From the mailman

I've been enjoying warmer weather in Texas all week and look what was in my gigantic pile of mail waiting for me at home:

I was totally unaware that I would be getting a results book from the marathon. COOL!

Just in case you were interested, there was no one else with my exact time (5:44:00) although I finished one second after a 24 year old woman from Mississippi and a 21 year old woman from Kansas was two seconds after me (there were also two men with times of 5:44:02).

The last finisher was actually only 97th in her division as she is a 64 year old woman from Illinois. She finished with a time of 7:46:33. Which means she ran for over two hours longer than me and I was getting pretty darn sick of running myself. And 64 years old? YOU GO GIRL! If I can run a marathon at 64 years old, I will consider myself to be a baller.

There are also more detailed stories of lots of people, including the man who runs in the banana suit, who I think is a friend of my hairdresser.

Overall, it was a cool surprise for my homecoming. Oh and I ran outside for the first time since the marathon while I was in San Antonio. I only ran for about 40 minutes but it was still SO NICE to be able to do that. Here in Chi-city? Not so much. There is a foot of snow on the ground so it'll be another couple of months before I can hit up the lakefront path again.

The 2009 Chicago Marathon

Sunday, October 11th, finally arrived. That date had been etched in my brain for a year as I worked my way toward being able to run the 26.2 mile course. I'd been resting A LOT for the past two weeks so my nagging right shin felt fine. It was freezing (about 27 or 28 degrees) and I woke up around 5:30 to start getting ready. Since I'm really the anti morning person, I like to lay out all the things I'll need for race day the night before. It only took about 10 minutes to get dressed and get my morning coffee ready. My friend Amy came with me to the start with my "support backpack" that had all the things you could imagine: bottled water, my inhaler, Clif gels, my hoodie, Body Glide and other assorted things that I can't remember or didn't use. Haha.

We rode downtown with some other friends who were running and started our morning at the Chicago Area Runners room at the Congress Hotel. I'm not going to get into it, but it was one of the clutchest moves of the weekend to have access to the indoor bathrooms there not only for warmth but for hygiene and gagging reasons. Marathon port-a-potties are SICK!

Amy hung out with me at the start line, or more like the half mile to the start line point that I was standing at. It was hilarious because everyone had about 10 extra layers on that they were stripping off and throwing. I gave Amy my sweatshirt and my pack started the long walk to the start line. Sometimes I get super annoyed because some people will run or jog to the start line which is SUPER ANNOYING because we're about to get all the running we'll need for the day, plus it tends to make the pack start and stop a lot. Luckily for me, everyone around me had a brain and realized that we were about to run a whole load of miles so everyone just kind of walked until we got to the line. I heard my Champion Chip beep and we were off!

Almost immediately after the start, we ran underneath the main streets on Lower Wacker Drive (if you've seen the Dark Knight, you've seen where we ran) and it's almost like a tunnel so everyone started "WOOOing". It was pretty cool. I had so much adrenaline pumping at this point and I could feel my usual race-day tears coming. It's hard to imagine it, but being in the middle of a blob of 45,000 people is truly amazing. As far as you can see in either direction, that blob stretches for miles and miles. Everyone has a common goal (there is no half marathon going at the same time) and we were running through what I consider to be the coolest city in America. The first few miles we just snaked through downtown. There were so many spectators and everyone was in high spirits. I felt like the first 13 miles just ticked away faster than I was expecting them to be.



Yeah, y'all. There were a ton of people running. It was really cool.



This was the first time I met up with my spectator group for an inhaler/gel stop around mile 6. I can't imagine running the race with out "Team Run, Big Jen, Run" because knowing that I only had a few minutes and miles more to go to see them again really kept me going. Plus, I didn't have to use my evil chafing fuel belt to hold anything since they had everything I could possibly need with them. Between my stops to see them at mile 6 and mile 9, we ran through our neighborhood, Lakeview. It was BY FAR the best part of the course. Lakeview has two smaller "sub-neighborhoods", if you will, Boystown (the biggest gay area in Chicago) and Wrigleyville. I knew from my spectator experience watching Amy that Boystown was going to be super fun and they did not disappoint! There was a set of lovely cheerleaders and my personal favorite, a stage with several drag queens that were dressed up as bridesmaids. The streets were a little bit narrower so it was so crowded with runners and spectators. ***If you ever run a marathon, make damn sure your name is somewhere on your shirt.*** So many people actually took the time to read my shirt and yell out a "Go Big Jen" or "Big Jen, you aren't very big but go girl!". It was a blast to get personal shout outs from people I didn't even know.



This was just after the halfway point. I asked my brother to come with me for a little while, I figure he probably stayed with me for a half mile. We walked for a couple of minutes there too so I could catch my breath. Cold air and my lungs don't really mix well. I'm so glad he ran with me for a few minutes just because it was hard knowing I was only halfway done. I was also waaaaay off of my usual pace so the reality that this was going to take FOREVER was setting in.



