Marathon Coupon Code

Hey Hey!

So... I know everyone loves a good deal.  So, if anyone is interested in running the Rock & Roll Nation's Capital Marathon on March 17, 2012  I have a coupon code for you.

For $10 off of the race entry use coupon code: 11RNRMG and then happy racing.   I would totally do it; however, that is my bachelorette party weekend, but I decide to still share the wealth with you.

sticking to the goals. and my guns.

The Chicago Marathon registration opened this week.  The few friends I do have in Chicago from college and 1 from high school are marathoners too (YAY) and they wanted me to do it A LOT.  But if you remember, I said NO MARATHONS IN 2011.  ....and it was hard to say no. and no again. and no some more.

I want to run Chicago.  Just not this year.  My job is SO busy that I cannot even fit in a bathroom break more than 2 times a day (and man do I drink water from my SIGG water bottle) so how would I fit in marathon training.  Plus one of my greatest and bestest friends is getting married the following Saturday so I can't miss 2 weekends of football and I cannot waddle down the aisle!

So I said no.  But mark my word.  Chicago in 2012. Doing it. And that is a promise.

marine corps marathon goals.

with marine corps being too close for comfort and many people talking about the race on twitter, i decided this is a GREAT time to set some goals and focus in on them. so without further ado, goals for marine corps marathon 2010.

start slow. don't like the excitement get to me. remember to pace myself. remember to breathe in and out. remember that i have to finish.
5k: 33 minutes. (10:18 pace)
10k: 1 hr 10 minutes (11:17 pace)
10 miles: 2 hours (12:00 pace)
half way, 13.1: 2:35 (11:49 pace)
:: i figure this is where i am gonna start really slowing down and moving slower and going to have to really start pacing myself ::
beat the bridge: the bridge is right before the 20 mile mark and is raised. if you do not make it to the bridge by the time it is raised you pretty much fail. you're not allowed to finish. i must be at the bridge at the latest by 4 hours and 4o minutes (14:00 pace even). i will write 4:40 somewhere on my body to push myself there. i will beat the bridge. honestly, this is the thing that is scaring me the most.
last 6.2: dedicate 1 mile to 1 person. run that 1 mile for them so it will push me to keep going and keep me from walking too much.
finish time: 5:40 (12:40 pace)

so who am i gonna dedicate each mile to for the last 6.2? I will let you know when I know. It will probably be game time decisions and you'll find out in my race recap. until them... happy training to everyone that is aiming for the marine corps medal. :o)

i finished disney in 5:53:21 which was a 13:29 pace... so I am hoping to shave off 13 minutes...

Marine Corp Marathon – Imma runnin’

Today the registration for the 35th annual Marine Corps Marathon opened up at noon. I rushed back to my office this morning from a sales appointment I had Downtown to get ready to register to run. I had just as many nerves signing up as I do when approaching the start line on actual race day.

Long story short – I am IN!  Evidently, this is a popular race that fills up quick and they were not joking.  Last I heard there was 11,676 people registered (and that was at like 4:00 pm today)  …. 8,550 people registered in the 1st hour… so I guess this is a pretty big deal!!

I think it is funny because after running Disney my mom mentioned that I needed a 26.2 sicker for my car and I told her “nah” since I was never going to run another marathon again.  I proclaimed the same thing on my blog and I was told by many people to rethink it and that they knew I would do another one eventually.  But one person told me something different and I guess I have to take a moment and say Michael B. was 100% right.  He told me (and I quote him): “my prediction? by the end of the year you will have run another marathon. i'm just sayin'” …. well, Michael were right! :o)

206 days till race day!  Time to get running and moving and ready for this!   …Just checking another race off my marathon bucket list.

January Recap.

One of my resolutions that I made was to everyday right down what I was thankful for and then I wanted to do a "monthly recap" of the biggest things I am thankful for from the month that just passed. So, let me begin.

1. The fact that I ran a marathon. I am so thankful for the fact that I have been given the ability to walk, run, skip, everything. ...It is something that people take for granted every day and it was something I realized after I ran, walked, and skipped 26.2 miles.
2. I am wickedly thankful for my family and office mates/people I work with. My Mom, Dad, Branch Manager, and her fiancee trekked to Orlando with me to watch me run a marathon in 20 degree weather. It really makes you realize that you are loved and there are people who want to support something you really love doing. I also had so many messages of congrats/I am proud of you/you have motivated me to do one messages from people at my company. My co-workers also PUSH me to get out the door at run for a hour during work hours. If I don't it is because I am lazy!
3. My boyfriend. As much as I complain about him, he does support my running goals and ambitions. He doesn't complain about late dinners anymore and he 100% understands when I want to run an 8am race or hit the gym after work. I think this would be so much harder without him.

