Grandma's Here I Come: By the Numbers

I’m not really a huge numbers person. I’m good with them, but not like some people I know. But I’ve recently looked at the numbers that are about to get me to starting line tomorrow.

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169 days. I signed up for Grandma’s Marathon days ago. (December 28^th, 2017 was D-Day. My Christmas present to myself.)

757 miles. I’ve run 757 miles in 2018 in preparation for this race.

106 hours. I have logged 106 hours of running.

128 runs. I have run 128 times (within the last 166 days of 2018). You’re probably wondering… that’s not A LOT of runs. You’re right. That’s because I refused to let my body completely fall apart in it’s old age by taking away my beloved cross training that I have adopted over the years.

35. The average number of run miles I logged per week. Not a lot. At all. We were all about quality over quantity.

67 rides. I have ridden my bike 67 times since January 1^st. A good chunk of these have been “recovery rides” while others still test my triathlon fitness. (Just to keep the all systems a go at all times.)

88 hours. That’s 88 hours of bike riding. 88 hours I’ve chosen to take away from the run and devote to a separate set of leg muscles in hopes it will keep my run legs primed.

1,476 miles ridden. This number can’t be taken to heart. 99% of my bikes have been indoor on a computrainer. And we all know that power is what everyone cares about 😉

62 swims. I dipped my toes into the water 62 times in 2018. In all honesty looking back, I should have swam more. The pool is SUCH my zen place these days. When muscles hurt. When joints ache. When my legs say WTF. There weren’t TO many lung busters in preparation for Grandma’s, but occasionally Speedy would give me a workout to test the fitness. Spoiler alert: I can still crack a sub 1:25 100 (on repeat) if needed.

33 hours. 33 hours of swim therapy. And I wish I would have give a few more hours.

125,800 yards. Of swimming. That number probably shocks most people. But it’s really not a ton. It’s approximately 5K a week. For you hard core runners, yes a 5K on the road is the same distance on the road as it is in the pool.

12. This will be my 12^th open marathon.

11. The previous 11 marathons, starting with number 1…. Illinois Marathon 2010. Walt Disney Marathon 2011. Illinois Marathon 2011. Chicago Marathon 2011. Omaha Marathon 2012. CIM 2012. Wisconsin Marathon 2013. Nashville Hard Rock Café Marathon 2013. Big Sur International Marathon 2014. Marathon of the Treasure Coast, Jensen Beach, FL 2015. Indianapolis Monumental Marathon 2016. (2017 was pretty triathlon heavy, 2x Ironman, 3x half Ironman. By the time October rolled around my legs pretty much were screaming FU.)

17. The number of times I’ve run this distance. 11 open marathon distances + 6 full Iron distances (the run has never been cut short, only swim and bike occasionally). Soon to be 18.

5. I averaged 5 runs a week since January 1^st.

3. I averaged both 3 rides and 3 swims a week since January 1^st.

6.5 hours. The total number of hours GPS predicted it would take us to drive from Crystal Lake, IL to Duluth, MN.

7 hours. It actually took us 7 hours to get here with  our few stops we made for gas and food. Rob's still upset it took us longer than the GPS prediction. 

2. Rob ate 2 Subway sandwiches for dinner on Thursday night on the drive up to Duluth. No, he’s not running. No he’s not trying to gain weight. That’s just his M-O. Tall skinny dude who can eat whatever he wants.

26.2 miles. The number of miles I have to run tomorrow.

5:27:11. That was my first finish time in the 26.2 mile distance. It was a hot hot day. The humidity was out for blood. But a year prior one of my friends had told me, "There's no way you can run a marathon." so I wasn't about toss the in the towel just because it was hot.

3 hours and 35 minutes. The time I have to run to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

8:12. The pace per mile I have to run for 26.2 miles to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

3 hours and 30 minutes. My goal finish time to solidify entry into the Boston Marathon.

8:00. The pace per mile I need to run to solidify entry into the Boston Marathon.

3:41:17. That is my current marathon PR that I set in 2016 at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. 

8:26. The fastest pace mile that I have ever run 26.2 miles.

6 minutes. The number of minutes I need to shave off my current PR to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

11 minutes. The number of minutes I HOPE to shave off my current marathon PR in order to solidify my BQ.

January 10^th, 2018. The day my spectathlete became my fiancé. My ride or die promised that he was 100% into this crazy life I’ve chosen.

April 15^th, 2019. Not just tax day. The day I’m hopeful I’ll be taking my own tour of Massachusetts, starting in Hopkinton and ending on Boylston Street in Boston.

1 mental breakdown. Ryan endured 1 mental breakdown over the phone at the end of the April after I had finished the Illinois Half Marathon. I was convinced I wasn’t the right kind of athlete for the job. I was in the darkest of athletic dungeons.  Most people don’t realize it, but being a coach also means you’re practically a licensed therapist as well. Ryan put together a really really convincing story about how much I deserve to give myself the faith that everyone else has in me. He made me believe what I do day in and day out is worth it. He convinced me that it wasn’t time to toss in the towel on Grandma’s.

1 extra mental breakdown, just for good measure. Shortly after my little therapy session with Ryan (like 5 minutes after) I was caught in the kitchen of my best friend’s house, wiping my tears and checking how blotchy my face looked. She caught me in the middle of a breakdown that I was trying to hide from her and all of our college friends. “Megan! I heard you... please, are you ok!?” Cue the next breakdown. There’s a reason I try to hide this stuff from her sometimes. She’s good. Almost too good. She knows me all too well. And the waterworks continued to flow in overdrive in her kitchen. Maybe she never told the rest of the group about it, maybe she did. I’m not sure. But all I know is that I needed that good cry. I needed her to understand how much this stuff means to me. She’s always had an idea, but that day she was certainly reminded.

1 sleep. 1 more sleep until none of the numbers matter and all I have left to do is run every stride with my heart.

BQ or bust.

#grandmashereicome