Jess Runs Her First Marathon - Part 1: Training (sprinkled with a little bit of pre-race nerves)

It has been forever since I've posted anything here. Do not worry...I am still running! The marathon is tomorrow and the past couple of days I have taken some time to reminisce about the past 7 months of training for the marathon.

594 miles, 28 weeks, 1 goal.

1 goal: 26 miles before I turn 26 (turned 25 in August, so tomorrow may be a goal setting day for me!)
28 weeks: Seems like a long time, but it certainly does fly by! Especially when you're running almost 600 miles during that time period
~600 miles: At an average pace of 9-10 minutes per mile is approximately 5,700 minutes = 95 hours. Breaking it down like that, proves that it is a lot of time on the pavement. Running became a part of my everyday life. Even on days I didn't run, I thought of running.

The following picture is an overview of my 28-week training period (courtesy of the ole' standby Nike+ Coach Program):

The weeks were, for the most part, tolerable. A majority of my runs were 5-12 miles. When the intensity picked up, I was running 5-6 days out of the week. With one long run at the end of each week. "Short" runs being 4 miles and the longest run was 22 miles.

The program never pushed me to run more than the actual marathon distance. I've heard mixed reviews on this approach. I am okay with not having run the marathon distance before. I have used Nike+ training in the past, with the 5K, the 10-miler, and the half marathons. I have had success and trusted these programs so I felt comfortable only running 22 miles as my farthest run. We will see how that works out for me tomorrow!

Training was a challenging experience for me. There were good weeks, some bad weeks, awesome feel-good runs, and runs where you just feel like giving up on the whole thing. My levels of motivation and confidence were all over the place.

The following are a few random things that I've learned throughout my training.

1. Sidewalks are dangerous (well in RI at least):
   The famous "Rhode Island" roll-out. Operators of cars do not realize there is someone in the sidewalk that wants to cross until they are well over the crosswalk creeping out so that they can cut someone off. I would have to run behind cars countless times. Most of the time I would make sure to make eye contact with the driver and give them a dirty look. Needless to say, I found much better luck on the road in the shoulders.
2. Children are hazardous:
   Especially on bikes. On the bikepath. Typically children drive right into the direction they are staring at. When they see a runner like me with all my gear for long runs (hydration pack, head phones, GPS watch), they look at my like I'm insane. Watch out for those kids. They'll getchya!
3. Camelbacks actually do work well: It was an idea one day. I ran out of water too soon on a hot day. I had just four 8-oz bottles on my fuelbelt. I knew I needed to do something about my hydration. I thought of a camelback. Toyed around with the idea for a bit, then finally just bought one. Best idea ever. I bought the smallest one so that I wasn't carrying too much on my back. It was still 50 ounces of pure hydration. Amazing. It never felt too heavy and I had plenty of water for my long runs (I obviously don't like circling around or stopping anywhere).
   
4. Life sometimes gets too busy:
   There were weeks where I only ran 1-2 times. I skipped some runs. It was a crazy 7 months with 5 weddings to attend, moving from Western MA back to RI, adjusting to a new work schedule (twice) and finally getting settled in. There are a lot of life things to do besides run. Unfortunately running took a back burner a few weeks out of the training. However, I was always able to get back onto track pretty easily. It's okay to take a break once in a while. I followed the training program about 80%... I would say that's still successful.
5. Getting sick sucks: I traveled to Montana in September for my cousin's wedding. Montana is not the most direct place to get to. I had to take a total of 6 different planes round trip. It was inevitable I was going to get sick. But damn. I was feeling like crap for about a week. I don't know what I had. I ran a couple of times during that week, but they were probably my worst runs ever. It being late September by this time, I was getting quite worried! Don't get sick. It will be your ultimate low in the training, lol.
   

Blood. Sweat. And yes, tears.

Blood: Simple enough. Blood from blisters and chaffing. I got a couple bruises on my pelvis area from having my fuelbelt on too tight.
Sweat: To the point that I wasn't just sweating, I was salty and gritty. Kudos to Tang for pointing out that I should have more salt/electrolytes while running. I was drinking enough water, but not replenishing the salt/electrolytes effectively.
Tears: I did get discouraged from time to time. Worried. Frustrated. How am I going to complete 26.2 miles? Am I really ready? Can I do this? It was indeed an emotional experience as well.


It's here though. Whether I am ready or not. The marathon is just hours away. Stay tuned for the race report. I'm excited to see how I do. I expect it will take me about 4 and a half hours. That's a long time but my ultimate goal is just to run the whole thing. I just want to run. Pace myself. And have a good time.

To be continued...

Summer/Fall Running Schedule

After finishing the COX half marathon, I realized that I was not signed up for anything else yet. As soon as I was able to get to a computer, I began planning out my running schedule for the season. When I started running, I made a personal goal of completing a marathon by the time I was 26 (26 miles by the age of 26). I think that goal is going to come early and I am hoping to achieve it at the age of 25. Last October, I ran the Newport Half-Marathon. I thought it would be a nice goal for me to do the full marathon the following year. The end of the race season will be me almost dying at the end of the Newport full marathon. I'm okay with that. I know I can do it! I decided to register for it, so that I HAD to start training for it. No exceptions. Here goes nothing.

