Journey to 26.2

2011 By the Numbers

2012-01-01T20:42:00.003-05:00

Just a short post to summarize and compare my last couple of years. The impact of missing 1/4 of the year due to injury is quite apparent.

2010 mileage = 654

2011 mileage = 481

2010 full marathons = 2
2011 full marathons = 0 (Note: DNS MCM)

2010 ½ marathons = 9
2011 ½ marathons = 6 (Note: DNS 2)

2010 10milers = 2
2011 10milers = 3 (Note: Annapolis 10 miler canceled due to hurricane)

New PR’s for 2011 =
3/6/11: B&A Trail ½ marathon – 2:37:03
4/10/11: Ladies 5K By the Bay – 33:20
4/11/11: Cherry Pit 10 miler – 1:57:45

Where I've Been, Where I'm Going

2011-12-17T23:33:00.000-05:00

Don't worry, I haven't vanished into the blog-o-sphere. I'm still around, but just haven't had too much to say for the last couple of months.

Today was the Celtic Solstice 5 miler and was to have been my come back race from my foot problems. I decided not to participate, thus officially ending my 2011 running season in a dull thud. While I have started running a couple of miles here and there, I was not confident that I could get through all 5 miles without problems. The truth of that matter is that after 3 months of physical therapy, I still have some degree of discomfort/pain in my foot on practically a daily basis.

I have started planning ahead to next year and being healthy to train for Spring races. I am not going to do a full marathon in 2012, mainly because I don't want to spend a third consecutive summer in training mode. If I can get through 2012 without any problems, then I will consider a full for 2013.

Right now I'm registered for and hoping to do:

3/18/2012 - Shamrock 1/2

4/29/2012 - Iron Girl 1/2

5/6/2012 - Frederick 1/2

5/20/2012 - Run for the Dream 1/2

10/13/2012 - Baltimore 1/2

The optimist in me registered for these as a way to have something to look forward to, especially the time that would be spent with friends. The pessimist thinks it was dumb and a waste of money when I don't know what the future holds. More than once I've thought of just quitting. The problem is, I've never quit anything. However, rather than fuel the desire to heal and improve, all I can think of is the hard work ahead of me. The last 3+ months have brought back alot of old habits - mainly making me lazy and complacent. There is a very long road ahead of me to get back the conditioning and endurance I had. It took so long to get and so quickly to lose.

No Regrets

2011-10-30T20:40:00.003-04:00

Today, rather than running the Marine Corps Marathon, I stood at the end of the infamous bridge and cheered, both 10K and marathon runners. I had no regrets.

I watched people hobble and grimace, and I knew I would have been one of them, if I had even made it to mile 22. I had no regrets.

I was there to help old friends and new, and thousands of strangers, when they needed it. I had no regrets.

The Journey Ends

2011-10-09T10:31:00.002-04:00

I have decided that I won't be running the Marine Corps Marathon in three weeks, and I'm ok with it.

I think my last entry was a good therapy for me. Now, I can actually talk about the race without tears welling up. I can look forward to going out and cheering on my friends, rather than fear how I will feel seeing everything going on without being a part of it.

The reality is no matter how hard a decision this was to make, deep down, it was truly the right one. There are many other races in my future, and this insures that.

When my foot issues got bad in early September, I toyed with the idea of doing a November race instead, either Richmond or Philadelphia, but have since decided that would still be rushing myself. This can be such a long term, chronic condition, that I want to do everything I can to take care of it now rather than risk how bad it could get in the future.

So, for now, it's rest and planning out the journeys and adventures that await.

30 Days

2011-09-30T20:15:00.001-04:00

Well, the Marine Corps Marathon is 30 days away, and, the uncertainty of whether or not I will be able to participate is growing with each day that passes. I've got 2 weeks of physical therapy under my belt, and while I have been seeing some improvements, progress is still slow and frustrating, especially for a Type A personality.

My therapist told me I could run 5-6 miles last weekend, certainly nowhere near the 18-20 I originally had down on my training plan. I planned on 6, and if I felt good after that, I'd do 2 more for a total of 8. I am registered for a half marathon tomorrow, and needed to test out my body to see if 13.1 would even be possible. I had 5 pain free miles. As a result, I am spending this weekend at home rather than running through the hills of West Virginia. This was a race I have been trying to plan for for 2 years now, so to say I'm disappointed about having to cancel is an understatement.

To say that barely making it through 6 miles was a reality check is an even bigger understatement. While neither the podiatrist nor therapist has outright told me that MCM is out of the question, I am beginning to accept that it probably is. I'm beginning almost a mourning process so to speak. My emotions are still too raw - I can barely talk about it without tearing up because of the disappointment I feel so deep down. To know how close I was to being done with my training, I did get all the way up to 18 miles, and see it all go to waste is frustrating. The early early hours, the pushing myself to my limit in 90+ degree temps and horrific humidity, all seem for naught now.

I am beginning to come around to the fact that even if my foot is feeling better by late October, is it really going to be worth it go through with my race plans? A friend asked me the other day why I feel the need to keep doing marathons. My response "because I want to do them better." Going into a marathon 7 weeks after my longest run and dealing with an injury is certainly not doing it better. Perhaps this is where the experience of having 2 fulls already under my belt is a good thing - I know how hard and painful it would be to begin with, dealing with these factors would certainly be worse.

So, I have not canceled any plans as of yet. I've missed the window to transfer my registration to another runner, but I can still transfer from the full marathon to the 10K, which I would certainly be capable of completing by that point. But, would I feel like I'm settling? Is it an all of nothing for me now? Am I admitting defeat? If I can't do the full, I'm not even sure I want to step foot into the expo. It would just be too painful.

Confessions - Follow up

2011-09-15T21:07:00.000-04:00

Thank you all for the great input in my iPod debate. The jury is still out on this. Having run MCM last year, there are certain parts of the course that I think I would like a bit of distraction, So, I am still leaning towards having some tunes to turn to if needed. If I decide to go this route, I will get the specially designed One Good Earbud in an effort to address some of my safety concerns.

As for my foot issues, I actually was pretty reasonable with myself for a change. When faced with running a local half marathon this past Sunday, I came to the conclusion the night before that deep down this really was a bad idea. My foot was still achy, and there are other things coming up that I am looking much more forward to. The doubt and fear I had that I would do something to further hurt myself and cause me to have to back out of October plans was far too great. I didn't run, and Monday morning I called a podiatrist.

Wednesday morning I got my official plantar fasciitis diagnosis. The good news is that there were no surprises - this is what I expected. So, I'm now on oral steroids to combat the inflammation, which I think right now is the biggest issue of them all and what drove me to finally see a Dr since none of the at home treatments were working. She even told me that even at it's strongest dose, Ibuprofen wasn't going to touch it, validating in my mind my decision to go. I did vetoed the injection idea though, preferring to try the oral meds route first. The fact she let me choose rather than coming right at me with a syringe definitely impressed me. I have to wear running shoes pretty much all of my waking hours, and, I can still run a couple of miles 3-4 times a week.

Monday afternoon I have a physical therapy evaluation. I'm hoping once the inflammation goes down that the therapist will have me moving again, quickly. Needless to say, my participation in the upcoming Freedom's Run 1/2 Marathon and, of course, MCM, are both hanging in the air. The Dr did write "training for a marathon - wishes to resume training schedule asap" on my therapy slip, so at least we are on the same page. ;)

Confessions

2011-09-07T21:43:00.001-04:00

I have a confession to make, lately I have been struggling. Two weeks ago I had a fantastic 16 miler that really helped boost my confidence and chase away a lot of doubts I had been having about doing another marathon, but many of these feelings have returned after a disappointing 18 miler. I guess the poor attitude I had even going into it really sunk it for me before the run even started. I hadn't slept well the night before, it was extremely humid, and once the sun came up it got hot, quick. For some reason, 18 miles is my nemesis. Last year, I had the same problems. All runners go through things like this, and after a miserably hot summer, and a few things Mother Nature has thrown this way lately, like an earthquake and hurricane, finding excuses not to run and to be discouraged has certainly be easy.

I've also been dealing with a slight injury over the last few weeks. I thought I had finally tamed my plantar fasciitis problems, only to have them come back. I blamed some movements we did in my summer boot camp class as the primary culprit, but the reality is that it coincided with my mileage increase, so likely the combination of increasing both my mileage and going to twice a week intense cross training had something to do with it. I stubbornly did 18 miles knowing this, and yes, I knew it probably wasn't a good idea. Didn't this stubbornness lead to a stress fracture 3 years ago? Old habits are hard to break. I am being reasonable though. If it doesn't get better, I know 26.2 miles is impossible.

Anyway, the struggles with my 18 miler reignited a debate with myself - to iPod or not to iPod.

This brings my third confession - I've never run a race or done a long run while listening to music. I've probably only worn my iPod while running outside a handful of times, and all probably in my first year or two of running. Honestly, I'm not even sure I know where my iPod is right now.

Running with a music player is a pretty controversial topic in many circles. Some people swear by it, others are dead set against it, mainly as a safety issue. I agree it is a safety issue, and also feel it takes away from the race experience - listening to spectators and taking in the atmosphere as a whole. However, I have wondered lately if having music would help distract me when things got rough, especially since I am facing running the entire marathon alone. One of the reasons why I've never done it is because I never wanted to feel like it would be a crutch for me, one of those people would couldn't possibly think of running without. If I starting listening to music to on my long runs, would I ever be able to go back? Or, would I spend the money on a new, smaller player, wear it around with me, but never use it?

Yesterday I had a routine medical appointment, and was chatting with my doctor during the visit. She's currently training for her second half marathon, and is running it with another doctor and a couple of family members. She said that she could never run that distance alone, and what could people like me doing marathons possibly think about while out on the road for such a long time. That is the mystery of being a distance runner I think, and where some of us blossom, and some of us struggle. There's a fine line between squashing the doubts and letting the doubts take over.

So, I ask you - to iPod or not to iPod?

Running Through History, Part 2

2011-08-03T21:36:00.002-04:00

I arrived home from our Williamsburg adventure on Monday, and Friday morning boarded a plane to my next adventure, Boston. Lauren invited me up for Memorial Day weekend and proposed running the Run to Remember, a race put on by the Boston Police Runner’s Club to honor those who have died in the line of duty. This is one of only a couple of half marathons that run through downtown Boston, and knowing the cause, there was no way I could turn down the opportunity. And, given my back of the pack pace, this was a race I didn’t need to qualify to run.

I was very anxious though, as Katie (who sadly was still feeling under the weather) discovered in the weeks before that there was a time limit on this race and she couldn’t get a straight answer from the race officials as to exactly what it was, and if there were going to be any sweeping points on the course after those doing the 5 miler split off at mile 2. It seemed the time limit was about 2:45. I did two races under this is March, so it was possible. Lauren told me it was a great PR course, so I felt bolstered that this was a challenge I could do and tried to put my nerves aside.

I arrived Friday morning and spent time with Lauren at her home and wandering the town of Plymouth. It had been about 20 years since I had been to the waterfront there before, and it was just as I remembered. Saturday we headed into Boston to pick up our packets and she took me on good portion of the Freedom Walk. How cool! I definitely need to plan a trip up there just to take all of it in. We also passed through Boston Common and Boston Garden and she helped me on my quest to find the Life is Good flagship store on Newbury Street. We spent a lot more time on our feet than I would have liked, but sightseeing in a new city was just too much fun!

We headed home to relax for awhile, enjoyed some pasta, and settled in for the early morning. Morning came and Lauren and I, along with her sister, Jill, headed into the city. We were able to park near Lauren’s hubby’s building and use the flush toilets there. Score! Before we knew it, it was time to line up at the start. We said our good byes, agreed on a meeting point after, and I made my way to the back of the pack. It was a HUMID morning and my nerves were very high.

I crossed the starting line and off I went. When I start a race I generally try and run a bit of the start until it seems safe for me to start doing intervals without getting run over. (This is NOT the way interval running is supposed to be done.) It quickly became apparent that this was a FAST race. Unlike any other races I’ve done, no one around me was doing intervals or speed walking. Around mile 1 I finally had an opening to jump up onto a curb and take a walk break. This was not good, but I still felt pretty good and knew I had to keep pushing since I had to be where the course split off by a certain point. My walk break was over and I jumped back into the throng of runners. About a half mile in I was able to take another walk break. Finally at mile 2 we reached the course split and I was doing more than fine on time and it had finally cleared out enough that I could do my 2:1’s.

The damage was done though. Running my ass off the first couple of miles and in that humidity did me in. I saw Lauren and Jill on the out and back about mile 6. I was still chugging along a bit at that point, but by mile 8 or so I’d given up to just walking the whole thing. I was miserable and mad at myself. This was not how this was supposed to go down. Then, about mile 11.5, once the course had made it’s way back into downtown from the river, it happened. A police car came behind me and the rest of the back of the pack and announced that we had to move to the sidewalks because they were going to open the street. I started having a near panic attack. I vaguely recognized where I was, but had no idea where I was supposed to go, and didn’t have my cell phone on me in case I ran into trouble and needed to get a hold of Lauren. The other back runners and I got to an intersection and I yelled at a cop across the street to find out where we were supposed to go. I was near tears. But, it also got me moving. I was determined to stay ahead of the street openings for the last couple of miles. I kept going and going, trying to run smartly and keep myself calm, a slightly tall order. I was so over this though and ready to be done. Finally I got to the bridge back to the race area and knew the end was close. Thank God.

As I came down the final stretch I looked for Lauren and Jill and gave them two big thumbs down. My final time was 2:52:45, generally one of my decent times, but I was so disappointed in and even angry myself though for not coming close to my 2:45 goal and for having my worst ever race that I couldn’t appreciate that I had made it through. Mentally, I don’t think I was ever in it. As days and weeks passed though, I have started to feel better about it, but still not great. Boston is a wonderful town, but clearly one you need to be fast to run.

Running Through History, Part 1

2011-07-19T20:11:00.009-04:00

So, what does a runner who spends her days around dusty old books do? Finds races in historic places of course!

Last fall I saw an ad in a magazine for an inaugural race in Williamsburg. I immediately knew I had to do it. I have loved the town all of my life. My parents took me there on vacations while I was growing up, and I was even lucky to spend a summer living there in college and working on the archaeological site at Jamestown. While at the Marine Corps Marathon expo at the end of October, the Run for the Dream folks were there and I jumped at the chance to sign up. Poor Megan, we'd only just met me in person an hour earlier, and she found herself signing up as well. I had at least one partner in crime lined up! Score!

May came, and along with Kim and Laura, we headed down for a long weekend in Colonial Williamsburg. Katie unfortunately had to cancel her plans at the last minute due to injury. Laura was sadly also ill, but didn't want to turn down an opportunity to go to CW, and came along as cheer squad, complete with her own colonial garb. The organizers of this race really set up a first rate race weekend. Half marathon registrants received weekend passes to Colonial Williamsburg and a one day pass to Busch Gardens along with a meal voucher. And, since we were staying at a host hotel, we had shuttle transportation race morning.

We arrived on Friday and hit up the small, but decent, expo and then headed to our hotel before checking out the restored area. We met up with Laura C., our ROTE buddy from NC, and went to Chownings Tavern for an evening of good food, drinks, and laughs at the gambols. If you ever go, pay close attention to the magician and try and figure out how he palms not one, but THREE potatoes. We're still talking about it two months later! Ha!

We also had the opportunity to meet a new ROTE member, Rebecca, and her husband, Brian. They were in town to run Saturday's 8K. We got up early for breakfast on Saturday and headed out to the race course to cheer them on. After we caught them near Merchant's Square, we went to the stadium on the William & Mary campus where the finish line was. It was fast becoming clear, Sunday was going to be a hot day to run a half marathon.

Race morning was indeed sticky. We boarded our assigned shuttle (we had to sign up for timed ones at the expo and got color coded wrist bands; I don't think they were ever checked) and headed to the start area. A fife and drum group played while everyone milled about. Since I had another half marathon the following weekend, I planned to take it easy and just have fun with Kim and Megan. The course started winding through the restored area, and was indeed beautiful. No matter where we looked, there was Laura, our little colonial, along with Rebecca and Brian, cheering for us. We never knew where'd they'd pop up in those early miles!

We knew this course was going to be hilly, but the elevation chart on the website was definitely no match for what we really encountered! As we chugged along, around mile 6 we made a new friend, Heather, who asked if she could join us in our 2:1 intervals. Before we knew it, Heather and I were talking and running along and steadily getting ahead of Megan and Kim. I looked back as we crested a hill, and both were waving at me to keep going. (They told me later they were glad I found someone to run with as I had been pushing the pace a bit.) The remainder of the race was enjoyable as I got to know a new friend. While we were going up and down the rolling hills of Colonial Parkway, we started doing 1:2's instead to help with the heat and humidity that there beginning to kick our butt. Fortunately, the parkway had a good amount of shade, except at the turnaround. Kudos to the race organizers for keeping what was a beautiful bit still kind of boring out and back interesting. Imagine our surprise when we saw a man playing a piano just around mile 8.

