Yes, in case you weren’t quite sure, this IS the obligatory “hey look at my left hand” picture we took to announce that…

WE’RE ENGAGED!!!

Todd asked me to marry him in Central Park on Valentine’s Day…at the precise location where we finished the New York City Marathon together last November.

I guess the obvious idea was always to “pop the question” at the end of a marathon, but seeing as how we both tend to be on our death beds after running 26.2, Todd (understandably) had his reservations about making that our special moment. And seeing as how I was sooo sick after the NYC Marathon, and he was sooo sick after the Walt Disney World Marathon, I’m thinking he made the right decision, haha.

So, anyway, I knew he had planned “a special day” for Valentine’s Day, but I was not informed as to where we were going or what we were doing.

(That being said, I DID know that a ring had been procured and that it was coming soon…so I had a pretty good feeling that this was going to be the day.)

After a delicious breakfast at Turning Point where I enjoyed an omelet and devoured sampled Todd’s amazing pancakes, we hopped a train into the city. Mind you, Sunday’s temperatures were forecasted to hover at a high of something like 5 degrees due to the wind chill, so let me tell you…it was FREAKIN’ COLD. Like, brutally cold. Like, cold enough that the streets of New York were practically deserted.

But, nonetheless, we made our way to Central Park as our first stop. It was a ghost town (duh) with the exception of a few crazy runners…appropriately enough. Todd found the site of the NYC Marathon finish line, and then it was a little bit funny (not gonna lie) to watch him struggle to find a patch of grass — since, OF COURSE, there were all these gates up due to some sort of lawn treatment that was being done — because I knew what was coming.

He told me that he hoped this location that once represented the end of something we accomplished together could now symbolize the beginning of something entirely different…and many new adventures to come.

And it was perfect because neither of us are the type of people to enjoy big public displays or lots of attention from strangers, so the fact that it WAS so cold and the park was practically empty meant that it could be a private moment for just the two of us.

After THE BIG MOMENT (and, um, using my little mini camera tripod to take about 1,000 pictures), we jumped back on the subway to visit the New York City Marathon exhibit at the Museum of the City of New York.

It wasn’t quite as elaborate as we thought it would be, but there were tons of awesome pictures from the race, some interesting factoids, a timeline, and a couple of pieces of memorabilia…so it was a cool way to relive the experience.

Then we went to our early dinner reservations, where we enjoyed a ginormous Porterhouse steak for two.

The day concluded with Todd surprising me with tickets to see Finding Neverland on Broadway…which I absolutely loved. (Even though there were parts that are so super depressing and sad that I couldn’t even stand it). But, I mean, how could we not have some sort of Disney representation in this special day…?

So, I guess it’s official. This princess has officially found her prince. <3

…and she couldn’t be any happier.

Who else has a proposal story to share…?!

After the previous morning’s traffic fiasco on our way to the half marathon, we set our alarms for even earlier (ugh) just in case of a repeat performance. After getting dressed in our Rapunzel/Flynn costumes and doing some last minute safety pinning (to make sure certain chameleons stayed put for 26.2 miles, lol), we were out the door…and ready to sit in another hour of traffic. That morning took us even longer to get to Epcot, and if we hadn’t left by 4am we could have missed the start of the race.

(Obviously in hindsight we should have just taken the runner buses, but I like having our car in the parking lot so we don’t have to deal with bag check and we can park hop, etc. at our convenience for the rest of the day.)

So, once again, we made it to the corrals with just moments to spare, and before I knew it we were about to begin another 26.2 mile journey.

The temperatures that morning definitely felt warmer, and yet maybe slightly less humid (thank god). It was definitely wayyyy too hot for running a marathon, but I was in Disney…so, you know, whatevs.

Our early miles were pretty much an exact replica the previous morning. Running in the dark. Forcing ourselves to keep our pace slow and steady to conserve energy for later. And sweating our asses off.

We skipped the characters who appeared before the Magic Kingdom because they were either repeats or characters we didn’t especially care about (I’m still not into The Nightmare Before Christmas).

By the time we reached the TTC, we both had to make a pit stop, and we were soon continuing on to the Magic Kingdom: THE BEST PART OF ANY RACE, ANYWHERE, IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD.

Running down Main Street was AMAZING as always, and that morning was even better because we weren’t running through a cloud of fog. We could actually, you know, see the castle.

And, as a bonus…we were getting LOTS of attention for our costumes.

You know what’s even more glorious than running down Main Street? Running down Main Street when the castle is still all lit up for Christmas.

Our first character stop that morning was for Lilo & Stitch. Because, I mean, c’mon. It’s Stitch. And I loves him.

And then began the most magical part of the marathon. The reason I wish I could run this race every single year for the rest of my life. There are no words to describe the elation of running through the Magic Kingdom. If you took the “high” of crossing the finish line of every single race I’ve ever completed and added them all together, it still wouldn’t compare to how I feel when running these 1-2 miles through the park.

Call me a dork, but…it’s the truth.

And this year was THE BEST YET because, unbeknownst to me, the course had been changed quite a bit (due to the closure of the speedway, I presume).

Suddenly I found myself running by Splash Mountain and through new Fantasyland and spending way more time in the park than ever before. It was AWESOME.

And there were some amazing characters out along the way, including my favorite princess ever. When we jumped in line, Sebastian was posing with Ariel and I was SOOOO EXCITED. But, of course, he was escorted away by a cast member when there were just a few runners in front of us. Boo.

I wish we could run all 26.2 miles through Magic Kingdom. Not even lying.

Before I knew it, it was time to exit via the backstage area and start making our way over to Animal Kingdom. This stretch of the course isn’t especially exciting. I was still feeling just fine, but Todd had been complaining of some tummy issues so I was hoping he would start feeling better.

Obviously, the good part about starting in an earlier corral for a Disney race is the comfort of knowing that you can stand in line for some characters and take pit stops as needed…and little did I know then just how much we were going to need that extra cushion (spoiler alert). I was feeling especially grateful that I damn near killed myself to score an almost-PR at The Love Run last spring to submit for corral placement for this race.

Character lines hadn’t been TOO outrageous at that point, but we did stop for a TON due to the extra time in Magic Kingdom, and of course we spent time taking pictures in front of the castle — which is why those 1-2 miles in the park always take us AT LEAST 30-45 minutes, if not more. Our pace was muuuuch slower than our usual race pace, of course, but we were still generally running around an 11:30/mile, if memory serves. So I wasn’t too worried at that point.

When we leave the park, we tend to get stuck behind a cluster of walkers on narrow paths before the course opens up (a little bit) again closer to the golf course. We just did the best we could. It’s not like we were trying to PR or anything (obviously), but we did try to weave around other runners whenever possible and if the course got too congested we’d walk a bit until we could find an opening.

And, fortunately, we found this guy and jumped in line right before he was supposed to switch for Donald. Lucky day.

The stretch leading up to Animal Kingdom had some surprises for us this year. It seemed every half-mile or so had a different character…and they were all really RARE characters, with lots of VILLAINS! Never knowing what character you might spot up ahead is a GREAT way to keep your mind off the agony of, you know, running a marathon.

I thought it was pretty much the coolest thing ever, so we jumped in line for pretty much all of them. Couldn’t help myself.

They also had some animals out for us as we got closer to the park. Seeing this guy was pretty much my favorite part of the entire day, not gonna lie, lol.

We made our way to Animal Kingdom for a short stretch of course inside the park. It was time for another potty break and some more silliness.

Todd still wasn’t feeling quite right, and truth be told my stomach wasn’t 100 percent either, but that tends to happen when I’m a.) running in the heat and b.) when I’m traveling and haven’t been sticking entirely to my “normal” food.

The Animal Kingdom part of the course is over sooo fast, and I knew the next several miles might be a bit of a struggle. So I enjoyed our time in the park as much as possible…especially when another runDisney photographer grabbed us to pose us for pictures in front of the tree.

Before I knew it we were back on highway, it was warming up…and things got a little boring. Especially since I know we were headed to the Wide World of Sports, and that’s just not a highlight of the course for me.

