Marathon #5 - Complete

It's official, I am now a 5 time marathoner. Unfortunately, this past weekend didn't go as I had hoped. As many of you know, I've been trying to break the 4 hour mark for a while. The closest I've come was in Green Bay last year - 4:05. So, it's not as if it's not possible...

I feel like I did all the pre-race stuff right - made sure I drank plenty of water, got plenty of rest, and ate a good meal.

The morning of the race went smoothly as well. My friends, Carrie & Andy, and I made it to the start with no issues. The weather was gorgeous too! All of us felt good and were ready to have a good race.

I started the race feeling good and running right on pace. While my pace slowed a bit by mile 3, I wasn't worried. I figured I was just settling into my groove. By mile 6, I was feeling intense pain in my lower back. I've never had this happen to me during a run, so I had hoped it would sort of just go away. (I know, wishful thinking) Well, it did NOT go away. In fact, it just kept getting worse.

Some of you may be doing the math already... If my back hurts at mile 6 and makes it difficult to run at at all...then I have 20.2 MORE miles left to run!

I decided to trudge onward (knowing in my gut I wasn't going to hit my goal) and run for as long as I could, at a slower pace. I was doing low 9:00s until about the halfway point. That's when my back said, "Hey, seriously, knock it off!" Surprisingly, I reached the halfway point in about 2 hours - SHOCKING! But, there was absolutely no way I could continue like that for 13.1 more miles.

So, my new plan was to do a combination of walking and running. The funny thing is that my legs were completely FINE for the whole race! They never cramped or complained to me once! But, whenever I'd try to run for an extended period, my back would hurt worse, probably because it couldn't handle the constant pounding.

Your mind can play funny tricks on you. I could have sworn I walked a ton more than I ran in the second half, but my mile splits don't lie. Don't get me wrong, they're not impressive, but they tell me that I was obviously spending most of the time running. All of my second half splits were in the 10:00 to 11:00 range. If I was running 9:20s before, I can't have been walking too much to keep this pace. I tried to run through areas where there was good crowd support and then take walking breaks in between.

By the time I could see the University of Illinois, I just wanted it to be over. At this point, I had considered quitting twice. Just my luck, there were no sag wagons near me either time. Once I entered the football field, I ran as hard as I could to the finish at the 50 yard line.

I hadn't looked at my watch much over the second half because I KNEW I was well past my goal. So, when I saw my final time on the clock as I finished, the disappointment was HUGE!

I wanted a minute to myself to just "be" and to get a bit of my anger out. Unfortunately for my friend Carrie, who is awesome, she was right there to give me a hug. My response? "Carrie, I need a minute, seriously..." Poor girl, what can I say? I was mad and didn't really want to talk to anyone at that moment! By the way, Carrie and Andy both had awesome races and PR'd!

It's only been a few days, so I wouldn't say I'm over the disappointment yet. It would be different if I thought under 4 hours wasn't attainable, but I know it is. Both of my 20 mile runs were under 3 hours, so the goal was in sight.

The hardest part is knowing I put all this work in over the last 4 1/2 months, only to NOT meet my goal. While I'm happy for all who raced well, I had hoped I'd have the same experience. I definitely feel beaten down and unsure of whether I even want to try another marathon. I know, I probably sound like I'm being dramatic, but it's just how I'm feeling right now.

I've done my best to find some positives:

1) I have now run 5 marathons in the last 2 1/2 years - it all started with wanting to run 1!

2) I still finished the race, no matter how much pain I was in. My mental and physical strength were definitely pushed to the limit.

3) I had a great time with my friends and all from the running club who ran.

NKOTB are back!

In case you haven't heard, NKOTB, otherwise known as New Kids On The Block, are back! Oh yes, it's true folks! I realize not many can say this, but I have the privelage of having seen them TWICE in my lifetime.

I was a big fan of the New Kids back when I was a crazy junior high teenager. I'll admit it, Joey was my fave, he was just SO dreamy! I honestly thought Joey and I would end up together...somehow.

