Adventures In Marathon Training

That's right, only 35 more days until the big day! I'm starting to get a little worried that I won't make the time cut off, but at the same time am thinking this will be great motivation for me to not slack off during the race. I read online last night that once 5 1/2 hours have passed, they close down the course and a truck comes around to pick up the remaining runners or if you wish to not be picked up then they take your bib away :( That just seems like the most depressing thing ever, to have worked so hard to get that far only to have your bib taken from you, not even to be kept as a souvenir. I just can't let that happen to me, so I'm going to do everything I can to make sure I come in before the cut off time.

Well training has been going well, the knee is still doing great which has been an enormous relief. However, now it's the bottom of my right foot that has been giving me trouble. It feels just like a strained muscle so hopefully it'll just go away soon once I rest it a little bit. Otherwise, all goes well. Today we did a 13 mile run with quite a few hills worked into it so we could be sure to have hill training since there will be hills at the marathon. Actually the point was to practice going down hill since most of the marathon (as well as the LA marathon) will be downhill and our coach wants to be sure we don't injure ourselves in the marathon by pounding too hard going down hill or not controling our steps enough and blowing out our quads. However, to practice going downhill we had to go up hill :( I hate running on hills, and I was worried about having the hill practice with a 13 mile run, but it actually wasn't that bad. It's always exciting once I finish and realize that hey I just ran 13 miles, I still feel great, and that really wasn't that bad.

My approximate time from the run was a little slower than I'd like, because as I see it, if I maintain that same speed for another 13 miles that puts me at right around 5 hours. While that is 30 mins. earlier than the cut off time, I'd still like a little more cushion just in case I can't maintain that speed for 26 miles. However, I did probably spend a little too much time at the first water station since I was rather hungry and thirsty, not to mention pooped from the hills. Just need to make sure I'm keeping my breaks shorter in the marathon!

Well that's about it for now, just running longer distances, and still maintaining my yoga.

Oh in other good news, a member of our team who has been in remission just found out that she's still in remission bringing her to 3 years in remission, which is great news! She's been a great motivation for me considering she's just younger than me and listening to all that she's had to go through and yet still keeps such an optimistic outlook on life.

So I'm happy to say that today I completed a 12 mile run and walked away with my knee feeling just fine. Maybe not 100% perfect, but I was able to walk just fine after finishing and it actually didn't hurt! It never really bothered me during the run and I ran the whole 12 miles at a fairly decent pace.

I was a little nervous at the start of the run that my knee would start acting up again but I was so happy when I completed the run and it hadn't acted up at all. Really gave me my spirit back as I had been getting worried that perhaps my knee wouldn't allow me to successfully complete the marathon. I just hope now that I can keep it in good condition and that it doesn't get injured again.

Aside from the painless run, today's run was a great run as a large part of it was along the beach and it was such a sunny and mild weather day. Really makes me happy doing this training in Santa Monica.

Thanks again to everyone out there who has been giving me support, I really appreciate it!

Well I went for my first run in about two weeks on Thursday night. I was a little worried to start running again since the last time I had run my knee was just killing me. But I figured since the marathon is only two months away it was time for me to get back in there and get to work. Well I'm happy to report that I did about a 6 mile run and came out with no knee pain. Now it isn't completely better as I could tell that had I kept running it would have started hurting but at least it seems better for now and I'm going longer distances before it starts hurting. Hopefully this means that my muscle in that leg is finally getting stronger and that everything I'm doing to make it better is working.

I think I'll still have to take it easy on Sunday's run but we'll see.

Well that's about it for now.

Happy New Year to you all!

Sorry for the delay in my update on the training, things have been pretty hectic lately. Well it's now two months until my marathon and I'm starting to get worried. Since my last post I ran a holiday 10k that following weekend and well my knee was hurting too much to really give it a good go. Since then I've just been having a lot of knee problems and have actually stopped running the last two weeks hoping to give my knee a rest so it'll get better. However, I'm not too sure it's better yet and I'm getting worried about not having enough time to train now that it's only two months away. But don't worry I'm still planning on running in the marathon and finishing what I've started.

Aside from training I've also had the chance to visit the Los Angeles Childrens hospital with my team a few weeks ago. We were able to visit several children who have blood cancers and brought them treats. It was a little awkward just going into their rooms not knowing them but also a great experience that really helped me to appreciate all that I have. It was sad realizing that most of these kids would be spending the holidays in there and one girl would also be spending her birthday there as well. It was great though knowing that all that we're doing here is going to help children just like them.

Well that's about all for now, I'm hoping to get back to running this week so I'll try to keep you all updated.