Final (?) Thoughts

Yesterday morning I did a gentle 3-mile run, my second since the marathon, and all seems to be well with the old legs. Aside from a bit of lingering fatigue, they've recovered quickly. Thanks, legs!

At the inspiration dinner the night before the race, one of the speakers (I can't remember which one) said something along the lines of, "The woman who begins training for a marathon is not the same woman who finishes training, and the woman who crosses the start line on race day is not the same woman who crosses the finish line." I think this statement is too strong for me -- I'm still very much Amanda -- but I can see where it's coming from. Training for the marathon has, at the very least, pushed the bounds of my persistence, my pain tolerance, and my ability to delay gratification (for example, my ability to tell myself, "Yeah, but you're going to be glad two months from now when race day rolls around!" while dragging my sleep-deprived self out of bed for a 5-mile run at 5:30am on a Thursday morning). I was pretty sure from the beginning that I would be able to run a marathon if I stuck with the training, but I didn't know if I would stick with the training. Unlike other accomplishment-oriented areas of my life, such as staying in school forever, it'd have been easier to quit at any given point than to keep it up -- training for a marathon has not been the path of least resistance. It's nice to see that I'm capable of sticking with something other than school, something that is challenging in ways I'm not used to being challenged.

It has been cool to have a goal, a sort of shape to my running. I've been running inconsistently since high school. It's been nice, for the first time, to have a good reason to run regularly, other than the vague idea that it's a good thing to do. It's eliminated much of what I dislike about running, which is the before-the-fact arguing with myself about whether to actually do it on any given day. For the most part, I've just gone out and done it, because that's what one does when training for a marathon. There's something I find satisfying, even comforting, about simply doing something because it's what I need to do, even when the something feels like not very much fun.

I think the most striking part of my experience with Team In Training was the fundraising. Asking people for money is not something I ever feel comfortable with, and I did it anyway -- without really believing that many people would actually respond. The generous response I received genuinely surprised me; I hadn't actually known how heard and supported I am. It also reminded me not to assume anything about other people's lives. Some of the most heartfelt emails and largest donations I received came from unexpected people: those I didn't know or hardly knew, those I thought didn't like me very much, those whose lives I would never guess had been affected by cancer. How amazing to realize, in such a tangible and undeniable way, that others also carry with them the triumph of cancer survival and the grief of loved ones lost to cancer. I love that my training for this marathon has served as sort of an organizing force for lots of people to gather together and make a collectively huge contribution to cancer research. Running a marathon might sound impressive, but for me, having raised several thousand dollars for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is by far the bigger accomplishment.

Everyone wants to know whether I'll be running another marathon. I mean everyone, a bizarrely consistent response: I don't think a single person, after hearing about it, has failed to ask me whether I'll do another one. Fascinating. Anyway, the answer is, I don't know. I actually don't even know whether I'll keep running at all; maybe this will turn out to have been a way of tying up the running chapter of my life. Or maybe it will have been the start of a more consistent running career. I'm not going to push myself in one direction or the other; the best thing for me will make itself clear at some point. I think that if I do keep running at all, I will probably do more marathons. But I will only keep running if I derive enjoyment from it, or at least continue to crave it in that weird way that isn't quite enjoyment but is compelling nonetheless.

I also don't know what will happen next with this blog. For awhile it was a veggie blog, then a marathon blog... it is the chameleon of blogs. It has stages of development, just like a little human. Stay tuned if it suits your whim. But a hearty thanks to all of you who've been reading in the marathon phase. Lots of people have let me know that they are reading over the last few months, and this has made me very happy.

Race Report!

I DID IT!!

This was a seriously amazing weekend. I arrived in San Francisco with the Tucson team on Friday afternoon. The weather turned out to be gorgeous: not only was it not raining, it was actually sunny and warm. We took a shuttle to our hotel in downtown SF, which was about 3 blocks away from Union Square. Andrew, who had arrived in California the previous day to spend some time with his grandparents, met me at the hotel and we walked over to the race expo in Union Square. I picked up my race bib and some free stuff, but we didn't stay very long; it was loud and crowded. I was tempted by the free manicures they were offering, but the line was long and I was tired from my morning of travel. That evening, Andrew got together with his brother and cousins, while I had a nice dinner with my parents, stepparents, and baby bro.

Saturday, we had a short team run at 7am. Ten minutes down Market Street and ten minutes back. Coach Ashley told us to pay attention to what we were wearing on this little run, and that was great advice: I'd put on running pants and a sweatshirt, assuming that because it was SF, it would be cold -- and boy was I wrong! It was only a little cooler than Tucson and much more humid. This gave me confidence that my shorts and running jersey would be plenty warm for the race the next day. Later that morning, Andrew and I had a lovely brunch with one of my former Mills professors and her husband, and then we spent the afternoon strolling around the ferry building. I had been warned against doing too much walking that day, so we didn't stay out as long as we might have. That evening, we attended Team In Training's inspiration dinner at the Moscone Center. As we approached the entrance, we could hear a great din coming from within. It turned out that all of the hundreds of TNT coaches from around the country were lining the entrance, the big staircase, and the walkway into the huge dining hall, all cheering as loudly as they could for each entering team. It was kind of spectacular. After that, the dinner and the program were very nice, but the grand entrance was my favorite part. At the dinner, I learned that we TNT participants had collectively raised over $14 million for this event. There was a speaker named John Bingham, who was pretty funny, and a guest appearance by Joan Benoit Samuelson, the first female Olympic marathon champion. My fundraising mentor, Elsbeth, had very sweetly put together goody bags for all her mentees containing chapstick, cheerios, gum, and other useful things.

Race day. I'd slept reasonably well and was less nervous when I woke up Sunday morning than I had been for most of the preceding week. The team was convening at 5:45am to walk to the race start, so I got up at 5 to prepare myself, eat, and caffeinate. There are so many little details before a long run! In spite of having set everything out the night before, I still managed to forget my watch. Andrew was going to be taking a shuttle to several different points along the race, so I left him with a few things that I might want him to hand off to me: an extra packet of Sport Beans (the little pocket of my running shorts would only hold two), my Bodyglide, and a spare pair of socks. There would be the opportunity to check a bag before the race (i.e., with stuff to be brought to the finish line), so I brought with me a bag containing a some warm clothes and flip flops to change into after the run.

The race start was in Union Square, and with 20,000 runners, it was about as crazy as you might imagine. Reasonably well organized, though. I stuck with three folks from my team who run about the same pace as I do, and we had no trouble checking our bags, making a stop at the potties, and getting to the corral area for our pace. It was packed! Shoulder-to-shoulder runners squeezed into the streets. At least all those bodies helped keep us warm as we stood there waiting to start. We could hear the starting horn at 7am, but it was a good 15 or 20 minutes of slow shuffling along before we actually got to the starting line. Andrew had staked out a good position near the starting line and I spotted him snapping photos as I began the race.

The first 4 or 5 miles were very crowded. This is inevitable for such a big race, but was probably worse than it needed to be. The purpose of having pace-based starting corrals is to make sure that faster runners don't get stuck behind slower runners, but this plan fails if people do not choose the proper corrals to start in. We passed a lot of walkers during the first few miles, and it was sometimes hard to make our way around them because there were so many people. This became less of a problem as the race went on. Annoyingly enough, I was in need of another potty stop by the time we started running, so I stopped during Mile 3. This was a necessity but also meant that I lost the group I had been running with, so I was on my own from there on out.

The first 5 miles or so felt very easy; they were mostly flat, and the excitement of starting the race was a powerful propellant. I saw Andrew again at Mile 4. Miles 6-8 got a little harder because they took us through the Presidio, which is hilly. But it wasn't too bad. There were lots of spectators cheering along the way, and TNT coaches everywhere. It was comforting to know that if I started having trouble, I could ask any TNT coach for help. I had puffy-painted my name onto my visor, so many people were cheering for me by name as I passed. Coach Ashley caught up with me during Mile 9 and ran with me for a little while, getting me over the big hill until the ocean was in sight.

I would say that the run started to feel challenging around Mile 11, which was the point at which we entered a long loop through Golden Gate Park. It was actually kind of a relief when it started feeling hard, because that is a familiar feeling to me; the run had seemed too easy up to that point. The GGP loop felt a little tedious, but I saw Andrew two more times during it (what a champion cheerer he was!). I learned later that I just missed my dad at Mile 15; he'd had to park some distance away and got there just after I had passed.

Miles 16-26 took us down the Great Highway (which runs along a beautiful stretch of ocean and beach), around Lake Merced, and then back up the Great Highway to the finish. My feet were starting to get sore on that first stretch of Great Highway, but I was doing OK. Andrew had let me know back in GGP that my family were arriving in the city, so I knew I might see them at any time. There was also lots of activity along the race course -- live music, "cheer stations," DJs, food and water booths, etc. So much for mindful running; they were definitely going with the distraction principle here.

