Tag Archive | philly Gore-Tex

Word of the Day

Definition of MARATHON

1: a footrace run on an open course usually of 26 miles 385 yards (42.2 kilometers); broadly : a long-distance race

2a : an endurance contest

b : something (as an event, activity, or session) characterized by great length or concentrated effort

My mother like many non runners does not know the distance of a marathon. She’s getting better. When I first started running, she called all my races marathons and would tell everyone that her daughter was a marathon runner. It used to make me feel like a fraud until I actually ran one. Now she can say it. She’s learning now and asks how far I’m running. If your a runner, you know that a marathon is 26.2 miles, but you also know that it is so much more than that. It is a run that will test your endurance. It will test your dedication and determination. It will test your sense of reason and logic. It is so much more than miles.

So Much More!

I have only ever completed one marathon, The Philly Gortex, and crossing the finish line was an amazing experience made more special by the surprise visit of my mother and sister. It was a total surprise and I really don’t know if I could have finished without their support as I was thinking of just doing the half instead of the full. You can read more about Philly in my Hang on Snoopy post.

This was the moment where I went from thinking of giving up, to the moment where I knew that I had to finish.

Philly Video

My Mother’s excitement was contagious and I heard her over the announcer saying, “Half Marathoners finish to the right” which made me stay to the left. Running a marathon is more than just putting one foot in front of the other although at some points you must remind yourself to do that. A marathon is a mental game from start to finish.

It is mental game just with the first thought of signing up and it only gets more intense.

In 2014 according to Marathon Statistics there were 590,145 marathon finishers for races in the U.S. and Canada.

Here are the Statistics from the 10 biggest Marathons again in the U.S. and Canada

Finishers (2014):

Race	Finishers
New York City Marathon	50,564
Chicago Marathon	40,802
Boston Marathon	31,926
Honolulu Marathon	21,824
Los Angeles Marathon	21,506
Marine Corps Marathon	19,689
Walt Disney World Marathon	19,235
Philadelphia Marathon	10,363
Twin Cities Marathon	8,853
Houston Marathon	6,945

When you are in a running group where so many of the Mama’s have run multiple marathons, you start to think that everyone has done one. Then you realize that is not the case as the numbers don’t lie. I am happy to see that the Philadelphia Marathon made the top 10 list of largest marathon finishers and happy to be in that number. This year I am running the Marine Corps Marathon and in 2016 I hope to run the biggest marathon, the New York City Marathon!

Hmmm, then maybe I should start making travel plans for the other ones:) Wouldn’t that be nice. I can dream the dream. One never knows as the oldest woman marathon finisher just competed a marathon last month at the age of 92!

For now, it is nice to know that I’ve completed one, am training for my second, and will run the ultimate marathon in 2016.

One marathon at a time:)

Have you ever run a marathon?

Is it on your bucket list?

Girls Gone Wild

Nov25

Let me just say that this title is probably slightly misleading.

Ok, not slightly.

Completely.

I know some Mom’s who plan “Girl’s Weekend” that involve Vegas or such.

Let me interject that I hate the term Girls Weekend as I am not a girl anymore, but a woman. I realize that Woman’s weekend doesn’t sound right, but come on. Can’t we come up with a better term? What would you call it?

As often, I digress. Back to the topic at hand.

Girls Weekend.

I’ll be honest. I’m a bit of a homebody. Don’t feel sad that I don’t get out much. I like it that way. That being said, I haven’t been away from my family with friends since I think forever. This was my weekend. This was my kick up my heels. I did it alright too. I did it in style.

First there was the picking up of my wing man or wing lady in this case. (Yes, you Dawn). We also had an extra passenger. A friend of Dawn’s who was going the same way. So as with most things. The more the merrier! Once we were loaded up. Off we went to the city of Brotherly Love for our adventure. We follow the Garmin which takes us the scenic tour, but we still get there with time to spare.

Check into the hotel and off we go for some fun!

First stop……

The Expo!

Where you expecting something else?

We did a few loops. Made a few purchases and met by chance the rest of the MRTT Mama’s who were kicking up their heals in the same fashion. We parted ways with these Mama’s at the expo as they were going out to eat and we were planning to just grab something quick and eat at the hotel. The only snag here is when the city is booked to capacity picking up a quick dinner still turns into an hour wait. So while waiting we hit 7-elleven for some evening snacks. Probably not best to do while hungry.

Case in point and these are only mine.

I will say by the time we got back to the hotel to eat, I was beyond hungry! So hungry that when we met up with the other Mama’s in the lobby that I actually said, “I hate to be rude, but I’ve got to eat” and then proceeded to shove the food in as fast as I could. Carb loading at best. Big portion of pasta with some protien of chicken parm. Yum!

Then the party continued back in the room. This is where we got wild. Going through our clothes putting are final wardrobe into place.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!

Then off for as much sleep as can be had the night before your fist marathon.

I know.

CRAZY!

