Eugene Marathon Recap

On Sunday, April 28, I ran my very fist marathon. 

(Get ready for a very wordy recap. Seriously. Get ready.)

It was a day I will never forget, and the experience went beyond anything I could have imagined. 

I originally signed up for Eugene because it seemed like a great first marathon, and it fell on the same weekend as the Oregon football spring game, which we'd probably go to anyway. 

We go to Eugene several times a year for Oregon Duck football games, as well as the occasional track meet and and basketball game. Back in 2008, we went to the Olympic Track & Field trials in Eugene, and I quickly realized that Eugene was a runner's paradise. Hayward Field is purely for track and field (rather than being an afterthought to the football field), and this is a town where running is celebrated. Last summer, as I thought more about this whole crazy marathon idea, it became clear to me that Eugene was the place to make it happen. 

Fast forward lots of base training and an 18 week training plan:

Last Friday, we set out for my in-laws house which is about halfway between Seattle and Eugene. My parents drove down also, and we spent the night there before getting up early on Saturday to drive to Eugene. We spent the first part of Saturday at the Oregon spring football game, where I sat in the sun and tried to drink as much water as possible. 

From there, my parents and I went to the marathon expo while Tim and my in-laws watched the Oregon baseball game. I thought the expo was well-organized and very efficient. While there, I said hello to a few bloggers I recognized (Sarah, Page) and picked up my race packet. When I got my number, that's when I thought, "this is getting REAL." I also said hello to some of the Oiselle team ladies and watched Lauren Fleshman speak for a few minutes. Talk about a total running powerhouse AND class act. 

After the expo, we made our way back towards the Oregon campus and went to Prince Puckler's. I had promised my parents that it was some of the best ice cream I'd had, and it did not disappoint. After that, my parents dropped me at our hotel (a few blocks from the marathon start) and checked into their hotel. Turns out my hotel that I booked in August was a little nicer than theirs I had booked a few months before. (Oops, sorry mom and dad, hope it wasn't too creepy!). Eventually we met up with Tim and his parents for an early dinner at La Perla, a Neapolitan style pizza place. The pizza was great and I ate as much as I could while downing tons of water. 

Since we had dinner early, we decided to head over to Ninkasi for a beer, since we knew both our dads would enjoy it. I only had a small beer, but it was nice to relax outside on the patio and chat before heading back to our respective hotels. 

At the hotel, I laid out all my clothes, pinned my number on my tank top, and downed more Nuun and water. Even though I had been out in the sun and on the go, I probably managed a least 12 cups of water on Saturday and a few bottles of Nuun. At that point, I was feeling a little nervous, but mostly excited. 

I turned off the light at 10 and didn't have much trouble falling asleep. The hotel was quiet and I slept well. I woke up once to go to the bathroom, and once more about an hour before my 5:15 alarm. I also had a dream that I was in Vegas and that I won some money playing the slot machines. Super weird, but maybe it was a good sign!?!

I got dressed in my race outfit, which was Oiselle Long Rogas and a Brooks tank. I also wore Wrightsock double layer socks, Asics GT-2160 shoes, and lots of BodyGlide on my feet to keep blisters away. Breakfast was a Clif bar, a banana, a bottle of cherry limeade Nuun, and some weak hotel coffee. The morning started off cool and cloudy--perfect race day weather. 

Race ready, with sleepy eyes

Around 6:30, I got a few last words of encouragement from Tim and set off to the starting line a few blocks away. It was a little surreal walking over there--runners were everywhere and at that moment, I got a little teary and thought "this is really happening!" I made one last stop at the bathroom, and then lined up in Corral C. There was a very nice tribute to Boston, including some words from Stephanie Rothstein and Craig Leon, who were two of the top U.S. finishers at Boston. Sweet Caroline blared from the speakers, and before I knew it, it was 7:00 and corrals A and B were starting. 

I started a few minutes later, and as I crossed the starting line, I felt calm and excited. I saw Lauren and some of the Oiselle girls cheering at the start, and it immediately put a huge smile on my face and pumped me up. The first few miles were a bit of a blur. The race was crowded at this point, and I focused on settling into a comfortable pace. It was extremely tempting to run faster, but I kept reminding myself that I had 26 miles ahead of me and that I needed to run my own race, not someone else's. Eventually I settled in right around 9:25 pace, which felt fairly effortless at that point. My goal in the race was to run as consistently as possible the entire time, so I knew that I had to start conservatively. The first few miles almost seemed to go by slowly, as it was crowded and I wanted to make sure that I didn't miss Tim and both our sets of parents around mile 3. I ended up seeing them right after the hill at mile 3. It was so awesome seeing them out there screaming and cheering, and a definite mental boost. 

Miles 1-3: 9:27, 9:25, 9:21

After the first few miles, I settled into a good pace and tried to enjoy the race as much as possible. While I was running, I looked around as much as I could, and soaked up the beautiful course and the energy of the other runners. The spectators on the course were fantastic--full of energy, screaming and yelling, ringing cowbells, and holding up hilarious signs. One of my favorites was, "you trained for this longer than Kim Kardashian's marriage lasted!" Damn right, 18 weeks of training got me to this point, and I loving every minute. I tried to keep my splits as consistent as possible, and my pace stayed right around 9:20 pace. My legs wanted to run faster but I knew I had to pace myself carefully. I saw Tim and the parents again around mile 6, and their shouts and cheers were much appreciated. 

Miles 4-8: 9:22, 9:18, 9:16, 9:12, 9:23

Around mile 9 the course started heading back toward the Oregon campus. I kept soaking up all the energy of the race, and my legs were feeling good. I saw the Oiselle girls again, and their energy was contagious. Not too long after, I saw Tim/the parents crew again and was so happy to see them again. After I hit mile 10, I told myself I would let myself speed up a little, but still keep my pace comfortable. A little before mile 11, we split off from the half marathoners to me, and I remember thinking to myself how surreal it felt to follow the arrows that said "marathon." Around this point, a guy who was running about my pace said "we're only about a minute and a half back!" I was a little confused and asked him what pace he was going for. He said "4 hours" and I was shocked to be so close to them. At that point, I knew that a 4:10 or maybe a 4:05 was in reach. 

Miles 9-13: 9:24, 9:12, 9:14, 9:18, 9:14

I crossed the half marathon point in 2:01:56, and was still feeling good. I was fueling with Clif fel every 5-6 miles, and at most aid stations, took a cup of Gatorade followed by a cup of water. I can't say enough good things about the volunteers on the course--they were awesome. The aid stations never felt too crowded and I liked how frequent they were on the course. Around mile 14, I made a quick bathroom stop and I was still feeling great. 

Miles 14-18: 9:05, 9:18, 9:06, 9:23, 9:34

Around mile 17, I started to get a little tired and remember thinking "I still have to run 9 more miles!?" but I still felt like the rest of the race would be manageable. Nothing was hurting and I still was running at a comfortable pace. I saw Tim and the parent crew at mile 17, and their cheers were a nice boost. I had my music on, though frequently ran with one earbud in so that I could hear the crowd. At the point on the marathon course, the crowds were a little thinner, but the spectators that were out there were awesome. I just kept telling myself to keep my pace steady and get to the next mile. 

Mile 17, thinking "9 more miles!?"

...but still smiling. And looking like a stalker.

When I hit mile 20, I was excited to think that the rest of my run was a personal distance record. I was surprised at how good I felt at mile 20, and told myself to stick with my pace. I wasn't gunning for a particular goal at that point, but I wanted to finish strong and stay around 9:20 pace. I saw my family one last time at mile 22, and knew it was the last time I'd see them before the finish line. I smiled and gave them a thumbs up, and later they told me they were glad to see me still smiling at mile 22. 

Miles 19-22: 9:27, 9:18, 9:16, 9:19

Things started to get tough around mile 23. My legs were getting heavy and my mind started to wander. I kept telling myself, "you only have ONE lap around Green Lake left. That's it! You can run that in your sleep!" Somewhere past mile 24, I saw Lauren and was SO incredibly grateful to see her cheering. [A little backstory- I met Lauren thanks to the powers of Twitter and we did many of our marathon long runs together]. Lauren is one of the most encouraging people I have ever met. She started jogging next to me, and to my surprise, kept on going. I was getting REALLY tired by this point but she just kept running next to me, telling me that mile 25 wasn't that much farther away, and then only a little over a mile left. By this point, the sun was out and I was getting hot. I knew that I could push through, but it was a bit of a mental battle at that point. We were pretty close to Autzen stadium at that point, so I tried to think of how excited I was to see my family at the finish line. Eventually, we turned onto Agate, and the road to Hayward seemed like an eternity. Lauren peeled off with a few more shouts of encouragement, and soon I could see the gates of Hayward field. Running into the stadium felt a little surreal. I tried to sprint as best as I could, and soon I was on the straightaway to the finish line. 

Hayward Field

Miles 23-26.2: 9:31, 9:21, 9:10, 8:40 (thanks Lauren!), .2- 7:22

I remember that the sun was beating down, and that the crowd was so loud. Through the crowd, I heard my husband and father-in-law cheering and knew that they were all in stands watching me. As I crossed the finish line, I put my hand over my heart for Boston. The clock read 4:06:xx. I had FINISHED MY FIRST MARATHON!

On the track!

The look of pain...or happiness...or both

I was exhausted, but felt surprisingly good as I walked through the finisher's area, collecting my medal and then going to find water. I grabbed some food and chocolate milk, but after 4+ hours of running, post-race pancakes just didn't sound good. 

After a few minutes of wandering around, I found my family and was so happy to see them. I gave everyone hugs and started to tell them all about the race, stretching as I talked to them. I checked my official time, and was elated to see that I had run 4:03:29, and that I had run a negative split. 

With my parents

With my in-laws

With Tim at lunch in Portland

The Eugene marathon was better than I ever could have imagined. Not only was the race everything I could have wanted, the spectators, volunteers, and runners truly made it top notch. As cliche as it sounds, I never knew that running a marathon could be so much fun. I can't thank Tim, my parents, and my in-laws enough for coming to watch me run--getting up early, driving all over Eugene, and waiting patiently to see my run by for a few seconds. It made the whole experience that much more special. 

Thanks for the memories, Eugene. You made my first marathon more incredible than I thought possible. 

marathon training- taper time

I am finding it hard to believe that the Eugene Marathon is a little less than three weeks away. My last recap detailed marathon training up to the halfway point, and I feel like a lot has happened since then! 

Training

The Hal Higdon Novice plan has worked well for me. I have stuck to the plan pretty well, though I have mixed in some track workouts and tempo runs to mix things up. I typically run four days per week, but if there was a week where I was feeling sick or worn down, I took an extra day off. March has been my highest mileage month, with over 135 miles. That might not seem like much compared to other marathon training plans, but it is definitely more miles than I am used to and I am proud of it. With marathon training, I keep reminding myself not to compare my training to that of others, especially since this is my first marathon. 

Here's what last week looked like:

Monday- 5.04 miles in Long Beach, since we were out of town for a few days

Tuesday- 5 miles at 9:00 pace

Wednesday- 3 mile walk

Thursday- 8:15 miles at 9:09 pace

Friday- 3 mile walk

Saturday- 20 miles at 9:50 pace

Sunday- rest

Total: 38+ miles of running, 6 miles of walking

How I am feeling:

I won't lie, the 20 miles on Saturday was really hard. It felt much tougher than my 19 miler from a few weeks ago. Then again, this was a high mileage week and my route was much more hilly this week. I have run the past two days and my legs are feeling tired, but good. I am trying to stretch and ice as much as possible, as well as roll out any knots (using a tennis or lacrosse ball). I've been going to the chiropractor every few weeks as well. 

The next few weeks will be all about tapering, which means gradually decreasing my mileage. I am looking forward to some shorter runs and to getting rested up for the race. 

Other races:

On March 9, I ran the Lake Sammamish Half Marathon. Going into the race, I wasn't sure how I'd feel, or how much I should push it. I decided to see how I felt on race day and then go from there. After a conservative first mile, I felt good so just focused on running a comfortably hard pace. I could see my pace on my Garmin, but since I had run some warm up miles, I didn't have a good idea of what my running time was. I stayed consistently in the 8:30s/8:40s until I hit mile 11. I was feeling pretty good so I picked up the pace and my last two miles were 8:15 and 8:16. I finished in 1:52:51, with an overall pace of 8:37. It was a PR by about 5 minutes and I was super happy with it. Marathon training has definitely made me a stronger runner, and I now have a better idea of what I need to do to keep improving my half marathon time. 

What now?

The next few weeks are all about getting lots of rest, hydrating, and taking good care of myself. Bring on the marathon! (Yikes!)

Menu Monday- trying new recipes

I've been slacking with posting our meals for the past few weeks, but they haven't been terribly exciting. As a result, I challenged myself to find all new recipes to cook for the upcoming week. 

Menu Monday

Our menu: 

Chorizo Lentil Stew via Tasty Kitchen
I made this last night and it was super easy and I thought it was good. Next time I might try smoked turkey sausage instead of chorizo. 

Greek Pita Pizzas via Annie's Eats {meatless}
We had gyros on our menu last week, so this is the perfect way to use up our left over pitas and feta. 

Crockpot Sesame Honey Chicken via Skinnytaste
This looks like another solid Skinnytaste recipe, though it has a shorter cooking time so I will be making it a day I know I only have to teach half the day. 

Curried Chicken with Coconut Rice via Shutterbean
I am most excited to try this recipe!

What are you cooking this week? Has the spring weather inspired you to cook anything new?

Europe 2012: Bacharach and Burg Eltz castle

After leaving Switzerland and taking the train to Baden Baden, we only had one night there before we set off for the rest of our adventure. We had decided to rent a car for our time in Germany, and I am so glad that we did. Renting a car allowed us to experience a totally different part of European travel, and driving a car through Europe was an absolute blast. 

We took the bus to the Baden Baden airport, where picking up our car was relatively easy. As we were finishing up some paperwork, the lady at the rental counter said "you have a convertible!" and I think we both gaped at her in horror. We had been envisioning driving through Germany in a sleek Audi, yet our rental car turned out to be a (somewhat) zippy, two toned Fiat convertible. Me-ow. 

Our ride for a week of driving in Germany

My husband once again reassured me that he was experienced at driving a stick shift (meanwhile I tried to remember if he had in fact owned a stick shift at some point). We chose not to rent a GPS, so it was just me and a gigantic Michelin map to navigate our way to the Rhine Valley. Along the way, we only got lost once after failing to remember what the sign for "autobahn" looked like. 

After a few hours, we were driving next to the Rhine River and following signs for Bacharach. We had no problems finding Pension Winzerhaus, our accommodations in Bacharach. This ended up being one of my favorite places we stayed. Our room was clean and quiet, and the free breakfast was fantastic. It was also affordable at less than 50 Euro per night. A storm rolled into town right as we arrived, so we got settled into our room and waited for the rain to stop before we set out to see the town. 

We started off our time in Bacharach by taking a Rick Steves walking tour that took us along the Rhine River as well as along the town walls of Bacharach. 

Bacharach

Bacharach with reisling vineyards in the background

Marks showing Rhine River flooding

Reisling vineyards

After our walking tour, we got cleaned up to eat at a restaurant that was recommended by our Rick Steves guidebook. The restaurant seemed to be popular with locals, as I am fairly certain that we were the only tourists there. I had my favorite German meal of schweinebraten which is roasted pork that is typically served with gravy, potato dumplings, and pickled red cabbage. 

After dinner, the rain started to fall again so we quickly hurried back to our hotel since we had plans for a busy day the next day. 

Our second day in Bacharach, we got up early so that we could be at breakfast as soon as it started. Every place we stayed in Germany had a fantastic breakfast spread, which was a fun change of pace after our quick breakfasts in Italy and Switzerland. 

After breakfast, we set out for Burg Eltz castle, which was about 90 minutes away via car. The drive was beautiful and took us through the Rhine River valley for much of the route, and over to the Mosel River valley. 

Burg Eltz castle is over 850 years old and is still privately owned. It's remarkably well preserved and has never been destroyed. We really enjoyed the tour and seeing the beautiful interior of the castle. Fun fact: the Countess of Eltz loves flowers, so there were huge flower arrangements all through the castle. 

Burg Eltz Castle 

Ramparts at Burg Eltz

On our way back to Bacharach, we got a bit turned around driving through Koblenz, but the sun was out so we put the top down in the Fiat and enjoyed the drive. 

Driving back to Bacharach

So many castles!

 It was warm and sunny back in Bacharach, so we enjoyed dinner outside. Dinner was fantastic and there were two adorable, polite children who brought us our menus. I think they were unsure whether to give us beer and wine menus though!  

Dinner outside in Bacharach

Reisling grapes!

 We capped off our time in Bacharach with one last walk and a stop for gelato. I tried the Reisling gelato, which was unique and very tasty. We both loved Bacharach and were sad that we did not have another day there. Next time we go back to Germany, we will surely plan for more time to see Bacharach and the Rhine Valley. 

Up next: more time driving on the autobahn and we move on to Rothenburg.

Previous recaps can be found here.

