Blogger meet up!

Tomorrow at Yogurtland in Orem at 4PM- be there or be square!

Moving forward...

***Mucho family updates!!! Click [HERE], [HERE], [HERE], [HERE], and [HERE] to see what's happening with the Nicoll's! There's nothing quite like a blogger assault, right?

So much about running, and especially races, is left up to chance. Will the weather be gorgeous or foul? Will my stomach feel okay? Will I be able to run injury free after months of training? What will the support be like along the course?

There's so much out of our control. That is why we (read- I) must learn to let go.

I've trained well. My pacing has been perfect. I've trained with hydrating and refueling and know exactly what my body can and cannot handle. I've done hills, Yasso's, long runs and recovery runs. I've been eating healthy. I've had the race course taped to the side of my bed since March, visualizing and mentally preparing myself for running 26.2 miles down Blacksmith Fork Canyon all the way to Merlin Olsen Park.

Everything I could control, I did. I couldn't control my left leg being 1" longer than my right. I couldn't control my hips being out of place. I couldn't control a locking SI joint. I couldn't control the fact that I was born bow legged and thereby making me prone to IT Band injures.

So, where do I go from here?

Dan Ivie, my physical therapist/miracle worker, feels that I will be able to run the marathon. Running it in 3:35 or under might be a different story. So, it's time to rework things. The great thing about the Boston marathon is that it isn't going anywhere. It will be there year, after year, after year. And, if things go well, so will I. So, I've decided it's time to take the time goal pressure off. I'M RUNNING A MARATHON, FOLKS. And that, my friends, is accomplishment enough.

Plus, next year when I run a marathon, I will already have one under my belt and know what to expect. Perhaps that is when I will run that Boston Qualifying marathon- it is something I will keep chasing until it is mine. It will happen, just maybe not in 9 days from now.

Instead of running a 3:35 marathon, I'm going to enjoy the ride. When I finish, I'm going to have a huge smile on my face because I will know that I accomplished something incredible because whether you finish in 2 hours and 5 minutes, or 6 hours- a marathon is a marathon, and it's something to be very proud of.

In fact, I think I might just have to reward myself by running Vegas Ragnar next month with Rachelle and Julia. Done and done.

Heartbreaker

I'm disabling comments on this because for now I just need to get my feelings out there. I'm going to be super whiney and complainy, so be prepared. If you are in the mood to read a blog about a mom of 2 named Amy that happens to be kicking the trash out of her marathon training and will most likely qualify for Boston, then go [HERE]. She rocks! And she'll inspire you.

For me, well, I'll do my best not to drag you down with my very pessimistic attitude at the moment.

The marathon has been in my sights all year. As I've been training for other races, my main focus has really been on the marathon. During Ragnar Del Sol, I all but gave one of our van members the 3rd degree as I questioned her about training/racing/Boston/hydrating/fueling- all for a marathon. It was easy to see where my mind really was, even though I was in full swing Ragnar.

That was 7 months ago and the thoughts, training, and energy towards running a marathon has only intensified since then.

So, now here I am- I'm limping around my house feeling sorry for myself that I worked my butt off only to be sidelined at the last minute. I ran with Darcy today after not having run since basically last Wednesday. In the interim I have been icing, foam rolling, I got a massage, and I have been using my friend Mindy's E-Stim machine hoping for a miracle with my IT Band.
So far, there hasn't been a miracle. Part of the 10 miles today was relatively pain free, and even up until I stopped I wouldn't say I was in a ton of pain, but then I had to walk almost a mile home, and that is when the pain started.

This isn't just a little injury that needed a few days rest.

I'm hoping and praying that when I go to see my PT tomorrow that he will be able to work the miracle I'm hoping for because, let's face it, this marathon is in 12 days and IT IS A BIG DEAL.

For now, I'm angry. All of this work and effort to possibly see the race I've been spending a year preparing for go by without me. The thought makes me literally sick.

