1/2 Marathon and Beyond

So, I'll be honest here: I've had it with the training for this thing! About 3 weeks left to go?! Seriously?! I'm about to create the Desiree Smith 1st Half Marathon this Sunday and run it myself and be done. The blisters are annoying the crap out of me. I just want this to be done and over with already. Nevertheless...I'm staying on top of training, and it's going well. I did 11 miles last Friday morning - took all my will power to get out of bed at 5 AM for that one. But anyway...

Last Saturday I went to my boyfriend's cousin's wedding. It was SO much fun! The area behind the church was absolutely beautiful, a stunning view of Lake Michigan. I had a great time with my boyfriend and his family. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day:











That last photo of Phil and I is my absolute FAVORITE! Love the city skyline, love our smiles in this photo. I also love that I look more toned than I have in a long time, and so this photo really inspires me to stay healthy!

I realize that after the half marathon is over, it won't be long before shorter daylight hours and colder weather is upon us again, and I'll need something new to keep me motivated. So after some careful research on training, I finally registered for the Sky Rise Chicago Tower Up! event sponsored by the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. In other words...I will be climbing all 103 floors of the Willis (Sears) Tower.

RIC provides world-class rehabilitation care to patients - children and adults - from around the globe for traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, as well as stroke and cancer. The funds raised through SkyRise Chicago will directly impact patients' lives by supporting advances in patient care and cutting-edge research at RIC.

It's pretty intimidating, climbing stairs are a different beast! I will start training about a week after the half has taken place, so I will have plenty of time to prepare. The training tips for the Hustle up the Hancock helped me decide to participate in this event - yes, I realize the Hancock is a shorter building, however, it says you should be able to easily run 3 miles regularly before participating in that stair climb - so I figure training for 13 miles makes it OK to climb the Willis Tower.

I am required to fundraise at least $100 for the event, in addition to the $50 registration fee I paid to participate. I will push this more over the coming months, but will still make mention of it now - if you would like to donate to the cause, you can do so on my Personal Page for the event. ANY amount, small or large, is greatly appreciated! If just 10 people donate $10, or 20 people donate $5, I can reach my goal. I will be honest - I hate doing fundraising, hate asking people for money. But if you could help out this cause and help me reach my goal, it would really mean a lot to me!

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 9

This is the start of Week 9 (out of 12 weeks) of training for the half marathon. At this point, I am confident the race itself will not be a problem and I'm ready for it! I am up to 10 miles at a time now. I'll run 11 at some point this week - whatever day seems to be the least horrendously humid. I just checked out Tom Skilling's forecast, and I don't think I'm going to have much luck there. So whatever day I'm "feeling it", that's the day I'll go run.

As I've moved into higher miles, I've experienced some not-so-fun things that I either didn't think about, know about, or expect. If you're thinking of training for a long distance race like the one I am, I'm going to share these with you so that hopefully you can prevent them!

Black Toenail

This is the most recent fun filled adventure I'm dealing with. As my nail polish started to wear off, I noticed on my left foot that the toenail next to my big toe looked black. After days of not wanting to face what laid beneath the nail polish, I finally took the polish off and saw that about 75% of the toenail is now black. I remembered that after my first 10 mile run, that toe was hurting me for a couple of days. So I turned to Google and read about the fun of Black Toenail.

As you walk or run, your foot slides forward in your shoe, banging your toes against the top, front, and sides with each step. Your feet also swell during a walk or run and get compressed by your socks and shoes. That pressure and impact can damage your toenail beds, or create a blister under the toenail itself. When this happens, the extra blood and fluid cause your toenail to separate from the toenail bed, or the "toenail in training" as the Jeff Galloway site calls it. The blood colors the toenail black.

I've learned that my toenail will be normal again in 4 to 5 months. Beautiful.

Blisters

Blisters, blisters, blisters! I'll be honest, my feet are looking pretty gruesome right now! It started with one blister after my 6 mile run, just beneath my right big toe along the side of my foot. It was a mild blister, so I let it be. With each run, a new blister formed on top of it. Before my first 10 mile run, I decided to use some athletic tape on the blister to prevent it from getting worse. The tape rubbing against my skin caused a NEW blister beneath the one I was trying to protect that was far worse than the first! This thing was like 4 layers deep! I put Neosporin on it every night and that helped it heal faster.

Then when I bought new running shoes, those caused 2 blisters on my other foot. It seems I have finally found a solution now: I put a large cloth Band-Aid over the blister, then wrap that bandage once with athletic tape. At the end of my second 10 mile run, all the Band-Aids had stayed in place, no new blisters, and no more damage to the old ones!

