When you smell doughnuts, turn around

It's hard to believe, but it's been two years since I trained for my first marathon. TWO. And I've barely done a thing since. In 2011, when I was getting ready for my 26.2 debut, I did most long training runs with a group. And our sunrise meeting spot was almost always Krispy Kreme.

It was a treat to get to run there because most of my shorter training runs happened either near my house or near work. But on the weekends, we would gather at Krispy Kreme and run routes that were not as familiar, and of course, at the beginning and end we were tempted by that glorious doughnut smell.

Well, now that I'm starting over with running and we live in a new place, the running paths that go by Krispy Kreme are practically in my backyard. After we moved this summer and I tried to start running again, I just stayed on our neighborhood streets. Half a mile, a full mile, that was far enough for me. But now I'm going a little farther...2 miles on week days and 3-mile "long" runs on the weekends.

The view on my run last weekend

I run a lap around our neighborhood and then I leave our streets and hop on the running/bike paths that wind through our city -- leading me toward Krispy Kreme. Every weekend, I go farther and farther down the path before I have to turn around and head home. This past weekend, I made it far enough that I could distinctly smell doughnuts before I had to turn back. Stopping and going the other way when one smells doughnuts is probably just a good policy in general, but for me, running on that path and smelling that smell made me think of my friends, of marathon training, and of that amazing sense of accomplishment when you run farther than you ever thought you could.

Marathon training is well out my my reach right now, but I'll be happy when I'm strong enough to run past Krispy Kreme and keep going down the trail a bit farther. For now, it's a good landmark for where I've been and where I know I can go.

One week

Today was my last long run before the St. Jude Memphis Marathon, and this week, I've been reminded of what it takes to persevere, keep going when you're exhausted and to never give up. I've mentioned before that I'm running for Team Carson, in honor of my cousin who was treated at St. Jude for brain cancer. And this past week, Carson's story was featured on the TODAY Show! He and his family spent the week in New York and had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Check out his video from the show.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Carson and his parents are such an inspiration. They never gave up, even when it was incredibly difficult, and Carson is with us today because of St. Jude. (If you'd like to make a donation to Team Carson, which goes directly to St. Jude, please visit my St. Jude Heroes fundraising page HERE.) 

So when I'm running my first 26.2 in just six short days, you can bet I'll be thinking of Carson and hoping I can muster a fraction of the strength that he and his family have. As race day looms closer, I'm getting more and more nervous. I just got a new job, and I haven't had much time to run at all the last couple of weeks, so I was even nervous about today's 10 miler. It's the farthest I've run since my 20 mile run two weeks ago...because Trea and I spent last weekend eating bacon instead of running our planned mileage. Ahem.

This morning, we met up with Lori, Alicia, Jennifer and Charles for 10 miles in the freezing cold. The weather was kind of awful, but we were all bundled up, so we had a good, strong run. It was exactly the confidence booster I needed before the big day. I can do this! I think. Probably.



I can't believe we only have a week left -- just six days! -- and then we'll be Memphis bound!

I survived!

I survived my first 20 miler! It was hard, it was HOT, the 30 mph wind about blew me over, but I made it!

Trea and I ran all over Bentonville and Rogers, and I thought we would never get back to the car. I took Gatorade breaks and walked pretty frequently during the last 10 miles, but I'm still just happy that I made it all the way. It was a really tough run, not only because of the new distance, but because I just wasn't feeling it that day. It would have been difficult even if I had only been running 10 miles.

I prepared just the way That Pink Girl instructed. I hydrated like it was my job, got plenty of rest, started paying closer attention to my diet all week leading up to the run and increasing my carb intake, but I still woke up feeling blah. My 18 miler was hard, but not in the same way as this run. So maybe some days are better than others, and every run won't always be great. I just hope I have another day like my 18 miler on race day! It's almost here!

After our run, we were crazy exhausted. But instead of eating our weight in burgers and collapsing on the couch...we threw a little party. A few friends who are also training for the Memphis Marathon and Half came over to watch "Spirit of the Marathon."

 They are gonna kill me for posting this pic.

So Trea and I didn't exactly go through our usual recovery routine like we should have, but we had a great time. We even had a friend who had just run her first marathon come over and share her wisdom. There's nothing like a room full of runners talking about chafing and blisters over dinner.

The next day, I focused on pampering my sore legs. I soaked in an epsom salt bath and tried out my new CEP compression socks. I also got a massage by the incredible hulk to work out the tightness in my legs. It was amazing.

This weekend, I only have 13 miles to run. It's taper time! Only 16 days to go until race day!

Wordless Wednesday

I ran 20 miles! In a row!!

18 miles and counting

A lot can happen in 18 miles. On Saturday, Trea and I ran our longest distance ever. 18 big ones. After my bad experience trudging through 16 miles, I did not have high hopes for this run. But it was awesome! I felt strong the entire time and had plenty of energy to get to the end. I still can't believe I ran that far and actually had fun doing it.

We ran a new route that went through places we were somewhat familiar with, but areas where we usually don't run. It was so nice to have a change of scenery. We ran past the city airport and watched planes take off and land, saw about 47 little kid soccer games and were serenaded by a Latino garage band. I almost stopped and loved on some free puppies that were being given away on the side of the road, but I made myself keep going. It was a beautiful, happy day.

I stopped at a gas station around mile 7 to get some ice and refill my water bottle, and we were already starting to get hungry. After about 10.5 miles, we ran past a Popeyes, and I was doing fine, trucking right along...until the smell hit me. Trea and I both smelled fried chicken and biscuits at the same time and just couldn't resist. We were starving and still had quite a ways to go. I had packed Shotbloks and strawberry Newtons to eat along the way, and I had 8 oz. of Accelerade for an extra boost, but all that stuff suddenly seemed pretty nasty compared to hot, buttery biscuits. So we stopped our watches, walked in all stinky and covered in a thick layer of salt and ordered three biscuits and some water. The lady behind the counter was not too excited about touching my debit card, but I didn't let her snobby attitude get me down. People in the restaurant were staring at us, but we were too hungry and exhausted to care. We took off our gear, plopped down at a table and destroyed some biscuits. YUM.