Lake Merced started in Mile 19, and this was where the race got really tough for me. By that point, I felt like I had been running for a really long time (which I had!), my feet were hurting, and it had been 5 miles since I had seen anyone I knew. I ran into one of the Tucson coaches, Glin, just as I began the lake loop, and he ran with me for a couple of minutes and told me that this lake loop would be the hardest part of the run. He was not kidding! Lake Merced is really big, it turns out, and the roads that encircle it are all sloped. The uphills were tough at this point, but it was the downhills that were excruciating (downhills make sore parts jiggle). I was starting to feel really grumpy about this whole marathon thing when, all of a sudden in Mile 20, my mom came bounding over the grassy bank next to the road! I'm pretty sure I started shrieking when I saw her. She and my stepdad had brought their bicycles so they would have greater mobility, since the roads along the race course were closed. I ran over to the grass to give them hugs, but didn't pause too long because I knew it would be tough to get going again.

Around Mile 21, I entered what John Bingham (the speaker from the night before) had referred to as the "Bite Me" zone. This is the point in the race where you start wondering what ever possessed you to do something so crazy as run a marathon, silently cursing everyone you have ever met, and having violent thoughts toward the people who are earnestly cheering you on from the side of the road. Mile 21 was the "chocolate mile" -- squares of Ghirardelli chocolate being handed out to runners -- but for perhaps the first time in my life, the prospect of free high-quality chocolate seemed ridiculous and distasteful, offensive even. I was feeling nauseous and had to stop and walk for a couple of minutes. My mom and stepdad got me through miles 22 and 23 by frequently swooping past on their bikes and holding up awesome handmade signs. I ran into Glin again around Mile 23 and he reminded me to take some extra salt. I felt a lot better after washing down a salt packet.

Just after the 23 mile marker, the lake loop finally ended, and over a little hill (which seemed enormous at the time) I was back on the Great Highway heading toward the finish. It was a relief to be next to the ocean again because I knew this was the home stretch. My feet, ankles, and knees were hurting a lot by then, and I was just barely shuffling along -- I actually got passed by a speed-walker at one point. Another one of the Tucson coaches, Lisa, came by and ran with me for a minute. She asked how I was doing and I think I said something like "tired and sore." She was very encouraging, reminding me that the end was nearly in sight and to enjoy these last few miles. Her enthusiasm invigorated me a little bit for that final stretch. Around Mile 24, I started getting all choked up because for some reason, I realized at that point that I was definitely going to finish the marathon. This was annoying because it made it harder to breathe.

In the last mile, the street was lined with a crowd of cheerers that grew increasingly dense and loud. A TNT coach passed by me and said, "Just two more stop lights! That flashing light up ahead is the finish!" Apparently my parents and Andrew were stationed somewhere around there, but I don't remember seeing any of them. I do remember seeing the finish line, though! There was an announcer with a microphone who called out my name as I approached. And as I crossed the finish line, I was greeted by a handsome, tuxedoed SF fireman who handed me a little blue Tiffany box containing my finisher's necklace. I'm not sure what my time was, since I didn't have my watch and can't figure out how to check my official time on the race website. But I think it was in the neighborhood of 5 hours and 15 minutes.

I was very dazed after I finished. I know that I was immediately handed all sorts of things, including a mylar blanket to keep me warm and a finisher shirt. There were all kinds of people trying to give me water, which I did not want. It was a bit anticlimactic because there was no one to greet me, since family members aren't allowed in the area just beyond the finish line. So I kind of spacily wandered around by myself for awhile. Eventually I found the TNT tent, checked in, got a peanut butter sandwich and a cup of Sprite. I still couldn't find anyone I knew, and I didn't have the leg strength to walk around and look for people, so I just sat on the ground and munched my sandwich, figuring that eventually I would see someone. Eventually, I did see some of the Tucson team sitting in the tent, so I hobbled over and sat with them until my family arrived. I got to introduce my mom to the team. That was cool since this week is the 5-year anniversary of her bone marrow transplant.

I didn't feel too bad after the race. Usually, I feel a little ill after long runs, at least until after I've taken a nap, but not this time. I was just spacier than usual. My family put together a really nice celebratory dinner at my grandma's house, and my stepmom had gotten a big cake to celebrate my race and my mom's 5-year anniversary. It was a lovely way to end a spectacular day.

My legs were very sore Monday and Tuesday, but I feel surprisingly good today. So good that I kind of want to go for a run, actually. Don't worry, I'm not quite that crazy. I'll give my legs a few more days. At some point soon, I'll post some reflections on this experience and musings on what's next.

Edited to add: I was able to access my official race time! Five hours 18 minutes 55 seconds (which is equivalent to an average pace of 12 minutes 10 seconds per mile). According to Nike, I finished 2610th overall. Heck, I practically won!

Good grief. I am SO massively excited. We leave for San Francisco early tomorrow morning.

I just got back from a gentle 3-miler. I was relieved to find that everything felt good; I keep irrationally worrying that my body is going to fall apart or forget how to run between now and Sunday! This was my last run before leaving for San Fran...

Last night there was an informational meeting, whose gist was "Everything You Need To Know For Race Weekend." It was exciting and overwhelming. It turns out that I have raised the most money of anyone on the Tucson team, and that the team as a whole has raised almost $70,000 -- amazing. There was a ton of information about race weekend. They emphasized how important it is not to do anything on race day that we haven't been doing in our training runs; for example, don't try any new energy supplements that day, don't wear a new pair of running shorts for the first time, make sure to eat exactly what you usually eat before a long run. They also emphasized the importance of taking time on Saturday to practice what we'll do on Sunday morning -- as in, get entirely dressed in your running gear as if you were preparing for the run, so that you know for sure you have everything you will need the next morning. They also said to make sure not to do too much walking on Saturday, even though we'll have almost the entire day to ourselves in a great city.

The reality of all this is finally setting in. I'm getting very excited and nervous about the weekend, and I can't wait to get going! Today and tomorrow are going to feel very long!

My mom works in Marin County, which is just north of San Francisco. She just called from work to tell me that there is a major storm hitting the Bay Area right now. Apparently there are gusting winds and many inches of rain and people crashing their cars right and left. It sounds like a severe enough storm that it could have been very crippling on Race Day if it had come a few days from now! However, it looks like things will have calmed down by the weekend: still a chance of rain, but no major storming forecasted. Thank goodness! We could handle running in some regular old rain, methinks. We've done it before.

Our final team run this morning was just 6 miles, and it started at the luxuriously late hour of 6:30am! I'd been hoping to run with my friend Ashley because her team was starting at the same time in the same place -- but, we were scheduled for different distances and thus different routes. So instead, I ran with one of the coaches whom I hadn't chatted with before, and the run went by pretty quickly. The quickness was both figurative and literal -- it didn't feel too grueling, and we kept up a brisk pace.

I had a number of lingering aches and pains on this run. My right ankle and hip barked a little bit throughout the run, and after the run my left knee was making its presence known too. So, even though it had been a short run, I took an ice bath afterward just to encourage the recovery process and give myself the best chance for a low-pain run on Race Day. I must be getting used to ice baths because this one wasn't particularly uncomfortable, in spite of being plenty cold. I'm going to keep icing the persistently sore spots (mainly the right ankle and left knee) a lot this week.

Tuesday evening, we'll have an informational meeting in which we'll receive the complete itinerary for next weekend and -- most importantly -- our purple race day jerseys! I'm excited to make a trip to the craft store so that I can get materials with which to decorate said jersey before we leave for SF.

I went for a 3-mile run yesterday morning. Amazingly, my ankle joints were still feeling tired! They hurt when I first started running, but loosened up as we went. Then last night, I couldn't sleep because my hips were aching. It was weird. I hope that doesn't happen again.

Tomorrow morning is the last team run. Eight days until Race Day!

This morning I was very nearly thwarted in my efforts to attend the team run. I live in a guest house and have my own driveway that runs alongside the driveway for the main house. The main house has brand new tenants in it who seem to have a massive number of cars (or else they just have a ton of people staying with them while they get settled). At 4:35 this morning when I left my house to drive to the run, I found that I had been completely blocked into my driveway by one of the four vehicles that were piled in front of the house.

