For the first time in probably forever, I’m speechless.

I don’t really have much to say.

I’ve been so busy catching up from the 5 days we were in Chicago that there hasn’t been much going on. Just the regular, boring, “I’m a soccer mom” kinda stuff.

I took a break from my Nike Pegasus last week and enjoyed the downtime. I came home from work and just chilled with my family. It was pretty awesome.

But I’m starting to get antsy. It’s time to get back at it. I ran 10 miles with my Team on Saturday morning, but other than that I haven’t spent any time in my beloved Lulu clothes. It’s time to get sweaty again. It’s been weird not having to wash my hair every day!

Life is good right now. I’m just trying to figure out my direction. What I want to do next. You know, what I want to be when I grow up.

I can’t remember when I was a kid what I thought I wanted to be when I grew up. Do you remember??

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????

I’m still trying to process everything that happened this weekend. I can’t seem to put it into words.

But…………

We wore bright ass pink together:

We looked a little homeless together:

(but we were warm!)

We ran happy together:

We ran miserable together:

(I swear I’m running and not walking in that picture)

AND we finished together:

I can’t even tell you how proud I am of my sister. I know she doubted herself (due to a stupid injury, the longest run she did prior to the marathon was 15 miles!), but I never doubted her. Not once.

Not when she hit the wall at mile 20 and looked like she wanted to die. Not when we saw our “Race Crew” at mile 23 and she mouthed to them “I’m going to die. I’m going to die!”. Never. I knew she’d do it.

And she did. We did together.

Now maybe she’ll come run Cleveland with me since I ran Chicago with her??

Thanks to everyone for the amazing support last weekend – my phone was blowing up with texts, tweets, Facebook wishes, etc – it was AWESOME. Best weekend ever.

Heather is nervous and I’m thinking….my GOD is it early!

Over the past years I’ve had a crash course in what it’s like to be married to a marathoner. Some of the craziness has rubbed off on me and I’m a better, fitter man because of it. But some of the perks include now knowing what Butt Paste, Body Glide, Pink Compression Socks, and foam rollers are and where they are used. (I’m still not quite sure about Butt Paste though).

Races that include shots….Awesome. Races that cover 26.2 miles with no shots….lame.

Almost a full year since we ripped it up in Columbus together

1. Doctor of Gastroenterology: Poop conversations are NOT sexy but it seems to make her feel better when she can SHARE. All of this sharing has made me avoid asking or suggesting Mexican food the night before a long run. It’s a WIN WIN for both of us.
2. Psychotherapist: We will be proud of Heather no matter what the race’s outcome. Does she know this? Probably. Does that make her feel better the weeks leading up to the race? Nope. Is this normal for a marathon runner? Are marathon runners normal?
3. Cartographer: I can’t get to the mall without my GPS, but man can I map out one mean mo-fo spectator plan and drag a whole crew around a city in a timely fashion.
4. Senior Citizen: Long runs require lots of rest, so hitting the sack at 9:00 the night before and falling asleep on the couch the day of is pretty common. At least we aren’t rolling our quarters and hitting up Bingo night… yet.
5. Photographer: I’d be lying if I said that I don’t love this job. Catching Heather running towards the finish line is my version of the Bay Watch girl running down the beach in slow motion, even if she is way sweatier.

Any jobs I’m missing??

Good luck to my wife and sister-in-law this weekend in Chicago! If you’re there and see our Race Crew, make sure to say hi (and be prepared to get your picture taken!).

1. My very first ice bath:

Before I learned to put the ice in AFTER you get in the bath. Hehe.

2. Finding my friend at mile 23 of the Pittsburgh marathon. I was dying and questioning if I’d be able to finish, and we miraculously found each other. Not sure how I would have finished that race without her!

3. The 26.2 necklace from my mom after the Pittsburgh marathon!

Love, love, love.

4. Mile 9 of the Cleveland marathon:

Still my favorite mile of any marathon. I was feeling great, we were running through my part of town, the energy was high, and I got to see my family!

5. Crossing the finish line of Cleveland with my two favorite guys:

Such happy memories from that day.

6. Getting into the 2011 NYC Marathon through the lottery!

7. And then getting chosen as one of ING’s featured runners for the 2011 NYC marathon!

8. The Tiffany charm J gave me for my birthday. It was immediately added to the necklace my mom gave me (above)!

9. Running my 20 mile training run for NYC in Chicago with my sister by my side (riding her bike).

And last, but not least:

10. Deciding to run the 2012 Chicago marathon with my sis.

Can’t wait to add some moments from this weekend to the list. Bring it on, Chicago!

What’s one of your favorite race moments??

You guys. One week.

One week til the Chicago Marathon. One week til the insanity ends.

I sent this to my sister this morning:

And told her to pray every day that the forecast doesn’t change. It couldn’t be more perfect!

I finally started getting nervous on Saturday. Following everyone running the Akron Marathon made it so much more real. I loved hearing everyone’s stories and it made me start thinking about what my story would be come next Sunday………

I was asked the question “Why are you nervous? This is your 4th marathon!” twice today. Well, I still consider this a big deal! Some people may not think so, but running 26.2 miles isn’t easy. So much time and effort goes into training for this one day.

