Ready

This is what Ashley wore OUTSIDE yesterday. No, I am totally not bragging to my family and friends who live in colder climates. This is the reason we moved to Raleigh...70 degree days that appear randomly in January (our average temp for this time of year is supposed to be 50s).

Ashley got to enjoy the weather, Audrey didn't due to strep throat. She did get outside some, but was tired pretty quickly. She is on meds and was fine this morning.

This week starts my 2 week taper until the marathon. I did my last 20 miler on Saturday with another big thanks to Carmen. I got up early and did 9 miles in my town and then met her and her running crew for 11 miles in a neighboring town. It was nice for good conversation and a change in scenery. And the coffee Carmen bought me afterwards! Thanks again!!

And no, I don't feel ready for the marathon. I am not sure I ever will. I feel like I need to drop 5 pounds, run a few more 20 milers, and drink water from now until February 20th; then maybe I will feel ready. But for now I have 2 weeks of taper to do...less mileage after my highest mileage month EVER....over 100 miles run in January.

Playlist

I have my bib number for the marathon in February. It's getting more and more real everyday!

I finally finalized my playlist on my iPod today. Here is my playlist in case you are curious:


Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore) by B.o.B Airplanes (feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore)
Bang Bang by K'naan & Adam Levine
Boom Boom Pow by Black Eyed Peas
Bottoms Up (feat. Nicki Minaj) by Trey Songz
Carry Out (feat. Justin Timberlake) by Timbaland
Closer by Ne-Yo
Club Can't Handle Me (feat. David Guetta) by Flo Rida
Don't Stop Believin' by Glee Cast
Down (feat. Lil Wayne) by Jay Sean
Dynamite by Taio Cruz
F**kin' Perfect by P!nk
Forever by Chris Brown
Forget You by Cee Lo Green
Freak the Freak Out (feat. Victoria Justice) by Victorious Cast
Glitter In the Air by P!nk
Grenade by Bruno Mars
Hey Baby (Drop It to the Floor) [feat. T-Pain] by Pitbull
Hotel Room Service by Pitbull
How Low by Ludacris
I'm In the House (feat. [[[Zuper Blahq]]]) by Steve Aoki
I Like It (feat. Pitbull) by Enrique Iglesias
If It's Love by Train
Imma Be by Black Eyed Peas
In the Ayer (feat. Will.I.am) by Flo Rida
Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri
Just a Dream by Nelly
Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars
Let It Rock by Kevin Rudolf & Lil Wayne
Like a G6 by Far East Movement
London Bridge by Fergie
Love the Way You Lie (feat. Rihanna) by Eminem
More by Usher
Morning After Dark (feat. Nelly Furtado & SoShy) by Timbaland
OMG (feat. will.i.am) by Usher
Poker Face by Lady GaGa
Raise Your Glass by P!nk
Ridin' Solo by Jason Derülo
Rock That Body by Black Eyed Peas
Say Hey (I Love You) [feat. Cherine Anderson] by Michael Franti & Spearhead
SexyBack by Justin Timberlake featuring Timbaland
Shake It (feat. Lady Saw) by Michael Franti & Spearhead
Stronger by Kanye West
The Time (Dirty Bit) by The Black Eyed Peas
Tipsy by Big Heed And Alien
Total Eclipse of the Heart (Glee Cast Version) by Glee Cast
The Way I Are (feat. Keri Hilson & D.O.E.) by Timbaland
What the Hell by Avril Lavigne
4 Minutes (feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland) by Madonna

Yes, I have the song from Victorious on there. Don't make fun. And what song has helped me on every single speed workout? Don't Stop Believin' from Glee. Once again, don't make fun.

Running Mojo

Last week, I lost the will to run. A few things caused this - that time of the month, a sore throat and swollen glands in my neck, a hip that hurt, Audrey's birthday, the coldest winter Raleigh has seen in a long time. I ran once, on the treadmill, and stopped when my hip pain became more than I was willing to run through. I think my body was telling me I needed a break. I have been training for this marathon since August really - a 16 week training program up until my half in November, and then another 16 week program that overlapped that one by 2 weeks for the marathon in February.

Of course I am worried about the lost mileage last week, but it was a step down week of only 27 miles, so I am trying not to stress about it too much. I did see my massage guy Friday night for some active release therapy and WOW did it hurt. My hip pain in my left hip seemed to stem from a strained butt muscle and a sore hamstring. He worked on my left side for most of the hour.

And last night? I knocked out 5 fast miles on the "dreadmill" and felt minimal pain. I have my running mojo back. And just in time for my last 20 miler of this training cycle this Saturday.

The shoe that will take me 26.2 miles in February....

For my past few longs runs, the arches of both feet have been aching as well as part of my right foot. I had about 400 miles on my shoes, but considering the last Brooks Adrenalines I had lasted about 600 miles, I thought that was odd. But after talking to the guy at the Raleigh Running Store, I didn't put 20 and 18 milers on those last pair of shoes like I did these. And these shoes should really only last 300-400 miles.

So here are my shoes for the marathon....they are my favorite color blue (and no, they are NOT Carolina Tarheel Blue as Ray suggested...).

Wake County NC

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Word - Disintegration
http://www.colbertnation.com/
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Yup, this is about the county I live in. Love Colbert.

She's Five...

There are a few things that mark your 5th year, memories of some things that make me and your Dad laugh out loud sometimes.

You love to perform, whether it's singing at school, dancing in ballet class, doing all of the cheers your sister learned this past year. Your eyes shine and your face lights up.
And then there's your absolute fear of some things, like when we "made" you go on the Tower of Terror at Disney World, or just this simple kid ride at the fair....

One second you are terrified, the next, you are all smiles. It is hilarious.

