The Last 6.2

A long time ago, before I ever knew I'd run a marathon, I read a post from a DC running blogger about her mom's first marathon. Her mom dedicated each of the last six miles to different people and ran that mile for them. Then, she couldn't quit during their mile because she'd be letting them down. I have always remembered that story and I've decided to do it for the last 6.2 miles of my first marathon.

There is a lot of weight in those last 6.2 miles. Everyone says that they're the darkest part of a marathon, when your body really gets tested. Each of those miles achieves a distance that most first-time marathoners have never run before, myself included.

For the first 20 miles of the race, I'll have the confidence of knowing that I've run 20 miles before. And for the next 6.2, which is a long way even by itself, I'll have the people I love listed below on my mind and in my heart to make me keep pushing. I know I will not want to quit during any of those miles and have to say "I gave up during your mile". So it's easy... I can't give up.


Mile 21: Nathan, Ingrid and Inna
My brother and my two best friends, all of whom I have some running history with and all of whom I dream of running a long race with one day. Nathan is a great athlete and he runs but he also smokes so it's hard to convince him to run too far. We ran an 8k together two years ago and I know he's thought about running further. If not, he'll always be a fun person to play pick-up football and random games with. Ingrid is my original workout buddy. We have played soccer together since we were 5 years old. We attended sports camps, ran in our neighborhood and did intense training workouts at our local park. We both have a love of athletic adventures and one day I expect us to ride ragbrai and run a half marathon together. Inna is a strong and speedy little runner. She has never thought that the idea of running a ton of miles was fun but she is committed to exercising for health and fitness. For the first time last week, she revealed that she's recently considered running a half marathon one day. If I can't finish mile 21 for these people that I love, how will I ever be able to convince them that they should run a long race for fun?!

Mile 22: Nikki and Hadley
These are two of my dear friends in DC who I met through work three and a half years ago. On October 12, 2010, I joined them for an after-work run at a time when I had not been running often. They tricked me into running nearly 6 miles that day, got me hooked on frequent runs together, and eventually led me to register for and run my first half marathon. This series of events turned me from a person who ran for exercise into a person who runs for fun and to accomplish new goals. These girls are marathoners themselves. Nikki will be running VCM as her fifth marathon on Sunday and Hadley ran her first in October. I admire their strength and appreciate all the support they provide, in running and other life endeavors.

Mile 23: Katy, Joann and Tony
My cousin, aunt and uncle who I am so delighted to share in this experience with. They live/lived in Burlington and (with Emily) are the reason I fell in love with the idea of the Vermont City Marathon. Various teams of them have been running the VCM relay for years, before I even thought about running 13.1 miles. Aside from this race, they are the poster child of an awesome, outdoorsy, adventurous family. They go on canoe trips in the wilderness, hike, bike and run. I can't wait to spend time with them this weekend and will be incredibly motivated knowing Katy and Joann will be running somewhere along that course on Sunday morning and that we'll all get to celebrate together at the finish. I'll also run for Katy's boyfriend Simon, who will be running and who I've only met once but who I've e-mailed a bunch for running and training advice. In order to celebrate, I'll have to finish mile 23 for all of them.

Mile 24: Emily
Emily is part of the awesome, outdoorsy, adventurous family of Vermonters but, since she can't be there with us, I will be dedicating mile 24 to her alone. She has run the VCM relay more times than I know and she ran the marathon for the first time last year. She injured her hip during one of her last long training runs and didn't think she'd finish. But she finished it strong and has nothing but wonderful, positive things to say about her experience and about the marathon in general. Emily is studying abroad in Chile this semester so she can't be here this weekend. She is actually doing way cooler things than running races- backpacking and sea kayaking in Patagoina, hiking in Machu Picchu and playing on her Chilean University women's soccer team. If I can finish mile 24 for her, I'll only have 2.2 miles to go and then I'll be ready to run a marathon with her (and hopefully Katy) one day.

