How my puppy jumpstarted my training

So, there haven’t been many blog updates because, in short, I’ve been a slacker. I’ve mostly used the weather as my excuse. I have gotten in a few runs and began taking Pilates, but it’s hard to convince your body it’s a good idea to run when it’s 7 degrees... or freezing rain is falling... or when no one within a 3 mile radius has shoveled their sidewalks, leaving you to dodge salt trucks in the road.

Anyway, this has caused me to begin worrying more and more about my performance in the upcoming Pittsburgh marathon. I needed to get back on track, despite the gloomy Pittsburgh winter.

The solution came in a pretty little spunky package - the sweetest little puppy in the entire world named Daisy. Surprisingly, she would be the key to kicking my butt back into full training gear.

How my Daisy has begun training me:

No matter how cold it is at 6 a.m., it’s always warmer than it was at 2 a.m. when I took the dog outside in just my robe and slippers.

A puppy means that I can no longer hit the snooze 10 times before actually waking up. After getting out of bed, feeding and walking the dog, why bother going back to bed? It’s easier to just start my day.

In order to feed her breakfast, I wake up early enough to eat breakfast myself.

Running in the morning means that I have the huge reward of snuggling with my puppy after work. She greets me as if to say, “You did good today!” and I get to enjoy her puppy kisses all evening.

Went with the novice plan

I couldn't justify possibly injuring myself just to follow the Intermediate plan again, so I find myself a novice for my second marathon. The good news is that I didn't have to run yesterday, but I will today. I am waiting until after work since it will be about 10 degrees warmer then (hopefully!). I'm crossing my fingers that I can stave off injuries this time...

Last night, Pete and I made Salmon Provençal with Zucchini and rice. Yum! Definitely a new favorite. Plus, it happens to be an amazing dish for a runner. I could eat this once a week!

Fudge! I'm already behind?!?!

So, a lovely little elf bought me a Garmin Forerunner 305 for Christmas. :) I think I spent the last 3 days reading the manual from beginning to end. Apparently, all the drooling I did over it in Chicago did not go unnoticed! Hehe. It was totally unexpected, and I'm so excited to begin training for Pittsburgh with it! Which brings me to the title of my post...

Holy crap! Pittsburgh's in 18 weeks! For some reason, I thought I'd have 2 more weeks until I needed to start training for the Pittsburgh Marathon. I just printed out the training schedule today, and sure enough, I have to start... TODAY! Aack! Now, my dilemma is whether to go with the Hal Higdon Intermediate I plan that I used for Chicago and served me well, or scale back a bit and use one of the novice programs. I struggled a lot with my knees (ITBS in both legs) before, during and after Chicago, so I've not done much more than stretch, some PT and walking. I don't want to re-injure myself by adding miles too quickly. I only have a few hours to decide, since I need to start after work!

Chicago :)

Finally... the recap.

First, I need to thank everyone who supported me during my training and this rough time in my life. I know that I would not have kept my focus without all of you cheering me on.

I did really well for the first half of the race. As you know, I had knee problems for the 2 or 3 weeks prior to the race, and tried to error on the side of rest leading up to it. However, around mile 2, I got a familiar stabbing pain in my right knee. I was about to cry because I knew if the pain continued like that, there was no way I would be able to finish even if I just walked. So, I said a quick prayer, took some elongated strides in an effort to stretch out the tendon and it went away for the most part. I had a dull pain for the next 11 miles, but right around the halfway point, the stabbing pain came back with a vengeance. At 13.1 miles, my time was about 2:06.

Again, I tried to take longer strides, but the pain was much more intense this time. I stopped and stretched for a minute and managed to make it to around mile 17 where I was at the point of half-running/half-limping. Fortunately, at mile 18 there was a medical tent. I iced both knees briefly, had my right knee wrapped and took ibuprofen. While it was wise to stop, it took somewhere between 10-15 minutes because someone on the course collapsed right after I arrived and much of the medical team went to help them. I was disappointed in “wasting” that much time, but I know I couldn’t have run more if they hadn’t wrapped my knee. I felt much better until mile 21. Even with the wrap, the pain was getting worse. It was at that point that I decided to finish even if I walked the remaining 5.2 miles! I was a rather pathetic sight kind of running/kind of hopping, but I finished! My official time was 4:56:25. That was a full hour more than I anticipated finishing in, but again, I finished. And that’s what this was all about. :)

The most amazing thing about the race was how aware I became of others. I saw a father pushing his mentally disabled child in a jogging stroller (he passed me); a cancer survivor that also was bleeding down her legs due to chaffing, but running with the biggest smile on her face; kids cheering on their mom, dad, grandparent; and others just there to feel alive. It reminded me that while I have challenges, so do others. In the end, we're all out there just trying to overcome. It was a very humbling, beautiful experience. The people of Chicago also were gracious in welcoming such a large crowd. There was great support from the aid stations to people offering high fives and encouragement to struggling runners.

Again, I cannot stress how much it meant to receive all the texts after the race and emails and messages from everyone. Thank you for your support through this process. I really feel like Sunday marked a new beginning for me.

My race day support - Pete. :)

Leaving tomorrow!

"Chicago is/One town that wont let you down/It's my kind of town..."

-Frank Sinatra

I leave for Chicago bright and early tomorrow morning! I honestly cannot believe the race is this weekend. It's surreal. I'm so excited to actually be running the marathon, but the knee is still a concern. I can only do what I can do at this point -- stretch, ice, medicate and repeat.

I'm staying at the Amalfi Hotel Chicago. It looks amazing. They even offer a free cocktail hour in the evening. I'm super excited to have some pampering time for myself!

If you're interested in tracking my progress, you can sign up to receive real-time updates via e-mail or text message throughout the race. Updates will be received as I cross the 10K, halfway (13.1 miles) and 30K checkpoints, as well as the finish line. Click here to sign up for Online Runner Tracking.

Weather.com is calling for a high of 75° F with a 20% chance of rain. Sounds like pretty good running conditions to me. :)

BIB #

I received my confirmation email today. I have a bib number! Which means that I'm definitely registered! I'm running a freaking marathon! In a week! YAY!!!

10 days?!?!?!

And still a gimp. I know I'll be ok letting it rest a day or so more, but all I want to do is run! LET ME RUN!!! WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!