Two Ears One Mouth

Woo hoo the marathon was everything I hoped it would be! Wait, no it wasn't. I didn't actually do it. Allow me to explain... I'm still not entirely pleased with myself or the experience and it's for entirely vain and ridiculous reasons I've yet to overcome. In layman's terms, I have a big ego. To make a long story short, I dropped down to the half marathon (which is still a really long way!) and walked with a peg leg until yesterday afternoon ish. Prior to this race I didn't actually know where Savannah was (read how unprepared I was here ). We hit the road for what would become a 6+ hour drive to Atlanta Thursday night where we stopped for the night and I crashed on a friend's couch before getting up Friday and making the 3-4 hour drive to Savannah. We passed actual cotton fields and trees that looked like they were still in early October instead of November by their color and abundance of leaves. It was also very flat and very straight the ...

You all seemed to love my marathon bucket list post and that is awesome because now I know who to call to join me at which race. And who to tag along with. So thanks for that :) via One race that was missing from the list but will hopefully  be no less awesome is the Rock 'n' Roll Savannah marathon that I'm running this weekend! via When I was working at the running shoe store I met one of my very favorite people, we'll call her E for identity protection although you can just read her blog and you'll learn everything about how awesome she is. Anyway, we were hanging out at work during a particularly slow period and somehow she happened upon this race and revealed that it would be taking place on her birthday. Now she is younger than me but a much more accomplished runner so she quickly signed up and then decided to recruit friends to come along. We were close to renting a van, gathering anyone who could be gathered and driving down to make this t...

I know the title can be misleading so to clarify, this is a bucket list of marathons I'd like to run. Not just a really long bucket list. I'm keeping it to a top 10 because any list longer than 10 is just too long. This post was inspired by my new blog friend Eat Pray Run DC . If you haven't read her blog, you should, because it's prettier than mine. Anyway, here we go, in no particular order... 1. Marine Corps Marathon People who have run it never shut up about it so it must be great. Plus it's in DC and hello, Marines. Ooo rah. via 2. New York City Marathon Since I was born in New York and lived there for a bit it holds quite a place in my heart. It's another one of those epic races people can never say enough good things about. My only hesitation is that I'll really need to get over that thing I have about bridges. (get it? "get over"...bridges...) via 3. Boston Marathon - as a charity runner of course Let's get one th...

Hey friends! I ran another marathon on Saturday! Fun, right? Yes. Let's Tarantino this and start at the end. I had a 3 tiered goal with this race as I usually do. First and foremost was to finish but this was the first time I had goals other than survival or beat the cutoff in a marathon so it was a little scary. My next goal was to beat last year's 5:42 which on one hand would be "easy" since I didn't have any broken bones this year but on the other hand, still scary because a lot can happen in 26 miles...not mention the .2. The last goal was a 5:30 or better. That was the time goal I had floating around in my head last year but not anything I was actively chasing. This year I was. I met my first 2 goals but I missed 5:30...again...by 1 FREAKING MINUTE. Another stellar performance by me (not quite  last in my age group) but more importantly, they also sent us these cute certificates we can print for ourselves. Why didn't I hit my elusive 5:3...

With a mere 2 days and 20 hours left until race time, it's time for me to update my playlist! Here's my current top 10 of must have songs but I want your input too! One of my favorite parts of road racing is the ipod playlist because you can unleash your inner teenager, give in to your guilty pleasure songs and have someone's soulful voice with you through the emotional marathon rollercoaster. 1. Taylor Swift - Shake it Off: I have no idea why I resisted this song for so long. 2. Fun - Carry On: A slow song, yes. But so perfect when I really really need to carry on. 3. Katy Perry - Roar: I hate this video. But who doesn't want to roar? 4. Kris Allen - Live Like We're Dying:  This song is good at getting me to "snap out of it!" and remember why I'm doing what I'm doing. In running and in life... 5. Katy Perry - Firework: I like Katy Perry ok? Are there people who don't visualize finishing a race with this...

Anyone who has ever "properly" tapered for a race has to know the feeling(s) I'm having right now. Everything seems off somehow. I can't keep my focus, can't make a decision and can't really answer any questions about anything other than my fueling plan. In case you missed it, I'm running the Indianapolis Marathon in 5 days and however long the little countdown clock on the sidebar says. My training got all out of whack from that little wedding and I've been quietly stressed about it for at least a month. I got in every long run (except for the 2nd 16 miler, I just jumped to 18 and went on from there) and added lots of 10 milers to make up for the mid-week runs I just could never seem to get to but I still feel undertrained and not quite ready. I'm beginning to think that's a normal feeling for anyone who races so I'm trying not to let it bother me. Hopefully writing something, anything  will help me empty out my cluttered little head...

