tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32080813651452592102024-02-20T02:09:10.049-05:00The Road to DC...Marathon Training BlogKelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-71791689966037046132012-10-03T21:02:00.000-04:002012-10-03T21:02:21.607-04:00Monday Weigh InSoooo the long awaited weigh in post. Sorry its been a few days, but monday's weigh in went pretty good. I felt a lot of pressure to put a decent number since last week i only had 1 pound. So i arrived at boot, i took off my sneakers, i took a deep inhale/exhale and stepped on up. I watched the numbers go and go and finally settle on my new weight. My THREE pound lighter NEW weight! woooooooooooooo!<br />
I was really happy with the number since i sometimes have a few liberties with the food plan. I don't have a "cheat" day, i don't eat whatever i want whenever i want, and i certainly don't eat the way i used to, but from time to time (maybe once a week) i might indulge in a peppermint patty. Ughh i said it, i confessed--i feel so much better!<br />
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On top of that, my new boxing gloves came yesterday. Highlight of my week so far! Now you'd probably assume i got pink gloves. I certainly looked high and low for tie-dye ones, but no dice. So i settled on...cheetah print! Ha yupp true story :-) I looked awesomely ferocious at bootcamp tuesday. And boxing is so much fun, so why not have fun boxing gloves. Now i can lay them down at boot and not wonder whose pink gloves are whose out of the 20 pairs there! Certainly no ones will be confused with mine :-)<br />
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Other than that, not much going on. Just have to wait for next weeks weigh in... with a wedding in between, greaaaaat! lolKelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-77422927766053427052012-09-26T20:13:00.001-04:002012-09-26T20:13:34.789-04:00Monday weigh in and other stuff...So its been a while since i've posted... ugh beginning of school is little busy and i might have been a little over ambitious in wanting to post everyday! Oh well.<br />
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So this weekend i did really well, and played soccer outdoors on a large a$$ turf field and really felt like i held my own. So going into mondays weigh in, i was hoping that my body would have magically lost more weight that i was expecting. No dice! I only lost a pound. I"m happy with a pound, and its always good to lose, but i now know what it feels like to be on the show, the Biggest Loser, and suffer from the dreaded week 2 curse! I vowed i would do better this week.<br />
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However, this week has been a tough go. I bootcamped on monday and it was a good work out... but tuesday i had back to school night and wasn't able to get a work out in between soccer and having to be back, so therefore, no go on working out. <br />
Today (wednesday) i was so exhausted i was laying on the grass watching soccer practice in between drills. I could NOT keep myself awake. I wanted to bail on working out more than anything today, but i forced myself to go to Boot. Turns out, it was an awesome work out (Thanks Jake!) and i was really happy i went. I am not sure i would have been able to make it through a treadmill work out by myself with how i was feeling. <br />
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So as you may have caught on, i haven't had a treadmill work out yet this week, on top of me struggling with my eating-ness is going to make for an interesting weigh in monday.<br />
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I don't mean to "cheat" or anything, but i've been starving the past few days. I try to pick good/healthy snacks, but i just have been eating more than the last two weeks. ugh the stressssss!!<br />
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Anyone have this happen where they feel hungry all the time? its hard hard haaaard to resist temptation when you're hungry all the time. I bring snacks with me when i go places so i don't buy or have something bad, but even still, what used to keep me full when i started this isn't working anymore---seems weird to me that would happen!?<br />
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<br />Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-60972934054820693682012-09-20T21:21:00.000-04:002012-09-20T21:21:01.063-04:00maybe my scale is broken?!?So, not that this is the right thing to do to...but i've been weighing myself daily-ish in between monday weigh-ins... and i'm NOT liking what i'm seeing this week. So far i weigh exactly what i weighed on monday. Ughhhh fail. I know they say that weight can fluctuate daily and yada yada yadaaaa but last week i really saw changes, but not this week. I'm working hard and following the meal plan but i'm not seeing results this week. I guess we will all have to wait until monday to find out.<br />
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Today i pushed myself on that treadmill more than i thought i could! I did my warm up mile and then did my 8 bursts; 4 at 10.0 (6 min mile) and 4 at 10.5 (5:30 min mile)!!!! I took a video of running that quickly as soooooooome people wanted proof, but its really bouncy obviously and might make ya sick to watch. So i pushed through those and felt really good about myself and my work out--which might help fight my blahs from yesterday. Now i need to keep pushing myself to keep that speed up and maybe even go for more!<br />
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Now tomorrow i'm worried too because i'm eating out tomorrow night. I haven't eaten out anywhere since i started the challenge food plan, so i'm feeling really nervous. I don't want to let myself down or be guilt ridden, but i'm worried they won't have something thats what i should be eating. <br />
Anyone with any tips on eating out?!?! Helpppppp!Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-22025764030646360982012-09-19T21:18:00.000-04:002012-09-19T21:18:22.848-04:00Missing: Motivation. If found, please contact!!Yesterday: I ate exactly according to the plan. Even with greg baking cookies at night--i refrained! go me! And i went to the gym and did my run before bootcamp at 5. I wanted to really push myself on the sprint parts--especially since i can not WALK during the recovery :-)<br />
I did my warm up, and then started my 8 sprints at 9.0 for the first 4 sets. I said, i think i can push myself more. I upped it to 9.5 for the next 3 sets. On the last set i went for 10.0 (6 min/mi) and actually completed it! Granted its only for 30 seconds, but still! I wanted to know how fast 10.0 on the treadmill was actually going to be, in order to decide if i could do more sets that just one at 10.0 I can do it! (more on that in tomorrows update!) <br />
After running i went to bootcamp and while i felt tired, i still think i got a good work out in for the most part.<br />
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So how can i feel so good yesterday and then today, feel like i have completely lost my motivation?? I ate perfectly, had a snack while I rushed to boot after soccer but was still totally out of it. Picking up light weights, breaking regularly, and just all around bummin around at class. I couldn't snap out of it! I'm sure that my days being so long, when i'm used to get my work out in the morning isn't helping. But since i started Boot i never really gave in to excuses. So why now? Whats happened to me? <br />
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There is still 3.5 weeks left in this challenge and i want to win (whatever the prize is i don't care--as long as its mine lol). But how can i shake this!? Suggestions welcome PLEASE!!!!Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-87912407515262241592012-09-17T21:14:00.000-04:002012-09-17T21:14:41.604-04:00Weigh in Monday!!aaaaaaaaaaaand I'm down 4 lbs! Yay! I"m pretty happy about it :-) I played it cool at the weigh in, but you KNOW i wanted to jump up and down lol<br />
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So last night i made all my dinners for the week again and felt so proud of myself that i took a picture to admire it for a while :-) I made 3 rice/chicken/vegetables (yes I, Kelley, really said vegetables) and 3 chicken taco dinners. It has worked out sooooooo well with defrosting one a day and reheating it. It makes my night SO SO SO much easier. I would recommend you try it--totally takes that excuse away!]<br />
I also tried my hand at a protein shake--all in all it wasn't too bad. I used vanilla protein, banana, and Almond milk--I'm sure i have you salivating! This highlight of the protein shake was the new single serve blender i got at walmart--with 5 serving cups!!! Now i have your attention :-)<br />
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Also yesterday i did my week 5 burst workout, and felt really good and got really sweaty in the 34 mins that it took. <br />
Starting this week its up to 4 times a week. That's really hard/a lot to do with soccer every day. Since talking to Jemand i may possibly might have maybe almost gotten the courage to wake up and do them before work. I don't really have an option if I'm going to do boot camp at night after work. I'm going to attempt that on Wednesday and see if i can do it!<br />
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Also, i found out that on the recovery interval, while i was jogging it, that's wrong. I'm supposed to WALK the recovery! Whaaaaat?!?!?! I can WALK it!??!?! At no more than a 3.0 no less--Music to my ears! I'm going to up my sprint time this week so we will see how it goes. This past week i mile warm-uped at 10:54 then 8.0/5.5 on my bursts which is 730's and 1054's and then i 10:54 mile cool-downed. All in all not too bad for someone who hasn't run more than twice since April. I will say that i now believe in muscle memory--or whatever they call it. When i get on that treadmill, after this long of a break, its almost like i never left it. I don't struggle as much as i did when i FIRST started running on it, and i kinda just fell right into stride.<br />
*** So if you're just starting out--stay with it!! It will get easier i promise!Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-75488640329777813222012-09-14T22:22:00.005-04:002012-09-14T22:22:57.292-04:00Skip or Not Skip???That is the question. Proudly, i chose not to skip!! It was hard though! I know everyone works long days, and i'm just like the rest of them. But just because i know we all work long days, doesn't mean it makes it any easier. I"m sure noooo one wants to go to the gym at 7pm after working 12 hours either. At least we can commisterate on that! Because it sucks! So i climbed up on my treadmill to do my blast work out and i'm jogging along not really thinking about much, and then i did it---i glanced at the mirror to the side of me at the gym. Let me tell you something...that shit does NOT lie. You have a muffin top--that mirror shows it. You have cellulite--that mirror shows it. You have a bad hair day--that mirrow shows it. There is no escaping the reality of your imperfections with that mirror. So as i was running and looked over, and saw what i REALLY looked like, i was really really reaaaaaaaaally glad i didn't skip!! 5 days down 4 weeks and 2 days to go until i look in that mirror and hopefully don't feel all the things i felt today. <br />
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Also, for dinner---a delicious rice bowl. All i'll add to that--is thank god for salsa. Its really not that bad i swear, but i would MUCH rather have some chinese food! just sayin.. And proudly, there was no cheating. No cookie, no hot chocolate, no cheating. :-)Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-30223375673325621202012-09-13T21:24:00.002-04:002012-09-13T21:24:31.495-04:00Knock OUT!!When your day starts off with your alarm mysteriously NOT going off...that is not a good sign! Luckily i didn't over sleep. Even luckier i had time for my Oatmeal with Protein powder... ha! Ohh you're jealous! Have i mentioned i hate oatmeal :-(. At least i don't have a problem eating the same thing every day, because the other options are not nearly as appealing as that oatmeal option! haha<br />
