A Very Busy Weekend OR Being a Slave to Nature OR Let the Taper Begin!

There are some blog entries where I struggle to find an appropriate topic and/or headline. Then there are the entries where I have to cut parts out. This is one of those weeks.

I knew, going into our weekend, everything was scheduled to the minute. There was no room for flexibility or last-minute mind changes. Friday night was supposed to be nice, quiet, early-finish kind of evening with Jack and Robin--the newly-weds who are now three months pregnant. Saturday morning I would get up early, do my 20-miles, and at 1:00 be at the church for set-up for our youth group's Halloween party. Saturday night was the youth group's "Sleep Out So Other's Can Sleep In", where we would all crowd around a fire in the church's parking lot and sleep outside, raising money for the homeless. Sunday is a town breakfast, a fund raiser for the volunteer fire department. It is, essentially, $7 for all-you-can-eat grease and fat--delicious grease and fat. Any run after that breakfast would be border-line masochism.

The first problem with my finely-tuned plan was that a newly-wedded, pregnant couple, Jack and Robin still know how to have fun. 12:30 saw Ted and I waving good-bye to them, and 10:00 the next morning saw Ted waking me up. "It's only raining lightly now if you wanted to run."

The 20-mile run for the day was out--so I opted to reschedule my training plan to run 12 this weekend and next weekend do the 20. I changed and began to prepare my water belt--when Ted and Dave informed me I was not running anymore. It was pouring--Pouring!--with rivers running down our side street. But I was dressed and determined--although not enough to beat out Ted and Dave. So after some discussion, they talked me into running Sunday. And I decided if I were to run Sunday, I may as well do my 20-miles then. So I took myself upstairs and washed my pre-run lubricated body.

The rest of Saturday was busy, but unnecessary to report on. To give you a clue, it consisted of 2 hours of pre-schoolers and Halloween costumes, then a midnight bedtime in a tent on a church parking lot for a 7-hour night of sleep, with the 5:00 AM run being out of the question.
So Plan D it was--a run beginning no later than 2:00. Following the borough breakfast (does that make me a masochist? I think it might).

20 miles.

And I did it.

It was painful--I went through a series of aches and pains throughout the entire run, which, while it took me under 4 hours to complete, I was gone for four and a half. I left the house with a Cliff bar, two gel packs, and a baked potato. I lost a gel pack somewhere along the way, and never got to my Cliff bar. The last three miles consisted of stretching every 5 minutes, and learning the true definition of "So Close, Yet So Far Away."

I am still asking myself the same question I have been for the past five months. Can I do the marathon? I think so. I did 21 miles (which was the true distance of yesterday's run). Could I have done another 5? Yeah, I think so...would I have if it had been the actual marathon? You betcha. Would I have been in more pain than I ever realized possible for a run? Oh yeah.
But, I did it, and the taper has now begun. I'm still nervous about the marathon--everyone is convincing me I'm ready. I hope they're right.

But let the taper begin...

And then there was one...

First, Dave gets a stress fracture, prematurely ending his cross-country season and, as it is now, preventing him from running either the marathon or the half marathon in November.

Then, Ted's knee begins to bother him. He wore a knee strap, which didn't seem to help, and as of lately, has worn a knee brace, which seems to help a bit more on shorter distances. The symptoms? Knee pain when he hits distances of 12 miles or more. Stiffness after that, thus preventing him from finishing long distances. Sunday he had to gimp through the last 5 miles of our 18 mile run, while I ran ahead and got the car to come back and pick him up.

After that run, he promised to go to the doctor and have it checked out. Today was the appointment.

Verdict?

A torn meniscus, and next step is to schedule an MRI. The doctor said do not aggravate it, meaning no long runs. Ted said he will keep running shorter distances...anywhere from 5-10 miles is fine. He said he's doing it, if it means he has to walk the last 10 miles--the doctor said she couldn't say at this point a definite "yes" or "no" as to if he should run it. He said unless they tell him his leg is going to fall off, he's running it.


He confided in me last night he thinks this will be his last marathon, regardless of what happens. I didn't say anything--I plan to keep running them. He said he feels like he's more of a half marathon kind of guy...he doesn't like the time commitment for training and I think while he doesn't mind the distances, he isn't as dedicated to marathons as he is to the mid-distance runs we do.