I stood there for several minutes, trying to figure out how on earth to proceed. It was interesting to watch my own discomfort process unfold here. The choice was clear -- I could try to wake up a household of strangers and get them to move their car (very uncomfortable for obvious reasons) or I could give up on attending the team run, go back to bed, and then do a 10-miler on my own once it got light (also uncomfortable, since I'd dragged myself out of bed after very little sleep and was already sunscreened, bodyglided, caffeinated, and ready to go). I thought about how it was raining and I didn't really feel like running in the rain. I thought about how, in spite of having gotten only 4 hours of sleep, I might not be able to go back to sleep because I'd taken two caffeine pills to wake myself up. I thought about what I would have done if this had happened last week for the 20-mile run -- clearly I'd have had to wake them up, because I couldn't have done that run on my own. I thought about how I knew for certain that they had been informed to keep my strip of driveway unblocked, since I was standing right there when our landlady had let them know about this. I thought about the fact that it would get sunscreen and bodyglide in my bed if I gave up and went back to bed.

Eventually, I knocked on their door. It took a few minutes of knocking without response before I realized, cringing internally, that if I was going to commit to waking them up, I needed to commit to loud pounding. So I started pounding on their door. Oh, the weirdness of pounding on the door of total strangers in the middle of the night! I was afraid someone might call the police on me. Finally -- a full 10 minutes after I had first started knocking -- a woman came to the door. I explained the situation very apologetically and once she understood, she sleepily said, "Well, my husband's asleep, so can I just give you the key?" I didn't ask why she couldn't move it herself -- maybe she doesn't drive or something -- because I was already late. So she brought me the key and I moved their truck for them, also weird. At least she wasn't hostile. She didn't seem very happy about being woken up, but apologized for having blocked me in and accepted my apologies for waking her up.

After all that, I zoomed over to the park and made it there in time to hear my route before everyone had left. I ran a pokey-but-consistent 10 miles. It was a mercifully uneventful run after the door pounding incident. There was a little rain, but mostly it was just nice and cool. I was surprised to find how tired my body still was from last Saturday's run; no pain but lots of fatigue in my feet, ankles, knees, and hips. But psychologically, the run felt easy -- regardless of physical difficulty, it's no longer mentally difficult for me to run for two hours. That fact amazes me.

One more team run before Race Weekend...

I did a little 3-mile run this morning to see how things felt. Things felt good! No muscle pain or joint pain, and my blister was behaving itself. My foot muscles got more tired than they usually would, as did my hip joints -- but it was fatigue, not pain. Yay! This would suggest that things are going to heal up just fine for the race.

Recovering nicely from the big run on Saturday. Monday I was still a little limpy due to the massive blister between my big toes, but by yesterday that was looking and feeling a lot better. Yesterday I did a lot of walking around campus, and this morning I went out for a walk. I actually felt so good on the walk this morning that it was tempting to run instead! But I wanted to give my knee one more low-impact day. I'll do a gentle run tomorrow.

I did it! Twenty miles yesterday morning. For the most part, it was an excellent run. We ran along the riverbed from Oracle west to La Cholla and back, and then east to Craycroft and back.

I ran by myself for the first 8 miles or so -- there were other TNTers up ahead and not too far behind, but I wasn't running alongside anyone. The first 45 minutes or so were mentally challenging because it was quite dark and I wasn't very familiar with that part of the riverbed path. So in a way, it was nice to be by myself because there was nothing to distract my attention from trying not to trip! Once it began to get light, the little bunnies started to come out, and there were a couple miles of extremely cute bunnies everywhere. It turned into a gorgeous, cool morning.

I was keeping a good, steady pace, and everything felt just about right. I was trying to run mindfully, just noticing each step as it occurred, instead of letting my mind wander off into worries and fantasies. It's amazing how much less boring running is when I focus my attention on it instead of distracting myself from it. I feel like I really experienced this run, rather than just "getting through it."

Around Mile 8, Coach Ashley found me and ran with me for about 3 miles, and she caught up with me again around Mile 13. By Mile 13, I was starting to get tired, but felt like I could keep my slow steady pace up for a long time. I mentioned that to Ashley, and I must have jinxed myself by doing so, because shortly thereafter my left knee started hurting a lot. It was a sudden pain and it nearly took my breath away because it was so intense. Based on the location of the pain, Ashley thought maybe it was my IT band getting irritated, but she said it was unusual for IT band pain to happen so suddenly. We stopped and stretched and then walked for about half a mile, and then I decided to see what would happen if I started running again. It still hurt quite a bit and I was afraid that I might have to walk the rest of the way back. But I was able to run through it and after a mile or so, it seemed to loosen up a little bit, enough that I could keep on running even with the pain.

With 2.5 miles to go, I was clearly going to make it in OK, so Ashley turned around to pick up some other runners and I did the last stretch solo. My legs were extremely tired and sore by now. I wasn't really noticing my knee anymore, but that might have been because the pain in the rest of my legs had caught up to the pain in my knee. Even my abs were hurting at this point! However, I wasn't tempted to stop and walk, because I could tell that if I walked, everything would start hurting a lot more. So I just kept it slow (very slow) and steady, even bypassing the last water station because I didn't want to interrupt the tenuous momentum that I seemed to have going. I started mentally labeling my steps in triplets (right-left-right left-right-left right-left-right left-right-left); for some reason, mentally "chunking" the steps made them feel easier.

I finished in 3 hours 57 minutes, which is just about a 12-minute mile pace on average. That would be a totally decent marathon pace for me! When I got within sight of the finish area, I could see that all the TNT run coaches (even including the winter team coaches) were there to cheer me in. They waved signs, applauded, and rang bells as I approached. It felt great! As soon as I stumbled into the gazebo and sat down, one of them started taking off my shoes for me, another one was getting me a cool washcloth, and Louanne prepared a little ice bath for me to stick my feet into. I could get used to being pampered like that. :-) My feet did pretty well on this run. The blister I'd incurred earlier in the week did fine with just a bandaid. I seem to have developed another one between my big toes on the same foot, but I'm hoping it will heal easily too.

I sat around for a half hour or so to cheer the other runners in. There was lots of food and I tried to make myself eat something, although all I could manage was half a peanut butter sandwich. Eventually, I stumbled home, showered, and took my ice bath (an extra cold one with three bags of ice). It was a somewhat rough afternoon after that. I was still in a lot of pain despite the ice bath, and while I wanted to rest or nap, my whole lower body would start aching intensely when I would lie down. I was also still having trouble making myself eat. Eventually, I was able to fall asleep for a couple of hours and felt a lot better after that, especially with the help of some ice packs on my knees and a couple of Advil. I slept for 11 hours last night, and this morning, my joints are definitely sore! I have ice packs on my knees as I type.

So overall, it was an awesome run. I went into it with the right attitude ("this is going to hurt, but that's OK! it just means it's working!") and I saw that I could get through a lengthy run even with some substantial pain. Plus, the majority of the run was pain-free and enjoyable. I'm now officially excited about Race Day!

We are now in the pre-race "taper" period, meaning no hill training, no strength training, and no substantial distance between now and race day. Really, my main jobs in the next 3 weeks are to let my body heal and to not get injured. I am taking these jobs very seriously. Heeled shoes: you only increase the probably that I will twist my ankle, so you're all on sabbatical until after the race! Same for you, lawns that I sometimes walk across on campus: I'll be staying on solid pavement that is free from gopher holes. I also probably won't run at all in the next week, because I want to let my knee heal completely from whatever was ailing it yesterday. What I'll do instead are some gentle walks with a lot of stretching afterward. Coach Ashley thought that maybe the knee problem was due to a lack of stretching in the previous week; I hadn't been stretching much since I was staying off the blister.

Have I mentioned that I am pumped for tomorrow's 20-miler? It's going to hurt like crazy and be super awesome!

My blister is healing and my freezer is full of ice. Bring on the distance!!

Foot update: I emailed Coach Ashley about my blister, and she recommended that I keep it protected and stay off it as much as possible this week, or at least take it easy on any runs I do. Argh, taking it easy is no fun! But I know she's right. It doesn't look too bad this morning, but it could easily become infected.

I might do a really teeny run (just 2 or 3 miles) tomorrow morning to keep my muscles limber and test out a blister bandaging scheme for Saturday's 20-miler.

What did my left foot go and do on our 5-mile run this morning? Develop a blister on its arch. How rude! It's not a terrible one, but I can tell that it will get very sore if exacerbated, so I'm going to need to baby it this week. Silly, silly foot. It's getting to that point in the game where I've developed a healthy paranoia about injuring myself before the race. (And blisters count as injuries -- they can take you out for a long time if they get bad.)

I had a great 12-mile run this morning! I was accompanied by my friend Ashley, a fellow clinical psych student who recently started training with TNT to walk a marathon in January. We chatted about all manner of things and the 12 miles just seemed to fly by. Plus, it was a gorgeous, cool morning. I wish every run could be so easy and fun!

race course!

Exciting stuff: here's the race course for the marathon that I'll be running exactly one month from today!!

