Quote

In running it is man against himself, the cruelest of all opponents. The other runners are not the real enemies. His adversary lies within him, in his ability with brain and heart to master himself and his emotions.

--Glenn Cunningham, American Runner in the 1930s

A Long Overdue Update

Here is a much needed and long overdue quick update for any of you readers still left out there. It's been a month since Hartford and I'm feeling back to 100%.

The first week back was some light running just to stay loose and monitor any little body issues. I ended up having some nagging hip/hamstring issues in my left butt muscle area (that's a technical term) so I called it quits after 2.8 miles into the second week.

The hip/hamstring/butt muscle felt better for the third week and I got in just over 20-miles and started to do some lower body strength. The fourth week was much of the same.

This week I'm doing a little strength for the lower body, a hill workout (more strength for the lower body) and a long run of 10-miles. Longest since the marathon! When I saw that on my schedule, I got a kick out of it because right now I'm thinking of that as a long run, but when Sarah and I were in the marathon and we hit just past 16 I remember her saying that we had a 10-mile training run left - nice and short.

The first weekend in November I spent at my parents home with my family. My grandfather (my Dad's Dad) passed away so it was an emotional few days. On the bright side, I saw all of that side of my family - even met some that I didn't know previously - and I got in some good running - even one with my little sister. It was really hard running there. We were both out of significantly out of breath after one mile. Sad, isn't it? I swore we were at higher elevation than I'm used to and in fact we were. My parents house is about 1450 feet elevation while my place is only 14 feet. That combined with the much colder (and much denser air) probably combined for the crazy out of breath feelings at mile one.

So that's really all I have to catch you up on. Oh and I got my Boston Marathon card in the mail last week. How did I forget that?! It has my BQ on it and everything. I can't wait! I'm happy that I've started building strength for my marathon training.

And now that's really it.

Heather's 2008 MCM Race Report

This is crazy long and even I haven't read it yet, but for those of you who are interested. Here's Heather's race report as e-mailed to me by her. It should be a good account of a first marathon experience.

As requested by Janette (and perhaps the rest of you are interested too) the following is my race report for the 2008 Marine Corps Marathon:

(First some background on my training):
I began training for the MCM for what now seems like forever ago. The race always loomed in the distance for me, as the elusive event that would actually never happen. For the most part, minus the very few questions I asked Janette and some guidance from training programs, I made up my own training schedule, until the last four weeks when I followed Hal Higdon's marathon training plan. I'm a compulsive gym rat, so the taper was a little difficult for me, but I did enjoy sleeping in and being able to come home after work and do a quick run instead of pounding the pavement for at least an hour. I think my body definitely thanked me for it and I kept telling myself just listen to Hal, just listen to Hal. I also extremely enjoyed increasing my carb intake throughout the week. I always tell everyone that is why I run races - there's no better reason to eat tons of pasta and bread.

On Thursday of the week of the marathon, I went to the Health and Fitness Expo at the DC Armory. I was going to wait until Janette arrived on Saturday, but I was getting anxious and feared standing in long lines and expending energy. I received my race packet and beautiful army green mock tee and sampled just about everything they had to offer, with the exception of the beer, which I thought was just cruel and unusual punishment to have at the Expo. Thursday night I couldn't sleep at all with dreams of the race and the fact I had started to hydrate too much so I was up about every two hours.

On Saturday morning I did my leisurely two miles. I wore long sleeves and long tights, which I was glad of, because I realized I would definitely be okay in a tank top come Sunday morning (the weather called for 68 as opposed to Saturday's 50s). Then I headed to the airport to pick up Janette. We had lunch and headed back to the Expo to buy the official race jacket (which I proudly sported all day Monday) and some other racing items. That night, we made a pasta recipe compliments of Deena Kastor (I figured who could provide a better recipe than her?) and ate dinner with my friends. While everyone made posters, I got ready for the race, laying out my gear and showering so I was fresh and clean come the next morning.

I didn't think I'd be able to sleep Saturday night, but luckily, all of the running around on Saturday and the ten pounds of pasta and bread in my stomach knocked me out for the night and I woke up as perky as one can be at 5:15am. While Janette got ready, I went through my usual Sunday morning routine of eating a bagel with peanut butter and reading the Three Wise Guys and the wedding section from the Washington Post. Then it was off to the races!

Janette and I made the mistake of getting off at the wrong metro stop (one stop was to drop off bags, which we didn't have and the other was closer to the race start), but it was okay because it killed time and helped me warm up a little (and by a little, I mean little - it was freezing out there!). After giving up on the quest to find the infamous Brooks port-a-potties, which I later discovered were way up at the start, I waited in line at the regular bathrooms, then did a little warm-up, and preceded to wait in line again. (I was very nervous I'd have to go during the race and for all you runners I think you know what I mean by go).

After that I headed over to the start line and holy crap was I overwhelmed by runners - I mean how many people can be as crazy as all of us to run 26.2 miles at 8 in the morning? - obviously about 30,000 as that was the number signed up for MCM. I had planned to run with the 4 hour pace group, but could not find them anywhere so I ended up starting near the 4:15 pacers. After the gun went off and I finally made it to the start around ten minutes later, I was off, albeit very slowly. I had shed off my warm clothes prior to the start and was just sporting my gloves (compliments of Janette). I had contemplated trying to catch up to the 4 hour group because I'm not too good with knowing my pace, but remembered Janette and Sarah's advice that if your first miles are slow its okay, you'll make it up and not to go faster. The first 4ish miles were difficult, just because it was so crowded and it was uphill. The hills weren't bad, but it made it all the harder to navigate the crowds and I think I wasted some energy weaving in and out of people. There was definitely a fair share of bumping and excuse mes and sorrys.

At three miles I was 3 minutes behind on my pace (I was wearing a pace band, strategically marked with when to eat and drink). I was nervous and afraid everyone who was receiving text messages about me would think I was doing poorly. I stayed focused though and believe I made up time on the downhills. Though I kept Steve's (I think it was Steve) advice to have the same exertion going up as going down the hill, in the back of my mind.

The first 8 miles went by pretty fast, part of those miles I had run before so I was familiar with the course which helped a lot, espcially as I was blinded by the sun. I had taken my gloves off around mile 2, but should have kept them on, because my first gel took about ten minutes to open because my fingers were so cold.

Mile 8 to mile 12 was pretty enjoyable because there were these crazy guys (I think brothers) from Oklahoma who kept yelling at the crowds and just making a ruckus. They were funny, but I'm sure they're running around and screaming didn't help them PR, but they were definitely having fun. At mile 10-11 I finally found my pace group, contemplated joining them for a split second, and then kept on at my own pace.

I stayed in familiar territory through to mile 12 when I reached West Potomac Park and Hains Point. This is tauted as one of the worst parts of the course, because though its flat, its about a 3-4 mile stretch with very few spectators so its very lonely. Luckily about that time, I met up with Brett (I didn't know his name was Brett until after about a mile of running) and chatting with him definitely got me through that section of the race. Unfortunately/fortunately I lost him at a water station. I missed the company but think it was good because I knew I could then stay with my own pace and not waste energy talking. At this point I was about 5-6 minutes under my pace. (Unfortunately I'm bad at math, so I didn't know how to calculate my pace per mile). Right after I lost Brett I saw my friends so that was a nice little boast of excitement.

I was feeling good running around the National Mall (another area I frequented on my training runs) and it went by pretty quickly as well. This was about miles 16-20 and I was getting faster because I was about 8 minutes under pace (well by my calculations at least). I was getting nervous though because I'd heard of the dreaded "wall" that hits at mile 20 (I've never run farther than 20 miles) and wasn't sure what to expect. I saw my sister at what mile it was I can't remember, but she reloaded me with a gel and said "I was falling." I was like oh crap, I'm slowing down, until I realized she had actually said I was "hauling." She ran with me for a few seconds and I became a little more energized, but I was still waiting for 20 miles to come up and my body to say okay I've had about enough of this. Thankfully it didn't.

