NYC marathon or bust

Today is the day..... I'm leaving on a jet plane and headed to NYC. The marathon is on Sunday.... that's just 3 short days folks. If you are interested in traking my performance (eek) then you can go to the NYC marathon website and there are several options. One of which is an APP for your phone, and you can even track my EXACT where abouts-mile by mile, along the course. Awesomeness-

My bib number is : 19722
I am in the 9:40 start wave.... so happy to be in the first of the three waves. Let's get this party started!!!!!

Ok, so I found some fun Stats for the NYC marathon. Enjoy!!!

-To get to the starting line, runners will board 12 ferries leaving from Manhattan. About 500 buses will take runners to the start at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island from points in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Long Island, New Jersey and beyond.

-At the start there will be 1,694 portable toilets, 42,000 PowerBars, 90,000 bottles of water and 563 pounds of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee beans, enough to make 45,000 cups. About 500 volunteers will collect more than 10 tons of sweat suits, sleeping bags and Snuggies, much of which will be cleaned and given to charities. The bridge must be cleared within an hour of the last runner’s leaving. More than 70 United Parcel Service trucks will take the athletes’ belongings to the finish line.

-Along the course, 62,370 gallons of water and 32,040 gallons of Gatorade will be served in 2.3 million paper cups that can now be recycled, thanks to new technology. Another 60,000 PowerBar Gel packets will be available at Mile 18.

-About 11 tons of trash will be collected at the 24 fluid stations, much of it cardboard, plastic jugs and cups. The 24 station “captains” have more than 400 years of experience combined. Along the course, 137 bands (all vetted by New York Road Runners) will perform on dozens of stages. Runners can check their times on the 106 clocks on the course.

-Among the more than 6,000 volunteers on race day are medical workers at the 38 aid stations. They will have on hand 11,410 pounds of ice, 13,475 bandages, 57,059 salt packages and 390 tubs of Vaseline.

Three things Thursday

1- Inspiration #1....
I was picking up my cute little beagle, Nellie from the vet yesterday. (She was getting her teeth scrapped and cleaned, no more, kill me with your breath-breath) While I was waiting for the front desk girl to go in the back and bring her up, I was watching this little old man.
He was in his early 70's (just a guess) and he was so funny with his dog. I don't know what kind of dog he was, but man-o-man he had an ugly face. The old guy kept saying "Calm down son" to the dog. He would talk to this dog like he was seriously his human son. It was so cute. Then when they stood up to go into the check up room to give this dog his allergy shot... I noticed the old guy had a seat belt like buckle strapped to his waist, and the dog's leash was attached to the buckle. I was very curious and at first kind of laughing in my head. I thought it was odd. I over heard him with the vet tech talking about the dogs poor vision and how dependant they are on each other. I started to think these two were just adorable. As the tech was ringing us up for Nellie's treatment, I mentioned how cute that old guy and his "son" were. She then told us that the dog is really old, and that he use to run marathons with his owner.
Rewind.... did she say marathons... that always catches my attention. The old guy still runs but can no longer take the dog because he can't see (hence the strapping of the seat belt buckle and dog leash) and the "son" has gone through chemo therapy, and numerous other surgeries. I am a huge dog lover and it just warmed my heart knowing these two loved and needed each other so much. Plus they are runners... well the son no longer runs but apparently he is still really active. Loved it!!!

2- Inspiration #2....
Had to run into the local GNC looking for a supplement for muscle recovery. Got to talking to the guy working.... maybe 28, and when I mentioned that I ran a marathon a week and a half ago and getting ready to run another in 10 days (now 9) he told me he is training for his first full marathon coming up this January in Florida. He told me he started out at 350 pounds and could barely walk up the stairs. He has now run several half marathons and weighs about 230 lbs (my guess). He was asking me all kinds of questions about motivation for reaching the 20 mile mark, and then finishing the marathon. I found it funny, because I was very touched my his inspiring story. I love hearing about people who have made a drastic life change to become healthier and to put the cherry on top... run a marathon. Awesomeness!!!!

