I don't have a cleaver title.

I just wanted to update my work outs for the week. I really tried to come up with a catchy title, but nothing came to mind.

Monday: 5.5 mile run
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: weights for back & shoulders, abs & 35 minutes on the AMT
Thursday: 10 minute bike warm up, lower body weights, 30 minutes of intervals on the elliptical
Friday: rest
Saturday: 9-10 mile run
Sunday: 4.5 mile run

Heading to my brother in-law and sister in-law's house for Halloween and my twin niece & nephews christening. I am looking forward to running this weekend. I love the town they live in and the Illinois Prairie Path is such a great spot for runners, bikers, dog walkers, etc...

Post Marathon: Week 1 complete

It has been one week since the marathon and feel that I am recovering nicely. :0)

Monday & Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: 30 minutes stationary bike, weights for biceps & triceps
Thursday: easy 2.5 mile run
Friday: rest
Saturday: easy 3 mile run, weights for back, shoulders, chest, ab work
Sunday: 10 minute bike warm up, weights for biceps & triceps

Tonight will be the first time I have run outside since the marathon. I have mapped out a 5.5 mile route which I intend to do at a moderate pace. I have the following tentative work out schedule for the remainder of the week;

Tuesday: 4 mile run
Wednesday: 10 minute bike warm up, weights; biceps, triceps, back & shoulders
Thursday: 5-6 mile run
Friday: rest
Saturday: 7-8 mile run
Sunday: rest

First run since the marathon

I ran 2.5 miles on the indoor track last night at the gym. I made sure to go at a slow and easy pace, but for some reason, whenever someone is in front of me I speed up to pass them. This must stop. It's not a race. lol My shins were still slightly sore and my legs ached last night. They feel great this morning though. I won't be running, or doing any form of cardio, tonight.

I do intend on running an easy 3 miles tomorrow along with lifting weights.

I talked to one of the regulars at the gym. I have spoken with him before. he lives in my neighborhood and sees me running often. He also has done local duathlons that my dad has done as well. So I have run into him at those events too. Anyway, he saw me during the marathon on Sunday. it was at about mile 19. He said I looked like I was having trouble with my leg. He also said how impressed he was with my pace. When he saw me, we were ahead of the 3:45 pace group. I told him my finish time, talked about upcoming races, etc... as we walked a few laps on the track.

This, again, proves my theroy on how all runners have that certain connection. You can talk as if you have been friends or have known each other for so long. I like that.

Professional Marathon Photos!!

If you would like to see the professional photos taken at the Detroit Marathon, please go to the below web site. Choose Detroit Free Press/Flagstar Marathon & Half Marathon from the drop down and enter bib# 6984! Also enter in my dads bib# 928. Since we ran together, we are in all pictures together!!

I am at a loss...

It is 4 days after running my first marathon and I am already lost. I am so used to having my training consume the last 18 weeks of my life. I know I need to recover and not jump back into running. But man, it's a big adjustment!

I am already looking into races for November and December. I found two; 5K on November 21st and 10K on Novmeber 26th. My goal for the 5K is to beat my previous PR (23:11) and hopefully win my age group. As for the 10K, I just want to PR. It's the Detroit Turkey Trot and thousands sign up. It would be impossible for me to even place in my age group.

I went to the gym last night. I biked for 30 minutes and lifted for biceps & triceps. Tonight I am going to give it a shot at running. Of course, it will be a very slow and easy 2-3 miles. I need to make sure I recover fully without pushing myself too hard, too fast.

Official Results!

Stephanie Kapanowski #6984
Southgate, MI
Age: 30
Gender: F
Chip Time 3:46:25
Pace- 8:39
Overall Place: 955 / 3798
Gender Place: 183 / 1330
Division Place: 35 / 220

Splits
6.2 Mile- 51:45
Half- 1:48:49
12.2 Mile-1:40:48
21.8 Mile- 3:04:09
Underwater Mile- 8:21

Smiling!

Dad and I closing in on the finish line!

Marathon Tragedy

Please say a prayer for the families of the 3 that passed away on Sunday at the Detroit Marathon. it's extremely sad and can not imagine what those families are going through.

I did it!

I did it! I am officially a marathoner!! I am still on that runners high. I could cry just sitting here thinking about what I have accomplished. It was/is such a rush of emotions!

