life, scraps & ink

monday thoughts

1. My work had it's annual bowling outing. Always a good time. May or may not have won high series for female. And our team took first place!

2. Cupcakes? Yes, please. This place has been around in Madison for about a year, and they were delicious. This was Tim bribing me so that I would help paint the bathroom on a Friday night. It worked.

3. This weekend was full of PROJECTS. Painting, staining, sanding, cutting, blah. I'm so ready for this bathroom renovation to be finished!

4. Louie had a packed weekend filled with lots of "socializing". We went to a friend's housewarming, and there were two large black labs, Murphy and Dindo, who played really well with Louie. Dindo would get a stick, and Louie a large piece of grass.

5. Happy Memorials Day and thank you to all men and women who have served our country. Special shout out to my brother who is in the US Coast Guard.

6. Madison Half Marathon this weekend was really fun - post on this later. Felt strong and good throughout, and looking forward to FINALLY tackling the 26.2 on June 10th. 

7. Sleepy.

8. Good friends + their adorable baby + their two dogs + BBQ + mojitos = good times.

9. Love my guys.

10. Happy Monday.

rolling with the punches

Everything happens for a reason. Right?

On Friday, the Madison Marathon was officially canceled.  Even though this was heart-breaking news, kudos to the organization on their due diligence and communication.They are letting all full marathoners run the half if they want, and then giving us a $20 credit towards next year.

So on a night when I would have been preparing for the end of a journey, I'm preparing for another training run. Angie did find another marathon close to home - in West Bend, WI which is near Milwaukee on June 10th. So another two weeks of training and this marathon journey will hopefully come to a close.

We went to get our race packets today at the Monona Terrace; this was one of the first things we saw:

For some strange reason, I found this hilarious.

We picked up our bibs and BLACK shirts. Oh, the irony of deciding a long time to make black marathon shirts when its going to be hotter in Wisconsin than Arizona.

Even if they are black, they are still pretty cool.

We walked around the expo, and talked to David from Berkeley Running Company Store (a veteran marathoner). We discussed how disappointing it was that the race was canceled, but mentioned that we are thinking about the Eisenbahn Marathon in 2 weeks. He had actually run it the year before, said it was a great race and gave us some good advice for the next two weeks. My favorite quote was "You've done your studying. Just take it easy."

My parents are here to help us finish the bathroom aka the never-ending project. We painted it on Friday night, and refinished all the trim today. They also came to cheer us on, even though we aren't running the full.

So here's to rolling with the punches and another two weeks of training!

marathon uncertainty

Anyone seen the forecast for Madison, WI this weekend?

This Sunday is the Madison Marathon. The race I've been planning/training 4.5 months for (and in reality several years). Another fact: My favorite running weather is a perfect 54 degrees.

Obviously the two don't go in hand in hand. Not only would it be a difficult race for me because it's my first marathon and it's going to be hot and humid, but I might not even get the chance to try.

It's been the lead story in the news and everyone is talking about it. (Check out a news clip featuring yours truly!) The race directors met yesterday, and decided that the half is still on, but the full marathon may be canceled (full marathoners have the choice to run the half if it gets canceled). They are making a game time decision at 4pm on Friday, but from many people, I've heard that there is a "significant chance" that the marathon will be canceled.

Of course, there are many emotions that come to the forefront.

First is REALLY WISCONSIN WEATHER? It's been gorgeous this week, 50s in the morning and low 80s during the day and low dew points, and then you have to go get all gross on us.

Second is disappointment. As running competitors, we run against ourselves, and both looking forward to the challenge that has been so much a part of our lives for the past 4.5 months - to see if we CAN do it. Our longest training run was 20 miles which was a great run for us, and gave me a lot of confidence for the marathon.  But to learn several days before that you may not get the chance to prove yourself? Hard to deal with.

Third is uncertainty. Are they going to cancel? Part of me feels like I'm off the hook, and don't have to run 26.2 anymore. But what if I get in that mental state of not running the full (I'm already halfway there) and then the full does happen?  A lot of running long distances is mental, and not knowing the distance you are going to run is very unnerving.

But as I blogged at the beginning of this journey, the marathon is not just the race, but the entire training. Training in retrospect has been awesome. Met a lot of new friends, learned a lot about my running self, and am in pretty good shape from running 20-40 miles a week. More on full marathon journey post-race. (We decided that if the full gets canceled, we will still run the half, and find a fall marathon).

So until Friday at 4pm, I will be contemplating my running distance fate, and will continue to carbo-load and pretend I'm running the full marathon.