San Diego Rock 'n Roll Marathon Recap

Well folks, like I said in my super short post on Sunday, I ran a marathon. It wasn't exactly what I expected or how I planned, but I did it. My final time was 5 hours, 44 minutes.

My Finisher's Medal

When we got to San Diego on Saturday, we headed over to the expo to pick up my shirt, swag bag and race packet. I was really excited about the shirt... these ones were pretty awesome:

Awesome Shirts!

After that, we headed over to our hotel to check in. The girls at the front desk were all excited when they found out who I was (ok, it's really much less celebrity like than it sounds). My parents, sister and brother-in-law had sent me an edible arrangement! It was such a great idea because real flowers would have probably messed with my allergies and this was FANTASTIC after the race!

My "Flowers"

Here's what I look like at 4am the morning of a race... absolutely petrified.

Pre-race Picture

The run started at 6:15am, but by the time my corral crossed the starting line, it was around 6:45am. I could not have asked for more perfect weather - it was cloudy (hello June gloom!) and cool, with a slight breeze once we got near the water. The first 9 miles felt fantastic - I was running my pace, I felt good and I was really enjoying the scenery.

Then, at mile 9, disaster struck. We were running on the freeway (they close down a chunk of the 163 for the race) when my stomach really started to bother me. Like the "you need to stop at this nice blue porta potty on the side of the 163" bother me. From mile 9 all the way through mile 26, I was in serious pain. I visited many of the conveniently placed porta potties along the route. At mile 15, I called Mike. I told him I was sick and didn't know what to do. He told me to keep putting one foot in front of the other. That's exactly what I did for the next 17 miles. I am so proud of myself for continuing on when I know a lot of people would have stopped. And I love Mike so much for telling me to keep going, even though he could hear how badly I was hurting and knew (from personal experience) how long 17 miles can be.

Now, on a lighter note, here are some of the funny signs I saw along the way:

"Run faster mommy, I'm tired of holding this sign" (held by a cute little boy)

"This sounded like a good idea 6 months ago"

"Don't stop - people are watching you"

"Tomorrow you'll think this was fun"



Believe it or not, I'm really glad I had this experience. This was honestly my worst fear going into the run and it actually happened. But I survived, I kept running and I didn't give up. Yes, my time wasn't what I was aiming for, but I feel like I overcame a lot more than just a time goal. This whole process has been quite a journey and has tought me a lot about what I can handle both physically and mentally. I'd like to send a great big thank you out to everyone who called, texted, facebooked or emailed me encouragement... I read each and every one and appreciate it!

Finally, something I've been waiting to do for a long time... cross this one off the bucket list (and apparently start thinking of some other things to add to it!):

• Own a horse
• Buy a house - completed 2007
• Run a marathon - completed 2012
• Get married - completed 2011

I Ran A Marathon Today

Holy crap, that was hard. Like really, really hard. I ran into some tummy troubles at mile 9 and became well aquatinted with the blue porta potties for the rest of the race. It hurt, it was awful and I wanted to quit more than anything. But I didn't and I finished. I'm so proud of myself! More when we get home and I have some great pictures!

Reflections On Running

I can't believe the marathon is finally almost here. Back in December when I signed up, it almost didn't feel like it would ever get here... June was so far away. Well, it's here. Today I ran my final training run and this coming Sunday I'll be running a marathon.

Because I'm a bit of a nerd, I've kept track of all of my mileage. Since the first training run back in December, I've run a total of 496 miles. To put that into perspective, it's 502 miles from Sacramento to San Diego. That's right, I've run the distance I'll have to travel to my marathon.

I've spent the last few days teetering back and forth between being extremely excited and completely scared to death. Then I think about the journey that this has been and I'm so happy that I'm doing it. I've put blood, sweat and tears (literally on all three of those - my foot bled through my sock this morning) into this. Running has been a place for me to think, free therapy, and a place for some good laughs (my goat pacer anyone?). I've also learned a lot about my body (red sauce + running = bad) along with the fact that it's ok to crap in bushes (still haven't had to do it, but I carry TP in my pack!).

I think of all of the runs I've done - the runs in the cold, in the hot, in the rain. I think of the sore joints, the pulled muscles, the stomach cramps and the blisters. I think of the crazy hills. All of that is going to make running in San Diego like running in paradise. I'm so proud of all of the work I've put in and I'm going to do my best to get past my famous nerves and to really enjoy myself. I want to take in the sights, listen to the bands and just run. In fact, that's been my little mantra lately... just run. And keep running.

Anyways, sorry for the sort of rambling post. I'm nervous, but I'm ready. It's been a great journey. One more day of work and then I get to spend three days in my home away from home!

Peak Week - Check!

Well faithful followers, I survived peak week. It was tough and my body is definitely tired, but it feels so good to have it done!

