the top-seller. The Roctane line packs a jolt of caffeine. I used it during a 15-mile run where I was feeling so good I didn't think I was going to use the gel at all. Then, about 2 miles later, I hit a wall. It gave me that extra energy I needed. The consistency was about right--not too runny, not too thick. The flavor I tried was vanilla orange, which sounds a little weird, but it tasted like a creamsicle!


Hammer Gel: 4 out of 5 stars. This particular brand is made from all natural ingredients, so if that is important to you, go with the Hammer. The vanilla flavor tasted just like pudding. The consistency was probably the thickest out of all the gels I tried, but it didn't bother me. With ANY of them, you'll want some water to wash it all down. I used this one halfway through my 20-mile run, and it kept me going strong for the next 5 miles. After that, I should have packed one more gel.

Meet My Boyfriend: Running

Over the past few months of marathon training, I've had one constant thought that keeps popping into my head: running at this point is not just a hobby, or even something to do to stay in shape...it's a relationship. In fact, I can very much liken the whole process to a romance.

Firstly, you make that commitment: you sign up for a race just like you would circle "yes" when asked "Will you go out with me?" And for those first few weeks, it's all puppy love. You're running all the time; you're exhilarated; you're telling all your friends about it. After every run you record your time and think back about the high points, just like a teenage girl would relive that first kiss in her head over and over.

As you get deeper into the relationship and the runs become longer, you start putting preparation into it. What time? What should I wear? Where should we go this time? Again, just like dating. You're blowing off other friends, canceling lunch dates because you have a 20-mile run (sorry, Lucy). You're infatuated.

Here's the best part: even when that significant other doesn't treat you well (i.e. a run where you get sick, or blisters, or cramps) you turn a blind eye and act like you still love it. You try to convince your friends and family that it's a good thing after all--just maybe going through a rough patch. And after those long, grueling runs that just leave you physically depleted and mentally exhausted, after the next day, you only remember the good parts. You come crawling back, do it again and perpetuate the relationship.

Sometimes it's just dull and boring. No excitement, no thrill. You long for other things...like maybe cycling? But you stick with it by obligation. Sometimes you lose interest for a week at a time and stop making that significant other the priority. You remember how good the "single life" was...you know, sleeping in on Saturday mornings, eating whatever you want without regard to how it's going to feel during a run.

But you'll never leave, because when the two of you are compatible, you're an unstoppable force. You have so much to accomplish, and those feelings of pride at the end result keep you loving the one you're with.

It's really for better or for worse.

November 6th: get here.

Starting this week, I hope to be more regular with my blogging...we are finally getting internet hooked up in our house, so I won't have to take two-week breaks between each post!

All that you've missed is that I was sick AGAIN. It happened the week after I ran the 20 miles, so I think it had something to do with my immune system being lowered after a long run, as well as the change in weather. One of the big benefits I used to see from my regular workout routine was that I was rarely sick. In the course of 2years, I only took a half day off work for being sick. That's all changed in the past month. Today is the first day in the past two weeks that I can actually say I feel good. I didn't spend the entire night coughing, and I was able to talk through my whole hour of spin class. I've armed myself with Mucinex, Airborne, and One-a-Day Vita-Craves with "immune booster."

I always say that I get the lamest and most obscure injuries, but it's really true. Last Saturday, I started to get this pain around my right lung from the constant coughing and it got progressively worse throughout the next week. Finally, by Thursday, I was getting in my car to leave for work, and had a pretty hard coughing attack...and something popped. It was somewhere in the vicinity of my lung/rib cage, (so probably an intercostal muscle) and shooting pain went all around my chest and arm. I could barely hold the steering wheel with my right hand. I even had to ask Chad to help me roll over in bed that night. Pathetic. It's finally subsided now after 4 days, but I still have to limit my strength training and be careful about the arm swing during running.

Exercise, running in particular, is such a bell curve when it comes to the benefits that you reap from it. We all know if you get too little exericse, you're at risk for obesity, heart disease, high stress, etc. But, on the flip side, when you get too much, and I mean really too much, you weaken your immune system and set yourself up for upper-respiratory infections, over-use injuries in the muscles and joints, etc. It goes hand-in-hand with the enjoyment factor of exercise: if you don't workout for long enough, you never get in the "zone" and feel the stress-relieving hormones kick in. But push it for too long, and your body is just screaming STOP.

