I’m not nervous yet. I’m sure I’ll get nervous, but I’m not nervous yet. I feel good. Nothing hurts. Nothing is even wonky. I feel good.

I’m trying to figure out exactly where marathon training started, but I look back at my calendar and it all runs together. I maintained double-digit long runs from the fall half-marathon season, so it is really hard to say when my training actually started, though. I remember tweeting “first run of marathon training!” but I don’t know when that was. Grrr. Most plans are 18-20 weeks, though, so I’m going back 18 weeks to the “beginning” of training.

Let’s look back.

First: mileage.

430 expected total
395.45 so far
4 mile run on Tuesday
4 mile run on Thursday or Friday
26.2 on Sunday

Longest run: 20.0 on two occassions (March 18 and April 15)

Highest Mileage week: 35.45 the week of March 5

I’m looking forward to writing about the process over the next few days. But when I look back at the numbers? I feel really ready. I mean, I’ve ran almost 400 miles to prepare for 26.2. That sounds totally manageable.

I’ll be posting links later in the week to show you how you can follow me and cheer for me, if you are so inclined. I’m sure I’ll need it.

In the spirit of not talking about the marathon (because I’m sure you’ll be hearing tons about it as I try not to freak out because this time next week I’ll be running!), I wanted to share some Instagram pictures. I just love this app (as evidenced by my previous Instagram post.)

the Niece on her birthday

training plan for marathon #2

this cat is hysterical. She sat like that for a while.

Katniss-inspired braids for our trail run yesterday

3 miles in. I love central Kentucky.

I love the bathroom at Morris Book Shop. So bright and fun.

seriously. How fantastically hot is this man?

Are you on Instagram? I’d love to stalk your life! Find me as KaySeeBee!

Thank you all so much for indulging me – and encouraging me – through my marathon panic. As my ooze has turned to scab, I’m much less panicky. Much less. I feel well-trained. I feel ready. I’m excited today.

I mentioned before that I’m already looking past the marathon. Thinking about what will come next helps me realize that everything doesn’t stop there. That I will finish the marathon. And that I will go on from there. That my running career won’t stop there.

We are running another marathon in November, but there will be about 12 weeks where we’re not training for anything. I have mixed feelings about not having a schedule, but I think it will be good for me. My post-marathon/non-scheduled training goals look like this:

• Get faster. I want to run less mileage, but run harder. I want to work on my speed. I’ve been able to cut about 30 seconds off a mile in the past month just by running with faster people and by not being afraid to push myself. Last weekend, I finished a 5K in 31:16 and I want to be under 30 by October.
• Run less. I am not a summer runner. I don’t like it at all. But I also have to leave for work by 7am. So my goal is 20 miles a week. That’s it. 3 miles 3 times a week (in the mornings, ran hard) and a 10-miler on the weekend. That’s it. No specific days. Just overall weekly goal.
• Cross train lots. I need to increase my overall fitness. I’m not doing yoga at all. I’m not lifting weights. I’m not going to Zumba. Running in the mornings will make cross training an option for me.
• Weight loss. Yup. I chased 175 for years. Years. And I have settled – and am maintaining – at 173. It has been nice to settle here. It feels good. It feels healthy. But I’m not going to settle. 175 is not my end game. I don’t know what is, but I’m not there yet.

So now lets talk about races. We ran so much in 2011. I wanted to focus this year on races with medals or races on trails. And I think we’ll do a pretty good job. The rest of 2012 looks like this:

May 6: The Flying Pig Marathon (of course). First marathon! 14 days!

May 12: Get Healthy Berea Trail 8K. This will be our first race after the marathon – a mere 6 days out. This is a very special race to me. Last year, this race became about redemption. And it feels like something I just have to keep doing. It might be a little early after the full, but I can’t not run this race.

June 2: River to Ridge Trail 10-Miler. I need another round with this race. I will not be last. (This is the race where I Finished Dead Last. And the post that the Race director became frustrated with. And the only post I have ever closed comments on.)

July 29: Louisville Color Run. This 5K will just be a blast. A lot of my friends will be there. I won’t be racing this run, I’m sure. It will be too much fun to think about time.

September 15: Asheville Half-Marathon. I am SO EXCITED. It will be a huge double-date weekend with the lovely AshleyGee. Can.Not.Wait.

September 28: The Bourbon Chase. This is the race that scares me the most. I am on a team doing a 200-mile relay across bourbon country. I don’t know a lot of specifics yet, but I do know I am full of nervous excitement. I am running on a team raising funds for Hospice, so you can expect fundraising here from me. I’m nervous – and excited – about sharing stories of my grandfather as well.

