Finally! Google has added its email spam filters to the blogger commenting system.
Sick of getting those crazy character comments with links to porn sites? NO MORE!
Check this out!
.....watch me get a spam comment! haha!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Distance Dreamers Questionaire, week #2
Before I dive into this week's Distance Dreamers questions, I first want to tell about my workout this morning. I am VERY proud of what I did this morning, even if it was a short workout.
My legs were totally shot this morning as I started my 17.62 mile bike done on the hilly part of the Westchester Tri Course. But I still was able to manage a 19.2 mph average. My legs did the classic feel like crap at the beginning, throughout the climbing and on through till the end, until the final 3 miles when they finally warmed up.
Then it was off for a 4 mile run. In weeks past, I have been doing bricks in dry heat and that resulted in some speedy runs. When it has been humid, like this morning, that run is like a slow death march through maple syrup. This morning I FINALLY broke through the fumidity! I knocked off 4 miles in 31:15 for a 7:49 pace. My splits came out as:
7:32
7:57
7:52
7:57
I feel VERY victorious and ready to kick Timberman's boot-ay in 10 days and counting!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abbi over @ Higher Miles gave us two more questions to answer as part of the Distance Dreamers first time marathoners group.
What is your best running memory/experience?
What is your worst running memory/experience?
I am going to go with worst first, except it was also my "best" in terms of time, but definitely the worst in terms of the experience and definitely THE worst running memory. My goal this season was to nail the half marathon, and I PR'ed it with a 1:45:19 at the NYC Half Marathon. However! To get there, meant "holding" on while trying not to "go" while going. Get it?!??! I was good until about mile 4 when I started to feel "movement." By mile 8 it was excruciatingly painful mentally to pass by a porto potty. I can't even describe the last 5.1 miles (other than the sub 8 min miles); I wanted that PR!!! I got it, but then had a miserable few following days recovering. Apparently its not healthy to hold it that long?!?!? Ok folks, enough said! But I did get that f-ing PR! haha!
My best experience was also this season when I PR'ed the Half Marathon during a Half Ironman Triathlon @ Ironman Mooseman 70.3, with a 1:50:03. It wasn't my fastest half marathon, but it was the most victorious half marathon. That day was epic. Not only was it only 62 degrees and POURING rain, but it also had one of the hardest bike courses on the 70.3 circuit. Look below at the elevation profile on the bike!!!
So after the bike my morale was shot, I was freezing cold and my legs were giving me two middle fingers. Stick a fork in me, right? So I transitioned and started the half marathon totally mentally unprepared to duke this one out.
My legs suddenly opened up and I ran like a man possessed knocking off sub 8 min miles. My legs felt great! That one run that day saved my season because while I was out on the bike that day, I was ready to quite triathlon all together. That was how miserable I was! Now I prefer racing in the rain because it keeps me cool and allows me to go faster.
I am a big believer in that the worst experiences are also your best, because something good always comes out of them that you will never discover if everything always went right 100% of the time.
My legs were totally shot this morning as I started my 17.62 mile bike done on the hilly part of the Westchester Tri Course. But I still was able to manage a 19.2 mph average. My legs did the classic feel like crap at the beginning, throughout the climbing and on through till the end, until the final 3 miles when they finally warmed up.
Then it was off for a 4 mile run. In weeks past, I have been doing bricks in dry heat and that resulted in some speedy runs. When it has been humid, like this morning, that run is like a slow death march through maple syrup. This morning I FINALLY broke through the fumidity! I knocked off 4 miles in 31:15 for a 7:49 pace. My splits came out as:
7:32
7:57
7:52
7:57
I feel VERY victorious and ready to kick Timberman's boot-ay in 10 days and counting!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abbi over @ Higher Miles gave us two more questions to answer as part of the Distance Dreamers first time marathoners group.
What is your best running memory/experience?
What is your worst running memory/experience?
