Inside the Marathon

If you've been here awhile, you may have checked out my "training" tab at the top of my blog and realized that I'm doing a lot of walking and running and you may have wondered what I may be training for…well, now you know. I was training for a marathon and on the 5th of April it was D day.  So much has added up to all this:

The Decision
I met up with the Tamblyns and Smiths for lunch in December and as we were leaving I was talking to Beth about her running and asked if she was training for anything and she said no, so I told her we should do a race together.  She said that would be fun and I suggested the Yakima Canyon, thinking it was a half-marathon.  She said, it was a full marathon and I thought, I can't do that…yet I told her I would think about it.  I thought and thought and figured if we were going to do this, we needed to get on this training and that's where it all started.

The Training
It started out slow and steady and kept going and going and going until all I was doing was work, sleep, and training.  Some days were easier than others.  Some days were harder.  I loved being out getting all the exercise.  And what I couldn't really believe was how close things really were when walking there.  It always seemed like Emerald Downs was super far away, yet from my house, it's only 5 miles and down to Pacific it's only 9.8miles.  It seemed like it would never end, but I'm so glad that I did it, cause it made the race seem not as bad.

I got this training plan from CoachJenny.com and stuck to it, well kind of.  When I actually tracked out how many weeks we had and how many weeks the training was, I was going to be short 6 weeks.  Yeah, that is right. I only had 14 weeks to train.

Also during training for the marathon, I was also doing T25 with the people at the gym, which I think was really good. I loved it and I think it really helped with my core muscles.



Telling Everyone
I was super slow to tell people, because I didn't know if I was really going to stick with it. I also was unsure if my running partner in all this was going to do the same.  So I didn't really tell many people, but as I got more and more into training and actually signed up (in Februrary), I would tell people.  People's reactions were interesting.  Some were amazed.  Some were impressed.  Some sad it was better me than them.

The Days Before the Race
I was pretty hyped and ready to go…well at lease that is what I was telling everyone. I was just ready to get it over with.  I did my last week of training.  I wore my tennis shoes to work, so nothing would happen to my feet (like blisters).  I stayed away from sick people and tried to get as much sleep as I could.
I took the day before the race to finish up last minute things, de-stressed (Yep, I played golf.), and drive over to the race.  Thankfully, only a few country songs played while I was driving over and my eyes only welled up a little.  There was no full blown tears, like before.  The drive was easy and check-in to the hotel was simple.
Then it was on to Selah to pick up my race partner.

Just What I've Been Up To...

Nothing big really?!?!?!?! Only 3 months of training.

Run/Walking...Sucked!

It sucked today! I couldn't get into it.  It was a new route.  I thought it would be cold and I ended up dressing too warm.  It was filled with scary characters.  I had #2 issues and no place to relieve myself until 4.75 miles in.  The wind was at my back the whole way down and on the way back it was pushing me back the whole way.
I finished 2:44:30, which is a bit slow, but that is because I walked most of the way.  Hopefully it will get better next week as I go for 12 miles before I get on a plane.
But it was a good thing I got it done yesterday, because it looks like this out today.

I'm In!

So, if you have been checking out my TRAINING, which is just under the banner, you will know what I've been up to every morning and what is turning into almost half of my Saturdays.  I'm TRAINING...TRAINING FOR A FULL MARATHON.  I know crazy, but should be awesome.  Yet again, a FRIEND and I will be doing this crazy fun adventure.  It all started outside of a sandwich shop, when I asked Beth about her running and if she was training for anything. She said no, but she had wanted to do the Canyon run. I told her I was thinking about that race and had wanted to know if she wanted to do it with me.  She then broke the news to me that it was a FULL MARATHON! I was hoping it was just a 1/2, but nope it was a full.  I kind of coughed and giggled and really had to think about it, but in the long run I said, YES!
Crazy, I know, but it will be so good to say, "I've done a marathon!"
The training is getting better, meaning just a bit easier and I'm not hating it as much.  Running on the treadmill isn't super fun, but it's warmer than running it outside, way warmer considering they turn on the heat in the morning!  Thankfully, I haven't had to train in the rain yet.
And tonight, Beth and I both signed up for the ACTUAL marathon, so I'm in.  There is no backing out.  We are going to do this come rain, snow, or high water!  And the high water could actually happen as we will be following the river all the way down (yes! down) to Selah.

this picture was taken on a Sunday drive I took over 3 years ago along the canyon.