My friend Carly had to review the concert and was kind enough to invite me along. For those of you who had lost respect for me, thinking I ordered and PAID for tickets, please know, they were FREE! This was purely for the entertainment factor and boy, was I entertained! Thanks Carly!

We had a great group of 4 fantastic girls and we headed to Moline to see NKOTB at the I Wireless Center.

I don't know how else to describe the whole thing - it was CRAZY! You would not believe how many people were decked out in their 80's gear and rockin' NKOTB clothes, buttons, dolls... The 4 of us apparently didn't get the memo...we wore NORMAL clothing.

All 5 guys appeared from a cloud of smoke and began the concert rockin' their vintage material. Let's just say they rocked the same dance moves as well. It was hilarious, but I don't think it was supposed to be funny. It's a little weird to watch Joey sing "Please Don't Go Girl" in his adult mature voice.

Apparently, Jordan and Joey both had solo careers? I was unaware (yes, Jen, I know my mom gave me Joey's solo CD for a Christmas prank gift). But, I really didn't know those two went solo...or I blocked it out. So, part of the concert paid homage to their super awesome solo albums. The high point of Jordan's performance was unbuttoned white shirt blowing open to reveal his bare chest. Wow...very exciting stuff.

My favorite part of the concert was when Donnie came out... I was nervous, because I knew for sure he hadn't done a solo album. Well, he wanted to sing "Cover Girl" by himself, to all the single ladies in the audience. Do you know why? It's because HE hasn't found HIS cover girl yet, ladies! So, if any of you want some Donnie W. (Jen), he's still available! After "Cover Girl," Donnie planted a big disgusting kiss on some woman in the front row. She about passed out, I'm fairly certain I would have slugged him. The other awesome Donnie moment came at the end of the show. Donnie held up a huge white banner that said, "Go Green. Save a John Deere, ride a Wahlberg!" Gross!

Carly and I held our breath the whole concert, fearing they'd never perform "Hangin' Tough" & "Step By Step." But, NKOTB never disappoint, they closed the show with them!

While I knew NONE of their current "hits," I did find myself remembering the choruses from the oldies. I also figured out that it was ridiculous for me to ever like the New Kids. Here are a few reasons why:

1) I only liked ONE member, Joey. I honestly couldn't stand the rest of them. Why would I buy their junk for one guy? (Remember those big buttons? I had several!)

2) They weren't any good! Oh my gosh, how I wish I would have seen/heard how bad they were and been cool enough not to succumb to them!

Please enjoy the pics, I took way more than I'd like to admit, but come on, who knows if there will ever be another NKOTB reunion? :-)

Marathon #5 Is Just Around The Corner...

It's official, in less than 2 weeks I will have completed my 5th marathon. Right now, I have mixed emotions about how this one is going to go. My goal is to finally break the big 4 hour barrier (well, it's big to ME). While most of my training would lead me to believe it's going to happen, you never know what race day will bring. In addition to that, my legs have been unbelievably uncooperative the last several weeks.


Basically, this is the conversation lately between me and my legs:


Me: "Hey Legs, let's go for a run, ok?"
Legs: "Ya know, we're just not feeling it today, can we skip?"
Me: "No, we don't skip, we stick to the plan!"
Legs: "Yah, you and your plan are kind of annoying us right now. We'd rather go home, lay on the couch, and have some Cadbury Eggs."
Me: "Well, that's too bad, because we're going on a run whether you like it or not! We can eat Cadbury Eggs afterward!"
Legs: "Fine, we can go for a run, but we're not going to promise it will go well."


My legs have not been lying. Every run lately, no matter how short or long, has been a chore. I miss the runs where I just enjoy it and when I'm done I wonder, "Oh, it's over?" I am finding 4 mile runs to feel a lot like 15 mile runs...ugh!


I ran my last 12 this past Saturday, and while technically it was still just below (barely) my marathon goal pace, I know I can run much faster than that. This obviously concerns me with the marathon only days away.