So that's what we know now. I'm not sure how I feel--I was so excited to run the entire thing together. The main thing is this is teaching me the respect you need for these runs, and these distances. It isn't something to mess around with--I should be stretching more before I go out. I need to stretch more when I come back. I need to take weight training more seriously. And I need to listen to aches and pains more and take the recovery time as serious as the running time.

Firsts

So I have returned, safe and sound, from the little jaunt in central Florida. Disney World and Animal Kingdom were fun, MGM and Blizzard Beach were funner, but the little 10K run Ted and I did was the greatest of all.

In all the pictures (Ted carried the camera with him during the race...he said if all these people could carry MP3 players, bottles, and such, he could carry a camera), I'm in the maroon shorts and red bandanna. Ted would speed up after me, then wait and get pictures. Then speed up and repeat. I guess he did a 10K of fartleks.

The firsts I experienced in this 10K:

1. My first 10K. I've done 5Ks, 8Ks, 10-milers, and halves. I've never, ever ran a 10K race.

2. Smoking and Running. In all my years of racing, I have seen alot. But I have never witnessed someone standing, waiting for the start of the race, quickly sucking down a Marlboro. Hey, if it works for you, then carry on. I only wish I would have known if the smoker had beaten me or not.

3. Fireworks. At the start of the race, after the National Anthem, all race participants counted down from 10. At zero when the start gun officially announced the beginning of the race, two streams of fireworks lit up the still-dark Florida sky. Not much makes me literally gasp. This did.

4. Stunts. Part of the 10K route took us through MGM Studios, and through a front-seat look at the new "Lights, Motors, Action!" Extreme Stunt Show. While we ran through, a cameraman filmed us, allowing the runners to view themselves on the big screen hanging in middle of the set. Cast and crew cheered us on as we entered and continued into MGM.

5. Post-race recovery snacks. Oranges, bagels, bananas...sure. Spicy beef empanadas? Not quite what I had normally eaten following a run. But Disney does their own things, and in very Disney style, they know what works and what people like. And spicy beef empanadas? Delicious. Along with that, we also got strawberry and mango salad and kiwi and custard roll--all part of the promotion for Epcot's International Food and Wine Festival.

6. Theme-park related run. Okay, so I realize this is kind of a cheap "Hey look at this for a first!" first. Not many people are fortunate enough to have run a race that weaves through any theme park, let alone some of the most recognizable parks in the country. I know how lucky and fortunate I am, and I would highly encourage anyone to take advantage of running a race of this kind. The Disney Marathon in January has to be amazing. (The picture to the right is me with Epcot in the background--the end of the race course led runners directly underneath the silver "Spaceship Earth" feature.)

And, finally, here we are with our finishers medals.

Originally, I was going to comment on how warm it was for the race...how hot and cooked we both felt. Then I heard about the Chicago Marathon, and read Turtle's blog entry about his experience, and I really don't feel I can comment on the heat there anymore. I'm glad we stayed healthy, and I'm glad Turtle was healthy throughout the event.

Good Luck!!!!

This is just a good-luck shout-out to all those running the Chicago Marathon on Sunday--especially to my buddy Turtle who I know has been working extremely hard for this, all while selling his house and moving (while most psychiatrists may recommend not to take on two such stressful tasks at once, Turtle has proven that it can be done!) and Tom who has been working hard, as well, while setting up a new website for runners to congregate and share advise and stories (check it out! Runnerslounge.com....very cool!) I can't wait to hear all about your stories, especially Turtle, who has been helping me through my marathon training by convincing me I'm not crazy when I start to wonder what the heck I'm thinking...

As for me, I will be running right along with you Sunday morning--although in a different geographical direction. Ted and I leave tomorrow night for Orlando, and Sunday we will be doing the Race for the Taste 10K at Epcot. I'm excited--there are finishers' medals! And at the end of the race, we will be able to taste test culinary delights at the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival--including Strawberry and Mango Fruit Salad with Cilantro from Chile, Spicy Beef Empanadas from Argentina, and a Kiwi and Custard Roll from New Zealand. Plus the registration fee includes a park ticket to Epcot or Animal Kingdom.

So I'm excited--not only for my little vacation, but to hear all about the Chicago Marathon and how everyone did! Best wishes to all participants--and in the spirit of all my favorite Adam Sandler movies--YOU CAN DO IT!!!!