Farts, Burps, Chaffing, Snots and Blisters.

What a combination?  Nobody said that distance running was a glorious sport.  It is mentally/physically challenging and comes along with the aforementioned "things".  But you know what?  I love it.  I love it because it also gives such a sense of accomplishment and allows me to push and challenge myself all the while becoming a better and more skilled athlete.  Oh yeah, if you're lucky, you get the infamous "runner's high" too.  All these positives completely out way the negatives and helps to fuel my desire to run.  What's a blister here or chaffing there anyway?  Well, I guess it depends on where the chaffing occurs right?  Nah. 

Our longest team training run of 21 miles from the starting line in Hopkinton to the top of Heartbreak Hill took place yesterday.  The bus ride out to Hopkinton along the Mass Pike kind of put everything into perspective.  How?  Well, as the miles kept passing by and we were getting farther and farther away from our meeting place at Boston College, I realized how far we had to run.  A lot different than the out and back runs that we typically do on Saturday mornings.

OK, yes, I'll admit it.  I farted, burped, had a bit of chaffing, blew snots and got a blister or two throughout the run yesterday.  I'm human, and I'm a runner so who cares in the end?  But, even with all of that, it was an absolutely amazing and awesome run.  Nothing about it was glorious.  Nothing at all.  It was snowing, sleeting, cold, windy and wet.  A gritty run to say the least.  To be honest, that was all perfectly fine with me.  I think that this was one of my best runs at that distance.  It kept me on my toes and helped to keep my mind in the game.  Making slight adjustments to my overall plan as I the miles increased along the rolling hills on the course.  It was a great opportunity to, as our coaches put it, make this run a "dress rehearsal".  Which it truly was. 

I have tweaked and finalized my running plan based on yesterday's run.  I think that biggest thing that I'm going to do differently than in previous runs is to ditch the music.  Yes, I cannot believe that I am even saying that but I am.  The second thing is to not look at my GPS watch that often during the run.  Both of these changes are going to allow me to just enjoy and take in everything that is the Boston Marathon.  I have nothing to prove to anyone and everything to gain from the experience.  I want to take it all in and not be caught zoning out in la la land with my music.  Did I just say "la la land"?  Crap, I guess that I did.  I'm going to let my body and how it is feeling dictate my pace.  Not some arbitrary number that I just came up with when someone asked "What time are you shooting for?" or some number that I want to beat myself up to obtain.  Just enjoy all 26.2 glorious fart, burp, chaffed, snotty and blistered filled mile.

Until next time, keep on runnin'!

Potpourri.

This past Sunday wrapped up week 12 of training and it is pretty amazing to think how fast the time has gone by. Luckily the weather cooperated and we were able to get our 17 mile long run in this past Saturday.  It was our usual along the marathon route in Wellesley and Newton. This time though we went a bit farther and entered the beautiful city limits of Brighton, MA.  It is nice getting to explore new areas each week when we tack on additional mileage.  Kind of feel like Jacques Cousteau but on land.  I don't have a red knit cap and glasses though.  I digress.  The little red line outlining the path of the training run doesn't look that impressive below does it?  Geez, 17.1 miles and just that short little red line.  Oh well.

Next ingredient in my fragrant potpourri.  No, it is not flower petals or spices.  My last post I talked about change being good.  Well, I did find a time when it isn't good this past week.  Our coaches let us know that they did not want us to use headphones while on the long run because of the unsafe conditions in spots along the route.  Especially in the sections where we have to run in the road.  I have run in the past without music but I have always gone back to it as it helps me get into that happy place when running.  However, safety first so I ran without music.  Did I already mention that change is not good sometimes?  Running 17 miles without music made it very long.  I found myself not focusing as much on my breathing and technique like I do when I am listening to music.  I know, that sounds pretty backwards but what can I say.  I also noticed that I was paying way too much attention to every twitch and ache.  Way too much.  But, in the end, it was worth not having the music so that I could be safe.

Now for an update on my recent post "Get In My Belly".  I really really love the Jelly Belly Sport beans.  I've tried two new varieties since the original post including "Assorted" and "Juicy Pear".  Both are phenomenal.  The "Assorted" is nice because it gives you a sampling of the different flavors that they have.  It comes in the standard version as well as "Extreme" which contains caffeine.  The flavor "Juicy Pear".  What can I say.  I'm not a big pear fan but the flavor of these beans is delicious.  I think that I have finalized my refueling for the marathon.  I'm going to alternate between "Cherry" (Extreme) and "Assorted" (regular).  Yum.  Yum.

 I have been wearing my Boston Children's Hospital Miles for Miracles singlet the past few weeks on our team long runs.  A couple of simple words really made me think during this past Saturday's training run.  "Thank you for running for Children's".  These words were uttered three separate times by three random women along the course.  That really made me stop and reflect on why I am doing this and justified everything that I have put into it.  It made me feel very proud to be part of such a great effort and very thankful to those three women for yelling out those simple but impactful words to me.  It really meant a lot.

The last piece of my fragrant potpourri? Getting outdoors to run again means opportunities to take pictures again and posting to Instragram.  It is almost therapeutic in a way.  It can be a bit of a pain too though.  Run a bit.  Stop and take a picture.  Run a bit.  Stop and take a picture.  Run a bit.  You get the picture.  Oh, that was an unintended pun right there!

Until next time, keep on runnin'!