The other bad part of the race is the 14th Street Bridge, again, its pretty flat, but just loooong. I'd never run the last 6.2 miles of the race, so I was in unfamiliar territory. This part was pretty bad. It wasn't hot, but I was in the direct sun and people were pulling out of the race all around me. At this point, my shoes were rubbing on my ankle, so that was hurting every now and then, but I tried to block it out. While still on the endless bridge, I suddenly felt the need to burst into tears. It was the weirdest feeling every and I can only relate it to PMS. There was no reason for me to cry, I wasn't in pain, I wasn't overjoyed, I just wanted to cry. After getting past that hurdle I was into Crystal City. This part was a little rough too because you had to run down a street (how far I didn't know) and loop back around. So while I was headed to the turnaround, I could see all of the runners coming back. This was horrible because I just kept thinking how much farther, how much farther.

Finally I turned around and headed back. I saw Brett again on his way toward the turnaround and we gave each other a little shout out. I don't remember much about this part of the race, just that I was ready for it to be over. At what I think was around mile 23 I looked at my watch and was like holy moly, maybe I can BQ, but then I realized I had only 10-15 minutes to get it and knew that wasn't happening.

I saw my friends again around mile 26. They kindly said I looked good, but they have no idea how I actually felt. This is about the point it got bad. I knew I didn't have much farther to go and I thought I could increase my speed a little bit. However, there is a hill (which on normal days wouldn't be bad) right at the end of the course. Right as I was about to begin my climb I had the urge to puke, but I couldn't stop, and I think I would have tried to run while puking had the urge actually turned into a reality. I made it up the hill and around the bend towards home. Ironically Janette and I had had a conversation about whether we would stop to help someone if they fell during I race - I said no, especially not at the finish line. So of course, what happens? I guy passed out, taking out the guy next to him, right next to me, but I kept going and crossed the line!

I'm not good at giving blood and always come out a little woozy and I'd equate this to what I was feeling after the race. I was given a water bottle and wrapped in one of those tin foil things, but I wasn't sure whether I was hot or cold. I was just dazed. I was ushered from one photo station to the next and given my medal. Then, looking like a possessed zombie, I ambled to the family link-up tent to find Janette. The nice race directors put it what felt like miles away. All I wanted to do was stop and sit, but I knew Janette would never find me, so I kept going. As soon as I saw her, I burst into tears (reason unknown) and she made me lay down and held my feet up (I don't know what this was for either, but at that point I would have done anything I was so out of it).

I was really happy with my time - 3:49:14, 11 minutes under goal time of 4 hours! I didn't feel too bad either and was able to walk around to do that after race events. I enjoyed a wonderful cheeseburger for lunch and headed home, where I proceeded to limp about until I passed out at 10pm.

(Post-race):
I cannot thank Janette enough. Without her, I think my roommates would have killed me in my sleep because I would have had to put all my anxieties on them and they don't know anything about running. She was always there for support, well except when she ignored my calls. Thank you and I love you!

So what next? I feel like there is this huge void in my life right now. I did the elliptical this morning and all I wanted to do was go outside and run. There's no way I'll be able to do the elliptical all winter (I did it all winter last year). Another marathon? Perhaps. I love the training and having a goal to train for, but its also very time consuming. There were many a night where I had to take it easy or skip a happy hour because of my long runs. Theres also the fear of not performing as well. DC hosts the National Marathon in March, so I think I might sign up for the half marathon and try my hand at that, but I won't sign up right away in case I decide to give it my all and go with another marathon. If I do that though, I'll have to heavily invest in winter running gear.

As for there being a difference between 20 and 26.2? Well I'd say the different comes at 23 because you're so close yet so far away.

Quote: Battles

The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself - the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us - that's where it's at.

-- Jesse Owens

She Out-Did It

My little sister ran her first marathon yesterday. Her time goal was 4:00. 

She finished in 3:49:14.

I can't say much else. I can't describe how proud I am of her. She ran an incredible negative split. The first half was in 2:06:22 and the second half in about 1:43 (I'm not good at calculating seconds so give me a break and let me round.). I had such a great time watching her. It was worth all he questions and the insane state that she put me in for her taper. If she decides to keep it up there is definitely a BQ in her future. And I'm sure much more than that.

Thanks for a great time in DC, Heather. Congratulations!

Oh... and I'm sure my readers would like a race report so you should probably e-mail me one so I can post it. And... now do you think there is a difference between 20 and 26.2? Do those extra 6.2 really make a big difference? (Prior to the race Heather couldn't grasp that 20 and 26.2 were really that different.)

Little Sis

My little sister is running the Marine Corps Marathon in DC on Sunday. This will be her first marathon. I'll be there to watch and hopefully jump in with her for a few miles. She has been absolutely annoying hilarious these past couple weeks. I've almost killed her died laughing a million times. Here is a synopses of the effects of Heather's taper on my sanity.

I've received about 567,834 e-mails from Heather over the past two weeks. She's asked me kazillions of questions probably close to the national debt. Oh and half of those questions were the same, "what should I eat the night before?" Yes, she's been driving me insane. In fact, I may have even ignored a couple phone calls. Sorry, Heather.

As crazy as she was making me, it was worth it last night. She has so much excitement in her voice. I can tell she is really looking forward to this. She was even telling me about some of her race strategy for the hills and parts when it gets tough.

Heather plans to tackle the hills by singing to herself, "I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas... I like to ate ate ate apples and bananas... I like to ote ote ote opples and bononos...." I never said Heather was sane. 

She also plans to attack the difficult parts my singing to herself. Except for these sections she'll switch it up between "My humps" and "Baby Got Back." 

I told her she should start blogging. I mean people have to know this crazy stuff!

Hopefully I won't hear Heather singing "My Humps" or any other song she calls on when it's tough. She has a 4:00 goal and I know she can reach it. The thing with Heather is she will do anything to prove to someone she can do it. She has more mental focus than a lot of people I know.

Good luck, Heather!

Milers at SU

I was just excited to Syracuse University in the Runner's World news today. Here is the link to the article on the SU Athletics website. Good luck guys!

First Run Back, Losing It, and Not Too Late

First Run Back

Last night I did a short 20 minute run and I have to say I felt great! The blister on the back of my ankle was a little tender, but that was it.

Losing It

After Hartford I had a blood blister the top of my toe next to my pinky toe on the left food. I popped the blister using a sterile needle on Monday and I thought I had saved my toe nail from falling off. On Tuesday, I noticed the skin from the blister peeling a little so I started picking at it (I always pick at stuff like this). Next think you know all the blister is peeled off and that's when I noticed that my toe nail was dead. It was all floppy and pulling away from my toe so I just clipped it right off. It definitely looks like it hurt, but it didn't at all because the nail was already dead. Gross, I know. But I lost one when I did Boston (or did I lose two?) too so I'm not grossed out.

Not Too Late

I was reading some articles about the women who came in second and third at Hartford, Sheri Piers and Shannon McHale, and I found this article about McHale really interesting. She didn't even start running until she was 25 years old and look how fast she is! Also of interesting note is that Sheri Piers stayed in the same Hotel that myself and my running crew did. I saw her before we left to go to the start. I didn't know who she was until I saw her coming back through as the second place woman.

In Need of Improvement

I've been thinking about Hartford and all the ways I can improve my performance. The list below is what I think I need to work on to do so and as a double benefit some even improve my lifestyle as well.

