Daily Dozen : Striving for a life lived in motion

Running Strong / Full Calendar

2011-08-02T13:14:00.000-04:00

I am running strong and enjoying every minute of it.

This happens every time after a big race where I met or exceeded my goal. I come out of the race excited about running and looking forward to run. I make big plans for future races. My pace picks up. I feel strong and like I have actually gotten better at this whole running thing.

However, this feeling never lasts that long and I am back to my frustratingly slow pace that just won’t seem to improve. Yes, my race times continue to improve but my everyday runs just won’t pick up, in the end.

I am savoring these next few weeks of stronger, faster running. I am hoping but not really expecting this feeling to last.

***

Like always, I have full calendar of races ahead of me – a open water swim this weekend, my first tri next weekend, a trail half marathon at the beginning of September and a fun 5K with friends and family at the end of September. Also, I’ve signed up for my next goal race…

Stone Mill 50 Miler on November 19th.

I am nervous about stepping up to the next distance but after such strong races at the Mad Marathon and Endless Summer I am also confident that I can meet this challenge. My plan is to keep my running during the week steady 4-6 milers before work but also start doing more treadmill workouts – hills, intervals, mostly walking but some running thrown in – during my lunch hour workouts in the gym. Also, I hope to take advantage of my new working schedule, where I have every other Friday off work and get in some back-to-back runs (15 miles on Friday and then 20 on Saturday, for example). I’ll also do some single runs in the 25 to 30 mile range. Finally, once the weather cools off in September and October, I hope to also get in some longer hikes on the Sundays following my long runs.

The next few months will be all about time on my feet by whatever means necessary.

Daily Dozen:

4.5 miles run – fartlek

Strength Training & Walking @ lunch hour

30 minutes swim after work

Back in the Pool

2011-07-26T09:50:00.000-04:00

I admit it: I haven’t been swimming.

I should be swimming – it’s a good counter-balance to running since it uses a different set of muscles, it is supposed to be good for recovery while still getting in a work out, and, oh yeah, I have my first open water swim and my first triathlon in only a few weeks.

With all that, I have only been in the pool one time in July. I used tapering for the marathon and the recovering enough for the six-hour race as an excuse to skip swimming. The truth is, I just don’t enjoy it and it is a hassle (bringing multiple changes of clothes to the pool, showering and getting ready for work in the locker room, lugging around an extra bag full of wet cloths to and from work, all those extra towels to wash each week).

When I am in the pool, I am counting laps and looking at the clock just waiting for it to be time to get out. No wonder I don’t enjoy it!

Yet, once I’m done, I feel the same sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that I get after a run. Perhaps once I’ve done the open water swim and the tri, a weekly pool workout won’t seem so tedious because it won’t feel like something I have to do it.

This morning I did 3 sets of 10 laps + 2 laps just kicking with a kickboard (for some reason this is my favorite “stroke” to practice so I reward myself with it when I do 10 laps without stopping). I was breathing hard by the second set and I know my form started to suffer by the third but it was a nice, slow workout. Welcome back to the pool!

Daily Dozen:
30 minutes swimming
3 miles w/ walking hill intervals @ lunch hour (planned)

Endless Summer 6-Hour Run – Race Report

2011-07-25T14:36:00.000-04:00

The Premise: Run a 4.2 mile paved loop course on the trails of Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis, MD as many times as I can in a 6 hour time period.

The Challenge: Heat. Humidity. Sweat. Sun.

I signed up for this race only a few weeks ago. I have been intrigued by the timed-event concept – run a loop as many times as possible in a set timeframe – and this race fell on a weekend I didn’t have anything planned, it was after the Mad Marathon so I was not training for anything specific, and it was within driving distance.

As the heat wave hit the mid-Atlantic region last week, I started to question whether I should attempt my first race of this kind but I gave myself permission to take my time, walk if I needed, and even drop early if it I started to struggle. I didn’t put any pressure on myself to fight it out to the end. I handle heat fairly well and the organizers were doing all they could to make sure the runners were safe – weighing us every 2 hours, pushing salt and hydration, setting up a hydration station at the half way point, and a misting station on the course. I woke up Saturday morning ready to give this race my best shot.

Unfortunately, traffic had other plans for me. I left the house with enough time to get to the race site with more than 30 minutes to spare. At 6:50 I came to stop on Route 50 due to an accident that required the entire road to be shut down, and didn’t make it the 1 mile to the next exit for another 50 minutes. The whole time I was inching down the highway, I was under 15 miles to the race…I could have run there!! I contemplated turning around and going home but I thought, what the heck, they might still let me run. After taking a detour and several backroads (thank you iPhone Google maps app), I finally got to the park around 8:10 (40 minutes late).

I quickly found an organizer and within 5 minutes of parking, I had pinned on my number, grabbed my water bottle, been weighed (came in right at 130 pounds), and was running. As I started the race, I was a mix of feelings. I was still upset about being late, thankful that I took a shot, showed up and they let me run, and anxious because I felt like I was way behind everyone else. I told myself to focus running.

The first loop was mainly about recon: The first mile or so was shaded and had one noticeable downhill and one noticeable uphill. After mile one, I hit the misting station and declined a spray from the volunteer – not yet, I said, but I’ll be back. Mile 2 was more exposed and after running by a dog park and up and down some small rollers, I came back to the that noticeable downhill from mile 1. The marker for Mile 2 was at the top and the hill was in full sun. After the hill and more sun, I hit the midpoint hydration station. I declined to fill my water bottle as it was about halfway full. The next part of the course was the toughest mentally for me. Though Mile 3 and then some, the course followed a fitness trail with exercise stops (sit-ups, pull-ups, stretching, balance beam, etc.) but other than that there wasn’t much in the way of landmarks and with each turn I was looking for the road crossing that meant I was getting close to the end of the loop. After the road crossing, the course was back in full shade and it wasn’t long before I saw the Mile 4 marker and then it was just up a hill to the start/finish/aid station (why do all races have to end on a hill?).

I hit the start/finish, heard my number called out to make sure my loop was counted, had a volunteer put ice and water in my bottle, grabbed a cookie and a handful of potato chips and headed back out on the course. My first lap, including time in the aid station, was 45 minutes. I smiled when I saw that time because it was an excellent way to start this race and I no longer felt like I was way behind everyone else.

I settled in to a routine – up and down in Mile 1, hit the misting station and have them spray the back of my neck, out in to the sun, up the hill to Mile 2, grab a cup or refill my bottle with water at the hydration station, get mentally tough through the Mile 3+ stretch, cross the road, almost there, over some wooden bridges, see Mile 4 marker, a few more turns and then up the hill to the finish.

I was running strong and steady and was curious, with the heat and still recovering from the Mad Marathon two weeks ago, how long could I continue to run the entire loop without walking. Loop 2 – 8.4 miles down – went by and I was still running. I grabbed more chips, asked for a refill of ice and water, was weighed again (130#, right where I needed to be), and was back out on the course in 44 minutes 30 seconds. Wow, just a smidge faster. Seeing my time remain steady was a definite confidence booster.

The volunteers were asking about hydration and salt every time we came in to the start/finish. I took one salt tab on the second loop and then two on each loop after. Also, I made sure my water bottle was finished by the end of the loop and even refilled it if it was more than halfway empty at the midpoint hydration station. I also grabbed whatever looked good at the aid station – today it seemed to be potato chips, pretzels, watermelon and Gatorade. I had two gels throughout the day, just because I had them with me and I felt like I should.

I started Lap 3 and told myself to be smart, if at any point you feel like walking, just walk. To my surprise, I went through Lap 3 quickly and hit the start/finish without walking, once again in 44 minutes 30 seconds. Wow, just wow. I felt strong and unstoppable. Take that 100 degree heat!

However, the day was definitely getting warmer, the few early morning clouds were gone and more of the course was in full sun now that the sun was getting higher in the sky. Starting Lap 4, I again reminded myself that it was OK to walk. I came to the long uphill in Mile 1 and decided that walking was definitely in order. For the rest of the lap, I walked the larger uphills (except the finish, I was determined to always run in to the finish) and to my surprise came out of aid station at the end of Lap 4 with a time of 44 minutes 52 seconds. Holy moly, walking wasn’t taking away any time. I ran out of the station with a huge smile on my face.

I knew I couldn’t keep it up though. By this time, between sweating and the misting station, I was soaking wet (I could literally ring the sweat out of my running skirt – eww!) It was hot but I was handling it well and kept to my hydration/salt plan. For Lap 5, I decided to play a game: each time I passed someone or someone passed me going the other direction, I had to run for 60 seconds. If I passed someone else or someone passed me going the other way, the 60 seconds started over again. This was excellent motivation. The lap seemed to fly by and before I knew it, I was back at the aid station. My time was just over 48 minutes. Even with the additional walking, I added less than 5 minutes to my lap time. Woohoo!!

When I started the race my goal was one lap per hour, so since I was late and would be running for 5 hours 15 minutes, my goal was 5 laps and a little bit. Here I was, with 1.5 hours left on the race clock, 5 laps down (20.8 miles run) and I was feeling great.

I played the same game for Lap 6 – pass or someone pass me, run for a minimum of 60 seconds, the timer starts over if I passed someone else (or sometimes I just felt like running further). By this time, there were fewer people out on the trails and I was proud of myself for still being out there and feeling great. My legs were tired, my feet were starting to hurt a bit and I looked forward to the short bits of walking more and more but I also felt like I was on top of the world.

However, when Lap 6 was almost done and I started to have a weird moment of doubt. It was hot and I started to wonder if I really wanted to be out there. Six laps. Twenty-five miles. One hundred degree heat. Those are not things to scoff at. I could stop running and feel proud. When I came in to the aid station for the final time, a volunteer asked me what I wanted in my water bottle and I’m not really sure why but I told him, I think I am done. What, you aren’t done. Look at you. You look great. Get back out there, he told me in rapid fire succession. All these were valid points. But there are hills and sun back that way, I countered. You have 30 minutes left, come on. You could at least walk for 30 minutes, he said. Alright, alright, I’ll go, I said, and the volunteers handed me a little orange flag. If I was still on the course at the end of the race, when I heard the horn, I was to plant the flag on the side of the trail and then I would get credit for the distance I covered in that partial lap.

And so, thanks to that volunteer, I headed out of the aid station one last time. I was tired and sweaty and feeling gross. I wasn’t keen on being out there but I was back out on the course so I might as well make the most of it. I ran and walked. During a walk break, a relay team (there was a relay also going on at the same time – those little buggers would blow right by us individual runners all refreshed and rested) caught up to me and told me I should run with them. Alright, I said and reluctantly started running again. We exchanged some small talk and to my surprise I actually felt better running with a group. As they talked and encouraged each other and me, it reenergized me. On the next big climb, though, one of their teammates started to fall back so they told me to go ahead.

Once I left them, the boost didn’t last too long and after hitting the misting station for a final time (my favorite people all day!) I was back to walking wondering if I could get to Mile 2 before hearing the horn. Then, they caught up with me again, and shouted, come on Becki, run. Again, reluctantly I did and again, it felt good to run. I gave myself permission to walk the hill up to the Mile 2 marker but after that I would run until I heard the horn.

And that is exactly what I did. I heard the horn somewhere between Miles 2 and 3 of my seventh lap, planted my little flag and happily started walking back to the start/finish. Unfortunately, I think I was at the point in the course that was the further away from the start/finish and ended up walking quite a ways, on a sunny road, before a volunteer came by in her car and offered me a ride. Thank goodness she did, I was starting to feel a little nauseous from the heat and sun.

I hung around for some food and gobbled up cookies, chips, veggies and a hot dog. I tried to stay until they announced the awards but I was getting tired and had an hour long drive ahead of me. Since I was soaked, I did a quick change in the car, happily put on flip-flops and headed for home.

I ended up running 27.42 miles in 5 hours 15 minutes. I am confident that if I had been able to start on time I could have completed at least 7 laps and then tacked on another mile or so. I had a great time at this race. The volunteers, organizers and aid were top-notch. The shirt and race medal are neat. The food after was yummy. All the other runners were super supportive. I would love to give this course another shot when we aren’t experiencing the heat wave of the century and I’m not late to the start. A favorite race, for sure.

Mad Marathon – Race Report

2011-07-14T16:17:00.000-04:00

With the slogan, “The World’s Most Beautiful Marathon,” this inaugural race had a tremendous amount of expectation to meet. Run in the Mad River Valley of Central Vermont in the middle of summer, with the Green Mountains all around, gorgeous farmland, and wonderful old covered bridges, the beauty part was easy. It was the hills and heat that we had to worry about. Ben Franklin claimed “beauty and folly are old companions” and this race seemed to prove his point.

In training for this race, I didn’t take myself or my time as seriously as I did when I ran Charleston. I have my sub-4 and I wanted a fun marathon without all that worry about pace and numbers and times. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to run well so I made sure to incorporate hills in all my long runs but I also wanted to run a relaxed race so my goal was to run strong throughout and finish without a struggle. That sounds smart; so far, no folly.

But wait there’s more… The day before the race, I drove the course with my parents. They had driven it prior and Mom declared it “not that bad.” As we drove the country roads of Vermont, going up, going down over and over again, I found out that I have a different definition of “not that bad” than my mother. By the time we hit the second half of the course, I was announcing, “Yup, I’ll be walking this one. Oh, and this one. Walking again here.” This is why I never look at the course maps or profile charts or drive the course before the race, it only makesme nervous.

What have I gotten myself in to? Remember what old Ben said about beauty and folly?

Despite the increased levels of anxiety, driving the course actually proved to be beneficial. Right there in the car, I gave myself permission to walk parts of therace. I changed tactics and would approach the coming race like an ultra – Walk the uphills. Run the downhills and flats. I told myself to run strong but walk smart. I would run up the hills until my heart rate started to elevate and then I would break in to a power hike to the top.

Race morning was chilly and clear – perfect running weather – however, it was supposed to warm up quite a bit. The first mile of the course led us downhill and out of town, through a covered bridge on our way to Joplin Hill. The mile-andthensome-long climb to the top of Joplin Hill reduced nearly everyone to a walk but I was prepared and didn’t get discouraged. No, I never thought I’d be walking so early in a marathon but there was plenty of time to run later.

The remaining first half of the course, through mile 12 was on and off rolling, dirt and paved, roads with a few bigger hills that required walking and followed the same course (more or less) as the half marathon. At mile 12, we marathoners split off for a more challenging second half.

Also, just after Mile 12, my knees started to bother me. It was odd since I’ve never experienced knee pain in my training runs. I decided not to panic and see if the pain went away. It did, and I can’t even remember how long it lasted. It was the only point during the race that I started to worry so I am glad it went away as quickly as it came on.

Up to that point, I was alternating water and Gatorade at the aid stations. I grabbed a Gu (orange flavored – not that bad, surprisingly!) and sucked it down with a swallow of water at the next aid stations.

This second part of the course was almost solely on paved roads and had much less shade than the first half. Also, with the sun shining, the temperature had climbed in to the 70s. Running through sprinklers and grabbing two cups of water started to become a priority any time I hit an aid station. I focused on running strong and kept chugging along.

As I was running down a hill, just on the edge of control, thinking “well, this is steep” a spectator yelled out, “Welcome to the Dip!!” The infamous Dip. One-quarter mile up. One-quarter mile down. Steep and brutal. I made it through the Dip but wasn’t exactly looking forward to it on the way back.

Somewhere near mile 16, the course turns to make a long loop before heading back along the road we ran out on and then in to town for the finish. As I made that first turn, my stomach was feeling very full of liquids, which concerned me since the heat was increasing and I knew I needed to keep on top of my hydration. Just as I was shaking my head no to the offered water bottle, a woman offered me a watermelon slice – the most magical watermelon slice on the planet. “Oh, that looks good” I blurted out and the aid station workers had a giggle. Mmmm, watermelon. It was ice cold and tasty and exactly what I needed at that moment.

Reenergized by magical fruit, I took a couple deep breaths and realized that I was actually feeling good and had less than 10 miles left to run. We looped around and headed back to the finish, with only the Dip between me and the end (or so I thought).

The miles ticked off quickly and I kept to my plan – run the downhills and flats, run uphill until my heart rate jumps up and then powerhike to the top. Running along, checking off the miles, I felt like I was running in the zone. Sure, I was tired and hot and ready to be done running but “Run Strong” was my motto for the day and it kept me going.

“Three-fours of a mile to the Dip and then 3.5 miles to the finish once you get the top,” shouted a course marshal on a bike. That was all I needed to hear. I picked up the pace just a bit, told my legs and brain to just shut up and run to the Dip. One more walk and then I could cruise in to the finish (again…or so I thought).

Down the Dip I ran and up the Dip I hiked – breathing hard and anxious to see the top. The crowd support on the way up the Dip was great. Despite the fact that this race is mostly on backcountry roads, the support at the many, many aid stations and people at their houses along the way was phenomenal. Finally, at the top of the Dip, I ran through a sprinkler – oh, that’s cold and feels great. I also sucked down one of the gels I brought – Carboom Raspberry – in an effort to keep on top of my hydration/electrolytes. My stomach was still feeling pretty full but I was also feeling a touch hungry (an odd contradiction that could only happen in a marathon). I walked through the aid station at the top and then off I went with one goal in mind – finish.

Again, the miles ticked by quickly. Each time I saw an orange cone up ahead, I told myself not to get excited, that couldn’t possibly be another mile marker but each time it was, indeed, another mile down. I was getting closer and closer. We hit a long (it felt long anyway) downhill and I started looking for the last covered bridge that meant we were only a mile from the end. We rounded a turn and then there it was. I was tired but feeling better at mile 25 of this marathon than any of my other marathons.

Just as I was heading through the covered bridge, I heard a shout – “Becki! Becki! Oh, I’m sorry we missed you! Go Becki!” It was Mom. My parents had planned on meeting me at Mile 12 but had missed me by a few minutes. Mom ran with me until we got to one last hill up Main Street (darn, I forgot about this one, I thought I was done with the hills.) Off I went, power hiked up the hill, eager to get to the top and run it in to the finish.

I got to the top, started running and got one more “Go Becki” from Mom.

This was the only bad part of the course. Main Street had been opened back up and the runners had a small “shoulder” to run on but it was mostly broken asphalt and dirt. Finding a smooth path to run on was impossible until we were closer to the Waitsfield Village Green and the road opened up to runners only.

As I made the final few turns to finish on the green, I heard a “YAY! Go Becki!!” and there was Dad to cheer me in to the finish line. It was just to boost I needed to kick it in strong. I read 4:27 something on the clock and I was so excited that I beat my expectations. I ran strong the whole day, stuck to my plan and finished a great race feeling happy and proud!

The apple cider was delicious and the apple doughnuts would be a welcome treat later. Dad and I found a spot in the shade for me to take my shoes off (aaahhh), catch my breath and wait for Mom. I shared some French fries (tasted great but not a great idea for recovery) and started craving an iced coffee as soon as Dad told me they were being sold near-by (again, tasted great, hit the spot but it wasn’t a great idea to put more liquid in my belly).

This was definitely one of my best races and I am so proud to have finished the first Mad Marathon in such high spirits. “Strong” will be a key part of my racing strategy from now on.

I highly recommend this race – great organization and support, beautiful and challenging course and an accomplishment to be proud of at the end.

Trail Dawgs Triple Crown Trail Race – Race Report

2011-05-02T16:58:00.000-04:00

Three trail races – half marathon, 10K, 5K. Two short breaks – if you run fast enough. One morning. That is the idea behind the Trail Dawgs Triple Crown Trail Run. http://www.triplecrowntrailrun.org/

I arrived at White Clay Creek State Park in Newark, DE without incident just before 7 in the morning. I had a half an hour to get my race bib and packet and get settled before the start of race #1 – the half marathon. Not long after I arrived and received by race bib, my parents, who drove all night to run the third and final race of the day, pulled up. We said our hellos, hit the restroom, chatted for a bit and then it was time for me to line up for the half.

All the runners congregated at the top of a grassy hill next to the picnic area and waited as the race director first spray painted a line in the grass (the starting line) and briefed us on some pre-race instructions – run, follow the red then blue pie plates, enjoy the stream crossings and have fun. Then we were running!

It was in the 40s and overcast so I made the decision to pin my race bib with my three small tear away tags, one for each race, to my running skirt rather than my tank top or long sleeve shirt. I made the right decision, even though it did warm up slightly about half way through the half, we weren’t out in the sun for long and the long sleeves were nice in the shade of the trees and slight breeze.

We started the half bunched up but soon entered the woods so the single track trail forced us in to a single-file line. About a half mile in to the race I found myself behind an older gentleman with a navy headband and black calf compression-sleeves. He was setting a nice pace so I fell in line behind in and stayed there until mile 3.

The full marathon started 10 minutes after the half so I was expecting to be passed by marathon runners all day and the full marathon leader came ripping down the trail about 22 minutes after we started (only 10 after he did…he was flying) and there was a steady stream of “on your lefts” and “runner passings” for the rest of the race.

Around mile 3, we came to a creek crossing and I lost my pacer in the shuffle across the water. The water was about knee high and quite cold. I made it through without slipping and only noticed my wet shoes and socks for a few minutes after I got back on the trail. However, note to self, investigate wool socks, they will probably be more comfortable and dry faster.

The next four miles I followed the red pie plates, occasionally passing people but usually getting passed by the marathoners and walking up the steeper hills but keeping a steady pace on the downhills and flat bits. We hit a few aid stations along the way where I grabbed either water or Gatorade depending on how I was feeling (usually water) and a handful of goldfish crackers at each. This section of the trail also brought us out in to some fields for short periods and it was nice to warm up (and dry out a bit) in the sun. I was also on the look out for blue pie plates that signaled that we were on our way back toward the finish.

Before too long, I found the blue pie plates and got a little kick in my stride that always comes when I know I’m on my way back. Over the hills, through the woods…and over the fallen trees and through the mud…to the finish line we ran.

Around Mile 10 we circled back to the creek and by this time the water was higher than mid-thigh and even reached the bottom of my running skirt. The water was still cold but it actually felt great on my tired legs.

I reached this point after about 1 hour and 52 minutes of running and if I had just been running the half, I would have felt great about my time. However, I had a 10K to run in 38 minutes and I was hoping to have a break between the races. Over 3 miles of trails in 38 minutes was going to be rough. I knew I had to save something for the two other races I would be running but I also didn’t want to start the 10K late (its allowed but my goal for the day was to start all three races on time). I pushed just slightly on the flats (felt good) and downhills (felt, not as, good). I ran some of the smaller up hills but there was a long-ish climb about halfway between the creek and the finish line that seemed to go on forever. I power hiked up that hill, praying to see the top soon.

Finally, the top came and I took off, knowing that the finish line had to be close. I ran in to mud, deceptively hidden under the grass and my shoes were soaked for the third time that race. Sploosh! Sploosh! I didn’t even try to avoid the puddles.

I was listening hard for the cheers that would mean the finish line was, pushing the pace, watching my time. I had hoped to finish the half in 2:15 but that time came and went sometime in the mud. Then, up ahead, a dirt-bare hill, through the trees and the final turn before the finish. Just as I reached the top of that hill, with a few fans cheering on the runners, one shouted, “Final turn. Go catch him!” There was a tall guy about 10 seconds ahead me and my initial thought was, “No way. I have to run two more races today” but then my competitive spirit got the better of me and I slowly reeled him in as we made our way to the finish. At the last second, I felt bad about blowing past this guy right at the line so I slowed a bit and we crossed the line at the same time – 2 hours and 25 minutes.

Thank goodness that’s over, I thought. But, of course it wasn’t and the 10K race was lined up right next to the half marathon finish line so I let the volunteers tear off my half marathon tag, found my parents, sipped some water, told them I was feeling tired but OK, took off my long sleeve shirt and got in line for the 10K start, which I expected any second.

Four minutes and 19 seconds after finishing the half, I started running the 10K. I was tired and I was having some pain on the outside of my left knee (Where did that come from?) but I was having fun. The 10K course was the last three miles of the half course, running back out to the creek crossing and then cutting back to the first three miles of the half course. It was fun running the opposite direction of the full and half marathoners still running, giving them encouragement. It is one of the things I adore about trail runners, everyone is supportive – I said as many “good jobs,” “keep it ups,” and “looking strongs” as were said to me.

Another advantage of the 10K course is that I had already run the course once so it felt familiar. Just run to the creek and then come back, I told myself. That’s all.

As I took off for the start of the 10K, I told my parents to start the 5K on time and I would try to catch up with them if I didn’t finish the 10K on time, which seemed more and more likely. However, I knew I’d be upset with myself if I didn’t make it for the start of their race and I really want to run (or at least, start) with them so I used that as motivation to push through the 10K. I walked the bigger uphills but I kept a steady, strong pace the rest of the time.

Finally, I came out of the woods, power hiked up the last, grassy hill, saw the finish line and ran. I finished race #2 in 1 hour 11 minutes, just as the race director announced that there were only three minutes to go before the start of the 5K. My mom came running over, “you made it, we’re just lining up over here.” I joined the crowd for the 5K start feeling tired but thrilled that I had achieved my goal.

And then we were off and running the final race of the day. Dad was running a run / walk schedule but Mom was going to see how much she could run. I told her I would let her pull me along and for a half mile that plan worked out great. However, we came to the first hill and I knew I had to walk so I watched her ran away from me. I kept an eye on her but after the turn for the 5K cut off I lost sight of her. Oh well, I’ll see her at the finish.

I ran along the, now familiar, trails, enjoying the lack of pressure and time-crunch of this last race. I took my time and just went by feel, happy to not once glance at my watch. As I got closer to the finish, I caught sight of Mom up ahead quite a ways just as I hit the mud. I toyed with the idea of just taking it easy but then I decided that, if I could, I’d like to cross the finish line together. I picked up the pace and slowly reeled her in, finally catching up with her about a half mile to the finish. We ran up the last hill, made the final turn and saw the finish line. We decided to pick up the pace to squeak in under 40 minutes.

We grabbed some water and went back to the finish line to cheer Dad in for his finish. We didn’t have long to wait and he soon came out of the woods, running strong. “Yay, go Dad! Looking good! Finish strong!”