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So, since summer is over, i have to work all day (in real shoes and not flip flops--imagine that!) After that i go right to coaching soccer practice or game, and by the time that is all over its about 5 or 6pm depending on the day. As if the 11+ hour day isn't long enough, i have to then go work out after! Luckily, today was a Bootcamp day, and not a "run" on the treadmill day. I say "run" because to some people it might be considered a "jog" or even a "sprint walk" lol<br />
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Today for my workout--bootcamp: Boxing and Legs/Butt. Now, for someone that is kinda, uhh.., thick around the bottom, you would THINK it wouldn't be so hard for me. WROOOOONG! So many lunges, so many step ups. Add in the "dread square" and you'll have a grand ole' time! Whats funny is that i keep going back for more. I honestly can't get enough!! During the exercise you think, "Ughhhh this is so hard! How much time is left? I just can't! Quick break. How many more rounds?? etc..." And when you're done, you feel like it was hard and you worked, but you kind of chuckle to yourself at how you felt like you'd die--and really you're fine.<br />
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My favorite part today might have been the boxing Battle cry. Who thinks of these things?? So as I'm punching and squatting and sweating and trying to breath, you want me to scream as at the top of my lungs? Say whaaaaat!? I gave it all my might and yelled as loud as i could. Then felt a bit faint for lack of oxygen. It was awesome. :-) Boxing days are my favorite days. I never punched anything or anyone ever until i started bootcamp, and now i can't get enough. Not to mention my boxing gloves are pink--how appropriate! I'm not ready to jump in a ring tomorrow, maybe not even the next day (umm prolly never for that matter) but what a great cardio work out. Its only 4 days until tuesday boxing now!<br />
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Which means its only 3 days until monday--weigh in! Food plan today went pretty well--until i cheated and ate a cookie. Ughhhhh :-( It was SO not worth it. It was salad with tomato, carrot, cucumber, and grilled chicken with balsamic dressing used sparingly for dinner. Hope i can make up for that cookie! I have been so good about preparing all of my food--meals and snacks--at home and bringing it with me, that i felt a bit mad at myself over the damn cookie! And after the 6 oz turkey sandwich for lunch its a wonder i even had room for the effing cookie! Dwelling over, tomorrow is a new day! Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-12181767310812782202012-09-12T21:14:00.000-04:002012-09-12T21:14:23.865-04:00I'm baaaaaaack!! So, its been a while since i've updated my blog. Mainly because i haven't really had any large running undertakings. Here's a rundown since the marathon:<br />
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I took a month off to rest Elvis--i never got to find a specialist so currently i am still living with Elvis (My sports hernia)<br />
I played soccer last summer and outdoor soccer in the fall and spring 11/12. <br />
I trained for the Long Branch half marathon in May 2012, but because of some unforseen medical condition, i was unable to actually run the race. I found out that i needed to take some time off from running on April 24th, so at least i had gotten my longest run (12 miles) in already. So even though i couldn't run the actually race, i knew i was ready. I knew i could! Now at this point, i was up a few lb's because of said medical reason. Rather discouraging and i really didn't like the way i looked. Since i had to take off the end of april and all of may, the scale kept going up and up and upppppp. Noooo good! I decided something needed to change. Enter: BOOTCAMP!! :-)<br />
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In June 2012, i found EZE Fit Bootcamp classes (thanks to my friend Christine!). This bootcamp seemingly was my calling! I love the trainers, i love the motivation, i love the workouts and boxing, i love it all. And all summer, i loved it 8 classes a week :-) I had a lot of work to do, and i was really good at tracking myself. I took all my inches (neck, chest, each arm, ribs, waist, abdomen, each thigh, each above knee, and each calf). After doing Boot from June 13th to Aug 21st, i love over 30 inches--5.5 inches on my abdomen alone!! Ironically enough though, i only lost 4 pounds though it all. But my clothes fit again!!<br />
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Now, what does all of this mean?! Well, a few times a year, Jemand (Eze Fit Bootcamp founder/trainer and all around awesome guy!) runs fitness/weight loss challenges. I don't even know what the prizes are, but when he announced his 5 week "Fall back into fitness" challenge, i knew i wanted to compete! Jemand gives you a food/meal/diet plan and also a cardio plan as well. I am in a wedding in 4 weeks from the start of the challenge and noooooo one wants to be the "big" bridesmaid, so i decided to take the plunge and sign up!<br />
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On the first day (monday 9-10-12) we had to weigh in. Eek! I weighed in at 1**.6! Haaaa if ya'll thought i was going to divulge that--you're nuts!! I mean, its just a starting point and hopefully will only go down from there :-) We weigh in each week on monday, so there is accountability.<br />
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Since i knew i was starting this challenge i went to the store on sunday night, bought many of the foods on the list and got to the kitchen. Yes you can all stop laughing now, i actually cooked! And not only did i cook, but i used the food i bought to prepare SIX dinners! I put them in the freezer for me to just grab and reheat after i get home from coaching. Like i said, no more excuses!<br />
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Since i'm a little late in starting the blog back up, it is wednesday. I'm proud to say, i haven't even cheated on the meal plan yet! Not for a lack of trying though :-) I went to Dunkin to get coffee for a coworker and thought mmMmmMmm hot chocolate! I caved and ordered--don't you know the machine was broken! Talk about a divine intervention!! Thanks to whatever power kept me on track.<br />
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So i attended bootcamp class on monday and tuesday (you must go to at least 3 classes in a week to participate in the challenge) and then today (wednesday) was my first day of the CardioBlast workout! I haven't run since before April 24th (except for maybe twice) so you can imagine how hard that was!<br />
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Okay, this was a quick update of whats been going on, and a little background into the challenge. I'll be updating about it as often as i can! But sadly, the blog title is still "The Road to DC...". I didn't have the heart to change it! <br />
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<br />Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-71781254237465021362011-04-01T20:25:00.000-04:002011-04-01T20:25:51.923-04:00Yupp i'm a marathoner!I really can't believe this is it. After 18/20 weeks of training, blog posts since January, and a big ass marathon run in DC--now its all over. I can't actually decide how i feel about all of this.<br />
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We left for DC around 10am on Friday. After an eventful drive down thanks to Maureen's GPS, and many a laugh shared among Moe, Mike, Greg, and myself, we arrived in DC. We went to the expo at the DC armory to pick up our race packets and bib numbers and walk around and see what they were selling. At this point i had a knot the size of my fist in my stomach. I was soooo nervous! After the expo we went to an Italian restaurant for a 'carbo load' dinner :-) WITH BREAD! I tried to replicate things i have eaten before that i knew wouldn't bother my stomach too much and would hopefully not affect my bathroom issues. I had plain penne with tomato sauce---lots of bread! I thought i made a good choice!<br />
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We got home and hung around for a little bit, but i wanted to go to bed early so i packed it in and fell asleep around 1015. My alarm clock was set for 3:55am. That way i had enough time to snooze once or twice before i actually HAD to get up. I slept kinda crummy in nervous anticipation of the race in the morning. Finally when my alarm went off, i was ready for it. I snoozed once and laid there with my eyes open just waiting for it to go off again. I got up, and was really kinda in shock that the day was here--i was about to run a marathon! I went downstairs and cooked myself up some toast! I spread some peanut butter on it, and then sliced up some banana. My very usual pre-running breakfast. In addition to waking up early to get my stomach filled up, i also wanted to walk around, get my body going, and perhaps kick start a little bathroom action. I would say my plan worked for the most part and was semi-productive (i thought at the time).<br />
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I got dressed in my most ridiculous marathon pants, and our custom running shirts (see facebook for pictures!), put my Zensah Sleeves on, my ear headband, my sneaks and some pretty pink and green ribbons in my hair! I looked like a highlighter--PERFECT! There was no way any of our spectators would miss me in a crowd of 12,000!!<br />
My Aunt Lynn's house is only about 10/15 mins from RFK Stadium where the starting line was so we left at about 530 so we had plenty of time. Who knew there would be sooooo much traffic trying to get into the stadium! Umm yeah we didn't anticipate that! We sat in grid lock traffic as the minutes kept passing. Now those of you that know me, know i hate being late. And i hate sitting in traffic that is making me late. I all but puked with nerves over the whole situation! We drove and drove and drove; looped around looped some more; and then FINALLY got a parking spot on some random street. We hauled our butts to the starting line because it was about 645 and the start time was 7am! We were looking for Danny in his corral because we were supposed to meet him at 6am but obviously we missed that. We couldn't find him anywhere! At this point it was a few minutes before 7 so we knew we had to get into our corral. As we came around the fence to pile in--there he was! YAAAY our running 4-some was all together :-) We did some stretching, we chatting, pep talked, and started walking with the groups to the start line. At about 710 we were onto the course and running. It was overwhelming!!<br />
I was having some dialogue in my head as we began. "Kell, its only 26 miles, no problem.", "Just one foot in front of the other all the way", "You're so ready. You trained--lets rock it!"<br />