• Hill Strength. I definitely need to improve my hill strength for Boston. I'm not weak on hills (for proof please see the Cape Ann race report), but I will need to be extra strong on them given the challenge of the Boston course on the Newton Hills. My coach and I will be working on this during my training plan.
• Endurance at Race Pace. I'd like to see my endurance at race pace improve because I really felt like I was loosing it in the later miles of Hartford. With improved endurance at race pace I really think I will have more confidence in the last 10K of the marathon. My coach and I will also be working on this during my training plan.
• Decrease Body Fat. I don't think I'm fat. I don't think I'm overweight. I do think that I'm carrying extra body fat though. I will not post any of those numbers here because well, you don't ask women those questions so I won't say those answers. With less body fat, I will be stronger and may be lighter on my feet and thus might be able to move faster. The main thing here is that I won't have to spend so much extra energy carrying around unnecessary extra weight. I believe I can decrease my body fat by improving my nutrition and adding strength training to my routine.
• More Efficient Water Stops. I had a hydration plan and I did stick to it for Hartford, but I would like to see myself move better through the water stops. I'm not sure how I should try to improve this exactly, but it is something I'd like to do better.
• Mental Focus. I really think I lost my mental focus in the last miles, which I suppose is bound to happen in a marathon, but as a yoga teacher and practitioner I was disappointed that I was able to lose that mental focus. I would like to better mentally prepare for my next race. I think I can do this by adding more meditation into the last phase of training.
• Strength Training. I know I'm supposed to strength train and I do. However, I only do legs and only when my coach says to. I don't do my upper body stuff and I rarely do my core. I am really lazy in this sense. I would like to see myself improve here by doing core work 4 times per week and upper body 2 times per week.

I'm sure there are other aspects of my running I would like to improve, but this is my list for now.

Race Report: 2008 Hartford Marathon - Part 2 - The Full Report

Warning: This is ridiculously long because I want to be able to look back at it and remember what I did in detail. Feel free to skim away!

I took Friday off from work to pack and travel to Connecticut for the 2008 ING Hartford Marathon. We left Massachusetts around 1:00pm, but got stuck in some toll traffic and didn't make it to Hartford until 3:30pm. Once we got checked in we walked over to the Expo to pick up my bib number and do a little shopping. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed in the expo because it was so small, but the only marathon expo I had to compare it to was Boston and well I don't know if any expo will beat the Boston expo. So we did a little looking around, but didn't buy anything (hey, we are in an economic crisis I'm not spending $30 on arm sleeves or $45 on a sweatshirt). We went back to the hotel and waited to meet the rest of the running group for dinner. While we waited I nervously paced around the room unpacking and getting everything organized for the morning. Dave finally yelled at me and told me to sit down and relax so I laid on the bed and got comfy for about half an hour and then it was time for dinner.

Dave and I met up with the rest of the running crew - John, Paul, Sarah and their families - and headed to Vito's By The Park for dinner. Sarah gave a great toast and then we settled in for a night of water, bread and pasta. We had a few issues with the restaurant in that all the runners had to order the meal of pasta and an extra side because the portion was so small (so I had two orders of penne with marinara). Then we had some issues with over charging on the bill and our waiter was just a little distant, which I didn't really find a reason for because they really didn't seem that busy - there were tons of open tables. The company was great though and that made the dinner excellent. We took a few group photos when we got back to the hotel and then called it a night.

Dave and I headed upstairs and I got in my PJ's with my book, Triumph, and sat in bed reading. I fell asleep at about 10:00pm. Dave stayed awake with his three beers that he got from the bar downstairs and brought back up with him and watched the Red Sox game. I slept really well from about 10:00pm - 12:00am, but then tossed and turned a bit until about 3:30am when I fell sound asleep until 5:50am. I woke up 10 minutes before my alarm was set to go off so I just got up and started getting ready.

I made my oatmeal using the hot water from the coffee pot, got dressed and then headed down to meet Sarah. We then walked over to Bushnell Park where the race starts to meet John and Paul. We got in line to pee, looked over to the line next to us and there was Bill Rodgers. Bill Rodgers! I said to Sarah, "don't they have special lines for people like him? Why is he in the normal people line?" We couldn't quite figure it out, but gained a little extra inspiration from seeing him. After the bathroom, we took about a 5 minute jog around the block to warm up and then headed over to the start line.

The start line was a lot crowded and it took a few minutes to find our pace guy, but we did. We jumped in line and immediately shed our long sleeves (it was about 50 degrees at the start) because it was so warm with all the bodies. The gun sounded and we were off. I couldn't believe it. I was running my second marathon and my first attempt at a BQ. I was nervous.

Sarah and I ran together and were trying to keep our 3:40 pace guy ahead of us, but we were also trying to dodge people who were walking ahead of us (learn how to line up at the start people!). We managed to keep up with him through mile 2, but then noticed that he was running about 7:40 for mile 2 and 3 so we dropped back knowing that we had each other to get us to the finish. My Garmin was messed up from the get go so we relied on Sarah's for the duration of the race. 

I felt really relaxed in the beginning of the race. I was talking water/Gatorade at just about every 2 miles. I am slow out of the water stops and definitely need to work on that. Sarah and I met a first time marathoner around mile 6-8 (forgive me, all the miles blend together after awhile). She was breathing pretty heavy, but was very nice and I'm sure she hung in there to make it to the finish. Just before we crossed the timing mat at 10-miles and were seeing the first place runners coming back through on the other side. I always find this inspiring because I can see the absolute focus and determination in their eyes and I love to watch their strides. I also love seeing the people ahead of me because it makes me realize just how great of a sport running is. People of all ages, heights, weights, and shapes were running by and it just gives me that extra boost that anything is possible with some hard work and determination. 

We crossed the half marathon and were still pretty close to on pace and were still feeling good.  Starting at about miles 18-19 I started feeling... something. I wasn't really feeling bad at these miles, I was just starting to think "am I there yet? Can I really do this?" It's that mental doubt that started to creep in and I did my best to quiet that inner negative voice. Another girl joined us around these miles as well. This was her first marathon too and she said she hadn't planned to go for a BQ, but she was sort of on pace for it so she thought she'd give it a shot. I don't know what happened to this girl - where she finished - but I know she came in after us so I'm hoping she got the BQ and had a great time. 

Just before mile 20 there was steep downhill onto a bike path and a super motivational band that gave me this huge boost. I then hit the 20 mile mark and just kept thinking 10K left. However, my body wanted about 1K to be left, if anything, so my huge mental battle began here. Luckily I saw Dave at mile 21 and he gave me a little boost of confidence. Family and friends as support are really so important in giving that extra boost and it's great to have them there.

The last six miles included, if I remember correctly, four short steep hills left and I didn't like them. There were a lot of people walking up them and it's just not fun to see that because it makes my mind give up even more. Starting at mile 22 I was mentally telling myself to walk and that it didn't matter I could BQ some other day. However, Sarah was right next to me running and looking strong. I could not stop. I could not leave her and let her finish this on her own. I told her in the earlier miles that if we made it to mile 24 together then I wasn't going to let us lose each other. This wasn't mile 24, but since we really only had each other because we lost our pace group, we had to stay together.

For the last 2 miles, I kept checking in with Sarah, "just two miles?"... "so about 1/2 mile now right?" And she would answer me each time. When she told me just half mile I knew I had to hold on. I had to let my legs carry me to the finish. We turned the corner and saw the arches that we cross under. I tried to make my legs turn over as fast as they could. 

I saw the finish and I just went for it. I threw my arms up in the air and crossed the finish. Sarah and I looked at each other and hugged in complete excitement! We had both BQ'd!

I set my foot up on the bench for the volunteer to remove my chip. I had to apologize because I didn't use the velcro to put it on (they wanted us to use velcro to make it easier to take them off, but I didn't trust it). She said she didn't mind and congratulated me on finishing.

We then found our families, met up with John, Paul and their families and grabbed the free food and had a little picnic on the grass of Bushnell Park. All four of us met our goals and we couldn't have been happier.

Dave put together an ice bath for me when we got back to the hotel and I soaked in that for 10 minutes. It was not fun because it was wicked cold (he really enjoyed the fact that the ice machine was just two doors down and also took advantage of that by filling the tub with pretty much all of the ice from the machine). Then I took a hot shower and we headed back to Boston.

