Marathon Training Log #8

I will never run more than 3 miles at 2:00 in the afternoon. Ever. Again.

So, I had the genius idea to wait until naptime on Sunday to do my 14-mile run. Chris had already gone on Saturday, so Ben I went together. As always, 50 yards into the run, he went off and left me. I do not use music when I run; so this was going to be a long and lonely 14 miles. It was a beautiful (and mild) 70* day, but there is no shade on this route, except about a 1-mile stretch. And I planned poorly for this one... no hat, no sunglasses, no headband. I did, however, remember sunscreen. Yay for no skin cancer!

I did not know what to expect tummy-wise during the run since I always run in the morning, and I always eat pretty much the same thing in my efforts to stop my problem after long runs. I had a whole wheat waffle with peanut butter and banana with coffee for breakfast, and a turkey salad for lunch at about 1:00 (lunch is always way late on Sundays!).

We started the run between 2:30 and 2:45. I took my two 10 oz bottles in my belt, one with water and one with Spark. I also took my usual Marathon Bar.

The first 2 miles were painful... literally... let me explain:

after the 18 miler, (last weekend), I started having crazy low-spine pain. I thought that it was because I sat on our driveway for a while that same day, but realized quickly that it was more than that. I have a friend who is a chiropractor, so I went to see him on Monday, and he gave me lots of advice and made lots of adjustments to my lower back, knees and feet. The thing he stressed the most to me was icing after the long runs. I had quite a bit of relief over the next few days.

So I was not happy when I started feeling the same pain in the beginning of this run, but it soon faded, and I felt fine the rest of the run. I tried to be conscious of trying to keep my hips tucked under and not sticking my tail out. I know that poor posture has contributed to the problem.

I stopped at 5.75 miles at the usual park to refill my drinks. I ate most of the Marathon Bar when I started back up. I was so happy when I finally reached 7 miles... the first 7 seemed to take forever!

I got back to the park just before reaching 9 miles, and I stopped again to top-off my waters since there is no other fountain from there on. I felt like I  needed to take a short walking break, so I started my GPS back up, but I was walking. I didn't watch the time, I just walked until I felt like it was enough... I'd guess it was about 2 minutes.

Before I knew it, I hit 12 miles! I came to a busy intersection and had to wait a while to cross safely, so I finished the last 1/4 of the Marathon Bar. The last 2 miles were not fun. All I could think about was how 16 and 18 miles seemed easier and less painful than this one! Oh well... I finished. But like I said, I will never run that far that late in the day again.

My stomach did not feel so great the rest of the day, but it wasn't debilitating like it has been sometimes. So far, so good!

Ben finished right about 15 minutes after me... he had run 18 miles. He said it was brutal for him yesterday, too.

This weekend is our biggie: 20 miles!!! Don't know how or when we are going to do it, but I have to do it in order to feel confident enough to register for the race... did I just admit that?

Nope, I haven't registered yet... oh, and, I didn't ice.

New shorts I ordered from Lucy Activewear, my favorite running apparel store.

Marathon Training Journal

After running 3 half marathons since December 9, 2012, I have decided to tackle training for a full marathon. It is 10 weeks before race week (7 Bridges Marathon in Chattanooga), and my most recent half was 6 weeks ago.  My running partner, Chris (female), had been "toying-with" a full marathon training plan already. I asked her to send me the plan and we calculated where we needed to pick up in order to be ready on October 20. Here is the plan:

We started our training at the end of week 7. We had already done both a 3 and 4-mile run during the week, but I had not run any real distance since June 22. Really--- starting with 12 miles?! And to add insult to injury, neither of us could run on Saturday, so we had to do the 12-miler on Sunday. So, for us faithful church-goers, that meant getting up extra early in order to get back home and ready for church. It's just too hot here in East Tennessee in August to run in the afternoon. 

Chris (left) & me volunteering at a 10K

So, our plan was to get started running at 5:30 a.m. (I had already been getting up at 5:30 all week in personal effort to spend more time in prayer and Bible study), meet at our usual spot, and run a familiar route. 

The thing that I want to really keep track of in this training is what I eat right-before and during a run. In all three of the halves that I have run, my body, i.e. my intestines, goes into "dumping" mode almost as soon as my feet slow to a walk. There is very little research &/or factual information out there for this problem, and I am guessing that each individual case is very different. This only happens to me after races, and rarely after a training run. I suspect that it has something to do with adrenaline??? So, I need any help I can get--- if you have any advice, please share in the comments section.
 

Here is my food log for my first marathon training run:

5 a.m. Coffee (black) and water

1/2 Cinnamon-raisin bagel with peanut butter

5:20 Advocare (from Chris) Spark energy drink mix 

During run:

~15 oz water & 10 oz. Gatorade

1/2 Clif bar (coconut chocolate chip)

In my running belt I had one water and one Gatorade (10 oz. each) along with a Clif bar and Clif gel (I hate gels, but they seem to work well).

I felt fantastic the whole run, despite not getting to "go" before I left my house. We didn't have any strategy for this particular run; we just wanted to finish. We stopped and walked while we shared my Clif bar around mile 8. We stopped soon after so I could (finally!) go to the bathroom. Glad there was one close-by! I never used the Clif gel shot because my energy was still good after the Spark and Clif bar (coconut chocolate chip=amazing!). I drank my whole water and a half (Chris refilled while I was in la latrina) and my gatorade. When we finished, we walked for about 5 minutes (which is new for us; we usually walk only about 30 seconds because we have babies waiting for us at home and husbands that need to leave for work), then stretched and headed home. As soon as I got back in my mini-van (yes, you read correctly!), I started drinking a Gatorade that I had planted purposely for my post-run drink. The post-run sport drink is something I do per the advice of a well-read/fitness-knowledgeable (and beautiful and amazing!!!) friend regarding my stupid "dumping." View her blog here. 

