It's been six days since finishing my first trail marathon and I'm starting to come out of the fog of recovery.

I ran the Free State Trail marathon in Lawrence, Kansas. It rained from the moment the RD shouted "Go!". The trail was slop by halfway through.

But that's not the point of this little post. I'll have a race write up sometime soon and post the link to it.

What I wanted to share is that I finally completed Eric's marathon plan. I purchased it about 2 years ago and started it twice, shelving it both times until this year. One of the times I stopped was because race timing didn't work out. The other was because I was taking on something new- expanding my trail running and couldn't piece together enough information from this website, which was before the book came out, to make sense of everything. 

After spending a year with a coach who took me through my first longest distances races (17 mile, 25k and 50k), I opened up the marathon plan with more knowledge of how to approach the heart rate zones, and the long runs, and everything in between. And what I found is that I LOVED the variety of the plan. I spent a year, and rightly so, running fairly monotonous training plans- everything low, unless specific hill training. I learned a lot. But I knew I couldn't go into another training season with the same long and slow. Eric's plan gave me the variety and forced me to keep my edge mentally and of course, physically. I got the the end of my last long run of 20 miles and sort of shrugged my shoulders and said "Well, I guess I'm ready." Yes, I had lots of trying, dark, fatiguing moments and one particular bad morning, with the dog peeing on a brand new rug, left me threatening to quit the training because I just couldn't anymore, but I got through (and we still have the dog and the rug washed out). I toed the starting line feeling equipped and prepared.

I would say the marathon plan is a heck of a plan and you need to be prepared to put in the effort but it will make a better runner. 

So the other day I was on my 10 mile run. I was barely into mile two, still the warm-up phase for me when I rounded a corner and there crossing the road was a baby possum. It was moving it's little possum butt at a leisurely pace and I was hoping it would get far enough across before I intersected it's path, therefore being close enough to sprint away if it noticed me and decided to purse, chase, attack- whatever possums do. I didn't know. Maybe it was the sloshing of my water bottle, maybe the sluggish breathing of one not quite warmed up with a nice warm sun radiating off the pavement, but it noticed me. And stopped. And turned toward me. I would like to say that it cocked it's head in a cute little way which would have signified to me that it was safe to pass but it didn't. So I stopped. Like I said, I don't know what possums do when threatened but I wasn't going to purposefully find out. I took some good swigs from my water bottle and waited the little creature out. It only took a minute for it to be bored with me, turn around and return from whence it came. I commenced my running and thus ended my first ever stand-off with a possum.

The break was nice and I hit a bike trail that took me behind a housing development and rounded up onto a gravel road, one side being the several acre lots and the other a cow field. Just before I reached the end of the bike trail, I met a mini wiener dog (pardon for the dog breed ) named Shorty. Of course I didn't know Shorty's name until the owner realized someone else was on the trail and called out to it. I commented that it was a nice day and she concurred. Then she informed me that there was a cow loose up ahead. Oookay. I've lived in small town Iowa my whole life. I lived the first 10 years of my life on a farm with livestock. I married a man who grew up on a farm. His parents still live there and I even run through Dad's cow pastures, past cows and the whole nine yards. Cows are not new to me, nor are they alarming to me like this woman indicated. Still, I had never encountered a cow on my runs around my town and it brought to mind my grandpa.

I cannot remember exactly what grade I was in, either 5th or 6th grade, and I was running some sort of meet. I think I might have been running a 200m. Anyway, I looked back over my shoulder and my grandpa, who happened to be there, saw me do that. Well, did I hear it!!! Never, ever look back! And also, run like a bull was chasing you! I've never forgotten his words.