After a few minutes of rest, we topped off our water supplies and headed back out for 7.5 more. The rest of the run was new territory for me, with much of it on bike trails in Rogers, where I never run. It was sunny and breezy and the fall leaves were beautiful. At around mile 15, we made another quick pit stop. We were just getting started again, ready for the home stretch when the unthinkable happened. I was standing there talking to Trea, waiting for the crosswalk to change, and SMACK, I felt a hard thud on my head, like an acorn had fallen out of a tree. But there weren't any trees.

I got pooped on by a bird! Thank goodness I had a hat on, but it was still disgusting. Luckily, I had packed kleenex, so I was able to clean up a little. An hour later, Trea was still laughing at me.

Even with the bird incident, this was still one of my favorite runs so far. Getting through that distance -- and getting through it feeling good and staying strong -- was huge for me. I feel a lot more confident about finishing a marathon now, but at the same time, I'm still nervous about 26.2. Although I didn't get so tired that I had to take walk breaks on this run, I got little breaks at stoplights, crosswalks, bathroom stops and breaks while I consulted my route notes to figure out where to go. I won't get any breaks like that during a race. Pretty sure I won't have a chance to swing by Popeyes either, so nutrition is a big concern for me. I still don't know what to eat that I can carry with me. I can't eat Shotbloks for 5 hours straight. I can't even get through a whole package without feeling sick. They're just too sweet. On my next long run, I'm planning to pack a PB&J and see how that goes. I need to figure out what works for me in race conditions -- without a bunch of stopping and without a piping hot biscuit.

I don't know what to eat, but at least I know what to wear. I got my first pair of real, legit running tights last week!

No more Old Navy yoga pants for this girl! I feel like a real runner now. They look black in the first photo, but they actually have a fun design so I'll look FAST. (Ha!!)

I'm hoping Memphis brings some cold weather on December 3 so I can put these to good use! They're Nike Pro tights with a soft fleecey lining, so I'm hoping they'll keep my legs toasty warm this winter.

Only 31 days till the St. Jude Memphis Marathon, and just 10 days till my first 20-mile run.

I'm ready!!

Memphis Marathon Training: Week 9

*This will likely be my last weekly recap. I barely have enough time for my workouts and just don't have time to do these posts every week. And let's face it; no one but my parents wants to read about every little run. I'll just stick to posting the highlights!  

Last week, I took a closer look at my favorite place to run -- downtown Bentonville -- in an attempt to get my running mojo back, and Sunday , I ran 16 miles -- a new distance for me!!

Getting sick with a fever and sinus misery seriously threw a kink into my training plan, and it's taking me longer than I expected to bounce back. I'm feeling fine now, but was under the weather for about 10 days and missed several workouts. I can tell I've lost endurance, so anything more than 6 miles is a struggle. But I'm determined to get back on track!

The week in review...

After running the most awful half marathon ever last Sunday, I rested on Monday and tried to take it easy. Funny how running a race with massive hills after spending most of the week in bed doesn't do any favors for my energy level.

Tuesday
I felt so much better! I ran 4 miles on an unfamiliar route, and it was awesome to finally feel good on a run AND get a change of scenery. I didn't watch my pace too closely; I just ran by feel and tried to run faster than I usually do, but not overdo it. I didn't want to take any chances of exhausting myself too much too soon and getting sick all over again.

I took a rest day on Wednesday, even though I should've gone to spin. Fail. I didn't get to my tempo run until Friday!

Friday 
I needed to make up my missed 6-miler, but I just didn't have the heart for it. My 4-mile run had gone well, but when I reached 4 miles, I was done. I knew I couldn't have gone much farther. So the thought of 6 at tempo pace filled me with dread, and I just didn't want to do it. I didn't want to fail. Also, running hasn't been much fun lately, and I was questioning this whole endeavor. I had zero enthusiasm when I arrived at my running destination after work, so I decided to just go for a walk. It was beautiful out, and I thought maybe if I spent some time by myself and got some fresh air, I would find a way out of the funk I was in. And it worked! I ran and walked 3.4 miles and had a lovely little evening. Go HERE for a running tour of Bentonville, and get a peek into where I live.

I had to work Saturday morning, and even though we're well into October, it was 80 and sunny, so I postponed my long run until Sunday so I could start early.

Sunday
I met up with Laura around 7:30 Sunday morning for 16 miles -- my longest run ever. We had a route mapped out, but I hadn't driven it so I wasn't familiar with the roads. Bad move. A couple of the roads were pretty dicey with surprisingly heavy traffic for a Sunday morning, no shoulder and no sidewalk. Oops. About 6 or 7 miles in, I forgot the route and took a wrong turn, so my planned loop around the city turned into an out-and-back. Oops again. I learned so many lessons on this run! Lesson 1: drive the route ahead of time.

Also, I was not hydrated well enough before we started, so as the weather warmed up, I started seriously struggling. At mile 9, I felt terrible. Laura thinks I also didn't have enough for breakfast. My tank felt empty almost the entire time. Luckily, we passed by a couple of gas stations, and they let us fill our water bottles with crushed ice and water, and I was so grateful! I usually drink one 22 oz. bottle of water on a typical run, but on this run, I drank THREE bottles, but I was still dehydrated. Lesson 2: hydrate like it's your job for days leading up to a long run. Once you let yourself get dehydrated, it's impossible to catch up during a run.

This was my first run to try to eat real food instead of just ShotBloks along the way, and it was tough. I can tolerate about 4 ShotBloks before I start feeling sick from all the sweetness, and three of them are 100 calories. So ShotBloks aren't going to cut it for anything longer than half marathon distance. I made half a PB&J, cut it into two squares, and squished it in my SpiBelt. It wasn't pretty, but it helped so much more than choking down gummy sweet stuff.