Everyone had a good race and I couldn’t have been happier that they came so far just to run a race with me. Eating our hamburger and hot dogs, chatting about our different races – when we walked or didn’t, who we passed, where we ran through the mud, leapt over logs and almost got lost – I couldn’t have asked for a better way to end the race and celebrate the day.

Trail Dawgs Triple Crown Trail Race Result – 4 hours 25 minutes, including three races and the two short breaks in between

Pros:
• Gorgeous trails to run along
• Well marked course
• Excellent volunteers
• BBQ at the end was delicious
• Perfect running weather – 50ish and overcast
• Fun, unique race set up – something to for everyone

Cons:
• If I have to have one, and its minor, I wish the shirt was more distinct and not cotton. I’d rather let the shirt do the bragging for me that I had run 3 races in one afternoon.

Brick Workout

2011-04-24T20:07:00.000-04:00

This morning I woke up early with a purpose. I got ready but not in my usual running garb for fifty degree weather. Instead, I grabbed a long sleeve shirt, padded gloves and my bike helmet.

Riding my bike never gives me the same thrill as running but I will admit it can be fun cruising downhills, pushing the pace on the flats, whizzing by runners. After a satisfying 16-miler yesterday, my legs took a little while to get in a groove but before too long I was in a zone and enjoying the ride. There is something satisfying about covering 8 miles in the time it takes to cover half that distance.

However, pulling in to the garage to park my bike, I wasn't done. To train for the upcoming Luray Triathlon, I need to practice transitioning from biking to running - or in tri terminology, a brick workout. I jumped off my bike, traded my helmet for a hat, took a sip of water and headed back out to the trail for an easy two miles.

Or, what should have been an easy two miles.

Jumping off a bike and going right in to a run is the same sensation you get when you first get off a trampoline - a bit weak and wobbly but also heavy and leaden. The only thing to do was tell my legs to move and just get it done. I wasn't trying to put any distance on my legs, just get used to going from one to the next, so I told myself to take it slow and just keep it steady.

It was a long mile out to the turn around but I was surprised to see my pace was decent. Seeing 10:30 on my Garmin instead of the 12:00 I felt like I was running gave me a boost on the way back.

I finished the workout - 8 miles on the bike, 2 miles running - in just over one hour and I felt good about it. I can't say it was fun or that I would ever choose to do a brick workout for fun but at least, now, I know I can do it.

Luray Tri here I come!

Daily Dozen:
8 miles - bike
2 miles - run

Washed Away

2011-04-13T16:59:00.000-04:00

One the schedule this morning was a 3 mile recovery run and I needed it. Yesterday was a tough day – 7 miles at pace, circuit training during my lunch break and then swimming laps after work. On top of those three workouts yesterday, I went to sleep a little later than usual last night so I was tired, in several ways, when I woke up this morning. On top of vaguely sore legs, droopy eyelids and a lack-of-sleep induced brain fog, it was also raining – 3 easy miles was probably the most I could muster.

As I stepped outside, wearing shorts and a long-sleeve t-shirt, it was drizzling but seemed to be letting up. As I walked to the bike path my legs, eyelids and brain seemed to come around to the idea of an easy run and I thought, “Well, this shouldn’t be too bad.”

I hit the start button my Garmin and off I went in to the cold, dark drizzle.

I hadn’t run more than a half a mile before it started raining harder and before long my shirt and hat were soaked. Slow and steady, and now wet as well, I ran along the bike trail, happy for the brief shelter offered as I ran under the overpasses. I’d shake the rain off my arms and wipe down the brim of my hat, which seems like a silly thing to do knowing that in 2 seconds I’d be right back out in the rain.

The rain energized me as I hit the turnaround point 1.5 miles away. I wasn’t tempted to go any further but I was also a little surprised to hit the halfway point so soon. Running felt good.

On the way back I hit a few puddles, tried my best to avoid them, soaked my shoes anyway, eventually gave up and splashed right through them. My tired muscles and sleepiness were washed away completely by the time I finished the run

Daily Dozen:
3 miles – easy
Upper body & core strength training @ lunch hour

How I Fartlek

2011-04-12T16:10:00.000-04:00

fart•lek
–noun
a training technique, used especially among runners, consisting of bursts of intense effort loosely alternating with less strenuous activity.

In my quest to run a strong marathon this summer, I’ve been adding speedwork to my running. The plan that I chose to follow (Hal Higdon’s Intermediate II) includes pace runs the day before the long run, meaning I try to run these miles as close to my planned marathon pace (9 minute miles) as possible. However, I’ve also made one run a week a fartlek run.

Most of the time you’ll find fartlek described as speedplay, encouraging the runner to add in bursts of speed by picking landmarks along their route, running fast to the landmark, slowing down, recovering and starting the process over again. I’ve tried this. It does not work for me because I, too often, am lazy. I need a coach to shout at me through a giant megaphone – “Run Fast NOW!”
Since I don’t have coach, giant megaphone or no, I had given up on fartlek runs. That is, until I came up with another idea.

One of the podcasts I look forward to listening to while out for a run is NPR’s All Songs Considered and on a run a few weeks ago, I decided to run hard each time a song was played and recover as best I could when the hosts were talking. This ended up being just the thing I needed to do fartlek runs.

Sometimes the hosts only do a short introduction between songs and some times they talk longer. Sometimes the songs are four or five minutes long and sometimes they only play parts of songs. I never know going in to the run where I’ll be – up hill, down hill, straight away – when the next song starts. I can’t go easy on myself because I’m not the one calling the shots.

And that is how I fartlek.

Daily Dozen:
7.5 miles run to work – fartlek miles 2-5
Circuit Training @ lunch hour
Swimming, 30 minutes

Morning Runners

2011-04-11T16:49:00.001-04:00

This morning was the first time this year I was able to run in shorts and a T-shirt and I decided to extend my planned 3 mile run in to a 5 miler so I could enjoy the beautiful morning weather as long as possible. Even though my pace was slow and my legs were feeling the 14-milers from Saturday, it was a perfect morning run. For the most part, I had the bike path to myself and it was hard not to imagine that I had to whole morning, the whole world to myself.

I’ve written before about how much I savor my early morning runs – finishing before the sun has a chance to rise, before most people even bother to hit the snooze button – and it is a run like this morning’s run that reaffirm that for me.

I wish I could say, “everyone should be a morning runner” and mean it, but I don’t. If everyone started running at 4:30 in the morning, the sense of secrecy I feel as I pass the three or four other runners I see that early would disappear. The sense of accomplishment I feel as I get in to work knowing that my official start to the day was hours ago would still be there but the feeling that that accomplishment is mine to relish privately would be diminished.

So, I say, everyone keep running after work. Fill the bike paths and sidewalks to capacity. Through your actions, spread the word that running is awesome. Just don’t decide to become early morning runners. (I have a feeling that I’m not in danger of this happening any time soon.)

Daily Dozen:
5 miles @ easy pace
Walk – hills on the treadmill & Strength Training – push-ups, lunges @ lunch hour

A Good Start

2011-03-26T05:47:00.000-04:00

It has been 2 months since the Charleston Marathon and I’m still on a running high from breaking the 4 hour barrier. I thought I would spend the rest of the year focusing on ultra distances and had my eye on a 50K and a 50 miler or two. However, after Charleston, I found myself wondering just how much faster I could run the marathon and I got very excited at the idea of finding out.

I found a mid-summer marathon that I’d like to focus on, Mad Marathon; its small (my preferred size race), its in Vermont (pretty and convenient to my parents) and it is a first-time event (for some reason, I like doing first-time events). After a week long vacation, I am back to running regularly and find myself focused on running a faster marathon in 16 weeks.

This morning was my first of several “pace” runs. I ran the first mile as a warm up and then started pushing the pace to get close to a 9 minute mile, which is what I would like to run at the Mad Marathon this summer. I’ve always found it difficult to run at race paces during training. Put me at the start line of a 5K and I’ll rip off an 8:30 first mile, no problem, but in training I find it difficult to even run a regular 10 minute pace. I convinced myself that that is just the way it is so why fight it?

However, running faster in Charleston has given me the confidence to push the pace every once in a while and tell myself that I can and will run faster. This morning, running to work, was my first test of my newfound confidence. To my surprise and delight, it worked. After mile 1, my pace picked up and even though I was feeling the effort, it got easier and I found myself in a nice running rhythm, not trying any harder but running faster and faster paces. Mile 2 showed a 9:20 pace. Mile 3 was a 9:13. Mile 4, when I thought I was not pushing as hard was a 9:09 and Mile 5 was a 9:03.

It felt good to be out on this cold morning, my backpack thumping on my back, speeding along the trails to work. What better way to start this round of marathon training? Mad River Valley, here I come!

Daily Dozen:

6.3 miles run to work, 4 miles at pace

Running Errands. Literally.

2011-02-20T15:42:00.000-05:00

I'm not running according to a schedule. I'm just running. I have several races on the schedule and I'm just going to run all of them. No time goals. Just running. How exciting!

However, it is making it difficult to push myself beyond my standard one hour run. I've started running to work more days of the week which means I get a 7 to 10 mile run Monday, Wednesday and Friday and I've been looking for the right kind of motivation for my weekend long run.

I had three things that needed to be done today: 1) a long run, preferably on a trail, 2) drop off some checks at the ATM and 3) pick up a prescription and contact solution from the pharmacy. As I got dressed for my run, I tried to plan my day and then thought, Why not get them all done at once?

I ran out the door with my checks for the ATM in one hand and my water bottle holder stuffed with my credit card for the pharmacy and two gels for the trail. I hit the ATM, headed through the streets of Arlington downhill toward the Potomac River, ran along the Potomac Heritage Trail for a few miles, felt satisfied with a an hour of scrambling up, over and down rocks and roots, turned back, jumped on the Custis Bike Trail for a mile, swung back through the, now busier, streets of Clarendon, stopped long enough at the pharmacy to get what I needed and then headed home after nearly three hours of running errands.

Having a purpose for a run seems to be a great motivator for me. Running as fun, exercise and mode of transportation.

Daily Dozen:
14 mile long/errand run

A Disappointment and a Few Opportunities

2011-02-03T13:40:00.000-05:00

This week, with the Charleston Marathon over and the glow of a sub-4 finish starting to fade, it was time to focus on my next goal: running my first 50-miler. Last summer, I had so much fun running the Skyline Challenge 50K that I wanted to continue challenging myself and run further than I ever had before. Targeting a 50 miler with its emphasis on steady forward motion and endurance would be a change of pace (literally and figuratively) from the faster running I was doing to prepare for Charleston and running a PR.

There was one flaw in my plan, which I hadn’t everconsidered. I didn’t get in to the race I wanted to run. Entry in to the race is a lottery based on a random number assignment and the performance of the stock market on the day the numbers are picked. As it turns out, I didn’t make it in and am rather far down the wait list. My chances don’t look good.

Realizing I wasn’t going to be running that particular 50 miler was disappointing but also, surprisingly, a bit of a relief. Now, I can take a bit longer to recover and maybe focus on some other events this spring. I’ve got a few shorter races this spring and all of them I will be running with either a friend or a family member. My early morning training runs are my time and I enjoy those runs but I do, sometimes, feel lonely at races being in huge crowd of runners and not knowing any of them. I love sharing races with people I know.

Also, I’ve signed up for my first triathlon, something that I never saw myself doing. I’ll be doing the swim portion of the Luray Triathlon, International distance on a Saturday in August and the whole multisport, swim, bike, run, Sprint distance race on Sunday. And I’m excited about it!

Finally, what I’ve only recently realized, after being disappointed for two days that I couldn’t run a 50 miler, was that I can run a 50 miler, just not that particular one. There are other options out there, who knew? I’ve got my eye on one that will be the first weekend in June and depending on how training goes this month, I will decided whether to sign up or not by March.

I love seeing my race schedule laid out before me and 2011 is shaping up to be a year of new experiences, new challenges and lots of quality time with friends and family out on the race course. Yes!

Daily Dozen:
Unscheduled Rest Day – I wanted to go swimming this morning but I stayed up late finishing a book and decided to continue sleeping when my alarm went off

Charleston Marathon: Race Report

2011-01-24T13:16:00.028-05:00

The title of this race report should be: “Just Run” she says. Or, why a 30 year old woman should still listen to her mother.

Marathon number six is in the books. It will be known as the race of constant calculations. Also, it felt like my strongest, and most smartly run, race.

Going in the Saturday’s race I had plenty of self-doubt and I was just too much in my head about it. Attempt a sub-four or not? Am I ready? Did I train enough? Blah blah blah. What good was all that second guessing going to do for me?

On the drive to Charleston I spoke to my mom on the phone, who tells me, “I was yelling at you. Well, not at you. I was yelling at your blog.” “Just run the race,” she went on to say, “who cares about all that other stuff. I mean, just run.”

To be honest, I was a little taken aback. Those were my real feelings. My real doubts. My real fears. And, here was someone telling me that they don’t matter. But, of course, she was right. You should always listen to your mother, why fight it? All I needed to do was show up on race day and run. And then, I started feeling a little silly about it all.

“…you just have to start running and take it from there” I decided to quit worrying about it and just show up on race day and run the race that was in me on that day. Just run.

I slept OK the night before the race. I was getting up every 2 or 3 hours to use the bathroom because I was determined to be as hydrated as possible. Also, I woke up at 5 and couldn’t get back to sleep even though I still had another 1.5 hours before I had to get ready. I did manage to doze on and off and finally got up at 6:30.

I made the decision to wear my running skirt instead of capri tights. It was in the mid-30s that morning but it would be up in to the 50s about 2 hours after the race started. I decided to sacrifice a little warmth at the beginning to ensure I didn’t overheat. This was definitely the right decision. I ate an orange and sipped a little more water before leaving the hotel for the starting line. I had a few bites of a bagel and a banana on the car ride over, trying to strike that delicate balance between fueling and actually eating.

Parking was easy and before too long, I was waiting at the start line with my fellow marathoners, both half and full. The pacers for this race had balloons tied to them so they could easily be spotted and I planted myself a few yards behind the yellow 4:00 marathon pacer and in line with the two blue 2:00 half marathon pacers. Well, this should be easy, just follow the balloons.

I ate a gel just before the race started and then suddenly I was running marathon #6. As I learned from my last marathon, I needed to let everyone pass me for the first few miles so I settled in a comfortable pace and just let the rest of the runners sprint off. I planned to let the first mile set the tone. I ran comfortably and didn’t push the pace and hit the first mile marker 9:253. Well, that didn’t feel too hard, I thought, what happens if I push just a little. Without much more effort I ran mile 3 in 9:02. That felt about right!

The beginning of the race

The first few miles of the race were in downtown Charleston, which was very neat to run through. There were plenty of spectators out braving the cold temps and it felt good to be cheered along as I found my rhythm. However, by mile 4 we were heading out of downtown and I focused on my next milestone – gel #2 at mile 6. I hit that water stop, sucked down the gel, gulped the water and was quickly on my way and on the look out for milestone #2 – my personal cheering squad at mile 9.5. Each of these miles ticked by quickly with a short hill around mile 8, really the only notable incline of the race. I was encouraged by the splits I was running: all of them in the vicinity of 9:00 to 9:10 a mile. Just where I wanted to be.

I spotted my husband and friends at 9.5 and got some great energy from the as I ran by. Wow, I’m 10 miles in to this race and feeling great. Next up, I set my sights on gel #3 at mile 12.

This would be the “longest” section of the race mentally as I wasn’t going to have my next milestone until I saw my cheering section again at Mile 21. The course at this point twists and turns through North Charleston, which many runners don’t like but I found the route easy to follow and encouraging. I was able to see parts of the course ahead of time and it was rewarding when I would reach them a short time later.

The volunteers throughout this race were great but I think they were particularly so during these middle miles. One of the things I loved about the race organization is that they printed our names on our bibs so it was cool to run up to a water stop and have the volunteer shout, “Way to Becki. Looking strong.” It seems like such a small thing to have the added bonus of your name thrown in to a shout of encouragement but it helps – big time.

I was cruising along, hitting approximate 9:00 miles through about mile 15 and then I hit a very slight fade and slipped to 9:10 to 9:15 pace. Absolutely no big deal but I had already begun the calculations.

This whole time I had kept the blue 2:00 half marathon balloons within sight and only occasionally saw the yellow 4:00 marathon balloon. I didn’t worry too much about that yellow balloon because the blues told me I was maintaining the right pace and I convinced myself that the yellow balloon had just gone out at too fast a pace. The blue balloons peeled off at Mile 11 to finish their race and I ran for quite some time without seeming the yellow balloon. I hit Mile 13 in 1:58 or so, which put me right at a 4 hour marathon without factoring in a fade and each mile after that I added up the time in my head, calculated the time left, just to reassure myself that my math was still right and 4 hours was still a possibility – yellow balloon or no yellow balloon.

Although I had slowed just a hair, by Mile 17 I caught sight of that yellow balloon again. It was getting closer. Slowly and ever so slightly but it was definitely getting closer. (You can see in my mile splits I actually picked up the pace back to sub 9:10 pace – wanting to catch that little yellow balloon put a fire in me early). Just stay on it and slowly reel it in, I told myself, just be patient.

With my eyes on that balloon, I ran toward my cheering section at mile 21. This was my last milestone before the finish line. My legs were starting to feel the miles but I was still feeling comfortable in my pace. As I saw my cheering squad, I shouting, “I NEED to catch that STUPID yellow balloon!” I didn’t realize how much that little balloon was impacting me until that shout came spitting out of my mouth. A fellow runner laughed and shouted, “that’s right, go get ‘im!” That was all I needed. I grabbed the banana that my crew was holding out for me (per instructions – late race banana hand offs are essential) and took off.

"I NEED to catch that STUPID yellow balloon"

The banana hand off just before I began to chase the balloon

I pushed. The remaining 5 miles of the course was an out and back. I just had to catch that balloon, make it to the turn around and hold on until the finish. I pushed and pushed. The yellow balloon got closer and closer. And yet, the out portion of the course seemed to go on forever. Also, I started noticing how many people were dressed in tights, long sleeve shirts, winter hats, etc. It seemed that everyone had a shirt or jacket tied around their waist. The temperature had gone from mid-30s in the morning to the 50s. An overheated, death march on a lonely strip of road with little crowd support was not the ideal way to run the final miles of the race but I had dressed for this last section and didn’t feel the heat as much as some. Just “follow the yellow balloon” I reminded myself.

(However, my favorite part of the race happened on the way out: there were several bands along the course and just before mile 22 there were two guys, one on a keyboard and the other with a mike. As I ran by, I hear the guy sing, “hey there, runner girl in the purple shirt, I love you in your running skirt.” I blew him a kiss. He deserved it.)

Singing distractions aside, I was totally focused on catching the yellow balloon but I also had my eye out for the turn around. Where was it? Finally, I caught and passed the yellow balloon just as we made the turn around. I just needed to hang on, not let that balloon pass me and finish this race.

Oh, but my strength was very quickly draining away. I was no longer focused on something tangible and the finish line seemed to never come. I ran and ran and ran but it didn’t seem to do any good. Just before mile 24 I heard two sets of feet coming up fast behind me and I prepared for the worst – seeing that little yellow balloon pass me and not being able to do a thing about it. Luckily, it wasn’t the balloon so I let the two runners go. Just hold steady, I told myself but I couldn’t help worrying that I had made my surge too early, that I wasn’t patient enough and I should have just stayed with the balloon until I got closer to the end rather than try to be a hero and bury it on the course behind me.

Just run, I repeated over and over. It is almost over. You’ve got it. Do the math. I did the math. I was cutting it close but under 4 hours was still possible. Mile 25 – done. One more mile marker to go.

(To anyone else this race was not nearly as dramatic as it was in my head).

I saw my crew again before making the final turn and they were so excited. “You did it. You caught the balloon. Yayayayay!” But I didn’t feel excited. I just wanted to be done. Where’s the turn for the finish, I asked. “Its just up there. You’re so close. You’ve got it.” I didn’t feel like I had anything but I kept running. Just run, I repeated, just finish this thing.

I did not feel as happy I look in this picture taken just before Mile 26 (Note the tiny yellow balloon in the background)

Mile marker 26 finally came and my watch read 3:58. I had 2 minutes to run .2 miles and finish under 4 hours. More math. It’s possible. I can do it. Just keeping running. I made the last turn and finally saw the finish line. As I got closer, I saw the clock and it read 3:59:something so I started sprinting. I didn’t want to just run a 4 hour marathon according to my chip time, dammit if I was going to do it, I wanted that clock to read 3-something. I surprised myself with an awesome finishing kick.

I sprinted past the spectators lining the last few yards and they erupted in shouts and cheers. I was the only runner crossing the finish line and the announcer started shouting, “And she’s going to make it under four hours. She’s sprinting it in under four hours. Becki has finished the Charleston Marathon in under four hours. Way to go Becki!”

The triumphant finish

Best. Finish. Ever. I felt like I had won the race. I can’t imagine that the actual winners got any better a reception as they crossed the line.

I crossed the finish line at 3:59:33 with a chip time of 3:59:06.

Tired. A little nauseous from sprinting. Satisfied. That is how I felt as I accepted my race medal and met up with my cheering squad.

Me and the best support crew ever (minus my favorite supporter who is taking this picture)

The smell of the free shrimp and grits was very unappealing but I happily accepted the free Fat Tire beer at the finish festival. I also bought a hot dog and some cookies from the food truck and gobbled them down. Great, unhealthy but totally yummy, way to celebrate a great race and my first “3:something” marathon finish.

Pros:

Charleston is a great place to visit and the city came out to support the race festival
The marathon was part of a whole race festival so there were distances for everyone to run – youth marathon, 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Full Marathon and even a Bike Ride the following day.
Even though this was the first year for the marathon, the organization was excellent
Volunteers and water stops were run well
Chip was attached to the back of the race bib so no need to untie shoes or return chips at the end of the race.
Free beer is always a good thing

Cons:

The course was supposed to have water stops with GU during the last miles – either it was gone by the time I came through or I missed it (or it was never there)
The final 5 miles out-and-back was confusing since we were never sure which side to run on
I hate when races take you right by the finish line in the late miles of a race – it is a special kind of torture to tempt us with stopping when we have another 5 miles to go (and many people are hitting the wall)
The only free food at the end of the race was shrimp and grits. Other runners seemed to be enjoying it. I wanted something else.

Miles Splits:

Miles 1 and 2 – 18:50 (I remember my watch read 9:23 at the first mile marker but I forgot to hit the lap button)

Mile 3 – 9:02

Mile 4 – 9:23

Mile 5 – 8:53

Mile 6 – 9:10

Mile 7 – 8:58

Mile 8 – 9:00

Mile 9 – 8:59

Mile 10 – 9:04

Mile 11 – 9:00

Mile 12 – 9:08

Mile 13 – 9:04

Mile 14 – 9:00

Mile 15 – 9:13 (started to fade a bit)

Mile 16 – 9:12

Mile 17 – 9:13

Mile 18 – 9:09

Mile 19 – 9:12

Mile 20 – 9:08

Mile 21 and 22 – 17:54 (average 8:57, the great yellow balloon chase began)

Mile 23 – 8:58

Mile 24 – 8:55

Mile 25 – 9:22 (balloon motivation starting to fade)

Mile 26 – 9:17

Last .2 – 1:48

Finish Time: 3:59:06

Doubt

2011-01-11T15:51:00.000-05:00

I had an interesting email exchange with a friend yesterday where she expressed doubt in her ability to train properly for an upcoming event. My advice to her was to “go for it” but then I started thinking about how much I doubted my own running abilities going in to Saturday’s marathon. I started to feel a bit like a hypocrite. It is easy to tell someone else that their doubts are unfounded but something else entirely when you have to deal with your own.

My training did not go as well as planned. I wasn’t able to get in as much mileage as I wanted because of life, my own training mistakes and sickness. I scrapped all the of speedwork in the last 6 weeks of training because it wasn’t working for me – not hitting the pace I thought I should be hitting was taking too much of a toll on my confidence so I chose to keep running rather than keep quitting when things didn’t go the way I wanted them to go. I don’t feel like I am ready to run a marathon.

Is it smart for me to back off my marathon goals for the reasons listed above or am I just making excuses so I don’t have to try and fail?

I don’t know.

I’ve talked myself in to being open to the possibility of just running for “fun” on Saturday without concern for a time goal but what if I am missing out on an opportunity to really test myself? I ran lots of long miles. I even ran a 22 miler in an even, faster than normal long run, pace and felt great the rest of the day. I did do 6 weeks of speedwork in the beginning of this training cycle and ran a 10K PR as a result. Perhaps feeling “ready” for a marathon is overrated? I certainly have felt “ready” for any of my past marathons.

The best I can do is show up and give it my best for the day and maybe, resigning myself to “running for fun” is really giving it my best?

David Fleming, a writer at ESPN wrote an article about his experience with his first (and last) marathon. The following words stuck with me:

“The reason we all hate -- and love -- running so much is that it's very much like life itself: It changes drastically and frequently and often without warning.

And you never know, from one day to the next, if you're going to have a great run or a horrible one -- you just have to start running and take it from there.”

Charleston Marathon Start Line: Here I Come.

Daily Dozen:
3 miles, nice and slow this morning

Swimming

2010-12-30T13:02:00.001-05:00

A bit over a month ago, after repeated attempts by a friend to get me to try swimming, I finally ran out of excuses and went swimming for the first time in a long, long time. As I knew I would, but for unknown reasons didn’t want to admit, I really enjoyed it and since that first “lesson” back in November I’ve been back to the pool a few more times.

I’m still learning about proper technique for my stroke and breathing and kicking…and about a million other things that it seems like I have to remember while swimming…but I am looking forward to improving and getting more efficient.

This morning I went to the pool by myself for the first time. As I slipped in to the slightly cool water, I had to smile to myself: I just couldn’t believe I was at the pool, preparing to swim laps at 5:45 in the morning. My friend was right, as soon as I started swimming; I ended up loving it and look forward to going back each week. Why did I resist this for so long?

I still don’t have a clue what I am doing and am rather intimidated / impressed by the other swimmers who seem to be able to swim lap after lap without pause. Meanwhile, I am please with myself whenever I can string together two or three laps without (much of) a pause at the wall. One day, I tell myself, one day that will be me.

