Pre-game Jitters

This is how I feel about tomorrow's race in varying degrees.

a) wtf am I doing?

b) I'm going to cry

c) ahhhh can't wait to run

d) going to rock it.

On the Road to Cheese Country

Thursday night I had my last run before the MARATHON!!!!  An easy 3 mile jaunt (made not so easy by the INTENSE winds!).  Speaking of intense winds, the weather must read my blog, because the "wind situation"is no longer a situation.  And I'm taking the last few days' weather reports as final.  YOU HEAR ME WEATHER....DON'T. MOVE. A. MUSCLE.  But seriously it's pretty much race day perfection, so you shan't hear another peep out of me about it.

Peep.

Ok, back to the run.  Easy 3 miles.  Finished in 28:10.  Tried to see if I could do the sweet out and back in the exact same time trick.  Ya, it didn't work.  I don't have super human runner powers like I previously thought.  Laaaaaaame.  13:55 & 14:15.  However, the wind was easily the difference, and I would've "NAILED IT" (<--Said in Barney from HIMYM's voice, obvs.) without wind.  Whatever, who cares, I wasn't even trying.  I just thought it'd be pretty freakin' sweet if I could pull it off twice in a row, back to back (also what in a row means Jeri... I've lost my g.d. mind FYI).

When I was planning my driving route a few days ago, I happened to notice that I was driving through a town that I was fairly certain a bloggy friend lived in.  I had to hit her up and make sure that my stalking memory was serving me correctly and that we should meet up for foooooood.  If you don't already read her blog, well you should, because this is officially JerBear Shares endorsed yo.  Miss Alyssa from Northland Runner.  We both decided to our our first MARATHONS this spring so we've been major cheerleaders to each other along the way.  She did her first two weeks ago and will be doing #2 in a month.  I'll also get to meet her super studly runner roommate whom she mentions frequently on her bloggy, Steph.  I'm hoping if anything their speediness will rub off on me during lunch.  But seriously, marathon #1, bloggy meet up #1.  Could this weekend get any better???

I'm starting my trek now and in 8 hours of driving time will be entering Cheese Country.  Is it tacky to wear my cheesehead the entire 8 hours????

Naw.  Didn't think so. :)

Green Bay Marathon Goals

Tonight I had a boring old 3 mile easy run to do.  To make it a little less boring, it has turned to winter around here.  Seriously it's cooooold.  I've had my heat on driving to and from work the past two days.  I swear to God I spent more time rounding up my cold weather running gear than I actually spent doing the run.  Interesting fact about the run:  at the 1.5 mile turn around point my watch said 14:11.  Finishing time 28:22.  Couldn't have done it if I tried fo sho.  My legs were pretty heavy, which is to be expected after a quick tempo run yesterday.  I usually let them rest after speed work, but wanted to make sure I had rest days on Friday and Saturday.

3 miles in 28:22 for a pace of 9:28.
_________________________________________

And now what you've all been waiting for............ (you have been waiting for this, right???)

Green Bay Goals
(in dinosaur terms, because, why not??)

I know everyone says not to have a time goal for your first marathon.  Apparently no one told that to my buddy BQoh1stT/TG (BQ on his 1st Try/Tri Guy) who did just that.  With that being said, I'm an extremely competitive person and cannot imagine going in to a race without a goal of some kind.  What I have come up with (while logging all of my long runs, I was allotted many hours of pure thinking and computation) is a rough time guide that I should be able to hit, whether it be on race day, or a marathon in the near? future.

Goal Triceratops:  Have fun.  Finish the race with a big ol' smile on my face (and more than likely tears in my eyes streaming down my face).  Seriously bask in the awesomeness that my body and hard work have provided me.  Also, don't die.  That would be...uh.... bad.