Mile 25: Mom and Dad
Growing up, my parents were at every single soccer game that I can remember. They left work early, gave up years of Saturdays and Sundays, and forked over lots of money to support my goals. They helped me over-analyze every game and gave me all kinds of constructive criticism. They didn't push too hard and left the decision up to me when I thought about quitting. And, as if that wasn't enough, they joined me, and helped make possible, one of the greatest adventures of my life- our bike ride across the country. I owe my athletic ability, determination and confidence to them. I will run mile 25 for my mom to help her understand why someone would actually want to run a marathon and for my dad who used to run and is working through knee strengthening exercises so that he can ride a bike and exercise for countless more years.

Mile 26: Joshua
If you're not a runner, you don't dream of a vacation in which you get up absurdly early to stand around in the cold, in crowds, or in rain for hours just to watch other humans run by. But if you're in a relationship with a runner who you care about, this is what a lot of your vacations look like. I feel so lucky and grateful that Josh cares enough to join me at every start and finish line and that he usually manages to take awesome photos along the way. Like my mom, he doesn't understand why a person would choose to run such an absurd distance just for fun. But it has never even been a question whether or not he'll be joining me in any racing adventure. I will be running mile 26, and that last .2, for Josh who has been so supportive and whose arms I know I'll be dying to fall into after I cross that finish line. I'll need to finish the mile, and the marathon, to see his face and that has to keep me going.


Last night, when I told Josh I was running mile 26 for him he said, "Why?! Why don't you run it for yourself?" That's an interesting point. But I'm running the whole race for myself. And for all of these guys. And for anyone else who has shown support of this adventure. Less than two days. Woohoo!

Big Fat Marathon Training Catch- Up Post

I was enjoying writing a post about every week of marathon training. While I run, I think about what I would title a post about that run or about that week. I narrate posts in my head and I get really into them. But then the million other things going on in life take over and I never get around to actually writing down those thoughts and ideas. So here is a big catch-up post of weeks 10-16. I'll say just a few words about each week. For fun, I'll also include I would have titled a post about that week.

Week 10 (4.1.13 to 4.7.13): Go Long

Monday: 30 minutes weights, 4.19 miles at 9:23 pace  (rest)
Tuesday: 20 minutes yoga (CT Cardio)
Wednesday:  3.76 miles at 8:40 pace (3-4 miles)
Thursday: rest (rest)
Friday: 17.22 miles at 9:39 pace (17 mile long run)
Saturday: rest (yoga, strength core, run?)
Sunday: 4.29 miles at 8:29 pace (yoga, strength core, run?)
Total:  29.46 miles of running


I am really enjoying marathon training. I don't feel like I spend that many more hours a week working out than I otherwise would and it's fun to constantly push myself and test the strength of my body. But there is one thing I don't like: planning everything around running.

On Friday of week 10, I flew across the country for a conference in San Diego. Luckily, I knew I'd be training for the marathon when I booked my flight so I made it late enough that I could squeeze 17 miles in before I had to leave for the airport. The nerves before my run were in full force, though. It was my longest run yet, three miles longer than I'd ever run alone, and if I got stranded somewhere by the side of the road, I'd miss my flight. But everything went smoothly and it felt like a successful week of training.


Week 11 (4.8.13 to 4.14.13): The Weak Week

Monday: 2.52 miles at 9:05 pace  (3 mi speed)
Tuesday: 20 minutes planks/core (rest)
Wednesday:  3.93 miles (up and down the Hollywood Mountain) at 9:43 pace (3-4 miles)
Thursday: rest (rest)
Friday: 30 minutes weights (rest/weights)
Saturday: 12.21 miles at 9:18 pace (12 mile long run)
Sunday: 2.14 miles at 10:04 pace, 2 hour yoga for runners workshop (3 miles)
Total:  20.8 miles of running

It was a struggle to train while in California. My days at the conference were full from 7-7 most days. I actually only ran two days during the conference and was able to squeeze them in during a lunch break and before getting started one day. My cross training was pretty non-existent though- all I did were some planks and stretching in my hostel room. I took a red-eye home which it took me a few days to recover from and had a work event on Saturday which left me standing most of the time from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM. I did my long run on Saturday afternoon, after the day of work. I was really tired and had an upset stomach (first time I've had to take a bathroom break during a training run) but I powered through and was really glad to have it done. Overall, my training felt weak during these days but it was a cutback week so I didn't beat myself up over it.

