Run Lola Run

posted by Lola @ 4:14 PM 0 comments

6:07:49…

Mission accomplished. I finished my first marathon, upright and smiling. I didn’t finish with everyone, or actually anyone, but I finished!

There are so many emotions and thoughts swirling around in my head right now…I would like to start at the beginning, but other things are coming up in my head right now.

(I must insert here that after reading the Star Tribune blogger’s account of his big day, finishing in 4:43, that my competitive side is kicking in…after the race on Saturday, I swore that I would never run again, but even now I can hear a little voice in the back of my head saying, well..maybe next year…I mean, I would like to have a better race, I would like to improve my time, I would like to enjoy the finish more….argh! I’m crazy!)

The first and foremost thing in my mind is how I did not stick with Karen, even though I said I would. I don’t think she expected me to when I had told her that before, but when she and Jill fell behind, it didn’t even OCCUR to me to go back and check on her. I had to keep moving. I feel awful about that. I’ve tried emailing her and calling her, but I haven’t gotten a response. I hope she’s ok, and not too mad at me. I hope she’ll be at run club tomorrow night. I just want to talk to her and here about her race and tell her about all the drama, and apologize for not sticking with her.

Maybe she’s in a funk, I don’t know. And if she hates me forever, I will understand. But I just want the chance to say that I’m sorry.

Speaking of people falling off, I wasn’t prepared for all the drama that happened mid-race. I think I was prepared for everything—including not finishing due to some unforeseen circumstance beyond my control—except our group falling apart. Once we lost Cory and Leann freaked out, I wasn’t sure how any of us were going to make it across the finish line. I’m so glad that we all did, and now I wish I would’ve been able to stick around and party with everyone. The only thought in my head as I crossed the finish line was “get me outta here!” That, and “ice cream, stat!” The severe thunderstorm that was about to hit Duluth, didn’t help either.

Later on in the day, Abe asked me if I thought that it was worth it. I assumed he meant the race, and I answered “of course!” Finally seeing the finish, sprinting towards it and crossing it was one of the best feelings of my entire life. But more than the race, the training is what was definitely worth it. Not only did I become a better a runner, but I became a more centered and focused person, which has definitely spilled over into other areas of my life. I also cemented my bonds with my running group, and I can’t imagine not seeing any of them again. These women are phenomenal, and have become like sisters to me. In fact, when we were running on Saturday, people kept asking if we were sisters!

I’ve learned so many lessons from this marathon, and I’ll be posting them in forthcoming entries. But for now, well done Sara. And I hope Karen calls me back.

posted by Lola @ 4:08 PM 0 comments

4 days...

4 days until race day. EEP. I have been reading through Chris Carr’s blog in the Star Tribune, and I’m really glad I did today. There has been discussion of what to pack, how to pack, race day bits of advice, etc. I now have 5 packing lists, but that’s ok. And of course, I almost forgot to put down the raison d’etre for so many packing lists—my confirmation card! It will not be good to forget that.

I’ve also mapped out Saturday morning—what time I’ll need to get up, the time we need to leave Jay Cooke to meet friends for the start line shuttle, what to eat, wear, what to think...I am going to be a big bundle of nerves.

One interesting thing that I read on Chris’s blog was to give up on trying to get sleep on Friday night and focus on getting sleep on Thursday night. I don’t think that will be a problem, after having to work all day, and then drive up to Duluth and set up camp. Most people advised against taking a sleeping aid, even something like Tylenol PM, with which I agree. I had considered it, but think that it’s probably best not to. I’ll suffer through the night.

The other thing I thought was interesting was that many marathon veterans advised against carbo-loading. A few specifically said not to use the race as an occasion to gorge yourself the night before. I remember stuffing my face with Pizza Luce before the TC 10 Mile, and having a fabulous race, but that won’t be my strategy this Friday night. If anything, I may undereat. I believe our menu that night consists of grilled chicken, roasted potatoes, green beans and s’mores. Still sounds good to me!

Saturday night will be the night of pigging out, although nothing too bad. I don’t know if I’ll even be able to eat. I am most looking forward to my 3 cans of PBR. After not drinking for 8 weeks, 3 cans of PBR ought to knock me out pretty well.

Excited and completely unable to focus on anything else! That’s me right about now!

posted by Lola @ 10:09 AM 0 comments

BRicks...