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As we were running, things were pretty uneventful. There was a billion people with a "half" bib on their back which is just annoying! I was out there running the whole way and these people were only doing a half--i was jealous lol. It did seem that because my outfit was pretty 'out there' i was like a celebrity (in my own head). Everyone was cheering for me and my crazy pants. It was certainly encouraging! There were people on the streets cheering for us, holding up signs (some were very funny and amusing too!) and that was helpful to keep me going. The course was much more hilly that we had trained on, so that was a challenge too. Hills are hard!<br />
So we figured that we needed 4 snacks for this run--miles 5, 10, 15, 20. GU was really the only option because i didn't have any pockets to put beans or fruit snacks. I had a fruit snacks while we were walking to the start line--i figured it couldn't hurt! I had two GU's pinned onto my waistband. Also, i tried out something new for the race (BAD IDEA) which was a dollar store sweat band on my right forearm with two GU's stuffed in there. It seemed like it was going to work perfectly--that was until about mile 3.5 when one of my GU's slid out of the sweat band and i dropped it. I had to go back for it--i needed it. I swung around, scooped it up, apologized to the people i ran in front of (i HATE when people do that to me!) and just held it in my hand until our first snack time. At 5 miles, i sang a little snack time song and downed my first GU--PowerAde Strawberry Banana--ehh. It gets the job done and its thinner than GU which i like. <br />
As we ran, to be honest, there wasn't much to report. Lots of tall buildings, we ran past the monuments and it was fun to see. People were running with their phones and cameras and taking pictures as they were running or they would actually STOP to take pictures---they had half bibs on their backs! haha. Next up SNAAAACK TIME! This time i went for a chocolate GU. It tastes so yummy i love it! Thats the truth by the way and not sarcasm--its like icing on a cupcake!<br />
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After the first half 13.1 was under our belts, and the several thousand half-ers were off the course, it was time for the back half. Only 2879 of us. At the spin around we saw my mom, Greg, and my aunt Lynn so that was exciting and motivating! It always lifts my spirits and helps me along when i see people i know cheering for me! It also helped that my aunt ran part of the course to catch up to me and give me some water in my water bottle--best ever! Also, we passed Danny near the turn around point which put him about a mile and half ahead of us. At this point my stomach/colon was starting to act up, which i was nervous about because we still had 13 miles to go. I figured it was in my head and i could get past it. I kept chugging along and keeping my little "problem" to myself so far. It was mile 15 and SNAAACK time again. This time it was an orange GU--not too bad of a flavor i'd say--much better than most! <br />
Chugging along, chugging along, and we get to mile 18. At this point i seriously couldn't hold it anymore. I needed a bathroom and STAT!!! Luckily only a mile went by and i saw one! I ran ahead, got in, got my business done, and got out. Then i had to haul butt to catch up with Mike and Moe who kept along the pace. At mile 18/19 i was running an 8:45ish mile to catch up. Umm.. really?! It was lucky for me i was quick in there so they didn't have a chance to get to far ahead! I felt like a million bucks! It was great--i was ready to finish this race out hard! Mile 20--SNAAAACK TIME! I had my last orange GU. There is something mental about having your last snack--knowing that you won't have another snack time which means not too many miles left which means almost done! I took my last GU still feeling strong and happy.<br />
Didn't last too long--mile 21 came and i had that feeling again--where i needed to go to the bathroom and NOW! Unfortunately we didn't see one anywhere--we kept going, kept going, and FINALLY around mile 22ish there was one in a construction site that i so graciously took the liberty of using! Thank goodness too because it was beyond urgent! So i get in there, do what needs to be done, which took a little longer this time. Then outta there and hauling tail again to catch up with Mike and Moe. This time they got really far ahead of me! So at mile 22 i was running another 830/845 mile pace to try to catch up. At this point most people are struggling so imagine the dirty looks i was getting. I started out and couldn't even see them! I was running and running and finally could at least see them! I just kept seeing Mike's green hat and my sisters blue shirt getting a little closer and a little closer. I could do this! I found out later that my sister was saying to mike how she was really upset that i wasn't going to be there with them for the end of the race. Mike kept encouraging her and telling her it was going to be okay.. then on the last time he looked over his shoulder and there i was!!! Go me and my sprints at the end of a marathon :-) My sis was so happy she was going to cry--and i was so happy i was going to cry too!! We got to mile 23 and there was a water station there...i ditched my soaking wet gloves and on we ran. There was a guy there that was saying "Theres only a 5K left to go, only a 5K" Really buddy--did you just run the other 23.1 miles?!?!! So i was feeling better about my bathroom situation, however after the hills we ran, and the sprints i was doing to catch up, not once, but <u>twice!</u>, Elvis was getting kinda annoyed. And he let me know it! With every step he was hurting more and more. At mile 24, Elvis was really giving me the finger! I told him we had to finish so on we ran, but he was mad! By mile 25, the sprinting i had done was hitting me. I apparently had used a good amount of energy in doing so because i was starting to really fade at mile 25. Not to mention that the last 2 miles of this race were uphill! Really DC marathon people--really!? With every step my sister was getting farther and farther ahead of me! I was getting sad but i just couldn't give any more. Mike stayed with me and helped me along and wouldn't let me fade! He just kept reminding me that my Dad would have been so proud of me and was helping me get to this finish! It was really touching. He just kept at it and kept at it till he finally got my tired butt across that damn finish line. As i was struggling to get across the line, i saw my Mom, Greg, my Aunt Lynn, and then MICHELE AND CRAIG AND CHRISTOPHER and almost fell over!! I was beyond encouraged to get to the end at this point. I was so shocked at seeing them there because i had NO idea they would be there that i got to the finish line in absolute delerium! <br />
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Wanna hear the kicker--Not only was the finish up a big incline, but the total distance was 26.6!! Honestly, i could have done without the last .4!!! Elvis was hating me and my colon was hating me, and i would have liked the finish line to have been .4 closer people! <br />
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Race stats:<br />
2079th place. Gun time 4:42, Net time 4:33. However, since we ran an extra .4, i would like to round down to 4:30! And i said i can so there!<br />
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Now, looking back this experience was unlike any other i've had. I wouldn't trade one second of it. All the training, all the runs in the rain, snow, cold, were all worth it at the finish line. This was certainly the biggest athletic feat i've ever accomplished and i'm not sure what else could ever compare to it! Being surrounded by my sister, and such good friends in Mike and Danny, with my family there for me, was the best i could have asked for. I don't think i would have been able to do this without them, or my Dad watching over me, and i owe it all to them. <br />
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::Thanks to my husband, sister Maureen, greatest friends and running crew Mike and Danny, and my great family for watching us and cheering us on!!<br />
and thanks for the wings Dad:: <br />
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now i'm glad its done :-)Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-36116696528379726212011-03-24T20:06:00.000-04:002011-03-24T20:06:59.260-04:00no going back now!!!Today was my very last time on a treadmill for a looooong time! The tempo run was just 3 miles at PMP (Predicted Marathon Pace). Our PMP is about 10 min miles. I got onto my treadmill, did a little walking warm up, and then started my 3 mile run. It was over before i knew it. After all the miles we've put in and all the hours we've spent, 3 miles is absolutely nothing. When i was finished, i got off the treadmill, stretched, and left! Goooooodbye Gym! :-)<br />
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So the marathon is less than 36 hours away. Every time someone says good luck, or i hear the word marathon, or i read an email or something online about it, i get butterflies in my stomach. I'm a ball of nerves right now. I know i trained, i know i put the miles in, but all of it doesn't matter if i can't perform in the race. The race is the goal. The finish line is the goal. I'm so proud of my group and myself for coming so far and doing so well throughout training. Aside from Elvis, we all escaped debilitating injuries, we went out every weekend--snow, rain, wind, cold--and ran our long runs, and we were on that treadmill every week running sprints and IW's. No excuses--just hard work! I couldn't be luckier to have this group surround me on this journey and i wouldn't want it to be anyone else!<br />
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Maureen and I got shirts made up for the marathon in honor of my Dad. They are so awesome, and i will be posting pictures to the blog when we get back from DC. I also made huge posters for Greg to hold up while we run by for motivation :-) I am excited for this whole experience and i want to soak it all up and enjoy every second of it--It might be my only time doing this! Ha, i did decide that i hope the marathon is same way people say your wedding day is. The ever popular line "It goes by so fast!"...because that would be sweet!!<br />
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Thank yous:<br />
Maureen--always my voice of reason. "Kell your sick, you really shouldn't be pushing yourself right now." "Kell, you probably should let Elvis rest because we have a long run this weekend." "Are you drinking enough water and keeping hydrated?" Its nice to have someone looking out for you, and taking care of you out there, and I'm so lucky to have it be my sister. I always knew i was safe, i always knew i was getting the BEST advice, and i always knew I'd never be alone running.<br />
Mike--best marathoner i know! Thank you so much for all your tips and advice and words of encouragement. I couldn't have asked for a more experienced, trained, marathon runner to lead the group. You've said everything there is to keep me pushing myself and you've offered up so many helpful hits for racing. Also, thanks for the ride when i couldn't run anymore :-)<br />