Brooke; my brother, Michael; and Adam waiting for me near mile 17.



This picture is classic, I'm eating a gel and it looks like I am about to gag, which usually happens at least once when I eat one. Truly, they don't taste that bad but I am not a huge fan of eating during strenuous exercise (or even right after) so they usually are hard to take down. I had about 5 miles between seeing them at this point until I was going to meet up with them again in Chinatown. Those five miles were tough but we ran through Pilsen, which is a predominately Hispanic neighborhood and the spectators were awesome there. There was a lot of Tejano music being blasted in the streets by DJ's and a couple of mariachi bands too. I was pacing with a team of guys that had shirts on proclaiming that they were from Mexico so the crowd always got a bit rowdier when our group came through.


Chinatown, almost to mile 22! They say you hit a wall around mile 20 and for me, it was a little bit after that, which I attribute to overshooting my 20 mile training run. I passed the 21 mile sign and realized that I only had 5 more to go, or hopefully only an hour more of running. I'd asked Adam to run with me from Chinatown until close to the finish line to help me through the last few miles. I made a crucial error and forgot to take a puff of my inhaler when I saw the group, UG! I think I had the fact that I needed to pee on my mind. (OH and I forgot to mention one of the more funny parts of the race. At mile 6 when I saw the group, I told them that I needed to pee and for them to have someone ready at mile 9 when we ran by their hotel to take me inside to use the facilities. You should have seen the funny looks I got when I ran off the course and back on. Oh and the couple in the elevator who looked at me like I was crazy for having a short-sleeved shirt on even though I was dripping with sweat.) So we stopped at the next set of port-a-potties (tragically gross!) and carried on. For the next three miles, I was miserable. I kept telling Adam to NEVER LET ME SIGN UP FOR ANOTHER ONE OF THESE no matter how much I begged. I was moving like a snail because I would run for 45 seconds or so and then have to walk for 15 seconds because I felt like I could get only 10% of the air I needed in my lungs. It was totally frustrating but at some point some man gave my delirious self a little shot glass of beer. It was delicious and amazing.


We saw the group one last time at the 40K mark, which is just a couple hundred feet before the mile 25 marker. I had some inhaler and carried on. I was able to run the last 1.2 miles at decent pace despite the fact that my feet and legs felt like mush. I was so lucky that my right shin didn't bother me too much during the race because I think it was so numb at the start from the cold and by the time I warmed up, everything was already hurting! HA!

I crossed the finish line with the utterly exhausting time of 5:44:00. I think it's awesome that I ended up with an even time. Adam had stayed with me until the big hill at the end that we "marathoners" refer to as Mount Roosevelt. I found him after crossing the finish line and after about 30 minutes of debacle we met up with our group.


Team Run, Big Jen, Run! Mikey, Adam, Dad, Adam's mom, me, Adam's dad, Mom, Mrs. Bazan, Amy and Brooke!!! Many, many thanks to them who completed their own version of a marathon. Chasing me around the city was hard work!

It actually ended up being fun!

The marathon was great. I finished- which was all I was trying to do. My shin held up fine. The weather was cold but it was a really nice day for racing. I passed by more than a million spectators. I ran 26.2 miles. It took what seemed like forever but I had a blast. I have so much more to tell you...

This Journey, Part II

So after hearing about my previous exposures to distance running and marathons, you are probably wondering how I decided to make this goal my own. Truth be told, I don't have a really good reason other than maybe a little medal envy. Last year I was just doing my thing, walking to the train station at O'Hare Airport after a trip and I noticed that it was a lot more crowded than normal. I had forgotten that it was the day of the marathon until I saw several people in their finisher medals. I guess I just thought to myself, "I could do that." It also probably helps that I had just started dating a guy who plays league sports like it's his job and I might have been feeling like a sloth. I'd also been living in Chicago for a couple of months and the weather was turning cool enough to feel like getting out of the house for a run. It must have been a combination of everything but I told Adam that I was going to train and run the 2009 Chicago Marathon.

Later that week, I registered for my first half marathon "preparation run" in Austin in January. It's funny to think about that because Adam and I had only been dating for a month but I told him that I wanted him to fly down with me so I'd have someone to cheer me on at the finish line. Luckily, he liked me enough to say yes without hesitation and my marathon dream was officially born.

I somehow conned my dad to sponsor me through his company so I was able to register for two more half marathons and the biggie for free. He also got on board and had t-shirts made. Thus, Run, Big Jen, Run became reality. There was no turning back, although I haven't really wanted to.

