Got it!

Here are the Eugene photos:

This is Rea and I at the start:

 Here's the start of the race:

 This was taken care Mile 26, Rea had that big smile on her face THE ENTIRE 26 miles, can you tell I just wanted to be done?

 This is my son and his girlfriend, they are both seniors at Uof O and were waiting at the finish line for me - what a nice surprise!

 This is Rea and a really good friend who ran the half:

 Here's the proof:

Very, very tardy Eugene Marathon Race Report

Wow, I can't believe it has been three weeks since Eugene; time flies when you're having fun.  I'm not sure what to even say about Eugene, except it ROCKED!  It was a perfect day for a marathon and everything came together for me; I was ready to PR and I did.  My confidence was high and I was well trained; it was not up to me.

I couldn't have done it without my good friend Rea; she is amazing and got me to the finish line in 3:56 - I had 4 minutes to spare.  Rea had just done Boston 13 days earlier in 3:48 and used Eugene to become a Marathon Maniac she is unbelievable.

I felt great until about mile 17, I almost felt like I was going to toss my cookies, but felt better by mile 22.  You can it see in my splits:

Split	Time	Distance	Elevation Gain	Elevation Loss	Avg Pace	Best Pace
1	0:09:58	1	28	109	9:58	8:31
2	0:09:03	1	55	129	9:03	8:05
3	0:09:06	1	38	27	9:06	8:01
4	0:08:58	1	21	0	8:58	8:10
5	0:08:56	1	123	0	8:56	7:37
6	0:08:35	1	140	208	8:35	7:27
7	0:08:44	1	0	63	8:44	7:25
8	0:08:48	1	19	8	8:48	8:14
9	0:09:02	1	87	55	9:02	7:49
10	0:08:48	1	36	62	8:48	7:43
11	0:08:50	1	50	33	8:50	8:04
12	0:08:50	1	33	13	8:50	8:01
13	0:08:52	1	46	17	8:52	7:55
14	0:08:54	1	0	85	8:54	7:51
15	0:09:07	1	28	0	9:07	8:23
16	0:08:54	1	33	32	8:54	8:28
17	0:09:17	1	57	77	9:17	8:31
18	0:09:12	1	43	82	9:12	7:34
19	0:09:09	1	41	0	9:09	7:39
20	0:09:00	1	0	16	9:00	6:42
21	0:09:12	1	65	95	9:12	7:25
22	0:08:56	1	44	36	8:56	6:30
23	0:08:52	1	112	87	8:52	7:07
24	0:08:50	1	0	0	8:50	7:30
25	0:09:14	1	79	80	9:14	7:17
26	0:08:52	1	62	57	8:52	7:38
27	0:02:12	0.28	0	0	7:57	6:06
Summary	3:56:23	26.28	1,240	1,370	8:59	6:06

The race finished on historic Hayward Field at the University of Oregon; I wish I could say that I appreciated the significance of this, but I was done by this point and was gutting it out to the finish.

Here are some photos, they tell the story. Apparently I can't post photos right now :-(  Reasons unknown.  I will look into why and post them later.

Have a nice evening and I hope the weather is better where you are; it totally and complete SUCKS in Oregon right now.

Boston here I come

I crossed the line at Eugene in 3:56 - a BQ baby!  I am beat, I had to dig deep for this one.  I have three really nice blisters to show for it; weird, because I usually don't get blisters.

Details to follow, I just had to share......

Marathon signage

I'm stealing this from Alisa - she is sign #11.  Go check out these FABULOUS signs of encouragement; guaranteed to put a smile on your face....


http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/30-awesome-marathon-spectator-signs/

Have a great evening!

Thought for the day

I saw this on Facebook this morning and it was just what I needed:

The only who can tell you "you can't" is you, and you don't have to listen

Weekly wrap-up and a plan for Eugene

Whew, what a week or two have just passed and it's just going to get busier :-)

My training was terrible last week while I was in Chicago; I got in two measly treadmill runs of 4 miles each.  Running improved though when I got home; I got in a BRUTAL 13 mile run Saturday morning, it felt like all 13 miles were uphill.  Now, we all know that that can't possibly be true; but oh well.  It was an awesome day for a long run in Portland; mild temperatures and no rain. 

