Weeks 12 - 15; Peak of Training!

Week 12:  My long run this week is the 1st of the 20 milers.  "Injury" this week.  The ongoing joke through training is that I have a new injury every week and they are fun ones (Groin injury, flea bites, etc.)  This week:  Blood in urine.  To make a really long story short - I paid a lot of money to go to urologist here in Olney & get x-rays, all for exactly what I thought was the case after hours of self-diagnosing myself on Google:  Runner's hematuria.  Essentially, I was running on an empty bladder and that causes your bladder to bruise because the walls of the bladder hit each other, causing blood in urine.  Another fun, fun injury.  Cure?  Don't pee right before a run. Lesson learned.   


I got to go home to run 20 miles with my Naperville Running Co. Group.  Driving 5 hours from Olney to Chicago on Friday night to hear my alarm clock go off at 5am on Saturday was brutal.  Needless to say, I ran with the group and it was bittersweet.  As I walked up to the gazebo, I felt like an outsider. Felt as though I almost didn't belong anymore.  I was in that awkward in-between stage of training.  Life in Olney was my new home, yet my long runs were usually done elsewhere - so it didn't feel like home just yet.  When I got "home, home" it didn't feel right with the group.  


The 20 miler went very well.  People were asking me all about life in my new town, the job, etc.  I had lots of stories, though I must say it is difficult being the talker - much easier to be the listener during those runs.  20 miles telling stories about my new life in small-town America certainly passed the time away.  I provided some laughs about adjusting and trying to remain anonymous - and failing miserably ;)  It wasn't until we ran over 355 that I realized how far we had gone in training and on this particular run.  Moving 5 hours away and completing my 1st 20 mile run was quite the accomplishment.  Great weekend.


Week 13:  Back in Olney.  Finally starting to feel adjusted and like it is my new home.  I have this great route mapped out where I run by East Fork Lake.  It's a bit scary at times when cars zoom past on the dam, but pretty scenic and relaxing.  Cars honk (sometimes scares the bejesus out of me), but I find this so encouraging - people are pulling for me down here!  Lots of waves and honks = motivation on any run.  In the school newsletter I wrote about training for the marathon, and since that went home, tons of my students and parents will say "We saw you running", so I'm being held accountable even without the Naperville Running Company ;),  Though the e-mails from my pacer also help me feel connected to the group while down here.  I did my "long run" - 10 miles (that is nothing compared to 20), on a Friday night because my next door neighbor and I were driving to St. Louis the next day for her birthday.  I was dying at mile 5 during this run because I had a last minute meal with some ladies I work with and it was just an overall bad decision.  Needless to say, I learned my lesson and I hit my mileage that night, pushing through the last 5 miles.  I then had Saturday and Sunday to rest.  


Week 14:  The second and last 20 miler week.  I was freaking out about running 20 miles in Olney.  Olney isn't even 20 miles long.  Luckily, I had company - Don from my pace group with Naperville Running Co. was down for an Illini game (which we took the win!) and he drove 2 more hours south to meet me in Olney to squash our 20 miler.  Running injury of the week:  Hives.  My whole body broke out in hives late in the afternoon on Friday.  I think I hit a stressful situation in my job and the hives just came out of no where.  I was popping Benedryl every 4 hours.  There was no way I was going to run 20 miles with hives on my body.  Thankfully, there were only a few traces of them before we ran and I never noticed them on the run.  I had a difficult time routing the 20 mile distance, but we finished it.  We were not looking as strong as we did after our first 20 miler up north, but we did it in a decent time (I think it took us around 3hrs & 40 min).  New Injury due to the 20 miler:  Blood Blister.


Week 15:  The blood blister was ruining my weekly runs.  I bought my 4th & 5th pair of Minzunos to finish out training and the woman I bought them from up north didn't lace them like the guy that normally sold me my shoes, thus causing my blood blister.  Yes I should have re-laced them, but I wasn't thinking I needed to.  When I did my short 6 mile run during the week, my blood blister flared up because it wasn't healed from the 20 miler.  I came home and knew I wouldn't be doing any short runs during the week.  My toe looked awful, even my students were saying "Miss Baugh, what happened to your toe?"  I just kept draining it and cleaning it.  


Yesterday I was able to complete my 12 miler.  I did it Saturday afternoon.  Nice and relaxing, and feeling good despite my blister.  This blister is still painful, but I'm working with it from now until race day.  


I'm sad training is almost over.  I'm so ready for race day, but I'm going to be sad to not have a schedule.  On Friday after work the secretaries were in my office and they said they walked a half marathon in Indianapolis together.  I've said I want to do another half marathon after the Chicago Marathon, but I wanted to travel for my next half.  I asked them if they would like to do another half (possibly in St. Louis) and they said they would - I got so pumped.  I love looking forward to the next race.  


Lastly, I've been thinking more and more about the cause I'm running for.  HHH is something that I'm so humbled to be running for.  I've had great people and support throughout this training, but ultimately It's been a battle I've had to fight, on my own, while always keeping HHH in mind.  I'm honored to give back and I still want to raise more money for this great cause.  We're in the home stretch of training here and donations are greatly appreciated.  Kit's fight was 1000x more difficult than this training has ever been.      


Lots of love, Lauren