Fortunately, I didn't come out with too many injuries. I went in with a blister on the back of my left heel and needless to say I ripped that up really bad. I tried to tape it up, but ended up getting another blister just below the front of my left ankle from the tape. I also have two blood blisters (a small one on the left pinky toe and a big one on the right toe next to the pinky toe).

I was so happy with this race. I would recommend it to anyone. It's really well organized and a beautiful course. There are a few bands along the way and it's good for spectators as well. 

I spent Saturday trying to move around so I didn't stiffen up. Dave got me a big roast beef sandwich for my post race lunch and then we went to a bar later on and I got buffalo chicken nachos and two Blue Moon's. The Blue Moon put me right to sleep so I went home around 10:30pm and he stayed out with the group we went with to watch the rest of the Red Sox game.

Sunday I spent watching football so got some more needed rest. I am feeling much better today. My blisters don't really look any better, but I am hoping they miraculously heal so I can start running again. I don't have much muscle soreness. The fronts of my kneecaps and my hips were sore on Saturday and Sunday, but they feel better today. I have a little discomfort, but nothing very much at all today. I'm happy to see that my legs feel better already.

When I started looking at the official splits, I realized that Sarah and I actually negative split the course, which is a nice little added bonus.

I will head out of an easy 20 minutes tomorrow to see how everything feels and see where I stand.

Official Results

Gun Time:  3:40:52

Net Time:  3:39:02

Pace Overall:  8:22 min./mi.

10-Mile Split:  1:23:56 (8:24)

13-Mile Split:  1:49:40 (8:23)

20-Mile Split:  2:47:15 (8:22)

Place Division (F25-29): 19/128

Place Overall: 461/1942

Race Report: 2008 Hartford Marathon - Part 1 - The BQ Attempt

I did it. I BQ'd. My time was 3:39:02. I can register for the 113th running of the Boston Marathon. I can run on Patriots Day in Boston. I can run with a qualifying bib number. I can be seeded with all the other qualifying runners.

I cannot even illustrate how excited I am. I will write a full report, but I just need to put all my thoughts together before I do that otherwise my post will be a big jumbled mess of "oh and then... oh yeah but before that... oh and i forgot to to mention..." and I don't really want to do that. So this is just part one to let everyone know that I got the BQ.

I also just want to thank Sarah. She was outstanding today and I could not have gotten a BQ without her. The last 4.2 miles were a big mental effort for me and without her there pushing me I wouldn't have been able to push myself for the BQ time. Thank you, Sarah. And now let's go show the 2009 Boston Marathon what we're made of!

Also congratulations to John and Paul for achieving their goals and running an excellent race today! It's great to know that the four of us worked so hard together and we all achieved our goals. Great job!

Full race report to come later this weekend.

The Express

I'm a Syracuse University alumni and as a result of that I am totally psyched about The Express starting this Friday. The Boston Alumni Club is going to a preview of the movie, but I won't be here because I'll be in Hartford so I can't go, but I definitely want to see it when I get back. 

Yes, I know the football team is horrifically bad, but I still love them just the same. I bleed orange - although it certainly looks red from this experience - no matter how good or bad the 'cuse teams are doing.

Go 'Cuse!!

Checking In from Taper

Hi there. Just checking in to give a little update on the taper. I am feeling more relaxed now. I am focusing on nutrition and doing my best to bed good until the big day on Saturday. I have my goals in mind and my race strategy planned out. I've started a little packing list so I prevent myself from forgetting anything - or at least as little as possible. I went for a short run tonight and feel good so far. I have the sniffles and a running nose, but I'm not feeling anything in my chest really so that's good. I have one run tomorrow that includes a few little speed bursts - just 3 minutes each to stay open - and then one other light run on Friday. Only 4 more days...

Taper = Grrrr

I started my taper and I'm already annoyed, anxious and frustrated. I cannot wait to run the marathon next weekend... whoa shit... next weekend! Wow... um... I mean I cannot wait for the taper to be over. I guess that's pretty much saying the same thing, but without verbalizing the fact that the marathon is next weekend (although I've managed to verbalize that twice so far). 

I just want to run it. I don't want to to taper and wait to run it. I eat more. I sleep more. I move less. I work more. This is all a bad combination. 

I'm already debating what my goal should be. I don't even know. I want a BQ. I want better than a BQ. What if I don't even come close?

I'm off for my run now - 3 x 1200m intervals with warm up/cool down, strides and drills.

Migraines

I hate migraines. I get one every month (the ladies will get that gentle hint). I wish I could just crawl in a dark hole and stay there for an entire day. My migraines always last for 24 hours give or take an hour. They always hurt wicked bad and almost always make me feel nauseous and almost always make me lose any appetite I would normally have (which is usually a lot of appetite).

Tonight I took my migraine for a 5 mile run. It was miserable to say the least. I ran 9:25 min/mi. The slowest I've run in quite a long time. 

Now I'm going to bed so I hopefully feel better in the morning.

Last 20 Before Hartford Taper

I completed my last 20 mile long run before the taper for the Hartford Marathon on October 11th. I had a choice this weekend for this run. I could go on Saturday in the rain or I could go on Sunday in the rain. So I decided to go on Sunday in the rain because I was hoping that my Sunday the rain would have stopped. I was wrong. I ran the entire thing in the rain. At times I ran in the pouring rain. Other times I ran in the drizzling rain.

When I checked the weather on Saturday night weather.com's hourly forecast predicted 50-60% rain between 6:00 am and 10:00 am and then increasing likelihood from then on raising up to 90-100% for the afternoon and evening hours. This was all thanks to Hurricane Kyle. So I figured I was good to go as long as I was up and out the door early. Nice dry run before the rain started.

When I checked the weather on Sunday morning, weather.com's hourly forecast predicted... exactly the opposite of what it did on Saturday night!! Grrr... New England weather!

I really didn't have any choice other than to get out there and run. So I did just that. I ran 2 miles easy and then my goal was to run the next 16 between 8:10 and 8:20 and then last 2 very easy. I ended up doing just about that and finishing with an 8:19 pace overall. My time was 2:46:something. I was really happy with that especially considering that I was soaking wet. I had bought new socks the day before and well, those are not very nice looking anymore. They are just totally stained with dirt and the red inside of my shoes.  Whatever. It shows some hard work. 

I'm writing this on Monday and the backs of both of my calves are pretty sore, but that's what this taper is for. Rest. Rest. Rest. And that's exactly what I plan on doing.

I do have to mention that I made the most awesomest contraption for keeping my Garmin dry. Usually I just wrap it in plastic wrap, but I didn't have any so I had to innovate. I took a ziploc bag and put a little slice on each side toward the bottom of the bag. I put my Garmin in the bag and stuck each wrist band end through the slit. Then I cut the bag so it just fit the Garmin and taped the open end closed with some packing tap (apparently the lovely sound of the packing tape woke up Dave. Sorry, babe!). This contraption worked really well and kept the Garmin dry for the entire run. I was a little considered because it looked like there was some condensation on the inside of the bag, but it didn't seem to bother it.

Taper begins...

Fall Update

Not autumn update. Fall update. That's fall as in my episode from last week's long run.

Monday and Tuesday coach left my plan up to me, but he gave me a couple of ideas if I felt up to them. If I felt up to it on Monday I could do 20-30 minutes easy and then on Tuesday if still feeling OK I could go out for 5-6 miles. 

Monday I wasn't so sure that it would be a good idea to go out. My knee, hip and thigh were not bothering me at all, but I developed this terrible pain in my right oblique. I believe when I fell my fuel belt may have inadvertently punched me in the stomach. I didn't feel that pain until Saturday night when I was sleeping and trying to roll over. I never really realized that I absolutely needed that right oblique in order to roll myself over in the middle of the night.

So I wasn't sure that I should head out on Monday, but I did and just agreed with myself that I could always turn around if it didn't feel right, even if that meant turning around after running the 0.10 miles to the end of my street.

