May - 4 weeks till first race

This year is getting pretty busy as I start to settle into a running routine. Having all my races and training flow into each other is great to keep me consistant with my motivation, and as I realized the Seattle Rock n'Roll half was looming upon me, and I'd like a halfway decent time (or at least to be my PR), I should actually be running. Makes sense! Doing my long runs on the weekend, but not running really during the week is not a smart decision. I believe to be a great runner and to just be in decent shape you should be running more and just getting your legs and feet and body used to the pavement and the motions it takes to move forward. Running should be a routine thing, just the same as making coffee every morning. For me anyway, coffee is just something I do every day. I get up at the crack of dawn with the new puppy, so I might as well take advantage of the early morning wake up call. Four weeks until the first race! And Chicago training starts before that, which is just crazy! The countdown to the race is just 135 days....that are going to fly by. We bought our plane tickets last night, so everything is coming together!

Registration for the year

So I've planned out my major races for 2012 and registered for one, with another registration on the way February 1st. June 23rd I will be running the Rock n'Roll Seattle Half, day before my 29th birthday! Next up will be the Greater Portland Half August 4th with my friend Allison, we've already ran one half together and it's been a great adventure to get to run races with her! I love having someone else standing there to cheer you on, someone you can motivate as well. Plus whenever we get together it's entertaining for everyone else too.

The big race of the year will be the Chicago Marathon on October 7th. This is the giant race, the one I will focus all my hard work and energy on. I have big plans for this race and I hope all goes right to accomplish. To complete one of the five major marathons in the world will be such an experience, the others are NYC and Boston, London and Berlin. We'll see beyond Chicago; course I've caught myself saying that on here a few times in regards to the "we'll see's"....

I am sure there will be some smaller races thrown in the mix this year, but these are my 'majors' for 2012. Kind of want to run Vegas in December if I can work it out, that would be the fun one of the year. Since when did I think running 4 races in a year was FUN?

2012 goals

I like to write my goals down, I think there's something about accountability in that. New Year's day I sat down and planned out my training schedule for the year, races I plan to run and how it's all going to work out. My main goal is to run in the Chicago Marathon. It's one of the fastest courses, so it would be WONDERFUL to get under 4:30 as a time. Hopefully closer to 4 hours, and with proper training that should be possible. http://www.chicagomarathon.com/cms400min/chicago_marathon/

Other races include the Seattle half marathon in June, and as part of my Chicago training, the greater Portland half in August. Aside from these, I've written out an extensive training plan starting this week. Excited to be in Pullman and start running around the campus and hang out at the Rec Center! Great opportunities and travel are in the near future...

One week....

It's been a long 17 weeks. Full of running and training, distractions and travel. I've trained properly, I've missed days/weeks. I finally got fitted for a new pair of running shoes the right way....still figuring out if I like them or not. I've ran a half marathon and I've been downright lazy. I've eaten pizza and candy and sweets and I've had bagels and carbs and protein. Whatever I've done the past 17 weeks boils down to this: week 18. ONE week to go until I complete my first marathon. My goal? To finish. To get across that finish line no matter what, no matter how painful or how joyful I am at that moment in my life...I just want to finish. To accomplish something so significant. Something, honestly, not a lot of people can say they've done. Many of my friends get to brag about getting engaged, getting married, having babies....this is my life. I get to brag about this. I get to shout from the rooftops this accomplishment in a week.

In a week I will become part of the 1% of Americans to run...and complete...a marathon. ONE PERCENT. That's pretty awesome. It's not something easy, it's not something everyone can do. It takes literally months of dedication, training, being glued to your sneakers and Gatorade and carbs and the pavement. It's something you need to make time for, need to enjoy and need to WANT to accomplish.

I'm not sure if I'll run another marathon, I'd like to I think, the timing would have to be right and the location would have to be right. No more autumn marathons, training in the summer and throughout football season is just too hard, too hard to find the time, and too hot and humid in August. If I were training for the NYC Marathon (that'd be awesome), perhaps. Or the REAL marathon in Greece, because that is typically the second week in November.

My goal for next week is simply to finish. I am not aiming for a particular time, although under 5 hours would be very, very nice.

So...this last week of taper will show my past 17 weeks. I will get up in one week, strap on my sneakers and Garmin and race number, and run 26.2 miles to that finish line to complete the 36th Marine Corps Marathon. And I will kick its butt.

Week 2...

Yesterday morning I ran my 6 mile long run for week 1. DEATH is what it felt like. I thought by running at 8:30am, I'd avoid the heat. Nope. Turns out in great New England it likes to get hot REALLY early. I was trucking along pretty good the first mile or so, I've been trying to teach myself to slow down and keep a steady pace, instead of looking down at my Garmin and realize I'm running 9:30 minute miles for my long run. I know that doesn't seem fast, but it is to someone who is still working on lowering her time to 10 minute miles and who is doing this why training to run a steady paced 26.2 miles in 17 weeks.
I've been learning this pace thing, one of my goals this training season. Cool thing about my watch is when I get home from a run it automatically transfers my data to my computer, all within 3 minutes of walking in the door. This is cool because I can see what my average pace throughout the run was, and it even has a graph so I can see my "highs and lows". It's both a good and bad thing. I like to be prepared, and I like really focusing on my training, rather than just go at it blindly.
We have 3 3 miles this week then the long is 7 during the weekend. I hope I start to get into a routine with this all, although it's hard to plan with our crazy weather. Guess the SEATTLE girl should know better than to complain about rain...

Quote

For me it's the challenge to try to beat myself or do better than I did in the past. I try to keep in mind not what I have accomplished, but what I have to try to accomplish in the future.
-Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Granted, I've only accomplished two half marathons, so I really don't have to dwell too much on 'what I've accomplished'. Life is about moving forward. It's about the goal, the finish, what lies ahead. During a race you don't look back and dwell on the steps you've taken, you aim for the steps you're about to take and the future accomplishment (the finish).

I think the same is true for training. You can't dwell on the training you've done up to this point, only the training yet to be accomplished. Right now my stress is the 6 miles I'm suppose to run today, but my focus should be on the future miles, the miles yet to be ran. Today's run will help give me the endurance needed for those future miles.

Beginning of a new season

Eighteen weeks.

Sounds like a lifetime away. Eighteen weeks from now it will be late fall, the leaves will have already gone through their season and begun to fall to the ground. A chill will be in the air. College football season will be heading into its final month of regular season, basketball will begin practice. In eighteen weeks I will end the biggest season of my life thus far. This ending will conclude with a 26.2 mile adventure, a race against time to the finish. In eighteen weeks I will officially be a MARATHONER. No more skating by with races, no more testing the water. This is it, the ultimate showdown.

I know it will be tough. There will be good days and bad days, good weeks and bad week. There will be battles between long runs or sweatpants, endurance and stamina. Countless hours will be spent pounding the pavement, just me and whatever lies ahead. I think the beginning of a new season is the most exciting; it's like the beginning of a new relationship. Everything is fresh and new, there is excitement around every corner as you discover new things and experience new feelings.

Although I've trained before, I've put time and energy, sweat and tears into new seasons this one will be different. This one will take more dedication and time, more energy, more sweat and tears and probably a little bit of blood. There will be tests and hurdles, trials and tribulations to get through. Like a new relationship, it will take time to develop into something routine and normal. I also love this part. The familiarity of routine, the comfort of it. Knowing what to expect and having a trust in it.

I know I’m ready, I feel I am. Dedication and determination are going to get me through to the finish. I want to stand there after the race, medal around my neck and bagel in hand and think about the start. The start is not mile 1 of the race. The start is eighteen weeks before……so here it is.
START