The next morning, I even woke up before my alarm at 4:45 AM.

That really is crazy!

Dress to be out in the cold for a while.

I am what appears to be the homeless person in the middle, but I will say that I was warm. Especially since I was in a later corral. The tip here is BEFORE donating old coats, sweatshirts, and such, think will this make a good throw away coat at a race. If so, put that in a separate pile. No one wants to start a race off cold and if you are not that vain and have a good sense of humor, you won’t mind looking like a homeless person.

Especially if by noon you can proudly say

“I just ran a Marathon today!”

Hang On Snoopy

Nov24

Well I did it! I finished my first Marathon. I finished exactly where I wanted to finish too. My goal was to finish around 4:45.

Here is the breakdown.

10K at 1:04:49, Pace 10:26.

Half Marathon Split at 2:19:37. Pace 10:39

Finish at 4:46:20. Pace 10:42

Don’t you love how my pace increased? Although, I will tell you, I went out and throughout the course tried to maintain a steady pace between 10 and 11 which my garmin reflects. I’ll be brutally honest. It was hard! It was long! And they are liar, liar pants on fire that it is a flat course. Yes, it starts off nice and flat, and there are some lovely hills to go down. The problem is all the hills to go up are on the end. They should flip the course and end with the flat part, but that’s just my opinion.

I’ll also be even more honest. Shhh, don’t tell anyone, but I walked a little at the end. I kept telling myself that my legs were not tired and would carry me through, but I still walked. I think I did that because I knew that I was going to be in my time zone. I also did it because, damn, my legs were jello!

Now, there is a lot to talk about with this race, but today I want to talk about the cheering fans.

I went down with a bunch of great moms from my local MRTT group. Most of us went by ourselves without any family. I, actually, have never had any family come to my races. It really never bothered me. I still get a kick out of all the cheering fans. I like to think that people who line up to cheer along a race cheer for us all and they really do. You’ve got the people reading your name on your bib, calling out your name and encouraging you all the way. It’s amazing and believe me there will be a whole post on these fans!

Yesterday though, something extraordinary happened. I was reaching a critical part of the race. It was the part where the people running the half marathon get to go to the right and those of us continuing know we have another 13 to go. It’s very disheartening and really a kick in the pants. I was having a dialogue with myself at the time to tell myself to keep going as the thought had popped into my mind to go to the right. Then I heard my name being called and I saw them. My sister who lives in California, my Mother who was screaming the loudest, and a family friend. They had signs and were cheering for me. How could I not finish now? It actually became my manta!

“Your if your sister can fly from California, you can finish this! They came to see you finish”

This is the thrill of finishing with a mother who can’t hold her excitement and brought roses too

There is a video of it that I posted on my FB page. You can see me trudging along, the surprise on my face, the smile that brightens it up, and the best part is the excitement my mother had. What you don’t see is how it lifted my spirits and really did help me to finish. I really don’t know if I could have done it without them!

To finish my first marathon was an amazing experience, but to finish with family there took it to the next level.

Just Let The Legs Carry You…..

Nov9

I’ve got this little thing coming up in two weeks.

Just this little race that I recently signed up for.

This Philly Gore-Tex Marathon.

It is literally 2 weeks from today. Let’s just hope that by this time of night I am actually done running it and am soundly asleep!

I was talking to my friend who I am doing Philly with today. A couple of the women who were signed up to run it won’t be doing it now. Can’t really blame them at all seeing as they just both ran in the NYC Marathon. They both were amazing and rocked it! One even qualified for the Boston Marathon. They have more than earned their weekend at home and are most definitely excused even though they will be missed!

Me on the other hand, I’ve got no excuse. Yes, I haven’t been plotting this run out for a year, but I think (hope) I’m ready. I’ve been following my training plan and doing what needs to be done. Yet, the doubts still creep in. The “What was I thinking?” doubts. I don’t know why. I think it might be normal or at least normal for me. To be honest, I think my legs will hold out. It’s the feet and mind that worry me. Running really is a mental game. Many don’t realize it, but it is. The body will do what the mind tells it to do. If the mind tells it to give up, it will. If the mind tells it to keep going, it will. They key will be making sure my mind doesn’t give up.

I’ve got to work on my Manta.

My normal – “You’ve got this” won’t really work in this situation. How am I supposed to know that I’ve got this when I’ve never got this before. So that one is out.

I think I’m going to go with – “Don’t think and just let your legs carry you.”

In the whole scheme of things it really amazes me how far I have pushed my running in the last year. I didn’t run my first half until May and since then I’ve run two more and am getting ready to run my first marathon. It boggles my mind. If you had EVER asked me if I would ever run a marathon, I would have firmly told you that you were crazy. Whose the crazy one now? I guess me because I’m going to do it.

Part of me thinks that this might be my one and only marathon, but then there is the other part of me that knows this is just the beginning…….

The Accidentally Running Mama

Run, Bike, Swim and Have a Life!