The Final Countdown

Over the past 30 weeks, I have run a total of 527.1 miles over the course of 85 hours, 9 minutes and 44 seconds. I cannot believe that I have run for a total of 3 days, 13 hours, 9 minutes and 44 seconds. I have run enough miles since the end of October to be able to run from my apartment to my parent’s house and back almost 3 times! I am now proud to say that ….. MARATHON TRAINING IS OFFICIALLY OVER!!!!! My body was extremely grateful for the tapering over the past couple of weeks, especially since “travel” season has started back up. I have reached the point in the year where I spend a lot more time making trips home or elsewhere. It can be tricky to get all of your runs in when you’re traveling, work is busy and the weather is nicer. I have had to be pretty flexible with my running these past couple of weeks, especially when it has been so hot out.  However, I completed my last training run today and now the only thing left on my training schedule is REST! I never miss a rest day in my training schedule so thank you Hal Higdon for giving me two rest days before the race. I actually will end up getting three rest days because I ended up being a day ahead on my schedule. I am extremely grateful for the rest days and the fact that the marathon is right in the middle of a 4 day weekend. I am going to drive home right after work tomorrow and spend Friday and Saturday mentally preparing for the big day.

I think that I am physically ready for this race, but I am not completely mentally prepared for this race yet. I have recently discovered a few things about my body that have made me physically prepared for this race. It’s no secret that my 22 mile run was pretty rough, but a huge part of the problem was the heat. I recently read an article that it’s possible to drink too much water while you are running. I guess I should not have drunk water every half mile or chugged half of a bottle of water when my dad came to refill my water bottles that day. I will make sure to be extra conscious of how much I drink on Sunday. I was really happy when I saw that the weather forecast for Sunday was going to be a high of 63 degrees. It won’t be too hot early in the morning and it will be much easier to stay hydrated. I have also recently discovered that eating a banana before a run really helps your stomach during a run, especially if you already have stomach issues. I have also used Gu during several of my long runs so I already have my Gu packets ready for every 5-6 miles on Sunday. I have also tested out the running clothes that I plan to wear on Sunday because nobody enjoys chaffing!

I know that I am physically prepared for this race, especially after 30 weeks of training. However, I have a total mix of emotions and feelings about this race on Sunday. I am very proud of how far I have come as a runner, especially over this past year. I never thought that I would ever run a half marathon and now I am about to run my first marathon. I am excited for this race because I have already run the half marathon course twice, which is the first half of the marathon. I love running through the marina, the harbor and along Lake Erie. I am glad that I am familiar with the first part of the course and I am glad that I am not familiar with the second part of the course. I do not think that running through Delaware Park will be too bad, especially because this part of the race will be a new running atmosphere for me. I think that this will help the time pass and not make the last few miles seem so long. The only goal that I have for Sunday is to be able to finish the race. I do not care how long it takes me to run and I do not even care if I have to alternate running and walking a little bit towards the end. I think that the marathon will probably take me about 5 hours based on how my long runs went. I can usually run a half marathon in about 2 hours and 15 minutes so I think that 5 hours is a pretty good judge of around how long it will take. While I am excited for this challenge, I am still extremely nervous and scared about my ability to be able to run so far. I just need to head into Sunday with a positive attitude and remind myself of how hard I have worked to get here over these past 30 weeks.

I am not sure that I would ever run a marathon ever again because it is such a huge time commitment to train for, but who knows what my running future might hold. I am excited to be able to begin running for fun again and to not have to stick to such a strict running schedule for a while. I am also excited to be able to start varying up my workouts again. My speed has improved greatly over the past year, especially since cross country season, but I would like to spend some more time focusing on speed this summer. I would like to do some more trail running or hiking or biking or swimming. I really want to complete a duathlon one day since I stink at swimming. So I would like to get into biking and maybe that will be my big race and focus for next year. I just need to get through this race on Sunday and take a short break from running before I start something new. I am sure that I will have plenty of time to think about all of these things during the 5 hours that I spend running on Sunday morning. 

Right now, I am thinking about how extremely grateful I am for everyone who has helped get to the start line. I am thankful for my wonderful parents and family who supported me during all of this training. At least one of my parents always shows up for my races and they even stay overnight somewhere with me when I go out of town for a race. They had also put up with my crazy running schedule during all of the weekends that I was at home or they came to visit me. They even came to my rescue when I ran out of water during a long run or needed help doing something as simple as untying my shoes after a long run. I am also grateful for all of my wonderful running buddies who helped me get through these 30 weeks of training. I had many days where I ended up running on my own, but I also had many days where my co-workers or friends joined me. I was extremely happy to have company when I was running whether it was a 3 mile or run or a 19 mile run. I never had anyone run the full distance with me once I got past 13, but I usually had company for the first half of most of my long runs. I had friends run with me in some of the best and worst running conditions and they totally understood how tough some of these runs could get.

I am also thankful for all of the friends who supported me during these past 30 weeks, even if they were not actually running besides me. I had so many people checking in on my training all of the time and they were genuinely interested in how my training was going. Believe me when I say that every little compliment or word of encouragement helped push me through some of my toughest runs. I was glad to be able to share my running statistics and my blog with everyone so that they could keep track of my progress. I even have people who ask me for tips or running advice now. It is so incredible to reflect back on how far I have come as a runner and to think about how I used to be the one asking for running tips. This was not the easiest journey to complete, but you all helped me take on such a big challenge. So thank you to all of you who have helped carry me through my training and to the starting line of the Buffalo Marathon. I will be thinking about all of the people who helped get me to the start line on Sunday and I am as ready as I am ever going to be conquer 26.2 miles. Be sure to check back next week for a detailed report of my marathon experience. 

Week 29
5/14/13 – 6 miles in 54:12 (9:02 min/mi pace)
5/15/13 – 3 miles in 26:55 (8:59 min/mi pace)
5/17/13 – 8 miles in 1:21:20 (10:10 min/mi pace)

Week 30
5/20/13 – 3 miles in 27:38 (9:13 min/mi pace)
5/21/13 – 4 miles in 41:18 (10:20 min/mi pace)
5/22/13 – 2 miles in 18:30 (9:15 min/mi pace)

527.1 miles complete in 85:9:44 and only 4 days until conquering 26.2 miles!