Motivation, Here I Come!

You know what I hate about spring in Cincinnati? It often doesn't STAY spring. It's not uncommon to have an artic snap right in the middle of spring. Like now. Here I was, all gung ho for the warm weather, out running in my cute crop tops, and then BAM! Mother Nature gets all "just kidding" with me. Last week it was in the 70s and 80s. This past week? The 30s. Today? It's snowing outside and I still have my 10 miler to do.

When I first saw the forecast earlier this week, I decided to postpone a few of my training runs until the weather snapped out of it's funk. But there has been no funk-snapping and I'm falling behind. So today, when I saw the snow, my first thoughts went to my frozen toes and clammy mittens, memories I still carry pretty closely since it doesn't seem so long ago. But the Country Music Marathon is only a few weeks away and procrastinating will only hurt me. Not to mention, make me fat.

I tend to eat so much more during marathon season because I can get away with it.

So.... I'm going to head upstairs right this minute and put my running clothes on. This is a sure fire way to get me motivated for the task ahead. And maybe I'll download a few new songs to my Mp3 player as well. Watch out, I'm on my way to being motivated - even in this arctic spring weather!

Atlanta Marathon - DONE!

Wow... was that ever cruel. There is only one word to describe the experience of the inaugural Georgia Marathon in Atlanta, GA: cruel. Less than one week before the race, I ran my last training run of 10 miles up in Ann Arbor, MI - where it was SNOWING on me. Then, I traveled to Atlanta were the high temperatures were expected to reach 87 on race day!!!! Talk about a shock to my system. I'm sure it was hotter than that anyways. I think the weather man and the race director were in cahoots so as not to depress the runners any more than absolutely necessary.

If the heat wasn't bad enough (and it clearly was more than bad enough), there was not one flat spot on the entire course. The elevation maps were truly misleading - they must have used a much different scale! It was either UP or DOWN the whole way and since it seemed most of the downhill stretches were shorter and steeper, that meant most of the race was spent running uphill. Thank GOD the scenery was gorgeous! It was a welcome distraction from the mountain trails of Atlanta. Who would have thought?

One more drawback: the port-o-let I visited on the course had run out of t.p. Thankfully, one of my fellow runners learned this lesson the hard way and brought some of her own. I will now pack t.p. alongside my Gu in future marathons.

Favorite Crowd Support Signs in Atlanta:

Honorable Mention: You are all Kenyans!
Runner Up: "Free Beer Here" (found at about Mile 19)
First Place Winner: "Your feet HURT because you are kicking so much ASS!"

One of the highlights is a vision I hope I don't forget any time soon. I couldn't tell you what mile we were at, but I think it was somewhere around 11. There was a part of the course that came back the other direction and we saw the group of Kenyans in first place running together. They were all the way on the other side of the road - we were headed up into a park - but they were all running together in unison. They were so graceful, I wanted to just stop and watch them (but they passed by entirely too quickly). They were just really neat to see.

As cruel and brutal as the Georgia Marathon was, I was in surprisingly great shape at the end of it. Aside from sore feet and two blisters, I had no joint pains, no aches, no tendonitis issues, no cramps, nothing! In fact, two days later, I ran 5 miles and felt absolutely 100%!

Bring on Nashville!!!!

Finish strong,
K

Ice Runner

Are we meant to run in an ice storm? I don't think so. At least I didn't today. Saturday was our 17 mile training run and I really struggled through it, I have to say. It's totally my own fault. I spent the week leading up to the run hungover, for the most part. I ran only one day during the week and did not take care of my body very well. Served me right to suffer through 17 bone chilling miles in 10 degree weather!

So this week, I've vowed to take better care of myself and to act like I'm training for a marathon. Today is Tuesday, a running day (I cross train on Mondays) and it rained ice all day. I couldn't do it!!! What is WRONG with me?!? Tomorrow, I'm committed to putting in at least five miles. I've got it in writing now so.... hopefully that will get me there.

Why I Am Here

This is going to be my running blog. I hope. I started another blog with no purpose a while back and while I wrote about running on it, I'd rather use that for something else. My intention with THIS one is to chronicle my marathon training. A bit of a late start as I am already to Mile 15, but whatever. It's here now and that's that.

So, about this marathon training. I'm not feeling it lately. I enjoy the long runs and all, but the weekly stuff is just really not doing it for me this season. Over the summer, I longed for the winter cold. I was pretty sure I enjoyed training in the winter months better. But now that it's here? It's all gray and cold and slushy and just not very nice. I'm having a very difficult time getting motivated each day.

I say each day, but that's an exaggeration. Other than my long runs on Saturday, I only run 2 or 3 other days for 5 miles or less. Why can't I accomplish this without whining? I have no idea. I did not have this problem last winter, and I did not have this problem over the summer. This is a new development for me. Hopefully this Blog will get me going. Here it is 2:00 p.m., I've been in my running clothes all day so far, and have yet to get out the door for my 5. But it's definately on my list of things to do today.