I made it at last!

Counting Crows - Free at Noon

I spent my lunch hour at the Free at Noon concert at the World Cafe (click the link to listen to the show) in Philadelphia. Today, Counting Crows were playing. Awesome! We were right in the front, closer than I've ever been for a concert. I mean so close we could see the spit flying out of Adam Duritz's mouth as he was singing. Gross, but also cool.

These pictures stink but I only had my camera phone and it's better than nothing.

I think their new album (release date March 25) is going to be good.

Too cute to ignore

I had to sign up for this race because the picture was so cute. He better be on the t-shirt.

I don't need a bike lock...but now I want one

I have a bike that doesn't need a lock because if it's not in my house, I'm sitting on it.

But this is so awesome I want to buy it even though I have no use for it.

You can buy one at wishingfish

Goofy Challenge – Day Two. The Marathon.

Marathon day dawned even more humid than the half-marathon and this time there was no relief. The sun even came out to make things hotter and more uncomfortable, but luckily that didn’t happen until mile 20 or even later.

Waking up early for this race (3AM) is the worst part of the whole thing. I have a really hard time eating that early in the morning and it was all I could do to choke down some oatmeal before heading out to the race. It was a mistake that could have proved disastrous if not for Brian. I was carrying my fuel belt, loaded with Gatorade Endurance and 4 gels. I typically carry more gel for a full marathon but this time I knew Disney was going to give us two on the course and they usually supply other food too. Since I was carrying the camera again AND a pouch holding the Donald medal (had to have it for post-race photos) I decided not to carry extra gels to save some space and weight in the belt. This was a poor decision and next time I’d force them into the belt or leave the Donald at home (but if you can, carry the Donald.)

My game plan today was the same as for the half. Take it easy, stop for photos, walk on the uphills and during the water stop. Brian & I were together in the starting area and he came to my rescue when I started to get REALLY hungry with about an hour to go before the race. This was bad. I knew I was too hungry for a gel to solve the problem and that eating more gels would cause trouble in the race. Luckily, he was carrying a spare Powerbar so I was able to eat ¾ of a chocolate power bar pre-race. This saved my whole day. Even with it, my nutrition plan was out of whack, but things turned out fine. It added a level of stress to the day that would have been a real problem if I had been trying to run for time. We had a plan to try to stay together because taking photos together would be fun, but we agreed that it was more important to run our own races. As a result – I lost Brian about a half a minute after the starting gun sounded and I didn’t see him again for miles. Amazingly, I stopped at a porta-potty, posed for a few pictures, and then suddenly, there he was! I’d guess it was mile 5 or so? I know we were together at mile 7 because we filmed a short video with the camera at that point. Anyway, the day was hot and humid and I was glad to see Brian. I was able to do a slow run with him at his awesome fast-walking pace and we covered the next few miles without incident.


The Magic Kingdom was really fun we stopped a bunch of times, had official photos taken at the Castle, we met the Toy Story crew and generally just really had fun in there. It was like a training walk with lots of other people around. Leaving the MK things got a little less fun for awhile and I started to fret about my nutrition because I started to think we were missing out on food where it had been in the past. I know for sure that at one of the gel stops before the Animal Kingdom they had nothing for us when it was clear that they’d been providing supplies for those ahead of us.

We stuck together through most of this stretch, posing for more pictures, sharing Gatorade, and stopping to stretch for quite a long time. I still felt good physically although my mind was getting a little weary. I remembered reading on a message board in the week leading to the marathon that the mind gives up before the body does – and this was certainly true for me at this point. When I got my legs to move, I could run with ease, but getting them to run after a walking break was a real challenge. As we approached the Animal Kingdom, Brian was tired of posing and he stayed in his fast-groove while I stopped a lot to take shots with Donald and Daisy, Minnie and a few others. I ran really well inside the Animal Kingdom and along the paths outside too. I fell into place with a TNT coach pacing a runner and stuck with them for awhile. I’m sad I didn’t hang with them for longer. Unfortunately, some of my prior posing had me approaching the Mickey Mouse photo shoot just seconds after he retired to his trailer for some rest. He’s the only big character I didn’t get this weekend. Bummer!


