20 Days till Maraton - still able to run!

Today I had to force myself to pull it together and run. I only had a little 3 miler to do but after yesterday I thought I would never run again...it was all good. I did the 5 km slow but steady. Decided to run on the treadmill in case I couldn't make it back to the house! lol Everything went fine. I ran for 30 mins, got over the 'I'll never run again...comments running in my head' and now it back to a steady 3 weeks of training. Scared my dad a bit. He was worried I didn't run the long run on Sunday but we finally connected this morning and I reassured him that come hell or high water I am running this marathon!!! There is no way, I'm going to all this effort to not run it! I have so many great supporters such as my daughter Sophie, who does yoga stretches with me every morning before heading out the door, Daniel who encourages me to do my run when I really really don't want to and to all my readers who send me little notes of encouragements here and there. I will not let you down!! PEI Marathon here I come...:)

21 Days till Marathon - Dead

I think I've died and gone to runners h___! I can't move, I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't think! Thank goodness for the loving hugs from Sophie all day today or I think I would be under a rug somewhere. Wow, I have never felt like this before. I must be dehydrated or hungry! So hungry that I can't bring myself to eat. I don't think I was actually able to do anything useful till 4pm today. I feel my strength slowly coming back. Wow, I need to read up on what my body wants after a marathon as I definitely neglected to give it. I'll go to bed early tonight and look forward to a good steady run tomorrow. Only 3 weeks left till D day!! Excited. 

22 Days till Marathon - Long Run check!

I did it!! I did it!! Felt pretty good too. I ran 36km today. Left the house around 8:30am it was 10 degrees out. It just finished raining so I was happy I didn't have to many puddle to run through. There is not much I say about the run other than I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and I eventually made it back home. At the end of the run I felt like I could keep running with little extra effort so I'm confident I will do well on race day.
The real lesson came when I fainted in the shower after my run. I had a unique experience in that, I decided to go take my bath and shower after my run before eating anything. BIG MISTAKE! I laid in the bath for about 10mins and then decided to finish off with a shower. I stood up and just had time to catch myself on the window handle before collapsing back to the bottom of the tub. It took me another 15mins to gather the energy to get back up again. I took a really cold shower to allow me to function and then finally crawled out of the bathtub. What did I learn...eat, eat, eat after and even during the race. Or even better yet, eat more carbs a few days out from my run. Underestimated the amount of carbs I would need. It was a scary experience but I'm glad to have learned it on my training run. At least I didn't throw up like a few people I know.
Today's Stats: 22 miles, 34.94 km in 3:46:24, avg pace 6:29 /km, avg speed 9.3 km/h burned 3106 cal, avg heart rate 160 bpm, max heart rate 221 bpm
Weather: partly sunny, 12 degrees nice morning for a run
Listened To: Power of Now - I was in the moment of NOW the whole time!

31 days left till Marathon - rest day :)

So I've been hearing from a lot of runners and personal trainers that I need to have rest days. The program I have been following doesn't allow for rest days but does tapper down the runs for some easy 2 milers here and there. I have actually grown a custom to running everyday and feel like something is off if I haven't ran. But I do see their point and I will try and take at least 1 to 2 rest days each week in these last few weeks before the marathon.
Last night I attended a presentation by Lara Kaplan who is originally from South Africa and has ran over 90 marathons. She was speaking on what to do in the last 2 weeks before your marathon and how to prepare. Loads of good advice and things I never thought of yet, like rest, carb building, laying out clothes, equipment, first 5 mile strategy etc. Can't wait to look into all of this over the next month as the day approach for the marathon.

I'm hoping to run the Canada Army Run - Half Marathon this Sunday so I guess it's a good things that I do a little resting today and save my energy for the race.
Hope you all have a great weekend and for those of you who are inspired and encouraged to start running...stop thinking about it and just go out and do it. Remember, I could hardly run around the block for the first two weeks I started and now look at me. If I can do it so can you. Believe in yourself!

32 Days till Marathon - is it cold or hot?

I guess I'm learning how to run in all types of weather!!! When I run I usually run with the least amount of clothing as possible. My ideal outfit would be a tank top and shorts. However, this morning it was a little to cold for that so I had to wear a 3/4 length spandex and a running shell over my tank top. By the 2 mile I was sweating bullets!! Not to mention I forgot to put on my head band so the sweat was dripping in my eyes. No matter how much experience you have at dressing yourself to go for a run, it never surprises me how you can not be prepared. I do hope that it's warm enough to wear only a tank top and shorts on marathon day, but that is another month away and along the ocean so I doubt it! I don't want extra clothes weighing me down or have to carry them. These days I don't know how to dress, when you leave the house and it's hovering around 10 degrees and it feels super cold standing on my front porch, it could be totally different from 2 miles down the road when I have my heart rate up and the morning sun is shinning on my face. One thing I know is that I have to get a pair of running gloves. I don't like having cold hands.
Today's Stats: 4 miles, 6.43k, my watched stopped so I don't have all the break downs for today :(

THU Sept 16, 2010 8:00am

Temp 9

Wind

E 11

Humidity 93

Listened to: Bobby Brant -  track 3 Audio Book called EXTRA

33 days till Marathon

33 days left till I run my first marathon - PEI Marathon, I'm getting really excited. My training has been following the course it should be and I've managed to get my avg km pace under 6 mins mostly running 5:35 avg km, which is ideal as Dad and I just went over the race strategy for the marathon and we want to make sure that we reach our target of under 4:15, as that is what Dad needs to qualify for the Boston Marathon. We used a really cool tool called a Marathon Pace Calculator found at www.marathonguys.com. It allowed us to punch in difference finish times and would give us our avg pace and the time to be at for each km. Great tool!
Today was a great day, I felt good. Ran out to beach and back today. Just a little 10km run, filled my lungs with the morning air and sailed through each km. My time wasn't as good as my time at Beauchamp Chiropractic Wellness Run last Sunday, I ended up running with a seasoned marathoner and was pushed a little bit harder than normal and did the run in 51mins and change. At least I know I'm capable of more, now it's just to be able to push myself during my training runs.
Today's Stats: 6.2 miles, 9.97km in 55:37, avg pace 5:35/km, avg speed 10.8 km/h burned 895 cal

Weather: WED SEPT 15, 2010 8:00am		Temp 8		Wind	W 11	Humidity 100

Listened to: Ester and Jerry Hicks - The Astonishing Power of Emotions, my run is my daily meditation time, it's great to add a channeled audio to the mix!

Day 94

Today's Stats: 6 miles, 9.79 km in 57:28, avg pace 5:52/km, avg speed 10.2 km/h burned 838cal