We spent several minutes by stopping twice at gas stations, stopping to walk so we could eat, and then stopping to walk because I was wimping out in the last few miles. If Laura hadn't been with me, I would have been in tears at mile 14. It was so hot, and I felt like I was never going to finish. It was not an easy run, and only terrified me to think of having to do 10 more for a marathon. But I'm trying to remind myself that just a couple of weeks ago, I ran 14, which is almost 16, and I felt good. So maybe I was still catching up from being sick. I'm hoping that's the case. 26 is right around the corner!

Total miles for the week: 23.7

Memphis Marathon Training: Week 7

Some training weeks are better than others, and this week definitely did not go my way. After my 14-miler last Saturday, my Achilles and calves were pretty cranky for a few days. Then I felt like I was fighting off a cold almost all week, and it finally caught up with me this weekend and kept me out of a 5K I was really looking forward to, as well as my long run. I've missed several cross training workouts during my training, but this is the first significant run that I've missed, and I'm completely stressed out about losing endurance and not keeping up with my mileage. But when my nose ceases to function and I'm stuck in bed with a fever, my options for training are pretty limited.

Next weekend, I'm supposed to run the Mother Road Half Marathon in Joplin as a training run, so I'm hoping that missing my 10-miler this weekend doesn't set me back too much. 

Monday
Speed 4 Easy
My legs just weren't up for a speed workout after running 14 miles Saturday. I'm learning that these pace-focused runs don't always work out because I usually need more than one day of recovery in between. Instead of pushing myself to the breaking point, I just focus on getting the miles in rather than running at a crazy intensity when my legs feel less than 100%. I ran 4 miles by myself in downtown Bentonville and had to stop several times to stretch. I got some new Asics Kayanos, which offer a little more stability than my Nike Zoom Structures, and this was my first time to run in them. So far, I think I like them, though they are noticeably heavier.

4 miles/42:21/10:35 avg. pace

Tuesday
Cross train Rest
Trea and I went to Little Rock for the day to be with his mom while she had surgery (she's doing OK now). It was a long day with lots of driving, so there was absolutely no time for a workout. But we had a fantastic dinner on our way home at a new Greek restaurant in Conway! We stopped at Layla's Gyros and Pizzeria when we saw it had a 100% rating on Urbanspoon, and it did not disappoint! I had hummus with pita, falafel, a gyro meat pizza with tzatziki and I ate most of Trea's chicken schawarma. After our feast, I had homemade baklava and Turkish coffee, which they served in tiny little cups. This place is super affordable, and the staff was so friendly and helpful. If you're ever in Conway, stop in at Layla's.

Wednesday
8 Tempo
I ran with Laura on the bike trails around town. I always hate these longish mid-week runs, so we ran an out-and-back route so I wouldn't be tempted to cut it short. If you run 4 miles away from the car, you have to go 4 miles back! It was hot when we started, but it got dark before we finished, so it was nice and cool for the last couple of miles. I took 5 minutes off my previous 8-mile time!

8 miles/1:27:30/10:56 avg. pace

Thursday
Cross train Rest
I skipped spin class again. AGAIN. I really have to get back on the cross training bandwagon. I felt like I was coming down with a cold, and wanted to just go home after work and rest. I thought if I could keep chugging EmergenC and get lots of sleep, maybe the sickness that's plaguing my entire office wouldn't get me. I was wrong.

Friday
Even more rest
Have you ever seen so many rest days?!

Saturday
10 Long and Go Literacy 5K Nyquil coma
This was my "runniversary," the one-year anniversary of my first 5K. I was so excited to run the same race again and blow my previous time out of the water, but I woke up with fever and all kinds of nastiness that kept me from even going as a spectator. Not cool. I spent the morning at a walk-in clinic, but Trea raced and won first in his age group!! He set a new PR and finished in 24:52! I'm so proud of him, but still sad that I wasn't there to see him get his medal. Next year, Literacy 5K. Next year, IT IS ON.

Not only did I miss out on my race, but I also wasn't able to get in my long run. I had hoped that after getting a steroid shot yesterday and a good night's sleep, I would be able to run today, but I still feel awful. Let's hope I can still make my way through 13.1 at the Mother Road Half next weekend! Even though I'm just using it as a training run, I'm more than a little worried about it now.

Total miles for the week: A measly 12

9 weeks till Memphis!

Memphis Marathon Training: Week 6

This week, I ran my longest run EVER -- 14 miles. Leading up to my long run yesterday, I was so nervous. I didn't know if I could make it. But I did! And it really wasn't all that bad! I think I must have a selective memory because I've already blocked out how bad my Achilles hurt after I finished and how my feet throbbed the rest of the day. I feel OK now, so it's not important.

All I've really been thinking is...I could definitely do 6 more. While a full marathon is far longer than 14 miles and I'm worried about finishing 26.2, I've also been worried about getting through 20, which is my longest training run. I will run 20 miles on November 12, and if anything, yesterday showed me that I can do it. It will be slow, it will include walk breaks and it won't feel good or be easy, but I'm 14 miles closer to 20 than I was last week. If 14 miles can give me hope for covering 6 more, then if I can get through 20, maybe I'll see light at the end of the tunnel for another 6.2. The closer I get, the more it hurts, but also, the closer I get, the more optimism I have for getting through this thing on December 3. Tomorrow, when I try to run again after my long 14 miles, will be the true test of my sunny outlook.

In week 5, I fought shin and calf pain like I've never experienced in my life. So this week, I didn't do speed work to try to take it easy on my legs so they wouldn't be a disaster before I even started my 14 mile run. And I didn't have ANY pain at all in week 6! I don't know if cutting speed work was the key, but I'm hoping my shins stay quiet again this week.  

Monday
Speed Rest
My whole week was off from running the Hillbilly 5K on Saturday and doing my long run on Sunday, so I rearranged my schedule for the week and didn't try running back-to-back days.