As we reached mile 11, we couldn't wait to get off of the parkway. Plus, I knew Laura was going to be just ahead with cold water and Gatorade. It quickly was apparent though that in order to get off the parkway we had to climb a ramp with a nasty incline and even nastier camber while in the full sun. We got to Laura, who still had Rebecca and Brian in tow (thanks guys for sticking around) and poured water over ourselves to cool off. Laura C. had seen me on the out and back along Colonial Parkway and told Laura that I had gone ahead of Kim and Megan. I was immediately chastised by both her and Katie (who'd she'd been txting with updates) to slow down and remember that I had a half next weekend. I assured them that Heather and I were keeping a good, but slower pace, and doing a longer walk then run.

The course took us onto the William and Mary campus. We were both overheated and exhausted by that point and walking moreso than anything else. After one more final hill, we turned toward the stadium, ran through a tent playing the Olympic theme, and were on the track. We had to run about 3/4's of the track before crossing the finish line. Our time was 3:02:36. Not bad considering the heat and hills. After getting our medals, Heather and I said our good byes and traded phone numbers in hopes of perhaps crossing paths at another race in the future. I found Laura C. and our awesome cheer squad. We cheered in Kim and Megan (who were delayed after heroically helping catch a runner as she went down due to leg cramps), and then headed to the post race picnic.

The post race picnic took place in the sunken garden at the college. In addition to the standard post race food, runners were entitled to 2 beers and a bbq sandwich. Yum! The only drawback was the lack of shade, which apparently they are addressing for next year.

Despite the heat and vast quantity of unexpected hills, this was a top notch event. I really felt like I got alot of "bang for my buck" and definitely loved the long weekend away with good friends in a place I love. I debated whether or not to do it again next year, but everyone's enthusiasm to do it again (and bring some other friends along) is definitely drawing me in.

Last Minute Decision

2011-06-06T20:51:00.004-04:00

So, home from Country Music Marathon and I was feeling pretty good and with nothing planned for the weekend, my mind started wandering. Good things rarely come from this. Thanks to the wonders of facebook updates, I was reminded that the Frederick 1/2 Marathon was that weekend, and was still open for sign ups. I loved this race last year, setting a personal best in pretty miserable weather even. And, the weather forecast looked amazing for race morning. Oh, what to do, what to do.

I was trying to be smart about my race plans this year and knew deep down that I shouldn't sign up for it. I mentioned it to Katie, in hopes she would help talk me out of it. She did, in a way.... She reminded me about the relay and the fact she had been interested in doing it but it just never came to fruition. Doing the relay never even occurred to me, mostly due to the fact that the relay has traditionally been a 4 person team covering the distance of a full marathon. This year organizers did away with the full marathon, and therefore the relay was now a 2 person team covering the half marathon distance - the first runner doing 8 miles and the second the remaining 5.1.

It was Wednesday afternoon and online race registration was already closed, but teams could sign up at local packet pick up locations, and the one that night happened to be at Katie's local running shop. It was a sign! She headed over there after work and Team Last Minute Decision was ready to roll! We were laughing at ourselves for jumping into something so spontaneously (we both normally plan things like this soooo far in advance) and also for not having thought of this sooner.

I spent the night before the race at my parents' house to help cut down on some of the driving race morning. Katie met me there very very early on Saturday morning, and we headed west to Frederick. We both like getting to places early rather than get there stressed, and we certainly over estimated how long it would take us to get there and park. The plus side though was an amazing parking spot and ample time to make more than one visit to the bathroom.

As race time approached, Katie and I bid our farewells. She had to take a bus to the transition area while I headed to the starting line. She had been feeling a bit under the weather, so I agreed to run the longer of the 2 legs. I was looking forward to running through the historic downtown and by the beautiful city parks again. The race started at 7:30, and I told her that I had hoped to keep a good 12 minute average pace, so she should see me about 1:36 into the race.

Standing around in the corrals I ran into a childhood friend who was doing the half, her second ever. I also ran into a couple of fellow Half Fanatics. The announcer said that there were some elites running the race who were Olympic qualifiers as well. There was a great energy in the air and the weather was pretty good as well, definitely nowhere near the high temps and humidity of the year before.

The race start itself was pretty uneventful. It quickly became apparent though that there were hills in those early miles that I had no recollection of. I pushed ahead without trying to overdue it, reminding myself I had just done a half the weekend before, regardless of how much I may have walked of it. The course went through the historic downtown and I had memories of places we had visited while in town for race weekend the year before. We went along the big city park and into the neighborhoods. Some of the houses got into it, sitting outside and cheering, sprinklers set up, and offering snacks.

A couple of miles before the transition at mile 8, my stomach started to let me know it was unhappy. Despite the stomach cramps, I kept pushing along, determined to get to the transition area. I knew from the course map that there was a water stop at the transition, which meant a bathroom, too. I took a couple of extra walk breaks here and there in an effort to get a couple of deep breaths in hopes of calming my tummy down, counting down the miles and portions thereof until I'd get to mile 8. I did get a good laugh at mile 7.5 when I passed a group of guys handing out bacon. That was definitely something new to see on a course! And, with only a half mile to go, I probably would have taken a piece had my stomach been much more agreeable.

I reached the transition area and expected to have someone yelling out bib #'s or something, but no luck. The advantage of being the back of the pack though is that there really wasn't much of a crowd left waiting for their runners, so Katie and I easily spotted one another. She put her foot up on the curb and I reached down and took the timing tag off my ankle and put it on hers. We exchanged hugs, too, and she was on her way. My time, despite the hills and stomach cramps, 1:35 and change. Right on time.

After taking advantage of bathrooms right next to the transition (and fortunately the first I had seen on the whole course without a line), I was on a bus on my way back to the start/finish area. The bus dropped us off at the bottom of the parking lot at the "relay tent". Volunteers there gave us our medal (runner #2 would get theirs upon crossing the finish line) and we walked up to the finish festival area. I went in search of food and water. It quickly became apparent that this would be a problem - the water was directly after the finish line and was fenced off. Um, yeah. I did manage to hop a fence to get into the food line. Luckily, my car was only a few feet away, and had a small cooler in it. Rather than try and figure out how to break into the finish line, I decided to pick my battles and get a cold bottle out of my car.

Snacks in hand, I headed to the race track infield where I could watch for Katie to come in, and enjoy a beer in the process. ;) It was weird to watch people finish who I recognized from being near on the course and knowing I had been done for about an hour already. I cheered Katie as she crossed the line, finished my beer, and headed off in search of her. We hopped in line to pick up our race shirts (a disaster from an otherwise well organized day), and then headed on our way back down the road, stopping at Cracker Barrel for celebratory pancakes on the way.

The relay was definitely a neat experience - all of the race amenities (and even a medal!) without having to do the full distance. The Loopers now have 4 teams (16 runners!!!) for the Baltimore Marathon relay in October. I'll be doing the first leg, as I really want to see what the first part of the course is like. The second half of the course is essentially the 1/2 marathon course I ran last year. This way I will be familiar with a majority of the marathon course, an advantage since Baltimore might be my fall 2012 marathon. ;)

Running Music City

2011-06-01T22:14:00.005-04:00

Alright, so my updating here sucks big time. I was off for over a week and half and had big plans to catch up, and, well, guess what happens when you only have a couple of days at home inbetween long weekend trips planned around races - laundry and sleep. LOL.

So, April was a crazy race month (wait til you hear about May!), and it ended with a big trip to Nashville for the Country Music 1/2 on the 30th. This trip had been in the works for maybe a year with folks coming into town from near and far for it. I was looking forward to good times with good friends and definitely wasn't disappointed.

Katie, Steve, Laura, and I flew into town on Friday morning and headed right to the expo after checking in at our hotel. We had all heard stories of the hills in this race and decided to watch the course preview video that was playing. Maybe not the best idea, as Katie and I sat there watching the uphills and repeatedly going "owie". I had decided early on that this race was just going to be about fun with friends rather than time, and the video cemented that decision.

After the expo and some time getting settled into our hotel rooms, it was time to meet up with some ROTE friends for some quality carb loading. After good dinner and many laughs, we parted ways til morning.

A few weeks before the race, the 4 of us had decided to take advantage of a special "platinum" package being sold in conjunction with the race. For $60 (which worked out to $15 per person) you got VIP parking and 4 wrist bands that gave you admission into a VIP runners area with a huge spread of food and most importantly, your own area of Porta Johns. Having done Competitor races before, and encountered ENORMOUS bathroom lines, it was a no brainer to do this. While none of us really took advantage of the food, having a much shorter bathroom line was great. The only drawback was that we were in corral 26, which meant it took us nearly a half hour to even cross the start line, and then suddenly we all had to stop again only a mile into the race. Oy.

The start of the race was pretty unremarkable. It was probably one of the biggest races I've ever done, even perhaps exceeding MCM. While I hate the wave start and how long it involves standing around and waiting, it does help with course congestion.

The race itself was also pretty unremarkable. Katie, Steve, and I chugged along and around mile 3 we encountered the first of our major hills. Everyone around us was walking as one solid pack. There was nowhere to move or even really attempt to run, so we joined in. It was also HOT. The sun was merciless, and it wasn't helped by the fact that we didn't even cross the start line til about 8:30.

We continued on, walking more than running. The hills and heat were just sucking the life out of us. Then, about mile 7, we found nirvana. Over dinner the night before, our Canadian friends, Steven and Cara, told us about a gourmet popsicle place that visited earlier that day. Cathy, one of our Nashville hosts, mentioned that she thought it was near the race course. Suddenly, I saw the sign for the shop and a woman standing out front behind a freezer. I stopped in my tracks. Steve thankfully had some cash on him and was willing to stop and treat us. I chose a honeydew one. OMG, it was amazing. Plus, I felt my internal temp drop by easily 5 degrees.

We were the envy of many around us, and garnered a few laughs from as well from those who were entertained that we had actually stopped and done this. I think they were just jealous. ;) The shops on this stretch of the course definitely did well that morning - while enjoying our icy treats, we passed a group of women who had stopped and bought iced coffee.

Around this time our Crazy British friend, Alison, caught up to us on the course. We were about to hit a good downhill portion of the course and my legs were beginning to stop walking and get some good speed in. I bid a farewell to Steve and Katie, and joined up with her for the remainder of the race. It's always fun to spend time getting to know someone while out on the course and help the miles go by faster as well. I learned that she really is Crazy as she tried her darnedest to push me towards a sub 3 hour finish.

We were racing towards beer though. Cathy's dear husband had agreed to man our official ROTE stop on the course just before mile 12. This spot had been chosen so our friends Greg and Steph, who were doing the full marathon, would be able take advantage of his services as well. It was around this same point that we had to climb more hills, too. I stood there drinking a cup of beer and seriously contemplated just hanging out there rather trying to finish, lol. But, we did bid our farewells and continue the final mile home. I am thankful to Alison for dragging me along in those last couple of miles. We didn't finish under 3 hours, but we certainly had fun along the way!

Spring has sprung!

2011-05-08T21:31:00.003-04:00

Spring has officially sprung! This means running season is in full swing and I am woefully behind in race recaps - too many to count and three more races on the near horizon.

The weekend after Cherry Pit (4/10) was the Women's 5K by the Bay, the first in this year's Women's Distance Festival races. Having done well in the race in previous years, I was shooting for under 34 minutes, a new PR. I had essentially done this back in February at the Super Bowl 5K in Dundalk, but since it was not chip timed, my official time did not reflect my actual result. A cool, overcast morning was on my side, and my new, official 5K PR is 33:20.

The next weekend (4/16) was my last long run before the Country Music 1/2 in Nashville. For it, Katie and I decided to try out a 10 miler down in Waldorf, MD. The 10 miler was part of the St. Charles Running Festival. While technically an inaugural race, it was actually rebranded, having been a half marathon the year before. Katie and I were drawn to it, as the race management was being handled by Corrigan Sports, the same folks behind the Baltimore Ten Miler, and Frederick and Baltimore Running Festivals. With the proven track record, we decided to give it a try.

The day or so before the race I started looking at the weather forecast and really really worrying. The potential was there for heavy heavy rain and very strong wind gusts. This could get really nasty really quick. Katie remained positive, reminding me of the first 10 miler we did together, the Baltimore 10 in 2009, and how horrendous that weather was and the fact we pulled through smiling and laughing at the end. The problem with this forecast was this would April rather than June, and temps would be in the 40s.

We headed to Waldorf early in the morning, under gray skies and heavy winds. Parking was plentiful at Regency Furniture Stadium, the home of the Souther Maryland Blue Crabs minor league baseball team. This was a great venue for the race, which plenty of covered areas and indoor bathrooms for everyone to use, as well. The only drawback was the 1/2 mile or so walk from the stadium to the start, but hey, I've done worse before and it was a good warm up.

I had toyed back and forth about how hard I wanted to run this race, and decided with the forecast that I wanted to pace Katie and spend some quality time having fun with her. No sense taking the risk in slipping on a soggy course while chasing a PR. The course was described as flat, but as we all know, race organizers lie, and this was no exception. There were at least two pretty significant uphills.

The weather was on our side for the first 4 miles or so. The chilly wind we encountered when we got to Waldorf had died down and the temps were actually comfortable. And then the rains came. We were soaked by mile 8. We realized around mid point that Katie was on track for a PR for herself and we kept trucking. She was a trooper and did awesome, especially on a particularly nasty hilly in the late miles in which everyone else around us was walking.

The course went through some residential areas and then wound through some country roads. The highlight though, especially for this baseball loving girl, was that the finish line was on the baseball field, next to homeplate. Katie kept pushing as we got closer and closer to the stadium, and earned herself a new PR. We celebrated, and quickly got out of the rain and into dry clothes before finding some brunch. I got home and immediately threw all of my soggy clothes into the washing machine. They were so heavy from all of the water, that they threw the washing machine off balance and actually moved it when the spin cycle hit. Ha ha ha!

Overall, a fun race, despite the downpours, and one I would do again.

Coming up next - fun in Music City!

Some places have the blossoms, we have the pits

2011-04-06T21:08:00.008-04:00

Sunday was my favorite 10 miler, the Cherry Pit. This a small (although growing, this year there were nearly 500 runners) local race put on by my running club, the Annapolis Striders. The course takes you through horse and farm country in southern Anne Arundel County. While it doesn't have the scenic cherry blossoms and monuments of the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in DC (which is held on the same day), it also doesn't have 15,000 runners. And, the Pit, if you registered in advance, cost you $5 max. I've managed to sway several of my Looper partners in crime to the joys of this fun and well organized race.

This was my first ever 10 miler back in 2009, and I did it in what I thought was a pretty respectable 2:21:22. In 2010, I decided to give it what I had and as I charged across the finish line, missed a sub 2 hour time by mear seconds. My final time was 2:00:01. I managed a 21 minute PR - taking 2+ minutes PER MILE off my pace. That's generally unheard of. A year later I still look upon that race with nothing but pride and I realize how much confidence it gave me. It was probably one of the first times I felt like a real runner.

This year, I was determined to get my sub 2 hour. While I had been managing good long runs leading up to it, my weeknight runs were pretty much none existent, so I began to worry whether my body was going to cooperate with this endeavour. Jen and I started out the race together. It was a bit chilly at the start, but the sun was coming up and warming things on the early Spring morning. The company made those early miles enjoyable and fly by. Every now and then I would glance at my watch - some of our run intervals were around 9:30, fast, especially considering the general incline of much of the course. I already had it in my mind though that if I was going to break 2 hours, and do it well, I had to test my limits and push as hard as I could.

We made it through the first 3.5 or so miles and turned onto a country road, one of my favorites of the course. We kept our intervals until we got to this great downhill stretch and I decided to just keep going. I really wanted to enjoy this downhill and bank up some time for the later miles when I would probably need it. I flew down the half mile or so. Jen took a breather and sent me ahead. I was excited when she caught up to me a bit later though. How much fun is this portion of this course? According to my watch, the point we started at is roughly 164ft in elevation, and you finish below sea level. Fun! Of course, you can't have a downhill that fun without paying for it on the other end.

We finished up our adventure on the country road and made our turn off of it around mile 5. The lovely Laura was waiting and cheering for us as we stared at the next hill on our way out of the gully. I kept pushing and pushing, and Jen decided to fall back a bit around 5.5. She kept me in her sight as long as she could though, following my intervals. I kept pushing, even though I saw THE HILL coming up at mile 6. I remember this hill well from last year - I felt like I was flying up it effortlessly, picking off runners all along the way. This year, I got about half way up, was exhausted and overheated and decided to power walk.

The course then made a turn onto South River Clubhouse Road. Mentally this was the hardest for me. I knew at the end of this road was mile 8 and my turn towards the finish, which would then be mostly downhill. It was a fight between mind and body, full of more hills to keep it "interesting" as well. Then, just before mile 8, I heard a voice enthusiastically cheering. Wait, I know that voice - it was Margaret! Or was? Maybe I was halucinatting thanks to the exhaustion that was setting it. I turned the corner and realized it was her. I was hurting at this point and nearly cried as I gave her a huge hug. And, just over her shoulder, I saw the last water stop and turn onto Rt. 2 to head back to the high school. Plus, I was still on target (as best as I could tell given my horrible math skills) for my sub 2. I made the turn and chugging along, getting closer and closer to the finish.

Just before mile 9 is when the glorious downhill I had been anticipating came. I ran most of the next half mile plus. Get me there quicker, I kept think, I'm sooo ready to be done. And couple of more turns, by now my legs felt like lead, and I was near the finish. I took a couple of seconds to catch my breath and made my turn to the finish. As I got closer, I gave it all I had left in the tank. My final time (per my watch) 1:57:17. I had done it, and with time to spare. I was happy.