With various pauses and rests thrown in, I swam 36 laps this morning for a total of 900 meters. Most sprint triathlons have a swim distance of 700 or so meters so I am rather encouraged by my swimming abilities this early in my learning.

Yes, I’ll finally admit it, my interest is slightly intrigued by triathlons and one of my goals for 2011 is to complete my first triathlon. New year, here I come!

Daily Dozen:

Swimming, 36 laps

Run to and from pool, less than 2 miles

A good run, a realization and a new goal

2010-12-28T13:08:00.000-05:00

This is my fourth attempt at following a marathon plan with specific types of runs – tempo, marathon pace, intervals, etc. Once again, I have discovered that this type of training just isn’t for me.

I get discouraged when I can’t hit the paces I am supposed to hit and always end up injured. However, for my first marathon, I followed a plan that simply had me running miles and it is the only training plan that I have been able to feel successful at following. I knew what to run that day and I just did it without much further thought. Plan says 5, run 5. Plans says 16, run 16. Just get the miles done.

And I was able to get the miles done. And, it was actually a confidence builder to succeed at the plan. Lately, I just seem frustrated at myself for not being able to improve and succeed at specific speedwork.

I want to get back to that feeling I had during my first round of marathon training: the feeling of pride and wonder as I discovered each week what new mileage milestones my body was capable of hitting. I want to go back to a time when I didn’t think twice about race pace or worry about running the race faster than last time.

My new goal for Charleston is to run a strong race. What strong means will depend on the day. I want to have fun out there. I don’t want to run a strong race and then feel down about it because it doesn’t meet the time expectation I foolishly set for myself. If I run a sub-4 hour marathon, great. If I PR, wonderful. If I run my strongest race and it is 30 minutes slower than I planned, I want that to be fine as well.

Today, rather than run the prescribed speedwork – 2 x 4 miles at MP, with .5 recovery – I went out for a long pre-work run listening to an All Songs Considered podcast. I decided to run faster whenever there was a song playing and then slow it down when there was talking. The pressure of hitting a specific pace on a cold, windy morning (and being disappointed and so frustrated in myself that I quit running) wasn’t part of my run. I ran the “fast” pace that felt good and have no idea what that means in numbers.

I ended the run with a smile on my face, feeling confident and strong. Boy, that sure felt good, I can’t wait to do it again tomorrow.

Daily Dozen

9.5 miles

XT in gym @ lunch hour

Snow Run

2010-12-17T10:55:00.000-05:00

Yesterday it snowed for much of the day and the snow stuck around overnight. The first half of my run to work is on bike paths, which do not get plowed or cleared (not that I am complaining) so I was crunching over new snow patches, following bike treads and the tracks of other runners, and trudging uphill using short, choppy steps because the snow made running more like trail running on sand. It definitely got my heart rate up and gave me a good workout.

One of my favorite things about running in the snow is that things just look prettier after a snow fall. I took these two photos on the run in to work (excuse the blurriness and low quality – running and taking pictures with my phone is not one of my strengths):

Here’s a pink sunrise seen through the clouds.

I took this photo while I was running over the Roosevelt Bridge into DC. This shot doesn’t do the view of the iced-over Potomac with Georgetown and the bridges in the background justice.

While running, really it felt more like slogging by the end, on the snowy bike path was a fun challenge, it made running on the sidewalks in DC feel even better. Once I hit the flat, snow-free sidewalks I instantly sped up and running felt nearly effortless.

Daily Dozen:
6.5 miles run to work

A Running and Writing Funk

2010-12-15T13:05:00.002-05:00

It was a month ago that I ran the Veteran’s Day 10K and I have been in a bit of funk ever since. Deciding to run home from the race proved to be a bad idea and I didn’t recover from that weekend very well. My paces have been off (think 11:30 to 12:30 pace…that’s slower than when I started running four years ago) and I just haven’t been excited about running.

Perhaps the most important factor of this running funk is that my confidence has reached a low point. What am I doing? Why do I care if I can run a marathon, let alone, in under 4 hours? What’s the point of running if I am going to feel like this?

Let me be clear: it wasn’t the slower paces, necessarily. I was putting all my effort in to faster paces – paces that felt as fast as the ones I had been hitting (somewhere in the mid- to low 9 minute mile range) and then I look at my watch and see 10:55. I was frustrated that I knew I had been running faster paces and that the effort didn’t seem to be paying off. Why push so hard for something that was nearly two minutes slower than I was capable of a month ago?

Anyway, I missed some runs. I got discouraged mid-run a few times and just stopped, opting to walk home and grumble than finish a run that felt horrible. But, that would only frustrate me further. Something needed to change.

I started to ignore the speed workouts and just go out for miles. I told myself it didn’t matter how fast or slow I was as long as I was out there getting the miles, everything would be OK. I even turned off the mile split feature on my Garmin. If I’m working hard and I feel like I am putting in a solid effort, I didn’t want to get discouraged if my actual pace didn’t match my perceived effort. In fact, I didn’t want to know until the run was over.

These things have worked. I’m feeling, and more importantly, running much better. My 16 miler over the weekend went well and the 20 miler the weekend before was also a solid effort.

The real take home lesson for me is that structured speedwork just isn’t for me. Tempo runs done by feel (run “comfortably hard”) and fartlek runs (run every time a song is one during the All Songs Considered podcast) work better than specific interval sessions (run 1 mile at marathon goal pace three times with half mile recovery). Not hitting the paces that I think I am supposed to be hitting just frustrates me.

Not to get too mushy but running is supposed to make me feel good about myself not make me beat myself up for not meeting expectations.

Daily Dozen:
XT @ lunch

Veteran’s Day 10K – A Race Report

2010-11-17T14:49:00.000-05:00

Or, a lesson in how to overdo it.

Who knows where thoughts come from? They just appear.

Sometime on Saturday, I decided that I was going to run to the race on Sunday. I could have ridden my bike or taken the metro, although that would have been cutting it close since the race started at 8 and the metro didn’t open until 7:30. I thought back to the GCF Half Marathon last November and thought, What the heck? Why not?

The few problems with this idea – this race being a time trial to judge my current fitness during this marathon cycle and that weekend’s schedule being a cutback week in terms of my overall training schedule, to name a few – didn’t seem to deter me. I rationalize them out of existence, telling myself that with my left shin bothering me I probably wasn’t going to get a PR or have a good time trial so why not get some more miles on my feet since I missed a few runs last week.

Plus, how bad ass is it to run 5.5 miles to a race, race it and then run back!

I woke up Sunday morning, got dressed and ready for the race, ate a banana, drank a glass of water, and headed out the door with a bagel in hand to munch on as I ran. As I ran through the quiet Arlington streets I wondered how many people noticed me running by with a bagel in one hand and a race bid pinned to the front of my shirt and wondered what I was up to.

I made it to West Potomac Park, about 5.5 miles from the house, in exactly 1 hour. Not overly speedy but definitely a good warm up. As I ran I questioned whether I was going the right thing? Whether I should even shoot for a PR (faster than 8:19 pace)? Maybe I should just enjoy the crisp fall weather and be happy with that? If I didn’t get a PR, would that mean a sub-4 marathon was out of reach? I hate that I have been so full of doubt this past week but Sunday, before the race, was not the moment I would shake that monkey off my back.

Eventually, we lined up at the start line and before too long the race was underway. I decided to run what felt like a fast 10K pace and let the first mile decide my approach to the rest of the race. If my pace over the first mile was anywhere near 8:20, I’d shoot for a PR. If it wasn’t, then I would just find a relaxing but quick pace and put all thoughts of PR times out of my head.

As always, people were passing me constantly even and I am getting much better at letting that happen. I no longer feel the urge to try to keep up with the people shooting out of the gate, confident that I’ll see them again before too long. The first mile felt like it was taking forever but I eventually passed the first mile marker and hit the lap button on my watch.

I was pleasantly surprised to see 8:28. Well, that is sort of close to an 8:19 PR pace and even though 9 seconds seemed like a long time to make up over the remaining 5.2 miles, the pace gave me the confidence to try. Just a pick up the pace a little bit, I told myself.

Mile 2 ticked off in 8:18. Well, that is more like it. If I can just stay with this pace for the next 4 miles or so, I wouldn’t be far from my PR. I started to focus on just making it to the turn around and before I knew it I hit Mile 3 with an 8:11 mile. As it turned out, I made up those 9 seconds pretty easily.

I swung around the turn around and headed back “home.” That’s what I tell myself on out-and-back long runs after getting to the turn around spot – “Now, I just have to make it home. Just gotta get home. That’s it.”

It was also at this point in a race that I expect to stop seeing so many people passing me and to start picking off all those people who started off too fast and zoomed by me in the beginning of the race. However, this wasn’t happening. People were still zooming by me and I felt like I wasn’t gaining on anyone. In fact, it started to discourage me and I started questioning my decision to run to the race.

What was I thinking? I’m fading 3 miles in to a 10K! Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Mile 4 was not an easy mile but I told myself to just relax in to the pace. If my pace dropped below 8:19, I told myself it was OK to let the PR go and not try to push myself to accomplish something that was out of reach. I ended up running an 8:18 that mile even though I felt like my pace had slowed significantly and that people were passing me with ease. I couldn’t quite give up on the PR so I pushed Mile 5, just to see what I could do at that point.

It turns out I could run an 8:08 mile for Mile 5. With 1.2 miles to go, I started to doing the math – if I stayed on this pace, if I didn’t let up for even a second, I just might be about to squeak in a PR but it would be close. I ran harder.

Before seeing the sign for Mile 6 – Where it is? Where is it? – I saw the finish line ahead of me. All I had to do was run to it. It seems to simple and easy. Mile 6. I hit the lap button on my watch but didn’t even look down. Just run to the finish. Keep pushing. Stay strong. Just run!

It turns out Mile 6 was my fastest mile at 8:06 and I covered the final .2 miles in 1:32 minutes for a 30 second PR at the 10K distance. My official time was 51 minutes 5 seconds. I couldn’t believe that after putting over 5 miles on my legs and claiming it was a warm up once again resulted in a strong PR. I felt great. Tired. Out of breath. But great.

I was the 188^th woman to cross the finish line and 58^th in my age group.

I grabbed an apple, a banana, a water and two cookies and sat down to stretch as I cheered on the rest of the people finishing the race. After scarfing all that down, I had to make a decision, am I really going to try to run home? My legs felt heavy but they didn’t hurt. I was definitely tired but I wasn’t exhausted. I decided to give it a try, sticking close to the metro line so that I could jump on if I needed to. I ended up running all the way home, (except for the last 3 blocks but only because Mike happened to drive by so he gave me a ride home).

I paid for it the next few days – the most sluggish, cement-legged run ever on Monday and more shin pain on Tuesday and today – but I still enjoyed it. Honestly, I can’t say I won’t do it again.

Pros:

Convenient-ish location
Great time of year to race in DC and pretty location along the river
Good organization
Cookies!

Cons:

A bit crowded (not for most people, especially for a DC race but this is just a personal preference)

To Run or Not to Run

2010-11-12T05:58:00.000-05:00

Well, that is the question, isn't it?

Last week was a great week of running. I ran for 52 miles total and during/after each run I felt strong and confident. I was hitting the right paces on the faster runs and the easy runs felt east. My long run on Sunday was a little under pace but I finished the 16 miles feeling like I had really accomplished something.

This week, however, hasn't been as great. Tuesday, I went out to do some interval work at marathon pace and noticed that my left shin was hurting. The pain was causing me to limp slightly so I made the decision to skip the run, thinking that maybe I'd try again the next day. When I got up Wednesday the sharp pain was no longer there but it was feeling a bit tender so I went ahead with the planned rest day. I ended up doing quite a bit of walking so I didn't feel too bad about skipping the speedwork for the week.

Thursday I did a 7 miler that was OK. It wasn't a great run but it also wasn't a bad run. My shin was feeling OK during and after the run; however, when I went down to the gym in the afternoon if started to hurt sharply again. Uh oh!

So, what do I do? I decided to get a good night's sleep and see how I felt in the morning.

Today, Friday, I planned to run to work. Saturday is to be a rest day. Sunday I have signed up for a 10K in order to judge my current fitness and see if a sub-4 marathon is in sight. On the one hand, Sunday's race is important from a mental aspect. It'll be a tremendous boost to run a great time for the 10K and know that my speed is there for the sub-4 attempt in a few months. However, this isn't a goal race so I am a little nervous about taking another day off during the training cycle.

I woke up convinced I was going to run. By the time I made it downstairs, I had decided not to run. I think I'm being smart about a small injury so that it doesn't turn in to a larger injury but that doesn't keep the doubts at bay - What am I doing? Who do I think I am attempting to run sub-4? I'm not a fast runner! Why is a sub-4 time so important? I'm just not made for running fast. I should just run Charleston for fun - slow and fun. I can't do this so why try?

It is hard no to lose sight of the big picture (I was running strong going in to this marathon training cycle, I've been running strong up until now. One bad week, a few missed runs - not that big a deal) when the immediate view feels so all encompassing (oh my god, I'm injured, when will I ever be able to run again. Probably never. Why is this happening to me?). However, one missed run, one very mild case of shin splints isn't going to make or break me as a runner so I might as well enjoy the extra rest and start focusing on Sunday's PR attempt at the 10K.

Confidence and strength, not fear, that's the lesson I want to learn during this training cycle.

Long Runs: Progression Style

2010-10-25T16:36:00.002-04:00

To me, long runs have always meant getting out there and hitting a certain distance goal no matter how long it took me. Twenty miles? No problem, I’ll just run out for 10 miles, turn around and run back home: slow and steady the whole way. That is, until now. I am taking a different approach to my long runs during this marathon training cycle.

The plan I’ve put together for the Charleston Marathon in January (and my first attempt at running a marathon in under 4 hours) incorporates Progression Long Runs. With 40 minutes left in the run, I am incrementally picking up the pace over the last four miles until the last mile hits my goal marathon pace (roughly 9 minutes per mile). Knowing what certain paces feel like and being able to hit certain paces is not one of my strengths as a runner so I am not going to be getting too hung up on numbers. Rather, my goal is to be able to hit the distance goal for the day and still be able to pick up the pace at the end to get somewhere in the vicinity of 9 minute miles.

Saturday was my first attempt at a progression long run – 13 miles with the last 4 getting close to goal marathon pace. It was a gorgeous morning for a run. The air was crisp and on the chilly-side but the sun was shining and there was promise that the temperatures would rise to be more comfortable.

I headed out for a relatively flat 6.5 miles before turning back for home. As I passed the four mile mark on the way out, I mentally checked off the location and told myself, when you run by here on the way home it’ll be time to pick up the pace. I hit the turn around point and then headed back toward that spot (and home).

I actually found myself looking forward to hitting the 9 mile mark (4 miles on the way out) and picking up the pace. It made the long run seem a bit shorter, having something other than the end to focus on.

My Garmin beeped at the Mile 9 mark and I picked up my pace. “Just a smidge faster,” I told myself. I always have trouble hitting race paces when I’m not actually racing so I wasn’t expecting much. I told myself not to be disappointed if I couldn’t find a faster pace and to just be happy if I was under a 10 minute pace. I was pleasantly surprised to see my Mile 10 pace at 9:02.

Okay! But back off just a little bit.

Mile 11 was 9:08 and I was surprised to still feel good. I felt like I was running only slightly faster than easy pace. Miles 12 and 13 would have some hills and I expected to slow down (and gave myself permission to have a slower pace). I ran these two miles in 9:18 (bigger, longer hill) and 9:10. It was a reverse of what I intended but still better than I expected.

I felt great at the end of the run and not just because of the successful progression run. I felt like I could have run further and most importantly, I felt comfortable running at a pace close to goal marathon pace after running with 9 miles already on my legs. When it comes to running faster and increasing my race paces, I think that one obstacle for me can be confidence. I’m afraid to run fast – my legs feel like lead, my lunges are burning, I can’t breath, I’m huffing and puffing, and most importantly my mind is telling me to shut it down, running slower just feels better in the long run. I want to learn how to shut my brain off.

I think my faster race times recently have shown me that I can run faster and that there is nothing to be afraid of when I stretch my running abilities. Saturday’s long run gave me another great confidence boost.

I celebrated with a hot mug of hot chocolate (made with milk, I call that my recovery drink!) and an ice bath.

Daily Dozen:

9 mile run to work

Push-ups, walking and stretching @ lunch hour

Picking a Training Plan

2010-10-18T17:01:00.000-04:00

I’ve run 5 marathons. I’ve used 5 different training plans: Hal Higdon’s Novice for the Shamrock Marathon, Hal Higdon’s Intermediate I for Marine Corp, my own plans for Vermont City (focusing on longer, long runs w/ 5 days of running per week) and Nashville (focusing on hills with 6 days of running each week). Bob Potts was just a retreat, recovery and hope for the best sort of plan.

After a few years of trying my hand at creating a plan, with some limited success, I decided to find something a bit more structured since I have the specific goal of running a sub-4 marathon in Charleston n January.

I found a plan on Runner’s World that is only 12-weeks and focuses on speed. I know I can go the distance. Now, it is a question of can I go the distance faster? We will find out.

Marathon training started today with a 9 mile run. I ran to work, taking a longer way past Arlington National Cemetery over to the Thomas Jefferson Memorial and then up the National Mall to the Capitol before swinging over in to Chinatown.

I am excited about this plan and I felt strong on this morning’s run. I’m looking forward to seeing where the speedwork takes me this go ‘round.

Daily Dozen:

8.86 miles run to work

Push-ups and walk @ lunch time

Race Report: Jonas Cattell Ten Miler 2010

2010-10-18T16:27:00.001-04:00

This is the third year I ran this race (second year I finished). This race is never one of my goal races but rather one I just run for fun because of a family tradition. That said, each time I’ve lined up, I always have the time 1:20:00 in the back of my mind. That time is the fastest time anyone in my family has run this race and one day I’d love to beat that time. Sunday was not that day.

It was a nice fall day – sunshine but a little on the chilly side – but I could have done without the wind. Windy conditions are about the only weather I can say I “hate” running in. Rain and snow can be fun. With the right running clothes both cold and hot can be overcome. Hats were made to block the sunshine. However, there is nothing you can do about the wind and it seemed that not matter which way we headed Sunday, the wind was headed straight toward me.

We started the race and I felt alright. Racing/running in the afternoon isn’t my favorite; it just isn’t the time of day that I prefer. I fought the urge to chase people down as they paced in the first mile and told myself that I’d have my revenge eventually. “Push not too hard” was what I kept telling myself.

For the first two miles we ran down a nice tree-lined street. I found my groove by mile 2 and told myself not to let any more people pass me at that point. I also told myself to hold off on chasing anyone down; “just keep it steady, B.” I ran those two miles in 17:16.

By Mile 3 we are heading out of the tree-lined town and hitting some more hills. I’m able to sail up the hills without much pause and even started passing some people as I made my way through Mile 4 in 17:24. I’m running a little slower than I had hoped so I give myself permission to start chasing people down.

I hit the halfway mark with an 8:06 Mile 5. Now that is more like it. I sipped/chocked down a gulp of water from the aid station, zoomed past three women I had my eye on and picked my pace just a smidge in order to ensure that I stayed ahead of them.

Mile 6 came up quick but I was a little surprised to see that my pace for that mile was 9:18. I felt like I had kept it even but I guess not. I made it my goal to hit the 7 mile mark in 1 hour but with that slower Mile 6 I knew I probably wouldn’t make it. As we approached Mile 7, I was surprised to look down and see 1:00:52 on my watch. If the Boston Qualifying times can give you an extra 59 seconds to make the cut-off then I’ll take those 52 seconds and consider it a 1 hour 7 miler.

The one hour mark was important because I knew I had hit that mark last year at the 7 mile marker and I wanted to be ahead last year’s time. It was at this point that I knew I was going to have a tough time beating last year’s time of 1:26:44. If I ran the remaining 3 miles at a 8:30 pace, I could do it but I was getting tired and even when I made the next turn, the wind was still blowing right in my face.

The final three miles was a straight shot with some small hills as we approached the stop lights. I had my eye on two women ahead of me. One, in a white top wasn’t that far ahead of me and I knew I could pass her in the next mile and the second was in a blue top and seemed very far away. I picked it up and passed white-top-woman and told myself to just settle in and not let anyone pass me – blue-top-lady was just too far ahead. However, as we made our way passed Mile 8, which was a 9:20 mile, I knew I needed to dig deep and pick it up if I wanted to beat last year’s time.

Oddly, I started to feel great. It was the only time during the race that I felt like my pace clicked. I was cruising along and blue-top was getting closer and closer. At first I told myself it was too early to kick but as she got closer to me I knew I didn’t want to rein myself in. I just let it go and smoothly ran past her. The next runner was barely a speck in the distance that I didn’t have a prayer of catching. I told myself to think of blue-top lady as the #3 female runner and I just had to stay ahead of her if I wanted to place. I have no idea what my ranking is among all the other women out there and had no idea then but it worked and gave me a fun motivation to keep pushing.

I hit Mile 9 with a 7:30 mile. It was my fastest mile all race and I knew that pace wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) last. I just hoped that I could hold on long enough to get across the finish line before blue-top lady kicked it in. I couldn’t feel my legs getting heavy and for the first time during the race my breathing was getting very heavy. I knew I had better get my butt across the finish line soon.

Finally, I saw it – at first, just a speck in the distance – and then I got closer and closer. I didn’t dare look behind me for blue-top because even if she was right behind me trying to kick past me I didn’t have anything in me to fight her off. I didn’t want to know. Finally I saw the clock and it read 1:25 something. Just push, I told myself. Come on – 1:25 something is at least a whole different number than 1:26 something.

There really wasn’t anything left in me. I came across the line was an 8:47 final mile, with a recorded final time of 1:26:10. I’ll take those 30 seconds. A PR is a PR. I was the 36th person to cross the finish line.

Once again, it was a fun race because I got to run with my family and hang out with the family again. The second place finisher for Females 25-29 was a nice touch.

Pros:
Nice day for running (even though it was windy)
Plenty of subs/food/water/Gatorade at the end

Cons:
No chip timing
Course is open to traffic (I nearly got squished by an RV making a right-hand turn)

Race Report: Northfield Savings Bank Flying Pig Footrace

2010-09-10T13:43:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday, while in Vermont visiting my parents, I ran the 33rd Annual Northfield Savings Bank Flying Pig Footrace with my mom. I was excited and proud to be running in the same race with her but she insisted that I run my own race and then come back for her. I begrudgingly accepted my mom’s orders even though my legs were exhausted from hiking Camel’s Hump the day before and I would have gladly slowed my pace to run with her.

Saturday ended up being a great day for a race: bright, sunny (although some clouds did roll in just at the start but then just as quickly disappeared again), cool weather. Ask any one of the Vermonters I was racing with and they’d argue that last point since it was supposed to get up in to the 70s that day.

We walked down to Northfield’s Village Common, where the race would start and end, about an hour early to watch the kid’s 1-mile race. Watching the kids take off at the starting line, eager, smiling and determined faces, was fun. The kids did not disappoint and put in a great race effort with the first one (a girl, no less) coming across the line in just over 6 and half minutes (a mile time, I’d never be able to hit now!).

After watching the kids finish their race, we walked over to the bank and got our bibs and t-shirts. The t-shirts are really great with an awesome picture of a flying pig on the back. It is definitely one of the most fun cotton race t-shirts I’ve ever received.

We were called to the start line and took off, immediately up hill for approximately one-third to half a mile. On the plus side, starting up in a race is a great way to guarantee that you don’t go out too fast and I love running up hills. On the negative side, it can be a little discouraging to start out a 5K already out of breath and tired. I didn’t push too hard up the hill, letting people stream past me. I told myself to just be patient because I’d soon be passing them.

As we hit the top of the hill and the course flattened out, I picked up the pace and told myself, “push, it’s only three miles; it’ll be over before you know it.” My 3 mile PR is 24:xx minutes and I think I could have taken a shot at the record had I not hiked the day before and if the race hadn’t started on an incline. However, those are the circumstances of this race so I told myself that plan A was get in under 26 minutes and plan B was to at least run it under 30 minutes. I was feeling surprisingly well as I started to push the pace at the top of hill and thought, maybe I could get close to the PR.

The course took us up to the edge of the Norwich University campus before turning back toward the Village Common, crossing within 50 yards of the finish line, circling across and along the Dog River before turning back toward the Village Common and the finish line.

I hit mile one in 8:06 and definitely felt good. I thought I could aim for sub-8 one the next mile so I picked it up just a hair. As I was heading down hill, toward Village Common the first time, I let gravity take over and sped down it, passing a woman in a bright blue t-shirt. Nothing remarkable about that as I was passing loads of people but I would remember her later. Not long after crossing the Dog River, along Water Street, which had little shade and the sun had come back out, I started to slow. My legs were tired. Uh oh.

Up to that point, I had been focusing on catching the person in front of me, passing them and then picking out my next victim. Now, it was just a matter of survival. I told myself, “just hang on, I was almost to Mile two and the turn around, just don’t let anyone pass.” But the turn around was a long time coming and I knew I was in some trouble. I hit the second mile in 8:12.

A PR was out of the question but I could still eke in under 26 minutes if I just kept up the pace.

Luckily after the turn around, I had something to distract me from the cement-like legs – I knew I would pass-by mom. I looked and looked. Nope, that’s not her. Oh, that could be…nope not her. Oh wait, there she is. And there she was, coming down the street, head down a little, a little red in the face but still moving forward. She perked up when she saw me and me high-fived. “Go Momma!!” I shouted. It was one of my favorite race moments ever (beaten, of course by the banana hand-off from my first marathon).

Well, now I had to finish this race, no more distractions just one foot in front of the other and repeat as quickly as possible. Just as I spotted to turn up ahead, I heard someone getting closer and closer, both their footfalls and their breathing. It didn’t sound good and I really wanted to hold them off but I just couldn’t find any pep in my legs and I knew I wanted to save a little bit for the kick to the finish line. That’s when blue-shirt passed me.

