I planned to write a post Thursday rambling on about my nerves and anxieties on the official one month countdown to the race.
Thursday arrived and instead of feeling overwhelmed with anxiety and race day worries, I felt calm and optimistic.
Does the race feel like it is just 24 days away? No, absolutely not. But it is and I am ready for it. I think?
I am trying to enjoy the novelty of this being my FIRST marathon experience. After this, the race will never be the same. A marathon will likely never come with this kind of excitement unless one day cows can fly and I run Boston. Running 26.2 miles will never feel like this, a complete unknown. I’m trying to stop and enjoy this journey because I know November 5th will be here before I know it and this will all be over.
In the meantime, I am starting to prepare for race day. I took off the Friday before and the Monday after the race. Saturday I am skipping my brother’s game to hibernate in NYC. I will load up my DVR with reality television and purchase gallons of water, my beverage of choice for the day. I will put myself to bed early knowing full well that I will not actually sleep. Now that I have my weekend planned, I guess I should work on getting there with my training…
Saturday morning I passed on TFK practice to finish my miles as early as possible. I set my alarm for 5am and was out the door by 6:15. In case you were wondering, yes it was still dark out. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any neighbors ending their night as I started my morning.
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| The 6am Central Park CROWDS |
My plan was to head up to Central Park and eventually make my way back down to the East River. I wandered around the Park making up the route as I went.
The first 10 miles were fine but then some unexpected pain kicked in. My IT Band out of nowhere decided to act up in the worst way possible. The pain along the outside of my right leg stayed with me until mile 15. Sweet. This was slightly alarming and certainly didn’t make for a pleasant end to my time in the Park. I decided to change things up and with 2 miles left I knew that I could finish the run on my way home.
Mentally, this run was pretty tough. This is the second time that I did 17 for a long run in my training plan and both times were challenging. I realized that 17 is just not my distance. It’s not short enough to seem like I can breeze through it and it’s not long enough to feel accomplished. I am aware of how awful it sounds that I don’t feel “accomplished” after 17 miles but when you have done 20 and 19 before, you just don’t feel the same.
Maybe next time in the training cycle I will sub my 17 mile long run for 16 and 18 to avoid the tainted number. Next time? I guess I should slow down and finish my first marathon before I think about the training for my next one…
I ended my run at Baked by Melissa which was NOT for me but rather my 16 year old mini cupcake obsessed sister. K made the trip up north with Dad for the weekend to challenge my reign as the most supportive sister. I grabbed an excess of cupcakes (I blame the endorphins) and quickly ran home to shower. Okay, “ran” was not the right word to use there. I would say hobbled.
I made my Amtrak and was in Philly with an hour to spare before the game. I took down a salad and was in the stands with the rest of our crew to cheer on my brother in his second home game of the season. The game was going really well and I was relieved that I made it there in one piece.
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| Sisters in the stands |
We were losing which was a bummer but my brother was playing really well so I was happy. Late in the third quarter, my brother pulled himself out after a first down. That was weird…
He was checked out by the trainers on the sideline but they left him so I figured he was fine.
He sat himself down on the bench perhaps to catch his breath? Maybe he took a bad hit? It didn’t look bad but he probably got the wind knocked out of him.
He got up again and went over to a trashcan where was quickly joined again by the trainers.
They all swiftly turned around to look towards the stands in the direction of the family section. This was my red light flashing indicator.
They were looking for his family.
I grabbed my phone and ran onto the field.
They were looking for his family.
I grabbed my phone and ran onto the field.
Where were Dad and little K during all of this? Well Dad was trying to get some sunlight as he took some alone time to sulk about the score of the game. He was also undoubtedly redoing the entire team operation in his head. He was pretty much in Egypt (or the end zone) and missed the chain of events. Once he realized that I was on the field with the trainers and my brother he decided to run down the steps of the stadium. The steps are steep and my father is in great shape but at the age of 60. I thought I was going to witness the second Hobson male injury of the day.
Long story short, they decided to send my brother to the hospital to get checked out. He was concussed on the field and they wanted to put him in an ambulance for the quickest means of transport. Dad went with him as K and I walked across the street to the conveniently located hospital.
Dad rode in the ambulance with him and I was delegated the worst job of all, call Mom. Mom was back in FL enjoying her weekend of freedom. This wasn’t going to be fun.
I called Mom told her the events start to finish since I was the family member that actually paid attention. Surprisingly she was okay. She was with a friend who I am sure dealt with the brunt of the Motherly Worries.
K and I went back to the game to give everyone an update and perhaps snag some food from the post-game tailgate. I ran 17 miles that morning and was starving.
After the tailgate and the game we joined the boys back at the hospital. K brought our injured brother the remainder of her cupcakes and I came bearing his personal belongings from the locker room. We stayed with him as Dad went to grab him a change of clothes and a hoagie. Apparently he wasn’t comfortable in the football pads? What a wuss.
The doctors ran all the necessary tests and luckily he was okay. The afternoon and evening roller coaster of emotions definitely took a toll on all of us. Instead of being upset, anxious, and panicky we were deliriously entertaining. K and I managed to “play doctor” with the exciting tools we found in the hospital room while Dad used every single Purell machine in the hallway because he thought they sounded cool? Don’t ask.