The best workout of the week, by far, was my run from my friend's LA home up a small mountain to the hollywood sign. I will write more about this soon.


Week 12 (4.9.13 to 4.21.13): Resisting Burnout

Monday: 3.95 miles at 8:33 pace  (4 miles)
Tuesday: 40 minutes arm weights (weights/cross train)
Wednesday:  5.01 miles at 9:33 pace (5 miles)
Thursday: rest (rest)
Friday: 18.01 miles at 9:33 pace (18 mile long run)
Saturday: 3.8 miles at 10:09 pace (5 miles)
Sunday: rest (yoga)
Total:  30.77 miles of running

My first full week back from California was hard too. Up until the trip, I'd felt like I was rocking training. I felt strong and motivated. Going away and having an off week disrupted that a lot. When I got back, training felt harder than it had in the weeks before I left. On every run, I thought "is this what it feels like to get burnt out during training?"

Luckily, I got to do another long run with my friend Nikki which helped motivate me. Another friend and I took a bus up to NYC to surprise our BFF Inna for her birthday on Saturday morning. So I switched my 18 miler to Friday morning. It was definitely the hardest run yet. The last 4 miles, I felt totally spent and wasn't sure how I could possibly finish. During the last mile, I actually noticed that I was landing on my heel with every step I took. After so much training to change the way I run, I was reverting to my old way of running when my calves and quads got so worn out. When I got home, I laid on the floor drinking chocolate milk and eating bananas and cheez-its for nearly an hour before I mustered up the energy to shower and walk to work. Even though I felt weak, I knew that I was making myself stronger by powering through each challenging workout of the week.


Week 13 (4.22.13 to 4.28.13): Running takes the Cake?

Monday: 4 mile tempo building up to 7:19 pace (weights)
Tuesday: 40 minutes arm weights and core (5 miles)
Wednesday:  13.86 mile bike ride (Cross train)
Thursday: 5.27 miles at 8:22 pace (6 miles)
Friday: rest (rest)
Saturday: 14.04 miles at 9:25 pace (14 mile long run)
Sunday: 3 miles on treadmill at 9:58 pace (3 miles/frisbee)
Total:  26.31 miles of running

There seems to be a pattern in a lot of these weeks. I have too much going on and have to schedule a lot of my training around other commitments. This week, I was making a wedding cake and a groom's cake for a friend's wedding and rehearsal dinner. By Wednesday morning, I was a complete basket case with baking and decorating. My weekday runs were shorter than they were scheduled to be but I made the most of my time and got cross-training in by commuting to a dentist appointment by bike.

And my long run this week turned out to be fabulous! Again, Nikki and I did the bulk of it (12 miles of 14) together and I introduced her to my favorite long run route- the rolling hills of Massachusetts Avenue. By the end, I had some sharp pains in my foot and my ankle hurt. But I remember reading a blogger who said her running coach told her that aches and pains are just par for the course when you're training for a marathon. I'm usually a hypochondriac but that statement has helped me get past a lot of little pains during this training cycle.


Week 14 (4.29.13 to 5.5.13): 20 Miles or Bust

Monday: 40 minutes weights and core  (weights)
Tuesday:  4.04 miles at 8:53 pace (4 miles)
Wednesday: 40 minutes spin, 10 minutes arm weights (Cross train)
Thursday: 6.14 miles at 8:54 pace (6 miles)
Friday: rest (rest)
Saturday: 20.05 miles at 9:51 pace (20 mile long run)
Sunday: 2.92 miles at 10:45 pace (5 miles)
Total:  33.15 miles of running

This week was all about my 20 miler. It was on my mind a lot and it seemed like the summit of marathon training. Once I did it, it'd be all downhill to the marathon. As much as I could, I treated this run like a test for the race. I ate my usual pre-race meal and I bought a fuel belt to try out before race day. I let the nerves build up like they surely will the night before the race.