I can't say that phrase without thinking of that hilarious Geico commercial... Anyway, this week I've given in to the rest my body has so desperately been craving. I'm getting increasingly concerned since my runs have not been up to my standards in both quality and quantity but I also know that trying to force junk miles in when I'm already tired never ends well. Case in point, Monday...or maybe Tuesday...I was practically narcoleptic and felt pretty crummy all day. In spite of this I was determined to run because "I have a marathon damn it and marathoners push through everything!" Sometimes I'm a little dramatic. Anyway, I did  attempt a short nap between work and running both because I was tired and because it was hot and I was hoping the temperature would cool off (which it did not). It was less than an hour's sleep and I still woke up groggy, grumpy and possibly even more tired than I was to begin with. #napfail. I continued to ignore tho...

Until maybe 9 hours ago I was never really interested in getting faster. My "racing" goals have always just been survival. Occasionally I have secret time ideas  in my head but I never really name a specific goal for various reasons. Let me just say, survival is always a valid goal. But somehow I tend to find myself repeatedly ever so slightly disappointed in my performances. I always say I never want to race to exhaustion. I don't want to be the person crawling and puking at the finish line. I want my pictures to be triumphant and as Carrie Bradshaw once said, "impossibly fresh looking". That's not entirely true, I actually think I look my best all sweaty and a little roughed up. The triumphant part was true though.  Anyway, after my longest long run ever last week outside of a race (18 miles! Boom.) I felt awesome. I'd figured out my nutrition and hydration, kept an embarrassingly slow pace so I didn't die in the heat and humidity and finished feel...

I should probably confess that I don't hate Mondays. I guess I don't like them but I definitely don't hate them. Today has actually been fun though because this morning I met with my new dietitian and she says she's going to make sure I stop breaking bones. I don't want to turn that into a bad habit. How was your weekend? I actually had a pretty good one and don't remember a lot of it. Not because I was drunk but because it wasn't terribly eventful which is just the way I like them. I went to the movies Friday and saw Lucy which did a great job of making my life seem inferior then I met up with a new person for a Saturday long run. I haven't talked about it much but yes, I'm still doing that marathon running thing. And I love, love, LOVE long shorts. No thanks 4 inch inseam! I'm always super nervous about new people or even doing new things with people I already know so I was up bright and early from anxiety alone. I tried out my ...

As a follow up to my last post, I still have no idea what that random crazy pain was. I'm feeling pretty much back to normal and had a follow up with my doctor. Waiting for more test results and "hoping" it was maybe just a one time freak incident. So in the meantime, we'll return to regular programming. I have had a series of crappy runs to start off this training cycle. So far, I haven't gotten terribly discouraged but I know that I can only continue talking myself off the ledge for so long before I'll need to start really seeing better days. source There are a couple of reasons I suspect my runs have been less than stellar. First, I haven't been running. If you follow me on dailymile you'll notice I've been working out a lot but not doing any sessions dedicated to just running. Before training I was running maybe twice per week as part of my Orangetheory Fitness circuit workout which would average maybe 5 or so miles per week, swimmi...

Earlier this week I tweeted  a question to my followers (p.s. You should be one!) asking how I would spend my last free Saturday before inviting in the marathon monster. Upon further investigation I found that since I ended up changing my mind about which race I was going to do I was already a week behind. So last  Saturday was my last time to sleep in. Which I didn't do, if you'll recall that little swim I did. It was mildly disappointing but last night I decided to suck it up and spent a few minutes updating my play list so I could actually enjoy myself. What is it about new music that makes you really excited to run and listen to it? I mean, realistically I could just listen to the songs whenever I want.    source Anyway, in an attempt to do it right from the start this time I was up around 5 am so I actually had time to eat before I ran. I didn't do a great job at it today but at least being awake early will serve me well when I really need  to...

Welcome friends to the blog of a two-time marathoner! SPOILER ALERT! I finished the Louisville Dream Factory Marathon with second in my (super tiny) age group! I've said this about a billion times already to people not on the internet that it was truly the race you dream of! Leading up to race day the weather was sketchy at best and the day before was a miserable cold, drizzly day so I had my fingers crossed for Sunday. Luckily it was dry and calm when I woke up though very cold. I think it was in the low 40s so I was glad to have a throwaway shirt to wear for the first few miles. Otherwise it was sunny and pretty, a perfect day for marathoning! I'd forgotten how different waking up before a marathon is than any other race. I put my timing chip in my shoe and planned to attach it in the morning since I always wake up super early for race days and I did but I didn't take into account how long it would actually take to put it on. It was one of the old school chips wit...