Long Run

Just wanted to blog that I had a great run today! 12 miles. Around mile 3, Travis came driving up beside me honking (he was on his way to school). I was very excited to see him. It broke up some of the monotony. Then I noticed a couple minutes later a guy standing on the sidewalk about 50 yards in front of me. When I realized it was Travis I was so excited. He had parked and gotten out to wait for me. He ran along with me (in his flip flops) for a little bit, then turned back to get in the car and continue on to school. He told me later that he yelled my name as I passed the library, but I didn't hear him. He said I was in the zone. I didn't realize he was at the library (I thought he was at the business building) otherwise I probably would have glanced that way (or stopped by) as I passed.

Other than the silly hills, seeing Travis twice made for a really good long run. I actually felt better at the end of the run than at the beginning. I think that's a good sign. I still have a few months of training, but I'm getting into the groove and really enjoying it. By the way, I tentatively decided to go with the Georgia marathon in January.

PS--Good luck, Melanie, with the rest of your training and with your marathon!

Or This One...

Here is a marathon in Warner Robins, GA on January 16, 2010. This one is looking pretty good. This is a flat course run on an Air Force base. It's also smaller than the other marathons I've done (around 200 participants). You can find participant comments about the race at this link. People who have run it say that there wasn't much spectator support. I don't think that will be a problem for me, especially since Travis will be there cheering me on. Anyway, I think I'm leaning more toward this one than Charlotte. I'm still open for suggestions...

Change of Plans

My brother, John, is getting married! Welcome to the family, Ally! It just so happens that they will be getting married the weekend of the Myrtle Beach Marathon. So, I've been looking for a different marathon to do that's in our area. I'm still looking and open to any options, but I'm thinking about doing the Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon in Charlotte, NC.


I'm excited about it, because it's only a two hour drive from here. But, it's on December 12! That's only 14 weeks away. AHH!!! I haven't really started training hard core yet. My long run is at 9 miles right now. But I found a good 14-week training schedule and it looks like it'll work. I'll still be able to get at least three 20+ mile training runs in. The other thing about this race is that it's hilly for 26.2 miles. You can see the map and elevation chart here. I was hoping Myrtle Beach would give me my sub 4 because it's "flat and fast". I'm okay with hills. There are plenty here in Columbia to train on. I read a lot of reviews from people who have run the Charlotte race. Most people say that there are hills the whole way, but they're not too steep. And a lot of people got a PR--some of them by 15 minutes or so. I just have to remember that where there's a hill, there's also a downhill.

My fastest marathon so far is 4:18. So I need to shave off about 20 minutes to reach my goal. I really think I can do it this time. Of course, if I don't, that just gives me an excuse to sign up for another race... :)

And to Jen, I'm sure you'll be running circles around all of us soon enough!

I Guess I Was Caught...

(photo taken by Jenna at the Columbia, SC Temple)

So I've been busy getting married. Married life is wonderful! I know we're still in the honeymoon stage, but I really don't want it to end. We're having so much fun playing house and doing everything together. I realized the other day what a smart girl I am. I mean, I picked the absolute best guy to marry (I know... cheese). Seriously, though, I couldn't be happier. We don't have our official wedding pictures yet, but here are links to 2 blogs with pictures: Melanie and Jenna

I think this is my favorite wedding picture so far.
I love the different looks on all of their faces.
Travis and three of my brothers (L-R Scott, John, AJ, Travis)
(Adam was home in Houston taking care of Jen).

But I know I should probably get back to running. Actually, I haven't stopped running. I have just kind of cut back on mileage. I've been running about 15-20 miles/week. I've bumped it up to 25 miles. Last week my left knee was hurting and I took off two running days. It was really annoying me that I couldn't run (as it always does), so I started running again on it on Saturday. I discovered that the knee pain goes away (or goes numb) after about 3-5 miles. So, I'm just going to keep running on it unless it gets worse.

I don't have any races planned until February 13, 2010. I will be attempting to run the Myrtle Beach Marathon in under four hours. Whoa, I've got butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. Not wanting to risk injury, I haven't been working on speed really that much since the last marathon in March. So I'll be picking that up again full force in the coming months. I think my key this time will be to make sure I get a few good 23+ mile training runs in. And I'm pretty sure I'll be doing the run/walk for this marathon, as well. I'll see how the training runs go.

I would love to run this marathon with friends and family, if anyone is interested. They also have a half marathon the same day. You can walk, run, skip, juggle (I've seen that) or whatever you want. Or you can stand on the sidelines and cheer! Runners always love good cheerleaders!!!! Jenna will be doing the half that day, so she's unavailable for cheerleading. :)

Anyway, I'm glad I'm back. Good luck to you all in your running/walking endeavors!