Ok here’s my fundraising page for Chicago Marathon.
http://www.stayclassy.org/angelanorvitch
Share it. Promote it. Donate if you can. I’d love you forever for it.
All proceeds go to Be Bright Pink, a foundation dedicated to educating
and empowering young women to be proactive about their breast
and ovarian health. Read my story on why I’m running for them here »
Thank you!
well… i feel like i’m playing about 8 months of catch up here…
but here goes:
what’s new since circa november:
• biggest news of it all: after 5 years i got a new job. such a blessing.
God is good, and, clearly, He knows my desires of my heart. and that’s
truly where i was led. i honestly never thought i’d find myself in a job i
can honestly say i LOVE. most days i still have to pinch myself that this
is actually MY life. really, i couldn’t be happier.
• second biggest news: i’m moving. yep. minneapolis, aloha!
peace out: suburbs.this is all still in progress, but i have a move date and i’m
nonetheless thrilled about this change as well. hello: running trails! also,
i’m really excited about my new place. it’s lovely. and i get a full laundry room
to myself. yes: that’s exciting news. so is 100+ square feet bigger.
“so much room for activities!!!”
• Grandma’s marathon training officially commenced this week.
technically i started training 3 weeks ago to increase my distance fast/safely
enough to run tcm’s 100% irish 10 miler on 3/9. so we’ll call it a jump-start.
• i decided to sign up with Team Hope for the Pancreatic Cancer Network and
dedicate my 2nd running of Grandma’s for my Grandma Rita who passed away
of pancreatic cancer 9 years ago. that fundraising was a breeze. and i am so
thankful for those who have supported me with that! i have amazing friends and
family. i hit my fundraising minimum/goal within 48 hours i think. ridic!
still [shameless plug] if you’d like to donate towards that, $15 will get you a mile
dedicated all to you. i still have about 10 miles i would be thrilled to get sponsored:
donate here »
• and my “breaking news” today… I decided to sign up for a second marathon this
year. yes, that’s 2 marathons; one year. it still hasn’t sunk in yet because i still
haven’t felt like pooping my pants yet over the idea. but i’ve always really wanted to
run chicago marathon and decided this year… let’s do this thing. [also a little
persuasion from the Gerb Shady himself. I decided to add an extra layer of challenge
and add in MORE fundraising, but for a great cause. I'm going to be joining
Team Bright Pink and running to raise funds for early detection and prevention of
breast and ovarian cancer in young women. as you all probably know, my sister
[also running grandma's with me... hurrah!] conquered breast cancer last year. so this
is a cause that’s important to me, my family, and a lot of others who’ve been affected.
i don’t have my official fundraising page up and kicking… literally this whole concept
was birthed just like less than 12 hours ago… but i will post it. i will be needing tons
of help meeting my $900 goal. BUT. i know after having to raise $3k for the 3 day last
year… this is NOT even close to impossible. #itshappening
SO. that’s that. my life is definitely changing in ways i never expected.
any questions? thanks for catching up with me.
if you follow me on the twitters or the face-face this is probably nothing that new.
*shrugs* and *hugs*
oh and here’s my fierce face. can we tell i’ve been workin’ them pipes yet?
[sorry, had to...]
keep my sanity in your prayers.
also– I will post my fundraising efforts as they become available.
see also: previous post circa october.
Lord help my body.
this weekend my friends and i spent some time in small town wisconsin.
doing some small town things.
like a small town fall festival.
The festival was pretty much everything I didn’t know existed, but love…
Like an all-women’s nail driving competition.
A giant slingshot.
Weiner dog costume contests. (LOVED the elephant costume…my favorite)
And weiner dog races of course.
And of course the first thing that caught my eye:
THE LLAMAS.
Hey yo. Seriously. I love llamas. I want a llama farm. (More on that later…)
We stopped by a booth that pretty much had flashing lights with our names in it.
That sign said something about “Wine Tasting”.
Of course the 3 of us girls inquired.
Within 30 seconds of talking our day had new plans.
We were going wine tasting down the road.
At Hennessey’s Vineyard.
So, for $10 you get to taste 5 wines and you get foods that compliment the wines.
Cheese.
Chocolate.
Crackers.
Breads.
Fruits.
Cute little mini sandwiches.
Pretty much most of my favorite food groups.
Let me just say I had 3 wines that i DIED over.
One I even had twice.
Like could probably drink-the-whole-bottle-in-one-sitting.
THAT GOOD.