Onto another topic. Back in December I decided to set some twenty.ten running and working out goals. So, how did I do? ...Ehh okay, not the best, but it could have been a lot worse. But I am not going to beat myself up over it... this was only month one. I didn't run the 60 miles I had hoped to (I ran 44.49) but that was the highest miles ever for me - so that is an accomplishment. I have started to work in cross training - not as much as I want to - but I have started to. Spin class, rocks. Do it. Love it. Embrace it. (I go on Thursdays at LA Fitness in Buckhead ... join me!) ...I have not done hill training, I slept through my first 10k of the year -- but I needed the sleep more than the miles TRUST ME -- but I have tried to work on pace. ...Runners World just has put me at a slower than I would like pace. I will just have to have a little more dedication next month. And well... now that my office is fully moved into our new space, I will be able to get out for some mid-day runs!

I am not going to look at January as a failure because I have not stuck to my resolutions, but a milestone because I ran my first ever marathon. :) :) :) ....February will be better! I can feel it!

Change of Heart.

So. On Sunday I was swearing off 26.2 miles - everyone was telling me congrats and welcome to the marathon club and that I was a marathoner! ...I was laying in bed wanting to cry and die all at the same time. I had never been in so much pain in my life. Everyone kept telling me the cliche saying of "the pain is temporary but the pride is forever" ... I was hearing blah blah blah. Well I went home to Atlanta, soaked in Epsom salt, loved on frozen peas and corn, and rested my poor little (err.. long) legs.

So here I am, Wednesday after the race and sure it still is painful to walk depending on the surface - my right knee and both hamstrings are in pain so I scheduled a 4:15 sports massage for tomorrow afternoon ... but other than that I feel fine and I am more excited about finishing a marathon than I am about finishing college. (Sorry mom and dad, but thanks for all the school you paid for!) So, I am going to let myself be a marathoner.

Don't get the wrong idea though... I am not going to dive in head first and do another. I don't think 2010 is going to be the year of the marathon. Nor do I think I will do another full in this calendar year. I think I am going to focus on perfecting my 10k and getting to the point that the 10k is my 5k (no longer a real challenge) and spend my time running half marathons. I think I will do some 5ks for fun with friends and try to PR, but I really do want to focus on distance and building up mileage. There are three more half's I want to do this year and then hit 2011 and see where I am running wise. I want to focus more on pace and endurance and taking training seriously before I attempt another 26.2 ... I want to become a "smart runner".

So Disney, thanks ... it was a great time, I think it would have been easier if I had actually put in the miles and trained. And 26.2 .... I will be back, just give me a year or so and I will come after you with a vengeance! :o) I am going to be a card holding member of the marathon club, I will start swiping it again in a year or so. But for now, I am just going to enjoy the running and get to a point where training for a marathon will be second nature.

Next on the schedule? A 10k at the end of January, followed by another 10k in Febuary, and then ING in March. I want to finish ING in 2:30 which is quicker than Nike and my half split at Disney so wish me luck! :o)

Oh Disney. Thanks for 26.2.

Firts things first. I am officially a marathoner. Booya. 26.2 in one morning. Completed by me. Rock on. And the make the weekend even better... my Alabama Crimson Tide were titled the National Champions. I guess us Nick Saban followers accomplish greatness. :o)

Where to even begin. Let me start with the truth of I did not really train for this event. I took on the slacker training program, yet again. ugh. Going into 26.2 I had run 13.1 in October, but since then I don't think my miles hit more than 6. Whoops?! Onto the race -- The race was absolutely freezing - so cold people had ice forming on them where they were sweating and the water stops were pretty icy on the ground (I wonder if anyone took sponges at mile 17? I sure as hell didn't). So much for sunny Florida. I don't know the exact temps of the start, but I think it was in the 20's somewhere and it never really warmed up. Well, I never fully warmed up. The race starts with fireworks which, honestly, was pretty bad ass. I cannot tell you too much about the mile markers because well I was in so much of a trance that I was just trying to finish and get out of the cold. But I will tell you that running through the parks is pretty freaking awesome. And Disney is not as flat as you would think, or maybe it's just the exit ramps they have you run up - but I was not hill trained for this and that was a downfall for me. ...I guess it is back to running parking garages for me. HA!