On Sunday I did the Brews to Bridges 10k; I finished in a respectable 56:49, definitely not a PR but I wasn't trying to PR.  This was a cool race because we got to run over the Fremont Bridge, which is never open to pedestrian traffic.  It's amazing how different things look when you are on foot; I drive over this bridge every day but running over it gives you a completely different perspective.  Other than running over the bridge, pretty much everything about the event SUCKED - packet pick-up was chaos, the start was disorganized and the food & drink at the end was beyond chaotic. 

Later in the afternoon I met with my new coach and we did pace work; yes, it is true I am not very bright.  Scheduling is tough and this is when we could both fit it in and I figured that if I took it easy at the 10K I would be o.k. for pace work and I was right.  I did a one mile warm-up; two one mile repeats; two 200 meter all out springs and a one mile cool down - yowza.  I was supposed to run my mile repeats at 8:40, I ran one at 8:05 and one at 8:09.

I FEEL GREAT, even after some pretty significant miles/pace workouts over the weekend.; my legs were tired Sunday evening but that's about it - I am so happy.

After we finished the workout my coach was curious about why I hadn't broken the elusive 4:00 marathon mark; she indicated that with all the information I had provided her and with her observations of my running over the past two weeks - I SHOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO DO IT, so why hadn't I?  She said I was totally there, what was holding me back?  We talked for a while about this and I told her that I think it boils down to two things:

1.  I really don't have a race pace versus a training pace; my pace is consistent
2.  The 8 inches between my ears

I have gotten faster over the past year; I added in some intervals and hills into my workouts.  I also think I have worked through some of the mental issues associated with running a marathon.  What I still haven't been able to wrap my arms around is how I can train at one pace and race at another pace.  So now she knows she has someone capable of busting four hours physically and she needs to work on the mental aspect of my training.  She also indicated that she trains her athletes to cruise through the first 20 miles and then race a 10k - we will see how it goes.  Bottom line; her comments went miles to help my confidence - hearing someone say that all the pieces are in place is really important and will carry me far.  That being said, I also know that on any given day you might have it or you might not have it - but I'm feeling so much better that I am ready; the rest is up to race day.

Here is what she wants me to do for Eugene:

First third of the race        9:45 pace
Second third of the race   8:50 pace
Last third of the race        9:45 pace

The question is "Can I do it?"; can I step back from the race atmosphere and run those miles at 9:45 - I guess we will see come May 2nd.  I have to be honest, if I feel really good on race day I am thinking of going for it.  What do you guys think?

I am doing a great job on Amanda's Three challenges in 30 Days Challenge; I wanted to work on picking up the phone instead of using email - SUCCESS, I called two people that in the past I would have emailed.  I also wanted to work on being more productive at work - SUCCESS, I'm having a great week at work & have made progress on some projects that have been languishing.  And last, but not least, I am working on being less critical/judgmental - SUCCESS "mostly", I need to work harder on this but I am making progress.

Have a great week

I hate hotel treadmills

I am in Chicago for work this week so I am forced to get my runs in on the hotel treadmill; now I shouldn't complain because I am getting my runs in while I travel, which can be very difficult but it has been so hot & stuffy in the hotel gym it is making me dread my runs. 

I had my first bloggy meet up Sunday evening with the absolutely lovely Marcia from Running off at the Mouth I am stealing her blog photo as I forgot to pack my USB cable and can't upload the photo that I took; we can credit one of the teenagers that worked at Panera for this photo.

We had such a great time and we are such wild women that we closed Panera Bread - watch out!  It was great to meet Marcia, chat about running, kids, and life.  I hope this is the first of many bloggy meet-ups and I highly recommend it!

You absolutely have to go check out the cool challenge that Amanda at Run to the Finish is sponsoring; she asks us to select three changes that you can make over the next 30 days.  I selected:

1.  Picking up the phone to call instead of using email
2.  Being less judgmental and more accepting
3.  Increase my productivity at work

I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can handle.......have a great day