Once I got out there I was totally fine. The side did hurt, but only when I was checking for traffic or running uphill (apparently I pump my arms more then).

Tuesday night I also went out and did the 6 miles prescribed to me. I felt great again. Although I did have a little scare with my Garmin and thought I would have to make a blog entry for its obituary. I took it off the charger before I went out and it just wouldn't turn on. I pushed the on button as hard as I could and it just wouldn't turn on. I put it back on the charger and took it back off and nothing was happening. So I sent an emergency S.O.S. email to my co-worker running buddy and he told me how to reset it - this happened to him right before the Cape Ann 25K this year. To reset your Garmin when it won't turn on hit the button left button and the lap button at the same time and hold them down until the silly little thing turns on. Phew! Lifesaver!

All in all, a good Monday & Tuesday and I'm back to normal. Hm... normal... I'm not sure that I'm normal, but I'm back to running form at least.

New Men's Marathon Record

This is just unbelievable. Haile Gebrselassie from Ethiopia broke his own record today at the Berlin Marathon running 2:03:59. Whoa.

_________________________
Updated 9/29/08

I just wanted to add this blog entry from Runner's World. Mark Remy ran Geb's training through SmartCoach to see what Geb should be doing. Here is the blog entry.

Quote

It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants to quit.
-- George Sheehan

The Faster I Run, The Harder I Fall

The Plan

Saturday 9/20/08 - Long Run: 6 minute warm up, drills, stretch, 14 miles at 8:20 min/mi, 6 min cool down and stretch.

The Reality

I was schedule for my weekly long run today and was ready to get in another goal marathon pace workout. Dave took me out for an awesome dinner on Friday night. I had penne pasta in white wine sauce with shrimp and he had the biggest piece of lasagna that I've ever seen. He wasn't doing a long run with me Saturday, but I think he enjoys carbo-loading with me. We woke up late Saturday morning and lounged around watching the rest of South Park Imaginationland (I don't even like South Park that much, but these three Imaginationland episodes are hilarious!) and then we watched the first part of Street Kings. Dave had to pull me away from Street Kings so that I could get my run in before we went to a memorial mass and dinner with his family in memory of his grandfather and grandmother. I had enough time to run, shower and get in the car to go to church. That's how much I had procrastinated.

So I headed out.  I did my 6-minute warm-up, stretch and drills as planned. After that I was moving right along very comfortably with the 14-mile workout. I had set my Garmin with a slow and fast pace so it would beep to warn me whether to slow down or speed up. I had hoped that it would help me keep the steady 8:20, but it only started to annoy me because every time I went in a shady area it dropped my pace and beeped at me. It drove me nuts so I just turned the warning beep off and went by feel. I felt great through mile 6 pacing myself at 7:47, 8:10, 7:59, 7:59, 8:21 (it took me awhile to find my 8:20 pace, but I did at mile 5), and 8:29. My watched beeped for the auto-lap at 6.00 miles. I looked up and then... 

I fell, belly flopping and skidding down the road! When I was getting ready to go out I remember tying my shoe and thinking, "wow my laces seem really long." I believe the fall occurred when my right foot got tripped up in my left shoe lace. I'm telling you, I've never really fallen, but now I have twice in this one training cycle. What the heck! And this time I fell as a car was driving by and not surprisingly, given my last experience, no one stopped to see if I was OK (well Janette, you're not in Upstate New York anymore).  I sat and cried for just a moment then stood up and used some of the water I had to clean up. As I was cleaning up, a man walked by pushing a stroller with another child walking beside him. He asked if I was OK, but just kept walking with no interest in stopping if I had said no. I assessed the situation. Bruised, dirty and bloody were my right thing, right elbow and left knee. My hip was also bruised and scraped. I was 7-miles from home. I had no cell phone. I was four miles from the fire department. What is a girl to do except keep running? 

So I kept running. Nothing was hurting me to run, but I really just wanted to get home. With all of the falling, tears and trying to compose myself I messed up my watch and mile 7 came in at 10:29. I estimated I covered abut .3-.4 miles with it turned off and was standing for about 2-3 minutes with my watch running. Startin with mile 8 splits were 7:53, 8:07, 8:12, 8:04, 7:51 and 8:01. I really was trying to do 8:20, but I also was bleeding, uncomfortable and just wanted to get home and get cleaned up. I ran an additional half mile for 13.5. My knee was pretty swollen when I stopped at that point so I decided it was best to just call it quits.

When I got home I immediately called Dave and asked him to get me some peroxide to help clean out the scrapes. My elbow was ridiculously swollen and my knee looked like someone cut a racketball in half and stuck it on my knee. My upper right thigh was very swollen and had some road rash. My thigh had started to bother me toward the end of the run, but I thought it was just from the fast miles and not the fall. I was wrong about that.

Dave got me the peroxide and got me cleaned up and wrapped up. He left me to get to church on time. I skipped the church because I had to take extra time to get cleaned up and I met him later on to go with his family to dinner.

In hindsight, I wondered if I should have stopped when I fell, but honestly I felt fine running. I actually felt great. I was so focused and determined to get home. I don't believe that I caused any additional problems by continuing the run. 

I was disappointed that I didn't get in the full planned workout. I'm also disappointed that I couldn't keep it at 8:20. Then again, I'm sort of happy with the fact that I was comfortable with the run being faster than that. With the stopping/starting/falling issue I estimate the total distance of the workout at 13.5 miles in a total time of 1:49:29 averaging 8:07 min/mi.

I have pictures to put up not to gross all of you out, but just so that I can remember how crazy that fall was after the fact. I just have to get them on my computer to post so give me a day or so and I'll get them up. If you're like me and into all that crazy medical stuff then you'll love them.

____________________________

Updated 9/25/2008... Photos as promised.

The Knee w/Blood Trickle (Awesomeness)

The Hip

The Elbow Wrapped for Church/Dinner

The Elbow with Crazy Swelling

The Elbow With Blood

Fall 2008 Has Officially Arrived

Fall 2008 has officially arrived... at least according to me. My short three mile jaunt tonight was a very chilly 54 degrees. I wore shorts out with a light long sleeved shirt. I was warm mostly, but the backs of my legs were pretty chilly when I got home.

The air was just super chilly. You know the first few days when the weather starts to change and you can fill maybe a nice cool breeze, but the air is still generally warm? Well that was a week ago and now the chilly air is here with the even cooler breeze. 

I'm not complaining. I love racing in fall. I love the smell of the leaves (although those haven't really started to change much yet). I love an outfit of a sweater and jeans. I love where a fleece jacket. 

This year I mostly love that in just 22 days I will be running the Hartford Marathon!

Quote: Running & Yoga

From RunnersWorld.com's Daily Kick in the Butt:

Running is a thing worth doing not because of the future rewards it bestows, but because of how it feeds our bodies and minds and souls in the present. -- Kevin Nelson, The Runner's Book of Daily Inspiration

Now that pretty much sums up why I think yoga and running are absolutely perfect for each other.

Yoga for Athletes

I taught the Yoga for Athletes class tonight at The Fitness Factor and I wanted to take a moment to post tonight's class routine for those of you who would like to practice at home. Please keep in mind that these poses should be done mindfully, paying close attention to your body and what feels good for you at the moment you are in the pose. 

Centering

Begin by sitting in a comfortable sitting position (easy sitting or hero's pose) and focus on your breath. Inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your nose. Each inhale fills your belly, lungs and chest and each exhale grows longer as your body relaxes.

Warm Up

Seated body circles

Seated forward fold

Downward dog

Sun salutation A (repeat 3 times)

Sun salutation B (repeat 2 times)

Standing Series

Warrior II

Reverse warrior

Side angle

Triangle

Pyramid

Sun salutation A and then repeat standing to other side

Balance Series

Warrior III

Modified utthita hasta padangushtasana

Dancer

Cool Down

Seated IT band twist

Supine hamstring stretch

Yogi ball

Wrist/ankle rolls

Savasana

If you have questions on any of these poses, please e-mail janette.yoga@gmail.com. I would be happy to provide you with additional information or answer any questions you have.  A good reference book for more information on sport specific yoga is The Athletes Guide to Yoga by Sage Rountree. It contains pictures of poses as well as information on how to get into them and modify them to fit your body and your sport depending on what training cycle you are in.