Danny--running buddy. You've waited outside many a bathroom and next to many a water fountain waiting for me. This training schedule was a lot of things--but easy was never one of them. It was nice to be able to talk to you about runs and complain to you about runs. I appreciate that no matter how slow i ran, you never left my side, except when you sprinted to get the car. I never had an accident while running and its because of you :-) You always believed i could get here and make it to race day, and thanks for the faith you had in me when i didn't always have it in myself!<br />
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Now I'm getting all emotional as race day approaches. I know that we are going to make Daddy so proud. We are going to run our little hearts out and leave it all out there on the road. Best of all--we are going to do it together. Love you guys!!Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-69954276422378251572011-03-23T14:36:00.000-04:002011-03-23T14:36:06.313-04:00i'm ready...aren't i?!?!So this week was our last IW's sprint work out! I did it on Monday instead of yesterday because i was off from the gym yesterday (Date with Study Buddy ERIN!!).<br />
On Monday, after school, i got dressed and headed to the gym. I got there and my usual treadmill was being used, so i had to use a back up. I blame the rest of this story on that! So i stretched my calves and hammies, and got all ready to run. Found a good show on TV (well as good as i could find) and hyped myself up for a 6x400m, 400m RI workout. I was warming up for 10 mins at my usual warm up pace, and just felt a little sluggish and slow. My warm up felt like a work out--that was a red flag! I had cramps in my ribs and i was really pushing myself. It was probably my treadmill :-( After my mile warm up, i started my sprints. I did the first 400 sprint at 7.5 on the treadmill--i was seriously struggling. Umm--hello body! Its the week of the marathon--this is not a good sign! I was so excited to be done with the first, and only had 5 more to go! I did manage to get the next 2 in at 7.5 as well on the tread, while my rest intervals were at 5.5. After the first 3 were done, i was seriously thinking to myself What the HECK was wrong with me!? It was probably my treadmill :-( So the next interval i did at 7.3 because i was just really needing a break. I did my rest at 5.3. I did finish up the IW's at a 7.5 for the last 2, but i didn't enjoy it.<br />
This work out begs the question--What is going on?!?! I really feel like i couldn't be more ready for this race. We worked hard, did all our runs and long runs, and then this measly little last chance IW work out knocks me down 5 levels :-( It was NOT good for my mental state. I have been fighting nerves off this whole week. I can't believe its here already. I have one tempo run standing between me and a marathon. HOLY COW! I just can't wait until Saturday.... to be over. No, not really, i just hate waiting and anticipating. I just want to be there and going!<br />
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WEATHER UPDATE!!! <br />
I have been stalking the 10 day forecast. We started out sunny and high 56. Then dropped at 54. Then 50 and rain. Then 47 still rain. 43 still rain! Lastly 41 and Cloudy. The most recent update i just got today (wednesday 2:34pm) is that the high is 44 and mostly cloudy. I guess thats better than earlier but umm.. BRRRR a bit chilly. I will keep checking!<br />
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Today is just a light cross train workout and then soccer (lightlyyyyy) later tonight. Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-67604429631967124852011-03-20T21:01:00.000-04:002011-03-20T21:01:42.426-04:00i'm sorry i blinked--did i miss out 8 mile run!?Last night i had dinner with Christine and we has mozz sticks, i had baked ziti, and it was sooooo good. Then we went to visit Kathy, and we indulged in a few glasses of wine. When i woke up on Saturday morning before i had to go to snap, i had a few things on my mind. Well, really only one thing. Greasy, cheesy food plus wine makes for a veeeeery happy Kelley in the morning. If you've been reading my blog you know that I've been having a problem with needing to stop to go to the bathroom in the middle of our long runs. Well after all the junk i ate last night, i was able to do all that before i even went to work!! I knew from the start of today, that my run later was gonna be a GREAT one! :-) <br />
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I got out of snap and was meeting my running family at 1230 at the fishing club. Unfortunately Mike went running earlier while i was still at work because he had weekend plans. So, Danny, Moe and Me met at the fishing club and we invited my friend Kathy to come too! She is a big runner as well, and she keeps a similar pace to what we've been training for, so it was perfect. <br />
Today's 'Long run' was only an 8-10 mile run. Ha, we decided on doing just 8 :-) We were all so excited over this because with the distances we were running for the past few months, this 8 seemed like NOTHING! I mean, its only one snack time! <br />
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Since I've been working on an outfit for the marathon, i wanted to give my shamrock pants one more go around, and just really make sure they weren't going to work. I talked to my running crew, and they agreed that they were a bit too big and probably wouldn't be the most comfortable thing. Bummer!!<br />
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We started out going North, me with my crazy pants on!, and were going to run to the end of Asbury Park (and a bit past it since its not far enough). The wind was quite a bit out of the North, so it was a wise decision to start out that way first, and then it could just carry us back in. We felt great running north, all four of us, and it was nice to have Kath along as our special guest. We were all excited about the seemingly shortness of the run that we had a bit more pep in our step. No wind could ruin our mood! There were so many people on the boards as well, which is nice to see! We got to the end of Asbury and went off the boards and into Interlaken, which was 4 miles, in just over 40 minutes. Perfect :-)<br />
We turned around, and i quickly realized i wore TOO many clothes! I was dying of heat! I had on a heavy under armour shirt, a long sleeve t-shirt, and a zip up fleece. YIKES! I unzipped a bit, folded my sleeves up, and drank a bit of water the whole way to try to cool myself down! The wind at our backs definitely helped us get back faster than we got out. We went one mile on the return trip and it was SNAAAACK TIME!!!! I was trying out something new this time--GU Chomps. They are very large, gummy, fruit snacks. Eww! I had fruit snacks one other run, and they were very delicious tasting. These however, were nasty. I have been talking about how GU is hard for me to get down, and i don't like the way it tastes etc..these GU Chomps should have been perfect--FAIL! They tasted exactly like GU. Umm hello company, if people are looking for an alternative to GU, perhaps you shouldn't make everything taste like it--just sayin! I could NOT be done with those fast enough! <br />
After snack time, it was a 3 mile stretch to the car. We had picked up our pace, we were having a really nice conversation, and before we knew it, it was over! The back 4 miles only took us about 37 minutes. We were happy with our increase in pace! <br />
It was definitely decided that my shamrock pants would NOT be marathon pants sadly. They just are not going to stay in place and comfortable enough for a full 26.2.<br />
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Wow 26.2... this is crazy. With it being only a week away--I'm getting really nervous and overwhelmed. I read an email they sent us about printing papers out for registration, and i was literally nauseous! <br />
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After our 8 mile run, we looked at each other, and thought--we should go to the gym because it didn't feel like we even had a workout. The 8-er felt so easy. Its nice to feel like we are so ready for this race, but it still scaring me a little!!Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-8916125720924775952011-03-20T19:07:00.000-04:002011-03-20T19:07:02.086-04:00my week in a nutshell...<u>Tuesday</u>: ELVIS HATES IW"s and so do i! This was 5x1K sprints that i did on the treadmill of course. I did my usual 2min30sec increment warm ups, then i did the 1K's at 7.5 which is an 8min/mile and i did the 400m rest intervals at 5.5. I realized after reading all these times that marathon training has made me slooooooow! The classic line of "Its a marathon not a sprint" that people like to throw out there relating to many things is so true for me too. When you are used to running short distances like 5K's and 5 mile races, and you run 7:20's etc, its so hard to now go to this level. I feel like i have lost so much of my "speed" (i call it MY speed because to me its speedy even though to most others its not lol) and running an 8 min/mi for .62 miles is now a serious workout. Doing 5 times is even MORE serious! While running with my fingers pointed to keep track of what number i was on, i had a talk with Elvis. I told him i did not need his friendly reminders and nudging any longer. I get it, he's here to stay, so stop being so damn annoying all the time. He wanted to tell me he didn't like doing the sprints i take it. Well he'll get his when i rest for 4 weeks after the race and hopefully he goes the heck away!<br />
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<u>Wednesday</u>: Since we are getting so close to Marathon time, and Elvis is still with me, i don't want to "over do it" by working out AND playing soccer. Is soccer the smartest thing i should be doing with Elvis and 10 days before the big day??? Umm NO you are correct, however, running is an activity i do, but i don't want it run my whole life. Soccer is something i love doing, and i love my teammates and i don't want to let them down. So its just about being smart. So no working out if i have soccer on Wednesday!<br />
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<u>Thursday</u>: Today, we tempo! 2easy-3tempo-1easy. Ha, i laugh in this tempo runs face! I went to Wow Wall today to run. I was giving my marathon pants a "trial run" and felt as though i looked downright RIDICULOUS wearing them, so i went to Wall, and went to the tiny upstairs part, where no one could see me. Why wouldn't i want anyone seeing me you ask?!??! Well, my marathon pants are, umm, a bit unique to say the least. They are obnoxious Kelly Green with white shamrocks all over them! Yes, i went to the gym, on St. Patrick's Day, wearing obnoxious Kelly Green running tights with shamrocks on them! And it was a darn good thing i did! I got dressed and was skeptical about how they were fitting. I got to the gym and started my 2 miles easy (at 10min./mile pace) and was feeling that they kept sliding down. I was constantly stretching and pulling them up because they felt like they wouldn't stay up! For the rest of the 2 easy, and the 3 tempo (at about 6.5-7.0 on the tread) i tried not to think about it, or allow myself to stop to adjust them. I just got 'in the zone' of running and just kinda tugged at them every once in a while. I did the 1 mile easy cool down at 10 min mile, and then was finished with my run. But my gym visit wasn't over. From the time i started to the time i finished the gym got a bit more crowded. So i had to make my way down the stairs and out the door with as few people seeing me as possible. I got a few stares from these girls and i just said "Yes i know i look ridiculous but i am running a marathon in these pants possibly and i needed to try them out!" They just turned away. Ugh!!<br />