In January, I ran the 3M Half Marathon in Austin, Texas. To this day, that was still my favorite half because the weather was perfect (very cool), it was a small race and it felt so good to finish. I was such an amateur then! I don't think I even had my beloved Balaga socks but I didn't end up with too many blisters. I had never experienced the joy that is Body Glide and I wore a cotton sports bra. Let's just say there was some chafing and leave it at that. I was so sore for about a week because the race had so many hills and I wasn't used to it (it doesn't help that I did most of my training in the gym because it was so cold and snowy here in Chicago). It was awesome though because I got to have my favorite bean and cheese tacos as my post-race meal.

In April, I started writing here on Run, Big Jen, Run, just before my infamous and anti-fun experience at the Go St. Louis Half Marathon. It was good for me to experience running in the rain but not good to feel as crummy as I did for most of the race.

In May, I ran the Soldier Field 10 Miler, which was really fun. I plan on doing this race again next year. Adam and I also started running 5Ks together, which has turned out to be a really fun activity that we can do together (and that works out well since I like to participate in exactly zero other sports things he likes to do. If it involves a ball, count me out, please).

June was when my real marathon training started. Now that I'm on the tail end (and this is probably due to my IT band issues) I'm just ready for it to be over. Marathon training is four months of intense running. When I was still flying, it was incredibly difficult to squeeze in runs. I despise running on treadmills and I was never too keen on running in unfamiliar layover spots for very long distances. It was hard for me to find the time at the beginning but eventually I was able to fit running in as my mileage increased. One of the hardest things about increasing your mileage is the fatigue. There were days that I'd fall asleep on the couch at 8:30. I could pound down 12 hours of sleep easily because I was running for such long amounts of time since I run like a turtle.

Over Labor Day weekend, we ran the Virginia Beach Half Marathon. I was able to better my time and I learned a lot about pushing myself in hot weather. Thankfully tomorrow's race is not in September in humidity because I don't think I could have gone another mile, let alone double the distance.

Now, seeing things from this perspective, it's funny. I have run short distances and longer than I ever thought I could. I have stopped, turned around and gone home because I just couldn't finish. I have run in pouring rain. I have run on snow and ice, I have run in heat that has made me run out of sweat. I have run in cold where I could see my breath through the entire run. I have run in clothing that has chafed me so bad that it will probably leave scars. I have run on the lakefront path countless times; I have run in several different cities and countries. I have run until I could no longer breathe. I have done more miles than I care to count or remember but mostly, I have been running for me. I set this goal to prove to myself that I could do it and I haven't backed down. I have fought through pain. I have schleped my sore body all over the place. I have cried. I have laughed. I have seen some inspiring things and met some crazy people. I have been on what has seemed like the longest journey, but in the morning my journey begins again. Tomorrow I will see things that will bring tears to my eyes. I will feel blessed that I have two legs that are strong enough to do this. I will pray to God to give me the mental strength to carry on. I will be fighting the adrenaline surge and trying to bottle that energy to get through the finish. I will see my family and friends along the way that have sacrificed to be here to support me. I will be counting down the miles until my fiance meets me to finish the last few. We will count down until the end together.

And I will cross the finish line. This 26.2 mile long journey is just beginning.

This Journey... Part I

In case you were wondering how it has come to be that I will be doing what I once believed to be impossible (running 26.2 miles) tomorrow morning, I thought I'd give you a little history and background about how I began this crazy journey to complete a marathon.


To most accurately tell it, I'd have to start back in 2005. At the time I was living in St. Louis and was probably the most miserable person in the world. Just ask my dad, he LOVES to tell the stories of how I supposedly called home every day (maybe just every other day, ok?) to cry and talk about how awful my job was (it seriously sucked) and how much I hated living there (as a person from Texas, I never came close to finding a niche in a town where so many people are lifelong residents and grew up with each other). My friends Kristen and Amy had signed up to run a half marathon in Indianapolis (only about a 3 hour drive away) months before but they convinced me to come along and I signed up for the 5K. I figured I'd make life easier for myself and started "training". The "training" was also to kind of help with the fact that I was getting really fat. I was so poor from the aforementioned crappy job that I really only ate terrible food like $1 frozen pizzas, peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches and on days when I was really homesick for Mexican food, I'd splurge and eat Taco Bell. Wow... I was totally pathetic.



Anyway, I lived next to a really great park that had about a 6 mile loop around it so I started running for the first time since freshman/sophomore years in college. I don't think I ever actually ran the entire 6 miles but a couple of Sundays I'd do the entire loop in a run/walk combo. I felt ready for that 5K and I was gonna try to get a great time. At the last second, Kristen had work commitments so she ended up not coming. Almost as soon as I got to Indy, Amy and her brother started the assault to convince me to run the half marathon like they were. Since I can be utterly spineless sometimes and after all, it's only 13 miles, I agreed to it.



