Well, in case you are wondering, I survived the 2009 Frederick Marathon. Actually, not only did I SURVIVE it but I did pretty darn good for little ‘ole me.  Considering the fact that this is only my second marathon, I was extremely happy to have successfully PRd it.  (Is that even a word? Did I use that term correctly?  Obviously I have never done it before or I would have some experience with it.  Um, meaning, I had a personal record.) Finished the marathon in 4 hours and 41 seconds on the dot.  That translates into an average of 10:43 minute per mile.  Clearly I run for the enjoyment and I am not an aspiring Boston qualifier.  Whatever.  I can brag that I ran longer than the winner did.  Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah.

I should have known that I was in for an interesting day when the first thing my pal Katie asked me was, “Seriously. WHAT ARE WE DOING HERE?”  and we spent the first couple of miles trying to think up new lyrics to the Backyardigans “Racing Day” song. Know it?  “It’s racing day, it’s racing day… it’s not doily lacing day.”

So the most challenging thing about the marathon was the fact that it pretty much poured the ENTIRE TIME.  I think we got maybe 60 minutes into it when the heavens opened up.  At first it was nice and even refreshing.  Then it got slippery.  As in, when you rubbed against someone you were all slippery like Vaseline.  Ewww…. Then the puddles came. We spent mile 15 on dodging puddles and um, worms.  I am actually kinda good at worm dodging, err… hopping.  I learned that out on the course.  I mean, who knew?

This marathon is pretty much flat until it takes a directional turn through a nice little neighborhood called Spring Ridge.  Lovely place.  Hellish hills.  Mile 16 to 25 pretty much consisted of torturous hills.

In the rain.

With the worms.

Are you feeling me here?

So about mile 23 my knees decide to explode.  Gotta give them credit.  They were synchronized. (Maybe because of all the worm hopping?) So I alternated chanting the Hail Mary and Our Father and singing the song Put One Foot In Front Of The Other (Yeah, that one.  The one from Santa Clause is Coming To Town).  Hey, think what you want.  Worked for me.

I can’t even explain my excitement when I saw that finish line.  Truly amazing.  I was overwhelmed.

Now, I don’t want you to think that I got through that race on a couple of prayers and some childish songs.  Oh, no.  We had TONS of supporters out there.  And because this is my blog – I am so totally gonna name them: Katie’s husband Brian and her adorable boys, My husband and my adorable boys, Rani, Kim, Doug, Amy, Tom, Patrick, Priscilla and their adorable girls, Rani (who was a maniac and ran in the rain in her flip flops along with us), Stuart and Thomas, Yvonne, Katie’s parents, my parents, Sheri, Betsy, Lane, Angie, Kim & her kids, Lori & Katie (who were wearing Team Jen and Team Miss Jen G shirts… check out my Flickr photos for proof), John, Sam and Joan, Belinda, Gracie, Leah, Jeanine, Ella and Ethan.  (I hope I am not missing anyone.  I was delirious at some points.) HOW COULD WE NOT BE INSPIRED?

Thank you every last one of you and every runner, emergency personnel, and volunteer that came out on that day.  You were amazing.

As an aside, I just really feel like I need to tell you a little bit about Katie.  First – she is wonderful.  Second – she is hilarious. Third – she is wonderfully hilarious.  She makes running easy, even when your knees are staging a coup d’ etat.  (Did I spell that right? I totally need an editor.) And fourth – don’t even try to steal her.  She is MY running partner.  Back off!

If you are ever thinking about attempting a marathon, or half-marathon or even a 5K, I wanna leave you with this one quote.  It is one of my favorites:

“The miracle isn’t that I finished, the miracle is that I had the courage to start.” – John “The Penguin” Bingham

Tags: 2009, Backyardigans, Frederick marathon, John "The Penguin" Bingham, Katie, marathon, race, rain, Running, Santa Clause is coming to town, worms

This is the first post in a series to focus on

Fitness Fridays! (More here…)

I have three days until I run the 2009 Frederick Marathon.  Three days.

WOW.

Everyone keeps asking me if I am ready.  Um, honestly, I don’t know.  How do you ever really know? I can give you one promise, though- I will do my best.  I will enjoy the experience.  And most importantly… I will wear hot pink and try not to throw up on the side of the road.

One of the most amazing opportunities that has come out of training for this specific race is that I was asked to write an article for Frederick Magazine on my training journey. That was very cool.  I wanted it to be real, to be honest and most of all inspiring. (If you are interested, you can see the multimedia companion to the article online here.)