The most exciting thing for me about this course? By staying around the periphery of the city, it avoids many of those famous San Francisco hills! :-D

Got back out there and ran 5 miles this morning. It was a good run. I felt solid and strong.

I'm kind of amazed at how tolerant my body is being. I put it through an enormous amount of stress by running 18 miles, and now after just 3 mornings it runs again without any complaints at all. Wow.

I ran 18 miles yesterday!

The route was similar to what we did for the 16-miler a couple of weeks ago, but extended a little bit. So the whole run was along the river path. I felt rested and energetic at the start. I was a little worried because it was already about 80 degrees by the time we started at 5am, but fortunately, it didn't get a whole lot hotter than that during the run. There were some scattered low clouds in the sky, not enough to make it feel like a "cloudy day" but enough to cover the sun and keep things cool (cool for summer in Tucson, at least). Even though we were running due east for Miles 3-11, the sun was never in my eyes. This was especially fortunate because I'd forgotten my visor! Even with coffee, it can be hard to think straight while gathering up one's running gear at 4:15am...

Coach Ashley ran with me for the first 9-ish miles of the run. Around Mile 5 or so, I noticed that my leg muscles were feeling quite fatigued already -- much more so than they normally would be after running 5 miles. I don't know why that was. It was definitely the type of pain I associate with fatigue, not the acute knee or ankle pain that I've occasionally gotten. Maybe my legs didn't appreciate the slightly longer run on Thursday? I wasn't underfueled or underhydrated -- I'd had coffee and a piece of toast before the run, and consumed plenty of Gatorade, salt, Sport Beans, and plain old water during the run. There was nothing to do but keep on going. I could tell it was going to make the later miles tough, though.

Around Mile 9, Ashley turned around to pick up some other runners who were a little ways back on the path, so I was on my own for the "back nine." That was definitely a challenge. The landscape along the river path is barren between Campbell and Craycroft (which is a 3 or 4 mile stretch of this route both on the way there and again on the way back), and especially when you're starting to get tired, it's hard not having anyone to cheer you on or at least distract you. Every now and then I would pass (or be passed by) a TNT mentor or coach, and that would keep me going. They would always make sure I was doing OK. A few times, I even got cheered on by non-TNT people who noticed my TNT jersey, which was really cool! Other than that, I mostly occupied my mind with people-watching, since there were lots of people walking, running, biking, and skating along the path. I was particularly cracked up by this one woman who was pushing a little pink baby buggy containing not a baby but her two teeny identical dogs. Ridiculous!

My legs and feet were pretty unhappy for the last 8 miles or so. I kept feeling unsure about whether I should do walk intervals or not, because while it gave me a little rest, it also hurt a lot to start up running again after a walk. I ended up running consistently during miles 11-15, and then taking several 1-minute walk intervals during the last 3 miles. I never let myself stop and walk indefinitely, though -- I would always choose a landmark up ahead where I would start running again. Those last few miles were really slow, even for the parts where I was running! There were several times when I noticed that I was mumbling audible encouragement to myself as I shuffled along.

I ended up finishing in about three-and-a-half hours. That shows how much slower my pace was on this run -- recall that it took me just under three hours to do 16 miles. It was a huge relief to get back to base camp, sit down, and stretch. Louanne, the marathon coordinator, always brings an ice-cold cooler full of washcloths, and it feels GREAT to mop down with one after a long run. I sat for a few minutes, and then hobbled back to my car to go home. The ice bath actually felt really good this time. I napped for several hours, and couldn't do much of anything the rest of the day except eat. I ended up falling asleep at about 8pm because it was taking way too much energy to even sit up.

Today I feel good. Legs are tired but not sore. I'm going to give them a good rest now so that they'll quit it with the muscle fatigue thing. I can't believe we only have one more long training run (20 miles in a couple of weeks) and then supposedly I will be sufficiently trained to run a marathon. Seriously?!

True to my own prediction, I did not go running during Andrew's visit. We did take a nice little hike up at Mount Lemmon, which included a couple of small-but-steep hills (see? I do too do hill training!) as well as an excellent storm that included pea-sized hail.

Andrew left early Tuesday morning and I really should have gone running yesterday morning, but I couldn't quite activate myself to get out of bed -- I was in a terrible mood and missing Andrew and generally just wishing I could sleep all day. Oh well. Still, I really did want to get in one decent run before the upcoming 16-18 mile monster on Saturday, so this morning I went over to Reid and ran 6 miles and walked another 3. It went fine and I kept a good, consistent pace the whole time.

Unfortunately, I am not getting along so well with the FuelBelt. I've figured out that in order to keep it from moving around and scratching me up, I have to wear it fairly tightly at the smallest part of my waist. This feels OK when I start out and then becomes uncomfortable. Also, I'm finding that it's very difficult to run with the extra weight of the water bottles at my lower back. It's fine for when I'm walking, but not so good when running. Bummer! I feel like I've given it a reasonable try (3 runs now) but I'll ask the coaches on Saturday if they think I should stick with it; the TNT coaches and mentors seem to really love their FuelBelts. However, I can't imagine doing 16-18 miles with the belt, so I think I'll revert to carrying a water bottle in my hand for now.

On the positive side of things, I've also figured out that a packet of Sport Beans about 20 minutes before I start running makes the first 3 miles or so vastly easier to get through. Usually miles 2 and 3 are pretty tough because I haven't quite hit my stride yet, but this doesn't seem to be the case if I've had some Beans! I'm still creeped out by these weird non-food sport supplements, but dang, they seem to do their job well...

It's been a week of new running equipment! I finally got my FuelBelt on Monday. In retrospect, I think it's a good thing that I didn't get it before Saturday's run, because a super long run probably wouldn't have been the best place to test it out. I ran 5 miles on Tuesday with the belt, and it definitely took some getting used to. Figuring out how tightly to wear it and exactly where on my waist/hips I want it to rest will take some practice, plus the feeling of carrying extra weight around my middle is a strange one. Also, yesterday I went and got a new pair of shoes -- identical to the old ones except that instead of being pink with gray and silver trim, these are white with periwinkle and silver trim. They feel exactly the same, but hopefully will be easier on my knees and feet due to not being so worn out.

Andrew will be visiting this weekend, and I haven't been too keen on the idea of giving up our lazy Saturday morning together to go out for a team run at 5am. Fortunately, this week's team run will only be 8-10 miles, which is a manageable distance to do by myself, so I decided that I would do a long run on my own this morning so that I could skip Saturday's run. I went to Reid Park and did 9 miles. The weather was my least favorite for running: mid-80s, humid, and absolutely no breeze. I was drenched in sweat by the 1-mile marker (lovely) and could tell it was going to be a tough run. However, I'm learning that the toughness of any given run has at least as much to do with the weather as with me. This is a useful realization -- not because I can avoid running on the bad-weather days (I can't), but because I'm less likely to start catastrophizing about the implications for my ability to run a marathon in 6 weeks.

Around Mile 7, I was starting to have a pretty bad time: sweat was getting in my eyes, and the FuelBelt was rubbing uncomfortably on my lower back (which was already chafed up from Saturday's run -- darn shorts). So I ended up walking for the first half of Mile 7 and the first half of Mile 8. But then I was able to run in the last mile and a half. Not the most fun run ever, but at least I got the miles in!

Realistically, I probably won't run again until after Andrew leaves. We'll probably go hike on Mount Lemmon at some point over the weekend, so I'll get some exercise that way at least.

Goodness, I'm not doing a very good job of writing about my runs as they happen, now am I?

I did two 5-milers this week. Would have done three of them if not for knee problems. On Monday's run, the knee was very unhappy. So, I took Tuesday and Wednesday as rest days and did a lot of icing -- and miraculously, on Thursday, it seemed to be OK. Coach Ashley suggested that I probably need new shoes right around now, and I hope she's right that this was the source of the pain! If so, it would be easy to remedy. Hopefully I'll have time to visit a running store in the next week and see if I can find a new pair of these same shoes, since they've treated me well.

This morning at 5am, I embarked on our 16-mile team run -- my longest ever! Context for you Tucson folks: we started west of Tucson Mall and ran to Craycroft and back, along the Rillito River path. It was not humid like last week, thank goodness, but it was very warm -- already in the mid-80s by the time we started. I ran the whole way with Coach Daz, who was a wonderful and encouraging running partner. He told me that they usually try to make sure everyone is running with a buddy now, because otherwise these long runs can become fairly soul-crushing, especially given the bleakness of some of the riverbed stretches. I think he was right -- I probably would not have made it on my own. But we did make it, slowly and steadily. I really appreciated Daz's patience in not pushing my pace and taking a couple walk intervals, even though he probably could have gone much faster.