“Argh” I wanted to scream. I had thundered past her on the downhill and here she was, slow and steady coming back. For a second, I thought about just running all out, screw the kick at the end, but my legs weren’t interested in responding. I had found a groove and they didn’t want to go any faster. A little disappointed, I let her go without a fight and just focused on getting to the finish.

I made the final turn, a tiny up and over the bridge and gave it my all toward the finish line. I couldn’t find any speed to pass anyone but I finished strong and it felt good. To my surprise, the clock read 25:34 as I crossed the finish line. I thought I had slowed more than that on the last 1.1 miles (total 9:15) but I had managed to hold on for a sub-26 finish.

I quickly, grabbed some water, waved at my dad and Mike and then started back for Mom. I really wanted to run part of the race with her. I met up with her with about a quarter mile to go and ran it in with her. She said she was tired and that this was tougher than she thought it would be. Regardless, I was so proud of her as we ran in to the finish line. “This is my MOM!” I wanted to shout. Of course, I didn’t shout that but I couldn’t contain my smile and hoped that it was good enough to show everyone how happy I was to run that race with her.

I ended up finishing 67th overall and 8th in my age group with an official time of 25:33 an average pace of 8:14.

Great race. Great company. Great day. Thanks Mom! xoxo

Pros:

Great (cotton) t-shirt
Cool weather (for a Virginian)
Fun festivities before and after
Great small town race

Hike: Camel’s Hump Summit via the Monroe Trail, Vermont

2010-09-08T13:42:00.000-04:00

“Well, this mountain kicked my ass.” Those are the words my little brother, Dan muttered as we finally neared the summit of Camel’s Hump Mountain. After nearly two hours of steep incline, a few rock scrambles and more tree roots than I can count we were finally getting close to the end of the 3.75 mile trail to the top of the mountain. It was, indeed, a tough climb to the top and it was a relief to know that the end was in sight…well, sort of.

At about 12:30 in the afternoon, my little brother, SCAMP (the dog), Mike and I started our hike up to the top of Camel’s Hump, the third largest mountain in Vermont, part of the Green Mountains and perhaps that state’s most distinctive peak. We were all looking forward to a nice hike to the top of the mountain. Although we should have known it would be tough, we were walking up a mountain after all, we really didn’t know what we were getting ourselves in to as we started out on a single track dirt trail.

We quickly fell in to three separate hiking patterns: Mike hiking ahead with SCAMP, Dan not far behind and me bringing up the rear. The trail went up, up, up relentlessly and we took a break for water and to catch our breath when the trail intersected with the Dean Trail.

At this point, we fell in to a new routine: Mike still hiking ahead with the dog, Dan ambling along the trail and me some where in the middle attempting to keep up with Mike and the dog without losing track of Dan. One of the things I love about hiking is that it satisfies my contradictory desire to be both alone and with our people. As we hiked we did very little talking, we weren’t even in sight of one another for a majority of the time, and yet, I loved that we shared this experience.

Most people would think that hiking up a mountain, being constantly out of breath and having to scramble up and over rocks sounds like a form of punishment or torture but I love it. Getting to the top of a long trail up a mountain is a uniquely satisfying feeling. It is filled with triumphs (yay, I made is to the top of this climb) and moments of renewed determination (but I have miles more to go). There are rewards – a sudden clearing of the trees at a beautiful vista of the mountains surrounding you – and moments of quiet reflection as you walk through a forest that has been around longer than you can imagine.

This hike did not disappoint in any of these regards. There were very few switchbacks up this mountain, just a relentless incline through the forest and over the rocks and roots. Most of the time we were under tree cover, which kept us relatively cool, but there were a few spots where we out in the sun. It was actually a pleasant day for hiking (I know most Vermonters would probably say it was hot since it was up in to the 80s but considered there was little humidity and that all I’ve had for the past few weeks is to sticky, gross upper-90s in DC, I thought the temperature was refreshing).

Nearing the top of the mountain and just over three miles, we started to keep our eyes out for the short side trail that would take us to the wing of a B-24J bomber. In 1944, during World War II, the bomber was out on a training run and crashed in to the mountain. The plane (and the several crew members who died) was eventually recovered with the exception of the wing which sits just off the Monroe Trail.

The wing has weathered the 60-plus years on the mountain well but it seems so out of place in this setting. It is definitely one of the most unusual things I’ve encountered out on a hike.

Not long after the seeing the wing, we finally reached the alpine zone and the summit. It was a relief to finally reach the top; we were tired of going up. I was surprised by two things at the top of the mountain: 1) at some point during the hike, the clouds had rolled in and it was overcast and 2) it was super windy. As a result, it felted like we had hiked out of one day and in to another.

Following a hike description we found online, we decided to hike the Long Trail down the mountain, hook up with the Dean Tail after about a mile and then get back on the Monroe Trail a bit under 2 miles from the trail head. As it turned out, this ended up being a bit of a misstep on our part. Since everyone was exhausted from the trip up we probably should have just stayed on the Monroe Trail, retrace our steps back to the start. However, we decided to brave the unknown.

This section of the Long Trail ended up being quite difficult. There was a great deal more rock scrambling and one point we even had to carry the dog over a section of rock. It was a tough hike down because of the steepness and the fact that we weren’t sure we were on the right trail at one point, plus it took us longer to climb down that we anticipated so there were some tense moments before we finally popped out on the Dean Trail and then saw the sign for the Monroe trail and the parking area.

Despite the exhausting climb down (oh man, my quads were toast from the climb up so they were nearly shot for all the downhill stuff), I think the Long Trail portion would have been an awesome climb up. It would have been steeper and tougher, with more hands and knees rock scrambling but it would have been fun to tackle those sections with fresher legs.

We finally made it back to the trail head, all four of us completely spent. It was a fun hike and I highly recommend it for anyone who’s in good hiking shape. I’d love to do it again.

Deceptively Active

2010-08-30T15:36:00.000-04:00

I enjoy finding new ways to be active, especially when they don’t feel like exercise. Going for an evening walk or bike ride around the neighborhood, playing tourist in your own hometown and walking everywhere to do it, or trying out a new hiking trail just because it is a beautiful day, are just a few of the ways I’ve tricked myself in to exercise.

Another form of deceptive activity for me is kayaking. We used to go kayaking often when we lived down in Southern Maryland but sadly we had to leave our kayaks behind when we moved up to the DC area because we had no place to store them. Finally, five years later, we went back to collect our kayaks and took out on the Potomac River on Saturday.

It was a gorgeous day to be on the water: the sun was shining down from a blue sky with only a few puffy white clouds. We launched from a marina near National airport and headed toward the Memorial Bridge.

Kayaking on the Potomac, Memorial Bridge in the background w/ Rosslyn, VA on the left and Washington, DC on the right

As we paddled along, sometimes quickly racing ahead of Mike and then slowing down or stopping in order to enjoy the scenery and waiting for Mike to catch up. Race ahead. Drift. Race ahead, drift.

We paddled under Memorial Bridge with the goal of kayaking to Roosevelt Island before turning around and heading back to the marina. We made it to the island and saw a few herons and several small hawks (not sure what kind) along the shore and in the trees. We found a small inlet so we paddled in to the middle of the island. After check out the interior of the island, we headed back to the river.

As we started back toward the marina we spotted a turtle sunning himself on some driftwood in the middle of the Potomac. It is amazing how much wildlife you can see in a city if you look in the right places. It is one of the things I love about DC. While running I’ve come across deer and fox and now we’ve seen turtles and heron within earshot of the hectic citylife of the National Mall.

My arms started getting tired on the way back so I was drifting more than I was racing ahead and I noticed all of the runners and bikers using the bike path along the VA side of the Potomac. I run along this path once or twice a week for the past four years and I’ve often spotted kayakers out on the river. It was often a welcome distraction, something to think about, as I made my way through longer and longer runs. On hot days I would have traded places with those kayakers in an instant if someone had offered up the opportunity and now I was one of them.

It was one of the only times I can remember watching other people run and not feeling an overwhelming urge to join them. I only wondered how many of them spotted me and thought, “Hey, look. A kayaker. That looks fun.”

Me on the Potomac w/ the Mt. Vernon bike trail in the background

We ended up kayaking for an hour and a half and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn’t even notice that it was 90 minutes of exercise because it wasn’t. It was an hour and half of fun that happened to be good for me physically and mentally. And that’s the best kind of active.

Formulating My Plan

2010-08-11T14:22:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I can be a little flaky when it comes to picking goal races. I want to do them all and as soon as I find a new race/challenge I start day-dreaming about how I can fit it in to my schedule. Oh, a new 50K in Maryland only 30 minutes from the house! Ah, a 12-hour trail run adventure in VA in about a month! Look, a race on the C&O Towpath; I love the towpath! Wow, a race put on by a great beer company; I’m there!

And this is how I ended up with a race (sometimes, two) every weekend of September:

September 4 – Northfield Savings Banks Flying Pig Footrace, 5K
September 11 – VHTRC Women’s Half Marathon Trail Run
September 18 – Revenge of the Penguins 10 Miler
September 25 – Clarendon Day 10K
September 26 – Dogfish Dash 5K

Fortunately I didn’t get too carried away and all of the races are below or at the half-marathon distance (but I’m keeping an eye on that 50K and that 12-hour run for next year).

However, I’m not specifically training for any of these races. I know I can run these distances and I’m really not all that concerned with beating PRs, although it was would be nice if it happened. I wanted to rediscover a sense of freedom in my running. I enjoy doing races and when they aren’t “goal races” there is zero stress involved so I ended up having a great time. There is nothing like crossing a finish line.

And yet, I still want more. I’ve been telling myself since the Skyline Challenge 50K that I should just take the fall off of “training” and just run and race for fun. I’ve repeated this to myself over and over again.

It did not stick.

After talking to another runner about upcoming races and goals, I started getting the itch to attempt a sub-4 marathon with the eventual goal of running a Boston Qualifying time of 3:40. As much as I loved the ultra and as excited as I get about attempting to run further distances, I would also love to go sub-4 before I turn 30. I don’t know why it is important for me to reach this utterly self-imposed arbitrary time goal before my next birthday but nevertheless, it is.

I found a flat, flat, flat race that may just do the trick and I won’t have to start marathon training until October since the race isn’t until the middle of January. No summer long runs for me! Yay!

Anyway, the race isn’t for sure and plans could definitely change but for now it is what I am most excited about so I’m going to go with it.

Sub-4 here I come (and I’ve got my eye on you BQ!)

Daily Dozen:
Strength Training in the morning
XT – Stair climber and elliptical @ lunch hour

Rejection never felt so good.

2010-07-28T13:26:00.000-04:00

Going in to the Skyline Challenge 50K, I told myself that if the race went well and I enjoyed the experience I would sign up for the JFK 50 Miler in November. Because of the volume of application the race receives, this year they made entry in to the race a lottery. My application did not get picked in the lottery and I have to be honest my initial reaction was disappointment mixed with relief.

I had a training plan worked out and have poured over race reports from previous years but I was still relieved that I wouldn’t have to go through with the race. I’m not sure I am ready to take on that challenge just yet and I’d like to get some more 50Ks under my belt before jumping up to the next level.

So, yay! for rejection. Saved by the lottery!

I have my eye on another 50K this fall but I’d like to see how a month or so of training goes before signing up for it. It would be a flatter, loop course and I’m excited to see how I handle it compared to the Skyline Challenge that was an out-and-back up and down mountains.

Also, I’ve signed up for quite a few shorter races – a half-marathon trail race, some 10Ks and 5Ks and the annual 10-mile that has become something of a family tradition.

Even if I don’t sign up for another long race this fall I’m looking forward to a fun and relaxed fall running season. No pressure, no expectations, just good running experiences.

Daily Dozen:
XT – elliptical and stair-master @ lunch hour

Recovery Plan

2010-07-16T10:07:00.002-04:00

My plan for the rest of July is to fully recover from the Skyline Challenge 50K and be ready to jump back in to running in August. It’s not that I’ll be doing zero running for the next two weeks but rather that I plan on taking it slow and easy and not pushing myself to get out on the bike paths.

Recovery is going well so far. I hadn’t run a step since Saturday’s race because my legs were still feeling sore. However, this morning I wok up an hour before my alarm, wide awake which is usually a sign that the first hurdle toward recovery has been reached.

I decided to go out for a run/walk just to see how my legs would respond. My legs are still feeling pretty dead and I ended up walking quite a bit but it was definitely a mental boost to get back out there.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought toward doing more ultra races but I haven’t really decided on what’s next for me. I’ve been doing some reading on ultras and training for these types of races and I came across this video, Grandmothers of Endurance.

Not only are these women awesome, but they are a huge inspiration to me. I want to be them when I grow up. I have every intention of the being that gray-haired, little old lady at races. Being a lifelong runner is my ultimate goal!

Daily Dozen
2 miles in 28 minutes, early morning

Race Report: The Skyline Challenge 50K Ultra-Marathon

2010-07-13T10:04:00.000-04:00

What am I doing here?

That was the thought running through my mind in the early morning hours on Saturday, July 10th. What in the world am I doing standing in the rain, before the sun has even come up, surrounded by 100 or so people, waiting for someone to shout “GO!” so that I could spend the next 8 hours running/walking/moving forward through the mountains?

I have been in such a funk lately that I just couldn’t wrap my brain around the fact that I had actually signed up for an ultra-marathon several months ago and now I was asking my legs to go through with it even though my brain and heart just weren’t in to it. What am I doing here?

I won’t bury the lead here – I had a great day, a great race and I loved just about every second of this experience. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the race. My brain has been churning away faster than it ever has before considering possible future races and experiences. I keep playing back the race in my head, trying to hold on to every second of the race at once – all 8 hours and 9 minutes, all 29,340 seconds at once.

Even though I’m hobbling around on sore, weak post-race legs, I feel completely reenergized and strong. Sunday I couldn’t help staring at my legs in amazement at what they are capable of accomplishing.

Start to Aid Station #1

It had rained heavily all night but it was only just drizzling when I woke up Saturday morning. As I walked to the race start from the campground, I wasn’t sure how to feel about the rain. While it was cooling things off significantly compared to the last few days, I also wasn’t prepared to be slipping and sliding along muddy trails all day long. The drizzle continued through the pre-race announcements and the short time we waited on the dirt road for the race to start but as soon as they shouted “GO!” I forgot about the rain and didn’t take notice of when it stopped. It couldn’t have continued for more than a mile or two.

In fact as soon as I heard the word “GO!” and took off at a slow trot toward the trails my mind started to focused on getting to the first aid station. The aid stations were supposed to be 4-5 miles apart and I just focused on getting to the first. I’d figure out the rest once I got there.

According to the pre-race announcements it was 5 miles to the first aid station and afterwards we’d hit a long uphill. “You’ll hate this hill now and you’ll hate it even more when you get there” the race director told us. However, I couldn’t think past the first aid station. I knew I had to make it there and that was it.

The trail was muddy from the rain and there were huge puddles along the course forcing us to tiptoe around them. Also, we were still bunched up so this part of the race was a little slow. After a moderate climb we spread out a bit and I even ended up going down the wrong trail for about 5 minutes with a large group of runners before we realized we hadn’t seen pink or orange ribbons in a while. It was a bit of a “Who’s on First” routine trying to figure out which of the three trails we needed to follow but we eventually figured it out and I made it to the first aid station in tact.

Aid Station #1 to Aid Station #2

I grabbed 3 Oreos, a gel and filled my hand-held water bottle and headed back out on the course. I ate the three cookies and saved the gel for later knowing that I would probably need a boost after we hit the “hill” the race director warned us about. After the ups and downs during that first section it was hard to imagine what could be worse that would necessitate a warning from the RD.

This would be the shortest distance between aid stations of the day at roughly 3 miles but it involved that now infamous (at least in my imagination) incline. Even though the sun had come up, it was still overcast and the mud on the trails had not improved. We were still a bit bunched up as we all hit that steep hill, with large rocks and slippery mud. I managed to power hike my way to the top without incident but others seemed to be struggling up the muddy trail and a few even fell in to the mud.

Once at the top, I didn’t take time to catch my breath, happy to be able to run again. I made it to the next Aid Station faster than I expected, hitting a short (but rocky, hilly and exposed) out-and-back. Again, I grabbed a few cookies and a gel or two for the road before heading back out on the trails.

Aid Station #2 to Aid Station #3

The next part of the course was a lot of fun. We ran along the top of the mountain, hitting an overlook that would have been very nice had we not been fogged in. After a few miles of relatively flat but rocky trails, we hit the switchbacks down the other side of the mountain. It was a lot of fun to bomb the switchbacks, barely slowing for the turns, using trees to make the 180 degree turns easier. I didn’t take much notice of how long we were on this section of the trail and I should have because it would be important for the way back but I had a great deal of fun running down that mountain.

Coming off the switchbacks we ended up on a wider fire road with plenty of room to let loose. I cruised the flats and down hills, walked the up hills, and felt like I was in the zone.

The sun started to come out and at this point, I had been out on the course a little under 3 hours 30 minutes. It was starting to warm up but the trees were providing a nice shade and I welcomed the opportunity to dry out a little bit.

I had been aiming to hit each of the aid stations in 1 hour 15 minutes or less and I was on target. I felt surprisingly good considering I had run nearly 15 miles on hilly, rocky terrain.

I made it to Aid Station #3, refilled my water bottle, grabbed some pretzels, cookies and gummy bears and some salt tablets and headed down the road.

Aid Station #3 to Aid Station #4

There was a small bit of road running after leaving aid station #3 but I didn’t mind it before we hit a wide gravel trail with some rolling ups and downs. I also finally saw the lead runners coming back and got my first taste of just how supportive and friendly ultra-runners can be. Every single runner who passed me going the other direction had a smile and words of encouragement. I’ve cheered on faster runners in plenty of road races but never once have the lead runners broken focus in order to tell me “good job” or “keep it up” or “looking strong.” It was an awesome show of support.

Nearly to Aid Station #4, we headed up a long, winding hill. I walked most of it but it felt great knowing I was so close to the turn around point.

As I came up to the top of the hill, I realized I had only seen 7 or 8 woman coming back the other direction, meaning I was in the top ten (now, there were only about 100 runners I would guess and only a quarter of those runners were women but still…top ten!!). I breezed through the aid station, grabbed some goodies and gels and headed back down the hill.

Aid Station #4 to Aid Station #5

I felt GREAT. I was flying.

I hooked up with another runner going down the hill who was from Northern VA and we started talking about ultras and running in DC, etc. He was amazed that this was my first ultra and that I was looking so good. It was fun to have someone else to talk to and it must have shown because everyone commented on how much fun we were having as we passed.

Then, I realized we hadn’t passed anyone for a while. Then, I realized we hadn’t seen an orange or pink ribbon in a while. Then, I realized that we were running on a road, not a trail and had been for some time. Then, full realization set it…we had missed a turn (it wasn’t just me and my new friend, there were 5 of us strung out along the road) and were not on the course. We headed back the way we came and I took off. I didn’t really care that we were lost or that I had run two extra miles. I just wanted to get back to the course because I had something to prove to myself now.

I’d be lying if I said getting lost and running extra miles didn’t knock the wind out of my sails a bit but I was still having a good time. I was also happy to be back on track.

Aid Station #5 to Aid Station #6

As we back-tracked along the course, it didn’t occur to me what I had to face. As I quickly made my way through the fifth aid station, refilling and restocking, I was just focused on the task at hand. We got back on the wide jeep road and before too long we were back in the woods and headed toward the switchbacks.

Oh crap! The switchbacks.

As I headed up the mountain, I kept telling myself that the run down didn’t seem that long so the hike up couldn’t be that brutal. But I just kept climbing up and up. By this time, no one was around me. I couldn’t see anyone head of me or anyone climbing up. For 30 minutes of steady power hiking, I just followed the trail from orange or pink ribbon to orange or pink ribbon. I started questioning the situation and myself. What if I was supposed to turn off somewhere and this was only supposed to be for the climb down? Where is everyone else? What am I doing out here? When will this end? God, my legs are killing me! This is supposed to be a running race, not a hiking race. Argh! I will even admit to mumbling expletives as I hiked up the never-ending mountain.

I still wasn’t any close to the top but after 30 minutes I saw a group of runners slowly gaining on me. I was so excited to see another human being that I didn’t even care that they were coming up so fast it looked like I was standing still.

Fifteen minutes later – after 45 minutes (I’m guess-timating) of walking up a mountain – I finally made it to the top. The group behind me soon passed me but I took off running after them. It wasn’t easy, or fast, my legs were officially shot after that long climb.

However, I was eager to get to the next (and last!) aid station. As I left the last aid station, #5, I heard someone say that we were at mile 22 so I was trying to do the math and figure how much more running we’d have to do after the #6.

As I finished the trail and headed back down and back up the gully to get to the final aid station (what was aid station #2 also) I heard someone as they ran by me going the other direction – “once you get to the aid station, it’s only four miles to the finish.”

I have never, ever wanted to see an aid station as much as I wanted to see this one. I knew that the worst of the course was over and I knew I would finish. I was quick to grab my goodies and refill my water (I took a swig of soda because I was intrigued that they were offering it at all the aid stations. Blech! Last thing in the world I wanted while running). I was out of there and on my way to the finish.

Aid Station #6 to Finish

I kept an eye on the one woman in front of me the whole way to the finish. I didn’t have the energy left to pass her but I knew that if I kept her in sight I would be able to keep a decent pace.

The sharp climb up the mountain really zapped my energy and fried my legs. It actually felt better to run than to walk but I wasn’t able to run any of the steep down hills any longer. My quads were shot and didn’t have the strength to hold my knee in place on the left leg so it started to hurt on the down hills. It wasn’t terrible pain and it went away as soon as I was able to run on level ground or walk up hill. (I even started to wish for up hills while I was stumbling back down the “hill” from the beginning of the course, which thankfully had dried out by this time. I wasn’t looking forward to sliding down the mud on that one).

And before I knew it, I was on the dirt road headed back toward the campground and the finish line. Cars were passing me and the drivers would wave and shout encouragement (much faster runners than me headed home, I can’t blame them). I saw the lake, I made the last turn and I headed for the finish line as fast as I could, which was surprisingly fast considering all I had been through.

I felt no pain. I felt no fatigue. I just felt elated.

Someone near the finish line spotted me and started shouting and cheering. She was pretty impressed with my finishing sprint and said so. I turned in to the grass and down the finish chute…and then I was done. I finished my first ultra. I ran 31 miles. I ran MORE than 31 miles since I got lost! I did it in 8 hours and 9 minutes. Right on target.

It was the absolute toughest thing I’ve ever had to do but it is definitely something I would do tomorrow if I could.

Me after finishing the race

The course profile - Mountains!

Pros:

First ultra-marathon experience couldn’t be beat
Challenging – I’m so proud I was able to finish
Nice performance shirt
Awesome food at the end and I nice low-key picnic feel

Cons:

I got nothing – it was great!

Diagnosis ?

2010-07-06T13:02:00.001-04:00

It has been a strange few weeks for me running-wise.

Let me set the record straight – I’ve had some good runs and even some memorable runs (thanks Mom!). However, June was also the worst month of running for me since I started 4 years ago. It wasn’t my pace. It wasn’t my mileage. (Although neither of those were spectacular). It is the only time that I have dreaded running. I’ve hated the bike paths. I’ve resented waking up early. I’ve cursed the hills.

So what was going wrong?

I wasn’t sleeping well because of work and so I wasn’t running at all or running well when I would try to get out on the trails. In fact, I’ve had quite a few “stop-and-starts” meaning I’d get out to run, get anywhere from a whole mile or just a few steps before I would just decide to stop. Once I stopped because my heart rate shot up almost immediately and I took that as a sign that I needed to rest/sleep more than I needed to run. Another time I ran a full mile and I simply decided that I had had enough. I really didn’t want to be out there so I stopped, turned around and walked home.

Stopping mid-run because of a high heart-rate is just smart. Stopping mid-run because I just didn’t want to be out there, well, that’s unusual for me. In the past when I’ve had to talk myself in to getting out on the paths, once I started I would feel better and even if I never felt super-great on the run, well by the end I would at least feel accomplished and proud. This time, the time when I just stopped, I didn’t feel anything in particular. I stopped running, started walking, made it back to the house and fell instantly asleep. I didn’t even realize I was that tired.

To me, these are the symptoms of over-training and being burnt-out. Usually I can’t wait for the weekend long runs and now I have to convince myself to get out there.

Is it the heat? Is it that I need a break? I don’t know.

I haven’t been running like I had hoped leading up to my first venture in to the world of ultra-marathon running and that has both bummed me out and made me very nervous for this coming Saturday. I don’t really know what is going to happen. I had a good base going to the marathon in May and I did my best to balance recovery from that PR-race and maintaining a certain level of running-fitness for the 50K attempt next weekend. That balance never really happened and now I’m nervous and a little afraid. I have no idea what is going to happen this weekend. I did what I could be it was far less than I had hoped/planned.
So maybe it is fear?

No matter what, no matter the heat, the burn-out or the fear, Saturday is going to happen and I am going to give it my best shot. Even if I end up walking most of it, by Saturday afternoon I will have run an ultra-marathon.

Daily Dozen:
4.27 miles @ easy pace this morning
Strength training @ lunch hour (arms only)

The Difference a Day Makes

2010-06-16T10:13:00.002-04:00

Yesterday I woke up and just didn’t feel like running so I didn’t. I went one mile of my planned 10, heard the one mile beep on my Garmin, looked down saw the time and just stopped running. I walked back to the house. Today I woke up and couldn’t wait to get out the door. I did 6.5 miles and would have kept going if it hadn’t been time to get ready for work. In fact, as I got closer to the house I made the decision to pull a double today and run during my lunch break.

So what was the difference?

The weather was about the same both mornings – high 60s/low 70s with gross humidity. I got about the same amount of sleep both nights prior to the runs – 7.5 hours-ish. However, dinner the night before may have had something to do with (or, everything).

Monday night was happy hour at a bar where my husband and split a plate of (yummy!) nachos, sliders and a pitcher of beer. Although this doesn’t happen often and isn’t a dinner I am particularly proud of, I have done it plenty of times. I woke up Tuesday morning feeling drained and completely apathetic toward running.

…and my “run” reflected that feeling.