October 14: The Iron Horse Half-Marathon. This will be my third year (of three!) running this race. It currently holds my half-maration PR. This race falls in the middle of marathon training, though, so I will be running it, not racing it.

October 20: Hospice Run to Remember 5K. This is where I will smoke a 5K. You have my word. Last year’s race was such a great day. I love races like this one.

November 11: The Outer Banks Marathon. I am really looking forward to this race. For so many reasons. The race itself looks really fun. Even after the bridge at mile 25. And in the last mile, we will run past the B&B where we spent our honeymoon. We’ll spend the following week in a beach house with my family, so that is exciting too. I’m hoping that I’ll get faster this summer – and Nathan won’t – so maybe we can run the race together.

I also plan on volunteering at multiple 5Ks and 10Ks with my running group.

Alright, friends. Lets do this!

Okay. Here’s what you need to know.

1) The marathon is in 17 days.
2) I ran my longest run on Sunday. It is all downhill (er,
down-mileage?) from here.
3) On said run, I left a great chunk of my elbow, knee, and palm on Lakeshore Drive.
4) My palm has scabbed up nicely, but the big gaping holes in my knee and elbow are still incredibly gross.

I’m getting antsy, friends.

I’ve only missed one run so far – and we were busy seeing the Punch Brothers anyway. But today is looking like another non-running day. I’ve taken the elevator up and down ONE STORY multiple times today, Between the discomfort of the said holes and the huge bandages, I don’t think a run is in my cards today either. Part of me thinks that air blowing freely on my horrible, oozing owies would be great for it. But I know I need to heal another day. And, really, no one needs to see that.

The games in my head have already started, though. I struggled with 20 miles. How do I think I can do 26? What if I fall at the marathon? What if my fall was because of some undiagnosed inner ear issue? What if said issue is exacerbated by running and will kill me? What if E isn’t able to run? What if E is kicking arse and goes on without me? What if I’m the last person to finish at the marathon? What if I want to take the half-marathon split when it happens? What if one of those little red spiders in my office is boring his way into my knee under one of my bandaids? Would the marathon be easier if I kicked into serious weight loss mode during the taper? What would be a safe daily calorie goal to lose weight but not lose my strength and fitness? Should I be doing more cross training or more resting? Should I be eating more protein or more carbs? Did I get enough sleep last night? What if I get lost? What if there isn’t enough gatorade and I’m still thirsty? Is this marathon really a good idea?

It all boils down to this: What if I really can’t do it?

My head needs a run. Just a baby one. (What was that itch on my foot? A spider?) And I will wait until tomorrow. I must.

But typing all this out was amazingly cathartic. It makes all of my fears seem ridiculous. I have trained well. (Why does my arm itch? And my head?) I had only minor tightness in my thighs from the long run on Sunday. No sore joints, no pain, just some tightness. And that’s after not being able to ice or roll because of my sidewalk altercation. That is good news. That is great news.

I can do this. I will do this. The hay is in the barn. Trust the training. All of that.

Unless one of these spiders bore into my brain. Can spiders do that?

Wait, I don’t want to know.

See what I did there? RUNdown? Wow. I think I’m funny.

Saturday morning, we headed a few towns over to run a 5K for Tomorrow’s Children. We weren’t really at a place in our marathon training to race a 5K, but I couldn’t turn down a chance to run a race that benefits support for couples struggling with infertility. So off we went. We met our friend Julie there (so sad Lydia had a sick puppy and couldn’t make it!) and decided to take it easy. Like an 11:30 mile. I just wanted it to be a run to get me loose for our long run the next day.

Yeah, not so much.

Hello PR! I ran with Julie and Nathan, so I pushed. I didn’t give it all I had, though. I think that I could get a sub-30 if I went all out. That is pretty exciting.

Thanks for running with us, Julie!

Sunday we headed out for our last long run before the taper. Yes, that’s right. The marathon is in 19 days. I am a pretty equal balance of terrified and excited. So we’ll see.

We were running a 10-mile loop twice. We’ve ran it before and it is probably the closest to flat I’ve found in Lexington. Nathan and Ute took off ahead of me and I was excited that I had them in eyesight the first 2 miles or so. I was really hitting my stride. I was paying attention to my pace, my breathing, my form. I felt like I could run forever.

And the next thing I knew? I felt my right toe catch uneven sidewalk and I began the slow-motion approach to the ground.

