Mankato Marathon 2013

Done!!

It has been one week since I ran the Mankato marathon and I am now able to go up and down steps without my legs reminding me of the work they did one Sunday…I am sure it looked funny for a few days, but it was worth it.

I am super pumped to have completed my 5th full marathon, you can read about last years Mankato race here , I am actually ready to run the same race next year, I really do enjoy this course and the support along the way.

My day:

5:15 AM alarm goes off, hit snooze

5:25 AM stagger out of bed…take a nice warm shower, put on my running gear, complete with a nice layer of glide to prevent chaffing…wish me luck.

5:45 AM waiver on outfit, its is freezing outside, it has not been so cold yet this year, I do not want to spend the next 4+ hours cold, and wet.

5:55 AM wolf down egg, toast, banana and bring coffee and vitamin C charged water with me.

6:04 AM all 6 of us in the car on the road….getting a little nervous

6:45 AM I am dry heaving out the window of the only car on highway 14….might be the vitamin and ibuprofen I gulped down or my nerves, this has never happened before!!!

7:28 AM get to Mankato and head straight into the CVS for black garbage bags, rain on the forecast and maybe even snow!?!?! Gotta love Minnesota weather!

7:45 AM biffy business done….ready to run

7:56 AM Photo op with my favorite fans! Another mom in the parking lot with kids crowded around her for warmth offered to take our picture, thank you! (notice my socks, it is the only was you will recognize me in the end…brrrrrrrrr!)

8:00 The gun goes off, like cattle we head through the start gate and listen to the beeping of our time chips activating and Garmin watches starting…here we go. Mind you I am wearing a huge Sherpa lined hoodie sweatshirt, have a garbage bag with head and neck holes wrapped around my hydration belt, 32 ounces of water in bottles and gu chomps…not feeling all the light, but ready to run.

~8:45 AM right around mile 5 I am warm enough to take off my hoodie and throw it in the ditch, just as the 4:15 pace group comes up behind me, I run with them for quite a few miles. I am feeling confident and ready to rock this race, (yes it took almost an hour to warm up and get my head in the race!)

~11:17 AM (all this and still not lunch time?…I know!!) about 20 miles in I am starting to hurt, I take the ibuprofen I brought with me, at this point it is like having a baby without an epidural…you either can or you cannot…you won’t remember all that you went through in the end but there will be a ~~baby~~ medal in your arms and an irreplaceable sense of accomplishment.

~12:32 PM (how as your lunch?) I cross the finish just seconds after seeing my family in the crowd cheering for me, I caught my hubby’s eye glimmering with pride. I take off my hydration belt and my chest tightens I can hardly breathe, man pride is a crazy thing. I walk and have a medal put around my neck. (yes it is me…those socks won’t lie)

Then I ask in a super small watery voice for one more, to give to Ana the Brave who I ran in honor of. She has fought a battle with brain cancer that no one can train for..she needs some bling too!

~1:15 PM Noodles for lunch, my favorite, it takes awhile and does not sit well but I need that calories.

~1:45 PM back on the road heading home to a hot shower and my bed. Already planning on training better for next year! 🙂

Official chip time for 2013: 4:31:34, honestly my slowest, but I put the least amount of training into this race and felt great to accomplish it, so I am happy with that time.

Running a Legacy

Posted by Patchwork Reality

I climbed the proverbial running ladder, if you will.

Climbed rung by rung, for real, from the ground up starting with week 1 day 1 on the Couch to 5K C25K program, after baby number 3.

I ran my first 5K race in March 2008. I cried, thought my heart would burst; with pride, relief and thrill, and then went back to cheer for my hubby who was a few minutes behind me.

Next the 10K, ½ marathon, 20 miler and then the full….26.2 which seems insane but really it is always over by a bit in a race that is a Boston qualifying race to ensure it goes the distance. I think my Garmin watch read 26.32 when I crossed the finish of my first full marathon in 2010.