So, with this now behind me, my crazy Spring race schedule is now in full swing. I've got the first of the Women's Distance Festival 5K's this weekend, followed by another 10 miler, and then at the end of the month my first race trip of the year - the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville. This half is very well known for it's hills, particularly in the first half. Cherry Pit was probably a good representation of this. If there's one thing I learned this past weekend, it'll be that if I want to enjoy myself in Nashville, I will have to take it easy on the hills or I will pay for it later.

I could not believe how sore I felt after Cherry Pit. I don't remember feeling that bad after my remarkable race last year. Maybe I did and just race amnesia had set it, who knows. I can't help but think that my slacking on my weeknight runs had something to do with it. Getting into a better routine is definitely imperative if I'm going to make it through the Spring. Now is just this cold, wet weather we've had as of late will cooperate...

#15 - Nikia's Nippy Nor'easter Half

2011-03-20T09:57:00.002-04:00

Surprise! I didn't really make mention of it here, but I actually had two half marathons planned for this month. Yesterday was Nikia' Nippy Nor'easter Half (and relay) up on the NCR Trail.

Sponsored by Back on My Feet, this was a nice and low key race that I essentially used as a training run. I first heard about it last month when BOMF brought a team to the Striders' Valentine's Day 5K. Early registration was only $15.

The race started at the ranger station in Monkton and ran south on the trailing, turning around just before Paper Mill Road to make the return north. I got there early in order to find a decent parking spot and later met up with some friends from the Striders, hanging around until everything started at 9am.

My plan was basically to run whatever pace felt comfortable. My legs have still been a bit sore since B&A, so I had no plans to push hard and try and beat my new PR time. I knew that the packed stone surface of the trail would help lessen the impact of the miles on me.

The run itself was uneventful. It was chilly at the beginning but warmed up very quickly and was a gorgeous morning while running along the Gunpowder River. This is not a race for those who like crowds - I went for noticeable periods of time without seeing another runner, biker, or hiker.

The peace and quiet was nice, but also kind of a danger for me. The last 4 miles were rough just from exhaustion and there was nothing to really distract me. I'm proud of myself for sticking with my intervals though, mentally keeping myself going rather than just giving up and taking extra walks and trudging along.

According to my watch, my time was just under 2:42, just a few minutes over my B&A time. This is shaping up to be a very interesting year.

B&A Trail Half - Starting the Season Strong

2011-03-13T14:48:00.003-04:00

Last Sunday was the B&A Trail Half Marathon, my first big race of the year. Now, don't be confused by the trail aspect of this. This is not what many think of when they hear trail, rather it is a paved Rails to Trails path. I train on this trail during much of the year, but this was the first time I had really been on it since the late fall.

In 2009, this same race was my first ever half marathon. I was spent by mile 12, wondering why anyone would ever want to run a full marathon, and finished in 3:02, happy to be near my 3 hour goal. This year this race marked my 14th half marathon, and I was putting everything into it.

My previous best for a half was 2:46, which I did in May at Frederick and repeated in October at Baltimore. Both of those races were very hilly. While I lost some momentum climbing the steep hills, I made up lots of time letting gravity pull me on the downhills. Just how well would I be able to do on a mostly flat path without those downhills to help increase my momentum?

I was thinking a 2:40 might be possible, but taking nearly 30 seconds off my pace per mile is pretty huge to begin with. Plus, I felt like I had really slacked off in my training in January and February. While I had some excellent long runs on weekends, my midweek runs were sometimes non-existent. My normal 3:1 run/walk intervals didn't seem to be serving me well either, and were helping put doubts in my head about reaching my goal. I kept wondering how I possibly completed a marathon with them back in the end of October, and now most runs seemed strained with them.

Katie suggested I drop back to a 2:1, the intervals I had been using on long runs with her. She said that I seemed to really know how I could push with them so it might be worth trying. A lackluster run doing 3:1's the Thursday before the race seemed to seal the choice for me. Physically I could probably do the longer run, mentally I just couldn't. While I had made that decision, even the day before the race I wasn't sure just how hard I wanted to do this. 2:40 seemed daunting, and I decided that if I finished around my current PR time I would be happy.

I struggled over what to wear. The forecast called for heavy rain and high winds, but temps around 50 degrees. While a jacket would keep me dry, I was sure I would get hot and be miserable in it. I finally accepted the fact I would get wet, potentially drenched, and sucked it up, choosing to wear capris and a short sleeve shirt with a long sleeve shirt over top which I could tie around my waist once I was warm. A hat to keep rain out of my face completed my look.

The race started, as did a rain shower and some wind. Luckily this didn't last long and while most of the race was overcast, there was only a sprinkle here and there for the remainder. It was turning out to be great race weather - mild temps and no sun to bake you. Hmmmm, I need to take advantage of this.

I chugged along on my 2:1 interval's, hitting an average 12 minute/mile pace at every single mile marker, and was still at it at mile 6. Now, I have been able to maintain this pace for a ten miler before, but hadn't for a half. I kept pushing, despite fears I was starting out too fast. During some of my run intervals, my pace even hit 9:00 minute/mile. It felt good but freaked me out. Too fast, too fast, don't bite yourself in the ass, just kept playing through my head. But, it felt good.

And then the turnaround came. The way this course works is that you start at Severna Park High School, and run about a mile and half through various neighborhoods so the pack can thin out before reaching the trail. We got on the trail and then headed south. About mile 7, you have to go down a hill, about .7 miles long and then turnaround and immediately climb right back up it. It is a long steady climb, which does flatten out slightly midway before finishing the climb and reaching the head of the trail and heading back north to the high school.

I hate this hill. We train on it during the 10K class, and I hate it. It sucks the life out of you. When I did this race in '09, I don't even think I attempted to run up it. Since hills have really become my strength over the last year, I was determined to beat it in this race. I was so excited to see my friends Joe and Erin, and their adorable human and canine sons, Declan and Brody, cheering just before the turnaround. It was a great boost for me. As I made my climb back up, I passed Kelly on her way down. When I got to the top of the hill and back onto the trail, I found Katie, Kim, and Megan together, and Laura not far behind them. It was good to see them doing well, and I kept pushing along.

Around mile 8 I figured out that I was still on my 12 minute/mile pace, even with the climb up Boutler's Way. Wow! A PR might happen after all. And then it happened, I hit mile 10 at exactly two hours. I had a PR, it was just a matter of by how much. I knew the final 5K would not take me 40 minutes. If I could stay on the 12 minute pace, I'd finish in just over 36 minutes. O.M.G. I then became determined to. Pushing, pushing, and pushing. Despite the number of miles already under my belt, that 9 minute pace popped up here and there, but overall I tried to be consist at about a 10:30 pace on my runs and power walking my walk breaks.

I reached Severna Park and knew I would be turning off the trail and in the final stretch. I was excited and pushing through the exhaustion and pain I was feeling. I knew my roommate, Steph, was volunteering at the finish line and she and my friend, Mimi, were waiting with my medal and hugs. I picked it up as best I could in the final stretch. My final time, 2:37:03. I had beaten my PR by just under 10 minutes. This was huge. I had taken an average of 45 seconds off of my pace. It was also my most consistent race - being at that 12 minute pace at EVERY mile.

I discovered a couple of minutes later, that perhaps for the first time ever, I finished the half before the winner of the full came in. Another minor victory in my mind, lol. I waited for my friends to finish, while enjoying hot pizza that was being continuously delivered to the school. After awhile we headed to a fabulous brunch. A couple of days later, I was still on cloud 9.

A special thanks to all of my friends who were on the course that day, either working water stops or shouting a quick "hi" as we passed one another. Getting to see so many of you really makes this race so fun!

Here Comes #3

2011-03-03T22:42:00.002-05:00

Assuming all goes according to plan this year, marathon #3 will happen. Last week I officially registered for the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon.

In other news, the last couple of months have been fairly uneventful, contributing to the silence on my end. I did do a couple of 5K's in early February and managed good times. One is unofficially a PR. Had it been a chip timed race rather than manually clock timed, it would be official.

First major race of the year is this coming Sunday, the B&A Trail Half Marathon. This was my first ever half marathon back in March 2009. This weekend it will be my 14th. How crazy is that. I have been planning on shooting for a PR with this race, but am not sure it'll happen, so I'll just have to see how I feel on race morning. Right now there's also a 90% chance of soaking rain all day, so that might definitely be a factor as well.

2011 plans

2011-01-06T21:39:00.002-05:00

A new year and time for new goals! I've been starting to plan out things. 2010 saw 2 full marathons and 9 half marathons. The 2011 goal is to focus on quality over quantity. So far, here's what I'm thinking...

March 6th - B&A Trail 1/2 Marathon (Severna Park, MD)
This was my first ever half marathon back in 2009, and I can't wait to see what kind of time I can do with it two years later.

April 3rd - Cherry Pit 10 miler (Edgewater, MD)
One of my club races which has quickly become a favorite for me. In 2010, I took over 20 minutes off of my 2009 time.

April 30th - Country Music 1/2 Marathon (Nashville, TN)

May 22nd - Run for the Dream 1/2 Marathon (Williamsburg, VA)
This is an inaugural race in a town I love. Can't wait for it! Haven't spent much time there since I lived there during the summer of 1998 while in archaeological field school at Jamestown.

May 29th - Run to Remember 1/2 Marathon (Boston, MA)
Heading to Boston to spend time with my friend, Lauren. She recommended this race, and knew daughters of retired police officers would love to come up for it.

June 5th - Zooma Annapolis 10K
This will be the 4th running of this (mostly) women's race, and I've done the previous 3.

June 18th - Baltimore 10 miler
I hated having to sit this one out in 2010 due to IT Band issues.

August 7th - Rock n' Roll Providence 1/2 Marathon (Providence, RI)
Another excuse to go visit Lauren. Yay!

August 28th - Annapolis Ten Miler
The race you love to hate/hate to love.

The spring and summer will also see some of the Women's Distance Festival 5K's. I have an idea of which ones I'd like to do, but am waiting for the final schedule to come out. I am also considering a half marathon nearby in Cambridge, MD on April 9th.

Yes, there will be races September-December, but only a couple of things are certain for that time frame right now, one of them - the 2011 Marine Corps Marathon. I considered others as my 2011 full, but in my heart of hearts knew it best to do MCM again. I feel so fortunate to have such a world class race practically in my backyard.

So, the fall race schedule is still coming together, dependent on what will fit into a good MCM training plan. I do not want to do three half marathons immediately leading up to it like I did in 2010, but would still like to do one or two. Contenders right now are the Hidden Treasures 1/2 Marathon in Salisbury, MD, in September and the Freedom's Run 1/2 Marathon in West Virginia in October.

2011 will wrap up with the Celtic Solstic 5 mile.

A Year of Bests

2010-12-20T23:10:00.002-05:00

I have lots of races to do updates about, but wanted to share some fun stats of just how well things have gone this year. Listed below are my best (pre-2010) times, and how they've changed this year.

5K
2009 – 37:14 (Howard County Police Pace, 9/13/09)
2010 – 34:11 (Nat’l Police Week 5K, 5/8/10)

5 miler
2008 – 1:06:27 (Down’s Park, 11/1/08)
2010 – 59:19 (Celtic Solstice, 12/18/10)

10K
2009 – 1:14:53 (MCM 10K, 10/25/09)
2010 – 1:10:43 (Cold Turkey 10K, 11/21/10)

10 miler
2009 – 2:21:22 (Cherry Pit, 4/5/09)
2010 – 2:00:01 (Cherry Pit, 4/11/10)

13.1
2009 – 2:54:47 (Long Branch, NJ, 5/1/09 FLAT course)
2010 – 2:46:50 (Baltimore, 10/16/10 HILLS, HILLS, HILLS)

26.2
January 2010 – 7:01:26
October 2010 – 6:04:35

It's been a fun year! And needless to say, seeing such great changes really helps with the motivation to keep going!

Marine Corps Marathon 2010

2010-11-20T15:54:00.005-05:00

Well, it is now nearly three weeks since the Marine Corps Marathon, and I have yet to publish a race report. This is not for lack of trying though. I have sat down in front of the screen on more than one occassion, and blankly stared at it, discovering how hard it truly is to sum up the sights and sounds you see and emotions you feel during the 6+ hours of a race.

The short short version of the story is that it was a perfect day. The weather was gorgeous, the support on the course amazing, and I found out that I am capable of things I never thought or imagined I was. My final time was 6:04:35, nearly one hour faster than January's race in Disney.

The long version of the story begins on Friday, when I headed into DC for the expo to pick up my bib and other race goodies. Between the official merchandise, registering for a Spring 2011 race, and other things, I'm surprised my credit card didnt' explode. I bought an MCM 2010 pendant from one vendor who offered to put it on the chain around my neck. I politely declined, explaining that that couldn't happen until after Sunday morning. While there, I got to meet up with some of my local running buddies, as well as my Running of the Ears friends who began their steady stream into town for all of the race festivites. As always, it was fun to see old friends and make new ones.

Even though I only live about 30 or so miles from DC, I had made the decision to stay in the Rosslyn area over race weekend. I spent Saturday morning lounging around the house, before packing up the car and driving to northern Virginia mid-afternoon. As I got off the highway, I drove past the Marine Corps Memorial and the excitement hit. I met up with my ROTE friends who were also staying at my hotel and we headed out to meet up with other friends for our pre-race carb load dinner. This was no easy task considering the hundreds of thousands of people who had descended into the city for the Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally on the Mall. Metro trains were packed beyond belief and street closures and traffic rampant. To our surprise and delight, Erica and Mustapha appeared with a huge van for us all to pile into.

After dinner it was time to get all of my race day essentials together and settle in for the night. Unfortunately, sleep was extremely hard to come by. I tossed and turned, my body ready to sleep but my brain unwilling. I think I finally managed 4-5 hours. Refreshing it was not. I ate some breakfast, got dressed, grabbed my gear, and was out the door. Happily, nerves never really got the best of me. There were no stomach issues or nausea like the morning of Disney. It was almost business as usual, even though it had been over nine months since I'd done this before.

A group of us met in the lobby, bid farewell to our friends heading to the 10K start, and walked the mile-ish to the start line. The sunrise over Washington was breathtaking that morning. There was some hanging around, potty trips, and then finally time to say good byes and head to our appropriate corrals. Unlike many other marathons, MCM does not do a wave start or assign corrals based on expected pace. Instead, you line yourself up according to your expected finish time. I placed myself in the 5:30 corral. Slightly ambitious perhaps. I knew 6 hours, or under was possible, but wanted to push myself if I could.

I was mentally prepared that this would be MY challenge, as I had no plans to run the race with anyone else, despite the large number of people I knew running that day. I would do my 3:1 intervals, and push myself along, hopefully with the race energy to keep me going. This was definitely going to be a test of my own endurance since I was fortunate to have the company of three friends during my journey at Disney. Imagine my surprise as the pack pushed forward to cross the start that I crossed paths with a friend from my running club. She and a friend were running their first marathon and doing 3:1 intervals as well. Twenty-five minutes after the race started we finally made our way over the start line and were off together.

I had studied the elevation chart and knew once I got through the first eight miles, where the worst of the hills were, that I would be good to go for the rest of the race. The trick of course was not to go too fast in those opening miles, which would certainly spell disaster for the later miles of the race. The first miles went by very quickly, helped by Bonnie and Amy's company and seeing other friends from the Striders along the way as we made our way into Georgetown. I was so happy to see that we were keeping a steady 13:00-13:30 pace the whole time. For once I succeeded in not starting a race too fast! Having their company and distraction was definitely helping. Unfortunately, around mile 7 I began to pull ahead of them until eventually they were out of my sight. This had now become my race and I settled in for the 19+ left to go.

The crowd support leaving Georgetown and crossing into DC was awesome! We left Georgetown, and its hills behind, winding past the Kennedy Center and toward Potomac Park. I had a decent pack of runners around me the entire time, and, except for a couple of narrow spots, did not find it overwhelming or constricting. I had never been to Potomac Park before, and while beautiful, I found it very boring and desolate at times. It encompassed about three miles.

About mile 12 I decided to make a pit stop, taking advantage of the indoor plumbing the park facilities offered. After a couple of minute delay, I was back on my way. At mile 13 I turned my cell phone on. I had left it off for fears of running out of battery life should I need it to meet up with people post race. As it booted up in my pocket the txt message chimes went off one after another. I may have been tired and alone on the course, but my friends and family were making sure I knew they were with me in spirit. I read some of the message during my walk breaks, a smile coming to my face with each one.

Mile 16 took us past the Lincoln Memorial and towards the Mall. I got excited, as I knew my parents were on the Mall around mile 17.5. I was exhausted by this point, and my feet were killing me, but took some solace knowing there was less than 10 miles to go. I found my parents, got some needed hugs, Powerade, and pretzels, and was back on my way, heading towards the Capitol. A marching band was providing entertainment at the Capitol and helped buoy me a bit. Mom and Dad were waiting for me again at mile 19. I passed off my bag of pretzels and waved goodbye. The next time I'd see them would be at the finish.

As we left the Mall the time had come to face The Bridge. The Bridge is the 14th Street Bridge that takes you back into Northern Virginia. It is mile 2o, and one must "Beat the Bridge" and the sweepers. Even though I knew I would be ahead of the sweepers, the relief I felt having reached it was phenomal. And, I knew my ROTE pals would be at the end of it. I wish I could say the relief of getting to the bridge carried me across in no time flat, but honestly, it took the wind out of my sails. I chose to walk almost the entire thing, nearly two miles. I started to pick up my runs again as I got near the ramp and the end, and as I ran down it, I found Katie and Steph, my ever supportive and understanding roommate, waiting for me at the bottom with huge hugs.

I said Hi to everyone, got some water and Powerade refills, some Twizzlers and a few more pretzels, and then was pretty much kicked out by Colleen, who asked if I needed anything else, and if not, then what was I still doing there??? LOL. I left them and turned toward the out and back in Crystal City. I had feared that this might be a long and boring stretch, but was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't. I also got to see a few friends on their way out of Crystal City as I was headed in. As I got to mile 24, I was pleasantly surprised to find more of my friends waiting for me. More big hugs and I was on my way. TWO MILES TO GO!

I quickly discovered that the stretch of highway those last couple of miles was mentally the hardest part of the course. It was eerily quiet and those around me were clearly hurting with every step. As I looked at the Pentagon to my right and Arlington Cemetery to my left, I fought back tears. I was almost done, I just had to keep going. Then, suddenly it was mile 26. I turned left and power walked my way up the hill, knowing it was probably faster than trying to run it. As I did, I looked toward the spectator bleachers, knowing Mom and Dad were there somewhere. Then I saw Dad, standing on the top row waving his arms at me. I waved and smiled back, got to the top of the hill and took off for the finish line, exchanging high-fives with Marines all along the way. Then it was over.

I went through the finisher area to get my mylar, and more importantly my medal from a Marine. I smiled widely, and headed toward the Iwo Jima memorial for my finisher's pciture. I kept looking over my shoulder to keep an eye out for my parents so we could meet up once I got out of the runner's area. After all of the Powerade on the course, I passed up the offer of a bottle and grabbed some water and ran (well, as best as I could at that point) to Mom and Dad. I got huge hugs and fought back tears. We trudged back toward my hotel so I could get off of my feet and get cleaned up before finding some real food. My journey had ended.

Everyone knows the saying "It takes a village." Well, I feel like it took a village to get me through my training and over the finish line. The support I had from friends and family, and my running family was amazing and more than anyone could ever ask for. I doubt I can ever repay them for the hours spent running with me, or waiting for me at a trail before the sun even rose. I would never have undertaken such a journey without them, let alone completed it.

Baltimore 1/2 Marathon = Two Seconds

2010-10-17T20:12:00.003-04:00

Yesterday marked the end of a crazy 5 weeks which saw 3 half marathons and my longest marathon training runs - 18 and 20 miles respectively. I never thought I'd survive it either mentally or physically, and did question at times whether or not all of this was really a good idea or not. I think it was a demanding schedule for even the most seasoned runners.

Not knowing what I would have left in my legs after weeks of use and abuse, I went into Baltimore with no expectations. One of the main reasons this was on my schedule for this fall was to finish the second half of the Maryland Double - a special medal given to those who finish both Frederick and Baltimore. Kim and I were going to run together, and I promised to help get her a nice PR, as this was only her second half. My main focus was to keep her moving and motivated.

This was a huge event for my Looper group, with 9 of us doing the half marathon alone. Other family and friends participated in the 5K and full marathon and others came from near and far to cheer everyone on. It was a wonderful day to spend with friends, and as the race grew closer I was more and more excited about running such a big race in my hometown.

The timing of the race was very odd compared to what I'm used to. The start time for the half was 9:45am. The full marathon and relay started at 8am, and the 5K went off at 8:30. With nearly 10,000 registered runners, the half was the largest event. Since I had to visit the race expo on Friday afternoon, I decided to spend the night just outside of the city with my parents. With over 22,000 registered runners for the Baltimore Running Festival, organizers urged everyone to take mass transit if at all possible. I decided to drive though, knowing I would not be able to stay for very long after the race due to other commitments. So, even though my race started so late, I left the house before 7am to get into the City and find decent parking in the stadium lots.

After we all got to the stadium complex and met up to cheer on the 5K runners, we headed to our corrals. The trick with them is that the half runners actually had to cross the path of the full runners in order to reach the start line for the half. Very odd. I felt bad for the full runners, as I know how much I hate having random people crossing in my path while in a race. I cannot imagine how it felt with that volume of people. Kim and I planned to start in the 4th wave, but as we were dropping some of our friends off in the 3rd, it was apparent from the crush of people that we might as well stay put rather than try and immitate salmon swimming upstream.

I had seen the elevation charts and knew this was a race known for nasty hills. I was prepared, or at least, thought I was, to take them on. The plan was for Kim and I to do 3:1 intervals and finish under 3 hours, if possible. Our wave started, we turned a corner and were greeted by our first major uphill. This had to be the worst, right? But, we made it through intact and kept plugging along, staying true to our intervals, even if it included walking downhills, much against my grain.

We were cruising along, every now and then doing some extra walks on the really steep hills. Sometimes you reach a point where the energy you're expending while trying to run them isn't really worth it and power walking will accomplish as much, if not more. We felt good and were joined by our friend Jen, and Tracy, someone Kim knew through the Howard County Striders. Our merry little band kept chugging along, feeling good and keeping a good pace. The weather was fantastic. While there were some pretty big wind gusts, overall it really helped keep you comfortable. One of the things that helped keep us going was knowing there was a pleasantly flat 1.3 mile loop around Lake Montebello awaiting us around mile 7, as well as our wonderful friend and cheerleader, Margaret.

Throughout the entire race, residents were out in the streets, whether it be cheering on the sidewalk and handing out high 5's, or waving from their porch stoops. In a couple of areas it was as if we entered a block party. This helped keep us so pumped up. After coming out of the lake area and making up out 33rd street, which had more hills for us to tame, we all looked at our watches and started doing the math. We were at mile 9 and began to think that 2:45 was possible. While we knew going into it that Kim would have a PR (just a matter of by how much), I had not expected to have a possiblity of one myself! Jen left us to see how hard she could push it those last 4 miles, and the 3 of us picked it up a bit, too. Fortunately, the worst of the hills were behind us, and we had a great downhill portion of the race left.

We passed mile 12 and I looked at my watch. Could I push it hard that last mile and actually manage a PR??? I handed Kim my watch we were doing intervals with and told her I had to see if I could do this. She and Tracy looked great and I knew would be able to make it in together. I would never had considered leaving her had it just been her and I.

There was a great downhill going down Eutaw Street and heading into Camden Yards and I was determined to make the best of it, and charged almost full steam ahead. In all honesty, I was having a blast at this point, but was also a little too focused on my GPS watch. Every second counted.

I allowed myself to take a minute or so walk break just before exiting the baseball stadium. I took a couple of deep breaths and charged towards the finish. Could I do it??? Then, I saw my watch hit 2:45 and knew I wasn't going to finish under 2:46. Crud. I kept charging ahead, crossed the finish line, and stopped by watch. I knew my time from Frederick was 2:46, but couldn't remember exactly what it was.

While standing in a very long food line (after being handed my finisher's medal in a plastic baggie!), I pulled out my phone and started looking it up. In the meantime, my ROTE friend Gina had already gone on the Baltimore website and looked up my chip time, 2:46:50. My Frederick time? 2:46:52. I had PR'd....by two seconds. The smile on my face was ridiculous. This good of a time was so not expected. Frederick had been one of the best races fo my life, and it was quickly apparent that this was, too.

After exiting the finisher's area, I found Kim. Somehow she had managed to get past me while I was wandering around there. Her time? 2:48. She had PR'd by nearly an HOUR. So so so proud of her.

I didn't realize until afterward how much I mentally needed Baltimore to go well. The confidence gained from having a good 20 mile training run and then a fantastic race right after is immeasurable. I am now so pumped for MCM in two weeks, I can't even describe. And, if all goes according to plan, I will PR by well over 2 seconds.

Goodbye training, I feel like I hardly knew ya

2010-10-13T21:21:00.002-04:00

Saturday I did my 20 mile training run, thus essentially closing the book on my MCM training. Even better, I managed a sub 14 minute/mile pace on a very hill route. My hopes of doing a sub 6 hour time are well within reach.

I was more than slightly intimidated by the combo of races and training runs this fall, but I do have to say that the advantage was keeping busy and never really being able to focus on more than what that week's goal was rather than get overwhelmed by the whole endeavour...not that I necessarily want to do a schedule like this again.

So, time to focus on the handful of quality (not quantity) runs left, and let the body rest a bit in prep for the big day. Of course, there's still one more race to get through, the Baltimore Half Marathon this weekend. I'm really starting to look forward to it, moreso than I did Philly or Wine & Dine. I think this is in large part to the fact I know the big training runs are behind me. This will be my first time running such a big race in my hometown, and I will be pacing Kim through it. Should be a fun time!

Disney Wine & Dine Half

2010-10-10T23:43:00.004-04:00

I've kind of been putting off writing my Wine & Dine Half Marathon race report. Most of this was due to the craziness of life after returning for a whirlwind trip to Florida, but the rest was just because I wasn't sure what to write.

Wine & Dine is an inaugural race for Disney. While this was a first time race, it is certainly not Disney's first race or even their first nighttime race. It combined some of my favorite things - wine, food, and running. How could I not do it???

Katie, her dad (aka The Godfather), and I made it out of Maryland on Thursday evening, despite some fairly nasty weather. Remants of a tropical storm brought heavy rain and flooding to the area and had been moving up the coast for most of the previous 24 hours. This meant a pretty bumpy flight.

Friday morning was some park time at Hollywood Studios before heading over to the opening of the race expo. The expo was decent and on par with Princess. The Disney merchandise was disappointing though. The women's shirts were "junior" cut. I really wanted an "Eat, Drink, Run" shirt, but even the largest size was unplesantly tight. I considered a couple of other items, but by that point was frustrated and decided to move on.

Packet pick up went smoothly. I was picking up my packet, as well as at that of a friend who was arriving on Saturday afternoon. The packets themselves were disappointment #2. I learned from the marathon to be cautious of the shirt sizes, so was sure to order a M since they were unisex. It's still a bit large, but I can probably live with it. It is a rather thick shirt though. In January and March, we received mesh goody bags with an assortment of items. For this race, we got a plastic bag filled primarily with just flyers.

After the expo we headed to Epcot and did some rides there before dinner at Via Napoli (the new pizzeria) in the Italian Pavilion with our friends from Running of the Ears (ROTE). I had a delicious spaghetti and meatballs, but unfortunately, think the sauce played havoc with my system, as I was very ill once we got back to the house later in the evening. Hmmm, I hope this isn't a sign of how the rest of the weekend is going to go. Fortunately, I went to bed early and woke up feeling MUCH better.

Up early on Saturday to head towards the Magic Kingdom to cheer on Katie, her mom (the Fairy Godmother), and other ROTE friends at the 5K. It was a beautiful morning, quite the change from the chilly weather in March and downright frigid temps in January. After the crew was done, we headed into the Magic Kingdom to play for awhile before our lunch reservations at Liberty Tree Tavern.

As I mentioned, this was a night race, so it really made for challenge as far as meal planning went. We decided early on that lunch would have to be our biggest meal on Saturday. Given my experience after dinner the night before, I knew this would also have to be a bland meal in order to avoid any GERD issues later. Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing made for a good and filling lunch. Afterward, we all went our separate ways, and the group of us returned to Mickey Manor to get off our feet and rest a bit. I slept on and off for about a hour and a half. Around 5pm, it was time to get moving. I had a small turkey sandwich, hoping the protein and carbs would help hold me through the evening. I also took a Luna bar with me to eat around 8.

Since this is a point to point race, they had everyone park at Epcot and then board buses to shuttle us over to Wide World of Sports where the start line and staging area were. The staging area for this race was far better than for the marathon or Princess. Unlike those, we were in a large field as opposed to standing around in a parking lot for hours. We had a couple of hours to kills, so I checked my bag with a dry tshirt and some comfy shoes, and plopped in the grass with the ROTE crew. I was glad I had turned my bag in early, because later on the line weaved what seemed like half way around the field. Thousands of runners were standing in ONE line to check bags. Why did Disney think this would be a good idea?

About 9:30 we headed to the corrals. I was placed in corral C, but had brought previous race results with me that allowed me to jump to B if I so chose. Katie and I had originally planned on running together, but due to a slight injury, she was planning on taking it easy. So, I went back and forth about which corral I wanted to be in. My post dinner issues from the night before made me slightly fearful to push too hard, and I was worried I would go out too fast in B. Plus, my buddy Kim was doing the first 5 miles of the relay, and was able to get herself moved from D to C, so we decided to hang together. We always have a good time whenever we run together.

The race started at 10pm. It was quickly apparent that this was not going to be a wave start. This caused for a very congested course for pretty much the entire race. I'm not sure why this was not a wave start since Princess is. Now, granted alot of other races this size don't do wave starts either, however, I'm not sure that portions of those courses are necessarily as narrow as parts of this one were. My GPS watch recorded a final distance of 13.41 miles. Yes, I did A LOT of weaving.

The first 3+ miles were all on the highway between WWoS and Animal Kingdom. I knew to expect this from my previous Disney races, and Kim and I kept one another entertained. We even spotted our buddy Greg, on RnR from Iraq, as he was making the return on the other side. We headed into Animal Kingdom. I was looking forward to this, as we spent much more time in the park itself than we did for the marathon course. It was lit well, and lots of cast members were on the course. As we left the park, Kim had to split off for the relay exchange, so I pressed on alone.

The highway between the parks was mostly uneventful. I saw several friendly ROTE faces, sadly not realizing how poor some of their races were going. I chugged along, feeling like I was pushing harder than I should have since in reality this was yet another MCM training run. Just before Hollywood Studios was the "food stop" with energy chews. I carry my own fuel, so I kept moving, but the open packages were littering the course and I found myself doing some fancy footing to avoid getting any stuck in my shoes. The course went up the highway ramp and made the final turn towards the park entrance. Unfortunately, all of the street lights were out and it was pitch black except for the flashing police car lights. It was dizzing, and I found myself looking down to avoid them. Why no one thought to check this or perhaps bring in a generator once it was apparent there was a problem, I don't know.

We spent alot of time in Hollywood Studios, weaving through the park as well as the backstage areas. I stopped for a couple of pictures - one with Buzz Lightyear and another with some of the cast of Up. There were much better character photo ops here than in the first half of the course. I was very surprised that there were little to no lines for photographs, unlike January and March. I ducked into one of the bathrooms for a minute and then continued on my way. Before leaving Studios, the course went through the Osborne lights display. It was breaktaking, and I think the highlight of the race for everyone.

The course took us out of the Studios and then narrowed immensely as we merged onto the walkway that lead to the Boardwalk and nearby resorts. I couldn't believe we were past mile 11 and it was still this crowded. The rest of it was pretty uneventful. I was exhausted, running primarily on the little bit of adrenaline left at this point, and my feet were killing me from running on so much concrete and uneven pavement for so long. I was just ready to be done and couldn't imagine how I had possibly run twice this distance here back in January. I was excited not to be running in the sun for a change, but it was still warm and VERY humid. That began to take it's toll as well. I walked most of the last mile, reminding myself not to overdue it. I did just run 18 miles the weekend before and had 20 on the horizon. I ran up the final hill and crossed the finish.

I crossed the finish line, moved forward to collect my medal, and then pretty much came to a dead stop. There were 5 or so lines feeding into a tent, and none were moving. I saw some folks with mylar blankets and I really wanted one, but they were nowhere to be found. I think they must have been giving them out at the medical area, but I wasn't about to get out of this crazy line and search for one. Plus, I worried if I went to medical and said I had goose bumps that they would insist on examing me to make sure it wasn't a sign of a bigger issue even though I knew it was only because I was damp and cold. I just kept reminding myself of the dry tshirt in my checked bag.

The 5 or so lines into the tent fed into ONE line for baggage pickup. It was hot and people started going down around me. It easily took me 20-25 minutes to get my bag. Pretty ridiculous. I kept trying to shift my weight around a bit while standing in line, hoping to avoid getting stiff since I had had nowhere to really stretch my legs out after coming to screaching halt after crossing the finish line.

After I escaped the tent with my bag, I found some ROTE friends. I joined them and swapped out my shoes and put on my dry shirt. Katie found me and we made the fatal error of sitting down. We kept an eye on our friends until they left and then just sat there, completely wiped. We knew we had to meet up with the rest of our group, so eventually, after mentally and physically gathering ourselves together, we pushed forward into the after party in World Showcase. It was ridicuously crowded. Everywhere I looked there was a line. Having just stood in a long line, that was the last thing I really wanted to do, nor did I really feel like eating or drinking much at this point. It was close to 2am. We meet up with the rest of the ROTErs who were still hanging around and visited with them before finally making the long walk back to the car.

So, I think there were clearly some organizational flaws with this race that Disney needs to address before next year. Yes, they are already advertising next year's race. I won't be there, but not because of my so so experience, but simply because there are other, non-Disney races, I want to do as well.

Rock N' Rolling

2010-09-27T20:16:00.002-04:00

After a great Annapolis Ten Miler, I got to focus entirely on marathon training, well, mostly. Back in the beginning of the year I agreed to do three half marathons in the fall, all with the plan of taking them nice and easy and treating them more as training runs and a fun way to get mileage in. The plan was to do them on my "fallback" weekends and do my long runs around them.

