Tuesday, October 8, 2013

M&M's and FaceTime

It's finally marathon week!!  There are so many mixed emotions about this week going on in my head right now.  I'd say mostly excited and nervous.
 Get ready Chicago Marathon, I'm about to check you off my list for 2014!

(BTW, that's probably the worst part of the course - when you run over the bridge on those metal grates.)

I'm excited because I know it will be a fun weekend - especially going to the expo on Saturday and I am hosting a pasta party in the afternoon/evening for some friends and family.  Angela and I have been talking even more recently about our plans for the weekend and the race and that always makes me very excited!  We have our awesome matching outfits, of course.  And we are going to try to each make the exact same playlist to listen to while we run.  I consider making playlists to be one of my better life skills.  But this also means I need to get that iPod situation figured out.  So I'm not sure yet if it will work out, but it's an awesome idea.

But obviously I am nervous also.  I am not always mentally tough during races, especially in the last half when I start to feel worse.  But this is why I'm glad I'll have Angela with me.  We'll try to make it as fun as possible and push each other to finish the race as fast as we can.  Ideally, that will be faster than my time from the Columbus Marathon 2 years ago - 3:28:55 - but I would also be happy just to qualify for Boston again, which would mean under 3:35.

I was just doing my daily Google News reading and came across an article about the marathon with this picture:


2013 Chicago Marathon By The Numbers

And now I know what my next goal is after this marathon.  To run another marathon dressed as an M&M.  Because I definitely have a yellow M&M Halloween costume from a long time ago (as long as my mom didn't get rid of it like she did with the BEST Halloween costume ever - but that's a story for another time...like in a few weeks when it's Halloween).  My roommate Lauren and I really love M&M's and go through bags of them way too quickly.  And when I go to my parents' house there are always little dishes of M&M's scattered throughout the house.  Thus, this happens and I tweet about it:


And now for a recap of my runs the past few days:

Friday - 4 Miles

Nothing too special...just ran on the lakefront after work.  It was so so humid out so that was not fun.
Sunday - 8.5 Miles

Now this is the type of running weather I love.  It was about 55-60 degrees at 9am when I left to do a long run.  This was way way shorter than my recent long runs!!  I was at my parent's house in the suburbs and was glad to do a run out there since almost all of my runs have been on the lakefront and that just gets boring after awhile.  I set out to do 8-10 miles, but didn't even bring a watch, so I was going completely on estimates.  I knew once I got to the YMCA that was about 2 miles, but after that I did not have a super accurate idea of how far I was, so I finished the run and mapped it at 8.5 miles which I was happy with.  I have no idea on pace, but I think it was decent.  I just tried to make it as relaxing as possible to enjoy it and not get stressed.

Total for last week: 21 Miles
Monday - 4.5 Miles

I worked until about 7:30pm and then went straight down to the gym in my work building to run on the treadmill.  Nobody else was in there (obviously - people are only ever in there before 8, at lunchtime, and right at 5) so I put my music on without headphones.  I am such a rebel.  Then I decided that was boring, so I called Grace on FaceTime.  And then I called Nick and he kept me distracted for about 2 miles.


Then I called my mom on FaceTime and she kept me occupied for the rest of the run.  This was fun to do and only slightly awkward to talk like this while I ran.  So I don't know how often I'll be running on a treadmill when nobody else is in the gym, but when I am, FaceTime would be a nice way to pass the time.  So if anyone wants to sit on their couch and chat with me/watch me run, let me know.  I did 4.5 miles at 8:30 pace so it was really relaxed and my legs feel great today.  I just need to keep them like this for the next 5 days.

What is your favorite candy? - I have a lot but M&M's are definitely up top.

What do you do to pass the time on the treadmill?

1 comment:

  1. When I need to pass time in any workout, I tend to pretend (in my head, unless I am in the MFFC and can fully act this out) that I am a singer giving a concert. I think putting on a concert would the absolute most fun and exhilarating thing in the entire world, so long as you are a good singer with tons of fans. I usually sing songs by Katy Perry because they are fun to sing and I know I'd have a lot of screaming fans in the crowd. My favorite candy is probably malted milk balls, but not necessarily "Whoppers." I like the big, homemade ones from specialty candy companies like Georgia Nut or Fannie May.

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