Tuesday, January 4, 2011

It is official

Yup, slipped completely off the deep-end.  I've gone bananas, crackers.  I'm nuts; N V T S nuts.  I am bib number 1481 for the Portland Marathon in October.  That is marathon number 2 for the year.  This is completely crazy, since I have held for a very long time that people who run marathons are insane.  Who the heck am I to run one let alone two, considering that I only really took this game up last year at this time.

In fact, I can remember being a bit impressed with myself for signing up for two 10K's just three weeks apart.  Who could get ready for that kind of distance that fast?  Hah!  Now I don't even think twice about getting up to go for an "easy 7".  I might even do one of those two 10K's again this year.  The second one is being replaced with a Pikermi.  I even think I know which map on MapMyRun is the proposed course based on Facebook comments with the Run For The Roses folks.  They eluded to both the Friar Trot and the RFTR 10K courses, and there is only one map that uses some of both...kinda easy to figure it out at that point.  AND, since they go right by my house, guess who gets to use the course as a training run.  Home field has its advantages. 


So, I have some work to do before April 10, the first marathon, but I think that I will have a lot of fun with this.  I don't have any time goal, just finish, so I will just run until I feel I can do my best.  I have a neighbor who will be helping me get ready for Portland, and one of her friends is a tri-athlete, and they both have already started to give advice.  ERG, and JGF might as well, but the first bit they offered was to plan at least one long run of 23 miles to hit the wall and to know what that feels like.

So, tomorrow, I will get up and do a 6 mile tempo, I think I will use my 5 mile course as I really know that course, and can add a mile at the end without much trouble.  I will do my best to get to bed at a reasonable time, but DANG-IT there was a new Castle on last night, and I do so like that show.  It is a fairly clever who-dunnit. So I didn't get to bed at a reasonable time, tonight though, there is nothing on that I want to see, and it will be good to crash early.

After that, we will see how this week rolls by.  I got pointed to compression socks last week, and so, I went and got a pair.  Dang, those things kinda work.  Next thing I know I will be trying ice baths.  I get the shivers just thinking about them.  But, I do have a 12 miler scheduled for Saturday, and that might be a good day to test out whether they work.  I don't know, but you will be on the short list of people who find out.

14 comments:

  1. Marathon training requires ice baths. It is true! You can totally do both of those marathons this year. And have fun with them!

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  2. A meat pounder! of COURSE!!!! thanks for being such a great sleuth!

    Wishing you the best with your two marathons! I remember doing an 18 ('race'), a 20 and a 22 in my training. That 22 was so helpful (I imagine the 23 will be even more so). Hitting the wall and knowing you can make it over and keep going is so beneficial. I remember crying while my husband rode the bike next to me in that 22-miler. It was rolling hills (big ones) at the end and I had miscounted how many there were. I thought I had gone up the last one... but I hadn't. Big tears. But I did it.

    You can do it! And yes, ice baths are amazing!

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  3. Is it wrong if I call you NUTS, if I say it to your face? :) LOL!! I get the whole Born to Run stuff, so of course as a biped, you certainly CAN do it...but why?!?! KIDDING!! Sort of ;)

    Nellie
    http://midlifecruiser.blogspot.com

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  4. nuts are for squirrels

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  5. @MidLiFe---You can call me nuts, but then *I'm* not living in a motorhome. ;-p

    Really? Ice baths....Man that hurts just thinking about it.

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  6. Oh you nut you! I've heard portland is a goodie. Enjoy!

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  7. Give yourself to the Dark Side. It is the only way you can save yourelf. Yes, your thoughts betray you. Your feelings may be strong. Do not turn back now. Look only forward......

    I can not wait to read your posts along the way. You need no luck - for you will be great.

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  8. You'll do great, of course!

    But...I never said you need to run 23 miles in training :) SILLY

    Most I've ever done in training is a hair past 22- and I don't run marathons to train for other marathons, either =D

    You will see what works for you. And it will be fun to cheer for you!

    Congrats on registering!!!

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  9. WOW! A yardstick!! You guys musta had some really long rear ends!

    Nellie
    http://midlifecruiser.blogspot.com

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  10. Glad you like your compression socks. I find myself wearing mine for every run now, washing them in the sink between workouts.

    And, about P90X, maybe a bit of a "cult" if you check out their FB fan page, but it really works, especially for men. At the very least, it's a great cross training/weights/yoga plan that I've incorporated into my running routine.

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  11. So what's the story with the RW forum and this Loop thing? I used to hang out on RW A LOT!!! It's such a great resource, and so many nice people out there to answer questions. I had to stop reading it because of all the injuries people were reporting. It was messing with my mind, and I started turning into a running hypochondriac :) Every ache and pain was something dire! Now, I just stop by every rare once in a while just to lurk.

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  12. Compression socks/sleeves are the best. Trust me, I'm a pro!

    Okay, so I'm about as far from pro as you can get, but I still LOVE them! I even wear them sometimes when I'm not running because they feel so nice - and are a total fashion statement!

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  13. Sounds awesome. Not to worry, I've still been around. Just haven't been blogging here or on the Loop lately. I'm trying to be more consistant in my running and blogging.

    Cheers,
    HR

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