But let’s back up a moment, I chose to run the Mankato Marathon, why? Because serendipitously the year of the first Mankato marathon was the same year that I had added running a full marathon to the years tasks. Coincidence? I thought not. So since 2010 I have run each year in the Mankato marathon, I even ran one other full marathon in 2011, but 2 in a year was too many.

My pact with myself was to keep running this marathon every year , “every year I’m shuffling” if I have to right?! Well, this year my friend Kim that has run every year with me, is out with injury, and to be honest without the camaraderie I am not feeling it as much, plus as I posted in pickled, I am tapped out each day and have not run more than 10 miles since the Med City ½ marathon Memorial day weekend. I was struggling trying to convince myself.

Then I get this email:

Good Morning Mankato Runner,

This is our official Mankato Marathon invite to welcome you back for 2013. We have exciting news as we have implemented a Legacy Program for those faithful marathoners who have been with us since our first Mankato Marathon race.

Starting in 2014, runners who have completed all five consecutive Mankato Marathons are eligible to be in the Mankato Marathon Legacy Runner program.

Legacy Runners will receive a special, unique bib for the 2014 Mankato Marathon, have special acknowledgment in the 2014 Mankato Marathon Activities Guide and on the Mankato Marathon website, and acknowledgment at the 2014 Scheels and New Balance Sport and Health Expo. Runners will receive a unique clothing item as well.

To find out more information contact XXXXXXXX at XXXXXXXX@mankatomarathon.com or to register http://mankatomarathon.com/races/full/.

See you in a month!

Mankato Marathon Staff

It’s like they read my mind….I want to run every year…this year I need motivation…unique clothing item…I might be easily persuaded.

I have been motivaed, legacy…I mean really who ignores an invite a legacy club??!! Not this girl, so I am going to run this race…I am fiercely self competitive, it will be frustrating for me to not be what I would deem “fully trained” for this race, but I am hoping my body will surprise me by showing me that not over training can be successful as well.

So give me a little mental what’s up on October 20^th as I run in the small legacy club without my friend and minimal training! It will feel so great to cross that finish line regardless of the time on the clock. Pre race jitters are all ready setting in!!

26.58??

Posted by Patchwork Reality

Running 26.2 sounds crazy right? But what about 26.58??? That is what my Garmin rolled over in mileage at the Mankato Marathon Sunday October 21, 2012. (Watch says 26.6 because I didn’t stop it right away). But how about that calorie count???

In order for a marathon to be a Boston Marathon qualifying race it has to exceed the 26.2 mark to ensure that runners have gone the distance, if you will, because 26.1 might not be enough??!!

Anyway, this was Mankato’ 3rd marathon, they have re-marketed it as the BOLD RACE, starting this year. My friend Kim and I have run all 3, Mankato’s first marathon was also my first Marathon. To be honest I was just not feeling this marathon, it is truly a full time job training for this distance; the energy drain, the time way from family, and getting nothing done around the house can creep up on even the sanest person, which I do not claim to be.

However, there is something about lining up and getting involved in races that really gets me excited. By mile 3 I was definitely glad I had trained to run this race, and as many times prior to the race that I may be qutoed as saying “this will probably be my last for a while” or “I am just not feeling it this time”, my head was in the race. Kim and I were on pace for a 4:12 marathon time until about mile 22, my chest started to hurt, and my pulse was really weak, I has a cramp in my right calf (which does not ever happen to me), my GU chomps made me a little nauseous; I needed fluids, so we slowed to a walk while I took on water as quickly and safely as I could, and we started running again.

We crossed the finish line just over 4:22 about 3 minutes slower that last year, however, I knew already that there would be next year.

Total we have both run 4 full marathons….This is your brain on running;)

As a bonus I explained to the lady with the medals I was running for a cause, and she gave me a medal for Ana …I think it is so fitting, because she will also have to be BOLD this year.

Think this collection needs a 4th Mankato Marathon medal???? It just might get one!