Of course, my first fitness goal for the year is to get through the race.  (I’ll post a race report here afterwards so be sure to check back.) After the marathon, I would like to focus on loosing some weight and getting back on the Body for Life plan.

No rest for the weary…. One fitness journey is about to end and another is about to begin.  Join me?

Sheesh.  I woke up this morning and realized that I have only 7 days until the Frederick Marathon.

Holy hell.

I’ve got so much left to do… get a new (!) hat, figure out the gear, arrange for transportation & pictures, packet pickup, read the runner booklet, coordinate with my family, and on and on.

But, man, am I motivated!  Just reading about the Boston Marathon gave me some serious inspiration.

ONE FINAL THING….if you don’t run marathons or don’t “get” the whole running thing, you might appreciate this post.

Even I had to laugh.

And just like that, when I needed a little running inspiration, I found it.  Shall I share?

Isaiah 40:31:

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Hebrews 12:1

Let us run with endurance, the race set out before us.

“Run the first 10 miles with your head, the second 10 miles with your legs, and the last six miles with your heart.” - Starshine Blackford, according to Runner’s World magazine.

I’m the subject of a little secret project.  Well, I guess it is not exactly SECRET.

I’m writing an article for Frederick Magazine.

Who cares, right?

Well the article is actually about … ME.

I’ve been asked to write an article about training for the Frederick Marathon.  I guess the interesting angle here is that I am not a youngster (ouch!).  I am a middle aged? married woman with two small children trying to train for a marathon while balancing a full time job, children and a husband.  (Not to mention a dog, 6 fish and a bearded dragon, but I digress.)

So, I’ve been keeping a journal of my experiences and have been working on the story for a couple of weeks now.

The interesting part of this whole experience is having a photographer assigned to you.  Oh yes, I have my own personal paparazzi. (Actually, my paparazzi’s name is Mike and he is a pretty great guy with a lot of patience who I am quite certain thinks I am a little loopy.)

Poor Mike has had to follow me around at all hours while I train for this sucker.  And by train, I mean run.  So how boring is THAT? You have got to feel for him.  It’s been cold, rainy and well, EARLY.  And he has been taking pictures of some silly woman doing the same things over and over again.  They can’t be paying him enough.

Although I must admit that it has been pretty amusing to see people’s expressions as we (meaning me and my running partners Katie, Rani & Rachel) run through downtown Frederick with this photographer jumping out at us taking pictures.

I feel like Britney Spears.  Only older.  And wider.  And…. okay, gonna stop now.  You get my point.

Tony Horton.  I hate you, but I love you.

You are killing me.

I can’t blame anyone but myself.  I am the one who had the brilliant idea to order the package.  I urged my husband to get on board the P90X train last year after we had been training using the Body for Life plan.

My husband loves it.  I hate it.  (In a manner of speaking.)

Tony is killin' me.

It is HARD friends.  I use the bands because I still can not do all of those pull ups.  I feel sorry for my husband, he is wiped after his workout.  Least favorite?  Ab Ripper X.   It is evil and yet, it is probably responsible for my core strength thus translating into better long runs.

Okay, fine.  It is a good program.  I admit it.  I just don’t have to like it…

My new ASICS! Awesome.

The Frederick Marathon is six weeks away.

SIX WEEKS, people.

I’m determined to be ready for the torture challenge.

This specific marathon has an interesting course. The first part is through downtown Frederick, MD.  Lovely. I’ve loved downtown Frederick ever since I was a kid.

The course takes a nasty turn from mile 15-25 traveling Interstate 144 up the the Spring Ridge development and back.  ALL HILLS.  ALL hills.

The second half of the marathon route is, quite frankly, the entire reason I didn’t do the full last year.  I was freaked out by the hills.  THEN I went and signed up for the 2008 Washington D.C. Ragnar Relay with some buddies.  That sucker had hills 3 miles directly UP.  Non-stop.  In the rain.  At 1:30am.  Complete darkness.  Worst possible case scenario EVER.

Spring Ridge hills don’t intimidate me anymore.  Oh, they will be difficult and it might even be raining.  (But at least it won’t be in the middle of the night on a Boonsboro hill.)  My big strategy for this race has been to alternate my long runs – one week Spring Ridge and 144 hills with the next being the flat part of the course.  I think it will help me cope mentally. Cause, as any runner knows, the struggle is mostly mental.

So we did 18 miles yesterday.  It was good but I’ll be honest – I was so DONE at the end.  I’ve been cross training pretty heavily (with weights) lately in the hopes of finishing strong.  We will see, huh?

BTW – When it comes to running in general, most of my family actually think I am insane.  I’m sure they are right.