moving on. going for the half.

Now that I've finally had what I consider a very successful marathon (considering my history) it's time to re-focus. I gave myself a week post-Chicago to eat, be lazy, and generally not care about being healthy, or care about life whatsoever. Well. I lie. I gave myself until Monday of this week to do that. But now I'm back in training mode and looking forward to finally having the chance to work on speed. I have my eye on the Overland Park Gobbler Grind Half Marathon, November 21.

I've decided on a time goal, taking the massive hills (that don't exist in wichita to use for training) into consideration I'm going to shoot for a time of 1:57, which would still be a five minute PR). Hold up, can I just get a little shout out for admitting my goals here, because I'm totally that girl who is terrified to put stuff like that out there. Time goals? I don't post those! Because I might fail! But look at me, posting goal times all nimbly bimbly. Go ahead, roll your eyes, then tell me good luck. Thanks. Moving on.

If it weren't hilly I'd shoot for 1:54, but since Wichita has limited half marathons I have to work with what's in my budget. Which means a lot of Kansas City area races, seeing how I have free lodging and it's close to home (and i get to see some killah friends natch). This leaves me little option other than doing a hilly half marathon this fall, but I think it will be fine, just not as speedy as if I were doing it in the flatland.

Like I said, now that I'm finished with the marathon I'm ready to focus on speed and will just hope to sweet baby Jesus I don't get injured training at the paces that I have in mind. Speedwork, mile repeats and tempo runs are going to be my besties the next five weeks. I'm not sure why, but I have a huge bone to pick with both the half marathon distance and the Gobbler Grind (even though i've never run it before, which was due of course to injury). So brace yourselves, I'll be back to posting random blather and whining about how much my scrawny little leggies hurt over the next five weeks! Because not only do I have my eye on the half marathon prize but I also have another lofty goal to achieve before the end of the year. I'm not ready to divulge that yet. Maybe I will after Saturday.

Training Week 1 - Gobbler Grind 1/2:
Monday = LAZ.E., eat a lot of fatty deliciousness and sleep all day - done
Tuesday = 5 miles and yoga - done
Wednesday = 6 easy miles with the running group and yoga - done
Thursday = 7 miles with 3 x 1600s at 7:49 pace (i'm expecting tears and the inability to breathe, but that pace is conservative according to mcmillian's pace suggestions based on my last 10k race time) and yoga
Friday = Easy 6 miles
Saturday = WSU Pumpkin Run 5K (hoping for a PR, even if only by a few seconds, gotta beat 24:36), please note I'm apparently running this race with Bat-Girl... uh huh. Yeoop.
Sunday = 10 miles with the girls

Let's hope I don't injure myself. But seeing how I went through the whole marathon training process injury free, and am feeling really strong, I'm ready to give training at a shorter distance a good hard solid shot in the ass. I'm a girl on a mission. I'll keep you posted. Wish me luck!

rosstoberfest 5k

A week before Chicago I decided to run the 3rd Annual Rosstoberfest 5K. The first two years this race was held I was relegated to cheering the runners on from my front yard while hanging out on crutches. This year I was excited I could finally run it. Although I wanted to race it, with Chicago looming and all my focus on that, I decided to take it easy. Thankfully my original running buddy Katie had a half marathon the next week as well so we decided to run it casually together. It worked out perfectly!

So although I want to PR at a 5K at some point this year (perhaps at a race i'm doing this saturday, we'll see, i never assume in racing, ever) the Rosstoberfest wasn't the race for that. But I loved it, the course goes past my house twice and through the streets that I run on a weekly basis. I loved running by my house, having Edder and Milo out there waiting for me (thankfully milo realized he wasn't supposed to run out and join me, he often tries to chase me if i run by the house when he's outside or i take off on a run without him) and all the cheering from my neighbors that were out didn't hurt either. I think that was the best part of the race, seeing so many people I knew out in their yards cheering everyone on. It felt good to run on home turf. I don't have a lot to say about this race except the weather was amazing and the running company I had next to me the entire time was even better. It's a race I hope to continue doing for many years to come.

I finished in 25:05, that was good enough for a fourth place AG finish. I'll totally take it seeing how I was holding myself back the entire race. It goes against every fiber of my being not to go out and run hard in a shorter race. According to my pace calculator (that sounds ridiculously nerdy) that was exactly 8 minute miles. How's that for consistency? What's bizarre about that is the fact that I ran Chicago in exactly 10 minute miles, guess I'm on a roll with even mile splits? Quite random.

After the race Katie and I ran into Lacy who had won the women's division of the race (congrats again lacy) and then we jogged back to my house and that was that. We decided to pass on the beer and brats offered post race, something about having that at 9 in the morning just wasn't appealing. So we didn't stick around long and I'm sure I missed some other people I knew out there. Bummer.

That's all I have on that. Well, that and a picture I pilfered from Lacy from the race (thanks for that lacy!)

*katie, myself and lacy post rosstoberfest*

Rosstoberfest 5K
Garmin Time = 24:57

Official Time = 25:05

4/59 Age Group

124/494 Overall

the chicago marathon | 10.10.10.

Redemption is sweet. No. Redemption is badass. I know, because I finally got it on Sunday at the Chicago marathon. All the hard work, the tears, the past failures, the mind numbing fear, the emotional and physical exhaustion of it all... it paid off. Finally. The third time really is the charm. I could go on and on with that stuff, but I won't. So here's the goods.

Official Chicago Marathon Finishing Time:
4:22:08

It was hot, really hot. At mile 20 we saw a Bank sign that said 86 degrees, at the finish line we heard 91 degrees. All the stupid hot and humid runs paid off for the Kansas girls. Our saving grace was that there was little humidity, so the heat was bearable. I have so much to say, so many pictures coming, and just so many thoughts that I don't know where to start.

