See Alicia Run

Here I am in the last mile of yesterday's marathon. I had just passed Temple Square and knew I was super close to the finish line even though I couldn't see it. I'm pretty sure those policemen weren't about to pull me over for speeding (ha!) but I was going as fast as I could. Months ago, I said I would dedicate my second marathon to me, to prove to myself that I could do it alone. Well here ya' go, Lish- PROOF!

I had every reason to sit this one out...

...but I didn't! Yep, that marathon that I kept going back and forth about? I just ran it and PRed by 15 minutes! (If you remember my first marathon recap, you'll see that wasn't really that hard to do.) As we were driving home from our week at Disneyland Friday night, I still wasn't sure that I would run yesterday morning. After all, I was exhausted from walking around the parks everyday and still having some heart palps. I was worried I wouldn't be properly hydrated and my legs wouldn't be fresh. We got home at about 11 o'clock Friday night and I finally just decided to go for it. No more excuses, I just needed to do it and take it one mile at a time. Run, walk or crawl, I knew I could finish. Plus, I know myself well enough to know that I would regret not at least trying to run, even though I was under trained. I left the Garmin at home and headed to the race at 5 am yesterday morning.

The race started out well. I decided to run without music until I really needed it, which didn't happen until around mile 20. I just listened to the sounds of the race and took my time. I was running by feel and just focused on finishing instead of a specific time goal since I knew my training didn't support it. The legs felt pretty good until about mile 14 when they just started to ache a bit. My lungs were strong. No huffing and puffing. Mentally, I felt strong and knew I would be ready to gut it out when things got tough. I was really enjoying all the people cheering along the course. There was even a "Temptation Station" where a guy was handing out beers and shots of liquor. Another of his signs read, "Anyone can run sober." Haha! I got a good laugh out of that. I declined the alcohol, though. :)

Around mile 20, my legs really started to ache. I was walking through the aid stations and trying to stretch out my quads and IT band as well as I could but they were just HURTING! Oh well, I thought, sometimes you just have to run through the pain. And run I did. Well, if you could call it running. It was more of a shuffle at the end. The last 2 miles my left knee was in serious pain and I was getting discouraged but knew I was almost done. "Ow, ow, ow." "You knew this would hurt." "Just finish!" were my final miles mantras. It was all mind over body by then.

My goal was to finish and I did! I walked a little but never crawled so that's good. :) Marathon #2 is in the books! It was ugly but it counts!

My final time- 4:50:32

Pace- 11:05

Time to get in shape for Utah Valley Marathon, only 8 weeks 'til marathon #3! I will be ready for that one. Guaranteed.

A hint (or 10) from the universe?

It is 2 am and I've just woken up from my fatigue induced coma (and a terrible nightmare) and after sitting here listening to all the creepy sounds my house makes in the middle of the night, I've realized that I'm really scared! But wait! I'm not talking about the "wanna-climb-in-my-momma's-bed" kind of scared (well, maybe just a little if I'm being completely honest) but more so it's an alarming "am-I-doing-the-right-thing" kind of scared.  You see, when I signed up for the Salt Lake City Marathon back in January, it seemed like a brilliant idea. "This marathon will be for me," I thought, "This one will prove that I can go it alone. Feed the angry beast that is marathon training and do it all by myself." I was determined that it was gut-check time I was going to have to put-up or shut-up.Well, go time is t-minus 14 days now and it has been an eventful couple of months. Let me tell you a little bit about how my training has gone...

A. I switched over from half to full marathon training at the end of January just after the St. George Half. I was feeling a bit pudgy but overall running my pace and feeling strong. I was mentally ready for marathon training.

B. I was running my butt off the first couple of weeks and it felt great! I ran an 8 mile tempo run (my longest ever) and was flying high when...dun, dun, DUUUNNNN! (<---for dramatic effect) I GOT THE FLU!  Yup, the very next morning after this fabulous tempo run. I couldn't believed it! It hit like a ton of bricks and I never saw it coming! After visiting the doctor twice, taking Tamiflu that didn't help and antibiotics that did, I had been sick for 2 weeks before I finally started to come out of it. I had never had the flu before so I was apparently paying for my good fortune in one lump sum. I have NEVER been so sick. Ever.

C. So, here I was at the end of February and I was finally starting to pull myself together. I was still fatigued and I knew I had lost considerable amounts of conditioning from being laid out for 2 weeks. And to add insult to injury (more like injury to illness) I had popped a rib while I was sick from coughing so dang much. Yep, I rarely ever get injured from running but coughing? It's got my number! Geesh! I was so frustrated at this point because I was finally able to start running again and I couldn't run without pain in my ribs that I feared wouldn't get better as long as I continued to run. Ya dig?

D. So what do I do? What any sane person would do. I found a running gait that worked! Yep. Normal people rest and recover. But not me! "Imma trainin' for a marathon!" So, I ran with my upper body as still and straight as I could get it, ran super slow (a glorified walk is more like it) and increased my foot fall ten fold so I was taking quick tiny baby steps. I'm pretty sure the people who saw me run this way wouldn't call it running. But to me, I was makin' it happen.

E. With the flu injury finally somewhat squared away and about 5 weeks left 'til marathon time, I devised a plan. Then I devised another plan that was realistic. I would run a semi-long run one weekend then a super long one the next and then taper and just cross my fingers that it was enough.

F. So, here I am 1 week post super long (but really only 18) miler and I've continued to recover. My speed is non-existent but I've been covering some good miles. I'm still feeling completely undertrained and have been planning to just run it undertrained. I know it would be a painful 26.2 but I would make it, I'm sure of that much. Well, until last night that is. You see, I started to feel some heart palpitations last night which means that I've been over doing it a little. They are not dangerous and I've dealt with them a lot but usually when they come I'm forced to slow down a little and let my body get back to some sort of homeostasis. Did I mention that they also bring along their friends, fatigue and muscle weakness. So not cool, heart palps.

So, here I am at the tail end if training, if you could even call it that, and I've dealt with illness, injury, and illness again. I have no way of picking up my packet since I'll be on vacation until the night before the marathon (no race morning pick up) and I'm feeling like the universe is trying to tell me something. Is it just me?  Have the obstacles I've encountered made me a stronger runner? I'd say ABSOLUTELY! Does that mean that I'm ready to run a marathon? Not necessarily. Do I do it anyhow?? That's the million dollar question, I guess.

What would you do??

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