It’s marathon weekend (yayy!) and my nerves are running wild – I’m excited, nervous, scared, and happy. More than anything, I’m ready for May 1st to be here.

Completed:
I picked up my mom from the airport (she flew in from Florida for my marathon weekend!)
I know what I’m wearing on Sunday
I have the course mapped out, and have strategically placed my family and friends along the trail
I’ve purchased race “snacks”, delicious Honey Stingers and Cherry flavored Sport Jelly Beans
I’ve obsessed about the weather and am incredibly thankful that the weather looks promising for the weekend

To Do:
Decide what I am going to eat the night before the marathon and race morning

{Marathon} Runners and friends – I need your help!
What do you eat the night before a race? What do you eat race morning?

Please tell me your favorite (and most delicious) go-to meals – I’m hungry for a grub down!

The night before any race, big or small, I always dream one of the following happens to me:

• I sleep in
• I miss the race
• I forget my running shoes and have to run barefoot (I have yet to embrace the no shoes/Vibram five-fingers obsession)
• I physically can’t run, e.g., my legs won’t working

I usually wake up in some sort of cold-sweat-and-panic combination, and realize I have 5 more hours of sleep until my alarm goes off.

I’ve never missed a race.
I’ve never slept in.
I’ve never forgotten my running shoes.
And, 99.9% of the time my legs work.

But this week, the week of my marathon, I’ve been dreaming like crazy. I’m experiencing marathon-race-dream-overload. My only saving grace is that some of my dreams are pleasant and/or interesting (Really what I’m trying to say is: I’m not waking up in a cold-sweat-panic over every dream).

Don’t get me wrong, I still miss my race and oversleep in my dreams, but I’ve also dreamt the following:

• The race is run over a course of 2 days: 12 miles on Saturday, 14.2 miles on Sunday (awesome, I’ll take it)
• I win the race (obviously not going to happen – but still an awesome dream!)
• I experience no pain and the marathon is an absolute breeze (wishful thinking)

My pleasant dreams are much more awesome than my “normal” pre-race dreams – why can’t I win in every dream?!

Now, I just have to run my race in real-life to find out what really happens…

Do you dream before a race? What are your dreams like?

I love fashion. I really do. So much so, that I was voted “Best Dressed” my senior year of high school and in my sorority (yes, we had fashion contests). I love everything about it – the way a fabulous pair of jeans and sexy high heels can make me feel, and pairing unlikely items together to construct an envious/totally cool outfit. Bottom line, I like feeling cool, trendy, fashionable.

All of that changed about 2 months ago. Right around the time I started training for my marathon…
First it started with a sharp pair around my ankle. I tried to ignore it but it wouldn’t go away. My doctor told me it was from wearing heels (que: the knife to my heart). He suggested that I walk to work in flats – but that I could change into heels once I was in the office. Fair enough. It took some getting used to – I only have 2-3 pairs of “work” pants that I can wear with flats. But then, a few weeks in, I started wearing jeans with flats; at first I only wore jeans on Friday but then it slowly morphed into Thursday/ Friday, and before I knew it, I was wearing jeans whenever I felt like it.  And sometimes, hold your breath, I’ve worn workout clothes to work.  Part of me feels bad, like I should “dress up” a little more for work (I work in a casual environment, unless we have clients in the office, in which case I would totally dress up) but, the marathon-trainer in me says “Eff it, I’m training for a marathon and my whole body hurts, all the time”. The funny thing is, no one in the office understands how I feel. So, I’ve occasionally gotten the “Oh, I didn’t know it was ‘workout clothes’ day – wish I would have gotten the memo”, to which I reply, “Yea, I ran 23 miles this weekend – what about you?”  I’m usually too tired to do my hair or wear lots of make-up, which clearly doesn’t help my cause.

I am, however, biting at the bit to wear wedges and heels again. I have a closet full of fabulous dresses and jeans and tanks waiting to be worn.  And I keep promising BJ that I’ll be pretty again on May 2 (sorry hubs, marathon training has me looking like a hot-mess). 

Countdown is on – only 11 more days and then I’ll be pretty (and fashionable) again.  I can’t wait!

P.S. This post sort of a joke.  I mean, don’t get me wrong – marathon training has me totally slumming it – but I don’t think I’m hideous  

Wow, what a day. I can’t even imagine what it must have felt like to be there – running, cheering, watching. Records broken. Mad dash to the finish line.

The Boston Marathon couldn’t have come at a more perfect time in my (first) marathon training – with less than 2 weeks away, I really needed the motivation. I needed something to remind me why I want to qualify for Boston, why I am training my butt off. I think watching the Boston Marathon yesterday may have just done the trick (wink)

To all of the amazing runners who ran yesterday: Congratulations on an AWESOME accomplishment (And, to the support crew – those runners needed you!). I can’t wait to read all of your race reports, thumb through pictures, and live my dream of running Boston through you.

My marathon is 3 weeks away – hard to believe, considering I never thought May 1 would come (well, technically May 1 hasn’t happened yet but now I can actually feel it). Training and cardio-wise I’m feeling really good. Now, if the weather would just cooperate. I’m totally over the rain, hail, clouds, etc. I just want to run in shorts – is that too much to ask, considering it’s April 11?

Monday – 4 miles + 1.5 hours of Vinyasa Yoga
Post 23 mile run and blisters on my feet, I went on an easy run with BJ. We had nice weather, so it felt good to get out side for a “shake-out” run. It was also fun to run with BJ. Marathon training has me running longer and faster than my hubs, so I rarely run with him anymore (and I’ve missed him).