I had the pleasure of running this race with a lot of friends, in all (with friends of friends and dad's) there were eight of us who all knew each other there running together. We even started together which was so much fun. It really helped calm my nerves honestly. Out of the eight, four of us had PRs, those are pretty great odds in my opinion. The fantastic news was that everyone had a great race, despite the heat. It was pretty incredible really.

So instead of blathering on and on, I'm just going to highlight it in a list, of course. Would I do it any other way? Later I'll try and post pictures and write stories, or maybe not. I'm still holding this race pretty close to my heart (which is the biggest reason I haven't posted on it yet), some things I just like to keep inside (believe it or not) and cherish.

So let's get listy.

10 Things From Chicago 10.10.10:
1. I ran that marathon with so much hope and work invested, and it paid off. I never once felt like I was pushing myself, I kept an easy pace and I had a blast. I wouldn't change a thing about how I ran it, or the time I got. I am beyond thrilled.

2. Snagging a 41 minute marathon PR. I'm still sort of in disbelief I did that, in all honestly I was expecting my time to be around 4:45.

3. Sharing this experience with remarkable women who I love dearly. This marathon will always mean a lot to me, it was a truly priceless experience.

4. Mile 10.3 or so, I had the chance to run over to my family who were there cheering us all on and stop (sort of) to say hi and smile at them. It was fantastic getting to really see them! I had called the Edder a few miles beforehand to see where they were going to be, so we could be prepared for a photo op of course, he assumed something went horribly wrong. I was thrilled to tell him all I wanted to know is where they were going to be. Then he was all... WHO CALLS SOMEONE DURING A MARATHON... um. Me. Because uh, just keep reading.

5. Like I mentioned, and as I'm sure a lot of you heard, Chicago was HOT. There were a lot of runners suffering that day, I heard a lot of ambulances, saw a lot of runners on the side of the road, saw some vomiting, limping and saw some tears. The looks on the faces alone were heart breaking for me. I can honestly say I wanted to run over to each and every one of those runners and give them a hug and tell them I know exactly how they felt... and that it would be okay, eventually. That the physical pain and bruised ego fade and it will be okay. Every time I heard an ambulance I cringed... I think that was the most difficult part of the marathon for me, seeing the carnage, knowing exactly what those runners were feeling. It was rough out there on Sunday.

6. Running through Boy's Town. Whooo do those boy's have some spirit, they can sure entertain some runners, hands down my favorite spot on the course! From their shortie shorts, to sparkly jazz hands, boas and batons, to the cheer routines. Just spectacularly hilarious and fun.

7. Calling my lovely and badass running buddy Hannah at mile 7.5 while she and the Wichita running group were around mile 5 in the Prairie Fire Marathon at home (that race started later than Chicago). Good stuff.

8. Seeing some great signs along the way, including a huge banner and stick heads of one guy asking a girl to marry him. Precious and heart melting. My other favorite sign was one that read "you are all very good at exercising." I laughed over that one for a good mile.

9. Calling The Lawyer a few minutes after finishing to tell her my time and just plain talk to her. Hearing her voice, her excitement for me, the squealing, it was all I needed to complete my finish. Period.

10. Crossing the finish line with a huge smile on my face.

represent.

All I've got to say is represent.

This was taken around 5:30 this morning by my Hannie-Pie, of Lea and I sporting our Chicago pride. At Starbucks, after of course, a five mile run that started at 4:30a and on three hours of sleep for Lea and I. A run I wouldn't have traded for all the sleep in the world.

Four days interwebs. Four days.

six days to chicago.

Hold on a second, I need to go throw up thanks to writing out that title. Okay, all good. This is going to be short and sweet, no mileage listings (i don't have time to go back and look right now), or waxing poetic about what's to come and what's been, or sharing just how scared I might be (i'm admitting nothing). Just putting it out there that Chicago is in six days (what? like the entire universe isn't revolving around the chicago marathon?)

I'm taking off Friday and will be heading to the glorious city of Chicago (i really love that city) with some amazing friends and family for five days. I've had my ups and downs the past week, and for now I'm just trying to focus on staying positive, not letting the demons from OKC get in my head, staying healthy, resting and focusing on running a race with some incredible and fun women who I love dearly.

Although I don't leave until Friday for the windy city, it feels like the festivities are starting sooner. My dear friend Lea who means the world to me, and who we bonded strongly over bad marathons past, moved to California last winter. Wichita hasn't been the same since she left, but she is coming 'home' tomorrow and I get to spend the next week pretending that she lives here again and that life is back to how it was when she was here. I think I'm more excited about that for the week than anything else.

My week is going to be hectic, I have no idea if I'll even post again before I leave. Although I want to since I got to finally run the Rosstoberfest 5K on Saturday, it was important for me to run it (i've been on crutches the past two years and couldn't race it) since it's in my neighborhood and goes right by my house. I didn't PR or do anything fantastic, just ran at a comfortable pace with my original running buddy Katie. Regardless it was a special race for me and dang it I wanna write about it.

For now, I'm going to try and settle my nervous and excited belly and focus. Realize I've trained and done the work, now I just have to trust and have faith it will pay off and ignore the tweaky aches and pains that are hopefully mostly in my fluffy little head. I'm going to focus on the amazing trip I'm about to take, on getting everything done to leave in time, on the precious time I'll have with my girlfriends, and running one of the best marathons in the world. And hopefully running it well, you know, like a virgin marathon (i'm reclaiming my marathon virginity by the way, the last two just don't count anymore, i deem it so, and so it is). In fact, I am now inspired to slap some Madonna on my marathon playlist... Cheers to running my third marathon for the first time.

Happy Monday interwebs, take care of yourselves this week and get ready for those races next Sunday!