I felt good during the run today -- it wasn't excruciating like the 15-miler that was my last run with the Ann Arbor team. Nothing in particular was hurting, I had a decent amount of energy, and it was overall not too awful (even though I was exhausted for the last few miles). I had my first experience with eating salt packets (nasty, but I really did feel better afterward) and my first experience with Accelerade (probably the worst sport drink of all time, tasted just like vomit). By the last 7 miles or so, my feet were hurting pretty considerably (I think this is part of needing new shoes -- my arches aren't getting enough support) but I kept on going. By the last three miles, I think I was running slower than I usually walk! My legs had nothing left by then. But we made it in just under 3 hours, including two walk intervals, which Daz said was a good pace for this point in the training. It was a great feeling of accomplishment when we got back to base camp and all the coaches there applauded

My FuelBelt hasn't arrived yet, so I had to carry a water bottle with me. It's amazing how tired a small water bottle can make your arms while running. But I was really glad to have water with me in between water stations, especially during the last half of the run when the sun was really pounding on our backs.

After the run, I hung around base camp for a little while to stretch and make sure I would be able to drive home safely (it's easy to start feeling a little dizzy after a run that long and hot), then stopped at a Circle K on the way home for a couple bags of ice. This ice bath was much less painful than my last one -- I'm guessing partly because I knew what to expect, and partly because the water just wasn't as cold. The tap water that comes out of the "cold" tap in Tucson is about as warm as I usually like my showers to be (there's no way to get it colder), so the ice melts faster. But I stayed in for a full 15 minutes and it feels like it did me good -- no substantial muscle soreness yet. After that, I took a much-needed 4-hour nap. Now I feel very fatigued, but not sore, even my feet which were the most painful part at the end of the run.

I kind of can't believe that in a month and a half, I'm going to run this far plus 10 more miles...

I finally got to run with the Tucson Team on Saturday! I had done another short run (3 miles) on Friday morning, which went OK although my right knee was giving me some grief. I had to get up earrrrrrly on Saturday morning, since we were meeting at 5am and it's a good 20-minute drive from my house. Oof. [I did take a 4-hour nap soon after I got back, though, to make up for any lost sleep.]

Everyone was very friendly and welcoming, as I had a feeling they would be! I think the course only ended up being about 8 miles, but that was plenty because it was extremely humid and quite warm (i.e., more humid than any day while I was in Michigan, and already in the 80s by 5am) and everyone was feeling pretty icky. The Tucson Team seems to be bigger than the Ann Arbor Team, with many more staff. I ran with a coach and two of the mentors, which definitely pushed my pace a little bit! We were using an interval strategy where we would run for a mile and then walk for a minute (at least I think those were the proportions); this was a nice way to avoid getting too tired, plus it gave something to look forward to during the run intervals.

My knee was not happy during this run -- fairly localized pain and more intense than my previous experiences with running-related knee pain. I've been icing it, and if it's still acting up tomorrow, I'll seek advice from a coach. It would be a bummer to be injured at this point in the game.

Random: we saw tons of bunnies on the run, which were cute, and also many enormous clouds of swarming bugs, which thankfully left us alone. Ew.

Finally: I ordered a hydration belt! I had considered getting one that was more like a CamelBak, but all the TNT runners here like the FuelBelt ones so I'm trusting their expertise. I got a 2-bottle one because when I tried them on at the Running Store, the 4-bottle ones were too bulky to be comfortable. I hope it gets here before next Saturday's run!

So, it seems I underestimated the extent to which the Michigan-Tucson transition would disrupt my running schedule. I knew this would happen to some extent, but hadn't realized just how little I would be able to run during the transition time. What with wrapping things up there, the traveling itself, having my oral comps as soon as I got back here, and trying to accomplish basic tasks of living such as restocking my fridge -- all while adjusting to the time change, the heat, and my seeming inability to actually sleep since I got back -- I haven't been getting my miles in over the last couple of weeks. Not the end of the world, as there is plenty of time to work back up in the next couple of months, but something to be aware of. Running in the desert takes more planning than running in the midwest, because you absolutely have to go really early if you'd like to avoid heatstroke and death. Which really, I would.

So my first run back in the desert was this morning. I went around 6:30am, which was already too late -- it was in the upper 80s by the time I got out. It was also about as humid as it's been on the more humid days in Michigan. WTF, weather? I thought the one redeeming characteristic of the desert was supposed to be the dryness of its heat... So anyway, it was hot and gross. I was at Reid Park, which has a 3-mile jogging path, and I told myself I could stop after one lap if I really needed to. Indeed, I was pretty dehydrated after one lap in spite of having gulped some water midway through, but I really wanted to do more than 3 miles. I grabbed my water bottle from my car and started walking a second lap; I walked for a mile, ran the second mile, and walked the last. So overall, ran 4 and walked 2. Not great, but not terrible for my first run back.

My first run with the Tucson team this Saturday will be 10 miles, which feels like it will be tough but doable. I might do another short run tomorrow morning since I have to be up early for other things anyway, and because I would feel better about doing 10 if I'd gotten in two shorter runs first. In the meantime, this afternoon I'm going to shop for some kind of water-carrying system since I'm clearly going to need it here.

Uh oh, I've slacked off on posting about my runs! I got back to Tucson just a few hours ago, and my last week in Michigan turned out to be a little hectic. The long run I'd been hoping to do early in the week did not happen, due to research subjects and birthday festivities. But, I did get in three 5-milers since my last post. There has been something a little bit wrong with my left foot ever since that excessively difficult Saturday run (feels like a sore muscle in my arch, but hasn't gotten better over time like a sore muscle usually does), so I've been icing it a lot and hope it stops bothering me soon.

Now I'm back in the dry heat of the desert, and we will see what that does to Amanda the Runner -- yikes! I'll definitely run either tomorrow or Monday, and will probably start out with a low-mileage run to see how I do.

Finally, today I was recovered enough from Saturday to run again! I'm in the middle of my written comprehensive exams right now (two hours a day for four days), so instead of going first thing this morning, I waited until I'd finished my exam for the day so I could use the run as a refreshing break. I did 5 miles, and it felt OK. My feet are still sore from Saturday, amazingly. Maybe I need to start looking for my next pair of running shoes sooner rather than later...

It felt pretty warm out... sheesh, 80 degrees now feels warm to me. Tucson people, I can hear you laughing from across the continent. Why don't you wipe those smiles off your faces and start planning me a nice funeral instead?

Today was my last run with the Ann Arbor team before I go back to Tucson -- sadness. It was the longest run I've done (15 miles), and also the toughest by a large margin, though not because of the course or even the distance. (The course was mostly flat and the more-than-usual toughness started in about Mile 7.) No, my body just did not want to run today. My feet were hurting, there was no spring in my step, and every step was taking too much effort. The teammate I was running with, Mandy, was having a tough time too, and it seemed that others were also struggling, so maybe it was something about the weather. I'm sure it didn't help that I didn't sleep at all last night (Andrew's at a conference this weekend and it's the first time he's been gone since I've been here), nor that I hadn't run since Monday thanks to yet more automotive troubles. Around Mile 12, I actually thought I might not make it, and I probably wouldn't have if not for Mandy's encouragement. Thank goodness for awesome teammates! Also for the nice people at Panera (yes, the restaurant), who willingly gave us free cups of deliciously cold water in Mile 13 when we'd gone too long without hitting a water station.

I did make it, though with a tortoise-like pace of about 20 minutes for the last mile. The whole run took me 3 hours. I opted out of the ice bath afterward, deciding that I couldn't take any more intense suffering and that I would prefer my subsequent suffering to be diffuse instead. So, a few days of muscle stiffness it is. My feet are pretty sore, so I'm holding an ice pack between my arches right now, which feels good and seems to be helping.

For some reason, my mid-run craving this time around was for hard-boiled eggs instead of oatmeal. Weird. Anyway, I made some when I got home and am munching them as I type. (Is this a weird enough image for you yet? Amanda sitting at her computer, typing while eating eggs and icing her feet?)

I've had a really great time running with the Ann Arbor Team, and I'm sad to say goodbye. Coaches Ethan and Annamarie have been especially terrific, and the teammates have been supportive. I really appreciate the team's generosity in "fostering" me while I've been here. I know the Tucson team will be wonderful as well!

Moving ahead, here's what's on tap for the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to do any team runs. Next Saturday (and all weekend, actually) is reserved for "us time" with Andrew because it's my last weekend here, and the following Saturday I'll be flying back to Tucson. I should be able to do a good handful of 5-milers this week, because I'm taking the whole week off from work for my comprehensive exams and will need some breaks. I may try to do a long (albeit not 15...) solo run early next week, maybe an evening run after work. If that doesn't happen, then, well, I'll just build back up as I settle into the massive and terrifying climate change that the desert has in store for me. I think the Tucson Team's training schedule is a little behind Ann Arbor's, mileage-wise, so at least I won't be adding distance too quickly once I get back and have to adjust to the heat.

