Pre-Marathon Tips and Tricks

So you've done all you can do to prep for and train for a marathon and the big day arrives.  To help make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible (except the weather--you cannot control that) here are some things I've figured out over the years.  Some might work for you, others might not.  Of course, there might be even a few things I forgot or that I haven't thought of.  In no particular order:
1.)  A night light.  Yup, you might be taking on that marathon in the morning but tonight you are staying at a hotel and no one wants to go blind in the middle of the night from all that hydration by turning on the bathroom light.
2.) Stay off the painted lines in the road. Those little buggers get slippery when they are wet and can be a little slippery even when the roads are dry.
3.)  If you have to go potty at the start try to skip the first bank of port-a-potties if you can and wait for the second group of them.  Everyone seems to stop at the first group so if you can hold it for a few more miles you won't be waiting in line while minutes tick by.
4.)  Wear gear that you've worn for a long run before.
5.)  You just might want to hang onto that long sleeve shirt you planned to toss if the weather is on the chilly and possibly rainy side.  Tie it around your waist for later.  About 20 miles in you might want that shirt if the winds kick up and it starts raining.
6.)  Bring clothes you don't mind getting rid of.  Over sized sweat pants and a beat up old shirt will help keep you warm while you wait at the start.  I cannot stress enough the over sized sweat pants because you *will* have to pull them off over your shoes.  Go buy a cheap pair at Wal-Mart if you have to.
7.)  Speaking of keeping warm one of those disposable ponchos are the best for the start.  It acts like a wind breaker, keeps you toasty warm and dry.  If you don't think about this a garbage bag works just as well but it isn't as awesome.
8.)  Bring a towel or old blanket to sit on in the corral/start area.  You might be sitting around for a while before the start.  Why stand when you can sit but the ground can be chilly/damp in those early morning hours.  Plus you can use it to stretch on as well.

Crazy, have a kid, become insanely crazy

So Crazy for me started in middle school when I decided to run cross country and didn't know a single person on the team--paired with the fact that not a single person in my family runs.   All throughout high school I could never understand why people would want to run a marathon.  I mean, it's really far.  The idea of me running a marathon started to form in my freshman year of college and then I read about the Disney marathon that handed out candy at mile 22, took my first trip to Disney for spring break with the track team and became an addict.  That trip to Disney convinced my family that I *needed* to run a marathon and it would be Disney.  Yes, let's go to Disney and run a marathon without running a half marathon first to see what it is like and do no training other than what you run for your college team workouts.  Whoops!

first marathon

It didn't matter that I was exhausted and sore beyond belief.  I loved it and was hooked.  It was fun and I would sign up for more of that kind of crazy for the next 10 years--with the addition of a half marathon then a marathon.  I started to see the Ultra Runners as the ones that were crazy.  Who wants to run more than a marathon?

Apparently, marathons aren't enough for me anymore.  In some form of sleep deprivation and the need to feel like "me" again I decided that I was going to run an Ultra Marathon (anything that is over marathon distance).  Yeah, that's right.  I signed up for an ultra.  Apparently running is the only time that I feel like I have my stuff together so I figured if I run really far then I will really have it together.  My support crew (aka Mom) is already on board for this crazy adventure that will be 12 hours of running the same 1 mile loop over and over again.  I can run as much or as little as I want.  There is a bathroom and aide station every mile.  Will it be boring? Maybe.  Will it be fun?  Perhaps.  Who am I kidding--with mom involved it is always fun.  So on May 14th I will be running Mind The Ducks.  No idea how to train for this but I am thinking I've got a good start with my Goofy training that I do every year.

Body 4 months Post Baby

Don't hate on me for this post but Critter hit the 4 month mark and I am down to my pre-pregnancy weight.  Before you get all upset about that (I know, I know, it takes people years to lose the baby weight) let me also say that although I am at pre-pregnancy weight I am not at pre-pregnancy shape.