Europe 2012- From Gimmelwald, Switzerland to Baden Baden, Germany

We woke up our last day in Switzerland to the sun shining, which we could only laugh at after a few days of rain. Neither one of us were ready to leave, and packing up that morning was almost painful. There was something about Switzerland that had reeled us in, and left us wanting more. We talked about staying longer, but we had a rental car reservation in Germany for the following day, so decided that it would be best to be on our way. We couldn't resist taking many pictures before we left that morning (here comes photo overload!). 

"If heaven isn't what it's cracked up to be, send me back to Gimmelwald." -unknown

Gimmelwald, Switzerland

Alps as the sun comes up

our home away from home

backpacker style

View from the gondola down to Lauterbrunnen

We made our way down to Interlaken to catch our train to Baden Baden, Germany. We only had to make one quick stop in Basel, so it was a very easy travel day. We arrived in Baden Baden in early afternoon, and spent the rest of the day touring the city and relaxing in one of the city's Roman style (clothed!) baths. 

Truth be told, Baden Baden was the only place that we were not really big fans of. There wasn't much to do there, but it was a great jumping off point to explore the rest of Germany. It also happened to be the 4th of July, so we were excited to go out and enjoy a few drinks. The city shut down pretty early, so that wasn't really in the cards. To celebrate Independence Day, I did have a hot fudge sundae from McDonald's. It was delicious. 

Baden Baden, Germany

Baden Baden, Germany

Baden Baden, Germany

Up next: we pick up our comically tiny car and experience the Autobahn for the first time as we drive to the Rhine Valley of Germany. 

Adios, Google Reader

Since Google Reader is going away this summer, I've added my blog to Bloglovin.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I have also heard great things about Feedly. What are people's thoughts on it? I heard it functions very similarly to Google Reader.

Europe 2012- Top of Europe

While we were in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland (based out of Gimmelwald) we wanted to do a few specific things, including hike to the top of the Schilthorn and also take the train to top of the Jungfrau, also known as the "Top of Europe."

The weather in the mountains is unpredictable and we ended up having pretty rainy weather while we were there. We probably could have hiked up the Schilthorn, but neither of us had great clothes for hiking in the rain and I think it would have been miserable.

The day after our big hike, we woke up to thunderstorms and lots of rain. It felt like the the thunder and lightning went on for hours, so we knew that the Schilthorn hike wasn't in the cards for the day. We ended up taking a quick walk up to Murren in the rain and spending some time walking around up there. The rest of the day was spent reading, playing cards, socializing, and writing in our travel journal. After a few weeks of being on the go, a low key day was needed and appreciated.

Rainy trip to Murren

Lots of waterfalls due to all the rain

The hike that wasn't meant to be

Alps/flags

Home away from home

On our last full day in Switzerland, we woke up and knew that we had to make the most of our time there. The weather still hadn't cleared up, but we decided to take the train to the top of the Jungfrau anyway. The Jungfrau rail station is the highest one in Europe, at 11,332 feet. We got an early start to Lauterbrunnen so that we could buy our tickets and start the train ride. We had to switch trains in Kleine-Schidigg and then we climbed up into the mountains. The train was very crowded and we had to stand part of the time, but the train made two quick stops and we were able to grab seats. 

Cable car ride down into the valley

Lauterbrunnen Valley

One of the stops going to the top of Europe

At the top of the Jungfrau, we were not quite sure what to expect. As it turned out, the area at the top was quite large and there were various inside and outside areas to explore. The weather at the top was cloudy and cold, but occasionally the clouds would break open and we'd have amazing Alp views. You can do all kinds of activities, including zip lining, sledding, and skiing  but we just chose to walk around and take in the sights. Neither of us had particularly warm clothes for this trip, so I pretty much wore every warm layer I had, which wasn't much.  We also really enjoyed walking through the ice tunnels and reading all about how the Jungfrau station was developed and built. 

On the top of Europe- Jungfrau

Brief break in the clouds

All bundled up- it was about 30 degrees out

I would have loved to have had clearer weather at the top of the mountain, but it was an amazing experience just the same. After a few hours of exploring the Jungfrau, we caught a train back down the mountain and could hardly keep our eyes open on the two hour train ride. 

Back in Gimmelwald, the weather had cleared up so we took a walk around town and bought cheese from the tiny cheese hut in town. The owner welcomed us into her house and had us try samples so that we could choose which one we liked best. The cheese was some of the best I have ever had. 

Near the cheese hut!

Swiss cows

As for the rest of our day, we made dinner at the hostel and then spent the night relaxing and socializing with new friends at the hostel. The next day we had plans to get up early and make our way to Germany! 

Previous recaps can be found here.