I did it!

The marathon was a week ago today and I have just been too beat to post about it. I want to do a nice long run down of the event and the course but haven't had it in me yet. I will do that for any people who may come across this blog during a search of this marathon. I know when I was getting ready for the Hatfield McCoy I found several blog posts written on the event and it really helped to read up on it. Until then, here is the post I did for my other blog.

Last Days

Monday I ended up walking with my mother, Lothar and the kids. We pushed Michael in the stroller but Mallory walked. It was nice to have them along and just chat and not push it. Tuesday I did a fast what I thought was 4 miles. I timed myself out 30 minutes and back 30 minutes thinking that would be 4 miles. Later I clocked the mileage in the car and actually did 4.8 miles in that amount of time so I must be doing better than a 15 minute mile. That was it! My last training walk. Today I will swing by the Y and have the gal who has kept the kids in the Kids Korner sign my marathon shirt. And maybe one or two others there. The kids are off to a day camp at Michael's preschool so I will have 4 hours to reclaim the house after Michael's big party and get ready for the weekend.

Final Thoughts as the marathon approaches...

I am sooooooooo excited! I can't wait to get started!!! I only have 7 more total miles of training to do before the big day!! I will do a quick 3 around here on Monday but then Tue I want to do my route near the Y that I have been doing for these last few weeks. I just am so happy to be here. It's been a long 16 weeks of training and now it's time! Let's do it!

Shirts!

I got my name and 26.2 put on my shirt that I had gotten for the race. Then I ordered green shirts for Paul and the kids that say Team Tammy and 26.2 and Hatfield McCoy Marathon and the date. I am going to have people sign my shirt with fabric markers. I think that will be fun and a nice memento of the big event!

Fri and Sun

I only had to do a short 3 miles on Friday so I got up and got it done early in the neighborhood near where we live. Felt good and fine. Saturday I was supposed to do 8 but we had Michael's party and I was zonked so I did 6 miles today (Sunday) and called it good enough! Tomorrow is a 3 and Tue a 4 and that is IT!!!!! I am sooooooooo excited to get to the marathon! I have been reading other people's reviews of it again and it sounds like just so much fun! I am ready. The weather forecast for Sat shows scattered thunderstorms but maybe they will be later in the day after the marathon is over! Other reviews say there is a lot of shade on the course so that's great news! Bring on the 26.2!

Tue and Wed

Tuesday I got in 6 but had to do it inside. It was just too hot out for me to think about going especially at the time I had to go. Then Wed I did 4 outside. It was bearable. Today was a rest day. Tomorrow is a measly 3 miles! I haven't had a walk that short on my training schedule since the first few weeks of this venture. Saturday I have an 8 to do and that is basically it until the big day! Yahoo!

Monday and it's HOT

My nice cool training weather is a thing of the past. Tonight I waited until after the kids got in bed to walk and it was still 87 at 7:00 pm. Yikes. So hot. Just did 4 tonight. I am down to easy walks. Tomorrow 6, then 4 on Wed.

Blow Out!

I happened to look at the bottom of my running shoes on Friday and noticed I had worn them plum out! There was no tread left and you could see a huge bald spot on the right shoe where it was the next layer of the sole. I went back to Cool Comfort to see if anything could be done and it could...I could buy a new pair. So after a quick call to my sweet mother who offered to help with the cost, I got a new pair of running shoes two weeks before my marathon!!! I wore them Saturday and they were great and I really could tell the difference. I had been wearing those other ones with no tread and didn't know how bad they were!

Fri and Sat

Friday I did a quick 4 miles, three inside and one out, it was cold that day! Then Saturday I did 8 outside. It was nice and it went well.

Update

So last Friday I took the day off after my 20 miler. Saturday I walked 4 miles in our neighborhood. During the walk I saw a house with nice cardboard boxes on the side of the road. I had a vision they would be cute with Wonka spray painted on the side and stacked up for decorations at Michael's upcoming birthday party. So, I stopped and asked if I could have them. The man was so nice. He dumped everything out and broke them down for me and gave me two unused ones. So I toted (nice southern word) them home at the end of my walk.

