People have asked a lot about how painful running the marathon was. And, truthfully, it was pretty painful, especially there at the end. (Yes, I knew the hill was coming, but it still hurt.) But there was plenty of pain during training too. What set marathon day apart was everything else- the awesome volunteers, the yelling (and singing) supporters and the palpable excitement of all the runners. 

It was 30 degrees race morning- good for the runners but not so much for everyone else. And yet, thousands of awesome people lined the streets of Chicago from Chinatown to Boystown to cheer us on. Some had signs, some had cowbells and some had doughnuts to share. Meghan and I had such special support from family and friends who made posters and devoted their Sunday to chasing us around the city. People we knew could only be in so many places though, so having complete strangers yell out "Go Kelly!" (Yes, I taped my name on my shirt) was a rather surreal and uplifting experience.

I also can't say enough about the volunteers who got up ridiculously early, many of them knowing they had cold hours ahead of getting splashed with tossed cups of gatorade and water. 3 specific volunteers- friends, Megan, Ann and Ellen, who were at the first aid station, were quickly recognized for their awesomeness. Watch this YouTube video of the race and check out their sweet dance moves around the 40-second mark.  Not all the volunteers grooved to the beat, but they were all appreciated! 

While I know that for many runners, the marathon is serious sporting event, I'll remember seeing all the people who were running for something beyond an athletic feat, whether to raise money for an imporant cause (yay Rock for Reading!), to overcome personal challenges or even to have way more fun than anyone should have running 26.2 miles (kudos to running hula man, the running banana, the Loch Ness monster, aka running Scotsmen, the Blues Brother, the French Fry guy, and the Comic Book Heroes.

It's been quite an experience. Meghan and I are both proud of ourselves and grateful for the support. And now? Now it's time to celebrate!  Hope to see anyone who's in Chicago at our party on Saturday!

As most of you know, Meghan and I could be poster children for type-A personalities, and we will no doubt over-think, over-worry and over-analyze about the marathon right up until the starting gun. That being said, we are ready. Or, as ready as we will ever be. The long training runs are behind us; our outfits are chosen; and we have, at long last, found energy gels that are somewhat tolerable. 

We want to thank everyone who was able to donate for our charity- Rock for Reading. Together, Meghan and I have raised more than $2200 for this fantastic organization.  And thanks much to those of you who have been so awesome about encouraging this journey.  We have welcomed all the insight and calming reassurances from our runner friends along the way.

If you're going to be watching race day, please let us know where you'll be!!  You can also sign up for text message alerts to follow us as we run: http://live.activeresult.com/msg/MSG-signup.tcl?event_id=37. A big pre-race thanks to the family and friends who have already promised to brave the brisk temps and cheer us on!

 Here's Tom Skilling's forecast for race day:

"Unseasonably cool. Windy with gusty northwest winds. Highs nearly 15 degrees below normal. Sunshine gives way to clouds. Slight chance for brief scattered afternoon showers."

The temperature at the start of the race likely will be in the low 30s. 

Brr.

Neither Kelly nor I had expected temperatures to dip so low. In fact, we were hoping throughout training that it wasn't going to be too hot for the marathon. (Hmm, isn't there an old adage about being careful about wishing for things?)

The cold forecast has prompted a quick rethinking of wardrobe.

And by "quick rethinking," I mean panic.

Instead of simply shorts and a singlet, we now are discussing gloves and ear bands. 

Bank of America Chicago Marathon Medical Director Dr. George Chiampas offered this advice to runners:
"Layer your clothing, but do not overdress. You want to feel slightly chilly when you start running. Your body generally heats up approximately 20 degrees, so dress as if it is 20 degrees warmer than the actual temperature. You can shed your outer layers of clothing as you begin to warm up."

The layered approach is popular with many marathoners, according to an unscientific poll I took of sales associates while panicking about what to wear while shopping in a local running store. They guided me away from the border of Crazy Town and affirmed my choice of arm warmers as a solid plan for race day given the projected weather conditions.

I'll be using the arm warmers with a singlet. I plan to wear an old long-sleeve shirt for the first few miles until I warm up, and then I will ditch the old shirt. I'll also have gloves and an ear band, both of which I plan to ditch when I no longer need them. (One of the sales associates at the running store dubbed the ditching of clothes as "offerings to the running gods.")