Tuesday evening we had breakfast for dinner (three pancakes and three sausage links), a bowl of baked swiss chard chips and a slice of Tomato Soup Cake. While not a gold star dinner, it beat the pants off the previous night’s bar food nosh-fest. This morning I woke up and felt good.

…and my RUN reflected how I felt.

It is a lesson I learn over and over again: Eat bad, feel bad. Eat well, feel well. It really isn’t rocket science but constantly need to remind myself.

I recently read a forum post about the idea of “eating to run, not running to eat.” In other words, runners often say they run so that they can eat whatever they want without gaining weight. When you are running 50 miles a week, a Big Mac isn’t going to push the scales up. However, we runners also pay excruciating attention to our on-the-run nutrition and fueling. We have fueling plans and hydration plans for races – specific miles to eat gels, alternating Gatorade and water at aid stations, packing gummy bears and orange slices. I would make sense to apply the same passion and interest to our pre-run nutrition as well.

Lesson Re-Learned: Eat to Run (and not the other way around)

Daily Dozen:
6.48 miles @ morning run
Planned, 2 mile run/walk hill intervals on the treadmill & stretching @ lunch break

New Bike

2010-06-14T10:40:00.002-04:00

After last weekend’s nearly disastrous run, I laid low this weekend and skipped running altogether.

However, the weekend wasn’t a total loss because on Sunday I purchased a new bike and here it is:

It is a Cannondale Quick 4 and is supposed to be a good bike for riders who want to use it for both commuting, quick rides to run errands as well as some fitness riding and this is exactly how I want to use this bike. I’ve been saying for over a year now that I’d like to start biking to/from work but I had two excuses that have prevented me from actually doing it. One, I didn’t have a “good” bike and two, I am very nervous about riding on the roads in DC.

Well, I’ve eliminated the first excuse and the only way to get over the anxiety about riding in DC is to just do it.

Last night, Mike and I went for a ride and it really was a great deal of fun. I am looking forward to my future bike adventures!

Daily Dozen:
5 miles w/ ¼ mile intervals and ¼ mile rest – piriformis is acting up, bring on the tennis ball J

Doubt

2010-06-08T13:22:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday I woke up excited to try my first long run “ultra-style.” In other words, I was going out for 4 hours with the intention of doing run/walk intervals, 5 minutes running following by one minute walking repeated 40 times, and walking every incline, big or small. I got a late start, not getting out the door until just after 8 so I was going to be battling the heat and humidity along with the time/distance. However, I had a handheld of water, a camelbak full of water, food and a plan.

I headed east along the Custis Bike Trail toward the Potomac River and then turned on to the Mount Vernon Bike Trail going south. Even though it was hot, the bike path was shaded a decent amount and I felt good. I followed my run/walk/walk up inclines plan and things were going well.

After one hour, I took a longer walk break to eat a peanut butter bar.

The sun was beating down by this point but I was still feeling good and run/walk-ing well. My pace was nothing to be amazed by, probably a steady 11:00 minute/mile during the runs and a fast walk during the breaks. I also made it a point to power-hike the inclines.

At the two hour point, I turned around and headed back toward home and took a longer walk break to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I was feeling pretty good at this point. I had done around 9.5 miles in 2 hours. For me, during long runs, the hardest part is just getting to the halfway point. In my mind, getting halfway means that the only thing left to do is make it home…and I always make it home. The sun was getting higher and the stretches with shade were getting further apart but I continue drinking every time I stopped to walk.

However, the wheels started to come off about an hour later. Somewhere around the 13 mile point my legs were not moving as quickly as I wanted them to and the running portions were getting harder. I decided to take a long walk break, sipping water as I went. I didn’t feel thirsty but I drank anyway. The heat also started getting to me.

This is when doubt started entering my head.
What am I doing? I asked myself. Why am I out here? I can’t run an ultra without months of training! I’m still recovering from the marathon. Wait, the marathon…two weeks ago I ran 26.2 miles in 4 hours 7 minutes and today I am struggling to finish half that….at a much, slower, deliberately slower, pace. What was a I thinking signing up for this ultra?

I decided to call it quits. I was about 2 miles from the Arlington National Cemetery metro station. I decided to run/walk to it and then call it a day. I debated just toughing it out but I decided to make the “smart” decision and not push myself. Live to fight another day, I told myself and I felt good about the decision.

I made it to the metro station, thanked all that was holy that I had remembered to throw a few bucks in my camelbak, and jumped on the next train. I was a little bummed that I didn’t make it the full distance but I felt good about the 15.5 miles (in 3 hours 19 minutes) that I had covered. It is going to be a hot day when I run the ultra so it was good practice, I thought to myself.

Unfortunately, I had to transfer trains and I had to wait 12 minutes for a train. As I waited on the bottom level of the Rosslyn metro station I noticed that my ears started to feel clogged. That’s unusual! I was listening to a podcast and it increasingly sounded like I was hearing it while holding my head under water. Then, my vision started going black. Oh my god! I am going to faint, I thought, so this is what it feels like to pass out.

Because my ears were clogged, I could hear my breathing very well and the one thing I noticed (other than how loud it sounded) was that it was actually pretty even. I told myself to keep calm and to think. My vision still getting dimmer and dimmer, I started looking around – the bench was full but I could sit on the floor (I was leaning on the wall). No, don’t sit on the floor, if I sit on the floor I’m going to pass out. Bad idea. I looked up and I still had 7 minutes until my train would arrive. I started paying attention to the people around me – when I pass out, which one is going to get to me first, which one is going to call for help, who looks like they would be good in crisis?

I honestly evaluated all the people on the platform around me (all tourists) and decided that I would have better chances upstairs at the metro kiosk with an employee or outside entirely. Don’t panic. Stay calm. I repeated this over and over to myself. I listened to my breathing – it was so loud in my ears. I don’t remember my heart racing but my breathing was steady.

Alright, pushing myself off the wall, eyes down and focused on each step my foot was taking, just get upstairs. If I pass out, I want to be as close to above ground as possible. If I can make it all the way out of the station, I’ll call Mike and he can come pick me up. I was making deals with myself – don’t pass out until you see sunlight or an employee. Just keep walking.

And, then, just like that…my vision came back. My ears felt better (still a little clogged). Walking was helping. I kept pacing along the platform, afraid that if I stopped I would start to feel bad again. I also started sweating even more. It was like walking flipped a switch and my body was functioning properly again.

My train finally pulled in to the station, which means I was fighting off fainting for over 5 minutes. I jumped on the train and couldn’t wait to go the four stops. I tried to look as normal as possible even though I was absolutely soaked in sweat and who knows what my face looked like (I’m not good at hiding my emotions – they are always written all over my face). I’m sure I looked frightened and I was!

I made it to the Ballston metro station and high-tailed it out to the street. I called Mike to pick me up because I didn’t want to chance the walk home. If I passed out in a neighborhood, who knows how long it would be until someone noticed me. As I waited for Mike to drive to the station, I started to feel really scared. No longer faced with the crisis, it started to hit me just what had happened to me, just how close I had come to something very serious happening to me.

Mike got me home and I showered and changed. I felt pretty off for the rest of the day – slight headache and just whole-body tired. I’ve been thinking about what I did wrong – more water, more often, saltier foods (pretzels were in my pack but I hadn’t eaten them), run earlier to avoid the worst of the day’s heat.

As I get farther from Sunday’s experience, I am slowly gaining back my confidence but I still have quite a few doubts. I’ll attempt another long run this weekend (much earlier in the day though) and if it doesn’t go well, I may have to face facts – I may not be ready to run an ultra marathon so soon after a marathon. I’m worried…but hopeful.

Daily Dozen:
No running – my body needs a break
Slow walk and stretching @ lunch hour

2010-05-26T13:59:00.000-04:00

So I did something…I did it a few months ago but I’ve been hesitant to tell too many people. I was waiting to see how I did running the marathon (well, what turned out to be two marathons) but I’m not even sure why. It is not like running poorly in the marathon was going to make this thing go away.

Well, what did I do? I signed up for my first ultramarathon. On July 11, I’ll be tackling the Skyline Challenge in the mountains of Virginia. It is a 50K (31 miles) of trails, out-and-back.

Ever since I signed up I have been at times excited, doubtful and scared, and some times even all three.

Since I just ran two marathons, I am going to use the endurance I’ve already gained and try to simply maintain my fitness through July in order to survive and finish the ultra. I am found several sources that says that running a 50K a month or two after a marathon is actually a great way to train so that is encouraging. My plan is to continue recovering from the marathon and slowly build up my weekly mileage back to the level I was running before Nashville.

At the same time, I am going to be doing something slightly different for the weekend long runs. Rather than focus on hitting a certain mileage I’ll run/walk with my focus on time on my feet and trying different foods to see how my stomach handles running and eating (this I am not worried about). I am taking the advice of most experienced ultra runners and will be walking up every hill no matter how small and when I can run, doing a 5 minute run/1 minute walk ratio. I’ll be practicing this on the weekends as well.

The other thing I am doing to prepare that is different from marathon training is walking. I’ll be hitting the gym during the work week for practice walking up hills and strengthening those muscles.

It’s funny, as I’ve been telling more and more people my doubt has been slipping away. I’m still exciting and scared but in a good way. I am starting to believe that I’ll finish it but I’m still scared that it is going to chew me up and then spit me back out.

Daily Dozen:
Walking – treadmill hill workout @ lunch hour

Welcome Back

2010-05-20T16:18:00.001-04:00

It is good to be back.

I know I shouldn’t rush recovery after a marathon but that doesn’t mean I can’t be excited about getting back out on my bike paths and streets.

This morning I headed out for a short 2-miler and I felt good and smooth.

I’ve really missed getting out in the morning, before even having a chance to think about work and cleaning the house and running errands and folding clothes, getting out before the sun comes up and just simply running. I love how I feel after a long, hard run, knowing that I have my whole day ahead of me and I’ve managed to accomplish so much.

I can honestly say that I’m excited to get back in to the groove of a fifty mile week.

As I set out this morning, running with a slight skip in my step, as they say, because of Sunday’s marathon PR, the future seemed limitless. Maybe I can one day break four hours, heck, maybe I’ll even qualify for Boston one day. I should shoot for that this fall, or tomorrow…

I got tired about mile 1 and even though I pushed just a bit further down the bike path before I turned around, I knew that this was a gentle reminder to be happy with my accomplishment now and to not be so quick to jump to the next impossible dream.

I made it through my 2 miles this morning and as I walked back to the house I felt very content and happy, which is such a relief from the anxiety and nerves of the past three weeks.

Daily Dozen:
2.3 miles run @ morning
Strength training @ lunch hour

Recovery

2010-05-18T13:22:00.001-04:00

Let’s talk recovery.

I haven’t felt as beat up by this marathon as I have in the past. My legs are sore and the rest of me is just simply exhausted but I don’t think I did any damage or caused on injury. I feel steady on my feet (for the most part, there have been a few steps that have felt a little wobbly) and going up stairs isn’t too terrible. Now, going downstairs is still painful but I manage.

The only thing that has me worried is some swelling in one of my toes. After marathons, my toes usually feel a little beat up and I will have a small (not painful) blister or two on the tips of a toe(s). For nine out of ten toes, this marathon was no different – a little pain Sunday and Monday but today they’re fine. One toe, the second toe on my left foot is swollen and very tender to the touch all around the toe, not just under the nail bed. I’m not sure what is going on with it – it is much better today than yesterday but it is still painful. I’ll have to keep an eye on that one.

I’m attributing this better than experienced recovery to two things: one, the higher mileage and two, the course itself.

I went in to this round of marathon training running 50 mile weeks and progressed up to 55-60 mile weeks by the time I peaked for Nashville in early April. Even though I didn’t hit the 50+ miles as consistently as I would have liked, I noticed an increase in the strength of my running. Mid-week runs over 10 miles didn’t require a day off the next day and weekend long runs did seem to take as much out of me as they have in the past. This higher mileage, Just Run, experience succeeded in this aspect.

The other reason I am doing so well with my recovery on this go-round is because the course was 95% gravel and dirt. The same exact course on roads would have taken a larger toll on my legs, for sure. I’m sold! I love running on Rail Trails!

Fingers crossed for the continuation of a good recovery period and yay! for more sleep the past few days.

Daily Dozen:
Absolutely Nothing

Bob Potts Heritage Rail Trail Marathon – Race Report

2010-05-17T13:51:00.010-04:00

Success!!

I don’t intend on burying the lead here; I ran a marathon – all 26.2 miles of it – in 4 hours 7 minutes 42 seconds! I am so proud of my time and my race yesterday. I ran the race my own way without getting caught up in the pace of the runners passing me during the early miles. I ran strong the entire way and I finished well (my legs were hurting and I didn’t have much of a finishing kick so I’m not saying I finished strong but it wasn’t the struggle I experienced in Vermont or Marine Corp and most certainly would have experienced in Nashville had I been allowed to complete the distance).

Although I didn’t sleep well the night before (I am blaming the iced coffee drink I had around noon but everyone else seems to think it was just “nerves”) I was able to wake up quickly. I think I went to the bathroom about a dozen times in the span of 45 minutes but I had to diligent with my hydration. I was feeling good as we left the hotel for the short trip to the other side of the town of York and the York College track – Grumbacher Center.

We were quickly able to find parking and I immediately got in line for the port-o-potties. I made it through the line with about 10 minutes left before race start time and as Mike and I walked to the start line, he asked me, “Well, how to do you feel?” I had told him earlier in the week (and then later in the week and on the drive up to York and a few more times that Saturday and then also before going to bed…). I answered honestly, “I’m not sure. It has really hit me that I’m running a marathon today.”

A quick kiss and that’s how I left it as I lined up toward the back of the small pack of runners.

The Bob Potts Heritage Rail Trail Marathon is only in its second year but it is a great race. The race is run in honor of Bob Potts, one of the first members of the York Road Runners, who passed away 4 years ago. His son organized this annual event to honor his father’s passion for running and to raise funds for a scholarship for two area high school cross country runners. With a field capped at 400 runners (333 runners crossed the finish line), this is a small race for sure but it is perfect for me.

The course is mostly run on the Heritage Rail Trail, a crushed gravel, flat as flat can be (I was told there was net uphill going out and net downhill coming back but I certainly couldn’t tell) trail starting in York, Pennsylvania. The organization of this small race is top-notch – packet pickup was a breeze, the start was easy and no-fuss, and the volunteers and water stops along the course were supportive and enthusiastic. The finish in the stadium at York College was a lot of fun and made it very easy for me to find my friends and family at the end.

The race director yelled “On your mark, get set, GO!” and suddenly I was running my fifth marathon. The first mile is run on the streets before hooking up with the rail trail and I’ll be honest, I wasn’t feeling great about the run. My legs didn’t feel particularly fresh and my spirits were a little low. As we made our way through the first few miles I repeatedly reminded myself, “Run your race.” I had to forget all those runners whizzing past me and keep an eye on my pace. As long as I was hitting my goal (9:30 pace overall), then I didn’t care who passed me.

It wasn’t easy, especially letting the lady dressed as a pink butterfly pass me and being ok with losing sight of her all together. “It’s OK. Just let them go. Your time is what is important; not their times.” I checked my watch at each mile marker waiting for it to be below 9:30 to give me an excuse to catch up to all those people running by me. However, that moment never came and by mile 4 or 5, I settled in for the long haul.

I saw Mike just before mile 10 and waved off the visor (in case the clouds opened up and it started to rain) and the banana. “Banana at Mile 17,” I shouted as I ran by. One of the great things about this out-and-back course is that he picked a spot and stayed there, seeing me twice.

I was feeling much better by this point and decided to allow myself to pick it up just a bit on the way to the turn around spot (which was beyond the 13.1 halfway mark). After hitting the turn around spot, I told myself that no one would pass me from that point on. I ran a consistent pace and everyone else was slowing down. I was able to pick people off easily – run an even pace, catch up to the runner in front of me, pass and pick the next one. A race experience like this has truly proven to me that the discipline to not go out to fast pays off big time!

Over the next 13 miles, I had 2 men pass me and 1 woman. Although I didn’t keep a count of the people I passed, I would estimate that it was 2 to 3 each mile so I would have to guess that I passed between 25 and 40 people. Passing so many people and doing so without struggling was an amazing feeling. Amazing what an evenly paced race will do for your racing confidence.

At Mile 15, I sucked do the Strawberry Gu I had gotten at Mile 13 and at Mile 17 I picked up the banana from Mike.

Banana handoffs are very important to my marathon success!

However, I held on to the banana until Mile 22 in order to (hopefully) give me a pick-me-up just when I would usually start to fade. Whether it was the banana or the even pacing or the gel or the higher mileage or some combination of all of the above (most likely answer), something went very right for me in this race.

By Mile 20 I was definitely feeling my legs but I was keeping my pace (and passing plenty of people) without any added effort. It wasn’t until Mile 24 that I was kinda wishing the marathon was over. My hamstrings were feeling tighter and tighter and I knew I didn’t have much left in me. I kept telling myself, “Only twenty more minutes running. That’s it. That’s nothing. You do that everyday and today is no different.”

I kept going and when I saw the mile marker for 25 I was very happy, only one more to go. However, that elation was short-lived because my watch read 9:55. For a few seconds, I was too shocked to react. My legs were still moving and I was still breathing but time stopped for a moment. Then, I got a little angry with myself. I didn’t run that far (25 freakin’ miles) to run my only 10+ minute mile of the day on the last mile of the marathon. “No way” and so I ran faster. It hurt (not in a sharp pain sort of way but definitely in the, my muscles have been whacked with a hammer and I should definitely give them a break, kind of way). I wanted to stop but I was too stubborn to give in. I had worked too hard to maintain a consistent pace and pass all those runners just to get passed back so close to the finish. The only option was to run and give it my all.

As I passed the 26 mile marker my watch read 9:34. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

I had been aiming for a 4:10 for the day; a PR of over 9 minutes. It was a time I knew I had in me but honestly, wasn’t one that would be easy for me to achieve. When I saw 9:34 on my watch at that last mile marker I knew I would go get a 4:10 and if I could just maintain my pace for the next two tenths of a mile I might even get a sub 4:08. Again, the only thing to do was run. Trudge is probably a better description of the form of movement I used to make it up the “hill” (one those inclines in the road that probably isn’t truly considered a hill but at mile 26 of a marathon, it was a beast) and in to the stadium.

I entered the stadium tired and exhausted and ready to stop running but I had to make to the opposite side of the track (and let me tell you running on a bouncy track feels like walking on the moon – in a bad way – after 25 miles on a gravel trail) and the best way to do that was to run. As I rounded the track, I knew there was no way I would be catching the guy in front of me and so I didn’t even try. I did make an effort to dig deep and find a finishing kick but I didn’t come up with much of one. Anyway, I rounded the track and I saw an amazing site…4:07. That was the number on the clock. I had done it!

All the doubt and anxiety that had been bubbling in my since Nashville simple disappeared without a trace. I haven’t spent a single though second guessing myself or my training. It was the most perfect race I could have run on that day and I simply cannot ask any more of myself.

1 9:40
2 9:13
3 9:23
4 9:26
5 9:35
6 9:26
7 9:29
8 9:25
9 9:39
10 9:19
11 9:24
12 9:16
13 9:14
14 9:12
15 9:21
16 9:24
17 9:21
18 9:18
19 9:29
20 9:28
21 9:24
22 9:20
23 9:29
24 9:31
25 9:55
26 9:34
26.2 2:15

Pros
Small race with a hometown feel
Enthusiastic organization, volunteers and water stops
Flat, soft surface…flat

Cons
I really can’t complain but if you twist my arm I’d have to say that an x-small t-shirt would have been nice

At the finish with the Giant Red Cow

What is up with that?

2010-05-14T13:13:00.000-04:00

I’m anxious about Sunday’s marathon.

I keep trying to convince myself to be confident about the race. Nashille’s 22.2 miler was a great “last” long run. I have the distance in my legs and I’ve been resting well so I am primed for a great race. I tell myself that over and over.

Still, I’ve got butterflies in my stomach when I think about running another marathon so soon after the aborted Nashville race. I’m not truly recovered from a 22 miler AT race pace (the longest I’ve seen in other plans in maybe 16 miles within a 20 miler). It’s been too long since I was able to run consistently (early April before I started the taper for Nashville) and not counting Nashville I haven’t run more than 8 miles since early April. I haven’t been eating or sleeping well (5 lb. gain since Nashville). Last week was a good week of running and I felt like my old self but this week has just been…strange, for lack of a better term.

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday I went out for a shorter “long” run and two easy runs in the 3 to 4 mile range, respectively. Although I was aiming for an easy, slow pace and I tried to hold my pace at a slow pace, each run was at a 10 minute average pace. That’s way faster than I was running easy runs before (10:30 to 11:00 minute pace).

Wednesday and Thursday I skipped running and allow myself to sleep in (9.5 hours of sleep both nights – fantastic!).

Today, Friday, I went out for super slow, super easy 3 miler just to shake out my legs and get them primed for Sunday. “Ugh” is the only appropriate word to describe how I feel during this run. I felt like I was running through knee-deep quicksand and yet, everytime my Garmin beeped off a mile, my pace was in the 10:00 to 10:15 range. In fact, I ended with an average pace of 10:06. What is up with that? I really was telling myself to slow down and take it easy. I thought I was.

On top of that, as I was walking back to the house I realized that I felt better after that dreadful run than I did the last few days with no run and tons of sleep. Seriously, what is up with that?

I’m really not sure how to feel about Sunday’s 26.2 miles. I hate going in to a race without confidence but I am really confused!

Daily Dozen:
3.32 miles run in early morning
XT (walking on treadmill and stretching) @ lunch hour

New Shoes

2010-05-05T12:37:00.002-04:00

I’ve got shoes on the brain. One of the (many) thoughts running (ha!) through my head as I started struggle in Nashville was, “I should have bought new shoes. Newer shoes would feel so much better right about now.” This thought popped in to my head somewhere around mile 15 or so; I wasn’t quite struggling but in hind sight this was probably not a good sign and foreshadows what was to come.

“They,” whoever it is “they” are, say running shoes need to be replaced every 400 to 500 miles and that you should have relatively few miles on the shoes used on race day. I have been using a different rule of thumb than 400-500 miles and rotating a pair of shoes out when my leg (foot, knee, hip) starts to act up while I’m running. This was going well and I had been alternating two pairs – Saucony Omni 8s (blue) with over 700 miles and Nike Zoom+ Stuctures with nearly 500 miles. The Nikes still felt good on all my long runs so I decided to save the money and race in them.

Bad call, as it turns out. One of many dubious decisions I made going in to Nashville.

One of the deals I made with myself when I was trying to decide whether I should use attempt another marathon so soon after Nashville was that if I ran it, I would do so in new shoes. And so, on the day I signed up for the Bob Pott’s Trail Marathon in York, PA I also ordered a new pair of shoes. The winners: Saucony Omni 8s, this time in red.

The Omnis are the first real running shoe I ever wore (they were on Omni 5 at the time) and they are my tried-and-true shoe. I’ve dabbled with other brands but I’ve come back to Saucony Omni’s ever time. The Mizunos were good and so were the Nikes. Pearl Izumi wasn’t terrible but over time I didn’t like the fit and as much as I wanted to love the Brooks, they hurt my feet right out of the box. (Mizuno is probably the only brand I’d give another shot to at this point but I may also take another look at Nike).

They arrived on my doorstep yesterday. Yay!

I put them on for a little test-run this morning – 3 miles, slow and steady at recovery pace. Running in new shoes can be very motivating. It was probably not the best idea to wear them on a recovery run because once I started running I wanted to go faster and farther than planned to see how they felt. I restrained myself.

I proceeded to think about the shoes for the next 30 minutes. Their feel – these are tighter than the Nike’s I’ve been wearing, that feels weird. Their size – they are half size smaller than the Nike’s. I’ve been in size 8s since I started running (normal shoe size is 7 – your feet grow when you run, did you know that?) but the salesperson at the local running store put me in the 8.5s for Nikes because Nike sizing runs small. I never felt like the Nikes fit my foot that well (huge toebox, which is good but my heal would slip on uphill climbs).

Maybe I should have gotten an 8.5 for these as well, I thought. Wow, a sizing and a half just from running!

Regardless, hip-hip-hooray for new running shoes.

Daily Dozen:
3 miles @ recovery pace
Strength training exercises – calves & bum

Capital Challenge - Race Report

2010-04-29T15:02:00.000-04:00

I am a runner redeemed.

Wednesday morning I ran the Capital Challenge, a 3 mile charity race in DC that is invitation-only for teams representing the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches of the Federal Government and the Media. I ran a one of several teams fielded by the company for which I work. Approximately 700 people were running the race.

I had signed up for the race knowing that I wouldn’t be recovered from the marathon I was running the previous Saturday so I had submitted an estimated race time of 30 minutes. Of course, at that time, I didn’t realize I would only be allowed to run 22 miles of the marathon and therefore was not nearly as beat up as I thought I would be. My legs were feeling very good Wednesday morning.

As the starting whistle blew I decided to go ahead and push the pace just to see what I could. I was pushing but not too hard (no hard, labored breathing…yet) and hit the first mile in 8:06 (take off a few seconds because I started about 15 second after the gun). Wow! Great! I wonder if I can maintain this pace.

I blow past the water stop and push on to the turn around, 1.5 mile mark. I make the sharp 180 degree turn and push harder. I had only seen a handful of coworkers ahead of me and I wanted to see how many of them I could catch.

I ran. I pushed and ran harder. I hit the mile 2 marker in 15:57. What?! I’m actually speeding up. GO GO GO. Just one more mile.

It was unusually cold this morning, in the low 40s and there had been a sharp wind as we were standing around waiting for the race start. The wind that I thought would be at my back (or at the least coming in from side) was actually blowing straight at us, nonstop, for the entire third mile. I have said it before – I hate the wind. However, I knew I couldn’t let it defeat me on this day. I had had enough of being defeated by mother nature while running.

I pushed. I started breathing harder and harder and tried to keep it as steady as possible. I cajoled. One more mile. That’s nothing. You can’t outrun a tornado but you can make it to this finish line in under 24 minutes. Come on. RUN. Then, finally, I heard the announcer. There was a slight bend in the course and a few seconds later (though it seemed like minutes) I saw the banner for the finish line. Get there Becki. You just have to get to that spot and then you can stop. I promise. That’s it. Just get there.

The clock read 23 something and I pushed as hard as I could – 23:36. Holy crap, I did it! If this had been a 5K, I would have PR’ed by nearly a minute. Apparently running 22 miles of a marathon a few days prior really helps my speed (or at least it did this once). Running and finishing this race well, felt good. It still feels good. I have a much more positive outlook on running today compared to the few days after Nashville.

Am I still planning on attempting a marathon in few weeks…oh yeah!

Pros
-Small race = higher placement (254 out of 700)
-Low entry fee ($17)
-Very enthusiastic race organizers
-Nice, technical running shirt

Cons
-Invitation only race

Country Music Marathon - Race Report

2010-04-29T14:32:00.004-04:00

How did the marathon in Nashville go? My official finisher’s certificate about sums it up.

When I left the previous weekend for our road trip to Tennessee, the weather for the marathon was supposed to be rainy with a high of 71 – cooler and cloudier than it was supposed to be the few days before Saturday’s race. However, by the time we made it to Nashville the forecast was looking much bleaker – rain…wind…hail!...tornado!!

I tried to remain positive about the weather. Really, how often is it as bad as the weatherman says? The race organizers had sent out on email on Friday saying that as long as the full marathoners were on pace to run a 4:30 or better time at the 11 mile mark we would be able to finish the race and not be diverted to the half marathon finish. Not a problem!

However, I had trouble sleeping the night before the race. I feel asleep quickly around 9 o’clock but I don’t think my mind ever shut itself off but I woke up at 2 and didn’t fall back asleep until 4. I kept worrying about the weather and questioning myself – what if I was having a bad day and fell off my pace early? what will I tell people? what if they cancel the race altogether? Not the thoughts I needed running through my head only a few hours before running a marathon.

I woke up at 5 to my alarm and I got dressed I was sleepy but I knew I had to shake it off – shake off last night’s frustrations and anxiety, shake off fretting about my pace. I stepped outside on the porch of the B&B we were staying in to eat my bagel and banana and was encouraged. The sun was coming up. It wasn’t raining. There was just a slight breeze. Maybe today wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

At 6 I headed out for the race start line, about 2 miles from where we were staying. I walked and jogged my way to Centennial Park feeling very confident about the next few hours. I wondered about the starting area for a bit and didn’t pay much attention to the race announcers since there were still 30 minutes until the start. I probably should have been paying more attention because it turns out they decided to start the race 15 minutes early so by the time I realized what was going on I had to push way through a crowd of runners to even get close to the pace group I was aiming for.

Before I knew it…and without really realizing what was going on…suddenly I was across the start line and running my fourth marathon. Running the first mile or so toward downtown Nashville in a massive sea of runners (going downhill) was awesome. Even though there were 35,000 runners, the streets and waterstops I never felt like I didn’t have enough room to run. For once, it seemed, a race had gotten the corral/wave start right (this has not been my experience with the local DC mega-races).

A bit about my strategy: nine minutes thirty seconds. That is the number I wanted to see each time I hit the lap button on my watch when I hit the mile markers – 9:30. I wanted 9:30s through Mile 20 and at that point I would assess where I was at and speed up if I could or continue to focus on hitting 9:30s.

As I ran along with the huge crowd, I was able to dial in to my pace quickly and stay there (within reason – I’m still not very good at knowing my pace by feel). The first 11 miles of the race went well – plenty of crowd support, saw my super spectator (husband, Mike) at Miles 5 and 8 and got a boost of energy seeing him. At Mile 11, the half marathon course split off and the few marathon runners (4000 compared to the over 30,000 running the half). I actually didn’t mind the lack of crowd support but the course itself was pretty lacking – they loop us through some business parks, etc.

Also, this was about the time that the clouds started filling up the sky. I was hoping that I would beat the rain but as I ran along it looked less and less likely.

I was still feeling good – some tightness in the hamstrings, my legs were starting to get tired and I was regretting the decision not to get new shoes about a month ago but all in all I was very positive about the race. I hit Mile 17 and my legs rapidly started feeling heavier and heavier. I was trudging up a hill and I made the decision to power walk to the top. I have never, NEVER, been forced to walk in a race. It was demoralizing. To make matters worse, I hit another bit hill at Mile 18 and it take even less time to talk myself in to walking to the top. Giving up was so easy at that point.

I started questioning everything. Making up my own running schedule was a bad idea. Just Run – that’s so stupid. Why didn’t I do specific marathon pace runs? I should have been more consistent during the crappy winter weather. I shouldn’t have cut down my taper to two weeks, I’ve tried that before and it doesn’t work for me. I should know better. I’m not the marathon running type. Why am I doing this? This sucks.

That was the lowest I’ve ever been with my running. However, I made it to the top of the hill and told myself that I had to take it one mile at a time. Just get to the next water stop and take it from there. Surprisingly, things did get a little better. My hamstrings were still screaming and my legs still felt like bricks but my mind wasn’t beating me up any more. I made it to Mile 20 at 3 hours 14 minutes. If I could do the next 6.2 miles in one hour, I could still PR. So that is what I set out to do – push for the next hour at 10 minute pace. I could do it. There were no more hills. I just knew I could do it.

And then I turned the corner and saw two things: the mile marker for 21 and police cars, police barricades and a policeman with a bullhorn. “Runners turn right and head toward the stadium. Severe weather is imminent. Runners divert to the stadium. Sever weather is imminent.” My heart dropped. I was on pace why are they diverting us. I forgot all about my tired legs and screaming hamstrings. The pain just melted away and was replaced with…

I’m not sure what it was I was feeling. Anger? No, not really. Frustration? Definitely but it was different too. Grief? Ok, that sounds a little dramatic but yes, kinda. Disappointment? Yup, in myself, in the race, in the weather.

I couldn’t believe my luck. The police car and barricades were being put in place just as I came around the corner. If I had been just 5 minutes faster, I would have been able to finish it. I was upset when I realized that I could have prevented being diverted from the course. If only I was a faster…by which I really meant “better”…runner. Several runners were jumping the barricades and running around the police cruisers, totally ignoring the instructions to divert and not finish. I slowed down to contemplate what course of action would I take – screw it, I’m a runner, I finish races that I start, weather and police be damned or better safe than sorry and live to run another day.

I made that turn and ran back to the stadium in a clump of 10 or so other quasi-marathoners. I just couldn’t bring myself to defy authority (not to say that is a bad thing – there was some pretty severe lightening going on in the distance and the Country Music Marathon is not worth dying over). Anyway, we headed back to the stadium, dodging pedestrians, runners who had finished their race (mostly half marathoners) and traffic. We jumped the barrier near the 26 mile mark and ran across the finish line.

The clock read 3:42 and to everyone watching, we looked legitimate. I felt sick to my stomach. I wasn’t legitimate and I knew it. I felt like I had tricked somebody, gotten away with it and felt guilty. I grabbed water, a space blanket and a medal and went to find my husband. He was shocked to see me so early and thought I must have had an amazing race. I had to confess (and that is what it felt like, a confession) that I didn’t run the whole race, that they had diverted the course and didn’t allow me to finish.

As we walked back to the car, I skipped the food and other finish line amenities because I didn’t feel like I deserved them, I started to get angry. I was angry with myself and with the weather and with the race organizers. I mumbled and cursed (sometimes loudly, sometimes under my breath) and I wanted to shout. I was mad at myself for crossing the finish line. I was mad at myself for taking a medal I didn’t feel like I deserved. The other runners would had cross the finish line around me ran the whole thing and I did not belong there at that time.

By the time we made it back to the bed and breakfast, I was a little calmer about it and had started to come to terms with not being allowed to finish. It was raining so hard outside and there was lightening, I know it was the right decision on everyone’s part. However, it then became apparent after the results there were half marathon runners…lots and lots of half marathon runners…finishing well after I would have come across the line. I understand they need to get people off the streets and that the police and EMTs had much better places to be than watching me run by but it still irks me that I could have finished in the time they held the course open for the half marathoners.

Breath. Calming down. (As you can see, it still stings a little).

So I didn’t get to finish the marathon. I have NOT run four marathons (no matter what everyone says…it is a fact) but I am OK with it. I have been recovering nicely this week and am seriously contemplating another attempt in a few weeks. I really want to see what I can do on the training I’ve done.

I did so many things wrong before this marathon (no running but lots of strenuous hiking the week before, not eating well the week before, very little runs at marathon pace, not pacing correctly on the hills, etc.) that I need to give myself a fair shot at a PR this spring.

Mile 1 9:39
Mile 2 9:25
Mile 3 9:29
Mile 4 9:44
Mile 5 9:46
Mile 6 9:19 – Energy boost after spotting my spectator
Mile 7 9:49
Mile 8 & 9 18:51
Mile 10 & 11 18:23
Mile 12 9:10
Mile 13 9:24
Mile 14 9:24
Mile 15 9:41
Mile 16 9:41
Mile 17 9:42
Mile 18 10:55 – Uh oh, had to walk up a hill, hamstrings feeling very tight
Mile 19 11:10 – Not good, had to walk up another hill, but decide to rally
Mile 20 10:26 – That’s getting better, feeling a little better
Mile 21 through finish about 22.2 18:22

Pros

-Nashville is a fun city, absolutely worth the visit
-Excellent support on the first half of the course
-Race Organizers have made up for having to divert the course – apologies, coupons to other events

Cons
-Second half lonely compared to the first half (for some this could be a pro)
-Race Organizers weren’t very good at communicating the changes to the start time and what to do once they diverted the course – was I supposed to cross the finish line?
-Expensive
-Goodie bag was just leaflets and ads (sign of the times more so than the race most likely)

Fast

2010-04-15T13:26:00.001-04:00

What is it about running fast that makes it feel so good? Why is it that covering 5 miles at a normal, easy pace is nothing like covering those same 5 miles at a fast pace?

This morning I set out at 5 am for a hilly 5-miler. Thursdays I like to hit the hills and speed things up a little bit; bang out a good, hard workout with enough time to recover for the weekend long run. This morning, probably because I had a schedule rest day yesterday, I felt great. “Don’t push, just run” I repeated to myself as I cruised along the dark bike path, up, over and down the hills. My legs felt fresh and smooth. It was easy; easier than previous short runs.

The best part was letting myself run at a fast pace. Fast, when you don’t have to work for it, is an amazing feeling. I feel like I anything is possible and better yet, like I could run on and on forever.

After 3.5 years of running, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I am just not built for speed. Endurance is my where my running strength lies. I can dial in to a 10:30 to 11:00 minute pace and just go and go, for hours. However, I also have to keep reminding myself that although I may not have been genetically blessed with speedy legs doesn’t mean that I can’t get faster. This morning’s near-effortless hilly run at a 9:30 pace feels as good, if not better than completing a 20-miler at 10:30 pace the previous weekend.

I’m looking forward to seeing what I can accomplish at the marathon, the distance that demands both speed and endurance.

Weather watch for April 24:
(Because I need something to focus my obsession on for the next few days)
Showers (40% chance), high of 71, low of 57 – I’m actually encouraged by that, better than sunny with a high of 85!! (:Knocking every piece of wood in the vicinity:)

Daily Dozen:
5.04 miles – hilly route
Walking and stretching XT @ lunch hour

Taper, Here I Come

2010-04-12T14:09:00.001-04:00

Well, the damage has been done. Yesterday I completed my final long run of this round of marathon training. All that is left is the next two week’s of tapering – shorter runs and more sleep.

I feel confident coming off of the long run yesterday. While, I can’t say running 20 miles was easy, it certainly wasn’t as difficult as it has been in the past. I finished running strong yesterday and I am only minimally sore today. Completing the run was a tremendous boost to my confidence going in to the marathon, especially falling the run previous weekend’s attempt at 20 miles. I’m feeling very good about the marathon.

Some people have a hard time tapering before their marathon. They get antsy when they have more time on their hands because of the mileage reduction that goes along with the taper. However, I look forward to tapering. In fact, I see it as my reward for all the hard work I put in over the past few months. I ran hard. I ran long. Before I attempt to run both harder and longer during the marathon, I get a little break in order to rest and recover.

I don’t experience that taper madness that some runners complain of. I don’t feel like I need to squeeze in one more long run, I’ve yet to feel any phantom aches and pains or injuries and I don’t obsess over the coming marathon. I’ve read about other runners having issues with all of these things during their taper. Not me – I am looking forward to the extra sleep. Zzzzzzz

On deck tomorrow – “only” 5 miles.

Daily Dozen:
4.41 miles – very easy pace, feeling good, still on a high from yesterday’s run

A Tale of Two Runs

2010-04-05T14:43:00.000-04:00

It turns out my body was going to make the decision for me. (Yes, I should have known that all along).

I woke up Saturday morning ready to face a 20 miler. I dressed, I ate, I packed my pockets w/ Fig Newtons, and I headed out the door. The morning was cloudy and the day was a bit cooler than I was expecting but it was a good temperature for running. I set off, plotting various routes.

The first mile went off well. I was enthusiastic and confident. However, that proved to be a short-lived experience. My heartrate was increased from the beginning of the run and by mile 2 I realized that it just wasn’t going to be my day. The decision to not run long was not a difficult one for me to make, unfortunately. Other days it would have been a struggle between my brain, my heart and my legs but not that day. I would live to run another day, I decided and then I headed home racking up only 5.6 of the 20 planned miles.

Despite the easy decision, I couldn’t shake the feeling of sadness once I got home. I quit and there are no other ways to describe it. I may have made the “right” decisions but it still means that the right decision was to quit.

As I threw my sweaty (but not sweat I had earned, I thought) clothes in to the laundry basket and climbed in to a hot shower, I was a little down on myself. I’ve run through worse conditions, through legs that were more tired. I’ve willed myself through much tougher mental roadblocks. What was going on that I quit so easily?

I never did find the answer. I went on with my day and slowly the disappointment and sadness melted away being replaced by more important things like spending time with family.

I woke up the next day much earlier than I expected and the first thought that popped in to my head – I want to run. I crawled out of bed, stumbled around getting dressed in the dark and snuck out of my in-laws house, ready for a run in the country. The difference between running that morning and running the previous morning was stark. Where I felt sluggish and tired the day before, I was smooth and energized the next morning. Where I regretted not having the time to run longer that morning, the previous morning I regretted making plans around a long run that ended up being a bust so I had too much time. Where as my pace never warmed up past a crawl on Saturday morning, Sunday morning there was a spring in my step and I just couldn’t hold back.

I ended up running under 10 minute miles without every intending to run at my marathon goal pace. I just started running and I settled in to a fast pace. I don’t’ know that I could have slowed myself down even if I had wanted to because the pace felt so right. Slowing down would have been impossible.

One of the things I love about running faster paces is that there is span of time after the struggle of warming up but before the paces catches up to your muscles and forces you to slow down when the possibilities seem limitless. I really can run close to a 4 hour marathon. After this marathon I really will run a sub-4 marathon. I should sign up for the ultra-marathon I have been eyeballing. I should just keep running and running and running and…

Before I knew I was close to home and I reined in my speed-induced daydreaming. Back to reality, I told myself as I turned down the home stretching, forcing my legs to slow. I didn’t want to experience a blow up or a slow down. I wanted those possibilities to remain just that…possible.

Both Saturday and Sunday, I ended my runs on my own terms. Both times, I made the decision to stop and both times it was the “right” decision to make. Honestly, I’m not even sure what my point is here. I’m sure there is a lesson in there somewhere. What I do know is that Sunday’s run wiped Saturday’s run off the radar and thank goodness for that.

Daily Dozen:
5.22 miles – feeling good, running strong

Decisions.

2010-04-02T11:29:00.001-04:00

This week was supposed to be the peak week in marathon training. I had a great 15-miler last Sunday and I was looking forward to another solid week of running, to be capped off by a 22-miler this coming weekend before being able to slip easily in to a 3 week taper…in fact, I wasn’t much bothered by the impending 22-miler, looking beyond it to the lower mileage, lighter load, more sleep of the taper.

But then I caught a stomach bug. Sunday night as I was vegging out on the sofa and contemplating turning in for the night, I started to feel a little “off.” By the time I put head to pillow less than an hour later, I was really starting to feel awful. Then, a little over an hour after falling asleep I was huddled in the bathroom thowing up. For the rest of the night, I repeated this hourly performance not stopping until the sun had come up the next time.

Just like that, just as quick as that, there went my peak training week down the toilet…swoooosh, plop! Bummer!

Yesterday, Thursday was the first time I ran since Sunday and it well. I could tell I was tired and not quite “on” but I completed the run and felt good about it. This morning I ran in to work, covering about 8 miles and tomorrow’s long run was on my mind for most of the time.

What to do? Take it easy tomorrow, don’t push it but cut my taper from 3 weeks to 2 weeks and run 22 miles next weekend. A 2 week taper didn’t work for me when I tried it during my training for marathon #2 so I’m very hesitant about this idea. However, I am a much stronger runner than I was back then so maybe, just maybe I could handle a 2 week taper.

Or, should I attempt the 22 miles and see if I can do it in order to preserve the 3 week taper that I was so looking forward to last week. I like this idea better but I’m just not sure it is wise.

Decisions. Decisions.

Daily Dozen:
8 miles run to work

Four Courts Four Miler - Race Report

2010-03-16T13:39:00.003-04:00

Regardless of whether I am in the middle of training for a marathon or not, I enjoy running local races. Races that do not involve travel on my part. Races, for all intents and purposes, right outside my door. The Four Courts Four Miler is just such a race.

It was the inaugural event this year put on by Pacers, a local running store, and sponsored by Ireland’s Four Courts, a local Irish pub-style restaurant in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day. You can’t tell by the photo above but everything about this race was green and Irish.

As I mentioned previously, I was a little nervous going in to the race. Running had not been going as well as I had liked and logic would usually dictate that a runner who is already tired and possibly facing the specter of overtraining shouldn’t try to find an answer in racing and pushing their running. It sounds like I am court disaster and maybe, I was? I don’t know.

What I do know is that something clicked at the race.

It felt good to be in that crowd of fellow, green bedecked runners. The drizzling rain didn’t seem to phase any of us once the race started (beforehand is another story – it was pouring rain for the hour or so before the race meant that me and my loyal cheering section were soaked on the walk to the race). I was passing the Mile 1 marker before I knew it and nearly to the half way point of this four mile race before I even felt like I was even pushing the pace. Everything felt easy and that was such a relief after weeks of legs o’ lead.

Around the 2.5 mile point, I was “leapt” by the leprechaun. One of the fun parts of this race was that one of the super speedy Pacer-sponsored runners (turns out he is also Irish) started the race 8 minutes after the start gun. For every runner he beat to the finish line (or “leapt” if you will) the running store would donate a dollar to a local charity. I was hoping to be in Mile 3 by the time he passed me but in the middle of the race it didn’t even matter. Running felt good. My pace felt right. I was relaxed but still focused on racing hard (quite the contradiction, I know). Being beat by a local elite runner was of no consequence to me because I was having a great race.

The other catch to this race was that the first mile was downhill, the next two miles were more or less flat, and the final mile was up, up, uphill. However, I wasn’t worried for two reasons. One, I love running hills and as long as I didn’t flatline my legs during the first three miles I would be able to pass runners left and right going uphill. Two, I run this hilly section (although it feels like a mile long hill, it is actually two hills with a very brief flat-ish section in the middle) several times a week.

I passed the Mile 3 marker and took the hill in stride, keeping my legs turnover short but quick and my breathing steady. While everyone else slowed down, I picked up the pace. My second half split was actually faster than my first half split, which is not the norm for a course with this downhill/uphill profile.

As I raced toward the finish line, I spotted two runners between me and the end and I told myself to do whatever I could to pass them. I charged. I kicked. I sprinted. As much as one can charge, kick and sprint while running up a reasonably steep hill, I gave it all I had. I beat one of the two runners solidly. The other one was just ahead of me as we crossed the line; he had saved a little for the end and I wasn’t expecting it.

It felt so good to cross that finish line. It was a real confidence booster to look down at my watch and realize I had beaten the goal I had set for myself. As I was catching my breath, my fans (husband, Mom and Dad) found me and then I found the water. We didn’t stick around for the end of the race or the after party (although it did look like a bunch of fun) because we had plans for the rest of the day.

I am feeling much more positive about Nashville after this race. It feels so good to be back!

Splits (kinda – I didn’t hit the lap button on my watch so I’m working from memory)
Mile 1 – I didn’t want to look.
Mile 2 – 17 minutes and some change, right on target
Mile 3 – 25 minutes and some change, woohoo, doing better than target
Mile 4 – 34:27, a minute and a half better than I was expecting and a faster split than the first half

Pros:

Local (for me) and walkable to start/finish
Nice shirt – tech fabric with the Kiss Me I’m A Runner slogan. Love it!
Great race management
Hilly finish – yes, this can be a positive attribute to a race

Cons:

Nothing really – a great small, local race

A Little Nervous

2010-03-12T16:51:00.000-05:00

It’s been a strong week of running for me this past week. Last Sunday ended up being a beautiful day, perfect for an 18 mile long run. Monday through today, I’ve hit each one of my scheduled runs. I’ve felt a bit tired from the higher mileages but when my runs started I felt energized.

This weekend’s long run is supposed to be a cut back week before next week’s 20 miler. However, I’ve decided to throw in a little wrinkle for myself; a race – Four Courts Four Miler.

I haven’t raced since November at the GCF Half Marathon and I’m a little nervous about tomorrow’s race. Truthfully, I’m not quite sure why.

I’ve fallen off my pace a little bit compared to what I was running before I got a little sidelined by injury and weather in February but that’s no reason to be scared right? Also, the race is downhill during the first half but Uphill during the last half – 2 miles down, 2 miles back up. Again, I love running hills, that shouldn’t be causing anxiety. Except for the recent dry spell, I race often since the local running scene is so active and this race is super convenient. Nothing to be too concerned about.

And yet, I’m a little nervous.

Daily Dozen:
10 miles run commute

So Whose Legs Have I Been Running On?

2010-03-05T16:17:00.001-05:00

My legs have felt more like my own this week than they have in previous weeks. Running hasn’t been such a struggle and my pace is improving without extra effort on my part. In fact, three of my 5 runs this week have actually been in the 10s for an average overall pace, rather than the 11s I was seeing last week and the week before.

It’s better than just an improvement in pace though. My legs are feeling better; not so much like they had been dipped in wet cement. What a relief.

I had nearly resigned myself to the slower pace and the leaden legs, wondering if I should curtail all of my running plans for the year. Maybe I will run/walk the marathon in April since I had already signed up and call it quits for the rest of the year, I thought.

Honestly, I was surprisingly OK with that idea. Not that I would prefer to have my tentative plans spoiled by a silly overuse injury (I should have known better – my paces, especially on the long runs were just too fast. I’m not at 10 minute miles yet. I knew better but was dazzles by the specter of single digit pace. I’ll get there but I’m not breaking through just yet) and the snow. Yet, delaying my plans and living to race another year was more important to me.

I am determined to be a life long runner. I want to be pushing my kids in a jogging stroller just as much as I want to be winning age group awards when I’m 70 just because I was the only 70 year-old to show up.

I am back to feeling optimistic about not only the upcoming training and marathon but also the rest of my running life.

Daily Dozen:
10 miles run commute

Can Do.

2010-02-26T14:52:00.001-05:00

Can Do

Whenever I run to work in the mornings (braving the cold and windy elements this morning, I’ll add) I make it a point to run by as many of the memorials and monuments that DC has to offer. My more usual, pre-work early morning runs and my long run on the weekends rarely take me by these historical spots so getting to run by them one day a week as I commute to work is motivating.

Some of the notable sites I run by are the Marine Memorial (aka the Iwo Jima Memorial), Arlington National Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the WWII Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial, the Washington Monument, the National Mall and the museums that partly make up the Smithsonian, and the US Capital Building. I still get a little giddy when I come around a turn and the Washington Monument or the Capital Building pops in to view.

However, this morning, there was one particular memorial that made me start to think – the Seabees statue at Arlington National Cemetery

I’ve run by this statue dozens of times but this morning I made note of the large inscription: Seabees – Can Do (as I learned from Wikipedia, it is one the Seabees most commonly used but informal mottos). Two things struck me as I paused to take a picture: 1) the upper body muscles of the statue are totally disproportionate and 2) what a wonderfully simple but completely to the point phrase. Not questioning or hesitant – might do? Not even declarative or forceful – will do! Rather a simple statement of will and intent. Can do.

I think I’ve let myself get away from the “Just Run” motto and that’s why I ended up injured (too concerned with pace and speed) and why it took me so long to get back in to a groove (kinda being lazy). There were so many strings attached to running – pace, distance, training, racing, weekly mileage – I forgot to just run.

Run. Can do. Yeah, I like that.

Daily Dozen:
7.3 miles commute to work
Strength Training @ lunch hour

Love-Hate

2010-02-25T16:09:00.004-05:00

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with running these passed two weeks. I have been back in a groove in terms of consistency. For about a month now, I’ve only been able to run on and off due to injury recovery time, snow and a little bit of good ol’ fashioned laziness. However, I’m back to running nearly every day and mentally, I’m loving it.

And yet…

Although I am back to running consistently, I am struggling physically. My pace is much slower than it was back in January and I am really tired. Some times it is just fatigue in my legs and other times, I have little energy. Where have my speed and gumption gone? Did I really lose them that quickly? Ugh!

I tell myself that it’s OK; that I have permission to build back up slow and steady; that no matter what pace I am running, at least I am running. I tell myself these things over and over again and one of these days, I’ll even start believing it.

It is frustrating to feel like I have been set far back from where I was and have the date of the marathon fast approaching. I’ve revised my long run, I’ll still be able to get in some good 18 and 20 miles and I know I’ll be fine (maybe not running as close to a 4 hour marathon as I was hoping but fine nonetheless). Yet, there is a little voice inside me casting doubt and bumming me out when I am struggling to complete a run.