Sunday I took the day off.

Monday, I did 5 miles. Again it was overcast, ahhhh.

Tuesday, I did 6 miles after our MOPS brunch at Jackie's.

Wednesday I went with Mallory's class to the zoo in Lville so didn't have a chance to fit in a proper walk.

Today is my birthday so it will be busy but I will try and go at least 6 after Michael's picnic.

Big 2-0!!!

Today I did my longest training walk-20 miles! So happy to have that over with! It was a perfect day, overcast and cool. I walked all over this town! I parked at Qdoba and took off from there. I had gotten a coupon for a mango salad and drink and I knew I would be hungry when I finished so I planned to wind up there and eat! Paul met me there and it was great to see him. I almost started crying! From now on out there's only a 9 and an 8 mile walk as far as longer ones go so it's all downhill from here. Looking forward to June 11.

Tuesday and Wednesday

I did 4 miles each on these days. Went fine.

Monday, May 16

Today was cold, in the low 50s so I did my 5 miles indoors at the Y. Did 2 on the treadmill and the rest around the track. I have decided to do my 20 on Thursday. Saturday we have two soccer games and the church picnic. I will head out right after I drop off Michael and it should take 5 hours. Hopefully the weather is better by then!

Major catching up...

I haven't blogged my training walks since last Saturday when I did my 18 miles! Well, that next Monday I did 5, then Tue I did 8, then Wed I did 5, then Friday I did 5 more. Saturday I left the house at 630 and it was drizzling but I had to do 13-14 miles before 10 am when Mallory had her soccer game. I walked all over and then ended up out at Lakeview Park. Went fine. My left ankle is better. My right hip still hurts from time to time. I am not planning to run any until the marathon. Don't want to re-injure it.

Eighteen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday I walked 18 miles, the most I have to date. It went well! My left ankle isn't hurting hear as much, Praise the Lord, and the weather was perfect. It was slightly overcast, cool and breezy. I left Lakeview Park after Mallory's 9 am soccer game and headed out. I had mapped an 18 mile course on mapmyrun.com. I was counting on averaging a 15 min mile so knew it would take 4 and a half hours. I left Lakeview at 10 and walked in our driveway at 230. Perfect. I enjoyed the walk. I only have 2 more long walks in my training before the marathon. Yea! After walking I showered up and we left for Lexington to celebrate Mother's Day! Had a wonderful time eating dinner at Raffery's, then going to Orange Leaf, then to the mall. I love my babies!

Wed and Fri

I did 5 miles both of these days. The weather was OK and I was able to walk outside which I now am really enjoying.

Tuesday 8

It is raining today and all day so I went to the Y after dropping Michael off at preschool and did 8 miles there. I did the first 6 on the treadmill at a 15 min mile pace since my left ankle is still hurting. Then I did the last 2 around the track. I can't run any more like I did at first. My ankle just hurts too bad. I am thankful I can walk but am concerned of getting a worse injury if I over do it so I am taking it easy on longer walks.

Catch up

I just realized I haven't posted since last Wed! Friday I did 4 miles and then Sat I was only able to do 6. Paul had stuff he had to do so he couldn't keep the kids so I couldn't do the 15 I was supposed to do. Hated to miss it. Hopefully it won't hurt me too much.

Today, May 2nd, I did 6 miles. Was just set to do 4 but kept going since the weather was OK and I didn't get to go long over the weekend.

Wednesday

Did 4 miles on the treadmill at the Y at a pace of 4.5. Felt OK, but left ankle still hurts. Bought an ankle brace thing at Cool Comfort.

Mid week 8

I took Michael to school today and then headed to the Y. The weather was threatening so I wanted to be near the Y in case it started to rain. I took off walking outside and just kept going. I walked an hour out and was about to head back when it started raining. It wasn't too bad and I had to keep going so I walked nearly the entire way back, an hour, in the rain! It was nice and cool and I had my mp3 to keep me company. I listened to KLove the whole eight miles today. My left ankle still hurts. It's manageable but definitely there's an injury there.

Monday, April 24

Today I went 4.2 miles in one hour. I was supposed to do 4 and it was decent enough to walk outside so I went 30 minutes out and 30 back. Glad I am walking better than a 15 minute mile, but not much better. My left ankle is sore. I am a little concerned. I think I might have a slight sprain.

Fri and Sat

Yesterday I did 4 miles. Went fine. It's funny how 4 miles gets to be no big deal! I just knocked it out. I ran some again. Sometimes when I am feeling well I run 5 times in a row around the track. That's a qtr mile so it just speeds things up.

Today I did 16 miles! Yikes. I am sore. I was going to walk in a local 5K fundraiser for a ministry for couples struggling with infertility but it was raining at the start time. I didn't want to get wet and then still have 13 miles to go. So, I just went to the Y and got started. I did 4 on the treadmill, then did 4 around the track. Then I went outside and did another 4 since the weather cleared up. Then I did the last 4 inside since it was starting to sprinkle. It went OK overall but when I was done I thought there is no way I could do 10 more miles right now. I am glad I still have about 6 weeks of training to go. I need it! Tomorrow is Easter! And a rest day!

Tues and Wed

Yesterday I hurriedly did 6 miles between other things I needed to do. Went fine. Did it at the Y while Michael was in the child care area. Today I did 4 pretty quickly, again to make a storytime event at the library. I ran quite a bit. I like doing that when I feel like it because it does make the time go faster! Off tomorrow, rest day.

Monday, April 18th

Today I did four miles at the Y. I am getting to where I run off and on just to make the time go faster. I still plan to walk the marathon but will run down the hills so it's good to do some running during my training I am thinking. I did two miles on the treadmill and two on the track this morning. Tomorrow is my first longer mid week walk...7.

Did Twelve

Well, my 12 mile walk went fine yesterday. The weather was dreary so I went to the Y and did it there. I am kind of getting used to this Y thing afterall. I like that it's climate controlled and that there is a bathroom and water fountain right there. It's also safe and that's a good thing. I have gotten a bit spooked while out on long walks in places where there weren't many people around. So, I might just have to finish off my training indoors. Of course, when the marathon comes along I won't be as rough and ready as I would have been had I trained outside. We'll see.

Friday, April 15

Today I hurriedly did four miles at the Y. I rushed over from the fire station Mommy and Me visit and then had to be at the dentist. I ran quite a bit of it just to make it go faster! Tomorrow-12-yikes~!

A Walk in the Park

Yesterday I walked at a local park. There is a long trail and I really enjoyed it. You don't have to worry about cars and it's asphalt which I have heard is better on your body. There is also a bathroom so that's good. I plan to walk there again as I am able. I did 4 miles. Today is a rest day. Tomorrow, 4, then Sat I need to do 12. Yikes.

6 today

I did 6 miles at the Y. It went fine. I did two on the treadmill and walked the rest around the track.

Two Months from Today

Today is April 11 and the marathon is June 11!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Back at the Y

Tonight I got the kids down and dashed to the Y to do three quick miles. I need to hit my training schedule hard now that the marathon is two months away. I ran half of the last mile and did fine. I still plan to walk the marathon, just was trying to hurry and get done tonight!

Walking in Oberlin

We just got back from our trip to the beach and Louisiana. I walked three days in Gulf Shores and then did walk two days in Oberlin. I didn't do a really long walk like I should have due to the family reunion being on Saturday but at least got in some walk time.

Last Saturday

I forgot to post last Saturday's walk. Mallory had a soccer game at Lakeview Park. I wore my shoes and planned to walk home. I did and it went well. I was out for over an hour and a half so I figure the route I took home was about 6 miles. We had lots to do to get ready for the trip so I didn't try to fit in a long long walk.