You love our dog Tootles, you love snuggling with me early in the morning (most mornings you come into my room between 5 and 6am and go back to sleep while laying on top of me). You love candy and cupcakes and playing with your friends. You give the best hugs on earth. I joke and tell you your hugs have healing powers, but I really think they do. You are almost always happy, but when you cry, it's heart breaking, gut wrenching. You definitely know how to cry. There are times when you are so tired, you just cry and can't tell me why you are crying. We get you to laugh and you are all better.

You love dance and gymnastics. You did well at soccer, but you don't want to play it this spring. Maybe in the fall you tell me.

You wake up everyday happy and never complain about going to school, although you look forward to "stay home days". You could watch the Ramona and Beezus movie over and over and over again. You told us last night you are in love with Justin Beiber, although you think his name is Beaver. You can write your whole name (and for those that know us, you know our last name is long). You have started to learn how to read and take great pride in that fact.

We tell you often that we love you, and you respond "I love you more".

You can't wait to start kindergarten in July, but I surely can. I think I will need a few drinks that day.

Happy Birthday Audrey! And I love you more....

Elevation...

Please tell me that miles 9 - 20 won't feel like I am running uphill the whole time?

I still have a ton going on....

Next week my youngest turns 5. I am still uncertain to where the last 5 years went, but she is excited. Why? Because she knows going to kindergarten is really, really close. I actually get to register her for kindergarten on her birthday. I will save my sappy post for Tuesday about her, but she is such a happy kid that she makes everyday shine.

And yes, Ashley makes our days shine too. We had a month or so a few months ago where every.little.thing was a battle with her. Thankfully it was a stage and she has been very loving and sweet and helpful lately (although she still has her moments). The only thing the two girls do that drive me nuts? They fight with each other, and it seems like they fight all the time although that is probably an exaggeration. But some days, I swear it sucks the life out of me.

So next week will be filled with birthday dinners, birthday parties, doctor's appointments (for Audrey) and the ever present running. I am in the middle of the highest mileage weeks of my training cycle. I will wait until near the marathon to post my thoughts on my training cycle, but I think I will be embracing the taper weeks at the end. 12 miles and 8 miles for my long runs? Shockingly, those sound like a piece of cake.

Iced in and 20 miles....

Sorry for the long delay in posting, we have had icy weather the past few days with the girls getting out of school early Monday, out of school completely yesterday, and they went in late today. So of course this means Ashley's make up day is this Saturday which she is not too happy about, but it's only half a day. So she is going.

So last Saturday I did my first 20 miler. I was lucky and got to get my first 4.5 miles with Carmen (thank you again!!) and then headed out on my own. It wasn't too bad. Hopefully I will say the same thing after my second one in a few weeks! I did it in 3:32:29 and would be ecstatic with that performance on marathon day (which is in 38 days, but who's counting??). I had some pain in the arches of my feet and when I got home I figured out the mileage on my shoes was over 450 miles, so I am thinking a new pair of shoes is in order.

And now it's Wednesday and I haven't done any runs yet this week. Guess I will be running 4 days in a row? Nothing like waiting until last minute. I am going to hit the dreadmill at the gym tonight for a 7 mile tempo run. Trying to get myself psyched up for dreadmill running. I hate it.

The longest week of the year....

Yes, I realize it is only the first full week of the year, but the first week back is always tough. Ashley had been tracked out of school for a month, so it was especially hard for her. But she received a new alarm clock as a present, and every morning she gets up at 6:45am and starts to get dressed on her own. This is so much better than the previous mornings sans alarm clock where I would have to bug her and bug her some more to get up.

And I am back on track with running. I did 8 miles of speedwork on the treadmill last night at the gym. It was torture, but really doing mile repeats makes the miles go by pretty quickly. 20 miles is on deck for the morning. My first of two. The marathon is getting closer and closer. I have visions of how I want to do, but since it is so much of an unknown, I really don't know what to expect. And that is a little nerve-wracking.

I continue to check the girls' heads every night for lice and I probably will until they turn 18. I never, ever want to deal with bugs in our hair again.

Audrey turns 5 in less than 2 weeks, and I am just getting to her birthday party invitations today. We are doing it at a Build-a-Bear at the mall. I just hope the mall won't be crowded that day.

Runs and Resolutions

After two weeks of no long run, I finally got out there yesterday for a long run of 14ish miles. I say 14ish because my Garmin was dead when I started, so I put in on the charger while I ran a little over a mile then waited out a rain storm while it charged. I headed back out for 13 miles where I got caught in another rain storm, but I was too far from home to stay dry. At least it was warm outside.

I will attempt my first 20 miler this coming Saturday.

In 2010, I ran 715 miles...pretty good considering between April and June I barely ran any. I don't want to say I can do 1,000 miles in 2011, but I think I can.

The only races on the books for this year are the Austin Marathon next month and the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in April (yes, I got in!). I think I may do the Historic Marine Corp Half Marathon in May and if my first marathon goes well, I would love to do the Marine Corp Marathon in October.

The only other resolution? I need to cross train. I have been really lucky (knock on wood) to stay healthy this training cycle. I plan on trying to cross train with either work out DVDs at home or hit the gym for more than just running on the treadmill.

All is well in our house finally. I did what I hope is our final chemical treatment for lice last night. I didn't see any eggs or nits in the girls' hair, and Ray checked my hair. I don't with lice on my worst enemy. And everyone went back to school today fairly easily. Ashley went back after being tracked out for over a month and she even got up on her own with her new alarm clock. I had to actually wake Audrey up which was new, but she got ready fairly easily as well.

And for tonight? Wings, a deep fried turkey and some beer to watch Virginia Tech hopefully win over Stanford. Wearing my lucky VT shirt and socks!