I am going to go with worst first, except it was also my "best" in terms of time, but definitely the worst in terms of the experience and definitely THE worst running memory. My goal this season was to nail the half marathon, and I PR'ed it with a 1:45:19 at the NYC Half Marathon. However! To get there, meant "holding" on while trying not to "go" while going. Get it?!??! I was good until about mile 4 when I started to feel "movement." By mile 8 it was excruciatingly painful mentally to pass by a porto potty. I can't even describe the last 5.1 miles (other than the sub 8 min miles); I wanted that PR!!! I got it, but then had a miserable few following days recovering. Apparently its not healthy to hold it that long?!?!? Ok folks, enough said! But I did get that f-ing PR! haha!
My best experience was also this season when I PR'ed the Half Marathon during a Half Ironman Triathlon @ Ironman Mooseman 70.3, with a 1:50:03. It wasn't my fastest half marathon, but it was the most victorious half marathon. That day was epic. Not only was it only 62 degrees and POURING rain, but it also had one of the hardest bike courses on the 70.3 circuit. Look below at the elevation profile on the bike!!!
So after the bike my morale was shot, I was freezing cold and my legs were giving me two middle fingers. Stick a fork in me, right? So I transitioned and started the half marathon totally mentally unprepared to duke this one out.My legs suddenly opened up and I ran like a man possessed knocking off sub 8 min miles. My legs felt great! That one run that day saved my season because while I was out on the bike that day, I was ready to quite triathlon all together. That was how miserable I was! Now I prefer racing in the rain because it keeps me cool and allows me to go faster.
I am a big believer in that the worst experiences are also your best, because something good always comes out of them that you will never discover if everything always went right 100% of the time.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
How To: Treat a Blister To Keep You Running
Been meaning to post this for awhile. Finally I can! Hopefully this will help those of you who are blister prone or will be increasing your volume this fall for a marathon or anew distance PR.
There is nothing more annoying than a tiny little blister that chafes just in the right spot to prevent you from running. I still get blisters every now and then, and it's usually due to my sock not being on my foot properly. BUT! I don't let blisters stop me from running. This is my method for treating a blister to keep me running pain free.
Here are my supplies. Moleskin, athletic tape (not medical!), and scissors.
This (pictured below) is the culprit. Most of the dead skin is still on there (only a little bit of the raw flesh is exposed). I am going to leave the dead skin on there until it naturally falls off. The reason why you want to leave it is because if you cut it off or rip it off, you will either create sharp dead skin, which will cut into the raw flesh, or by ripping it it will tear off good skin, making the raw flesh section larger (increasing healing time). Leave the dead skin be!!! (I will explain how it comes off later)
But first! Is this (above^) the type of blister that you have? Has it already popped? Ripped? Is it like the top of a volcano about to burst? Is it deep under thick skin? My blister had already popped on its own. However, if you have a blister that is a pocket filled with fluid (like the top of a volcano) and is really painful to walk on and it doesn't die down on its own, it is a candidate for popping to relieve the pain. So to do this, sanitize a needle and pop it with a tiny tiny hole and drain it, then sanitize your foot. You want to relieve that pressure before you dress it and run on it. Keep the dead skin on!
SO! Cut a piece of moleskin that is 1/4" to 1/2" larger than the blister. Then slap the moleskin DIRECTLY onto the blister region.
Take the athletic tape (not medical! medical won't stay) and liberally cover up the moleskin, giving it up to an inch of overlap. I used two thick pieces here. I kinda massage the tape onto the skin a bit to make it adhere better.
And that is it for dressing! Now don't go sprinting for that 10K right away. Get your socks and shoes on and walk around for a good 10 mins to let the dressings stretch and adhere to your skin. Otherwise, it will fall off while running, and will create NEW blisters. Yuck!
Now for the dead skin issue. When you peel off the dressing, do it in the direction of the blister if its ripped. If the moleskin tears some of the dead skin off, that is fine, it will only take a little bit and its probably the dead skin that was ready to go anyways. Somehow the moleskin does this perfectly.