Laughter is the best medicine.
We left my brother in the hospital for the night and went back to Nana’s to finally crash. Dad joined him at 5am the next morning until he was released. K and I made a very necessary morning trip to Wawa and hung at Nana’s until church.
Laughter is the best medicine.
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| "Girls. In the 5 minutes you've been here my pulse has gone up 12 points. I don't know if I am excited to see you or you are both really stressing me out..." - BroMAN |
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| The funny noise. It gets him every time... |
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| CHRISTMAS CARD 2012 |
Once we got home from a much deserved trip to J.Crew, the family was starting to pour in to Nana’s house. This Thursday is her 92nd birthday (Yes, I did just say 92) and the family threw her a surprise party. She truly had no idea but got the picture when the masses arrived carrying platters of hoagies and pizzas. PARTY TIME! We had the chance to catch up with the family (we’re kind of a big group) and celebrate our fabulous matriarch. It was the perfect way to end a whirlwind Philly trip filled with highs and lows and lots in between.
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| Yep. That's my old man ruining the picture with bunny ears. It never gets old... |
Weekend over? Nope. Not yet. I booked a train home Sunday night in hopes of getting home quickly and peacefully. It’s not an exaggeration when I say the trip home was neither. My train broke down 20 minutes outside NYC when the motor stopped running. Awesome. I wasn’t tired at all or anything. Two and half hours later the entire train exited in a single file line and crossed over the tracks into our rescue car. I got home three hours later than expected and arrived with the beginning signs of a sore throat and sinus infection. Really, I can’t think of a better way to end this trip.
I took a sick day Monday to recover and rest. I am fully aware that I can’t afford to get sick right now and the chain of events absolutely indicated that I was heading that way. After a day of sleep and resting on the couch, I was back in action. Oh yeah and my brother is doing well too, I should probably mention that as well.
As much as the events of this weekend were both fun and frightening, it was nice to have a distraction. I didn’t think about my acting up IT Band or the plantar fasciitis that won’t go away. I didn’t think about the 22 miles I have to do this weekend or what I am going to wear on race day. It’s nice during a time when I constantly think about myself and my training to think about the others that mean so much more to me than this race.
It might not have been a weekend of conventional memories but it was one of memories for sure. It reminded me that laughter is the best medicine and if my family is healthy, nothing else really matters.
Okay. Back to the training and marathon madness...
Last week’s training was pretty solid. Monday’s TFK run felt awful but I was back to normal by Wednesday and Friday. I even caught myself on Friday wondering if a spring marathon could be on the horizon. There is one in January that I started to think about but after Saturday’s rough 17 miles I was reminded that I might need some time to recover from this first one.
I also learned this week that my legs do not favor a solid run the day before a long one. 8 miles on Friday before 17 on Saturday was not a good idea. I think my legs felt fatigued on Saturday and honestly and perhaps it attributed to the pain. Lesson learned. You never know until you try…
LAST WEEK
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
Sunday (flex)
|
TOTAL
|
TOTAL (w flex)
| |
TFK Plan
|
8
|
REST
|
8
|
7
|
REST
|
17
|
6
|
40
|
46
|
LA
|
7
|
Strength
|
8
|
REST
|
8
|
17
|
REST
|
40
|
This week I have my longest run (22 miles) of the training schedule on Sunday. I was technically supposed to do it on Saturday but thanks to my brother’s game (he isn’t playing but I am still going) and the NY Flyers Run I decided to move it to Sunday.
The NY Flyers are putting on the Three Bridges Run #2 on Sunday morning. They will take us through three boroughs and over three bridges (the Brooklyn Bridge, Pulaski Bridge, and 59th Street Bridge). We will cross the 59th Street Bridge at about mile 16, almost the same as in the ING NYC Marathon.
I am a little nervous but also pretty excited. I hope that Sunday will give me an idea of my pace for race day. I know my half marathon times like the back of my hand but this is a totally different ball game. I have a time in my head (no, I will not share) and this Sunday I will hopefully find out if I can swing it. Wish me luck!
THIS WEEK
Monday
|
Tuesday
|
Wednesday
|
Thursday
|
Friday
|
Saturday
|
Sunday (flex)
|
TOTAL
|
TOTAL (w flex)
| |
TFK Plan
|
8
|
REST
|
7
|
6
|
REST
|
22
|
6
|
43
|
49
|
LA
Plan
|
8 & YOGA
|
Strength
|
7
|
6
|
6
(flex)
|
REST
|
22
|
43
|
49
|
Oh right and did I mention that I HIT MY FUNDRAISING GOAL? Yeah, that happened last Monday if you missed it and it was AWESOME! I am so relieved and even excited to say that I am still receiving donations. Right now thanks to very generous family and friends, I have raised $2,779.20 for Team for Kids. It’s not too late if you still want to donate; there are still kids that need a chance to lace up their sneakers!
My bag is packed for Team for Kids practice tonight and hill repeats await me. I hope your night is equally as exciting!
Lots of Love and laughs.
XOXO
L.A.
LA's Team for Kids Homepage
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