Uhm excuse me, I would like my taper now.

I know this may sound strange but I am really looking forward to my taper. Training for the Space Coast Marathon has been challenging but very rewarding as well. I have been able to run farther and faster than I thought I could. Before my training ten miles used to seem like such a long distance, now I welcome that distance with open arms. Saturday during my second 20 mile distance I was able to PR my half marathon time which was a shock to me. There may have been some bumps with my nutrition but I got that sorted out quickly and I have even managed to be injury free (knock on wood). Looking at everything in totality my training has been great. Now here comes the but....

I'm ready to scale back a bit and have my life be a bit less hectic. The one thing I didn't realize when it comes to marathon training is the time that it eats out of your day. Of course I knew that I would be running for hours a day, multiple times a week. I mean I was already running so I was kind of mentally prepared for that aspect. What I didn't see coming is the time I would have to fit the additional running for the increase in miles  plus the recovery time for my runs. Many of you read an earlier post I had about running early in the morning. Rather than shove a run somewhere in the middle of my day or wait till the end of the day before I made dinner I decided to run early in the morning. Now when I say early I'm not just talking about finishing when the sun starts coming up. No! I mean get up at 4 a.m. start my run and end by 5 a.m. and the sun has yet to rise. This was great for about two weeks because my run was done and out of the way so I didn't have to worry about it later on. There were just two problems with this early bird situation.
1. I am NOT a morning person
2. I would be ready to go to bed at 7 p.m.

You might think, "It doesn't matter if your aren't a morning person. You're not running with someone that early so you don't have to be concerned about talking to anyone." And you know what reader, I thought the same thing but it appears that I have another aversion to early mornings. Sure I'm the only one up so no one hears my grumbling in the morning but that's not the problem with me. My problem is getting up at the lower back of dawn (Get it... cause it's earlier than the crack.) and still having to go on with my day as if I didn't run ten miles. I have a toddler who starts her day early as it is. Setting my alarm to go off two (maybe even three) hours before she wakes up, plus having to run during that time made me more grumpier than Oscar the grouch and the Grinch combined! I've had to wake up early ever since I was in high school, and I still haven't gotten used to it.

Then there was feeling tired on the back end of the day. Everyone else in the house started their day around 6 a.m. so for them their day ended somewhere around 3 or 4 p.m. Well since I had a two hour head start my day ended around 1 or 2p.m., but that is when the day takes a second wind for me. That's the time my little one gets up from her nap (fingers crossed that she took a decent nap), I pick up my oldest from school and I start getting things ready for dinner. I'm already exhausted! By the time my little one had her bath and dinner was cooked and eaten I was ready to go to sleep. Actually many nights I did fall asleep, right on the couch with the rest of the family while they watched television. Who cares about t.v. anyway, right?

Two other things that I was surprised about in marathon training were the time I needed to recover from runs and nutrition. Anytime I increased my mileage, whether it was daily or overall week, I needed to take care of my body to make sure it didn't fail on me. I had to stretch, foam roll, take baths, cross train, do yoga. Anything that kept my body being the well oiled machine that I needed it to be. But guess what folks?! All those things take up time too! If your a mom then you know how difficult it is to even go to the bathroom by yourself. Yeah. So trying to stretch after a run can be a bit tricky when a toddler is jumping on your back.

Eating right is certainly important and the more I cook, the more I enjoy it. But cooking can be time consuming. I got into the habit of planning my meals out for the week and shopping only for the things I needed that week plus the usual stuff (cereal, milk, etc.). After a while though I fell off the wagon with that, choosing to use my meal planning time for vegging out on the couch and letting the television watch me. It's not just dinner time that can be a hassle though. Running more miles means I hungry all of the time. Wait no! Scratch that. Not hungry, make that hangry! If there is food around me, I'm eating it. I have been very careful about what I eat because there was a moment in my training when I got a bit out of hand with the baked goods. Word of advice. Just because you run 40 miles a week doesn't mean that cupcakes and cookies can be a regular diet item. Eating healthy is difficult even in you aren't training for a marathon.

As I look back on this post I can see that many of you might think I'm complaining. All I want to do is get some of my thoughts out and share them with other people. Maybe you think I shouldn't be posting this and should just keep my mouth closed. Maybe you can understand what I'm feeling and this post was a way for us to connect (aww, cyber hug). But whatever your thoughts and point of view, all I'm saying is that...

I'm ready for my taper.

Race recap

This past Sunday I ran in a local 10 mile race and had a great time. I've only run in two races thus far (a half marathon and a 5k) but I didn't have nearly as much fun in those races as I did in this one. A little past the halfway point there was a turnaround and you could see the other runners for about three or four miles. The runners that were ahead of the pack were very focused and didn't say much but the rest of the runners were clapping for them and saying things like "You got this!", "Looking great!" and "Keep it up!". I even got a chance to talk to other runners during the race which is something I always wanted to do but never got a chance to. The overall camaraderie was great and it reminded me why I love running so much.