Marathon training resumed with a decent 16 mile run over Labor Day weekend up on the NCR Trail. Couldn't even begin to give you an idea of my pace, and such, because I was a bit dense and forgot to charge my Garmin the night before. Doh! Fortunately the trail is very well marked, so I know I got the 16, if not actually a little more than, in.that.

The following weekend I took on a whole different challenge - a 25 mile bike tour through Amish country in Dover, Delaware. I had never biked more than 16 or so miles, and had only purchased my bike back in March. It sounded like a great time though, and definitely a chance to see what my body was up for as far as biking goes. I only had an 8 mile run planned for the weekend, so figured that the bike ride and a 5K the next day would surely cover that.

The bike ride was a blast! We had amazing weather for it, and the course is pancake flat. I used higher gears that I even use when riding on the B&A Trail, and Laura tried to teach me some basics of gears and drafting out on the wide open country roads. Several miles from the finish was a food stop at the one room schoolhouse, complete with fresh pies. After relaxing on the playground and listening to some Irish musicians while enjoying our pie, we got back in the saddle and heading towards the finish back at Legislative Mall. Once there we packed our gear up and enjoyed a bbq lunch on the Mall. The pie stop and lunch were all included in our registration fees. I can definitely see this becoming an annual event for me!

I planned on running the Howard County Police Pace 5K the next day. Proceeds from the race benefit the department's police foundation, a charity near and dear to me. Unfortunately, the weather was a complete 180 from the day before. I awoke to chilly temps and rain. I also woke up with a slight headcold. I decided sleep was a better option for me than possibly agrevating a developing cold and skipped the race. In retrospect it was probably a good decision, as the cold ran it's course in just a couple of days.

Finally came the Rock N' Roll Philadelphia half marathon. This race is a rebranding of the Philly Distance Run, which I did the year before. The course was similar, but slightly reversed from the previous year. The usual suspects heading up to the city early Saturday morning. We were joined by our friend, Lauren, who flew down from Boston. After wandering the expo, we grabbed a big pasta lunch, and then tried to walk some of it around the city, exploring Independence Mall and all of the historic buildings and neighborhoods nearby.

After a pretty comfy night in our hotel, we headed towards the start line and met up with several of our friends from the Philly area who came out to cheer and be support crew. We were in one of the last corrals, and seemed to wander forever trying to find the entrance to it. We finally found it and basically had to break through some fences to get into it. Then the long wait began. While the race itself started at 8am, they were releasing each corral in about 90 second or so windows to help spread out the crowds on the course. We were in corral 21, so it took us about a half hour to even cross the state line. I felt the temps already rising.

So, we crossed the start line and alot of people around us were walking. Sigh. This was my fear of being in the next to last corral. We weaved alot trying to get into a good pace, and probably a bit too fast at times while trying to get some distance ahead. We weaved several miles through the heart of center city, through alot of the same streets we had walked the day before. Eventually, around mile 5, we headed down towards the River. We knew our friends would be cheering around the 5.5-6 mile mark and were so happy to see them. We exchanged hugs and chatted for a couple of minutes while refilling water bottles and getting some goodies. Hooray for Twizzlers. They took such great care of us!

The run along the river was pretty anti-climatic. I did after awhile look to my left across the river and saw runners ahead of us making their way back towards the finish at the Art Museum. I turned to Katie and mentioned that I didn't like the way this looked. It seemed we might be in the sun for the last handful of miles. Ugh. I knew I didn't like the looks of this reversed course when I first saw it on paper a couple of weeks earlier.

Since this was a "training run" for me rather than an all out race, Katie was helping me keep my pace down. She was recovering from a half a couple of weeks earlier, and by about mile 10.5, we both came to the realization that we were going to have to go our separate ways. She was hurting and needed to walk, and I was hurting from going slow and needed to run a bit harder. We got some water, gave each other a hug, and I was on my way. By all intense purposes, I was really just ready for this race to be over. My fears of being in the sun proved true. It was hot and I was miserable.

I plowed ahead and at mile 12 passed a friend from work. I kept pushing knowing this was almost over. I probably passed 20 people in that last quarter mile and was happy with what I still had left in the tank. I got some interesting looks from spectators and volunteers as I cruised in with a strong finish. Overall, I just really didn't enjoy this race as much as the Distance Run the year before. I think the altered course was not fun at all. Other than the fact we were in the direct sun for those last miles, the previous year we ran past the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Why wouldn't you include these in a race in Philly???? I do not feel the need to repeat this race again next year.

So, one of the three halfs was in the books. Now time to focus on the pivotal 18 mile MCM training run. I decided that rather than do this on the nice crushed stone surface of NCR, that I wanted to head back to the BWI Trail so I could do it on hilly terrain, a necessity for both MCM and the upcoming Baltimore 1/2. As the week went on, I started watching the forecast. We were having 90+ degree temps, but I held out hope that the temps would break by the weekend. Saturday's forecast ended up being a high in the low to mid 80s. Hopefully if I started out around 6:30 I could avoid most of this.

Kim and I did 8 miles together. The first 3 or 4 miles were rough as the muscles warmed up and tried to remember the hills they had been on so many times before. By the time she and I made it back to the parking lot after our out and back we were in a really great groove and I was ready to tackle the full 10 or so miles loop around the airport. I made it through the first handful of miles and took a Gu at mile 12 as normal. I started to hit a wall around mile 12.5 and just kept pushing on, upset that the energy gel clearly had not done anything for me. I took another one before mile 16, hoping maybe I could get things back on track, but by that point I was mentally and physically exhausted and nothing I was doing (energy gels, energy chews, and even a couple of bites of a protein bar) was helping. I was also in the sun, which had really become my nemisis these last couple of weeks.

Finally, once I hit mile 16 I decided if I was going to safely make it back to the parking lot where my friends were so kindly waiting for me, I was going to have to walk it. I was heartbroken. Please let this not be a sign of how MCM is going to be! My head filled with doubt. I tried to get myself to even run the downhills and it didn't happen. The trail was eerily quiet, too. Except for a couple of cyclists here and there, I was all alone, and completely miserable. Then, I heard some cheering. Katie and Margaret had decided to hop in the car and check on me. I put on a brave face and waved and kept moving. They came back a couple of minutes later to make sure I didn't need anything. I probably could have used some more water, but knew I was only about a half mile from finishing, so told them I was ok and would see them soon. They drove off. I cried.

My head was filled with doubt and disappointment in myself, but I was also proud I didn't run towards the car when I first saw them and demand they take me with them. I made it back on my own and 18 miserable miles were done. When I finally downloaded the data from my watch, I was pleasantly surprised to find that even though I walked those last two miles, my average pace was still under a 14 minute mile. Clearly I had been booking it on those hills and had a good run up til that point. This has been some solace for me. Hopefully the weather will be more cooperative for my 20 miler (my last long training run) as well as the marathon itself.

Next up: Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon. The race itself doesn't even begin until 10pm, so this will be an entirely next experience!

Annapolis 10 miler

2010-08-30T20:10:00.003-04:00

Yesterday marked my first running of the Annapolis 10 Mile Run (A10). Even though I live in the town and have been running the distance for over a year and a half, this was the first year I felt confident enough to take it on, and even then I was still anxious about it even until the race was underway. It is a very fast race, technically requiring a 12 minute per mile pace. I had no real time goal in mind. I hoped not to exceed 2:15, not knowing how my body would react to the combination of hills, heat, and humidity.

The A10 is legendary in the area, perhaps part of my initial intimidation about doing it. This year marked the 35th anniversary, and it has been recognized by Runner's World as one of to 10 milers in the country to run. I almost felt like I was going through some kind of initiation right or something.

I actually slept til about 5:30. Not knowing what traffic would be like near Navy-Marine Corps Stadium (where start and finish are), I wanted to be on my way there around 6:30. Fortunately it's only about a 10 minute drive for me, and the parking staff had everyone moving very well. By 6:45 I was with my Looper buddies Jen, Sean, and Margaret, as well as Sean's sister, Heather, who came to town to join us in our craziness. We hit the bathroom and then stood around and waited for the 7:45 start. Why a race in late August starts that late in the morning I will never understand. Even the Frederick Marathon/Half Marathon started at 6:30 and that is in early May. We got pretty lucky on the weather, it was around 70 degrees at the start, with humidity equal to that or a bit higher.

We squeezed into a spot at the start. I think we were kind of in the middle of the 5,000 runner pack. Definitely far more forward than I am generally comfortable with, but there was not a whole lot of choices in the sea of humanity. Plus, the area where the start/finish is has horrible drainage and a small pond had formed from the hoses being use to fill water cups for after the race. Last year I had to run through a river in the same spot at the start of the Zooma 10K. The start came and it took us nearly 5 minutes to cross thanks to the crowds and manuevering around the water.

The first mile took us around the stadium complex. I felt like the pace around me was pretty good, but it was far too crowded for me to do intervals, so I ran the first 1/2 mile+ nonstop until things spread out a bit. We headed towards the historic downtown area. The first water stop was around the mile and half point, and conveniently across the street from my office, lol. We continued on towards the State House and hit the mile two mark. Someone trying to help cheer everyone kept saying "You only have 8 miles left!" While I appreciated her enthusiasm, I hope someone told her that wasn't really a good idea.

At this point I was averaging under a 12 minute mile, feeling pretty good but hoping I wasn't overdoing it too early on. We continued on and hit the second water stop just before heading down Main Street, one of the most picturesque spots in town. This is a great long downhill and I opened up to take advantage of it. The crowds were great. Then my buzzkill happened as I hit the bottom - a family decided to cut in front of me and cross the street. Not only was it a family, but it was a man pushing a woman in a wheelchair and they were accompanied by a woman in a full arm cast. WTH???? There easily had to be another 1,000 runners behind me at this point.

I was mad but kept moving, as we swung past the historic Market House and past the main gates of the US Naval Academy. In previous years the course had actually gone through the Academy, but post 9/11 security concerns have changed that. We kept chugging along, this time a mostly uphill mile journey on King George Street as we headed out of downtown. At this point I caught back up with Jen and Heather. We stayed with each other for the majority of the race. I had mentally prepared to go it alone, so it was wondeful to have the company.

We kept going and I knew the mile 4 marker and the infamous Naval Academy/450 bridge were looming. At the water stop just before the bridge, the lead runners passed us on the left on their return to the stadium. They were at mile 9. We hit the bridge and I took a walk break and Gu. The rest of the incline was a mixture of a light jog and a walk. Why push it now when you know you've got to climb this thing again in 4 miles? We reached the summit and opened up to about a 10 minute pace on the downhill. Ah, the joys of gravity and ability to make up some time.

We turned towards some neighborhoods, happy to be off the bridge and into some shade. Jen commented that this was the hardest 4.75 mile she'd ever done. We loooped through the houses near the Severn and residents were out with houses, sprinklers, and radios. As we continued on, we grew excited knowing that are awesome Looper cheering squad - Erica, Jon, Kelly, Kim, Laura, and two week old little Madison - would be just ahead. They provided great smiles and encouragement, as well as ice cold towels to take with us on our journey. Ah!

The next couple of miles were uneventful - an out and back with rolling hills and a couple of turns and cambers. The residents though were awesome - more hoses, cheers, and music. It seemed like it was a party. When I did this stretch of road in my dry run the week before I had really struggled, luckily thing went smoothly this time. After the out and back and we headed out of the community - again another steep downhill. We were on our way towards mile 8 and our final journey back over the bridge.

At mile 8 we had the pleasure of seeing our cheer squard again. What a wonderful surprise that was! Another downhill and soon we were back to the bridge. We trudged up it, pretty much everyone around us was walking as well. It was comforting though knowing that when we reached the other side we'd be at the 9 mile mark. At mile 8 I had looked at my watch and been pleasantly surprised to see that I was at 1:40. With Jen and Heather's help, I had been keeping a really good pace. I knew I wouldn't meet my two hour PR, but I was happy knowing I probably wouldn't be that far over it either.

The last two miles were pretty much completely in the sun, and it was getting hot. While the downhill coming off the bridge at mile 9 felt great, there was another incline right after. This is where knowing this portion of the course as well as I do became a negative. Rather than giving my all and focusing on what I was facing then and there, I just kept thinking about what was ahead and worrying about whether or not I could do it. I knew there was going to be some flat ground, but not alot. I got into a zone and pulled slightly away from Jen and Heather at this point. I kept willing myself along. I knew there was a quarter mile uphill finish in my future and I feared flaking out partway there. I walked much more of that final three quarters of a mile than I wanted to, trying to reserve whatever I had.

I made the final turn towards the Stadium. For some reason they took us through an area of grass, but not only that, it was wet and slightly muddy. Huh? Not cool. I can't imagine what kind of mess that would have been had it rained. I kept moving, turning off the path and onto the parking lot. I saw the finish arch and immediately thought, wow, it's closer than I thought it would be. I was oblivious to everything around me except for a couple trying to decide whether or not to hold hands as they crossed the finish. I decided to get ahead of them and charged over the line.

I would love to tell you my time, but they are still sorting out some "issues" with database. By best estimates from my watch, I was just at or under 2:05. I was exstatic. To be that close to my PR on a hot and humid day was definitely an accomplishment. The leg strength I've been developing thanks to my awesome trainer definitely helped me propel up some of those hills. And, to make it better, I finally beat the joggler! He shows up to many of the same races I do, and I always hate to see him juggling as he runs past me. Surely there are fewer signs of how slow you can be than that, right?

I couldn't have asked for a better first A10 experience. It was such a treat to run this race on my home turf. I lost track of the number of friends I saw along they way, whether it was fellow runners or friends volunteering their time at water stops or as course monitors. Seeing friendly faces and exchanging a quick Hello definitely helped make the time go faster. Having the support of my Loopers was priceless as well. I am constantly reminded of how fortunate I am to help me get through all of this craziness. I also got to meet up with some of my "scary internet friends" as Kate (one of them) likes to call ourselves. Kate and Meredith are friends I've met through my online knitting community and this was the second race I've gotten to see both of them at. I was touched when Kate said she recognized Kelly from our meeting at the Baltimore 10 miler in June and how seeing a friendly face even helped her. I also got to touch base with Kim, a blogging buddy, and her husband. I was happy to hear everyone had good races, especially since I was partially response for getting Kate and Meredith to register.

Next year, I bet I can beat two hours. ;)

Training schizophrenia

2010-08-22T20:23:00.002-04:00

This time last year I had just signed up for and begun my training for the Disney Marathon. This August, I've kind of felt like I've had training schizophrenia while trying to train for two races at the same time - being knee deep in MCM training, while trying to bring in some additional elements for the Annapolis Ten Miler (A10). Add to that my twice a week Summer Intensive boot camp and needless to say it's been a hectic month.

The good news is that the IT Band has been cooperating. I've had two great long runs - 12 and 14 miles respectively. I've been trying to do the long runs up north of Baltimore on the NCR Trail. It's nearly an hour drive for me to get there at the crack of dawn, but the crushed stone surface is so much kinder on my body, and the shade the tree cover helps provide has been a savior some days this summer.

I've been using the "fall back" (i.e. 8-10 miles) weekends in my training schedule to re-introduce hills, thanks to trying to stay on mostly flat surfaces because of the ITB, and prepare for the A10. I have run portions of the course before through either training or other races, but not a large chunk of the middle section, so I had total fear of the unknown.

I was fortunate a couple of weeks ago to run the majority of the course with Margaret. While it was good to catch up with a friend, she also played the vital role of course guide (I had misjudged it a bit from the course map and would have missed nearly a half mile chunk without her!) and calmer of nerves. She patiently reminded me as we approached and finished each section "see, that wasn't bad at all, was it" and "you've done FAR worse than this before." Her wonderful coaching worked, and I finished our 9 miles that day feeling much more confident about the race.

With the race quickly approaching next Sunday, this morning I did another dry run of the course, about 8.5 miles this time. In true fashion, when left to my own devices, I started off way too fast and hit a wall around mile 4.5. I walked more than I wanted to while trying to recover - the speed, hills, and high humidity took their toll on me. I kept plugging along though, knowing the goal I had to fulfill that day. In the end I finished strong, under two hours, and just under a 13:30 pace, good stats for a training run.

Technically, the race requires a 12 minute pace. I did this in April at the Annapolis Striders' other 10 miler, the Cherry Pit. This requirement has kept me from even considering doing the A10 until this year. Many of my local running friends gave me a hard time last year for not doing it, and when I said I'm too slow, they laughed in my face. While yes, there is an advertised pace requirement, if you look at the results from previous races, there are people who finished with over a 14 minute pace. So, while I do want to push it, I do have a bit of a mental cushion.

Hitting a Speed Bump and Refocusing

2010-07-26T22:05:00.002-04:00

I am woefully behind in updating ye olde blog, mostly because I have very little progress to report. It turns out the hills I had so happily cheered defeating actually beat me in the end. I spent most of the month of June on the "injured reserve," forcing myself to rest due to some knee unhappiness. I had to pass on the Baltimore 10 miler. I went to support all of my friends who were participating, but it killed the Type A me not to be out there with them. I started June running the Zooma 10K in my beloved Annapolis, and ended it walking (with some running) two women's 5K's. I admittedly did some serious feeling sorry for myself and some stress eating in there, too.