I only signed up for 4 races so far, but I'm sure I will be adding more as the season continues. Compared to the active members of the TRC, I'm sure I have a similar running schedule but I'm going to list it anyway.

**Blackstone Half - May 21st
**Old Port 5k in Portland, ME - July 24th (Danato is doing the half... I'm super jealous, but I'm doing the 5k to support a friend who is just getting back on the running wagon)
**Narragansett Blessing of the Fleet 10-miler - July 29th
**Newport Full Marathon - October 15th

Based on my performance on the Providence Half, I decided last minute that I would do the Blackstone Half-Marathon in Pawtucket coming up in a couple weeks. I am really excited, especially for the possibility of wearing a team shirt created by Pat! Awesome job! Can't wait to see it when I get it in the mail.

I've already started my 28-week training program for the marathon. I have it set to beginner. The mileage per week seems reasonable and with my new work schedule in RI, I think I will definitely be able to manage the longer distances this summer. I'm excited to be living back in RI and being able to expand my running "scenery". I just love the East Bay Bike Path and hopefully I can get in some scenic runs by traveling down to Narragansett on occasions. I know the Cranston/Providence area pretty well and I am excited that I will be able to run where there are actual sidewalks :-) The Palmer, MA area really is a crappy place for avid runners...

Prep Week for the Half-Marathon

This may sound twisted, but I'm truly enjoying this week before the race.

Prep Week Diet: I already cut out consuming alcohol a couple weeks ago (you bet I will be drinking my complimentary beer at the end of the race!!). I have had a decent runner's diet for the past 2 months, but I am really concentrating on it more this week. It's too late to change anything drastically but I am adding a bit more carbs this week along with extra protein when I can. Eggs, protein bars, etc. And making sure I get plenty of fluids all day, every day (I tend to slack on drinking enough water throughout the day... especially when I'm working). The day before any race, besides carbing up for dinner, I like to drink as much water as I can to keep fully hydrated during the day so the next day during the race I am still hydrated effectively. I'm stoked for this race. Hope it goes well!

Next task: Create super awesome playlist for Sunday.

Taper down running week. Took 2 days for rest after the 12 mile run, ran 5.5 miles yesterday, and today I ran 6.3 miles. Tomorrow will be 4 miles, a rest day on Thursday (due to working all day), maybe a short run (~2 miles or so) on Friday, then about 3 miles on Saturday to warm up for Sunday. I don't push myself during these runs but I have noticed that my average pace has improved during the past couple of weeks. I am running faster at less the effort than maybe a month ago or so. I am loving that! Must be a distance thing... Today I ran 6.3 miles at an average pace of 9:40, a month ago when I ran a 6 mile run I was averaging about 10:30... A little improvement but I feel great! :-)

Future Running Goals:

During my run today I thought about my running goals and what I want to achieve. When I first started running, I set a goal of 26.2 by the time I'm 26. Being only 24 right now I think I will meet this goal by the time I'm 25. So maybe Boston Marathon by the time I'm 26?? That's a far goal, but who knows.. maybe I can do it.

This is how I might do it, the following is a list of major runs I will plan on doing, but I will obviously try to include other smaller runs (like 5k's and 10k's) in the mix:***

1. Newport Half on Sunday
2. COX Providence (Shape Up RI) Half-Marathon in May 2011
3. Newport Marathon next October 2011 (which is a qualifier for the Boston Marathon)
4. Try to find another Marathon between October and March 2012
5. Boston Marathon April 2012 OR 2013
   

....If I can't qualify for the April 2012 one I can certainly shoot for 2013 (I will still technically be 26). Soooo it's not impossible. It will take a lot of work and a lot of focusing on making my pace a bit faster too... To qualify for the Boston Marathon, a woman who is aged 18-34 must be able to finish a qualifying marathon in 3 hours and 40 minutes. I did some simple math and this turns out to be an average pace of about 8:27... Eeek! Maybeee... just maybe!! If not, there are plenty of other marathons that I could run in anyway..

***This is all depending on a few factors of course... the main part being if I'm still in the area to do all these races a year from now... You never know what life events may happen. And well, I hope I don't get injured in the process!! (fingers crossed). We shall see, goals can change. But for right now, this is my goal.

Now, I don't really want to jump the gun on this. I'm not going to sign up for the next major race (the Providence Half-Marathon) until after this Sunday... see how my first half goes. If I can do the Newport Marathon next year at this time, I will be very happy.

Back to 2010:
I still want to try to run in the Downtown Jingle Bell 5K in Providence... I don't think I will be able to make the Monster Dash since I will be in Vegas from the 27th-30th.. The 31st will be a recovery day, lol. Any other runs coming up that people are doing?? I need stuff to motivate me through the winter...