I headed out today for my 3 mile run. Now that I'm not training for anything specific, it's hard to motivate myself to get out and exercise. I was excited to wear some leg-warmers today. I made a couple of pairs last year for a costume and really like wearing them for running. I can wear my capris and still keep my calves warm!
After the first mile I head into a wooded park. Once in a while I see deer on my evening runs, but figured I'd bee safe this early in the afternoon. As soon as I rounded the first corner I see a deer ahead staring at me. I could tell he was a young buck, because of the antlers starting to grow on his head. I stopped and debated what to do. I am scared of deer when confronted with them. They can get cray! As soon as the second one peeked it's head out from the other side of the path I knew I better just turn around and head back.
They may look innocent enough, but one wrong move and who knows what could happen...am I right??
So, I headed back and got in 2 miles. They were good miles though and I was glad I went out.
Do you run in the woods and ever see animals? Do you turn around or just keep going?
I am generally pretty active, so I was interested to see how these worked. I wouldn't say I needed them though. I wear neutral and minimal running shoes, meaning I like little to no support in my shoes. I like to feel the ground below me and wearing cushioned shoes actually bothers my feet.
Here are some benefits that the insoles say they will deliver:
The first time I tried these out I used them on the elliptical at the gym. I ended up staying on the machine for almost 2 hours while I watched Spirit of the Marathon. They seemed to work fine, but my toenails on my big toes sort of throbbed. I think it was a combo of me needing to cut them and the insoles being thicker than the normal ones so my toes were hitting the top of my shoe more.
I also started wearing them to work. I have a very active job and am literally running around for 8 hours straight. The first couple of days, I noticed the insoles were pushing up on my arch. It caused some discomfort, but I didn't notice it after awhile. They seem comfortable enough and haven't caused any more discomfort after the arch problem.
Would I buy them? Probably not...as in no. Like I said, I like minimal shoes and don't need the extra cushion, especially when working out. I will keep using them in my work shoes though.
Have you ever used insoles? What kind?
"I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes."
It has come to my attention that I seem to like doing things that end in -athon: triathlon (close enough), marathon, sleepathon. So, I've been on a documentary kick over the past week or so. What did we do before Netflix?
I usually like to watch documentaries that focus on the food industry and how horrible it is; especially when I am trying to eat better. I've watched a couple of those and more.
There was Bananas!*, a documentary about the Nicaraguan banana workers and the dangers they faced from the pesticides that were rained down on them.
There was Maxed Out, about how credit card companies prey on the poor and unknowing and make it virtually impossible for you to ever repay your debt.
And then my food documentaries: Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, Food Matters, Vegucated, and Farmageddon. I was surprised to see Dr. Fuhrman in a couple of these docs. If you don't know, he wrote Eat to Live and encourages a clean eating lifestyle. It made me want to reread his book and start incorporating juicing like in Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.
So, I am borrowing my younger brother's juicer while he is gone for a couple of months and I will use it as soon as I get the thing clean. He may be a great brother, but great at cleaning things? Definitely not.
I don't have the time to juice 3-6 times a day, but I will definitely be doing it as at least one meal replacer. I'm pretty excited to try it and will let you know how it goes!
Have you ever juiced? If so for how long? Have you ever done any type of cleanse? What did you do?
I've spent the last few weeks wondering what to do now that I've finished my first marathon. I have no running schedule to keep. It feels...weird.
During my marathon I told myself, "NEVER AGAIN!" After my marathon I asked myself, "When can I do the next one?"
I waited about a week and a half to run again. I figured I would go to the gym and just do a couple of easy miles on the treadmill. I started to run on the random setting. I felt very stiff and slow. After about half a mile I stopped running and reset the treadmill program to no incline. I walked a bit before giving another go at running. I made myself go to a mile before quitting again. I couldn't push myself any faster than a 13 min/mile, which was pretty discouraging. I left the gym with a pretty low ego. I mean, I had just ran 26.2 miles! How could I not even get to 2?
I tried running again today. It was a beautiful fall day - sunny and chilly. I told myself to just take it easy, no pressure, if I have to walk a little that's fine.
Right before I started running again. I love fall!
I took off. I glanced at my watch, because I was a little out of breath, and was only at about a 13 min/mile. I felt a little disheartened again, but just kept going. After just over a mile I decided to take a walk break. I walked for about half a mile.
I knew I could run the rest of the 1.5 miles home. I put my favorite song on repeat, Daddy Yankee's Limbo, and just took off. I felt good. I was starting to get a little out of breath again and saw that I was at a 10:30 pace. I slowed down a little and felt comfortable at about an 11:00 pace. It felt good to finish strong!