I initially thought I had escaped injury because my capris were not ripped and I couldn’t see my elbow. I had decided to carry a bottle of water (in addition to my camelpak of gatorade) so I was able to rinse myself off. And that’s when I realized how much it hurt. It is actually much more painful today, though, as it oozes and burns. It also looks much worse today as the bruises are becoming more noticeable as well. Gah.

My immediate thought, though, was how lucky I was. Even at the time, I could tell that all of my injuries were superficial. I landed on my knees, my right elbow, and my left palm. I could have landed on my face. I could have broken/busted/shattered something in my joints. But I didn’t. All I had were cuts and bruises from falling downhill at a pretty good clip. And, really, one fall in 2.5 years isn’t that bad.

The adrenaline from the fall was on my side for a while. I felt pretty badass running with blood dripping from my elbow. I could feel it dripping down my knee. I felt like I was taking running to a whole new level. Nathan and Ute caught up with me about my mile 5 (after missing a turn) and were appalled with my condition. All I could do was laugh. We ran together a quarter mile or so, then I sent them on.

I caught up with them about mile 8 when Ute made a bathroom break. Nathan inspected my wounds, we chatted a little, and we took off again. No more than a quarter mile later, while they were still in my eyesight, Ute took a fall. Her injury was much worse than mine. Nathan ran back to a convenient store and picked up some bandaids. She cleaned up, ignored our pleas that she probably needed stitches, and off we went again. I really wanted to quit at this point. I mean, two injuries on one run? I was just done.

But I headed back to John’s (our meeting point) to start our second loop, and met up with some more LexRunLadies. I went to Starby’s across the street and cleaned up. And that hurt worse than the fall. I realized how much skin I had lost. The last thing I wanted to do was run 10 more miles. I’m so glad I had friends to keep me company. Betsey came out just to run with me. She’s not training for anything. She just came out to run 10 miles with me. I cannot express enough gratitude.

I had fun until 16. And then I wasn’t having fun anymore. I think it had a lot to do with how good I had been feeling until then. I think I had a lot of adrenaline as a result of the two falls. Also at 16, I ran out of drink. Luckily I found a nice man on Lakseshore that refilled my water bottle for me. I think we walked most – if not all – of 16. And part of 17. But when Betsey left me to meet her husband, I knew I had a little over 2 to crank out alone. And I wanted them to go fast, so I was back up to almost 12 minute miles for the last 2. And, yes, Betsey, I kept my promise. I only walked uphill. I ran flat and downhill.

8 minutes faster than the previous 20. And 12 of the 20 were by myself. This feels pretty awesome.

The marathon is in 19 days. I have lots to say about it, but that will wait for another day. As will my list of races I’m doing the rest of the year. I had intended to do that all right now, but I need to go change my bandaids.

I hope you had an awesome weekend!

Hello friends! Lots of things going on in my little head.

• I’m SO GLAD no-spend Lent is over. It was great. I feel like I learned how to assess what I want and what I need. However, I feel like I’ve spent a week replenishing my needs. We went to the movies (yay Hunger Games!), but a lot of other need spending has happened (running shoes, bras, running tanks). And I really need a new pair of sandals. (I’ve had my flip flops for at least 5 years. No joke.) I need more than I thought.
• I have been using this week as a celebration, though. There’s been plenty of indulgence of wants. I didn’t bring my lunch a single day this week. Not a single day. Granted, 2 days were paid for by work stuff and one day was a frozen meal, but still. There’s no excuse.
• I’ve got to get my eating back together. The bad news? I’ve gained 4 pounds. The great news? I’ve only gained 4 pounds. My eating has been completely unfocused. I haven’t recorded a bite in probably more than a week. I haven’t paid any attention at all. That’s not the way I want to be. It just isn’t me. I think the lifting of financial restriction has led to the lifting of a lot of restrictions. This one is not one that I want to let go. So I’m going back to my usual restart: record without judgement for 2 or 3 days and then work back to being focused with what I eat. Get back into habit of recording first, though.
• The marathon is in 22 days. We have a 20-miler this weekend and then we taper. I’m feeling strong and ready. I’ve dealt with left-knee general wonkiness with most of my running life, but it feels great right now. I think I am in a really good place. I’m excited for the marathon. Very excited. I’m sure I’ll get nervous, but I’m not there yet.
• I typed out a big work rant here and then deleted it. I knew I would from the start. It wasn’t appropriate for this space, but I needed to get it out. I feel better. Thank you.
• I’m spending a lot of time and energy over on LexRunLadies. So if you ever worry about me, wonder where I am or what I’m up to, you can find me more frequently over there. I hate that I’m neglecting this little space, but I’m loving focusing on something other than me.