I mean, think about it. It’s one day. ONE. You get ONE chance. One chance to prove to yourself that all the time you spent training was worth it – that all the time you spent away from your family, all the Saturday mornings you were up at the butt crack of dawn to run, all the successes, and all the failures meant something.

Next Sunday I’ll have another medal, and another story to tell. Hopefully it’s a good one.

Here’s to a good, relaxing week!!

It’s here.

Taper time = crazy time

(source)

This is the time when my mind starts to go wild:

• Am I really ready?
• Is my sister ready?
• Will everything click on race day? I’m so overdue. I haven’t had a good marathon since Cleveland in May of 2010!
• Start slow, start slow, start slow.
• Calm your ass down – it’s just like preparing for a test in school – you’ve already done the work, there’s not much else you can do at this point.
• Will I hit a wall? If so, what’s the plan?
• You need a plan, Heather.
• What is this pain in my leg? Is it real, or am I just over thinking it???

(source)

Ughhhhhhhhh…………..I need to keep myself busy to keep these thoughts at bay. I still have 12 days to get through.

So who wants to hang out? Watch a movie? Paint our nails? Get brunch? Have a no blinking contest? Hit me up. I’m available for distraction.

Anyone else currently experiencing the crazies??

With the Chicago Marathon only 17 days away, things are getting a little “marathon obsessed” over here. So I thought it would be fun to share the fun things I’ve learned over the past few days during my “research the hell out of the Chicago marathon phase”.

1. The first Chicago Marathon was held on September 25, 1977. The entry fee was $5.00. (WHAT??! It’s now $150!!)

2. Dathan Ritzenhein is running this year!!! I’m so excited about this – he’s one of my favorite runners. He has such heart and determination, is a great role model, and pretty darn cute, too.

(source)

3. There were 4,200 runners in the first Chicago Marathon. This year there will be nearly 40,000! I’m in Corral J. I don’t think I’ve ever been at a race where there even was a Corral J. And there are more corrals after mine (K, L, and M)!

Dathan Ritzenheim could quite possibly be done running by the time I even cross the start line.

4. I remember visiting my sister back in 2006 and waking up Sunday morning to go get bagels (we may or may not have been nursing horrible hangovers) and the marathon was going on right outside her front door. Kinda cool – wonder if I’ll be running down that same street on October 7th….?

But at the time I didn’t even think twice about it. Never did I ever think I’d run a marathon (let alone 4!).

5. I can’t wait to hit up Niketown the day after the race. I’m praying that they’ll have all kinds of race gear, like they did in NYC!

What fun things are happening for you right now??

My blogging has been so sporadic lately. My excuse this time is because my sis was in town from Chicago for 5 days. We had lots to do!

But, most importantly, we had 20 miles to run. Well, I had 20 to run – she had 10. She’s battling a knee injury, but (fingers crossed!) it looks like she’s going to be OK to run the marathon.

Like usual, I was up before the rest of the house.

And nervous. Twenty miles isn’t easy, yo.

• 5 miles solo. Was smart and started slow. Even when Mr. Boston, Ryan, blew past me, I held back the urge to speed up as to not look so wimpy.
• 5 miles with J. Same loop as the first. Went by fast having a running partner!
• 6 miles with Mandy. Stopped at home for a quick water break.
• 4 miles with Mandy. The regular 4 mile loop I run. Longest 4 miles ever.

We finished with our last mile being the fastest, which, at the time, I swore was going to kill me. It’s funny how your perspective changes as to what you consider “fast” as mile 20, versus mile 5.

And by the time we were done, I think I had covered every inch of Lakewood and would not have wanted to run another mile.

Another long run success! This is kinda scary – I’m so used to my long runs being a disaster. I sure hope this is a good sign…….

All downhill from here. 18 days and counting!!!

I’ve been noticing that my face gets crazy bloated when I run. My pre/post photos are so different. Does anyone else experience this???

Guys! I’m here!

But I wanted to drop in real quick and tell you about the River Run Half Marathon I ran this past Sunday!

I totally signed up on a whim. Literally. I actually signed up on Saturday.

I figured I had a long run on my training schedule anyways, so why not?

I’m definitely a lot more lax on race days than I’ve ever been before because I forgot my bib and luckily remembered right before we pulled out of the driveway! Ugh, I was running around like a crazy lady. Not fun at 6:50 in the morning. J was only a little annoyed.

He was a nice guy and drove me to the start because it was a point to point race – it was nice having a cute chauffeur:

I had no real time goals and didn’t want to push myself because I needed to run more miles AFTER the race.

But as I started I felt pretty great. The weather was perfect and the people on the course kept me entertained. I was running faster than I wanted but I decided to just go by feel and not worry about it.

So J and C were surprised when I crossed the finish line in 2:06 (I had told them to look for me around 2:15)!

I’ll take it. And for a training run, I was really pleased with my time.

The plan was to run 6 more miles after the race, but I only made it 2 more + 2 miles of walking. I was beat.

20 miles on tap for this weekend. Two good long runs in a row?? Keeping my fingers crossed!!

What do you have going on this weekend??