I’ve been thinking about this race report for a while, because originally it was going go something like this: I’m too fat and too old to ever qualify for Boston. The End.

Anyway, I’m over that and I think I can give you a little better account of the race. Lets start with the Expo – I finally got to meet Rebecca of Bondi Bands who happened to have a picture of the most beautiful girl in the world on the wall. That was really a nice surprise.

After the Expo, Marta, Milka and I headed over to a local Italian place where I proceeded to stuff my face with as much food as my stomach could hold. And just so there is no misunderstanding, my stomach is a black hole. I have in the past been so preoccupied with other marathon things that I don’t eat enough the night before a race, although that is never a problem any other day of the year, so for once, go me, I ate like a farmhand. And that is probably a run-on sentence, but I don’t really care.

When we got back to the hotel, we tried on our race shirts – they are pretty cool. They actually gave the women women’s shirts. For some reason, I was very impressed by this. Maybe because I’m not a man.

After the fashion show, I doctored up my foot. I tried several different medieval combinations of tape, blister aids and powder, but I ended up using simple padded moleskin. And it worked great.

Then I got my race shirt ready, and it’s a long story, but basically we watched Talladega Nights the evening before we left for Austin. And I’m sorry if it seems like we were making fun of NASCAR fans, but we were making fun of NASCAR fans. And it was funny. And I laughed until I cried.

The back on my shirt, however, was very inspiring. Have I ever mentioned how much I love that Austin is so liberal and progressive? EVERYONE LOVES OBAMA! Woo Hoo!

We get to the start line with no trouble, we line up and we start the race. This is the perfect place to insert the elevation map, because apparently, I forgot to look at it before I registered or I wouldn’t be running this race. It’s changed quite a bit since I ran it in 2005 when it was entirely all downhill.

Miles 1 through 13 I repeated this about 50 times OH MY GOD I’M GOING TO DIE IF I SEE ANOTHER HILL. And even though I was constantly climbing hills, I was right on track with a 2:22 at mile 13, a 4:45 finish was still within my grasps. But it didn’t last long because at mile 15 I started walking a whole bunch and then I started getting mad at myself for not putting in more distance before the marathon.

I did the strength work, but I just didn’t put in the miles. But then at mile 17 I started remembering that all of these marathons I’m doing before I run Chicago are to get my body more accustomed to the distance. And when I stopped pooh-poohing on myself, I actually got a little faster. So I started thinking to myself that my legs weren’t cramping nearly as bad as they did in New York and I did a much better job at hydrating myself this race. Those were good things. I also didn’t feel nauseous or dizzy at all during this race. And for some blessed reason, my blister didn’t bother me at all. Those were also good things.

I continued to try and pull good things from my experience during the marathon and I don’t think I said my first obscenity until mile 25.5 when I saw a hill that was 90 degrees straight up. I think I started cussing at mile 16 in New York.

I finished 5:09:26. Nothing to brag about, except it is a marathon. My 6th. And I finished it

We had a nice RBF meet up with Brian and Carrie that evening. We chatted about the race and exchanged pictures of spouses and kids. It was fun although I was exhausted and was still obsessing because I forgot to bring my hairbrush to Austin.

The Cowtown Marathon is this Saturday. And I have a little problem.

I’m not sure what the deal is, but this cankle showed up today. I guess if I have to I can always switch to the half marathon on Saturday, but I really don’t want to. I’m going to play it by ear and see what how it feels on Friday. It kind of hurts, but not like really hurts. Only a little achy when I walk or touch it. Other than that, I feel like a rock star.

I’ll have more pictures of the marathon up tomorrow.

5:09:26. I’m not sure what is going on with that my chip time thing link, seems like it didn’t work for a lot of people. Anywho, race report coming up later. MUST SHOWER NOW!

for all you you with nothing else to do . . . Follow me during the Austin Marathon tomorrow. You know, the one I didn’t train for, the one I’m going to run with a huge giant blister looking like a whale. Good luck and kick sand in Florida tomorrow David.

It’s looking and feeling better today. Still, I know it’s gonna hurt like the dickens on marathon day, but I’m prepared for Sunday. Feet are disgusting, this is why we have shoes. Shoes, glorious shoes.