Did my 5-mile route this morning. My leg muscles were definitely still fatigued from Saturday's run, but not sore. I actually beat my best time for this run, making it under 46 minutes for the first time.

I was trying to practice mindfulness during the run this morning. I'm trying to be more mindful in my daily life in general, and running is great place to practice because it's a time when I would usually get lost in thought or worry. In particular I was focusing on sound as I ran -- my feet on the ground, the wind rushing past my ears, and the sounds of my breaths, passing cars, birds, and other things. When I noticed that my mind had wandered, I tried to bring it back to focusing on sounds.

Update on the efficacy of the ice bath:

I hate to say this, but it seems to have been kind of worth it. I had virtually no muscle or joint pain yesterday. Fatigue yes (quite a bit), but pain no. Today the very tops of my quads (which were the one part of my legs not to be completely submerged in the bath) are a little sore, but only a little, and the rest of me is completely fine. Usually I would be pretty sore after a run like that.

Argh. This means I can't justify refusing to do it ever again.

Oy, with the rain already. Today's team run was another very wet one. Coach Ethan had printed out little slips of paper with our route on it, and gave each of us a Ziploc baggie to carry them in so that they wouldn't be rendered soggy and illegible by the rain.

The course took us pretty much all over Ann Arbor, and was 13.98 miles. That's 53% of a marathon! It included a couple of big hills, which felt easier than the last time we did big hills, and overall went smoothly. I had to ditch my glasses again for most of the run because of the rain, and was lucky to be running with a non-blind teammate because without my glasses, I can't even come close to reading street signs. So, teammate Mandy served as navigator and made sure I didn't bump into things or fall in any holes, which was very kind of her! Silly rain, silly glasses.

The last 3 or 4 miles were pretty tough for me -- legs were very tired by then and I had a bit of a side cramp. I kept getting slower and slower... and slower... but I didn't stop to walk! The whole thing took me a little over 2.5 hours, including a couple of brief refueling stops.

On the way back from the run, I stopped at Meijer to get a couple bags of ice so that I could take an ice bath. Ice baths are sort of a rite of passage for runners, I've learned; they're supposed to prevent inflammation after a long run, thereby promoting recovery and reducing post-run pain. Jenne has sworn by them ever since I've known her, but I couldn't bring myself to do it until now. Procedure: dump ice in bathtub and fill with cold water until hip-deep. Get bundled up in a sweatshirt, make a cup of hot tea, undress from the waist down. Get in bath, scream and yell expletives that you may not even have realized were in your vocabulary, until about 3 minutes have passed and the extreme pain finally gives way to a chilly numbness. Sit there for as long as you can bear, shaking and sipping tea and reading a book to try to distract yourself from the fact that you are sitting in a tub of ice water. In my case, I had set the timer for 15 minutes, but realized a couple minutes into my bath that the timer was on the fritz, so I had to estimate; I think I was in there for between 10 and 15 minutes, and then I just couldn't take it anymore. My legs are still in the process of thawing as I type this. We'll see whether it was worth it...

Well, life kept on getting in the way this week. For a variety of reasons, I haven't been able to run since Tuesday. This is not the end of the world, although it probably won't make tomorrow's 14-miler any easier. The good news is that the kitty is all right and I should be able to get back to my usual two-or-three runs per week now.

On the plus side, my right hip seems to have gotten over its little hissy fit. That most definitely will make tomorrow's run easier.

5-miler this morning, felt fine. I've really gotten into a groove with this particular route. Even though it takes 46-48 minutes (which is a pretty decent chunk of time) I almost never find myself wishing it could just be over anymore. I just kind of do it, and don't think about what I'm doing, and it's not too terribly hard, and then I've done it. The getting out of bed to do it is much harder than the actual doing of it.

By the way...

I haven't been posting about my fundraising on here, because I really want this blog to be dedicated to my actual running activities. But, it seems worth announcing here that as of Friday, I've officially met my fundraising minimum of $3900! This is entirely due to all of your generosity, and I'm completely amazed and moved by everyone's willingness to contribute to this cause. Many, many thanks to everyone who has contributed!

Now I just have to run a marathon... no problem. :-)

Well, life got in the way of posting about my run yesterday: my mischievous little kitty, Havilland, ate a poisonous plant right after I got back from the run, and therefore I've spent all weekend engaged in emergency veterinary activities. Finally now we've got her back home, and it looks like she'll probably be OK. Who knew running 12 miles wouldn't be the biggest challenge of the weekend? Dealing with the unfriendly vet techs at the emergency animal clinic all weekend was much harder!

Anyway.... it seems a little anticlimactic now, but the 12-miler was fine. It was a gorgeous day for a run -- sunny and cool and not humid. It was a mostly flat course (just one very short hill and one longer but very gradual hill), and if anything, it felt a little easier than last week's shorter-but-hillier run. The TNT energy product box contained a new product this week: the PowerBar Gel Blast. I happily ate a package of lemon ones after Mile 5 -- and only then discovered that they contain gelatin. D'oh! Vegetarianism fail. Bummer, because they were actually pretty yummy.

I felt tired afterward, but didn't completely pass out after the run. (This may have been partly due to poisoned-kitty panic, which turned me into one of those mothers who suddenly have superhuman strength when their babies are in danger.) I did take a nap later in the afternoon, but it wasn't out of control like last weekend. My body does feel pretty tired today. I'm having a problem with my right hip, which is aching a lot and actually keeping me awake at night (including Friday night, so it's not just the result of Saturday's run). I'm not sure what to do about this and hope it goes away soon.

Another 5 this morning. I'd been a little concerned because on Tuesday afternoon I twisted my left ankle again a little bit (not due to stinky bus people this time, but due to stepping off a step without realizing there was a step there -- very graceful, Amanda). And also my left knee had been complaining a little bit, So basically, minor mutiny of my entire left leg. It did OK on the run, though. The knee was fine and the ankle was only a teeny bit sore while I was running. Also, I tied my own best time for this loop, so I must not have been too uncomfortable!

This morning's 5-miler was my first run since Saturday's monster. It was chilly out! After two rest days, everything felt good -- no muscle fatigue, no major aches or pains, and everything seemed to be pretty well in alignment. Five miles really does feel easier than it used to. Maybe there's something to this whole "training" thing...

I've been timing my last few runs of this loop, and it's amazing how similar my times are -- all have fallen within a minute of each other. I may not be speedy, but gosh darn, I'm consistent.

I always see a bunny at the exact same place on this loop. Every time, my passing startles it and sends it hopping into the bushes. The bunny is consistent, too.

So, yesterday's team run can only be described as an experience. First off, the course was 11.4 miles -- you heard me right, ELEVEN POINT FOUR. This is 2.4 miles farther than I had ever run in my life, and we were promised two major hills on the course. Yikes!

We started out at 7:45 and within the first quarter-mile, there was a massive clap of thunder. We were running next to the river, and we could hear the downpour coming across the water before it reached us. Turning around, we could see this massive wall of rain moving over the river toward us -- and there was NOTHING we could do to avoid it! The rain hit us 10 seconds later -- huge drops, and a lot of them -- and by the end of our first mile, we were completely drenched. I couldn't have been wetter if I'd just gone swimming. There was also a lot of thunder and lightning going on, to the point where the marathon coordinator actually gave us the option of stopping the run. But no way was I going to stop after a mile, so I kept on going, and the storm passed by about Mile 4. (In the meantime, I'd ditched my glasses for the remainder of the run, since with all the water and humidity I could actually see better [though not well] without them than with them.)

I will say a couple things for running in really hard rain. First of all, it lends this kind of comic "What the hell am I doing out here?!" atmosphere to the run, such that you can hardly help laughing a little at the ridiculousness of it all. Second, while my mind often tends to wander/worry/ruminate/anticipate during runs, in conditions like that it's very easy to stay in the present and be aware of what you're doing. Hard rain facilitates mindfulness while running, at least for me.

Mile 5 was the major hill of the run. It was kind of a two-humped hill, with the second hump a lot steeper than the first. I got up them, albeit lagging a bit behind the four teammates I was keeping pace with. It was actually the stretch just after the top that felt hardest, because once you're no longer going uphill, you realize just how much you're gasping for breath, a sensation that makes me feel like I might be dying. (Not literally dying, but... you know. It makes me feel a little panicky, like my lungs might not be able to recover.) Those were the moments when I thought I might not make it through this whole run, because I knew there would be another big hill later in the run. But I just kept on plugging away. It was fortunate that there were several of us sticking together as a group on this run, because my usual running buddy Sam had to call it quits after Mile 6 due to a nasty blister left over from our last waterlogged run. I'm not sure I could have made it without others running around me to keep the pace.