I will do this method for probably the next two weeks until a new layer of skin has formed over the raw flesh. In my case, I will be dressing it until my next race.
FYI, moleskin is really expensive, so buy it as a roll. Buying it as flat sheets is SUCH a ripoff and you get less!!!
Happy running!
There is nothing more annoying than a tiny little blister that chafes just in the right spot to prevent you from running. I still get blisters every now and then, and it's usually due to my sock not being on my foot properly. BUT! I don't let blisters stop me from running. This is my method for treating a blister to keep me running pain free.
Here are my supplies. Moleskin, athletic tape (not medical!), and scissors.
This (pictured below) is the culprit. Most of the dead skin is still on there (only a little bit of the raw flesh is exposed). I am going to leave the dead skin on there until it naturally falls off. The reason why you want to leave it is because if you cut it off or rip it off, you will either create sharp dead skin, which will cut into the raw flesh, or by ripping it it will tear off good skin, making the raw flesh section larger (increasing healing time). Leave the dead skin be!!! (I will explain how it comes off later)
But first! Is this (above^) the type of blister that you have? Has it already popped? Ripped? Is it like the top of a volcano about to burst? Is it deep under thick skin? My blister had already popped on its own. However, if you have a blister that is a pocket filled with fluid (like the top of a volcano) and is really painful to walk on and it doesn't die down on its own, it is a candidate for popping to relieve the pain. So to do this, sanitize a needle and pop it with a tiny tiny hole and drain it, then sanitize your foot. You want to relieve that pressure before you dress it and run on it. Keep the dead skin on!SO! Cut a piece of moleskin that is 1/4" to 1/2" larger than the blister. Then slap the moleskin DIRECTLY onto the blister region.
Take the athletic tape (not medical! medical won't stay) and liberally cover up the moleskin, giving it up to an inch of overlap. I used two thick pieces here. I kinda massage the tape onto the skin a bit to make it adhere better.
And that is it for dressing! Now don't go sprinting for that 10K right away. Get your socks and shoes on and walk around for a good 10 mins to let the dressings stretch and adhere to your skin. Otherwise, it will fall off while running, and will create NEW blisters. Yuck!Now for the dead skin issue. When you peel off the dressing, do it in the direction of the blister if its ripped. If the moleskin tears some of the dead skin off, that is fine, it will only take a little bit and its probably the dead skin that was ready to go anyways. Somehow the moleskin does this perfectly.
I will do this method for probably the next two weeks until a new layer of skin has formed over the raw flesh. In my case, I will be dressing it until my next race.
FYI, moleskin is really expensive, so buy it as a roll. Buying it as flat sheets is SUCH a ripoff and you get less!!!
Happy running!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Mount Defiance: Day #2 of Lake George
I was able to start day #2 up in Lake George off with not one, but two kayakers to escort me on a short .6 mile OWS in the cove where I was staying. Thanks to my sister and cousin!
My thing about open water swimming is that I like to swim in water where I CANNOT see the bottom. Or rather, ANYTHING other than the person in front of me whom I am drafting. Got it?
Lake George is a clear lake, especially in the morning, and even with two kayakers near me, I still get freaked out when I see a fish, or a GIGANTIC boulder underneath you.
But do you really want to know what freaks me out the most? When I hit a gigantic DEAD fish out in the middle of the lake. GAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!! hahahahahahaa! I came up and was all panicked with, "What was that! What was that!" My little almost 12 year old cousin was laughing with, "Haha! Haha! You hit a dead fish!"
Ok, I got a chuckle out of it after I realized what it was. But man! Talk about freakout! What are the chances that out of the ENTIRE lake that I hit the one dead fish in the cove!?!?!? I could actually smell it before I came near it. So gross! I even cut my finger on its fin. Blah!
So after the swim, I laced up the shoes and went for a run with my super runner aunt. I said I needed to do 9 miles and she responded with, "Oh! We can go up Mt. Defiance."
