Sunday, March 23, 2014

Knoxville Marathon Week 9, One week to go.



Monday: REST

Tuesday: Easy 5 
I RAN OUTSIDE!!!! Learned my lesson from a previous week and decided not to take 2 days off in a row.

Wednesday: 6 tempo miles at 7:18/mile, 8 miles total
Felt like shit during this run. OMG so hot and sweaty. Might have been fighting a small cold and probably sweated out my soul on this one.

Thursday: REST

Friday: Easy 5 
My last run as a"single" woman. Again, felt off- sneezed 89 times the day before. So um, thanks allergies? Or mild cold?  Got married. 

Saturday: 6 easy miles with some sprints
Planned on my long run but woke up feeling feverish hungover and had an elevated heart rate so decided on my other short workout. Surprisingly I felt much better once I got going. 4 miles indoor, 2 miles outside to run to Whole Foods and back for some stuff.  BEER FEST in the early afternoon.

Sunday: 10 easy miles, 1:22:30
Got up early to knock out 12, but felt shitty again- probably remnants of a hangover from the Beer Fest the day before because I had to sample like 18+ beers. I drank more beer Saturday than I have total in the past 5 weeks. It took me until mile 5 to really settle in and enjoy this run. I tried hard to get into my "performing" mindset, but man it was a struggle. Every week cant be a rainbow sneezing pony, so this week will hopefully be much better.

Thoughts:

So Tuesday was approaching 50 degrees, so I HAD to run outside. I was so freaking happy I did, because I saw PANCAKE ICE!!!!!
I hadn't seen this phenomenon since last spring, and was losing hope I would encounter it this year with Spring (fast?) approaching, but IT WAS THERE IN THE HARBOR and I was OMG SO HAPPY. Day made.

YAY WEDDING YAY!!

On Friday L and I went to City Hall and got married almost 5 years to the day we first met. We decided on a City Hall wedding a while ago because an actual ceremony wasn't feasible for our situation, nor did we want to deal with anything related to wedding planning. Since our family and friends are all over the United States and the world, we will go on mini vacations to see all the VIPs in our lives during the year. Some things that I *loved* about our little wedding:

  • There were about 10 couples ahead of us to get married- and it was a 60/40 split of straight to gay couples which I thought was pure AWESOME. YAY equality.
  • An older gay couple started clapping after each couple came out of the judge's chamber to congratulate the new married couple. This lightened the mood up considerably because it felt a bit like waiting at the DMV...
  • Our judge was AMAZING. This guy obviously loves his job of marrying people and made us laugh and (maybe) shed a few tears... 

Dress: Monique lhuillier, 
Shoes: Corso Como (Gold- because it's a Brasilian Wedding Tradition
Belt/Hair clip: Anthropologie, 

Post wedding, we changed back into normal clothes and then hit up Dryhop for some delicious beer and lunch.Then went to Gilt Bar for an amazing dinner.

Saturday we went to the craft beer fest at Union Station. We had our pretzel necklaces and a huge entourage which made sampling dozens of different beers all the more fun.
More thoughts:

While I might have been fighting a little cold or allergies this week, the likely culprits for my lackluster (shitty) feeling runs was probably a combo of too many beerz +  not paying close enough attention to my food intake. I need to make sure this week I avoid dairy and cool it with all the beerz until I'm celebrating post 11th marathon. Ok, Ok, I'll have a beer with my dad on Wednesday when he arrives... 

I'm still wishy-washy on my shoe choice and am leaning towards wearing my older Newtons because the NEWtons are still making my left foot feel a little strange on longer runs. I'm all set with my race day outfit, and realize i'll probably freeze my ass off in the 40 degree start temps (with a skirt and tank), but will feel so good within a mile or 2.
I'm looking forward to leaving Snowy Chicago for a few days to see my mom. I'm also really psyched to run in a new area.
So in these final days of taper for #11, i'll continue to take care of myself and get rest and eat foods that make me feel good and not the foodz that I know make me sick. I'll also only think the most positive thoughts, because why the hell not? I run because I love it. I love the challenge of marathons, and am excited to put these past 10 weeks of training + changes in nutrition on the road in Knoxville. I'm prepared, I'm ready, and I'm excited beyond belief to run marathon #11 and hopefully get my long awaited BQ.

Third time is the charm, right??

7 days to go!

-xaar

15 comments:

  1. I am so happy for you...you deserve all the very best. xoxo

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  2. I can't believe you got married! I am so happy for you. I am super excited for you this weekend!

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    1. Thank you! :) I hope all goes well next weekend :)

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  3. Ahh! Final week!

    Ahh! Wedding!!!!

    Ha ha ha. I am laughing at your use of the word "single." :P I love that way you guys did your wedding and that the judge was so cool and you met some neat people, too!

    How many miles are on those old Newtons? That is a bummer the new ones are bugging you. And I say go for the skirt and tank! You are right. You will warm up!

    No more beers this week! :P

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  4. HELL. YEA. and feel better. for sure :) xo

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  5. Yay wedding day and beer fest! I wish we could have hung out longer on Saturday - Bob and I were both spent from our long runs in the morning and drinking ALL THE BEERZ. But it was nice to see you and to finally meet L!

    Do you have any throwaway arm-warmers you can wear with your tank? Obviously you want to look as cute as possible when you get your BQ ;) Happy tapering!

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  6. you guys looked adorable in your wedding pics! what day do you leave this week?

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  7. Congratulations! Thank you for sharing the story of city hall, too. Love the pics. You guys are adorable!

    You are going to knock it out of the park this weekend. The feeling bad - that is an illness called taperitis! Remember - stay calm and be patient. You got this!

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  8. Congratulations!!! You two look so cute and happy in your wedding pics :) Yay love.

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  9. Congratulations! You guys look completely adorable. I love that you did things your own way... LOVE IT!!!

    Best of luck this weekend in Knoxville!!

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  10. Congrats again! So exciting that your marathon is this weekend. The hay is in the barn - now it's time to reap your rewards. Good luck and enjoy that post-race beer!

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  11. Congrats on getting hitched! Love the great photos! Can't wait for your marathon you are going to do awesome :) I will be cheering for you from here!

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  12. Congratulations, both on your wedding (!!!!YAY!!!!) and on surviving another training cycle! Wishing you the very best this weekend - can't wait to hear all about how you ROCKED IT!

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  13. Congratulations!!! :) Good luck this weekend!!!

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