Columbus is coming up fast!

Only 3 mega-long runs left til the Columbus Marathon, 52 days from today!

I just registered to run with the 4:30 pace team (which I will say goodbye to after the first half!) And there's a sweet video of the course:

2011 Columbus Marathon Complete Course Overview from dan farkas on Vimeo.

After 18 miles, total exhaustion

At the beginning of the year, I didn't understand people who told me "I can't train for a marathon, I have kids." What's the big deal? At the worst of it, you're gone for 4 hours on a Saturday morning. With MIT starting so early, you're probably home by the time they wake up.

Then came the first 16-miler. I reeled for a few hours, then crashed. When I woke up, I had some of the worst soreness and exhaustion I had ever experienced. After that run, then my 18, 20, 22 and my race, I was out for the entire weekend. Anything that required the slightest bit of exertion was out of the question.

Parents who train for marathons (or those who have any other obligations on the weekends), how do you do it? Throwing the red ball to my dog takes special effort! Any chore I can't do sitting down can wait!

Yesterday I was scheduled for 16. I, errr, went 18. It was a great run, I felt really strong through the entire thing. Staying on my feet for so long after was probably a bad call. I did some shopping (pair 4 of Mizuno Precisions on their way!). Then I went to the 10TV Health and Fitness expo, which was a huge waste of time.

I had really good splits and my heart rate stayed where it needed to be:

My average pace was 10:20, average HR was 155. Splits:
Mile 1: 10:53, 171 bpm (doubt this is right, monitor was acting up)
Mile 2: 10:26, 164 bpm
Mile 3: 10:27, 152 bpm
Mile 4: 10:20, 152 bpm
Mile 5: 10:29, 149 bpm
Mile 6: 10:28, 150 bpm
Mile 7: 9:09, 149 bpm
Mile 8: 9:37, 154 bpm (potty break and subsequent catch-up)
Mile 9: 10:20, 149 bpm
Mile 10: 10:27, 150 bpm
Mile 11: 10:33, 149 bpm
Mile 12: 10:12, 153 bpm
Mile 13: 10:25, 153 bpm
Mile 14: 10:18, 152 bpm
Mile 15: 10:18, 155 bpm
Mile 16: 10:26, 158 bpm
Mile 17: 10:30, 162 bpm
Mile 18: 10:37, 159 bpm

Anyway, aside from the laundry that I absolutely need to do, my only mission for the rest of the evening is to find out if Jack Bauer can stop the pandemic virus in time! Netflix, I love you.

Song I'm currently obsessed with:

Indian Run registration, and other musings

For the second year in a row I'm going to do the Hocking Hills Indian Run down in Logan. I did the 10K last year and it's a fantastic race. This year I'm signed up for the 20K, that's 12.4 miles. I haven't been running off-road much this year so I think in the next few weeks I'm going to get to Dawes and the Bio to get acclimated to trails again.

I'm also eying the Nu Hop Trail Run again this year at Mohican. It was fun running it last year, though I'm not sure what I can do two weeks after Columbus. 

I've been a bad blogger lately. Really, there's not a lot to report. We're in the heart of the training season, our long runs jump from 14 miles to 16 miles Saturday, and our weekday miles are building rapidly. Providing I complete the long run I will have done 30 miles this week alone. At least the heat has taken a break and I'm back to running a 9:30-10:30 pace weekdays and a 10:30 pace Saturday. The 14-mile long run went great last week, we ran from Ohio Health in Westerville up to Galena and back, beautiful scenery. This week it's back to Worthington High, while I adore MIT I have to admit I'm getting sick of running the same trail every week.

I've been taking Lizzie dog out for my 3 mile runs. We didn't get out this week but in general she's been coming for one run a week. She loves it. We can't do the pet run in Granville Sept. 3 but I'm hoping to find a 5K that I can do with her.

My other dog, Gigi, has lymphoma and hasn't been doing well at all, so that's been an added layer of stress. The poor girl isn't responding to the prednisone, so I'm going to try her on a new med this week.

Overall, running, work and life has left me thoroughly exhausted. Going to rest up tonight to prepare for tomorrow (we have to be in Worthington at 6:30, ick!), I want to check out the 10TV health and fitness expo, but beyond that I plan on taking it real easy.

My best buds

To call this a brutal week would be a vast understatement. Myself and my family are all dog people. There are five dogs in my immediate family at the moment, two with me, two with my parents and one with my sister. But the pack is going to shrink. 

I've grown up with Katie Dog. I hated her at first (I was a teenager), because she wasn't Misha, the german shephard we had previously who I loved way back when. 

We don't know how old Katie is, but she's old, at least 12. For the past year every time I said goodbye to her I knew there was a chance I wouldn't see her again. When my dad called last week and told me that her time was very short, it wasn't much of a surprise. 

But then I found out about Gigi. This was a total shock. 

Gigi is the older of my two greyhounds (Lizzie is only 6 months younger). I'd noticed a little bit of swelling in her lymph nodes before, but last week they ballooned, so we went to the vet last Friday. After a few tests they confirmed the worst -- she has lymphoma. I don't know how much longer I have with her now, but I'm trying to make the best of it. 

Gigi was the first dog to be completely mine, she and I have been through so much together. She's been my contant through a lot of moves and life changes in my early adulthood. She's a very sweet, kind, loving girl -- doesn't even bark at the mailman. 