We stopped to refuel back at base camp and then embarked on the second loop of the run. The second hill turned out not to be that big after all, which was good, because my legs were feeling a bit rubbery by the time we reached it. After that, my last three miles were very, very slow -- the legs just had nothing left. I fell behind my running mates and had to walk for maybe a quarter-mile, but then was able to jog again at a slow, steady pace. With about a half-mile to go, Coach Ethan caught up with me and jogged alongside me for the rest of the way, which helped a lot! There's a lot to be said for being distracted from all the pain you're in. :-)

So, I made it! My knees and one ankle were a little sore afterward, but I iced them yesterday and am not too stiff today. I slept like mad after the run -- a three-hour nap and then a 12-hour sleep last night. It wasn't by choice, either; my body just completely shut down. I need to get used to the idea that from now on, my Saturdays are going to be pretty much shot. It's a bit humbling, just what I'm asking my body to do.

Just found out that tomorrow's run is 11 miles, not 10... and with hills! EEK!

So I ran 5-milers yesterday and this morning. Yesterday's run was the easiest I've ever had, even though I beat my Monday time by about two minutes. Everything felt good, nothing hurt. This morning was harder, partly because of muscle fatigue, partly who-knows-what run-hardness. But it wasn't bad, either.

By the way, if it seems like I'm complaining less about the humidity lately, it's not because I've toughened up or improved my attitude. It's just because it has been much less humid. :-)

Rest tomorrow, then 10 miles on Saturday!

Did my five-miler this morning. It felt good, in spite of only having gotten a couple hours of sleep. When I started getting tired in the last mile, I pictured the look on Deena Kastor's face from the movie last night as she tried with all her might not to lose her lead at the very end of the race. By comparison, my legs didn't feel so tired after all.

I successfully did my 9 yesterday morning! I wouldn't say it was substantially easier or harder than last week's 9. It was another gorgeous morning. I did try the Clif Shot Bloks in the orange flavor, which were not too gross. They made me feel very caffeinated. Today my legs have been pretty tired, but I'm going to go out again tomorrow morning.

This evening, courtesy of Jenne, Andrew and I watched the movie Spirit of the Marathon, a documentary that follows several runners (both elite and not) as they prepare for the Chicago Marathon. It was pretty good! It definitely made me understand how someone could get addicted to running marathons, although I don't know that I personally will be that way. One of the elite runners they followed, Deena Kastor, had maybe the most amazing legs I have ever seen. And, she's not even tall -- she's my height, 5'4". If legs like that on a fellow short person aren't inspiring, I don't know what is. ;-)

I just realized that there is actually no team run scheduled for tomorrow since it's a holiday. Meaning I'll be doing another long run on my own... sigh. I'm gonna do another 9-miler and save the double digits for next Saturday when there's moral support around. I really do need to do a long run tomorrow since I haven't gotten enough runs in this week.

On the plus side, I got a couple packages of Clif Shot Bloks to try out tomorrow per Jenne's recommendation. I'm kind of excited to try them. :-)

On the ugh side, I twisted my ankle a little bit getting off the bus this afternoon. I guess I was a little too eager to escape the powerful stench of the guy sitting next to me, and didn't notice that there was a big gopher hole there. Oops. Hopefully this won't interfere with my run tomorrow.

As of yesterday afternoon we have a functioning vehicle again, which meant that I was able to run this morning! I did my 5-mile loop and it felt good -- no aches or pains or tired muscles or excessive humidity. What's more, I think the season of Amanda's Excessive Allergies may have passed. Cause for celebration all around, don't you think?

Also, I think you should all know that I'm playing fetch with my cat as I type this post. If you would like to see a video in which she (rather than I) is doing most of the running, check out my video of the two of us playing fetch in my first Tucson apartment.

Argh, have not been able to run since Saturday's 9-miler due to the truck still being broken. Broken truck --> have to take public buses to and from work --> have to leave house at 6:45am to catch bus --> not time to run in the morning, since that would require me to go out around 4:30 and it's still very dark then. Fingers crossed that truck will be fixed today! Going another couple days without running would probably not be good.

This morning was 9-mile day! Unfortunately, I couldn't run with the team because our vehicle's at the shop this weekend, and the Ann Arbor bus system doesn't run on Saturday mornings (lame!). So, I had to come up with this one on my own, which was a little daunting! I've only ever run 9 miles once before, never farther than that.

So I did my 5-mile loop twice, with the second loop a little abbreviated to cut the total distance to 9. It was a gorgeous morning: sunny and not too warm and low humidity. I planted some water and a little baggie of Wheat Thins near the beginning of the loop so that I could re-fuel halfway through. The first loop went pretty well -- I think I actually pushed my pace without realizing it, which means I was feeling good but may not have been the best idea. Around Mile 4 I started feeling like I really needed fuel, and I still had a little way to go before hitting my fuel stash. That wasn't so much fun. After my snack and some water I felt better. The second loop was much slower as my feet got progressively more tired; I probably should have done a walking interval around Mile 7 or 8, but I was so determined to run the whole way! I did it, but will keep in mind for future long runs that I should start integrating walking intervals into my run plans.

From now on, every Saturday will be the longest run I have ever done in my life. Eek!

I did my 5-mile loop again yesterday morning. It was maybe the most neutral run I've had so far -- didn't feel good, didn't feel bad. Just did it.

Ran my 5-mile loop this morning. Weirdly enough, yesterday afternoon I was having the experience of craving a run -- it was a bodily sensation that I can't really explain. So, I was expecting this morning's run to feel great, and it did! My right hip flexor was complaining a little toward the end, but nothing unbearable. For some reason, starting in Mile 1, I was craving oatmeal. (What's with all the cravings?) I could not stop thinking about oatmeal the whole time I was running. That craving was easily and satisfyingly quenched as soon as I got home. :-)

Catching up...

So, I never did the final short run I had planned for mid-week. Thursday I slept through my alarm, possibly for the first time since high school. That was kind of annoying. Everyone I told said, "Well, you must have really needed the sleep!" But I often need the sleep and yet still wake up to my alarm. Anyway. Then Friday morning, it was pouring rain with thunder and lightning, and it seemed neither appealing nor particularly safe to go out running.

So, my legs were unintentionally well-rested for Saturday's team 8-miler. Although it wasn't on purpose, that actually worked out very well -- makes me wonder if I should adjust my mid-week training schedule to include maybe 2 longer runs early in the week instead of several shorter ones throughout the week. As we get up into the high mileage for team runs, having muscles that aren't fatigued from my mid-week runs could be a real plus...

Anyway, the 8-miler was great on Saturday. It had rained a lot the night before, and within the first half-mile, we came to a stretch of park that was complete flooded with 6-7 inches of standing water. There was no way to go around it, so Coach Ethan had us splash on through. This meant that we ran most of the 8 miles with soaking wet feet. I was lucky not to get any blisters! On the plus side, Coach Ethan says we've now earned our badass stripes. :-) The last 3 miles or so were challenging because they were hilly, and we haven't done any hill training yet. But I didn't feel completely dead at the end, and I wasn't too sore today.

As a side note, I was coerced into trying a vanilla-flavored PowerBar Gel between miles 5 and 6. You might recall that I have kind of a conceptual aversion to energy gels, but there was peer pressure, and I buckled. Not surprisingly, it was really terrible. Everyone had warned me about the texture, but I think the taste was the worst part. Yuck! No more gels for me. I might get some of the sport beans and see if they're a little more palatable.

Ran my 5-mile sidewalk loop again this morning. It was warm and extremely humid, which is gross weather to run in. I felt like I was breathing water -- gross -- and my shorts were sticking to my legs the whole time -- gross. Gross gross gross. Did I mention it was gross?

... other than that, it was a pretty good run. :-)

I'll do a short run tomorrow morning, and then rest on Friday in preparation for Saturday's [gulp] 8-miler.

Yesterday morning, did a 3.3-miler. I hadn't gotten much sleep that night, and my tummy was a little unhappy, and it was humid and nasty outside. So it wasn't, like, my most fun run ever.

Andrew had gotten me a pocket-sized pepper spray to carry on my early morning runs. It has all kinds of features to protect you from accidentally pepper-spraying yourself, but I'm still a little scared of it.

This morning was a rest day. Tomorrow will be a run day -- hopefully a nicer one.

Second 6-mile team run this morning. We were back at Gallup Park, which is where all but one (I think) of our runs will be between now and the time I go back to Tucson. It was rainy, so not a lot of people showed up. But it was a pretty decent run, just damp. I don't feel as tired as I did after last week's 6-miler. Also, I've caught on to the fact that I need to dose up on allergy medicine both before and immediately after the run, so I'm a lot less miserable and itchy than I've been after the last couple of team runs.