Halfway there!

This is probably where things started to take a turn for the worse for Todd. Now it wasn’t only his stomach, but his feet were starting to hurt big time and I knew the previous morning’s half marathon (and all the walking we did around the parks) was catching up with him. I’m used to tackling back-to-back races so I guess I knew what to expect, and I worried this might happen to him because it was his very first time with any sort of multiple-day race challenge.

So it seemed only appropriate that this was our next photo stop, lol.

We kept plugging away, but I could tell our walk breaks through water stops were getting longer and longer, and as we approached Wide World of Sports and Todd kept asking to take impromptu walk breaks, I knew we might be in a little bit of trouble. Unfortunately, we both remembered that it was right around this point last year when Todd lost his mojo, and this time we had the added fatigue of running the Goofy Challenge thrown into the mix.

I was feeling perfectly fine at that point; a little bit of fatigue in my legs and feet, obviously — and I still don’t do well in the heat, pace-wise — but when I’m in Disney I just don’t feel pain. It sounds ridiculous but it’s so true. So I tried to do my best to keep him in good spirits.

My high school yearbook quote, lol

We ran/walked through Wide World of Sports. I was encouraging Todd to conserve his energy as best he could, and unfortunately all of our tomfoolery earlier in the race had caught up with us. Though we started in corral F we had fallen wayyyyy behind the runners with similar running paces, so we were getting trapped behind walls of walkers. Because there’s really just no room to run on the narrow paths at Wide World of Sports, we opted to just walk whenever it became impossible to weave around other runners. Todd said his legs/feet felt a little better after each walk break, so that’s what we did.

And, you know, we rested our legs standing in line for pictures. How do you NOT stop for a photo with Goofy when you’re *thisclose* to completing the Goofy Challenge?!

Wide World of Sports felt like it went on forever, but we did pick it up a little bit for our victory lap through the stadium.

After we left the complex we kept plodding along towards Hollywood Studios. It sort of felt like we were moving in slow motion at that point. Because this section of the course is something of an out-and-back, we could see that there were no other runners headed into Wide World of Sports…which I knew meant we had fallen a bit further back than I thought.

I knew we had a little ways to go before the glorious Hollywood Studios/Boardwalk/Epcot portion of the race, and let’s just say Todd wasn’t in the best of spirits. His feet were killing him and his stomach was still upset. Since he has talked me down off the proverbial ledge many, MANY times in races before, I made it my mission to help him get to that finish line! We continued with our run/walk and made our way sllllllowly towards the final stretch of the race: the last 10K.

It was somewhere in mile 21 when I made a joke to Todd about how we were “almost safe” from the balloon ladies. Truth be told, we’ve never actually seen the balloon ladies, but if you run Disney races then you know that you have to stay in front of them in order to avoid being swept from the course for falling too far behind the time limit. Not 30 seconds later, a pacer on a bike rode by and announced: “just letting you know that you guys are about 2 miles ahead of the balloon ladies right now.”

And let me tell you I have NEVER seen a swarm of people all start sprinting at the EXACT. SAME. TIME. I knew well enough that we would be “safe” once we entered Hollywood Studios in mile 22, so I knew that we were fine. But Todd and I tried to pick up the pace nonetheless! We’ve never been that far back before, and it wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences to know that the “dreaded” balloon ladies were now chasing us to the finish line!

We made it into the park and runners were cheering and high-fiving and cast members were congratulating us on the way in, but since I’m such an experienced marathoner now (ha), I knew very well that these last couple of miles were still going to be pretty brutal. Even with all the distractions along the way.

I was thrilled to take on this final leg of the marathon because there’s so much park time and you get to run along the Boardwalk, but Todd was not having ANY of it. I knew he was hurting and I let him dictate whenever it was time for us to take another break.

The man still manages to smile for the camera, though…gotta love him, lol.

And what better way to take a break than standing in line for more pictures?

I have to say, I LOVED all of the “rare” characters this year.

I think his spirits lifted a little bit in the park because Hollywood Studios was already open for the day and thus there were lots of cheering spectators (as well as disgruntled park goers who made it clear they were pissed at us for clogging up all the walkways, haha).

My blogger friend Kim from Barking Mad About Running spotted us on our way out of the park, so it was awesome to have the personalized cheers.

The path leading up to the Boardwalk is basically a disaster because it’s damn near impossible to run. Everybody and their mother was walking, and because it’s so narrow you really can’t go ANYWHERE. Todd’s legs had basically fallen apart by then, anyway, so it was fine by both of us if we had to walk a little bit more.

But we were sooooo close to the finish and we had been out on the course for sooooo long…I was anxious to get to Epcot and cross that finish line!

We were able to run/walk/hobble/whatever you want to call it to the Boardwalk, with a few extra walk breaks. I knew for sure that he was struggling then because I heard a few expletives slip out of his mouth. And let’s just say that I’m the one with the potty mouth in this relationship, lol.

I knew we were going to make it, and I tried to be as encouraging as possible. I think he was kind of annoyed at the situation because I was bouncing around and making jokes and smiling and acting like an idiot and giving high-fives to people…and here he was in pure agony.

Seriously…I will say it again. There is NO SUCH THING AS PAIN when I’m running in Disney. I’m sure I was just as tired and in as much physical discomfort as he was, but I just don’t *FEEL* it the way I do when I’m running any other race. Why do you all think I’m so obsessed with this marathon?!

The views on the Boardwalk were beautiful as always, and with less than a 5K to go, I was feeling PUMPED.

At long last, we made it to Epcot for what is seriously the MOST INCREDIBLE marathon finish you will ever experience. Magic Kingdom is obviously the best part of this race for me, but the lap around the World Showcase is a close second. Between the spectators cheering you on and the absolutely EPIC music you hear playing in each country, there is NOTHING like it.

Oh, and the fact that there are a bunch of characters and absolutely no lines because we’re the only idiots who stop for photos in the last 2 miles of a marathon, lol.

As we ran towards Future World, I could feel my emotions bubbling up…and I almost lost it. Here I was running the race that started it all. It sounds corny but running the Dopey Challenge in 2014 as my first marathon really did change my life forever. Not the least of which is that it gave me courage and a level of confidence that I never had before…and it made me realize that I could accomplish absolutely ANYTHING.

And I kept thinking about how Todd had told me so many times “I’ll never be able to do the Goofy or Dopey” because he legitimately thought he wouldn’t be able to finish. And here he was about to complete his first Goofy Challenge.

Everyone was cheering for “Rapunzel and Flynn!!!” and I was soaking up every second of it as we made our way towards the finish.

And, ladies and gentlemen, after more than 7 hours and 15 minutes on the course…WE FINALLY MADE IT to the finish line.

There are no words.

It was our absolute worst marathon time to date, but I didn’t care one bit. I enjoyed every second of it and I wasn’t the least bit sorry for all of the photos and characters and silliness along the way.

I’m not sure if I’m ever going to get Todd to agree to run the Goofy Challenge again. And he pretty much laughs in my face whenever I mention the idea of running Dopey together someday.

But I could not have been more proud of this guy for completing his first Goofy Challenge.

After some much-deserved chair time in the finish line area (um, and also, devouring those Oreos in the snack boxes…OMG I LOVE OREOS), we made our way…slooooowly…back to the car to hop to Magic Kingdom.

Because, yeah…obviously this had to happen, lol.

After a Shower Pill “bath” and a fresh change of clothes, we headed to Liberty Tree Tavern to stuff our faces and enjoy the rest of the night in Magic Kingdom. I know ya’ll probably think we’re gross (and also a little insane), but since it takes us so long to finish the race, if we went back to the hotel for showers, etc., the parks would practically be closing by the time we got back. And ain’t nobody got time for that.

So, for the record, after the race was over some clouds rolled in and temperatures dropped and suddenly we were both FREEZING. UGH — it couldn’t have been that chilly during the race?! So, anyway, this happened. Thank goodness for Snuggies.

Anyways, this recap has probably gone on long enough…so thanks for sticking with me, and, as always, for all of your support along the way!

Have you ever been in danger of being “swept” from a race course?