This morning I ran 20 miles. Yup, you read that right. It actually felt pretty good. I'm constantly amazed at how much my body can withstand. Aside from some achy knees and nasty feet, I feel pretty good! Nothing a little Advil and rest can't fix!

The run was really nice - it was still cool when I started (6am!) and didn't get too hot. The best part was when I was paced by a goat. Yup, a goat. He ran alongside (in his fenced pen) for about 1/2 a mile - both times I ran by him. I like to think he was helping me, not that he was territorial and trying to kill me. I should have stopped to get a picture, but really wanted to get the run over with.

Here's me after the run, looking all kinds of beautiful:

Flattering Self Portrait

It's all downhill from here!

Peak Week

Well folks, for those of you following along, I've run a grand total of 402 miles in preparation for my first (and last) marathon. This week is peak week... I'm running a total of 40 miles, culminating with my long run that will be 20 miles (the longest I'll run until the race). It's all downhill after this. To make it even more challenging, Mother Nature has turned up the thermostat. Most of my runs have to be after work since they're too long to squish in before, which means I'm running in 80+ degree heat. Nothing like a little hard work to make you appreciate the AC in your car! Fingers crossed that I can survive this week!

Trips Galore!

Today I felt a whole lot like the official travel agent of the Blankenheim household. First thing this morning, I booked our trip to San Diego for the San Diego Rock 'n' Roll marathon. Hotel - check, flight - check, rental car - check. We had talked about the pros and cons of driving versus flying and decided that it was well worth the extra money to take the flight so that I don't have to endure the 9+ hour road trip.

Speaking of running, I did pretty darned well this week. My total mileage for the week was 17 miles - 10 during the week at the gym and 7 yesterday outside on a trail near our house. I'm sore and tired, but a good sore and tired.

I decided that today would be a cross train day, so I headed to the pool for the first time since our wedding. It felt so good to get back in the water and I can't think of anything that feels better to stretch out those sore joints and muscles than a good swim.

Mike and I did a ton of researching and narrowing down of what we want to do while we're in Europe for sabbatical. I think the two of us could spend decades over there exploring! We've settled on a few key things that we want to do.

We've basically decided to do a great big clockwise circle through France. We're flying into Berne, Switzerland to go visit Interlaken. Specifically, we're there to see Jungfrau, one of the highest points in Europe. The whole valley is supposed to be absolutely amazing and they have a cool little train that takes you up to the top where they have this great observatory with amazing views:

We'll spend a few days exploring the valley area before we head into France... ready to tackle the Alpe d'Huez. This is one of the most fabled climbs in the Tour de France and is something we want to tackle while we're there. I might die, so it's a good thing we're going to see something pretty before we get there.

From there we plan to head down to Southern France to watch the Col du Tourmalet stage of the Tour de France. This is one of the big mountain stages and if we can battle past the motor homes that will probably be camped out for weeks before, we might get a good spot.

After a couple days in the South, we're going to head North to Normandy. This is one of the places that Kati and I did not make during our trip a couple years ago and I'm so super excited to go see it.

Finally, we're going to end our trip in Paris - we'll spend 4 or 5 days there and are hoping to camp out to get a good spot to see the finish of the Tour.

I can't wait!!!

Training Tracker

Today was the first day of my marathon training - I hit the gym and did 4 miles on the treadmill. I found a cool little tracker that will post my runs and totals to the blog. Just look over to the left, under my profile information in the orange boxes.

In other exciting news, my sister-in-law, Nicki, has decided to run the marathon with me. I'm super excited about it... it will be nice to have a training partner for the really long runs and to have someone to help hold me accountable. Plus, Nicki has run like a million marathons, so I'll definitely be leaning on her for some of the tips and tricks!

26.2 Miles

Well, I may have actually lost my mind. I just signed up for my very first marathon. Yup, I've completely lost it. On June 3rd, 2012, I will be running the San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon.

Running a marathon has always been on my bucket list - something I've wanted to do before I die. It's one of those things that I've been saying "someday", but as I get older I'm starting to realize that someday is now. I'm not getting any younger. I did a half marathon a couple years back and swore at the finish line that it was not the halfway point to any race... yet, here I am, committed.

Finally, I thought I'd get my current bucket list published on here, since it's been a while since I discussed it on the blog. I'll keep adding to it as I go - right now it's kinda short, but I'm sure I'll think of a couple more things I want to do. It's sort of nice to have a blog because then it's out there. The four of you that actually read this can hold me accountable. Or something like that. :)

• Own a horse
• Buy a house - completed 2007
• Run a marathon
• Get married - completed 2011

So, long story short, you'll probably see a lot more posting about running on here in the next six months. Kati is going to run her first half marathon (Shamrock) and I'll run that with her as part of my training - the timing works out perfectly! I'm sort of excited to have a major goal like this to work towards!