Couch to ATHLETE!

Some of the runners I love (my sister is missing) If you love a runner, you will understand what I am about to talk about here. The people I am closest too have told me that I have had particularly cranky days leading up to the marathon AND I was told that I have lost a bit of my optimism over the last couple of weeks. I think I can, almost, safely say that I am in a better place today but I still feel it is necessary to address the topic! Pre-marathon can be a particularly hard time for a runner. I think I mentioned this challenge in my post  Truth About Tapering  post. First of all, runners have to decrease their mileage pre-marathon and on top of it fuel their body properly. The decrease in mileage for some of us can drive us crazy, not to mention feeling like a sloth as the carbo-loading ensues. It is necessary though. I was particularly lucky to be spending time with the coolest kiddos the weekend before my marathon but any time I was not with them I may have been ...

I am sitting here thinking about what I got myself into signing up for this lil' marathon I am going to run in four days. Many of you have been following me since the beginning of this journey, while others are newer to the scene but none are less important than the other. If you know me at all, you know I spend a lot of time self reflecting and as I was sitting on my couch relaxing for the last five minutes I figured it would be nice to catch some of this self reflection (or perhaps I should call it a reflection on my journey) on my blog. I try not to get to personal on here because let's face it, this is about my journey to becoming an athlete NOT about my personal life beyond running/cycling/swimming; and I would kind of like to keep it that way. On the other hand there are a number of things I have learned about myself that I feel are tied into this amazing journey that I know is going to continue beyond the finish line on Sunday. Here are my lessons: Finding the Une...

First I have to say tapering sucks!!! I have promised honesty while on this journey and I would be a big ole liar if I said I enjoy this low mileage stuff leading up to the marathon. A number of factors have impacted my training this week but one of the biggest factors is my brain. I have read the most recent article in Runner's World Magazine about tapering  and it provided great recommendations on tapering properly; they are the experts, why oh why don't I believe them. As I sit here watching some terrible movie on the Lifetime network (the number 3 reason for getting rid of cable at my house) my mind continuously drifts to the impending marathon. Here are some of my thoughts: - If I don't run big mileage this week, how can I be sure I can finish 26.2 miles? - If most of my runs were challenging and demotivating last week will I still have the positive attitude to complete 26.2? - One of the motivational people in my life ran her marathon today, will I have the s...

In ten days I will be running my first of many anticipated marathons. I am ecstatic, although suffering a little from a troubling run today. As I was driving to Chicago last night I was thinking about all of my running friends and feeling the joy of having so many wonderful people in my life. I have a feeling that I am going to be so self absorbed, once I cross the finish line next week, that I will forget it is also the starting line for expressing gratitude for all of the people who have been/will be cheering me on through Facebook, on my blog and along the sidelines of the marathon. One of the most powerful things I have learned through this journey is that sometimes hearing about a friend's accomplishment is as awesome as having an accomplishment of my own. I have owned, throughout this journey, that I am a slow runner, and though this may make me feel inadequate at times, I am extremely proud to watch my friends achieve new PRs, fastest splits on a speed workout or fastest ...