Training for a Marathon: What No One Tells You

OK, I'm sorry for the lack of blogging, but the last week has been nuts. I've been doing training for my marathon, trying to stay healthy, had a bachlorette party, and competed in the Minneapolis Duathalon with my friend Sam (she biked, I ran), oy! So, here, in a couple of pictures, depicts some highlights from my last week.

Making a carrot cake from scratch with cream cheese frosting. =)
Hitting up Loring Pasta Bar with Cindy, and then going for dessert at the nearby and relatively new Fru la la. All I can say is, Rice Krispie Treats on Frozen Yogurt get an A++.
Then, there is marathon training. I know it seems pretty obvious, but marathon training is hard and time consuming. I had a mini (OK, full blown) break down about it this last week. As I was explaining my frustrations and worry of this process to Ben, the following words came spilling out of my mouth, "I've never pushed myself this hard, mentally or physically before in my life."

And it's true. I had this ah ha moment, where I realized what I ask my body to do, week in and week out. Now that I'm up to the higher mileage, and this being my first marathon, each week on my long run, I'm telling my body to do something it's never physically done before, and pushing it while my mind says, "no stop, this isn't something I've done before. But yes, keeping going, you'll never get better at something if you don't venture into the unknown." It's the weirdest feeling, it's like having a running devil conscience on one shoulder and the running angel on the other.As I stated in a previous post, my marathon training partner Katy has also moved to Denver, and the other gals I meet up with for runs are a faster pace than me. I don't expect them to slow down, they don't expect me to speed up, they're great gals, they hold me accountable for meeting someone on those early mornings to get running, so it is what it is.

Luckily, I have people who have been joining me for parts of my run, which makes my day, and I have an iPod with stellar selection (in my humble opinion). So what do you do to keep going on long runs? Past Marathoners, what has kept you going through this part of your training? Also, I'd love to hear any suggestions for motivating workout music, as my iPod and I are becoming extremely close these days. =)