Indianapolis Monument Marathon 2011

Last year at my first marathon I vowed I would never do another one. Ever. It was painful. My body failed me. And the training was long and grueling (18 weeks). But then a few months had passed and so did the memories of the pain. Kind of like childbirth. You forget how hard it was and want to do it again. February rolled around. Time for Chicago sign-up. I couldn't do it. But wait, maybe I could do it. I talked to my husband for hours about the pros and cons. Pros: it'd give me a great reason to stay in shape. Cons: it'd take a lot of time away from my family. Decision time and on February 13th I signed up for the Indianapolis Mon.umental M.arathon. Told Jaime I did it. She had a similar conversation with her husband. Then she signed up. It was official, we were going to run our second marathons in November.

We started training for the Min.i Marathon in February, ran the Mini in May, continued to train for R.agnar which was in June, then marathon training started in July. We've basically been training for 9 of the last 10 months. Phew. If you've been following my blog, you know that this 2nd marathon of mine was going to be my last. I am just ready to slow down my training. Ready to relax and enjoy sleeping in on Saturday mornings. Snuggling my family instead of bundling up at 5am for a 20 miler. I went into this marathon knowing this was my last.

Jaime picked me up Friday afternoon to head downtown to the marathon expo to pick up our packets and buy last minute necessities for the 26.2 miles. The anticipation and excitement (and nerves) started setting in. Did we carb load enough? Did we train enough? Did we sleep enough? Are we ready?!? Jaim dropped me off at home where I tried to keep my mind off of the race and remain calm. Easier said than done. I was a ball of nerves.

 Marathon morning was finally here and it was chilly willy. I ate my typical pre-race bagel and banana, took a shower, and packed gear for all types of weather. Jaime and her sister picked me up and we were off. We shared stories of pre-race nightmares, last minute fears and the game plan for the day. Quickly parked and found our way to the convention center to meet our running group, the Perfect Strangers. We put layers on, took layers off, used the potty, downed salt packets & last minute Gu, slapped on the BioF.reeze, checked our bags and took some final pictures:

 I swear by the end of this weekend I felt like I was one of their sisters. Jaime, Amy & Betsy...love these girls!

 Summer Perfect Strangers team (minus Meggie, Sarah & Meghan)

It was 15 minutes until the race started so we all made a bee line out the doors and into the cold. Walking to the start we all were laughing and in great spirits. Got into our starting corral and we gave last minute hugs, pace plans, and finally all of our gps watches got the coveted signals. It was time to start...and we were off.

Jaime, Betsy, Meghan and myself stayed together pretty much the entire first 13 miles. Was unbelievable to have friends to run with, as last year's marathon was a solo experience and painfully dreadful (and boring). I love, love, loved that this was a hometown race, as I saw SO MANY friends along the course (both in the race and on the sidelines):

Shortly after the start we saw our BoMF friend James running his first marathon. He had been featured on the news the day before and we joked about how he's become a local celebrity.

Next we saw fellow 12 Tutu/24 Tata R.agnar teammate Karie cheering us on in front of L.ucas Oil Stadium (go Colts).

Mile 1 we ran into our BoMF friend Danielle...she ran with us for a few miles.

Mile 2 we saw Meggie with her awesome Perfect Strangers sign right at the Monument.

Mile 3 we saw my good friend Lori cheering us on.

Soon after we saw Rob (fellow BoMFer) rocking his first half marathon.

Then we met a woman of 54 years old running her 191st marathon (11th this year!). She started running when she was 34 - she and her husband set the world record for the first married couple to run a marathon in each state in one year. Amazing. Truly inspirational.

Around mile 7 we saw Lori again and then Jaime's husband cheering us on.

Miles 8 through 10 were uneventful until we saw Meggie running through the middle of the road cheering us on (and nearly ran over!). My fingers were frozen sold at this point and I commissioned Meg to open a Gu packet for me and complaining how tight my hips were. So. Tight. Which wasn't a good sign so early on in the race. I knew I just had to make it to mile 12 where I knew Mike and the girls were waiting for me.