What’s your favorite part of the WDW Marathon/favorite Disney race?

Todd conquered his first Goofy Challenge, and I added another glorious Mickey marathon medal to my collection.

Though it was WAAAYYYYYYY too humid for me for both races, we had an amazing time running Disney. And — no surprises here — I still think the Walt Disney World Marathon is the best marathon in the whole wide world.

The half marathon was awesome because we had a blast running as some of our favorite ducks. We got LOTS of attention from cast members (I think a lot of fellow runners/other spectators had no idea who were were, lol) and also the runDisney marketing folks; they took some awesome pictures of us in front of the castle and at the finish line and already used it on social media. So, basically, I’m famous.

Photo credit: runDisney

Oh, and we also managed to find our third caballero, live and in the feathers (haaaaaaa), after the race.

The marathon was a bit tough for Todd. He definitely isn’t used to running back-to-back races, and he struggled in the second half of the marathon. But I think he got a really good look at why I love the Walt Disney World Marathon so much. Even though my feet hurt, I was tired, etc…it’s kind of like I just don’t feel it. I’m having WAY too much fun to truly feel the agony of running a marathon.

It was also our closest encounter ever with the dreaded “balloon ladies”…we started in corral F but stopped for a photo with just about every character along the course. Toss in a couple of potty breaks and numerous photos in front of the Cinderella’s castle, the Tree of Life, etc., and, well, let’s just say we barely beat the balloons into the Hollywood Studios gates.

Almost there…

Even though Todd wasn’t really feeling it in those final miles, we stuck together and made it across the finish line! And then hobbled our way over to the Magic Kingdom for our FastPass+ reservation with Rapunzel (I seriously could NOT be any dorkier if I tried).

I’ll be back with full recaps and lots (and lots) of photos next week! Happy weekend, everyone!

What’s your favorite part of the WDW Marathon?

Do you have a favorite half/marathon that you run every year?

]]> http://thefinalforty.com/goofy-challenge-2016-we-did-it/feed/ 31 http://thefinalforty.com/goofy-challenge-2016-final-thoughts-and-costume-reveal/ http://thefinalforty.com/goofy-challenge-2016-final-thoughts-and-costume-reveal/#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2016 17:33:27 +0000 Jennifer http://thefinalforty.com/?p=6225 Hey guys! So, um, yeah…Merry Christmas…and Happy New Year, too! (Seriously, I’m the worst with keeping up with my blogging when things get busy).

But since I’m working on catching up on all of your blogs, I thought I’d offer a quick recap before we go into the *real* reason for this post.

Which is, of course, revealing our costumes for this weekend’s Walt Disney World Marathon!

So, Christmas was good. Lots of holly jolly fun and whatnot. And LOTS of dressing up my four-legged son and making him pose for corny Christmas pictures. Hahaha.

In terms of our training for the Goofy Challenge. Well…let’s just say it didn’t go EXACTLY as planned. Then again, does it ever? After my brief hiatus after the Richmond Marathon (which I STILL owe you guys a recap for, sad to say) we jumped right back into training. My goal was to do a few long runs and at least a handful of shorter runs each week to get myself back in “marathon shape” as quickly as possible. And, of course, complete some few back-to-backs so I could prepare myself for Goofy.

I literally do run on Dunkin’….

Long story short, we only made it up to 16 miles. This is the least prepared I’ve ever been for a marathon, and I don’t like it. I can honestly say we did the best we could given the time constraints. We were also careful not to ramp up so quickly that either of us risked an injury (let’s just say I considered jumping from a 13-miler to an 18-miler because we ran out of time, and Todd put the kibosh on that one, LOL).

After our last long run…and enjoying a new festive (and super sparkly) Christmas gift from Todd.

Do I think we’ll be okay? Yes. All of our runs went quite well, and I’m actually feeling a lot stronger than I thought I would. But I know it’s not going to be pretty, and we’ll probably have to do a fair amount of walking towards the end of the marathon.  I wish we had gotten up to say, 18 miles, but I’m still pretty proud of the fact that we ran two marathons in November and then went immediately into another round of training for Goofy. I’m obviously not there to PR, so I think as long as we run smart, we’ll be fine. It was sort of a last-minute decision to do the marathon in the first place, so time was not on our side…but I know we’re going to earn those medals.

Plus it’s Todd’s first “challenge,” so I’m excited for him to have the experience of “going Goofy.”

Okay, so without further ado, I wanted to share a preview of our (still not entirely finished, lol) costumes for this weekend! Especially since runDisney costumes are such a hot button issue right now thanks to the “new” rules released yesterday…which, to me, seem like common sense. Probably nobody should be running in Jedi robes, no? I do think the timing of the announcement was pretty horrendous and really unfair given that some runners are already IN Florida with their costumes. And they definitely could have been just a teensy bit clearer on their choice of words (now people are thinking SparkleSkirts are forbidden because it’s a skirt “layered” over shorts…).

Fortunately, since I like to focus more on altering actual running clothes to look like a costume, I’m thinking we should be fine. And by “I,” what I actually mean is “Nancy”…because Todd’s mom once again saved our butts and helped us pull together what I think are going to be FABULOUS race costumes at the last minute!

For the half marathon, we will be channeling our favorite parrot and rooster, lol. We’re both obsessed with The Three Caballeros, and since it’s technically the Donald Half Marathon, we figured it was appropriate.

And just in case you were wondering where the third Caballero will be…

Found this bad boy on eBay. And, yes, my crazy ass will be carrying him through 13 miles.

For the marathon, I wanted to go along with our costume theme from last year and go as another one of my favorite princesses — since I don’t think it’s likely I’ll get Todd to run the Princess Half Marathon anytime soon. Guess who…?!?!

I have a few more bits and pieces I’m still pulling together, but I’m beyond excited to head to Florida tomorrow and conquer another Goofy Challenge!

Sooooo…what will you be wearing this weekend?! If you see us, PLEASE do say “hi” — hoping to catch up with some of you this weekend!

Have you ever gone into a race feeling under-trained/unprepared?

That’s right…I am running the Goofy Challenge yet again in just a few short weeks!

We were originally going to sit this one out because, well, we were just at The World for the Wine & Dine “Half” Marathon and some people (*cough*Todd*cough*) thought that it was “too soon” to go back to Disney. (Insert eye rolls here.)

But then he came around and we decided to make an impromptu weekend trip because the Walt Disney World Marathon is my most favorite special race. I was so sad to be missing it, and since we survived the New York City Marathon and the Richmond Marathon last month, I was feeling like I could take on the Goofy again in January.

The Walt Disney World Marathon was the site of my very first marathon, of course, when I lost my damn mind and decided to run the Dopey Challenge in 2014.

Oh, that glorious bling…

 And, then we ran the marathon together for the first time earlier this year.

After Wine & Dine turned out to be a bit of a bust — a not-so-spoiler alert for anyone who doesn’t know, but the race was cut in half due to weather-related conditions — I was feeling especially disappointed that I traded in the opportunity to run my favorite marathon for Wine & Dine. So when Todd agreed that I could casually look around to see if there were any bibs still available late last month, he probably thought it was too late.

Haaaaaaaaaa, boy, was he wrong.

We had no trouble nabbing two Goofy bibs from Dream Departures Travel, AND we booked the Port Orleans Riverside (I’ve never been!) for a pretty reasonable price.

SCCOOOOORRRREEEEE.

So that’s pretty much what I’ve been up to these past couple of weeks. After the Richmond Marathon, I took a full two weeks off (!!!) because I had just HAD IT with running and wanted NOTHING to do with it. That always happens after a marathon, so I pretty much know what to expect by now.

But after two weeks of nothing but a karate class or two, I felt like a lazy slob and started to actually miss running (*gasp*), and I knew I needed to get motivated again and set a new running-related goal.

And what better goal than tackling 39.3 magical miles in two days?

So we’ve been basically trying to train for this particular challenge over the course of 6 weeks or so. Our first “long run” after Richmond was supposed to be 10 miles…and we packed it in at 6. No joke.