I was really looking forward to running through the castle, but running up to Epcot and through Epcot in the dark was pretty magical. I loved Animal Kingdom, but then again that has always been a favorite for me. Hollywood Studios was nothing I remembered it being but I thought it was pretty much awesome, but that was the same for a lot of the parks. A lot of the race was access roads - more roads and less parks - which made for quite a challenge because the roads were so tight and there were so many runners and not a lot of spectators ... but it was manageable. I don't know why, but I had so so so much more energy in the parks than I did on the access roads. I saw my branch manager and her fiancee at mile 12 or so and they claim I was still looking good (I will see the pictures and decided). I never saw my family but they said they saw me ... I think they stayed in the car the whole time. HA. I hit mile 13 at a total high and by mile 15 I was starting to feel the pain. I must hit the pavement harder on my right side because by mile 20 my ankle, knee, hamstrings, and hip were killing me. I hit the wall around mile 22 ... but I wanted my Mickey so I just kept trucking. I am not going to lie, I pretty much walked the majority of the last 6 miles ... my body felt like it was shutting down and no matter how many times I stopped to stretch and try and work the kinks out I just could not get back in the groove. Running on the boardwalk was pretty, but cold. The resorts are amazing to run through as well, but I was honestly thinking. WHERE IS THE BIG EPCOT BALL?! I saw the Epcot Christmas Tree and I knew I was almost there, but just knowing wasn't enough to get me running - but I trotted and trotted and trotted.

As the lame person I am... I signed up to track myself and get messages of mile markers and I don't think the program worked as well as Disney hoped (seeing my mom didn't get any texts until I got to mile 10). But here were my times according to the race tracker. Mile 5: 59:58 Mile 10: 2:03:27 Half Split (13.1): 2:44:11 Mile 20: 4:21:07 Finish: 5:53:21 --- my dad told me that he had hoped I would finish in 5:30, but my legs were like bricks of pain and I didn't meet my 5 hour time goal, but I knew I had to be done in 6. Just call me a back of the pack runner. I have no pride!

I did set some marathon goals and to be honest, I am unsure if I met the 5k (I think I did) or 10k goal ... but I know for a face I was hitting 13.1 at about 5 minutes quicker than what I had planned. I do not know if I am hooked on this 26.2 thing - around mile 15 I was pretty much over the whole situation, so I may stick to half marathons and leave the full's to those crazy runners. ...or I will ease into another full. Get a few more 10ks and half's under my belt. ING Atlanta is next in March. As my marathon goals say ... I have to do active recovery and get in the groove for 13.1 in a little over a month. Oi Vey. ...most importantly, I was able to cross off 1 race on my marathon bucket list.

Time to bronze my Brooks - they have done 1 half and 1 full. I am never throwing those bad boys away. Never. Needless to say, I am headed for a good rub down this weekend at at Atlanta spa and this week will consist of some rest, a little walking, maybe some light light running, and a few good swims. Next week starts 2010 work out resolutions... hello spin class ... if my legs will move!

Thanks so much to EVERYONE who encouraged me, sent their well wishes, and encouraging texts during the race. I really could not have done this without you. I love you all!! :o)

marathon bucket list.

i know i have only run 1 half marathon and i am kinda sorta preparing for the Disney marathon in January. but let me tell you, i am hooked on the adrenaline rush of all the miles. i have decided that there are a lot of races i am interested in participating in, but i think one of the main reasons i sign up for race after race after race is because i want to see how well i can actually do if i take them seriously and train.

let me be real honest with the world - prior to running Nike in San Fran the most i had run in one swoop was 6.2 miles. i had to run 13.1 with killer hills. i survived. i loved it. now, i am gearing up to run/walk Disney in January. since running my half in October i have not run more than 6 miles. it is because i have been a slacker, i have been sick, and i have been overwhelmed with life. i got my most recent major miles in while home for thanksgiving, when i had no work and no responsibilities. funny how that works huh?!

i hope to have the opportunity to really take this running thing seriously once i knock Disney out and run on a schedule.

*once I run it, I will cross it out and add the link to the review and post race blog*

anyways. onto the races i really want to run in the future.

• Disney Marathon (completed: 1.10.10 - 5:53:21)
• Nike Woman's Marathon
• ING Atlanta - Half. (completed: 3.21.10 - 2:36:53)
• Georgia Marathon - Full
• Kona Marathon
• Surf City Marathon
• Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon
• Shamrock (VA Beach) Half Marathon
• Rocket City Marathon
• Critz Tybee Run. Half Marathon
• Kiawah Island Half Marathon
• Marine Corp Marathon
• Philadelphia Marahon
• Philadelphia Half Marathon
• National Marathon
• Baltimore Running Festival
• NYC Marathon
• BOSTON!
• Chicago
• LA Marathon
• ING Miami
• Kentucky Derby
• ALL the 'rock and rolls' Arizona. VA Beach. Las Vegas, Chicago, Seattle, San Diego, San Antonio, Dallas, Philly, Los Angeles, Denver, San Jose, Nashville, and New Orleans.
  