Special thanks to Jeff @ Dangle The Carrot for shooting me a great of definition of what "defiance" means:
intentionally contemptuous behavior or attitude. OR a hostile challenge.
Does this look like a "hostile challenge" to you?
Says the average pitch is 9.36% ....I'd say the max is ~16%. Get your climbing gear out!
So my aunt gets us to mile 4 and we start going up a pitch and she says, "By the way, this isn't the hill yet." WHAAAAT!!!! We get to the top of the pitch and she then says, "Here is the turn to head up." We make the turn and I see this wall in front of me. GULP!
I collected myself and we started the ascent. It went wall to short plateau to wall to short plateau and my breathing got heavier and heavier and my pace was crawling to that of a slug. Finally we come to a flat section and I can see a clearing. I am convinced that the end is right there. WRONG! I turn another corner and again look up to even STEEPER sections that are even LONGER. OH MAN GET THIS OVER WITH!!!
Now my brain has switched into full on Mt. Ventoux climbing mode. The SUCKAGE is at its greatest and the top will come and this hill climb will pay off dividends in two weeks @ Timberman.
View to the north into Vermont. This is the bottom of Lake Champlain.
That fort is Fort Ticonderoga. The Brits hauled two canon up to this view and shot artillery shells down upon the fort during the Revolutionary war. Can you imagine hauling canon up this road?!?!?
View to the south into Vermont. The very bottom of Lake Champlain is down there even further.
We took it easy on the way down so as to not get blisters on the feet. It took us 12:30 to run the 1 mile up, and 11 mins to run the 1 mile down. I can't risk blisters at this point. Gonna save em for two more weeks. We rounded out the run @ 10.2 miles for the morning, rounding out a solid weekend of training.
I then fell asleep in a hammock on the shore with the wind rocking me side to side. That was a great and well deserved nap!
My thing about open water swimming is that I like to swim in water where I CANNOT see the bottom. Or rather, ANYTHING other than the person in front of me whom I am drafting. Got it?
Lake George is a clear lake, especially in the morning, and even with two kayakers near me, I still get freaked out when I see a fish, or a GIGANTIC boulder underneath you.
But do you really want to know what freaks me out the most? When I hit a gigantic DEAD fish out in the middle of the lake. GAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!! hahahahahahaa! I came up and was all panicked with, "What was that! What was that!" My little almost 12 year old cousin was laughing with, "Haha! Haha! You hit a dead fish!"
Ok, I got a chuckle out of it after I realized what it was. But man! Talk about freakout! What are the chances that out of the ENTIRE lake that I hit the one dead fish in the cove!?!?!? I could actually smell it before I came near it. So gross! I even cut my finger on its fin. Blah!
So after the swim, I laced up the shoes and went for a run with my super runner aunt. I said I needed to do 9 miles and she responded with, "Oh! We can go up Mt. Defiance."
Special thanks to Jeff @ Dangle The Carrot for shooting me a great of definition of what "defiance" means:
intentionally contemptuous behavior or attitude. OR a hostile challenge.
Does this look like a "hostile challenge" to you?
Says the average pitch is 9.36% ....I'd say the max is ~16%. Get your climbing gear out!So my aunt gets us to mile 4 and we start going up a pitch and she says, "By the way, this isn't the hill yet." WHAAAAT!!!! We get to the top of the pitch and she then says, "Here is the turn to head up." We make the turn and I see this wall in front of me. GULP!
I collected myself and we started the ascent. It went wall to short plateau to wall to short plateau and my breathing got heavier and heavier and my pace was crawling to that of a slug. Finally we come to a flat section and I can see a clearing. I am convinced that the end is right there. WRONG! I turn another corner and again look up to even STEEPER sections that are even LONGER. OH MAN GET THIS OVER WITH!!!
Now my brain has switched into full on Mt. Ventoux climbing mode. The SUCKAGE is at its greatest and the top will come and this hill climb will pay off dividends in two weeks @ Timberman.