Mile 12 greeted me with my family. When I got there I gave some kisses to the littles and thanked my friends Lori, Katie & Rick for joining my family for the support.

Mile 13 we were approaching Br.oadripple and I saw 5 sorority sisters that I hadn't seen since college - I gave each of them a hug then kept going.

This next mile I saw the Moosbruggers chilling on their street corner cheering me on.

Around mile 14 is where I knew something was really starting to go wrong. My hips were so tight that I think my gait started to change. My calves started to cramp up so badly that I had to start walking. We ran into Beth from BoMF and her running crew here where I shared my pain with them. Told Jaime and Betsy to keep going, run their own race, I couldn't keep going at the pace we were at. So on they ran. They'd run about a mile then wait for me.

Got to mile 15 where I saw my family again, this time with our neighbors Matt, Jill & Sammy cheering me on as well. Mike gave me a quick calf massage and we were off again.

Miles 16-18 Jaime and Betsy continued to run, wait, run, wait and I was starting to feel guilty about them taking care of me. A medic rode by on his bike and I told him to keep an eye on me. I knew my calf pain was bad enough to be crippling, debilitating. I was worried. But I ran on when he said he'd keep checking back in on me.

Mile 19 was the last time I saw Jaim and Bets. And it was the mile that the medic learned my name instead of just my number. He fed me a mustard packet (he claims it helped with cramping). He could have handed me a bolgna sandwich and told me it would help...I would have taken it! I had tried bananas, Gu, chews, and water...nothing was helping. So I gladly downed his mustard pack. Shortly after this, I remember the one word that kept running through my head: deflated. I simply felt beat. I kept putting my head down and saying to myself I was deflated. And then I remember what my cycling coach in college told us all the time, "Do NOT put your head down! As soon as you put your head down you have given up!" So I kept my head up (thanks, Siri).

Mile 20 and 21 repeat above with medic. At one point he asked if I wanted to be taken away. I seriously contemplated it. Cried with him. Then decided I was going to finish this race even if it meant the sag wagon was going to pick me up after 6 hours on the course. I was going to do this. This was my last marathon. I could do it. (And thanks to Beth's husband Jeff for giving me some much needed pain meds somewhere near the IMA.)

Around mile 22 a man passed me who was also struggling but I could hear his mantra over and over, "I am strong. I am built to last." After listening to this I decided I needed a mantra. I repeated for the entire next mile, "I have two legs. They are strong. I have a beating heart. It is strong. I can do this."

I knew I had to make it to mile 23 where my good friend Karie awaited me to run a few miles together. See, Karie and I grew up together in elementary school. Sleepovers. Birthdays. You get the idea. We went to high school together and parted ways come college time. When the Facebook era came around we reconnected. We saw how close we lived to each other and I started following her blog. Knew she started running marathons and struggled with some similar issues and I just knew it was meant to be that she and I reunited. She ran R.agnar with us and ever since I've just loved having her as a friend. She is so special to me (she sent Jaime and I care packages last week and I wept reading her inspirational messages). So when I spotted from a distance her pink and purple tutu I immediately put my face in my hands and sobbed. It meant so much to me that she met me at such a hard mile. That she put on a tutu to run with me. I still get choked up at how good of a friend she has become and all that she gave me yesterday on that course. I did a lot of swearing. I did a lot of venting. We hugged numerous times. She told me stories...until she said, "Isn't that girl your friend? I read her blog!" I was near delierious at this point and had no idea what she was talking about until I heard a cyclist jump off their bike, letting it crash to the ground, and then realized it was Meggie.

Oh, Meggie. She had G.atorade for me. She had stories of all the other runners in our group for me. She had funny stories. She swore with me. She pumped me up. She ran along side us for 1/2 mile until she hugged me to let me go. I freaking adore her.

Karie ran a little more with me when James (my BoMF running buddy) came up behind us and gave me one last hug. I was so proud to see him finishing his first marathonn so happily. My, how much he has overcome in the last few years. If he could do it, so could I. Karie soon hugged me to let me finish my last mile alone.