And for anyone who knows me, that’s not typical.
So my 3 new loves in life are:
Robertson Natural Sweet White (straight up from south africa!)
Pacific Rim Sweet Riesling
and Moscato Bella
Yes. As you notice… I like my wine sweet.
And smooth.
The guy working there told me they were low in alcohol content.
Probably also why I liked them. (haha)
So after wine tasting we ventured over to the other side of their farm.
We asked permission to see the baby cows we saw when driving in.
Oh, were they adorable.
i mean, how sweet are they?!
So basically we loved this place.
So much that we want to try to go back one more time before the end of October.
(They are open seasonally, May thru October.)
After we quit swooning over the baby cows, we ironically took a trip to the dairy.
Conveniently located across the street.
Some of the best cheese in the world lives there.
God bless Wisconsin cheese.
And we had some massive ice cream cones which were equally delicious.
Last but not least we took a trip to an apple orchard nearby.
I think we drove by the place and missed the drive way a total of 5 times.
Ahem…that was me… anyways.
This was my first time visiting an orchard.
Man the orchards smell good!
As did my car after my bag of apples sat in it…
The apples were pretty picked over.
We kind of expected that after hearing they had an early season.
Global warming. I think.
But I picked a bag of regent apples
They basically taste like apple cider upon biting into them.
Seriously every happening of this day was my favorite.
And I love that I got to spend it with 2 of my best friends.
I said the day exceeded my already very high expectations.
Love when that happens.
And then I made apple crisp.
And I’m already “over” it… with a half pan left in my fridge.
So there’s that.
Congrats to me on not devouring my 8×8 pan in a half hour.
i just moved my blog on over.
in hopes of using it.
prettying it up from the garbage mess it was before.
and using this to post some crochet projects.
and other life happenings.
you know me… i’m an open book.
bear with me.
some HTML affected type didn’t play well with the transfer.
so, if it’s a mess… just come back. 
i did it!
i ran 26.2 miles.
i ran a freaking marathon.
a year ago, i swore i never would.
ready to #PMKI (pretty much kill it)
my goal was to finish with any time that started with a 4:–:–.
being my first marathon though, i pep-talked myself a lot in case that didn’t happen.
i still needed to be beyond happy i finished.
i had to mentally prepare myself that i had no idea if that was even feasible.
in my mind it was, but 26 miles is a long way for a lot of things to go wrong,
or your body just to shut down.
or the weather to work against you.
or a million other things.
my specific goal time was 4:45.
my actual time crossing the finish line was 4:54.
9 minutes off. not bad.
and i swear i’m dyslexic, so it works.
i consider it a success for 3 things:
i crossed the finish line.
i didn’t puke.
and i didn’t crap my pants.
the finishing within my goal was just the icing on the cake for me.
and now i have something to work from.
for next time.
yes, i said it.
already.
my sister has already pegged me for running next year.
alright so as far as the race goes, here’s my story:
i start out every race with a quick prayer. every single race.
why?
because i know i need something bigger than me
looking out for me,
protecting me,
and strengthening me.
Philippians 4:13 i can do all things thru Him who gives me strength.
the weather
i honestly was freaking out about the weather.
friday was NOT a typical duluth day.
duluth is never hot, still, and humid all in the same day.
it’s like the stars aligned. or al gore had his hand in something…
friday i was OCD about checking the weather.
i ended up with 3 weather apps on my phone.
mainly because the 2 i had were SO different forecasts.
so i got a third to let it decide which was correct.
we got to the start an hour, of course, before the race starts.
enough time to wait in the porta-potty line.
and then mentally question yourself 5 times whether you really DO need to pee again or if that’s just nerves.
both tonya and i were on the verge of all kinds of emotions that morning, anyways,
but the fighter jets flew over and we were both crying.
already.
yes.
before the race even freaking starts.
girls…i know.
we both yelled at each other “stop it! not yet!” haha.
the start of the race thru the first eh, 7,8 (i forget) miles
were sunny, warm, slightly muggy but a nice breeze that kept things cool.
tonya busted out her maiden voyage sports bra run.
i was proud of her for that.
my day will come.
patience.
back to the weather situation…
i was mostly nervous for if it got warmer, or stayed that temperature how
my body would deal 15 miles later.
well, by i know for sure by mile 12, it was clouding over.
the breeze picked up and it cooled off.
i am still thanking the Lord it did that instead of what the forecast was saying
(75º, sunny, humid… blah!)
going into this i thought the first half of the race would be the longest mentally.
nope.
it went super fast.
the first 10 miles flew by for me.
then at mile 12 i saw my first familiar faces.
first my best friend alex who i was staying with.
the epic jazz hands shot from alex
and then Ann and her awesome Carly Rae Jepsen inspired signage.
she ran with me for a long enough conversation for me to:
-cry. a little tad.
