Marathon Training thread for November 1-7

[decaff38]

Well, I did my 10 k today. Temp was 40 degrees with a 10 mi. wind. Started a bit chilly and into the wind. Asked at the turn around about time and they said 40 min. Wow I was 4 minutes ahead of my last time. I was psyched. I had my jacket off and was cruising. I really lost my steam at mile 5. I made it in 92 minutes which game me a mile time of 14.8. That is fine but I need to do that twice to finish the 1/2 Mar. I am really tired now. Need to up my training to lower my per mile time. I ended up last of the 10K racers but not last of the 1/2 marathoners. Ha! There were only 72 people signed up for the 5k,10K and 1/2 Marathon together. It was the United Way World Run Day.

Hope everyone is training well.
Have a great week!!

 

[tootsiemolly]

Decaff, Good for you!!!! That is a huge accomplishment. I am following MFM and did my 3 mile walk today. Next week I will do 6. I am so.... impressed with how hard all you are training. I need to catch up (if that is possible ) Way to go! And I haven't had any sugar!

 

[Rachael Q]

Just got back from my 5 miles. Today was supposed to be rest day, and yesterday was supposed to be my long run day, but life got in the way.

Anyway today is cold (well cold for those of us in Western Canada) and it is raining on and off.

The first 3 miles I thought awful, I felt like I really was pounding the pavement, my feet felt like bricks, and my legs ached - first my ankles, then my shins, then my hips, then back down - my quads, then my calves, then my feet. I was running really slow, and couldn't get my breathing right. I amost gave up, but I would have only been annoyed with myself.

But by mile 4 I was feeling great, I finally found my stride and was very comfortable for the last 2 miles.

My time for 5.2 miles was 1h 12 mins 19 secs. That works out to 14.44 per mile. I'm happy with that. Puts me on target for a 3h 15min finish .

 

[Cheryl N. WI]

Wow 9 weeks from now at this time we will be done with the 1/2 marathon! Time sure is flying and it seems to keep going faster the closer it gets!

I got in my long walk on Fri. I did 7 miles this week in a 14:30 min/mile average. I didn't do any jogging, just walked because I wanted to see how much of a difference keeping out the 1 minute intervals of jogging would make. It did make a bit of a difference when I have been adding in the joggin I have been able to maintain a little under a 14min mile pace. Either way I feel good because both times are good for finishing in time!! Fri night after my left heel was feeling prtetty sore and yesterday morning when I woke up it really hurt when I first stepped on it I took some Advil with breakfast and as the day went on it was feeling almost normal. I got in my crosstraining "weight lifting" tapes yesterday afternoon. This morning my heel felt fine but I didn't want to overdo it so I did a shorter walk and so far so good. I am still trying to figure out my strategy for which day this week I will get in my long walk, 8 miles for me this week too. Our Disney cruise is now less than 2 weeks away and I am busy making sure everyone has the clothes they need and it is all ironed and ready to throw in the suitcase next week!

Keep up all the great work everyone!!! We're getting close!

Cheryl

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Debbie--I always tell my self on long days--I am a tortoise "slow and steady finishes (instead of wins) the race"--
I always end up at the back of the pack--but towards the end, I pass people and finish well! In our "stretch & nutrition" clinic the other night, a couple things were pointed out--you start out too fast--you will wear yourself out--and you will burn through your energy stores much quicker than you should. Our coaches keep telling us--it may seem annoyingly slow to have all these people shoot out at the starting line past you--but the greatest joy is when they are lagging at mile 12 or 25 and you jog right on past them

karebear--starting slow and getting faster is good--let's your body warm up and get used to the stress you are about to place upon it

Looks like it is a good training weekend for everyone

I did my 10 miles this morning--was seeking to break 2 hours--and then at 1:55 with 0.3 miles to go--the draw bridge goes up!! AAAACKKK...my pace was 11.86 minutes--so I would have broken the 2 hour barrier anyway--but what a disappointment to not do it for real.

Hubby was promoted on Friday--so he wanted me to celebrate with his cake--I had a small piece. I had a cookie this morning with my bagel--and then this after I had another small piece of cake.

Some sad news--my kitty cat--for all intents and purposes--blew out her knees (in human terms). ER Vet suspects all the ligaments in both of her hind legs are destroyed. Her legs are 3-4 times the size they should be due to swelling. The scary part is the x-rays--instead of the bones being aligned tip to tip, they are mis-aligned with the tips side by side in both legs. Surgery ($$$$) would be required to fix it and financially not an option. So we are praying that we can be economical and get her a double amputation. Otherwise, sadly--we may have to Euthanize her.