All I know is that I am now counting down the days until Nov. 6th...that's right, the day after the marathon. I'm slowly losing my motviation to train--I skipped my long run yesterday because it was a cold, rainy Sunday and I was exhausted after a busy Saturday of a huge work event followed by our housewarming party. I'm going to make it up this week (it was only supposed to be a 6-miler), but I just want to fast-forward and be able to say that it's all over.

One foot. And then the other.

First things first, I finished my 20- mile run on Saturday!! Something about hitting twenty-anything miles makes me feel like I can actually do the marathon now. I parked my car at the Monon Center in Carmel and then did 4 rounds of 5 miles, each time finishing at my car where I had Gatorade and literally anything else you could possibly need during a run (except a second gel pack). Plus, that way I was never more than 2.5 miles away from my car and the bathrooms at the Monon center, just in case.

The Tour de Carmel bike ride was actually going on that same time, so I had plenty of people-watching and noise to keep me occupied for the first part of the run. Surprisingly, being alone didn't bother me at all--perhaps a little more boring, but it was good that setting the pace was completely up to me. I felt great up until 15 miles. When I stopped there to re-fuel, I thought I was going to throw up, but as soon as I took off running again, I felt ok. It's all about playing mind games at that point in a run...you're well past the adrenaline high, so it's just putting one foot in front of the other and knowing you can't back out now. (I had to at least run back to my car, right?!)

Thus far, any time on a long run when I cross into miles I've never done before, it's like my body instantly knows. And then reacts by saying "I'm not going any further." It's not just one part of my body either...it's the lungs, legs, total picture. This time, I was determined not to look at my Garmin to know when I was at 17 miles. I knew if I made a big deal about those last 3 miles being uncharted territory, then my body would freak out. It didn't matter though...my body KNEW. I hit a wall precisely at mile 17.25. From then on, I had to keep making deals with myself. I would pick cross-streets on the Monon and as soon as I made it there, stop to stretch out. It was a lose-lose situation though. If I kept running, my legs just felt like concrete--so stiff and sore even to the touch. But, if I stopped to stretch, then I got that overwhelming nauseous feeling, because my body had a chance to stop and realize what I was doing to it.

It's not like I expected anything different for the last half hour of a 20-mile run, though! I finished at 3h 59m. Looking back, I don't know why I was thinking I would be much under 5 hours for the full marathon. In fact, that 3:59 isn't counting all the times I stopped either for Gatorade or to stretch, so my race time will have to factor all that in as well.

Good thing there are no expectations other than to run (...walk...crawl) across that finish line!

20 miles...we meet again.

Well, here we are again, catching up. This time I'm a little more grounded and feeling positive about life (and running) again. We're settling down into the new house more each day, and I'm now over the 10 day cold I came down with after those two frazzled, emotional weeks (no surprise there). Since my last post, we had another vacation, this time to Florida with friends. It was a low-key trip, mostly spent lounging on either the beach or the couch--in other words exactly what I needed. I was sitting there watching the 7th episode of "How I Met Your Mother" on a rainy day when I realized I couldn't recall the last time I had a day to do nothing. Nowhere to be, no work obligations of any kind, no run to get in....the sheer beauty of nothing. It was a blatant reminder that I have to make a point of relaxing and taking care of my mind/body, especially in this time of peak training.

I did get one run in on vacation. Mostly hills (who knew Florida had them?) and 90% humidity...enough said. But any 6-mile run on vacation is a good one.

Now, I'm staring that 20-mile training run in the face once again. It's scheduled for tomorrow, and as much as I've been trying to psych myself out all week and say "it's no big deal," it is. I feel much more prepared than last time--zero plans tonight except eating a hearty plate of spaghetti and going to bed early, and no plans tomorrow after the run until later evening. Still, I don't know if I'm intimidated more by how it's going to feel or just the pure length of time it's going to take. It will be a solo run too--no running buddies available, but maybe that's what I need after all this. Time to myself (4 hours to be exact) to mute the outside world and tune in to how I'm feeling. And really nailing down a pace that I would feel comfortable with on race day.

I've talked before about how much planning goes into long runs. This time, aside from the usual gatorade/water/gel pack coordinating, it occurred to me that my iPhone's battery might not last the whole 4 hours. So now I'm bringing an additional iPod, and while I'm at it, an extra shirt and probably an entire first aid kit.

Today Sarah said something that was supposed to be encouraging: "Mechelle, you know you CAN do it...it's just a matter of powering through." But in all reality, I DON'T know if I can. It's a distance I've never done before. Sure, I made it through 17, so logic says 3 more should be ok. But the thing with running is you never know until it's done.