Tuesday
Cross train Easy run
Trea was out of town for work all week, so I was on my own for every workout. This is new territory for me since we always do everything together. I've never run more than 5 miles by myself. The weather was perfect and cool, so I went to the Bella Vista trail and ran 4 miles around the pond. My shins had been killing me for over a week, and I didn't want to attempt speed work and make it worse. I intended to run slow and not try to push myself, so I just ran by feel and didn't pay attention to my Garmin.  I somehow ended up running quite a bit faster than I normally do and had an amazing run! I wanted to keep going, but I ran out of daylight and spiders the size of chihuahuas started coming out of the trees. Now, that'll make me run fast!

4 miles/42:20/10:34 avg. pace

Wednesday
5 Tempo Cross train
Since my running days were off, I wasn't able to make it to spin class. Instead, I decided to just ride my bike. I have a bike rack that goes on the back of my car, but if it stays on all the time, I can't open my back hatch, which makes grocery shopping no fun at all. So when we ride bikes, Trea puts on the bike rack right before we leave, and he loads up the bikes so we can take them to the park. But this week, I was on my own. I had no idea how to put the bike rack on my car, so I didn't even try it. Both our bikes stay on a rack on the garage wall, and I had to take down Trea's mountain bike before I could get to mine. I was worried about even doing that, much less getting the thing in the car. But I was able to pick up Trea's bike off the wall and move it out of the way! And then I was able to pick up my bike! Then, I laid the back seats down in my car and put the bike inside. It fit, but just barely. And I did it all by myself!

After work, I rode around the dog park until it got too buggy to stay out. I used to think fatigue and dehydration were the most important things to worry about on runs and while biking, but really, swarms of gnats are even worse. It was a gorgeous evening, and the park was super crowded. There were lots of other runners (who wouldn't share the path!!) and cyclists and puppies. I even saw a family having a real picnic...on a blanket, with a basket, in a field under some trees, like on TV. I didn't have enough daylight to ride very long, but I had a great time and was so proud of myself for loading and unloading my bike.

7.77 miles/40:00

Thursday
Cross train 5 Tempo
I ran with my friend, Laura, for this one. It was cool out and easy to run faster, but we were too busy visiting to hold a tempo pace. I barely even listened to my music. It was so nice to catch up with a friend that I don't see often enough! She's been having aches and pains too lately, and we both realized afterward that nothing hurt the entire time! Maybe we were chatting too much to notice?

5.01 miles/54:44/10:55 avg. pace

Friday
Rest

Saturday
14 Long
Trea got home late Friday night, so he wasn't feeling up to an early long run Saturday morning. That left just me, Lori and Laura. We took it slow and kept to a pace that let us talk easily. The first 3 miles were kind of awful, which is almost always the case with long runs. It takes me forever to warm up. For some reason, I felt my best at mile 10, which I never thought I'd say.

The weather was cool and cloudy and it had been sprinkling and threatening to rain off and on the whole time. Around mile 11, it started to seriously rain big drops, but it was just enough to feel refreshing and fantastic. At this point, I was about to run out of water, and seeing the raindrops made me thirstier! I barely sipped the last couple of miles so I wouldn't totally run out, and I made it to the end without any issues. I know I'll need something bigger than my 22 oz. handheld bottle for longer runs, even in the cooler weather, so I'm not sure what to do next time since I've tried three different hydration belts and hated them all. I'm considering a backpack or vest of some sort. I would appreciate any suggestions!

14 miles/2:40/11:25 avg. pace

Total running miles for the week: 23

10 weeks till Memphis!

Memphis Marathon Training: Week 5

I had a rough training week last week, with lots of shin pain that I still haven't gotten rid of. I've had sore shins and calves ever since marathon training started. That's also about the same time that I got new shoes -- Nike Zoom Structures. So I don't know if the pain is from the shoes or from increasing my mileage, but whatever the reason, it's gotten much worse. What started as a dull ache several weeks ago ended up in sharp, shooting, stabbing pain in my left leg last week that made my cut my speed work short and take an extra rest day. Could it be medial shin splints? Boy, I hope not.

My chiropractor thinks my gait is affected because my hips are always out of alignment. This apparently makes me run weird and put more weight on one leg than the other. This theory might also explain why I always have a blister in the same spot on one foot, no matter what shoes or socks I wear. While I'm sure my alignment issues play a role, I just looked back at my stats on Daily Mile and think I cracked the code. I went from running 41 miles in July to running 72 miles in the month of August. Yikes! That increase probably should've been a little more gradual. I don't want to risk an injury that would keep me from training, so I'm paying very close attention to my shins and will rest as needed to try to get better. I'm also looking at getting new shoes to see if a little more stability would improve things.

Monday
Speed
I went to the track and ran a mile to warm up before starting 1600 meter (1 mile) repeats. I was supposed to do three repeats of 1600 meters, with a short rest in between. As soon as I started my warm up, I felt a stabbing pain in my left shin, but I was hoping it would go away after I warmed up a bit and stretched. I stopped to stretch so many times, but nothing helped. I ran my first repeat at 9:33 (right on target!!) and the second repeat at 9:40. My paces were so close to what they were supposed to be, which never happens, so I hated to cut the run short, but I just couldn't stand the pain anymore. I was literally limping after my second repeat and couldn't even finish a good cool down. We home and iced my legs, but it was still very painful even just walking around the next day.

3.25 miles/32:28/9:59 avg. pace

Tuesday
Cross train
Spin class is back after a two-week break for summer! Fall classes just started, and it was so good to be back. My teacher isn't super, but it's still a good workout.

Spinning/50 minutes

Wednesday
6 Tempo Rest
Spin class aggravated my shin pain, so I ended up taking an unplanned rest day.

Thursday
6 Tempo
Trea and I both worked late and had to run most of these miles in the dark. We kept running into deer along the bike trails in town! I wore my trusty old (worn out) Brooks Adrenaline GTS 10's to see if maybe my Nikes were causing my shin pain. I still had significant pain and struggled a lot, but it was much better than Monday. My legs hurt too much to manage a tempo pace, so I just focused on getting the miles done.

6 miles/1:06:42/11:06 avg. pace

Friday
Rest
Saw my chiropractor, who put me back in alignment and massaged my calf muscles until I thought I was going to die. It was painful, but it definitely helped!