Looking back... what the hell was I thinking? I have come such a long way but back to that day. I was wearing some hideous New Balance kids tennis shoes that I'd probably had for 3 years and regular socks. Needless to say, I ended up with some fabulous blisters. I think I limped from mile 9 to the finish line with in all my torn foot glory. Somehow along the way, I was doing something weird with my right foot to compensate for one of the blisters and I ended up very sore. For about a week I was Limpy McGimperton. I have no idea what my finish time was but I'm sure it was well over three hours. I was proud of myself but had absolutely zero interest in getting into the distance racing game.



Two years later, I had just started working for United and I was ever-eager to show off my brand spankin' new flight benefits. Amy and her brother ran the Chicago Marathon that year and I decided to fly out for the day to cheer them on at the race.

For those who may not know, that was one of the hottest days in all of 2007 in Chicago. The high was something ridiculous in the 90's and several people died on the course before they ultimately shut it down. I was sweating out of my mind just standing and watching! After that day, I was in no big hurry to sign up for the '08 marathon, trust me.

Either way, I still had fun riding the CTA all over town. I ended up in Boystown (the gay area of Chicago) because I was relatively familiar with the area after my summer at flight attendant training (ah, good times in Boystown). I'm so looking forward to running through there tomorrow because those gays know how to cheer for marathon runners! It's notorious for being a blast to run through and after being on the other side last time, I can't wait.

Later on, I'll tell you more about how I decided to make this a goal for myself.

Officially Nervous...

I have a couple of pre-scheduled posts that I wrote earlier in the week for today but I just wanted to come here "live" to say that I am so excited, but a little, ok, a lot, nervous for tomorrow morning. We went to the expo yesterday and it was so fun. I now have all of my official marathon gear that I have to make last forever because I AM NEVER DOING ANOTHER ONE OF THESE THINGS!

Ohmygoodness... I can't believe that this time tomorrow I'll be well into the race. Wow.

Bucktown 5K

1905 349 916 3379 JENNIFER BREDA 27 F CHICAGO IL 29:33 9:31


Yesterday morning we got up bright and early to run in the Bucktown 5K. It was a really nice morning, cool and crisp, and just perfect for a short run. My shin was kind to me during the race (not feeling quite as fabulous now, haha) but I was in the mood to run fast and I was really hoping to get a PR of under 30 minutes. Adam didn't enjoy the run nearly as much as I did, unfortunately everybody has those days now and then but he ran with me for most of it and did a great job, despite his very stuffy nose. As you can see by the results above, I hit my goal with a time of 29:33, which is 9:31 minute miles. Whoa! I ran under 10 minute miles? I can guarantee that's not going to happen for the marathon, just in case you were wondering.

I'm planning to rest my legs for the rest of the week, which goes against conventional wisdom but I'm listening to my body. It felt really nice to not run for five days last week and yesterday morning my legs felt so fresh and the shin felt good for the first time in about a month. I'm confident that a month or so of NO RUNNING after the marathon will give me the time to recover. I'm looking forward to fun times on the Wii Fit and actually doing my Jillian 30 day shred DVD. Maybe we'll actually get off our bums and join a new gym? That's going to become more and more necessary as the temperature drops.

Speaking of temperature, this is the forecast for the rest of the week:

TodayOct 5
Mostly Sunny
63°51°
10%

63°F
TueOct 6
Rain
58°47°
80%

58°F
Check Flight Delays
WedOct 7
Partly Cloudy / Wind
57°47°
10%

57°F
ThuOct 8
Showers
59°47°
40%

59°F
FriOct 9
Few Showers
55°41°
30%

55°F
Check Flight Delays
SatOct 10
Partly Cloudy
49°40°
20%

49°F
SunOct 11
Partly Cloudy
51°41°
20%

Oh please please please let it be 51/41 on Sunday!! That's perrrrrrfect running weather for me! Friends and family start arriving on Thursday, I can't believe my big weekend is almost here!

Full Steam Ahead... Winter.

Wow... it's amazing how much earlier the sun goes down each day. I feel like it didn't get dark until 8:00 about two weeks ago. It's 6:24 tonight and it's pitch black (the nasty weather is probably not helping matters) and I swear it was after 7:00 last night that it got dark.

October is extra sad around here because the Cubs didn't make the playoffs this year. At least last year we had a week full of playoff fun (well, if you want to call some of the worst games ever fun) to kind of ease things into fall... ahem, winter. It's going to be so cold so soon! Right now I might be the only person in Chicago with the windows cracked but I just can't bear to shut them just yet even though I sit here in flannel pj bottoms and a hoodie. I'll be damned if I give up just yet.

Wait... I'm probably jinxing myself and this year will end up being the third year in a row that we have a freak warm front just in time for the marathon. In which case I will cry profusely because if there's one thing I don't tolerate well, it's running in heat. Ug. 10 days!