Goal Brontosaurus (aka Longneck):  This includes Goal Triceratops as well as a time goal.  Ooooh....pretty.  Given my pace on my long runs, I should be able to finish under 4:10, which is a pretty dog gone good time if you ask me.  This time goal would also mean that I have spent less time in the port a potties than I have running the course (this is a big fear for me, for some reason. :/)

Goal Velociraptor:  This also includes Goal Triceratops, as that goal is undisputable come race day.  In addition to the smile, would be crossing the finish line in between 4:04 and 4:08 minutes.  How do I get some a complex time frame?  You might ask.  Well 8 is my lucky number, and so is 4 (and also happens to be Brett Favre's number....weird) so both of these would be an acceptable time frames.  This would also be pretty spot on with my pace for my 20 milers, so would be great motivation to keep pushing the last 10k and not let myself walk.

Goal Pterodactyl:  Again this includes Goal Triceratops, but also a big kahuna:  Run a sub 4 marathon.  Whooooooa nelly!  That's a pretty lofty goal.  And I agree.  However, I saw someone's tweet the other day that I couldn't agree more with, it went something along the lines of, "If you're constantly hitting your A goal (or in my case Pterodactyl goal) you're setting your goals too low!"  Agreed.  Might as well shoot for the stars, yes?  Going in to the race, this will not be my goal.  However, at mile 20 if my legs are feeling good and it's a possibility (aka all stars are in alignment) you better believe I'll be hauling booty to do it.  Now if Brett Favre happens to be the 4 hour pace leader, than MAYBE this goal might be my time goal from the start of the race........ just sayin'.

**In case you were wondering, these are my 4 favorite dinosaurs in least to favoritest order.  I love dinosaurs.  Also, I am 5 years old apparently. :)  **

Final Speedy Run

I feel like all of my posts have started with "final" the past week or so.  Random note:  In high school, I was totally *that* girl.  Senior year, "last" first day of school, "last" time we'd eat chili crispitos at lunch (my fave), "last" prom, "last" track practice, etc.  I'm sure my friends were happy to be rid of me after a year full of "lasts."  Well surely you guys are equally as sick of my "final(s)" and are just ready for me to run the damn MARATHON!!  (You're all probably quite sick of that too, huh?)  Confession:  I am too!  Race day I'm ready for you.

Anyway, tonight I had my "final" tough run before the big day.  [Make sure you read big day with a loud booming voice to get the full effect.]  It was actually scheduled for later in the week, but I figured my legs would love me if I got it out of the way early on.  I was scheduled to do 6 miles with 4 at a tempo pace of 8:35.  Since there is currently a monsoon going on outside (what?  you didn't know we get monsoons in SoDak?  homie check yo-self! <----omg, I literally laughed outloud at the voice I used when writing *that* line.  Taper madness anyone???), I decided to hit up the gym.

As soon as I got to the gym it was packed.  Apparently everyone else is too big of pussies to work out in the monsoon too.  Of course that means that every treadmill is full as well.  I hang out by the wall, Star magazine in hand (that I borrowed from the rack, I don't buy that garbage, but I'll sure as heck read it if someone else has, guilty!), pseudo stretching, but ready to sprint to an open treadmill throwing 'bows to any passerbys if necessary.  As soon as one opens up I pounce.

I quickly clamored up onto the treadmill and was hit with a wave of sweaty humid air.  When did they put this treadmill in a sauna?  That seems silly.  And then I saw it......the buckets of sweat pouring off of the machine, collecting on the ledge of the monitoring and pooling together in the cup holder.  I shuddered.  And then it hit me, "THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE THINK WHEN THEY GET ON THE TREADMILL AFTER ME!!!!"  Holy epiphany.  I apologize profusely to anyone who has hopped aboard the tready after my sweat-sacre (<--sweat+massacre, ya, I just made it up).  And then I realized it was only sweat and that it couldn't hurt me, and why not see if our combined efforts could contribute to the sweatiest treadmill in the history of the world!  Also, I may have briefly thought that Mr. Sweat could possibly be my soul mate, but that's perhaps for another blog post.

Unfortunately, my run wasn't nearly as exciting as the shenanigans leading up to it.  The warm up mile hurt my knees so I increased the speed a smidge and upped the incline.  Perfect.  The tempo miles felt comfortable and strong.  And I caught up on some awesome celeb gossip in the final cooldown mile.

I did 6 miles in 53:08 for a pace of 8:52.  Tempo pace = 8:30.

