i'm so ready for this.

Got my gear laid out and planned out. My dread has turned into excitement. My belly if full of good things. I've been hydrating for the past 48 hours. The taper has gone well. My family is ready to cheer me on.

Come on, Chicago Marathon. Bring it.

#TeamWorldVision.

this broke my heart. :(

I'm so glad that I'm doing something (through WorldVision) to bring clean water to these communities that so desperately need it. You can support our efforts by donating to Team World Vision - or make your impact last longer by sponsoring a child. This picture does not need to remain a reality. THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

20. Check.

I finished my the peak of my marathon training long runs this past Sunday morning. 20 miles. 20 long, grueling miles. I usually do my long runs with the Team World Vision training group, but had to change it up this weekend (for the longest run) because of the #Lawndale5K (which was awesome, btw).

My man and littlest kiddo at the Lawndale 5K - just before the Kids' Dash.

But my running buddy was true and great and we struggled along and finished together. Of course, I forgot to take pictures of the 20 miler effort. Blast. :(  But even though it was so much longer than I wanted it to be, I finished. And I finished strong. My feet were sore, my back hurt, my mind was numb - but I finished with a strong pace.

Some of my motivating thoughts while running: I thought about my kids and how proud they would be. At some point. You know - like when they're older... and I thought about my loved ones who have sponsored me. They see my effort and how much I care about this "clean water" thing and are willing to give their hard earned money to tell me "Go, AMANDA! I think you can totally do this!" And all those things motivated me to want to finish.

The marathon itself is only 15 days away now and it's looming closer. I can't believe all the hard training is done and I'm tapering now. I have two more "long" runs, and I find myself looking forward to them. I love running. I love clean water. And I love all my friends and family who have been so supportive this training season. THANK YOU!

Treadmill running...

is a pain in my knee. My right knee, to be precise.

The view from my treadmill. This was my third
set of 2 miles treadmill/1 mile track laps.

I logged 9 miles yesterday. All inside because of the weather. It was raining, but I had to do it yesterday morning because that's when I could do it. It takes me at least a couple of hours to run anything more than 8 miles. And the rest of my home-based duties don't stop just because I have a long run to fit in. The kiddos still need snuggled. The laundry still needs folded. You get the picture. So I've started using 1/2 days of PTO on mid-week long run mornings to run my longer distances as marathon day looms closer (just 30 days away!)

I've been obsessing over the weather leading up to yesterday morning and knew I'd have to run inside because of the rain. A seasoned marathoner from the fun run group at LCFC suggested I alternate two miles on the treadmill with one mile on the track.

That worked great until about mile five when my knee started to hurt - it was sharp. It got bad enough that I needed to slow way down. Track runs were still fine for a few more miles, but then the ole' leg joint was causing big problems there too. I ended up walking for some of that distance, but I did get it all in. I've been icing it and stretching/rolling to get ready for my 5-miler tomorrow morning. Slow & easy, it is.

a world away...

My daughter and I will sometimes talk about the World Vision child that we sponsor as a family. Her name is Robin* and she lives in Uganda. She's in the fifth grade. She loves her friends and learning things at school.

On the surface, it seems Robin and my daughter have a lot in common. With the only exception being that Robin is a bit older and lives in Africa. But when we look at a few of the things that separate them, stark differences surface - one that becomes apparent rather quickly is access to clean water.

My daughter can have great water for drinking/cleaning/brushing her teeth whenever she wants. It's brought into our home - she just has to turn the faucet. That's it. My daughter's chores include cleaning up her toys, keeping her room clean and helping fold laundry (sometimes). Robin's chores are much bigger and include hauling water for her family. And that's just how things are there. She doesn't have a faucet to turn on. She doesn't have plumbing. No one there does. So she fetches water so that the rest of the chores in her house can happen. Washing clothes, dishes and people. Not to mention, drinking and cooking.

The thought of my daughter walking through a village to bring back jugs of water is not a pleasant thought for me. It feels heavy and unsafe. I don't like to think about it. And I don't really like thinking about Robin doing that either. I know that the miles I run and the dollars I raise for clean water projects in Africa make a real and tangible difference in the lives of girls like Robin. Their quests for clean water don't necessarily end, but they can become safer. Shorter distances, in public areas with truly clean water as the prize. If Robin can more time going to school than trekking with heavy buckets for her family, then we've all done her a great service and as she learns and loves and grows, her entire world will benefit.