What was even more surprising to me was how great I felt during the race. I maintained a steady pace and wanted to keep my heart rate somewhat low until the last three miles when I would increase my speed. I didn't keep tabs on my watch too much because I really just wanted to enjoy the race and take my time. I figured this race could be a gauge for me to see how I would handle the first half of my marathon in November. Once I reached the turnaround point I figured I was going a bit slow. Though I started passing people I assumed it was more my quick turnover rather than running faster. At the six mile mark my watch buzzed so I decided to check it. For that mile I had run an 8:58 pace. Well then I must have been hoovering around that time for the earlier miles because my speed was relatively the same.

Since my heart rate was at about 151 and I felt good I decided to increase my speed a bit. At this point there weren't too many other people around and some of the people that I did see I started to pass. Around mile 8 I came up on a woman who was running a steady but challenging pace. I saw her before the turnaround and was surprised I was able to catch up to her. Before I reached her she managed to leave two other runners in the dust who looked like they were pacing with her. I caught up with her and decided to pace with her if I could.

She had headphones on and didn't say anything but we ran side-by-side. I wondered if she knew that I was pacing with her but after about a mile I figured she knew. Her pace was steady but a bit fast for me. Once we reached mile 9 I checked my watch and saw that we were running a 8:45 min./mile pace. I had been keeping that pace for about four miles now and while I was feeling okay and my heart rate was at about 163, I wanted to slow down. But I knew that I had to keep going cause we were at the end. We turned a corner and saw the finish line which was only .20 miles away. Once we turned that corner my fellow runner said, "You ready? Let's finish this." That was all I needed and together we sprinted to the finish line.

I did ten miles in 1 hour and 30 minutes with a 9 min./mile pace. After I crossed the finish line I looked for my pacer who had run a little bit farther past the line and was starting to slow down. I shook her hand and said thank you and she nodded and smiled back. For a test race this was great and it built my confidence back up. At this point in my training I've started to get anxious and just want to get to the race already. I feel like I've been training for this marathon for the entire year. Since I run by myself I wanted to see how I would handle running in a race with other people. The first time I ran in a race I was all over the place and ended up burning out way before the finish line. My marathon will have many more people than this race did but it was helpful to see that I can keep myself together and stay focused.

I'm looking forward to running this race again next year!

Here are some pictures for the race:

Coming in hot and heavy to the finish line.

Can you believe I'm smiling?!

Feeling good

My family was cheering me on. I love their support. 

I placed 9th in my age division and 109 out of 289 overall.

Yeah I got my 20-miler badge

Last week was my first 20 mile run and I have been dying to talk about it. So here it goes!

I usually do my long runs in an area away from my neighborhood because there are more runners in that location than in mine. But this time I didn't feel like getting in my car and going somewhere to run. I wanted to just walk out my door and start my Garmin. So that is what I did. The night before, I mapped out my route and had a couple of route alternates in the event that I had to make last minute changes. I was SO nervous. I felt like I was going to do a race and not a training run. Of course I could hardly sleep and it didn't help that I had to get up early. Let's just say there was very little sleeping and more tossing and turning.

I got up at 4 a.m., drank my protein shake and headed out the door. Looking back I had way too much gear for this run. I had my baseball cap, head light, fanny pack filled with granola, water bottle and pepper spray. Gear alone I probably added another ten pounds to my body. I kept my pace very slow early on cause I wasn't sure how I would feel as I kept going. At the seven mile mark my foot arch started hurting again which has become a regular ache during my long runs. I stopped for a bit to massage my foot and then I kept on going. 

Once I reached ten miles I was surprised at how good I felt. I had been slowly increasing my pace but wanted to keep my heart rate at a lower range till the last five miles. When I run I keep my Garmin on the hear rate screen so that I can see what range I'm in. For this run in particular (or any long run for that matter) I really don't like to look at my watch. I'd rather run by how I feel and not focus on pace or time. After I pass my halfway point on my long runs I always text my wife and tell her where I am and how I'm doing. It helps give her some piece of mind and also helps me keep going because she has great words of encouragement.

I had to make a change in my route to stop and get more water and before I knew it I had already run sixteen miles! Feeling a little achy but pretty good I started to pick up my pace a bit. Right when I decided to kick it up a notch I feel a strange buzz on my wrist. My Garmin was talking to me which was odd because I had just passed my mile mark and there was no way that I finished that mile in two minutes. I look down at my watch to see that the battery on my watch was dying. WHAT!? I could have sworn that the battery was full or at least very close to full when I started my run. I had four more miles to run and  no idea how much battery power was left in that watch to finish this run. If this watch died before my run was over I was going to cry till my eyes popped out of my sockets. 

