Marathon Thoughts

A little mental preparation for the marathon ...

It's Monday ...

Well, it's Monday again, and I have the perfect motivation to help get rid of that zero miles/week lingering on my Daily Mile page. Last week, I interviewed and wrote a story about two local ultramarathon runners. These guys are fathers, work full-time jobs, are active church members and still find the time to fit in the occasional 100-mile race. So while I stress about squeezing in a long run here and there to prepare for 26.2, I'll try and remember the story of these two amazing local runners. Hope you enjoy!!

To get my booty out there ...

In honor of recently signing up for the Grand Rapids Marathon, I'm going to start doing "Motivational Mondays." Each Monday I'll post some sort of motivation (whether it be a quote, a photo, a story ... ) to help keep me going. It won't necessarily always be marathon related, but it will always be motivational. 


For me Monday's are the toughest day for me when training. It's time to get back to work, I'm still aching a bit from my long run on Saturday (or Sunday if I wasn't quite motivated to run Saturday morning, like this weekend). 


The other day, I found the comic strip below. It's the perfect first Motivational Monday post as far as I'm concerned!





If anybody sees this hat in stores, would you mind picking one up for me? Pretty please?


So, what motivates you? 

Virtual Mile Entries

The drawing for prizes for the Virtual Mile will be Monday, July 25. I will choose winners via Random.org and notify them by the end of the day. Anybody else interested in entering has until 10 p.m. CST Sunday, July 24, to do so. Click here for details.

One entry each is given for every $10 donation, reporting your time and sending a photo before/during/after the run.

Here is a list of those who entered, with the numbers that correspond with their entries:

Anne Ryerson - 1, 2, 8
Hope Epton - 3, 4
Candice Hope - 5
Bethany Becker - 6, 7, 9
Kaci Naci - 10

Thanks so much and good luck!

And so it begins ...

After weeks of conversations and racking our brains, my super great running friends and I have chosen our fall marathon. We thought about running the Quad Cities Marathon, the inaugural Savannah Rock N Roll Marathon, the Des Moines Marathon and the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. All would be great races, and all would add to my goal of someday — and when I say someday, I mean probably when I'm in my 70s — running a marathon in all 50 states. But that list will continue to dwindle. After October 16, I will be able to scratch off Michigan. On that date, we will hit the streets of Grand Rapids at the 2011 Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon.

 

I always feel a little nervous when registering for a marathon. With three under my belt, that still hasn't changed. But yesterday, just before registering, I interviewed a couple local ultra marathon runners for a story I'm writing for work. I go into this interview thinking, "These guys are crazy!" During the interview, they started trying to convince me to do an ultra. At which point, I thought "These guys are carzy!" They said their training really isn't much different that that of a marathon runner. They each have full-time jobs, wives and kids and said they honestly don't have the time to log hundreds of miles each week. A key part of preparing for 50 or 100 mile ultras, they added, is mental. I had almost considered taking them up on their challenge, until mentality came into play. I'm still having issues wrapping my head around the mental challenge associated with marathon running, I'm not sure I could stretch my mind even further and tackle an ultra (even a 30-mile ultra sounds terrifying right now).

I came home from the coffee shop where I interviewed the guys, grabbed my credit card and computer, and sat down to make marathon #4 official. Just as I was about to click "Register" there was a ridiculously loud clap of thunder and my power went out. My laptop —with its dead battery and therefore dependent upon that power — turned off as well. I thought this might be a sign. But if it was, I wasn't listening! As soon as the power came back on I completed my registration. Take that, crazy loud thunder and momentary power outage!

So, I am now preparing to run 26.2 miles in precisely 86 days, 20 hours, 33 minutes and 52 seconds (according to the countdown on the marathon's website). Hopefully this chick is there with her encouraging words of wisdom, which I would assume ring true for runners of all distances:

I'll try and keep that in mind during my training runs as well! Training runs, which I should probably step up a little now that Grand Rapids is official. I'm very excited for Michigan to join Arizona, Illinois and Tennessee, raising my 50 in 50 total to four! Watch out 50 in 50 ... I'll get there someday! And, who knows, I may even run an ultra someday. But for now, I'll just have to focus on Grand Rapids ... and not shitting myself.