I ran ten miles this morning, albeit not as fast as I would like – but it was stupid windy and 77 degrees. Poor me. I still felt pretty strong and did a fair amount of walking towards the end.

Here is what my next few weeks look like: tomorrow I have plyometric leg torture, Wednesday 5 miles, Thursday leg torture again and Saturday the Texas Half Marathon.

The following Sunday, Feb 17th is the Austin Full Marathon and the following Saturday, Feb 23rd is the Cowtown Full Marathon. So, it’s half, full, full for the next few weekends. Am I crazy? I did not get a long, long run in during this marathon training go around (thank you cold, illness and laziness) so I figure I’ll just use races as my long run and bippity boppity bacon I’ll be fast someday.

I’d like to qualify for the Boston Marathon sometime before I turn 40, which doesn’t leave me much time, and I don’t think only running one marathon a year is going to get me there. So this year, I’d like to run at least five full marathons and a whole gob of halfs. So that’s my plan for 2008: race, race, race, race.

The Good

My very nasty cold/itchy sore throat/horrible sneezy mucousy mess is finally over (mostly), and while I was recovering I got to lie in bed for several days and watch the entire first season of Heroes.

The day after I recovered, my Mom, Sister Runner Amy and her sweet and adorable kids arrived from Indiana for a visit. We’ve had a great time swimming, playing cowboy and hanging out just doing family things. They left this morning and I miss them already.

I did some running too, with Amy, for the first time in a week. And I felt great – better than great, I was climbing hills like crazy – mile 1 was 9:40. This really surprised me because I was expecting to keel over and die after mile one. I didn’t and I suspect it has something to do with the plyometric leg torture I’ve been doing twice a week for the past two months.

The Bad

I missed my long run again and my marathon is on February 17th. For some reason I’m not worried and I know I should be. I feel really strong and I hope that feeling isn’t misconstrued due to the fact that I’ve been walking around in a NyQuil induced coma for several days.

The Ugly

I’m constipated; my house has been 2 and 4-year-oldized. Throw in a puppy and you got yourself one hell of a madhouse – and contrary to popular belief, I am not a neat freak. I just like things picked up, wiped off, void of fingerprints, paw prints, and stuff put in its rightful place. And that doesn’t make me a neat freak, it makes me special – in all the wrong ways. It’s not that bad when things are out of place, it just makes Aunt Suzie constipated. But constipated in a good and loving way. The kids are really sweet and love their Aunt Suzie, so that makes it all worthwhile.

The Crazy

I’ve registered for the Cowtown Marathon, which is February 23rd – SIX days after I run the Austin Marathon. I know I can run both IF I don’t have blisters from Austin. I’m currently working on a blister-free marathon plan. Feel free to pass along any suggestions.

This morning I ran five miles at 5AM at a 9:47 pace – go me! These plyometric leg torture workouts I’ve been doing for two hours a week are paying off. (Thanks Cindy!) I forgot how much I love running early in the morning and how much I love having it over with to move on with my day. You know what else I love? Ibuprofen. I took three, for my foot, before my run this morning and, for the record, masking the pain is SO MUCH BETTER than running in pain. Where has my brain been?

I went out for my 20-mile run yesterday and only ran 8. This whole week I’ve had pain in my left foot – in the EXACT spot where I had a stress fracture before, and I’m a little freaked out about it. My philosophy has been that if I don’t post about it and ignore the situation completely, then my foot will magically get better. When I went to the doctor before and was diagnosed with a stress fracture, his response was “stay off it for six weeks”. I’m not at a point right now where I want to do that because I AM running a marathon in three weeks. So I guess I’ll keep pretending that I’ll magically get better. Is it better to run a marathon under-trained or with an injured foot? Woe is me.

But on to other things, this is the week I eat like a Spartan and become strong, thin and kind to all things big and small. So, just what do Spartans eat? Whole grains, veggies, a little fruit, low-fat dairy, lean protein and lots of coffee. I know for a fact that Spartans consume huge amounts of coffee, I don’t make these things up but we’ve all got to play by the rules.