It was the first time I’ve ever “quit” during a long run, and I felt terrible about it. My body just wasn’t ready yet, I guess, because I physically and mentally just could NOT do it. It was quite possibly the most I’ve ever struggled, and that’s saying a lot because I’ve had some baaaaaaaaad long runs. Todd wasn’t feeling it either.

But then I got back into the swing of things with a couple of short runs that week, and the following week we successfully completed a 10-miler. And it wasn’t too bad at all! We did 13 miles this past Sunday, and I’m going to squeeze in two more long runs (with shorter runs the day before to simulate Goofy) of 15 or 16 and then 18 or 19. And then that’ll be it.

Our first (successful) long run after the Richmond Marathon!

We’ll obviously have a short taper this time around, and I do feel like I’m “cramming” a training cycle into a pretty short period of time, but I feel confident that I can do this. And, hopefully, we won’t be stuck in a super late corral since we registered so late (we still don’t have our waivers yet…boo) so that we can still have plenty of magical fun along the way.

So. Pumped.

Who else will we be seeing this January?!?!

Have you ever “quit” during a long run?

(Okay, so it was mostly his idea, but I went along with it.)

We had a conversation about how marathon training really is months and months of preparation and hard training and physical agony all for just one race — really, just a few hours. (Of course, I immediately reminded him that this is the New York City Marathon we’re talking about, and IT. IS. COMPLETELY. AND. 100. PERCENT. WORTH. IT.)

Long story short, we decided, “hey, wouldn’t it be cool to get the most out of our training by running a second marathon this season?”

At first I thought the idea was batcrap crazy, but I know that lots of you guys have done it and lived to tell the tale. Plus, I knew that NYCM is my goal race, and that any second marathon could be run as a “for fun, let’s see how well I can do,” kind of thing.

So, ladies and gentlemen, we’ve decided to run the Anthem Richmond Marathon on Nov. 14.

Photo credit: www.sportsbackers.com

The deciding factor? Todd casually pointed out that if we ran Richmond, we could extend our Wine and Dine Half Marathon trip in Disney this November an extra day or two and then, you know, take in a quick marathon on the way home.

…Sold.

Yeah, like I’m really gonna turn down extra time to wine and dine.

So, we registered and it’s official, and I thought it was time to finally announce it here. I’ve already lined up (and, theoretically, have trained for!) my 7th marathon. Even before I’ve completed my 6th.

But, hey, I ran the Dopey Challenge as my very first marathon, so I figured I’ve done even crazier things than this before, no?

Anyway, the Richmond Marathon is supposed to be a great course (with lots of fall foliage!) and a TON of spectator support, and it’s a race we’ve both talked about running someday. Also, there are junk food stops along the course, and pizza at the finish line. And since it’s in mid-November, we can expect chilly, running-friendly temperatures. Need I say more?!

Photo credit: www.richmondmarathon.com

But, of course, we have other marathons that fall into the category of SUPER IMPORTANT, MUST-DO RACES (i.e. Chicago Marathon, Marine Corps Marathon, etc.), so neither of us minds the fact that this marathon may not be our best performance (duh).

After all, we’re running NYCM on Nov. 1, and then leaving for Disney the following Friday for what is now a six-night (!!!) Disney World trip to run a half marathon and walk the parks for days on end. Then we’re flying to Richmond on Thursday night so we can catch the expo on Friday, run the marathon on Saturday, and rent a car to drive the 5-6 hours home on Sunday.

Good. Times.

I’m pretty stoked. Was I a teensy bit nervous about the idea of running a marathon followed by a half marathon followed by another full marathon? Um, yeah. But since our training has gone really well this time around, I’m feeling pretty confident that I can handle this.

At the end of the day, this will be yet another new challenge for me, and an opportunity to explore a new city. Super excited!

Photo credit: www.richmondmarathon.com

Okay, so who can give me some words of wisdom on running two marathons in the same month?

Have any of you guys run the Richmond Marathon? What’d ya think?

What are some of your best recovery tips and tricks? I’m gonna need ‘em!

This weekend is my birthday, and I’ll be turning the big 3-0. *GASP*

Yes, that’s right, ladies and gentlemen. On Sunday, I will no longer be a twenty-something. I will be 30.

For the past couple of years, the prospect of turning 30 has given me all kinds of anxiety. Truth be told, I’ve been terrified of it. Ever since I turned 25, I’ve had the same thought on my birthday every single year — “okay, I’m only 27, I’m not 30 yet…okay, I’m 28 now, but I’m still 2 whole years away from 30…”

Celebrating my 25th in my favorite place on Earth.

It wasn’t until the last few months that I decided that I’m okay with turning 30. And I’ll tell you why. (Other than the fact that there’s not a whole hell of a lot I can do about it, haha.)

It’s because I am in a better place now than I was at ANY point in my 20s. I am happier, healthier, and more self-confident that I have been EVER. In my whole life. There is absolutely no question about that.

A whole lot of things happened to me in my 20s. Some of those things were good – like, you know, running a marathon. But there was also plenty of not-so-good – like having an 11-year relationship with my high school sweetheart completely fall to pieces, finding myself alone for the first time since I was a teenager, not being able to afford my rent after he moved out of our crappy apartment, and digging myself into all kinds of debt. Good times, right?

But despite all of the typical 20-something drama, I can’t stop thinking about how, in so many ways, I am a completely different person now than I was 10 years ago.

My 21st birthday

I didn’t intend for this post to be all about my weight loss, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that it was, by far, the greatest accomplishment of my 20s. It changed my life forever. I began my 20s weighing well over 260 pounds, and I was MISERABLE.

Though this blog has lately become more of a running blog than anything else, it all started as a weight loss diary to chronicle just how freakin’ hard it is to lose weight…and actually keep it off.

My first progress photo…20 pounds down.

I spent my entire life as an obese person. Not overweight, not chunky, but obese. But when I was 22, I stepped on a scale for the first time in I couldn’t even tell you how many years, and a little lightbulb went off. I realized that if I didn’t change my life, that I could easily be 300 pounds by the time I was 30 – if not sooner.

So, I did it. After countless years of yo-yo dieting and eating my feelings and gaining weight and losing weight and gaining it back again, I promised myself that I was going to do it the right way and keep the weight off once and for all.

My last progress photo…90 pounds down.

I changed my relationship with food and I fell in love with working out (and, eventually, running). And I didn’t just become another weight loss success story. I became an athlete.

Of course, I did some other pretty awesome stuff in my 20s, too.

Like…

I studied abroad in England for a semester in college.

Oh, Wroxton, how I miss you.

And I saw some of the most AMAZINGLY beautiful places.

Ahhh, Venice…

I graduated from college (Fairleigh Dickinson, woot woot).

(Plus, I was a super huge nerd and was the features editor for the campus newspaper and won all kinds of geeky academic awards, haha.)

After a one-year paid insternship at New Jersey Monthly right after graduation, I had (many) unsuccessful attempts at landing a full-time job in the magazine industry. I was stupid enough to work for free as a peon intern at several different magazines for a year or two before I decided to stop kidding myself and follow my dream. I wanted to be a freelance writer.

The idea of going into business for myself was scary as hell, but it’s something I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I wanted to do. And, you know what? I actually friggin’ did it. I won’t be on the Fortune 500 list anytime soon, but I love what I do and I love working from home (in my jammies, lol), and I know the possibilities are endless. Meanwhile, I built my piano teaching business from 2 students to 20+ students, so I get to take a break from staring at my computer screen and hang out with kids every afternoon…and teach them how to play Disney songs.

My first byline, for New Jersey Business magazine — still write for them!

I made friends that are still some of my best buds today.

I also made some four-legged friends.

Riley as a puppy!

My little baby, Miles. <3

And I became best friends with my little sister. We pretty much hated each other for most of our young lives, and now I can’t imagine what I’d do without her.

Nothing says sisterly love like a little Frozen.

I earned my bo-black belt in Thai Kickboxing. I remember how intimidating it was at first — even though I had lost the weight, I still saw myself as “the fat girl” who didn’t belong in any sort of fitness class, let alone martial arts! But I faced my fear of being laughed out of the place, I fell in love with it, and I can’t believe how far I’ve come over the past 5 years.

