March Marathon Madness!

This Saturday is the National Marathon. Am I ready is the question you always ask yourself. My body is, I have put the training in, but my foot is a whole different story. The pain seems to change. First it started with bad blisters, then my bone looked to become inflamed. Soon after the the bottom of my foot hurt on pressure, now it’s the side of my foot that hurts. I don’t have shooting or stabing pain that would indicate that something is broken, my foot feels like it walked a theme park, and that feeling happens about 3 miles into my run. Most normal people would not go out and do a marathon in that kind of pain/annoyance, but I did not train in the snow in freezing conditions NOT to race.

***THIS JUST IN: After telling my friend that I was not going to the doctors before the race, I decided to go online and see if I could figure out what it was. Why I didn’t do this before, I don’t know. Under common running injuries, I found that I have a Tailors Bunion. A bunion is a swelling near the bone connecting to the big toe that sticks out at the side. In my case it is by the pinkie toe. The remedy, get it shaved down, or where shoes that aren't to tight and wear a bunion bad over it. I think I will go with the pad first, and see how it goes.***

With that being said, I think I’m going to have a great race. I just hope the weather is nice. This passed Friday we had temps in the mid 70’s, but down it is cold and raining, I even saw ice on my car window this morning. Regardless of what happens, DC I’m coming for you!

In more exciting news, John and I close on our first house a week from today!!! We have been busy packing the apt up and picking out paint colors! Can’t wait to get in and start something!

And in even more exciting news, with the weather being so nice I finally got outside on my bike. I got out of work early on Friday, so John and I went for a ride. It was so nice out, we rode to the Tyler State Park, rode by the new house and the best part of all, stopped at Ritas for an Gelati!!

Sunday was back out on the road for a 60mile ride in the hills of Bucks County. I road better than I thought I would, considering the last long ride I did was the Ironman!! It felt great to be on the bike and can’t wait for more.

I will talk to you after my race, hope everyone has a great week.

Fueling your way through a long run

I am always so amazed when I run with other people at how little they eat. On a short run, like 5 miles, eating is not an issue. Anything over 8 miles, you really should have water and somehting small. When you get into 20mile runs, you should be eating every 30-45minutes and drinking a fari amount of water with that. On my 20mile run this past Saturday, the conversation of pre-run eating came up. Everyone said what they ate, or what the didn’t eat. About half did not eat prior to running and the rest had a piece of toast or something to the same volume. I on the other hand would have (if I didn’t miss my alarm and oversleep and have to rush out the door) a plate of egg white french toast, a small cup of iced coffee, and depending on the length of the drive, half of a banana in the car and some Gatorade. What I would eat for breakfast was more than most consume on the whole 20mile run. Moving on, I watched how much people ate/drank during that run on Sat. I am amazed and jealous of how little others have to take in compared to what my body needs. I drank 24oz of water/Gatorade, 4 gels and a pack of Powerbar Gel Blasts. From the testing I did last year, I know that my body burns through fuel faster than most, so hydrating and eating needs to be a top priority. 

With all the different fuel sources out on the market, how does one choose what to use?
I have tried pretty much every gel out there. Some that were made with honey, chocolate or espresso flavored ones. Clif Bar makes a gel wrapper that is more environmentally friendly with the tear off top that is still attached to the wrapper. The one consistent thing amongst most/all gels is the thickness of the gel. It’s hard enough for some people to even consume the gel with chalky flavor let alone the strange texture when you are training. Recently I have found a new product that does the gels the best, Powerbar Gels! The packs are small enough to fit into your short pockets or up to 5 in my fuel belt back, but packed with enough gel that fuels you through your run. The tangerine flavor ones that I had were spot on. It did not have a chalky flavor, but more of a natural fruit flavor. Even better, you did not have to spend half of your time trying to squeeze every last bit of the gel out of the pack like you do with a tube of toothpaste. These Powerbar gels are just the right thickness to squeeze out without effort and go down your throat without feeling like your swallowing a booger! I also am in love with the Powerbar Gel blasts. I wrote about them last year, but I just tried a new flavor that rocked my world, Lemon!! I had to remind myself that they weren’t candy, but energy food! I did see that they have a Cola flavor. I think that will be my next one to try.

 
Fuel and hydration is a personal preference. Flavor, texture, the right protein to carb ratio, etc. The biggest piece of advice I will give is to try them all until you find the one you like. Try them during training and not in competition. The last thing you want to do is try a new energy drink or gel during a race and your stomach not like it and cause you to perform less than what you could have. Race day is about racing, training is for just that training. You train your legs to handle the pain of a marathon after 112miles on the bike, but you also train your body to consume 3,000 to 5,000 calories for a 12 hour event.

