Marathon Mom

Sorry, I know I said I'd post this Tuesday but the past few days have been pure chaos! Lots of changes in our house, little sleep and adjusting to it all! Like I mentioned Monday the race was not the weekend highlight and before writing this I had no idea on my splits and only knew my finish because others told me. This winter has been tough for training; brutal cold, lots of snow leading to many indoor treadmill runs plus an injury that made me cut back and slow down. I had a couple great runs that put the thought of a great race in my mind but realistically I had no idea what my body was able to do. After a bad night of sleep thanks to our hotel neighbor I got up at 4:30 grabbed my coffee, figured out what to wear after rethinking it multiple times and finally ate my bagel and banana before meeting my team bus.  Ready to go! And we were off on the way to Hopkinton, ready to run a race with more meaning than most others, many on the bus had run last year, some were stopp...

I know you are all waiting to hear about my race but honestly that was not he highlight, it was truly an amazing weekend: friends, food and running. Honestly the weekend was much more important and fun than the race (more on that tomorrow). Friday:  As we had done in the past we flew in early Friday as usual and after a quick lunch we hit the expo and wow it was already crazy on Friday. I of course hit up the marathon gear and bought a shirt for O and my jacket. After the expo we got our scarf and blessing at Old South Church. Check out this great scarf project ! Then of course dinner...gluten free pizza, yum! Saturday: Busy day! Matt and I took a walk to watch some of the other BAA races then walked through the Memorial. Wow, what an emotional exhibit. It was amazing to see the support worldwide and knowing how runners are united everywhere. Shoes left at the 2013 marathon as a memorial to the bombing victims. Then lunch and best salad I have ever had! Vlora Bo...

Yes, it is that time again...taper madness has hit! Somehow this time it managed to hold off until 5 days before the race to show itself. Wednesday and a massive snowstorm (Over a foot of snow) in April brought out the best of it. I spent Wednesday walking around with a tight sore calf that I of course imagined every possible scenario for. There is some GI virus going around and I saw a patient today who had been vomiting so now every twinge and I swear it is about to hit me! I got home after a 1 1/2 hour drive in the snow and attempted to hit the treadmill for 30 min run, I was tired, my legs were not feeling it and I had a 4 year old who wanted to constantly ask questions and hurry me along so she could run. I got over frustrated with my bad run and may have thrown a little tantrum when things kept going bad. Ugh!  I still haven't packed and have a busy day ahead and getting myself worked up. Deep breath, I can do this. Good thing I have an appointment for acupuncture ...

Another Monday in the midst of what is already shaping up to be a brutal winter, last week we got dumped on twice by snow and now another day with wind chills of -20s! December has not proven to be nice to me: my first migraine in months and it lasted 3 days, then a stomach bug hit us, now O is going on week 2 of a nasty cough this is truly nothing more than annoying! With the nasty weather my motivation is truly lacking and honestly running outside sucks! Yesterday I managed 10 miles on semi-cleared paths with less than great footing, I’m just not ready to give in to the treadmill yet! Although I will admit the treadmill has been my friend for early morning speed intervals. My weeks have also been filled with less running and more cross training to let this leg fully heal. Today hitting the pool for some laps and then off to yoga. My bike has once again become my friend and Netflix is getting me through hour + elliptical workouts. This afternoon will be another appointment with...

Today I had originally planned a giveaway, but that can wait as I need to express my multitude of feelings after the tragedy at the Boston Marathon yesterday. O had just gone to sleep and I was headed to the treadmill but grabbed my iPad as I headed downstairs wanting to check a few friends running, as I opened Facebook I quickly learned the horror of the day. I was full of emotions as I started the run I truly needed at this point to run of anger, frustration and sadness. I spent much of my run fielding texts and FB messages from friends checking on my safety (thinking I may have been running) while I was doing the some for those I knew who were running. I was shocked by the immediate concern from runners and non-runners alike. All I keep thinking about is how I was there the past two years with my family standing along Boylston Street watching me run, I innocently could have put them in a place of danger. We were almost there again this year, it was last minute we decided to t...

I pretty much summed up my feelings and plans for marathon day in my last  post and based on everything against me I decided to enjoy my weekend and do everything "wrong" before running. This meant wine, food I don't tolerate well (tiramisu from North End, yum!) and a lot of walking around. By the time Monday morning rolled around I was more then accepting of the fact that this race was just for fun, I had nothing to prove to myself (or anyone) and I didn't care about my finish time (okay maybe a little still). My goals were to run pain free, enjoy the course atmosphere and finish feeling good and upright! Anyone who's run Boston knows the race morning logistics are at best interesting. A long bus ride to the start area hours before race start followed by hours of sitting outside in any weather unless you have access to a team bus :) Instead of a school bus I enjoyed my race morning ride on a coach bus complete with bathrooms and best yet it stayed around unt...