1. 9:31
2. 8:26
3. 8:33
4. 8:34
5. 8:27
6. 9:34

Unfortunately, I did not have my best sweaty performance.  Yes, I was soaked, but there have been many other occasions where I've truly outdid myself.  I think our stars will align again at the gym, and then history will be made.

And just to let you in on what I've been obsessing over since May 1st (that would mean 15 days out from the race day).  And if you have guessed checking the weather report you would be CORRECT!  I've gone from hating it, loving it, being ok with it, loving it, liking it, disliking it, and currently loathing it.  It is the midwest, so I'm counting on it changing at least 14 more times before race day.  I hope anyway.  What am I going to do?  Put rocks in my pockets to keep from blowing away?!?!?!?!?  Give me a break. One of my buddies had a very clever facebook status update the other day that I just crack up over every time I think of it:  Wind blows.  Bahahahhahaah.  But seriously, wind, I'll kill you.  Don't think I'm kidding.

There are seriously a thousand sweet giveaways going on, and I'm hoping to continue my lucky streak.  Check them out!

sticky fingerprints giveaway 
Julie's 1st sweet giveaway
Fashion Meets Food Pantene/$25 Walmart gift certificate 

Btw, anyone know of any anti-wind dances?  I could use some fun effective x-training ideas for the next 6 days.....

Finishing Touches Before Race Day

Friday night after work, I went to our local sports store with the intention of finally spending the gift certificate I've been hoarding since Christmas.  After much consideration, I decided that attempting to carry 4-5 GUs in my sports bra/shorts during the marathon was probably not my greatest idea.  I decided to pick up a SPIbelt.  I also picked up some of my fave GUs:  Espresso Love and Triberry.  As well as splurging on my absolutely FAVE Blueberry Pomegranate Roctane.  At $2.49 a piece, you know I gotta love these puppies because I'm CHEAP.

After putzing around all afternoon, I finally got myself drug out the door to do my final long run before the race--an easy 8 miler.  I decided to load up the SPIbelt with the 4 GUs I plan to carry on race day to make sure I could get it fitted properly today vs. next Sunday and figure out how the heck to wear it.

Initially I started out with the pouch on my backside.  After .1 miles I determined that was NOT going to work.  Junk in the trunk?  Um...ya, you could say that.  I adjusted the belt so the pouch was towards the back of my left hip and it seemed to sit just fine.  I also wore it low so the belt was on my waist band of my shorts in the front and just below in the back.  I'm going to make sure to body glide that area of my body very well so I don't have issues on race day.

But on to the run.  I decided to wear the Garmin, but not look at it for the run, with the exception of my mile times (I admit, sometimes I'm an obsessive Garmin watcher, typically on long runs and speed workouts).  I started the run at a very *VERY* easy pace, estimating in the range of 9:30-9:45.  Turns out the taper is doing marvelous things for my legs.  After the first two miles I consciously slowed down the pace, but the miles still flew by.

1. 9:02 2. 9:06 3. 9:25 4. 9:22 5. 9:30 6. 9:29 7. 9:33 8. 9:30

I did 8 miles in 1:15:01 for a pace of 9:22.

I did a lot of thinking about my grandma on this run.  My grandma was my bestest friend when I was little and she played a major role in raising me as a little tyke while my mom was working full time and my dad was going to school full time 2 hours away.  I've already decided to dedicate the final mile of my marathon to her (and to be honest I typically dedicate the final mile of my most major races to her).  She's a fab lady.  Seriously, I feel bad that you guys didn't get the fortune of meeting her. :)

Anyway, usually every spring I run a local race that supports breast cancer on this weekend.  My grandma passed away from cancer and this race typically falls on her birthday.  Unfortunately, because of the marathon next weekend, I opted not to run this race.  Instead this was my 8 mile run for my grandma.  Also, I noticed the other day that the pansies that were outside my apartment last fall had cropped up again and multiplied immensely.  Since they were my grandma's favorite flowers I decided to snap some photos and share them with you guys.  I'm tempted to safety pin one to my shoe for race day. :)

I just love that it looks like they have little faces. :)

Check out skinny runner's GU giveaway!!!

Ice Cream Taper? No way!

