What time is it???

I know you're all on edge waiting for this update, so here it is.  Final time by the finish line clock was 3:57 and 33 seconds.  BOOM! That right thar is a PR my frands.  Yup, my Gibbs training method worked out.  Sure, the weather was perfect for running and the course was super flat, but obviously my training played a roll as well.  The only real down side to the whole thing is that my quads are still very sore, even two days later.  Which is crazy because I actually stretched afterwards too.  And walked around for at least an hour after I crossed. I guess my legs just aren't used to running that long at that speed. But I've done it, so now they better get used to it.

 I'm sure you're very interested in the whole adventure, but I don't want to take up a bunch of space filling you in with mundane details, so I'll just provide the highlights of race day and fill in the rest with supplemental pictures at the end.  Sunday was actually really cold for Louisiana. The temperature at race time was 39.  However, I made the choice to wear shorts and a tank and once I was dressed and out the door there was no going back.  But getting out of those throwaway clothes was damn hard, that's for sure.  We met Brittany at the free coffee hut (btw, free coffee before a race = great idea...dunkin....ahem....) and then we walked over to the PortaPotties for a pre-race bathroom break, because those are imperative, as you well know by now.  Then we wandered over to the start line to freeze with everyone else for a solid 15 minutes.  That went by fast, but I really did hate taking off my sweatshirt before running.  Once we started running I figured I'd warm up, but that never really happened.  My hands were so cold at the first water stop that I dropped the cup I tried to grab.  The first 10 miles went by without a hitch.  I managed to somehow catch up with the 3:45 pacers, so I ran alongside those two and half listened to them talk.  I'm pretty sure they sped up for the second half, because there's no way the pace they were maintaining was a 3:45, we had times when we were in the 8:40s.  Maybe it does work out, I don't know, I didn't try to do the math.  I lost that group when I stopped to use the Porta-Potty.  This year though, I got smart and the whole thing only cost me about 30 extra seconds.  Even if I did smash the back of my head on the toilet paper dispenser when I stood back up after picking up my phone off the floor.  (Don't worry, it was in a bag, but man did that hurt!) In those first miles I saw the family between mile 4 and 5 at LSU, outside Mike the Tiger's cage.  No Mike though, I guess it was just too cold.  There was also a giant pack of pelicans hanging out in the lake, which was really cool.  I've never seen A pelican before, forget about a whole set of them.  FYI those things are huge.  

 There wasn't really anything wrong with miles 10 - 13, I just ran them as they were.  Miles 14 - 20 were the part that I really had to talk myself through.  Not that they were going poorly, I just wanted to make it seem like less than there was, so instead of worrying about making it to the finish in under 4, I thought about making it to 20 in under 3:00.  I figured if I could make it to the 20 mark anywhere under 3:00, I could run the last 6 in 10 minute mile splits if necessary, and still break the time.  Maybe that sounds crazy to a non-runner, but it worked.  Even though I still had 12 miles left at mile 14, it seemed like a lot less.  Even when my headphones died at mile 17, I didn't feel like it was going to be a problem to keep running.  After mile 20, I broke it down into 2 sets of 5ks and that really helped it seem a lot faster.  Plus I saw the family again somewhere between 22 and 24.  There were only two real disappointments that I experienced and neither of them caused any problems with my actual running.  First, I felt like I spent a lot of time running in a straight line and I hate that.  I like it when the road curves and twists, because it doesn't seem as long for whatever reason.  Second, there seemed to be a lot less people outside cheering this year, even at the finish line.  My guess for that one is that it was cold so a lot of people didn't want to come stand around outside, but it was a bit of a bummer.  I was hoping for more cheering at the end.  