**Disclaimer**

Please remember, I am happy to provide you with these tools, but I cannot be held responsible for your personal practice while not under my supervision. I encourage you to attend classes with certified professionals and to always seek out answers regarding your bodies alignment, feelings and any other questions you may have regarding your comfort within a pose.

Training Recap for Week of 9.8.2008

I hit my most weekly miles ever this week... 42 miles! Here is how it all worked out...

Monday: 5-mile easy run

Tuesday: 8x800m Intervals with warm up and cool down for 6.25 miles total

Wednesday: Relaxing

Thursday: 7-mile easy run

Friday: 25 minutes easy

Saturday: 20-mile long run

Sunday: Sleeping

The easy runs this week went really well. The intervals were a blast. I love 800 meter intervals. I did these at 3:40-ish trying to go a little slower than I did about a month ago when I was hitting 3:30-3:35 so that I was fully recovered and ready for Saturday's 20-miler. I woke up Saturday morning ready to go into town with the crew for the long run, but my stomach was just not agreeing with that idea. I didn't eat anything out of the ordinary the night before and I got plenty of sleep, but when I woke up my stomach was... well... let's just say it was a little overactive if you know what I mean. I had to call the crew and let them know I wouldn't make it out. I decided it was best to just run some loops near my place in case of bathroom emergency (is this too much detail?! - sorry!). Everything ended up working out well and I got in the 20-miles. I averaged 9:05 for the run too so I was happy with that.  This is the farthest run I've had since I ran the Boston Marathon in 2007 so needless to say it felt good having crossed this one off the training list.

Saturday night I got to go out to dinner with my parents who were in town visiting from upstate New York. I like when the come to town. They like to come out here to go fishing on the ocean. We had a great time at dinner and they had good luck on the boat so everyone made out well.

Humidity is Not My Friend

Ever since I was little I can remember the weatherman talking about the 3 H's: Hazy, Hot and Humid. Ever since I was little I can remember how I would get super cranky whenever the 3 H's were around. One in particular was not my friend - Humidity.

I hate humidity. I hate sweating while standing still. I hate sweating when I just get out of the shower and then feeling like I need to take another one. I hate feeling like everything is sticking to me. I hate humidity.

So Mother Nature blessed me with meeting up with my biggest enemy. Saturday's "long" run of a scheduled 10-12 miles called for 85% humidity. What this translated into was completed soaked clothing - don't get me wrong I like to sweat while I'm working out, but I have to draw the line - so that when I got home from the run my shorts were actually dripping onto my floor. I had to change my clothes just to stretch comfortably. During the run I was miserable. My quads were burning so I was thinking that I wasn't recovered from my Cape Ann 25K experience. I stopped to stretch and hydrate often. Even though I had my tool belt I knew there was no way I was taking in enough liquid. I think for everything I took in 5 times that came out. (Wow, this sounds sexy doesn't it? Ew!)

I was doing an out and back course. By mile 2 I was already really hot and it just got worse from there. I had to mentally run this by the half mile thinking OK just get to 3.5 then reasses the situation... OK reassess again at 4... . It was terrible. At mile 5, I said alright to hell with this today. I turned around and went home.

I was so happy to be done with that run. The whole time I was running, I was thinking how I'm not in shape and how I should be able to run 10 miles with no problems. But then when I got home I realized I did the right thing. There is no reason to push like that - whether it's 2 miles or 10 miles - and risk getting hurt. I've been there and I really don't want to go back again.

Mantis Found Praying

When I was growing up in Upstate New York, I used to find Praying Mantis and Stick Bugs (I don't know what they're called, but the look just like a stick) all the time. They would always be sitting along the foundation of our house. At some point, I just stopped seeing them. I'd say I was probably about 9 years old when that happened. I had no idea where they all went. 

Last night, I was walking into my apartment building and got a little startled by whatever the giant bug I saw outside the corner of my eye was. I turned around and there it was... a Praying Mantis! I could not believe it. I was so excited! I took a picture with my Blackberry - it didn't turn out well, but here it is anyway.

This moment really brought me back to my childhood. It was really incredible. I am totally fascinated by this creature for some reason. It's not even the fact that the women bite the man's head off after sex. It's something more than that. They are just so original looking. I'm not even really a bug person per say, but these ones got me. 

I was so psyched by this that I just wanted to share it. Hopefully I didn't gross you out with the picture.

Man Runs 192-Miles to Support Cancer Research

This is truly amazing. Please read.

Race Report: 75th Annual Cape Ann 25K

The 75th running of the Around Cape Ann 25K took place on September 1, 2008 and I was lucky to be a part of it. This was probably the hardest race I've done, but I can definitely see myself participating in it for years to come.

I arrived in Gloucester, Massachusetts at 7:45am well ahead of the 9:00am race start. The middle school, where the race starts, was very easy to find and there was plenty of parking right at the school. I went into the middle school to pay my $30 registration free, pick up my free t-shirt and my favorite free item of the race - a sticker (picture those 26.2 stickers or stickers with the 3 letters on them that symbolize your town name) that said 15.56 Cape Ann North Shore YMCA 15.56 miles, 16 major hills. Yes, that's how they advertise their race and yet for some reason - some very sick reason - I decided to find out what their definition of "major" was.

That picture up there is the elevation chart. Keep this in mind as I will point out something crazy later on. As you can see, this course has a lot of big hills. I am bad at reading elevation so all I knew for sure was that I'd be doing a lot of up and down and up and down and so on. The race started on a narrow little road, which worked out OK because their weren't too many of us. I felt like I was going really slow to start and I was getting passed by I was trying to keep an easy pace for the first two miles. The runners split apart pretty quickly and there was plenty of running room. In my head I just tried to keep it my own race.

I tried to keep an even pace running up each of the hills. I tend to power up them to get them over, but I knew there would be a lot of hills so I didn't want to power up them in the beginning and have to walk up them in the end. I was able to do a pretty good job of keeping pace up the hills. The great part was that once I got to the top I knew I was coming right back down again. I kept the woman ahead of me in sight and just tried to pass them one at a time. It wasn't my intention at first, but it kind of just started happening. This race was so friendly that when I passed a few people they actually said "great job" or "you look strong" or "keep it up girl" and those comments were so encouraging. It just goes to show that runners want the best for each other and that races aren't necessarily about beating other people, but about beating yourself.

I started to get pretty tired around the 6-7 mile mark. We had left Gloucester and moved into Rockport at this time. At this point I was trying to get around a girl, but we were just running to even of a pace so I ended up sticking with her for probably 3/4 of a mile before I was finally able to pass her prior to going up the hill at mile 7. This hill was nothing to laugh at. It was a freakin' mountain. It went straight up and then up some more. About 2/3 of the way up ladies were handing out Gatorade and telling us we all looked good. Then I heard a man say, "you're at the top" and I was thinking "oh yes, thank God!" However, when I looked up there was still more hills to go. I don't care if you lie to me and tell me I look good when I definitely don't feel that way, but let's not go lying about how much hill I have left to climb. 

So eventually I made it up that mile 7 hill, but what I didn't realize was that the worst was yet to come. Looking at the elevation chart you can see that after mile 8, the rest of the course is relatively flat except for at mile 13 and 14. Now here comes my crazy statement. The first half of this course is definitely easier than the second half. It sounds crazy since the first half has all the hills, but my legs were getting beat up for the second half, I was feeling dehydrated and needed some Gatorade so this second half was a mental battle. 

