Kristina the marathoner!

I finished my marathon.. i survived.. and I did it in 5 hours and 2 minutes!

Phew, who ever thought I would be able to run for 5 hours straight. I can't do anything for 5 hours.... but i did, and i ran.

I owe lots of posts to fill the gaps and i promise i will do them soon! But now i also owe lots of work since i took off the last 2 days. Ciao, real life beckons!

18 miles and 20 to go...

Long lapse.. I know.
Well this past week has been super frustrating as I've been trying to shrug off some sort of a cold I came down with on Sunday. It's now Friday and it doesn't seem to want to let me get better. It has now morphed into the sniffles, a rattling cough, and sore throat. Not to mention the killer headache that arrived yesterday and hasn't left since. Enough complaining though- is only really getting to me because I couldn't train all week. We had our longest run yet last weekend of 18 miles! I did it like a champ and finished strong in 3 hours 19 minutes. My legs were killing me towards the end with some crazy muscle cramps but I kept on going. Luckily I hooked up with a new group of ladies that are still in training as my old group either got injured or were only doing the VA beach 1/2 over Labor Day. Then I ran with an interim group who is awesome but they were running at a much faster rate than I was and I was finding it increasingly harder to keep up. It was great to have them to push me along for the 16 miler a few weeks ago and I ended up running straight the first 10 of that with their support and then lagged back to run/walk again. That ended up being a horribly hot and humid day and everyone by the end was exhausted. I even caught up with the group in the last three miles and finished it out with one of the guys which was nice to have someone to talk to again!
So back to my new group of ladies.... They are all doing the Marine Corps. except one who's in the Nike with me, FINALLY I met someone else in the Nike! I know we won't be best friends, but hey- it's someone to run with!! They were doing a 4:1 ratio which I thought was going to be a LOT slower than what I'm used to with the 6:1 but on that 18 miles those 4 minutes were the longest of my life! The ratio worked well and I think I would have just about dies if I had been going any faster. We made good time and kept up a solid 10:30-11 min. pace the entire time which was really good. The way we were going we were right on target for a 4:30-5 hour marathon. Which feels good. Erik caught up with us and doubled back to finish the last 4 or 5 miles with us too which was fun. He ended up running about 23 miles which is just INSANE though. Crazy man. I liked running with him though.
This weekend we have a down week, ONLY 10 miles. Which is a very good thing considering I have low expectations for feeling any better come tomorrow at 6am and 10 miles will still be pushing it with the way I'm feeling. Erik and I are signed up for the Army 5 Miler on Sunday as well but I think I might be joining him as just a spectator since I certainly don't want to push it anymore. Weekend after this one we have the longest run in our training which is the big 20 MILES! I'm nervous but excited that I have this group to run with now. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that I can perk up and get back to full training by next week.

Anyone got any fundraising ideas??? I am SO far away from my goal and I'm dying for any help here. Anyone want to help me plan something? Thanks!!

I did it! Bum knee and all!

So I ran the race! I did the 20K afterall and I am so happy that I did. I really didn't even give myself a chance to back out. That morning was like a whirlwind and Erik and I had a pretty hilarious start ot the race. The starting area was packed with people and we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather Sunday morning. It had cooled down tremendously and was just breezy enough. We both had to do a little pre-race porta-potty action but the line was literally snaking around the entire parking lot! So after some serious debate we just decide to brave the line. 10 min. till start time... 5 min. till start time... 3 min. till start time... the race official comes to tell the line that its 1 min. till start time and we are still 25 people back!! Still waiting in line and the gun goes off! We race to the open stalls and do our business and i run out to see the last porta-potty shaking and rattling with Beall practically knocking it down trying to open the darn door! I am hysterically laughing meanwhile we're pretty much the last people around and he finally throws the door open and jumps out! We run to the start line, cross over the timing chip mat and we are most likely the official last people to START the race... 3 whole minutes behind the rest of the pack! Erik ran with me for the first mile which was really fun and a great start to the race and then we both took off at our own paces to start catching up and making our way up through the running pack.