After the race I met up with Ryan and his Dad and we enjoyed the finish festival for a bit.  Ryan ran the half for the second year in a row. Last year he finished in 2:37.  This year he finished in 2:15!!!  That's real speedy, if he keeps that up, he's going to catch up to me.  Then we could run together. Wouldn't that be romantic? Anyways, at the festival we ate gumbo, jambalaya, Jimmy John's, and of course, King cake.  It was definitely worth the run.  However, it was extra cold, as I said, and by the end of the race it was only about 54, so I really had to put that heat sheet to good use.  We also bought some finisher gear, because of course, and then we went and ate more food later that day.  

So there you have it. My race day in a nutshell.  Of course we did other stuff on Saturday and Monday, but this isn't a things to do in Louisiana story, this is a race story.  The pictures will fill in the missing parts for you.  I took a bunch of non-running selfies this year since I knew I wouldn't be able to take mile marker selfies on the course, so I hope you enjoy about a hundred pictures of me.  And another hundred of other things, because I just couldn't help it.  Until next time, here you go.  Picture central begins now.

The day before the race and I'm eating biscuit sandwiches for lunch.  Good choice/bad choice? Who knows.

Visiting Maw Maw Gibbs in NOLA before heading to Baton Rouge

Race day gear 

Baby Big Boy Beau. 

Uncle Fries and Gabs

Race day shoes and shirt, ready to go

Possibly the ugliest selfie ever, but I had just finished, it was cold, and I wanted to get the race clock in.  Too bad my hair is blocking the time....

Winners

I put this here to remind myself to keep moving. It worked.  I stopped once for a bathroom break and once to refill my water bottle, never for more than 30 seconds!

King Cake

Free hotel water. Yaaaa. Perks.

I just liked this little outdoor shopping area

Post-race lunch at Popeyes.  So healthy

Sunday night, mission accomplished

Monday drive into New Orleans

Super Dome

I liked this fountain

Of course we ate beignets at Cafe Du Monde.

Sadly waiting for our flight to take us back home to the cold.  

I spy two new additions to the wall of medals

Like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body

That's how it feels to take an ice bath.  As of 8:00 p.m. I have officially crossed over into marathoner territory.  I know that probably seems weird to see, since all I seem to do is talk about running, times, and getting faster, but to be honest, I don't really think of myself as a runner.  Much like I don't think of myself as an artist. These are things I like to do, but they're not who I am.  Except that, they really are. I mean, if you ask anyone at work to tell you about me, I'm sure they'd all say runner and artist at some point in their description.  But tonight I'm officially crossing the bridge into runner.  For the first time ever, I took an ice bath.  Yes, it was as terrible as it sounds and it was as cold as you think it is.  Of course I'd be happy if I never had to do it again.  Will I do it again though? Most likely.  See, getting in was awful.  Sitting in the water for 10ish minutes was torture.  Warming back up was a desperate race to get on the warmest clothes I could find.  But how about those leg muscles?  They feel amazing.  Better than they've ever felt.  I guess this is going to have to be one of those suck it up type of routines that becomes necessary to the process, even if it is miserable in the moment.
On top of the ice bath, I've also stretched and foam rolled more than I ever have before in my life.  In case you can't tell, I'm not fooling around with this sub-4 goal.  In fact, the owner of Title gave me a great piece of advice that I intend to follow as well.  While we were talking about how it's been hard to not be anxious about running a sub-4, he said that I should write down my goal time.  Clearly I've been writing down all along my goal and I thought for a minute he just couldn't hear me over the music playing at the club, because he looked at me like a lunatic when I said I was keeping journals anyways.  After a few seconds of clarification though, it became clear that he didn't mean just write it down anywhere.  He meant, write it on my arm on the day of the marathon.  Somewhere visible to me, so that I can look at it as a reminder to get myself moving or keep myself going.  That seems like a perfectly logical idea to me and a great way to force my motivational speaking voice to push down my self-doubt voice if it starts to feel hard.  Last time I wrote things on my shoes, this time I'm going straight for the arm, because I will beat that 4:00 time.
Before I go, I do have one more running related item on the agenda.  You may remember that I wanted to return the Nathan belt I bought the other day?  Well, I did go to Dick's today and the store did take it back, so that's a big plus in their column.  I did want to buy a scoreboard for basketball while I was there, but I couldn't find any, so they also get a mini-minus.  A scoreboard is kind of weird item to have at a sporting goods store, but also could have been there, so it was really a hit-or-miss errand anyways. In place of the hydration belt, I received my OrangeMud single barrel hydraquiver today. It is everything I hoped it would be; lightweight, small, portable, and a large enough bottle.  However, I've never run with a backpack type item before and I don't think I want to break it in at the marathon.  So as much as I love hands-free, I think I'm going to have to stick with the handheld bottle for one more run, and then retire it to the sidelines. BUT, for all of you who do run with backpack systems, here's a very important question. Chafing; does it happen and how do you stop it?  The way this little vest sits, it would seem that the straps are going to lead to a lot of underarm chafing.  I thought about loosening the straps, but then I think maybe the pack would bounce around too much.  A second option that I tried was safety pinning the straps down against the sides of my tank top, so that they follow the same contour and are held in place.  That worked as a very short trial version, but if I've learned anything from Mythbusters, it's that just because something works in small scale for a small period of time, doesn't mean it will hold up in full scale during an extended time frame.  So fellow backpack runners, do you ever have the chafing problem? How do you prevent the straps from rubbing? Or should I just invest in a lot of shirts that have sleeves? If you have any tips on this very important subject, please leave them below.  In return, you can check out these pictures of my ice bath and see my little hydration pack sitting pretty.  Oh and I also got my official BAA acceptance email yesterday and I now show up on the list of entrants for the 120th Boston Marathon!!!!!!!

