Reflections: The Countdown

There are officially 10 days, 12 hours, and 24 minutes until the marathon! (...and counting...)

I am super excited.... and scared out of my mind. Plus this week (Week 2) I can't do any weight training and I only have 3 super short runs scheduled. I'm getting kind of antsy.

I feel like I have all this free time (and in free time I mean time that I usually would spend exercising) on my hands that I don't know what to do with.

That's coupled with this anxiety I can't seem to shake. So instead of driving myself NUTS I decided to do a little reflection.

There were a couple of runs I didn't get a chance to mention on the blog yet. Plus I want to let you all know about my race day routine.

Here I am at the end of Week 1. right before my run. I had to do my 8 miles on Friday because it rained all this weekend. I ran it in 1 hour 3 minutes.

My last long run

This took place on January 20th after work. I usually run on Sundays. However, it was planning on raining that weekend so I had to rework a few things.

The plan was to make this a true "mock run" for the marathon. I wanted to wake up at the same time, eat the same things, and wear the same clothes.

Since I had to go after work, the whole waking up at the same time thing didn't work out. I wanted to at least still eat the same thing though.

I've written about how I usually don't eat before a run because I get stomach problems tons of times. But I wanted to give it one more chance and see if I could do it.

• So I ate an apple and a slice of whole wheat bread with almond butter 3 hours before running
• 90 minutes before running I drank 16 oz of a sports drink
• 30 minutes before running I ate a pack of Sports Beans with some water
• Throughout the day I made sure to stay hydrated

 

Once I got off work I got dressed and and set out. This time around I ran a bit faster than my first attempt. I wanted to see if I could do it. Even though I knew this would NOT be my pace for the marathon.

Things went really great except that on the way back I did get stomach cramps and almost vomited. I didn't stop though (unlike last time) and finished in 2 hours 55 minutes.

I was really happy with this run. Again, I DO NOT plan on running this fast for the marathon. It was more of a mental challenge for me. Now I do feel like I can actually finish the race. I won't, however, eat anything before the race. 

Honestly, it doesn't seem to matter how much time I wait to run after eating. It still upsets my stomach. I didn't eat breakfast (although I got up at 7am). Instead I waited until 10am to eat my snack and then 1pm for the Sports Beans. I didn't refuel until around 430-5pm! A really big span of time. I don't recommend this. So I just have to do what works for my body and work on fueling better the next time around.

RACE DAY MORNING

As far as fueling goes, I am going to mimic what I've been doing for all of my runs since my training started. I recently incorporated the Sports Beans. But I love how my body feels and my performance level while running.

• Take 1 pack of Sports Beans 30 minutes before running with water
• Take another pack around mile 18 (or as needed)
• If I need to munch on a few more while running I will do so around miles 21-23
• At the end I will take another pack with water to refuel

 

This should work for me. I will bring extra packs with me just in case but I doubt I will need anything else. I am usually very good about refueling after running. So I will be sure to munch on a banana or whatever else is available at the finish line.

Other than that, Week 2 is coming to a close. I ran 20 minutes on Monday and will probably skip my second short run this week. My feet need a break.

I went on a 2 hour walk today, which I feel was good to get my  muscles moving. I'll probably run my last long run of 4 miles on Friday so that I have the entire weekend to relax. Then my final week, Week 3, starts!

Weekly Recipe: Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

This is another "borrowed" recipe. I just made a few swaps for taste and to make it completely vegan.

My next goal is to make a vegan pumpkin pie. I think I will use silken tofu to substitute the dairy. The challenge will be the crust. Any suggestions?

Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

2 small or 1 large very ripe banana

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

3/4 cup raisins

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

2 tsp. baking powder

2 Tbsp. water

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups oatmeal

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine baking powder and water (to substitute eggs) and mix until dissolved. Add bananas, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla. In large bowl, mix together oatmeal, flours, baking soda, spices and raisins. Add combined fruit mixture to dry ingredients until just blended. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 25 minutes or until light golden brown.

The recipe is pretty accurate with the cookie count (it makes 40). My bananas weren't "very ripe" so I added some sugar. The original recipe doesn't have any. Even with the sugar these are not sweet cookies. 

