Detroit Marathon is in the books!

Race start: 7:10 am

Arrive at 5:10 a.m.

Time: 3:57

Felt great until mile 22. things started to hurt. Last few miles were pure willpower.

Left knee REALLY hurts!

Got tunnel vision after race and had to rest for a while.

I quickly ate the banana and juice that was in the food bag they gave me at the end of the race. I also made sure to take one of the foil blankets they provided so I stayed warm. Note that it was only 57 degrees when I finished the race so getting a bad chill was a real possibility. I sat on the curb for about 15 minutes and then started to feel like I was tightening up. I got up and walked around for a bit and made my way to the gear check-in to pick up my bag. As soon as I got it I put on my sweats and a dry shirt and mixed up a batch of Recoverite. That stuff is awesome! 

Next was to get my medal picture taken. *smile* *click* yippee.

Then I went of to the line to get a message. LONG line, to heck with that. I just walked around for about 30 minutes taking in the event and all the happenings. Went over to the wearables tent and oggled the merchandise. Damn that stuff is expensive. I just couldn't bring myself to pay that much for a t-shirt. As I wondered around I took in Detroit. It was nice to see so many people downtown enjoying  themselves. I'd like to think the town is making progress to become a place people WANT to go to. I only had one regret for the day and that was that my family wasn't with me to enjoy the moment with me. Like I've said before. Nothing is worth enjoying if you can't share it with those you love. *sigh* Perhaps next year they will be able to join me.

Time is counting down

I did a short three mile run last night. I wasn't planning on going fast. Just an easy run. But I kept catching myself almost running. My legs just wanted to move! I liked it! I've never felt in such good shape. My body wants to always be like this. I just wish my head would stay in the game. Grrrr! Too much on the mind. Too much stress. Too little relief. I need to figure this out...after the marathon of course. hehe

Not much to add

This past week was an easy one as far as running is concerned. I'm really enjoying this taper down part of the training. The marathon is in 6 days and I'm ready for it! I can't wait to get this under my belt! This past week I've put in a couple of 4, 6 and an 8 mile runs. All of them felt good. The weather has been unusually warm for this time of year, but I'm not complaining. The forcast for this coming weekend isn't pretty. It's supposed to be VERY cold. Not looking forward to that part of it!

Still enjoying the taper

Haven't run more than 4 miles this week. It's amazing how easy that distance is! I'm liking this! I'm just hoping that I don't forget that I need to pace myself for the marathon. With these short runs it's too easy to start to go fast.

Weekend Wrap-up

Friday - Rest day! Love it!

Saturday - 4 miles fast. 31 minutes. Happy with the time. Ooooof! I hustled!

Sunday- 12 miles. Not bad, but body was not up for it. Muscles sore, joints stiff. But my energy levels were good so I just pushed through it. Glad I got it over with in the morning. It turned out to be a beautiful day! Worked on my daughters play structure the whole time. Almost done!

Zoom, 8 miles

I haven't had a run feel this good in a LONG time! And I made good time. I tried something different with my fueling and it worked pretty good. About 25 minutes before my run I drank about 20 oz. of Heed. I didn't carry anything with me on the run (more on that later). I didn't try to push myself, but focused on staying relaxed and maintain a steady pace. The result was that I felt like a million bucks the whole way and was ready to go again when I was done. Now, it must be noted that the temp was about 55 degrees and I wore my tights and tuque. I stayed warm, but didn't overheat. I think the tights helped with keeping my legs loose and my knees from stiffening up from the cold. I can only hope that the marathon has these same conditions!

First time back in gym

I wasn't able to hit the road today before it got dark so I headed to the gym. I haven't ran on a treadmill in months and I've forgotten how much I sweat in the gym. I was scheduled for 5 miles today so I figured I push it and try to get it over with quickly. I ran it in 40 minutes. Not too bad. I felt good the whole way, sweated my brains out and was home in good time. I may have to do this again just for good measure.

Monday xtraining

Does working on a playstructure count?

Got my daughter a tube slide for the play structure. Actually, I found it. During one of my runs I came across a couple of guys hauling it out to the side of the road. I asked them if they were throwing it away. They said yes and I could have it if I wanted it. Hell yeah! I sprinted back home, snagged my neighbor Jeff and his truck. Next thing I know, I got a big 'ol tube slide laying next to our play structure. Of course, I just planned on attaching it to the existing structure. NOT. After taking the measurements and I found the existing set-up would not work. So I designed a new platform that will attach to the existing one, just three feet higher.

I gathered up all my spare lumber laying around, one trip to Lowes, and a lot of late nights and the kids now have one very cool addition to the playset! Happy Days!