Like any good runner, of course I have a ziplock bag full of spare safety pins

I added a Chewbacca.  I might already have this picture on here, but either way, here it is,

This house made me laugh while I was in traffic this afternoon. It looks like a face with a picket fence beard. 

Sunday, rainy Sunday

Or the time it rained enough to make me sleep until 9:30 a.m.  To put that in perspective, during the week my alarm goes off at 5:30 a.m. I usually try to get a little bit more sleep on the weekends, but 9:30 is a bit late in my book.  I feel like I wasted my entire morning and it was time for lunch before I even digested my breakfast.  But I'm taking a page from Milli Vanilli and blaming it on the rain.
Obviously it's raining so that left no room for a run.  Alright, alright, I wouldn't have gone for a run even if it wasn't raining, but that's neither here nor there.  Technically it's taper time, even though I'm not following that rule.  I fully intend to keep running this week.  I know, I'm getting wild here, but relax, I'll only be running little 3 - 5 milers.  What I do need to remember is the stretching part.  I've noticed that I'm terrible at stretching after a run and I really need to work on getting better at that.  How can I be faster if my muscles are all wound up?  So my goal for this week is to stretch every day for at least 30 minutes.  Believe me, it's as boring as it sounds, but if it really works, I'll never complain about it again.  I've also decided that 7 days is close enough to start obsessively checking the forecast, which I've done about 5 times so far.  As of right now, the weather is sunny and 57, maybe even a little cloudy.  In short, perfect running weather.  The final debate for that is going to be, shorts or capris? That's always the hardest decision and it's usually a game time decision too.  Shorts are cooler and easier to deal with, but capris offer more compression should I need it.  Plus, 57 is borderline weather in that regard.  You could go either way with that temperature and probably be fine.
While I'm on the subject of race day gear, I've decided that the Nathan belt just isn't going to work for me.  It's just too uncomfortable.  Of course this raises the point that now I've spent money on an item I"m never going to use again, so that's cool.  Since I bought it at Dick's Sporting Goods, I've contacted their customer service to see if I can exchange it for a store credit, and I'm really hoping the answer is yes.  Look, I know that I used it once, but the belt itself is basically like new.  The only issue would be the two water bottles and I know from years of working in high-end retail that there's a 99% chance that they can contact the distributor of Nathan products and get two brand new replacement bottles free of charge, and then resell the belt at a discount rate.  My hopes aren't very high though because when I contacted customer service to inquire about the exchange, the response I got said that she couldn't find an order with my name on it in their system.  I'm not sure why she would be able to anyways, since I bought the product in the store, but maybe she just didn't realize that.  However, if I do get turned down for a store credit, I'd definitely think twice about going back there.  Most of what I want I can get on Amazon for the same or less price, so it's not like I'd be missing out.  But it would be nice to know that there are still places that care enough about the customer to take care of something like this. I know you'll all be waiting eagerly for my update when I finally get an answer though.
That's about all I have going on today, except for more laundry, because that never seems to end, and there's only two of us.  I made Oreo truffle balls for work tomorrow, to ease the pain of not winning the powerball like we planned.  Well, at least not winning anything substantial, we won about $25, which is still less than $1/person.   You know, I'm fine not winning $1.3 billion.  I don't even know what I would do with all that money. Take a few trips, pay off the house and Ryan's car, and then what? Even with that money, I'd still go to work everyday, so it would be wasted on me I suppose. I just want enough to pay off my student loans and to replace my car.  Really, $100,000 would be fine by me.  So if anyone has $100,000 that they don't want, you can just send that on over.  Or if you want to donate a car or pay off my loans for me, those are also options.  Until one of those magical things happens for me though, I'll still be here, writing away about anything I can think of.  Aren't you all just the lucky ones!