-tell her how i was feeling.
-get encouragement from her.
seriously she is a sweetheart and one of the most encouraging people i’ve met!
once i hit the half marathon check point i was convinced this was
the most amazing thing i’ve ever decided to do.
by mile 18 i decided this is the dumbest thing i’ve ever decided to do.
that was the first time i had to stop and stretch for a minute.
crampage. you know.
i thought my hammys were gonna rip out.
but, after i’d stop to stretch i’d be golden for a while.
mile 21 was one of the hardest for me.
i don’t know if it was a mental game because our longest training run was 20 miles.
or if that’s just how the cards landed that day.
then things got better as i just told myself it wouldn’t hurt any worse.
it really didn’t.
it’s true. it hurts to a point. then it just doesn’t hurt any worse.
but it still hurts.
mile 22 i think is where some moron stuck bacon in my face.
that was the LAST thing i wanted to eat.
i was not very patient and just remember snapping something like “get that OUT of my face. NOW”
gross dude.
really.
mile 23.
by this point, i’m really getting exhausted, but i’m so close to the end that adrenaline really kicks in.
my saving grace happens.
i see Chris!!
he was stretching and i don’t think i really gave him an option.
i said “stick with me!” and just like that…
and TEAM BLAZE was formed.
right after finding Chris, he informed me that he was running with a ring in his pocket and he was
going to propose to his girlfriend at the finish line.
yep.
again.
i got emotional.
not long after, we ran by the Mizuno tent and saw the VIP, the mayor of the expo himself, THE one and only, JOEY.
(how was that for dramatic?)
he ran with us for a few minutes as well.
honestly those few minutes of people running with me HELPED SO MUCH.
because for even 2 minutes, i get my mind off the pain.
mile 24 is where my parents and my best friend from college (meghann) were all waiting in the usual spot.
meghann ran in her flip flops with me for a few seconds!
she’s just hilarious.
and then i saw my parents where i thought i was going to have a massive emotional meltdown.
but then my dad started telling me how perfect these photos he was taking would be for facebook.
and i laughed instead.
like these, i guess?
seeing everyone at mile 24 really helped that mile go by pretty fast.
and those last 3-4 miles thru downtownish are always mentally the longest for me because of the familiarity and anticipation.
so close.
so far.
by the last mile we were pretty much doing a pretty steady run a half a mile, walk a minute dealio.
but team blaze rocked on thru to the finish.
and the glorious, always attractive finish line photo:
the first few minutes not running were THE MOST painful minutes for me.
i stretched. lots.
kept moving, because it hurt more to stand still.
drank lots of chocolate milk.
and honestly within 15 minutes felt way better.
that night and day after, i felt minimal soreness.
i really don’t know what i did to get off that easy.
i even ran for a few minutes on the treadmill the day after.
yeah.my shoulders were the most sore the day after.
who KNOWS.
some post race pics:
so there it is.
26.2 while i’m 26.
one of the most painful, yet rewarding experiences.
and as much work as it was, yes, i’d do it all again.
with 13 days to spare.
what else should i conquer in the next 10 days?
thanks y’all for joining me on this journey.
i appreciate EVERYONE’S support and encouragement.
next up: TCM Red, White + Boom Half marathon on the 4th!
yeah, i know.
i’m a little crazy.
well. here we are.
week 17 of 18.
312 training miles in the books.
21 training miles to go.
and a 26.2 mile race to go… can’t forget that.
honestly it seems like a dream that i’m here.
i’m proud. i’m tired. i’m excited. i’m terrified.
but mostly… i’m proud and excited.
starting this training, i don’t think the idea of 18 weeks of running training
really set in until about week 6 or 7.
i’m used to my 12 week half marathon training plan, so naturally by about 12 weeks
my body just was ready for something different…and a break.
so the first 5-6 weeks of training were pretty laid back.
i won’t say easy, because no one should ever say running 10 miles is “easy”.
manageable and tolerable, yes.
but it still takes a lot of work and time to get yourself there.
just to get onself trained up to run 10 miles is an accomplishment.
but now that this crazy marathon training has warped that perspective,
it kinda seems like a piece of cake!