It was a good course, although crowded on some narrow portions of the W&OD trail with all those people. I had a consistent run and surprisingly my knee didn't really bother me at all! My other knee, the nagging one for awhile now was typically bothersome but i ran through it fine. Erik got to the turnaround and passed me giving me a much needed boost of energy. Then at my last 2 miles he met me and ran the rest of the way beside me. I was dead and couldn't really talk but it was nice to have him just there and take my mind off the run a bit. I didn't finish in under 2:00 like to wanted to but i made it in 2:07. Numerically not a great race and ranking wise i stunk but i felt good which was the most important thing. It was nice to get a long race under my belt and it was my first race actually doing my run/walk intervals which was good practice for the marathon. I still have a huge mental obstacle doing run/walk but i just dont think my knees and back could take a constant run as of yet. Maybe for the next marathon... ;-)

To 20K or not to 20K...

Well, I am sitting here the afternoon before my 20K that I signed up for with Beall and I am having the internal debate of whether or not I should actually run it. NOW WAIT- i'm not going to wimp out because of the distance, or the heat, yada yada yada... I'm just trying to figure out whether my knee will hold up for this tomorrow.
Let me explain.
Thursday, while attending the DC United v. LA Galaxy soccer game - AHEM, david beckham, AHEM- I slipped and rammed my knee into the seat in front of me and got a majorly huge and annoying bruise. At first i thought it was like a funny bone pain where it hurts CRAZY bad and then it'll go away, so i waited. and waited. and waited. 2 days later it still hurts like crazy and i can't bend down or stand up without excruciating pain. THIS WOULD ONLY HAPPEN TO ME, mind you. So I am debating whether running will loosen it up a bit and eventually be fine or whether somehow i could do more damage. i really don't think i could do any damage cause it really can't be more than just a real bad bruise. BUT i also don't want to run 12 miles in a heck of a lot of pain! So, there's my struggle. I'll let you know what i decide, wish me luck!

TRIATHLON!!

Well, its official, I'm a triathlete! Last weekend I did the SheRoxTri in Philadelphia with Rachel and we had a awesome experience. I know her first one was great too but just doing it together was so much fun and really took a lot of the nerves and stress off doing my first one. Despite having to work an all-night shift at the restaurant and then driving straight up at 4am, Erik was there with Ian bright eyed and bushy-tailed- well, not exactly-but he was there nonetheless!!

I had to miss my Saturday training run but that's ok cause it was a down week anyway and we were only doing 8 miles which i feel the tri made up for! My goal was to finish in under 2 hours... oh, and to make it out of the swim in one piece!

Tip: Never watch shark week the night before an open water swim! I kept imagining a shark fin popping out of those underwater weeds and i was psyching myself out the entire swim! haha, owell.

Rachel kicked my butt on the swim (.5 mile) as I expected but I caught up a bit on the bike portion (15.5 miles). Then for the run (3.1 miles) I really picked it up and found my groove and sprinted to the finish! I finished in 1:53:20!!!! YAYY!!!! I was so excited that I ran across the finish line with a huge smile on my face!! The whole race was seriously the most fun I've ever had. Not after but actually DURING the race I was having a blast! I would definitely definitely do another one soon!!

Here are my actual splits and transition times: (688 finishers)
Swim -00:16:39 Rank -163 Transition 1 - 00:03:44
Bike- 01:02:48 MPH - 14.8 Bike Rank - 477 Transition 2 - 00:01:48
Run - 00:28:20 Run Rank - 290 Pace - 00:09:08

Not bad really. Surprisingly I felt my worst leg was the swim but my rank is the best in the swim compared to other people. However, I don't really care too much about how I ranked overall, I know the swim was my worst because i was least prepared for that and i knew how much better I COULD have done.

Over all it was such an awesome time and I'm so glad Rachel and I got to do it together. We made the executive decision that because this is the inaugural year of this tri then we obviously are committed to coming back and doing it every year from here on out!