Saturday
12 Long 3.1 trail/mud run
I rescheduled and split up my long run for the Hillbilly Mud Run 5K. I ran it with the NWA Jogaholics, and it was certainly a one-of-a-kind experience! For a recap and fun pics, click on over HERE.

Sunday
Rest 9 Long
I ran the rest of my 12 miles on Sunday in between thunderstorms. The weather was nasty out, but we got a break in the rain for just long enough to run. It was hot, humid and overcast, and I seriously struggled the whole time. I hit a wall at mile 2 somehow and had to stop about a zillion times to walk, stretch my calves and just catch my breath. I was surprisingly sore from running steep hills at Saturday's mud run, so these 9 miles were not pleasant at all. But I got it done!

9 miles/1:45:09/11:41 avg. pace

Total mileage for the week: 21.35

11 weeks till Memphis! (actually about 10 and a half since this recap is late!)

I am a runner

I run, plan to run, read about running, map out running routes, shop for running gear and stretch my sore legs in an unladylike manner -- ALL the time. I even got a haircut just so I would have a more comfortable ponytail for running.

It's what I do.

I train usually 5 days a week. So, no, I can't go to happy hour with you. I can't go to dinner with the girls (though I still appreciate the invitation!). Why? Because it's Tuesday. I train on Tuesday. It is written in the plan, and so it must be done. Or because I have to get up at stupid-thirty (as That Pink Girl says) for my long Saturday run, which means I can't go out on Friday. I will turn down a burger or a steak the day before a long run because I require more carbs than that. So I can run. This is my life.

Training isn't always fun. It's a hassle. It's hard, and it hurts. It gets in the way of just about everything. It keeps me from wearing high heels. It means early mornings, running so hard I want to throw up and running so slow that I start to think my Garmin is broken when the miles tick by like molasses. It means uncontrollable napping on weekends and drinking gallons of water every day.

These marathons, they don't train for themselves. It's hard work, and I volunteered for it. But on December 3, I will run the streets of Memphis with my friends. I will arrive at the starting line knowing that I've done all I can do to prepare. On race day, I will be able to look back at 16 weeks of exhaustion, frustration, running through heat, humidity, rain and cold...and say I did my best.

Failure is not an option. This is why I train. 

Memphis Marathon Training: Week 4

It's time for week 5 already?! That means the Memphis Marathon is only 3 months away! Yikes. Things are going better for me, after weeks of zombie-like exhaustion. I think I finally either found somewhat of a balance for rest and training, or I'm just used to being tired. Whatever the reason, I've been considerably less whiny lately. This week, I ran all of my training runs with friends! And in cool weather! Happiest training week ever.

Monday
Speed
I was supposed to run 5 repeats of 1K at the track with 400 meter rest intervals...but it was Labor Day and time for the annual Free Bella Vista 5K and pancake breakfast, so I ran that instead. Sadly, they don't like for you to take rest intervals during races. I mean, you can, but it won't work out well. So I met up with some of my favorite running buddies and ran the hilliest little 5K ever. It was lovely, and I had such a good time. Trea set a new PR and finished in 25:55!

3.1 miles/31:25/10:08 avg. pace

Over the holiday weekend, we also celebrated Trea's birthday! He had mentioned wanting to add strength work and tone up, but we both hate the gym, so I got him Insanity. We tried Day 1 on Monday evening, which is a Fit Test to see how much you can handle before starting the program. Oh. My. Word. It was truly insane. In my living room. We had to move the furniture back to make room for the craziness, and we spent the first 10 minutes laughing hysterically because we both have ZERO coordination. We were going the opposite direction that we were supposed to be going, scaring the dogs with all our jumping around, and at one point, Trea almost kicked the TV. It was out of control. Also, it was REALLY hard. Insanity is definitely an amazing workout, but it is not good (for us) to combine with marathon training. Yikes. We'll try again after the race is over. By that time, the weather will be cold and nasty and no fun for running anyway.

30 minutes of Insanity/Survived

Tuesday
Cross Train
I woke up on Tuesday barely able to walk after running crazy hills at a 5K pace and then jumping around with Insanity like a maniac. Muscles in my lower back were sore that I didn't even know existed. My legs were painfully tight and stiff. I foam rolled my legs when I woke up, again over lunch, and used The Stick in the evening, but they were still in knots. For that reason, we went for a walk instead of a bike ride. The weather was gorgeous, and we walked around the Bella Vista trail. We took our dog Bella with us and had such a good time! Near the end of our walk, we found a stick that was perfect for fetching and threw it into the creek. Bella swam and swam and LOVED it! We finally had to make her go home; I think she would've fetched that stick until she collapsed. When we got home, Trea said, "Did you take any pictures of Bella swimming in the creek?" And my jaw hit the floor. Normally, I take tons of pictures and he gets so annoyed with me and wants to just enjoy the moment instead of trying to document it. Before we left for our walk, I purposely left behind my camera and even my phone so I wouldn't be tempted to "ruin the moment" by snapping photos. So you'll just have to trust me, and Trea will have to rely on his memory. Bella was adorable.

Walked 2 miles

Wednesday
6 Tempo
My legs were still screaming on Wednesday, and I was not looking forward to this run. I've learned that my Wednesday tempos are the worst runs of the whole week. Running at a faster speed for a longer distance at the end of a work day is just no fun. But this week, my training friends who also hate Wednesday runs were available to meet up and get it over with together. Lori and Alicia ran with me and Trea, and we were all still sore from our previous runs and just not feeling it. I stopped us 3 miles in to stretch out my cramping calves, but for the most part, we kept a decent pace. Running in a group is so much easier than running alone. It can be hard to find a comfortable pace because there's always someone who wants to go slower (me) or faster (them), but usually, we can meet in the middle, find a pace that will work for everyone and get the miles done. When you're running with other people, you know you can't quit. If I had been alone, I would've quit at 4 miles for sure.