The  marathon is less than two weeks away, and Kelly and I have begun to taper our mileage. Mileage decreases after the highest-mileage week in training to allows runners to rest more. Our longest run this week will be eight miles on Saturday -- quite a few miles less than the 20 we ran on Sept. 20!

Cutting back on miles and training in the weeks before a marathon may seem counterintuitive, because we no longer are moving closer to our end goal (26.2 miles). Tapering actually is beneficial for runners because it allows them time to repair damaged muscles and restock their energy. 

"So many runners train hard right up to the day of the marathon because they're desperately afraid of losing fitness if they don't," Patti Finke, co-director of the Portland (Oregon) Marathon Clinic, tells Runners' World magazine. "What they don't realize is that in those last few weeks it's the rest more than the work that makes you strong. And you don't lose fitness in three weeks of tapering. In fact, studies show that your aerobic capacity, the best gauge of fitness, doesn't change at all."

The Runners' World article goes on to describe what marathon runners should be doing and concentrating on in the three weeks before the race.

In the last two weeks, our focus is on resting, running at a relaxed pace and consuming plenty of healthy calories. Kelly and I also will need to work on staying calm and not letting our nerves take over.

Becky, Kelly and Meghan at mile 12 of 20.

(Note the delirious grins.)

Twenty miles is the longest run before the marathon!

A marathoner I know swears by his method of cutting all alcohol and "bad" sugars from his diet one month before the race. Not surprisingly, he is a cranky, cranky man during the first week of this diet. And afterward? Don't even think about getting between him and a plate of brownies. You'll lose a finger. 

Honestly, I do not see much need to eliminate sweets entirely in the weeks before a marathon, as long as one is not buying (and consuming) treats in bulk. 

So I'll cut back on my bad sugars for the next three weeks, but they won't go away. (Sometimes, a girl needs a cookie.) 

Cutting the alcohol? Now that may have some merit. 

Alcohol has a lot of calories and, depending on the type of drink, fat -- and not the good calories and fat runners are supposed to eat. 

Alcohol also can produce up to a three-percent loss of body weight in fluids within four hours of consumption, according to Runner's World magazine. Yet, after 24 hours, alcohol ceases to have a dehydrating effect.

An article on the topic concludes that enjoying a few drinks in the weeks before a marathon is not going to hurt one's running, but it's important to be smart about it. 

A glass of wine with dinner? Not a problem. A night of tequila shots? Wait until after the race.

And it turns out my marathoner friend is not the only one for whom alcohol is verboten before the big race. A quick perusal of some running blogs shows that other marathon runners use similar methods (and complain about them a lot).

So what the heck: Three weeks of not drinking is not going to kill me. Honestly, I've already reduced my alcohol consumption to a minimum because of the training. Making this next move shouldn't be too difficult...right?

Right?

Last night as Kelly and I struggled through nine miles after work, we remarked how odd it is that the 18 miles we ran last weekend could feel remarkably less painful than the nine we were attempting to complete. 

Wednesdays are terrible also because the pain does not end with the run but continues afterward in the form of nausea and extreme fatigue (neither of which hits us as hard on the weekend long runs). 

A number of factors contribute to Wednesday badness:

• We are used to training in the mornings on a relatively empty stomach.
• We eat multiple meals and drink a lot of liquid throughout the day.
• We sit at desks and work for eight hours before heading out.

It's a recipe for feeling like crap.

I won't say that I am ready physically to run the marathon, because that's a pretty bold statement, and I really have no idea.

I will say, however, that I am mentally ready for this thing. So very ready. 

Training began in June, which means it's been roughly 13 weeks of going to be early, waking up before 6 a.m. on Saturdays and drinking a lot more water than wine. I'm ready to be finished with such aspects.*

It has not been a horrible 13 weeks, just a long, long, long 13 weeks.

The training schedule itself is not too bad, and I think I would be less worn out right now if I had more free time in my schedule. Wednesdays are the worst: Kelly and I go to work, run together after work, eat something and go to bed. There isn't time (or energy) for anything else.