A Dr's appointment on July 1st confirmed my suspicions that it was most likely an IT Band issue. No PT was ordered, and was told to run and do other activities as tolerated, with the help and ice, stretches, and a foam roller. Marine Corps training plan was officially out the window.

So, that's where I've been. The good news is that I think I'm on an upswing. I did less than 30 miles for June and am already above that for this month, with no major discomfort in the knee. I fortunately had some wiggle room in my MCM training plan, so I should be able to salvage a decent plan. I'm also continuing lots of cross training now that my twice a week Summer Intensive group has started with the trainer. We're definitely doing alot to help strength the legs.

Next race is the infamous Annapolis Ten Miler in late August. I'm freaked. I honestly avoided doing this race last year, and having to switch up my training is making me worry about this year. Plus, the way the heat of this summer has been, my luck is that it'll be 105 that day. Since I've been babying the knee a bit on mostly flat surfaces, need to test things out on some hills or there's no point in even stepping up to the A10 starting line.

Taming the Hills

2010-05-26T21:38:00.003-04:00

In the quest to do 4 halfs in 5 weeks, I seem to have saved the most challenging ones for last - the Marine Corps Historic Half in Fredericksbug, VA, on May 16th, and the Maryland Half Marathon in Timonium on May 23rd. I knew both of these had pretty significant inclines on the elevation charts, but it couldn't be that bad, right?

The motley crew of us headed down to Fredericksburg on Saturday for packet pick up and to get settled into our hotel for the night. My plan for this race was to support my friend and gym buddy, Kathryn, through her first half, one in fact that I had gently prodded her into registering for. Time wasn't important to me, especially knowing I had to hold back a bit with a half the next weekend as well. Kathryn's friend Jamie was also running her first half and had decided to try and run with us and Katie.

The race started with the firing of a musket. Oh yeah, this was totally up my alley! We wound our way around the businesses along Jefferson Davis Highway, and made our way towards downtown Fredericksburg and along the Rappanhannock River. This was my first time in the area and I really enjoyed the course. Unfortunately, we started out too fast, having got caught up in the excitement of the race. There was no way we could comfortably do that pace for 13 miles, especially knowing hills were coming up.

Around mile 8 or so, Jamie and I split off from Katie and Kathryn. I was so happy to know that she was in such good hands. Katie would get her over the finish line. Jamie and I picked up our pace a bit and continued our way through town. She grew up there and had actually worked at some historic homes in the area, so she was basically giving me a tour the entire time. What fun and a great way to make a new friend and learn about a new area.

Sadly, our time in downtown Fredericksburg was coming to and end. We hit a mile long incline by Mary Washington Hospital, and then another long, steep hill around mile 11 or 12. Finally we were back on Jefferson Davis and near the finish. We picked up the pace, grabbed each others' hands, and over the finish line we went. 3 hours flat. Not bad considering the hills we had trekked. We grabbed some snacks and met up with Jamie's family and waited for our friends. Once everyone finished, we cleaned up and headed out to celebrate before heading home. Another one, and in a couple of cases hopefully the first of many, was in the books.

Later that night and for the next day or so, I relived almost every step, and not in a good way. I felt horribly beaten up by this one, especially in my hips and knees, which had never really been an issue before. This had me really concerned heading into another notoriously hilly race so soon. I substituted a run for a bike ride to help loosen me up a bit, managed a 4ish mile run a couple of before the race, and otherwise took it mostly easy to rest up for Sunday's race.

As the week went on, I began to look at the weather forecast. The chances of rain for the weekend kept get higher. I had been really fortunate so far in that it had not rained for any of my Spring races. A far cry for the year before, where I got drenched in almost all of them. It was lightly raining when I left Mom and Dad's house early Sunday morning to meet up with the Loopers, and our dear friend Colleen from Philly. We met up and the sought shelter under the grandstands at the fairgrounds. We got lucky, it stopped raining pretty much as soon as the race started. The rain stopped, but the humidity hung around, so much so you could see the moisture just hanging in the air at times.

Again, I had no time goals in this one - just wanting to make it through unscathed, especially given how I had felt in the days immediately after the Historic Half. I started off with Katie and decided just to see what happened. We encountered our first noteworthy hill around mile 3, taking our time powerwalking up it. The community support was great. Families were out cheering and working water stops, but official and not. One group even had trays upon trays of Swedish Fish, what fun!

About mile 6 I started to hit a groove, and pulled away from Katie. It was pretty uneventful until about miles 7 and 8 when the long, steady, STEEP hills hit. I pulled myself along, powerwalking with long steps. All of the hours of squats and lunges were paying off as I hauled myself up. The race benefitted a cancer center, and signs of encouragement were along the shoulder in the really rough spots: "Think this is hard, try fighting cancer"; "I'm running for my parents, who can't"; "Survivors: Did you ever think you would be doing THIS". I got a bit emotional seeing those.

Once we got through the ugliness of those hills, we were treated to about a mile and a half of a straight downhill. This is where the race course differed greatly from Historic Half's - despite all of the uphills in Fredericksburg, we were never really rewarded with any good downhills. This was my time to have some fun and pick up some speed and time. It became a mental game in those final couple of miles. I was exhausted and my body was done. I was sightly energized as we turned back into the fairgrounds, knowing I was almost done. The last few yards were on the track itself. I did a slight sprint and was done. 2:54:33, my third best half time to date. Even more impressive when you consider that #'s 2 and 4 were on pretty much entirely flat courses.

I had done it - 4 halfs in 5 weeks. I am amazed at myself, but definitely happy to have a few weeks of rest before I start up my official MCM training.

National Police Week

2010-05-10T21:26:00.005-04:00

Saturday was a race that has become of one of my favorites, and one of the only ones I've done every year during my running career, the National Police Week 5K. Proceeds from the race go to Concerns of Police Survivors, an organization which helps the families of fallen officers. As the child of a retired police officer, I was fortunate my father came home at the end of each shift. I figure this race is at least a small thing I can do to support the families of those who suffer such a terrible and needless loss. As a reminder of why we are there, each race bib has the name of a fallen officer on it. This year I ran in honor of Off. Brandon Sigler.

The race itself began and finished next to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial and Judiciary Square and takes you around the Capitol, Library of Congress, and U.S. Supreme Court buildings, among others. This includes a climb up Capitol Hill around mile 1. I had debated on how I wanted to race this - do I stick with my 3:1 intervals (I've been in such a good groove with them lately) or do I just all out run, taking a brief walk break with each mile? Since I had not done a 5K since September, and given my PR success this Spring, I knew this would be a new personal best, it was just going to be a matter of by how much.

I got caught up in the race atmosphere and took off. First mile was just about 10 minutes flat. I got slower with each mile, partly due to the climb up the Hill at the start of mile 2, but mostly because of the weather and how hard I was pushing myself. Temps were in the 70s and the sun was beating down. Winds died almost immediately as soon as the race started. I underestimated how warm it would be. I normally carry a small 10oz. handheld bottle, but chose not to in this race. By the end of the race I was exhausted and my mouth felt like a desert. Fortunately, I had the cadence of some of the local police academy groups I had been pacing off of to keep me going. My time was 34:11, a PR of just over 3 minutes.

So, as I start to transition from races to using them as training runs, I have had quite the Spring, setting new bests in 5K, 10K, 10 mile, and half marathon distances. It has been so rewarding to see the hard work I've been doing in the gym and out on the trails paying off, and keeps me more and more excited about how Marine Corps will be in the fall.

Frederick Half Marathon, 5/2/10

2010-05-03T20:20:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the Frederick Half Marathon. This is the first part of the Maryland double. The second is the Baltimore Half in October. You get a bonus medal for completing the two.

This was my 7th half, and probably one of the most difficult to date due to the weather. When I woke up at 4:30, the temps were already over 70 degrees, and humidity over 80% (it had rained in the wee hours of the morning, but did burn off a bit after daybreak). Fortunately, the race started at 6:30, so we were going to be able to finish before the heat got too bad. There was also a full marathon and relay, and I really felt for those would be running into the late morning/early afternoon. A friend of mine was volunteering at the bag check, and I stopped by to say hi while we were walking to the cars post race and he said that medical was pretty overwhelmed from people succumbing to the heat. Right near the water stop at mile 9, I saw a woman being treated by paramedics. Later I found out it was actually one of my friends who had seen her starting to go down, and helped her to the ground and signaled for medical help.

For weeks I planned on this being a “give it all” race in hopes of a great PR. I really had not raced a half since this same weekend last year when I did the Long Branch Half, choosing to do others between then and now at a more relaxed pace. So, as I saw the forecast, my hopes began to fade. Finally I just decided to go out there and see what I could do, but while listening to my body and being sure to hydrate well along the way. My hope was for a time around 2:50, a steady 13 minute pace. Given my performance at last month’s 10 miler (a 12 minute pace), I thought it could be a bit better than 2:50, but with the weather, who knew what would happen.

My first 2 miles were under a 12 minute pace. Clearly the race hysteria had caught me and by mile 2 1/2 I was drenched in sweat and telling myself I need to slow down, and sooner rather than later. I ping ponged into a couple of folks from my local running club. One made a comment that I was “hard to keep up with these days”, lol.

The first half seemed to go quickly, suddenly I was at mile 6. I caught up with one of my training buddies around mile 8 and we ran together on and off for the next couple of miles. One of our ROTE friends was cheering just before mile 10, and was armed with cold water and popsicles. Sooo good!

The race then became a mental game. How much harder could I push myself? I’d been lucky that up to this point it had been fairly cloudy. I was right around mile 10 when the sun decided to come out. No fun, as there really is no shade in those later miles. I kept going, happy to see a couple of training buddies at points along the way. I knew I had a PR by this point, it was just a matter of by how much. I got a second wind at mile 12, but it was gone by mile 13. Whomever put a steep hill right around mile 13 is cruel. I decided to walk it. Seemed like the safer way to go. Got to the top of the hill and turned to corner and then we were on the horse track and headed toward the finish line.

Final time was 2:46:52, a 6 1/2 minute PR.

Despite the heat, this was a very enjoyable race. Residents of some of the communities we ran through stood out with hoses, or had sprinklers set up for you to run through, which was a wonderful thing, and probably one of the things that kept me going. One couple even stood in front of their house and had a “restroom here” sign in their yard. As we ran past, everyone thanked them for being willing to open their house up to smelly runners like that!

The Next Journey

2010-04-07T21:16:00.002-04:00

The next journey has begun. I am officially registered for the 2010 Marine Corps Marathon.

While registration opened today, I signed up a week and half ago after finishing the Run to Register 10K in Quantico. My wonderful pals Erica and Kelly come along as my ChEAR squad and were there to help me celebrate a new PR with an 11:30 pace.

When I first started running, I said to myself, one day if I am crazy enough to ever want to run a marathon, this is "the one". For some reason it has always had some kind of mystique for me, perhaps due in part to growing up in the MD/DC area and knowing how big an event it is. I remember going to a chiropractor while in college and up on the wall was his medal. Wow, I thought, this guy's nuts.

Another part of the mystique for me also comes from its association with the Marine Corps. My grandfather served in the Marines during World War II and was a drill sergeant during Korea. During World War II, he served at Iwo Jima and witnessed the famous flag raising, the memorial to which now serves as the finish line for the Marathon. After the War, he put a flag up every day, and carefully folded it each night. He taught his grandchildren, one of whom is now a Marine officer, the ritual and honor in doing this. It wasn't until a few years ago when my father and I watched "Flags of Our Fathers" together that I think I truly understood the impact of this event and his service.

The next 6 months are going to be extremely demanding both physically and mentally, as I push my body harder than ever before in an effort to be in the best condition possible for this race. Then, on October 31st, I will join the ranks of Marine Corps Marathon finishers.

Disney Princess Half Marathon Race Recap

2010-03-14T19:23:00.007-04:00

I kicked off Spring running season, and the year of absurd number of half marathons, by traveling back down to Disney for the Princess Half Marathon. I had a great marathon recovery plan/Princess training plan laid out, and then Snowmageddon came to screw it all up. Instead of 10, 12, and 14 mile runs, I was lucky to get one 10 miler under my belt before race day. With the prospects of Princess being my longest run since the marathon itself, my "race plan" quickly took on being more of a training run that anything else. With the crazy race schedule planned for the year, taking it easy, and avoiding doing something stupid so early on, became the plan.

Unlike January when the main plan/goal of the marathon was simply to finish, Princess was more about taking my time and having fun along the way. I was happy to end up in the second corral - there were 5 total with 7 minutes between the starts of each - thanks to taking proof of time with me to the expo, as I had originally been in the third while most of my friends were in the second. This meant we had a really nice buffer between ourselves and the course sweepers.

Disney races mean another 2:45am wake up call and being in the corrals for the initial start at 6am. Fortunately, the weather, while slightly chilly (mid to upper 40s?) at the beginning, was a significant improvement over January's. I didn't need the hand warmers and trash bag, even though I had brought them to FL with me. I wasn't taking any chances. Once the sun came up and we hit mile three or four, I was actually able to ditch my throwaway mittens and long sleeve tshirt. The thsirt was the same I had ended up wearing throughout the marathon, and I actually felt a little sad getting rid of it. It served me well. After a horrible winter though, I realished being in short sleeves and compression shorts while running under the Florida sun.

The race itself was rather uneventful. Katie and I kept up a slow, but steady pace, although we did manage at least one 12-13 minute mile in there. This was the first race I was doing a higher running interval in - after the marathon I switched from my 2:1 to 3:1. Things have been going very well doing it, and my plan to use the higher intervals to help build up more speed in prep for MCM training is on track. Our pace at times was impeaded by congestion on the course, particularly in the narrow areas. This was even more noticeable with this race than it was during the marathon.

The atmosphere for the race was awesome! Everyone was totally into the spirit of the day - the course was littered with folks in costumes, tutus, and tiaras. The on course entertainment provided by Disney was great, too. There were tons of picture opportunities on the course and music to keep us going. We stopped for several photos along the way, skipping the ones with fairly long lines, with Katie holding a picture of our partner in crime Margaret on her cell phone. Although she couldn't be there with us, she was definitely there in spirit.

Our time was 3:17 - my slowest half to date by a huge 15 minutes - but the fun had and memories made, with new friends and old, throughout the weekend mattered more than anything else.

Next up for me is the Marine Corps Run to Register 10K, which will secure a spot for me in the Marathon.

What's next?

2010-02-28T22:10:00.002-05:00

So, it's been about 7 weeks since the Disney Marathon. Sadly, it's already beginning to feel like ages ago. These feelings are probably due in large part to the horrific winter Maryland has seen. Not one, but two, blizzards arrived in one week during February and needless to say they severely limited my running. My year to date mileage so far is just over 100 - with a goal of 1,001 miles for the year, I should be averaging 80 or so miles a month. I just keep reminding myself that warmer temps and lots of races are coming.

With the beginning of the local running season peaking around the corner, it is shaping up to be a hectic, crazy, and challenging, but fun Spring. Things start off with the Disney Princess Half Marathon next weekend. Keeping my fingers crossed for significantly better than there was for Marathon Weekend in January. I've got no time goals for this one at all, especially since my training suffered so much thanks to the weather. Fun is the main plan for the whole weekend.

In my plan/hopes of keeping up my mileage this Spring in preps for training for the Marine Corps Marathon beginning in the summer, I have succumbed to the pressure of my awesome (but sometimes crazy ;)) running partners, and am currently looking at doing 4 half marathons in 5-6 weeks between the end of April and late May. It'll be a challenge, but all part of this crazy journey.

Disney Marathon Weekend Recap - Race Day

2010-01-17T12:46:00.005-05:00

Suddenly, race morning was here. Woke up at 2:40. Since when did that become a time to wake up and run rather than crawl home and go to bed? Ah, the life of a runner. As I get ready, the calm, cool, collectiveness, and business as usual attitude went completely out the window. I was hit was nausea and painful stomach cramps. As I met up with my running partners I loudly exclaimed that I was going to throw up. Fortunately, I never did, and while the stomach cramps came and went through most of the race, I never needed to make any emergency bathroom trips.

While no snow or sleet appeared like the previous day, race morning temps hovered in the upper 20s. Apparently weather like this is a sign for me - it was 26 degrees in February 2007 when I did my first ever 5K, and again at or near freezing in March 2009 for my first half marathon, complete with slush on the ground. It seems I truly am earning my "Hardcore" nickname. We all huddled together like penguins trying to stay warm in our multiple layers. Whoever invented hand warmers is a genius. They kept me comfortable for quite awhile.

I was fortunate to have many Disney marathon vets with me to help me navigate baggage check, the final porta potties, and make the long trek to the start and find our corral. Once we where there, time flew by. The National Anthem played and fireworks went off. I was happy to discover that we were in the second start wave, as I figured we were in the third and final. This would definitely help give us a buffer against any sweepers, not that I feared they would be a problem for us anyway. We crossed that start line around 5:55am.

A second set of fireworks went off to mark our start and we were on our way, looping around the roads surrounding Epcot before finally entering the park itself. As we ran through, Olympic music was playing over the speakers. We hit World Showcase, where I ditched the knit cap I had on over my running hat (the only one of my "throw aways" I actually gave up), merged with the other part of the course around mile 4, and headed our way towards the Magic Kingdom.