The good thing about my low battery was that it lit a fire under my butt and made me run even faster. I just kept praying and running, praying and running. Everything was going good, my watch hadn't died and I was two miles away from finishing when I was hit with an intense urge to go to the bathroom. This was not runner's trot fortunately. All the water that I drank before and during the run suddenly decided that it was ready to hit my bladder at the same time. With each strike of my feet it felt as though my bladder was getting fuller and sinking deeper. To make sure that I didn't relieve myself mid-stride for all the world to see I had to change up my stride and cadence. I looked kind of like an ostrich but not nearly as graceful. *smile* I remained focused on my goal, kept thinking positive thoughts (but not of waterfalls) and did a pretty weak sprint to my 20 mile mark. I DID IT! 

Immediately after the run I did some stretches, set up some tea on the stove and plopped into my ice bath that my wife prepared for me. I got some food in my belly as soon as I could, plopped on the couch and put my feet up to get some well needed rest. I felt pretty good minus the slight waddle that I managed to attain as I walked up and down the stairs. All in all I felt great for having run 20 miles... and then two days later happened and all those muscles that I thought were nice and happy were suddenly screaming at me. So THIS is why people say you need weeks to recover from a marathon. I seriously thought that with all the running that I do that I wouldn't be in a great deal of pain after my marathon. Glad to see that I was wrong ahead of time.

I have a 22 mile run next week and then my taper begins. Up until my 20-miler I had very little confidence in myself that I would be able to run this race. Though I am not ashamed of walking breaks and certainly planned to take some during the race I was concerned about not being prepared for this race and dropping out. Did I over estimate the necessary time to prepare for a marathon? Well as I have said in previous posts positive thinking is certainly an important part of training. If I had to walk the remaining six miles of the marathon I would do it just to be able to say that I finished. I'm starting to remember that while getting faster is one of my goals it's not the only goal. Speed will come with time but I want to run for life. So if I plan on running till I'm well into my 90's I have to be proud of and celebrate all of my accomplishments... starting with my first 20 miles. 

DIY granola bars

I love granola bars. Granola has been a favorite snack of mine since I was a kid. When I found out that making these glorious snacks are not only healthier but EASY... I couldn't resist stocking my fridge on a regular basis. The great thing about granola bars is that you can put whatever you want in them and make them exactly how you want. Great right!?

Here is my simple recipe for homemade granola bars.

My ingredients are:

1 cups steel cut oats

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup chopped cashews

2 tbsp flax seed meal

peanut butter

honey

blueberries

I use a 9x9x2 inch baking pan but if you double the recipe you can use a bigger pan.

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

Flax seed meal is basically two tablespoons of crushed flax seeds combined with two tablespoons of water. You let it sit for about five minutes and it becomes gelatinous. It's a great binding agent that you can use in vegan baking to substitute eggs.

Put the flax meal, two tablespoons of honey and blueberries to the dry ingredients. Put in as much or as little blueberries as you want.

Then add two tablespoons of peanut butter.

To help bind the bars even more I add some milk with whole wheat flour. I don't really measure this, it's really just however much will make the mixture sticky.

Stir everything together.

Put the mixture in the sprayed baking pan.

To help pack the granola I put aluminum foil (you can also use parchment paper) on top and press down with another pan. If you don't have another pan with the same dimensions you can use anything flat to press down and compact the mixture.

Put the pan in a 350 degree oven and let it cook for about 15 minutes or until the edges of the mixture turn a golden brown. Once the granola bakes let it cool down and put it in the fridge for about an hour to bind the granola even more.

Cut out the bars. If you have a cookie cutter you can cut out whatever shape you want. 

Voila! You're very own granola bars!

Are you feeling lucky, punk?

Ahh... the bewitching hour. Actually I have no idea what or when the bewitching hour is but I'm back to running in the wee hours of the morning. When I first started running I would go out at 5 a.m. because I knew that I wouldn't be able to run any time during the day. But over time, I started getting scared of running in the dark. Nothing crazy happened to me but I slowly became more concerned about my safety. On the news in my area there were more and more reports of women who were being attacked or assaulted during a walk/run in their neighborhood. Some of these attacks happened at sunrise or sunset when there was still light outside. I may be strong and quick but I'm still a small female.

So I gave up my early morning runs for late morning and early evening runs. The positive of the transition was that I could bring my (now) 17 month-old with me in the jogger and enjoy some quality time. The negative was that there were many days when I had to "squeeze" a run into an already tight schedule. Most of the time I would end up running at five or six in the evening and would still have to give my little one a bath and make dinner. For women who work, raise their children AND run, I have no idea how you do it. I tip my big ten gallon hat to all of you ladies.