Ouchtown. Population: 1

Edit: the images below are kind of sick. I normally don't have these types of "issues"

So I'm suffering through my first marathon-related injury. My shin has been bothering me for a couple of weeks now and after our three mile "Taste of the Marathon" run on Monday night, it's been really really nagging me. Like every step I take until I get in a "rhythm" nagging me. I can't even describe the thoughts that are running through my head and the mega frustration that I'm feeling. I refuse to go to a doctor because I am going to run this race! I don't care if I have to drag my right leg behind me like an idiot across the finish line because it's happening. I'm running a marathon and I cannot be stopped. My mind is stronger than any pain that I'm feeling and I still believe that it's related to my IT band because it really doesn't hurt as bad when I'm in a good running rhythm.


Enough about that... so Adam decides that I probably just need to ice it. He's the king of icing anything down from his days playing soccer obsessively. And when I say he's the king, I'm not playin'... the guy is maybe the only person on earth that actually LIKES ICE BATHS! What?!?!

So Monday after the run, we iced it, no problems. I should use this opportunity to mention that he uses this giant blue frozen ice pack thingy and we already had one leak in the freezer this year. Last night, we decide to ice it again only with two packs, one on each side. The exact same pack that I used on Monday night, we just switch sides and put it on my calf muscle where I'm having a little tightness. As soon as he put it on, I start complaining. It was hurting so bad!! Burning is probably a more correct word. Literally burning. I keep whining about this and Adam basically tells me to quit being so wimpy and to get over my deep angry hatred over being iced down. Fast forward to 20 minutes later and we pull off the ace bandage and ice packs to reveal this:


mmmmm.... yummy. BURN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As you can see below, the burn (not sure if it's a frostbite burn or a chemical burn.... nice) runs the entire length of my calf. It's pretty anti-comfortable. I'm probably not going to be able to shave for awhile. GGGGRRRRRRROOOOOOOSSSS! Is it Sunday, the 11th yet? I am ready to run this race and quit with the training and injuries, mkay?

The Countdown has begun...

I'm only 12 days from the marathon. Wow...

I got the weekend plans finalized for the family and friends we are hosting that include a clutch free happy hour on Sunday night to celebrate (thank goodness the Bears are having a bye week or they wouldn't have done it)! I'm working on some out of town goodie bags... seriously this is excellent practice for the wedding. Mainly, I am just looking forward to drinking ice cold beer again.

Last night we went to a fun run sponsored by our local running store and they had an awesome sampling of all the foods from the various neighborhoods, called Taste of the Marathon. We had a really nice time and ate some really good food, especially some cheese tamales with some very hot salsa. The run was nice because I didn't feel any pressure to run a certain amout of mileage. It will be so nice to just run for fun again! Tonight I have a marathon clinic at REI and I'm hoping to learn some good stuff to help me during the race. We have a 5K on Sunday morning so it's shaping up to be a really busy week and I know that next week is just going to fly by. Before I know it, I'll be lacing up my shoes early morning on the 11th and getting ready to fight the mental battle that will be 26.2 miles!

20+ miles of beat down

I did my 20 mile run on Wednesday morning in Chicago before I left to come home to TX (where it is actually cooler than Chicago... weird?!). For those of you who may not be as intimately acquainted with marathon training programs, many of them include long runs that peak with 20 miles. It takes the average, or beginner in my case, body some time to recover from running that many miles so you do the 20 mile run about three weeks before the race and then "taper" your mileage down leading up to the race to allow for fresh legs and recovery.

I wanted to make sure that I was running a full 20 miles so I overshot what I was running by just a little bit and got lost blazing a new part of the trail and missed a mile marker. Either way, I think I was somewhere between 20 and 21 miles... a.k.a. a super long way to run! We live on the Northside of Chicago, a little more than a mile to the lakefront so I ran all the way there, through Lincoln Park, past the Nature Museum and Zoo, down past Streeterville and the Navy Pier, Millenium Park, through the Museum Campus, past Soldier field and the McCormick Place, all the way down the Southside. I figure I was probably at 40th-50th streets when I finally reached my turnaround point.

It was a LONG WAY!!!

During the run, it was truly agonizing. It took me a little bit more than 4 hours and it was so humid that I was just dripping from the start. I now am the proud owner of a temporary tramp stamp where my fuel belt rubbed my skin raw (note: I will not be wearing the same shorts in the race now because I think it was the tag coming in contact with the belt... hello tagless shorts!). I was so lucky that it stayed mostly cloudy for the vast majority of my run. It made the humidity almost bearable.

Now looking back, I'm feeling a little sore and creaky but not feeling too bad considering what I put my body through. During the run, I felt really in control for most of it. When I wanted to stop, I simply told myself that it hurt less to run than it did to walk (totally true... that is the good thing about my IT band issues, it really doesn't hurt once I get into my gait and feel the rhythm of running). I also told myself that I'm mentally strong enough to push through and run the marathon. I'm hoping with the adrenaline and my family and friends being there to cheer me on that I'll have enough left in the tank to feel really good on race day. It feels so nice to know that the longest I have to run until race day is only 12 miles. 12 miles? Not too tough!