Less then 1 day until Boston Marathon and the race should be interesting. I am beginning to wonder if anything else will go against me before tomorrow morning. So far it is 3 strikes, but I am not out… 1 st   I dealt with a leg injury  resulting in an abrupt taper filled with a lot more cross training then I would have liked, a missed 20+ mile long run and only 10 miles of actual running in the last 3 ½ weeks. 2 nd my allergies (or a nasty cold) kicked in big time this past week and settled in my chest. Ironically I first bought Super Lysine the week before Boston last year in attempts to combat the same issue which worked. So I have been hitting the Super Lysine along with cold meds and actually starting to feel better and hoping to be back to normal by tomorrow. 3 rd the weather! Over the past week the forecast has gone up and down ranging from highs of 50F to 80F, cloudy to sunny, and even possible storms. As of today it has settled on a high of 87F sunny and so...

10 years ago today Matt and I were married, it is amazing all the changes and growth we have experienced in that time. About this time is when I started thinking about running my first marathon so it is only fitting that we will be spending the weekend of our anniversary in Boston for the marathon. Up until last Fall the plans were to spend a week or two in Europe to celebrate, but with us both in school we decided that a shorter trip was best. Last September as marathon registration was coming to a close I sent a text "how about a trip to Boston for our anniversary?" to which he replied "sure, sounds great". I was partly joking but the plans stuck and here we are! So here we go, after a strange marathon training taper filled with much more cross training and only 10 miles of actual running in the last 3 1/2 weeks. I can say that my cycling will be stronger this year because of this! I am also proud to say that I tried a new class on Monday, yoga sculpt, and wow ...

 Follow up appointment with the sports med doctor today didn't go perfect but not worst case either. On Tuesday I read the radiology report on my MRI which said there was no stress fracture, today the verdict is slightly different. My sports doc and another doctor looked at the MRI and disagree, thinking that the white that shows on the one single image is a stress reaction of the bone. So basically a precursor to a stress fracture, ugh! I guess I made the right decision to stop running last week. Good news: I am cleared to run Boston and the doctor said "it will not break at mile 10". I can do any other activity that does not cause pain, which is pretty much everything else: biking, elliptical, pool running, walking. Bad news: I am not cleared to run yet. Right now I feel 80% better then I did a week ago and should be 100% in the next week but can't do too much and risk further issues. We talked about calf strengthening and getting a DEXA scan to see why...

I am out, at least for now. After an awesome feeling 22 mile run on Sunday Tuesday's hilly run was slow and achy but not the worst yet. Wednesday I tried a 10 mile interval run and it sucked! Started out with kid and dog aiming for 4.5 miles and planning another 5-6 with only the BOB. By the time I finished the first loop I was in pain and walking, so I dropped off the dog at home and decided to skip the rest and instead walk/run to the store with the BOB to grab a few veggies for dinner. By the end of what totaled 7 miles I was feeling okay, I think the starting and stopping with the dog wasn't helping anything. Based on Wednesday's run Thursday became a bike day with 1 hour on the trainer in the morning and then a 2 mile family walk after dinner. Friday I made up some running miles with 1 hour on the elliptical and then did some strength and core before work. I just couldn't hold back after work with temps of 80 and sunny I had to at least attempt a run to the store,...

Look what my friend the UPS man brought (along with two new pairs of compressions socks)! If it isn't running clothes/shoes then he brings me wine, I think he is my best friend! Love the Boston jackets this year, now to convince myself to wait another 6 weeks to open the packaging. Not sure if I think it is okay to wear it until marathon weekend, that has got to be some sort of bad karma. So there it sits, bag still sealed. 6 weeks from today on our 10th anniversary we leave for Boston and I will let myself open it then. February left with a bang and March is here melting all the remains of the snowstorm with forecasts in the 50s next week. February was a good month for workouts, I kept with my goals of cross training and even got in 2 pilates classes at the end of the month and swam once, a huge accomplishment considering it has been 3 years since my last swim! I logged... 222.4 miles running (a great higher mileage month despite the calf issues) 5 hours 15 min on th...