6.02 miles/1:03:42/10:35 avg. pace

Thursday
Cross Train Packers vs. Saints!
First game of the season means an automatic rest day! Priorities, people.

Friday
Rest

Saturday
11 Long
My longest training run yet! When I trained for the Bentonville Half Marathon, I only built up to 10 miles before running 13.1 on race day, so I was pretty nervous about this run. After taking two rest days though, my legs felt fresh, and everything went great. It was a cool 55 degrees and overcast skies, which makes a perfect running day.

11 miles/2:03:00/11:10 avg. pace

I've been running my long runs faster than my training plan says to, and I'm going to try to stop doing that. I'm fine with speeding up toward the end of the run if I can, but I've been running the whole thing faster than I should because I love running with my group, and I know everyone doesn't want to run a 12:00 pace. But as the miles progress through this plan, the prescribed paces will get slightly faster. I can run these miles now faster than a 12:00 average, but I'm not sure if I should. I read something today that said one of the biggest training mistakes you can make is running your long runs too fast. The paces I've been running are tolerable, but it feels like I'm running my race pace each week when my plan says I should run slower than that -- on purpose -- even though I'm capable of running faster. At the end of my training plan, I'll run faster, but right now, it looks like I'm just supposed to be building up my endurance and getting my legs used to running long miles. I know I'm a rookie, but from what I've read, it just doesn't seem like you're supposed to go out and run your race pace every single week...even if that seems slow to most people. I'm running this marathon just to finish. I don't have a time goal; it would be unwise to set one. So it seems like ignoring my plan is not a good decision, and if that means I end up running alone for the last half of my long runs, I'm totally fine with that. I know what comes the week after a long run, and I have to make sure I don't sap all my energy and miss out on the rest of my workouts.

Thankfully, I feel fine today, even though I ran a bit too fast yesterday. The cool weather gave me a boost, and it felt great just to run and not have to wheeze through 90% humidity. But this week, I'm going to try to stick to the pace the plan tells me to and see how that goes.

Total running mileage for the week: 20.5-ish

12 weeks till Memphis!

Memphis Marathon Training: Week 3

Week 3 was rough. The exhaustion of full marathon training hit me hard, and all I wanted to do was sleep and whine about how tired I was. I'm still exhausted, but I got some much needed encouragement from my awesome runner friends, so I'm doing OK now. I also went back through my blog archives and remembered that I posted about miserable exhaustion in week 3 of half marathon training, and it eventually got better, so I have hope that I'll get used to this training plan too.

Monday
Speed Rest
I felt terrible all day and just didn't have the energy to run. Not sure if was the raging pollen levels sending my allergies over the edge, or just exhaustion bringing on a cold. Either way, I felt like I was fighting off getting sick all week.

Tuesday
Cross Train Speed
Skipped a bike ride to get my speed workout done. I felt pretty good and ran at the local track, but my legs were sluggish and I never came close to the paces I was supposed to run. It was a ladder workout of 1200, 1000, 800, 600, 400 and 200 meters, with 200 meter rest intervals between each one. I even used a fancy pace chart.

4.71 miles/Splits: 9:34, 9:35, 9:30, 9:26, 9:20, 8:51

Wednesday
Tempo 7 Tempo 5
Trea was fighting allergies or a cold on Wednesday, so he wasn't able to run with me. I've never attempted more than 5 miles by myself, but I thought I would be fine. Unfortunately, I still haven't learned that I'm not conditioned to run hard two days in a row. I never could find my groove and took way too many walk breaks. It got dark while I was out and I didn't feel comfortable running in the dark alone, not because I felt unsafe, but because there was no one to run ahead and break through the spiderwebs hanging from the trees. I was so mad at myself for cutting my run short by 2 miles, but I was hot and tired and just wanted to go home. I calmed down by kicking off my shoes and walking barefoot through the splash park. Hardly anyone else was out, and it was so peaceful. The cold concrete felt amazing on my tired, hot feet. I could have laid down in the middle of the jets and taken a nap.

5 miles/57:00/11:24 avg. pace

Thursday
Cross Train Rest
My new bike spent another day in the garage, and I spent another evening completely exhausted on the couch.

Friday
Rest

Saturday
10 long
My first double digit run since the Bentonville Half Marathon in April! I ran with a group again, and that is seriously the way to go with longer runs. We kept about the same easy pace as last week and didn't really take any walk breaks. We were all hoping that crosswalks would take longer to change and give us time to stretch a bit, but we were able to cruise right through most intersections. We powered through and had a great run. I spent the rest of the day with my feet up, in compression calf sleeves and ice on my knees!

10.02 miles/1:56:07/11:35 avg. pace

Total mileage for the week: 19.73

13 weeks till Memphis!

We're in it together

Runners stick together. We form bonds and become part of a community without even realizing that it's happening.

Last week, when I had a mini-meltdown and threw myself a pity party, my runner friends came to my rescue. When I questioned everything that I'm doing, they -- you -- reminded me that everyone has rough moments, especially at the beginning of training. You reminded me that we're in this together and that all my exhaustion will be worth it when we cross the finish line in Memphis in December.

When I started running last year, I thought it was something I would do alone. It's not a team sport and it's up to me to decide when I run, how far and how fast. I thought it would be just me and the road. I couldn't have been more wrong. Through this blog, Twitter, Daily Mile -- the interwebs -- I have made new friends that have become dear friends. I've become part of the coolest club that's not a club. I am a runner.

On my early weekend long runs, I'm always struck by how many runners I see out on the road and how many of them smile, wave and say good morning, as though we know each other.

We know each other's pain.

Running is more difficult than anything I've ever attempted before. Physically, it's tough, and mentally, you learn what you're made of. You learn how to tell your brain to shut up when it's telling your legs to slow down or stop. And when you can't go any farther, another runner will be there to cheer you on. Because they know a day will come when they will need encouragement too.

So, thank you, runners. Thank you for reminding me that I'm strong enough to accomplish my goal. And thank you for reminding me that we're fighting the same battle -- on the same team.