As the summer months rolled in the day runs became harder and harder to maintain. I even ran midday many times which I never recommend for anyone who lives in a tropical climate. My wife gave me many stern talks about those runs. But I didn't know what else to do and I HAD to get my run in. Last week I said That's it! I'm running in the dark! I talked to my wife about it and the only stipulation was that I had to get pepper spray. I also had a head light that was given to me by my mother-in-law. So I have the gear and now we're a go!

The Ten Commandments are set in stone, training plans are not

I took an unscheduled day off from running yesterday. Can you believe it? It wasn't as if I had a small amount of miles to run either. I was supposed to run 5 miles. But the thought of getting out and running made me feel like it was a chore and not something I would enjoy. For the past week or so I've been feeling indifferent about my runs. I have had some days where I started out complaining but ended up enjoying the run as I was running. Given the fast that it's been hot as all get out here and yesterday we had a "cold front" should have made me want to throw on my clothes and just run till my heart's content. However I found myself feeling the exact opposite. I wanted to stay inside and rest. I wanted one day where I didn't rush to get a run in. I wanted to enjoy the day.

My plan currently only has one day off from running and even in that day I'm cross training with my workout moms. I had to take a day off from them too because my muscles felt a bit tight and sore one morning as I eased myself out of bed. I went to pick my 17 month old up and my back was screaming at me as if I had overworked it. Had I overworked it? I contemplated taking a couple of days off from working out but my wife encouraged me to stick with it. Cross training makes my runs easier and I'm able to recover faster. The one time I did take two days off from working out I noticed a huge difference in my posture and my cadence when I ran. Plus I don't walk like a duck after my long runs anymore. Yeah I walked like Penguin from Batman for weeks after my first race. You should have seen me try and go up and down the stairs.

I remember reading an article a while back that said if you start to feel tired, cranky or bored with your runs that you might be over-training. Over-training was never a concept that I took into consideration. My plan says to do this so that's what I'm doing. At times I would deviate a bit due to last minute changes in schedules or plans but I always managed to maintain my weekly planned mileage. I picked my current training plan based on the amount of weekly miles I was already running. When I first looked at it I thought that the plan was a bit daunting but I figured that if I didn't push myself a bit that I wouldn't reap the benefits of an easy and enjoyable race. I learned my lesson from my half marathon and I was determined to have fun during the race rather than think of everyone around me as my competitors and trying to reach some insane time goal. Of course I would love to run faster but I also got into (and stuck with) running because it was something that brought me peace and comfort.

I've learned to listen to what my body is telling me, even if I don't like what it has to say. I realized yesterday that the remaining eight weeks in my plan will have to have some tweaks. My achy muscles and rundown spirit are signs that something has to change. While I'm sure that I'll be able to run the marathon, I don't want to be grumpy and complain while I'm doing it. So two major changes to my plan will be two days off instead of one and try to run earlier in the day as opposed to later in the afternoon/evening. I've pushed myself hard for the first ten weeks of my plan, I think I can allow myself to be gentle and kind to my body for the remaining eight.

Penny for my thoughts

Today I thought it would be fun if I could bring you into my mind (scary) and share the thoughts I have when I'm running. Lately I've been getting into conversations about my marathon training with non-runners which, as we runners know, can be a bit touchy. The main question that I get asked is: What in the world do you think about for your entire run? Well I'll tell you!

Here's a sample of some thoughts I have for a 13 mile run:

I've done 13 miles tons of time, this is no problem

Why do I get up so damn early to run? 

I'm so tired. I really should just go home and sleep

What's my pace? I should start slow and then work on negative splits as I increase my miles

10:30 pace?

I could crank it up a bit faster

NO! Don't go fast now, it will only hurt me in the end

Besides, this isn't the race. I just need to finish the 13 miles not set a PR

(see another runner in the distance)

Another runner

Do I say good morning?

If they say nothing back I'll be pissed

I'll just see if they say something

(runner passes with no response)

SEE! I would've wasted precious oxygen on an unresponsive good morning!

Maybe I should have said good morning

I hope that person doesn't think I'm mean

Great, now if I get injured or in trouble that person won't help me cause I didn't say good morning

Wait! Don't project negativity during a run, positive thoughts

I won't get injured and I won't be in trouble

Okay what was I thinking about before?
I should think about a song to keep on an even pace
"Yonce' all on his mouth like liquor, Yonce' all on his mouth like liquor"
...
What does that even mean?
I wonder if Beyonce' runs
Oprah did a marathon
What was Oprah's time?
Gotta remember to Google Oprah's marathon time
Should I strive for a Boston qualifying time even if I won't run in Boston?
Boston must be a great city to run in
It's too hot in South Florida
Boston is cool and breezy and there's hills
I only have bridges
This heat is crazy
Does it get hot in Kenya?
I'm sure it does
Gotta remember to Google Kenya's weather when I get home