Here we go again~

Had a great morning out with "the Heidi's" this morning for my last official run before the marathon.  Isn't that weird?  Tyler volunteered 'again" to take the early shift (yes, I know he is good to me) so he woke up and went out at about 5:30 so that I could go at 6:30.  However, after he left, I laid in bed wide awake with thoughts of the marathon.  My nerves are really starting to settle in.  Not a good time for this beings that this should be the time that I am eating good and hydrating myself and instead I find myself not eating (due to loss of appetite) and feeling dehydrated.  I think it may be the FIRST TIME IN HISTORY that I may have to force myself to eat, what would be the odds??   I was just asking Kelli (fellow FRB'er) why couldn't this happen during Thanksgiving or Christmas??  Wouldn't that be nice??  In any event, it is an exciting time that only comes around a few times in a lifetime, so I really need to start enjoying it!! 

Wow, it is a great feeling to be writing this post and to know that the much anticipated St. George Marathon 2008 is over and that my goal has been accomplished!!  Really, words can not express the time, thoughts, emotions and feelings that go along with a marathon.  It is a very motivating, exciting, enduring and humbling experience.  I am so thankful and feel so blessed that my body allowed me to do this today. .   Okay, sorry, past the emotion part, now I can move on to the details. 

So, I didn't sleep much last night.  Got to bed at about 11:00 knowing I had to wake up at 4:00am.  I laid in bed for about 30 minutes until I actually fell asleep, woke up to go the bathroom once, then woke up "wide eyed" at 2:00 sure I had missed the alarm.  Then, couldn't get back to sleep but eventually feel alseep about 20 minutes later, then was up again around 3:00ish, and up for good just before 4:00am.  I think I dreamed way to much about several different areas around the marathon.  Needless to say, we were up on time, made it to the bus by the time we wanted and was feeling great about the day until................ we stepped off of the bus to an ever present rain and wind!!!  Not a good thing.  Especially considering that right before we got off the bus, Tyler said to me "if the weather is bad today, you know you have to have a whole new plan?".  I sat silent for a moment before saying "okay, talk to me".  I have gone over this marathon at least 50 times during the preperation and planning of this and now I was told that I had to have an entirely different plan?  No, he gave me a few words of advice that made me feel better, then we ran into Michelle who added her words of wisdom and then the realization came that like or not, the weather was what is was, so I may as well make the best of it.  My original goal was just to qualify for Boston at 3:40:59, but then decide that I would really like to do it in about 3:35:00.  So, I found my place in the line-up right between the 3:30 and 3:40 pacer.  I started running and felt awesome.  I hit the half way point and felt awesome (aside from the required assistance to get my soaking wet t-shirt off from a volunteer working the booth, that was a little embarrassing).  Hit 17 and realized I was down to single digits in miles and felt even more awesome.  My good friend Heidi W actually drove down last night and met me at 23 to run the last few miles with me.  She was a great help and really got me through those last miles (Thank you SO MUCH Heidi!!).  I actually felt really good until 25 at which point, I had to really talk myself through the last few block and tell myself that "No, the muscles in your legs will not tighten to the point of breaking your bones, even though they feel that way".  I saw my mom, sister, mother in law and son at the corner of 300 south and Main street which of coarse brought out the emotions in me (I know, surprising!!), but it also inspired me to push myself as hard as possible those last few blocks to the finish line.  I was amazed when I crossed the finish line, stopped my watch and noticed my time was 3:30:25.  I improved my one and only marathon time from last year by 28 minutes.  I felt awesome (yes, I know I have said Awesome like a hundred times this post :), proud and relieved to have it over.  Tyler came and found me, thank goodness he had a blanket he shared with me and then the fun began, eating ice cream, bread, cookies, juice, etc.   This is really a very fun thing to be able to accomplish and experience with Tyler.  When I crossed that finish line, I enjoyed it so much more knowing that he was there and that he understood exactly how I felt.  Thank you Tyler!!  Okay, the emotions are starting again, better end the post!!! 

Splits:  8:38, 8:19, 7:51, 7:34, 7:48, 7:35, 7:40, 8:59 (veyo, ouch), 8:42, 8:32, 8:48, 8:25, 8:01, 8:25, 7:38, 7:31, 7:39, 7:49, 8:46, 7:54, 7:23, 7:59, 7:33, 7:27, 7:42, 7:46, 7:52. 

