Can you see me now?

I've been in the dark for a week now - running that is. (I've been in the dark about other things for a lot longer than that.) It still sucks but I'm adapting. In order to make the best of a dark situation I decided to do what I do best: go shopping. So Friday after work, I headed to the local running store to stock up on "serious runner" accessories. There I picked up a reflective band that goes around your arm or leg (in hot pink!) and a couple packages of Cliff Shot Blocks. Side note: for those unfamiliar with running cuisine, Shot Blocks are dense gelatinous blocks of nutrients that someone somewhere thought would be good for athletes. I sampled Cran Razz on Saturday and it was a much better experience than my Gu-induced vomiting back in '02. But back to all things reflective.

After my stop at the running store, I headed to Dick's Sporting Goods. Upon my inquiry about a running vest, I was directed to the reflective accessories section. Who knew they had a reflective accessories section? It was vast. There were reflective vests, blinking lights, arm bands, and even slap bracelets. It would have taken me long enough to decide what to purchase on my own but the Dick's employee and apparently my new best friend, kept asking me questions about running a marathon. Thankfully another customer had a question for Dick's guy and I was able to quickly select my fashionable vest and disappear to the cashier. Seriously though, check out the selection of reflective items! Monday night I was ready to put my chic new vest to the test. I mapped out a 4 mile route, slipped on the vest and headed out. It must have worked because nobody ran over me. I decided to skip the head lamp as the vest made me feel enough like a big, reflective dork already. However, due to popular demand, I did model the illuminated look for a quick photo.

Marathon Training by the Numbers

After tomorrow's run, I will be halfway through my marathon training. So I figured it was a good time to take stock of where I've been and where I'm going. What better way to put things into perspective than with the black and white language of numbers? Normally, numbers and I don't mix but this seemed harmless enough so here goes!

168...................miles run so far
9.......................weeks of training left
284..................miles left to run
4......................settings on my head lamp
125..................dollars I spent on the marathon registration fee
3.......................ice packs in my freezer
72.....................training runs on my schedule
15,000............runners in the Disney Marathon
7.......................people in the Raegan/Wendy entourage traveling to Florida with us
13....................hours of sleep lost to early morning weekend runs
20....................miles in my longest training run
61....................days until the marathon
1400...............calories burned on my last long run

I'll take a moment to savor the fact that I've reached the halfway mark in my training before my thoughts turn to the realization that this fact means I have halfway yet to go. So I will get up early in the morning and I will pack my sports drink before heading out the door in my spandex. I will do all these things with the knowledge that I have 284 more miles to go but that there are a lot of people cheering me on along the way.

Got a light?

Marathoners suffer a variety of indignities. There's the chafing scars, the losing of the toenails and the sports-bra induced uni-boob. And now I can add another to the list: the head lamp. See my mother is not particularly thrilled with me running alone in the dark so when we were shopping at Eddie Bauer several weeks ago and she saw this lighted contraption she decided that was exactly what I needed. This fashionable device is comprised of an elastic band attached to a 2 inch LED light. The light, I soon discovered, has 4 settings 1) bright white LED lights, 2) brighter white LED lights, 3) red LED lights, and 4) blinking red LED lights. The last setting makes it appear as if I'm trying to land a 747. (Side note: the item was advertised as a "climbing light." I'm not sure who rock climbs in the dark but apparently Eddie Bauer customers can be a thrill-seeking bunch.)

So tonight I wore my head lamp for the first time. Early in my run I passed by a couple on their evening stroll. As it wasn't quite dark-dark yet, I could see the expressions on their faces. The woman's eyes immediately darted to my forehead where a bright beam of light was protruding like the horn of an enchanted unicorn. At this point, my inner monologue went something like this: "Hi. How are you this evening? This? Oh, well this is the latest in cranial illumination technology. You can get one too. All it will cost you is $20 and your dignity."

It turns out that lots of people are concerned with my running in the dark. Friends have suggested affixing reflective tape to my shirt and wearing a reflective vest. Of course, mom contributed the infamous head lamp. A coworker even wished aloud for a big, strong man to run with me. I pointed out that if he was big and strong, he probably wasn't very fast. She conceded my point.

I made it safely home after my innagural lighted run. I don't know how many runs will find me wearing the head lamp but if you happen to see a small light bobbing up and down along the side of the road while you're driving please slow down!

Who turned the lights out?

I did my first dark run tonight due to the time change. And you know what, it sucked! I thought I'd be in good shape because I had a full moon but sometime after I started running and before I finished, the entire enormous moon went behind the clouds all spooky like. I was just hoping that the good people of my city were vigilant about sidewalk safety.

I ran to Bloomington Gail's house tonight. Thankfully she lives just off a street that's lit up like an airport runway. But the cool thing happened as I was running towards her house. It turns out I arrived just as she was chatting with a neighbor on her driveway so the last block or so I had 2 ladies cheering me in. Not a bad way to end a run that started out with me thinking, "Nah, I don't need the blinking light tonight."