Well, at least the rewarding view at the top was literally breathtaking! Hahaha! Get it? I was out of breath when I got to the top? Oh man....I will be here all week folks, try the duck!
View to the north into Vermont. This is the bottom of Lake Champlain.
That fort is Fort Ticonderoga. The Brits hauled two canon up to this view and shot artillery shells down upon the fort during the Revolutionary war. Can you imagine hauling canon up this road?!?!?
View to the south into Vermont. The very bottom of Lake Champlain is down there even further.We took it easy on the way down so as to not get blisters on the feet. It took us 12:30 to run the 1 mile up, and 11 mins to run the 1 mile down. I can't risk blisters at this point. Gonna save em for two more weeks. We rounded out the run @ 10.2 miles for the morning, rounding out a solid weekend of training.
I then fell asleep in a hammock on the shore with the wind rocking me side to side. That was a great and well deserved nap!
Monday, August 9, 2010
Lake George Last Big Training Weekend Day #1
This past weekend marked the two week out mark from Ironman Timberman 70.3, so this meant I could throw the kitchen sink at myself and still have time to recover. I was up in Lake George, NY, which meant a perfect training playground to accomplish everything I needed to accomplish.
Overall, I accomplished more running and biking than anticipated, but fell flat on the swimming, which was fine because that was just icing on the cake anyways.
So on Saturday, the debate was to do 2 loops of a 24 mile course that was on the easier side, OR! do a 30 mile out, 30 mile back, 60 miler on some challenging terrain. What did I have to lose? I went with the 60 miler. When I told me uncle I was going to do that course, he did the eyebrows raise, "What are you nuts?" look. YEP! Here is the course:
And elevation:
Nothing that steep, but LOTs of looooooooong slogging climbs in the easiest gear just grinding it out
And power profile:
Notice the constant up and down? Thats the hillyness. I was either going up, or going down. Few flats.
So I did almost 60 miles in around 3:11:xx, for a mid 18mph average over some hilly terrain. The main road, Rt 22, was a 25 mile stretch without a single stop sign or stop light with a wide shoulder on both sides and perfect pavement. It was incredible!
I hit my wattage on the dot with a 192 average and my legs felt totally fried by the end. But! I threw on the running shoes regardless and headed out for a short brick.
I went 3.2 miles in 24:40 for a 7:44 pace. Mile Splits:
Mile 1: 8:06
Mile 2: 7:37
Mile 3: 7:21
So that run calmed my fears. I wasn't sure if last weekend was an anomaly-freakish-good-day or if I actually do run faster off of the bike. It really is that I run faster off of the bike. Phew! And the fact that my mile splits were getting down into the mid-low 7's after a MUCH more challenging 60 miler than the flatter 56 mile Timberman course has REALLY artificially boosted my ego and confidence. (aka I paced the bike perfectly)
Will report more on Sunday's efforts. Here is a poll for you: What do you think a run up a mountain called Mount Defiance would be like?
Overall, I accomplished more running and biking than anticipated, but fell flat on the swimming, which was fine because that was just icing on the cake anyways.
So on Saturday, the debate was to do 2 loops of a 24 mile course that was on the easier side, OR! do a 30 mile out, 30 mile back, 60 miler on some challenging terrain. What did I have to lose? I went with the 60 miler. When I told me uncle I was going to do that course, he did the eyebrows raise, "What are you nuts?" look. YEP! Here is the course:
And elevation:
Nothing that steep, but LOTs of looooooooong slogging climbs in the easiest gear just grinding it outAnd power profile:
Notice the constant up and down? Thats the hillyness. I was either going up, or going down. Few flats.So I did almost 60 miles in around 3:11:xx, for a mid 18mph average over some hilly terrain. The main road, Rt 22, was a 25 mile stretch without a single stop sign or stop light with a wide shoulder on both sides and perfect pavement. It was incredible!