Chafing

I've experienced this along the inside of my bicep that rubs against my tank top as well as between my thighs. Chafing is simply skin irritation. Some areas have lost a layer of skin or so! I dealt with this after my 7 mile and 8 mile runs. Finally I decided to look up some solutions, and a lot of runner's blogs recommended Body Glide, so I purchased some at Sports Authority. This stuff is AWESOME! I have had no problems since then.

Dehydration

I've finally forced myself to get used to running with a water bottle in my hand. As I've moved into the higher miles, staying hydrated is more important than ever. During my first 10 mile run, I don't think I took in enough water. I felt very dizzy after the run, and on my drive home (I had gone running with my boss that day), I had to pull over at two different fast food restaurants to throw up. Learned my lesson!!! My second 10 miler this past Friday went much better, as I made sure to drink all my water along the way :)


I felt so great after my run on Friday night that a part of me is starting to contemplate a full marathon. I completely believe that I COULD do it. The question is, do I WANT to?! I don't know if I feel like putting in the time and commitment for that one. We shall see...

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 6

Alright, so I haven't blogged in awhile, BUT that doesn't mean I haven't been training! Would you like a recap of my last few weeks of training? Here it is: I ran. Haha, I'll spare you the boring details of 3 weeks worth of running memoirs.

So here we are going into Week 6 of 12 weeks of training. I have started using my training plan as a template rather than as a schedule. This means I am pushing myself beyond what the training plan calls for - nothing crazy, but I know I can do longer distances than this novice plan. However, I don't feel confident about committing to the intermediate plan, so I'm making up my own somewhere in between.

In my opinion, my Sunday runs are the most important - Sundays are my long distance run days. I was supposed to run 6 miles yesterday, but I've moved that up to 7. I've added a mile to every Sunday from this point on. A week or so ago, I ran a bit over 6 miles, so that was somewhat reassuring even though I was pretty nervous about the 7 miles ahead. I mapped out my run ahead of time so that there would be no guessing while running outside. Another reason it's important to me to plan my runs is because I hate running along the same route twice. It makes it feel like you are doing laps, which I am not a fan of.

Running truly is about mind over matter. After I planned my route, I left the house with the attitude of, "OK. Time to run 7 miles." I started off at an easy jog pace - no need to burn myself out. My momentum and stride picked up through out the run, and I felt I had a comfortable cadence the entire time.

When I'm running outside, it really helps me to compartmentalize the run. I divide everything up by street. It helps to think "OK, the Woodward section is over. The Lemont Road section is done. 83rd Street is next", etc. It takes your mind off the number of miles that lay behind and ahead of you.

I ended up running 7.4 miles - and I felt GREAT!!! There was no lightheaded, tired or weak feeling. It's so exciting that I am past the halfway point for distance. Now it's a matter of "one more mile, one more mile."

I have to remember to keep conditioning myself throughout the week so that I can have successful runs on Sunday. Last week, I was feeling great and very in shape. So by Wednesday, I slacked a little on the working out and maybe indulged in some extra ice cream. When I start feeling really good about my body, I'll start to slide back into those old habits. Then I have to remind myself, "No, Desiree, despite what Lady Gaga says you were not born this way!" Haha.

I should add some notes on the Warrior Dash, which was last Sunday. If you were thinking about participating this year, you MUST do it next year!!! If you are exercising regularly, the course is really not that hard at all. One part had a very steep hill that I could not run up. The obstacles involved a LOT of climbing structures. I would have liked to run the majority of the course, but my boyfriend did not get in the running shape that he was supposed to! He decided to sign up for this event in February or March, and I told him he had to start running regularly to prepare. Naturally, he didn't really listen :) And even though I kept telling him leading up to the race that I was going to run whether he could keep up or not, I of course felt bad doing so during the actual event and wanted us to go through it together. So, we walked 50-60% of it. The important thing is...we had a lot of fun!

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 3

Alright, so my birthday kinda ruined my training. I was on track up until Wednesday, then Thursday was a horribly stressful day at work. I met up with my cousin after work, and we had a birthday dinner at Portillo's. You cannot work out on a stomach full of Portillo's!!! Then Friday I went out with some friends, and Saturday was my actual birthday. I was hoping to run in the morning on Saturday, but by the time I woke up it was already too damn hot. Then on Sunday...well, I was too busy recovering from Saturday to be able to go run!

On Monday I went to the gym and did a light workout of weights and cardio. Last night my schedule said to run 3.5 miles; I did just that. I was supposed to run 2 miles tonight; I did my 4 mile route. What a suffocating, miserable run! I had to stop and walk a few times, but never for more than a minute/minute and a half. I really wanted to stop and turn around after a mile, but I'm glad I pushed through it!