The odd thing about all of this is that the vet has never seen anything like it. A few times in dogs, but never in cats. He said it would have had to be severe trauma. Usually even when a cat gets hit by a car or falls--the damage is limited to broken bones--never anything like her injury. We asked our 4-year old (without prompting) questions to determine if she witnessed or did anything. It was determined that she was running in circles playing with a feather and then the back part of her body hit the table and she started meowing. I was outside with a garage sale at the time and the girls were watching a movie. My husband was at the barber and then came home and went inside. He said the cat was meowing funny (we thought it was her "time of the month" meow that never seems to go away with a spaying). She was lying down--but didn't think anything of it. We found her lying in the litterbox later in the evening.

A sister of a friend is a vet tech--so I have been in touch with her this weekend. She said that perhaps a double amputation that leaves her stubs would be best and she will speak with the vet in her office tomorrow morning to see what he can advise! They are cheaper than our regular vet--so I may just switch my records to them. Kitty is doing well--no pain relievers are available for kitties. So aside from pain--she is resting comfortably under my bed.

I am keeping my fingers crossed. We have looked into Kitty wheelchairs, but since she is not parylzed, it might be more harm than good.

Please pray for my kitty!!! I am so glad to be marathon training--otherwise, my stress level would be through the roof! We want our kitty to live--but can't seek huge debt to make that possible--least expensive living alternative is what we want that lets her live as well as possible!

Lisa

 

[maryliz]

Decaff -- woohoo on that awesome 10K

And don't worry about your thinking "I have to do this twice for the 1/2" -- let's all remember back to our first 3 miles, and how we said to ourselves "I have to do this 3 more times, and then some" ... never thought I would make it. And now a 7 mile walk seems like a piece of cake

Life got in the way for me this week, even though I vowed I would somehow make the time. Tomorrow is a new day, and hopefully some new motivation will spark me into training mode. It's just so dark here now and since we're living in a new neighbourhood, I'm not totally comfortable about walking in the evenings by myself, and I don't know anyone else around here.

9 weeks and it's all over Now that's a little scary!

Mary-Liz

 

[trola2]

I am posting on last weeks thread...it seemed the right place to post since eerything happened on the 7th. Thank you all for your supoprt over the last many months. I felt every prayer that was sent my way.

My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer 12 years ago. She had a lumpectomy. They "sampled" her lymph nodes to see if her cancer had spread and since it had not, they treated her with radiation, followed by 2 years of tamozifen.

5 1/2 years later, she developed a new and different type of breast cancer in the same breast. This time she had a mastectomy and after she was healed, she decided to have an "elective" mastectomy on the other side. She said she never wanted to go through all of that again, and she could just keep a pair of "girls" in her drawer and wear them when she wanted to. She refused to have reconstruction because surgery was so uncomfortable for her. She went on tamoxifen for another 5 years. She never missed a pill.

5 1/2 years later, (late June 2004) she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Her cancer had spread to the bones, lymph system, spots on the kidneys and liver, and then as things progressed, we believe that it also spread to her brain. It is a normal progression. When she was diagnosed, she was offered chemo and was told that if she responded, she would live 8-12 months. When we pressed her doctor, he said without chemo she would "only" have 6-12 months. Looking at the math, mom decided that the possibility of gaining a couple of months was not worth the suffering of the chemo. She also was having the sack around one lung fill with fluid and having to have that drained. )Thorocentesis) She had that drained every 2 weeks for 6 weeks...a total of 4 times. The first time they got 2400 cc's of fluid. That's almost a 3 liter bottle full!! No wonder her breathing was so impaired! At the end of August when she had the final thoro done, for some reason, the lung didn't fill again. We don't know why but we do know she had developed some scar tissue inside the lining and perhaps God allowed the "leak" to be sealed off by that scarring. Whatever the reason, it really helped her tremendously, although she was then quite fearful of it happening again and not being able to breathe.

In August we had mom placed on hospice care. They were able to see some errors in her pain medication and after we got that fixed, she did well for awhile. They came for weekly visits and were of tremendous support.

On September 16, hurricane Ivan hit our area hard. We were without power for 9 days. With mom on an (electric) oxygen concentrator, we switched to portable oxygen tanks. 2 days after the storm she ran out of tanks and our oxygen supplier was hit by the storm and there was no more oxygen available. We called on the superhero powers of my brother who was able to borrow a generator and arrived at our door 13 hours later. The man flew...It's a 12 hour drive and I know I had at lest an hour's worth of shopping that I asked him to do at Wal-Mart before he came!! We were running out of supplies and when you could find things like D batteries, they were $5 each and they would limit you to only 2 at a time! Anyway....he brought the generator and mom was able to at least breathe and wait for the power.

The storm really hit her hard. She was never quite as good after that. In late October we suggested my brother come back to see mom. He was startled by the change in her.