I don't care if people are staring ...

As promised, the following is a blog I wrote last August about my first experience running in my brand new, shiny and beautiful Vibram FiveFinger Bikilas. It was quite an experience, but I'm sorry to say that nearly a year later, my FiveFingers are still pretty shiny. Minimalist running definitely sounded good at the time, but my calves ... and later my ankles just weren't convinced. Anyway, here's what I thought after giving them a go for the first time:

I don't care if people are staring ...

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’ve kind of been obsessing over a certain pair of shoes lately.

My not-so-subtle hinting paid off, and I received a pair as a birthday gift from my boyfriend. 

He surprised me Monday morning with the hot-pink-and-orange loveliness of my new Vibram FiveFinger Bikilas. I immediately slipped each of my toes into their individual pockets.

Luke was almost as excited as I was when I opened my “toe shoes,” as he likes to call them. But he won’t have to wait too long to own a pair of toe shoes like mommy and daddy. Check out the Vibram Kids KSOs that will be out sometime in 2011. The three of us will certainly turn heads as we wear these shoes around town. Now there’s a great Christmas card idea! 

I wore my new shoes around the house for the remainder of the morning and considered wearing them to work, but they didn’t really go with my outfit.

Yesterday after work, I decided to take my new shoes on a test run. I’ve heard that too much, too soon in Fivefingers can cause muscle pain and such, since our feet are used to the support provided in everyday, cushiony shoes. But, I figured if I can rock a pair of super uncomfortable heels for hours on end, surely I can run a few miles in these shoes. Just to be safe, I planned on running a quick three miles around my parents’ neighborhood in East Peoria. I strapped on my pretty pink shoes and hit the road. 

About a quarter of a mile into my run, I wanted to call it quits. My calves were already burning and the balls of my feet were not liking the rough pavement. I pushed on, but decided to shorten my run to two miles. 

I felt everything under my feet. I felt the cushion of grass, the flat hard pavement and even a few rocks. I definitely noticed the rocks, but they weren’t enough to hinder my run. 

From everything I’ve read, one of the major reasons runners are forgoing traditional running shoes for minimalist or even no shoes, is to help them maintain a forefoot strike. This guy explains it better than I ever could. 

So, as I was running, I was concentrating on my forefoot stike. It was incredibly awkward. I can only imagine what I must have looked like out there. I felt like Phoebe in this episode of Friends.

Good thing there were no horses along my route!

I’ve also heard that barefoot/minimalist running can help increase your speed. But, during my two-mile run, I struggled to keep a 10:30 pace. I usually have no problem holding a 9:00 pace in my Brooks and Nikes.

I finished my run a little frustrated and woke up this morning with calves that felt like they had been put through a 20-miler as opposed to two measly miles. But, I plan to run in my Bikilas again soon. Probably not tonight as I tackle a few hills, but soon.

I’ll just try to keep my Phoebe-esque running skills in check. But, to paraphrase the great Phoebe, I don’t care if people are starring. It’s just for a second cause then I'm gone!

Main Street Mile Race Report

After about seven months of listening to my running friends tell me how much fun the Main Street Mile is, I finally have my own opinion of it — and it's not great!

I was not the least bit nervous about this run during the days leading up to it. I mean, it's only a mile, why would I be nervous?

The Main Street Mile is one-mile race, part of which is downhill. It's the perfect race for a mile PR. The website says it best: "We're talking fire starting, rubber burning, unleash your cheetah kind of fast." Here's the elevation chart:

I met my friends Friday evening and boarded the bus that would take us to the start of the point-to-point one-mile race. The race is run in three heats, depending on your projected finish time. I was in the first heat, but our bus pulled up to the start just as the first group of runners started. Whoops! So I jumped in with the second group.

 

Christa, Christy, Aimee, Michelle, Me and Julie, before the Main Street Mile. 

It was at the start that it hit me. As a distance runner, I have never sprinted a mile in my life. I'm also not a fan of running downhill. Some runners love a nice decline in elevation, but I have a slight fear of rolling down the hill bowling ball style, taking out any runners in my way. While this might do wonders for my pace, I'm not sure others would appreciate being knocked down like my own personal bowling pins. 