Yesterday started out bright and early. I set the alarm for 4:50am. My dad was picking me and Bethany, my sister in-law, up at 5:30am. I got dressed and ate my 2 slices of whole wheat toast with peanut butter. My dad, Bethany and I headed out the door at 5:30am. We were parked and ready to walk over to Scotty's Potties (lol, the port-a-johns) to drain our bladders before we started the race. I had brought with me 2 throw away tops; one for my dad and one for me. We also had a throw away blanket around us as we stood in a door way to stay warm. It was about 32 degrees out. The start was at 7:15am. The hand cyclists and wheel chair marathoners were first to start. The next wave was the A & B group. My dad and I were in the D group and Bethany was in the G group (she was running her first half marathon). We started out kind of fast and fell into our pace. We made our way to the Ambassador Bridge, had an easy run up and a faster run down. The stretch along the Detroit River in Windsor was nice. Lots of supporters from Canada and the relay teams waiting for their teammate to pass along the chip.

When we entered the tunnel, we removed our gloves and unzipped our tops. it was a chance to warm up and dry off. We had an underwater pace of 8:21. Just before mile 8 we crossed back into the US from out of the tunnel and there was a sea of people lined up and down Jefferson. It definitely got you going again!

We were trucking along. Passed the 3:55 pace group, and were with the 3:45 pace group. Ended up passing the 3:45 pace group somewhere between mile 10-12. It was really cool when the half marathon and marathon split off. My dad turned to me and said "no turning back now". We were now on the marathon course. It took you through Greek town in Detroit and out into Indian Village. It was a very nice neighborhood with lots of nice homes to look at, but the crowd support was thinning out. I was happy to see Belle Ilse when we came out of the neighborhood. I was not looking forward to it, but knew that once we completed Belle Ilse, we would be well on our way to the finish line.

Here is where I took a turn for the worse. I told myself I would not hit the wall. But I did. between mile 20 and 21, I started to cry. I hurt from the waist down. My hips, my hams, my ankles, even the tips of my toes. Everything hurt. My emotions were getting the best of me. My dad told me "do not let this happen. look around, take in the sights and get your mind off the pain. we have time so slow down". After running so hard for 20 miles, I felt like we were shuffling along. We crossed back over the bridge off of Belle Ilse at mile 22. Once we were over I felt better, but was still having a hard time. I took it mile by mile at this point. We pushed on.

Then we passed mile 25. I said "we can do this" and dad said "yes we can". We turned on to Washington Street by Cobo Hall and there it was in the distance, somewhere in the crowd of supporters. The 26 mile marker. I picked up the pace, turned to my dad and said "come on". We rounded the corner at 26 mile marker and there was what we were waiting for all morning. The finish line. thousands of people lining both sides of the street. cheering us on. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. again we picked up the pace. we closed in on the finish line. my dad grabbed my hand, held it in the air and we crossed just like that! Then I looked to the right and I see a volunteer crying, waiting to put the medal around my neck. It was my mom. I hugged her and said " I just finished in 3 hours, 46 minutes and 28 seconds". I told her I would see her later. Dad and I headed to get our 'space blanket', grab our goodie bag and get our picture taken. We had it taken together. Dad told me I should get one by myself, but I didn't want to. We did this together. We were a team and there is no I in team.

Come to find out, we finished 3 seconds fast then we thought. Our official time is 3:46:25. Only 3:11 slower then my dads 2006 finish time. We were actually on pace through most of the marathon to beat he previous time. But we gave it all we had. There is no way either one of us could have run harder then we did. My dad also told that around mile 16 he was hurting pretty bad, but saw that I was pushing along and instead of slwoing down, he pushed on to. he said I carried him for part of the race. That is something I would have never thought I would do! He was there to carry me. We carried each other.

I ended up finishing in 36th place out of 216 females in the 30-34 year old age group.

We had no problem finding Bethany, Chris and Tom (my father in-law) afterwards either. Bethany finished her first half marathon without any training in 2:25 and some odd seconds. Not bad!

All in all, I believe my marathon training was a success! I had 3 goals; finish strong, finish faster then 4:19 and break 4 hours. I never imagined that I would finish with the time I had though. I met all my goals! It's such an accomplishment and truly am proud of myself.

Look out 2010 or 2011. You might see me running another marathon.

Marathon Gear

Here is what I will have on me during the marathon tomorrow! Except I forgot to put my shoes in the picture. Oh well. They will for sure be on me too. :-)

blue l/s mock neck zip up
white s/s compression top
white sports bra
smartwool socks
under armor tights
pink under armor headband
purple ironman triathlon watch
2 bottle fuel belt
3 hammer gels
2 hammer heeds
1 cliff shot

Expo Review

Back from the expo. We did a test run on where we plan to park and found a structure 2 blocks from the start/finish line!! My dad will be picking me up at 5:30am so we should be parked by 6.

I also opted to wear the under armor tights versus my capris. It's going to be 32 and I am worried about my calf muscles being cold & tight. I hope I am making the right decision.

