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?

Sweating with the sharks.....

This morning on my run, I was wishing I had a squeegee or a shammy to keep the sweat out of my eyes, and off my face. My imagination went crazy and I started to create a cross of both. I started imagining me in front of the "Shark Tank" (Love that show) investors asking for money. My smile went upside down when I pictured the mean guys shooting me down and calling me a crazy runner lady.

This is mile 5 of the 10 miles I ran... alone today. Don't you love the gold glitter Active Band?!?! I sure do. No..... I did not jump into a pool after my LR. This is what happens when you run at 5:30 am and the temps are 76* and 90% humid.
Were you a sweating mess after your run?

Do you ever create a product that you think could help us runners?

Have you ever watched "Shark Tank"?

Crappy runs.... but not that kind of crap

Sporting another one of my favorite Active Bands. Have you tried them yet? They are so cute, and they seriously do what they say..... stay in place. Check them out here.

Last Wednesday was my 34th birthday. We were able to drive the 4 hours to Paris and visit with a few friends. Our house hasn't sold yet, so we decided to rent it out for a while. We used that trip to meet up with the renters and get things squared away. I miss my house. I miss running in Central Ky. It's gorgeous there.....

I was also able to meet up with these beauties for some lunch, and girl time. You may recognize the sexy momma on the right. That's Coy from First in Philly.... she is super fun, you should check her out.

We decided to eat our lunch out on the patio (hot and humid, what were we thinking) and about 10 minutes later, we had another lunch guest. Look at this nasty creature. Sick sick sick.... it ran off pretty quick, but not before a snapped a pic.

My last 2 runs have sucked rocks, and I even cried after yesterday's 6 miler. (Rested today) I usually do my long runs on Sat but had to switch to Sun just for this one weekend. I ran 14 miles and struggled the entire last 5.5 miles. (Still averaged a 9:25) I almost cut it short and quit but just slowed down and got it done. I have been feeling like I am running through mud, while breathing through a straw. I know that with distance running, you have good days and bads days, and usually I tend to have more good then bad. The kicker this time is that I had to crappy runs in a row. I know it's hot and SUPER humid.... but I am really feeling like I've been slapped in the face and the world is laughing at me. Just feel so down in the dumps today.

I had several friends on FB give me some great one liners, and some nice pick me ups, and ideas of how to find my groove again. I decided to rest today and then head out tomorrow morning with zero pressure. Just me, the road, my running shoes and hopefully I will find my happy place again.

where have I been you ask????

Or most likely you haven't noticed that I have been MIA in the bloggy world.....

But I have been home, with my kids.... playing and enjoying the end of summer (School starts Aug 3rd here) I've been running the 10yr old to all sorts of Cheer leading fundraisers and practices.

I have also been dreaming of many things.

#1- My up coming trip (alone) to Utah, to spend a few days with all of my sisters. This is "Sister's retreat" #11, and I haven't missed one yet, and I am not about to miss one now. Shopping, laughing, cards, swimming, hiking, the theater, and LAUGHING... here I come..... well in 2 weeks.

#2- I've been dreaming of buying and wearing one of these adorable skirts in my next marathon. (Oct) You can check out Team Sparkle here. I have heard they are super cute in person but that they look pretty cheap and like they could snag and rip easily. hmmmm.
#3- Dreaming of Winter.... I am so sick of running in the heat and humidity. It slows me down, make me feel sluggish and just plain ole pisses me off. I promise here and now, to NOT complain about running in the snow and cold temps ever again. I always forget how tough it is to train for a marathon in the summer. When it's 70 degrees and 95% humidity at 5:30am for nearly every one of my runs, that's just ridiculous. Oh well... nothing I can do about it, but put my big girls panties on and deal with it. I took this picture just before my 10 miler on Saturday morning. It was 72* and 100% humidity at 5:30 am. This week it's suppose to be even hotter.... 77* at 5am. ugh.
#4- I am dreaming of my 3 fall/winter marathons. Marathon #18 will be in Oct in Louisville. #19 will be in NYC... ya baby, I am running the ING NYC marathon on Nov 6Th. My baby girl made me these notes and paper fan to wish me good luck on my NYC marathon. I must talk about it to much and dream out loud. #20 is in Huntsville, AL... The Rocket City marathon on Dec 10Th. So stinking excited.

The one thing I am not dreaming of lately is turning 34 on the 13Th or running in New running Shoes. Actually, I don't mind getting older, and I realize that 34 is still very young. I love my new Asics, and LOVE LOVE LOVE running in new shoes.

What have you been dreaming of?

What are the temps when you run?

What fall/winter marathons or races do you have planned?

***Stay tuned for my next guest post... written by my gorgeous sister in law.