Marathone #12 Done!

Last Saturday I ran the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. I felt ready leading up to the race, but the main concern most of us runners had was how the air would be come race morning. We have been in a severe drought for our area. There are many forest fires in the mountains of GA, NC, TN and AL. The smokey air has affected our area the past week and the day prior to the race, it was quite bad. The race director was given the clear to go forward with the race on Thursday from the National Park Rangers.

Smokey air in the evening after the race :(

My husband and I headed to Chattanooga the night before the race. We arrived late (11:30) since our kids all had basketball games. I had a headache from the strong smoke smell. I woke up at 5am with a headache, and sadly, it did not go away until after the marathon. I didn't think I could take anything since I was unsure how it would affect my tummy for 26 miles. I ate half of a cliff bar, got ready and headed for the battlefield.

One of the many sights I ran by!

The race started at 7:30am to the firing of a cannon. The air was clear, the temp was 52, and the sun was rising. The first 5k, I ran too fast! By the time I hit the 10k mark, it was 58 minutes. I hit the 13.1 mark at 2:06. I kept thinking I might make a new PR if I kept that pace. I still felt great at mile 17. But... after the 4th gel around mile 18, my stomach felt queasy and my head felt light. It wasn't the feeling I get when I hit the wall, this was a sick feeling and I think it was from the headache. I had to focus on just running and the next mile. At each aid station after mile 18, I drank as much Gatorade as I could stand. I stopped at mile 22 thinking I was going to barf, but never did. I then stopped at 24 to re-tie my shoes as my heels were both blistering. My calves became so tight and hurt bad the last two miles, but I was able to forge forward to finish with a 4:47 time. It's actually my second best time but I was just happy to be done! My husband was waiting for me at the finish and the first thing I asked for was 4 Advil! Thankfully the food tent had plenty and my headache went away within an hour.

Thankful to be DONE!

My bib number was the same as my finish time!

The smoke from the fires rolled back in the area about an hour after the race was complete. We were truly blessed to not have to deal with that during the race.  The post race food was amazing - pepperoni and white pizza, two types of homemade soups, and some fruit and moon pies. I had a little bit of soup but just could not eat.

Running marathons is so parallel to life. There are highs, lows, and the reward for staying the course. We walked around a lot at Rock City, Ga on Lookout Mountain the next day. My quads were sore but I know the more I move, the faster I recover.




I am on day 323 for the 2016 Run Streak, and so grateful to be able to have run every day this year. I am at 1,545 miles so far. My goal was 1616 for this year - not too far off!

Still running!

I've been doing my own #runstreak for 2016 and am over 1400 miles now! My goal was 1616 (representing 2016 of course) and I hope to get past it if I stay well and injury free. So far, so good! No issues, soreness, pains - nothing. What used to be "rest days" are now 1 or 2 mile slow runs.

A beautiful run this summer at Hilton Head!

Since April, I ran a half marathon a week after the marathon and had a good finish time but was quite sore afterward. The only other official race I participated in was a 5k with my kids Cross Country team. It was hot and I had run 16 miles the day prior, so I didn't "race" it, but finished with 30 minutes flat.

Took a tumble on a trail w/the XC team!
It hurt to run for a good week with the open wound.
Now, I have 2 ugly purple scars!

Since the last marathon, I kept my long runs from 12 - 16 miles over the summer months and weekly mileage at 35. It's been a long, hot summer - in fact, today it's another record setting day and supposed to be 85 degrees!

This area is called Sawtooth Pass.
 It has 3 miles of hills, and 2 long quarter mile steep ones like this!
I've trained here and can finally make it up the hills w/o walking!

My favorite tree on a path I run!
I look forward to seeing it each time!

I picked a November marathon 8 weeks ago and just added a mile each week to where I was at with long runs starting at 16 miles. I ran 20 miles the past two Friday's, with weekly mileage at 40 miles a week for the month of October. Now, it's taper time!

2 weeks ago the temp was perfect - breezy and 62 degrees!
I ran the Sawtooth Pass section twice so I was pleased with my time!

One week later... There was hardly any shade and it was
84 degrees when I finished! A much harder long run and Sawtooth Pass ate me up!!

I would like to run one more marathon in December but it's a matter of logistics with busy schedules of three high school kids and sports! I'll update soon, not 6 months later! ;)

Marathon #11 - a PR at last!!

Last Saturday, 4/9, I ran marathon #11 and set a new PR of 4:43!  The Emerald Isle Marthon was really fantastic from start to finish, even with 35mph gusty winds! Beautiful course, mostly flat but sprinkled with just enough small hills for a little variation, and terrific course support! We traveled the week of the race to a few places and arrived at Emerald Isle, NC on Thursday afternoon. I hydrated well the days before the race, and didn't overload too much on carbs - just enough.