Around mile 25 I saw aforementioned sorority sisters screaming "GO KEEL!!!" Gave me enough to keep going.

Then right before mile 26 I saw fellow Perfect Stranger Amy. She jumped in, pepped me up, shook me up (literally) and told me to finish strong.

I rounded the corner. Saw the 26 mile marker. Heard Danielle scream my name and shuffled my weak legs into the finishers' shute.

As soon as I crossed (and turned my watch off to a disappointing time of 4:38) I was wrapped in a foil blanket and greeted by my buddy James. He was smiling. Which made me smile. We embraced and that was all I needed at that moment. His hug told me all I needed to know. I finished.

I walked very slowly to bag check where I was greeted by Jaime and her sisters and our good friend Eric from BoMF (who just finished his first marathon!). Both were smiling and all I could do was smile for a few pictures, give a few hugs, then sit. I was proud of both of them. But I just needed to rest my legs. Called to tell my husband I survived. Then we changed our clothes and headed out to celebrate with our friends.

The next few hours are hazy. Actually, the entire remainder of the day was hazy. I fluctuated between awake and sleeping for several hours. Went to bed at 8:30 and slept for 11 hours. I. Was. Exhausted.

I woke this morning well rested and to a quiet home (thanks to my children who didn't even care about the time change...we all got an extra hour!). I reflected on the previous day and can only sum it up to this: I finished a marathon. And now I can breathe (and limp).

 Thank you to Sandi & Katie for your amazing signs!

 Mike massaging my calf cramps

 Hugging my close friend Jill

 Love Chris' sign..."Hot Legs"

 So happy to see James!

 Mile 15

Happy to see James again at the finish

 Finishers: Betsy, me, Eric, Jaime & Amy

Thanking my body for being so strong and not giving up. Thanking all my friends & family for their amazing support. I. Am. Done.

Halloween with a Princess & a Mouse...

 We started Halloween evening off this year at our neighbors' house with some delicious corn chowder. The kids were chomping at the bit to trick or treat so we quickly packed it up and moved it on out to the streets of Cool Creek. Izzy was Cinderella, Laney was Minnie Mouse and Sam was Batman.

 As soon as we said the word, the kiddos took off down the street...

 This year was a lot of fun, as it was Laney's first time trick or treating independently. She didn't need our help getting from house to house. And she left every single house telling us, "Look how many trick or treats I have in my bucket mommy!" She was thrilled to be out there among the big kids, scoring herself some loot.

 Here's how we roll...wagon full of coolers :)

 So excited...

 Batman!

When we got home both girls immediately dumped their pumpkins and went through their candy sheer excitement. Reminded me of when my sister and I would come home and comb through our treats, sort them, and then trade. I think this innate to all children, right?

Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!

Where I belong...

Before I started running seriously back in 1999 I didn't even know what the word taper meant. Now as a seasoned veteran of the sport it is a word I use quite often. Sometimes tapering is highly anticipated, "I can't wait to have a long run less than 20 miles!" And sometimes tapering is dreaded, "My body just wants to GO but my training schedule says to rest." or "How can I run 26.2 miles if I'm resting and not putting in miles?!"

I am now on my 18th week of marathon training, with my 2nd marathon just 4 short days away. This is my third week of tapering. And just today I started to panic. See, I've been sick. And I can't seem to fight whatever it is I have. So that's part of my panic. The other part is simply the mind games that tapering gives us runners. Gotta love that. Going to try some visualization tonight. Have to get my mind where it needs to be. Calm. Confident. Secure in the fact that I have trained much harder this year than last and am better prepared. Last year I only ran 20 miles one time. This year I've run 22 once and 20 twice. I'm more than ready.

Remember my taper post last year? I'm super nostalgic about my journey once again. Last year it was about me. Could I do it alone....as I trained alone. This year it's different. This year it's about friendship...as I trained with many girlfriends. And a very best friend. I blogged last year about how she and I both ran our first marathons alone, even though we wanted (and needed) the other by our side. This year the stars aligned (and our husbands reluctantly gave us the go-ahead) and we are going to be running the same marathon this year. Together.