Walking on the Beach

I did my walks on the beach road this week. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I walked 3-4 miles each day. On Friday I walked in Oberlin where Paul is from. It was hot and humid but OK. I will try to walk again tomorrow, the day of the reunion and then won't be able to get back out until Tuesday. Looking forward to getting back on schedule.

Friday, April 1st

I took Michael to Lexington this morning to a music class and for me to do some pre-trip shopping so I didn't get to walk until this afternoon. Went fine, did 4 miles inside at the Y.

New Schedule

This is the new plan I have for walking. I will walk Mon, Tue, and Wed, take Thur for rest day, walk Fri and Sat (this will be my long walk of the week) and then take Sunday off. I'm starting this week so tomorrow I will be off, but will walk 4 on Friday and then 12 on Saturday. This works better for Paul and really better for me. I volunteer at Mallory's school at 9 on Thursdays so now with it being an off day I won't have to rush rush rush to get there.

Wednesday, March 30

Today I had my first mid-week six miler. It's freezing outside here so I did it indoors at the Y. I took the new mp3 player we got and really enjoyed walking to some fun tunes. It helped tremendously. I hadn't been big on the mp3s as I didn't want to get used to having to have music since I don't want to use one during the marathon. But, I was really surprised to see how much better the walking went with the music. I did two miles on the treadmill, two on the track, one on the treadmill and one on the track. After it was over I got a blueberry muffin at Panera and Michael got an Easter egg cookie!

Tuesday, March 29

This morning I went to our new Cracker Barrel for breakfast! Yea!!! After I picked Michael up from preschool we headed out to the Y and I did three miles, two on the treadmill and one on the track. I am kind of liking mixing it up like that.

Training Schedule Tweak

Paul asked me yesterday after I was gone nearly 3 hours if I would rethink the day I do my long walks. He is tired on Sunday afternoons and just needs to veg out and rest but has to deal with the kids while I'm walking. So, I think I will try to do my long walks on Mondays, his off day. We'll see how that goes.

10

It was cold today so I decided to do my 10 mile walk inside at the Y. I ended up doing half on the treadmill and half walking around the track in the workout room. It's 20 times around to equal a mile. I did two on the treadmill, two on the track and so forth. It went fine and I was so happy to have done it. It just takes so long. I was walking from 2:15 to 4:45. Oh brother.

Saturday

Today was super cold, in the 30s and I wasn't about to go walking outside so the kids and I went to the Y and they played in the child care room while I walked 4 miles on the treadmill. It wasn't bad and I actually felt good the whole time. I got my speed up to 4.5 which is the fastest I have done yet. Tomorrow's supposed to be cold too so I am just psyching myself up to do 10 on the treadmill. At least it's climate controlled and I can pop in to the bathroom when I need to. That will be the most I have done so far. Hope I can do it!

Thursday, March 24

Today I zipped thru 3 miles at the Y. I wanted to hurry to make it by the bakery before getting to Mallory's school at 9. Crazy.

Wednesday, March 23

Went 5 miles today outside. It was so nice and breezy. Went fine. Shoes are not killing me like before!

Shoes Might Work

Today I wore my running shoes I just got but had been having trouble with. They actually felt OK. I am so glad. I did take the 25.00 insoles out thinking they might be one source of the problem. I did 3 miles on the treadmill in under 43 minutes. I wore my new running bra and my new 2.50 athletic top I found at the Peddler's Mall yesterday!

I think I can do it!

Today I went 8 miles, the most I have done to date. I wore some old shoes I had gotten from my neighbor across the street and they felt better than the 100 dollar ones I bought a couple of weeks ago. I did get some blisters today though. But I made it the whole eight and felt pretty good. I think one key factor to feeling good today was that I did a really flat route. These hills around here eat my lunch. I have to train on the flat roads. There is one big hill on the Hatfield McCoy course so I will just have to push thru it and the rest should be pretty flat so I am not going to kill myself training on these hills. I walked for two hours today.

So sore

Today I was supposed to just do 4 miles but I did more like 6. I just wanted to get some miles in and I walked downtown and it was just a ways to get back. My feet were hurting pretty bad. My legs got better the longer I went. I don't know what I am going to do about these shoes.

Rave Reviews

The Hatfield McCoy marathon gets rave reviews from people who have done it. Click here to see what people have said about this marathon in the past.

Thurs, March 17

Today I hurried to the Y to get in 3 miles before rushing home to shower and get to Mallory's school at 9. Did the 4.2 pace and finished in 43 min. Felt a little better today.

Concerned

I am beginning to wonder if I can do this thing. I did 5 miles on the treadmill today and my legs and feet are still hurting. I am guessing it's part age and part shoes. I took the met pads out, they just weren't feeling right, and I still had some burning but not as bad as without the new insoles. My shins are hurting in different places now. Oh brother. I don't remember feeling like this 10 years ago when I trained for the Portland Marathon. But I was just a sweet young 34 back then! Something's gotta give.

Better

I went in to Cool Comfort to see about getting my shoes tweaked. The guy who helped me, the owner's husband, really knew his stuff. He got me all fixed up with new insoles and met pads and 10 dollar socks. Today I did 3 miles on the treadmill and my feet didn't burn near as bad but still burned a little. I will keep trying this prescription for a week and if I'm still having a lot of burning I will go back in for another diagnosis! They really are great there.

Hate my new shoes

I don't know what the problem is but my new shoes are doing me wrong. My shins are killing me. The bottoms of my feet are burning as I walk. Something is wrong for sure. I went 6 miles today and was fine except for the fact that my feet were burning off. I'm going to go by the store where I bought the shoes tomorrow and talk to them about what could be the problem. It's bad.

Did 4 miles today in about an hour. Walked outside. It was gorgeous, about 65 degrees. My legs really hurt for the first mile or two. Not sure why.

Love my new shoes

Did 3 miles on the treadmill this morning. Was the first time in my new shoes and they felt great. So happy with them. Changed the speed several times from 4.2 to 4 to 4.2 and then 4.3:)

Nu Shuz

I got some new running shoes today! Yea. I have been wearing some shoes that weren't really that great and I can tell my feet are hurting and my shins too. Hopefully these new Brooks will do the trick. I didn't want to stress over new shoes. I went to our local great shoe store, Cool Comfort, and wanted to find a decent pair of running shoes on sale. Even though I'm walking the marathon, running shoes are still recommended due to all the miles I will be logging during training, etc. These were $100 shoes on sale for $55 in my size, felt good on, done deal.

Today I did 4 miles on the treadmill in an hour. Was hurting for the first 2 miles.

Today I did 3 miles on the treadmill at the Y. Did it in under 45 minutes. Felt OK. I need to get new shoes.

Sunday, March 6th

Went out for my longest walk yet. It was supposed to be 5 but I think I went over that. I was walking for an hour and 27 minutes and figured 5 would have taken around 1 hour and 15 min. I walked downtown and it was pretty cold but that wasn't the worst part. It was those hills! Ouch!!!

Saturday, March 5th

Yesterday I walked 4 miles on the treadmill. It went fine. I did it at a pace of 4.2 for the first three miles and then went 4.3 for the last one. Finished in under an hour. I had the fan pointing right on me but thought that these aren't real world conditions so I need to do more outside in the heat on hills! Today I will go 5 after church,.

Today I did 3 miles on the treadmill at the downtown Y. I went at the 4.2 pace and finished in about 43 minutes. Felt good but still bored! I talked to Missy today and she suggested getting an mp3 player and downloading books to listen to while out on the long runs.

Today I did 4 miles inside on the treadmill at the Y. It was slow going at first but got easier. It is just so BORING! I even had my headphones on listening to whatever was on the TV but it was still Bo-ring. Tomorrow is back to a 3 so at least I won't be bored as long!

I did 3 miles on the treadmill at the downtown Y this morning. I went at a pace of 4.2 and finished in around 43 minutes. I wanted to go outside but it was a bit too cold this morning. The weather is picking up though, praise the Lord. Should be done with the worst of it I hope!!!

