Monday, July 15, 2013

26.2 and Summer Happenings

So, the marathon. It was...okay.

In a nutshell: The last part of my training was awesome. I did 22 miles for my last long run (which I realize is a bit longer than a lot of training programs suggest, but I had to do it for my mental prep -- I do not believe that it impacted me negatively), and it felt great. I tapered for two weeks after that to recover before the race.

Race Time: At mile 16, I started having a panic attack and couldn't figure out why. Shortly after that started, my legs went weak and my muscles started seizing. I ran through that for about a mile, then finally admitted to myself that I'd have to stop and walk in order to cross the finish line on my own two feet. So, I walked for a few minutes, then did walk/run intervals for the rest of the race.

I finished in 4:21:07 and after a few days of disappointment over how it went, I am truly proud of myself.  It's not that I expected to make some amazing time, or awe anyone with my accomplishment. The thing is that I love running, I really enjoyed (most of) my training, and I wanted to enjoy more of the actual race than I did. I expected for the last 4-6 miles to be brutal and to stretch me physically and mentally. While I knew full-well that it wouldn't go exactly as I wanted it to, I have to admit that I did not expect for the last TEN miles to be awful. It was very frustrating, after only having one difficult (well, very difficult) run during my whole training, for this to happen much earlier than expected.

It was hot that day, which I am pretty positive was a big reason for the earlier wall (remember my exhausting 16 mile training run in Hawaii our first weekend there?). I also made some rookie mistakes such as not going out slow enough -- I didn't go out faster than normal; I just didn't slow my pace enough, especially to account for the temp -- and not hydrating extra for the heat.  

All of this being said, I wanted another chance to run more of the 26.2 comfortably so I am signed up for the Portland Marathon in October. It's supposed to be a great course, and weather should be more mild. :) I am excited to extend my marathon training period through the rest of the summer.

Done with the last training run. Legs definitely needing a break.
Jeff's carb load dinner -- our tradition before a race.
 I took this shortly before mile 16, otherwise known as The Wall. As you can see, I felt good enough to whip out my phone and snap a picture as I was starting to go across the Mercer Island Bridge. The arrow shows The Wall.


FINISHED! Jeff and the girls brought me flowers:


My parents snuck in while we were out and left these:


----------

And summer...oh, glorious summer. We've been doing a lot. Some close to home, and some far and wide. In addition to the girls' and my Chelan weekend, we have been over to Yakima for a Central Girls' gathering, Whidbey for day trip to Paigey's cabin, and Leavenworth (Chatter Creek) to visit the Gowey campsite for the day. Whew! 

Play dates, home days, and adventures, oh my! 








Kaitlyn has been into "writing letters" for her friends and sending them in the mail. I help her get the envelope ready and we head out to the mail box. When she hears that her friend has received their special note, she is thrilled!









 Caterpillar friends. Three of them made cacoons, and one turned into a "beautiful" moth:


I had thought that Austen was sleeping in until 9:00, but when I went into her room to wake her up she was happily reading in bed:


Kaitlyn's last day of preschool was toward the end of June. She was heartbroken to leave her teachers, and cried all the way to the car. We agreed that we would take pictures so that she could "see" them over the summer. Teacher Erin and Teacher Willow:


Hot tub and dance party play date with the Underwoods:





Leaping ballerina blur.
The girls like to walk on Daddy's back. Austen jumps off at the end. Better him than me...
 On one of our rainy days, the girls and I went to the theater to see "Monsters University." I have to admit that I got into it! Cute movie. This was the first time with both girls at the theater, and they both lasted through the whole movie (got a little antsy toward the end). K wanted popcorn and A, jellybeans.

Zoo:

Austen can often be found singing and/or dancing (to her own tune, of course):

 We found "running outfits like Mama's" at Target and couldn't pass them up.
"Aust, let's pretend we're running!"



This will need to be continued...

No comments: