On Saturday, I woke up at 5 am and set out to run my first half marathon.

Yes, normal people wear glitter eye shadow to run a half marathon.

My mom and brother came to DC to visit and support me in the race. Having them there was amazing. I was calm, I was motivated, and I was excited.

The race started at 8 am, but I didn’t actually cross the start line until closer to 9. The metros were super crowded and I didn’t arrive at Stadium Armory until 10 minutes before the start of the race. I used a port-o-potty for maybe the third time in my life. The experience was horrifying and made worse by the fact that there was no toilet paper. So basically, I had diaper rash by the time the day was over. Someone suggested I ask Rock ‘N’ Roll for a refund. It’s true. I paid $90 for the race—you’d think that would afford me a couple squares of TP.

Before the race. So fresh ‘n’ so clean. Well. Except for the whole no TP episode. At least I didn’t have to number 2.

I passed my mom and brother around mile 2.5. It was really hot out at this point and I wasn’t exactly looking forward to sweating for another 2 hours. But seeing my family and seeing the Capitol Building was really motivating.

At the 5k point, I already had a headache. I stopped at a water station and took some ibuprofen and dropped my ipod on the ground (I did this twice during the race, almost tripping the people behind me when I stopped to pick it up.) 

I was amazed by the people around me. They were all bigger and older than I was, but going at the same pace that I was. “Yeah. This is what you get for not training well, Lexie.” I actually kept up with what looked like a 90-year-old couple until about mile 6 when they get away from me. Yup. Beaten by somebody’s grandparents.

Around mile 5, the hills started. I allowed myself to walk on the hills. My walking pace was just as fast as the people running them, and I knew I was using less energy.

I cannot say enough about how amazing the spectators were between miles 7 and 10. At least five people shouted out to me that they liked my tights. Strangers were cheering for “South Buffalo.” I noticed a surge in my pace every time I went through these spectator-heavy areas. A few people were even handing out beer to the runners.

Around mile 11.5, things got ugly. My right ankle was hurting a lot and I was reduced to walking. I held back tears a couple of times. In my mind I kept telling myself “You didn’t come here to walk, you came here to run,” but even walking was TRULY painful at this point.

About .3 miles from the finish line, I sprinted faster than I had the entire race. I made eye contact with the spectators lining the finish line and found a final surge of energy. I expected to cry, but instead I just smiled. I was handed a finisher’s medal—a medal that I wouldn’t remove for the next three days.

I followed up the race with a nap, a nice dip in the hotel hot tub, three margaritas and an amazing meatloaf dinner at the Copper Canyon in Gaithersburg.

It’s still unreal to me that I’m a half marathoner. I’m definitely interested in tackling this distance again at some point, although I will definitely follow a stricter training plan next time.

And I guess the question is now, what about 26.2? Is the full marathon something I plan to do?

Hah.

I told my mom she had permission to slap me if I ever told her I was going to do a full marathon. I don’t think my Frankenstein feet can handle it.

In November, I signed up for the Rock ‘N’ Roll USA Half Marathon.

I don’t know why I haven’t mentioned it.

I’m weird.

And here’s something that probably doesn’t surprise you…

I’m extremely unprepared. I suppose that’s what you get when don’t follow a training plan whatsoever.

I’m dumb.

So I guess the question I’ve been getting the most is “why?” Why run 13.1 miles?

When I first started this blog, my goal was to run the 2010 Pittsburgh Half Marathon. I was in the best shape of my life that year, but it just didn’t happen. I was running really frequently and it just wasn’t getting any easier. Almost every time I ran, I would get a horrible headache that wouldn’t go away unless I took some sort of pain killer. I did a lot of online research, I emailed a few bloggers, I asked my nutrition professor, I went to my doctor…no one had an answer for me. So at the point, I decided to write off long distance running. It’s just not for me, I told myself.

I didn’t think about running a half marathon again until I saw 11-11-11 discount that Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon series was offering for its races. I wasn’t nearly in as good of shape as I was in 2010 (and I’m still not), but I signed up. 

When I was about 10 years old, my podiatrist told me that my feet were so flat and growing in such an extreme outward angle, that if I didn’t have them surgically corrected, I wouldn’t be able to walk by the time I was 20. At age 11 and 12, I had an arch built in each foot and had my bones broken and set in the proper direction. I was non-weight-baring on each foot for 4 months at a time, and each time I re-taught myself to walk without any therapy.

After all I’ve gone through with the major construction on my feet, I feel like I shouldn’t take them for granted. Sometimes I think to myself, at age 22, “I shouldn’t be able to walk.” But I can walk. And I can run. So I should. I have the ability to run 13.1 miles, so I’m going to.

But then there was still the issue of the headaches.

After realizing that both my parents have asthma, I had my doctor prescribe me an inhaler to see if maybe the headaches were a result of exercise induced asthma. The inhaler definitely helps a lot, but hasn’t completely cured the headaches. Nonetheless, I’ve managed them well enough to half-assedly train for this half marathon tomorrow.

It’s been an interesting few months of half-assed training, too. I took my first ice bath (while reading You’re a Horrible Person, but I Like You).

I ran my a 5k in 0 degree weather.

And I sacrificed the skin on my pinky toes.

So hopefully tomorrow I will be able to call myself a half marathoner. And if not, someone better come look for me passed out on the streets of DC.

…not to be confused with Mambo Number 5…

Tomorrow I’m running my third 5K—Pacer’s Love the Run You’re With 5K.

And unlike my first 5K and my second 5K, I actually feel prepared for this one. Although admittedly, this 5K is throwing me a bit out of my comfort zone:

1. For one thing, it’s not a tiny little hometown 5K with less than 100 participants.
2. And this is the first 5K I’m doing by myself—no sister, no friends.
3. Finally, the weather is going to be no joke tomorrow. Less than thirty degrees! My nipples hurt just thinking about it.

I went down to Arlington today to pick up my bib this afternoon. I had the option to pick it up tomorrow, but I figured the less things I had to worry about in the morning the better. I also wanted a chance at practicing the drive to Arlington. My GPS hasn’t worked in a while, so I felt like I was in the Stone Ages and google mapped my directions and wrote them on an old envelope. Old school, bitches. Of course I got lost anyway and ended up in DC a couple times…

Can I just say the only time it absolutely sucks to see awesome monuments is when you know it means you’re lost?

I eventually found my way to Pentagon Row and picked up my loot.

I love that this 5K comes with a blanket instead of a t-shirt. I have too many t-shirts.

In other news, I dyed my hair today. While I was getting my hair cut from hell, the hair dresser asked me if I dye my own hair. I told her yes, and she said “I can tell. I have 37 years experience coloring hair. You want hair colored, come to me.” Hmmm…. $14 hair dye job or $100 hair dye job? I think I’ll just do it myself.

Before:

After:

Sidenote: What is it about my web cam that makes me take the absolute douchiest pictures? I do not know.

In other OTHER news, I also made homemade drop biscuits this morning (gotta carbo load for those 3.1 miles tomorrow, right?)

I mixed 2 cups flour, 1.5 teapsoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar, 3/4 cup soy milk, and 4 tablespoons melted butter and baked them for about 12 minutes. I ate them with sausage gravy because my brain is that of a 500 pound woman.

Ok.

My nipples still hurt.

Bye.

My training for the second annual Leechburg 5k was 20 days long and consisted of 6 runs.

To be honest, Maddie and I weren’t even sure if we were going to run it or not until 9 p.m. last night. She didn’t want to skip her Saturday class. I felt undertrained and lazy.

But then something amazing happened.

“We should probably do it,” I said. “I already blogged that I was going to.”

My morning started at 6 a.m. with coffee.

I absolutely never drink coffee, but I hoped the caffeine would make up for my lack of proper training.

I had to wear this sock and shoe combo to the car to get my running shoes. Attractive.

We made it to race day registration by 7 a.m. There was no line at all and only a $5 penalty for signing up on race day. We also still got t-shirts.

What’s up cankles?