I earned my black belt in Thai Kickboxing (and got to learn how to fight *real* people for the first time, lol).

I decided to give Taekwondo a try, even though I had pretty much convinced myself that I would NEVER be able to do it. And now I’m dangerously close to testing for my black belt.

I faced an entirely different fear and decided to sign up for my first 5K. It was that day that I realized that nobody was going to point and laugh at me and tell me that I should go back to the treadmill. I felt like a “real” runner for the first time.

I ran my first 10K. And almost cried. I couldn’t believe that I ran 6 WHOLE MILES!

I ran my first half marathon. It still amazes me to think of how terrified I was of not finishing. Even after all those months of training, I had no confidence in myself. I was sure I’d never see that finish line.

There are no words…

And then I REALLY did the impossible. Me, this former fat girl, attempting to run a marathon? There are some days I still can’t believe I did it…and as part of the insane Dopey Challenge, no less!

Now I’m training for my sixth marathon. So that I can have this experience again. Running NYCM was a MAJOR highlight of the last decade, that’s for sure.

Last but certainly not least :::drumroll, please::: I met this guy.

Our first race.

A year later, we moved in together. We’ve already had so many adventures over the past two years, and I didn’t even know it was possible to be this happy. <3

The moral of the story? If there’s one lesson I’m taking with me as I say good-bye to my 20s, it’s that I am so, SO much stronger than I ever thought possible. I am a fighter, and I am capable of absolutely anything. I don’t have to be afraid anymore, because no matter what it is…I know I can do it. Period.

It’s incredible to think about where I was — physically and mentally — in my early 20s to where I am now. It’s honestly hard for me to remember what it was like living life as “the old me,” but I know she is always with me. She likes to come back and haunt me when I find myself struggling the most…like, say, that last 10K of a marathon, haha.

I still have my own personal battles with body image, and it’s an ongoing journey to accept my body the way it is now — loose skin, stretch marks, and all — after so many years of abusing it with yo-yo dieting and being completely sedentary. But I’m closer now than I’ve ever been to being truly comfortable in my own skin, and that’s something I never, EVER thought would happen.

Posing for photos in a bathing suit? UNHEARD OF.

Now that I’m (almost!) 30, I have to admit that, despite all of the mistakes I’ve made along the way, I am proud of myself. I’m proud of how far I’ve come. I’m proud of everything I’ve accomplished, and everything I’ve learned along the way. I’m proud that the big thighs I once hated and tried so hard to hide have carried me over countless finish lines and kicked my way through years of intense martial arts training. I’m proud that I managed to break a lifetime of poor eating habits and completely transform my relationship with food.

I’m a runner now, so that means I can lots and lots of pizza.

Most of all, I’m proud that even when things get hard, I know I can count on myself to never, EVER give up.

One of the hardest things I’ve ever done!

I am so appreciative of my health and my fitness and my career and my relationships, and looking back, I can honestly say I’m happy with the way things have turned out so far. I can’t wait to see what my 30s have in store for me.

Did you freak out/are you freaked out about turning 30?

I’ll start with a quick look at the expo. I say quick look because there wasn’t really anything there. The half and full marathons draw some 6,000 runners — about 4,000 for the half, and 2,000 for the full (along with a 5K and half relay) — so it’s definitely not the largest expo (although a few of my favorites, like Bondiband, were there)!

I didn’t love the race shirt or the sneak peek of the medal — and I also got the sense that this particular race weekend was going to primarily be geared towards the half marathoners, which I thought ended up being pretty accurate.

But it didn’t matter all that much then because I knew we had worked HARD for this race…and I couldn’t wait!

We left for the race around 6am on Sunday, since we live about 30 minutes from the starting line in Monmouth Park Racetrack. Fortunately, Todd figured out a “secret” way to get there via back roads, so we didn’t have to sit in the insane traffic that many other runners had to deal with in trying to get inside the complex.

It was nice and cool in the morning (mid-40′s), but I knew the temperatures were expected to rise to at least the mid-60′s (BOO). We headed right for the (INDOOR!) bathrooms so we didn’t have to use the port-a-potties. As always, the line for the ladies’ room was loooooooong, but we made it to the corrals with a few minutes to spare (an announcement was made that they were delaying the start of the race due to the fact that so many people were having trouble getting in…an issue I faced when I ran the half marathon in 2013.)

I was nervous because my legs had felt pretty tight and sore in the days leading into the race, but that morning, I felt READY.  We had both trained our butts off and our shared goal was to cross the finish line with a “4″ in front of our time. Given the way our training had gone, honestly, I felt we had this in the bag. In fact, there was a part of me that was sure we were going to crush that goal, and maybe even come in closer to 4:30.

We squeezed into a corral in front of the 5:00 pacer and started the race with a nice, easy pace of 10:30. The plan was to try to hover around 10:15/10:30 in the beginning of the race, and then evaluate how we felt in the middle to see if we should try picking it up (haha, yeah, right) or try to maintain a sub-11 as best we could for the second half. We saw our fellow Jersey runner friend Kim from Barking Mad About Running and chatted for a minute or so in that first mile. And then it was time to begin my 5th 26.2-mile journey.

The first couple of miles felt easy. A little too easy. I kept telling myself that we had a long way to go, but I still couldn’t help but feel optimistic that we were going to CRUSH this race. My only issue at that moment was that Todd and I were both complaining of side stitches, which I rarely get anymore, so I wasn’t sure what that was about. We walked through each water stop and I tried to massage my side, and that helped a bit.

The course is practically flat as a pancake, with just a handful of rolling hills (mainly on bridges), and although I was already heating up by the time we were finishing the first 10K, the chilly winds were helping to keep us cool. Better yet, we were running close to the 4:40 pacer, which thrilled me to no end because I was sure we could not only achieve a sub-five, but that we could definitely break 4:45! Ah, gotta love the optimism in the first half of a marathon.

It felt like there were tons of runners and a fair amount of spectators, but I knew that was probably all going to change once the marathoners split off around mile 12 and the half marathoners headed towards the finish line. Sure enough, after the split, Todd and I were practically running alone, with what felt like only a handful of fellow runners in our general vicinity at any given time.

Where have all the runners gone…?

We quickly discovered that our plan to delay any bathroom breaks until the second half of the course — with the assumption that the lines would be shorter — ended up being a very, very bad idea. Because guess what? There were NO FREAKIN’ PORT-A-POTTIES TO BE FOUND.

As usual, there were runners ducking behind bushes to do their business, but since this course is largely residential (you run through “shore towns” like Oceanport, Long Branch, Asbury Park, etc.), there were others that had no choice but to go on people’s lawns (as discreetly as possible, but, still). Since I have lady parts and it’s not so easy for me — nor would I want to do my private business on somebody’s private property — I got PISSED AS HELL. How are we expected to run for 4 or 5 or 6 hours without being supplied with any sort of bathroom facility? REALLY?!

Unfortunately, it was also somewhere right before the halfway point that I started to feel…not right. My legs were already feeling fatigued, but worse, it was my stomach that started acting up. My stomach was feeling a little crampy and I started to feel borderline nauseous, which never happens, so I wasn’t really sure what do about it. We were sticking to our usual tried-and-true routine of taking fuel every 4-5 miles (I had Clif Bloks and Honey Stingers gels and waffles with me), so I didn’t know what the issue was.

I tried to take a piece of the waffle somewhere in mile 14 and couldn’t get it down — which is NOT a problem I’ve ever had — and as much as I usually love in-race bananas, I held onto mine after the first banana stop because just the thought of eating solid food at that moment made me want to hurl.

That’s how I knew something was wrong. I can assure you that I never, ever have a problem eating. Before running, while running, after running, EVER. And I started to get very afraid that the nausea was going to get worse. It’s not like there were any port-a-potties to duck into, either!

So, of course, that’s when my head started with its usual shenanigans. Here I was, only halfway through the race, and I felt like crap. There were hardly any spectators — or runners, for that matter — and running through residential areas on training runs (I prefer parks) bores me to no end, so the fact that it felt like we were just running up and down side streets at this point made things even worse.