I’ve started off my Spartan week with some yogurt, a handful of granola and a few almonds – plus a huge cup of coffee. Who am I to upset the Gods? If you’d like to join me in Spartan week, just take a picture of every meal and snack, or write it down, and post it next Monday, that way we can all be a loving and caring Spartan family together.

Oh, and FYI – this week of Januaryathon looked like this: Runner Susan = 21 miles and LOSER Amy = NOT 21 miles.

I did attempt to run my 15 miles yesterday. I made it 4.29 before my medulla oblongata, my sinus cavity and several of my teeth dropped into throat and forced me to stop. The same thing happened Saturday, however I only made it .61 miles of my attempt at a 1-mile run and was forced to use a Januarathon qualifiable sick day. I personally think I should get bonus miles for running near death, but that wasn’t in the original rules.

But on to more pressing things. This is Cherry. She’s a black tri Australian Shepherd – which, I believe, is fancy for Super Mutt. From what we’ve learned from Donkey, Australian Shepherds are extremely smart, active, gentle, and protective – all reasons why we wanted another one.  Although, Donkey appears to be part Australian Shepherd and part moose, he’s about 30 pounds bigger than most Australian Shepherds, but we don’t tell him that. And Rowdy? Well he’s one part Maltese and one part Romeo. Who doesn’t love themselves a good dose of Rowdy.

I’m not sure why we Americans call them Australian Shepherds; they have nothing to do with Australia. Maybe it’s because they have so many darn cute animals. Someone show me a koala bear that isn’t cute?

I feel, look and smell like a rotting corpse. I seriously think my sinus cavity might explode at any time. I’m going to take a nap and then I’m going to run for 30 minutes.

Then, when I’m feeling better, I’ll properly introduce you to Cherry.

If my calculations are correct, I only have 8 ½ weeks until the Austin Marathon. That freaks me out a little. My longest distance this month was 13.1 miles, and my total distance so far this month is 16.21 miles. In my own defense, I’ve been cross training. But that training doesn’t involve cardio, only lifting, but the ‘oh my god I’m never going to walk again’ kind of lifting.

I can tell it’s paying off, during the half marathon I just ran I could really feel the power in my quads helping me lift my legs up the hills, albeit little Texas hills, but a hill is a hill nonetheless. Hills are a good start, but I must also make nice with my old friend Distance again because this is what they say about the new Austin course (and I think they are hiding the elevation map):

The first 17 miles of the marathon climb a total of 304 feet (or 18 feet per mile) in a stair step fashion that allow your legs to use a variety of muscle groups and allow you time to recover with downhill and level running surfaces. The final nine miles drop an average of 33 feet per mile.

17 miles uphill? Do you see how they try and make you feel like the hills are a good thing? We’ll see. But if I don’t start adding a little more distance into my training, it won’t matter either way. And if I don’t stop putting a fork in my mouth, my marathon plan will be rolling to the finish.

I ran yesterday for the first time since November 11th. I’m not sure if the NY marathon finally tipped past inspiration into excess, but I needed a break from running. Sister Runner Amy and I ran the White Rock Half Marathon yesterday, and it was awesome. Not because I finished fast or broke any records, but because I finished feeling stronger than when I started and that’s what I’ve been working towards.

Amy and I were freezing at the start line. It started cold and only got colder. We each wore shorts and a long sleeved shirt, and I had a jacket I kept with me. We weren’t sure what to wear because we got very mixed weather reports, none of which I think were accurate:

Weather.com: 50 degrees at the start with a 50% chance of rain.

Accuweather.com: High 65 degrees. Cloudy and cooler with a couple of showers and a thunderstorm.

Weather.gov: Periods of rain and thunderstorms, mainly before noon. Temperature falling to around 49 by 5pm. North-northwest wind between 10 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

My car read 37 degrees at the end of the race and other than a few spatterings, the rain held off. We could have used a pair of tights and a vest, but we survived, no thanks to weather predictions. I was actually surprised the rain held off since I angered the nature Gods and ran over a skunk on the way to the race. I felt really bad and as much as I begged my sister, she would not let me go back and take it to a vet. It is very possible the poor little skunk died from lack of medical attention.

