Evidently this blogging thing isn't so easy, huh? Well, the last 3 weeks have included a lot of things. I will attempt to provide a concise update.
On February 11th, I departed for New Orleans with the DetermiNation team. We brought a nice little group to NOLA for the Mardi Gras Marathon (and half-marathon). It was my second marathon for the American Cancer Society, second marathon ever, and my first destination race. Due to the winter training, I didn’t feel quite as prepared as I did for the Chicago. I didn’t expect to come close to my previous marathon time of 3:59. I was going with a group, this was a race for fun, and two of my best friends, Jen and Sarah, were also coming to New Orleans.
It was also my first time in New Orleans. And I mean, how often was I going to be in New Orleans? I decided to have just one Hurricane. It was good. So was the Lemonade Rum concoction. And the Hand Grenade. I think we can see where this is going. Long story short, I broke my typical race protocol of no booze the week before the marathon. On Saturday, it took until 8PM to feel like a human again.
I went to the expo with Veronica and one of my best friend’s Jen, both of whom were running for the ACS. This is when I started to get excited about the race. That night, we went to the DetermiNation dinner, which is always amazingly inspiring. My quote about my dad and grandpa was up on the screen, we listened to the calls for action from top fund-raisers, Sarah arrived. It was great.
The next day, I had another amazing race. Although not quite as fast as my first (I finished around 4:18 or 4:19), it was great. I saw Sarah along the course, ran the first 5 miles with my future co-captain of the Chicago race, Matt, and ran the last 5 with a young man who had been diagnosed with leukemia as a child who had never heard of DetermiNation. Keri Miller ran her first half! Sarah Sfezi, another ACS athlete, ran a 3:09. Veronica PR’d. It was a good day.
The race had me even more pumped about Boston and about the Chicago marathon. And especially about the DetermiNation program. Of course, when I returned, I would get thrown a little loop from the Boston Athletic Association.
More to come…
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The difference between 20 and 26(.2)
Below is a piece I wrote for an old friend Brian (http://www.simplesoleproject.com/) just before my first marathon last fall . I thought it would be a good post to start things off.
October 8, 2010
The difference between 20 and 26(.2)
By Andrea Abel
I am a runner. I can’t really pinpoint what day or week or month that happened. I had “run” a number of road races in my teen years and participated in cross country throughout the duration of my high school career. But in college, my idea of discipline meant always making sure the keg was finished before crawling home to sleep the weekend away. After (somehow) graduating, I moved to a large city which housed many things I found more exciting to explore than a running path, including a number of late-night diners and neighborhood festivals to check out with my graduate school classmates. During this time, I developed a number of other unhealthy habits which only continued when I traveled through Europe as a newly minted “master.”
For awhile, the thought of running became a stress inducer instead of the stress relieving and enjoyable activity I now plan my day around. Shortly after returning from my trip, I decided to make some significant changes in my lifestyle and spent a lot more time thinking about how I was treating my body. I started eating right and eliminating some of the over-processed food from my diet. What started off as short walks a few times a week with a friend quickly turned into hour-long runs through the streets of Chicago
I think back on some of the people I have encountered in my life now with a huge level of respect. There are a few runners I know who may not realize the impact they have had on me, but have sort of become running inspirations. I never really “got it” before but at some point, it just clicked. I had become a runner. I completely understood their dedication to Saturday morning runs and the commitment they had to run, even when they were tired or cold or busy. And somehow, the idea that attempting to run 26 miles could actually be fun began to creep into my head.
My grandfather passed away in February of 2010 after a long batter with colon cancer. His illness and death served as reminders of not only my own father’s battle with cancer in 2002, but of the importance of health and fitness in my own life. On April 8th, I signed up to run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 10, 2010 and raise money for the American Cancer Society in honor of my grandfather, John Long and my father, Danny Abel.
I have been training for the last 6 months exactly. I have spent hundreds of hours on treadmills, running hills in the 90 degree Nebraska
With less than forty-eight hours before the big race, I find myself filled with a strange buzz of excitement and terror. At this point, I have to hope that I’m ready. There are a lot of unknowns and a lot of questions I will only be able to answer in two days. Will my legs give out from underneath me? Will I have a surge of energy like I always used to in cross country meets? Will I bleed in horrible places? What if I wake up and have a stomach ache and not be able to give it my all? What if I make it through the 20 miles only to gas out at the 26 mile mark? Will I be able to finish? Will I be able to finish in less than 5 hours? Or better?
I feel like a little kid who is about to go on a vacation and can’t sleep. Although I have no idea what to truly expect, I can’t wait to find out!
October 10, 2010
Writer’s Update: The morning of the race, I felt great. I saw my mother, grandmother, and aunt several times along the course as well as a few other friendly faces. I monitored my pace, but allowed the adrenaline and surge of the crowd to push me a little more than I normally would. There was never a moment that I doubted I would finish; however at some point after I hit the wall around mile 22, I stopped worrying about how long it would take me to do so. It wasn’t about my pace or whether I finished in four hours or five or more, if I had to.