My stomach felt weird and a fatigue took over me that I usually don’t experience until much, much later in a marathon. Was this “the wall,” and was I hitting it when we still had 10+ miles to go? Meanwhile, by mile 15 or 16 that 4:40 pacer was long gone, and I knew we’d never catch her…and I let it get to me.

So then began the panic attacks. I am typically not a crier — at least not in public — but for some reason, every time I run a marathon I end up having a meltdown at least 2-3 times along the course. And I don’t mean like a single rolling tear down my cheek. I mean like I have to stop running because I’m panicking and I can’t catch my breath and I feel like the whole world is ending and my body is falling apart and there’s no way I’m going to make it.

This is the first time Todd got to experience this particular phenomenon (lucky him). I never have a problem during runDisney races (of course), and our only other marathon together thus far was his first (the Rock n’ Roll USA in DC last March), so I was way too worried about him to let myself freak out.

Well, this time, it happened by mile 15…and then again around 18…and then again around 22. I was just DONE. We were fighting just to keep an 11ish pace, and all I wanted to do was stop and walk because I allowed myself to think that I wasn’t going to be able to finish this race. I couldn’t catch my breath, and a constant stream of negativity was playing on loop through my mind…and I hated myself at that moment because I keep letting this happen. Todd kept assuring me that we “banked” plenty of time since we performed so well in the first half (we finished just under 2:20), and that I didn’t have to stress about meeting our time goal.

WHY do I continually let myself fall apart the moment I start to struggle, and WHY can I never just have enough faith in myself that I WILL make it to the finish line? I mean, really…how many times do I have to run a freakin’ marathon before those little voices go away?! This getting ridiculous now!

Meanwhile, we both needed to use a bathroom, and there were NONE to be found. We found one port-a-potty on what appeared to be a construction site, and were behind one other runner waiting in line, but then she told us there was no toilet paper and that it was exceptionally gross (goody), so we moved on. Fortunately, we finally stumbled across two port-a-potties near another banana stop around mile 18, so we stood in line and wasted about 5 minutes with a few other runners who were also disgruntled that there were no bathroom facilities on this course.

I hoped that a pit stop and a quick break (because even sitting in a disgusting port-a-potty feels heavenly during a marathon) would help alleviate some of my discomfort, but I continued to struggle every step of the way. My feet were starting to burn now, and some of my toenails were rubbing against my socks so it felt like I was about to lose them. My legs weren’t TOO tight, but they were definitely heavy, and I just felt…tired. Exhausted. OVER IT.

And then the 4:55 pacer appeared behind us as we were rounding the corner for the out-and-back section of the course (somewhere around mile 20), and I FREAKED. Here was the culmination of everything we worked for in human form, and it was literally chasing us down. I panicked. Again.

Todd kept trying to calm me down. Here I was acting like a complete baby, and he continued to be so calm and sweet and supportive. He kept saying stuff like “we’re in this together” and he “believes in me.”

As much as I appreciated that, and I SO needed him there, I kept telling him to leave me. It was something we had already discussed, and though I would have been disappointed, I also would have completely understood if he ran ahead. I didn’t want to be the reason that he didn’t meet his goal, because he worked so hard for this race and he was doing SO much better than I was. Ironically, we were joking in the weeks before the race that I would be the one leaving him, since that’s the scenario that usually plays out during long runs and races longer than 13.1 miles.

But he wouldn’t leave me. He said it’s “just a number” and he’s not missing the opportunity to finish this race with me, no matter what the clock says. (Interestingly enough, that’s usually MY viewpoint; he’s typically a little more competitive when it comes to finish times.) He was making me feel better, but I still felt guilty for ruining what was supposed to be our triumphant sub-five finish.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day, but the sun was beating down on us now and I felt hot and sweaty and just DRAINED, no matter how much Gatorade I drank (race organizers may have forgotten about the port-a-potties, but the course did NOT lack water stations, I’ll give them that). I took a few bites of banana when they were offered, and I forced down a couple of gels, but my usual mid-run hunger was not happening that day; clearly, my “unsettled” stomach was going to stick with me for the remainder of the race, and I’d just have to try to ignore it.

In those final miles, I remember running with my eyes closed a few times because it literally felt like I was falling asleep standing up…almost like my batteries were “on low.” Speaking of batteries, guess what decided to DIE in the last 10K? My fully-charged iPod. Todd saved the day yet again…he let me take his. Because he knows I will die without the distraction, whereas he runs without music all the time. Have I mentioned yet how glad I was that he was with me for this one?! Seriously.

Almost there…

As we made our way to the boardwalk, my spirits picked up just a little bit because I knew we were so close (and, yet, still so far!), and plus I like running by the ocean. There were also a couple of photographers hanging around so I was sure to put on my best pretend smile.

Photo credit: NJ Marathon

The 4:55 pacer caught us again and passed us for good, and I was mad because I knew there was no way in hell we’d ever catch him. I kept compulsively checking my Garmin to monitor our potential finish time, and knew that we were going to cut it so close…and I hoped that if we could just keep the 5:00 pacer at bay, then we’d be okay (meanwhile, of course, I had NO idea what time they actually crossed the starting line and whether or not they were even on their pace).

But it didn’t matter because they represented my goal slipping away and I felt guilty because I had ruined Todd’s race and now we were going to have to fight just to squeak by under five hours. (Note to self: I will never be able to run with a pacer. It clearly screws with my head just a little too much.) I KNEW we were capable of doing so much better, and I was frustrated to be struggling so much when I was so sure I did everything “right” during my training.

Whoooooo’s in pain…?!?!

Finally…FINALLY…I knew Long Branch’s Pier Village was up ahead, and there were a handful of spectators in those final miles so their cheering helped a little. With just about 2 miles to go, according to my calculations (which I couldn’t rely on since I had some SERIOUS marathon brain going on), we could still make our sub-five goal as long as we stuck to our current pace and didn’t take any more extended walk breaks.

When we passed the 25th mile, I dug deep and we both managed to drop back down to around a 10ish-minute mile, partially because I desperately wanted to be done and partially because if I suffered that much and came in with a time of something like 5:00:01 I would have proceeded to drown myself in the ocean.

As we approached the finish line, we scanned the crowds for our parents, and spotted his (I never did see mine) holding signs and cheering for us. I swear, Todd’s parents sometimes seem even more excited about our races than we are, and they’re always super supportive and totally our biggest fans. I was so excited (and relieved!) to see them!

With the finish line up ahead, as per my usual M.O., the nausea, the pain, the frustration, the agony…all of it…was gone. WE MADE IT.

The clock said 5:05. I KNEW we started 10 minutes after the official start of the race, so we both knew then for sure that we HAD it.

We crossed the finish line in 4:57:34, and I was too relieved that it was over to care that we had come thisclose to missing our goal.

We got our medals and proceeded to sit on the ground for several minutes because it was absolutely necessary. That’s when I realized that apparently my camera had turned on in my running belt, so the battery was dead, which just felt like the cherry on top of what was already a disastrous race. So we relied on our friends at MarathonFoto and our phones.

A fellow runner approached us as we were sitting on the ground and made a comment about how they were watching us and saw how much Todd helped me get to the finish line (which meant I REALLY must’ve looked like a hot mess out there, lol). But, yeah, that pretty much sums up this race. I did it for him in D.C., and he did it for me this weekend. It’s how we roll.

We got our goody bag (the idea of eating anything from it was completely out of the question, because I STILL felt a little nauseated) and made the long, slow march to find our parents on our sore, stiff legs.

There’s a finish line festival but I was a little too out of it to really enjoy it, and I was disappointed in that the swarms of spectators that I remember from running the half marathon in 2013 were completely non-existent when it came to the full marathon. Everyone had already gone home, so there wasn’t much of a “festival” at all. It sort of felt like the event should be called “THE NEW JERSEY HALF MARATHON (and also a marathon).”