I know this is quite a list. But I figure I have 20 or so years to knock it out. If you have any suggestions ... throw them my way. I will add to the list as I hear about more! :o)

10 in 2010.

I was thinking about trying to do 10 in 2010 (10 races - combination of full and half marathons). I have started making a list of what races I want to do. So far I can only think of 6. So any suggestions on 4 others let me know - or I just may do 6 because hey we are in a recession and I would need to pay for travel, hotels, and race fees and lets be real ... my paycheck isn't anything you should be envious of.

So here is the list.

• Disney Marathon - 1.10.2010
• ING Atlanta Half - 3.21.2010
• Country Music Marathon (Half) - 4.24.2010
• Rock and Roll Seattle Half Marathon - 6.26.2010
• Rock and Roll VA Beach Hal Marathon - 9.5.2010
• Nike Women's Half Marathon - 10.2010 *exact date. TBD.*

I want to do Marine Corps - but it fell the weekend following Nike this year so I imagine it will do the same next year. So basically I need to make the decision of if I do or do not want to run Nike again or if it is worth not doing Marine Corps for the first time.

Respecting the Mileage.

From day 1 of my attempt to run a half marathon and then switching to a full marathon I have always been told to 'respect the mileage' and when I was committed to the 13.1 I think I did respect it. I think I had my arms and head wrapped around it that this would take some serious determination and effort. And then on a whim I said heck why not... what's another 13.1 to make it 26.2 (???) -- well my friend it's a lot. It's even more when you have so much on your plate you feel like you cannot breathe - that there are not enough hours in the day - that your boyfriend tells you to 'marry your blackberry because you're always on it' - that you're checking your work email at 3am after running to the bathroom - that you wake up at 4am panicking that something will go wrong tomorrow. (I should actually be in bed since I have to be out the door at 6:40 am for a networking event from 7:30am-3:30pm). ...26.2 miles is also a lot when you feel like you don't have the support behind you that you need/want. And when you don't have it from the 1 person you want it most. When the 1 person you want to be your 'at home cheerleader' tells you the paramedics are going to carry you across the finish line [he was semi-joking of course] ...running is a mind game that is effected by both your personal thoughts and those you're surrounded by...

.....so this has been weighing on my mind since I found about the 6 hour limit.... and it's hard to admit since I am someone who has so so so much pride and someone who is constantly setting the bar high ... but for me to even attempt to be in marathon shape and enjoy it is pretty much absurd and I am beginning the realize this. And no, this is not me doubting my abilities... it's me looking my life in the mirror and saying 'something has to give'.

This morning I reached out to my marathon coordinator and told her that I wanted to go back to doing the half, 13.1 miles is enough and all I think I can really commit to at this point in my life. I want to enjoy the experience, I want to look back and say man that was an AWESOME weekend. And I think that if I pushed myself too hard in training I wouldn't be there [my hamstring has started to hurt - my lower legs hurt from time to time] ... and if I pushed myself too hard that weekend I wouldn't enjoy the after party ... I wouldn't enjoy the pre.party if I was fretting the 26.2 the next day. I want to enjoy this experience with Beka.

Plus. Like I was once told. "You can't fun a full without finishing a half" -- and maybe completing the half will give me the confidence to run the heck out of a full. (The full being... Disney 1.10.10)

I am at a point right now where I am in the office from 8:00 am until 7pm at night [no lunch break], drowning, unable to keep up, overwhelmed by the amount of work. Granted... more work = more money for the branch which is something I would never ever turn away. But by the time I get home it's close to 8 and I still have to make dinner. catch up with my boyfriend. spend time with my dog. and running just gets pushed to the wayside. Sure, I could run in the morning - but even at 6:40 when my alarm goes off I am dead.exhausted.praying for 5 more minutes. In 2 weeks life will be better, we have a new girl in the branch starting to take over the recruiting role... she knows what she is doing so the onboarding will be limited. But then my life can get back to some normalcy.