Needless to say its back to the drawing board on the marathon outfit. I have a pair that i wore for the turkey trot that look like a pack of highlighters exploded on me, which i might have to use as my default. Its okay though, while wearing those pants, there is NO WAY my family will miss me while running this race of 13,000 people!!!<br />
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see the next blog for the sat long run...Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-80089816945247962982011-03-14T21:40:00.000-04:002011-03-14T21:40:36.317-04:00i think i'm hungover...So Friday i did an elliptical light work out..just wanted to stretch and get ready for the long run on Saturday. Although I'd say that my dinner Friday night was a better prep for the long run. Talk about carbo load!! I had cheese raviolis (like 10 of them!!) and about a whole loaf of bread and butter (just by myself). It was so gloriously delicious i can't even describe it!<br />
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Saturday morning i woke up around 7am to get my body going before meeting at 9am for running. I wanted to try to jump start the GI track and be able to go to the bathroom before i had to run 20 miles. Then i had Cheerios for breakfast because that's all we had :-(. Not even a banana! Sheesh! After i was done, it was back to the bathroom to make sure alllllll was good in there. I left the house at 830 to get to the fishing club at 9am to meet Danny and Mike for the run. Since Moe did 20 last week, she was only doing the assigned 13 mile run.<br />
With my snacks in my pocket and my running guys by my side, we trekked north to the end of Asbury Park (well a little past there) for 3.5 miles. We turned around and headed back 3.5 to the car to pick up Moe. It was a bit windy out of the west, which was MUCH easier to deal with than last weeks torture! <br />
So after our 7 mile "warm-up" we were back to the car and picked up Moe and turned back around and ran the same path as before. Its so great running all 4 of us and staying together because its more motivating and we can all talk/laugh/share stories. <br />
We got back to the cars and we were 14 miles into the run. Knowing i still had 6 more to go was rather intimidating. Mike and i rationed it to be a 7 mile warm-up run, then a 10 mile run, and then a 3 mile cool down. So by the time we got back to the car at 14 miles, we only had 3 more miles to go before we started our 3 mile cool down. But at 17 miles, half way through spring lake, at the turn around, i was really starting to get tired. That's not a good thing--because your brain really starts to analyze how DUMB running 20 miles is! Lets not even get into the whole running a marathon concept!<br />
So, i dragged my sorry butt the last 3 miles back to the car and was sooooo happy to be done. Done is my favorite :-). We stretched and moaned and stretched and groaned and whined and complained and really just thought we would fall apart. I do believe at one point i was laying on the boardwalk curled up in a ball--yes this is my life! Then i got up and had to walk a little to my car. I knew that would be a veeeery long drive back to Marlboro.<br />
During the run i must have drank the equivalent of 4 water bottles at least during the run. Then on the drive back i had another one. There was NO quenching my thirst today, water never ever ever tasted so good to me! When i got back to Marlboro i got out of the car to walk into the house (barefoot because i had to take those shoes off after running 3 hrs and 25 mins in them!). After sitting in the car for that half hour, and then getting up, i was literally walking like i was drunk. I HAD A RUNNING HANG OVER! I was so thirsty, i had a headache, i was walking into walls, i felt nauseous but i was hungry, i couldn't get up the stairs, and i flopped on the bed with my clothes still on! It was bad! If i had a running hang over after 20 miles, i can't even imagine what 26.2 is going to be like. I'll probably hallucinate or fall over at some point!<br />
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So sunday i rested. I didn't have time for a gym work out anyway. We lost an hour of sleep and i had to be up early--so i rested. I loved it!<br />
Then monday i cross trained on the elliptical. I had Erin and Kristine next to me, fastest 50 minutes i've even worked out!!<br />
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Tomorrow is IW's. Its 1K sprints of some variety i do think. Will fill in about that tomorrow!Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-21183872736048475022011-03-10T18:54:00.000-05:002011-03-10T18:54:07.318-05:00uhh, how many was that?! i lost count!Tuesday was my first day back at the gym in a looooong time! And how lucky--SPRINTS :-) It was 6 X 800m with 1:30 rest intervals. I was thinking it wasn't going to be "so bad" because its only sprinting half a mile. I have now decided that half a mile is far! Thankfully, this whole ordeal didn't take too long so it wasn't dragging out at least. And i had Erin next to me, and while we both had our headphones in, its still just better having a friend with you when your there. <br />
Thoughts about the run--i bet people think i have a weird running stature. I know that 6 sets isn't a lot, but i use my fingers to count so i don't forget how many i did. The last thing i want is to do more than i was supposed to!! So i run holding my fingers out to keep track of each sprint. It looks funny to me, so i'm sure to others its even worse!! <br />
Also, no ThunderFoot sightings in a looong time--i don't miss her or anything, but i just am wondering what happened to her!<br />
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Wednesday i went to Wall WOW for a little cross train action. I question how much i really actually did for myself since i got there, did 45 minutes on the elliptical and then turned around and left the gym. Ha! I did get a rock star front row parking spot so that gym visit wasn't a total waste!<br />
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Thursday i went to Wall WOW again for my tempo run. I was hoping for another "That was easy" moment after i was done running---uhh yeaaaah not so much! I will certainly say that it wasn't quite like running downhill like the last time i was there--and i was on the same treadmill. I had small victories today though. I was able to run the whole thing :-) in under an hour which is all you can set the tread for :-) :-) and i barely stalked my distance to see how much till i was finished :-) :-) :-)!! For me, all good things! I again think that it was due to my headphones that i was able to feel as good as i did about the run. I am pretty much a quiet treadmill-er and don't slam my feet or make too much noise, but with the noise canceling headphones you can't hear other people's noises, and you can't hear your own breathing, and it allows you to just get absorbed into the TV show your watching or the song your listening too. Today was an E! special--Christina Aguleria--i enjoyed it!<br />
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With a little over two weeks until the Marathon there are a few things i need to iron out. I need to wear my marathon pants for a trial run--which is pretty much going to make me look like a freak on the boardwalk or on the treadmill. They are "interestingly patterned" to say the least. I am not sure i want to reveal on the blog quite yet. Also i need to get some type of shirt made up and i need to do it soon--because time is going by fast! I can't believe its two weeks! So crazy! I'm excited for it to be here, and to celebrate after its over!!Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-13837089016534260592011-03-08T08:30:00.000-05:002011-03-08T08:30:54.743-05:00"Go get the car...Hurry!" Oh my!!We are in need of a serious update!!<br />
<u>Wednesday</u>-- Home right after school to try to fight off this sickness! I knew i had soccer Wednesday night so i counted that as my cross train workout, and was sure to rest and relax all day so i wouldn't get sick!<br />
<u>Thursday</u>--Well, rest Wednesday didn't help a thing. Really not feeling well today. A slight cough and some sniffles. Not to mention the fever i decided to develop today. 101.2 at 7pm, 101.1 overnight. Didn't gym today after school which meant i missed my 8 mile tempo run. CRAAAP!<br />
<u>Friday</u>--At about 1am, while i was lying wide awake and unable to sleep, i called out of work for today. The fever over night kicked my butt. Decided to skip gym AGAIN today while i rested in bed till about noon/1pm and then on the couch for the rest of the day. Tried to go to bed kind of early today since was up all night last night. Didn't work, i was up again all night Friday night. Fever again 101.3. <br />
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This brings us to...<br />
<u>Saturday</u>--My fever finally broke and i was able to get a few hours of sleep from about 230-7am. After i woke up, i had major decisions to make. To run 20 miles, or not to run 20 miles. When i had no fever, i was actually feeling not so bad. And surprisingly, for having not slept for 2 days practically, i wasn't a wink tired! I can NOT explain that. And with just three weeks until the race, i didn't really have a choice of running or not--i had to give it a try! <br />
So, we met at the fishing club at 10am for the run--my fever gone for less than 8 hours at that point. With snacks in my pocket, water bottle on hand, the four of us started out running north to the end of Asbury Park. When we got there, we turned around and started our trek to Manasquan beach walk. (20 miles is faaaar!). The wind coming out of the south the whole way was just brutal! About 30mph! When we got to the end of spring lake, off we went into sea girt towards the army camp. At this point, i was starting to drag behind. When we got to the army camp, i stopped and used the bathroom there--ugh i hate this problem! Mike waited with me and Moe and Danny kept going ahead. When i got out, i was ready to keep going, and on we went to 71, into squan and to the beach. When we got up there it was about 13.3 miles in. We turned around and Moe and Danny were still far ahead. I was <strong>really</strong> dragging it! In hindsight, i should have went to my brothers or something because i just should not have been running anymore. I was turning delirious. Mike and I got back to the army camp and i stopped to go to the bathroom again. When i came out, i slumped over and told Mike, i just couldn't go anymore. I literally had NOTHING in the tank left. This was at about 15 miles. He was very reluctant to leave me, but there was no way i could run another step. So i told him to go ahead and get the car, and come back for me. He is the best and sprinted the whole 5 miles back in to the car by the way!<br />
So there i was, walking through the streets of sea girt, looking a hot mess i'm sure. My hands were tingly, my legs were tingly, i was light headed, dry heaving, and just really out of it. I stopped to sit on someones front lawn for a break, and finally made it into spring lake ocean ave. I was excited at the prospect of a water fountain at this point but when i got to it, it wasn't working. Danny so kindly informed me after the fact that you have to hold the button for 5 seconds--doh! It was windy and cold and i was shivering and i must have seen 800 jeeps that looked JUST like Mike's, until he pulled up to the rescue! I did make it all the way to the essex and sussex though! Mike gave me a fresh water that i chugged in 10seconds and drove me back to the fishing club to meet up with the group--i was expecting an "I told you so" but nope--everyone was nice and concerned and it was really comforting! I have just the best running crew around!<br />