Can't wait till next year's SheRox!!

personal best!

Last weekend I ran my personal distance record of 12 miles. HOLY COW. never thought I'd be saying that! From way back when, I always wanted to be a runner but a few things inhibited this innate desire:

1. I herniated a lower disc back in 7th grade in gymnastics and was always told that I shouldn't run as it would aggravate my back problems.

and 2. I hated running.

I always told myself that once I got to college I would become a runner. I had this image in my head of Katie Holmes in Dawson's Creek running along the river at her college in the later years of that show which I was obsessed with. I was inspired by this scene and to a high schooler who dreamed of adulthood and college life, this was the embodiment of everything that I wanted. Running along a river with a huge smile upon my face and everything is content and right with the world.

Not so. I never ran in college. Never ran more than possible around the block or for 15 min. when I got angry or upset and needed to get it out of my system. I want to blame it on my back problems but to be honest I just got lazy!

So Erik got me into running for real. He's always been a big runner and did the Chicago marathon a couple years ago. It all started last October when we were driving through Roslyn and it just so happened we got stuck in the middle of the finish of the Marine Corps Marathon. It was awesome, everyone looked like death but who cared- they just finished a marathon! We decided then and there that he would help me train and we would run the marathon together in one year's time. Great idea... poor execution. Fast forward 6 months later and I still wasn't running if at all, much less training for a marathon! That's when I made the executive decision to make a commitment and join the Team to help me with this goal! Erik is still training for the Marine Corps but I switched to the Nike because I was drawn to the idea of a women's marathon! Plus then Erik and I can be there to cheer each other on for our respective races that are only a week apart from each other!
In conclusion... I ran 12 miles and I am so proud of myself! That's almost a half marathon (13.1) and I can't wait till our next long run to keep beating that personal record!

Presenting My Honored Teammate!

In the last month there was some particularly upsetting news in my family that came as quite a shock to us. Coincidentally enough, while I was beginning my preparations to start the battle of training for a marathon my little 7 year-old cousin Sarah was fighting her own much bigger battle with Lymphoma. For some reason or another the news of this hadn't traveled to our side of the family and unbeknownest to us this had been going on for over a year. It is so crazy to me that I signed up to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society on a whim, to help me train for a marathon and ultimately my actions have a much broader and personal effect in the end. My race is now more than ever more important to me and the cause that I am running for is more personal and intimate. I now have my own Honored Teammate that I will be running for and I will dedicate every step of my 26.2 miles to Sarah and her fight with Lymphoma. Not only her fight but the strength of her entire family throughout this ordeal because she couldn't have endured without their everlasting support and love.
Sarah and I met for the first time a few weeks back and she left a lasting impression on me and a lasting smile on my face. It is so silly that I hadn't met her before but Georgia is a lot farther than you think when people are so caught up in their own lives. My grandmother was the reason we always went back to visit and with her gone we just hadn't in too long. My cousin Holly has raised two wonderful children and they are both so strong to have made it through Sarah's illness. When we got together in July Sarah had just gotten a clean bill of health from her doctors and her treatments were for the most part finished, for now at least. Her hair was just starting to grow back and to her delight and surprise it was coming in a beautiful light blond and gorgeous just like her mother's! To think that she was going through so much at such a young age is just incredible and she is wise well beyond her 7 years. She talked about her cancer as if she had nothing to fear and it was but just a tiny blip in her childhood, easily dismissible. I know that it certainly wasn't and it was a tough road for the whole family, but the fact that she was so strong and she continues to be so optimistic makes me know she will overcome this cancer wholey and completely.

I am honored to be running for Sarah and I only hope that I can be as strong as she is and make her as proud of me as I am of her.
(pictures of Sarah to come!)

Flaking on Blogs postings!

SORRY! It has been way too long since my last post. I'm happy to report however, that my training has been going much better than my blogging as it seems! There is so much to report on this will have to be divided into many posts. PLUS its more fun that way!