And what if I am able to run it? THE FIRST 18 MILES ARE DOWNHILL. Basically, if I run this, I'm going to trash my IT Band for the rest of the year. I don't have extra money to throw at my PT every couple of months to help me get the problem under control.

Ugh. Super frustrated. I'm sure tomorrow I'll feel better and allow myself to look at the positive, but for today.... I'm just going to do my best to keep the swear words under control.

Running is a jerk.

Well.... that sucks.

I have a race tomorrow... that I won't be running.

Darcy and I tried to do an easy 5 miles yesterday. I made it less than a half mile when I knew that wasn't going to happen. I was feeling an all too familiar tightening and pain on my left side. My IT Band. I tried to run a little bit more, but it was definitely not going away. So, we walked. The night was gorgeous and it was pleasant to have a conversation without struggling to do it between breaths.

But now I have this problem. I wouldn't say it's a full blown injury, but I feel like it's about 1 run away from becoming one. I first felt that something might be up during the last 3 Yassos that I ran on Wednesday. I could feel a pull and a hitch in my stride, but I was hoping that it was just nothing. Obviously it wasn't nothing. The good news is that at this point it doesn't hurt AT ALL while I'm not running, and it doesn't bother me while I'm going down stairs either. Knowing this, I hope that I'll be able to get it under control easily and that I won't have to even worry about Top of Utah.

I'm waiting for a call from my PT so he can answer some questions. For now I'm just going to do my old rehab- strength training exercises, foam roll, ice, and rest. The soonest they could get me in for a session was Tuesday afternoon. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed until then.

Ugh. So much for that 10K PR (I'll have to wait to break into that 45 minute mark until next time)- the marathon is WAY more important.

Checking Out

*****There's a FREE 5K at the University of Utah on Saturday, September 10th. Go to www.runinrhythm.com for details!

Have you seen this? If you haven't, then you should. Fast Cory beat me to the punch on posting it, but maybe some of you don't read his blog (sad for you) so I figured I'd post it anyway. There was one circling around about relay races, but this is about marathons. It's a little different, but insanely accurate. My husband was laughing so hard and exclaimed- 'Amy! This is your life!'

Sad, but true.

Now that we have that out of the way....

I'm feeling a sense of completion about my marathon training. Top of Utah is in 15 days from today. 15 days!!!! I can't believe it, but I am so ready for it. Darcy and I guilted our way through our last set of 10 Yassos last night.

"Guilted?" You say.

Yes. Guilted.

For some reason since I completed the 23 miles on Saturday, I feel like I should be done with my training. I've narrowed it down to a few reasons:

1. I can't wrap my head around the fact that I ran 23 miles on Saturday, and that my body can just keep running the rest of my training schedule for the week. Shouldn't I have to take the rest of the MONTH off?
2. I'm afraid of getting injured. This kind of relates to #1. I'm hyper aware of every ache and pain I feel because I'm worried it's going to take me out of the race.
3. I'm tired. I would rather sleep and sit on my butt than run.
4. I feel like I've done the work and there's not much more I can do to prepare for the race.

Although these are good points, I KNOW that I'm not done with my training. I have a 12 mile run this week, and an 8 mile run next week. Could I skip them and still do well during the race? Probably. However, I feel like it is really important to stay mentally focused on the task at hand; keeping with my training schedule will help me do that.

So last night we went out thinking we'd do 5 Yassos. After each one we just kept saying, we can do one more, just one more! And then we would. We did this all the way up to ten, and the results were great:

3:15, 3:17, 3:20, 3:20, 3:25, 3:22, 3:28, 3:24, 3:18, 3:17

How excited am I to be done? SUPER excited!!!! This was the last really hard workout before the race. It's just smooth sailing from here on out.

Now, I'm in need of some advice from some veteran (and by veteran I mean you've run at least ONE marathon) runners:

***In the last 2 weeks before your marathon, do you still push yourself hard during your workouts? Or do you take it easy so as to avoid injury?

***What do you do in the last 2 weeks before a big race?