Moe (My sister)--Will run with me even if its practically a walk, and won't ever ask me "How i'm doing?" because she knows that gets old pretty fast. If she's ahead of me, she is constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure i'm okay! She always checks on me after the run, and she makes sure i stay hydrated too!<br />
Danny--Will stop any time i need to stop, run next to me and listen to me complain for miles, and share his water when i don't have any more. He will tell me our pace and our mileage even after i've already asked him 50 times! He'll never leave me behind and is always asking me how i'm doing and how i'm feeling.<br />
Mike--Would have run 50 miles to the car not just 5 if i needed him to. I know he ran as fast as humanly possible because he knew i was in trouble. I could ask him for any favor any time any place and he would be there for me in a heart beat to help me out! And he also switches GU flavors with me if i have a gross one i don't like and he has a good one!<br />
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See, my friends are unlike any other. We are the best running family and i wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. And after my debacle of a run this weekend, i know they are there for me always!Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-42388022769602305752011-03-02T07:50:00.000-05:002011-03-02T07:50:47.810-05:00i'm done already!?Today was IW's. To be really honest, they were a joke at this point in the marathon training. It was 10 minute warm up, then 5 X (2 mins fast/2 mins easy), 10 minute cool down. It ended up only being 3.66 miles and 38 minutes. Don't get me wrong, I'll take it! But it just seemed that i was beyond this. The rest of our runs this week are going to be a bit more challenging so that's probably why we have an easy IW day. Just to be fair to you all as well, i am saying this run was easy, however i definitely worked to get it done and i got sweaty too! I think i am starting to get sick again though so i've been trying to take it easy this week and make sure i'm ready for the long run this weekend. I'm already coughing up "stuff" and i'm just reaaaaally hoping it doesn't get worse and i don't get a stuffy head! This week we have an 8 mile tempo run (I'm doing it Thursday) and then 20 miles on Saturday. Yes folks, you read it correctly, TWENTY--TWO then a ZERO. <strong><em><u>20</u></em></strong> ahhhhhh!!! To tell you the truth, i haven't really wrapped my head around that quite yet. We haven't figured out course yet, and more importantly i haven't figured out my snacks yet! <br />
For the 8 mile tempo i'm going to WOW in Wall and hope that its just as pleasant as last weeks and we have a repeat of my "That was easy!" moment! Then for the 20, the four-some will be meeting again, hopefully my GI cooperates, and then we will figure out our mileage from there. Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-50293961782260773302011-02-27T16:16:00.000-05:002011-02-27T16:16:02.822-05:00its about the .2 ya know!Soooo saturday we long ran. The four of us met at the belmar fishing club at 12:45 and stretched and chatted about our ailments from last weeks 18. Ultimately i felt pretty good from last weeks fun. No achey muscles really, no joint pains. Just Elvis--shocker! I'm sure he'll be with me for the marathon so i just need to get used to it!<br />
We started at the fishing club and ran north to the end of Bradley beach and then turned around south. We started out a little on the conservative side for pace, but still faster than we had been. There is something about knowing you are "only" going 10 miles. We turned around at the end of Bradley and were feeling awesome. Granted, we were only about 1.5 miles in. So we just kept running and were conscious of keeping our pace a bit quicker than we had. This run was supposed to be at PMP (predicted marathon pace) but we ran much faster than that. Good or bad idea??? <br />
We got to mile 5--SNAAAACK time!!! We only had one snack time today, and my snack choice was GU--Mandarin Orange Flavor. I didn't have a whole lot of choices in the cabinet to go with, so that was it. I did carry it intimately close to me again so it was body temperature which helps with the texture a LOT! And the flavor was pretty good actually. Might be one of my snacks during the actual marathon!<br />
The whole way south after the turn around, my intestines were a little grumbly. I am not sure if its because i KNOW i can stop at my top secret location. I ate the same thing i had eaten the last two Sundays we ran. But again, this Saturday run, i had to stop. Something about the Saturday after snap run that kills me! Danny stopped with me and Moe and Mike kept on going. We told them we would catch up! So, when i got done in the bathroom (ahhh felt so much better), we made like a bread truck and hauled buns! We raaaaan and raaaaan faster than we ever had before. Danny and i were moving at about 8:30's to catch them. Unfortunately for us, they also picked up their pace so it took us a few miles to catch up with them! Danny and I ran at 8:30's for 3 MILES!! Whaaat?!? At 8 miles (or a little before) in we caught up with Mike and Moe and we ran it into the end of the run together the 4 of us. We have joked a lot about the .2 at the end of the race, so today again we ran 10.2. Its not about the 26 miles you run, its about if you can run the .2 or not! After we finished, we saw that our average moving pace was 9:15's!!! So proud of us!<br />
After this week (and last week) i really am feeling more and more ready for the marathon (FOUR WEEKS AWAY!!!) I have already decided on my outfit. I got my new sneaks to break in. I have figured out my snacks for snack time. I have my water management under control. I'm ready!!! I just need to continue to work on my diet and stomach so that i won't have to stop during the run. However, during 10 miles you have time to think. And i decided, if i go have the need to go during the race, I'm just going to stop. The 3 minutes its going to take will save me so much agony and discomfort and i will be able to finish the race in a good way!<br />
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Today, i used as a rest day. Got to sleep in and relax which was so nice, i stretched out, and i really feel great! Tomorrow i am doing an cross train day, and then Tuesday is sprints. Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-46677935413150864762011-02-25T11:34:00.000-05:002011-02-25T11:34:24.552-05:00Did i really just say "That was easy!"???so here's the thing. I recognize that we are training for a marathon. We have been for almost 14 full weeks now. And so i should be able to run a shorter distance such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, even 7 miles without any problem. However, this hasn't been the case. I have felt that no matter what distance I'm doing, i always feel like its hard, and i want to stop, rest, take a break, skip it, etc.<br />
So yesterday, i had work, and then the dentist at 3pm. (Teeth are perfect according to him btw :-D) After that i went right to the gym. Since i was in Belmar already, i decided to go to Wall WOW instead of going all the way back to Ocean. Now, at Ocean, I've already discussed "MY" treadmills and my usual routine. I've only been to Wall gym one other time. I was really going out on a limb with this one! I got there, and i didn't really know what treadmills were where and which to use. I looked around and saw the same type/brand of treads i use at Ocean, so i thought I'd give it a whirl. Upon further inspection i decided those treads were prettttty nice! They have a wide screen HD TV (unlike Ocean) attached to each one. The controls for the TV are easy to press buttons (unlike Ocean). They all were working (unlike Ocean). Already i was getting a bit more excited. As i was doing my one mile warm-up, i was looking for something good to watch on TV. I usually run with my iPod but i thought while i warmed up I'd get some TV in. I came across "E! Investigates--Rich Kids Who Kill" and thought--hmm... perfect! Once my warm up was over i kept the TV going and i upped the treadmill to 6.3 (9:30 min/mile--keep laughs to yourself please!) Here, i trotted along for a few miles. Early on i kinda thought to myself how this felt easier than normal. By 2-3 miles in, I'm certainly usually complaining in my head! When i got to the 4th mile of the tempo i upped the tread to 6.4, a 9:22 min/mile. Went along with that and still felt okay, so for the last mile i upped the treadmill 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.8 every quarter of a mile. When i got done, i actually still thought to myself that i could have kept going! It was like i was running downhill the whole way! Whaaaat!! Who am i am and what happened to my former self!?!?<br />
I have now found a new love--running on the treadmills in Wall. I don't know if its because they are new and haven't been beaten up yet, or if the manfacturer has just made a better product, but i'm officially hooked! Add in the fact that i was wearing my NEW headphones that stick in my ears and i was all set. <br />
No sweat in my ear holes, noise cancelling so i can't hear myself or anyone else for that matter, a treadmill that runs downhill seemingly, and best of all--NO THUNDER FOOT!!! Ohhh life was good yesterday afternoon!<br />
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So today is a cross train day and i will be doing the usual stairs/ellipty combo. i always do the same thing, but i do like it, so it works out. Then this weekend we have a 10 miler. Not sure what day yet but i better go get some Gummy Snacks or Magic Beans before hand!!!Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-10362562598994559232011-02-23T20:40:00.000-05:002011-02-23T20:40:42.836-05:00i'm just all over the place today!Soooo after 18 miles i decided i deserved a rest---so i rested :-)<br />
Monday was a non-workout rest day. I did clean the heck outta my house--trust me, i worked out!<br />
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Tuesday was IW's. Who doesn't love sprints?!<br />
This was day #1 with my new headphones. Erin is the bestestttt!!! She obvi read and agreed that sweat should only be for boys! Erin got me pink skull candy headphones with squishy rubbery tips that fit into your ears. I used to have them from Apple but i broke them in the car door--talented i know! They are really great because they seem to be noise cancelling. Thunder Foot climbed up on the treadmill a few over from me, and i laughed. Stomp as you will--i can't hear you!!! So i climbed up on my OTHER treadmill, set it for "marathon mode" and i ran. After about 10 mins (.80mile) of warm up, it was time to start the sprints. I did 10 x 400 meters with 400m Rest in btwn each. As i ran in my true "sprinting" fashion, i of course started my usual indoor sweat. Except--with my new 'phones, nooooo sweat in my ear holes! Yay the world won't be ending--and i have no excuse to take a break from running to adjust/wipe off my headphones any longer! Ehh, pro's and con's i suppose! <br />
I did feel pretty good about these sprints though. I did 7 of them at 8 min/miles and then 2 at 745 min/miles and then the last one at 8.0/8.1 on the tread, whatever that is! But surprisingly after the 18, i was feeling quite together and no injured. The IW's were good. <br />