I like them though. They are perfect for breakfast with a little almond or cashew butter. They are very dense so they are great as a snack because you will definitely stay full. Enjoy!

Weekly Recipe: Vegan Pumpkin Raisin Muffins

This is an adapted recipe. I actually got it from my gym. They were handing out recipe cards at the front desk this week. Or rather, they were in piles on the desk and I picked one up while I was waiting for my spinning class to start.

It was pretty much vegan anyway. But I also made it healthier by not adding any oils or butters and adding some whole wheat flour.

Vegan Pumpkin Raisin Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder (plus 2 tsp. as the egg substitute)

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

2 Tbsp. water

1/3 cup soy milk

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 Tbsp. molasses

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup sugar

15 oz can pumpkin

1/2 cup raisins

Muffin cups

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and place muffin cups in a muffin pan. (This eliminates the need to add oil). Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger into a bowl. In another large bowl, mix the extra 2 tsp baking powder with the 2 Tbsp water until dissolved. Then add the soy milk, applesauce, molasses, vanilla, sugar, and pumpkin to the same bowl. Stir in the dry ingredients, all at once, just until moistened. Fold in raisins. Spoon into muffin pan cups, filling almost to the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Remove and cool muffins. Then gobble them up!

The recipe also suggested adding pecans or walnuts to it but I don't like nuts in baked goods much. It also stated that it makes about 24 muffins but I only managed to get 16 out of my mix. With the whole wheat flour these muffins are pretty dense. So if you feel like you want to thin out the batter, just add more applesauce.

Also, if you tend to like sweeter muffins than I would add a full cup of sugar. In my opinion they have just the right amount of sweetness to them with the canned pumpkin. They are delicious. I eat them for breakfast! These muffins are definitely a guilt-less treat.

Half-Marathon Recap

The race is over! I finished uninjured and happy! Even though I went in knowing I wasn't trying to acheive a PR...my mind wasn't completely convinced. So afterwards, at home, looking at the race results, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment. It was just a tinge.

However, I ran the race in 1 HOUR AND 39 MINUTES. I RANKED 10TH IN MY CATEGORY. For some reason there were no total ranking results.

THIS WAS A CHALLENGING COURSE.

 It was super hilly. I mean, it was nothing but hills! I mean I have to incorporate some type of hill work into my training now! It's interesting, but it wasn't my legs that were burning. It was my lungs! I'm so happy I'll be starting Fartlek again.

My pace was 7.33, which I'm completely content with. At 6.1 miles I was at 46 minutes and at 10 miles I was at 1 hour and 18 minutes. I put effort into this race. My first marathon was completely flat. I held back because I just wanted to finish. I didn't hold much back this time around. It felt good though. I'm already thinking about a shorter race to run in December.

The only annoying part was that there was no one waiting for me at the finish line! I really gave it my all at the finish and sprinted. I expected my family to be there...but they were confused and were standing at a different finish line. To their credit it was a confusing event. 

There was a 10K, the half marathon, full marathon, marathon relay, and a kid's race. All running at the same time. I was confused a bit while running because they kept yelling out instructions and I was trying to focus.

Oh well, it couldn't be perfect, could it?

Race Preparation

It was so cold and dark! I got up at 430 am. I expected my phone to automatically update Daylight Savings, but it didn't. No, I don't have a smartphone. Why? Well, planned obsolescence. But I digress.

Anyway,

• I woke up
• Checked my ipod
• Checked Chema's ipod touch
• Turned on the computer
• Woke up my mother and asked her
• Turned on the TV...

I just wanted to make sure it was 330 am. It was. So I manually put the time back on my phone and stayed in bed (wide awake) until 4 am. At that time I got up and ate breakfast, put in my contacts, got dressed, then warmed up and stretched.

Chema, my younger brother, and older sister, came to see me run. My mom couldn't come unfortunately because of her injury. 

So in this first picture you can see how dark it is at 6am.

This is the start and finish line for the half and full marathon.

Here's where we could check our race results. However, when I crossed the finish line I was more concerned with finding my support team.

There I am! I was so excited. Even though this was a smaller race the energy was great.

Now you can really see how cold it is! I had on 2 layers and another one in the car for the finish! I was too incredibly happy that I had those gloves.