Everyone says, "You're just tired, the taper is going to help, you'll be fine!" Well, I'm not quite there yet. I don't want to put undue pressure on myself, but I just really want to meet this goal!

I need to focus on getting my sleep in the next few weeks and on getting my mental attitude on the positive. Maybe then my legs will be back on board!

I can't blame them though, I mean, they're probably just thinking about my upcoming vacation to the Bahamas/Florida in the next 5 weeks, where eating and laying around will be the primary activities.

Winding down...

Well, it's been a few weeks since my last post, so I figured it was high time I post an update. Not that anything too exciting has been going on lately.

My schedule has been pretty much insane for the last 7 or so months. I came out of retirement to coach 5th grade basketball (this is my last year, I swear!). I work part-time (for fun) at Running Wild, and I picked up a voice student. Oh yeah, I also work full time and am training for a marathon. Basically, I'm never home before 8:00 pm on any given week-night and I haven't really had a free weekend since...hmm...I can't remember.

It's not that life's not good, I'm loving life right now! It's just that I miss having the option to just relax and maybe even, dare I say it, be a bit lazy? I love the girls I coach, they are a lot of fun, but the time commitment is a little much. I have weird work hours, 6:30-4, so you can imagine I'm not getting nearly enough sleep. I'm pretty much a zombie lately. There have been times on the treadmill when I've wondered if I might fall asleep while running. Not good, not good at all.

Basketball ends in the next few weeks, so that should free up some of my time. It will be nice to not feel like I'm literally running from place to place!

The biggest lesson I need to learn right now (I've been working on this for about 25 years) is to say, "NO," sometimes. I've always known it's ok to say no, but yet, I'm still not very good at doing it.

I do have some fun and exciting stuff coming up that will make all of my crazy busy-ness worth it! I'm going to see "Legally Blonde: The Musical" in DM with my friend Tina this Friday. My 5th marathon is on April 11 and I'm super pumped to have a great race and fun with friends. Then, I'm off for a 3 day cruise to the Bahamas with a friend of mine. I'm headed to West Palm Beach, FL after that, to continue the relaxation process. I can't wait to just "be" and not HAVE to be anywhere doing anything. I'm pretty sure it will be awesome!

Another year older, the big 32!

Last Tuesday, I celebrated my 32nd birthday. I have to say, 32 isn't too bad. I think it's funny how much our perspective changes as we get older.

My friend Kari started dating her now husband, Tim, when she was 22. He, however, was 32 at the time! I remember me and our friends being totally freaked out by the situation. I'm sure I made statements such as, "Oh my gosh, 32? That is SOOOO old...isn't it weird?" and "I can't imagine EVER dating a 32 year old!"

I know what you're thinking right now...that I think it's appropriate for me to find a 22 year old to date. No worries, that is not my current plan or desire. While I do think I'm more mature and, hopefully, a bit wiser now at 32 than I was at 22, the truth is, I don't FEEL old at all. I know, I know, 32 isn't old, but it's no 22 either.

Every time I'm on the phone with my friend Stacy, I feel I've not aged a day since high school. Yes, we are both aware we should be concerned, but we can't help it! We talk about the dumbest things sometimes and laugh SO hard! I see no reason why that shouldn't continue. If you can't laugh, then what's the point?

I've heard people say the 30s are supposed to be so great. Honestly, so far, I agree. While there are a few things I wish could be different, overall, it's all good. For example, I was much less comfortable with my body/appearance in my 20s. I feel like I'm much less obsessed with that in my 30s. I accept my body for what it is and what it can do, rather than what I wish I had. Some of you reading this (Carrie) will note that yes, I still do wish I had your rockin' legs. But, all in all, I'm happy with what I have. You could have told me I'd be at this point 10 years ago and I would have said, "Yah, right, that'll never happen! I'll be obsessed forever!" I'm not saying I don't have moments of weakness where I freak out, but really, it just doesn't consume my every thought as it did back then.