Let me clarify this last point. I haven’t been struggling due to an injury or pain but rather my legs just feel so leaden at times. I am getting a good amount of sleep most nights, I am eating as “healthy” as I normally do (are you going to begrudge me a cookie after coming in from a 2 hour run?) and I haven’t been doing anything out of the ordinary with cross-training or strength training. My paces have been much slower. I have no way of explaining why I am so tired during so many of my runs. Even more frustrating is that it seems to come and go; when I think I have finally warmed up and found a good rhythm my legs will suddenly fill with wet sand.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post or two, I have also been finding new routes through the surrounding neighborhoods because the bike paths that I normally run on have been impassable due to snow, ice and fallen trees.

A Tree Blocked Bike Path

Another downed tree, less than 1/2 mile away

The bamboo also got in to the blocking action

When my runs are good, I find that this spirit of discovery and exploration provides a nice spring in my step. However, when I’m struggling to run because my legs are fatigued I find new routes to be exhausting mentally. I am constantly calculating distances in my head and the questions seem endless – when should I turn around, when should I turn down a side street, how far will this road take before I have to alter my route, where will this road lead – the whole time being painfully aware of the absolute shortest route back home and a premature to my run. I find myself constantly having to convince my legs not to take that route and every turn, every side street, every unexpected hill restarts the dialogue.

And yet…

I haven’t bailed on a run yet. That’s something to be proud of and today’s run actually felt much easier. I felt more like myself out there running in the cold, wet morning. It is good to be back (and fingers crossed that it lasts).

Daily Dozen:
6 miles @ early morning

Skiing

2010-02-17T16:26:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I went traveled up to Vermont to visit my parents and to do some skiing. It seemed a shame that my parents have lived up in New England for a handful of years now and I hadn’t once tried skiing up there.

My ski resume is incredibly short: I’ve been twice. The first time I tried it I wasn’t crazy about it (went with friends in college, didn’t take a lesson, spent most of the time falling down in order to stop). I’ll be honest; the first time I tried skiing I didn’t really understand why everyone seemed to enjoy it so much. The next time I tried skiing was last year and I really enjoyed myself (took a lesson and figured out how to stop without falling down). I even worked my way up to an Intermediate trail by the end of the day. Coming away from that second day of skiing, I made the decision that I would take advantage of my parents being up in Vermont and close to so much excellent skiing (so I’m told).

I made good on that decision last Friday as I headed to Bolton Valley Ski Resort in Richmond, VT with my mom and my husband as ski companions. We got to the resort first thing in the morning, decided to take a lesson, got our equipment and headed out to the mountain by 10 in the morning. I was a nice day, sunny, clear and no wind.

Our lesson lasted an hour and we learned about our skis, how to stop, how to turn and how to use both the towpath and the ski lift. Our instructor, Dick, was a nice guy and even told some awful/great jokes. We all seemed to catch on and after an hour of running up and down the bunny slope (aka the Mitey Myte) we braved one of the “Easier” trails, Sprig o’ Pine.

It quickly became apparent that the “easier” trails here in Vermont were more difficult than “easier” trails found in southern Pennsylvania, but I was able to making it down the mountain just fine (and for the most part under control). With a brief stop for lunch, we spent most of the day skiing on the Sprig o’ Pine trail and then for the last run, my mom convinced to trail a longer (but still “easier”) trail called the Snowflake Bentley. Even this trail was doable and proved to be quite the little adventure.

All in all, it was a good day for skiing and I loved getting out there and trying something new.

Playing catch up

2010-02-17T16:25:00.001-05:00

So the leg injury coupled with the major snow / winter weather (and throw in a bit of laziness on my part) has severely hampered my running lately. I ran a few times last week; nothing over 5 miles and then I took off completely on a quick vacation up to Vermont. (However, I did get in some awesome skiing while up there. Yay! for trying new activities).

This week, however, I am back and ready to go. My leg is feeling better; it’s not quite 100% but it doesn’t seem to be suffering when I do run on it. I went out for a good 5 mile run on Monday and yesterday morning I did had an amazing 10 miler in the early morning hours.

One of the pluses to the piles of snow and lack of access to the bike path, that hasn’t been plowed because there are obviously higher priorities, not to mention the downed trees every quarter mile or so, anyway, one of the pluses is that it has forced me to seek new running routes. One thing I’ve discovered is how much fun it is to run through the side streets in the surrounding neighborhoods. As I mentioned, the bike path is a no-go and likely will be for some time, the main roads and sidewalks are still a mess and I feel very unsafe running in the road along such heavily trafficked routes so it was either the side streets or nothing.

With the snow piled high along the roads and most people still not quite dug out, there are much fewer cars on the road, which means I get to be queen of the roads for a while. Running through the silent, snow covered neighborhoods at 5 in the morning is just so peaceful and new. I’ve discovered some beautiful houses and views of DC I didn’t know existed so close to home. I’ve found some great hills and curvy, windy roads that don’t seem to fit so close to the city.

On Monday, I went out for a run a bit before 8 in the morning and it was nice to see people out shoveling the snow off their cars and sidewalks. People were friendly; saying hello or have a good day. On the bike path, I’m luck to get a nod from most runners/walkers/cyclists.

Tuesday, as I mentioned, was a predawn run and it was a beautiful – cold, crisp, clear – morning to be out for a long run. Ten miles is the longest I’ve run for nearly a month and while I was getting tired toward the end, it was reassuring to be able to run that distance. I know I haven’t completely ruined my training for the Country Music Marathon in April. I’ll have to work hard (and smart) in order to build up to the marathon distance without re-injuring myself but completely Tuesday’s run gave the confidence to try.

Daily Dozen:
Strength training and stretching in the morning
3.3 miles @ lunch hour on treadmill

On My Way Back

2010-02-03T16:50:00.000-05:00

Ok – Yesterday’s post was just all-kinds of negative energy. Sorry about that! That isn’t normally who I am. Still, I was a bit apprehensive about this morning’s run. The last thing I wanted or needed was a repeat of the day before.

However, from the first step the anxiety melted away. My leg was somewhat tight was definitely better than it has been (yay!), the freshly fallen snow was fun and challenging rather than a tedious, and even though I was going at a much slower pace than normal (12 minute miles compared to 10:30 miles) I felt like I was in the groove.

It feels good to be on my way back.

Daily Dozen:
5.1 miles @ morning run, freshly fallen snow
XT and strength training @ lunch hour

Two Runs - Two Different Outcomes

2010-02-02T13:29:00.000-05:00

I had high hopes for this morning’s run: I’m finally back from a self-imposed (injury-imposed) weeklong break from running, yesterday’s running wasn’t terrible and I do enjoy running on snow. The run didn’t go that well but maybe I was expecting too much: I’m just coming back from an injury and haven’t run for a week, yesterday’s run wasn’t very reassuring and running on snow is hard and slow.

Yesterday was my first day back to running. I headed out in the pre-dawn darkness, packed snow and ice crunching underfoot and a lingering tightness in my left quad. I wanted to do a slow 5 miles to test out my leg but maybe that was too much? Despite some dull pain in my leg I kept running and by the end of the run, I was feeling good.

Also, cruising along on the snow was fun: everything seemed so quiet and calm with a thin snow layer. The moon was out and its light reflecting off the snow made the morning brighter than usual. Rather than the normal sound of my footfall, I crunched loudly, packing down snow and breaking up ice that had formed overnight. I felt like I was juggling the snow with my feet as I avoided the icy spots and jumped from packed snow spot to packed snow spot. It really was a tremendous amount of fun.

However, today was a different story. Juggling the snow was physically and mentally exhausting. My leg was stiff and actually hurt today. I was slipping and sliding and just didn’t want to be out there (as much as I really wished that I wanted to be there). Now, my leg is sore today and I’m not sure what to do: see how it goes tomorrow or start getting used to the fact that I need some more time off.

One bad run isn’t the be all, end all of my running but it sure isn’t helping right now.

Daily Dozen:
4 miles – slow but not really easy!

Doing Nothing

2010-01-26T15:54:00.001-05:00

I’m not used to doing nothing. I hate it doing nothing. I feel lazy and guilty when I do nothing. Even when I am doing nothing for a good reason, I still can’t shake the notion that I should be doing something.

…And this is why I am purposefully doing nothing while I recover from a muscle strain in my left quad. Yesterday and today I’ve been talking myself out of just going for a little run. It won’t hurt anything if I warm up properly. Just a short run after work, that’s all (as if somehow the time of day made a difference). I’m practically fantasizing about these runs and have to continually remind myself that I am not running for a good reason and breaking the self-imposed running embargo will likely result in more time spent not running. It isn’t worth it, I keep reminding myself….and then forgetting.

In fact, I have even strictly forbidden myself from going down to workout in the gym during work. I know I should do some upper body strength training and core work since I’ve got the time and energy but I also know that the temptation to sneak in a harmless, little run on the treadmill would simply be too much for me. It’s for my own good that I skip the workouts altogether.

I don’t say this to be one of those “braggy” runners – “oh, I can’t NOT run, that would be impossible, I once ran through this injury or on that bloody stump.” I’d rather be a smart (and lifelong) runner than one of those always injured, always in pain runners who limp along bandaged together with tape, pain relievers and constant icing.

Then again, one little run wouldn’t hurt…right?

Daily Dozen:
Nothing and I am OK with that.

The Run that was Not To Be

2010-01-25T15:47:00.001-05:00

A rare treat: temperature nearly 60 degrees and rainy in the middle of January. I actually didn’t believe the Weather Channel when I checked the temperature before picking out my running clothes this morning. I thought the website was glitchy and hadn’t updated properly so I went to the kitchen window to check the thermometer outside. Sure enough, it read nearly sixty degrees.

I grabbed a pair of shorts from the neglected stack. I haven’t worn shorts on a run since November. Shorts are so much easier than tights; easier to put on, easier to pull off. The thought that was literally running through my head was, “YAY!” (Confession: I may have quietly squealed “YAY!” as I got ready for my run this morning.)

I still braced myself for the cold as I stepped out on to the deck. Could it really be nearly 60 degrees outside? Impossible. However, my body and mind clenched for not reason. It felt wonderful outside with the steady rain coming down. Well, this should be fun I thought to myself as I walked around to the front of the house and as soon as I hit the sidewalk, I took off for the bike path ready for a good time in the rain.

I made it to the end of the block.

My left quad / inside thigh started to hurt immediately. My rule of thumb of pain while running is if it doesn’t affect my running gait, I can keep going but if it does, I stop immediately. I was definitely limping and the pain wasn’t going away. Images of my fun, rainy run disappeared; I turned around, shut off my GPS and walked back to the house.

Damn! I am able to (mostly) walk without pain so that is a good sign. I think it is simply a muscle strain and a few rest days will do the trick but I’ve had such a strong few weeks of running I am disappointed to have that much momentum coming to a whimpering stop in the rain.

When I got back to the house, I kicked off my shoes and decided to curl up on the couch for an hour and read. I also decided I would do some strength exercises (pushups, sit-ups, pull-ups, etc.) before jumping in the shower and getting read for the rest of my day. Even if I couldn’t run, I could still do something productive.

However, I wasn’t ready for the sheer exhaustion that would overcome me when I sat on the couch. I simply couldn’t keep my eyes open. Even after that extra hour and a half of sleep, I have been exhausted for the rest of the day. My body just feels run down. I’m not sure what message it is trying to send me; I was so pumped for the run this morning and not five minutes later, I felt utterly drained. My stomach and head are also feeling a little unsettled so maybe I am fighting something and didn’t realize it.

My plan is to taking today and tomorrow off completely and go to bed early both nights. (Sleep does wonderful, healing things. It is truly a miracle.) I’ll reassess how my leg feels but hopefully be up for the planned easy four-miler on Wednesday. Fingers crossed!

Daily Dozen:
Attempted 5 mile run and strength training – thwarted! Unscheduled rest day.

2010 : I Continue

2010-01-12T14:54:00.001-05:00

Looking back on 2009, I realized just how much I was able to accomplish in one year. I went from starting the year hesitant about running because of an injury and running about 20 miles a week on average to ending with a weekly average between 40 and 50 miles and gain confidence in my abilities. I ran personal records in every single race distance I tried, from the 5K to the marathon and I was consistent in making some sort of activity a part of my daily life. Not only am I running and walking more than I was when 2009 started, I also found new things to keep me active – camping and downhill skiing to name a few.

My resolution for 2010 is to Continue, to keep doing what I am doing – continue running strong farther and faster without injury, continue trying new things and continue doing those fun, new things I discovered last year.

I’d also like to set a few personal goals for myself, including:

Run my 4th marathon and get close to the 4 hour mark
Run my first ultra marathon (JFK 50 is my tentative goal)
Try something new (Boxing? Yoga? Swimming?)
Write a short story (put my fingers to keyboard this year…get it down, out my head)
Paint and decorate one room in the house to completion

I’m looking forward to making it all happen in 2010!

Daily Dozen:
10.5 miles run this morning, intervals – 1 mile easy, 1 mile pushing the pace, repeat
XT and pushups in the gym @ lunch hour

2009 : My Look Back

2010-01-11T16:47:00.004-05:00

I took the opportunity on my run this morning to think about my running last year. I started the year coming off an injury, slowly building a base in order to train for my third marathon. It wasn’t an ideal way to begin striving for a life lived in motion but it was my starting point nonetheless.

Without having the benefit of looking back over blog entries or review the numbers on my spreadsheet, I feel very positive about 2009. I had no serious injuries and showed good sense after my marathon by taking a few weeks off to fully recover. I spent many lunch hours in the gym with weights and other strength training exercises or outside taking a walk. I’ve more than doubled the amount of walking I get in each day as result of moving to a house (a house I own…along with the loan people). I stayed active on all my vacations and even built some of them around being active – traveling for a marathon and hiking mostly. To top off the year, I have built my running base up to 50 miles per week and I am running strong going in to training for my fourth marathon.

Looking back at my resolution for 2009: Be Consistent, my current higher weekly mileage and strength and confidence is proof I was able to achieve this goal. I can’t say I was always consistent with my nutrition but I do think I am getting better. Rather than take my own word for it, though, I took a look at the numbers to get an even better sense of my year.

I took over 7 Million Steps, which means I traveled 3,193 miles on my own two feet.
That is an average of 19,440 steps or 8.73 miles each day!
I ran 233 times for a total annual mileage of 1,436 miles – 45% of my total miles (3,193) were run.
I ran on 219 days or better yet, I took a rest day 146 days. This also means that on 14 days I ran twice.
I spent 249 hours 14 minutes and 15 seconds running over the year, added together that is 10 days 9 hours and 15 minutes spent running or 0.12% of the year.
I increased my lifetime running mileage to 4,127 miles.
I ran 9 races in 2009 – 1 5k, 1 10k, 3 10-milers, 3 half marathons and one full marathon.
That equals 104.8 miles raced. I also PR’ed in every one of those distances. Go me!
My average distance per run was 6.17 miles with an average time per run of 1 hour 4 minutes 11 seconds at an average pace of 10:24 per mile.
On average I ran 26.82 miles per week. (This needs to increase!)
I ran the highest monthly mileage in October (177.21 miles) and the lowest in June (54.09).
However, I took the most steps in the month of September (756,102) but June was also the lowest month for steps by far (401,715).
I did some form of cross-training 97 times. Strength training, 89 times.

It was a good year for sure but I think I can do even better!

I was also able to achieve several of the personal goals I set for myself:

Run a marathon or two. Check. Keybank Vermont City Marathon. Oh yeah!
Write a short story. I haven’t put pen to paper (or rather fingers to keyboard) but I do have some ideas floating around in my head so this one is a continuing work in progress.
Try something new. Check. Camping is so much fun.
Buy a house. Check. YES!

Daily Dozen:
5.5 mile run @ morning

Snow Run

2010-01-08T14:35:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, I was asked, “what motivates you to get up and run so early in the morning day after day.” At the time, I really didn’t have a good answer. “I don’t know, I just enjoy it,” was the only thing I could think to say as I shrugged my shoulders and smiled.

On most days, that really is the truth. I’m not really sure why I get up at 4 in the morning, roll out of a cozy, comfortable bed and head out for a run on dark, cold winter mornings and humid, sticky summer mornings alike. I just do it – me and Nike think alike it seems.

However, this morning as I crunched the fresh snow underfoot I found another reason why I get up early to run before work, while most people are still asleep. Being the first one to make tracks in the snow is one of life’s small gifts. It means nothing, the person following in my footsteps won’t even know who made those footprints, and yet it will make me giddy every time. Like seeing a rainbow or rain on a sunny day, it just makes me smile.

This is why I got up early this morning – to be the first person to make tracks in the fresh snow.

Less than a half mile later, I found another reason why I get up early to run; because I’m not the only one out there. I don’t mean this from a competitive stand point but rather from a place of camaraderie and community. I like being part of group that gets up each and every day to go out and run regardless of the weather and conditions.

Running in snow like this – fresh, soft, crunchy…perfect – is a rare treat for a DC area runner and I took full advantage of it on my run in to work this morning. I’ve run as it was snowing and I’ve run after it snowed but to run on such pure snow is a treat. The air was cold but clear. There was little of the wind that has plagued my running lately. I took my time, fully enjoying the experience and even stopping to snap some pictures. I love being a runner in DC and I think the city looks amazing after a snow fall.

The Washington Monument

On the National Mall

Perfect.

Daily Dozen:
10 mile run-commute to work

Brrrrr

2010-01-03T15:53:00.003-05:00

Sixteen degrees with a "feels like" temperature of -2....NEGATIVE TWO....although sunny and clear there was a wind advisory, just to make things interesting.

That is the weather situation that I faced as I headed out for a long run this morning. I always feel hardcore when I run in low temperatures. Some people might be scared off by that little "dash" in front of the temperature but not me, no way.

This run was long overdue. After my self-imposed week off last week, I hit the ground running (bah) last week and it felt good. But then I wasn't feeling well Thursday (woke up to run, had zero energy, went back to bed) and Friday (headed out for a 9 mile run, felt sick after 1.5 miles, run/walk back home). I was feeling better this morning but I still headed out with some trepidation.

Would all that time off put a kink in my fitness? With the holidays and being busy on the weekends, it has been a while since I managed to get in a proper long run, would I be able to make the distance?

Faced with -2 degree temperature, a recent illness and wind, I headed out but decided to stick close to home and explore some of the streets and neighborhoods around my neighborhood instead of doing my usual out-and-back. I didn't want to be 7.5 miles from home and not be able to make it back. It took me a few miles to warm up; before my arms no longer felt like they were going to freeze off. However, once I warmed up, I felt good running through the quiet neighborhoods.

I was aiming for anything over 10 miles but under 15 miles and ended up with a final distance of 11. 72. I was getting tired (tired of fighting the wind, tired of the cold, tired of my nose running, tired of the hills -- Military Road has some killer hills; good to know) and I didn't want to stretch my endurance so soon after a break.

I feel energized for marathon training, which starts...TOMORROW!!

Daily Dozen:
11.72 miles @ morning, long run

A Nice Welcome Back

2009-12-29T12:42:00.000-05:00

After taking last week off, I’m back to running. I am off two minds looking back on my self-imposed / snow-imposed hiatus. On the one hand, it felt good to stay up a little later than my usual 8 o’clock bedtime and even better to sleep in 2 hours more than usual. However, I also let myself eat many more cookies than I usually do and by the middle of the week I was feeling sluggish and unhealthy.

I’ve run every morning since Saturday but it wasn’t until this morning that I felt like I was finally back in the groove. The first run post-hiatus went better than I expected, especially since it was raining cats and dogs during the run. I did a five mile run and with the unusually warm temperatures, the rain actually felt nice instead of burdensome. The bike trails were still snow covered before it started raining so I was running through puddles of slush/snow mix. By the end of the five miles, I was happy to be inside some place warm and dry but still thrilled to have completed a run finally.

Sunday was a gorgeous winter morning. Cold but refreshingly crisp (instead of biting), the snow glistened in the snow and ice glistened in the snow as it slowly melted. Birds were out chirping and there were plenty of runners out on the trails, many of whom looking to equally glad to be out running on such a beautiful morning. The bike path had been significantly cleared from the previous day’s warmer temperature and rain so dodging ice was less of an issue than the day before. I only slipped once; the bridges were still covered in snow, slush and ice.

The schedule has a long run of 15 miles for Sunday but I told myself to just go out and run until it felt like it was time to come home. I ended up running a very satisfying 9.5 miles.

Monday I ran an easy 5.3 miles in the early morning hours before work and it made me realize how much I missed my predawn runs. I went out at an easy and relaxed pace – like a little, running monk, Ommmmmm.

I am surprised at how easy it was to get back in to my routine and that none of the runs have been a struggle but it wasn’t until today that I felt like I was really back from a break. This morning’s 10 miles were perfect. I felt like I was gliding along the path this morning instead of pounding away at the pavement. It was effortless and energizing. I didn’t see anyone else on the bike path for close to an hour so it was just me floating along this morning, enjoying the solitude, the dark, the (relative) quiet. Running felt awesome – I felt quick, the hills hardly gave me any issues, I felt like the Energizer Bunny, as trite as that is, it is true! It turns out my pace wasn’t anything surprising (I was secretly hoping it would be even though I wasn’t pushing the pace at all) – a steady 10 minute mile but it felt so easy.

It is good to be back!

Daily Dozen:
10 miles run @ early morning
(planned) Strength Training @ lunch hour(planned) 3 miles run/walk after work w/ Jenn

Confession

2009-12-23T08:59:00.003-05:00

I have a confession to make: Today is Wednesday and I haven’t run since last Friday. That’s five days of no running! This the longest stretch of voluntary non-running for me since I started running over three years ago (not including the month of non-running due to injury last year). I have been a victim of the great Blizzard of 2009 and quite frankly, I can’t say I mind too much.

Rather than stress out about it, I have decided that as a Christmas present to myself I am taking this week off and I am not going to stress out about it. The roads, sidewalks and bike paths around me are still horrendous. I have seen a few runners out and about but it looks like they are having a hard enough still trudging through the snow and slush, not to mention the extra effort needed to remain upright because of the (sometimes hidden) patches of ice all over the area.
I will admit that I have easy access to the treadmills in the gym at work and they have been calling my name (I am thinking about succumbing this afternoon) but I have been enjoying this whole non-running thing. Consider it a re-boot for the coming marathon training that starts in January.

Don’t worry though, I haven’t been idle! Saturday and Sunday were spent on lots and lots of snow shoveling. Monday I took a long walk in the snow since I have the day off from work due to the snow. I’ve also been baking cookies and….well, and eating them!

Next week, it’s game on. For now…Merry Christmas and enjoy the holiday!

Daily Dozen:
Not a thing…for now!

Vacation + Running = ??

2009-12-14T15:49:00.004-05:00

Vacation and consistent running don’t always mix well for me.

First, I am such a creature of habit. I love having a schedule; knowing exactly what I’m going to be doing and when I’m going to be doing it. When something disrupts that schedule, I get thrown for a loop and don’t get as much accomplished as I could (should? would?) have normally. Without a specific plan on a weekend, I can very easily and quickly waste two whole days as a lazy lump on the couch, not even bothering to get dressed. This is why I like to get my run in first thing on Saturday morning. With my run accomplished, I have the momentum to keep going for the rest of the weekend…well, the rest of Saturday, at least.

Vacations throw the schedule right out the window. Whoosh!

As running has become a larger part of my life and who I am, I’ve been getting better at carving out vacation time to run. I’ve hoped on a few treadmills in hotel gyms (never great) and I managed a run or two in Bar Harbor, Maine, even hopping on a trail in to Acadia National Park (awesome). I’m better about getting in runs while I am in Vermont visiting my parents (mostly because my Mom expects me to run and will ask me whether I’m going out the next day…she even drives me to a great location to run, how could I not run). This past vacation to Miami proved to be the best in terms of running consistently; mainly, because I made running a part of my regular “vacation” schedule.

Since Mike was in a conference most of the time we were in Miami, I got used to waking up and going out for a run. It is what I did every morning – wake up, nibble on something, go out for a run on the beach, come back, shower, eat breakfast, hit the pool or beach by 10. This became my norm – day in, day out.

Not a bad way to vacation, huh?

However, this routine was thrown out the window (whoosh!) when Mike’s conference ended. This brings me to the second reason vacationing and running don’t mix well for me. I am very reluctant for my running to cut in to the time I spend with Mike. It’s why I run in the morning and why I’m so bad with running after work or weekend afternoons. Vacation time equals our time and I hate to intrude on our time with me time. I know Mike wouldn’t mind but I hate to do it anyway.

It’s OK though. I loved my early morning beach runs as much as I loved sleeping in and sitting on beach with Mike the rest of the time. This was my view for most of my time in Miami. Who could resist the urge to be lazy?

We got plenty of walking in and I even managed to sneak in some kayaking.

Vacation Recap:
Sunday – XT, Kayaking
Monday – 9.4 mile run (4.5 miles on the beach – running on the beach is HARD!)
Tuesday – 10 mile run
Wednesday – 9.3 mile run (first 5 miles w/ intervals, 6 minutes easy/1 minute hard)
Thursday – 5.8 mile run (nice and easy, my legs are tired)
Friday – touristy walking
Saturday – mostly just sitting, reading and napping on the beach *sigh*

New Attitude

2009-12-01T13:51:00.003-05:00

I have been listening to old episodes of the Running Times podcast and I recently heard one from October 2008. The guest on the show was Bob Kennedy, an American record holder, who was the first non-African to break 13:00 in the 5,000m distance. He discussed his thoughts on the mentality needed in order achieve breakthrough performances in running.

One of his ideas that really stuck with me (and I’m paraphrasing here), is that a runner can show up on any given day with two different attitudes – one, wondering “how much am I going to fail today” or two, “I wonder how much I’m going to succeed today.” Of course, both of these depend on other factors – strength in training, sleep, nutrition, overtraining, proper recovery, etc. but it just reminded me how much of this sport is a mental game as well as a physical one.

How much am I going to succeed today?

What a great perspective. The optimism in that attitude is tremendous. The first attitude is one of fear, which is exactly what I’ve been trying to weed out of my running. Running scared is no way to run. Even if I don’t meet my goals for a particular run or race, at least I started out with a positive attitude. I started out looking to succeed rather than trying to control my fears.