Jaime and I have made a pact to stay together no matter what. Time isn't a goal. We're not trying to qualify for anything. When I expressed my nerves to Jaim this afternoon she said this, "We’ll do it. Promise. We just have to pace ourselves. We are not competing to win. We are competing for a prize for ourselves to show off how strong our bodies are. Whether we run it in 3 hours or 13 hours, we’re still running a marathon. I don’t care who you are, you can’t just go out and take on 26.2 without some serious training." And that, my friends, is the best thing anyone could have said to me in this taper madness I'm knee deep in right now.

I have a ton of other friends running it, too: Bac.k On My Feet buddies, Perfect Stranger buddies, and Ragnar Relay buddies. It's a local race and I'm excited to see familiar faces along the course (I've commissioned every person I know in a 20 mile radius to come out and cheer us on, nudge nudge).

This will most likely be my last marathon for a while. The training takes up a very large chunk of time and I'm realizing I need to shift my energy and focus on my family. My girls will only be 4 and 2 for a short time. My husband has been great; he's put up with me to going to bed at 9pm only to wake at 4:30am to get in a long run, taking the girls to and from school every day, making smoothies for the girls every Saturday morning when I'm out running, the list goes on. I couldn't train for a marathon without his support. However, it's time for me to find better balance.

Trust me, this is not the end of my running. I will still race. All year long. Just not 26.2 miles. Half marathons are still fun and challenging...so maybe I'll just stick with those. Running is a part of me and always will be. It's where I relax, where I sort my thoughts, where I belong.

In the meantime, I'll be focusing on kicking this marathon's butt on Saturday.

Halloween Party for the Bigs

This was our second year of going to the most epic Halloween party we've ever. I've been asked to explain why it's so amazing and I just can't put it into words accurately enough to give it justice. Massive house, several different bars (with hired tenders), dining room full of food, decorations to the nines, "Shot Wheel of Misfortune", surround sound music piped into every room, living room furniture moved out, light show moved in and the best part...a custom pole installed smack dab in the middle of it all. Epic.

You may remember my most favorite Halloween costume ever from last year. I had ever intention to wear that leotard again this year, as it transforms me into a different persona. But my husband and our neighbors wanted to do a group costume. So the leotard is waiting in my drawer for next year. Sigh. Instead, we chose to go as the Fresh B.eat Band. Don't know who that is? That's ok...you really should only know them if you have pre-school aged children. It's a group that teaches children about music, rhythm, beats and dance. It's truly one of the more tolerable shows we watch (and I know all the words to their songs and much of their dance moves). So we did it. We scavenged Goo.dwills to find the silly little details and donned our best Fre.sh Beats:

 Mike's character plays the keyboard. We don't have one. So the accordion had to make due.

 With Maggie (a Katy P.erry groupie, her best friend went as KP) and Sarah (Amy Wi.nehouse)

Of course I danced my toosh off. For 3 hours. Took several turns on the pole (have a few bruises on my legs from this). Those drumsticks transformed me even though I didn't have my coveted leotard on. I made some fun new friends. Reminisced with friends from last year ("Are you Jane Fonda?!" Um, yeah, and I wanted to be her AGAIN!). And can't wait for next year.

Pumpkin Festival Fun

 Saturday morning we loaded up the car and headed to the Zi.onsville Pumpkin Fe.stival. We had heard it was well worth the trip (and the $8/person admission!) and it surely did not disappoint. I mean, anyplace that serves fresh cinnamon donuts is tops in my book.

 We explored the many bins of pumpkins and gourds...

 Took a hayride around the acres...

 Went down the super fast slides...

 Took a ride on the "Moo Choo"...

 Went back for seconds on the slide...

 Took a few laps on a pony...

 Posed in super funky, festive mural...

 Hopped along a large row of some seriously large pumpkins...

