Where I'm At...

     Here's where I'm at right now. I'm signed up for the Rutgers half-marathon on April 19th- I'm doing this one with Michelle. I'm using this one as a training run - more for the distance than for the speed. THEN I have the jersey shore half-marathon on May 1st. This one I'm going more for speed. My mom is doing this one too!      I'm doing what I'm calling reverse training. Since I just recently proved to myself that I can go the actual distance...now I'm working on my speed. SO- I'm going to act as if I'm starting from scratch. I'm going to continue my alternating of running/walking but since I'm going for speed, I'll start with more walking and my run "breaks" will be at my desired speed. Since I have plenty of time, I know that I can gradually build up the duration of my run breaks..and gradually reduce the duration of my walk breaks.
     According to my official marathon results, my average time was 15 min/miles....that factored in my runs at 11:30-12:00/min miles, my walking which was around 14:00-14:30/min  miles and the 20+ minutes waiting to go potty. What I'm looking to do is increase my run speed to 9:30-10:00min  miles.
     Yesterday I proved to myself that this speed IS do-able. I went about 3.5 miles - mostly walking but I did my run "breaks" at this speed. I noticed that there is a big difference between 9:30 and a 10:00min/miles. The 10:00 min/miles felt right...the 9:30 felt like I was getting reading to sprint and my cheeks were shaking (cheeks on my face, that is...but I'm sure my booty was shaking too!).
     I'm still not sure what I'm doing about the marathon next year. I entered the lottery so if I do get picked then of course I'm doing it. But if I don't get picked, I don't know what I'm going to do. Part of me wants to run and part of me just wants to cheer everyone else on. I guess I'll just play it by ear.
     Chris and my mom both entered the lottery...and they both have plans to run with Team McGraw. I feel that if I decide NOT to run - it would be amazing to still be part of the team AND to cheer not only my teammates on but my husband & mom too. I just don't know. Right now - the thought of training for a marathon again feels so, so draining.
     Now to talk about beer. For the last several months of training, I pretty much avoided drinking. I was more concerned with hydration and avoiding feeling like crap when I woke up. And at first, I felt deprived when I was out and didn't have anything or had 1 beer then switched to water. Eventually though, I lost my desire to have anything to drink. Now that the marathon is over...and I'm still kind of recovering in a sense, I figured it would be a good time to imbibe until I get back at it with seriousness after Thanksgiving. SO when our car broke down and we were stranded in some shithole in Maryland - we made a pit stop to the liquor store. 2 beers later and I was done - just didn't want anymore.
     OK - let me try again. So Friday night I bought myself a 6 pack. Again, 2 beers later and I'm done. What? SO not like my old self. Saturday we see some friends and we open a bottle of wine. This went down better...but I managed to fall asleep within 10 minutes of getting my kids to bed. Ehh - it seems I'm a little out of practice. It's healthier for me anyway, I suppose.
     Oh yeah - and the good news is that the weight that I managed to not lose an ounce of during marathon training (I'm talking not ONE ounce...in fact, I gained a few pounds)...is now coming off. I'm down 6 pounds. FINALLY.
     Now for the sad part...I was so sorry to hear that Team McGraw teammate, Jen McDevitt, lost her battle with brain cancer. She is truly an inspiration. When I first joined the team I was in it for Chris. But as you get to meet the team or read about others, you realize that you're doing it for a whole lot of people. Every time I bitched while running, I thought about Jen running while on chemo. Who the hell am I to bitch about ANYTHING?!?! Thank you for being an inspiration and I hope you are running with the wind.