It's been some time since I last posted but I wanted to post this blog I wrote on myspace about my training for Boston Marathon as last week was one of those weeks in training where you just feel...defeated.

I call this the mental and physical breakdown of training.

It was 4 weeks out from the Rock n Roll Arizona Marathon when I came down with a nasty 103 fever/flu. A flu that took me out of a long training run and forced me to take it easy the following week, bailing on my tempo paced run and track intervals.

It was a sign. Physically, the body needed a break.

I am now 3 and a half weeks out from the Boston Marathon and earlier this week I verbally admitted that I felt completely defeated.

Christine, meet burn out. Burn out, meet Christine.

In thinking about it, I haven't really stopped training since Wildflower Triathlon last year. There was always something on the horizon that I was training hard for: Wildflower Triathlon, Napa Half Marathon, Vineman Triathlon, numerous 10ks, Santa Barbara Half Marathon and the RocknRoll Arizona Marathon where after qualifying I found myself training for the Boston Marathon instead of hopping into Escape from Alcatraz training which is just 6 weeks after Boston. (how's that for a run on sentence?)

Don't get me wrong, I am SO thrilled to be doing Boston and honestly can't even believe I made it and am going. It's surreal since it seemed quite impossible, having the time to qualify for such a race.

But I will say this, getting up for workouts the last few weeks has seemed painful. Two marathons in 4 months is not recommended. My track workout last week was pretty decent pacewise, but my long runs haven't been so stellar and then came yesterday...

 I decided to go easy to let the brain attempt to enjoy the run and not force myself through tempo workout, despite that, the legs still felt heavy and unenergetic. This proven only by my foot not clearing an uprooted tree/piece of uneven pavement. Foot stayed, I went flying and rolled three times.  I sat in complete defeat, knee bleeding, sprained ankle. For the first time in a long time, I hated running. And that right there, made me sad and frustrated.

With another 1.5 miles to go, I got myself up and finished that run, came home and did what I had to do: ice the ankle all while admittedly feeling sorry for myself.  It took some good advice from my friends over at runango.com to really admit that I was overtrained and needing a break. At least for the sake of resting my ankle. Of course that break will be a whopping 2 days since I have my 22 miler on Saturday. (tho I will say I am looking forward to that run, let's hope the ankle comes along for the ride.) 

But wow. I haven't felt this burnt in awhile. I think part of this is knowing how much time I WON'T have to train for Escape From Alcatraz. After getting in the bay on Sunday for a short swim and out for a short bike ride thereafter, I realized how much work I have to do to be ready. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well at these races but I'd rather be prepared and feel good out there than feel completely miserable knowing that I could have put in more training. I know. Burn out is my own fault...

So goes the ins and outs of my training thus far. Training for Arizona was vastly different than how I am right now. Now Boston will be for the experience only. I won't be going for time. But still, I'd like to be prepared to get through it and have fun!

Please cross your fingers my 22 miler on Saturday goes as planned and the ankle is strong and up for the task. The group I am running includes a couple of teammates also going to Boston and apparently a few other highly amusing people so it should be a nice run, as challenging as the course will be. Wish me luck!

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A week later since that blog was written I am feeling much better and a little more rested. After icing and babying my ankle, I took two days off and ran that 22 miles with no problems. The group I ran with was great, 5 of which are also going to Boston.  22 miles up and down a few nasty hills and a nice ice bath in the San Francisco Bay afterwards. :) TAPER TIME! Since that time, I've backed off on the Aleve to see how the ankle felt and it was and is doing well. I'm icing it still and wrapping it here and there just to be on the safe side. Now it's time to keep healthy.

I'm also dropping one run a week and hopping on the bike for some much needed cross training and time on the bike. I missed it. :)

Beantown - April 16, 2007....it's countdown time!

I'm going to the Boston Marathon,  y'all!