Funny, Kelley is a space cadet, story however. After we ran the 18, i uploaded my run at Nike+ and was so proud of my mileage. They divide up into levels, so each time you reach a new one, someone comes on the screen and talks. Literally thats all you get, but i look forward to it. So i was on orange for miles 31-154. I uploaded 18 miles from sun and it brought me to 153.29 TOTAL miles for the life of my band. I couldn't wait to run the IW's and log those miles to get out of orange and into green. Guess i couldn't have been too excited--i forgot to turn it on and log the 6.3 miles i did on IW's booooo :-( I'm special!<br />
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Wednesday (today) was a cross train. I pulled into the parking lot of the gym, and was so ready to just pull right back out and go home. I have reaaaaally been dragging. Thankfully, my running buddies are in the same boat, so i don't feel like i'm being a total slacker. Its strange how you don't really realize how much training takes out of you, but its the only thing i can figure. I mean i get a full 7 or almost 7 hours of sleep at night, so it can't just be that. But anyway, i did get out of the car and did the elliptical for 50-ish minutes. I figured no matter what level i did it on, it was still more active than the couch! Again no lifting today--i've gotten soooo lazy in that dept. I used to have muscles--key phrase, used to! :-(<br />
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Tomorrow we have a 1easy/5tempo run. 6 miles--ha i do that in my sleep! Oh geez i need help!Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-91524525070763874252011-02-20T20:13:00.000-05:002011-02-20T20:13:47.085-05:00not mud, not snow, nor ice in sight will keep us from getting our run in!wow, i feel overwhelmed trying to write this post. Lets be honest, my overall day has been overwhelming with an 18 mile run included in it! <br />
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I started out my Sunday runday with the same bfast i used for the 16-er. Slice of toast with peanut butter and banana and then finished off the banana with some peanut butter plain. I did add in some other things today though too. I was sure to drink some water. I had a handful of gummy bears (mmmm!) and then a Gatorade prepare thingy. Ha, i doubt it works, but at least i can say i tried it. <br />
We met around 1030-ish at the Manasquan Reservoir to run today. I had never been there and neither had Danny, but Moe and Mike have run it before and they seemed to enjoy it. So run we shall! We got onto the trail and it was pretty muddy and still a bit covered with snow in spots that had iced over, which made for an interesting turn of events. Sadly i was wearing my brand new kicks in that mud too!! Anyway, we made our way around the loop on our first trip which was 5 miles. It took some balancing on our part, some careful tip-toeing while running, cross over here, jump there, and some complete stomps in mud puddles, but we did okay. It was a little bit windy, but NOTHING like yesterday, and nothing unmanageable. After that first loop, the time had come. SNAAAACK TIME!!! The first snack time i chose to go with the Power-Ade type GU Strawberry Banana flavor. It was in a pocket of my pants that's was intimately close to me, so it was warm and thinned out, and easy to get down. Good flavor i suppose, but i just can't get over not liking the texture of it! <br />
On the second loop around, of course we were getting a little bit more fatigued. In my opinion though those 5 mile loops go by pretty fast though. At this point though Elvis was really making some pressure in my pelvis. Thankfully that was the ONLY pressure in there this week! But with Elvis really bothering me, my hip was also starting to hurt. This has been a problem for a few weeks, but nothing i couldn't handle. However today was a bit tricky due to the uneven terrain. It was icy and spotty and my right hip area was seemingly not strong enough to keep myself in line... and when i would slip out on the ice on the right side, it really felt unpleasant. I will say a few four letter words were left out on that trail by all of us! We did manage to get that loop in on the trail before we decided to 'take it to the streets'! Up again, SNAAAACK TIME! This time i went for my Magic Beans! Sport Beans--Fruit Punch flavor. So yummy! Orange flavor might still have one up on this one, but much better than GU for sure! <br />
Next, we rain in a loop on the streets of Howell that ended up being 6 more miles. Add that to the 10 from the loops and we are at 16! You guessed it, another SNAAAACK TIME! This time i had some chocolate GU and an epiphany! Have you had chocolate GU? Holy cow--pure deliciousness! It was like eating chocolate icing. Which, if you know my diet, that is RIGHT up my alley! I can't believe what i was missing out on by trying 'Lemon Sublime (ewww now!)'. Now, that loop around Howell was seemingly uphill the whole way. No matter which corner we turned and which way we ran--it was just uphill i swear! We did mumble about how sucky we felt and how we reaaaaally wanted to be done, and knowing that when we finished we would feel such accomplishment but that was seemingly no solace at the time anyway. Not even my chocolate icing, i mean GU, was working as motivation at this point. And i certainly would not recommend going out onto the streets because there were a LOT of cars, and the shoulder was so small we had to run single file, so we couldn't even talk to each other for the whole 6 miles. I'll tell you the tease too, we got to the end of that hellacious hilly, car invested course, and we had to run RIGHT past the street to go back to the park because we had 2 more miles to get in. We ran a mile past, then turned around, and ran the mile back to the park. Yay DONE!!<br />
After we finished i announced to the whole group that i felt drunk! I was walking all out of sorts and pretty much having an out of body experience. If you gave me a hamburger i woulda looked just like David Hasselhoff eatting! 18 miles was the farthest i have ever run, so finishing it was kind of euphoric. Pure shock that i was able to get my body to run that far. My knees were sore, Elvis was a mess, i was hungry and craving a soda, and wanted to sit down more than anything in this whole world. BUT WE FINISHED! <br />
Afterwards, when we realized how long it actually took us, i was a bit disappointed. I mean 18 is a great feat, but we didn't run as fast as we had been, i didn't feel as good as past runs either. We did 10+ min miles, and some 11+ min/miles too. Must have been the hills! We are soooo spoiled running on the boards all the time. Nice and flat--a racers best friend :-)<br />
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While on the course, everyone got to hear my embarrassing 'snot' story from yesterdays race (sorry, will not be disclosed here!), Moe's awesome trip to Disney and how she rain in capri's and a long sleeve shirt (aww poor thing :-) ), and various other running stories that shall remain unsaid. Hey, what happens on the running trail, stays on the running trail. Well, that is, unless i write about it here for the entire internet community to read! We did see a bald eagle flying overhead. I have never seen one before, so that was just downright cool! After we finished we went into the center to sit by the fire---that apparently wasn't lit today. Man! But it gave Moe and I a chance to change out of our sweaty running clothes into dry clothes. Yes i get it, the drive home was only 20 mins, but it made the world of difference i swear!<br />
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So this week coming up, the sprints don't look so bad, but the tempo run is 8 miles again, and then only 10 for the long run. Not looking past that cause i know there is a 20 that week.Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-80704285834107920372011-02-19T09:24:00.001-05:002011-02-19T18:55:39.886-05:00What a year its been!Today is technically a cross train day since yesterday i rested (yet another Dr. appt) and tomorrow is long run. Well, today is going to be a different type of cross training day because I'm running a 2 mile Mid-Winter Beach fun run. Always a good time, and a good quick run, but i will tell you... you trot along and trot along and think life is just peachy, until the race volunteers out on the course direct you to the sand on the course. Its awfulllll! Its practically like running right into a brick wall at full force. And today its about 40 mph winds!!! There are many approaches to the sandy part of the run as well. Stay high and run in the softer sand but keep close to the top where the entrance and exit are. Or go down low towards the water line where the sand might be firmer but its that much more out of your way. Humm... i think i will make that a game time decision.<br />
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So today when i woke up i realized its been a little over a year since i started distance run training. Last year in mid January i was starting my training for the Asbury Park Half Marathon April 17th, 2010. That training was pretty good, except that was when i got my shin splints. Ouchhh! Talk about pain with every step. At least with Elvis i don't feel him all the time. At last years mid-winter run in Manasquan i ended up chatting with a podiatrist friend of my sisters, Dr. George Fahoury, and he suggested i come in and see him. So i did, and he fitted me for orthodics. I didn't get them until after the half-er was over, but since then they have made a tremendous difference in my life! Who would have thought I'd get such satisfaction from shoe inserts?! I also added the Zensah compression sleeves to my running outfits around September. I think they make a great difference as well. So the shin issue has been quite manageable really. Hope i see podiatrist Dr. Fahoury again today to thank him :-)<br />
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Its really crazy to think about how far I've come in a year. If you had told me last year at this time that i would be training for a marathon i'd have told you that you were crazy out of your mind! And yet, here i am! I'm really happy to have made this commitment in my life and stuck with it even though none of it has been very easy. I'm lucky to have such great family and friends that support me when i make these wacky decisions like running a marathon. And some of them not only support me, but then decide they want to do it WITH me too! I have great people in my life!<br />
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So tomorrow's 18, the whole foursome (Me, Moe, Mike and Danny) will all be back together :-) This will be the longest distance I've ever run in my life, so it will be an experience and an accomplishment all rolled into one! Check back tomorrow because I'm SURE it will be interesting!Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-67966180329216422102011-02-17T21:09:00.000-05:002011-02-17T21:09:44.174-05:00Sweat should only be for boys!One-Four-One tempo run today. One mile easy/warm up, 4 miles at tempo--which for me was 9:30's, one mile easy/cool down. I wouldn't say that this run was particularly HARD or strenuous per say, but I'm just darn tired of the treadmill! When you run outside, you run to a specific spot or destination. Even if you don't make it all the way to the spot you had planned on, you still make it SOMEWHERE! Which then in turns means you have to make it back to the place you started. The treadmill doesn't have such appeal. You get on, and you go and you go and you go some more...and your still in the same place you were in when you started. This is why it has been sooo hard for me to fight my urge to hop on the rails, take a break, or just decide to get off because i don't want to go anymore! Regardless--i chugged on! I was happy to have finished and of course LOVED being done. Have i mentioned Done is my favorite? :-)<br />