Have a happy weekend!

I did a review of Zombies, RUN! over on LexRunLadies that you might want to check out. You know, if you’re a runner. Or like zombies.

I’ll have a write up on No-Spend Lent coming up soon. You all can make it. We are so close!

Happy Easter, friends!

So the marathon is in 32 days. And right now? That’s really freaking me out. I wasn’t really anxious until today, so I’m hoping that it will go away as quickly as it showed up. I’m finding some solace in looking past the marathon. Thinking about what will come after that. I mean, that implies that I will survive, so I like thinking that way. Thinking of what comes after the marathon distracts me from it.

I also hear about people that get depressed after their goal race. And I don’t want to be that person. So I’m already thinking about things that I will be excited about once I get that medal and recover.

After the marathon, we will have approximately 2 months before we start training for our fall marathon. (Yes, two. 2012 is The Year of the Marathon. There may not ever be another after. We’re playing that by ear.)

I have big plans for those 2 months.

I’ve talked before about how I’m committed to the marathon, so other things that I want are on the back burner for now. But I’m excited to shift my focus back to those things. I have big plans for the 2 months between the Pig and training again. And, actually, I can probably throw in 3 months since the first month of training, my mileage won’t be that much different than my maintenance mileage. But I’m saying 2 for safety’s sake.

I want May and June to look like this:

* I want to shift back into weight loss mode. I know I said that I’m happy with maintenance, but that is while I’m in training. I’m not happy with my current weight becoming my forever weight. I’ve just resigned to the fact that it is my marathon weight. I know it doesn’t make sense, but as I’ve ramped up my mileage, my body is just hungry all the time. I’m looking forward to smaller food intake. I’m looking forward to counting calories again. I’m looking forward to seeing the numbers on the scale move consistently downward. And I believe that will happen when my appetite goes back down. Because right now? I’m living with a monster.

* I want to get faster. This is my first marathon. Because of that, my sole focus is finishing the race. My main goal in training is to get all of the miles in, no matter what the pace. But I’m looking forward to spending less time covering the same amount of miles. And I’d really like for Nathan and I to run our fall marathon together. I know I’ll never be at his pace, but I’d love it if he could meet me just a little under his pace. I will run fewer miles, but I will push myself to run them faster. This will also allow me to shift my runs to the mornings before the heat kicks in.

* I will be creative in the kitchen. Shifting runs to the mornings will open up my evenings. I’m so excited about being able to start cooking before 7. I’m excited about spending time with food again instead of just scrambling eggs. I miss the kitchen so much. So so much.

That was a good marathon panic distraction! I love having things planned out!

I’ve struggled all day with how I can write about this race. Everything I want to say sounds trite and not genuine and too good to be true. But I can’t figure out how else to describe this weekend. So you get the sappy honest truth.

I’ve been a part of the RACE Team for the Run the Bluegrass Half-Marathon, so I’ve gotten to see lots of the work that has gone into putting this race together. The sweat, the tears, the worry. All to make this the best possible race. All to make it representative of Kentucky, our hospitality, and our passion. And it all paid off. And left me feeling like I wish I could have done more. It left me knowing that I want to be even more involved next year.

I can’t believe I didn’t take a single picture, but Wednesday night we got together for the Volunteers Meeting. I had most of my LexRunLadies team show up. We were given the info we needed for the expo and the race. We ate well. We stuffed 2000 race packets. I thought I was excited about the race, but that meeting really cranked up my excitement. I wasn’t just going to show up at a race an hour before it started. We had been a part of this race. We were going to continue to be a part of this race. The meeting just got me all cranked up.

I took off work on Friday to volunteer at the Expo. Kelly and I handed out women’s shirts for 8 1/2 hours. I was so impressed by the quality of the expo. The booths were awesome and local businesses were spotlighted who value quality products. The food was great. The registration process was easy. I was so excited to see so many familiar faces. I don’t know how many people I ran around the table to hug as I gave them shirts. A year ago, I might have known 5 other people there. And I knew tons and tons.

Oh, and Nathan won the ‘Stache contest. But there was never any doubt, was there?

I was excited for this race like it was Christmas. I’m not even kidding. I had trouble sleeping the night before even though I’d been on my feet all day. I got my gear laid out and went to bed. And felt like the kid on that old Disney World commercial. “I’m too excited to sleep!” I wasn’t nervous at all. I was just excited to see everyone out there. I was ready to see all my friends on the course, running and volunteering. I was ready to see the hard work of my friends turn into an amazing event. I was just ready.