I changed the plan for my route about four times. Mapping a route was tough and showed me just how far 20 miles is. That is a LONG freaking way to run! I settled on a [paved] trail-heavy route that went down to the mall, around the mall a few times, across the river into Virginia for a few miles, and then home. When I started, I made a very deliberate attempt to run slower than normal. I maintained this pace and ran my first 13 or so miles around a 9:50 to 10 minute mile. I sped up a little bit over the last few miles, to simulate an ideal race plan. I intentionally finished a little under a mile from home, on the the trail by my weekly frisbee game. I walked about 20 yards and then rolled onto the grass beside the trail. I laid there staring at space feeling a total high. I knew I had a significant walk home and didn't want Josh to worry about how long I'd been gone. But I could have lay there for hours. I got up, walked to cvs for chocolate milk, and then walked home to keep my legs moving and break up some of their lactacte build up. 

As far as 20 miles goes, I couldn't imagine anything better. I was really happy with the route I chose, I felt strong and smart, and I finished feeling like I could run 6.2 more miles if I really had to. Finally, I truly believed I could do this thing.

Week 15 (5.6.13 to 5.12.13): The Mental Battle Begins


Monday: 30 minutes weights and core  (weights)
Tuesday:  4 mile tempo run on treadmill (4 miles)
Wednesday: 35 minutes spin (Cross train) 
Thursday: 3.76 miles at 9:36 pace (4 miles)
Friday: rest (rest)
Saturday: 12.02 miles at 9:53 pace (12 mile long run)
Sunday: 3.01 miles at 9:31 pace (5 miles)
Total:  22.79 miles of running

Week 16 (5.13.13 to 5.19.13): The Mental Battle Continues

Monday: 40 minutes weights and core (weights)
Tuesday: 3.78 miles at 8:33 pace (3 miles)
Wednesday: 30 minutes spin and 10 minutes core (Cross train) 
Thursday: 2.98 miles at 8:44 pace (3 miles)
Friday: rest (rest)
Saturday: 8.1 miles at 9:39 pace (8 mile long run)
Sunday :Rest (3 miles)
Total:  14.86 miles --- this seems like too few...


Once 20 miles was done, I just wanted it to be race day already. In terms of mileage and physical fitness, I was right that once I ran 20, it'd be all downhill to the marathon. But the biggest mental battle was just beginning. For me, the greatest mental challenge comes in the weeks before a big race and, in that sense, it's all uphill to the marathon. I'm hoping that the nerves will subside once I cross the start line, that the adrenaline will be like none I've ever felt before, and that I will be mentally strong every step of the way.

At this point, it is comforting to know that I've done all the training I can do and now I just need to keep my body healthy so that it can be it's strongest on race day. The race is only 5 days away and I'm desperately counting them down...

VCM Training Week 9: More than Halfway

Week 9 (3.25.13 to 3.31.13):

Monday: 5 mile tempo run on TM- built up to 7:35 pace for middle mile  (weights)
Tuesday: 40 minutes weights and core strength (5 miles)
Wednesday:  1 Hour Spin Class (CT cardio)
Thursday: 4.76 miles at 8:00 mm pace (5 miles)
Friday: rest (rest)
Saturday: 16.01 miles at 9:13 pace (16 mile long run)
Sunday: 1.92 miles and 1 hour 15 minutes of intense frisbee (5 miles)
Total:  30.69 miles of running

Having gotten behind on blog posts again, it didn't occur to me during Week 9 that I was halfway through my training plan. Instead, I was just going through the motions of my daily workouts and having a blast. I had two wonderfully speedy midweek runs and I hauled my ass to the gym for a 6AM spin class with my favorite instructor for the first time.

To top off the fun week, I got to run 16 miles under the wing of my marathon runner friend Nikki which took some of the stress out of it. The night before, I went to bed feeling kind of like I do the night before a race. I was giddy, nervous and excited. We ran an 8 mile out and back to and around Haines Point. The only time I'd ever run there was during the Run for the Parks 10k in October and I loved it. I've since done two more of my runs there. It is flat, scenic and peaceful.

Nikki and I do short runs together fairly frequently but hadn't run longer than 5 or six miles together in years. The last long run I did with someone else was with Hadley in August 2011 and, before that, the last was the National Half with Nikki in March 2011. So, at about mile 8, it became clear that talking wasn't going to come easy for the whole run. For the second half, I let Nikki do more of the talking and, a few times, asked to just run quietly. At mile 12, I got a pretty bad cramp, something that hasn't happened to me at all during training. I'm sure it was from many miles of chatting and running which I think is kind of cool. It's interesting what a different workout it is for your lungs and I like to think of it as good training for when I want to cheer back at spectators on the marathon course.