Becoming a Carnivore

This week was one of milestones. I reached the half-marathon distance in my training runs, I've run out of weeknight daylight hours and I'm pretty sure it's time to switch from capris to full length running tights. Also, I skipped my first run this week. I'm not proud of missing those 3 miles but it was raining AGAIN and I swear I was starting to look like a raisin.

A challenge arose this week too. I tend to have back problems and Thursday morning was greeted with another one. These "episodes" tend to come out of nowhere and this week was no exception. The good news was I had two consecutive rest days on the schedule but the bad news was I needed to be in decent enough shape to run 13 mile by Saturday morning. The next two days included a fair amount of muscle relaxers, pain pills and anti-inflammatories. My friend Jennie (part of the Team Raegan cheering section at Disney) came over Thursday night in the midst of my self-medicating. I heard from her on Friday about my amusing conversation skills the night before. I vaguely remember her being there.

So Saturday morning before I left for my run, I fixed myself a breakfast consisting of a breakfast bar, a glucosomine pill, 2 ibuprofen and a prescription anti-inflammatory - the breakfast of champions. Or at least the breakfast of champions with debilitating back pain. The distance itself wasn't too bad. During the last 4 miles my back gave me problems but I made it. I then went home and spent some quality time with my heating pad.

Another odd thing I noticed this week has been my change in appetite. I generally avoid red meat but since I started logging some serious weekly mileage I found myself craving cheeseburgers (the good kind - McDonald's is still a forbidden zone for me). Before my training, I might have a burger once or twice a month. This week alone I had 2.

The week ahead includes adjusting to daylight savings time and dark runs. It's also the halfway point of my training schedule. At this point I just have to increase my mileage 4 more times - to 15, 16, 18 and 20 miles over the next 9 weeks. Just think how many cheeseburgers are in my future!

Citius, Altius, Fortius

The Olympic motto is Citius, Altius, Fortius. This is Latin for Faster, Higher, Stronger. Apparently the ancient Romans needed pep talks too. I bring this up because that is the phrase that was going through my head as I was running tonight. For the first time in weeks, it actually wasn't raining and the vision of the cheeseburger waiting for me at the Lido Lounge motivated me through what is now considered a short 3-mile run. I was fast. I was strong. I wasn't high, but that's something to consider for my 20-mile run in December.

As I took off over the streets through my neighborhood the only things that slowed me were sidewalk mud puddles (Yes we have those now. I noticed one the other day when I was building my Ark.) and one annoyingly long stoplight. Side note: the stoplight was so long that some woman in a minivan that I'm fairly certain I don't know inadvertently made eye contact with me and felt the need to wave. I waved back in a friendly manner. After all a minivan versus pedestrian situation would not go well for me. But I digress.

I finished my run feeling good and ready to chow. I was runnning late to meet my friend so I just had time to step into the house, wipe my face with a towel and take a few gulps of sports drink before I jumped in my car to go meet my friend. Now I'm not one of those women that can simply throw on a baseball cap after a workout and look cute and work-outy. My friend Jenny is like that. Sometimes I hate Jenny. I, on the other hand, am definitely NOT cute after a workout. This fact, however, did not stop me from heading to the Lounge.

And yes, I enjoyed my cheeseburger in all my spandex lovlieness. Citius, Altius, Cheeseburgerus!

My Mom, My Sherpa

Most people think that my dad is my biggest supporter during my marathon training. After all, he's a runner too and has been a coach for almost 40 years. But actually it's been my mom who's been there more than anyone else. Over the last 8 weeks, whenever I've been visiting my parents, it has been my mom that has been my coach, my ride, my photographer and my sherpa carrying sports drink, towels and discarded layers of running apparel. (Fun fact - sherpas are the local people that escort climbers who attempt crazy things like climb Mt. Everst. They carry the packs, set up tents at base camps and generally help the lunatic climber try not to kill him or herself.)

But back to my personal sherpa. Mom has often woken early with me - sometimes before dawn - and taken me to a drop-off point to watch her first born take off into sweltering humidity, fog or rain hoping that the next time she saw me I'd be a) upright, b) breathing normally and c) preferably smiling, if that wasn't not too much to ask. She's met me at various mile markers with sports drink. She's learned to use my "fancy" camera to document my training. She's sat in her car for hours with a book waiting to pick me up at the finish and then take me to breakfast afterward. This last weekend, she even drove to meet me after miles 4, 5, 6 and 7 because it was raining and offered to pick me up because it was raining.

This week's long run was stepped back to 7 miles but I accidentally did 8 instead. Since it was raining I changed my pre-arranged route which went back on a bike trail after mile 4. I didn't want to get stuck back on the trail that was inaccessible by car should a downpour open up. So I ran to the park and did 3 short loops in the park instead. Turns out, each loop was 1.3 miles and not 1 mile. That .3 adds up fast. Each loop also included this lovely hill.


It all turned out ok though. I felt soggy, but good. And when I got done, my sherpa was there to pick me up and take me for a bagel and some cheesy hashbrowns.