Lots of water and rest! Good Job and Good Night to all who ran today.  I hope that you all recover well. 

Went on a nice little walk with Heidi W to try and work out some of these sore muscles.  It felt really good to get out and visit with Heidi and enjoy these last few weeks of fall weather before winter hits.  We mostly talked about the marathon and some of the thoughts that went along with it.  Heidi was such a great help during those 3 miles of the marathon.  She had to remind me of some things that happened (I tell you those last few miles I am delirious).  Heidi hasn't run a marathon but is thinking about doing one.  She would do awesome, one of those natural runners.  I think I am going to try and run maybe Thursday or Friday to see how I feel and go from there. 

Good thing:  My sister was down in my area with some friends last night so I decided to go and see her and say hello to some of her friends that I have not seen since High School.  It was so much fun catching up with them and hearing about their lives.  My sister always had great friends through school and it was really fun to see them all. Bad thing: Because I was so interested in the conversation with the long lost friends and enjoyed seeing my sister who I don't get to see too often, I could not bring myself to leave the event and therefore, did not get home until after 2:00am this morning leaving me with very little sleep for this mornings run, more importantly the first attempt at running since the Marathon last week.  However, I actually got up quit easily and met up with the Heidi's and JaNae for 6.5 slow miles to help me break back into things.  It was very cold this morning and made me realize just how fast this year has flown right by.  JaNae made mention of a prior run when we were all saying "Can you believe that we have shorts on", it seems like it was yesterday and it has been almost 6 months ago, how time flies.   It was great to get out and run this morning.  

Avg Pace: 9:17 

Wow, I am really milking up this marathon recovery for all it's worth aren't I?  I am ashamed to admit that I have only ran twice since the marathon one of which, was this morning. You would think (or I guess hope) that I could follow this comment up with something like "But it is okay because I have really been watching what I eat to keep my calories down and make up for not exercising" but NOPE, can't say that either!!  What is wrong with me?  I bet Sasha is crawling in his skin if reading this post right now :) (forgive me Sasha). 

I attempted to get up Monday and just couldn't bring myself to it, then attempted again last night to get out but got busy working on my bedroom renovation and didn't get out.  Now, it is my kid's Fall Break from school tomorrow and Friday and so I am doubting that I will want to get out of bed early for the next 2 days, so it looks like I better just take the rest of this week off and start fresh next week, sound like a plan?  Hang in there with me fellow bloggers, I will get "back in the saddle" here soon!!  

Okay, onto the good stuff.  I met up with Heidi W this morning for the 5 mile square.  I have to admit that when I ran on Saturday it was a little painful and...........it was painful again this morning but Not like it was on Saturday!  Just a few twitches here and there while running my hips are still not recovered, but enough belly-aching, It was just SO NICE to get out and as always to visit with Heidi, she is such a sweetie!  I followed it up with some lunges and sit-ups when I got home.  Great Morning!!

Avg. Pace: 8:40 

Wow, so it's Monday and I am just now posting my Saturday run.  Maybe it is because I was trying to put it as far out of my mind as possible?  Someone please tell me that my struggles with running lately are due to the "Marathon Recovery".  I do not mean to sound so negative and pathetic, but I am just really struggling lately.  It may also have to do with my choice of route on Saturday but still, I just couldn't seem to get it together.  So again, is this just because my body is still in recovery? 

In any event, Tyler was out of town so I got a sitter and went out on my own for what was supposed to be just a quick 10k.  In all actuality I make it sound far worse then it was, although the first 3 1/2 miles were purely painful, I seemed to pick it up at the end and when all was said and done averaged a 8:41 pace (taking into consideration the 10:16 pace up hill and the 7:45 pace down hill :)).  It was very good to get out and enjoy this AMAZING weather that we are having.  And, it just felt nice to know that I had actually ran at all.  I am looking forward to this week to get some more days in and to hopefully, help regulate my body and regain my past running abilities, he he!!  I hope that you all have a great Monday!!

Late posting but Hey, I got out so I HAVE TO POST IT!  I met up with Heidi W for a quick mile before then meeting up with Heidi C to join us for the last 3.5.  Heidi was nice to meet me early because Tyler had to get to work and so I had a curfew.  So, after I finished up, the Heidis kept on going.  It was a great morning, cold, but great!  And above all else, SO NICE TO RUN.  It was actually the first time that I felt really good running since the marathon, so we are making improvements.  Great way to start a day.