Miss Lizzie is my other hound. I got her a year after I brought Gigi home. Gigi was going a little nuts with my unpredictable work schedule and needed a friend. I fell in love with Lizzie while volunteering at the greyhound kennel up in Maine. 

Lizzie is obnoxious, loud, defiant and bossy and I love her dearly. Somehow, despite Gigi's timid and sensitive personality, they make a good team. She's a lot more independent than Gigi. 

I'm starting to run with her again. We may even compete in the Licking County Pet-A-Palooza 5K in September together. 

Rounding out the pack are Brandy (left) and Mimi (right), the babies of the group. Brandy belongs to my sister, Mimi belongs to my parents. 

July: Lucky numbers

I ran 111 miles in July. Isn't it supposed to be good luck when all the numbers are the same? (I also biked 15).

Couldn't get the whole month on one screen, so here's daily mileage July 4-31:

Weekly mileage, the 6th week of the year to current:

And monthly mileage!

Passing the halfway point

This week in training.

It's kind of fun to look back at my posts from the same point of training in the spring. Today was the first 14-miler. Last session I replaced it with the CRRC Winter Run in Granville. That was a really good run for me. Today could not have been more different.

The weather was worse than last week. We met at 6:30 and the temperature was tolerable, but the humidity was worse than last week. I was completely soaked by the halfway point.

It took me awhile to get into the groove, miles 1-2 were really difficult but miles 3-10 were pleasant. I wore my compression socks so my shins didn't hurt. My heart rate was a bit higher than last week throughout.

After we turned around to come back I really started struggling. I got some awful side stitches the last two miles. I slowed it down on Mile 13 but picked it back up on Mile 14 because I really just wanted to be done.

I'm going to cross train Mondays and Fridays until I make it through this heat (and I'll be at your spin class Thursday Jamie, no worries!) This Monday was my first time on the bike and it was a lot of fun. I covered 15. Next week I'm going to shoot for 20.

Next week's long run is a fallback, so 10 miles. Monday I'll ride 20, Tuesday I have 6, Wednesday is 4 -- I'll shoot for hills, Thursday and Friday are both 3 but I may try to swim or ride Friday.

I want a running skirt...

Totally unrelated, I'm back on my Rilo Kiley kick. Here's my song of the day:

Nostalgia

Our run Feb. 5.

Today was the first 12-mile run of the season. It started to rain/snow toward the end and I could literally feel bits of ice bouncing off my face...


Oh wait... that's just what I was longing for... weather like that on Feb. 5 when we were in the same point in our training for our spring marathons. Seems like forever ago!


Today was a far different story. Accuweather had a giant heat advisory for the entire day. The started us out early, at 6:30 (which put my wake-up call at 4:45), and even then the humidity was around 90 percent.


I've never done well in the heat. Thanks to the MIT coaches, though, I was prepared for today. They sent us emails all week about dealing with the humidity. Here are some of the things I did:

• Drank lots and lots and lots of water yesterday and this morning 
• Brought extra nutrition (for 12 miles I used a Gu and a pack of Sport beans)
• I've been eating bananas all week
• Extra carbs and salt yesterday
• I made sure to stand outside to get acclimated before running
• Wore my monitor and kept an eye on my heart rate the entire time
• Dumped cups of water on myself at the water stops.

I survived! The first two miles were the toughest (and also uphill), but then I settled in on the shady trail. I've been struggling with shin splits lately, they hurt the first two but then eased off. After I changed I wrung my clothes out in the sink! Grossness! 

This was one of those days I definitely couldn't have survived without MIT and the 10:30 pace team. I know 12 miles was where I broke down trying to run on my own so for some reason I always get nervous before this run. 


(Why is this in a different font. Arg. Whatever, it's nap time, I'll fix it later.)

I registered for Columbus, no turning back!

"Dear Jessica Alaimo:
Congratulations, you've made the COMMITMENT to take part in the 2011 Nationwide Insurance Columbus Marathon & 1/2 Marathon! We are pleased to have you joining us for what promises to be a great event!

"Keep Up-To-Date
Right up to race day, October 16, 2011, we will post information and updates on our Facebook page, so sign up and become a Fan of the Columbus Marathon & 1/2 Marathon! Our website, www.columbusmarathon.com, is another great source of information, so check in often!
And save this note for the links to switch events or transfer your entry to another person. (this information is also available at www.columbusmarathon.com, under Registration Information).

"Race Change & Transfer Policy
Our new registration system will allow you to update your information, including switching between the Marathon and 1/2 Marathon and transfering your entry to another person. Please note that these transfers will only be permitted through August 30, 2011, or until the event in which you wish to participate sells out, whichever comes first. There is a $10 fee to switch race (plus the difference if upgrading), and a $20 fee to transfer your entry to another person.
To change from one race to another, click here:

https://secure.marathonguide.com/register/columbusmarathon/changerace.cfm
To transfer your entry to another person, click here:

https://secure.MarathonGuide.com/register/ColumbusMarathon/MakeTransfer.cfm

"Run For Charity
Want to run or walk for one of our official charities or have a cause you want to support? We want to raise $1 million for charity in 2011! Visit www.crowdrise.com/columbusmarathon and help make a difference!

Best wishes in your TRAINING!
The Nationwide Insurance Columbus Marathon & 1/2 Marathon Team"