Week 17 – Powered by Mucinex

18.08.2025 ~ Monica ~ Leave a comment

We run to undo the damage we’ve done to body and spirit. We run to find some part of ourselves yet undiscovered.” ~ John Bingham

As I’m starting this blog post I’ve completed the first two runs of this week and they did not feel good, but they did feel doable. I googled if I should run while sick – google is uncertain. Have I been to the doctor? Sort of. I gave teladoc a try – they very helpfully said, ‘Oh you don’t sound good, but we can’t help you. Try urgent care.’ Will I do that? We’ll see. I’m not anti-doctor or anti-medicine, but I am pro be sure you need an antibiotic before you take one. So for now I’ll continue to manage symptoms and if there is no improvement in the next few days I’ll head to urgent care. Oh, I did try to get into my doctor, but with my symptoms they said I needed a virtual appt and the first one available is a week out. If I’m not improving by then I’ll give urgent care a try.

And now I’ve finished all the runs for this week. I did have some improvement going into the weekend – I would say I was at 50% for my long run. Thankfully, my long run was only 3.5 miles – so not so long.

I am a little nervous going into week 18. I officially start my marathon block and it feels like that comes with a bit of an escalation. Up until this point I have been running 3 days a week, strength training 2 days a week, and resting 2 days a week. I will be adding another day of running and a day of cross training. I’ll also be adding strength training to my running days. It feels like a lot and I had gotten a bit in my head about it. But when I really think about it, it’s not really an increase in mileage since I have been walking on my rest days. I just need to increase intensity so one of those walks becomes a run, but I think I can do that slowly. My upcoming long run is 6 miles – almost twice what I did this week, but I did a 10k earlier this month so I know I can do it. I’ve convinced myself I can do this, and I think that is half the battle.

Down With the Sickness

09.08.202513.08.2025 ~ Monica ~ Leave a comment

You can’t get much done in life if you only work on days when you feel good.” ~ Jerry West

Woke up Wednesday morning feeling ick. Super ick. I had a 2 mile run programmed and I had a little internal debate about getting up and doing it or turning back over and going back to sleep. I opted for sleep – telling myself I’d do it on Thursday. Thursday morning came around and it was a repeat of Wednesday. Back to sleep I went. Friday is currently strength day so I got that done and added in a walk just to get some miles in. Today was a comfortable 5k. I got up and did it. Still not feeling great, but feeling somewhat better. I was super slow and that was okay.

I find that I have to keep reminding myself of my goal – finishing a marathon. I’ve got no goals around time. I’m not worried about my pace. I just want to cross that finish line. Do I think I’ll have improvements between now and run day? I sure hope so, but I can’t let that distract me. My only focus over the next few months is building mileage and the mental strength to get it done.

Week 15 – In the Books

02.08.2025 ~ Monica ~ Leave a comment

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” ~ Confuscius

Wrapped up this week by running the Freedom Fest 2025 10k. My goal was to run it – not race it. How’d I do? Sorta okay, but also, it was a 10k PR for me. My Garmin reported I PRd my 1K, 1 Mile, 5K and 10k. I did know I was pushing it, but I was also feeling okay so I went with it. And when I was done my Garmin told me I needed 50 hours to recover.

For this run I gave SaltStick FastChews Electrolyte Tablets a go. I was a fan of these. I also tried a Krono Nutrition Maple & Raspberry Energy Gel and it was a definite nope. I had a package opening malfunction and ended up wearing most of it so I only got to try a little bit of it, but it coated my tongue for a long while. It was also super sweet.

This run also proved to me I can run a marathon. I have read several times that when you train for a marathon you are really training for the first 20 miles and the last 6.2 are no man’s land. So I have now decided that the 6.2 I ran today proves I can do the last 6.2 – and I just need to train the first 20 miles now. That makes sense, right? Of course it does.

There are a few other things I’ve read recently that I put into practice today. One of them is that wearing sunglasses can reduce your Rate of Perceived Exertion. Sunglasses are challenging because I can’t just pick up a cute pair. I need them to be prescription. I have a pair for everyday wear, but they are not great for running. There is a lot of pushing them up my nose. So I ordered myself a pair of Zunnies. I’m a fan. The other thing I read is that smiling while you run improves your run. And the article specified a real smile.

Maybe I need to work on the real smile, but not bad for mile 6.

14 Weeks Done and Dusted

29.07.2025 ~ Monica ~ Leave a comment

Jogging is very beneficial. It’s good for your legs and your feet. It’s also very good for the ground. It makes it feel needed.” – Charles Schulz

I struggled a little with last week’s long run. It just felt hard. This week’s long run was longer than last week’s so I wasn’t looking forward to it, but I knew I had to get it done. I’ve been trying to figure out the nutrition stuff – I know that is part of my problem. I’ve always found exercising on a full stomach a bit nauseating, but I also don’t care for the idea of getting up earlier than I already do. So it’s a struggle – what to do? what to do?

This week I opted to try out a Vanilla Honey Stinger Energy Waffle (super yummy). I had it waiting in the bathroom so I could wash my face, brush my teeth and then eat something before I did anything else. I’m a slow getter readier so it was another hour or so before I’d done all the things I needed to do (get dressed, stretch, do the dishes, the normal running prep stuff) and was out the door for my run. I then topped up with a gel at the half way mark. The gel was Glukos Lemon-Lime. I was not a fan of this. Texture wise it was good. Flavor wise it gave serious colonoscopy prep vibes. It is sold out on their website, so someone must like it. I did notice a difference in how I felt though, in a good way. It definitely was encouraging.

I’ve also found my way to #runnertok. I love the tips people give – sharing their running challenges and strategies. I’m a little terrified by those that honestly share their need-a-bathroom-but-there-isn’t-one-near stories – so far I’ve been able to plan routes where I know in advance the location of porta-potties and public restrooms. Maybe I’ll do all my training on these routes.

Where am I in my training plan? I’ve got a 10k scheduled this weekend. I figure if I’m gonna run the distance I might as well get the medal. Next week I officially start my marathon block. I have registered for a 1/2 marathon this fall. There just happens to be a half marathon in the Springs the weekend I am scheduled to do 14 miles. So why not?

Racing and Pacing and Plotting the Course

23.07.202524.07.2025 ~ Monica ~ Leave a comment

What exactly do I think about when I’m running? I don’t have a clue.” ~ Haruki Murakami

Saturday’s are long run days and I’ve just gotten to the point where the time feels like it’s beginning to get long(ish), however… the distance is not so distant. This is probably where I should begin to think about fueling and hydrating during my run. I tried my first gel this past Saturday. Went with Ucan’s Orange Mango Edge Energy Gel (because I ordered some samples from them) at mile 2 of my 5 mile run. I have no complaints. I could definitely see this one in my rotation (once I need a rotation). Currently using Nathan’s ExoDraw 2.0 Handheld 18oz water bottle. I’m contemplating a running vest, but that’s as far as I’ve gotten. I don’t think I’ll need it during the race so waiting to see if it will be beneficial during training before I spend the money.

And… I signed up for this marathon fully intending that it would be my only marathon. But #runnertok is making me think I should probably do one more. From what I can tell there will be none of the fun marathon hoopla for this race and I think I want hoopla. But I should probably get through number one before I start planning number two.

33 Years

25.06.2025 ~ Monica ~ Leave a comment

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” ~ 1 Corinthians 13:7

Michael and I celebrated 33 years of marriage last week. 33. That’s a long time – sometimes it feels twice as long as that and sometimes it feels like the blink of an eye.

I’ve often heard people say marriage is hard. But what does that mean? I think it means that sometimes it’s hard because we aren’t always our best selves and we don’t like each other very much. More often it’s hard because of the hard things we have to go through, you know, the worse part of “for better or for worse”. Thankfully no matter how worse it has gotten better has always come.

Another Ask

20.06.2025 ~ Monica ~ Leave a comment

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop. ~ Mother Teresa

I was really uncomfortable starting this fundraising thing. I didn’t have much confidence that it would go anywhere. I sorta figured I’d ask and then the post would get lost out there in the interwebs and we wouldn’t talk about it again. But people did donate and I discovered something interesting. When people donated to a cause that I believe in and they were also showing support for a challenge I’m tackling it felt really personal. Like I now have a team behind me. So I set a goal to do a monthly ask and see if I could continue to grow my team.

Today I’m 6 months out from marathon day. In the past 2 months I have run/walked/hiked 132.5 miles. My toe is better. It’s still swollen and a little tender to the touch, but I can run on it without pain. I completed a 5k, set a PR, and have the medal to show for it. I’ve gotten the programmed strength training done and I’m having fun. The mornings are getting warmer, but I’m still wearing long sleeves for most runs. That will change soon. Truth be told I enjoy the process.