There were a couple of guys ahead of me, but no girls. So I stuck with the guys and we kept playing tag for awhile. Then I came upon another woman. A lady on the sideline said that we were probably in or close to the top 30 females. So I told myself to pass this girl ahead of me and get in the top 30. I did. This top 30 thing kept me going for awhile. I saw another girl around 11/12 and was also able to pass her. Then I hit the hill at mile 13 - phew! a tough one, but got it over with. 

Then I saw another girl ahead of me. I knew I had to get her too. She went up the hill and around the curve at mile 14. Not too much time to get her. I was able to push up that last hill, but as I was going up the turn, a couple guys ahead of me started walking so my brain said "oh, we're done! Look everyone is walking. This must be the finish." and my legs seriously stopped. I caught myself taking a few walking steps so then I said "self, what the F, get up and go!" I listened and pushed up the rest of the hill. I was able to catch the girl (by the way she had passed me up a hill at mile 4 talking and laughing with her friend so this felt really good) on the flat right before mile 15. 

Now I just had to make sure that no one passed me. I don't like to let people pass me that I've passed. I saw the camera at mile 15 and smiled. That is the only time I've seen the camera and smiled. It was great and the picture didn't turn out so bad either (I'll post it later if I remember). 

Now for the last hill. I turned right just after the 15 mile mark and the photo-op. There is a short, ridiculously steep hill to get up at this turn. There was a girl who had already finished standing on this hill and she was basically in my face yelling, "come on girl, pump those arms, push up this hill, the finish is so close." I swear she gave me a fresh set of legs because I dusted that hill and then gave it all I had to get into the finish. I couldn't let anyone catch me. I didn't look back. I just ran as fast as my tired legs would take me.

I could see the clock 2:09:35, 2:09:36... ticking away and knew I just had to break 2:10. I talked myself in big time and finished in 2:09:57.

I originally thought I'd finish in 2:05, but this course was really tough. I am happy with the result and pretty excited that this is my last race before my goal race, the Hartford Marathon.

Official Results

coolrunning.com

Time: 2:09:57

Pace: 8:22 min/mi

Place Overall: 162/508

Place Female 20-29: 15/56

(Not sure I did or didn't make that top 30 women.)

Bad Training Week

I'm having a bad training week and I felt like I could vent to my readers about it. If you don't like venting, stop reading. If you want to read my rant, continue on.

So like I said, I'm having a bad training week - or maybe a bad training two weeks. Last Monday and Tuesday I was experiencing a sharp pain in my right knee each time I would walk up or down stairs. This has happened to me before, but it usually just happens on one or two stairs and then goes away. However, this time it decided to stick around for two days. So coach suggested that I go for a massage (well gee, if I have to).

On Thursday I went for a massage and my therapist said that I had overstretched the ligament behind my right knee. She gave me some Biofreeze samples (I totally love the stuff!) and recommended I keep icing. She left the decision of how much to run up to my coach.

Running hadn't really been bothering me. My knee didn't hurt at all to run, but I was experiencing a lot of tightness in my right calf. Sometimes it would take up to two miles for the tightness to ease, which is not usual for me. I had a 20-miler planned for Saturday. I was so excited because this was my first 20 for this training cycle and my longest distance since Boston 2007. My coach decreased my 20 back to a 14 with 12 miles at 8:20 pace so as to still keep the workout a bit challenging, but not allow me to pound the pavement for a full 20 and thus put extra pressure on my leg. He then also scaled back the following week of training (also so I could get ready for the Cape Ann 25K on September 1st).

I took some recovery time - still running, but low intensity. Within a week of my massage my leg was feeling better. Then I started just feeling like crapp - not a cold or anything, but just super tired and irritable and emotional (hm ladies, sound familiar). I am chalking it up to PMS. My running during this week was just "ick". That's the best word to describe it really. My form felt off, I was tired, my breathing wasn't quite there and I just wasn't into it. 

Cape Ann is coming up on Monday and I'm just nervous as to how it will go. I guess I can't really worry about it. It is a training race and is supposed to help me in preparation for the marathon. It's not my goal race so I just have to keep that in mind.

Quote - Making a Champion

Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them -- a desire, a dream, a vision.

Muhammad Ali
Boxing Legend

Deena's Foot

Here's a great interview with Deena from flotrack.com regarding her foot injury that occurred during the 2008 Beijing Marathon.

Size Doesn't Matter

I don't know about any of you, but I've had my fair share of body image issues. I've always felt I was too big. Even when I was smaller than I am now I thought I was big. I thought that to be a competitive runner you absolutely had to be the tiniest little thing. Well, guess what? You don't. I think what it takes to be a competitive runner is drive, determination, training and focus. It has nothing (well maybe a little) to do with size. Erin Donahue is a perfect example. She is 5'7" and 145-pounds of solid muscle and she is one of the USA's 1500m runners in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Here is an article that I found really interesting, especially for those of us who think you have to be 5'6" and 105-pounds to find success in running.

Beijing & Other Updates

I've been missing for awhile because I've developed a new addiction called the Beijing Olympics. I was basically pulled in at the opening ceremonies because they were absolutely spectacular. After that night, I've pretty much been running and then coming home and watching the Olympics (my dishes and laundry have been completely neglected). I've watched Michael Phelps win 8 gold medals to beat Mark Spitz's record. I am still amazed watching the athletic ability necessary for water polo. I saw Nastia Lukin and Shawn Johnson go one two, respectively, in the women's gymnastics all around final. I also was an unfortunate witness to Deena Kastor getting a DNF in the women's olympic marathon due to a broken foot before the 5K mark. A 38 year old woman ended up winning that event - the oldest woman to win that event. A 41 year old woman, Dana Torres, is also competing in this years Olympics in the sprint swimming events. I also saw Shalane Flanagan win the bronze medal in the women's 10,000 meters. I am just so into the Olympics this year; more so than any other year. I think it might be due in part to the fact that I have my own personal athletic goal right now and so I feel like I can sort of sympathize with them right now. I just hope that my training culminates with a great moment - my own Olympic moment. A moment of glory.

Training Note: All training is going well. I'm feeling strong and fast. I have a little thing going on with my knee right now, but I'm working with my coach on it and we'll hopefully get things turned around soon.

Movie Review: UltraMarathon Man

UltraMarathon Man is the story of Dean Karnazes and his challenge to complete 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, otherwise known as the Endurance-50 (E50). The movie played in theaters for one night only on July 31st. Overall I was happy to have seen the movie. I found it very inspiring, however there were a few questions left unanswered for me.

The movie was narrated by Dean while he is running. Dean takes the viewer along on each of the 50 marathons. He explained that the E50 started as a family vacation, but then turned into his attempt to run 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. The movie touches on each marathon even takes the time to go into the the stories of those who signed up to run with him.

One woman whose story stuck out specifically was a 53-year old woman who started running at age 50. In three years she has run 50 marathons and is a 3:30 marathoner. Dean had to keep telling her to slow down! I found her inspiring for her sheer love of sport. She wasn't decked out in the latest running gear, but she carried this essence about her that seeped through the movie screen. I could tell just by looking at her face that she truly loved running. There were also many stories of cancer survivors, first time marathoners and people who had taken up running late in life. I found all of these stories even more inspiring that Dean himself.

The funniest part of the movie was when they were filming one of the men who was running with Dean. The man had his head turned to the left looking at the support vehicle and he said, "so you guys got any football scores yet." And just as soon as he finished that sentence, a girl says, "watch out - pole." And then... you guessed it. He runs right into the pole! That scened was played a couple more times throughout the movie and each time I laughed - even when they said he broke two ribs (I know it's terrible I laughed, but the scene was so funny).

Unfortunately, I did think the movie was lacking a little in one particular area. I was hoping to hear more about his family, in what ways they support his endeavors and how they feel about his ultramarathoning. Dean did say that the E50 started out as a family vacation, but we saw very little of them. After each marathon, Dean hopped in the RV with the Carmichael Training Systems team and broke down his race. I wondered if he ever told his wife how the races went or if his kids were watching and cheering at each one.