I hit my wattage on the dot with a 192 average and my legs felt totally fried by the end. But! I threw on the running shoes regardless and headed out for a short brick.
I went 3.2 miles in 24:40 for a 7:44 pace. Mile Splits:
Mile 1: 8:06
Mile 2: 7:37
Mile 3: 7:21
So that run calmed my fears. I wasn't sure if last weekend was an anomaly-freakish-good-day or if I actually do run faster off of the bike. It really is that I run faster off of the bike. Phew! And the fact that my mile splits were getting down into the mid-low 7's after a MUCH more challenging 60 miler than the flatter 56 mile Timberman course has REALLY artificially boosted my ego and confidence. (aka I paced the bike perfectly)
Will report more on Sunday's efforts. Here is a poll for you: What do you think a run up a mountain called Mount Defiance would be like?
Friday, August 6, 2010
SUCCESS!....before the LAST big training weekend
I can't believe it but this is the last "throw the kitchen sink" at myself weekend. I can basically slaughter my legs as much as I want to this weekend because I will have 2 full weeks to recover. I am heading out for the third weekend in a row back up to the ADK, this time to Lake George for a ton of SBR. The plan is:
Saturday:
But before this happens, I need to tell about some success yesterday. Due to scheduling reasons, and the fact that my brain is runtarded, I went running midday.....87 degrees, 66% humidity @ 12:30PM. According to the heat index chart, it felt like 95 degrees, and it SUCKED!
Then it was to the pool for successful swim #2 of the week. I did:
500 WU
2 x (4 x 25 EZ, 50 HARD)
2 x 100
6 x 200 (descending 1-3, 4-6)
3 x 100 CD, breathing to opposite side or bilateral
-----------
2500 total
This was a great solid swim and I am back to a 1:30 pace on the 200's. Confidence booster! Panic mode has calmed way down and I hope to get in 2 OWS this weekend, wetsuit free.
Won't have the interwebs this weekend, so have a good one and I will catch up with ya on Monday! Happy training!
Saturday:
- Swim 1.15 miles (this is the triangle swim course in the cove on the lake)
- Bike 48 miles
- Run 6.2
- aka.....funky distance triathlon done @ HIM Intensity
- Swim 1.15 miles
- Run 6.2
- crawl underneath a rock
But before this happens, I need to tell about some success yesterday. Due to scheduling reasons, and the fact that my brain is runtarded, I went running midday.....87 degrees, 66% humidity @ 12:30PM. According to the heat index chart, it felt like 95 degrees, and it SUCKED!
{source}
I carried a bottle of water with me and that helped, but just thinking and dwelling on the heat made it worse. So I learned that if I could get my mind to wander, that I would speed up a bit. Also, when the sun would hide behind a cloud, I felt stronger, but then when the sun came back out, it was like someone turned a heat lamp directly on me and I slowed. I held a 9:00 min pace exactly over 6 miles and it felt like a tempo run. It was brutal....
Then it was to the pool for successful swim #2 of the week. I did:
500 WU
2 x (4 x 25 EZ, 50 HARD)
2 x 100
6 x 200 (descending 1-3, 4-6)
3 x 100 CD, breathing to opposite side or bilateral
-----------
2500 total
This was a great solid swim and I am back to a 1:30 pace on the 200's. Confidence booster! Panic mode has calmed way down and I hope to get in 2 OWS this weekend, wetsuit free.
Won't have the interwebs this weekend, so have a good one and I will catch up with ya on Monday! Happy training!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Distance Dreamers
I keep forgetting about the NYC Marathon in November. Why? Cuz I am not scared of it? This *could* be a bad thing. (don't worry, it is really on the radar and I am getting the prescribed run mileage in, I am just not "mentally" there yet)
I guess the reason why I am not scared is because I have A) one more Half Ironman to do between now and then, so my brain is a bit preoccupied B) I have ran a 1:50:00 half Marathon after a super hilly 56 mile bike during a Half Ironman. That run has artificially inflated my ego and confidence C) I have signed up for a full Ironman next season, so thinking about the 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike kinda dwarfes the marathon that comes 3rd that day.