I continue to run strong and consistently and this attitude is exactly what I need to add to my running. How much am I going to succeed today!

As I start this new month, I am looking to take my mileage up to the next level and hold it steady at 45-50 miles a week until I start training in January for the Country Music Marathon. I’m going to ask myself this question, each time I start to question my abilities, each time I start to lose confidence in myself and my running.

My current marathon PR is 4:19:09. My last half marathon time predicts a sub-4 hour marathon time. When I initially saw that prediction, my reaction was “no way!” but now, I want to rethink. Rather than shy away from the sub-4 hour goal, I am going to embrace it. If I don’t get a sub-4 in Nashville, it just means I didn’t succeed as much as I could have succeeded. It doesn’t mean I failed.

Also, this new attitude may have inspired me to try a different kind of race. Who knows? Maybe I’ll give it a shot! We’ll see where this new attitude takes me.

Daily Dozen:
10.36 miles this morning (first run below 30 degrees – definitely wore tights this morning)
XT and push ups and other strength training @ lunch hour

Flirting w/ higher mileage

2009-11-23T16:53:00.001-05:00

When I am not actively training for a marathon, the stress of hitting certain miles each run, going to bed early and eating to fuel my runs melts away during the month following the race. It’s not that I let myself go or anything, I am still pretty disciplined (that being part of the point of this very blog; to stay accountable to daily activity) compared to how I lived prior to becoming a runner. It is just that my running tends to get a little “fuzzy.”

After each of my three marathons, my weekly running mile tended to settle in the mid 20s. This was good enough in between marathons but I still felt like I was starting over whenever I started training for the next marathon. During the last few miles of marathons 2 and 3, I’ve started to fade and I think this has more to do with my running base going in to the training phase rather than the training phase itself. Over the summer, fully settling in to 20 mile weeks, I resolved to make a change – I want my next marathon to be strong, from start to finish and the way to get there is through building a better running base.

During August and September, I made an effort to run more miles and I was comfortable running weekly mileage in the 30s; however, my efforts weren’t really focusing. I was still running fuzzy. This Fall, I have made decided effort to gain some focus without being too rigid.

During the month of October, each week I tried to hit 40 miles by Sunday. I was hitting this mileage consistently for the month and my legs were holding up well against the increased mileage. Throughout this month, I’ve been aiming for a weekly mileage of 45 miles. Due to life outside of running, I haven’t been able to hit it as consistently as I was hitting 40 in October but I have running very strong at this higher mileage all month long.

I really couldn’t be more pleased with my running at the moment and it has even had tremendous impact in other ways I didn’t intend. For one, my weight has dropped (almost 5 pounds below what I was over the summer) and seems to be continuing on this downward trend. I have much better muscle tone in my legs, especially in my quads and glutes.

Best of all, my pace has increased (see Breakthrough) at all my paces and even on my training runs. "Just Run" has me running consistently at a 10 minute mile pace. Awesome!

Another change I’ve made, in addition to the higher mileage, is incorporating pushups during the day. My goal, each day, is to get in 100 pushups from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. My core is strong than it ever has been before and on “good” days I can see a “one-pack” starting to peak out.

Things are going well (I really hope I didn’t just jinx it!)

Run Strong!

Daily Dozen:
Cross-training (recumbent bike) and Strength Training @ lunch hour
3.7 miles after work with Jenn (planned)

Lees Woods Trail - Leesylvania State Park - Hike

2009-11-15T09:15:00.011-05:00

Saturday we decided to go for a short hike in order to enjoy the unusually nice fall weather – clear and temperatures in the 60s – so we headed south to Leesylvania State Park in Prince William County, VA.

We decided to try the Lees Woods Trail because of the historical significance – the trail would take us by Colonial and Civil War points of interest. The trail head is located near Freestone Point Beach, which we decided to save for last. We started up the trail, which quickly led us past an amphitheater.

This first part of the trail comprised one of the several short but steep inclines along the almost 2 mile long hike, as we made our way to the bluffs overlooking the Potomac River. Atop this hill, there are the remains of a Confederate gun battery which successfully held off the Union ships during the Civil War.

Next the trail took us past the ruins of Light Horse Harry Lee, the father of Robert E. Lee. One of the things I love about living on the East Coast is all of the American history that just seems to be lying around in the woods waiting to be discovered over and over again. It is amazing to me that the chimney, the foundation of the house and outlying buildings and even the well are still around.

The best part of this hike was the crunch of leaves underfoot. The trail was blanketed by fallen leaves that we swished our way through, making a tremendous amount of noise. There is something about kicking up leaves that reminds me of being young, raking up the leaves in to a big pile to jump in to. Whenever I hear this sound, I am instantly taken back to those fall days.

Noisily, we made our way along the trail, up to the site of the original Lee plantation. Although there is very little of the house left (only a foundation wall is barely visible across a small ravine), it is still interesting to stand in the same spot as these people did so long ago. Interestingly, one of Lee’s neighbors, only 14 miles north, would often stop by for dinner and lodging on his way to Williamsburg – one Mr. George Washington.

The trail also took us past the small, private cemetery where the Lees are buried. Their headstones have either been lost to time or moved, four people remain buried here including…. It seems like such a beautiful and peaceful spot to be your final resting place, except for all those hikers who come through each year…

As we wound our way along the rest of the path, we couldn’t help but marvel at how quickly nature takes back the land. Both a road from the 1950s and a railroad from the early 1900s ran through what is now Leesylvania State Park and other than the land that was flattened to make way for each, you’d never be able to tell either had existed. Trees have grown back along with flowers and bushes. If no one touched this land, how long would it take before all traces of humans had disappeared? Probably not as long as you’d think.

The trail soon led us back to where we started and for a short, easy hike it was fun because of the beautiful weather and the history along the way.

Before leaving the park; however, we walked over to Freestone Point Beach to check out the fishing peer. The views along the river were wonderful and about a quarter of the way on the pier, we officially crossed the state line from Virginia into Maryland!

Here's another picture I took along the way...

Us - some where along the trial.

Breakthrough

2009-11-12T11:19:00.000-05:00

I am so happy with the way my running is progressing this fall. I am running stronger and faster, and it feels good. When I finished my run this morning, I was proud of myself and my running.

When I started running, I read as much as I could about how to start running. I mean, it sounds easy…just go out and run…but it turns out, there is quite a bit to learn. Everything I read aimed at beginner running emphasized that slow was the name of the game. If you wanted to make it the distance and cross the finish line (how ever far away that finish line may be) strong, you had to go slow and avoid crashing.

This is exactly how I ran during the training for my first marathon. I repeated “slow and easy, just take it easy Becki, nice and slow” over and over on every long run; and, it worked. I progressed from 10 to 12 to 15 to 18 to 20 milers and finished each one tired but strong and with confidence.

I was so careful not to go out too fast and that caution developed into apprehension and fear. I honestly believe that I have been afraid to go fast, thinking that if I ran fast I would crash. I was afraid of the fatigue and ache. I was afraid of the pain. It is so silly but somehow so very, very true. As I continued to run after my first marathon, I never really let go of the “slow and easy” approach.

However, something changed after I was injured last year. My running mantra changed from “slow and easy” to “steady and strong” as I rebuilt my running base. I credit this new mantra for helping me improve my marathon time by 15 minutes and finishing strong in my third marathon.

That race was just the beginning because this summer and fall, after recovering from the marathon, I have been focused on increasing my weekly mileage. Forty miles used to be my marathon peak week and now, after slowly building up all summer and fall, for the past month it has been my normal weekly mileage. I feel like a whole new runner – stronger, faster and more confident in my ability.

…and it shows. I have run a PR at every race distance this fall except for the marathon. My 5K PR dropped by two minutes and I know I could have run that one faster (I was just starting to lose my fear of running fast and was still transition to higher mileage). I smashed my 10K PR by over six minutes. I brought my 10 mile race PR down a minute after a tough a race (well, tough for me). However, the one that proves to me I am truly improving is my new half marathon PR, dropping it six minutes and feeling like I could have run forever as I crossed the finish line even after a ridiculous 6.25 mile “warm up” run. I wish I had a marathon planned this fall because I know I could make a serious dent in that PR as well. I think this is sufficient evidence that I’ve had a breakthrough in my running. I’m so excited to see what this new level of running holds for me.

Daily Dozen:
6 miles in the morning (rainy and cold)
Strength Training @ lunch hour

GCF Inaugural Half Marathon – Race Report

2009-11-09T11:29:00.002-05:00

The perfect day – these are the only words that come to mind to describe my race at the GCF Inaugural Half Marathon. The PERFECT day.

The morning turned out to be an ideal fall morning to run a race – cool and clear with temperatures in the 40s (rising slowly but steadily all day – 50s by the end of the race and 70s by the afternoon). We couldn’t have asked for better race conditions. However, my race story starts before the morning dawned.

With the race starting at 7 am and the metro not opening until 7 am, I was trying to figure out how to get to the race without having to resort to driving. I hate driving in the city and although it wouldn’t have been bad getting in since it was so early, I was hoping to avoid the drive back after the race. Mike offered to wake up early to drive me in and drop me off at the race site. It was tempting to take him up on the offer but I know he would have hated waking up that early so I let him off the hook (but major points for offering!).

That left the bike or the power of my own two feet and since I had come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t be breaking any PRs (see here and here) for the race I made the decision to run to the race. At my 10K two months ago, I finally came around to the idea of warming up before a race so the run to the race would serve as an extended warm-up - uhm, 6.25 miles to be exact.

I left the house at 5:30 and had an hour and a half to make it to the race site, pick up my race packet and check my bag. I was a little worried about making it on time so I was running just a bit faster than my easy pace. As the day dawned and I realized just what I had gotten myself in to – I would be running 19 miles that day, the longest I’ve run (by far) since the marathon in May. I just shook my head and laughed at the stunt I was pulling but I had already committed. The only option was to go with the flow, anticipate the blow up I was sure to experience on the half marathon course and come to terms with it in the hopes of alleviating any disappointment. Just Run, I told myself, Just Run.

Doing just that, I got to the start area at 6:30 (whoa! I covered 6.25 miles in 1 hour and 1 minute, which equals a sub-10 minute pace. Oops, so much for a warm-up…that’s marathon pace!). I quickly found my packet, put on my bib, threw my gloves and ID in my bag, checked it and hit the bathroom line. With all that done, I took the time to stretch out from my run to the race and soak up my surroundings.

There were 2000+ people running the race that morning, add to that the race organizers and volunteers and you get quite a lot of people out and about in the early morning hours to support an amazing cause. It felt great to be a part of something charitable even if I was doing it for my own reasons. It gave me a good feeling for the race ahead. From the start, throughout the race, all the way to the finish festival, the GCF put on a great race with excellent organization. Amazing! (Even more so considering it was an inaugural event).

The course for the half marathon was three, 4+ mile loops. I have never run a loop course before so I was skeptical on how it would turn out. Would I get bored? Would I get tired of making almost all left turns (and in this case many of them 180 degree turns)? Would I be able to convince my legs to run the same route again and again when they were tired? As the gun went off and the race got underway, these questions dissipated because I quickly found a groove.

From the very first step I was in the zone and because the crowd was relatively small, especially for a DC race, it quickly thinned out and there was hardly any bobbing and weaving. Maybe the 6.25 mile, marathon pace warm-up wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Just after the 3rd mile, I hit a water stop and gulped down a Powerade. I was feeling good but concerned I couldn’t keep up the pace for the ten miles that I had ahead of me. Rather than hitting the lap button on my watch at the mile markers, I decided to continue with my “Just Run” motto and only concern myself with time after each loop. I hit the first loop in 37:xx minutes.

OK, that’s under a 9 minute pace....and I was hoping I would be able to maintain a 10 minute pace considering my 6.25 mile warm-up. But can I keep this up? I was feeling good and figured there was nothing I could do about it now, I might as well keep going until the wall came crashing down on me. I might as well get as far as I could before that happened. Going through the second loop, I started to get tired and could feel the miles on my legs – Mile 6 of the race was my Mile 12 for the day, etc. Amazingly I made it through that loop – Mile 9 (my Mile 15, oy!), one more loop to go. Just hold on, I told myself.

I didn’t even look at my watch. I didn’t want to know (turns out it was 36:xx – my fastest loop). I just hit the button and kept running. Damn the watch. Damn my time. Damn the miles I had run before the race. Just Run.

I hit Mile 10, only three more to go, and saw the official race clock read 1:26:xx and with a quick calculation my whole outlook on the race changed: even if I slowed down to 10 minute miles, if I could do better than that slower pace for the next 3 miles, the next 30 minutes, I would come across the line in 1:56:xx – that’s a PR! With that realization, I was totally reinvigorated. If I could get a PR even if slowed down, imagine how much I could smash my previous time (1:58:29) if I kept my faster pace. Now I was on a mission. Forget the wall, forget slowing down; I was going to get this done.

With each mile marker I hit, I did a quick calculation and with each calculation I projected my finish time to be faster and faster. Finally, I made the turn down Pennsylvania Avenue for the last time and I knew I was going to do it. My legs were tired but finishing at a fast pace wouldn’t be a problem. I ran and ran down Pennsylvania for what seemed like miles but it was only about ¾ a mile long. I heard the crowd and announcer at the finish line and I tried to pick up my pace. However, there was no kick left in my legs but they were machine-like in that they had zeroed in a pace and could go at that pace forever. Finally, with the finish line getting closer and closer I was able to read the clock at the 13 mile marker – 1:52:01 it read.

I had one minute to run .1 miles in order to be a 1:52 half marathoner. That is all that matter. I had to cross the line before the clock read 1:53:00. I ran strong and as I came close to the line, the announcer said, “…and here comes, Becki… [seriously, he announced my name and I pumped my fist]…she definitely knows how to celebrate, Becki in the white hat and the pretty ponytail getting it done.” I did it – 1:52:38!!!

I was the 115th woman to cross the finish line out of 549 and 48th in my age group.

In a word – PERFECT!

I wore my race shirt for the rest of the day with pride. I am only slightly sore today but in a good way. I believe I’ve recently experienced a break-through in my running and this half marathon performance is proof. Running that race and especially crossing that finish line, shattering my previous PR by 5 minutes made me want to scream, “AHHHH, I Love Running.”

Pros:
Excellent Start, Course and Finish Organization
Loop course – wouldn’t want to do a loop course for all my races but it worked for me at this race
Great cause w/ enthusiastic runners, volunteers, and organizers
Nice race shirt (even if it is cotton)

Cons:
Due to early start time (which I love), it is not metro accessible for the start (though I did metro home)
Expensive for a half ($75!)
No convenient packet pick up (i.e. metro accessible) other than race day
It is never a problem for me but there were no bathrooms on the course, only at the start/finish way off the course.

OLD RAG MOUNTAIN – HIKE

2009-11-07T08:40:00.011-05:00

The summit of Old Rag Mountain, in the Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah National Park, is at 3,291 feet and on a cool, crisp September morning we set out to conquer it.

The guide books and trail information provided by the park were quick to stress to extremely strenuous nature of this over 7 mile circuit hike and the one thing I worried about the day before and that morning as we drive to the trailhead was that it cautioned hikers to not attempt it if the rocks would be wet. Despite the rain of the day and night before, we (perhaps foolishly) stuck to our plan to hike Old Rag Mountain that morning as opposed to the next day (a Saturday, a weekend = even more crowds).

For some reason, we were reassured that our car wasn’t the first one in the parking lot at the trailhead. What this really meant was that there were 3 other groups of hikers foolish enough to hike despite the warnings; however, we chose to take it as a sign that it was OK to hike the trail. How bad could it really be, we asked ourselves, if other people are hiking it ahead of us. We are the best hikers out there (nor are we the worst and more importantly, nor does that mean the 3 groups ahead of us were any better than us), so if these other people could do it, so could we. Well, that is what we reasoned, anyway.

We got our Camelbaks ready and ourselves situated for a long hike and took off down the trail, determined to beat the park services’ time estimate of 7 hours for the circuit hike (5.5 for the out-and-back to the summit). As we headed off, I was a little bummed that the day was overcast and gray; the mountain seemed quiet.

The trail was quick to become steep and before we knew it we began a series of several switchbacks that would take us up the mountain for a bit under 2 miles when we would hit the strenuous rock scrambling that would take us to the summit (roughly a mile long). The switchbacks were steep but manageable. For some reason, and I really cannot explain this, I find it to be a very powerful experience to trudge up a mountain trail – heart pounding, blood pumping, leg deadening, lung exploding. It was amazing how we slowly emerged above the fog and realized it was a beautiful, sunny, lively day on the mountain above the fog line.

We took a single rest on the way up and it wasn’t long before we reached the first overlook.

As the trail descriptions promised, once we passed this first overlook the rock scrambling began. We squeezed our way between boulders, climbed up and over rocks, ducked through “caves” and scrambled our way along the trail. We even came to one place that we just couldn’t figure out how to proceed. Mike ended up having to boost me up from behind and once I was up, I had to pull him up. It was quite the team effort and I was so proud of Mike because I know he was fighting his fear of heights.

I had so much fun on this trail. It is the type of trail that keeps you actively engaged, both your mind and your body, as you have to think your way through it. Where do I put my hands? If I put my left foot in that crack, where will I put my right foot next?

However, the fun eventually ended as we reached the summit and were able to take a break. I am proud of our foolish journey to the top of Old Rag Mountain. We worked together and made it to the top together. It is a wonderful experience to share with someone.

After soaking in the views from the top…

…we headed back to the mountain, following a different trail that was longer but lacked the rock scramble. On the way down, the grade was much more gradual and after passing two day shelters along the trail, we came to a fire road that led back to the parking lot.

Two things struck me on the way down. One, it was neat to slowly walk back in to the fog. It felt like were reentering the world, as if, the sunny, bright day above the fog was somehow a dream world that we couldn’t remain in too long. Second, the trail on the way back was so drastically different from the rock scrambling and switchbacks on the way up it was hard to believe they both led to the same point.

Satisfied with our hiking for the day, which took us 4 hours and 15 minutes to complete (7 hours, ha!), we headed back to camp. I highly recommend this hike to anyone interested in a challenging and fun experience. We had a blast!

We met Mr. Turtle on the way up the mountain.

A view from the first overlook.

Along the trail, just before the rock scramble. It felt like we were floating in the clouds. It was amazing.

Mike taking a photo break along the trail.

I believe this is called Little Devil's Staircase. Very cool!

The view from the top of the mountain.

Descending back in to the fog.

Us at the top - we made it!

OVERALL RUN FALLS - HIKE

2009-11-07T08:34:00.003-05:00

The hike toward Overall Run Falls starts at the Traces Trail in Matthews Arm Campground (where we were camping) so our drive to the trail was extremely short. In fact, we were hiking the trail within 5 minutes of leaving camp!

Unlike the constant and immediate up, up, up of the Old Rag hike, Overall Run Falls was flat for the first few miles and then went down, down, down. About an hour, maybe an hour and a half, in to the hike, we passed a trail marker that said Overall Run Falls was .4 miles away. We walked, saw a puny “waterfall” coming off the cliffs across a small valley from the trail, I took a picture and then kept going, looking for the “real” waterfall. Slowly down the mountain we went, both of us thinking that for all this down, hiking back up was going to be rough and this waterfall better be worth it. However, the trail just kept going. Each step down the mountain was a tough step up the mountain we’d have to make on the way back. About 30 minutes after passing the trail marker (and much further than .4 miles), we finally decided that that scrawny waterfall we had passed was probably THE waterfall and exhausted, we headed back up the mountain.

As we passed by the waterfall on our way up, out of breath and Mike struggling because of “cement legs” we couldn’t help but be disappointed – it must be better in the spring after the snow melts I told myself. Mike didn’t even stop to glance at it as he trudged past.

To make a slow story short, we eventually made it back to the car and Mike definitely perked up after we climbed back up the mountain and made it back to flat land over the last couple miles.

Hike – close to 7.5 miles, round trip (should have been 6.5 miles)

Camping in Shenandoah National Park - September 2009

2009-11-07T07:57:00.010-05:00

Before our long weekend in September, Mike and I had some camping experience together but we’d only ever been camping on his parents’ property on the Eastern Shore of MD. In many ways, these prior experiences were more rugged (gathering firewood, not buying it; no restroom facilities; no car close by to keep supplies in, just the four-wheeler) and yet it still felt like we had not ever “really” camped because we always had the safety and comfort of the house to fall back on if we needed it (it was about 1.5 miles away).

We had decided to make our first “real” camping trip be at Matthews Arm Campground in Shenandoah National Park. I think both of us were a little nervous about the trip as we headed out Thursday afternoon but we faced it bravely and with a sense of humor.

We stopped in Front Royal, VA for supplies (a tarp because of the rain/wet ground, a cooler and food) before heading to the northern entrance to the park and Skyline Drive. The ranger at the gate took our park fee and suggested we head to the Elkwallow Waystation two miles north of the Matthews Arm Campground, in order to purchase our firewood before the store closed at 7. It was about 5:30 when we entered the park and she mentioned it should take about 40 minutes to drive to Elkwallow. As we pulled away from the gate she told us to drive careful because there was lots of fog on the mountains.

She wasn’t kidding! Much of the 20+ miles we drove on Skyline Drive that evening were dense with fog and when we finally climbed above it, it was an amazing sight to see.

The park ranger was right on the money with her suggestions, except the store at Elkwallow actually closed at 6 so we just missed it. Luckily, as we were poking around, an employee said she could sell us a bag of firewood and just ring it up in the morning. Thank goodness! We would have fire!

Around 6:30 that evening, we finally got to our campsite at Matthews Arm and started to set up. We laid down the new tarp (best purchase of the trip), pitched our tent and got the campsite ready. Once we were finishing setting up, we heading off on a short hike prior to starting a fire and making dinner.

The Traces Trail is a short, 1.7 miles hike encircling the Matthews Arm Campsite. It is named Traces Trail because there is evidence (stone fences and foundations) of settlements in the area. It was a nice hike with enough rocks and roots and slight ups and downs to keep things interesting. Along the way, we saw several deer and even spotted the “traces” implied by the trail name.

It was dark by the time we made it back to camp so we found the flashlights and lanterns and worked on starting a fire. Up until this point, the rain that seemed imminent had actually held off. There was some drizzle and mist on the drive out to Shenandoah but it had stopped by the time we got the park. However, as we were splitting up the firewood to make smaller starter pieces the rain started coming in fits and spurts. It was never a hard rain; however, it did put a damper on our fire, which we were never able to coax in to a decent-sized campfire. Still, in spite of the sporadic rainfall, we did manage to cook some hotdogs and enjoy an evening around the campfire.

It wasn’t long before we decided to call it a night, after straightening up camp and the supplies in the car, we snuggled in to our tent thankful for the dry and warm spot to sleep (it was in the low 50s that night). Just as we settled in for sleep, the rain started falling harder and more steadily. Lucky timing for the second time that day. Also, it turns out our cheap, $30 tent from Target was in fact waterproof so maybe we should consider that three-times lucky.

Friday morning we woke up early because we wanted to get to Old Rag Mountain early to ensure a parking spot near the trail. I think the rains from the previous day kept many potential hikers from getting a fresh start on the day because we didn’t encounter the crowds we expected on this popular hike.

The hike was a blast and we decided that this was definitely the best hike we’d been on outside of Maine (Acadia National Park still holds my heart when it comes to hiking). Here’s a description and more pictures of our hike.

We were exhausted after successfully tackling this tough hike and once we made it back to the car, we decided to grab a bite to eat in the small town nearby, Sperryville, VA. We found a wonderful place, serving freshly prepared (often local) food called Rae’s Restaurant. I had a Black Bean Burger and salad that was truly yummy.

We headed back to the campsite, with a short detour south along Skyline Drive to check out the Big Meadow area and stop at the souvenir store for a hat (for Mike) and some local honey (for me). Content after the long day, Mike started working on our fire for the evening and I relaxed off to the side intermittently watching his progress, offering advice and bellowing services, but mostly reading and relaxing. Once it got dark, we munched on grilled cheese sandwiches cooked over the fire and made s’mores but even the scrumptious camping food couldn’t keep the sleepiness at bay and before too long we gave in and called it an early night.

Saturday morning, we were up even earlier in order to pack up the campsite and load the car. Even though we were still planning on hiking in the park that morning, we wanted to check out before we set off on our final day of adventure. As we packed up, one of the things that became apparent was we were both sore from the strenuous hike up Old Rag the day before, Mike more so than me. We decided to take the trail to see the highest waterfall on the mountain – Overall Run Falls at 93 feet high – rather than the trail to Little Devils Staircase (another rock scramble) as we had planned.

We ended up hiking much further than we intended that morning and the trail ended up being much more strenuous than we thought. The Overall Run Falls was actually a bit of a disappointment but I would like to try this hike again in the spring. I think that is when the falls might be more impressive. In addition to this disappointment, we were both more worn out by Old Rag Mountain than we had thought and I don’t think we gave this trail a fair shot. We were excited to get back to the car and home.

As we drove north along Skyline Drive, our camping adventure coming to end, Mike declared that after all that hiking and camping, he had a hunger than only a steak could conquer and so, we headed home in search of steak with a successful camping experience coming to end.

Pride versus Frustration

2009-11-06T13:25:00.001-05:00

Alternately, I feel both pride and frustration.

I decided to skip my run this morning despite having woken up early, gotten dressed, packed my backpack, eaten breakfast and been ready to walk out the door. Yesterday the outside part of my left foot started to ache – I think it is a sore tendon or something along those lines – and it didn’t feel right when I was getting ready. I did a quick jog around the living room and I could have made it in to work, I know I could have made it, but I decided the right thing to do was skipped today’s run.

Immediately after making the decision, the right decision, I felt good. I knew it was the right call. My ultimate goal is to be a runner for life and in order to earn that title I need to actually be able to run. In the grand scheme of things, the 7-9 miles I would have run this morning don’t even make a dent.

My foot is feel better as the day goes on – still a bit tender but I should be fine by Sunday (the next scheduled run day). It was the right call to make and I take it as one sign I’m becoming a better runner. I know enough to know I can’t run through pain. Just run, even when that means skipping a run, just run.

Still, I know I could have finished the run.

Daily Dozen:
Rest Day