I am 3 weeks from the National Marathon. All my super long runs are done, and I am heading into the home stretch. We bought our first thing for the new house this past weekend, a beautiful farm sink. Can’t wait to get it hooked up...after we get the keys to the house of course!

Only a few more days till the time change and every ones lives will be happier. Have an awesome week!

50mph winds and the Wiss!

 When I woke up Saturday morning, I thought I was back home in Florida in the middle of a hurricane. We had 40-50mph winds all day and into the next morning. There were trees knocked down, traffic lights out and cows flying through the air...ok well maybe not flying cows, but it was windy. I was lucky that my long run would be on Sunday and not in the middle of the crazy winds. John however rode his bike in this, and I was expecting to get a call saying he was in the hospital, but fortunately he came home unscathed!.

Sunday was my 20mile run. I was running with Kayla and Ed from the Moorestown Running group. I was so excited to have people to run with, and both of them are great runners. We met at Lloyd Hall and headed out to the Wissahickon. The "Wiss" as we call it, is part of the Fairmount Park system. It is 1,800 acres comprise of mountain bike trails, rock climbing, running paths, horseback riding and beautiful views.

For the 20 miles we were going to do an out-and-back course. From Lloyd hall to the begining of the Wis, it was 5 miles, then we would run 5 miles inside the park, taking us to the red bridge as our turnaround point, and back 10miles. I wasn't sure what the conditions of the trail would be, but we were hoping for the best. The first mile is paved, but once you start on Forbidden Drive, it turns into compact dirt/gravel/trail. As we entered Forbidden Drive there was a orange detour sign indicating a closed section, not sure what to expect we still moved forward. The closed section wasn't to bad, had to crawl under some stuff and go over, but nothing we could handle. There was still tons of ice and snow on the trails. Not much sun gets in, so not much had been melted. The worst part of it all would be the embeded foot prints. After we had run for a couple of days, people were back out on the trail on foot and bike and their foot prints had frozen, leaving craters all over the path. It was hard to get your footing and my knees and ankles were not happy.

Running is such a mental sport. When I run, I break it into sections. For this run it was comprised of 8 sections. Llyod Hall to bridge, bridge to concrete entrance, concrete entrance to forbidden drive, forbidden drive to red bridge and then loop it back. So you mentally know how far you have to go and have left. My watch can tell me that stuff, but I like to rely on my surroundings more instead of technology.

The run ended on a high not with a finish time of 2:44:00 for 20.75miles. That was an avg pace of 7:54/mile. I took it easy the rest of the day, epson salt bath and several meals and renting Sex and the City II. It was the perfect end to the weekend.

This week is a recovery week and a trip to DC for a baby room decorating extravaganza, baby shower and marathon course scouting. Can't wait!

More later on my workouts for this week!

Shorts, I ran in shorts....

The past two days have been glorious. I ran outside in SHORTS! I can't get to excited, the temps are dropping, but it sure was nice. We even turned the heat off and opened the windows. I think Puma was the happiest of the bunch, nice long walk without a sweater on!!

I'm excited to have established a good group to run with. Last night I ran with Terry and Kayla out of the Moorestown Running Company. I hope to join them this weekend for my long run. They are both super fast and really positive, enthusiastic people. I also broke down and got a new pair of running shoes. Since I got to the group run early, I took the opportunity to speak with Ralph about my toe issues. I looked at the bottom of my shoes and knew exactly what my problem was. I roll my foot in when I run, but I have been wearing them to long that there was no more support inside and I started rolling my foot out, creating the blisters on the outer toes. I know my blisters and sore bone won't go away overnight, but it's the right step to recovery.

I am currently reading the book, "The Grace To Race". It's about a nun, Sister Madonna Buder. She is an amazing woman, runs marathons, does Ironmans, hikes and helps woman in need. Her book has become very inspirational for me. Not on a super religious level, but more on a "have faith" level. I really recommend this book to anyone who is struggling for inspiration for anything. Reading about her life and how she struggled and overcame obstacles really keeps my chin up. I also learned in the book to put tea bags on blisters, will try that tonight!

I have a 20mile run this weekend and off to the antique market/flea market for some scouting. I hope to get a booth when the weather gets nicer to start selling my baby items I have been making.

Have an awesome weekend.

My Head is Spinning

      

The snow is finally clearing off the ground and the temperatures the other day were actually above 35 degrees. Could we be heading into spring... I dare to speak of it more! Instead, I have go where I hoped I would not have to go...spin class (dah, dah, dah, dummmm!!!)