But this is BAD logic! I SHOULD be scared of the marathon. The longest I have ever ran was a 15.5 miler @ race pace on a freaking super hilly course. It hurt, but I had a feeling going any longer was only gonna hurt more. I think the marathon is gonna hit me when I do my first long run over 15.5 miles and I go, "Uh oh, I still have another 10.7 miles to go and my knees are giving me the middle finger." (I really am scared of 26.2 miles, I am just in denial, which is bliss!)
SO! To keep my brain in marathon mode, I have found a cool blogger, Abbi @ Higher Miles, who has started a first time marathoner's group called Distance Dreamers. We can all share our first time marathon experiences through this group! Every Wednesday she will report on our progress and will give us Q's to answer about our training. So check out her site and join if you are doing your first Marathon this year.
Here is the first installment of Q's:
What made you decide you wanted to run a long distance race?
That sense of accomplishment. Also, it was a huge incentive to put in more base mileage at speed to compliment triathlon, which is my main sport.
Why the full marathon or half as your distance of choice?
First the half marathon because that is the final leg of a Half Ironman triathlon. If I wasn't confident in nailing a stand alone half marathon, how was I going to nail it during the half Ironman? The full marathon is along the same lines. I don't need to nail this distance, but I want to experience it before I do another one after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike. I guess the half and full marathons as stand alones are R&D?
Finally, why was this the year to go for it?
To be honest, I wanted to do a full marathon for the sake of doing a full marathon, so I randomly picked this year. Now that I am doing a full Ironman next year, doing the marathon this year works out perfectly, timing wise. Plus, doing the NYC Marathon in November is a great season ender and the place to end it where I started the season, in Central Park.
I guess the reason why I am not scared is because I have A) one more Half Ironman to do between now and then, so my brain is a bit preoccupied B) I have ran a 1:50:00 half Marathon after a super hilly 56 mile bike during a Half Ironman. That run has artificially inflated my ego and confidence C) I have signed up for a full Ironman next season, so thinking about the 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike kinda dwarfes the marathon that comes 3rd that day.
But this is BAD logic! I SHOULD be scared of the marathon. The longest I have ever ran was a 15.5 miler @ race pace on a freaking super hilly course. It hurt, but I had a feeling going any longer was only gonna hurt more. I think the marathon is gonna hit me when I do my first long run over 15.5 miles and I go, "Uh oh, I still have another 10.7 miles to go and my knees are giving me the middle finger." (I really am scared of 26.2 miles, I am just in denial, which is bliss!)
SO! To keep my brain in marathon mode, I have found a cool blogger, Abbi @ Higher Miles, who has started a first time marathoner's group called Distance Dreamers. We can all share our first time marathon experiences through this group! Every Wednesday she will report on our progress and will give us Q's to answer about our training. So check out her site and join if you are doing your first Marathon this year.
Here is the first installment of Q's:
What made you decide you wanted to run a long distance race?
That sense of accomplishment. Also, it was a huge incentive to put in more base mileage at speed to compliment triathlon, which is my main sport.
Why the full marathon or half as your distance of choice?
First the half marathon because that is the final leg of a Half Ironman triathlon. If I wasn't confident in nailing a stand alone half marathon, how was I going to nail it during the half Ironman? The full marathon is along the same lines. I don't need to nail this distance, but I want to experience it before I do another one after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike. I guess the half and full marathons as stand alones are R&D?
Finally, why was this the year to go for it?
To be honest, I wanted to do a full marathon for the sake of doing a full marathon, so I randomly picked this year. Now that I am doing a full Ironman next year, doing the marathon this year works out perfectly, timing wise. Plus, doing the NYC Marathon in November is a great season ender and the place to end it where I started the season, in Central Park.
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