I registered!

EEEEKKK! I just signed up and paid the entry fee for the marathon so it's official. I have to do it now, can't lose 40 bucks:) Here's the official website for the race...

Sunday, Feb 27

Today I was able to walk outside. Paul was home and the weather was decent so I headed out for my longest walk yet...4 miles. I did it in just under one hour. I love walking outside though I get a little uneasy when I am in areas without many people around. It was great. I hope to walk outside again tomorrow.

Today I did 3 miles on the treadmill inside at the Y again. It was tougher today than yesterday so I slowed the machine down to 4.0 speed. Will take tomorrow off and do a short walk tomorrow before trying for 4 on Monday.

Thursday, Feb 24th

I did 3 miles on the treadmill at the downtown Y today at a speed of 4.2. It was the first time I had gone there since we joined up last week. There are two branches in town and I usually use the smaller one. I did it in about 43 minutes and hurried out to shower to go to Mallory's school where I volunteer on Thursday mornings. I'm going to try to do another 3 tomorrow and Saturday, take Sunday off and go 4 on Monday. We'll see. The weather is bad, rainy and cold so I can't go outside this week. Maybe it will be nicer next week.

Training Schedule I Plan to Use

I found this schedule online and plan to follow it with a few tweaks. I will do my long walks on Mondays instead of Sundays and adapt the rest of this when I catch up.

Walking Connection®

Training To Walk A Marathon

Walking Marathon Training Schedules for
Beginner Walking -- 4 MONTH PROGRAM

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Week	Rest	Easy	Medium	Easy	Rest	Medium	Long
1	0	3 miles	3 miles	3 miles	0	3 miles	6 miles
2	0	3 miles	3 miles	3 miles	0	4 miles	7 miles
3	0	3 miles	4 miles	3 miles	0	4 miles	5miles
4	0	3 miles	4 miles	3 miles	0	4 miles	9 miles
5	0	3 miles	5 miles	3 miles	0	4 miles	10miles
6	0	3 miles	5 miles	3 miles	0	4 miles	7 miles
7	0	3 miles	6 miles	3 miles	0	4 miles	12 miles
8	0	3 miles	6 miles	4 miles	0	4 miles	13 miles
9	0	4 miles	7 miles	4 miles	0	4 miles	10miles
10	0	4 miles	8 miles	4 miles	0	5 miles	15 miles
11	0	4 miles	8 miles	5 miles	0	5 miles	17 miles
12	0	5 miles	9 miles	5 miles	0	5 miles	14 miles
13	0	5 miles	10 miles	5 miles	0	5 miles	20 miles
14	0	5 miles	8 miles	5 miles	0	4 miles	7 miles
15	0	4 miles	6 miles	4 miles	0	3 miles	8 miles
16	0	3 miles	4 miles	0	0	0-3 miles	Marathon

Wed, Feb 23-Paul was in the middle of his colonoscopy and called me while I was on the treadmill and told me to go get Mallory from school and come on to the hospital so I could be there when the dr came to tell me how his procedure went. So, I was only able to go 2.5 miles. I wanted to do 3 or go 45 minutes whichever came first.

Tomorrow I plan to go 45 min again.

Tuesday, Feb 22-went 2.08 miles on the treadmill at the Y in 30 minutes. I have upped my treadmill speed to 4.2. Feel like this is pretty good progress in a week. Last week I was going at 3.7

My marathon history

I did the Portland Marathon in Sept of 2001. My friends Missy and Jeanine and I all trained and flew out there a couple of weeks after the tragedy of Sept 11. I walked most of it but ran down hills when I could and my time was 6:12. This is a huge event and there are thousands of participants. Loved the whole experience. The funniest thing that happened around this marathon was that the day before the 26.2 we were walking around downtown Portland and Jeanine stumbled somehow and went down on the road. We were all just shocked. She was OK but we were just thinking, "after all that training, mile after mile on that treadmill, for it to end the day before on a leisurely stroll thru the streets of Portland!" We all got a laugh after it was clear she was alright!