This is what happens when I try to stretch at home.  No wonder I always forget to do it.  

Oh yea, I finally labelled my baking jars, like I've been meaning to do since we got them last month, after I shattered the original sugar jar all over the floor.  Believe me, these labels are super important, because for a minute, the powdered sugar and the flour were next to each other.....

Awaken the force within

Today was a productive day, aside from work.  I updated the chalkboard at Title Boxing Saugus and registered for the Boston Marathon.  So you know, exciting day all around.  And of course I bought a couple of PowerBall tickets, because why not? I know the odds are so astronomically against me winning that it's ridiculous, but I think deep down, everyone likes the chance to dream. Plus, then I could pay off my marathon fundraising.  Speaking of which... click right here to donate!!  You know you want to support that adorable little face, plus if you donate and show up on the marathon route, I'll high five you during the run, which is a huge incentive, I know.  Anyways, just getting in that short update.  Until next time, check out the board of the month this month.  May need a few more background characters, but it's a start for now.

Good, good, good, good eleven

Finish that lyric, because there's only 11 more days until the marathon! Woooooooooooo.  A far cry from October's marathon, I'm actually excited about this one.  I go to bed thinking about how awesome it's going to be when I break the 4 hour mark.  Maybe I'm getting too far ahead of myself, but I'd rather be excited about it than indifferent, because we saw what indifference did last time.  Bottom line is 4 hours or not, I'm pumped to be running Baton Rouge again.  Sure, my race day logistics are still being worked out, but hopefully I'll have a handle on that by Friday.  Here's the main problem.  Usually I carry a 24 oz water bottle with hand strap.  As you might imagine, it gets tiresome having your hands full for an entire marathon.  So, I thought about changing over to a hydration belt.  Unfortunately I'm having the terrible problem of the belt riding up and moving around while I'm running.  To the point where I had to stop a mile in to my run today to adjust the entire thing to it's smallest point and anchor it down behind the phone pouch I was carrying in my waistband. Is this a common problem with the hydration belts? My next test is going to be to safety pin the belt to my waistband and see if that solves all problems.  Unfortunately, there's a good chance I"m going to be running in shorts and I really don't want to worry about the weight of the belt pulling my shorts down. 

