Welcome! Marathon reflection and training update

Welcome to my new blog! This is going to be a place where I can talk about all things running related. I started running races in May of 2009 and I haven't stopped since!

In honor of the LA marathon currently taking place and celebrating my one year (LA) marathon anniversary today (WOOHOO!), I thought I'd reflect a little over this past year and give everyone an update on where I'm at in my training for #3. (If you just want the update, it's under the bold heading below)

First of all, kudos to everyone who ran/is running the LA marathon today in the rain! That is awesome.

So what inspired me to actually train and run the LA marathon one year ago? That's an easy one: my brother-in-law, Joe. Seeing him run the NYC marathon back in 2007 was an eye-opening experience for me. You can't comprehend what makes someone want to run 26.2 miles FOR FUN. You would have to be CRAZY to want to put yourself through that kind of torture, and yet it became something I wanted to do JUST ONE time, to be able to say, "I DID IT." However, shortly thereafter seeing him finish the race, running a marathon became a distant memory and was no longer in the front of my mind.

Running was NEVER something I enjoyed doing (swimming is more my speed-I grew up in the water!). When Charna, my sister-in-law told me she was signed up to run a 4 mile race on mother's day of 2009, I thought she was crazy! She wanted me to do it with her. ME? I had NEVER run more than 3 miles in my life! That sounded like CRAZY talk. (Remember a year and a half before when I felt inspired to run a marathon? I was TERRIFIED to run 4 miles! AHAHA) I started running on the treadmills in my NYC apartment building and came to the realization that I COULD actually run a 4 mile race and signed up to do it with her (and Joe). Since I knew nothing about running at the time, I ran the race in my Nike WALKING shoes. HORRIBLE idea. They are not build for running and I ended up with swollen ankles for two weeks after. It was so painful to walk. I thought to myself, 'If I plan on keeping this up, I should get some REAL running shoes.' So I did. Little did Charna know, she was creating a MONSTER! ROAR. lol ;-)

Many races after that first one (in both NY and Denver), I signed up for my first half marathon in Denver in 2009. I remember being in soooo much pain after crossing the finish line and thinking to myself, 'HOW IN THE WORLD CAN PEOPLE RUN TWICE AS FAR AS I JUST DID?' I took that as a challenge to myself to ACTUALLY run a full marathon. JUST ONE. I wanted my one and only to be in my hometown, LA. 

What most people don't realize about running a marathon is that it's like a marathon just getting to the starting line. 18 weeks of training for one day. One race. I remember being TERRIFIED, excited, confused, nervous, and questioning whether I could actually do 26.2 miles on March 21, 2010. I had NEVER run that far before, my longest training run was only 20 miles (and I tripped at mile 19)! I don't remember his name or bib number, but I will never forget what the man behind me at the starting line said when I told him that LA was going to be my ONLY marathon; "Oh no. You can't run just one. They become addicting and you WILL do another one." I responded with, "I just want to make sure I don't die and get to the finish line." LOL I had no idea what he said to me was actually true. I DID get addicted.

After 4 hours, 16 minutes, and 11 seconds, I crossed the finish line of the LA marathon. My goal was to finish in 4 hours or less, but due to ankle and knee pain, I had to walk some (oh, and I cried like a baby while on the course, at least 4 or 5 times because a marathon is like putting your mind and body through MAJOR trauma). I thought about giving up so many times during that race. I almost had a nervous breakdown at mile 18 when I saw a man receiving CPR under the mile marker. I thought he had died and I realized that we are all human, and we can get hurt. (He was totally fine after he went to the hospital) Just because you run a marathon doesn't mean you are invincible (although you may feel that way). It just put everything into perspective for me and I realized I couldn't give up. I had to keep going. As soon as I finished, I was already thinking about signing up for my NEXT race. WHAT?!? I thought I was only going to do one. I guess that guy at the start was totally right!

Due to logistical reasons (and because I live here), Denver became my second marathon. I ran it on October 17, 2010 in 4 hours and 53 seconds. My goal was to finish in under 4 hours. I didn't accomplish that goal, but I did cut off over 15 minutes from my original time! I was definitely proud of that. The Denver marathon was pretty uneventful for me, I was "in the zone" for most of it and I only walked ONCE at mile 21 for 1 minute (I timed myself). ;) 

Here's the update part about Salt Lake City training:

For whatever reason, I felt inclined to sign up for a THIRD marathon: Salt Lake City on April 16, 2011. The strange thing about training for this race is that I know EXACTLY what to expect since I've done it twice before. LOOOONG runs, 16 miles, 18 miles, 20 miles... This should be the easiest one for me mentally and physically, and yet I find myself feeling TOTALLY burned out from this whole 18 week training process. To be honest, I don't want to do my training runs anymore. AT ALL. I've pushed long runs back, traded runs with shorter runs coming up, anything to avoid doing them. I always felt good about doing my runs that were 12 miles or less, and now I dread the 8 and 9 mile runs during the week.

I'm not exactly sure why the change of heart, but I guess 3 marathons in 13 months was a few too many. 18 weeks of training per race consumes your life, we are talking HOURS per week out on the streets or the treadmill. So with that said, I'm going to hang up my marathon running shoes after Salt Lake City. Quite possibly for good (and I really mean it this time). The only other marathon I ever desire to run in the future is the NYC marathon, because that was the one that inspired me (and running through the streets of NYC is just plain AWESOME! I LOVED running the Wall St. 5k back in 2009, that was the first time I truly felt free-my mind was completely clear and I had no cares in the world). 

In the future, I'm going to focus on shorter distance races (5k's, 10k's, and half marathons) and increasing my speed... I've also been thinking about taking up cycling! Anyone know of any good bicycles? I'm not all that familiar with what's out there...

So to the Salt Lake City marathon: 324 miles of training down, 112 miles to go until the start of the race. I'm going to have to dig deep down to get those last 112 miles under my belt. I'm hoping to make this race the BEST one yet and not only beating my best time of 4 hours and 53 seconds, but beating my brother-in-law Joe's best time of 3 hours, 58 minutes, and 2 seconds. I am coming to take the family record and the only thing standing in my way is me! ;-)

P.S. Here's a picture to leave you with. The look on my face is the look of true pain. This was RIGHT before crossing the LA marathon finish line one year ago! :) 

If you are wondering about the word "PROOF" across the pic, I didn't want to pay $80 to get the originals. Having the word across the picture doesn't bother me because it isn't really covering anything up.