The Journey

I was watching the finishers in the IRONMAN competition cross the finish line. It wasn't the professionals that I was interested but the ones walking to the finish line. I watched them cry and kiss the ground, it made me a little teary.

My new frontier... the triathalon.



I feel like once I finish this marathon that I will physically be able to do anything. I can make it happen. I start my plan for my fitness life. I can do it.



In 7 short days, I will be at the start line with my teammates thinking about what I have done to prepare for this moment. We can do it.



See you at the finish line Raptors.

So McKnitty sends her e-mail that the BIG day is fast approaching and the only think I can think of is....

Arrgghhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just go a knot of nerves on my stomach!!!!! I’m excited and scared! I feel I’m ready, but then I don’t think I am! I DO feel like training more, but my shins tell me NOT to, because I do run much better when I rest them properly. ...and take my Motrin! No! I don't take it before any run!!!! I've read on I must say my biggest fear is having to go to the bathroom... you know... go, go!!!! Nerves do that to me.... SO if you all see my sprint into a casino...... well.... I had to go! Heee...heeeLike always, I don't get tired of thanking McKnitty (she may get tired of hearing it/reading it) for getting me off my a----- to do this. I must say it is one of the craziest, irrational, challenging things I've ever gotten myself into. Getting jumped into a gang was easier than this... JUST KIDDING!!!!!! It wasn't easier..... JUST KIDDING! I'm not a former gang banger (Vata Loca)! No really...........Tia really motivated me and “intimidated” me (in a good way) because I would tell Maria (Kostin), “lets run because Tia is going to get mad if she sees us walking!” Tia scared me!!! I didn't want her scolding me about how I should be running not walking four months into our training! I must admit, there were a few times that we saw her coming and we'd start running and pretend we had never walked.... Sorry!!!! Heee heeee…. But hey, thanks to that fear, I can now jog/run/move 10 miles without walking!!!!!! Woohooo!!!!! A huge "Thanks!" to Maria for being my “pacer”!!!! We did it!!!!!!! Wow! 9 more days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Vegas here we comeI don’t know if I’ll ever do another marathon, but I definitely want to keep running! Oh, did I mention, I motivated my husband to join me in running the 1/2 marathon in Vegas!!!!

10 Mile Run

I'm a little behind on my blogging, but I can't go without saying that jogging those 10 miles on that awful windy Saturday morning was on of the best days of my life! I have never felt so good in my life... well maybe I have, but you know what I mean! I have NEVER in my life been able to run, much less run a whole 10 miles without stopping (walking)!!!! I thank Maria for pacing me, but I still lagged a good minute behind her and all I could think to make myself feel better was, "remember, you're NOT slower, you are just carrying 55 more pounds than her." As long as I could see her at a close distance, I was okay.... We got to Josh and the boys pretty quickly that we didn't even stop for water... boy was I sorry I didn't take a sip because the next water station was nowhere to be seen!!!! We were thankful when we saw the water fountain! Those posted mileage signs on the side of the path really stink.... I think they calculated wrong! We never saw Tia's 5 miles sign and ran until we hit the "Turn back Earl." Once we hit all that dirt path I kept thinking... are we going the right way??? I didn't see many runners that far and I was just waiting for the path to reach a dead end....actually I was praying that the path would reach a dead end, but it never did! Once we saw the Earl sign Maria and I turned around and started back just to find that the damn wind not only held us back, it had us screaming for more kleenex! It felt good to get back on the path and then....there it was... our 5 miles sign!!!! Then it was back to those mind teasing mileage signs that seemed to be getting further and further apart! I have to say that towards the end I don't know if I would call what we were doing running, jogging or waddling.... I was just glad that I was moving in a way that was NOT walking! I kept telling myself I want to stop and walk the rest of the way... so I started saying, I'll start walking as soon as this song is over... when it was over I felt I could go a bit further, so I would tell myself, okay when THIS song is over... and that's how I managed to get to the end! Maria and I were ecstatic to have jogged the entire ten miles. Since we had gone an extra mile, we walked back a mile which was a great cool down. My shins weren't killing me and I felt great!!!! We went for a hearty breakfast and headed home. This run gave me the confidence I needed for the marathon, I'm just going to miss having Maria as my pacer/running buddy in Vegas! We'll be together in spirit! I just pray that I can do it one more time in Vegas!!!!!!

11/15 Gone with the Wind

A light breeze my butt!

It was less "tomorrow's another day" and more "Frankly dear, I don't give a damn."

We all started out nice and slow towards the dawn. At the 2 mile mark suddenly the temp picked up and so did the wind blowing some fun dandelion seeds into our mouths.

When we got back to the start line we still had 14 lovely miles to tackle but it was away from the sun and against the wind so it was a quick run UNTIL I had to pee, luckily I didn't have to use the scary bathroom (Children's Memorial Park).