While my legs may be enjoying a taper from running, I'm definitely not tapering from ice cream consumption.  Does anyone else think I need to change my blog to Ice Cream Runner?  Geez...this is getting out of hand (and into my tummy...muhahahah.)  Of these 4 cartons (purchased on Sunday) I am 2/3 (at least) done with the strawberry cheesecake and the snickers.  Doing work, kids!

This morning I woke up early to head out for my tempo run that had been swapped from Tuesday.  I checked the weather per usual, and realized I needed to bundle up!  38 degrees, that's COLD.  I dug through some running clothes and found my light running jacket and gloves and was out the door.

I had 7 miles with 5 @ a tempo pace of 8:25.  Since it was cloudy/gloomy out, I didn't know how the garmin would fair (he tends to FREAK and tell me I'm running 11-12 mm when the clouds are out).  A half mile in to the warm up, I knew I had made the right decision with swapping out my runs, mid-run.  Especially during taper time, there's no sense pushing too much.  My legs felt great!

First two tempo miles were kind of all over the place as my body was searching to find that "groove."  Dare I say it, but shorter tempo runs are *hard*.  You have much less time to hit/find that magical pace.  At the turn around (3.5 miles) I decided to set my virtual partner on my garmin to 8:24 (apparently I've had BQ pace on my mind, and was oblivious to the 8:25 my training called for....silly brain :p).  This helped dramatically!  I was worried that the VP would be effected in the same way that my average pace display is when cloudy, but it was spot on.  Hence why my splits were a lot more consistent the second half.

I ended up with 7 miles in 1:00:21 for a pace of 8:38.  My tempo pace was 8:20.  Heck yes!  (P.S.  I can't WAIT to run a HM post-marathon to see if my legs have any legit speed left in them!!)
1. 9:30
2. 8:29
3. 8:15
4. 8:19
5. 8:23
6. 8:16
7. 9:06

Don't you just love how the cool down mile always feels sooooooo slooooooooow and ends up being at a pretty decent clip?  I sure do. :)

Now if you'll excuse me, there's a carton of ice cream yelling out my name.
Amanda at Run To The Finish is doing an awesome {shweaty, just my style!}giveaway.  Check it out!

Indecision is the Name of the Game

The good news is that I did my run with my clothes facing the correct way.  The bad news is that I was backwards.

What is with the weather on my speed work days?  I sent a text to my gym buddy to see if he was working tonight.  When he was I responded, "Sweet I'll be there.  Pretty sure the world is going to end mid tempo run.  I'd prefer to be inside."  It just looks dark and crummy out.

After running some errands pre-gym, I realized that the wind and general gloominess had passed so I decided to head home and do my run outdoors.  Within a half mile of my run, I realized my legs were t-i-r-e-d.  I had a 7 mile run with 5 miles at tempo pace of 8:25 to do.  I went back and forth about doing my easy run that was schedule for Thursdays instead.  I decided to give it a go.

At roughly the 1/2 mile point, my watch was saying I had ran about a ~9 mm.  Uh....ya, legs are definitely not feeling it.  I decided there that I would do my easy 5 on Tuesday and 7 mile tempo on Thursday.  Well of course, either my math was wrong, garmin was wrong, or distance measurement was wrong, because Mile #2 was 9:00 and that was after running 9:30+ mm for the 2nd 1/2 of the mile.  Sometimes we're too reliant on the watch and not enough on the body and mind, huh?  Oh well, I know my legs will be much fresher and happier doing the tempo run on Thursday.

I ended up doing 5 miles in 47:37 for a pace of 9:32

1. 9:33

2. 9:00
3. 9:42
4. 9:43
5. 9:37

Also, I joined DailyMile.com so if you're on there, look em up yo!  (Primarily because I don't know how to look you up, ya know?)

And in closing I'm going to leave you with some fun pictures from this weekend.

Bryce & I celebrating the birthday bash.  I joked that I always take good pics with him. Seriously 90% of my profile pics have him cropped out.  Thanks for making me photogenic Bizzle!

And another b&w style.

Miss Ariel and I.

Shoe twinsies.

Office hubby and I after a long hiatus (work conference for me and vacation for him).