Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Maybe I'll Open a Bakery



I am taking it easy (and eating cake and watching The Hills) this week in preparation for my half marathon this weekend. I am expecting a fairly brutal run, mostly because the first two miles are a grueling uphill and the rest is a mix of climbing and downhill. My legs should be a nice jello mixture by the end.


Not that it has anything to do with running, but here's the coconut cake I made for Easter. I wasn't lying when I said I'd been eating cake. This was one of three cakes I made this weekend. Maybe I should open a bakery and give up running.


Back to running - I think this upcoming half is a pretty low key race as I asked to have my race packet sent to my home, fully expecting the usual coupons, shoe chip, maps, samples, etc. Nope. Inside the envelope: race shirt and bib. Keeping it simple. It does end, however, at the New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins, CO. Who said 10:30 a.m. is too early for a beer?

After this race, my "real training" begins. I'll be picking my fall marathon - hopefully the one that will qualify me for Boston 2010. I will also be choosing my training plan, which I'm thinking, based on my friend Macker's recommendation, should be the Hanson's program.


One tip I've read about running long races is that you should have a mantra - something you continue to go back to, something you repeat to yourself to give you strength when things get really tough. Do you have one?


When I ran in Phoenix, I didn't have one up until the morning of the race. I was leaving the hotel early for the race, the kids were still sleeping and in his sleepiness, my 11 year old son said, "Just remember mom, run with your heart." "Run with your heart" became my mantra for the day. I returned to it again and again when my body felt physically so fatigued I wanted to stop. It reminded me to go inside and to dig deep, beyond the confines of my body.

I'd love to hear how you dig deep when you run. Is it spiritual? Do you run with someone in mind? What keeps you going?


BTW, I just got this award from Healthy on the Run. Here's the desciption:


“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers."

13 comments:

  1. It has always been a goal of mine to climb Everest. Whenever I am feeling bad, I always think about it being a,"Push to the Summit". Many who climb Everest say that they do not even know how they get to the top, they just dig down deep and find strength that they did not know they had. I kind of apply that same concept to my running and I always seem to find strength that I did not think I had.

    ReplyDelete
  2. You are gonna do great this weekend. Your mantra should be "Free beer at the end". If you bake one of those cakes to bring along for the finish you will be all set. Who doesn't like cake & beer.

    I wish I could be there to have beer with you, it sound like it will be challenging but fun. By the way, I love the "Run with your heart" story. Very cool.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like "Pain is temporary, pride is permanent."

    Good luck on your half! Sounds tough.

    ReplyDelete
  4. If you open a bakery, I'll buy that cake!

    Good luck with the half this weekend - I am sure you will do awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I think I do have several mantras I use, but I apologize-- the only thing that comes to mind right now is "Coconut cake. Coconut cake!" Thank you for linking to the recipe, and also to the Hansons' training plan. The idea of doing 16 miles as the longest training run scares me, though!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Have a great race this weekend, Beth. Run with your heart!!!

    I don't have a mantra during racing. I'm too busy concentrating on splits, strategy and that kind of thing.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Run with your heart? I love that. I may have to steal that. :o)

    ReplyDelete
  8. love that mantra :) i might be using that in a couple weeks!

    have a great race this weekend!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. That cake looks so delicious! I would definitely buy that if you opened a bakery! Good luck this weekend!!

    And yes, Fage is delicious!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love your mantra: Run with your heart! It's lovely.

    I like the spirituality of running, but I must admit, right now my mantra is simply: 'You can do it, you can do it, you can do it, you cán do it!!!'

    Good luck on your half marathon!

    Thanks for dropping by and commenting.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You gave me an idea... I'm definitely having a cake a couple of days before the marathon. I can't remember the last time I just ate a cake to my heart's content!!!

    Also, I've been at that Brewery. Great place! GOOD LUCK on the race!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh that cake looks gooood. Mmmm!

    Good luck with your HM this weekend :)

    As for mantras - my thoughts usually degrade to a series of curses that I repeat over & over when I'm tired. Not a good thing.

    ReplyDelete
  13. So funny you combined a mantra topic and cake in the same entry. I don't really have a mantra and I dont listen to music when I run. So I'm kind of just lost in my own thoughts. On longer runs I swear I just run out of thoughts and my mind goes blank. Im sure thoughts are happening, Im just not all that focused on them. The first time I ran a 10+ run (years ago now)around the 7 mile mark, I kind of suddenly became aware of my thoughts and I had been signing "Going the Distance" by Cake and I only know two lines so they were just repeating over and over in my head. Kinda felt like a montra that day :D

    ReplyDelete