The day, the race, and the entire experience had become something so much bigger than that. I raised over $1500 for a charity that I whole-heartedly support. I spent many afternoons sharing memories with old friends, family members, co-workers, and strangers alike about their own experiences with cancer and/or with running. These moments served as non-edible Accel Gels to fuel me during the race.
My aunt met me around mile 24 to jog the last 2.2 miles with me but as we got closer, I knew my time was within striking distance of 4 hours. I told myself I was going to run to the finish and I increased my speed. I couldn’t believe the roar of the crowd as I rounded the corner of Roosevelt and Michigan Avenue and gave it my all for the last 400 meters. It was the most amazing experience and moment of my life.
Looking back on the Andrea from my teens and early 20s, I don’t think I had the interest, discipline, or the drive to truly be a runner, let alone a marathoner. Which I now consider myself.
I completed the race in 3:59:55. I couldn’t be any happier.
T-249 Days
Today, a remarkable thing happened in Chicago. The skies parted and the blizzard of 2011 ended. That’s what the were calling it 2 mores in and I sort of scoffed. I was wrong. Winds reached 70 mph and we had about 21 inches of snow. But today, when the snow finally stopped, I went for a brief little jog out on the streets, or tried to anyway.
The snow was up to my hips in some spots and my streets remained unplowed. It was really amazing, though, to see all of the adults running around, taking pictures, playing in the snow. I loved it.
I loved it even more when I found out my gym was open and I could get a little work-out in. I was going a little nuts, having been stuck inside the house since 3pm the day before. I didn’t run because I have somewhat of a mega-blister. I’m hoping my foot heals properly by Saturday so I can get one solid run in before taking the week to relax before the marathon in New Orleans.
I am not looking to qualify this time, at all, just finish and feel okay doing it. I’m going down with a bunch of other ACS runners, most of whom are doing the half. I was just nuts enough to sign up for the full. I did my 20 miler last weekend and it was fine, but I’m anxious to get in some runs outside down in New Orleans!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
T-250: Boston or Bust: From Chicago to Boston in 250 days
Boston or Bust: From Chicago to Boston in 250 days
Today marks the 250-day countdown until the Chicago Marathon. Actually, in an attempt to be completely accurate and honest, in 15-minutes, registration for the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon will officially open, thus marking the 250-day countdown. You could say that I’ve been waiting for this moment all day, all week, or all month. Or, if we’re being entirely honest, you could probably say that I’ve actually been waiting for this moment since I crossed the finish line at the 2010 race on 10-10-10. (Note to the Bank of America Chicago Marathon organizers: Thank you for making my 1st marathon date so easy to remember.)
On 10-10-10, months of hard work culminated into just under 4 hours, and I made the crossover to the world of marathon running. Choosing to run the marathon was not something I had every envisioned doing in my life, even up until a few weeks before I signed up. After recommitting to a healthy lifestyle, my efforts to lose weight grew into a desire to get fit, which led to a general goal of getting healthy, which eventually developed into a full-blown obsession with running and exercise. In the best way, possible, of course.
I began racking up a considerable amount of miles in the summer of 2009. At the recommendation of several good friends and fellow runners who found out I was running 8-10 miles a day, I decided to sign up for the marathon. I did so on April 10th, exactly 6 months before the Chicago Marathon. The 6 months standing between the 26.2-mile goal and myself seemed like just the cushioning I needed to mentally prepare for this feat.
I also knew that by running, I could honor the memory of my father and grandfather, both of whom I have lost to cancer in the last ten years. But that story is for another day. Especially since I hope to have 250 of them.
After registering to run the marathon for the American Cancer Society and agreeing to raise money while raising my mileage count, I knew I was in it…. for better or worse.
In the months that followed, I trained, ran, cross-trained, cycled, stayed on top of my diet, and talked to everyone I had ever known who had done a marathon, including one of my exes who I always thought was crazy for actually WANTING to run for more than 3 hours. I read books on marathons and watched sped up videos of the course for inspiration. In the weeks and days leading up to the marathon, I bonded with runners who motivated me, awestruck strangers who thought I was crazy, and people affected by cancer whose stories inspired me.
I could write more about the day of the race, the feelings I felt, and the moments of triumph and heartbreak I saw as I muscled out my last few miles. I could probably write for another 20 minutes about what my first marathon felt like.
In short, and since I only have a few moments until the site is shut down by the thousands wanting to register at 12:01AM because we are that crazy, I will say that ultimately, running the marathon was the best experience of my life.
And now, as I wait for these last few moments to pass (now 2 minutes to be exact), I can’t wait to do it all over again.
5….4…3….2…1.
Happy Running,
Andrea
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