My belly is a little pouch still so my clothes still don't fit (except my sweatpants, I am living in sweatpants and I love it--so comfy).  My hair is still shedding like crazy---apparently it will peak the shed between 4-6 months (fingers crossed we are on the down side and can stop feeling like Cousin It from the Adams Family lives with us with all the hair everywhere!).  Other than my belly, everything else is the same.  Maybe the belly pouch is thanks to my diet that consists of 2 crispy chicken sandwiches, medium fries and medium strawberry lemonade 2 days a week from Wendy's or the fact that on my day off from running I just devoured the Wendy's meal for lunch and polished off the day with 2 burgers from Don's Original after a bagel and cereal for breakfast and almost half a bag of ginger snap cookies. Hungry all the time.

Running post baby was hard at first but now it is going extremely well.  I am cruising through my workouts faster than the paces I trained at 2 years ago and feeling great.  Thanks to my support crew (aka my mom) I am able to get out and do all my runs for sanity hour(s).

It's not passion, it's obsession

You know that you love something when it slowly takes over.  We aren't talking the grass growing in the garden because you love the green summer brings.  We are talking about stuff taking over your house, magazines and books about what you love and of course, your thoughts continually drifting back to what you've accomplished and how you are going to accomplish what is next.  

When your laundry room floor looks like a shoe store you might be a bit obsessed.  Especially if you own more than one pair of the same shoe.  The floor isn't all that has been taken over.  The shelf above the laundry is filled with bins of hats, gloves and mittens plus my jackets and hydration pack that is hanging out in the sink.  

But wait, there's more.  The linen closet that is filled with your running clothes.  Tanks, shorts, long sleeve techs, long sleeve cottons, capris, leggings, pants, tech shirts, socks, compression sleeves... and the office closet is full of SparkleSkirts because they are seriously the most comfortable thing you've ever run in and you enjoy looking good while logging all those miles.  

You have to have all the right gear if you want to pursue your passion obsession.  Your office is a shrine to your running accomplishments and where you plan your next adventure.  Those medals are stuffed in a drawer cause you haven't had the time to get another curtain rod to hang them on since getting in those miles is more important than putting another hole in the wall.  

 How do you find the time to get all this done and the energy?  Well, I used to eat all kinds of gels and gu's--even for some of my shorter runs until I found RunGum.  It gives me the little bit of extra that I need without all the extras that I don't need.  Because we all are obsessed with something, why not go the extra mile and pursue that passion.  Plus, this little face is waiting for me when I get home (and can't wait until she's a little bigger to join me in the stroller until she can go on her own adventures).

Scarrier Games

On Tuesday, October 27 there was a full moon and it was pretty close to Halloween.  A local running store called Med Ved hosted the Scarrier Games.  It was basically 75 minutes of scavenger hunt where you had challenges and check points to earn points for your team.  We didn't really have to find anything but actually run to destinations and take photos to prove our team was there.  I was on the team Social Butterflies.  It was with 3 women dressed with wings and Pinterest/FB/Instagram pinned on their shirts (social media).  I was with 2 fellow MRTT momma's and a random guy that needed a team.  We had a lot of fun touring the town to find the places.  Teams got points if they were dressed in costume, wearing Saucony or weartesting their shoes and for bringing a toy for the Pirate Toy thing.

I am located in the top left next to the guy with the shaved head in blue.

 The night started with a team member being sacrificed for an eating challenge.  I was the winner of the sacrifice because of BF'ing Critter and being hungry all the time.  So after 3 powdered donut holes we were ready for our photo hunt.  I should mention that dinner involved 2 Crispy Chicken sandwiches, medium fries and a strawberry lemonade from Wendy's in the car on the way over.

 We had our photo taken with the Chef at the pizza place next to the running store before going to the plaza sign where the running store is located.  All of our checkpoints and challenges needed to be posted to the stores web page.  and doing tree pose at the yoga place Breathe in the village.

 Our hunt involved 2 cemeteries and a "lone tomb" that was a plastic one with a gorilla that jumped out at us along the canal path.  We did the one challenge (those were optional) where we found a stranger to sing the Monster Mash with us.  I was hoping to do some trick-or-treating but with 75 minutes and about 6 miles of running it wasn't really possible since we had to stay together.

We had a blast getting to run around town and do wacky things.  After they had pizza and beer at the store but I needed to get going so I could shower and take care of Critter who was once again a good girl getting a stroller ride in the fresh air compliments of my mom who continues to let me do all these crazy things and keep running.