After Dean finished the E50 he did some interviews in New York City and then headed west, running 1,300 (I think it was 1,300... maybe 1,500) miles. He had said that he felt like he lost himself during the E50 and I wonder how that happens. In what way did he lose himself? And in what way did he need to find himself again?

I enjoyed the inspiration that I received from this movie, but I do wish there had been more detail about Dean and his family.

Quote

RunnersWorld.com's Daily Kick in the Butt sent me this quote this morning. It reminded me of how I sometimes feel like I just want to run alone and don't want my running partners with me. Sometimes I'm selfish like that and just want that time to myself to focus on form, pound out stress from a tough day, or just be at peace with the out of doors. Other times however, I crave running with my group. I love running with them. I'm not sure I could have a better group of three to run with. As, this quote says, have running partners just makes everything that much better.

Running is ultimately a personal experience. It is a revival of the spirit, a private oasis for the thirsty mind. Yes, it's healing power only increases in the presence of others. Run together and the oasis grows cooler and more satisfying.

-- Amby Burfoot

Race Report: Blessing of the Fleet 10-Mile

I set a PR for the 10-Mile today, but I've never run one before. Ha! So that was easy. Here's how the Blessing of the Fleet 10-Mile race went down.

I took a half day Friday, July 25th (my 26th birthday) to travel down to Narragansett, Rhode Island to run the Blessing of the Fleet 10-Mile race. It took me 2 hours to get there, which didn't bother me because I knew I was going to hit a lot of early vacation & rush hour traffic. However, once I got about 0.5 miles from where the registration was I could not get any further. They had shut down the roads for the race already. I couldn't figure out why and actually started getting nervous that the race was starting at 5:00pm and not 6:00pm as I had thought. The roads were already closed because the walkers started at 5:00pm. I have to say this made it very difficult and nerve racking (especially for me because I was already jacked up as soon as I woke up). I ended up parking about a quarter mile away (a really nice cop was stopping each car and asking if they were running and telling them where they could go in a really nice way - I'm not used to cops being nice and helpful voluntarily) and then had to find my own way to registration. There were no signs and I had no clue where I was going so basically I just followed people. After hiking through some mud & rocks, I finally found the gym with the registration. They had the registration organized by bib number so I went and got mine, then found most of the safety pins gone. I quickly grabbed the first four I saw and got my number on. They gave us a t-shirt too, but no goodie bag. Apparently they were also handing out bracelets for beer, but no one told me until I was standing at the start line.

Ah yes, the good old start line. No signs to organize by pace so you just had to guess and well I guessed wrong. I thought the start line was right under this banner they had hung across the street, but right before the gun some tall man behind me said it was up way further than that. Great! All of a sudden the gun sounded - no speech, no National Anthem - just bang! And then we were off, or rather we were walking and then I was slow jogging for .75 miles before I could get to somewhat of a decent pace.

After the first mile I had plenty of running room and fell into a good stride. I felt incredible comfortable and was actually trying not to pay too much attention to my Garmin paces. My coach said to go based on how my body was feeling (especially when it came to dealing with the weather) and that's what I did. At about mile 2 we were out in the open sun (did I mention it was about 85 at race start and pure sunshine) and this didn't end until about mile 6.5. I continued to coast along ready for the 3 mile hill to start at mile 3, but the hill at mile 3 and 4 turned out to be smaller than what I expected. However, the climb up mile 5 was tough. It reminded me of Heartbreak Hill, but seemed not as steep and longer. I fought up it and was happy to be greeted by mostly down hills for the remainder of the race. I believe it was mile 8 when there was another significant uphill (there may have been more, but this is the only one I remember) that I powered up. I kept telling myself Dave was at the top of the hill with the camera and I had to look good. It turns out that he wasn't up there, but at least it gave me the motivation. And as I passed a nice older gentleman he told me I looked really strong. Needless to say that gave me an extra boost as well. After that hill I was ready to be done so I kicked it up a notch. I started passing people in cars that were driving by and I was thinking man I could just jump in that ladies convertible. She looked at her husband and said, "she's fast" and I hoped she was talking about me. The crowd support at the end was incredible and definitely led me into the finish. I felt really strong at the finish. No puking feeling, which left me wondering if I should have run harder. My Garmin time said 1:18:18, but my official time was published at 1:19:04.

The finish was a little hectic with people everywhere. No one was pushing us through the food area so runners, walkers and spectators too were just lounging and crowding the area. This made it really confusing to find anyone or see anything. Luckily they had shuttle buses back to the high school so I jumped on one of those and then walked to my car where I called Dave to meet up. This is when I noticed what I really didn't want to notice. I had a lot of pain in my left leg from him to knee to heel to arch of foot. I was not happy. In fact when I saw Dave I started to tear up because I just didn't want to be hurt. I'm feeling much better now as I right this (Monday), but it did take a couple of days.

I would probably recommend this race to someone and would probably do it again if they bring back chip timing and put in some pace signs to help line up. This really makes everything confusing and can throw a runners time off pretty bad.

Here are my highlights of good and bad. (And as a side note, if you're race director or participant or whatever and think I am dissing this race, please just keep in mind that this is just my opinion and I'm not being mean, but just offering feedback for the future.)

Reasons race was good:

• Pretty few miles along the ocean
  
• Pretty couple miles through nice shaded country roads


• Perfect amount of water stops right where needed


• Cop #1 was super nice and helpful


• Lots of volunteers


• Good post race fruit selection


• Great course
  

Ways the race could be improved:

• Clearly mark registration for those of us not familiar with the high school


• Add pace signs to help runners line up at the start


• Bring back chip timing (It is ridiculous in a race this big not to have it and I'm curious why they don't. Rumor has it they just got rid of it for 2008.)
  
• Help push runners through the finish area a little better and do not allow spectators in near the immediate finish area (causes it to get way too crowded)


• Give me a race goodie bag filled with stuff from sponsors - I love that free stuff!
  
• If the website says there will be signs for alternate parking, please have them - I saw absolutely none

Final results (officially published even though I disagree with my time):
Time: 1:19:04
Pace: 7:54 min./mi.
Place Overall: 425th out of 2,289
Place Age Group (20-29): 19th out of 994
Place Gender: 66th out of 997

___________________________________________
Updated 7/30/2008

Pictures from Capstone Photography went up today. I will probably order the one on the left.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy birthday to me...

Happy birthday to me...

Happy birthday to meeee...

Happy birthday to me!

Today's forecast according to weather.com is:

Happening in the news:

• Deadly tornado hit New Hampshire
• Body of Alex Jimenex returns home
• Iraqi athletes banned from Beijing Olympics
• David Ortiz returns to Red Sox lineup
  

Happening with me:
For my birthday, Dave got me a new digital camera, which I stayed up late last night playing with. Yes, he gave it to me a day early. He's like a little kid - he can't wait to give presents. He's also coming down to Narragansett, RI to watch me run The Blessing of the Fleet 10-Mile Road Race.

Since my last birthday:

• I became a yoga teacher.
• I fell even more in love with the greatest man I've ever met (no, Dave... not Tom Brady, you!)
• I watched me nephew graduate from high school.
• I have PR'd in the Half Marathon distance (2007 BAA Half Marathon).
• I've gained 5 lbs., which I'm not proud of but I don't think it's bad weight because I've been running a lot and doing yoga. I'm sure it's just muscle (she says as she goes for another bowl of ice cream).
• I moved into a new position at work in our IT department.

I've also been thinking of what I'd like to accomplish by my next birthday:

• I'd like to get a marathon BQ time, which is a 3:40 for my age group.
• I'd like to move into a new house with Dave (which we're pretty close to doing now).

I'm sure there are a million more things I'd like to do before my next birthday, but for right now this will have to do because if I don't post this now, then I can't post today and my birthday will be over. So, I'll post as is for now and possibly add more later.

I'm off soon for the race. Let's see if I've gotten faster as I age... (race report will come later on).