It's crazy to think that my journey in this is coming to an end. I set this goal for myself almost a year ago when I saw everyone at the airport in their marathon medals. I guess I had a little hardware envy? I have never attempted anything even remotely this physically draining but the journey has been so fulfilling. Each race that I've done has been such a cool experience and I have learned that I can really do anything physically that I set my mind to. I know that during the race it's going to be a struggle, running 20 miles surely was! But I did that and I did it by myself, with no coaching, at my own pace and it feels really satisfying.

Busy Beaver...

Since we got back from Tennessee (which happened to be on Monday morning... love standby travel), I've been super busy. I've had 2 phone interviews and 4 actual real interviews in 2 days. EEKS! I've never been so sick of answering stupid questions about myself.

I get to go back to Texas tomorrow night (after my postponed for 2 days 20 miler.... AHHH!) for some wedding dress shopping and to see lots of my friends. It's also Brooke's big 29th birthday weekend and we're planning on sending her into her last year of the 2o's with a bang. I'll be toasting with my iced tea glass since I've given up drinking alcohol until the marathon. Come October 11th, that post race bloody mary is going to be so delicious.

How Jen Got Her Groove Back

except... I don't know how I got my groove back, but I sure feel better. My 8 mile run on Monday night was the best I had felt running since my 16 miler and that was in San Antonio about three weeks ago. I have done a lot of running (and resting) in between there and none of it felt very good.

Either way, it's a cooler day and even though my shin has been bothering me for a couple of weeks, I'm going to get back out there and hopefully have a nice mid-day run.

Extra Meaningful Day...

Today is a huge day... Only one month until October 11th!!!!!!!

Scheduled runs I have left to do:
8 mile
9 mile
10 mile
5 mile
20 miler!!!!!!
8 mile
12 mile
6 mile
8 mile
5 mile
2 mile...

and then the biggie! 26.2!

I'll probably have a few extra 3-4 milers thrown in there as well if I can ever get caught up with training again. I've been keeping up with the long stuff but throwing in that half marathon that I added to the program has me behind on some of the pesky shorter runs.

At any rate, there isn't much running (or time) left until the big day!!

(attempting to not be scared of what I've committed to)

The good news and the maybe not so good news...

I have a new PR!! (that's personal record if you don't read every issue of Runner's World like I do and don't feel bad, it took me about 3 issues to figure out what it meant)

Anyway, I cut a little more than 11 seconds off of my previous best half marathon time. Adam and I ran together and finished together with a time of 2:22:54. A relief for both of us!

For the not so happy news: it was wicked hot on the run. I think I was probably pretty close to overheating and we ultimately found out on Monday that a man actually died during the race.

I had so much trouble breathing throughout the last 2 miles. We were just zig zagging through the touristy area and the boardwalk of Virginia Beach, a part of the race that I normally would have been soaking in and enjoying the heck out of. There were so many awesome spectators cheering us on. However, I felt like I could only get about 25% of the air I needed. It sucked and every breath was painful and frustrating. At several points, I didn't want to keep going but I knew we were close and I had my supportive run buddy, Adam, helping me to stay hydrated and push through. I was so hot that I thought I was going to freak out without water. I'm sure most of that feeling most likely comes from the fact that I've been running pretty much exclusively with my water bottle on my fuel belt lately and I have intimate knowledge of the water fountains all up and down the Lakefront Path. Not knowing when the next water station was going to be had me a little off my game. Lesson learned: I will be wearing a fuel belt at the marathon and my kind Coach Amy (if you remember from our fab STL half experience) has volunteered to meet me at strategic points during the race with energy bars, fresh water and whatever else I can't carry (six dry towels for my sweaty face, perhaps?).

But back to the breathing... I have made a decision that makes me sad but I think it's necessary to get checked up and get an inhaler again. UG! I was so happy not having/needing one! It's a cruel reminder when someone passes away during a race that I need to first and foremost be concerned about my continued health. I also decided that if it's above 80 degrees on October 11th, I'll walk as much as I need to in order to stay cool. Amazingly enough, I have only my 20 mile long run left and then most of my runs are 12 miles and under as I start the taper process until the big day. It's kind of scary to be at the top of the training mountain and staring down at the final goal! I have lots of fears and doubts that I'll have to work on before race day but I still have as much determination as I did when I set out to meet this goal.

