I know you all have been wondering how my cross-stitching is going. :) I finally finished the school house that I started a long time ago. Ta-da!!
I still have to clean it, stretch it, and frame it, but here it is. And some close ups...
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Greenville Marathon
I started training for the Greenville Marathon about 4 months ago. My goal at the beginning of training was to be able to run a sub-4 marathon in Greenville. I had already signed up for the Goblin Valley 50k which was the week before, so I knew I would be running on very tired legs. I was pretty confident that my fresh, rested legs would be able to run the sub-4, but I wasn't sure at all about running on dead, tired legs. But I continued with the training. During training, I had a couple more bouts of tonsillitis (which takes a lot out of me), but I finally got to a point where I was like, "Okay, I might get a sub-4 this time". I was not feeling 100%, but knew that I could gut it out if I was close.
Anyway, I started the taper for Goblin Valley so I'd be able to at least go into that with fresh legs. I ran the 50k and had some knee issues, but otherwise felt pretty good. Then I woke up the next morning... Coughing, sneezing, sore throat. My sister-in-law, Jen, was really sick going into the 50k, but she did it anyway--drugged up and all. It was probably just a coincidence that Melanie, Megan, and I all got sick during that trip. Love you, Jen! :)
So I woke up sick on Sunday. 6 days until Greenville. By Wednesday when we got home from Utah, I was couch/bed ridden. No way I was running Greenville. We drove up to Greenville on Friday and spent the night with Aunt Jenny and her family with the intent of cheering on our friends who were running. I brought my running clothes in case I felt up to switching to the half. I woke up Saturday, race morning, with one thought: If Jen can do it, I can do it. So I did it.
I told Travis I would just quit whenever I was ready to go back to bed. :) Sub-4 was out. I wasn't even necessarily going to finish. The plan was to just start slow and keep that pace. Walk whenever I needed to. I ran the first mile with a friend who had a faster goal than me, then let her go on as I slowed down. I saw Travis at mile 3 and told him I was still alive. I happened to find the 4:15 pacer, so I followed him for a few miles. Which made me forget to take walk breaks. I started the walk breaks around mile 5 or 6 when I finally remembered. I met Travis again at mile 12 and I was ready to stop. I was really hoping that he would tell me to just stop (he told me earlier that no one would think less of me if I didn't finish). But I finally just told him to keep his phone close, because I would call if I needed him to pick me up anywhere in the second half. Then I told him to go watch a movie or something because it was going to take me a while to get to the finish.
I slowed down the pace a lot and took walk breaks whenever I felt the least bit like walking. :) Although I was coughing and dog-tired the whole way, it was actually kind of fun to be out there. The second half was a lot easier than the first. Even when you're sick, it's mostly mental out there on the marathon course. It was really weird to be running by myself, in a race, at a completely comfortable pace. No racing at all.
I finally made my way back to the Greenville Drive Baseball Stadium. With about a mile to go, I called Travis and told him I was coming and I needed tissues and cough syrup. :) He told me everyone else was there waiting for me. What?! If I had known that, I might have sped it up a little bit. :) Travis, Jenna, Scott, Crystal, and Jonathan were all there waiting for me. I hobbled through at 4:55:59. I was happy to be done. I was glad I had run. I will never do it again (when I'm sick, that is).
I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any race-day pictures. I looked for an official race photo, but they didn't get me either (that's a first). So this picture is the only proof I have that I actually ran it. :)
Anyway, I started the taper for Goblin Valley so I'd be able to at least go into that with fresh legs. I ran the 50k and had some knee issues, but otherwise felt pretty good. Then I woke up the next morning... Coughing, sneezing, sore throat. My sister-in-law, Jen, was really sick going into the 50k, but she did it anyway--drugged up and all. It was probably just a coincidence that Melanie, Megan, and I all got sick during that trip. Love you, Jen! :)
So I woke up sick on Sunday. 6 days until Greenville. By Wednesday when we got home from Utah, I was couch/bed ridden. No way I was running Greenville. We drove up to Greenville on Friday and spent the night with Aunt Jenny and her family with the intent of cheering on our friends who were running. I brought my running clothes in case I felt up to switching to the half. I woke up Saturday, race morning, with one thought: If Jen can do it, I can do it. So I did it.
I told Travis I would just quit whenever I was ready to go back to bed. :) Sub-4 was out. I wasn't even necessarily going to finish. The plan was to just start slow and keep that pace. Walk whenever I needed to. I ran the first mile with a friend who had a faster goal than me, then let her go on as I slowed down. I saw Travis at mile 3 and told him I was still alive. I happened to find the 4:15 pacer, so I followed him for a few miles. Which made me forget to take walk breaks. I started the walk breaks around mile 5 or 6 when I finally remembered. I met Travis again at mile 12 and I was ready to stop. I was really hoping that he would tell me to just stop (he told me earlier that no one would think less of me if I didn't finish). But I finally just told him to keep his phone close, because I would call if I needed him to pick me up anywhere in the second half. Then I told him to go watch a movie or something because it was going to take me a while to get to the finish.
I slowed down the pace a lot and took walk breaks whenever I felt the least bit like walking. :) Although I was coughing and dog-tired the whole way, it was actually kind of fun to be out there. The second half was a lot easier than the first. Even when you're sick, it's mostly mental out there on the marathon course. It was really weird to be running by myself, in a race, at a completely comfortable pace. No racing at all.
I finally made my way back to the Greenville Drive Baseball Stadium. With about a mile to go, I called Travis and told him I was coming and I needed tissues and cough syrup. :) He told me everyone else was there waiting for me. What?! If I had known that, I might have sped it up a little bit. :) Travis, Jenna, Scott, Crystal, and Jonathan were all there waiting for me. I hobbled through at 4:55:59. I was happy to be done. I was glad I had run. I will never do it again (when I'm sick, that is).
I forgot my camera, so I didn't get any race-day pictures. I looked for an official race photo, but they didn't get me either (that's a first). So this picture is the only proof I have that I actually ran it. :)
Even though that sneaky sub-4 has eluded me once again, I still had fun and can't wait to get out there and try it again!
PS--Jenna ran an AWESOME half marathon and Scott qualified for Boston yet again. Congrats to both!!!
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