I would walk 500 miles (April Recap)

I managed to eek out 11.56 miles this month... ran, walked and hiked. This challenge has continued to be a hard commitment for me to devote time to.

This past Saturday was the Music City Marathon in Nashville. I thought about all of the training I committed to last year and how I ran the half marathon last year while 12 weeks pregnant. In that single day I accumulated more mileage than I have been able to squeeze out of a single month this year. It is kind of depressing.

Right now exercising and finding time for myself have fallen to the very bottom of my list of priorities. That is the season of my life. I think the important thing is that I am still trying. Will I make it to 500 this year? It is looking doubtful. If I can make exercise a priority again, I am hoping to make it to 250. Only time will tell.

4.38 miles in January >> 6.66 miles in February >> 11.66 in March >> 11.56 in April >> 34.36 ytd

Chuck Norris Never Ran a Marathon

Laura and I at the start

The morning of the Country Music Marathon came faster than I anticipated. The last week was crazy due to making our baby announcement and then the storms that came through Alabama. I was only able to squeeze in one last short workout on Tuesday and then just hoped for the best.

Throngs of people ready to run

When my friend Laura asked me if I wanted to train for the Country Music Marathon, I said sure. I had no idea that two months into training I would be pregnant or that I would go ahead and run the race at 12 weeks preggo {my doctor has been very supportive of my training and I would not have done it if I hadn't already been training}.

We made it to Corral #1 (the official start) by 7:30 AM

Saturday morning I was up bright and early – probably just nerves. Daniel and his sister and I were headed into Nashville by 5:45 and had no problem finding a parking spot close to Vanderbilt and the start line. I was really shocked at how many people were there. I knew that there would be over 30,000 runners, but I wasn't prepared to see so many people gathered in one place.

The starting line

I met up with Laura and her dad in Corral #24 {pace time 2:30} but we moved up to Corral #23. The race started in waves that were 1-2 minutes apart, so it was actually around 7:30 before our group left the starting line.

Running through downtown Nashville. Image via.

I was really surprised at how emotional I felt, even at the beginning of the race. I was there and doing this run with all of these other people. It kind of took my breath away. It might have also been the baby hormones talking...

Image via.

I stuck with Laura and her dad through the first mile and then they picked up the pace and I settled into a comfortable jog with the 2:30 pace group. I managed to stick with this group until mile 9.

Country Music Hall of Fame. Image via.

Daniel and Emily were there after mile marker #4 to take pictures and cheer me on. It meant so much to me to see them. Daniel actually came on the course and asked me how I was doing and gave me a kiss. They were there again around mile marker #8.

Laura and her dad close to Belmont.

Some of the hills in the first half of the race were pretty hard for me. I started walking the hills after mile #3 because my hill running was so slow and walking allowed me to lengthen my stride and really swing my arms. I think this is the only reason I didn't have hip pain by the end of the race.

Me at about mile #4.

My brother snuck into the race right after mile marker #6. With his long legs, he was able to walk while I ran at my ridiculously slow pace. He really encouraged me, especially at the end. I am so glad he was there. When I started to feel sick from fatigue after mile #11, he talked me through it. When I needed to walk, he hung with me. He even held my hand for a little while when I was really hurting.

Me right after mile #6.

After mile marker #9 I slowed down a bit and sometime after mile marker #10 I was in the 2:45 pace group. I hung with them until mile marker #11, and then I finally had to walk. I walked until about mile 12.5 and then I found the energy to run the last 0.5 miles across the bridge to the finish. You make a right hand turn after the bridge to the finish line and I literally sprinted to the end. It felt amazing.

My brother Mark and I after mile #8.

Emotionally I thought I was going to break down and cry every time there was a band playing or whenever I saw all of the spectators with their signs of encouragement – the funniest one I saw was "Chuck Norris Never Ran a Marathon." I gave high fives to countless numbers of little boys cheering on the racers. At the end I thought I would sob through the finish, but I managed to hold it together.

The finish line.

At the finish there were so many people I found myself very disoriented. Thank goodness I had my cell phone or I would have never found Daniel and Emily or Mark. Daniel missed my big finish, which was a bit of a disappointment, but I am so glad he and Emily were there throughout the race. 

Daniel and I after the race.

At 12 weeks pregnant, I ran a half marathon at 3:08:01. That is a slow time, but I am still proud of it. I have never been a runner and this is a huge accomplishment. I can now mark #45 off of my life list.

Mark and I after the race.

We walked across a pedestrian bridge to get back to our car.

Daniel and Emily walked 7+ miles in order to see me throughout the race!

Country Music Half Marathon

Tomorrow is the big day and I am a bit nervous. Last night I watched this preview video of the route and it looks like a lot of hills. I know that I can easily run 8.5 miles {my longest training run was 10 miles about 2 weeks ago}. I also have no shame in walking, I just hope that my training pays off and I can complete the course.

Definitely Not a Hare

{image via}

 

I am not a fast runner {not even remotely}. Most likely I will never be fast. And that is okay with me. Over the course of training for my first half marathon I have learned that I can hold a 12-minute mile pace comfortably for the first 6 miles. After that I slow down to a 15-minute pace. Like I said, I am not fast.

Today I completed my first 10 mile run. It was tough, but I managed to do it without walking. I don't have any grand hopes for my first half marathon... I just want to finish without walking.

Burned Out on Running

It is 4 weeks and some change until the half marathon and sadly I am starting to feel burned out with the long distance training. I ran 9 miles on Saturday but I am dreading my next run {short or long}. I should have run yesterday, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I am so close that there is no reason to quit now, but at the same time I need to find some motivation to keep training. Any advice from you long distance runners???

On a separate note, I am really intrigued by Merrel's new Barefoot Trail Glove.

{via}

Running Progress

So today I ran 8.5 miles and managed to maintain a 12:24 minute pace, but it was tough. It also means that I am about 3/4 of the way to running my first half marathon. I am pretty proud of myself since my longest run to date was 6.3 miles – it turns out that tacking on the extra two miles today was totally mental.

During those last two miles my lower back started aching; I ran out of water {I have been running longer distances with a Camelbak}; AND the hills were unbearable {as in I just had to keep telling myself to put one foot in front of the other at a pace that was probably slower than a walk}. But in the end none of that mattered because I did it!

From a cardio standpoint, I felt great after the run, but my quads were definitely starting to complain. I'm a sure that I will sleep great tonight.

Only 6.5 weeks until the Nashville marathon!!!

Training for the Country Music Half Marathon

As you might recall, back in December, a friend and I managed to train for a 5K in 5 days. Not something I would recommend, but somehow we managed to pull it off.

Now we have our sights set on something bigger: The Country Music Half Marathon at the end of April. This gives us 13 weeks to train. We have been consistently running 3 miles, twice a week, up until last week. Since agreeing to train for the longer distance, we have been attempting to go by this training schedule for novices.

Basically we are already doing the beginner weeks, we just have to start upping our mileage: Weeks 1&2 call for two 3-mile runs, one 4-mile run and two days of cross training {we do kickboxing} and two days of strength/stretching {we do yoga}.

Today was my first 4-mile run and it felt pretty good. I am a slow runner, but am not too worried since that will be the best way for me to complete the entire distance.

I like to keep my mind occupied while I run. Besides listening to music, I have found that watching the news has been great for this – it keeps me abreast of what it going on in the world and I have been learning a lot about stocks! Listening to audio books is also a good way to pass the time.

Hopefully {barring any knee problems or other injuries} we will be running our first half marathon on April 30. 

Have you run a long-distance race? Any advice? Carrie from This Mama Makes Stuff offers some good tips on the things that keep her interested in running.