I specifically remember being so anxious pre-race last year, but this year I was just calm and excited. I guess I just had less expectations this year since I didn’t train.

When the race started, I kept tabs on my pace with my Garmin Forerunner. I kept getting caught up in the excitement of the race and going at a pace that I would never be able to maintain the entire time. I settled around a 12.5/13 minute mile.

I also forgot to push “start” on my Garmin until about .3 miles into the race so my laps and time are about 3 minutes and 3/10 of a mile off.

Last year, Maddie and I ran the race together and crossed the finish line hand in hand. This year, she left me in the dust. I can’t blame her. She trained and I didn’t. Since the course is an out and back course, I at least got to high five her on her way back.

Basically, I got a mile into the course and was pretty miserable. My legs were hurting from the pavement (a lot of my training was done on a treadmill) and I was really overheated in my sweatshirt. I realized that I wasn’t going to be able to run the entire course, and planned to take my first walk break at the water station at mile 1.5.

I took two small walk breaks between 1.5 and 2 miles….

and one last walk break before 2.6.

With 3/10 of a mile left to go, I reached out to the girl beside me who was also running and walking. I asked her if she could make it to the end without walking, and she said she could try. I made a deal with her to not walk unless she did. This really helped me get to push myself to the finish line. (Although I’ll add that the bitch sprinted in front of me to cross the finish line before I did. Luckily I don’t give a shit about my placement.)

My final time ended up being a little over 40 minutes, which is really only an extra 3-4 minutes on my time from last year. Not bad for only 20 days of training. Maddie finished in a little over 33 minutes, shaving 3-4 off our time last year.

Note the chocolate milk in my hand. Note the pastey white thighs.

Head over to my recap of the first annual Leechburg 5k. Or not.

After all, my grammy walks faster than I run.

Things I remembered to wear on my run this morning:

*iPod and iPod arm band
*Garmin Forerunner + heart rate monitor
*Spibelt for car keys

Things I forget to wear on my run this morning:

*Underwear

Whoops.

On September 18, 2010, I completed my first and only race.

Three point one silly little miles.

Having never run three point one miles before.

While sick.

The plan was to train to run the same 5k the following year in under 30 minutes.

And then I got hurt.

And I stopped running.

And I turned in a chubosaurus.

And I decided I didn’t want to do the 5k this year at all.

And then I changed my mind,

So on September 24, 2011, I will attempt to not make a fool of myself running three point one silly little miles with only 20 silly little days of training.

Fuck.

One of my birthday presents last month was a trip to a running shoe specialty store outside of Pittsburgh in Valencia called Up in Running. Maddie originally went there to get fitted for shoes after her running shoes gave her such bad blisters on the back of her feet that they turned black. It was really quite disturbing.

I ended up with a pair of Saucony shoes with major arch support. Since I got the shoes, I no longer get blisters of my pinky toes and the pain I was experiencing beneath my right ankle is reduced. And for the first time today, I ran without experiencing any pain in the tendon in the back of my knee.

This all very clearly shows the importance of getting professionally fitted for your running shoes. The guy at Up In Running looked at my feet, my old shoes (which I recommend taking in) and also watched me run on a treadmill to determine what kind of shoe I needed.

I didn’t run for a few months because of the knee and the ankle pain I was experiencing, so I’ve been working on rebuilding my running endurance. Remember the beginner running training schedule from Runner’s World Complete Book of Running? I’ve been modifying that depending on how much pain I’m experiencing.

I think following a schedule like this is important when you’re a beginner runner because in the beginning, how many minutes you can run is more important than how many miles you can run.

If you can’t run for 30 consecutive minutes, you should probably follow a similar schedule.

Kara Goucher’s book has a very similar beginner running plan to the one in the Complete Book of Running. Both plans work on getting you up to running for 30 consecutive minutes.

The Plan:

Kara recommends running 3 times a week with a day off from running before and after each running workout.

I began a few weeks ago on a modified version of a week 3 program and have made a slow progression to a modified version of a week 4 program. It sucks that I lost the endurance I had when I completed my first 5k, but I’m running these intervals at a faster pace so I think my 5k time will end up being a lot faster once I build back up to it.