The last time and only time I have ever taken a spin class was back in 2002, and was dragged there by a friend. When you live in Florida there is no need for spin classes, but in the northeast, that's a whole different story. I was getting tired of riding my bike in my living room, so I joined the loud, hot, sweaty filled spin room at the gym and spun away. I have always been a “sit in the front row” type of person, but with spin, I sit all the way in the back. I don’t agree with the instructor on what he has the class doing, it’s not how I would ever ride my bike on the road, so why would I train that way. So, I sit in the back to be out of peoples way and hopefully the instructor won’t be too annoyed when I’m not jumping up and down on my seat!! It is a great workout, but I am looking forward to more daylight and warmer weather.



 
I also have gone to a place that I never thought I would go and that is wearing a fuel belt while running. I used to just carry a bottle, but my hands get cold and it’s annoying. I was returning something at REI the other day and they had fuel belts on sale, so I got one. Besides feeling like a pack mule while running, I actually liked it. I always thought it was dorky and didn’t see the need for all that water, but now I do. I met John and Jordan at the park the other day, and I was able to carry food, my phone, keys, 16 ounces of water and not one thing in my hand. Every time I go out wearing my fuel belt, I feel like I’m going on an expedition, I’m learning to embrace the things I didn’t think I would want to!!

Training has been going. Not as well as I would have liked, but I’m getting in all the long, hard runs that I need. The marathon is in just over a month, and two days after the race, John and I make settlement on our first home!!! I had been holding off saying anything in print about buying a home because I didn’t want to jinx it, but it’s official, we bought a house!!!!

The house is the one I spoke of before, a 3bedroom twin, in a great neighborhood and across the street from the state park where I train!! There is a ton of work to be done, but whats training for an Ironman if I don’t have something big to do on the side!!!

Heading to the gym tonight for an hour on the treadmill, wish me luck!

Also, Happy Birthday to Beth Walz, President of Adventure Woman. Hope you had a fantastic day!!!

My New Enemy

Since I have been an athlete I have been pretty much injury free. (right now I am knocking on lots of wood!) The extent of my injuries have either been a muscle tear in the quad or an agitation in my Achilles. Not to bad right? Since the Louisville Ironman, I have been fighting a bad blister on my left pinkie toe. It has now turned into a small island on my foot, that like a mood ring changes with heat! It is painful to the touch, burns and itches at times. It is no longer a blister, and really not sure what it is. The good news is, my new little enemy is not alone, it has a friend now and it's called my right pinkie toe! AWESOME. And then a third friend came to my big toe, and I'm not really sure what it is. At this point it is painful to run because of the friction, so for the first mile, I have to run through the pain until the pain numbs away. I can't wear any of my cute high heels because the toe box is too narrow, so instead I wear a very fashionable pair of sequin slippers...to work! (they sound ghetto but they are so cute, I didn't even know they were slippers!) I think it is time to go see a doctor and probably get a new pair of shoes. Yeah:(

On a happy note, John and I have found a house that we really like. Without getting into details of offers and inspections and stuff like that because I don't want to jinx anything, I can tell you a few things. One of my most favorite things about the house is the fact that it is 2 minutes away from Tyler State Park, my most favorite park. This is the park that I do my training in and take Jordan and Puma to. We can walk to the park from the house!! In addition to the park, it's also in an amazing cycling area, great climbs and no traffic. The school district is ranked in the top 20 in the state of PA and it's close to great grocery stores and sushi!! What more could I need....maybe new floors. We are so excited about this house and I will keep you posted.

My training has been coming along rather well. It's so crazy how I'm not as stressed about single digit weather and inches of snow on the ground and how it effects my training. Instead, I adapt and change things around. I know what I'm capable of and what I can do, which is making this go around more enjoyable.

I am on a recovery week this week, but since the weather was not kosher this past weekend, I will only take the end half of the week easy. We are supposed to get more snow on Wed, so I have sucked it up and decided to start taking spin classes at the gym. Not thrilled about being in a small stinky room with loud techno music and cheering people, but it beats riding alone in my house.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Snow, Sewing, Houses and More

Training in the cold north has not been what it has in the past. I have really been enjoying it. Part of that is because I have a great group of people to run with. Last sat a group of us headed out in the snowy, cold weather. By the end of my 17 mile run, icicles had formed on my eyebrows and lashes. It was pretty amazing!

I am 10 weeks away from the National Marathon. I have been feeling pretty good on my long runs and have been running faster then what I should be. I'm really excited to see what time I will run.

My Chesapeakman training has also started. Last week marked the beginning of it. I will say last week was pretty tiring, but I know it's a matter of time before I get used to it again.

In addition to the training, John and I have been house hunting. We have been looking for our first home. It has been fun, exciting and stressful all at the same time. We have to be out of our apt by the end of April, so keep your fingers crossed!

I will have more to write soon, just wanted to check in while my head was above water. Hope everyone has a good week.