Jas set up all of our water stations and Chicka (who was under the weather) was waiting for us at the 7.5 mile mark.

Around the area of Tucson's Stonehenge, we crossed paths with our halfers, Coco and Yuma, who were red in the face. They told me that there was NO water at the water station and that there was NO mark at the 5 mile point so they ran until they found the "Turn around Earl" sign from 2 weeks ago which is actually, 6 miles!!! Awesome ladies.

I was so mad at whoever took the water, why would you need a 78 cent bottle of water! Thankfully, Jas went back out and dropped us off some extra water. He also gave me a gel and waited for Dolce to come around the bend. This was the time that I think her battle was at it's peak. She was about a mile behind Earl and I and was slowing more and more.

Around mile 12, Earl schooled me and I was struggling with tightness in my knees. I felt like they would buckle at any minute.

Jas was at mile 15 with my baby girl, which was the best sight of my life, I was tearing up and I began to believe in what I was doing again.

At mile 16, my babies were waiting and this time with some COLD Gatorade.....mmmmm.... I was also breaking at this point. I started my downward spiral. I began to think," I can't do this. It hurts too bad. Why am I doing this? I can just call Jas and say I was sick and go home. I can make an excuse and no one will think less of me. I can go home. Maybe I'll quit my training. I'll say that I can't do it. Mentally, I'm not going to make it. My knees hurt so bad, what if I'm hurting myself?"

To get myself out of the funk, I began to just push through and think, "I can do it. I can do it. I'm going to make it. I'm going to make it." I had to carry those thoughts in my head for a full half mile before my mind got off the pain and the other issues I was having.

They always talk about the last legs of the marathon being a mental game and it's true. When I realized I had 5 miles left, I was so beat down but I had to start telling myself, "You are going to run this ONE MILE AT A TIME." I ran for 1 mile and I was 1 mile closer to home. Each step was towards the finish. It was so hard, so painful. Usually, I try to keep up a happy mood for my teammates but it was difficult this time with the wind and the heat. I started to really reconsider training for another one, why would anyone do this more than once? I think because it feels damn good when your done. I was thinking while I was into my last 2 miles about how much I HATE RUNNING. I HATE RUNNING.

At mile 19.5 I got a sad text from Dolce saying that she didn't have anything left in her to finish. She got to mile 17 and had to call it a day. I don't know how to comfort her because that has to be devastating to know that you had such a close call.

In the end, Earl and I had a decent run, not one that we would do again anytime soon but worth it because who else other than those of few can say that they have run 20 miles. I can say that, I ran 20 miles what did you do today?

I love the pain. I enjoy walking like I've just endured painful surgery into IHOP and eating a ham steak, eggs and pancakes. I love feeling the salt on my forehead because I know I pushed my body to a level that on 2% of the world's population will know.

I will finish the marathon. Even if it's on my hands and knees.

The miracle isn't that I finished but that I had to courage to start.

VEGAS!!!!

I totally second and third all said sentiments about the 18 miler last weekend. I am SO looking forward to a short 8 miles this coming Saturday!!!

In other news...I've (FINALLY) booked my flight to Vegas!!! Yay!!! Now, all I need to do is register for the actual Marathon on Friday and I'll be good to go!! Sweet!!!

Happy Running!!! See y'all on Saturday in Sahuarita!

18 Miles Part 2

I forgot my Nike+ Sensor, I finished the 10 miler at more than a 15 minute mile pace was still weighing heavily on my mind, and I was starting to feel sick Sat. morning. So I had a few obstacles to overcome even before I started running.


I believe my biggest problem was that I set an early pace that was just too aggressive, so I wanted to make sure that I controlled my pace early on 13 to 13.5 minute miles that was my goal. I came up with a scheme of walking .5 miles and then running the other half to loosen up the muscles and guard against going out too fast, but I felt so good at the two mile mark and I realized that my pace was a little more that 13.5 so I figured why not continue this mode of operandi since I had such a long way to travel. As MacKnitty commented I saw them around their 7 mile mark and I was at a little more than 4 I think, and I was feeling good. By the time I reached the 12 mile mark, my feet were hurting, like the blood wanted to burst out of the skin, but I was otherwise in a good physical state. The half and half technique was paying dividends. That was until I reached Oracle which was the 15 mile mark. On the turn, I felt a twinge of a cramp in my left calf muscle as I started the running portion of my mile. But I immediately stopped, strectched and massaged the offending appendage, and it seemed to have resolved the issue. But about a half a mile later it twinged again and I stopped running. But it didn't go away, in fact the front of my leg started cramping which really worried me seeing as I had no idea of how to stretch the muscles in the front of your leg. But I eased up my walking pace and hoped that I could trudge through. At about the 16.5 mile mark I felt good again so I thought to try and run .25 mile, but as I started my hamstring started to cramp. It was at this point I felt in danger of not being able to complete the run. Yet I continued to gut it out. At 17.5 my calf was hurting at every step, my hamstring was sore and to top it off, my thigh started to cramp as well. The frustrating part was that even though my left leg was packing it in, I wasn't tired. So, with the strength of my right leg, I managed to drag the weak one in and still had an average time of 13 minutes 45 seconds per mile.