My goal to finish the marathon pales in comparison to what amazing things runners are accomplishing. I had to seriously fight back tears because there was a huge group of elite runners that were pushing special needs kids and adults in what was basically gigantic jogging strollers so that they could compete in the race. They were passing by us across the course at their mile nine when we were starting mile four. There are also so many people that run in honor of cancer patients or to raise awareness about various diseases. Sometimes it's amazing to be just one small person in a sea of 20,000 people with their own causes, goals, hopes and dreams. If you read this blog and take one thing away from it, I hope it is that you are able to experience a race like I have some day. Whether it's 5K or an Ironman Triathalon, you have been blessed by God with a body that is (hopefully) able. There is a really special feeling to be surrounded by so many others that are all working so hard to the best of their abilities. Racing can be a truly powerful experience, if you let it.

Overall, we had a fantastic weekend. Amy's parents hosted us at their house in VB and we had fun cooking and being cooked for (people: I ate EGGS on Saturday morning). The beach was as beautiful as I remember it and we had a great day soaking up the rays on Saturday. We missed the Black Crowes concert and ended up going to bed earlier than planned but 13.1 miles can kind of take it out of you. :)

Running log: 7 miles

A Bad Run...

The other day I got to cross off the exact halfway point of my training for the marathon! WOO HOO! This week marks another big milestone for me. So far, the longest I've ever run is 13.1 miles (a half marathon) but my long run this week is 14 miles. Each long run that I have for the next three weeks will be a new "longest run ever" for me. I'm more excited about it than dreading it. I enjoy my long runs more than I thought I would because I feel so accomplished at the end. It's all the shorter runs that test my patience.

Case in point: Saturday's run. Most marathon training programs follow a schedule of three weeks of increasing mileage before a lower mileage week to allow the body to recover a little bit. My low mileage week was last week and I only needed to do an eight miler as my long run. Since Adam signed up to run the VB Half with Bazan, Amy and I over Labor Day weekend, he decided to come with me. I assumed he'd only run a couple of miles and then turn around to go home but he was determined to run the whole thing.

Here's where we made our crucial error. It was hotter than hell in Chicago this weekend and about 110% humidity. When you walked outside, it was just like stepping into the sauna at the gym. Disclaimer: I realize you Texans have been dealing with this for, what, 2 months now? But you have to realize that here we've been having one of the coolest summers on record and part of heat (or cold) is your body's ability to tolerate it. My heat tolerance is pretty low right now.

We piddled around all morning, mostly playing on Facebook (idiots!) so we didn't actually get outside until almost 1 p.m. At the beginning, I felt awesome. I was so pumped to be running and to have a running buddy until the wheels fell off a little bit after mile 2. The beginning and end of our run was really nice because we were in the shade but there was a huge section in the middle where we left the park and hit the lakefront path and the sun was just beating down on us. I have never been so sweaty. I sat down at one point and my legs were even soaked. Everyone on the trail was running so slowly because the weather was truly stifling.

Running for me is defined by my ability on that given day to control my breathing. In case you didn't know or don't remember, I never used to do the required running in high school because I was diagnosed with exercise induced asthma. Luckily, I had an awesome step aerobics teacher in college at Galveston that pushed us to run and my roomie, Katy, and several of our friends started running so we'd pass our fitness tests for the class. At the time, didn't 1.5 miles feel so long? Hilarious. I don't know if I outgrew it but I haven't had an asthma attack in about 5 years and I don't even keep an inhaler around anymore. I know my own limits, meaning that I will probably never be an 8 minute miler, but I'm satisfied with my personal progress.

Back to Saturday, with the sun on my back (that felt like a million pounds of weight) and the humidity, I completely lost the ability to take a deep breath. It was awful. We had to sit down for probably 20 minutes until I felt like I'd be able to go again. I was totally embarrassed because Adam was with me and he was relatively fine. But after some rest and a mini-pep talk, we were ready to hit the trail again.

I was reading another blog the other day and one of the girls that contributes is also training for a marathon. She had a similar experience when trying to do her 16 miler on a treadmill (which is a feat in itself... running on a treadmill is hard and BORING) where she broke down in the middle of the run and started crying. The part that got me was that she got up and finished her run. I think that the innate ability that she had to keep going when she thought she couldn't is what will give her the last little bit of umph to finish the 26.2. I felt exactly like that when I was running on Saturday. I had to dig deep and remember that my end goal was to be able to check off the space in my training program for this 8 mile run. "Bad" runs are just as important in a training program as all of the good ones because you have to learn to persevere and turn off the things in your mind that are telling you to stop.

Oh and by the way... once we got back in the shade toward the end of our run, I was able to find my groove again and I was able to beat Adam to our finish line. I had to show that I've been training so hard, didn't I?

Running Log: Saturday- 8 miles, Today- 4 miles

This is pretty much why I've been running...

I have been wanting to post about the Lakefront Path for awhile now and yesterday the weather was nice enough to cooperate with me long enough to take some pictures.



This is about 2 miles in and the first time you can get a really good view of downtown. The tall one is the Hancock building, by the way.