But it's just 20 miles...no big deal.

When your stress relief becomes your stressor

So, I've taken a 2-week hiatus from blogging. Not on purpose, but life has been crazy and more than I can handle at moments. Between non-stop work on the new house, cleaning our old apartment from top to bottom on week nights, dealing with randomness like a bat in our house at 2am, and lastly, my cat of 15 years suddenly passing away, I just haven't had the time or energy (or internet connection in the new house) to blog.

Because of some trips that we are taking at the end of the month, I had to bump my 20 mile training run (originally scheduled for 8/27) up to 8/20. That was the plan up until I had a stressful week both at work and home, and then realized I was trying to squeeze a 20 mile run in between a late Friday night at the Colts game and my dad's weekend visit starting at 1pm on Saturday. And obviously the run itself was a cause of anxiety, when I hadn't done that distance before...and we're looking at a good 4 hours of a run cutting into other plans I had. (You know I'm having a hard time when Chad calls to tell me he got last minute Colts tickets and I burst into tears because all I can think is how it's going to cut into my sleep time. And what kind of healthy carb-loading can you do at concession stands?!) By the Thursday leading up to the long run weekend, I had decided to cut it down to 15 miles instead of 20. I never thought that 15 miles would seem like an easy, comfortable thing to do, but in the midst of that week, it was the best decision I made for myself.

One of the hardest things for me to do is go back on my word or change the disciplined plans I make for myself. It makes me feel weak or like I'm letting myself off the hook. Normally this is a good quality to have, but you have to leave room for life to happen. I was especially scared of altering Galloway's training plan too, since it has been so beneficial for me thus far--both in terms of having something to stick to as well as proving good results. However, I realized that because I'm not planning on doing the 26 mile training run, I have some leeway--I can replace that weekend with the 23 mile run, and replace the old 23 mile weekend with the 20 that I didn't do.

I couldn't have asked for a better 15-mile run. I ran 5 on my own before meeting up with Sarah on the Monon, then we did 10 together. Our pace was significantly faster than the last time we ran as a pair, and we both kept commenting on how great we felt. I hit a bit of a wall around my mile 13, but a quick gel pack fixed me up in no time. (That extra hour I saved by not doing the 20 miles sure came in handy too!)

I was thinking earlier last week (before the cat died) about how I've always thought that I handled stress well. While this was definitley more stress than I was used to all at once, not any single item was unbearable on its own. Normally, a certain amount of stress makes me focus more on staying on task and excelling at my jobs, so why was I having that underwater feeling of not being able to reach the surface? Sometimes when I'm in these modes, Chad will say "You don't handle stress very well do you?" The first time he said this, it took me completely off guard. Do I? Maybe it's because I'm fortunate enough to not have many "wrong" things going on in my life. Maybe it's because I exercise for a living, so I'm always getting that period of relief. And THAT'S when it hit me. My stress relief (exercise, running) was becoming my stressor (20 miles of obligation in the middle of life's chaos--both planned and unplanned). That solidified my decision to "let myself off the hook" and run 5 miles less, valuing the quality over a number goal.

What I learned was that while you do have to be disciplined about training for a marathon and you do have to carve out the time and make running your priority, it can't control your life. Consume maybe, but never take over command.

A Long Weekend

It was a long weekend in a few regards... Firstly, I took off work on Friday, giving myself a 3-day weekend for some major packing of our apartment then moving/unpacking into our new house. You always forget how bad moving is, especially stairs are involved anywhere. There aren't enough hours in the day to do everything you want to do, and it's exciting and overwhelming at the same time. Lastly, it was a long run weekend: a daunting 17 miles (again, let me remind you, off the heels of my vacation).

I worked up a game plan with my friend Sarah. She was also off work on Friday and was due for an 11 mile run as part of her half-marathon training. She agreed to run it with me, then I would do 6 more by myself after that. Luckily, I had a WAY better idea of doing my 6 loner miles before I ran the 11 with her, that way when she was done running, so was I. And mentally, it works better to have someone running alongside you as you pump out those last miles that your body has never done before. I can't count how many times during our 11 miles that I said "I'm SO glad I don't have to run SIX more after this without you!!"

