Monday, November 22, 2010

Don't try this at Home

Since June I have not put in Marathon mileage.. I have run 16 and 18 milers here and there with my buddies, but mostly my long runs have been 10-13 milers.. So when I SPONTANEOUSLY signed up for the Rock N Roll Las Vegas Marathon early December I knew I needed to test myself at the distance. I DO NOT recommend running a Marathon when you have not trained!!! DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!! I have been running for over 2 years, have decent base mileage built up and know how my body will repond to 20 miles..

I texted Janna to see if she would go 18-20 with me, she quickly agreed and I replied SLOW!! A few of us met at the trail, it was chilly... Our 4 other friends were doing 13 miles and started FAST... Ummmmmm GUYS!!! Back in May I was in shape for that pace over 20, but not yesterday. At mile 3 I told Janna we needed to slow down.

After running with Jill I knew that 10 minute mile pace felt amazing, so I wanted to stick to that. I felt a small blister forming on the arch of my right foot, so at mile 7ish while Janna stretched I used my Scape sunscreen lip balm on the blister I hoped it would act like bodyglide.

The air was crisp not too many people out on the trail. I looked for Sam our Bald Eagle, no luck!! Janna and I talked as time passed. When we hit the halfway point I was getting tired and my stomach was turning. I took a couple Gu's and some Gu Chomps and drank from my 4 bottle Nathan Fuel belt.

I am funning because I LOVE LOVE tights weather, my Sugoi Piston tights came out and kept my circulation going.. I SWEAR the compression helps. Janna was strong and really helped me to stay positive.

Her water bottle was empty, we searched for a spout when I spotted Fox Hollow Coffee, we ran up and Andy quickly filled her bottle. THANKS ANDY! We joked about Andy for a bit and hit the home stretch.. Janna's knee started to hurt, I told her we could stop and walk at mile 18. She said "No one does 18, 18 is crap!" Pretty sure she was kidding, it hurt to laugh.. I was
T-I-R-E-D, everything in me wanted to stop. Suddenly I felt my tiny blister grow....I called it China and Janna laughed. Around mile 19, China exploded, instant relief and my shoe was a pink hue, YUCK. We kept moving, Janna prancing like a pony.

We get VERY LOOPY the last bit of a long run we play a little game where we reafirm how good we feel. Below are some of the things we say to keep going:

-My backside feels awesome
-The wind is at our backs pushing us along.
-My feet feel like I just got a manicure.
-I have so much energy
-20 miles is easy

UGH!! Done, I bent over a bit to look at my foot, BIG MISTAKE, instant blackout.. Sitting in the car felt AMAZING.. I DID IT BRING ON VEGAS!!!!!! Thank you Janna!! And thank you for the sweaty trip to Starbucks for a nice WARM drink..

Posted by Mel -Tall Mom on the Run at 8:11 AM crazy girl ;)

November 22, 2010 at 8:22 AM Terri said...

Wow - that was quite a run! :)

November 22, 2010 at 8:31 AM wowza. what a run.

and don't run a marathon when not trained? eeeeep. i signed up for my most recent one 5 weeks out. i don't feel trained ;) fingers crossed! hahaha

November 22, 2010 at 8:33 AM Leah @ Chasing Atalanta said...

Thanks to the fact that I'm currently sidelined due to a nasty case of plantar fasciitis it's looking like I'll be running the half at Rock n Roll AZ ridiculously undertrained. I'll be feeling your pain.

Also, I ran the Las Vegas half last year. It's a great event. Best of luck and have fun!!

November 22, 2010 at 8:42 AM Eryn said...

That is SO awesome. Way to get after it!

November 22, 2010 at 8:45 AM racing dawn said...

isn't so great when you can just pull a long run out of nowhere - even if it is a little painful... :) nice work - good luck in vegas - hopefully no snow! :)

November 22, 2010 at 8:55 AM Jess @ Blonde Ponytail said...

Good job Mel! We got slammed with snow today too! :(

November 22, 2010 at 8:56 AM Robin said...

Yowza what a run! Good luck in Vegas!

November 22, 2010 at 9:06 AM Amanda@runninghood said...

Glad you got some relief from China exploding but Ouch!! You rock. Good luck in Vegas. Must feel good to do something crazy. :) Weekend was great...we put up our Christmas tree early and love it! :)

November 22, 2010 at 9:18 AM Marlene said...

You are such a trooper! Yay for running friends to help us when we need it.

Crazy that you have SNOW!

November 22, 2010 at 9:25 AM abbi said...

Great job getting through the 20 miles

November 22, 2010 at 9:29 AM Great run. I have a tendency to get really bad blisters - so my favorite was: my feet feel like they just got a manicure! :-) I'll have to remember that the next time I do long run and my feet hurt like a mo-fo!

November 22, 2010 at 9:40 AM You will do great! I have run a marathon with no training....still paying for it but it was still worth it!

November 22, 2010 at 9:53 AM Great job!
I hope one day I can write these words together like you did

20 miles easy!!!

November 22, 2010 at 11:24 AM What a fun post! I'm glad the 20 miler went well! You're going to do great in Vegas!!

November 22, 2010 at 11:41 AM Emz said...

November 22, 2010 at 11:55 AM Lesley @ racingitoff.com said...

Can't wait to hear about Vegas... you're gonna rock it...

But what's up with the blister??? Ick!

November 22, 2010 at 12:22 PM Katie A. said...

Whoo hoo! Nice work lady! I didn't know you're doing Vegas! Is it the 5th? We'll be running together in sync!
Have a great week! Enjoy the snow!

November 22, 2010 at 12:45 PM You're amazing! Great job with the run (hope that blister heals fast!)

November 22, 2010 at 12:50 PM ShutUpandRun said...

You've got such a solid base you'll do better no matter what, even if you have to take it a bit slower.

November 22, 2010 at 3:16 PM Vegas here you come! Can't wait to hear how it goes!

November 22, 2010 at 3:55 PM You should change your blog name to
Tall Super Mom!

November 22, 2010 at 6:48 PM Sounds like that was the kind of run you really needed! Glad to hear you're feeling a bit better about Las Vegas! We'll all be rooting for you!!

November 22, 2010 at 6:52 PM Julie @ Hotlegs Runner said...

12 days 'til vegas! I'm so excited! You'll be fine Tall Mom. But I agree, must not try at home =)

November 22, 2010 at 7:07 PM Cynthia O'H said...

Vegas is suppose to be an awesome event; you won't want to stop running.
You've definitely got the experience to take you through those miles - as long as you're not trying it at home.
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