After our run we headed over to Sun and Moon Yoga for our weekly Monday night yoga session. It felt good to work out my very sore (and tight) muscles.

Tuesday – 4 miles
Okay, so I ran another 4 miles on Tuesday. But, I ran a lot faster than I did on Monday (8 min/mile). I felt good.

Wednesday – 8 miles
Morning run with AF. Felt really good – but still trying to take it easy on the blisters (in the most annoying part of my foot). Even though I don’t have the energy to run every morning (hey, I need at least 9 hours of sleep), I really enjoy my morning runs. It’s a great way to start the day and I feel good all day long!

Thursday – 7 miles – Mile repeats (track)
Hardest workout to date since marathon training. Wow, did this hurt! I also didn’t feel 100% (lack of sleep and stomach issues) so I know that played into the workout. But either way, I couldn’t wait to be done. I asked AF for our stats and here’s what she sent:

1.5 mile warm-up
4×1600 (1 mile) with 2 minute standing rest between repeats
6:28, 6:44, 6:35, 6:23
1.5 mile cool-down
+ Ab workout
Goal: 6:45/mile. Goal = crushed!!
*I love that we crushed our goal! Thanks AF – I couldn’t do it without you!

Friday – rest

Saturday – 18 miles
My blisters finally started to heal – which was a huge confidence booster for me! We ended up having pretty good weather for our run – we’ve really lucked out on our long runs. 8:18/pace, negative split the last 9 miles. Felt good (feel ready for May 1).

Sunday – 3 miles
Very. Slow. Run. Just tried to get outside and move my legs – wasn’t trying to be fancy or impress anyone on this “shake-out” run.

Week 11 mileage: 44 miles
3 weeks until Potomac River Run

My (random) thought of the day: It’s amazing how 23 miles at a slower pace (8:26) can feel just as hard as 18 miles at a faster pace (8:19). How does that work?

…is another man’s treasure. That’s how the saying goes, right?

Well, not in my world. In my world, one man’s trash is…definitely trash!

BJ and I own (well, it’s officially BJ’s but now mine through marriage-default) a condo in a nice building, in a nice part of Arlington, VA.  Included in our condo fee is an awesome management team, 24/7 security, and great amenities including a nice gym, party area and a trash room on every floor.  Because of the building and high-rent/prices in our area, there aren’t a lot of hoodlums that live in our building.  But…there are a lot of idiots!

Case in point: the (little) trash/recycle room on our floor.  It’s nice to have a trash room on every floor – I don’t want to go to the loading dock every time I have to throw something away – but keep in mind, it’s small.  It’s a place to throw away some trash bags and recycle some bottles.  It is NOT Goodwill (but here’s the url if you need to find one in the area – there are like 5 in Arlington  http://www.goodwill.org/)

Apparently, some idiot person on my floor thinks it is. And, because I tend to be a rule-follower, especially when it comes to the place I own and comfort of everyone that lives on my floor/in the building, this just pisses me off. To make myself feel better (and laugh at this person – I mean, what else can you do but laugh?!), I take pictures of all the hilarious things they think the can throw away in the very small trash room on our floor (and then I tell on them).

Enjoy!

No, I don’t want your broken column and/or your fake eucalyptus plant.

No, I don’t want your used comforter with stains on it.

No, I don’t want your broken suitcase.

And, NO, I especially don’t want your Hello Kitty paraphernalia

Disclaimer: This post is suppose to be funny (hey, it’s Friday!), not mean. I apologize if it comes off differently.

On Saturday I ran 23 miles. NBD.

This is my longest run to date and I feel good!  Saturday was my last looonnnggg run – with my marathon less than 1 month away, I’ll start to taper soon.

AF and I totally lucked out with the weather.  According to the forecast the night before, it was suppose to rain until 1pm on Saturday.  Since we were starting our run at 7am, things did not look good for us.  I had nightmares about blisters, sopping wet clothes, and catching a cold.  Thankfully, it was not raining when I woke up on Saturday morning and I did not catch a cold – success!  Our run was the perfect temperature.

I did, however, make one tactical mistake.  I own a pair of Green Silence.  I absolutely love these shoes – not only do I think they look super cool (and I feel like a bad-ass when I wear them), they are eco-friendly.  For some reason I thought I wanted to run my marathon in these shoes.  I’m not sure why – maybe they would make me run faster?  Anyway, I decided to run in them on Saturday. Worst. Mistake. Ever.  My feet started to hurt around mile 13 and it only got worse from there.  Toward the end of the run I could feel every.single.thing that I ran over.  I even had thoughts about tripping other runners and stealing their shoes – that’s how bad it hurt. Honestly, I wish I would have just run in my trusty Ravenna’s – but I guess it’s good to know what not to wear on May 1.

Feet problems aside, we still managed to run an average moving pace of 8:20/mile.  Cardio-wise, I felt great.  Last time I ran 22 miles, I stopped talking to AF around mile 15 because everything in my body hurt- this time I was able to talk to her the whole time.  And, my body still hurt (I mean, come on, I ran 23 miles) but it wasn’t the same hurt as last time.  Progress, I like it.  Each time I run, I feel more and more prepared for my marathon.  May 1 – I can’t wait for you to get here!

Runners – what type of shoes do you race in, especially for longer races? Have you run in racing flats before and then regretted it?

P.S. Green Silence?  I still love you, just not on my long runs.