Taper time!

Last week was my 22-mile run, and now I'm in taper mode. It was an icky week -- after that 22 I just couldn't make the legs move, and it wasn't until Friday that I was able to get a good run in.

I woke up early Saturday for MIT to the tune of pouring rain. Screw it, I'll get the 12 miles in on my own time.

So instead I woke up (somewhat) early Sunday to run on the Olentangy Trail with Miss Rebecca, who I haven't seen since the Granville Winter Run.

Me and Rebecca at Antrim Park after 12 miles on the O-Trail Sunday.

Rebecca and I met while hoofing it up the hills at the 2011 Granville Winter Run and became fast friends, and kept in touch thanks to Facebook. We both decided to run the Flying Pig, but then had incredibly rocky training seasons for our own separate reasons. I never get to see the girl though, since she lives on the far side of Columbus and we work opposite schedules!!

But Sunday, the stars aligned and we got to run together. I warned her that it would be slow (she didn't believe me), but it was. My legs felt so heavy after the first mile that she agreed to do a super-slow 3:1 run/walk with me.

Clockwise, it took forever, 2:28 for 12 miles. But it went so fast because I was in good company! Because we took it easy, I'm not even feeling it today.

The Flying Pig will be Rebecca's first full and I know she's going to do great! Like me, she's been humbled this season from injury, so our collective goal is just to survive!

Does anyone know where we can get a cheap curly pig tail and pig ears in the Greater Columbus area?

Taper time

PHEW!!!

The worst part of marathon training is officially over! I did my 22-mile run early Thursday and now I'm in taperville.

Overall it's been a very good season. I'm a lot more confident now. There were some bad days, but I knew I could complete every long run, and I did.

It was strange doing my longest run without MIT. I'm going to watch some friends in the Akron Marathon Saturday so I was up at 3:30 a.m. to do my long run. My friend Jamie came along for the first 16, then I was on my own, but she was kind enough to lend me her iPod since mine was dead.


The run went well. We started in downtown Granville with the plan to split it up into four parts, using our cars as a hydration point in between.

This reinforces the best advice I can give for these long hauls: Break the run up mentally. Just worry about getting to the next hydration point. It will make things so much easier!

First we went east from downtown and onto Raccoon Valley road. This part was kind of rough because of the hills. We did six miles out and back. As usual, for the first three I was achy and mentally overwhelmed because of what lay ahead, but Jamie and I talked the whole way and that really helped get my mind off the task at hand. It was really, really dark out and my headlamp did nothing for the fog.

After the first leg we went on the same sidewalk I've gotten to know really well. I was feeling better for the second leg, and felt strong getting back to the car at the halfway point. The third leg was rough, my legs got heavy and I was mentally and physically exhausted.

Jamie had to leave after Mile 16 so I was all by my lonesome. I was able to speed up but those last six were rough. I went down to the bike trail and ended up having to stop twice, but I did it!

I had the goal at the beginning of the week of running 45 miles. That is clearly not going to happen, but I'm happy I was able to get the long run in. I'm proud of myself for listening to my body on Tuesday. I was going to run six, but after about three steps I knew I had to take the day off and rest so I turned back.

Yasso, Death Valley, 18 miles, and a very tired me

I won a book and got it autographed.

I've been neglecting my blog all week. I'm not dead. Actually, I'm in pretty good shape and quite healthy. Just been tired. And busy. In a nutshell, if I haven't been passed out exhausted, I've been packing up in hopes of finally leaving my crappy apartment. And, as much as I love MIT, I'm looking forward to finally getting off road at Alum Creek tomorrow.

First things first -- Bart Yasso spoke to MIT last week and he was amazing. He was so remarkable, had so many stories (Bare Buns run, Beth?)

And yea, I thought the Warrior Dash was crazy?  Bush league. He had some hilarious stories from the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile race through Death Valley.

After we got to run with Bart for a bit, which was just fantastic, though I really didn't get to talk to him, there is photographic evidence of the experience!

I'm the one in the blue jacket waving my arms.

Saturday's run was wonderful, but insane. It was our first 18-mile day. Me and another in our group, Bill, started out behind so we ran sub-9:00 miles to catch up with the rest of the 10:30s. We slowed to regular pace for awhile. Our group shrunk considerably after the halfs turned off, and we were down to 4 by the turnaround. Then someone took a spill, so I ran ahead with Bill from the group. We were definitely headed back fast -- we ended at a sub-10:00 pace. I also tried Gu, it wasn't bad.

Here are the splits: (There are a lot of splits)
8:23, 8:58, 9:32, 10:16, 11:06, 10:08, 10:24, 10:10, 10:12, 10:11, 10:12, 10:12, 9:59, 10:08, 9:43, 9:22, 9:12, 9:56.

That gave me 36 miles for the week, a new record.

I felt great during and after the run. I was feeling good through lunch, through my dentists appointment, through shopping at Easton. Took the dogs for a walk, relaxed and watched a movie, didn't even need my usual nap.

And Sunday morning... crash. Seriously, I woke up way late in immense pain. Everything hurt. And I was so tired. I remember lying on my couch, and the alarm went off to switch laundry, and it took a good half hour to get my lazy butt up to do it. Monday wasn't any better, getting out of bed to go to work was rough. I eeked out 3 miles on the treadmill at a 12:00 pace. I woke up Tuesday with random cramps in my legs. I took the day off. Wednesday I went 6 on the bike trail, felt good during and immediately after but the soreness came back. I felt good doing three with Lizzie the dog yesterday, but my knees were hurting after. Today I'm feeling better. I haven't done any lifting or spinning this week, and I only did one yoga class.

I'm giving up on New Rules of Lifting for Women until after my marathon, it's a good program but it's just too cumbersome right now. A friend in my pace group recomended a body weight routine I'm going to try (thanks Kim).

Thankfully, it's a taper week, so I just have 10 tomorrow, and I'll end at 22 for the week (as opposed to last week's 36).

Instead of going to MIT, I'm doing the Conquer the Creek Trail Run at Alum Creek tomorrow morning. I'm really excited, though I've been neglecting my hill training (another thing that's probably going to take a backseat until marathon day). I think it will be good for my legs to get off the pavement too. Tonight I'm headed over to the Banyan Leaf Spa at Cherry Valley Lodge for a massage, a Groupon deal. That will help too.

The race is 6.5 miles, so I'm meeting up with a friend I met at the Granville Winter Run for a 3.5 mile warm up. I've never been to Alum Creek before, should be fun.

Next week the long run is 18 again, then the week after is 10. I'm finally transitioning onto the proper training program!

I'm hoping to move very soon, my apartment is way too much for me. I've been sorting through everything I own and getting rid of a lot of stuff, trying to simplify. I want to stay with my landlord, plus I'm still under a lease, so I'm hanging tight until he has something else open up. I feel so unsettled right now, hopefully that will change soon! 

Cleveland Marathon... 57 days!