Cheesing with my sister.

And here I am cheesing with the teenager.

This is me right before the start. At this point there were only 10 minutes before the race!

More people getting ready for the race.

Not a huge showing but it was decent.

Not sure why the bird was there but he was scaring the little kids.

The spectators! Actuallly, there weren't very many people supporting the runners. They pretty much stayed at the start and finish lines. But I was more focused on those hills anyway!

Five minutes before the race!

Almost three minutes before the race!

There I go! If my face is any indication (the little of it you can see) I was in paradise!

They had those cool little foil wrappers at the end that I've always wanted to drape around me. I felt so professional! However, they don't keep you warm...at all. The food offered was bananas, bagels, pizza, and beer. Since I'm vegan I gave the pizza to my brother and gobbled a banana and 1/4 of a bagel.

A few hours later I had another snack then lentils with potatoes for lunch.

Thoughts

I had such a great time. I really do recommend races. It is so uplifting. It's a big accomplishment. Like I said, I'm already planning my next race.

The only negatives were that no one was at the finish line to snap a photo. Also I had a wardrobe mishap. My cool new running pants chafed. They have zippers at the ankles and they cut me on my right ankle. 

Luckily, I didn't even notice until we were driving back home. I guess I was on too much of a high. So yea, I either need to wear longer socks or get some different pants.

Something silly: I mentioned before how I felt a tinge of disappointment for not running faster. So, to make me feel better Chema "googled" the women who finished ahead of me. For some reason it made me feel better knowing these women are professional runners. All of them had run the race more than once and were on running teams. I patted myself on the back for a job well done.

Other than that, I have no complaints. My second half marathon is over and I can't wait to run another. 

I will definitely focus on running a PR! (After my marathon of course)

Race Day Vitals

So these are my race day vitals. Let's take you through them:

1. My new running pants. This is the only item I haven't tried out. But I'm not too nervous because I've run in leggings before and had no problem.
2. The long-sleeve shirt I'm wearing is made out of moisture wicking fabric. It's also supposed to regulate the body's temperature. I wore this for my last marathon and it worked fine.
3. Two things I always, always, bring on a run are my Nike running hat and my wristband. I hate running with the sun in my eyes. Plus I think that running in sunglasses would be too awkward. It's so convenient to run with my wristband because it fits my keys and my lip balm. I can't run without my lip balm. I mean, I can, but I'd be miserable. So that will be coming with me on race day.
4. That sports bra I bought at Target. Although it says it's from Champion (along with the running pants). MY FAVORITE SPORTS BRA EVER! It goes on smooth and feels like I'm wearing my own skin. I have to get a couple more.
5. Those socks are just some cheap ones I bought. I have about 3 pairs. They are nothing special but I like them and they are comfortable.
6. The sweatband is also a necessity. I like to wipe my face and mouth while running and it's easier than pulling on my shirt.
7. My watch is a normal watch. It doesn't have GPS technology, no pacing stuff, nada. It just tells me the time and how long I've been running. Honestly, that's all I need at this point.
8. Since it will be cold I have the gloves this time. I won't make the same mistake twice!
9. The Cliff Bar is breakfast along with an apple. I found this flavor at a bike store and I had to have it. It's pumpkin! How yummy does that sound? Plus, I don't like to eat much before a run. I read something interesting the other day on how to measure the calories you should eat before a race. Apparently, you multiply your weight by how many hours you wake up before the race. So I will get up 3 hours before and I weigh 120 lbs. (3 X 120 = 360 calories).
10. Finally my contacts. So much more comfortable than wearing glasses.

On the way to the race I plan to wear my race shirt and a vest to keep warm. I'm also bringing a sweater and my running jacket for after the race. Just to wear during the activities after the race.

All of my warm up and stretches I plan to do there. I might run around the block  and do some preliminary stretches depending on how I am for time.

Other than that I'm ready! The only annoying thing is that all the non-runners in my household, which is everyone else, keep telling me to run for the win! In their minds it will be "easy" for me to win a prize. Oh, non-runners and their crazy notions! I mean, I plan to try my best and that's it. I'm nervous, excited and hopeful.

Wish me lots of luck! I'm running in 11 (+1) hours!!!