Now a fundraising update. I’m raising money for Compassion International, specifically to go towards providing vulnerable children living in poverty access to clean and safe drinking water—preventing life-threatening diseases and allowing them to stay in school and focus their energy on overcoming poverty. My goal is set for $1500. I’m currently at $950. I’m pretty pleased with that. I’d love it if you would consider joining team #luxuriouslyhard (yes, I do hope that becomes a thing, because I think it’s super funny. If you want to know what it means you can read about it here.) If you’d like to donate follow this link And maybe you could share it with a friend or two.

Banana Ball

17.06.2025 ~ Monica ~ Leave a comment

Buy the ticket, take the ride.” ~ Hunter S. Thompson

Getting tickets to see The Firefighters vs Savannah Bananas at Coors Field was a lot more complicated than I think buying tickets should be. Last fall I happened to see an ad about entering the Banana Ball ticket lottery. So I did, because I thought maybe it would be fun to go to a game, but I didn’t have a lot of investment in it. If I got picked I got picked and if not, oh well. And seven months later I got picked. But, turns out getting picked isn’t actually getting to buy tickets. It’s maybe getting the opportunity to buy tickets depending on the time slot you are randomly placed in. I ended up with a mid day time slot – 12:30pm. I had no idea if that was a good time or not, but it seemed like maybe it was.

It’s amazing how each hoop I jumped through had me more and more invested in getting these tickets. Today was ticket buying day and success. I did the hard thing. The sorta hard thing. Well, probably a not really hard thing. I guess I did a thing.

Running the Runway

07.06.2025 ~ Monica ~ 1 Comment

Some of us have great runways already built for us. If you have one, take off.” ~ Amelia Earhart

Today’s programmed run was a 5k. So I signed up for a 5k – The Centennial Airport Runway 5k. Other than an early morning wake up I had no idea what to expect.

The FBI & the DEA both had a booth. The police and their drug dog were there along with the bomb squad. The fire department was present. There were all kinds of planes on display. Blue Bell was giving out Ice Cream – I peeped Cookie Cake, but the line was so long. I now regret not waiting. Nothing Bundt Cakes was giving out legit personal size cakes. There was a brewery giving out beer. I did the age check so I could get one, but the line convinced me 9:45a was sorta early for beer. No regrets there.

But how was the race itself? We for real ran on a runway. A real live runway. It was pretty close to flat. There was a lot of asphalt. There was no shade. My time wasn’t impressive, but I did set a post heart-failure diagnosis PB. Which has me wondering how do we measure PBs? (PB = Personal Best)

I have most definitely been faster. But that was at a lower altitude, a younger age, and a healthier heart. I feel like the heart thing is a metric I should consider. Like it’s outside the norm of aging and location. And maybe it’s not an actual PB. It’s some kind of different category than PB. It’s an improvement for sure, but it doesn’t compare with what I was able to do “back in the day”. And is it a measurement I should even be worried about?

What really matters?

Too Soon?

26.05.2025 ~ Monica ~ Leave a comment

When it’s right it’s never too late, when it’s wrong it’s always too soon” ~ Sara Donati

Yesterday I completed stage one of my BMP (Bespoke Marathon Plan). Which was basically a 5 week 5k plan and starting week 3 of that plan I had to to substitute anything but running in for the running. I did turn my most recent few running workouts into walking workouts – just to test out how my toe is doing. It’s still swollen, it’s still very painful to the touch, and it doesn’t like being squeezed close to the other toes.

It hurts in the square, but it REALLY hurts where the arrow is pointing.

Probably that means I should keep resting and adapting and not running, but… I don’t want to. So I started stage two of my BMP by adding running back in. On declines it seemed okay. Flat surfaces were not too bad. Inclines were not so good. But the good news, I think, is that it doesn’t hurt any more this afternoon than it did before I ran. So maybe it’s okay.

Stage 2 is a 10k running plan. In two weeks I’ll be running the Centennial Airport Runway 5k. 8 weeks after that I’m hoping to get a 10k run in and then sometime around the 1st of November I’m thinking maybe a 1/2 marathon will fit in my programming. Might as well earn some medals while I train.