By the time we got to the Magic Kingdom, the sun was up. We had been doing a really strong and steady 15min/mile pace. We successfully avoided starting out too fast, and hoped this would help us stay strong in the later miles. We ran up Main Street and stopped for a quick picture with Buzz Lightyear before finding the bathrooms. Fortunately friends had tipped us off to one just a hop off the course that was near empty the previous day during the half. We were in and out in record time and continued on our way. Cinderella's castle awaited us before we turned back out onto the roads, this time towards Animal Kingdom.

The course narrowed a bit in places here, and it slowed us down slightly was we weaved around slower folks. We hit the half mark in at 3hrs 24min, a bit slower than the 15min pace we had been doing, but still strong. I couldn't believe how quickly the miles were going by. This definitely was in large part to the great company of Annette, Katie, and Margaret.

We had the pleasure of seeing ROTE friends and family members cheering along the course, and got another huge lift at the mile 13 water stop, where many were volunteering. The hugs and smiles kept us going. The water stops themselves became a little tricky as time went on - due to the cold temps and wind, the water and Powerade actually began freezing. You had to squeeze the cup a bit to break it up, and had to be careful how quickly you drank it in order to avoid a brain freeze. We also had to be careful where we stepped, as black ice began to coat the course.

The sites and sounds (I won't get into the smells) of Animal Kindgom were really enjoyable, as I had not been there before. As we entered the park, African drummers were playing. We turned another corner, and there was the tree of life looking over us. Another bathroom stop (aka hydration check), and we were back on our way. Sadly our stay in Animal Kindgom seemed very brief. We were around mile 18 at this point, less than 10 miles to go!
It was somewhere on the highway between Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios (about 4 miles total) that I felt us slowing down, and the aches and pains starting to set in. I knew we'd finish, I knew we'd never see any sweepers, but moving became difficult and painful, especially around mile 21. It's also around this point that a bone chilling wind hit, too. I had not planned on this, and should have worn a long sleeved tech shirt. Fortunately, while I had taken off the long sleeve "throw away" cotton tshirt earlier, I tied it around my waist in case I needed it again. My mittens though had gone into a hamper for ROTErs at the mile 13 water stop. It was getting to be a complete mental game at this point.

We entered Hollywood Studios, the final park. I only remember the first part of this. Somewhere after mile 23 it became a blur. Luckily, I knew what awaited us for these last miles, as it was the same course as the 10K I did in Disney back in October 2008. Not that that made it any easier.

I had tape wrapped on my foot to help support my arch and deal with some planter fasciitis issues I'd been having. This was the only physical worry I had going into the marathon. While the arch itself felt great, the tape began to curl at the edge and attach itself to my sock. It painfully tugged with each step. There was nothing I could do about it though, I wasn't going to stop and I wanted the arch support. My feet began to hurt, too. The running on lots of cement in the parks had taken its toll. My legs began to revolt when we did our transitions from our run to walk intervals. Once I was running, they wanted to keep going, but I wasn't going to leave my partners and our race strategy. We were a team and finishing this together.

Mile 25 and we were back at World Showcase. The end was less than 20 minutes away. I got discouraged seeing people walking around in medals and fresh clothes, clearly they had been done for quite awhile. Katie, Margaret, and I were all very quiet at this point, just mentally pushing ourselves along. Finally, we took one final walk break before deciding to run it in the rest of the way. One more turn and the spectator bleachers and finish line were in sight. We grabbed each others' hands, and suddenly it was all over. Our final time, 7:01:26.

We wrapped up in mylar blankets, got our medals and some refreshments, and quickly retreated to the car in search of warmth. We successfully finished the journey we started together months ago, and one I never could have envisioned doing without them.

Disney Marathon Weekend Recap - Part I

2010-01-16T20:29:00.007-05:00

Back in August when I first registered for Disney I worried about training in cold weather in November and December in preps for a warm weather race. Little did I know in early December as I struggled to get nearly 18 miles in in snowy conditions that that would be the best training I could possibly do in prep for race day.

About 10 days before the race the tracking of the weather forecast began. As it got closer, panic set in. Race day temps would likely be in 40s, maybe 50s. Panic set in - what the heck am I going to pack for race morning??? I ran out to Target and Walmart. Next to my sunblock and short sleeves were hand warmers and fleece. This was going to be an interesting trip.

We arrived in Florida on Thursday afternoon and immediately flew down the highway to get to the race expo. Picked up my bib number and hit up the vendors for some necessities. Margaret and I met up with our fellow partner in crime, Katie, as well as some friends from Running of the Ears (ROTE).
Friday we hit up Hollywood Studios for a bit (my first time there) and then made our way to the ROTE Rally at Downtown Disney. I also had the pleasure of meeting up with my adoptive Florida parents for a quiet dinner at their home. It couldn't be a late night though, the alarm was going off at 3am on Saturday. Even though I wasn't running til Sunday, I wanted to get up and head out onto the half marathon course to cheer for all of my friends. I also figured getting up that early would help prep me for the next day, too.

The local news was highlighting marathon weekend and the record breaking cold sweeping through Florida at the time. They even said snow might happen. Really??? This isn't what I signed up for when I envisioned a marathon in Florida. Race organizers were sending out numerous advisories to participants reminding them to dress appropriately, and saying that any clothes throw to the side in good condition would be laundered and donated to local charities.

As we stood around on Saturday morning before the half, the unthinkable happened - snow, sleet, and rain all arrived.

My fellow ROTEr Rooters and I headed out and set up our spot on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, right were the course turned and runners headed into Tomorrowland. We cheered from the lead runner to the last walker, growing louder whenever we saw one of our ROTE friends, or I caught a glimpse of my friends from the Striders.

Afterwards, we all sought warmth, and basically just rested up for Sunday's big race. Saturday night we headed to a special ROTE carb load dinner. Good food, good friends, and good laughs. We all retreated to our rooms for an early lights out. I laid my clothes out, packed up energy gels, and put warm clothes and a change of shoes in a bag to check at the start line. A wake up call was arranged for 2:40am, and the alarm for 2:45. Diane and I weren't taking any chances. I settled in for the night, still totally calm about what awaited me in the morning.

I am a Marathoner

2010-01-14T21:25:00.001-05:00

A race report to come soon. I'm still kind of digesting everything.

Looking ahead

2009-12-31T11:33:00.003-05:00

Well, it's New Year's Eve. A new year, and even new decade are sitting out there on the horizon. I know many of you have been reflecting on the past year and setting resolutions for 2010. My friends and I have all been working on our 2010 race schedules. Below is what I have been throwing around in my head, pending time and finances of course. (Except for Florida, all of the races are within a couple of hours drive and at most require one night in a hotel.) The main goal after the Disney Marathon is to keep my long run mileage up in the low teens so it won't be too drastic of a jump in mid summer when I need to start training for the Marine Corps Marathon. So, what better way to do that then sign up for a bunch of half marathons, right? ;) Obviously some of these will be nice, slow, steady "training runs" rather than an all out race.

There are some 5K's and a couple of 10K's in there, too. Those are mostly a chance to play with speed, however, the majority are for causes I care about and want to support as well, thus the heavy focus on police charities and women's races. The women's races are part of the Maryland RRCA's Women's Distance Festival Series. The WDF races are alot of fun, and I enjoy spending the time with the other members of the Striders' Joe's Girls Grand Prix team.

Hope to maybe see you at some of these!

01/10/10 WDW Marathon*
02/07/10 Superbowl 5K
02/13/10 Annapolis Striders Valentine's Day 5K
03/07/10 WDW Princess Half*
03/27/10 Marine Corps Run to Register 10K*
04/11/10 Cherry Pit 10 miler
04/24/10 Ocean City (MD) Half
05/02/10 Frederick Half
05/15/10 National Police Week 5K
05/16/10 Marine Corps Historic Half*
06/06/10 Zooma Annapolis 10K
06/19/10 Baltimore 10 miler
06/27/10 Baltimore Women's Classic
07/04/10 Arbutus Firecracker 10K
07/10/10 Annapolis Striders Women's Distance Festival 5K
07/11/10 Howard County Striders Women's Distance 5K
07/??/10 Rileys Rumble Half
08/??/10 Frederick Steeplechasers Women's Distance 5K
08/29/10 Annapolis 10 miler
09/12/10 Howard County Police Pace 5K
09/19/10 Rock N Roll Philly Half
10/03/10 Annapolis Striders Metric Marathon
10/16/10 Baltimore Half
10/31/10 Marine Corps Marathon
11/21/10 Cold Turkey 10K
12/11/10 Rehoboth Beach Half
12/??/10 Celtic Solstice 5 miler

(*Notes races actually registered for at this point)

And yes, a 2011 list has started as well. ;)

And so taper begins

2009-12-19T11:25:00.004-05:00

With the prospects of nearly 2 FEET of snow arriving on the same weekend as my last long training run, I took Friday off with the intent of getting my last 20 mile run in. I knew I could do the 20, but since it had been about 5 weeks since the last time I did it, mentally I needed to do this before taper hit. Snow two weeks earlier interfered with my attempt to get 22 miles in, having to cut the run short about 17.5. I was disappointed, but at the same time knew that accomplishing that distance in those conditions was no small thing either. Last weekend, cold and very wet weather made even accomplishing 5 miles difficult, and again caused some doubts in my mind about what I am trying to do.

With so many other Disney runners hoping to get their last 20 in this weekend, I was extremely lucky to have the company of both of my marathon partners, as well as a couple of my friends from the Striders. We weaved all over Annapolis - back and forth over the infamous 450 bridge, around the Naval Academy, and through the streets of Eastport and West Annapolis before calling it quits around mile 13. The temperature was quickly beginning to drop and the cold and rough hills and bridges had taken their toll on us. While we were slightly disappointed not to get our full distance in, at the same time we knew the smarter thing to do was to listen to our bodies and not risk injury. We also knew that that run was more about quality over quantity. We found hot soup, and cheered that taper has begun.

Taper is when you scale back your mileage before the big race, typically for a couple of weeks, in order to rest your body. For some "taper madness" kicks in as well - doubts start forming about the months of training you've done, you worry about injury/illness/etc., etc., etc. I'm hoping to avoid much of this and generally stay calm. As many of you who know me though, this is not typical of my personality at times though. I keep reminding myself that I truly have done everything possible up to this point. And, I have the most amazing support system that will make this an experiece truly to never forget.

40 days and counting

2009-11-29T20:40:00.003-05:00

40 days to go til race day....WOW!

Training has been chugging along and been mostly uneventful. Early in the month I took part in the inaugural Gynecological Cancer Foundation half marathon in Washington, D.C. This was my 4th half, and unlike the others, I did not train specifically for it, but rather used it as training run for a larger goal.

The following weekend was my biggest test to date...my first 20 mile training run. As seems typical with many of my runs, it started off with rain. Fortunately it didn't stick around for too long. Katie was with me for support, and we enjoyed Kelly's company for awhile, too. At the end, I found myself ready for more...maybe not another 6.2, but easily another mile or two.

With that first 20 under my belt, I feel like anything is achievable now! And in 40 days I'll have a medal around my neck as a reminder of that.

Another one bites the dust

2009-11-01T20:21:00.003-05:00

October has come and gone in what seems like the blink of an eye. Also gone...another personal best, this time for my 10K.

While friends were showing incredible strength and determination last weekend in the Marine Corps Marathon, I took part in the 10K. I had not run a 10K since May, and this was only my 6th ever, so I wasn't really sure what to do with it. Unlike a 5K, you've got to find a happy balance between giving as much as you can while still keeping stuff in the tank for later. Just figured I'd go out and see what happens. A PR would be cool, but hey, whatever happens, happens.

One thing became quickly apparent, this was going to be a FAST race. We started out next to the National Mall, by the Smithsonian Metro stop, and wound our way to the 395 bridge - the same bridge the marathoners would be seeing at mile 20 and trying to beat the pace requirement for. I ended up stuck smack in the middle of the pack and couldn't easily navigate to the side in order to get out of the way and do my intervals, so ended up running the first half mile nonstop. I was at a comfortable pace though and felt good. I just hoped I hadn't gone out too fast and would fall apart at the end.

I was able to start my intervals once we got to the bridge. All I could think is, wow, this is a really long, boring bridge, and began to think of my friends who would be getting to it in 4+ hours. If I felt this way and I was only 2 miles into a race, what must it be like after 20? I suddenly began to struggle, and worry if I was already losing the mental game, how was I going to make it through the second half of this race!?

As I trudged along, suddenly out of the quiet were two people standing on the jersey wall and cheering everyone. I was like "wow, people are out here already." Then I had the wonderful realization that it was my rooomie S and my training partner M. They were my people!!! I was so excited, as I had not expected them to make it out onto the course in time for the 10Kers to come through. I navigated to the side so I could say Hi as I ran by. I got my head back together and was back into it! :)

We kept going, winding our way around Crystal City and towards the Pentagon. I looked at my watch...5 miles in 58 minutes. I was in disbelief. Surely this can't be right...I've never done 5 minutes in under an hour!!! Then "math on the run" took over in my head, trying to figure out when I might finish. 1:16 maybe? I've never been good at math, thus why I'm an historian. If I kept this pace up, I would not only be breaking my 10K PR, I'd be obliterating it!

With the Pentagon to our left, we passed through a water stop, Marines and volunteers cheering everyone along the way and a DJ playing music. We were in the home stretch! As I kept going, Marines were lining the road, generously giving and receiving high 5's. I turned the corner, and then I saw it...the UPHILL finish line. Seriously!?!? And again, I thought of my friends reaching that final hurdle at mile 26, and how they'd feel.

I charged up, convinced I could conquer it with all of the momentum I had. Bad idea. 2/3's of the way up, I burnt out. Then all of a sudden I worried I wouldn't even be able to muster enough energy for the last 500 feet! I picked up my pace and crossed the finish line, wondering how much time I lost thanks to that stupid hill and trying to push too hard. My final time, a surprising 1:14:53. I broke 1:15!!!! My 10K PR, just set in May, had been 1:20 and change...I'd beaten it by OVER 5 minutes!

I collected my medal from the waiting Marines (what a great job they had that day!), and met up with the rest of the Loopers doing the 10K. We made our way to the Metro, and found S&M up on the bridge. They had positioned themselves in the last quarter mile or so of the bridge, about mile 21.5 of the course. With them was a wagon and cooler filled with goodies for all of our friends, Loopers and folks from Runningoftheears.com

Yes, we were there to support a specific group of people, but in reality, we were there for everyone. Our cheers for them were no less heartfelt than for those of our friends. It was amazing to see people's faces light up, and paces even pick up as they heard our cheers. We shared our goodies with those who were really struggling, hoping that would help them get to the next water stop.

It was truly an inspirational and emotional day. I watched people of all shapes, sizes, and ages go past. What got to me most were the soldiers...amputees in handcrank wheelchairs, the one walking on crutches with a support crew of friends around him, including one with a wheelchair in case he needed a break, and ones running in fatigues with full packs on their backs. Lots of people were also running with the names and pictures of fallen soldiers, many family members, on their shirts. I was on the verge of tears many times.

As we cheered we waited in anticipation for our friends to come through. Whenever they did, we erupted in huge cheers, and hugs were abounding. We knew if they'd made it that far, then they would definitely make it to the finish. The pain on some faces were clear, and we did our best to pump them up and encourage them to get through those last miles.

As the time clocked down to the bridge cut off, we were on a constant look out for the last of our friends. We knew they'd be cutting it close, but we knew they could do it, and tried to telepathically send them as much energy as we could. Finally, my training partner K, the last of the Loopers, was coming down from the crest of the bridge. I jumped up and down, and Margaret and I ran up to her, gave her hugs. Everyone beat the bridge!

With everyone well on their way to the finish line, we stayed at our post, cheering for the rest of the Back of the Pack, not leaving til the last runner came through. They were certainly no less deserving of cheers and support than those who came through first.

Yes, I will be running the Marine Corps Marathon next October. As emotional as the day was for me primarily as a spectator, I cannot even imagine what it will be like as a participant.

Irresponsible Journalism

2009-10-23T18:02:00.006-04:00

The duty of care of journalists may seem like an odd issue to take up in a running blog, but sadly is a reality.

Over the summer, Time magazine, perhaps one of the most respected publications in our nation, published a cover story entitled "Why Exercise Won't Make you Thin." It was full of poorly researched "facts" and misrepresentations and was ridiculed, rightly so, by many health and exercise professionals, my personal trainer included. Yes, some people use exercise to justify their eating habits, we're all guilty of this, but if therr statement were true, then how I have lost at least 10 lbs while building muscle over the last year?

Yesterday, the New York Times, again a highly regarded publication, published an article by Juliet Macur on its front page entitled "Plodders Have a Place, but Is It in a Marathon?" In it, Ms. Macur interviewed marathoners who feel that slow runners, and those incapable of running every single step of the 26.2 miles do not belong in the field and take away from the accomplishments of those who can. While Ms. Macur interviews well known runner John Bingham (aka "The Penguin"), who defends the slow and average runners, her thesis and intent is clear - if you can't complete a marathon in 4 hours or less, you don't belong there and shouldn't be trying it in the first place.