Amy and I stuck together the entire race and I noticed how strong Amy was running. I was proud of her. We fueled appropriately and didn’t start too fast; we paced ourselves very well throughout the race. We ran strong and Amy was awesome; she slashed 16 minutes off her previous time. Notice how I worked two semi-colons into one paragraph. I’m a grammar goddess.

For the longest time the race results web site showed I dropped out at mile 11. Um, no. I finished and I finished strong and I want the whole wide Internet to know it. I was pretty ticked my chip bailed on me, but my finish time finally and mysteriously showed up last night as 2h:21m:1s.

I’ll have pictures just as soon as I can get the old camera I used to cooperate.

My running vacation is officially over. Wednesday I slip back into the plan I’ve ignored for three weeks. I’m also adding some serious weight training into the mix. My friend/coach Cindy has put together an ultimate leg workout that is kicking my butt. This is good, because I need my butt kicked so I can run an awesome Austin Marathon!

Yes, I spoke too soon. How can I amaze myself when I can’t even get my self out the door to run in this weather? It is warming up to 50 today, so it should be perfect right after lunch. That’s my plan.

My other plan seems to be eating everything I can get my hands on. I haven’t stopped being hungry since the marathon. I must get his under control because I need to lose ten pounds before February 17th. I can’t believe I ran a marathon looking like I swallowed a buffalo.

The whole nutrition thing is so tricky. I need a plan that will work with the whole family. My sister is following the RAVE diet, RAVE stands for: no refined foods, no animal foods, no vegetable oils, no exceptions & exercise.

This plan sounds good, but I don’t know if it’s a plan the entire family follow. Especially the no oil part, we love our olive oil in this house. And Michael is a big meat eater, and loves any opportunity to slap some raw meat on an open flame.

Emotionally, I’m really drawn to the idea of not eating animals. Preparing a whole turkey this year was tough. And I could live without the guts stuffed in a bag and then re-stuffed back into the turkey. Seriously, who eats guts? I like my meat cut up into little pieces and placed under plastic wrap so it has no resemblance of an animal. And the books I’ve read on how animals are treated and slaughtered is very sad. So I choose not to think about it while I consume my steak.

Intellectually, the books I’ve read such as the Paleo Diet, which suggests a diet similar to that of our Stone Age ancestors which is high in lean protein with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables makes so much sense to me. Our bodies are primarily made up of protein and water, we need those to survive. I’m also a big evolutionist. But to get a healthy animal you’d pretty much have to raise it in the backyard and slaughter it yourself.

I don’t know. What’s a girl to do? There are so many options. Of course portion control is a part of it losing weight, but I want a plan that is healthy as well. Perhaps all this writing is just a way to avoid running again. Anyone know of a get rid of your back fat diet?

It’s a shame our bodies are not made of chocolate cake. Life would be so easy then.

Today Sister Runner Amy and I ran 9 miles at around a 10:40 pace. I mentally dedicated the first 5.5 to Ryan Shay. I was feeling pretty strong and around mile 4 and took off at a fairly good pace for a while, 9:30 or so I think. (and this would be the part where a less nice sister would mention something about smoking the other sister, but considering how nice I am, I won’t do that) I surprised myself at how well I ran after traveling hours and hours and hours the day before. I’m not known for being good traveler.

I’m also surprised that I actually helped my sister line a cooler with garbage bags, fill it with salt water and put a turkey in it. So it can sit outside and make sea-monkeys overnight. This whole cooking thing is new to me, but garbage bags and cooking aren’t normally things I associate with one another.

This morning, early, I ran 6.5 with Massoman, aka – the person who doesn’t blog anymore, at a 9:54 pace. It was a good run, even if it was a little windy. I was happy with the pace, and the second half of the run was faster than the first. That makes today my official first day of training for the Austin Marathon. Only 13 weeks and 3 days left to train. And I have downhill training on my schedule.

Tomorrow we leave for Indiana for an early Thanksgiving with my family. On Saturday Sister Runner Amy and I are going to run 8 or 9 in Lafayette as part of our half marathon training. We are running the White Rock Half in Dallas on December 9th.

Now I just need to find a good long race for January and I’ll be all set.

**EDIT** I just found out that 13 is on my schedule for Saturday. We’ll just have to run more!