Training manages to take a good chunk out of weekend free time, too. A long run Saturday morning typically requires a long nap Saturday afternoon. Motivation to cross train on Sundays typically is pretty low. 

Just five more weeks to go. 




*Please remind me about this after the race when my toes have healed, I've blocked out the painful bits and I'm thinking about what crazy thing to sign up for next. 

 I'd like to thank everyone who donated to my Rock For Reading fundraising effort. This week I surpassed my $1,000 goal. 

Your generosity will help raise awareness of literacy in the Chicago area. To date, Rock For Reading has donated more than 400,000 books to Chicago-area organizations. It also has awarded grants to multiple literacy and reading programs at community organizations, libraries and schools. 

Of course, reaching my goal does not mean I have to stop raising money. Anyone still wishing to contribute to my fundraising effort can do so until Oct. 5.

My fellow ladies-in-running Kelly and Becky also are raising funds for Rock For Reading. At 92%, Kelly is less than $100 away from her goal. Becky, at 45%, is nearly halfway to her goal. 

Thank you again, everyone! 

...Got The Crud Beat Out Of It

I rarely pause to consider my toes. The ten of them and I have coexisted happily for 28 years with little drama. Certainly, they appreciate routine nail trimmings and the occasional pedicure, but that's not too much to ask for helping hold me up.

Our happy relationship, however, has come to an end.

Marathon training makes for angry, angry toes. 

I'll spare the more cringe-worthy details, but l must point out two things:

1. Toenails should not wiggle like loose teeth.
2. Red and black are distressing colors for toes to be.

Ouch. And Yuck.

Runners unfortunately have to deal with a lot of toe problems, such as blisters and black toenails. Of course, knowing I am not suffering alone does not make it any easier to coax my feet into shoes. (FYI: Today I gave up and wore beat-up sandals to work.)

I purchased my running shoes one-half size bigger than usual to help avoid some foot-related issues, but the toll on my toes from the long distances (and the crazy heat during the 15 miler) are making me think I should have gone one full size up.

(I would like to add that Kelly applauded my decision to NOT include toe photos in this post.)

In honor of this week's 15-miler, which is the farthest that either Meghan or I have run, I thought I'd write about some of the well-earned running opinions I have formed over these past 10 weeks. 
   
1- The gel/gu is better than the chews. It's much easier to pretend you're in college and shoot it down like a jello shot than spend the next 2 miles digging bits of chewy gunk out of your teeth.  Fruit flavors are more bearable than chocolate or vanilla.

2- The whole "cotton is bad" concept is not just a marketing scheme to get you to buy over-priced dry-wicking clothes. Actually, I found this out last year during the rainy half when I made the mistake of wearing a cotton sports bra. I might still have chafing scars. The mid-ankle, dry-wicking Nike socks with right and left foot contours? Worth every single penny.

3- It is ok to wear the running shorts with built-in underwear without an extra pair of underwear underneath them. Fine. I admit it. I caved.

4- Rain and clouds are good; sun and heat are bad. (Ok, I already knew this, but it's worth repeating for all those people who whined about the rain last weekend.)

5- Long runs are not fun. A quick 3-mile jaunt around the park on cool morning? Maybe fun. Getting up at 5:30am on a Saturday to run 13-odd miles on a crowded, humid lakefront path? Not fun.  Energizing perhaps, good excerise definitely, a good way to bond with people sure, and even, dare I say it, character building. But fun, it is not. 

6- Dog walkers are much more courteous about sharing the sidewalk than rich women with strollers. Just because you and your friend have strollers that cost more than my car does not actually mean you own the sidewalk. I'm just saying.

7- Wearing an ipod is usually more distracting than helpful.

8- Cars do not stop at stop signs prior to 6:30am.

9- If you stop running when it hurts, then you're not going to get anywhere.

10- Being able to eat (almost) anything you want, in massive quantities, is kind of awesome.

We've finished nine weeks of training, and we have nine to go!

I came across this nugget in the August issue of Runner's World magazine: "Athletes who get 10 hours of zzzs per night perform better than those who sleep less. 'An extra hour or two a night for a few weeks before an event makes a big difference,' says Napa Valley Marathon winner Peter Gilmore.'"