once we got past our half marathon, the training obviously really ramped up.
pretty much every week is greater than a half marathon long run.
that means a good 2.5-3.5 hours of running. in ONE day. usually early on a saturday.
sacrificial of saturday morning sleep-ins. 
no sleeping in on the weekends for 18 weeks… ick!
i learned to play weird games with my mind.
for example, for the 15 miler… i told myself the first 2 miles were warmup,
then just run a half marathon… right?
yeah, something like that.
then with every longer run we did, i kinda just built my confidence off of knowing
‘if i could do the last, i can do this… just add a mile or two’.
and i know that’s honestly 90% of the purpose of training.
training your mind to think crazy things. along with your body to do crazier things.
like run 20 miles.
it never got any ‘easier’.
i’ll be the first to admit that.
but your perspective on a 5 mile run changes.
for me, i’d go into some of those mid-week short runs thinking ‘piece of cake’
…and it would end up to be the WORST and longest drawn out run ever.
mind games.
that’s all it is.
oh, and a lot of physical training.
bottom line, i learned no matter the distance: respect the distance. everyday.
even a year ago, if you would have asked me if i’d ever run a marathon,
i’d swear up and down: NO WAY.
i still can’t believe i actually decided to do this.
let alone, actually made it thru this.
the first really big step in the training was our 15 miler.
neither tonya or i had run anything more than 13.1 before this.
we made it.
i was more sore after the 15 miler than the 16 miler.
weird, but kinda makes sense.
wreck the body, then the body adapts.
then our next big milestone was the 30k (18.6 miles).
me and T pre-race 
i think i went into this race a little TOO confident.
it went fine. honestly i had little expectations for it.
mostly to finish and gauge how i felt after 18 miles,
and to learn from it.
what i learned from it: i started too fast.
by the last couple miles i was a hurtin’ unit.
this race honestly shook my confidence about the marathon.
my time was fine, i wasn’t disappointed with that, but i FELT miserable.
and that feeling of “still gotta add on 7.6 miles to this distance” was a little unnerving.
but that’s why you train.
you train to teach your body.
you train to learn from your body,
so that come race day, there really aren’t a ton of surprises that could have been avoided.
glorious finish line!
after this race, i was SO sore.
for 3 days it hurt to stand up, sit down, and walk down stairs.
we actually took a long run off that week after the race.
just gotta know your body and when it’s important to rest and when to push yourself.
missing one “non crucial” (non-increasing distance) long run wasn’t going to kill us.
so there was our decision.
2 weeks ago was the much-anticipated,
long-awaited,
big kahuna,
finale,
longest run of 20 miles.
20 mile before + after shot 
before we started the run, we both laughed at how nervous we were.
(it’s hard to eat when you’re nervous.)
you gotta eat something before you run 20 miles.
i probably will have a hard time eating on june 16! like, yikes.
we ran most of this in the midst of a total monsoon and lightning storm.
i’m glad both my training buddy Tonya and i have fighter spirits
because i think most would have used it as a good excuse to cut it short.
we both knew we needed this run for the confidence.
and our bodies needed the run for the preparation.
honestly, it was a long morning of running.
i got extremely cranky at about mile 17 or 18
(mainly because i thought my iphone was for sure fried from the downpour from being in my pocket).
but we made it.
we were both SO proud when we were done.
just that distance alone, was a HUGE accomplishment: mentally, physically, and for me… emotionally.
the surprising part of this run:
i wasn’t nearly as sore after.
a little slow walking around for a couple hours.
but then later that afternoon, i was fine.
rolled out of bed the next morning like it was nobody’s business.
that was a huge win for me.
and now we taper!
we’ve been tapering since last week and here we are.
final full week of training.
i still have to pinch myself that i’m actually here.
june 16 i probably will still be in disbelief. just with a little more fear.
but i’m ready.
i know i’ve put in the distances, the time, and the hard work i need to be where i am at.
i have the confidence and the experience of knowing how my body will react,
and how to get myself to that finish line.
yes, we still have a whole 6.2 miles of uncharted distance that we’ve never run,
but i think we’ll be just fine.
mind over matter.
and reminding myself that most people say the training IS the hardest part.
i would agree.
time consuming.
energy consuming… time consuming.
life consuming.
did i mention time consuming?
but i think (know!) after we cross that finish line it will be all worth it.
will i do it again?
we’ll see.
i’ve subconsciously already talked about my next marathon.
but that’s been without THINKING about the words coming out of my mouth.
and thinking about all the time.
and energy. and time.
half marathons are my thing. i’ve come to appreciate those.
the trainings are still a ton of time and work to do it right, but much more life-manageable.
so… T-Minus 11 days… any last words?