I took off ridiculously fast. I glanced down at my Garmin and saw that I was right at a 5-minute mile. Knowing that would never end well, I slowed down a bit. I was huffing and puffing before I reached a quarter of a mile. It was horrible! I started the decline and my nerves about running downhill quickly changed to pure bliss. But the bliss was short-lived and I was back on flat ground before I knew it. 

I'm in the blue shirt and feeling awful at this point!!

I crossed the finish line at 6:35 — by far my fastest mile ever — and struggled to start breathing normally again. I spent the next few minutes complaining about how much I hated the race. One of my friends — a fellow Main Street Mile virgin until that evening — found me and told me how much she hated it as well. She said she'd rather run 10 miles any day, and I agreed. Looking back a couple days later, it doesn't seem as bad as I made it out to be. I probably will run it again, and will shoot to beat my 6:35 mile (even though the thought of that makes me cringe). But I did go for a nice 10-mile run yesterday. I took my time and ran a nice, slow, non-record breaking 9:22 pace, and I loved it!

To shoe, or not to shoe?

One of my former newspaper editors once told me, "Never write anything that you can't use at least three times." Since a lot of the stories I currently write for work concern local school boards, village boards and all things Central Illinois, I haven't really been able to make use of this advice on too many occasions. 

While it may seem odd for such a new blogger to have archives, I do have a few past blogs tucked away. I've been blogging at work for about a year and because I've already done the work, why not share it again? (And I promise not to NEVER, EVER post school board meeting coverage here. Sitting through it once is enough for me!). Here's a blog I wrote last July while first coming to terms with barefoot running: 

To shoe, or not to shoe?

When I got started in journalism, a friend immediately compared me to Carrie Bradshaw. I was flattered, of course. And, while I’m not quite up to par with her keen fashion sense or courageous enough to try out even the most “fabulous” hat, I am about to prove my friend right. Today, I’m blogging about shoes.

However, you will see no mention of Manolos or Jimmy Choos here. Oh no, I’m talking running shoes and even — cover your ears Carrie — no shoes. 

Barefoot running. The trend is taking off ... and it’s scaring me. A couple of weeks ago, as I was finishing a run down Grandview Drive (a super fun place to run in Peoria), a runner passed me with a polite, “Hello.” I returned the greeting and got into my car to go home. It wasn’t until I was in my car that I caught a second glance of the runner and his lack of shoes. Yep, that’s right, this man was running down the street with absolutely nothing on his feet as if it were a completely normal thing to do.

As a runner who puts much time and consideration (and money for that matter) into which shoes will be protecting my feet, I was taken aback. I had heard of runners opting to go shoeless and studies finding that running with shoes can actually cause some injuries, but to see a living, breathing barefoot runner on Grandview Drive seemed odd to me. When I lived in Boulder, this wouldn’t have fazed me, but in my hometown, it seemed odd. 

When confronted with this idea, many people — myself included — ask, “Why run barefoot?” But according to some studies, perhaps we should be asking, “Why run with shoes?” Barefoot running advocates argue that humans were not designed to wear shoes. Many say that running barefoot reduces the risk of injuries and strengthens the muscles in your feet. 

I’ve heard runners argue that injuries received while running barefoot, like cutting your foot on a stray piece of glass, heal much faster that injuries “caused” by running with shoes. These injuries include plantar fasciitis, irritation and swelling on the thick tissue on the bottom of the foot. Plantar fasciitis can sideline runners for six weeks to six months and sometimes requires surgery.

I must admit, I don’t think I’ll ever go completely barefoot, mainly due to the fact that I broke a few teeny tiny bones in my right foot about 9 years ago that never really did heal properly. My foot aches a bit after a long run here and there, but the old injury has hardly inhibited my running. I believe I owe that to the comfort and extra cushion provided by my Brooks.

However, the barefoot running fad has sparked my interest. So much so that I now desperately want — wait, scratch that — need a pair of Vibram FiveFingers Bikilas. I need them in the same way Carrie Bradshaw needs her Manolos. 

 Aren't they pretty?