 How does one go about fixing this problem? I really wanted to get rid of the hand-held water bottle, but it seems like the best way to stay hydrated and have the least amount of gear issues at the same time.  Now some people may say to just leave the water bottle behind and only use the water stops on the course, but it's not for the water, it's for the Tailwind.  Maybe I'm using it as a crutch, but much like Dumbo and his feather, I need this Tailwind to fly.  Sure, in the end, Dumbo didn't NEED the feather, but this is not the race I want to learn that in. So even though I intend to use the water stops along the way, I need something to carry my Tailwind in as well.  Ideally, I'd have someone hold onto the bottle and pick it up at the halfway mark, but I don't want other people to have to worry about being in a certain place at a certain time.  Putting my time goal stress onto another person isn't fair.  I'm going to give the safety pin trick a try and if that doesn't work, then maybe I will just go back to hand-held.  As far as Camelbak backpacks go, I already spent a fair amount on this hydration belt, so I don't want to go out and buy another item that may end up with the same problem anyways.  Hopefully the safety pins will work and if it's really necessary, I can run in capris instead of shorts, as long as the weather doesn't go above 65 that day.  

Other than the gear issues, the Gibbs training method has been completed, so now it's going to be a wait and see kind of game.  I'm really banking on running my half as fast as I have been running them lately, which will give me slightly more wiggle room for the other half.  I don't want to bust through the first half like a maniac, but I feel like if I take the first half slow, I won't speed up for the second half.  I'll still feel great running, but my four hour mark would be left behind, which is not what I want.  I know, I know, that's 100% not the proper way to run a marathon, but at this point, being number 5, I might as well stick with what I know.  Last time I didn't run through my first half real quick, I ended up at a 5 hour marathon, so who's to say what's really the right approach here anyways? On that note, I'll end with this picture of a beautiful champion who made a great point that I feel is extremely relevant to my thoughts right now. 

Do you want to build a snowman?

I made a snowman wreath today.  All in all, I'm not sure how well the accessories will hold up, but I didn't want to go crazy.  First I tried craft glue, which failed me completely, so I switched to the trusty old hot glue gun.  That seems to have worked, but we'll see what happens when faced with wind, rain, and possibly actual snow.  Should be easy enough to fix if necessary though.
Aside from making snowmen, we've spent a busy weekend watching Star Wars.  Ryan has never seen any of them! Can you believe that!? Not to worry, he is now almost all caught up, he's seen six of the seven.  Our final viewing, Episode 3, had to be put off because, you know, football.  But by this time next week, he should be well versed in the Star Wars universe.  Which is cool, I guess.  To be honest, I don't love Star Wars enough to care if we ever watch them again or not.  And with the new one, I feel like the plot is going to be strikingly similar to the original 3.  Hey, I could be wrong, but from what I know, what I saw, and what I've heard, it seems to be heading down that road.
There's only two weeks left until Louisiana, by the way, if you're keeping track.  My cousin's husband had a good idea today at a family brunch when he said I should wear a GoPro instead of taking a selfie every mile. Sadly, I, nor anyone I know, has a GoPro.  So that was a short lived idea, but a good one nonetheless. I had a moment of insanity and thought about buying one, but then I looked them up on Amazon and saw how expensive they are, so that's out too.  I suppose my only hope now is that someone really wants a runner's view of the Louisiana Marathon and donates one to the cause.  I think it actually might be kind of cool to go back and watch the run.  There's probably a lot that I miss when running.
I have a cold right now, so I haven't done any more running since the five on the treadmill the other day. Figured it's better to back it up now instead of pushing and keeping this cold up to the marathon.  Since Louisiana is so close and the holidays are now over, I have actually been thinking about my fundraising a bit.  If I can get things together, I might have something going that could work out well.  I'll probably start looking for raffle volunteers too, so if you have a service or an item you'd like to raffle off, feel free to contact me.  (Sorry, no personal services, if you know what I mean.) Other than that, school starts again tomorrow, so it's back to the real world I suppose.  Winter vacation was fun, but I suppose work isn't so bad either.
And now, the snowman wreath.