Tuesday was my first day riding my new bike to work—it’s so easy! Kenwood to Downtown is all downhill. When I got to work though, I realized that I had forgotten my lock. Even though my bike was in a special, employee-only locked room, I was still paranoid. So, I ran to Target and bought a lock. $12 for peace of mind ain’t bad. After work, I decided to take the long way to run club. I biked to the start of the Kenilworth Trail, and up the Greenway, to the Running Room. When I got to the Greenway, I realized that the “long way” wasn’t quite long enough, as it was only 5:30. (Run Club starts at 6:30 pm.) I kept going. I haven’t biked east past Uptown on the greenway for at least a year, so I was surprised when I hit 3rd Ave, and the bike trail kept going! I followed it all the way to Hiawatha. I wanted to keep going, but figured I’d better turn around. I LOVE MY BIKE. That’s all there is to it. I LOVE MY BIKE. I think that it is the nicest thing I have ever owned. I can’t wait for the Tour of Saints! There is a downside to biking a few or 12 miles before run club—it HURT to run! My calves would not loosen up. Argh. Luckily, everyone in my group was content to take it easy, and so we did. It made me realize that this duathlon is not going to be as easy as I thought. It’s a 2 mile run-22 mile bike-2 mile run course, and that second transition is going to be the hardest. Once the marathon is over, I plan to spend a lot more time on my bike, but apparently I’m going to have to practice that bike-to-run transition. Cory, my running coach, called it something like “doing bricks” the other night. That must be fancy triathlete-speak, but my legs did feel like bricks by the end of the run. Speaking of coaches, my two marathon coaches, Cory and her husband Jim, are planning on swimming in Lake Calhoun after run club some nights. They’re both training for post-marathon triathlons. This will be Cory’s first—she and I were on a relay team for the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon last summer, and it just about killed the both of us. But anyway, I might join them, and get a jump on my swimming lessons. Also, Cory knows how to surf! She is my hero! Day’s total: Bike: 12 miles Run: 3 miles Dinner: 1 can of Chef Boyardee Ravioli—yum! PS on June 8th: Running after biking 1 mile isn’t so bad. And we only ran 3 miles last night, so that helps. Since we got done early, I decided to take the long way to Abe’s for our weekly Chipotle dinner date. So, I probably tacked on another 5 miles on the bike. Biking after running is much easier than running after biking, and made me wonder why this duathlon has to be a run-bike-run format. Why can’t we just run 4 miles and THEN get on our bikes and do the 22? Probably to make it more difficult, but running 4 miles then biking 22 is difficult enough for most people. Grr. A fellow run clubber brought along an article from Twin Cities Sports magazine about training for triathlons, and doing BRick workouts. (Yes, Abe, it is supposed to be spelled like that.) Apparently, a BRick workout is a bike-run workout, and afterwards, your legs feel like bricks. Sounds pretty spot-on to me. This article recommends making all your beginning training outings into BRick workouts, but that seems pretty extreme to me. I might try for 2 a week though. The neat thing about biking to run club is that I push myself to get through the run much faster, so that I can get on my bike. Chipotle is a good motivator. I miss watching “24,” but “Keen Eddie” is a good filler. Day’s total: Bike: 6 miles Run: 3 miles Dinner: chipotle—a salad with chicken and black beans, and lots of lettuce. And too much Tabasco this week.

posted by Lola @ 4:20 PM 0 comments

My boyfriend (Abe) and I went camping over Memorial Day weekend. On Saturday morning, I got up early and went for a quick 6 mile run. I hadn’t run for a few days, I had my new iPod Shuffle blaring out the New Pornographers, it was sunny and warm, and it all felt glorious!
After 3.5 miles, an icky feeling started to sink in—I started out way too fast, I was running on an empty tank, and I wasn’t carrying any water with me. I was running along a gravel road with no shade, and the sun was glaring down. There was prairie on either side of me, but I thought that this must be what the desert felt like. I managed to slog through to the finish, mostly thanks to “Hey Ya!” coming on at a most opportune moment.

When I got back to camp, I was anxious to tell Abe all about the run: how good it felt in the beginning, the mistakes I made, and the suffering at the end. I was babbling between gulps of water, and realized that this wasn’t the first time I had done this to him. I realized that I could spare him a lot of “mm-hmm-ing” and other Positive Minimal Responses by creating a blog and using it to recount my adventures while running and biking. (Abe, however, swears that he enjoys hearing about it. Bless his heart, he’s a good guy.)

So that’s the story of the beginning of my blog. I’m starting this blog as I wrap up 18 weeks of training for my first marathon, so, in a way, it seems a bit late. Yet these past weeks have been amazing—challenging and fun and everything in between. What has stuck with me the most has been the experience of running hours at a time, with nothing but my own thoughts to keep me company. Some might say that this is dangerous, because I think a lot. But even though I do run with a group, we occasionally run out of things to say, or need to concentrate on putting one front in front of the other, and that’s when all the thoughts start. I have had some amazing thoughts and epiphanies over the last 425 miles, and I just wanted a place to write them down.

One of the most incredible thoughts that occurred to me was that I have the discipline and drive to do what I really want to do. Marathon training is intense and time consuming, and demands that you be a slave to your goal. I had shied away from things in the past, thinking that I didn’t have what it took to see a goal through to the end. I realized after a run a few weeks ago that I do have what it takes, and that I can achieve my goals. It sounds cheesy, ok, but this is HUGE for me. That thought has put into motion a third attempt at something I’ve wanted to do for years, but have always screwed up, in one way or another. While this thing shall remain nameless for now (although if you know me, you know what it is), let’s just say that I’ve taken that first step, and have already overcome the first obstacle. And it’s still full-steam ahead.

But I digress. Mostly, this will document my training and my new and increasing sporty goals. Oh, and “Lola” was my nickname in high school. Enjoy!

posted by Lola @ 1:45 PM 0 comments