I was so excited to post about my second amazing Marathon Monday, but that was immediately thrown to the wayside when explosions occurred about 4 hours into today’s race.

(source)

I’m happy to say that my friends who were at the race are safe and ok, but it saddens me to no extent that there are people in our world who deliberately plan to ruin other’s happiness.

Live coverage from the Boston Marathon finish line.

I know I CHOSE to not run the Cleveland marathon this year, but sometimes I feel like my life is missing something.

The freezing cold runs:

Long runs with one of my BFF’s:

Having an excuse to veg out all day Saturday on the couch with the pups:

Ice baths:

Wait, maybe not those.

But then I remember:

• The freezing cold runs, spending Saturday on the couch with ice (er, frozen veggies) on my knees, and the ice baths.

And I’m quickly reminded why I registered for the 10k instead of the marathon.

2013 may not be the year of the marathon for me, but there are definitely more marathons in my future.

Do you feel like anything’s missing in your life right now??

Life is good right now. For once I feel like I’m not in “training mode” – and I love it. I can do what I want, when I want, and I’m really loving it!

Which brought me back to my old friend this week:

I figure since I’m running the Cleveland 10k this year, I may as well try to run it fast. Last year I just ran for fun so I’d really like to beat that time. And the treadmill is my favorite place to do speed work!

It’s been a year since I tried to run for time, so I’m slowly getting back into it, and I’m happy with where I am right now. No pressure and no training schedule (for now – eventually there will be one).

This week so far has been AWESOME:

• Sunday: Spinning at Psycle
• Monday: Crossfit
• Tuesday: Run 3 miles
• Wednesday: Crossfit (we did double unders – my fave!)
• Thursday: Crossfit and spinning at Psycle
• Friday: Run or Off
• Saturday: Crossfit

I’m looking forward to spending a lot more time on my treadmill in the next few months to get some of that speed back (well, you know, what I consider speedy!). Two to three days of running is going to be my sweet spot. Can’t wait!

What did your workouts look like this week? Any favorites?

It is what it is.

The training runs have been completed.

Last long run, yes!

The jersey’s have been decorated/blinged/bedazzled.

The bags have been packed.

(and in record time – pray I didn’t forget anything)

The only thing left to do now is run Disney and then celebrate!

I definitely plan on having more than a few cocktails Sunday night after a weekend of running mile after mile after mile.

Enjoy the next few days – I’ll see you on the flip side (hopefully with a shiny new wand from Harry Potter World!).

It’s official. I’m registered.

I think I made the right decision by registering for the 10k this year. I think I’m going to need a little running break after this weekend’s running marathon (literally!), and I don’t want to commit to something I’m not sure I’ll be ready for.

Besides, I LOVED running the 10k last year, and I know I can talk J into running it, too.

I definitely want to run the Cleveland full marathon again one day – but this year isn’t my year – maybe 2014?

The early bird prices increase tomorrow at midnight, so if you’re thinking about registering now is the time to do it! I can say from experience that, if you’re a Clevelander, it’s a race you have to do at least once. I fall in love with the Cleveland marathon all over again every time I think about it.

Ahhhhhh…..the perfect day.

And the other exciting news I have is that I was chosen as one of Women’s Running’s favorite Bloggers on the Run for 2012!!! I don’t even know how this happened, it’s such a great honor and I’m so so humbled.

You can check out the article HERE.

Have you registered for any races for 2013 yet??

I was chosen as one of Cleveland Marathon’s official bloggers and was offered free entry to the race of my choice in exchange for blogging about my experience.

I haven’t talked much about coaching the Cleveland division of the Liver Life Challenge, but training has been in full effect. We’ve been training since before the Chicago Marathon and have come a long way since that very first team run.

Our first team run – before and after.

Last weekend about half the team signed up to run the Halloween Run for Justice 5 Miler.

Hehe, John looks awesome.

A majority of the participants had ever even run 5 miles before – so this was no joke! Plus, it was cold, it was rainy, and it was WINDY. So this was not an easy race for anyone, veterans or newbies.

But it was an AWESOME race. I can’t even tell you how proud I was. All I asked is that they didn’t walk and finished strong (with their heart). And I can say with 100% certainty that this is what they did. When I came around the corner to the finish line with the last of the team it warmed my heart to see everyone waiting at the finish line cheering us on. They were cold and wet and thirsty (and most likely shivering from being in wet clothes!), but they were there cheering their faces off supporting the rest of the team. Truly awesome.

Someone randomly asked me this week “What inspires you?” and I answered immediately with “my LLC Team”.

I am so honored to be a part of this team this season. I’m proud to be their coach and to be a part of something that is going to be amazing come January in Disney.

Thank you for letting me be a part of this Team, guys. I can’t wait to see where you go from here!

What inspires you??

So, I’ve been thinking a lot about Sunday’s race. It’s hard to get it out of my head, actually.

I keep thinking about that “wall” I hit at mile 15. When I mentally checked out. And how I just didn’t want to run anymore.

(source)

That’s never really happened to me in a race before. I mean, sure, I’ve definitely wanted a race to be over, but never to the point that I actually stopped running and thought about quitting.

Why was Chicago so easy and Columbus so hard?

Everyone keeps telling me it’s because I wasn’t ready. I just ran Chicago.

But I don’t think that’s it. My legs were ready. They felt great! It wasn’t until mile 23 that they started to hurt (to be expected). I have a couple thoughts, though:

• I ran Chicago with my sis and was never really focused on myself. I was more worried about her so they time FLEW by for me.
• I like to run with music to keep me distracted. Distracted from my breathing, from the hurt, and from being bored. I never did a long run without my music (by myself) and I couldn’t stop focusing on all those things during the race. I was bringing myself down because my mind kept wandering.
• I didn’t really tell anyone I was running this race. So I kind of told myself “You can quit. No one will ever know so what does it matter?” Ugh. WORST THINKING EVER.
• I haven’t had a good race since the Glass City Half Marathon (there haven’t been many shorter races period). Running a good race is what makes me fall (or stay) in love with running. I need one of those races. For me. I need that adrenaline and runner’s high. I need to feel passionate about it again.

So, yeah, I never hit the physical “wall”, but I hit the mental “wall” big time. I sucked a big one because I let my mind get the best of me.

The plan from here on out is to do what makes me happy. If I want to run then I’ll run, if I want to go to spinning then I’ll go to spinning, etc, etc, etc. I know I’ll fall in love with running again. I always do – it’s my thing. But in the meantime I’ll just keep doing what else makes me happy.

Have you ever hit the dreaded wall?? Mental or physical?

So, from the pictures I received from the Columbus marathon, it appears I like to run with my eyes closed.

As evidenced by not one:

Not two:

Not three:

But FOUR lovely moments caught on film:

Hehe, such a pretty pretty runner.

It also appears that:

• I don’t ever look happy when I run.
• I love to look at the ground when I run.
• And, apparently, I do the “elvis lip” when times get rough.

Geez, this is seriously ridiculous. I really need to work on being more photogenic when running.

But I do have good news, too.

• Today I’m Women’s Running Magazine‘s Blogger on the Run!

I have no idea how they found me, or picked me to feature, but I’m glad (and honored!) that they did. I mean, I’m just a girl who loves to run and writes about it. Pretty amazing.

You can check out the article here:
http://womensrunning.com/?p=6822

And if you visit the feature, make sure you leave a comment! It enters you for a chance to win a 1-year subscription to Women’s Running Magazine. Sweet deal (and easy)!!

You guys.

I did something totally crazy on Sunday.

I ran a marathon.

Yeah. Totally not kidding.

And it probably wasn’t the best decision I ever made.

But after how good I felt in Chicago I thought this was a great decision! Ha. So.totally.wrong.

I woke up Sunday morning ready to tackle the race. Sure, I was nervous, but I knew it was a distance I could run. And I was totally DUE for a good marathon.

But, instead, this is what went down:

• My iPod didn’t work as soon as I crossed the start line (no exaggeration).
• I called J twice to tell him I was done. I wanted to quit. I wanted to be done running. Come pick me up.
• I threw up at mile 20.
• I was plain out BORED.

The first half was great. I felt fine, my legs were great, and I was keeping a pretty decent pace. I was right where I wanted to be.

But all of a sudden at mile 15 I wanted to be done. I was over it. I called J and told him I was done. I couldn’t get my breathing under control and I didn’t want to run anymore. My heart wasn’t in it. He told me “Too bad. You’re not quitting. Keep going.”

So I kept going.

Until mile 17. And this time I turned my watch off, stepped onto the sidewalk, and stopped running all together. I called J to come pick me up. And he sighed. Ugh. The dreaded sigh. It was that sigh that made me suck it up and start running again. I didn’t want to disappoint him, or C, and I quickly remembered a sign that said:

• Pain is temporary, but quitting is forever

And I knew I had to finish. As much as I dreaded it, I turned my watch back on and off I went. From then on I ran a mile and walked a minute. Until I reached the finish line.

I couldn’t figure out why my watch was so different than the race website. And then I remembered how I stopped it when I stopped running at mile 17. Duh.

No big deal. Here are my splits, though:

I stopped to talk to J at Mile 12, Mile 15 is where I first stopped to walk and call J, and Mile 20 is where I tossed my cookies (or should I say my Gatorade?). But you can definitely see where I mentally checked out.

Luckily J found me at mile 22 and ran me home. He pushed me to that finish line.

This medal is just as much his as it is mine.

But I still decided to get him his own medal:

Dinner and a growler from his most favorite brewery ever. Beer = medal in his world.

This was by far the hardest marathon yet. And not because my legs gave out on me, but because my mind did. I’d like to say I’m proud that I didn’t quit, but I kinda feel like I did. I gave up on myself – something I never do. I’m more proud of J for pushing me – he didn’t let me stop, which is exactly what I would have done for him if the roles were reversed.

What helps you push through when you’ve mentally “checked out”??

Guys!

I’m having such trouble deciding which photo to buy from this weekend. I always buy one pic from each marathon and make a little collage with a map of the route, my medal, bib, etc. I can’t decide!

What do you think?

Picture A:

or………….

Picture B:

I like one and my sis likes the other (and I’m not telling!).

And I’m throwing this one in just because I think it’s fun:

We look so happy!

So, let me have it. Which one would you buy: A or B????