Better luck next time, bitches.

The marathon itself... So let's just say it wasn't the best. The weather sucked, my muscles hated me and I didn't find Ade until 23 miles in. I did, however, see my fabulous boyfriend, who tailed me all the way through the city and got my parents in place to see me, like a champ. He's the best.

I actually was doing really well when I saw him at the 13 mile point. I thought "I can do this again. This is wonderful. Life is good, yes. Yes! Yes!"

Then I stopped to pee.

And everything when to crap. I now understand why people poop themselves during marathons. Well, maybe I understand the reasoning, but would NEVER do it.

Anyway, I finished. My time was 5:15.

I have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who cheered me on and supported me. David convinced me I could do it, but then seemed to have second thoughts after hearing my whining. Rick's sister made me a sign ("Let's Go Shell-Balls!") and waited near Wrigleyville for me. My family... LeeAnn and Pete provided us with fabulous accomodations. Greg was the best cheerleader a girl could ask for.

Until Dublin... 10/29/07.

The bad kid.

Work was rough today, so I was actually looking forward to weights and running.

I got through about half of my strength training before I ran into my personal trainer. He gave me a high five (like he always does)... I went and got a 10-lb. weight. Then he asked me "Are you doing strength training?"

I looked at him blankly. "Yes?"

"No. Stop. Nothing this week."

I start pouting (wtf?). "Can I run?"

"Whatever it says on your training schedule."

Distance: 3 miles.

The Last Long Run

This morning I woke up at 8, ready to get ready to run... I ate my power breakfast, pounded some caffeine...checked the temperature. 30. Uhm, no.

I got back into bed and slept for an hour and a half.

8 was pretty easy, despite the cold. The cold makes me run faster. I am sorry to announce though, that my Shuffle is on it's last leg. It took me 15 minutes of running to get it to play. Tomorrow I will purchase a new Nano. Out of necessity, of course.

Running 1.5 miles listening to yourself breathe is no fun.

Distance: 8 miles.
Time: 1:16:43.

And that's all she wrote.

So ready...

I've been doing the shorter runs and I'm just ready to do it. I know it's going to suck on some levels... Every time I run I get excited about it; I just don't want to blow all of my excitement and end up feeling dead on race day.

On a side note, I'm getting more sleep. So that's helping a lot. I'm having this weird breathing thing happening though. I thought that maybe it was my inhaler wearing off, but that didn't help. Hopefully it will go away.

PS -- It's snowing in Chicago!

Distance: 2.5 miles

A small epiphany

I was supposed to run 12 today and ended up with 10 and some change. I have a good excuse though. I passed this chick on the Monon and then she proceeded to try to pass me. I could hear her breathing behind me.

This made me mad and a good song came on, so I just started sprinting to show her I could run faster than her. Smart move, stupid. Anyway, I knew I was blowing my load, but who cares at this point. I needed to run a little faster anyway. So I walked the last mile and did some thinking.

There were a lot of old people walking on the trail. They didn't look like they were doing so hot... so I was wondering if I should offer to help them... or just stop and talk to them... if they wanted company. I didn't want to insult them, though. Every time I see a senior citizen, I try to picture myself at that age. This one couple was trying so hard just to walk. Complete with walker and wheelchair in tow. So I gave myself a break.

One lady in particular had picked a flower and was carrying it with her. I started wondering when my attitude towards running and exercising in general changed. It used to be something that I truly enjoyed. I did it because it made my whole body feel alive and gave me a sense of accomplishment. Sometimes I still feel like that, but lately I've been looking at running as something I have to do or, worse yet, a way of working off my diet. (Helllooooo, chocolate!) I think that this is why it's not fun anymore. It could be because I'm hating myself the whole time for having 5 pieces of candy and some of a huge iced cookie at work... More than likely it has something to do with the huge time committment and the physical pain.

My point in all of this is that I need to decide what my goal is with this exercising stuff. It should be fun. I shouldn't dread it (which most of the time, I don't, really). In order for me to continue, I have to stop feeling like I'm sacrificing something. So maybe the Mini is best for me. Or maybe I'll do this again next year. ;)

Distance: ~11 miles

I should be running right now.

It's cold and it's dark. And I'm tired.

12 miles....bleh.

Okay, I'm on my way.

DizzyBarfBlah.

I have felt like total crap this week. I tried to run tonight and made it a half a mile before I decided it was more important that I not puke on the guy next to me (who had one arm, by the way) than prove a point. I switched to the elliptical. Same thing. Except for the one armed man thing.

On my way out I ran into my personal trainer. He made me feel a little better, gave me a high-five, etc. Debbie at work made me feel better too today... She just walks up to random people within my earshot and says "Did you know Shelley ran 20 miles this weekend?" It makes me smile.

Climbing up the stairs seemed like torture today...so I thought of this song, which is my current favorite because it reminds me the importance of my mental state in all of this. It's my mantra... at least one of them. The other is "The faster I run, the quicker I'm done."

"This is 10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain and 100% reason to remember the name."

Everytime I think that line, my outlook changes: Today is the day. And the time is now. If not now, when? This is important.

20 Miles .:. 20 Reasons

After our final, longest run, I'm ready.

During the 3 hours and 25 minutes we were running 20 miles on Friday, I had a lot to think about. So I started thinking of the reasons why I wanted to do this in the first place. Here goes:

20. It gives me something to talk about with other non-runners. And to blog about.
19. Making crazy runner friends.
18. Pre/Post-longrun pigout: I can eat anything I want for two days!
17. It's a great excuse to take off work and go to Chicago for a Friday.
16. Nothing makes you feel like you've given your all like taking a nap in the middle of the floor on a towel because you're too tired to shower, yet worried about stinking up your bed and carpet.
15. I can always find $150 for running shoes/gear.
14. I stink at dancing, but I can run like a rockstart to any song I want.
13. It's a great opportunity to learn all you ever wanted to know about your crazy runner friends' bodily functions. (If I had a dollar for every time the word "poop" was mentioned...) I know my body better than ever and can control it...most of the time.
12. Running into people you haven't seen since middle school is fun again.
11. Pain is weakness leaving the body. Snot is water leaving the body.
10. I look forward to getting frustrated at work because it gives me something to run about.
9. I've knocked out one of my "I can't"s.
8. I can justify a $100 massage.
7. The dull ache afterward that says "You're a badass."
6. Finding the perfect running song. For this week.
5. I can appreciate sitting down.
4. Being outside on a cool, sunny, day. And sweating like a mofo.
3. The phrase " , bitches! (or chubies)" never gets old.
2. Getting "the look" from other crazy runner people. They know.
1. Two words: Runner's high.

The night before I dreamed that I had to join a support group to come down from running all the time. Anyway, Ade and I kicked some ass on the Lakeshore Trail in Chicago. It was freezing. And we're awesome. And yes, we're wearing gloves and scarves.