5am still came too early. But we got up. Got ready. Headed to Keeneland. My first excitement was being greeted by Toa as traffic control. She has been one of my biggest supporters and encouragers through this running group. I just love her (and her restaurant). I squealed at her from the passenger seat (sorry, Nathan) and was just so excited to get to the volunteer spot to see everybody. (You can read her RtB post here.)

Nathan and I take the dark hike up to the Keene Barn. And the volunteers are already there having coffee and getting their hydration station plans finalized. (And, yes, those are LexRunLadies shirts! Aren’t they neat?)

And our running buddy Mark had been there for hours, unloading and distributing tons and tons of water. The ‘Stache was proud to pose with him.

Race time was coming up quick. Volunteers needed to leave. Relayers needed to get to their relay stations. So we had to take the picture 40 minutes before the race actually started. I know the group would have been even bigger if we had waited a little while longer, but there was no way to get everyone together. So many smiles. So much excitement. So many awesome people that I call my Ladies. (How crazy is this group?!?)

Erin and I lined up somewhere around the middle of the pack. We yelled at people we recognized. I got chills when the trumpet call was made. And we were off!

I didn’t take a lot of pictures during the race because Erin and I ran pretty aggressively. Even though it was just a training run for us, we pushed. We walked probably 3/4 of the (28) hills. But we flew on the downhills, so it made up for it. We had ran most of the course before, but with much smaller numbers and usually ended up with the two of us alone. It was so strange being out there with so many other runners. And the bluegrass band at mile 3 was a nice touch. We hadn’t been on Old Frankfort Pike before because I refuse to run it when it is open to traffic. I’m not gonna lie, it was intimidating.

The picture really doesn’t do it justice. It was like a roller coaster. As I topped one hill, I could see two or three more laid out before me. About this spot, this guy behind us started pulling a Ricky Bobby. “Help me, Oprah Winfrey! Help me, Tom Cruise.” It was so hilarious I was distracted from the insane hills ahead of us.

I could hear cheering up ahead, and knew it was my Ladies.

The LexRunLadies were there at the halfway point, handing out water, gatorade, and clif bars. They were yelling and cheering and being all around awesome. I might have teared up, but Erin threatened to smack me, so I had to get it together. (Isn’t Kristina‘s sign awesome?) This isn’t what they looked like as I ran through, but it is the best picture of them. (Thanks Noel!)

Honestly, the rest of the race was pretty brutal. It was up and down and up and down. There really wasn’t any place to catch your breath. But it was beautiful. And it was on my turf, in my city, on a course I’ve ran several times. I still became very fatigued. My legs were exhausted. Chafing was a problem. It was no where near my PR. But it didn’t matter. We pushed through. And we sprinted to the end. To the sounds of the cheers of our friends – both old and new – we sprinted to the end. I am so thankful that I had this girl by my side every step of the way.

I grabbed chocolate milk, banana, and a goetta sandwich and went back to find Nathan and the rest of our friends. And I proceeded to cheer. And cheer. And cheer.

I loved knowing names as people ran through. We yelled for Bob and Lydia and Kara and Holli and Faith. We yelled for so many people that have escaped my mind right now. And everyone seemed happy. Exhausted and happy. It was just an amazing place to be.

I am so thankful for the experience. I was so blessed to be a part of this race. I am so thankful for the volunteers, the organizers, the runners. I love that I was involved in so many pieces, and that my running group stepped up and created an encouraging – and hydrating – environment at a point in the race where it was really needed. You can see more pictures from the race on my post over on LexRunLadies.

This wasn’t my first half marathon. It wasn’t the easiest, the hardest, the fastest, or the slowest. But it was my favorite. Like my buddy Bob said, “This isn’t a contest, it’s a festival, it’s a holiday for loving life.” I couldn’t have said it better.

Friends, any chance you get to Run the Bluegrass, make it happen.

Friends, I had the best weekend! It started Friday night with (a predetermined No-Spend Lent allowance) dinner at Thai Orchid with the Couch to 5K graduates. I just love these ladies.

Saturday morning, we picked up our favorite race shirts and started our volunteer duties!

The ladies getting ready to run. From the newbie, half-marathoners and the marathoner-in-training.

We headed back to our hometown for an awesome wedding shower. Where we turned my husband into a beautiful bride.

Then we got to celebrate the Niece turning two! With icing!

I know it is fuzzy, but gee whiz, that girl doesn’t stand still. Especially when there is sugar involved.

I hope your weekend was this awesome, but somehow I doubt it.