I stayed right on track during the first week, and fell off the wagon a little in the second week. With this week though and moving forward, there is no room to be lazy anymore! There are 10 weeks to go until the half. I'm still at a point where the training is pretty easy for me - I haven't done a run yet that was beyond anything I've done before. The more challenging, longer distances start next week! Ahhhh!

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 2, Days 2 and 3

Week 2, Day 2: Monday, May 30

Today my training says to stretch and strengthen. Well, I didn't do much of that. I went on an 8 mile bike ride though! And did some core work when I got home.

Week 2, Day 3: Tuesday, May 31

Heard we were supposed to get bad storms tonight so I was assuming I would have to run on the treadmill. Thankfully it stayed clear for the evening and I went for a run with my brother. We went a different route than normal. About a mile in, I was feeling like crap and getting a cramp in my side, but I kept pushing. As usual, he was about a quarter of a mile ahead of me. Once in awhile he circles back, gives me this cute checking-on-you-sis smile, and then he keeps on going. As long as I keep him in my sight, it's a good push.

I felt like were running FOREVER. I was confident that when we reached our halfway point and were looping back home that we were running about 6 miles. The last couple miles I felt really, really good. Came home to my computer, jumped on Map My Run, plotted my route and saw...3.7 miles. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!? This felt soooooo much longer than my 5 mile run on Sunday! Ugh. Very disappointed, but my training only called for 3 miles today so at least I did a little over. And hey, this is only Week 2.

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 2, Day 1

Just a quick recap on Week 1 - I stuck to all my training except for 30 minutes of cardio I was supposed to do on Saturday. Just didn't have the chance to do it. I'm feeling really good though! I've been right on target with or past my goals each day.

Week 2: Sunday May 29th

Today my running plan called for a 4 mile run. I was actually feeling really good and made it 5 miles! If you're new to running or want to start, I really recommend plotting your route before you go instead of just thinking "I'll go outside and run till I feel like stopping." Planning a route first helps you in a number of ways - mostly, I feel it helps you finish the route. When you know what your end point is, you can talk yourself through finishing it a lot easier. By the time I looped back around to the home stretch of my route today, I knew I didn't have that much further to go and I knew I would finish no problem. Planning your route can also help you push yourself further - I could have done my standard 4-mile route today, but I decided to throw an extra street in there and pushed myself an extra mile by doing so.

There are a number of devices, apps, etc. that you can use to see how far you've run, but I just like using Map My Run. It's free and you just plug in your starting address and then plot your route to see the distance.

I felt tired after my run, but I also felt really good and a lot more confident about the training ahead. It's just about adding 1 more mile at a time!

1/2 Marathon Training: Week 1, Days 1-3

Every year goes by faster and faster! I cannot believe Memorial Day weekend is already upon us. A year ago I was training for my first triathlon, excited and nervous about the training that lay ahead of me. I feel that same way now as I'm 3 days into Week 1 of my marathon training!

So far, things are going great and my back feels fantastic. I still have more chiropractor visits ahead, so seems my back should stay that way. I wanted to go to a yoga class yesterday, but to my surprise, the chiro advised against that...he said it's too early to be adding classes in where you're following the pace of someone else who doesn't know your physical situation. This was disappointing and I almost felt it was a little too cautious, but I remembered that the one time I did try yoga, the instructor tended to walk around and adjust your hips and things like that, so it probably isn't a good idea to go.

Here's a recap of my training so far:

Day 1, Sunday, May 22

I went on a 4 mile run with Julie, a long time friend of Phil's who is also training for the same 1/2. It was an easy pace and a good way to return to exercise, since I'd been off for almost 2 weeks. After having to take so much time off from working out, it felt great to be running again and I definitely had a runner's high.

Day 2, Monday, May 23

Training today only said stretch and strengthen, but it was too gorgeous of a day to NOT go for a run. I wasn't very smart about my run though...I went jogging about 10 minutes after eating 2 fresco style tacos from Taco Bell. I felt sick for me entire run, which was about 2.5 miles. Should've stuck to a Luna bar!!! Then I went to the gym with my friend Steph and did some weight machines - mostly arms - and then 20 more minutes cardio on the crossramp. I think I need to push it more with weightlifting. I don't feel any burn today at all. I am REALLY going to miss boot camp. I love that achy muscle feeling!

Day 3, Tuesday, May 24

Feeling kind of nauseous this evening, so I did one of the crosstraining workouts for the week that my schedule lists. I did 30 minutes on the Stairmaster alternating between levels 8 and 10. I really need to get some solid meal plans in place, especially as I start adding on the miles. Hoping I can go running outside in the morning before work tomorrow, if it's not raining.

My bloodwork came back from the doctor's office and everything is in range. I found this a little surprising, I was really expecting my blood sugar to be off. I'm not sure why I feel so lightheaded, weak, and hungry midday. Maybe I'm not eating enough to keep me full...