I failed to post my Rock n Roll Arizona Marathon race report on here so thought I would share my excitement since I qualified for the Boston Marathon! Here's the report as posted on the runango forums. Enjoy!!!! :D

Race Report as posted on the Run Forums: http://www.runango.com/forums/board_show.pl?bid=1

The Short Version:
This is my second marathon. First marathon time: 3:58:56
Goals for RNR Az - 1) Sub 3:50. 2) 3:45 or if I'm feeling good, 3) go for my Boston Qualifying time - 3:40
Results:
Watch Time: 3:39:10
Chip Time: 3:39:05 - I'm going to Boston baby!!!!
The "I don't care what you think I'm writing a long race report", version:

There were a lot of things leading up to this race that could have been detrimental to the final outcome and which had me more nervous than I already was. On Friday I began having issues with my stomach which I thought was more nerves from flying but the upset stomach stayed with me, making food a nauseating issue.  I barely got through dinner on Saturday night and didn't finish my bagel and PB on race morning and attempted a banana to no avail. All I could imagine was having no energy to finish and stopping at every portapotty along the way. Of COURSE this made my nerves worse than they already were.

Race Day Weather - "This is the coldest morning since 1990." WTF?
It was 32 degrees at race start and still at mile 10 when I saw another temperature gauge. It took me a good 8-10 mile to feel good and warmed up. Damn it was cold and by the time I finished, my lungs were painful and left me with a smokers cough the rest of the day. With that and my marathon hobble, I was a vision of sexiness. src="http://www.runango.com/forumd/style-blue/sml_wnk.gif">

Besides the running attire, shorts, tshirt, sports bra..etc. I also wore:
Gloves, Ear warmers, Arm Warmers made from multicolored striped socks - they were so cute I hated to let them go after I warmed up. But they were quite fun. src="http://www.runango.com/forumd/style-blue/sml_wnk.gif"> And a throw away jacket that I picked up at the expo. Man those throw away clothes guys made a butt load of money off of those things!!

Goals/Strategy: My initial goal going into training was a sub 3:50. As training went on that goal changed to 3:45 and in the last few weeks, with some great training runs under my belt the term, BQ came into question. I honestly really never thought I would be able to BQ at my current qualifying time of 3:40. It seemed impossible so the fact that it was even being raised as a potential goal, lofty as I thought it might be...was scary for me. But nevertheless, I went into the race with this in mind:

Go out at a 3:43 pace and if I was feeling good at mile 17 or 18, go for it. Wearing pace wristbands for both a 3:40 and 3:45 marathon I kept tabs on where I was. As you can see by my splits I got anxious to pick it up in some places.

Eating strategy: With a stomach on the rocks and Accelerade as the on course sports drink which I wasn't a fan of, I didn't risk drinking any and relied on Gu and water. Every 4-5 miles it was time for a Gu which REALLY helped me break up the race into sections rather than - I still have 20+ miles to go...

I failed to mention that pre race I got stuck in a long bathroom line with just a few minutes before race time I said F it and headed to my corral. Going through my entire race I fought with this phrase: "Bathroom break or Boston Marathon?" And which would you choose? src="http://www.runango.com/forumd/style-blue/sml_wnk.gif">