I broke it down with my boyfriend. I told him I was tired of bickering over stupid things that mean a lot to me and that I feel like he does not understand. We agreed that he will wake up Saturday with the dog, and I get from 7 am - 10 am to run/shower/take over and he will go take a nap till he is ready to rise and shine again. He then can sleep as late as he wants on Sunday. If I want to nap... I will fit it in... but I am so active I rarely nap. I let him know that this is something that is so so so important to me and that the miles for the half marathon are way less intimidating than the full marathon. I communicated to him that I was interested in participating in the Disney Marathon in January... so after Nike I wanted to continue and move into training for Disney. And low and behold he agreed and supports me in this new found hobby.

It is a major weight that has been lifted. Less pressure. Just gotta focus. I can now enjoy training. Get active with Team in Training because the miles aren't as 'scary' and I can enjoy the upcoming races I am doing in September -- all 4 zillion of them. So. Basically, I need to get in the groove for this half and then I can focus on the Disney Marathon, which I WILL do and I WILL do the Full.

And with that. I am off to bed. Gotta make connections tomorrow and grow the business of my branch.

:: new shoes :: new week ::

Today was the day I have been waiting for all week... the day I get to start running again. And I didn't even run! As much as I talked about how pumped I was to get back in the groove of training, I did not do any sort of training! However, I did get a new pair of running shoes so when I do go back to it [tomorrow] I will be all set. They're obviously not the pink asics that I have eyed for weeks... but I learned that those pretty little things are not the best for my feet. According to the smart little runner man at Big Peach these bad boys will be good for my mild-pronation. I will keep you posted on how I like them.

So I follow this guy on twitter and he posted an article today listing '27 Way to Run Better' -- and I agreed with a few of them, so I wanted to share them with others.

• Keep a log: Since joining Dailymile & starting this little place to write it has been a way to really track my training. And like my team in training site the encouragement I get from people is insanely motivational.
• Run with others: When I run with my team in training team it is a totally different experience. I have people pushing me farther and farther, while encouraging to be the best I can. Granted, I love the solitude of running alone, jamming out to some tunes, and clearing my mind from the day to day stress.... running with a group is always a good time!
• Enter races: I had never run a formal race until this year. For me, it is 100% a sense of total accomplishment. It shows me how far I really am coming in this world of running and marathon training. When I first started I was at a 14 min or so mile and every week I am improving and getting better.
• Get your clothes ready: This is key for me. After working 9 hours, talking to mean people who do not want me or my company to help with their lack of staffing... running is sometimes not something I want to take on. (Granted, it is an amazing stress reliever) Having everything out reminds me that I have to hit the pavement.
• Don't obsess about it: When I first started this journey to completing my first ever marathon I was freaking out about getting all my training in. Now I just make sure (well... try my best) to get in 5 solid days of running, 1 active recovery day, and 1 solid rest day. The more I pressured myself to stick to the team in training schedule... the more I failed. Now, I run on my time and it is great!!

On... the topic of "entering races" -- I am thinking about doing a half marathon right before my full marathon. And when I mean right before... it is on the 4th of October and my full marathon is on the 18th. The only thing holding me back from signing up right now is being scared of injuring myself right before Nike. But... I really want to see how it feels to run 13.1 in race form. So to all the running pros... do you say 'go for it' or 'heck no do not do it'?!

....So a bit of exciting news. Totally unrelated to Team in Training but 100% related to running. I am thinking a lot about signing up for The Disney Marathon in Orlando this January. It is about 65% full so I need to make a decision fast. But I think it would be another great experience and heck it's only 6 hours away. Road trip anyone?!

Run Barbie Run!

Mood: Drained
Running song of the day: "Fire Burning" ~Sean Kingston

Welcome to the world of Barbie and her wonderful tales of running... and walking. I got this idea from this girl Tammy I am following on Twitter to really track my running and training for San Fran. All in all as most people know it is going really well. I recently decided to push the envelope and do the full marathon rather than the half. 26.2 miles of fun hills, but I heard the course is BEAUTIFUL.

It has been an off week for running for me. I have done about 10 miles total this week (according to my dailymile.com account) and I should be at 16 miles this week. Tomorrow is our GTS (Group Training Session) long run... which is 4 miles... so I have an extra 2 to make up somewhere. I am playing a new game with myself and I have decided right now to run 1 hour per day (with walk breaks of course) and see how far I can go. And everyday I hope to go farther and farther.

Surprisingly, I really am enjoying getting back into shape and running. If you have not done so already, please think about donating to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Of course, I am running mainly in honor of Beka... but this is so much larger than just her. You can go here to make your contribution to the society... http://pages.teamintraining.org/ga/nikesf09/bvines