Both of these articles are examples of irresponsible journalism especially in an age where the obesity rate in our country continues to climb. As has been pointed out on the most recent season of the Biggest Loser, the contestants from season to season keep getting bigger, not smaller. Rather than acknowledge the effort and personal accomplishments of individuals who strive to better themselves, Ms. Macur is depicting the running community as elitist and unwelcoming. Forutnately, my experience has shown this to be far from the truth.

Yes, I am a proud "back of the pack" runner. I work out 4-5 days a week, and still my body will not let me maintain a sub 13 minute pace on long runs. Is this my fault? No. Have I ever been criticized for it? No.

Yes, I run as well as walk in races of all distances, from 5K's to half marathons. I plan to do this in January's marathon as well. Following Jeff Galloway's run/walk intervals has made me a better runner both mentally and physically. If I continued pushing myself to the limit as I had back in June 2008 when I was diagnosed with a stress fracture, who knows how many injuries I would have had to date. Walking during a race is good for you. Don't forget, Galloway is a former olympian, so he knows a thing or two about running.

Yes, I'm sure there are marathon pureists who look down on me for doing the Disney Marathon, and who probably don't consider it a true race given the location, etc. That's exactly why I chose it for my first marathon, I was looking for a complete experience. I try not to take myself too seriously at times, so why should this be any different? I want to enjoin it. I don't want to have such a negative experience that I would never want to do a marathon again. And yes, I am considering a second marathon next fall, one that is more of a "traditional" one. My experience at Disney though will be the building blocks for making it through that one. You only have one first marathon.

Most of the time while I am in the final stretch of the race, I am passed by people wearing their finisher's medals/or premiums and walking in the opposite direction on the way back to their cars. They have finished the race, enjoyed the post race festivities, and are heading home, all while I am still toiling away. Knowing this can be hard when I see them, but as they walk past me, do they shout things like "What do you think you're doing?" or "You don't belong here."? No, they offer nothing but support and encouragement, which is more than often greatly needed as your body and mind are ready to quit. I once even had someone who had finished the 5K course we were doing run the final stretch in with me. He and his buddies had all finished long before me. He had no reason to be standing by the finish line at that point other than just purely wanting to support everyone coming in.

This is the true nature of the running community, and one in which I am proud to be a member of. My involvement in this community began long before I ever started or even considered running. I started as a volunteer, primarily at the B&A Trail Marathon. Despite the harsh weather conditions in March, we would never close down our water stop (usually the next to last one on the course) until that last runner came through. When he/she came through, we all stood and proudly cheered for them, hoping our spirit would help carry them on to the finish.

What bothers me most, and is the most insulting, is the insinuation that the "plodders" don't take these races or training seriously. Ms. Macur writes, "Slow runners have disrespected the distance, they say, and have ruined the marathon’s mystique." Really!?!? Yes, I will admit there are some people who think they can do a marathon, sign up for it, and then do nothing before race day. This is a fraction of a percent though. The rest are like me, following thorough training plans, and documenting every step over the 4-6 months before race day. They're like me, getting up at 4:30 on a Saturday morning after a long work week, trying to beat the sun in the summer and bear the cold in the winter for hours at a time.

I want to know if Ms. Macur has ever run 18 hilly, winding miles in 40 degree wind chills in the pouring rain as I did this past Saturday. If she had, I guarantee she would not have written that statement. It was perhaps one of the hardest things I've ever done, but pure grit and determination, and the support of my running family, pulled me through. Not only did at least one person stay with me during those nearly 4 1/2 hours, but when I made it back to the parking lot, they were there, honking car horns in celebration for me. I nearly cried, as if I had I just finished an entire marathon. If I can do 18 miles in those conditions, 26.2 is completely achievable.

This Sunday, I am running the 10K that is taking place in conjunction with the Marine Corps Marathon. After my race is done, I will meet up with friends and proceed to the marathon course. I will stand there for the remainder of the race, and I will be cheering for all. Everyone has a story and a journey that has brought them there, and it deserves to be acknowledged.

Under 100 days

2009-10-12T22:43:00.003-04:00

Race day is now officially just under 3 months away! The nervous excitement continues to build, and training is plugging along quite nicely. :) The last 5 weeks have had lots of fun and great accomplishments.

September 13th was Howard County Police Department's annual Police Pace 5K, a cause close to my heart. I did the race for the first time back in 2007 during my first year of running. I registered for it last year, but decided not to do it since I was still trying to build my mileage back up following the stress fracture. This year I was determined to go and give it my all...it was my first 5K since July, and the last for the foreseeable future as I focus on high mileage. (I was supposed to do the 9/11 Run to Remember in Baltimore two days earlier, but due to downpours, decided not to participate.) The result of a couple of extra days of rest, good training, and lovely weather....a 37:14 time, a new PR! And, almost a minute faster than the PR I set in May on what was for the most part a significantly easier course. Also noteworthy....my time was nearly 8 minutes better than two years earlier! While I didn't win the free cruise, overall it was a great day!

The 5K was a good taper weekend in prep for the Philadelphia Distance Run, a half marathon, on Sunday the 20th. This was my third half marathon, and in my third state! This was also the largest race I've ever done. The organizers did a great job keeping all of the corrals separated and spacing people out on the course. Each group got their own start countdown and all, too, which I thought was a nice touch.

I headed up with the BWI crew on Saturday morning, very excited about our awaiting adventure. We made it to the expo for packet pick up and shopping, and met up with Philly friends from RunningoftheEars.com (R0TE) before heading for a good carb load lunch. The Goofy Gals from the Striders made it up later in the afternoon, and after some delays/issues at our hotel, we headed out for a lovely dinner where we were convinced the owner/manager must be in the mob! Then off to bed in prep for the big race.

For the most part, I was oddly calm leading up to race morning. I had no set goal/time in mind, and that might have been a big help. I was there to have good fun and just enjoy the experience. K and I planned to run the whole thing together, and it was her last chance to try out her race day strategy in prep for the Marine Corps Marathon later this month. The goal was to keep about a 13:30 pace. We started out conservatively and just chugged along watching the miles go by and enjoying some of the music along the way. We kept going along and picked up the pace a bit, doing negative splits all the way to the end. We met up with E for the last mile or so, and helped push one another over the finish line. The result, just under 3 hours...a few minutes off of a PR, but I wasn't trying for one anyway. (More importantly, per our Garmin's, our average pace was about 13:21.) It was faster than my first half marathon, and again, I did it on what could be considered a more difficult course. Afterwards, we met up with the rest of the ROTE crew, took pics with the Rocky statue near the finish line, and then did the mandatory run up the art museum steps. A great day, and a great race...one I would definitely do again! I must plan on some more visits to that fun city!

The Philly race fit in perfectly with my training, as the Galloway plan had 13-14 on the chart for that weekend. I was surprisingly sore for the days immediately following the race. I went out with the 10K class group on Tuesday evening, and felt every single footstep. All I could think was, OMG, is this even a hint of how bad I'll feel after Disney. The training plan had 8-10 miles for the next weekend. If 2-3 hurt, how would that good. Fortunately, I loosened up as the week went on, helped in large part to a deep tissue massage, and a couple of easy runs.

The crew was meeting up on NCR Trail on Saturday morning. I knew the crushed gravel would be a good surface and friendly on the body. The goal was 8 miles, but go for 10 if everything was going well and I was feeling good. I was slightly anxious as I had not done 10 miles by myself for sometime. I ended up having a great 10 miles...things just clicked and given everything going on in my life as of late, I think the solitude gave me a good recharge as well.

We returned to NCR the following weekend. This time, I had 15-16 miles on the chart. For the most part the highest mileage I'd ever done before was 14. I was anxious, but knew K would be with me every step of the way, and the crew would be out there, too. Like the previous weekend, everything clicked and went so well. The miles just kept adding up as we continued on our way. 16 miles was done, and I felt awesome, like I could have kept going. Wow, perhaps I'm doing everything right?

After another "short" week (9 miles), I've got 18 in store this weekend. This will be out on the good 'ole BWI Loop. Haven't been there in awhile, and hope the hills won't be my downfall, but I'm up for the challenge, and should hopefully have some nice Fall weather to help me out, too.

One Month Down...

2009-08-30T20:56:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow marks one month since I registered for the Disney Marathon. So, where am I at in this endeavor? What have I been up to? Fortunately, I've been running. :)

For the month of August, my total mileage was just about 60 miles, including a great 14 mile run yesterday north of Baltimore on the NCR Trail, one of my longest training runs ever. This was the highest mileage month I've done since the Spring. Even before registering for Disney, I had planned on having a fairly low key summer after the Baltimore Ten Miler in late June. This allowed me to focus just on some maintenance long runs (about 6-8 miles each), as well as participate in some of the Maryland Road Runner Club of America Women's Distance Festival, a series of about a dozen women's only 5K's in the MD/DC/VA area. Right now I'm exactly where I should be in prep for my next half marathon, the Philadelphia Distance Run on September 20th, and am actually even a bit ahead of the game as far as marathon training goes.

I've also been spending time trying to figure out exactly how I'm going to do this thing. As a fan of interval running and Jeff Galloway's training methods, I immediately picked up his marathon training book. I'm following many of the basics of his "To Finish" program since that is exactly what I want to do. I have no grand illusions about a finishing time...just finishing and finishing well is the goal. I've also been finalizing my fall race plans, and how they can fit into and help my training program. I've been lucky to craft my schedule so that most fit into the mileage I need to accomplish that week anyway....so, especially in the case of the Metric Marathon (26.2K/16.3 miles), it'll be more of a course supported training run for me than an all out race.

Here's what my fall race calendar is beginning to look like -
9/11 - Run to Remember 5K
9/13 - Howard County Police Pace 5K
9/20 - Philadelphia Distance Run (13.1)
10/4 - Annapolis Striders Metric Marathon
10/25 - Marine Corps Marathon 10K
11/8 - Race to End Women's Cancer (13.1)
11/22 - Annapolis Striders Cold Turkey 10K
12/13 - Annapolis Striders 15K Anniversary Run
12/20 - Celtic Solstice 5 miler

I also did some non-running things in August, such as getting onto a bike for the first time in at least 10 years, and even participating in a bike tour in Galena, MD. I also completed an intensive group training class at my gym. The group training was a great way for me to do some good basic core and strength training. I had horrific doubts about my ability to make it through the class after the first session back in July, but by the last class I was able to completely 100 abdominal crunches! I'm hoping to work with the same trainer and some of the same classmates once a week for eight weeks this fall.

So, with the end of August already here, I'm looking forward to hopefully cooling temps and lower humidity. September will mark one year since I was back on my feet after my stress fracture. I have run consistently every month for the last year....something which I had not done in my first two years of running. The Striders 10K training class will be starting soon, and this year I will be a mentor rather than a student, as I have been for the previous two years. Hopefully I can help others with some of their goals, as so many people have done for me.

Jumping in with both feet

2009-08-11T20:17:00.006-04:00

I turned 32 on July 31st. Three days later, I registered for the Disney Marathon. "Why," you may ask. Truthfully, I'm not sure and am still sorting all of that out. Last week, my first response would probably be "to prove I can," but I think I'm quickly changing my tune to "because I know I can."

I started running December 31, 2006, seven months before my 30th birthday. Yes, that is important to note. I had been mostly sedentary for the first 29 years and 5 months of my life and decided to do something, even though I wasn't sure where my journey would lead me. I started with the beginning runners program through my local running club, which I first found out about from my roommate. She was going to do it, too, so if I did it, we'd both have a running partner in the cold, dark winter months. Why not give it a try, it would only cost $15 for the club membership and the cost of a good pair of running shoes. At the time I cringed at the thought of spending $120 on anything, let alone just a pair of shoes. Now, it's become a fact of life. I also had the support of an awesome next door neighbor, who had done a few marathons, which I thought was nuts, but loved her for it nonetheless. ;)

Suddenly, February 10th arrived..."graduation" race day. It was a balmy 26 degrees out with perhaps an even colder windchill, as I embarked on my first 5K. The goal was simply to finish. I lucked out at the beginning and ran into a guy I had met a couple of times before...we'd eaten crabs together following a singles event one time and crossed paths here and there. The day I met him, he kayaked several miles AFTER running the Baltimore Marathon course earlier in the morning. Another one of those crazy runners I told myself at the time. Still, it was nice to see a friendly face, and he got me through the first half mile. I kept going, still not sure what I was doing. The cold burned my lungs and I became more miserable as time went on. Tears bubbled in my eyes, and motivation waned. I finished though, and even managed not to be last. There were people waiting for me at the end who knew I could and helped get me there.

Still not convinced about this running thing, but not quite ready to throw in the towel, I did another 5K a month later, then repeated a beginning running program in the Spring. Fall came around, as did the club's 10K class. I'd completed about eight 5K's by the point, so it seemed like the natural thing to do. I wanted people to run with and this seemed like the next step, but I never intended to run the "graduation" race in November. I met a great group of people who were mentors and coaches in the program and truly wanted to see everyone succeed. I made a couple of friends in the class, too. I convinced myself to sign up the race, not an easy one given the hills. The practice run of the course the week prior went horrible thanks to shin splint problems that plagued me throughout. How my roommate ever put up with the bitchness I had in some of our runs and races together I'll never know, but for which I am grateful. Somehow though, I made it through race day with no problems. The pics of me coming into the finish area can't hide the exhaustion I was feeling, but I finished. More importantly, there were people waiting for me at the end who knew I could and helped get me there.

I muddled through winter and spring. A women's only 10K was going to be in my beloved town. I'd done one 10K and had many more 5K's under my belt by then, no big deal, right? Shin pain, shin pain, and more shin pain followed as I pushed myself harder and further. As race day got closer, I feared something serious was going on, but I was so close to my goal I wasn't going to stop. Race day arrived, I pushed through the race and decided to rest for the next three weeks before a women's 5K I was registered for came. I'd do the race and if I was still having problems, I'd know. A mile and half into the race it was apparent. I finished the race and called the Dr. on Monday morning. A week later, a tibial stress fracture was diagnosed. Six weeks in a soft boot cast. This did not help my mood going into my 31st birthday.

I came to a crossroads....clearly my body did not want me to run, but my mind was still pushing me along. I knew people who did interval running. I researched it and decided what did I have to lose. I signed up to do the Striders' 10K class again, and decided to do intervals this time. The class had alot of the same faces as the previous Fall. We pushed through everything together, became closer, and had fun at the process. I felt stronger and calmer. Maybe I liked this afterall? The graduation race came. I took nearly 4 minutes off of my time from the previous year. And there continued to be people waiting for me at the end who knew I could and helped get me there.

What to do next? My strategy had always been to sign up for races as a motivation to keep going, but there aren't alot in the MD/DC area in December and January. The next race I really knew anything about was a half marathon on the local B&A Trail. D, the head coach of the 10K program was also the race director. I talked to her about it and she said I could do it. It was just a matter of convincing myself I could. She said if I signed up for the training class through the club, she would run with me during the week and get me to where I needed to be. How can you say no to someone who would run in the dark and cold with you in January and February? With her support and that of L, who I had met in the 2007 10K class and who was also signing up for the training class, I sent in my registration form.

Late December rolled around, and I started training for my first half marathon. It was nearly two years to the day since I went on my first run. It quickly became apparent that L and I were the slowest in the group, and likely the only ones doing intervals. By the time we finished our runs, the rest of the class was gone, and the coaches packed up not long after we checked back in. I didn't feel the warm fuzzies I had in previous groups, but I knew I had to stick with it.

L mentioned in passing that she had met a group of other runners online and they were all planning to meet at another trail and that I should come along, too, as most were training for a half around the same time as mine. There would be a couple of others I had met through the Striders there, too. We all instantly clicked. It was a warm and encouraging environment, which I needed if I was going to get through this thing. I stopped going to the training class, and stayed with them. Two weeks before the race, I did a 12 mile run alone, and ran nearly the entire course. I had this, and was starting to believe it.

As I scraped ice off my windshield on race morning, I thought to myself "this is by far the dumbest thing I've ever done." There was no turning back though. Just like with my first 5K, I found a friendly face to run the first half mile or so with. When I split from her, I started my intervals and went on my way, reminding myself I had this in the bag and striving to finish in about 3 hours. Friendly faces emerged along the way, most of them training partners. The offered much needed encouragement along the cold, desolate course. I struggled through the last mile or so, wondering why in the world someone would want to run twice this distance. My parents were waiting at the finish. A friend from the 10K days was volunteering at the finish line handing out medals, and a couple of other friendly and familiar faces were announcing runners and they crossed the finish line. I crossed the fine in 3 hours and 2 minutes. I was happy and yet again, there were people waiting for me at the end who knew I could and helped get me there.

In the months since then, I've continued with my friends from the trail and the Striders. I even managed a second half marathon, this one nearly 10 minutes faster than my first. Then they all started talking about training for races at Disney World in January. Should I do it, too? I'll be running with them all anyway? I'll have people there to help me through those long 20 and 22 mile training runs. About the same time K and I began to run together. She decided to do this interval thing, too, and we run about the same pace. It occurred to me I would potentially have someone to help me through what would likely be the longest 6 or so hours of my life. The morning after my birthday, we had a great 10 mile run together. The next day I bought a marathon training book. Monday morning came and I registered. Tears of nervous excitement began to fill my eyes. I CAN DO THIS!

26.2 on 1/10/2010. It'll be here before I know it, but in the end, I know people will be waiting for me at the end who knew I could and helped get me there.