On Nov. 2, my mom took a fall at home. She was Ok, but it really scared her. Her walking was becoming quite shaky and her home health aide that would bathe her suggested we ask for a walker cane. Mom did well on Wednesday and Thursday and adapted to the cane. On Friday she took another fall and although I was able to get her up and settled, she was starting to really hurt. Her aide came that morning and suggested we go to the ER and get her checked out. We found she had a compression fracture in her spine. They told her that there was now different treatment from what we were doing at home, so we went home.

Throughout the day Friday her mobility decreased as her pain increased. By late Friday she was unable to move from her chair or to walk. Her pain level had increased and her breathing was increasingly difficult.
At 1AM our hospice team suggested to call an ambulance and take her to the hospital.

Mom was admitted to the hospital on Saturday morning at 5AM. They were able to get on top of her pain and make her comfortable. Our pastor who is also her hospice chaplain came Saturday afternoon and spent several
hours with her and with me and Becky. Our hospice nurse also came to make sure that the pain management was going to be Ok.

By Saturday evening she slipped into a light coma and was finally able to rest. Just before midnight she got a little restless and the nurse gave her a morphine shot to ease her pain again. All through this time she
could hear us and would respond by raising her eyebrows. Around 2AM she fell into a deeper sleep and we took the opportunity to also get a nap.

My sister and I both spent a few hours switching spots…one on the bed with mom and the other in a chair next to her. We would doze along with her. At about 5:30 we both woke up completely and spoke with her a little.
Her breathing changed. She had been struggling and gasping for air for so long and it was becoming easier. By 6AM she was gently breathing and by 6:10 her breathing slowed and then she gently slipped away.

It hit me this morning that I don't need to make breakfast today for my mom. I've made her breakfast every day since June. I've sat with her and had coffee and we've shared a little quiet time together. We sat on the porch when the weather was nice and often didn't talk at all. We just enjoyed our time together. I am so going to miss my mom.

While my mom would rest of need time to herself, I would play on the computer and read the Dis. It got me through some really tough times. I know I haven’t been very active, but I did enjoy everyones’ triumphs and felt all the lows. Thank you all for helping me get through this one step at a time.

Thank you for reading to the bottom of this very long post!! We move on from here…starting today. Thank you for helping me through the past 4 ½ months….
~~Beth

 

[Debbie]

Hugs and loving arms, Beth. Take care of yourself. I am so sorry and am grieving with you. Thank you for letting us know.

 

[karebear1]

Beth-
I'm so sorry to hear that your Dear Mother has passed away. Please call or post if you need additional support. I'm keeping you nad your family in my prayers.

 

[ohMom]

(((BETH))) i'm so very sorry for your loss -- words can't begin to ease your pain, just know you are in my prayers and my heart truly aches for you.




May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Hugs to you Beth--sorry to hear about your mom

 

[NancyK]

Beth,
I'm so very sorry to hear about your mom. Please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you in this difficult time.
Nancy

 

[Kimickey]

Beth,

from me and a from us

 

[maryliz]

Beth. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this very difficult time. We are all here for you if you need us.

Mary-Liz

 

[ibouncetoo]

Beth, you and your family are in my prayers.

Please come here whenever you need to talk, cry and remember.

 

[GoofyArt]

Hi Beth, It's Susan-Ontario posting on my DH's user id. I'm sending you my thoughts and praying for you during this very difficult time. I know how you feel. You don't know whether to be sad or relieved that their suffering is finally over. Take care of yourself and remember we are all with you in spirit as you go through these next few days.

Everyone else--the weather here at the Beach Club is fabulous. Sunny and 80 degrees. I am walking a bit but tonight I seem to have caught a cold. I checked out the Contemporary hill. This weekend when I'm staying at the CR I'll try and get some photos for ya'll.

Keep On, keeping on everyone!!

 

[Cheryl N. WI]

Beth I just read your post about your Mom. My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family. May God blee you all.

Cheryl

 

[geetey]

Beth

Please accept my prayers for your family during this time. I am so sorry for your loss. God Bless.

 

[Auntmeme]

Beth, So sorry to hear about your mom. A big hug to you and your family Please keep in touch, will miss you at the marathon but hopefully see you next year!

Is anyone else thinking next year?

Susan how does that hill look?
Karen any word about the shirt logo? & where is the info about the pasta dinner? I didn't see it on the disney site, did I miss it

I did a 4 miler this am and it was chilly - low 40's. I believe that is the temp for early am in Fl during Jan. I definitely would have liked to have had something covering my ears. I layered and after a mile or so wanted to take off the sweatshirt.

Have a terrific Tuesday everyone

sorry to say I've had candy & a brownie & cookies - so much for trying to make it to thanksgiving - I have no will power