I am fuzzy on the date but think it was Dec of 2002 that I did the Memphis Marathon. Missy was training to run the half so I went ahead and decided to go with her and do the marathon again. It was cold and I remember seeing all the sweatshirts that people shed on the course lying on the sides of the road. This marathon hadn't been going as long as the Portland but was still a good one and they even had an Elvis impersonator on the route to cheer us on! My time got better, 5:39.

After all that I have read about the Hatfield-McCoy AND considering the fact that I am 10 years older I don't look for my time to get better. I really just hope to finish and would like to do it in 6 hours.

What I've done so far...

Tuesday, Feb 15- walked about 20 minutes inside the Y on the track. Went fine. You have to dodge people quite a bit and it's pretty boring walking in circles but it's manageable and climate controlled which is good.

Wed., Feb 16-walked around the track about 20-25 minutes

Thur, Feb 17-decided to try the treadmill. Used my headphones to watch tv as I walked. I went 30 minutes. I really don't care for the treadmill. My friend Jeanine who did the Portland Marathon with me in Sept of 01 trained exclusively on a treadmill so it's possible. I just really don't like this method.

Fri, Feb 18-30 min on the treadmill again, went at a 4 miles per hour pace which I will need to improve on for the actual marathon

Sat, Feb 19 walked in our neighborhood, ahhhhh, this is what I like best. I don't use an mp3 but just walk and look around. It's much more enjoyable and much less boring. Cons: major hills in our neighborhood, but if I train on hills I should do better on the marathon course; also, I don't have someone to watch Michael so can really only do outdoors on Mondays and Saturdays when Paul is off.

Sunday, Feb 20-took the day off, rest

Monday, Feb 21-45 minutes in our neighborhood. Weather was nice, perfect walk. Figure I did nearly 3 miles. It's getting easier. Still a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG way to go.

10 years later, can I do it?

We re-joined the Y last week after about a 3.5 year hiatus. I went on the first day and checked Michael in to the child care area and started walking around the track. It's an indoor track and takes 20 times around to equal one mile. I was enjoying the exercise since I really have done nothing since Michael was born in the summer of 07.

This crazy idea popped in my head to do another marathon. I have always wanted to do another one but after having the kids have never worked out a good time to train. Now with Mallory in school and this renewed Y membership it just might be possible.

I went home and did a google search for the 2011 marathon schedule. I needed to find something near our hometown that was interesting and was set for sometime in early June. It would take about 4 months to train and I wanted to have it done before we started our summer traveling which includes the Church of God Convention and a trip to Alabama to spend with family.

The Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon was interesting because it is just down the road in Louisville but I really didn't think I could be ready by the end of April. The only other marathon in our vicinity was the Hatfield-McCoy which is held on the West Virginia/Kentucky state line. This one looked kind of interesting. It actually winds back and forth across the river there and goes in and out of Kentucky and West Virginia. I read some reviews posted by marathoners who had run it and they all gave it rave reviews on the hospitality front. Said the director was a great guy and the people of the communities where the course takes place all come out and really support the event. Said there were drink stations and porto-potties at nearly every mile, this is definitely a good thing. I read on and decided this was the one for me to go for if I was going to do it. It's June 11 which is just perfect time wise. So, I called Paul and told him I wanted to do it. I told him when I had done my other two marathons I always thought it was so sweet to see dads with kids holding signs saying "Go Mommy-You can do it". I asked him if he would do that with the kids and he said, "well if you can train and go 26.2 miles we can sure sit in the shade and hold a sign."

I quickly made a hotel reservation in the Williamson WV area as local accommodations are slim considering the size of the town and the people who show up for the big Hatfield-McCoy reunion held the same weekend. I was surprised to get a room but crossed that off my list.

Now all I have to do is train to walk for some 6 hours straight. Oh dear. That's not going to be as easy as making a reservation at the Super 8.