They should make little clip-on windshield wipers for runners who wear glasses...

Andrew outdid himself this morning by getting up at 5:15 to accompany me on my run! He walked a lap while I ran three at Lillie Park. He claimed it was because he's afraid that I'm going to get attacked while I'm running and we haven't gotten around to buying me pepper spray yet... but I think he really just wanted to see the sunrise. :-)

I saw what I'm pretty sure was an eagle in flight while I was running. Dang... a bird that big could do some serious damage.

This morning for variety (and also because it rained hard last night and I didn't feel like running in muck) I improvised a neighborhood sidewalk run instead of going to the Lillie trail. The loop I devised ended up being longer than I intended -- based on my consistent 10-minute mile pace lately, I'm estimating I went about 5 miles this morning! It was nice to mix things up a little and see more of the neighborhood I'm living in. The humidity was gross, though.

I'm giving myself tomorrow as a rest day, and then I'll do a short run on Thursday and rest Friday. That should put me in good shape for Saturday's team run.

Ran 3.3 this morning. Felt pretty good.

My second team run was this morning! We did 6 miles in downtown Ann Arbor, which took just about an hour. Apparently it had been awhile since my last 6-miler, because those last couple of miles were really hard! There were also a couple of hills, which I'm not really used to. But it was a fun run and I felt accomplished afterward. Coach Ethan helped me adjust my stride a little bit to put less strain on my knees and calves, so we'll see if that helps over the next week. He also said it's completely fine to skip one mid-week run if my muscles feel like they really need a rest day.

After the run was the nutrition clinic. I didn't really learn anything new, but it was good to have confirmed that nutrition for runners isn't different from regular old nutrition, other than special focus on making sure you're getting enough fuel before, during, and after runs. Coach Ethan said that if you're running for more than about an hour, you need to refuel by snacking during the run. There are these "energy gels" like Gu that supposedly are great for replenishing sugar and electrolytes during runs, but they freak me out due to not resembling anything found in nature (anything edible, at least). Nor am I wild about Powerade or other similar "sport drinks" -- they're so sugary and don't taste very good. As far as I know, people were running marathons for many decades before these weird sport foods were invented, so I'm going to experiment with other things to snack on during longer runs -- nuts, pretzels, trail mix, anything salty would be good.

Ran another 3.3 this morning -- wanted to keep the run short so as not to tire myself out before tomorrow's Team 6-miler. It was COLD this morning with lots of fog on the ground.

Ran 3.3 this morning. I'd gotten a little more sleep last night and the knees weren't complaining, so it was better than yesterday.

I'm really glad we learned the stretching stuff last Saturday. I've been taking a good 5-10 minutes to stretch after running, and it makes me feel a lot more relaxed and less sore.

Ran 4.4 miles at Lillie Park this morning. My knees were somewhat stiff and sore for the first mile or so; note to self: ask Coach Ethan about that on Saturday. Also, I need to get some pepper spray to carry with me on early morning runs. It's dark and deserted in the wooded areas of the park so early in the morning.

I am not getting enough sleep and it's taking some of the fun out of running -- need to figure that out. I have to get up at 5:15 to run on work mornings, but at night it's not getting completely dark until about 10pm. Plus, I'm not even getting home from work until 7:30 or 8, and I need a little time to unwind before I can even think about bed. A few people have suggested running in the evening; I'm not wild about that idea, but will consider it if I can't figure out another way to get more sleep. Ideas welcome...

Sunday was my rest day, so I took the opportunity to go shopping for a new pair of running shoes. The folks at Running Fit in downtown Ann Arbor were very helpful, and nice enough to give me a Team In Training discount even though I had missed the formal shoe clinic. I got a great pair of shoes (which incidentally are PINK, and in support of breast cancer research) to replace my worn-out ugly brown ones. Yay!

Monday morning I tried doing a run at a different park that is a little nearer to Andrew's place, but I couldn't find the trail that was rumored to be there. Darn! So, I ended up driving the rest of the way to Lillie Park and did three of the 1.1-mile loops there instead. The new shoes performed well, so it looks like I'll be keeping them on as my running buddies for the rest of my training.

Today is another rest day...

This morning was my first run with the Ann Arbor Team. It was great! We did a 4-mile course at Gallup Park, which is a large beautiful park that extends along the Huron River. There were maybe 10-15 runners there, plus the two coaches, Ethan and Annamarie. Everyone was really welcoming and friendly. I ran with another marathoner named Sam, who will also be doing the Nike in October. The run felt good -- just the right length to be a good workout without killing me. After the run, we had a clinic on stretching and injury prevention. I learned that you shouldn't stretch before running (stretching a cold muscle can injure it) but that you should always stretch after a run. I also learned that for any given stretch, you should not stretch to the point where it hurts (only to where you can feel that the muscle is being, well, stretched) and that you should hold at a comfortable place for 20 seconds rather than bouncing in and out of the stretch position as many people do.

Now that I'm settled in Michigan, I need to start being really diligent about my during-the-week runs, especially since the distances for the Team runs will be increasing from here. The weekly training schedule gives us Sundays and Tuesdays off for rest, meaning we're responsible for doing some distance on our own Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays (plus the Team runs on Saturdays). I'm looking forward to finding some more good locations near Andrew's place where I can do some of those runs!

I did my first Michigan run this morning! There is a forested area called Lillie Park just up the road from Andrew's condo and it has well-maintained paths for walkers and runners. I ran the Turtle Rock Pond loop (which is the 1.1-mile loop on the map linked above) four times and it took me about 40 minutes. It was cool and humid and I was absolutely drenched by the time I was finished.

I'm back!

I actually managed to do one run during the Minnesota leg of our road trip. It was two loops around this little forested trail near Andrew's parents' house -- based on how long it took me, I'm guessing it was about a 3- or 3.5-miler. Not a lot, but definitely better than going the whole week without running at all.

Today is a settling-in and unpacking day, and tomorrow morning I'll be starting back up with regular runs -- yay! I've been in contact with the Ann Arbor TNT folks and will be doing my first team run this Saturday. Everyone has been really friendly and welcoming, which is awesome!

As some of you know, I'll be spending the next couple of months in Michigan with Andrew -- actually, I'm leaving for the airport in about an hour! I'll be joining up with the Team there to begin my training, and will rejoin the Tucson Team once I return in August.

My runs might be pretty sporadic (or just not happen) over the next week or so, since Andrew and I will be leaving on Tuesday for a little road trip to visit his parents, attend his best friend's wedding, and celebrate our anniversary. After that, though, I'll be back to running and posting regularly!

Yesterday: ran 3.

Today: ran 3/walked 3. Amazing how hot it already is by 7:30 these days!

Coincidentally enough, I had odd bird-related events on each of these runs. Yesterday, I noticed a sound like a jackhammer that seemed to be coming from the sky as I ran along. Looking up, I realized that it was a woodpecker pecking away rather violently at a metal street sign. Yum, painted metal. I hope it didn't break its beak. Today, I was near the marshy part of the park, and not one but two roadrunners dashed across the road about 15 feet in front of me. As I passed them, one of them sort of pounced on the other one and they proceeded to get into a wrestling match right there at the side of the path! Oh, birds.

My day off must have been very refreshing, because today I ran 4 miles! Walked the remaining 2. Went very early (5:45-ish) and it was lovely and cool out. I am looking forward to the end of allergy season so that I can be slightly less sneezy during my runs.

Ran another 3 miles this morning. My legs were reminding me the whole time how ready we are for a rest day tomorrow!

Yesterday, did a 3-miler at Reid Park. I went too late in the morning (10am-ish) and it was way too hot (mid-90s). Note to self: when running in the desert in the summer, go early!

This morning I went earlier (6:30-ish) and had a much nicer time. Ran 3 miles and walked another 3. I'd been thinking of running all 6, but I could tell as soon as I started out that my calf muscles were a little fatigued from yesterday, and I didn't want to overdo it.

I don't think I'll be doing distances longer than that before formal TNT training starts, but I might up the run/walk ratio a little bit over the next week.

Team In Training

I'm excited to announce that on October 18, 2009, I'll be participating in the Nike Women's Marathon with Team In Training. This means that for the next several months, I'll be doing a whole lot of running! Whereas this blog formerly housed my farm-share vegetable adventures, for now I've decided to give it over to the marathon so that my supporters can follow along with my training if they wish. It will also be a good way for me to keep track of what I've done and where I'm going as my training progresses.

Formal TNT training begins later in May, and I may or may not start posting about my casual runs before then. In the meantime, head on over to my official Team In Training page and consider making a donation to help me meet my $3900 fundraising goal.

Thanks for visiting, and stay tuned!