I met Hal Higdon. He had a booth selling and signing his new book. I told him I used his training for my half marathons and my marathon. Sadly, he wasn't all that friendly. :-( I took a couple pictures of him but was scared to ask him to pose for a picture with me.

Anyway, here are a few pictures from my camera phone. The rest are on my dads digital. Chris has our cameras at our property and won't be home until late tonight. The only disappointment I have about the expo is that Whole Foods was not there passing out all the free samples like last year. lol

2009 Detroit Free Press Marathon Women's shirt

The stuff I got at the expo; marathon shirt, s/s new balance 26.2 shirt, 26.2 sticker, camelback water bottle, myoplex protein shake, brown rice, Adidas head band, Gu chomps, KT Tape, Udderly Smooth sample, granola and Marathon Mission group flashing light.

Weather for Sunday - October 18, 2009

Estimated Start time 7:15-7:30am
Sunrise at 7:49am
clear 32 degrees, winds NNW 6mph
Sunny

Estimated Finish time 11:30am (depending on actual start time)
Sunny 44 degrees, winds N 8mph

In less than 24 hours...

I will be hitting the streets of Dertoit & Windsor Canada running my first marathon!!!

My dad and I will be heading down to the expo this morning.
What was supposed to be a fun filled, exciting weekend has taken a turn. My step mom had a mild stroke on Wednesday so our plans of celebrating after the marathon tomorrow are non-existant. I am ok with that as my dad getting home to my step mom afterwards is more important.
I am a little upset only becauase I've had these visions of my dad and I finishing, me crying, getting our pictures taken together, getting a message, finding our family and us all going out to a big lunch. I am sure this will all happen, minus the finding family and going to lunch part. Chris will be there along with my father in-law, so maybe we will just do lunch somewhere closer to home once my dad drops me off.
I can tell my dad is upset too. Not only do we have the marathon, but my birthday is Tuesday so we planned to celebrate that too.

It's ok though. He's not letting me down. In fact, he is going to be the only person that can keep me sane tomorrow!!

bring on 26.2! I'm ready to take you on!

Week 18, day 5

2 days to go! I am so excited but have a slight bit of nervousness.

I did a test run last night with a mock of what I plan to wear on Sunday. It's a go!! I plan to take a picture of all my gear prior to putting it on, but for now, heres what I will be wearing.

favorite sports bra- white
compression white s/s top- white
fitted wicking carpis- black
l/s wicking mock neck zip up- baby blue
under armor ear warmer/headband- light pink
fitness gear running gloves- black
smartwool running socks
Brooks adrenaline GTS
fuel belt 2 bottle belt

Week 18- mid week update

It's Wednesday, I'm tapering and do not have much to update! But I felt the need to write something.

4 days until the marathon and the excitement is setting in!!

Monday I road the stationary bike for 50 minutes. I came home and made sure to apply ice & heat to my hip flexor. Last night I ran 3.1 miles. I did not ice & heat my hip flexor so I must make that a priority tonight! I would hate to have any issues with it come Sunday.

I plan on taking a ton of pictures at the expo being that this is my first marathon. I also told Chris that he HAS to take a bunch of pictures on Sunday. I've been horrible about adding pictures to my blog and want to make sure that I can write a full marathon review with pictures!

1 week from today!

One week from today and I will be running my first marathon. I really can't believe I have made it and actually feel ready for this! I have a few more shorter runs to do that week and then its 2 days of resting along with expo fun and card loading.

The next weeks schedule looks like this.

Sunday: 8 miles

Monday: 3 miles, weights for back

Tuesday: 3 miles, weights for shoulders

Wednesday: 4 miles, abs

Thursday: 2 miles, biceps & triceps

Friday: rest

Saturday: rest

Sunday: MARATHON DAY!!!!

New Shoes

Just ordered a new pair of shoes. This will give me 5 times to run in them before the marathon. I desperately needed new shoes and couldn't pass up the deal I found! www.runningwarehouse.com had 1 pair in stock of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 9's in a 9.5 2A. They run about $105 in the stores, but I paid $79.95 with free 2 day shipping and no tax!

I can't wait for my new shoes to arrive. My feet and legs will thank me!

Week 16 Complete

Week 16 is complete and into week 17. I can't believe that the marathon is in less than 2 weeks!

I ran an awesome 12+ miles on Saturday in Illinois. The prairie path was such a nice place to run. I wish I had something like that near my home. I couldn't cross train on Sunday due to prior plans, but was able to get into the gym on Monday for 45 minutes of cross training on the AMT. The rest of my training goes as follows:

Tuesday: 4 miles, weights for shoulders
Wednesday: 6 miles, push ups, core work
Thursday: 3 miles, weights for back
Friday: 15 min. bike warm up, weights for biceps & triceps, core work
Saturday: 8 mile run
Sunday: cross train