3- Not about inspiration... just random
My quads have had a seriously hard time recovering completely from my last marathon. They don't HURT but they are super TIRED all the time. With the NYC marathon just 9 days away.... I have hit panic mode. Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Here is what I have been trying as of Tues.
- Heat therapy daily
- Salonpas patches (even though there isn't any pain)
- Took 2 rest days in a row.... didn't help
- wearing compression socks
- taking 6 pills a day of this muscle recovery stuff the GNC guy recommended
- Drinking After Shock shakes after work outs

Oh ya... and I got my NYC outfit in the mail. It's so stinking cute. But I have decided NOT to wear the green top. It's kind of buggy in the arm pits. So I will be hitting up Dick's Sporting Goods for something to match.

What has inspired you lately?
When is your next race and where is it?
What kinds of Muscle recovery supplements do you take.... if you take any?

My NYC outfit

I just ordered this outfit for the NYC marathon. I'm sure it wont look as good on this chubby girl, but who cares..... it's cute and it's the NYC marathon.

I am loving it!!!! I hope it gets here in time.

What do you think?????

Louisville Marathon race report

The hubby and I drove the 3 hours to Louisville the day before. We left the kiddos with our friends and made it a little mini, alone time get-away. I checked in, got my shirt and chip and then we headed across the river into Indiana to do some shopping at Bass Pro Shops. The hubs was in heaven.

The race didn't start until 8am, so it wasn't an early wake up call. I took my time getting up and made my way to the start area, where I met up with these cute ladies. I use to live by them a year ago before we moved to Western Ky. I miss running with Coy. She is a super great chic.

Courtney-Coy (First in Philly) and I before the race

Before I came down with Strep just 6 days before race day, my goal was a 3:40 or under. After getting sick and losing all my strength and energy I had stored up for race day, my goal changed to a sub 4hr. I was hoping for 3:59 or under. I went out way to fast and my first 10 miles was in 1:24. I knew I needed to slow down, but kept thinking maybe strep throat didn't have that much power over me after all. Boy was I wrong.

I hit the wall at mile 16 and then by mile 18 my race turned into.... "Just cross the finish line". I was walking nearly every half mile. My hubby was able to come find me along the course about 10 different times, so it gave me something to look forward to (other then the finish line) I can honestly say I have NEVER walked so much in a marathon before. I think being sick, and not completely getting over it plus going out to fast played into hitting the wall so early and HARD.

Finish time: 4:13

Oh well....

# 18 wasn't my best nor was it my worst.

My quads are screaming at me, but not as loud as after most marathons. I went for an easy 30 minute recovery walk today. It was freezing cold, and I way under dressed.

Time to recover and get ready for #19 when I will be hitting the roads of NYC on Nov 6Th.

kicking strep and running a marathon

I'm running the Louisville marathon on Sunday. This will be my 18th marathon. I ran this course 2 years ago, and it's flat and fast, but pretty boring. It's run along the Ohio river, and most of it is on asphalt. yikes... It's an out and back, which is what I do on my long runs, so obviously I don't mind.

This pic is me finishing The 2009 Louisville marathon

I started feeling sick on Saturday. I wasn't real surprised, it seems I always come down with a cold the week of a marathon. So I started the usual remedies....

Gargle warm salt water.... emergenC like its candy...... drinking warm orange juice, and rest.

I woke up at 5am on Monday to drive my sister to the Nashville airport (she and her daughters were here from Utah visiting for a week). By the time I got home at about 10:30, I knew it was more then just a cold. I called and made an apt with the doc, and by the time I got there 6 hours later, my tonsils were covered in white sores. Yep, I have strep throat, the husband has strep and my 6 year old is running a fever. Seriously? Why this week??? Ugh.

I took the penicillin shot in the left butt cheek like a champ. It hurts like a mother freaker. Y-ouch, but I'm hoping it will get me feeling better before Sunday, so that I can go on at least one easy run to test the waters.