SPLITS!
1  8:32  Damn it's cold. Toes are numb. 3:45 pace leader is up ahead, let's keep tabs on him.
2  8:25  Spectators hold signs telling me I'm going to hell without Jesus. Wow, this support is phenomenal.
3  8:24  Ok, time to ditch the throwaway jacket
4  8:26  Gu
5  8:34  Right shin begins to get really tight and achy. Not a good sign. "It sill stretch out, it will stretch out."
6  8:26  Shin still an issue...Maybe I will just go for the 3:45 - it's still a good PR
7  8:27  Should I stop to stretch them? Good bye arm warmers...
8  8:27  Gu. 3:45 pacer is gone but I'm keeping on pace
9  9:20  Or not. WTF? I must have lost focus here or GPS lost signal? I can't be going that slow. 
10  8:33  Still 32 degrees. But legs are warming up finally, shin issue seems to be gone. 
11  8:32  The band at this mile - that singer should be on the American Idol reject show - doh - it's a father and his kids in the band. Ok, maybe I am going to hell for that thought.
12  8:09  Getting anxious to speed up. 14 miles to go...just relax...
13  8:19  Halfway point  - still keeping tabs on the pace charts to see progress.  Keeping to strategy thus far.
14  8:28  Gu
15  8:32 
16  8:16  Yeah, anxious again. src="http://www.runango.com/forumd/style-blue/sml_wnk.gif">
17  8:29  Where's  mile 18? I'm feeling good...time for me to get this thing going...
18  8:27  Gu - Shin begins to haunt me again but I can't worry about that now. It's time to go!!!!
19  8:07  Bring it Boston!!
20  8:06  I fought to keep a sub 8:10 to ensure a 3:40 or less.  I take some accelerade as I may need the added energy.
21  8:05  Just keep going...almost there.
22  8:07  Ok 4.2 miles to go, I have less than 36 minutes to do them in...
23  8:10 
24  8:19  Gu. The one slight hill under the overpass. So mean at mile 24! A guy yells "Pick it up!!" behind me for his own personal motivation to get up and over...I think it helped me as well. src="http://www.runango.com/forumd/style-blue/sml_pos.gif"> It is here I also spot the 3:40 pace leader and decide then and there that I need to pass him to ensure my BQ.
25  8:01   Later 3:40 pacer!!  I hear a coach pacing a girl next to me. Mentally thank him as his words encouraged me too.
26  7:49  Giving it all I have left. I think of my Yasso 800s here. HURTING!
0.2  1:14 or 6:46/mile "Sprinting" it in with whatever I have. I'm wheezing but there it is on the clock  - 3:39 baby!!! Arms go up at the finish line. I DID IT!!!

The last 6 miles obviously were my fastest miles. In hindsight I wonder if I had picked it up sooner would I have gotten a better time - or would I have lost it close to the finish and missed the BQ all together.  Regardless, I'm still proud of how I finished.

The lungs were killing me at the end as was everything but I was one of "those marathoners" and shed a tear cuz I was damn proud of myself and still am. I can't believe I did it.   A guy I had caught up to and passed around mile 23 came up next to me and asked to shake my hand - "Thank you for pacing me in. I tried to pass you but couldn't. Awesome job out there." He was so genuine.

Results:
Watch Time: 3:39:10
Chip Time: 3:39:05 - I'm going to Boston baby!!!!

So that's the report I have for now. I know it's long but I don't care - so was the race. I'm going to Boston baby! 

 Boston Marathon April 16. 2007

Let's go to Beantown!

 Happy Holidays Everyone!!

Happy Hump Day everyone...

I hope all is well. Been going thru the motions the last couple of weeks, Workout, work, eat, hang with friends/family, sleep........and cry. The last week and a half has been a sad one for some friends of mine and seeing them hurt - is so hard to see.

On July 23rd, one of my event committe members and friends, passed away suddenly at her home.  Cause? Complications of heat/sun and Multiple Sclerosis. She was only 47. K was a beautiful woman, a sparkplug of a personality, loving mother and wife to a wonderful husband and two great daughters, who are both only 21 and 23.  The entire family has volunteered for my event for several years and I have thus grown close to them. Her service last week was truly a celebration of her life, full of memories and laughter but the devastation of her passing was felt throughout. The church was packed, standing room only - none of us were surprised at this. Everyone loved her. And she loved everyone.

The hardest part of the service was paying my respects to a family that was hurting to the core. The youngest daughter saw me approach and reached her arms out to me as if saying, someone please, please comfort me.  We hugged and cried. She is only 21 - so young to be losing a mother.   My tears really fell when I hugged K's husband. Him and K were high school sweethearts, absolutely hilarious together and so much in love...it was just happy to be around them. He hugged me so tight I thought he would never let go, perhaps hoping that the tighter he hugged, the better the chances of K coming back. We chatted and cried together for a few minutes.  Promising we would get together soon with the family. Gawd...it's just so sad.

K, we are thinking of you and miss you. I know you are up there making margaritas, redecorating and giving hawaiian shirts to all that you see.  The RCP Tiburon Mile will not be the same without you but we promise to "party" on as you would want us to.

Any thoughts or prayers for a much deserved family, please send them on. They could use the extra positivity.

Hugs to everyone...

RTG