The next morning, my calf, groin, hamsting, and thigh muscles were all sore almost unbearably. After I got up and stretched, my calf was the only thing that continued to give me static. Otherwise I felt good and full of energy, so much so, that I went and did a little weight lifting that afternoon.

I lost almost 7lbs during the run and I think I lost a lot of water which is what led to the cramping. It wasn't that hot but the heat and dryness probably is what contributed to my cramping just as it caused dehydration in MacKnitty.

I to am looking forward to my run this evening, even after the pain I endured this weekend. So it seems as if I'll have to request that rubber room next to MacKnitty so friends and family can get a two fer when they come to visit.

Eat my dust...

I love morning run. I just hating having to stumble out of bed. I know that once I begin I'll be loving it but at that moment, I have to play the mental game with myself , I have to remind me that I'm doing this for a long term goal. I am doing this for me.

Once I start the run, it makes me feel so good, it makes my lungs feel clean and clears my mind and prepares me for my day. I think about how my day will pan out sometimes it causes anxiety, like today with observations up the wazoo.

Today, was easier than I thought it would be. I am still feeling lots of soreness in my hamstrings and it felt like a sore ankle but once I started, it's like it melted away.

I was running easy and smooth. I even picked up the pace at the end of the run, dropping 30 seconds off of my mile.

It's going to be a good day.

AM playlist
Eye of the Tiger Survivor
A Cartel
Umbrella Rhianna
Chasing Cars Snow Patrol
Let Her Cry Hootie & The Blowfish
Heartbreaker will.i.am
To Live & Die In L.A. 2Pac
Bed J. Holiday
Rainy Dayz Mary J. Blige Feat. Ja Rule

Just Slap me!

I always think of myself as tough, physically but when my body goes it's pretty messed up.

This run was pretty, it was the aftermath that wasn't so pretty.

Dolce and I left before Earl got there because we knew that we would be out on the course upward of 3 and half hours. For Dolce, the run didn't start out too hot, she had to rely on some "shady beans" instead of her usual CLIF SHOTS.


I got something new this time around, it was Black Cherry with Caffiene which was awesome! I also tossed in some peanut M&M's to outset my hunger and to motivate me. I tried to eat one every 2 miles but I had to keep taking out my gum and then the peanuts would get all stuck in the gum.

I got new shoes on Friday night so I was feeling pretty snazzy, along with my long sleeve tech shirt, I was feeling really special. I also had a new playlist of new songs playing so, I was rolling along. Dolce and I trotted along nicely for 7 miles, running part of the path that was completely new to us was exciting. At mile 7, there was a hawk sitting on the railing, just chill. We passed Early shortly after, he was looking strong.

I was feeling really strong all the way back to the start point. I turned around and knew that I needed to run out 3 miles and back again. I passed Dolce on the way and said, "5 more miles" but she didn't look too happy at that point.

I started to die out at the 13 mile mark. I began to really resent running. I thought, "why should I finish?" or "I can just walk in." or "Who's really going to know that I didn't finish my run?" My legs begun to block out the pain and just drag behind me. I get to a point when all I think about is the ice bath and dry clothes at the end of the line. My neck was the sorest part of my body.I was so tired at the end but happy.

I sat down and felt like peeing and passing out at the same time. I got up to go to the car to change my shirt and suddenly I felt like someone just slapped me across the face. I got out of the car and dry heaved into the bushes while sweat flowed down my face and onto the ground. I hobbled back to Jas and Dolce when suddenly I felt like the world was spinning and everything went white. My vision returned but in technocolor, there were splotches everywhere. (After consulting Dr. Internet, I self-diagnosed myself with heat exhaustion)I needed to get into a cool area and soon. I slowly recovered and limped into the Village Inn.

I didn't do ice bath and was achy all day so, ice bath is my friend and so is a nap..... I'm on the road again tomorrow so I can do this again in two weeks.

Am I crazy? Why would I do something so painful every weekend?

That.......was a BITCH!

I apologize if I have offended anyone, but this was the only description that even comes remotely close to what I went through for those nearly 4 hours. The good news was that I was able to determine that my poor performance in the 10 miler a couple of weeks ago was due to the fact that I started out too aggressively. The bad news was that at around the 15 mile mark all the muscle's in my left leg started cramping. So I will have to work on getting enough nutrition in my body to avoid the late stage cramping. I got some additional things to say, but I am just so tired I can't type coherently so I will get some rest and try again later......