They are specifically designed to mimic barefoot running, while protecting feet from glass, hot roadways and all other hazards that come along from pounding your bare feet on the pavement. Many who wear them say there is a feeling of freedom, reminiscent of running around barefoot as a child. 

The minimalist running shoes are kind of ridiculous-looking. For those of you who have not seen them, they kind of look like toe socks, you know the socks with an individual space reserved for each toe. 

I even made fun of my boyfriend when he got a pair a few months ago. I usually excuse his quirks to the fact that he is from Boulder and therefore part-Hippie, but these things were weird!

He’s not a runner, but said he was convinced that they were the best shoes ever after wearing them through a recent three-day long music festival with no discomfort. I still made fun of him. I never realized that only a few short months later I would covet a pair of these strange shoes. And with a birthday looming on the horizon, I see no reason why I shouldn’t have them in a matter of weeks. Hint, hint honey! 

The Bikila is said to encourage a more natural, healthier and more efficient forefoot strike. Vibram’s websites says “the Bikila features a Dri-Lex covered 3mm polyurethane insole and a 4mm anatomical pod outsole design that offers more plating protection and distributes forefoot impact without compromising important ground feedback essential to a proper forefoot strike running form.” 

While I have no idea what any of that means, one thing is for certain — I NEED THESE SHOES!!!

Hopefully I’ll be able to try my own Bikilas soon. And who knows, maybe someday I’ll release my inner child and leave my inner Carrie Bradshaw — and thus my shoes — at home. 

****UPDATE**** I did get the shoes for my birthday (Yay for a good man who listens when I yell, "Get me these shoes!!" everyday for a month). I had quite an experience trying to get used to running in them. Of course I blogged about it, so I guess I'll have to post that one soon! 

Hi, I'm Holly, and I might just be crazy!

In high school, I quit the soccer team because I hated running.

Perhaps the name of this blog gave it away, but things have changed. 

I would never have believed I would become a runner. I always thought a runner was somebody who eagerly bounced out of bed at 4:30 a.m., threw on his/her running shoes and skipped out the door, grinning in anticipation of the upcoming 10-mile jog. 

I thought these people were all designed to run and that it came easily. I thought these people would rather run than do anything else in the world. I thought these people were crazy. 

Now, at age 29, I have three marathons, seven half-marathons, three 15Ks, and a handful of both 10Ks and 5Ks under my belt ... and many more races on the way. 

It never occurred to me that people might actually have to work to become a runner. I learned that I am definitely not the runner I mentions above. There are days that I get really excited about running, but there are also days that I absolutely dread running. And, I can count the number of 4:30 a.m. runs I've done on one hand, with fingers to spare.

I am, by no means, an expert. I took to treadmill running during college in a blatant effort to avoid the freshman 15 and actually — gasp — began to love running. If you were to tell this to 17-year-old me, you would have definitely been laughed at, probably followed with an exaggerated eye roll and a "whatever." Yes, I was that girl. 

My first race was in 2005, when my then boyfriend (now fiance), Terry, convinced me to run the Bolder Boulder 10K with him. I agreed to do the race, not even batting an eyelash at the elevation of the course, which reaches nearly 5,400 feet. 

We finished the race at 57:59. I didn't really understand — or care about, for that matter — the hype that surrounded race times. For me, the desire to finish a race in a decent amount of time has only recently surpassed the desire to finish the race period. Now, I'm in awe of the elite runners, who can finish a 10K in half an hour without even having to spend the rest of the day in the medical tent. 

The following year, I began training for the craziest race yet — motherhood. It's by far the best job I've ever had! My son Luke is now 5. He is tons of fun, but he tends to cut into my training schedule a bit. Throw in a full-time job and I'm spent! But, I guess he's worth it. 

            Just look at this face ...      

... and he loves his mama, too!

The most important thing I've learned while juggling my family, my job and my training schedule over the past few years is that it can be done. Sure I might miss a couple runs here and there, or even a couple hours of sleep, but it can be done. 

I've also learned that I've come to depend on running in an attempt to maintain some sort of sanity in my crazy life. My runs are reserved as my "me time." When I miss a run or two, I tend to get a bit cranky. Now, there are days that running comes easily to me. There are days when I'd rather run than do anything else in the world. And there are days that I'm pretty sure I'm crazy!