Lots lots lots has happened since my last post about a month ago. too long, i know. I honestly don't even know where to begin! For starters I am getting pumped up to do my triathlon this weekend! Yes that's right i said triathlon.
"But Kristina," you ask, "aren't you training for a marathon!?"
"yes, i am. this is just something fun on the side!"
One of my gals, Rachel did the Philly Tri a little over a month ago and I went to watch. I got so pumped by the spirit of the whole thing that I decided to sign myself up along with her for another one which is going to be this weekend! It is the SheRox Tri in Philadelphia and it is a women's only sprint Triathlon, which means it is a shorter distance than your typical Olympic Triathlon. We will be swimming .5 miles, biking 15.5 miles, and running 3.1 miles. I never thought I'd say this 6 months ago but the running should be the easy part. The swimming and biking is what threw me! I used to swim in High school and summer teams but I quickly found out that it is much tougher once you've stopped for 5 years and replaced all that swimming muscle with beer fat! YIKES!
I bought myself a nice road bike in preparation (thanks mom for the 4 year overdue Christmas present! haha) and I have been adding the x-training to my marathon workout schedule. Its been really hard to fit it all in while preparing and executing a move as well but i've done alright. Overall I could feel much more prepared which makes me a little nervous but I am also very excited for Sunday which evens it all out! If only I had just a few more weeks to really train though! But alas, not possible. I'm super excited so stay tuned to see results and I'll hopefully post some pics too!

optimism

You know, this morning was a bad run but this keeps my chin up:

“There is no happiness except in the realization that we have accomplished something.” - Henry Ford

Crappy Run

It seems like the stars were perfectly aligned today to keep people off the street, out of the muggy humidity, and on their couches/beds getting fat and lazy.

I had a date at 6am this morning.

I almost slept through it... and so did everyone else!

I woke up to my alarm 20 minutes after it was supposed to go off - 5:45 am - "OH MY GOD i'm going to be late and they're all going to start the run without me!" I leaped out of bed and threw on my pre-planned running clothes (i don't typically function well at the crack of dawn) I yanked Erik up to come with me and we drove like maniacs to meet up with my little 4 person Tues/Thurs. running group. We were 10 minutes late and not a car in site... "where is everyone" As I later discovered not one but 2 other people also had the EXACT same dilemma yet missed their alarms completely! How weird is that? It was a sign, I shouldn't have gotten up, I shouldn't have gone running (no one should ever have to get up that early anyway) and it became all too clear for me during the run...
A four mile loop -not too bad, a little hilly but certainly manageable, I did the same route on Tuesday with no trouble at all. It's no walk in the park that's for sure but it's refreshing! Not so today. My legs felt like lead and breathing was a way too difficult chore. I was honestly having the hardest time with this run. I stopped to walk TWICE, which is just shameful and couldn't even keep a tortoise pace. I thought about it long and hard while wheezing and drooping all run long and the only big difference between Tues. and Thursday was that Tues. I ate a 1/2 of banana and this morning I was running on an empty tank. It seems crazy that it would make that much difference but I think that was it. It was a horrible run, really frustrating and disheartening. Its good to be able to have some trial and error and figure out what your body needs to perform optimally but COME ON BODY - give me a little something to work with at least. I didn't wake up and expect to be a ironman runner BUT at least a little better than the sad excuse for a runner that was out there on the trail this morning!
So, in conclusion, I have realized that a crappy morning run translates to a crappy grueling day. I don't like this equation and I'd like to have a word with the mathematician that discovered it.
Do you think it's wrong to just rest my head on my desk for a small cat nap? My response to anyone who challenges me on this? YOU TRAIN FOR A MARATHON.