I was not sure how to pack for the race since the forecast kept changing. I ended up wearing my Asics capris and a tank. I was so cold before the race started since the winds were around 10mph and the temp was 49. The race started at 6:15 and there was just enough light to see where we were going. I didn't warm up really until mile 4. It was so pretty to see the sun rise. At times, we had views of the beach. The winds began to really pick up around mile 16. For the most part, the winds did not bother me until mile 18. The last 8 miles were h-a-r-d. We were running head on into the constant gusty winds. I felt like I was running in sand and noticed my pace per mile went from 10:15/10:30 to 11:10 on avearge.

at Mile 17 :)

I was so exctied to see my man and one of my daughters at mile 19. I told them I was going to PR and was hoping to get 4:39. They were on their bikes and biked on the trail next to me for the next 6 miles. Even the winds were hard on them! It was fun to pass people these last 8 miles that were around my pace in the first 10 miles. I passed everyone I wanted to pass, and my man reminded me the last 8 miles that I kept passing people. That really is pure motivation! With the winds, I knew I was not going to get 4:39 but that was fine with me. I just aimed for 4:44. They went on to the finish line and waited for me there. I gave that last mile my all and it was so hard since the wind was so bad. I never hit the wall. I took my Huma gels every 4 miles and drank to thirst. I crossed the line at 4:43 and could not have been happier! I have awful heel blisters once again, even after using two layers of Moleskin and Balega Anti Blister socks. I think I may look into new shoes or a different fit. It's hard to run with the feeling of a switchblade on your heel!

I walked back to the rental (.7 miles) then straight to the ocean. I managed to sit in the cold 59 degree water for about 7 minutes for an "ice bath", but the winds were just awful and the current was strong and kept moving me around. I think it helped a little, though! :) I got cleaned up, went up and down the stairs way too many times, walked a little more, napped, and ate the best mexican enchiladas that night!

I was signed up for a half this weekend (before I signed up for the marathon) but I will see how I feel later this week to run it. I am hungry for another marathon so I'll keep training and see what comes along!

I'm back! :)

Wow, I have neglected this blog! Life is B-U-S-Y!!

A quick update...

I ran the rest of July, August, September, October and part of November of 2015. My miles went down each month due to being so busy with my children's activities and life - all good though! The last 6 weeks of 2015 I took off from running all together. That was very hard to do but I needed to "reset" my body. My lower back and my left hip were hurting so bad. I did not want to cause a running injury somewhere else by changing my gait from the pain.  So I just took off 6 full weeks. That was tough, especially during the fun holiday's of Thanksgiving and Christmas! I wrapped up 2015 with 1036 miles run. Not my best, not my worst. I'm happy to have run a full marathon in 2015.

January 1st of this year, I started running again. I knew to take it slow and steady at first. Those 6 weeks of no running have totally paid off! No more back pain nor hip pain! I am attempting a "run streak" for 2016. So far, as of today, I am on day 86! I have run 371 miles thus far and had the best 20 miler run yesterday!

I am marathon ready and am looking forward to running one within the next couple weeks.

I do miss writing here and hope to keep up with it. I will update after I complete marathon #11 soon! Happy running!

Marathon #10 Done!

Last Saturday, I completed marathon #10. It was a hot, hilly one that taught me a few things! The gun went off at 6:30 am. I ran the first half with a friend. That really helped the time go by, and it's always enjoyable to run with a friend. What was really neat, is that she beat her previous half marathon time by over 20 minutes!



I have had callouses on my heels for quite some time. Last year, at this same marathon, I blistered both heels really bad. I thought it was from not tying my shoes the way I normally did (using the extra loop hole). I still don't know if that was the culprit since I've been dealing with heel blisters on long runs over 16 miles for quite some time. Nonetheless, I could tell around mile 8 that my heels were going to, once again, get blistered. And yes, at the end of the race, it was bad. I even prepared ahead of time and emailed Running Warehouse for some advice and bought a new pair of anti blistering Balega socks and a blister protection aid called RunGoo. I applied it super duper thick as it says to (and per the reviews on Amazon). I can't say for sure if these two things helped or not since I already had an issue.

The first half of the marathon was just like last years, with some typical rolling north Georgia foothills. The second half was a new route this year, chuck full of mountain roads - just a lot of long steep up and down - which we were all surprised by. Not going to lie, it was tough. And hot.




The experiment for this race was new socks, a new tank, new shoes (my usual Asics Nimbus model but with just 6 miles on them!), and a mix of gels - which I have learned from this race, I will never do again. I was so bloated during the run. Since my food habits have not changed pre race, I target the mix of gels. I used 3 PowerAde gels since they are high in sodium and have worked great for me in the past. And I used 3 GU Roctane gels. I feel it was these, plus I switched to drinking Gatorade the second half due to the heat (mid 80's). I was bloated the rest of the day as well as my legs were really swollen the next two days. Sodium overload!



