Running Down the Dream: The Joy is in the Journey

I wrote a long analytical post about my goals for Grandma's Marathon, but I haven't hit "publish" on it yet. A marathon build is a monstrous training endeavor for a single race, and no matter how remarkable the outcome of that race, the journey to the starting line is more significant. I once said that I'd enjoy marathon training even if it did not end in racing a marathon, and I hold to that. Falling in love with the process is crucial. No matter how my race goes, I've already succeeded because I've loved this training block!

The 3 of us are going to Grandma's!

Some highlights include:

The clear choice for my favorite part is the time spent with all of my wonderful training partners. Some friends I ran with once, others I pounded the pavement on farm roads with multiple times a week, but every mile spent in good company is something I'll always treasure!
Running buddy highlights include (excuse me for forgetting many!):

Running a workout in 38*, 20 mph wind, and light rain; Amy was coming over to run her workout on the same course or else I don't think I'd have gotten out! She said the same thing, and then she went on to run in even worse conditions at the Boston Marathon.
One of my running buddies tripped over a dead opossum in the darkness...that'll teach her to wear a headlamp!
One of my running buddies stopped to go to the bathroom on a road we never see anyone on, and while I was waiting for her a man came out to get his mail just in time to see her run out from behind the trees. We said hi to him and moved on!
Once I stopped to pee during a long run after our group had spread out. I told the guys to go ahead, and made a very fast stop because I wanted to catch back up to them. Rebecca was behind me and got to witness my Shalane-at-Boston-fast pee stop.
Amy has been trying to get a Lululemon ambassadorship (and she should!) and she is in several Lulu groups, so she takes photos of all of her run outfits to post. I enjoyed photobombing some of them and posing with her in others; it became a post-run tradition. Anytime she ran with me and her run was too fast, she started putting the tag #blameSara on her notes for her coach (who is also my coach).
Whenever Rebecca and Claudio both came to a run, it was guaranteed they would speak to one another in Spanish at some point, which I always enjoyed listening to.
Amy P. met me at work at lunchtime for my second runs whenever she could, and the break from work to run and chat with her was always very welcome, but we always needed more miles than we had to really catch up!
I had many medium long runs with Jessi while she finished her collegiate career, but the most memorable was one day I was able to take a long lunch at work due to a cancellation, after we'd missed the morning's run due to ice on the ground. Running 11 miles at lunch in daylight was sure nice on that cold day!
Daniel joined for a group run after some time off, and ended up running 15 miles with us after having gone no farther than 7 the entire season. I tried to convince him to sign up for a marathon at that point.
Michelle and I live 4 hours apart, but texted all of the time about our Grandma's training, and ran three of the same races during our build (Big 12 12K, Rock the Parkway, Bill Snyder Half). We got to meet once for a training run when I was at my in-laws in Kansas, in a little town named Burlington that was halfway between our locations.
Missy is our group "mama" and always looking out for traffic for us. She calls one of our routes The 11 Mile Death Loop.

Solo runs are also very enjoyable for me. I do some of my best thinking, praying, and problem-solving while pounding the pavement.
Tales of terrible weather, from the coldest winter we've had in years, to a very windy and brief spring, to sweltering humidity. In January I set a record for the coldest temperatures I'd ever run in, in March I ran a workout in the coldest and windiest rain I've ever run in, and recently I've worn long sleeves and ear warmers in temperatures I'd be burning up wearing a sports bra and shorts only in. It's sure nice to run in ideal weather, but the crap weather always makes better stories!
Learning to race longer races without tapering. I've raced plenty without tapering, but this season I became an expert in racing half marathons completely unrested, which I hadn't done before. The main factor was staying out of my own head about it!
Heat acclimation death...I have never over-dressed so much for so many runs! This was not a fond laundry memory, but I did laugh a lot about it for various reasons ("Bet my neighbors wonder why I'm in a sports bra and shorts one day [workout day] and in long sleeves and a hat the next!").
In both the Bill Snyder and Rock the Parkway halves I had the pleasure of running with and chatting with someone for most of the race, Sharon and Janell respectively.
Traveling to the Illinois Half Marathon with my parents was wonderful.
My "oops" story of the training cycle is that one day after I ran at lunch from work, I placed my gross sweaty running clothing in a bag I was taking to a meeting at another location. I only intended to put it in the bag to carry it to my car since my hands were full, but I forgot to take it out when I got to my car and ended up taking it into the work appointment with me. I'm sure hope I was the only one who noticed it!
I wrote a post all about my mileage this build in comparison to other builds, but I didn't hit "publish" on that one either, and a bullet probably suffices. In the 18 weeks prior to race day (presuming I run exactly what is scheduled between now and race day), I averaged 70.3 miles a week! No weeks were below 62 (except race week will be), and I had 3 weeks in the 80s. The simple fact that I did this 100% healthy is a huge highlight! My average mileage in the 18 weeks before CIM was 67.4, so this cycle was not drastically different, but still notable. The drastic difference comes when I point out that the highest average I'd had in any build prior to CIM was around 56! I've done some marathon build comparisons before, which can be viewed here (this table has 20 week mileage averages) and here (this table has 12 week mileage averages). I also confess that the reason I went with my 18 week mileage average for the statistic this build was because my 20 week average was 69.8, haha! My 12 week average would be higher, but I want credit for how many consecutive weeks I've been running 65+ mpw too. I felt like I handled the mileage better this cycle than I did before CIM as well.

You can track me via the Grandma's Marathon app (search Grandma's Marathon in the app store and it will pop right up). I am F42, which means I am ranked 42nd female, and I will try to place higher than that. The race is Saturday, June 16 starting at 7:45 a.m., so the count-down is on!