One of my girl friends that I run with had a stroke on Sunday. She is my age....34. She has 3 small children, and she is in amazing shape. She had just come home the night before from a week long family vacation to Disney World. They were able to catch it quickly and get the medicine in her that she needed. She was able to walk down the hall in the hospital with some help. The doctors are telling her, that with 6-8 weeks of Physical Therapy, she should be able to get most of her mobility back, and even run again.

I've decided to dedicate this marathon to Lorane. She is a fighter and I know she will fight and work hard to recover quickly. I know she is looking forward to putting on those running shoes again and hitting the road. She is such an inspiration to all that know and love her. When it gets tough or when my body wants to quit, I will think of the fight Lorane is giving everyday and hope to find the strength to push through.

running-running-running

Just a quick pic of my 10 year old and I. This was the night of their first big performance. Of course she did an amazing job. She loves being a cheer leader. It keeps her super busy, and has brought her out of her shy and quiet little shell. Her team gets to compete at Nationals in Dallas this coming January.

Running, Running, Running.... that is what I have been up to. What about you?

The hubby is out of the running scene for now. He is suffering from Plantar Fasciitis and some weird ankle pain that wont go away. So I am back to running with the ladies on Mon, Wed, Fri and Sat. I enjoy it because it gives me a little bit of a social life. Being a stay at home mom in a town that you are new and not familiar with, makes it hard to feel social. The ladies are fun and push me to be a more efficient runner.

I ran a 20 miler on Labor day. I kept putting it off because I knew the temps were going to drop to ideal running weather. I'm glad I did. It was about 62* but pretty windy. I had been feeling yucky for several days, so I was just happy to finish in 3:10 and some change.

I rounded out the month of August with 150 miles under my fuel belt. How many miles did you get in? I am hoping Sept will be a bigger month. I sure love logging some serious miles. The Louisville marathon will be here before I know it. (Oct 16Th) And then a few weeks later I will be chilling in NYC with 3 of my sisters and running the ING-NYC marathon. I am more then excited. What better way to see NYC then by foot, with 40,000 of my closest friends. teehee

I read this on someones FB page today: "It's all about the experience, putting another bib on the wall, hanging up another medal and having another story to tell."

This pretty much sums up how I feel about running marathons.

Bring it on.....

Doggie days.....

Sometimes I feel like this when I haven't blogged in forever...... like I am in trouble.

Sometimes I feel a little like this..... like I am just to busy watching the world go by. (Or just busy with the kids)

Sometimes I feel like this.... Just wanting or needing some attention from anyone. It sure gets lonely when you live 1500 miles away from your friends and family.

But I was able to go out to Utah for a quick visit and had some awesome sister time. Five of us (plus 2 nieces) went to Southern Utah and played. We went to Zion's National Park and hiked all day. We went and saw Grease at the outdoor Tuachan theater. We shopped, ate to much junk, swam, got to much sun and laughed a lot. It's so refreshing to spend some quality time with those you love and miss.

The twinner and I on our way to Angels Landing

At the end of our already super fabulous day at Zion's.... we were blessed with this beauty. Oh my gosh, it was the perfect ending to the perfect day. GORGEOUS!!!!!

My 2 little bugs started school last week. I am not one of those mom's that cries about having her kids gone all day. I kind of like it. My house stays clean and quiet for more the 30 min. My babies are little bookends in the elementary this year. My baby started kindergarten and my oldest is in 5th grade. How am I old enough to have a 5th grader. Yikes.

Running is going great. Still on track for my Oct 16th marathon in Louisville. I am getting nervous about NYC in Nov. Not sure where we are going to stay. I have got to get this figured out asap so that I can rest my mind a little. Best news ever..... for the next week and a half, we are fore casted mid 60's at 5 am. Wahoo. This is going to be a lovely break from the heat.

Where have you been lately? Are your kids starting school soon? Does it make you sad, or do you do the party dance?