Around mile 14, my legs were just dead. Every step felt like wading through mud. But we pushed on and finished 16.01 miles just below Woodley Park at a 9:13 pace. Another nice thing about this run is that I hardly paid attention to my garmin. Until the last few miles, when I had to keep checking to make sure I wasn't doing something like a 20 minute mile, we just cruised along at a comfortable pace. It was less hilly than many of my other runs so that accounts for some of it but I was really proud of our comfortable pace for 16 miles. Probably still faster than Hal Higdon would advise we go but whatever.

Some Things About Boston

Last week, I planned to publish a bunch of catch-up posts about VCM training and my trip to California. But I didn't want to say anything more about running before I said something about Boston. I started to write about it two different times and got stuck. It seemed like nothing I had to say mattered and I couldn't come up with the right words. So I read what other people had to say instead.

Instead of trying a third time, I'm just going to share with you some articles and blog posts that moved me over the last week.

Emily's powerful thoughts and analysis - A DC running and tri blogger who has run Boston twice.

A story about the dad of a guy I went to high school with who was aiming to break a record for most consecutive Boston marathons run.

A Vermont running blogger who was spectating in Boston a few hours before the attack.

Runner's World - The Boston Bombings: A Loss of Innocence

An article about the winners and how their victory means so little in the face of what happened.

A first-hand account from pro distance runner Lauren Fleshman.

A blog post on the Vermont City Marathon blog with a note from the race director.

There are, of course, so many more. This is something that will affect the running community and the country for a long time. But it has shown how much good there is in people in the face of such un-explainable evil. People will persevere and people will keep running. And we'll think about the people of Boston and those who lost their lives every time we run.

VCM Training Week 8: Lessons in Intensity

Week 8 (3.18.13 to 3.24.13):

Monday:  40 minutes weights (weights)
Tuesday:  4.15 miles at 8:01 pace (4 miles)
Wednesday:  Hill repeats: 8 x 240 meter uphill sprints- walks downhill between each (CT cardio)
Thursday: 4 miles tempo with .5 miles at 8:49, 8:19, 7:35, 6:53 and back (4 miles)
Friday: rest (rest)
Saturday: 14.21 miles at 9:30 pace (14 mile long run)
Sunday: 45 minutes frisbee (3 miles/frisbee)
Total:  28.06 miles of running

At the beginning of week 8, I found myself googling hill workouts and learned a valuable lesson on the intensity of various runs during marathon training. The main take-away was something that I remember reading in Born to Run last year: that most people do their slow runs too fast and their fast runs too slow. According to Hal Higdon, long runs should be done 30 to 90 seconds or more per mile than their marathon pace. The problem with this, for me, was that I had no idea what my marathon goal pace should be. But I knew it certainly wouldn't be a 9:00 minute mile or faster, which I had been maintaining on most of my long runs.

So I started off the week with a more specific plan. I pushed myself harder than I had been on all three shorter runs and I did my first set of hill repeats. I hadn't done these since my high school soccer days but doing them by myself on a concrete sidewalk was very different than doing them surrounded by my team on a grassy hill in cleats. They were hard and I felt like I might vomit at the end of each. But I felt strong and ready to do another by the time I had walked down the hill to my starting point. I ended up doing 8 repeats of 240 meters/.15 miles with a one mile warm up and a half mile cool down.

The best part of this whole "intensity" lesson was what it did for me mentally. Alleviating the pressure to push myself and do my long runs as fast as possible made them much less scary. This couldn't have come at a better time, as week 8's long run began a series of "longest runs I've ever done" which were very scary for me. I incorporated a fair amount of rolling hills into my long run, something I'm aiming to do in anticipation of Vermont's mountains, and finished 14.21 miles at a 9:30 pace. I still think this is faster than my marathon pace (I would be shocked to be able to keep such a pace on race day) but it was still significantly slower than I've done my short runs so it seemed like a compromise.

