Running Updates

Okay, woah I REALLY suck at blogging. Well in my defense the last few weeks have been completely CRAZY!
SOO much has happened since I last blogged: Fat Girlfriend: The Musical opened and ran with great success and I completed my 4th Lincoln National Guard Half-Marathon 2 weeks ago...with success!
I will say that between work, rehearsal for the show and training for the marathon, I did get worn out. So much so, that I got pretty sick the week before the half-marathon. So needless to say I missed my long run. I was supposed to do 10 miles and it SO did NOT happen. But I needed to rest and of course we had shows that whole weekend too, which only made it harder to really completely rest up.
So as race day approached I really felt nervous. I have to say that even though this was my 5th time running a half-marathon, I didn't feel very prepared or confident going into it this time. I know that I had been really busy, and for the most part I did a good job of getting runs in and Stacey and I did great long runs together, but the fact that I got sick really threw me for a loop, not to mention the fact that we had a cabaret show the night before the race and I got to bed late. Ay yi yi.

So I did the show that night, came home, ate some pasta, went to bed--and when the alarm went off I knew it was going to be a very looooooong day. Not only did we have to wake up at 4:30 am to leave by 5am to get to Lincoln by 6am--we had to run 13.1 miles and then hurry right back to Omaha because I....had not 1, but 2 shows that same day. One at 2:00 and one at 6:00! YIKES!

I didn't realize that this would be the case when I signed up for the race and when I agreed to be in the show. But looking back, I wouldn't change it. Was it a long day? HELL to the YES, but after a few minor "bumps" I felt pretty good and the shows went very well!

So--the race. Okay so per usual--Stacey & Jeff came to our house at 5am and this year it was the Stoll's turn to drive to Lincoln. So we fueled Jeremy with TONS of coffee and headed to Lincoln. I should also mention that I did manage to eat breakfast--oatmeal and yes I had some coffee too--I really am to the point where I can't function unless I have coffee--so I had a small amount. But I decided this year to avoid Gatorade all together and just drink water during the race. Hmm............

One exciting thing I forgot to mention is that my beautiful cousin Kayla also ran the race with Stacey and I! Kayla has gone through an amazing transformation in the last few years and running has been a big part of that. I know from experience that it is a HUGE accomplishment when once you couldn't even run a mile to having the drive, discipline and determination to train and complete a half-marathon. Its amazing and I am SO Proud of her and honored to share her first half-marathon experience.

So Stacey, Kayla and I all looked super cute, I must say. Kayla had on a super sassy tank, Stacey of course had on one of her cute and running tops and shorts--she always has the best running gear AND Nike baseball hat. And as a surprise Stacey bought me a Nike running hat too! I was SO excited because I have been wanting one to wear this summer when I train. So THANK YOU Stacey! I wore a pink Nike running top that I've worn before but oh well, and my ugly, but tried-and-true black running shorts. They are the old-fashioned "biker" short ones that don't ride up, which is good, but they are ugly. If anyone has any suggestions on what brand of shorts I can buy that aren't the biker style and won't ride up--PLEASE let me know.

Okay, enough about fashion--on to THE RACE. Overall, we did VERY well. Our pace was pretty consistent the whole time. We maintained about a 10:30 pace, which for me is really good. I'm sure Stacey could have gone faster, but for me this pace was great. If I can maintain that for the Chicago Marathon I will be EXTREMELY happy. But from the very beginning I could tell that I was tired and I was feeling pretty sluggish. So right away I was kicking myself. Maybe I should've also had a banana this morning...hopefully the oatmeal will kick in soon? But I just tried to focus and keep talking to Stacey and Kayla and stay positive.

But when we got to mile 6--where we get on the trail by Hwy 2 I was really feeling tired. I knew there was a water stop coming up so that kept me going. I thought about getting some Gatorade at the 8 mile stop, but changed my mind. In the past every time I drink Gatorade or try a sports gel--at mile 10 I ALWAYS have to stop and go to the bathroom. This year I was DETERMINED to NOT STOP! So I drank the water, felt a little better and managed to get up the hill at Mile 9 without too much complaining....

At Mile 10 we saw Jeremy and Jeff! Yay! That is always something to look forward to and for me signals that we are almost done! "I can do 3 more miles" I kept telling myself. 11 & 12 are by far the longest stretches I think. Here I could feel my energy slumping and at one point I said to Stacey "Okay if I feel bad now, there is NO WAY I could go another 13 miles!" Negative thoughts started racing through my brain "How will I ever even TRAIN for a marathon, let alone complete one?" But Stacey assured me that I will train and be ready for the marathon and that the way I was feeling right then is how I will feel at mile 23. "YES you will want to stop, but you've come this far and its only 3 more miles. You'll be able to push past it."

So we kept on trucking--really ready to be done, but of course the last part of the race looping around to the finish line is really exciting. So you forget momentarily about how sore and tired you are and just GUN IT! We picked up the pace and crossed the finish line at 2:19! YAY US!

We stopped, got our medals and got a picture taken and that's when I started to feel sick. Almost immediately after stopping my legs felt like lead, my head hurt, my stomach hurt, I felt weak--this has never happened to me before. So I forced down a bagel and some water but that didn't help. The drive home was no better. I was so weak and felt like I had been hit by a truck. I made Jeremy pull over at a gas station and Jeff and Stacey insisted that I drink some Gatorade or something with electrolytes. So I got a vitamin water. I still don't like the ultra sweet taste of sport drinks, but I know that I really need to suck it up and drink them if I want to survive these long runs.
Magically (okay not magically) the vitamin water helped! In about 5 minutes I was feeling better! Okay, okay so I need to drink sports drinks. I got it. FINE.

After I got home and showered, ate something and drank more vitamin water I felt MUCH more like myself and decided on my way to the show that I would treat myself to a cheeseburger and milkshake! It was the perfect way to celebrate my 5th Half-Marathon and just what I needed to endure 2 performances of Fat Girlfriend!
The day was great--a great run (except for after the race) and 2 great performances. AND....the next day I didn't have to work!

So now that another Half-Marathon was complete, I took it easy for a few weeks. Still ran, just really cut back on my mileage. Now next week I officially start my training program for the CHICAGO MARATHON! Stay tuned!