When I think back to my 20s, I was running on a regular basis. Now, it's 10 years later and I'm running marathons! If that's not progress, I don't know what is! I've already told you all how thankful I am for the many blessings in my life, but I'll just say those blessings are what make 32 so sweet.

Tough long run...

Well, they're gonna happen sooner or later. I'm talking about having a bad long run. I had to do 15 miles this morning and was hoping it would be good. I went with our local running club, but we usually don't stay together too long. The first problem today? I couldn't get my legs to warm up to save my life! Usually, I'm fine with just tights on, but today, it was like running with popsicles for legs! I'd say they were numb for most of the run...which made me feel like they weighed 100 pounds each. It should be noted that I could not keep my backside warm either!

By the time I got to the Y (5 miles), my motivation was waning. I decided to trudge onward and get another 2.5 miles in before turning back. Let's just say these might have been the LONGEST 2.5 miles ever! Sometimes the time just doesn't fly by the way you want it to. I had to walk a few times (which I hate) and was just not into it. To be honest, I considered calling my friend Tina to pick me up. There were a few problems with that though: 1) I had no cell phone with me; 2) I don't have Tina's number memorized. So, I scrapped that plan and kept running.

I decided my chocolate GU would be my big reward when I hit 8 miles. Woohoo! I finally made it back to the Y for my 2nd water stop. Now I only had 5 miles left in this journey. Those of you with IPODS will understand this. IPODS do not like cold weather, at all. They turn off at the very hint of a cool breeze. So, I packed my IPOD inside my jacket pocket today, which seemed to help. I had good tunes for 10 miles. When I left the Y to go the last 5 miles, my IPOD said, "Sorry Mariah, no can do, we're done. You have fun for the last few miles, though." Honestly, at that point, I wasn't too upset about it. I was focused on finishing this run! I had time to think and reflect, which is good.

I wanted to blog about this bad run to encourage all of you. Honestly, I could get all worked up about this. I could get mad that I didn't hit the pace, that I stopped to walk several times, or that it just didn't go well. OR, I could take a more positive approach and focus on the fact that no one is forcing me to run 15 miles today or train for a marathon, for that matter. I could have just as easily stayed in bed when my alarm went off at 6:15 am. But, I chose to go do the work, regardless of how it turned out. At the end of the day, I still covered 15 miles (no matter how I did it). And, as I always say, I'm blessed to have a body that CAN run, regardless of the pace.

I have really enjoyed my training so far for this next marathon and I knew there would be a few bad runs in there. At least I know that there are ALWAYS more good runs than bad. I know there will be plenty of good long runs in the coming weeks. I hope all of YOU have good long runs or good ANYTHING in the coming weeks as well!

A new day...

I know, I know...everyone is talking about this monumental day. I won't belabor the point, but felt I should write something. This entry is not meant to offend Republicans or Democrats...it's just my thoughts. I don't want to get into a debate over this!

I myself am excited that we have a new president (yes, I'm a Democrat)! I'm not putting President Bush down, anyone who has this job will make mistakes and have incredibly tough decisions to make.

But, I think President Obama will lead our nation out of this mess and into something better. As I went to sleep last night, I said my prayers. I prayed for & about the normal stuff I usually pray about. Then I prayed for Barack Obama. I prayed that God would guide his heart in every decision he makes. I prayed that God would give him courage and strength for this huge undertaking before him. I prayed that this country would unite behind him so we can work together to move forward.

I know a lot of Republicans who like to tell me what a mess Barack is going to make. I've been shocked at the hatred people have expressed. While I disagree with Bush and some of the things he did, I don't think I've ever said I hated him. I respect him and know that he probably made those decisions with the best of intentions.

I think it's time for everyone to realize - Barack IS OUR PRESIDENT! So, we have the choice to stand behind him and move forward or keep wishing what might have been. This country can do better and we SHOULD do better. My prayer is that we will, but we have to be willing to do the work.