I had a few nibbles of the other half of my bagel and a couple bites of banana with lots of water when I got home. I ate several raw almonds on the way to church, and 2 mini candy bars after Sunday school/before service. No tummy problems after this long run! Wahoo! 

It's 14 miles this weekend and guess who's joining us? BEN- my husband! I am so excited that when I said that I MIGHT be interested in training for a marathon, he said he would train with me as much as possible.  Ben is a great runner and has run one marathon already. I am thrilled that we are working toward this goal together. I plan to journal all the long training runs, so I'll be updating weekly.

I'll leave you with a passage of scripture that Ben and I committed to memory a month or so ago. It reminds me that relying on my strength to do anything, no matter how big or small the task, gets me nowhere. I have asked God to use this training process and marathon to bring glory and honor to Him, not me.

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:29-31

Baby Blog- Keeping my heart in the right place... plus a few of myfavorite things!

So, Ben and I now have 2 children: Rush is 2 1/2 and Lottie is 4 months today. It has been very interesting to see the differences in the two babies; particularly in how they find their "routine." Rush was a very easy baby as far as predictability went. He is still a very predictable toddler; from when he will eat to when he will "go" to when he will fall asleep. Lottie, on the other hand, has her own ideas about things. You can't really know how long she will sleep at night (varies from 8-11 hours), how long she will feed (still only breastfeeding; solids soon!), or when she will nap (if she does at all)! Needless to say, it has been a challenge for me. I thought all babies would go by the book like Rush did.

 "On Becoming Babywise" is a widely known book that I read before Rush was born and reviewed many times during the first year of his life. The general idea of the book is to establish a daytime routine of feeding time, awake time, nap time so that nighttime sleep is encouraged. Dr. Ezzo has done years of research and has found that this daytime pattern helps babies sleep better at night. I believe it, because everyone that I know that has followed his suggestions has their baby sleeping through the night fairly early on. I do not do everything exactly as Dr. Ezzo suggests, but I am a firm believer in the eat-wake-sleep routine.

Back to Lottie... this little gal came into our world as a sleeping beauty. She slept for the first two weeks of her life! She had some nighttime fussiness like a lot of newborns, but nothing too major. Suddenly, at about 7 weeks she started having trouble napping. I could get her to fall asleep in my arms, but then she would wake up screaming a few minutes after I put her in her bassinet or crib. To make a LONG story short, I decided one day to see what would happen if I put her on her tummy (gasp!). She took three 1 1/2-2 hour naps that first day! HALLELUJAH! She hasn't been diagnosed, but I think she has "silent reflux."

There are still days when she doesn't nap well, but I have had to just go with it. I could write an entire post on how her lack of napping affected me. Boy, did I let my heart get in the wrong place those days. I was so stressed out, unproductive, mean to Rush and exhausted. One day, during a frantic phone call to Ben {I don't know why I try to make him my holy spirit sometimes, but that's a whole entire other post!} he said, "You just have to remember 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18." I knew that verse; it was one we had memorized together. I started bawling. First, because he called me out and I was ashamed, and second, because I was so thankful that God has blessed me with such an amazing husband. I sometimes still get cranky and lose my temper when Rush won't stay in his bed or when Lottie won't stay asleep without me holding her. But I try to make that verse my mantra:"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."

Do any of you have circumstances that arise that turn your heart away from Jesus's? How do you turn it back to the right place?

Some of my favorite baby products:
Moby Wrap
Schwinn Turismo Double Jogger
BumGenius! Cloth Diapers
Sophie the giraffe
"God Made Me" DVD (and others)

Some of my favorite Mommy Products:
Glamourmom nursing camisole
Motherhood Sleep Bra (I wear it all the time, not just for sleeping)

Ideas...

I am still kind of surprised at myself for wanting to start a blog based on our family, but it hit me one day, and I figured, why not?! We're cool! ;) People might want to know what's going on in our lives here in the Mills house.

The ideas that I've come up with so far are here in no particular order:

updates on what's going on spiritually: scripture memory, sin struggles, Bible study, Rush's (and Lottie eventually) Bible learning, disciplining our children, book reviews/comments, friendship, marriage, family in general, etc.

updates on our activities: church, playdates, vacations, Ben's races, aerobics/yoga, PEP Moms https://www.facebook.com/pages/PEP-Moms-First-Baptist-Sevierville-TN/51037880408, Ben's work

updates on food in the Mills house: meal plans, my freezer group, grocery lists, new recipes, baby food recipes & tips

Baby Blog: cloth diapering thanksmama.com, breast feeding, baby food-making recipes & tips, feeding/sleeping, routine, pregnancy, growth & development, toddler activities, product reviews

cosmetic and household product reviews, tricks, and tips.

I am hoping that some of you out there will enjoy my ramblings and maybe even learn something useful. I want to be open & honest about who I am as a Christian wife & mother, stay-at-home-mom, daughter, sister, daughter-in-law & auntie. I desire for my life to be proof that "the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Galatians 5:22 Hence, the name of our blog, "Fruitful Family."

Well, Lottie's awake; time to feed! ;)