Week 7: ...ugh. (11 miles)

So far, my training's been pretty good, aside from a couple of very minor setbacks. I'd say the overall mood of my blog has been pretty positive and upbeat.

The week leading up to today wasn't great. I managed to somehow pull my calf muscle just right in personal training on Tuesday to bring my shin splint problems back, forcing me to cut my run short on Wednesday and skip Friday's run altogether. Friday was also super hot outside, so I was better off.

Today, I'm going to be blunt: the run sucked.

First, I'd eaten way too much on Saturday, and specifically, way too much junk. I think I had 10 chocolate chip cookies by the end of the day -- I have a weakness for cookies -- and that was only the tip of the iceberg. I woke up this morning feeling gross.

Then I stepped outside. It was thankfully slightly cooler than the past few days, but it was like mother nature smothered me with an electric blanket and said "Here, try running! Muahahahaha!"

Then we got started. It was like trying to breathe water. And within a couple of minutes, each one of us developed our own swarm of gnats, which flew either over our heads or just behind for the entire run. We all looked pretty ridiculous, flailing our arms around to try to keep them from flying in our faces. During water stops, they'd dive-bomb our heads and try flying in our ears.

At each water stop, I had two cups of liquid, typically one Gatorade and one water. This is more than usual for me, but I was losing so much through my sweat that I had no choice. As a result, the 5 minutes of running immediately following each water stop was almost painful due to water sloshing in my stomach.

I had Gu at my third water stop. I tried vanilla this time, which was tolerable but not nearly as good as last week's chocolate. I don't think I would have completed the run without it, but was really hoping for a better flavor to pick me up.

There was one point about three-quarters of the way through where I nearly lost it. I was so exhausted that I thought I might have missed a turn, so overheated I wanted to melt. There were almost tears. Then, by some miracle, Madonna came through my headset and sang:

You push me
To go the extra mile
You push me
When it's difficult to smile
You push me
A better version of myself
You push me
Only you and no one else

You push me
To see the other point of view
You push me
When there's nothing else to do
You push me
When I think I know it all
You push me
When I stumble and I fall

Keep on pushing like nobody

Every race I win
Every mood I'm in
Everthing I do
I owe it all to you
Every move I make
Every step I take
Everything I do
It's all because you push me

You push me
When I don't appreciate
You push me
Not to lie and not to hate
You push me
When I want it all to end
You push me
When I really need a friend

You push me
All I wanna do is cry
You push me
When it's hard for me to try
You push me
When I do it for myself
You push me
Only you and no one else

I know the original inspiration for the song is a relationship, but it ties back to my running journey in so many ways. I thought about Caitlin, about all the people battling blood cancers, and how they push me through my runs. When it's difficult to smile, when I want to cry and give up and go back to bed, the cause is what pushes me through.

It got me through that rough spot, and up the hell hill right before the end of our course (along with some Dragonstea din tei/Numa Numa). It took everything I had to get through the 11 miles today, but I survived. Thankfully, there was a icy-cold washcloth waiting for me at the end.

I almost broke down again when I got home and realized my husband was in the shower, as I'd been looking forward to that shower the whole ride home. When he got out of the bathroom, his shower had been so hot that I was hit by a wave of humidity, bringing back all of the pain I'd just been through for a moment.

But then I took a cold shower, came out to a plate of freshly-cooked eggs waiting for me, and took a moment to breathe (and drink lots more Gatorade). I'm exhausted but doing much better.

This week starts 5-day running weeks. I'm really hoping my shin holds on and the humidity takes a vacation. I'm heading to Rochester late this week to see friends, family and coworkers, and couldn't be more excited. I'll be running 13 miles next weekend with my friend Mike, who trained for a marathon last year, along the Erie Canal. Hurray for a change in scenery!

Week 6: 10 Amazing Miles

Ack! My mileage just hit double-digits, and my legs haven't given up on me yet!

This morning's run was one of the best long runs I've had. I ran the 10 miles in just under 2 hours, including water breaks, and my overall heart rate was pretty low, considering. And even though it was ridiculously hot and sunny, I was barely bothered by it. Maybe it was the fried dough and ice cream at last night's carnival?

I also tried Gu today around mile 6, after not enjoying the PowerBar Gel I tried a couple of weeks ago. I grabbed a chocolate one (Chocolate Outrage), thinking it was a safe place to start, and it was amazing! Tasted like a melted chocolate bar, and considering how hot it was outside and how warm the Gu got by the time I had it, melted chocolate seemed perfectly reasonable. No weird aftertaste or anything, either. I'm afraid the other flavors I bought may not be able to compare!

So overall, things are well. My body is starting to feel comfortable with longer runs, even with humidity. Pain is minimal now, heart rate is lowering, and my short runs during the week are becoming slightly faster. I'm feeling pretty excited, and am so thankful that I chose to try for a full marathon, because clearly a half marathon would have been a piece of cake! In two weeks, I'll be running 13 and will be halfway there!

Thanks so much to my week 6 sponsors:

• David Mammano
• NextStepU

Every dollar makes a difference!

Week 5: Catching my breath!

This past week felt like cheating! Our runs during the week were a bit longer, as I'd mentioned in my last post, but the long run was "just" 6 miles!

I can't say "just 6 miles" without some extra quotation marks, because it still baffles me that 6 miles is no longer that long. A little over a month ago, I ran 5 miles for the first time in my life; now, 5 miles is something I do almost once a week as an easy morning run.

And that's the other big accomplishment from the past week -- morning runs! I have never been a morning person. A few years ago I told myself that I was going to force myself into being a morning exerciser; it lasted two days. Last week's attempts to get up early worked out pretty well, so I've started making it a new habit!

I should be clear: I hate the alarm going off early and dragging myself out of bed, and I don't expect that to ever change. What gets me out of bed, however, is knowing that I'll already have my daily exercise out of the way and that I'll be able to do it while it's cool(er) outside.

Today I am truly thankful for having the motivation to drag myself out of bed early, because it's 90 and humid this evening, with an air quality alert in effect. This morning was still pretty humid, but only around 70 or so. I actually had my best morning run yet today, which was a great way to start off the week!

Thanks so much to my week 5 sponsors:

• Lynn Farnung
• Liz Kline

Your support is truly appreciated! I'm trying to make it to $2,000 by the end of this month. If you haven't donated yet, now is a great time! :)

I'm doing a lot of brainstorming this week for fundraising. I'm still working on the details for Tastes & Toasts on August 10th, and I hope to have another couple of events scheduled soon!

Week 4: Moving along

This weekend's long run was the same 8ish miles, so no new milestones to report. It's actually come at a good time because I'm trying to get my left leg to heal. I skipped on Friday's shorter run to try to give it some time to rest, and I'm glad I did — I was able to run the entire 8.5 miles without using my shin splint brace! Hurray!

The pain now is in my calf, which I actually suspect was originally caused by using the brace for my shin. The problem with protecting one part of your leg is that the other parts have to take extra force to compensate for it. I've been doing a lot of stretching lately, which seems to be helping.

This week's mid-week runs are longer than they have been. I ran 4 miles this morning (for the 4th of July, woo!) and I'll have 5 to run on Wednesday. The longest we've had to run so far on our own is 4. I'm going to hopefully try getting up early on Wednesday to run, while it's cooler outside.

Fundraising-wise, I'm now ranked #4 on the Connecticut Nike team! It's really exciting, but at the same time, I have a long way to go. I'm hoping to get some corporate sponsorship letters out this week, and start planning a neighborhood can drive. I also need to start thinking about next month's event in West Hartford Center, so I can be sure that it is awesome!

I hope everybody enjoys the holiday and the short work week!