Last week was my first real long run back into marathon training. I set out to do 17 miles and was bummed that my running group wanted to do my least favorite route. Fortunately, I was the one doing the pwning, not the one getting pwned :) I did my first 10 miles with a friend, at a nice pace, then did the last six at a faster pace. I felt good afterwards too. My confidence was back.
But this week is my 20 miler. And I am fighting off a cold, and haven't slept much this week. And I did not get my butt to the gym, or outside. And I'm running with one of my fast friends... I'm going to have to insist on starting slow, and staying slow the first half, and then seeing how it goes the second half. I think part of my marathon downfall was starting too fast, when negative splits are how I usually run.
Part of me is excited about this... Maybe this time I'll PR, and even if I don't, three marathons is pretty bad ass ;) Part of me even thinks, I could do these sorts of long runs all year round!
But I also know there are a lot of things I've put on the back burner because of running, and I need to get those things done too. There's just so much STUFF going on. School year coming to an end, chores around the apartment are piling up, and other commitments.
My 3TT is a about two hours early, but better early than late, right? - Post-marathon blues, and post-marathon comeback? After my second marathon was a disappointment, I never wanted to do another marathon again. Then I started toying with the idea of doing another marathon in less than two months. A marathon that I knew, and loved. And my boyfriend was completely supportive. So why the heck not? Well, it's expensive. I don't know if I could handle another disappointing marathon. It'd be more training. But I'm pretty sure I'm going to sign up soon. Because it's me vs. the marathon, and I'm going to PR this time, dangit! :P
- I've been making bath products like crazy! I'll try and post recipes and photos soon, but it's been crazy. The little kitchen in the apartment has been taken over by ingredients for making bath products. I made bath bombs, bubble bars, and some melt and pour soap. Some turned out okay, some turned out great. I can't wait to make more stuff, but I'm hoping to find somewhere local to buy supplies, because of the ridiculously high cost of shipping for several pounds of ingredients.
- I've been loving "Punk Goes Pop." Ever since I heard a punk rock version of Britney Spears' "Toxic" while I was at the mall, I've been craving more punk covers of pop songs. Fortunately, there are three "Punk Goes Pop" albums, and they're all available on Grooveshark. Various bands/artists take songs that I/the entire planet was absolutely sick of, make it punk rock, and it's even BETTER! If that's not magical, I don't know what is.
What are you up to this week?
I both thought I was better prepared for this marathon than my first, and I also knew the last month of training had been pretty shoddy. I still felt like I was a faster runner overall, and hoped to beat my previous time of 4 hours and 30 minutes. Unfortunately, the Eugene Marathon was a bust in a lot of ways.Saturday (packet pickup): The website promised three different parking locations at the expo, so I figured parking wouldn't be a problem. NOPE. "Wicked" was playing in the venue next door, and we had to find parking elsewhere. Fortunately, it wasn't too far away. Once inside the expo, I found out that they had run out of t-shirts in every size except L and XL.The other merch with "Eugene Marathon" on it was ugly. I was upset, and about to rant about how I paid for this race months ago, and they should have my t-shirt, when my boyfriend placated me by promising a stop at the outlet mall on the way home from the marathon. Went to dinner with some friends--it was difficult finding a place with less than an hour wait! Sunday (race day): Woke up nice and early, 5:40 am! Threw on my clothes and choked down a little oatmeal. My boyfriend attempted to drop me off near the start, only to find that the road was blocked. I jumped out of the car, thinking I had everything... but realized later that I'd forgotten my iPod. Walked and jogged to the start area and tried to find my friends. Eventually found both of them, and ran w/my training buddy. We started out a little faster than our goal pace, but held steady. Then things went downhill, and fast. Our pace continued to drop steadily. By mile 13, I realized I wouldn't make my goal time of 4:15, nor would I beat my previous time of 4:30. I continued to run with my friend until mile 19, when another friend joined us as a bandit. I took off, hoping to minimize the damage, but mentally, I was beat. My feet were blistering, and I felt sluggish. There were many times when I wanted to give up, to stop and walk. I told myself that the only goal I could meet was that I would RUN the ENTIRE race, and that I hadn't trained this hard to walk, or give up. Entering Autzen Stadium, approaching the finish line, I wanted to cry. Not in the way I did with my first marathon, which was a feeling of overwhelming amazement that I had actually run a marathon. It was a feeling of humility. Of failure. I tried to remind myself that I had still run an entire marathon, that I had just finished my SECOND marathon, that it was still an accomplishment. I didn't get any pictures at the race either. I really wish I had, since it was the first race that my boyfriend had gone to. Do I want to do another marathon? No... and yes. I'm still dealing with my disappointment from Eugene. I probably wouldn't do this particular race again. But I really want to hit 4:15. I'm toying with the idea of doing another marathon in two months--the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon, the same marathon I ran last year. But it'd be nice to be out of training mode for awhile, to refocus on the other areas of my life. Did anyone else race this past weekend? Any good marathon stories?
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