But, now what? It's hard for me to work out without some kind of plan to follow. I need some kind of race to work towards. I'm going to have to use the next couple of days to figure out what I want to do.
How long do you wait to run after your marathon? Do you always follow a training plan or just work out for fun?
I've been training for 3 months (and four years) for this moment; the moment that I crossed the finish line after running 26.2 (26.44) miles. It happened October 6, 2013 at the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon. I am finally a marathoner! It was worth every sacrificed weekend and sore muscle. And now that I've had a good night's rest, I would definitely do it again. I mean, not tomorrow or anything, but in a couple of years when I've forgotten how much pain I'm in right now.
The start was at 7:30 at Grafton High School. My husband and father in law drove me up there to watch me take off. They dropped me off at the start and went to find a parking spot. While I waited, I immediately got in line for the port a potty. I was jealous of all the guys walking into the woods to relieve themselves, but glad they were leaving the line, thus shortening it for us ladies.
The start line.
I found Kevin and his dad on the way to the start. They had run into his cousin who was running it too! He was already lined up at the start by the time I got there so didn't see him.
Before the start with Kevin.
I was pretty nervous about doing this. I kept trying to push the negative self talk out of my head, but the distance was still so unreal to me. Could I really do it? Is it possible? Would this be the first race I didn't complete?
When I lined up at the start, I found the 5:30 pace group led by Gary. He was pretty awesome and told us about his first marathon in 1980 (the year I was born!), his races in South Africa, and Mt. Kilamanjaro, and the time he had to be carried off Comrades after running 10 minute miles for 56 miles!
My view from the start line.
We started pretty fast for the pace group. By mile 7, I was only at 1:25 instead of my anticipated 1:31. I had fallen back from Gary, but I was concentrating on keeping him in my sight so I had something to keep me going.
There were some pretty funny race signs I wish I had taken pictures of, but I didn't want to stop. One sign had an arrow to the right saying,"finish line 18 miles" and another to the left saying. "Green Bay 96 miles". And right after that there was a sign that said, "Run faster. Kick off is at noon" Only in Wisconsin!
The race course was beautiful and pretty flat, like promised in the course description. There were hills, but they were gradual rolling hills and nothing like I have to run on around here. I passed a lot of people when I was running up them, which helped the self-esteem.
The actual race itself passed pretty quickly, except the last 2.2 miles. The first half of the race I stayed pretty steady. I was at a 2:45 at 13.1, which would have been perfect to finish in 5 and a half hours if I held that pace.
I had gotten teary-eyed a couple of times, once at the start as I crossed the starting line and a couple of times on the way while people were cheering. Right at the half way point I looked up to a group cheering and I saw Becky!! I almost started crying again! She ran with me a bit and encouraged me and asked if I was okay. She came back mile 16 and 18 to help me through. It distracted me from my pain for a little bit at least.
Mile 16 - courtesy of Becky
Mile 18 - snack break with Becky
At the mile 21 water stop they had a cardboard, broken brick wall for us to run through. Again, I teared up. I only had 5 more to go. There were people cheering the whole way and a couple of them even had snacks for us! One family was handing out breakfast bars, another had bunt cakes, and another had licorice! I just took some licorice.
At the top of the hill on Lakeshore Drive, just a couple of miles from the finish, I knew where I was! I charged down the giant hill and was running at about an 11:30 pace towards the finish at Veteran's Park and gradually slowed down and then walked. It seemed so far away! I decided to take one more gel since it had been about 6 miles since my last one. Hopefully, the caffeine in it would propel me to the finish.
I started my shuffle to the end. I had to start swinging my arms first before my legs would follow. I would run for a few minutes then walk a minute. I finally made it to 25 and a half and started running. There were people all along the walk way who had finished and were cheering me on. Our names were on our bibs and everyone was yelling, "Go, Jordan!" and "You're almost there!". I was tearing up again. It meant so much to hear the encouragement of the other runners who had already finished. They knew how much I was hurting and they knew what I had been through to get to this point.
I crossed the finish line right under my goal time of 6 hours at 5:57:56! I got my medal and tin foil blanket and hobbled to find Kevin.
Here is my finish that Kevin taped. I have a video from mile 18 that Becky filmed, but I can't figure out how to save it off of Facebook.
Today, I am SO sore!! I feel like I have a 6 pack of abs, my quads are screaming, and my left ankle is throbbing, but I am a marathoner! Yesterday, I said I would never do this again; that it wasn't worth it. I lied. It's worth it. It may be a while until my next full, but I loved it and it's everything everybody hypes it up to be.
I can't wait until next weekend to cheer Becky, Heather, and Marin on at the Chicago Marathon!! It's going to be a blast!
What was the best part of your first marathon? Did you think you would ever run a second one?