Avg. Pace: 8:50

Yea, a run I am excited to post.  So, I met up with Michelle this morning for the first time to run (exclusive I mean).  I  just had an hour and she wanted to go 10 miles, so she agreed to run with me while I could go and then finish up solo after I had to head home.  We started on the 5 mile square route and then added on some additional mileage at the end.  I have come to love this little route but more than anything really enjoyed running with Michelle.  I have to admit that I was a little nervous and even had a hard time sleeping in anticipation for this morning.  When I left I said to Tyler "Wish me luck, I will need it", he replied with "you will do great, just let her set the pace and go with it".  This is the wonderful thing about Michelle, she never once even mentioned the pace or that it was slow, fast, etc.  She just rolled along without even looking at our pace, THANK YOU MICHELLE!  I probably talked her ear off but it was great to get to know her better and to learn from her amazing abilities with running.  When we hit about 6 miles, we ran into McKenzie and so she ran the my last little leg with me before I had to head for home, and they kept going.  That was the first time I have run with McKenzie as well so all in all, it was a great morning with a little change that I really enjoyed!  Thanks again Michelle for working that out with me and allowing me to run with you, I would love any opportunity to run with you again so keep me posted on your weekly schedule.  The best part about this morning is that I FELT GREAT!!  I have struggled since the marathon to get my body to move and to feel good while running, but today, I felt great and regained some of my confidence.  My brother just flew in from GA for the weekend so we are heading back down to St. George tonight for a little family weekend.  My brother and I are going to do a long run on Saturday on the marathon course that I am really looking forward to, more so after today.  Hope you all have a great Thursday! 

Splits: 8:39, 8:23, 8:47, 8:08, 8:20, 8:13, 8:02(last .8) = Avg. Pace 8:22

So, we came down to St. George with intents to rest today and run a 15 miler tomorrow.  However, we got down here and decided to run Friday instead so that I could let me poor, under privelaged husband (who has been hunting for the last 5 days and unable to run) run on Saturday instead :).  No really, my brother is in town and I know that he and Ty are about the same pace so it made more sense to allow them to run together for the long run.  So, me and Mikey ran out from the house, found a little trail to run on for a bit and then came back. I had to get back to the kids from my mom and so Mikey kept going an additional 4 miles (getting him up to 10).  I felt really good and pretty much decided that if I could run in St. George every day at these temperatures for the rest of my life, I would be totally fine with that.

Splits: 7:52 (went out a little too fast),  8:35, 8:21, 8:17, 7:56, 8:02. 

What a great thing to be able to do with my brother.  It was a lot of fun!

Yes, it is now Wednesday and I am just posting my run from Monday.  I met with Heidi and Heidi who agreed to go early with me again so that I could get home.  Why is it harder to get up earlier now then it was a few months ago?  OH, I know why: It is colder, it is darker and the marathon is over, makes perfect sense!  Anyway, thanks to Heidi and Heidi for sacrificing their sleep to run with me, I love those girls!

Splits:  8:47, 8:50, 8:47, 8:47, 8:41. Avg. Pace 8:47

It was a beautiful morning and a great way to get the day started!

Met with Michelle and Ali this morning in SF for a morning run.  I assumed it was going to be cold especially factoring in the wind on the SF bench, so I layered up fully equip with gloves and a beanie. However after about a whole 4 minutes of running realized that we are still having 70 degree mid day temperatures resulting in warmer mornings and unnecessary layering (hence the reason Michelle was in shorts) gees Kellie, where were you on that one?  Kind of Funny!!  It was so much fun running with these girls though and we had some very fun and interesting conversations to help the time just roll on by.  I wondered why I was huffing and puffing the whole time (I didn't look at my watch one time to check pace) but later found out when I looked at our splits:

Late post. 

Met up with the Heidi's for what I was hoping for a 7 mile run. However, it was Halloween and I think all of our minds were in different places so we had a hard time going.  But, we ended up making it to 6.5 and so it felt good to know that I had burned some calories to consume three times as much with Halloween Candy.  I actually ended up walking out almost the last 3/4 of a mile because my back was hurting me really bad. Then I got home late and made my hubby late for work, not a good run or a good morning :(.  Looking forward to next week.