Say what?

Curious, I turned to Google and found this.

A 2008 study by the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Laboratory at Stanford University concluded that athletes who got more sleep each night reported improvements in training drills. Study participants aimed for 10 hours of sleep each night for five to six weeks.

"Very little, if any, attention is focused on an athlete's sleeping patterns and habits. While most athletes and coaching staff may believe that sleep is an important contributing factor in sports, many do not realize that optimal or peak performance can only occur when an athlete's sleep and sleep habits are optimal," says Cheri Mah, a researcher at the Stanford clinic.

Although the study used members of the Stanford women's tennis team as participants, Mah believes the study results are pertinent to other sports, in that daytime sleepiness would be reduced and mood and athletic performance would improve.

Well, damn.

How is a regular person supposed to fit a couple of extra hours of sleep in each night for weeks before a race?

My problem isn't being able to sleep; it's finding time to sleep. A few nights a week I can wrestle at least eight hours of rest out of my schedule. More often than not, I sleep between six and seven hours a night. And with all the training, I am TIRED.

My goal in August and September will be to increase the amount I sleep each night, which may mean cutting back on activities (Goodbye, social life!) and spending more time at home (Hello, elastic-waist pants!).

The marathon-training mileage has slowly been creeping up each week, and it's been pretty manageable so far. Unfortunately, "manageable" likely will be replaced with exhausting, frightening and time-consuming in the coming weeks.

Our Wednesday mid-week longish runs hit seven miles this week and next, then eight miles and then nine. The Wednesday miles peak at 10 on Sept. 16. Imagine how long it takes to run 7-10 miles. Now imagine trying to fit that in after work. Yikes.

Our Tuesday and Thursday mileage is increasing, too. Previously, we ran three miles on those days every week. This week, we run four on Thursday. In two weeks, we run four on Tuesday and Thursday. By early September, we'll be up to running five miles (likely before work) on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

And those Saturday long runs? Kelly and I ran 13 miles this past weekend (essentially a half marathon). We'll continue running longer distances until Sept. 20 when we run 20 miles. That week, we run a total of 40 miles. Let me repeat that: 40 MILES IN ONE WEEK.

After the 20-miler, the mileage will begin to taper in preparation for the race on Oct. 11. 

The most difficult part of the week actually isn't Saturday with the long run; it's the 12-hours period after work on Wednesday and before work on Thursday. It works best with my schedule to run the longish run Wednesday nights and the short run Thursdays before work. Kelly typically also does this. The Wednesday run isn't so bad, but the run Thursday morning is dreadful: too little sleep combined with tired legs.

So I guess what I'm saying is...I'll see you all again in late October when this thing is finished! Until then, you'll find me napping or running. 

Hello gentle readers,

We have heard your demands for another round of running-related haiku. Please enjoy these poems from some of our friends who also know the joys and pains of running. Thank you to everyone who contributed!

Pain drones in my feet
Knees pounding, Stomach churning
Finish line awaits.

You run behind me
Don't be grossed out; fabric slips
I pick my wedgie

Running intervals
should make you go faster but
is pain in the ass

I can’t catch my breath.
I’m never going to make it.
The first two miles suck.

Bikers go so fast.
Rollerbladers catch the breeze.
Runners are still best.

Black, bloody toenails
Huge quads, racerback tan-lines
Running is sexy.

In training for the half-marathon last year, I noticed a definite increase in hunger. Since I tend to snack a lot when not in training-mode, my increased need for food was a little ridiculous. I did not track my calorie intake or fats/proteins/carbs like I do now, so I'm not sure exactly how much I was eating -- but it certainly felt like a lot. 

This time around, I have found I'm not as hungry as before. Needing a snack, for the most part, is not a life-or-death situation. (Mike might disagree with that statement. I have, on occasion, fallen victim to the Hunger Crank.)

Instead, I'm sleepy. 

Pretty much all the time.

It's an interesting challenge.

Unless I build a nap time into my work day, I'm not sure how I'll get additional hours in. Luckily, I have the most pep in the morning, which is when I typically run. There is considerably less pep after work, when my favorite activity is face-planting on the couch.  

Goodbye, chafing.