Two days til #3!!

In just two days from this moment I will be almost an hour in to my third marathon!! :) :)
Have I mentioned that I'm super, super, SUPER excited?!

Absent...

Yeah, so I haven't posted since Sept 5 on my good ol' marathon training blog.

Sadly (in my opinion), that's because I haven't been doing a whole lot in the way of marathon training.

My leg is super jacked. Super.

I feel like a hypochondriac, but I swear I am not.

I know pain can be mental...but I am pretty sure this isn't. I mean, what is there to be afraid of? It's not like this is my first rodeo, kids. This is marathon three! Marathon three in twelve months! It's not exactly "old hat," but it's nothing new either.

I know what to expect.

I know I am SO excited.

I know I have only eleven training days left....

and...

I know I haven't run on land in 6 long days.

Six!

As I posted on facebook today, I feel as if I may explode. I've been "redirecting my energy" in somewhat odd (for me!) ways like...making salsa last night. What? Who spends their Monday night making salsa?! It was yummy, if you were wondering ;).

I ran eight miles last Wednesday (September 8) and, frankly, it felt like some sort of torture. The first two miles were heinous. My inner thigh area (groin?) on my right leg was super tight and painful-feeling...it's a pain that's deep in there. Hard to describe. Painful. Hated.

My knee felt as if it was grinding (right knee...always issues with the right leg!! Wish I could trade it for another left leg. That leg seems to be golden, for the most part).

I took 4 Ibuprofens before I left...and they seemed to kick in after about 5 miles or so. Well, either they were kicking in or my leg was just going numb. Or both.

I was definitely numb.

I did most of the 8 miles at a 9 min/mile pace, but was able to speed up a bit at the end (once the numbness set in!) to an 8:30 min/mile pace.

Right now...I am learning patience. I am not a patient person. Not in the slightest. Actually, that may not be entirely true ;). I had a teacher at a school where I see some kiddos for speech today compliment my patience. I also had a parent of a little guy I see on Mondays commend my patient demeanor with his son after the session on Monday. So, I guess I've got it in me somewhere ;). I have to admit, though, while I may exude patience on the exterior at times like that when it really "counts"...on the inside I am anything but.

And right now...I am anything but patient.

I want to run, and I want to run...NOW. Tonight. Last night. Every night.

I hate this leg for holding me back.

But....I am holding out for the "prize"...taking some time off, because I know my knee needs to heal. I know I can't obtain my prize...starting the Quad Cities Marathon 11 days, 14 hours, and 41 minutes from now and finishing said race approximately four hours after that...in this kind of pain.

Ick.

I am jealous of every runner I see outside. We've been blessed with some amazing weather here in Central IL lately...and all I can think about is how much I want to be out there running, how much I feel like I need to be out there running, and how frustrated I am by the fact that I am NOT out there running.

Do I have a problem?

Yeah, probably. Probably a few ;).

Saturday I went to water aerobics with my dear pregnant friend. I mocked it ;) before trying it, but it ended up being a great workout...and it truly made my leg feel awesome.

Sunday I did pool running for an hour. Talk about boring ;). But, again, my leg felt awesome.

Blah blah blah.

here's hoping things improve, soon.

20 miles, take two

So i survived my second 20 mile training run of this marathon-training-cycle! I went around 12:30 today. The weather was glorious....in the low 70's. Awesome, really.

The first mile really sucked. I almost turned back, but that would've been quite pathetic and I try to not rock the pathetic-ness on a typical basis ;), so I pushed through the discomfort. After a mile, while still feeling some nagging discomfort in my right knee and thigh....it got better.

Was it the 4 Ibuprofen that i popped before the run? Was it the full hour of pool running I had done yesterday (which, while a bit boring at times, was overall pretty wonderful.....ZERO pain or discomfort. Oh water, you are my dear, dear friend!). Was it the probably-somewhat-ghetto-looking bring pink KT kineseotape Jeremy and I rigged up together on my knee and thigh after watching online tutorials???? Hahaha!

Aaaand, thanks to Nate's advice (trainer at the Sports Enhancement Center here in blo-no) I've been trying to tweak my form a bit. Easier said than done, naturally, but I'm starting to maybe see/feel some improvement that is *hopefully* more than simply mental

Whatever it was, though, today's run was better than I was thinking it would be. And....i'm grateful for that!

Three weeks til the big marathon numero tres! Here's hoping it's a success story :). I'm excited!

Aaaaand....the big news is: I'm pretty sure Jeremy is going to run the half marathon at the Quad Cities event! He actually ran 12 tonight (the most he's run yet! He's done 10 a few times). He's been slowly but surely building up his mileage. I've been teasing him that he's going to do the half....and, in true Jeremy form, he's adamently denied it.

He hasn't registered yet, that I'm aware of anyway, but I'd put good money down on the fact that I'm pretty dang sure he's gonna do it.

And THAT, my friends, is freaking hot to me! :)

Yeaaaaaah!



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