In general, the run went really well--neither one of us had a breakdown, either physically or emotionally--and yes, both are possibilities when you're running this distance. Between the miles on my own and the miles with Sarah, my pace averaged out to about 12 minutes--right on target to Galloway's training recommedation for me. Sarah's husband Dan was kind enough to follow us around in the car for a good chunk of the run, bringing us Gatorade, water and even sweat towels at designated spots. (Anyone watching the scene would have thought, "Who is this guy in a car creeping on two girls as they run?!") We ended up taking 4 pit stops for the Gatorade, and honestly, I felt like I needed each one of them. We debated on whether or not ask Dan for that last pit stop at mile 9 (mile 15 for me), but were SO glad that we had that extra chance for fluids....again, stressing the importance of staying hydrated and balanced with electrolytes.

I still haven't figured out the Curse of the Last Mile, but it exists. We were both feeling the effects of the entire run catching up with us on that last .75-.5 mile. Your mind can only fool your body for so long. I didn't want to admit how badly my legs were cramping, that I could have puked if I tried, and that I didn't even want to cool-down afterwards---just crash on the street. Even though these thoughts are going through your mind, it's irrelevant--you can practically see your stopping point, you know it's only one more song on the iPod, and you'll just do it. End of story.

After a few minutes of standing in the sprinkler, we went inside and happily found the floor. I was nauseous and had tighter leg muscles than I've had, well, ever. Normally, as I'm approaching the end of a long run, I can feel the pain/tightness spreading in my hamstrings, hips and low back. That started this time around mile 13, but by the end, even my calves were gettting sore. As I was attempting to stretch out afterwards, there was a cramp in my shin and calf that kept locking up my ankle, and my hamstrings were so tight I could barely even straighten my knee!

The next day, my legs were more sore from a run than they had been since the Ft. Ben Harrison race. It's pretty rare that my legs get sore from cardio anymore, so that's saying something. (Strength workouts are a different story. I will NEVER forget the time I unknowingly jumped into Week 12 (of 12) of boot camp at Life Time Fitness. Holy squats and lunges. For the next 3 days I wanted to cry every time I walked downstairs or tried to sit.)

As for my appetite after a long run, I can't really stand the thought of food for about 30 minutes post-run, but then I start to eat small snacks around lunch time to get in some protein, and by dinner time I'm fully ready for a big meal. Then, the next day I'm ravenous. Nothing can fill me up for more than a couple hours. However, this time was different.... my appetite actually felt lowered for the next 3 days after the run. We went to lunch at Riviera Maya a few hours after the run and I only ate about a third of my burrito. Even amongst all the moving/unpacking of the weekend, I would stop and realize that it had been hours since I last ate, but I wasn't quite ready for food.

Every run is always different. Thus far in training, I wouldn't say any two of them have been exactly alike. They can't be classified as good or bad; it must be dissected way more than that. And if I've learned anything lately, any run you finish is not only a good run, but an accomplishment.

Beach Running

Well, I successfully exercised 3 times on vacation! Pretty unusual for me, but it would have been a poor choice to take a week off of running in the middle of a marathon training program. That may be about the only productive thing I did all week, unless you count reading an entire book or finding some great deals at the Tanger Outlet stores. The first morning that we were actually at our destination, my in-laws got up early to take a walk on the beach. I decided to go with them and knock out one of my 3 mile runs on the beach for the a change. (With shoes, not barefoot.) Luckily, the sand was pretty flat, especially during low tide, and it was also compact enough that I was able to run without much problem. I will say, it was definitely harder than running on pavement! My time was pretty average for an 85 degree run, but I could just tell I was using way more leg muscle to get through than normal. On sand, you have to compensate for the slight sinking that your foot does with every step, and obviously even a smooth beach is nowhere near as level or steady as the road. The hardest part was turning around at my halfway point and running on the opposite slant after I had grown accustomed to leaning towards one side.

The other two runs of the week were on a treadmill--another 3 and a 5. It made me wonder why I never even attempt to workout on vacations. It doesn't take much time out of the day, and it was nice to get in some movement to put a tiny dent in all the eating I was doing! Even with 3 workouts, I still gained 3 pounds on the trip. Not a shocker though, considering the eating out every night and finally, after 4 weeks, introducing desserts back into my diet (the road trip candy, Myrtle Beach ice cream parlors, Tennessee fudge, and my Grandma's pound cake when we stopped there on the way back home).

So now, the week ahead is staring me in the face. I'll be teaching 3 spin classes in addition to my own workouts, then my long run this week is 17 miles (I say that happily, because up until today, I thought it was 18--what a great surprise that I was mistaken!). Bring it on.