 Took a long walk through the (pumpkin-shaped) corn maze (take note Laney's enjoyment!)...

 Posed for a Prom picture with a buddy...

 And another buddy...

 We spent about 3 hours at the festival and enjoyed a beautiful day. Laney took a 4 hour nap while Izzy headed out to her first "drop off" birthday party. Big time. She came home with a professional face painting that was just beautiful:

 Thursday night the girls' school hosted a Halloween party. Laney dressed as Minne Mouse (I donned the ears). And this picture shows how tired she was...which is always a fun time.

 Here are a few of Izzy's buddies at school. Iz dressed as Snow White...and it looked too cute on her! After all, she is a princess.

We're gearing up for a big Halloween weekend: adult party for the Bigs and trick-or-treating for the Littles. Candy has been bought. Much has already been eaten. And I'm proud to say I've only gone through one bag of candy corn this month. So what if it was the value size? It was still just one bag. Bring on the buckets filled with candy!

Marathon Relay 2011

Today I ran in Back on My Feet's 42k Marathon Relay downtown Indy on the White River. Teams of 2, 3, or 4 people could run a total of 26.2 miles on a 2.2 mile loop along the river. The day started off verrry chilly but warmed up throughout the morning. Here are Jaime and I with Betsy (Jaim's sister) trying to keep warm:

 Mike and I were on a two person team and each ran a total of 13 miles. He'd run a loop, tag me, I'd run a loop, tag him, repeat. The 26 miles went by FAST when you only have 15 minutes to recover until you have to run again. Our team name was the McMarathoners and we wore Greek laurel wreaths on our head and kilts around our waists. Was fun dressing up and even more fun seeing my husband running in the kilt!

Our marathon time was around 3:32...a time neither Mike nor myself could attain on our own. Our team pace was right at an 8:00 minute mile; Mike's average pace was 7:48 and mine was 8:35. Very proud of us, that's for sure. We came home and took 2 hour naps and are now self medicating our sore legs. Ha!

 Jaime's team kicked butt, too!

 Lindsey & Beth, who organized the entire event and did an amazing job, as we all had such a fun day!

 Kerri (friend from work and fellow 12 Tutu teammate from Ragnar this summer)

 A few Perfect Strangers also had their own teams...Bri and Meggie. Loved having them there. I even got to run lap #2 with Meggie! Speaking of which, I named each lap (as Meg has mentioned that helps the miles go by more quickly). Lap #1 was Bestie lap as I ran with Jaim. We talked about our running plans for the future and how our families are so much affected by our training. Lap #2 was New Friend lap as I met another mom that held my same pace (8:15, my fastest loop!). Corey and I talked about training with little kids and being creative about when we get our runs in while juggling family and jobs. Lap #3 was Perfect Stranger lap as I ran with Meggie. We talked about her time off from running due to an injury and then her game plan for spectating in 2 weeks at our marathon. Lap #4 was Lonely Lap as I ran alone. As I finish this lap my friends James and John (fellow BoMFers I run with every Wednesday morning) embraced me and I wept in their arms. I was getting tired and had just come off of a lonely lap. Lap #5 was John Take The Wheel lap. Previously mentioned friend who just hugged me and gave me a pep talk caught up to me on this lap and gave me the motivation to get through the painful miles. I freaking adore the guys I run with and LOVE that they are now pushing ME to go faster and be stronger. Lap #6 was The Heat Is On lap as it warmed up and I was re-energized to finish my final lap. My gloves came off and I gave those last few miles all I had. Finishing with friends cheering me on was the BEST. In fact, the 2 mile loop relay was just a perfect idea. Each lap you could come back to your home base and be cheered on by friends. Love, love, loved it.

 My buddies James & John

 Our team name strewn across our bums

 We're done! Let's just say Mike's kilt came off as soon as we got back to our chairs. He was such a trooper, dressing up for our team's sake. In a skirt. In public. He got a lot of attention :)

We did it! So looking forward to our marathon in 2 weeks, this trio will be running 26.2 miles together!