I'm in!

Quickie

After a week of WIFLing, I've decided to start my first week of official marathon training this week. It's a 16-week-long schedule, so I figure that if I start now I'll have a bit of time for the inevitable slip-up/catch-up. And maybe by planning to be ready for a marathon a month and a half ahead of time, I won't be having any last-minute dear lord, I am not fit for this panicking. Or at least not as much.

MCM registration opens this week (Wednesday at noon, to be precise)! Excited? Nervous? Who knows. I just hope I don't forget.

Postscript

By the way, I felt I should mention that today is my HALF-BIRTHDAY! This is, of course, a very important moment of the Sarahthon, because I am exactly halfway from 25 to 26, and in many ways it feels like a point of no return. Ain't no turnin' back now.

Uphill battle

I'll say this much: the hills are bitches.

That statement alone really could sum up my reflections on Saturday's 10K, but a person doesn't start a blog to be so succinct.

The event was a run/walk for St. Mary's Hospice; my parents participated in the 5K fun walk, which is why you see them in the photos below (left to right: Kelly, Mom, me, Dad).

Of course as you know, Kelly and I participated in the 10K run. And as it turns out, there are hills in Leonardtown. Oh, it's not really as though I'd never noticed before, having driven at least part of the course before. But running hills, even slight inclines, is far different than driving them -- in that you notice even the slightest change in grade. This might seem like common sense to you, and it is. But despite my familiarity with the area, I hadn't really thought about the terrain. And the 5K was mostly downhill. I think Kelly, who has been training on trails with hills, had an easier time than I, who have been training on flatty-flat-flat. This was in addition to Saturday being the hottest running day since the inception of the Sarahthon.

Both of us needed to stop and walk at points, most often when we reached the top of a significant hill. And for water -- but if I recall correctly they set up both water stations at the top of a hill. My time might have been faster if not for Slow Water-Getter Girl, who gave away the two cups she had to Kelly and one other runner just in front of me, and didn't seem to care about taking her time going back to the table and grabbing another cup for me, and in my head I was like, WOMAN! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M IN A RACE!?! EVERY SECOND COUNTS! Only kidding; really, I was more like, DID YOU NOT SEE THAT HILL I JUST *RAN* UP?! I CANNOT SPEAK BUT GIBBERISH, BUT THE ELIXIR OF LIFE WILL RESTORE CLARITY TO MY MIND!

Our walking breaks only lasted a minute or two and then we went right back to running, and thus it probably didn't add on too much time.

As I complain about the hills, it should be noted that while there were a number of significant climbs, there weren't a whole heck of a lot of descents. So our run went mostly like: uphill, flat, uphill, flat, uphill, flat.

It should also be noted that I think we still did pretty darn good, considering neither of us was really fully prepared to run a 10K. Kelly's been so busy that she can only fit in one or two runs a week, and I've been lazy. Nor are we hardcore runners like Spandex Man, who was quite confident in his Spandex shorts with the specially contoured pocket for, well... in addition to his shaved legs and arms. (Seriously? The Run for Hospice? *I* didn't even get up and shave before the race.)

After running up the hill on Route 5 going into Leonardtown (toward the CSM campus), and up another hill around the CSM parking lot, knowing we were almost there -- we could hear cheering and shouts of encouragement -- we walked up one final hill and started to run the last leg just as we crested the top. Where everyone could see us. Even though we had to take a few breaks, the goal was to finish strong for the camera:

The official results haven't been posted yet, but I'll update the Accomplishments section with my official time as soon as I find out. Meanwhile, I'll tell you that we finished a few seconds apart, in roughly 68:00. Once again, not an impressive time -- but I don't care. WE FINISHED.

6 down, 20 to go

Here I am jogging the first of 6 miles yesterday evening -- photo courtesy of Keith, who operated the Run-O-Cam, carried water, kept me company, cheered me on and calculated the percentage of the total distance that I had completed, all while following on Rollerblades. And I'm sure you'd like to commend me on a good show of perseverence in the face of procrastination. Why, thank you; you are too kind.

What is the muscle that connects between the top of the thigh and hip? (Iliacus? Psoas major?) The one you use to lift your leg, say, to walk up stairs or step into a pair of pants? Yeah, mine hurt in both legs, so I wore a dress today, but unfortunately must walk up stairs to exit the office trailer-trailer where I work, in order to use the restroom because I have been drinking Gatorade all morning. Thirsty. Other than that, I feel okay. A mixture of proud and scared, as I've set a new benchmark for runnable distance.

One more thing for the rest of the week -- some rules:

1. No soda, tea or coffee (hot chocolate and milkshakes are okay). Water and blue Gatorade instead.
2. Lots of stretching.
3. Clean the house because Kelly's staying over and Greg (Keith's dad) wants to install the ceiling fan (!) in our bedroom.

I do have something better to do (like run), but I'm trying to think of a way out of it

I got to talking with my friend's fiancé, Dave -- the crazy-runner-man -- over this past weekend, and he suggested that I should go out today and jog very slowly for 6 miles, since the race I'm running this weekend is twice the farthest distance I've ever run. Makes sense. Then he said, "or just do 5," when he saw the look on my face. I was supposed to do 6 miles on Sunday, but Sunday was really crappy, the whole weekend was stressful, and I did a lousy 2 miles on the treadmill instead. And I felt like crap afterward. The whole thing just sucked. Did I already blog about that? I can't remember.

I'm procrastinating right now, if you couldn't tell. I'm not really feeling the whole distance running thing. At least not today. Probably because of that whole perfectionist thing, remember? Let's blame it on that. Since I don't know that I can finish 6 miles, I don't even want to try. Not by myself. Because I really don't want to get to 4 or 5 miles and be stuck having to walk back, because I can't carry the Run-O-Cam AND a phone AND a key to get into my car to get my badge to get back into the building where my husband will be waiting to go home. And dude, it's chilly. Ohhhhh. I'd go twice around the neighborhood, but I feel weird running around there alone because I get the feeling people are looking at me like, Yo -- why are you running when the rest of us normal people are eating dinner and watching the evening news? Okay, getting up, publishing, changing clothes, going out, running slow but far.

Right now.

Really.

A poor excuse, some normal anxiety, and a potentially debilitating neurosis

I told myself I'd take the Run-O-Cam out this past weekend and bring back something wonderful to show you. Alas, I confess, I haven't been out running because IT'S COLD AND RAINY. I don't know if cold and rainy can still qualify as an excuse for a hardcore aspiring amateur marathoner -- but dude! It's cold and rainy.

Rest assured, I am still cutting it up on the treadmill at the gym (at least *twice* a week...), and as an added bonus, I haven't been tearing up my shins! There's still a little soreness, but nothing I can't run through and wash away with a bit of adrenaline.

And so I'm running a 10K in a little less than two weeks. On one hand, I'm having tiny-esque attacks of anxiety every time I think about how I have no idea whether I am yet physically capable of completing such a distance in a reasonable amount of time. And on the other, I remind myself that I always freak out and end up doing just fine. Not perfect -- which inevitably kills me a little, because I think we all know that I am a neurotic perfectionist, and I have a hard time getting out there at all if I know I probably can't meet my exceptionally high standards -- but I always finish and that's good enough, right? I am learning.

Note to self

ME: Your only two stars so far this week are for resting.

ME: SO?

ME: It's a little pitiful, Sarah. Do you really deserve stars for resting?

ME: Yes! Resting is a crucial part of any physical training program.

ME: So is physical training.

ME: ...

ME: ...

ME: ... So is resting.

ME: *sigh*