Rebuilding is not as bad as I thought it would be :)

I took out my Garmin for its second run today. I went a mile in 11:30 and walked another fourth of a mile home. Total time was 17 minutes.

Conclusion?

My grammy walks faster than I run.

You wish you had my grammy.

Well I have to get up in a few hours. I’m going to Seven Springs to snowboard a.k.a. spend a few hours on my ass in the snow.

Imma look hawt in mah snowpants!

Laaaaa ya,

Lexie

I just spent $125 ordering bras from Victorias Secret.

I guess this wouldn’t be so pathetic if I actually had boobs.

To quote one of my previous Lex and the City columns, “Big Breasts, Big Problems,”

Allow me to state the obvious: I have no boobs. Not small boobs — no boobs. In fact, where my boobs are supposed to be, there are actually dents in my chest.

OK, I’m exaggerating about that last part, but not by much.

So yes. I feel slightly stupid spending $125 on bras when I feel like they aren’t entirely necessary for me to wear.

nope, no boobs here.

Even though I don’t really feel I need a bra, they do do me the favor of preventing that weird triangle boob thing that happens when a bra isn’t worn. You guys have that, right? No. Oh okay me neither.

Despite wanting to prevent triangle boob syndrome, I feel that maybe two small pieces of duct tape would suffice instead of a bra–and save me a lot of money.

On second thought, following in Amy Winehouse’s drunken footsteps on anything probably isn’t a good idea.

In news not about my boobs, I tried out my Garmin Forerunner 305 yesterday that Tom and his family got me for Christmas. I just went for a 20 minute jog because it was cold, I’ve been sick for almost a month, and I actually don’t really run all that frequently. Suprisingly, I managed to go at a slow funeral march pace of 12:95 a mile for a mile and a half. Why did I need a $250 piece of equipment to tell me I suck at running again?

Just kidding. I love the Garmin and I think it will definitely help me improve my mileage and my pace. I’m also excited to use the interval mode so I can do interval training outside and not on a treadmill.

Have a great day everyone. Unless you have big boobs. In which case you can go fall in a hole because you suck.

Lexie

Wow you guys.

This week has been hard.

I’ve spent most of it spaced out on cold medicine.

On Monday, I set out to prove I could run 3.1 miles before my 5k. Unfortunately, I was getting sick. I ended up running 3.5 miles in 45 minutes, but I took 3 walk breaks because I was dizzy and on the verge of vomitting.

 By Monday night, I was pretty sick. I skipped my pilates class on Tuesday because of how sick I felt, but I went on Thursday. We did sprints and stuff to warm up, and then did 2 circuits of 13 strength moves, like planks and stuff. We ended with a 5 minute jog. I actually felt less sick after working out. I was expecting a full recovery by my 5k on Saturday.

On Friday I traveled home for band alumni night. Nerd alert, I know.

I’m the one laying seductively across the front. lol.

This morning I was up before 6AM in preparation for the 5k. My sister Maddie and I were running, my mom and sister Sammy were walking. Tom and his mom also were running.

Maddie, me, Sammy

I was super nervous but when we all lined up I got really anxious. The whole race actually went by really fast. I can’t believe it’s over. It was an out and back race, so it felt good to know that after the half way mark, I was heading towards the finish line. I’d say the hardest part was after I hit the 2 mile mark. I really wasn’t feel well, but I knew Maddie and I were running the whole thing without stopping. As we rounded the corner to cross the finish line, cheerleaders from my old high school were all cheering us in. Maddie and I crossed the finish line hand in hand in under 37 minutes.

I guess the most amazing thing to me is that I was able to run it without stopping, having never run that far before without taking a walk break, all while I was sick. This is the first race I’ve ever done, and although I’m actually feeling pretty sick, it still feels great. I’m already thinking of when the next race I want to run will be and I also am already excited to get back on the treadmill and set new personal distance records.

Enjoy the rest of your weekends,

Lexie