The Lakefront Path is about 18.5 miles of marked running, jogging, bike trails from the farther Northside to the Southside of the city. There are tons of beaches along the way, beach volleyball courts, Lincoln Park runs right along the west side here at this point and Lakeshore Drive runs along the side.

Did you know there are beaches in Chicago? Because I didn't before I lived here.

Almost to downtown!

One of the harbors on the lake. This was my turnaround point last week on my 12 miler.

Beautiful downtown Chicago!

Depending on the routing I take, I usually go just past the Navy Pier.

As you can see, my runs are usually a place for awesome people watching and I never get bored on the Lakefront Path. It's awesome to just put my iPod on, jam out, and enjoy the awesome views that I get on the entire trail.

This is one of the mile markers that are throughout. I have a love/hate relationship with the markers. Somedays I'm so happy to see them, other days they taunt me!

Crunch time

Ten miler today. Knee has been nagging me all week, probably because I was trying to catch up with my plan last week and overdid it.

I am exhausted this morning but determined... off to the path I go!

My old friend, Gyminee (www.dailyburn.com)? I haven't mentioned it lately because I haven't been keeping up with it. There was this whole name change from Gyminee to Daily Burn (which is probably a good thing, Gyminee sounds kind of dorky) and we just lost touch. Meaning I haven't been plugging in any food entries or workout logs. It's so much more constructive for me than some of the trash flight attendant gossip I spend my days reading online. So, back to the grind for me. I have a Luna Bar, 10 miles and a GU all waiting for me. Here's to the left knee not bothering me!

Training Away...

For the first time, I am starting to feel better about my marathon training. I slacked off for almost two weeks around our Boston trip and I was getting behind and overwhelmed. I was able to get some really good runs in over the last week. My pacing has stayed the same, but I'm starting not to worry about it. I'm also freaking out less about the bad days and the bad runs and learning what my body is willing take in the way of punishment from me (the key to this? rest days!). My goal is just to finish and I know that it will take me close to five hours. The battle at this point is going to start getting mental and as long as I can look at it as taking five hours completely to myself to listen to my music and enjoy the scenery of Chicago, I think I'll be just fine....

Easier said than done but I think I'm getting my mind in the right place a little more each day, although 26 miles is so SCARY!

I am sore like no other because we rode bikes all over town yesterday (in addition to my nine miler) and I wasn't used to being in the saddle because missed our normal Thursday night ride for two weeks in a row.

You'd never have known it's July here yesterday, I had a jacket on at the beach!

One of my vistas from yesterday's run. I assume that part of my exorbitant tax dollars paid to this city gives me the privilege to run along the 18 miles of Lakefront bike and jog paths. More on the Lakefront path to come!

Sorry, I'm kinda boring.

I've been kind of bored for the last week or so. Most likely because I've actually been working a lot (until today, I got royally screwed and if I could go and punch someone at the crew desk, trust me, I would. Grr.) but my trips have been nothing to write home about for the most part. I had a couple of Vegas layovers last week but I was tired and never even made it to the Strip. Sidenote: I had an excuse. Free happy hour at our layover hotel. Beer, wine and appetizers. All of you that know me well know that I could probably live off only appetizers so it was a cost-efficient way to eat dinner! They had a fat spread and the staff was so nice. It made me really want to go to Vegas soon for some vacation time. Even though I pretty much despise gambling, the atmosphere is so great.

Work is mostly an exercise in survival right now because all everyone wants to talk/debate/whine about is the upcoming furloughs and it irritates me. It's going to be a long month until we find out the outcome. So far, not that many people have put in for the voluntary so I am still on the chopping block. I think the bids for voluntary furlough close on the 20th of July so I will be relieved when it's all over and I can start thinking about the potential next chapter in my life.

I haven't been sleeping well lately (what is up with the sun coming up at 4:30 a.m.? NOT COOL!) and my layovers have generally been so short with early morning check-ins. It's made me a little testy and kind of affecting my mood and energy level. I even passed up going to Taste of Chicago last night because after flying all day and taking the train and bus home in the heat, I was just done. Like I said, I'm kinda boring these days!

Marathon training is not going as well as I'd like it to be. I'm having trouble fitting in long runs when I am on layovers because of the time that they take. When I've been home, I just haven't been putting in the time that I need to. Luckily, I started about a week ahead of time so I am not exactly falling behind and all of the shorter runs I'm doing on treadmills at hotels can only help to add mileage for the week. I just need to get focused. We'll be shopping for gyms in July so hopefully that will give me some motivation.

I just need to get through the next five days of working until Sunday when we finally go on our long-awaited trip to Boston. I've been telling Adam that I'd take him pretty much since we met and I promised him a trip to Fenway Park for his birthday (which was in Feb). I think we'll both be antsy all week working but the payoff should be AWESOME! We have rooms at some great hotels and I am super excited to eat a lot, see my family, and do the Boston touristy thing with my first-time visitor!