Thank you for supporting me as I work to make a difference for girls like Robin.

*Name changed for privacy. Not that I think you know all the 5th grade girls in Uganda or anything - but seriously - it just felt skeevy to put all her personal deets out here on the world wide web.

homemade pizza, a great 18 miles and a stiff left knee

yesterday morning was 18 miles. it took me almost 4.5 hours to knock it out, but knock it out, i did. i did, indeed. 

i overheard on the running trail a few weeks ago that every runner has at least two really bad runs while training for a race. i'm pretty sure that i've already had mine. the foggy 6 miler that caused heat exhaustion and dehydration definitely counts for at least one. And the ten-miler in the pouring rain with the lightening and thunder counts for the other one. i'm really hoping that those are my only two bad runs. 

runners are kind of superstitious. and i find myself pitching my tent in that camp a bit with my long run routines - what I wear, what I eat and even what order I get ready. yesterday's run was strong and steady and good. and so, of course, i think it's because of the homemade pizza don made me the night before. i've already requested it as my lunch/dinner on the Saturday before the marathon. that and mashed potatoes (another "i should totally be a supermarathoner" pre-long-run meal i've had).

before the run, i was fairly nervous. and was honestly questioning how it would go. but on the drive home, i was smiling from ear to ear. i couldn't stop laughing (by myself) and talking (again, to myself). that must be what runner's high is about. i was just totally ecstatic. i got home to an empty house (the hubs had the kids) - ate, showered, laid down (for about 40 minutes) - then i picked my 4-year old up at her friend's birthday party, ate some cake & ice cream and didn't feel the least little bit bad about it. and then had a great dinner party at the new home of some dear friends.

it wasn't until i got home and tried to fall asleep that i realized i was terribly achy sore all over. the only thing i can compare it to is when i was a waitress and on my feet for 8 hours or more at a time and your feet ache so bad that the pain that will literally keep you awake. i tossed and turned for a long time, waiting and hoping that i could drift off into sleep. i eventually did. and with the exception of a stiff left knee (which feels much better now that i've been icing it), i would barely know that i ran 18 miles yesterday. i'm impressed with my body for healing up and getting over everything. and i can't believe i'm going to do two more distances that are longer than 18 miles. 

20 miles is in just under two weeks. And the full marathon is on 10/12.  if those runs are anything at all like the one i had yesterday - i'll be ready (at long as I can get some of that pizza again...)

A family that trains together...

I ran 29 miles this past week. My calves are sore and I have blisters on my feet, but it's worth it. That cost of soreness and blisters really isn't too much considering all the benefits - fitness, fun(ish) and I love that I'm running for a great cause - clean water. Who doesn't need/crave/love clean water? But another unexpected benefit for me is being able to experience this with the support of my family.

Base training for most of the other runners on my team started in mid-April. But I had more of a "base" to build, so my training started way back in January. It's already been 8 full months of early mornings and treadmills and running magazines. But my husband has been supportive the whole way - making sure we have plenty of the right foods to eat, keeping gatorade in the house and cheering me on, all while managing the kiddos. With two little ones - that's no small feat. He plays with them and handles morning routines on longer run days. He's even been known to rub my feet. Once. (But it was amazing and I'd really like it to happen again someday. Soon.)

My kids are awesome at being supportive too - in their own kid ways. One of my favorite parts of a run is the when I come back home after running and my 4-year old daughter asks me "how many miles today?" She's so excited that she says, "Wow! That's awesome!" no matter how many miles I tell her (even when it's "just" 3 miles). My little guy squawks and squeals when I come home, and runs feverishly around my legs and the living room - he likes to be a part of the excitement too. I didn't realize how good this was going to be for our family to do together. We even started a countdown calendar (shown here) for race day - the big day is now in just 41 more days (I'm a day late posting this picture). It's starting to feel like it's actually going to happen and race day will be here before we know it.

I thought that doing this with kids was going to be so much harder. It's not always easy, but it's so fun to have this family thing that we can do together.  They make this whole process of training for a marathon a little less grueling. (And a lot more cute!)