Here we go…
“I can do ALL things thru Him who gives me strength” — Philippians 4:13.
boom! 
it’s been a real long time since i updated this thing.
it’s almost humorous.
i do believe my last post was announcing i’d be running my first marathon.
mmm. yah that’s it.
well here i am 3 months later.
6 weeks into that marathon training.
i get asked a lot “how’s marathon training going?”
well, right now, i can’t complain.
we have been blessed with amaaaazing weather.
less treadmill = more sane ME.
i have an awesome training buddy.
(i’d highly highly recommend training with someone for your first marathon.) <– more on that later.
i had some of the recurring hip pain early on in the training.
it seemed to be triggered by cold weather though.
so hopefully that’s under wraps.
and so far, the distances have been nothing foreign to my body.
but, that being said… talk to me in 4 weeks.
i’ve never run anything more than the 13.1.
yeah, i’ve done that quite a few times, but still.
nothing more than 13 yet. YET.
so summary from the past 6 weeks of what i’ve learned thus far about attempting the marathon:
do some half marathon trainings before you do a marathon training
i’m serious. i understood week one why you should have some running experience
under your belt. i’m not saying it would be impossible without experience. but mentally, it helps.
week one you run 6 miles for your long run. granted right now for me that’s an ‘average’
distance that i run every week. and doesn’t seem scary to me. but i think back 2 years ago
when i trained for my first half, 6 miles was a big number…but every week built up a bigger mileage.
and having that training experience under your belt… it does something to your confidence.
plus, it’s safest. less risk for injury.
get a training buddy
no, we don’t run every single training run together (yet) haha.
but, we’ve done pretty much every long run together. i know for a fact there would have been days
i would have slacked, or quit early (or postponed a run) due to physical ailments or just mentally not
‘being there’. having someone that you’d let down stops you. it holds you accountable.
and yes, i’m a disciplined runner. i rarely, if ever, skimped on any of my half trainings.
mentally i beat myself up when i do. but i still feel like i needed this. because it’s a whole different
ball game committing to 18 weeks of long, long running distances.
train
this sounds dumb. and a lot of people would face palm. because it’s obvious.
training absolutely IS the hardest part of a marathon. it takes discipline. tons of time.
tons of energy. tons of planning….and tons of time.
but it’s very worth it. you risk major injury by not allowing your body to ‘gradually’ ease into that distance.
and not only that, to know you’ve done your best on race day, you need to practice every dumb little detail.
water.
gatorade.
food.
GU/energy shots.
shoes.
clothing.
fuel belts. <– future post. get one. get one get one get one. i know, nerdy. but get one.
etc.
etc.
i’m not kidding. it sounds ridiculous, but if you’re going to run 26.2 miles, literally beat your body up for a day…
why would you not give it your all and know you’ve done your best?
i personally disregard people who do not train for races of significant distances (10 miles +)
honestly i think completing a full training is 90% of the satisfaction and success you feel when you’re done.
anyone in good health could theoretically go out and run a half marathon on little to no training.
but then you’re left to wonder “what if… what if i trained? what if i could have given more?”
i don’t want to wonder ‘what if’ because i’m pretty sure this marathon thing will be a one-time shot for me.
–it’s just so incredibly time consuming… don’t worry… half marathons will still be my ‘thing’–
document your training to make it fun and memorable!
my training buddy had an awesome idea of finding as many different running routes during our training
and taking pics every long run. i think it’s an awesome way to a) just take in the scenery and b) remind yourself
of how far you’ve come. and all the miles you’ve put on your body. plus you may find the very city you live in,
is pretty downright gorgeous at sunset.
want it. and want to have fun.
18 weeks of a running plan is a long time.
you’ve gotta be committed to it whole heartedly to do your best.
(sorry, i’m all about doing things well and right and not cutting corners)
try to just enjoy it. go into it with the mentality of ‘game on’ but also the ‘try it. don’t like it? never have to do it again’
state of mind.
honestly, that’s where i’m at. i’m giving it my all. but i’ve told myself many times.
do this just this once. you never have to do it again if you hate it.
all that said. that’s what i’ve ‘figured out’ on this adventure thus far.
tune back in, in probably a few weeks to learn more about the agony of these really long runs coming up.
oh man.