Narcoleptic Runner

Everyone knows running is my favorite hobby, but lately, I have a new pastime -- uncontrollable napping.

I'm only in week 3 of marathon training, and I have never been more exhausted in my life. I'm not even sure why since I'm so exhausted that I'm not even doing all my workouts. Cross training on my pretty new bike? Not so much. I've ridden it once. The rest of my scheduled cross training days have been spent on the couch, dozing until an acceptable bedtime.

I don't understand why training has hit me so hard, since I thought I had prepared for it. I started spin class months ago to get my body used to being active more days per week and so I wouldn't be introducing something new to my legs as I started marathon training, knowing that the increased training would be tough. I've been increasing my mileage gradually all summer so I would be ready to meet the requirements of my plan. But still, I can hardly keep my eyes open, and my body doesn't want to do anything at all this week. I'm even starting to feel like I'm fighting off a cold. I've had to force myself to get through only 2 of my 4 scheduled workouts, and one of them I ended up cutting short. This is not the way it was supposed to go.

Marathon runners, I need your help.
In your first experience with marathon training, did you have problems with miserable fatigue? Were you distracted all day just thinking about when you could finally lay your head on a pillow? Is it just me?

I'm so tired that I'm reconsidering this whole plan. Maybe I'm not cut out for this. Maybe I'm not one of those people who can just go run 8 or 9 miles and then go to work all day, go grocery shopping, cook dinner, pay bills and spend quality time with my husband and friends. So far, I can't seem to fit it all in. And the physical exhaustion is driving me crazy. Because when I'm not rested, I'm not good at anything. I'm irritable, distracted and I certainly can't run.

What's the secret? Will my body get used to this soon? Will things get better? I'm not asking for training to get easier; I'm increasing my mileage every week, so I know easy will never be part of this equation. But I need to know that this fatigue will pass. If this crazy exhaustion isn't normal for a beginner in training, I might not make it till December.

I'm gonna go take a nap while I eagerly await wise and reassuring feedback.

Memphis Marathon Training: Week 2

Let's pretend this post isn't two days late. Let's pretend you read this on Sunday and I'm not totally behind on both blogging and training.

Week 2 wasn't bad, and I was feeling pretty decent about sticking to my training plan until the last few days. Increasing my mileage is really taking a toll on my energy level, and I'm finding it hard to complete all the workouts each week. I feel like I've been fighting off a cold since Friday. If I'm going to make it through this, I'm going to have to get lots more sleep than what I usually make time for. BUT, we all know marathon training is hard; if it was easy, more people would do it. So there will be no whining here. At least not until my runs reach double digits.

Monday
Speed
I ran at the track with Alicia, and had a great speed workout! We ran a slow mile to warm up and then did some half mile repeats. I still haven't figured out how to settle into a pace that's out of my comfort zone and keep it there, so my splits were kind of all over the place. Still a good run though.

3 miles/30 minutes

Tuesday
Cross train
I skipped spin class so I could try out my new bike!

I got a Scott Sub 45 Solution. It's a hybrid/fitness bike, and I love it! It's going to take a while to get comfortable on it, but I think I'll get used to it eventually. It's been years since I've been on a bike, so I'm still trying to remember how to ride. We had a fun evening cruising around on paved bike paths.

7.5 miles

Wednesday
7 Tempo
This tempo run was such a nightmare. I was supposed to run 1 mile easy, 5 miles at marathon pace and finish with the last mile easy. Sadly, none of these miles were easy. Work was crazy last week, so I worked late, which made me go for a run late. Really late. Like pitch black and wearing a headlamp. I wear a headlamp to run in winter, so I didn't think it would be a big deal. News flash: Bugs are attracted to bright lights in the summertime! It was awful. Also, because this run was on a Wednesday and not on a weekend, my brain did not compute that this was about the same length as my weekend long runs have been. On weekend long runs, I make sure to eat before I go and take Sport Beans or ShotBloks to have midway through the run. But because it was Wednesday, my brain thought, eh, it's just a mid-week run. I'll just carry some water.  And so I almost died. And I will add one more complaint...Trea and I ran late enough that spiders were out and building their webs for the evening. There may have been some screaming and cursing and flipping out around mile 6.

7 miles/1:21:00/11:34 avg. pace

Thursday
Cross train (Spin) Rest
Still exhausted from 7 miles of hell, I came home from work and collapsed on the couch.

Friday
Rest

Saturday
9 long
I ran with a group Saturday morning and had so much fun! Lori, Jennifer and Alicia joined me and Trea for 9 miles around Bentonville.

I'm the slowest in the group, and I warned everyone what my pace would be. I was so nervous that they were all going to take off and leave me running by myself. Trea led for the first few miles, and he was extra careful to stick to the pace that I was aiming for. About halfway through the run, the girls sped up a bit and Trea and I hung back. I have bonked on so many runs by burning through my energy too fast, and I really didn't want that to happen that day. I wanted to stick to my pace and make sure I finished my miles. But they gradually got faster and a little faster, and I had to speed up to stay within a reasonable range of them. I was so worried about hitting a wall, but thankfully I never did. I had negative splits the last half of the run and ended up running the whole thing faster than I had run my 7 mile tempo. I felt great and never struggled, even at the end. As long as I listen to my own body and stay aware of my limits, I think running with a group can be a great thing. They all felt better because the slow pace at first helped them finish strong. I felt better too because I had pushed myself and gone faster than I would have if I had been alone.

9.03 miles/1:43:00/11:22 avg. pace

Total running mileage for the week: 19

14 weeks till Memphis!

Hot blooded

I don't know why my post titles are usually bad cliches or song titles. This one's brought to you by Foreigner. Google it, kids.

Anywho, marathon training is underway, and I have my sights set on Memphis in December. But in the meantime, it's still August. And it's hot. So hot that, as I'm running, I picture calming, happy thoughts, like my shoes melting to the pavement or those True Blood vampires walking into the sunlight as their skin melts off and they burst into flames. Not the Twilight sparkly vampires; the spontaneously combusting barbecued ones. Seriously. It's that hot.