I finished this 14 miler the happiest I've been at the end of any long run. Something about the fact that it was the longest run I'd ever done (and was the first of these) made it very emotional. I finished 14.2 miles on a sunny Saturday morning with many people walking around my neighborhood and I felt like I would cry happy tears. I was on some kind of runner's high and it felt wonderful.

Wedding Planning

The spot where loved ones will watch Josh and I get married, weather permitting...

One of the reasons that I have been posting infrequently since Bike America is that I am spending a lot of time planning my wedding. With such a long engagement, I've been able to spread aspects of planning out over time which has made most of it fun and exciting. Though I still have plenty of time and haven't hit a point of feeling overwhelmed by it, there are still a million and one things to do in the way of planning. So it has taken over a lot of my free time.

When I first got engaged, it never crossed my mind to blog about wedding planning. It doesn't have much to do with fitness and sweating. But it does have a lot to do with style, something I strive to incorporate into this blog from time to time. So...because I love reading about weddings on other blogs and would like to provide inspiration if there are any interested future brides, because I think I'll blog more if I'm free to write about this thing that's consuming a lot of my life anyway, and because, to be honest, this blog is really designed for me to share my life with whoever is out there reading, I've decided to begin blogging about planning my wedding. Stay tuned for details.

VCM Training Week 7: Running on Tired Legs

Week 7 (3.11.13 to 3.17.13):

Monday:  4.61 miles at 8:15 pace (weights)
Tuesday:  30 minutes weights/abs and 45 minute spin class (4 miles)
Wednesday:  4.55 miles at 9:13 pace (CT cardio)
Thursday: rest (5 miles, weights)
Friday: 12.0 miles at 8:54 pace (rest)
Saturday: 45 minutes soccer (12 mile long run)
Sunday: 3.76 at 9:20 pace (3 miles/frisbee)
Total: 24.92 miles of running

When she was helping me tweak my marathon training plan, my friend Nikki said, "you want to train yourself to run on tired legs". If that's the point of marathon training, then week 7 was the perfect week.

I decided to take last Friday off to get some rest after the busy week prior. Switching my long run to Friday would allow me to play soccer and cheer for the half marathoners on Saturday. That meant cramming my weekday workouts into three days instead of four. I ran on Monday and felt strong. Tuesday, I tested my muscle strength with a lifting/ab session at lunch and a spin class after work. The combination of the best spin class ever and a weird ab workout that worked my legs more than my abs resulted in some very sore quads on Wednesday morning. With all the running, biking, and sport playing I do, my quads almost never get sore. So when I went running on Wednesday after work, my legs were heavy and slow.

I rested on Thursday and felt good on Friday morning. My legs were a little sore but they didn't slow me down much. My big mistake of the run was the route I mapped. It took me down Mass Ave from 16th Street to the Capitol building. I've run down this stretch of Mass many times and it's often busy but it has never been as bad as it was at 10AM on Friday morning. I had to stop constantly at lights which made it hard to get in any running groove. My clock time was 1:46:56 and my overall run time (including stops) was 2:01:27. Most of that 15 minutes of stopping happened between miles 3 and 5. Not only was this hard mentally but I don't think it was good for my muscles. Stopping so much made my muscles tighten as lactate surely built up from the lack of movement.

After mile 6, I barely had to stop at all. But I spent the second half of the run making my way uphill away from the mall. And I ran up my favorite long hill (Mass Ave between Dupont and the Cathedral) around mile 10 which was definitely a test of running on tired legs.

Elevation chart from Friday's long run.

On Saturday, I played a very intense game of soccer which was 4v6 in the first half and 5v7 in the second. My team was the one playing down two players. We lost 3-1 and spent basically the entire game playing hard defense. There was a lot of sprinting and it was a good workout.

I woke up Sunday morning and remembered what a unique workout soccer is. As is always the case after my first time playing in a while, my groins, butt and many muscles in my legs were sore. On my Sunday afternoon run, my legs felt heavier than they had all week. I was initially frustrated by my slow pace. Then I remembered Nikki's words of wisdom and decided that I was doing exactly what I should be- running on tired legs. The sore muscles only mean that my legs will be stronger on May 26th. That knowledge will make every hard workout a little easier in the coming weeks.