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While running i had a few thoughts in my head--particularly about...sweat! I was going literally crazy with the way i was sweating today. When i run outside, i imagine i sweat in the same pattern and same amount as i did inside on the treadmill. However, when i'm running inside, i can not stand the way it feels on my face. I have this need to wipe it off all the time! This need was how i hit the emergency stop button last week during the 9 mile tempo run while reaching for my towel--ugh! While that didn't happen today, i was really getting annoyed with the little beads running down my face. In addition to just the general annoyance i was suffering, i also realized how must sweat collects in your ears. I am pretty sure that ear holes (where you put your headphones) don't sweat. Except the sweat kept running down the sides of my head and right into these said ear holes. Without headphones, nothing would have bothered me about this, but with headphones i was really getting annoyed. My ear buds kept sliding right out of my ears! I must have looked like a weirdo because i kept taking my sleeve or my towel and wiping out my ears and wiping off my headphones. And they just would not stay in! I use Apple iPod headphones, so if anyone out there uses different headphones that stay in even if your sweaty, OR if you have better headphones that this doesn't happen to, please do share/comment!!<br />
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<u>ELVIS UPDATE</u><br />
This by far is the most frustrating and hard to handle injury I've ever had! No one seems to know how to diagnosis, no one seems to know how to treat, and its just not getting better! The doctor i saw yesterday told me that he doesn't think anything worse can happen if i continue to run so i can get through this training and marathon, and then told me to come back and see him after the race for the next step. That will probably involve 4 weeks of constant steady rest and round the clock anti-inflams so try to get this healed up. If that doesn't work then they will have to look into more invasive options. I just don't feel happy with this. I'm not looking to go under the knife by ANY means, but i just want someone, anyone, to know what I'm talking about with this Sports Hernia and someone that knows what to do about it, be able to help me, or has gone through it themselves. Suggestions welcome!!<br />
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So, tomorrow i rest, Saturday is Manasquan mid-winter run, and then Sunday is 18 miler with the foursome. YAY Moe is home!!!Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-37106685217349383492011-02-15T21:47:00.001-05:002011-02-16T07:14:02.164-05:00i looove me some IW's :-(IW--Interval Workouts.<br />
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Who on earth WOULDN"T love to be sprinting on the treadmill every week? exactly what i thought--not many of you! So i climbed on up to MY treadmill (which today wasn't necessary because i didn't go longer than an hour--but i'm a creature of habit i suppose) and started with my usual warm up. 2:30 walk then increase every 2:30 from 4.0 to 5.5...this particular IW workout is one of my personal favorites... 3 x 1600m sprints with 400m rest in between. Sprinting for a mile--how awesome! Again i remind that i use the term "sprinting" rather loosely with this marathon training because when i am "sprinting" i'm running an 8 min mile. ha! I did the turkey trot in November and ran 5 miles at 8 min mile. I haven't quite figured out why i can do it outside, and yet the treadmill is dreadful..but it is what it is i suppose! And these sprints were tough. I really pushed myself and i didn't let myself quit or even cheat really! Unusual for me when I'm tired/suffering through a workout i cheat--but i had Moe on my shoulder telling me not to! I mean, we have 18 this weekend, whats cheating going to get me!?<br />
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Also, in true Kelley fashion, my GI did not agree with me again today. I handled it very well and it didn't pose too much of a problem. But Elvis wasn't being so great. He was hurting today a little bit, which i can attribute partially to the pressure in my abdomen from various sources. It also seemed to add another additional pain about an inch lower than where Elvis is. And i was certainly not able to do any type of ab workout, stretching of the ab area, or some lifting exercises either! I go for an appointment with a specialist tomorrow at 230 (Dr. Cauda of Shrewsbury anyone??) to see what is going on in there and if Elvis is actually a 'sports hernia'. I'm excited at the possibility that i will be able to know what the heck is going on in there and perhaps figure out a way for Elvis to leave the damn building already. However, i must admit that i have googled and webMD'ed the whole Elvis/sports hernia situation, and i can't really figure out why i do that to myself?! There really is no pleasant information about pretty much anything on the internet and no one should look up anything on there ever! just sayin!<br />
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So tomorrow is Elvis's appt and then soccer at 810. I'm excited for this week at soccer because its the first time in a while that i didn't run 7, 8, 9 miles before the game--I'm gonna be SWEET out there :-) Then Thursday is tempo run. I'm not sure what it is exactly but i think 1-4-1 or 2-3-2... i just can't remember! <br />
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So tomorrow we health assess and i will keep you posted, of course :-)Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3208081365145259210.post-87781002130155684942011-02-13T13:10:00.002-05:002011-02-13T13:10:39.977-05:00This right here is THE SECRET TO LIFE!!!Well, its time to update about yesterdays long run. I had snap (Saturday detention) so we met at 1230 after i got out. Now, we all checked the weather and were excited that it said 41 degrees and partly sunny for Saturday. Umm.. no! When i got to the boardwalk it was so windy and cloudy and a bit chilly!! Probably felt like 28-30 with the windchill. Man i can't wait for spring! It was a good thing we all dressed mostly warm enough and brought hats and gloves etc.<br />
We started at the fishing club and went north to the end of Bradley beach in order to add some mileage rather than have to run on any highways into Manasquan. Soooo once to the end of Bradley we turned around south and went all the way to the Army Camp in Sea Girt. Its pretty easy to tell actually if you look at my Nike+ Post (<a href="http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_US/plus/?sitesrc=fbk_ab_plus#//runs/detail/431594602/832043089/all/allRuns/">Kelley's Nike Runs</a>) how windy it was and how long we ran into the wind lol. In the run towards Sea Girt we came across---SNAAAAAACK TIIIIIIIME!! That's my favorite part of the run. I had some Gummy/Chewy Fruit snacks on this run. "Gummy Snacks, Gummy Snacks, it's time to eat our Gummy Snacks!!" They were really yummy! With options like this available i can't imagine why ANYONE wants to actually use GU--bleck! Once we got to the Army Camp, we turned around and came back to the fishing club....sorta :-/ ..... Around 6 miles Elvis started to hurt a bit, which then starts a whole domino effect of other lower abdominal issues. At mile 10 we had our next snack, which i tried a new type of GU made by Powerade, it was muuuch thinner and a bit easier to get down. However, it tasted EXACTLY like Stoli O vodka. Ehhh, prolly not the best tasting thing to be consuming during the run. I fought to get it down, all the while thinking how delicious my Gummy Snacks were earlier and my Jelly Beans were last week. I think i will have to stick with those!! After i got that down, i was still feeling very uncomfortable in the GI area. We had to have a little "pit" stop along the way because i was having the typical Kelley issues. I will say that after our "pit" stop at a very top secret and undisclosed establishment that i felt MUUUUCH better. We flew the last two miles back to the cars and i felt awesome! Happy to be done of course cause Done is my favorite, but felt great the last two miles! It also helped at the turn around how the wind was at our back for some of the run--really pushed me right to the car :-)<br />
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It was really great running with Mike and Danny who were both really encouraging and thoughtful. Kept asking how i was doing, how Elvis was doing, and were really nice about the fact i had to stop. I have a great running crew :-) "Goonies never say die" or "All for one and one for all" or well... you know what i mean, something like that! Haha! I was grabbing for a quote about our togetherness while running...not so successful!<br />
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In comparing this weeks 13, to last weeks 16, I've come up with a few theories. Last week, when i felt so amazingly great during the 16, i realized, we did that run on Sunday. I was able to use the facilities before the run, and i had a much better bfast before that run. This week, before the 13, i had to work for 4 hours, only had access to a mediocre breakfast, and couldn't convince my body to "do the deed" before the run. Next week we have 18 and are doing in on Sunday. I'm already having a talk with my body to channel the feelings of the 16-er that i did so that i have a good experience out there with my posse. <br />
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Today i am just going to do a medium Cross Train activity. After yesterdays long run, i am surprised at how great i feel today! Enter: The secret to life! I'm sure you are all soooo curious and really waiting to find out what it is. Keep in mind my family is full of nurses--namely my sister who pretty much knows everything! Two weeks ago, before the 14 miler, she revealed that she took a few (3 or 4) Advil before her run. So Danny decided to do it too before he ran 14. I didn't have any so i just went without. Now we all read my post after the 14 at how great Moe and Danny did during this run and how i was about to call my mom to pick me up in spring lake lol. Soooo, the next week i took 3 Advil before the 16 mile run and felt pretty darn good doing it. Also, i took it yesterday before the 13 and still my body felt really good about it. It helps with soreness and fatigue during my run, and also after my run. I think its awesome and i feel awesome--hence the secret to life! For all you runners out that that suffer from sore knee caps and sore muscles during and/or after your run, and are not opposed to taking any type of pain management, i would HIGHLY suggest you try this secret out--its amazing!<br />
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ps for those that have asked me about getting notified of new posts--i believe there is a "Subscribe by email" below somewhere next to the comments section that you can click to subscribe!Kelley CartAronnehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17397564326085505199noreply@blogger.com0