I had to work early Saturday morning at the time when I would normally be running to beat the heat. So instead, I had to do my long run later in the day. Trea and I ran 8 miles at high noon. It was 94 degrees with a heat index of 104 and not a cloud in the sky. Also, no shade on the course we chose. Geniuses, we are.

When we started out, I felt fantastic. My last few long runs have been awful because I've been struggling with early morning nutrition. But Saturday, I had finally cracked the code. I had an egg McMuffin and half a small coffee from Mickie D's as soon as I woke up, a banana about an hour later, and half a Powerbar and 1 ShotBlok a few minutes before my run. I had energy! But not too much! I was so looking forward to a strong 8 miles. It had been cloudy all morning, and I thought we would get lucky with overcast skies. Not so much. As soon as I stepped out of the car, the sun broke through the clouds and was merciless the rest of the day.

I realized immediately that I needed to scrap my plans to hit a certain pace and just focus on getting the miles done however I could. I normally start drinking after 10 minutes and then sip every 5 minutes after that. But on this day, in this heat, I drank every 3 minutes exactly, and I was sweating like never before in my life. It was so hot that I even ran in just a sports bra and no shirt. My abs were not prepared for that, but it was nice not to have a soaked shirt blocking what little breeze there was.

After just 3 miles, I was already running low on water. I always dilute grape G2 with water and ice in a 22 oz. Nathan handheld, and it's usually fine for me. But I wasn't even halfway through my run, and it was over half gone. Trea always sweats a ton when we run, so he recently started running with a Nathan Endurance hydration vest. It holds 70 oz., and that still wasn't enough for this heat.

We stopped to walk for a minute around 3.25 miles. The sunshine and heat was making my heart race, so we had to take a breather. We decided to run to Orchards Park because it has a covered pavilion where we could get out of the sun and rest a while and refill our water bottles at a water fountain. When we reached the park, we were at 4 miles and still had 4 to go. We would have preferred to cut it short and finish the miles at night or early the next morning, but we still had to get back to the car. Might as well run it. We stayed at the park for several minutes, I'm not even sure how long. I had three ShotBloks and topped off my water bottle twice. After only 4 miles, Trea had already drank 50 oz. and refilled his pack too.

The rest of the run is a blur, but not because it was fast. I was sipping yucky water fountain water that was the same temperature as bath water. I'd had sweat and mascara in my eyes since mile 1. I had applied SPF 50, but I felt like I was on fire, and I could see poor fair-skinned Trea turning pink. Around mile 6, I stopped for walk breaks about every half mile. It was so hot that when we waited at stoplights, we would try to hide behind the skinny line of shade cast by the pole. I would run along slowly, but doing OK, until we reached shade. Shade trees were like magnets. I could immediately feel the temperature get cooler when we passed under a tree, and my feet would refuse to go forward.

We had stopped and started so many times that Trea's Garmin time was screwed up, so he was just following my time and pace with my watch. For the last mile, I called out updates for us every quarter mile. "We're at 7.5!!" And Trea would respond with fist pumps in the air. "Just another quarter!" More fist pumps from Trea. "EIGHT!!!" And we high-fived like we had just finished a race. I'm sure we looked insane.

What did we learn? 1. Don't run at noon in August. Trea drank a total of 120 oz. while we were out, and it took two days for his shoes to dry. Not worth it. 2. Be flexible with this training plan. As long as we get the workouts done, it doesn't matter what day they happen. 3. Also? If a hot 8 miles is this tough, 26.2 is going to be a serious test, both mentally and physically. Thank goodness it's in December!! Bring on the cold!

So here's the plan

Marathon training is ON! Week 1 just ended, and I think it was successfulish, considering how busy work and life have been the last few days. I do other stuff (occasionally) besides run, you know.

So here's the plan. I'm following the Run Less, Run Faster plan for first-time marathon runners. I'll run three days a week and cross train two days a week for 16 weeks leading up to the Dec. 3 St. Jude Memphis Marathon. The idea is that by only running three days, I will be less prone to injury and burnout. However, the cross training part is serious. Without that, I don't think even finishing 26.2 is feasible. The plan calls for one day of speed work, one tempo run and one long run each week. I'll eventually build up to 20 miles (!!!) for my long run. Please put me on your prayer list now.

Here's my pretty pink plan (design inspired by That Pink Girl, of course.) Click to make it bigger. Friday and Sunday will be rest days, and though it seems silly to write down "stretch," I actually need reminders to be kind to my sore muscles.

I'll be posting training summaries at the end of each week because I know you're all just dying to know how all my training runs go, and it will help hold me accountable. So here's my recap for week 1:

Monday
Speed Rest
I took an unplanned rest day because my previous week's running schedule was off, and I did my long run on Sunday instead of Saturday. That means my legs were useless on Monday. Skip a day, and it throws the whole week off kilter. Lesson learned.

Tuesday
Spin Speed
Since I was off a day on my plan, I chose to make up my run rather than attend spin class. In training for a race, I think it's more important to make sure I get my runs in if I have to choose between running and cross training. BTW, excuses stop here. For the most part.
I ran 2 x 1600 (9:33, 9:35) at the track with a half mile warm up and half mile cool down. I cut the speed work 1 mile short because it was late and someone has to cook dinner.

Wednesday
6 tempo 4 miles
This was a very tough run. I was dehydrated and had to walk a lot and cut it short.

4 miles/49:43/12:12 avg. pace

Thursday
2 tempo and Spin
I made up for my Wednesday failure by finishing those remaining 2 miles at target pace in the morning and going to spin class in the evening. Redemption.

2 miles/20:00/10:00 avg. pace
Spin class: 50 minutes

Friday
Rest

Saturday
8 long
This was the hottest, hardest run of my life. 94 degrees in direct sunlight at high noon with a heat index of 104. This one was ugly. But I got it done!

8 miles/1:38:00/12:15 avg. pace

Total mileage for the week: 17

15 weeks till Memphis!!