Since I was one of two ladies in my age group, I won first place - not for being fast! After all, I ran the first half in a comfortable 2:25 and the second half took me 3 hours! Summer marathons are never easy but for some reason, I enjoy the challenge. :) I beat last years time by half an hour and on a harder course! It was fun, and I'll do it again next year! I'm looking forward to marathon #11, hopefully sooner than later. :)

What A Month!

May was a whirlwind for all of us!

Drama Play
End of school year
Peak long runs
Family coming to stay for a week
Getting the house ready for guests
Rehearsal wedding dinner to prepare for
And my oldest son's wedding!











In May, my long runs were 17, 19 and 21 miles. The 17 and 19 milers were hard since I went later in the morning when it was already warm and humid. The struggle was real the last few miles! I questioned myself if I was truly ready. But the 21 miler was the best long run I've probably had yet. I started at 8:30 and it was a tad cooler (60's). Somehow, I had a burst the last 3 miles and ran a fast pace. That really has never happened before. I felt I could have kept going but I really had to get back home and prepare for 8 family members to descend on our home for a week. :)

My oldest son's wedding was this past Saturday. Running sure helped keep me stress free for the most part during this busy month. We had such a lovely month of weather - warm and sunny - until the last few days of the month. Prayers were answered and it was a beautiful day for the wedding!

I feel ready for the marathon this Saturday, although a bit restless only getting to run two 3 mile runs before Saturday! I'll find something to do. Need to keep busy as I think of my son and his bride traveling West for 6 weeks. :)

Spring is finally here!

April was a great month for running! I built my miles back up. I ran 137 miles for April. I somewhat wonder if I ran too many compared to the previous two moths (94 miles each month). But, I feel fine, and that pain in my left knee is hardly noticeable and never swells. So i guess if I'm going on how I feel, then I should not wonder! :)











I ran a local 5k and placed second in my age group! It was rainy that morning and half the runners did not show (only 500 for the 5k) so maybe that's why I got lucky! My younger daughter ran and also placed second in her age group. I think that's pretty great for only running 3 times since the end of her Cross Country season! Crazy thing was that everyone's watches measured the race at 3.45 miles. It was fun, muddy and hilly!

I'm training for my 10th marathon in June. I want to go back to the Bootlegger Marathon and kill the time I got last year. It was the worst time for all marathon's I've run actually. It was very hot and my heels blistered incredibly bad, causing me to practically walk the last 5 miles. Not fun. I'm up to a 17 miler this week. It hasn't been that "hot" here yet. I've run a few times in the 70's but not over 10 miles yet. So I'm hoping it'll warm up soon so I get a little more heat acclimated. It'll be June here before I know it - hot and humid!

Big Time Catch Up!

I did not realize I have not updated my running blog in months! Ooops! Guess life is b-u-s-y! This winter seemed so long. I'm really glad it's over.

February's miles were a little lower since I missed a week of running. I started to get a cold and didn't want it to blow up into something worse so I took it easy - especially since it was a very busy week. So in total, I was able to run 94 miles.

March's miles were the same - 94 miles total. I added in some speed work and perhaps I did too much too soon and found myself dealing with pain in my left knee. I thought it was my meniscus or something worse but it comes and goes and I can run pain free. I just had hard time bending it back to stretch out my quad.














I had been experiencing a whistling sound whle running when I would breath in or out. It's been off and on since December, I thought it was from the cold air so I would slip my head scarf over my mouth to keep warm. But as the temps have gotten warmer, I would still hear the whistling sound. I finally went to the doctor a couple weeks ago and found out it's asthma. Most likely exercise induced, but I have also experienced it just sitting still. So I now use an inhaler when needed. What fun!

It's rained a lot this winter. And we had one "snow" event that left us with an inch or so if ice and snow. I just had to run in it! :) (Rare event here!)

I ran one 6 mile trail race with a friend, and am running a 5k with another friend this weekend who is getting back into running. I'm really looking forward to a half or full soon. Just waiting for the our schedule to slow down come May. :)

Love the Run, Hate the Run

I was hoping to get a 17 miler done this Saturday. The weather was perfect - in the 50's while I ran with bright blue sunny skies.

I am proudly OK! :)

Around mile 10, I started to feel nauseated. And by mile 12, I was sore all over. It was the strangest run I've had in a long time. To go from feeling fine to feeling bad and beyond tired. I even started getting blisters on the back of my heels! I was wearing a pair of Smartwool socks that have worked just fine. It felt like I was running the last 6 miles of a marathon!

I walked the last mile back finishing with 13 miles (30 total for the week). Perhaps next week, I'll bump down a little and run a 15 miler. Sometimes, you love the run or hate the run. I look forward to the next one!