Which brings me back to my situation... Exactly where was this cow loose? What did Shorty's owner mean by loose? Was it a bull or a cow? The unrestricted cow was not quite a quarter of a mile ahead and fairly occupied with the greener on the other side of the fence, across a gravel road, up a steep ditch and into the green, green field behind the housing development. She took notice of me (yay, a cow with no calves!), gave me a quick once over and went back to filling her seven stomachs. The lady warned me that if the cow charged I should get behind a tree. Heh- there are no trees growing next to gravel roads lining pasture fields. I was stuck with a measly signpost. I estimated that I could outrun the brown beast before it clambered out of the ditch in it's pursuit. Besides, I had just chewed my own cud of a handful of Sports Beans so I was fueled if I needed to high-tail it out. I kept my pace easy, not doing anything to spook the poor dear who would soon be harassed back into her proper confines. I passed her with ease, though I did look back (sorry, Grandpa) just to make sure the only ones getting fired up would be the neighbors (If you build a housing development in the middle of a pasture, they will come?).

I don't have any pictures to share with you as I don't carry a camera or phone on my runs (not yet anyway). My possum and cow story pales compared to some of the more "wild"life spotted by the rest of you. It's just a story to tell. Maybe it will keep your next run humorous!

Psst... I still don't know what to do about possums.

Just found this today. Enjoy!

http://heyrunnergirl.tumblr.com/

Truthfully, I haven't looked around on here for any forum discussions on navigating the training program. I also didn't read the manual for my heartrate monitor. So today being Day 1 of my training plan, I needed some help with that lovely piece of plastic and hooking it up/downloading/uploading all my info into the training site. 

Actually, my Garmin Forerunner 110 is easy to use which is primarily what I wanted it to be. I also didn't want the actual watch to be cumbersome. You've seen the size of watches out there. Yikes! Sure the shoes are minimal but here comes the watch... Not in love with the chest strap. Is anyone? I'm sure this is going to work out eventually with use.

It's been since high school track that I've ever actually warmed up before running- as in going running for 20 minutes before getting to the main event. I stretch, etc. but I don't run before I run. I step out of my house and run. So the whole warm-up thing is going to be fun to figure out.

My actual heartrate base test wasn't a problem. Thankfully I live in a spot that is fairly flat and easy to test on. I was dreading heading to the school's track. Plus, I saved my daughter from dying a thousand deaths if any of her friends actually saw me running.

Again, back home and hooking up to the computer/training site just took a while and a little guessing. Thank goodness the hubs was home to help me. Now I've got my zones and my plan- here's to 8 weeks!

It serves me right, picking up that Born To Run book left "innocently" around by my husband. You know the one; you probably wouldn't be here otherwise.

Then I got all VFF, proudly strutting my "shoes" around and answering questions galore. If I had a dollar for every question asked, I could buy myself some real shoes. Wait, I don't even like real running shoes anymore. And what is a real running shoe anyhow?

I ran all the time as a kid. In high school I ran to school and back. I quit track but I blame it on shoes. I kept running after I had my own money to get my own shoes. I was a weirdo and I didn't know it. I didn't know most people hate running (or exercising, in general).

I kept running except that I never excelled. I wasn't consistent and I didn't have a clue, really. Then I joined some friends one Spring to run a 20K. I loved it. Furthest distance up to that Spring: 5K. First training day run with them and I blew past 8 miles like nothin'. I also got my old Nike something or other updated with an extra cushioned something or other.

I can visualize you cringing now. I blame my knee problems on the shoe. Ok, not fair. I blame it also on a whole bunch of things actually, but the shoes...

Now, like I said, I'm free of cushion. But I still am not where I want to be as far as pain free, distance and speed. Actually, I don't care too much about speed- I'd just like to run as far as I want pain free.

Fast forward one too many nice days in the middle of an Iowa winter, one too many goodies, and one too many visits to this very inspiring website and here I am.

I just signed up for the 8 week plan. This is pretty much the only way that I know of right now for me to get better at running. I have no doubt I will. (I'm a piano teacher- I know what good practice produces.)

I also like writing, apparently. This is my running blog. Is it supposed to be like my regular blog? I have no idea. So I'll just be rambling and if people follow along other people's blogs on here, then you can follow. And if they don't, then I'm writing for myself, I guess.