We hung around a bit to cheer on some of the runners coming in after us, but I couldn’t help but notice that most of the vendors were already starting to pack it up — not cool for those coming in closer to 6 hours, especially with a course time limit of 6:30, might I add. Then we all packed it in and went out for dinner, and by that time, my appetite was starting to come back.

Would I run the marathon again? Honestly, probably not. I think Todd and I have been spoiled in that we’ve run marathons with a whole lot of hoopla (like, you know, the New York City Marathon and the Walt Disney World Marathon), so to arrive to a practically empty “finish line festival” was a little disappointing. The post-race goody bags were pre-packaged, which was nice, but the half marathoners apparently used up all of the heat sheets because none of the marathoners finishing with us got one.

The fact that there were twice as many half marathoners as full marathoners — and that we all got almost the exact same race shirt and medal — was also a little disappointing. I’m not at all saying that finishing a half marathon isn’t an enormous accomplishment, but to me, it just doesn’t seem right to have a half and a full marathon on the same day and not differentiate at all between the two events. Even the official “finisher” shirt says 26.2 AND 13.1.

As disappointed as I was in how my race went down, I was SO proud and excited for Todd’s performance. We have both come a LONG way from our first (non-Disney) marathon finish in 5:20, and I am beyond thrilled by how much we’ve improved in the little over a year that we’ve been running marathons!

Still, I’m glad that we were able to conquer another 26.2 miles in our home state. And, of course, no matter what…running a marathon will always, ALWAYS be a huge deal for me. A HUGE deal.

Clearly, no matter how much I have changed, the “old me” is always hanging around to tell me that I can’t do it. It frustrates me to no end that I can still so easily slip back into my old mindset. But I guess if running marathons is the only way to prove myself wrong, then so be it. My struggles with obesity will always be part of my story, but crossing the finish line of yet another marathon is just another step towards leaving that 265-pound version of myself in the past.

And, as always, I will definitely be taking some new lessons learned into our new round of training for the New York City Marathon. I don’t know exactly what caused me to feel sick during this race — I know it could have been much, MUCH hotter and I can’t complain about the beautiful day, but I suspect the sudden warmer temperatures and hot sun after months of training in frigid winter temperatures probably shocked my system a little bit. Especially since, in general, I do NOT do well in warmer weather.

I DO know that I clearly need a longer taper (we tried a shorter plan this time around), and I likely took on a bit too much in the final weeks before the marathon. The fact that I was busting my butt for weeks to earn a new half marathon time to submit for Wine and Dine probably didn’t help, either. It all probably caused “the wall” and my good old friends “dead legs” to find me a little sooner than I would have hoped.

I think the most important lesson I’m taking from this race is that it’s becoming increasingly clear that my mind fails me in a marathon LONG before my body does. Apparently, I need to spend as much time training my brain for a marathon as I do training my body! If I can work on not letting my self-doubt overcome me, then there’s no telling what I’ll be able to accomplish in marathon #6.

Have you ever met a race goal but still been disappointed in your performance?

So, last weekend we tackled the big kahuna in any marathon training plan. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen…

THE 20-MILER IS COMPLETE.

We just think we’re so clever, lol.

Honestly, it wasn’t our best long run. Granted, it definitely wasn’t the WORST either. We tackled the 20 miles in my old stomping ground of Kenilworth/Cranford, which I loved because there are so many parks and there were tons of people out and about because the weather was BEAUTIFUL.

However, with spring-like temperatures finally here, I could tell right from the beginning that the warmer weather was going to take its toll on my performance. It was only in the 60s, but given the fact that we’ve been training in the 20s, 30s, and 40s all this time, it felt like a HUGE temperature difference. And ya’ll know how I feel about running once it starts getting warmer.

As for Todd, I know he struggled a bit at the end with sore legs, feet, back (okay, sore EVERYTHING), and for some reason, both of my feet were ridiculously sore and achy and ON FIRE for most of second half of the run, which definitely had an impact on our overall pace.

But given that our finish time was only about 30 minutes longer than our 18-miler, I’m hopeful that the (*fingers crossed*) cooler temps at the start of a 7:30am marathon and the fact that our legs and feet will be good and rested will help us do better on marathon day.

But now that I’m in full taper mode, I’m struggling a little bit. See, the thing is, I am definitely NOT one of those runners who suffers from “taper crazies” or that undying need to run even though I’m supposed to be resting and gearing up for the race.

Quite frankly, I’m freakin’ exhausted, and I very, very much look forward to the taper. Is it wrong that it’s kind of my favorite part of the training plan?

TAPER TIME IS HERE!!!

However, the “beginner” plan from Competitor that we’ve been following all this time still has a whole lot of stuff going on this week and next. I’ve stuck with the plan pretty closely for the most part, but this week I was supposed to run a 3-miler, 8-miler, and 5-miler — and I only did the 3 and the 5, with a couple of Taekwondo classes tossed into the mix.

This weekend is a final longish run, a 12-miler, which I’m totally cool with…but then next week there’s another 3-miler, 8-miler, and 4-miler on deck.

Yeeeeeeeeah, I don’t think so.

So, my question to you all is what are YOUR taper strategies? Honestly, I’ve learned from experience that I have yet to struggle from anything other than heavy, exhausted legs and tight muscles on marathon day (don’t we all?), and I’m thinking that a little extra rest in the days leading up to the big race might be what I need to finish strong next Sunday.

This week’s longest run — a 5-miler — and temperatures in the upper-60′s are already feeling WAY too hot for me, haha

But then, even though I know it’s ridiculous, I feel “guilty” for not getting in all of my runs this close to the big day…even though this plan is definitely unlike others I’ve followed that had much lower mileage in the final weeks. I know enough to scale back on the karate next week (duh), but when it comes to how much I should be running, I sort of feel like a newb. I’ve made so many mistakes in my previous rounds of marathon training, and I paid for it on race day…and I really want our experience at the New Jersey Marathon to be AWESOME.

Honestly, I’m more anxious about this race than any of my previous marathons. Okay, fine, except the Dopey Challenge. It really feels like the first time that I trained and planned and genuinely busted my butt to significantly improve my finish time, and I do feel READY. But at the same time, I’m sure you can all understand the feeling of wanting all that hard work to pay off on race day!

How often/long do you run in the final week or two before a goal race?

Any other taper tips/strategies for me?!

Todd and I spent the day Saturday visiting some attractions in South Jersey that I’ve never been to — the Adventure Aquarium and the Battleship New Jersey — before making our way into Philly in the mid-afternoon for CGI Racing’s The Love Run expo.

The expo was held at Citizens Bank Park, and I should probably tell you that it was a pretty freakin’ COLD day. The temperatures were in the 40s, and it was super windy.

It was even cold for these guys!

That being said, allow me to paint you this little picture: though there were a handful of vendors inside, and our mug and bib pick-up was indoors, the main expo area continued outside by the baseball field…where several vendors were attempting to sell their wares in the blustery cold.

As I’m sure you can imagine, people weren’t doing a whole lot of shopping. I knew the expo would be small — which it was — but the fact that it was also held outside on a chilly day meant that there weren’t many runners lingering around. We were there to get our race shirts and get the hell back inside.

Well, okay, fine…I also grabbed a “Love Run” Bondiband and FINALLY broke down and invested in a Running Skirt (50 percent off!). I’ve been dying to try them, and their booth is always mobbed…so I felt this was my chance to get some one-on-one time with the skirts, try it on, and take it home to see if it works for me (it is one of my great missions in life to find a running skirt with shorts that do NOT ride up).

We stayed outside of Philly this time around to save some moolah, so we had an early dinner at the Cherry Hill Mall (gotta love California Pizza Kitchen) and got to bed early, since the race would start at 8am the next morning and we’d have to drive into the city.

Well, despite the fact that I got plenty of sleep, my foot hadn’t been bothering me much for the last couple of days, and I was actually feeling quite confident about the race, I woke up feeling…well…not quite right.

Little did I know that my monthly visitor would decide to make its grand appearance a few days early. I was scheduled to run 13.1 miles in an hour and a half, and here I was suddenly and unexpectedly hit with a wave of cramps and bloating and, let’s be honest…RAGE.

UGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I apologize in advance for the all of two male readers I probably have, but I have to tell you that I was PISSED AS HELL because I can never, ever run on the first day of my period. I trained so hard for this race, and here was something I couldn’t control being thrown in the mix to make it even harder for me. I knew I was in for a morning of agony, and that if it got bad enough, that I could might have to kiss my race goal good-bye. I popped a couple of pain killers because I was desperate — something I also never do before running — and hoped that maybe the cramping would subside.

I grumpily got dressed in my race outfit and soon it was time for us make the drive into Philly to get to the starting line, so we parked in our usual parking garage that charges about $9,000 per hour, wrapped ourselves up in some handy dandy throwaway blankets ($2.88 at Wal-mart…SCORE!), and walked to the starting line…but not without making a quick potty stop to use the “real” bathrooms at a Sheraton, of course!

As per our usual race-day M.O, we JUST. MADE. IT., and just a minute or two after squeezing into the starting area, it was time to go!

As you all know, this was my BIG HALF MARATHON for this season. After well over a year of struggling to finish a half in anything under 2:20, I really hoped that the last two months of pushing myself big time would pay off on the course that morning. I desperately wanted a good finish time to submit for corral placement for Wine & Dine, since my ridiculously old PR from TWO YEARS AGO of 2:03 finally expired…and beyond that, I really wanted to prove to myself that I was still capable of running the times I used to when I first started. You know, before I got all slow and tired from my incessant bouts of marathon training.

My ultimate goal? I wanted ANYTHING under a 2:05. That used to be my old “standard” half marathon time, and now that well over a year as passed since I’ve run anything even close to a 2:05 (or, hell, a 2:10 or 2:15), I really, really wanted it.

As you also probably know, my plan was also to *ATTEMPT* to negative split. I still had yet to successfully do it in a race, but with all of my recent practice on training runs, I thought I might just be able to pull it off. Todd and I had already agreed that we would both run our own race, so I immediately went out at a comfortable 9:30/mile pace, and made it my personal mission to stay there until the second half of the race, where I felt pretty confident that I could pick it up.

Photo credit: chessiephoto.com

Well, the first few miles went swimmingly. The Advil I popped that morning seemed to be working, and physically, I felt pretty strong. There was lots of spectator support and even though there were some 10,000 runners, I felt I had ample room to run. It was fun running through the city and passing so many historical landmarks, and even thought I knew running by the Schuylkill River might not be quite as exciting, it was still pretty scenic.

It was a sunny, gorgeous day, and with temperatures hovering in the 30s, it was my PERFECT running weather. I was mostly on my own, because Todd goes out more conservatively than I do…I knew he was behind me, but I just wasn’t sure how far back at any given time.

I felt I had a 2:05 in the bag. In fact, I thought I might even be able to break 2:03 and PR. For a moment, I remember feeling REALLY ambitious and wondering if I might even have a sub-2 in me that morning.

Photo credit: chessiephoto.com

I knew from reading fellow blogger recaps that there would be a hilly section of the course around mile 5, so I basically spent the first four miles being nervous about it. And I apparently had good reason to be…because the hill pretty much ate me alive. I had a feeling Todd would catch up with me on that hill — he did! — and unfortunately, it ended up costing me a little more time than I hoped it would. I had a tough time recovering afterwards, and since we still weren’t even halfway, that’s when I started to feel my usual negativity start to creep in. You know, of the “I can’t do this” variety.

I took a very brief walk break through one of the next water stops and my legs felt a little better. My pace picked back up to around a 9:20, and I willed myself to stop being a baby, get my head in the game, and to think positively. I passed the halfway mark and found myself feeling pretty good. That’s where Todd caught up to me again and told me he was going to “step on the gas now” which made me a little mad because I a little bit thought that I might actually beat him in this race. For the first time ever. Hahaha, silly me.

We’re fortunate in that I’m only slightly slower than him, and our paces are so close that we can successfully train together…but even though I typically finish our long runs a little faster (and in better physical shape than he is, lol) he somehow ALWAYS manages to crush me during the actual race. I don’t know how he does it!

He took off and I felt jealous that races seem to come so easy to him and I hated the fact that I was a woman and had to deal with periods and that he was having a fine and dandy time that morning and could just magically pick up the pace whenever he wanted. Needless to say, I was grumpy again. So I gave myself a lecture about how it was important to run my own race and, once again, to stop being a little baby.

In mile 8, I discovered a bit more hilliness that I was NOT expecting. I’m not sure if it’s true, but I heard they may have changed the course a little bit from last year’s inaugural race…and, much to my dismay, it wasn’t as flat as I thought it would be. By mile 9, I found myself getting discouraged because my legs were a little tired from the rolling hills, even thought I was still feeling pretty comfortable in my pacing. I tried to push it just a little bit more, and hovered closer to 9:15 for awhile. My hope was that I’d break 9-minute miles in the last 5K, which is something I can typically do on shorter runs.

Then mile 11 came, and my pre-race womanly issues came back and hit me like a ton of bricks. Suddenly, my stomach really, really hurt, and that was on top of the fact that I was getting tired and my legs were heavy. I was THISCLOSE to packing it in. I wanted to walk until the cramping stopped. But I knew if I did, I’d NEVER recover, and I could kiss that 2:05 good-bye.

So I made a decision that maybe I wouldn’t be able to run as fast as I planned to for the rest of the race, but that I would still go as fast as I could. I fought through it and managed to drop to around a 9:05 by mile 12. With just one more mile to go, I wanted the agony to be over as quickly as possible, so I went as fast as my legs would carry me as we made our way back into the city. I knew there would be spectators and excitement and the glorious finish line to greet me, and I couldn’t wait.

As soon as I saw the finish line in the distance, I saw that the clock already read 2:05. I felt crushed and defeated, even though I couldn’t actually remember just how much time had passed before I crossed the starting line. Seeing my goal slip away, I pushed as hard as I could — just in case I still had a chance — and finally crossed the finish line.

…with a chip time of 2:04:15!!!!!!!

Photo credit: Chessiephoto.com

I felt like crap afterwards, so I couldn’t properly bask in my accomplishment. It still frustrates me that I KNOW I could have performed even better and probably even PRed if I wasn’t menstrual, even despite the slightly hillier second half of the course. Also, I didn’t exactly negative split — my results clearly indicate a pretty solid 9:28 pace — but I’ll bet if the course was a little flatter I would have!

Photo credit: chessiephoto.com

On the other hand, I am overjoyed to know that I can still perform at the level I once did, even despite all the time that has passed and the fact that I had pretty much convinced myself that if I wanted to run marathons, then I could never be “fast” again. It was clearly a load of malarkey and an excuse I was telling myself to ignore the fact that I wasn’t training properly.

So, now I KNOW I have a PR in my (VERY) near future, and I KNOW that a sub-2 is within my reach. I also know there is a lot I need to work on, but I figure I have to be doing something right to go from running 2:20ish half marathons last year to running closer to 2:00 again!

Todd found me a couple of seconds after I crossed the finish line. He did AWESOME, by the way — 2:01:53 — and even though I still hate him a little bit for it (kidding!), I’m also super proud of him. Actually, I’m proud of both of us! We made quite a comeback from our performances in races as of late. I know we stopped for a lot of pictures and all, but it took us seven hours to run the Walt Disney World Marathon just two months ago! It’s exciting to know that all of your hard work is paying off.

Anyway, after we munched on whatever was in the post-race goodie bags (a “soft” pretzel that was harder than a rock, and a particularly yummy PB&J uncrustable), we spent the rest of the afternoon perusing some Philly landmarks.

And, of course, there was no way I was leaving without a picture in front of the Love sign!

 Overall, I would put this race in the “win” column. I did have to deal with some unpleasant issues that morning, but despite all of that, I still somehow managed to reach my sub 2:05 goal. Apparently, runDisney corral placement is a big motivator for me, haha.

Have you ever run a race just to try to improve your corral placement for a future race?

Has sickness/womanly issues ever affected your race performance?