6/23 Twlight Fesitival

So, Saturday Erik and I did the Potomac River Running Twlight Festival 4 miler race in Ashburn, VA. IT ended up being an insane day as we made the last minute executive decision Friday afternoon to head up to Philly at the crack of dawn Saturday morning to go support Rachel in her first ever triathlon! We knew it was going to be tight and LOTS of driving but we decided that we had to be there for her and we would make it work. So we left at 5am and proceeded to make the 3 hour drive from Alexandria to Philly. We got there soon after the start and Rabin was luckily also there to help Rach warm up and get her pumped! It ended up being a great time and got me super stoked about the idea of participating in the SheRox triathlon with Rachel in Philly on August 5th! The energy in the air was just contagious and it looked like everyone was having so much fun. Mind you, this was a sprint triathlon which is a shorter distance than Olympic triathlons, but it is still a killer event but I'm sure worth every ache and pain! Rachel did an awesome job and finished in just over 2 hours which is a great great time, especially for her first triathlon! I was really proud of her and so glad that we decided to go up there. We had to head immediately back down to VA to make it back for our race so we hopped in the car and while almost to the PA - DE line we hit a STANDSTILL on 95. We took a detour immediately and got stuck in another standstill on Rt. 1... It was hotter than hell out there, we were on a tight time crunch, and we couldn't move! We sat in traffic for almost an hour and finally things cleared up and we made it just in time for our race! It was close but it all worked out- even if our legs were mighty stiff!

The race went surprisingly well. The sun hadn't quite gone down enough to reduce any of the heat so it ended up being quite steamy out there but overall everyone seemed in good spirits. During the race the most difficult thing for me that I found was overcoming that mental block of focusing so much on my exhaustion and fatigue. I felt every step of those 4 miles and throughout the entire race I was convinced I would have to stop to walk. I didn't of course and I ended up sticking it out with a pretty good time actually but that mental thing just really frustrates me!! I ended up doing the 4 miles course in about 38min. which was under my goal. I started off a little too fast and slowed it down the 2nd and 3rd laps but I help up a pretty even pace considering that is one of my other weaknesses. It felt good in the end but I'm still annoyed by those little hurdles that keep surfacing and I need to trick myself into overcoming that mental fatigue and really motivate myself more during the race. Anyone out there got any tricks of the trade for me?

The bearded wonder

Joey (my friend from Deltones to those of you who don't know him) and I have been having a great chat all morning about life, Peace Corps, and other musings...

This made me happy- thanks Joey.

Joey: i know kristina granger relatively well
and one thing i know
is that if she wants something bad enough, she makes sure she gets it
ESPECIALLY if it makes her happy.

I finally gave into the world of blogging...

Well folks, that's right. I finally gave into the computer generation that I am a part of and succumbed to the world of blogging. BUT, in my defense, I think this is a pretty good reason to start blogging!

SO, yes, it's true I am indeed training for a marathon. Just in case you didn't hear me correctly I said: I AM TRAINING FOR A MARATHON!!!! and yes, i am probably insane, yes.

As I write this inaugural blog I am bleary eyed yet surprisingly bushy tailed (which I can only attribute to the massive mug of coffee sitting on my desk) from my crack-o-dawn morning run at 6am. I have found in the last few weeks that it takes a special kind of person to endure the morning workout, the early rising, the long restless day at work that follows, and I have come to the profound conclusion that I do not innately posses this aptitude. I am not a morning person, as Erik can admittedly attest to, yet god bless me I AM TRYING! I actually woke up before Mr. Beall today which may possibly be the first time ever and threw on my running clothes to meet up with some teammates in Arlington for our morning fresh run! I met up with Tara, my new friend from our last long-run and another really sweet woman who I forgot her name cause I'm so bad with names! Oops. We only did about a 3 mile loop, a short run this week and it felt good, real good, too good. What is wrong with me!? I never thought I would be "that" runner but I really am starting to like it! I'm NO WHERE NEAR the point of waking-up-at-5am-by-choice-with-a-huge-smile-on-my-face-after-dreaming-all-night-about-running... but I am making it routine... and the smile comes after the run. :-D

Ok well back to work- keep checking back often - I'll get more interesting I promise! haha