The stretch between Animal Kingdom and the Studios was a bleak as I remembered. It’s long, it’s boring and the sun had come out. Highlights: bananas (thank god! I needed food) and Captain Hook (at the top of a hill, of course). I also met a funny lady with an exhausted Goofy sign that I posed with. I didn’t really feel terrible here – I’ve certainly felt worse in races even of shorter duration – but I was tired and anxious to finish this thing up. One other small highlight: high school marching band playing Rocky theme as I was forcing myself to run on a sunny stretch. I would have certainly been walking without those tunes.


Entering the Studios was fun as I got to meet Mr. Incredible and my total fave: Frozone! If only he could have frozen the air a little to make the final stretch more pleasant. A funny volunteer reminded us all that our friends who were not racing were “big losers” and that we were “awesome”. Yes, we are awesome! I got a fabulous photo of me, Minnie and Goofy just before leaving the Studios. That was particularly fun since I got to but in front of about 30 regular people and go to the front of the line. Anything for a Goofy photo today!
The miles between the Studios and Epcot are mostly just a blur. Pushing, walking, trying to force myself to run. Legs are really tired by now and the tide has turned. At this point, my mind is willing but my body is weak. Running through World Showcase I’m listening (and singing) Remember the name: “10% luck, 20% skill, 15% concentrated power of will, 5% pleasure, 50% pain, 100% reason to remember the name.” Yeah, it was like 99% pain at this point.

Around China I finally spotted the Top Secret Medal. It’s awesome. Really awesome.



Around Mexico I see Brian’s head up in the distance. I can probably catch him but it’ll be hard. I’m tired but I want to catch him. Try to run harder. Want to throw up. Walk. Run hard. Walk. Getting closer. Finally near the fountain and Mouse Works, I catch up to him. I can barely say anything to him to let him know I’m there. I must look better than I feel since he says he’s at maximum speed and he tells me to run ahead of him. As if!

We’re together until the finish. How fun! He got to high-five Stitch. I just ran along side of him. Yay! We’re done!


39.3 is a long way. But the medals are totally worth it.

I got the worst cold/flu whatever a few days after the race. I'm still trying to shake it off 12 days later. But the medals are still worth it!

Goofy Challenge – Day One. The Half Marathon.

The Goofy challenge was a really interesting experience for me because it’s been a long time since I’ve headed into a race when I didn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t sure how to structure my race plan, I wasn’t sure what kind of time I could run, and I wasn’t really sure how prepared I was for what lay ahead of me. I felt really goodheading into the weekend, and I was solidly prepared to run either of the races, but I wasn’t sure how I’d do running both of them.

The weather was not unexpected for Florida, warm and humid, but I was anticipating a cooler weekend for the races. Saturday was extremely humid at the start – close to 100% -- but luckily that seemed to break about halfway into the race and conditions improved considerably.

Humidity and I are not friends. I really, really suffer when I try to run in humid weather. So oddly, the conditions on Saturday really turned out to be ideal for me. The humidity forced me into the “lazy but fun” race plan that I adopted for the weekend. I wore my fully loaded fuel belt, so hydration was not an issue, and the belt allowed me to carry an extra amphipod case to hold my digital camera. I decided to embrace the whole Disney scene and take photos with every character along the way and pictures of anything else that struck my fancy along the course. This day was to be about taking in the scene and having a good time while saving up my legs for Sunday. To this end, I decided not to even try to run on the uphill, to walk through water stops even when not drinking, and to generally take it easy.

Amazingly, even while following this plan, stopping mid-race at a porta-potty (I never do this!) and posing for tons of pictures even when there were big lines (I’m talking to you, Captain Jack Sparrow) I still managed to run a 2:29 – and 2:30 was my game plan for the day. At the end of the half, I felt like I hadn’t done a thing except for the tiny hot spot I had on the ball of my right foot. I think this was because I was wearing almost new sneakers (they only had about 15 miles on them prior to the race) and they were not laced tightly enough at the start. I had to stop around mile 11 to tighten them because I was starting to be aware of the hot spot and I wasn’t willing to risk any problems with the marathon on Sunday. As it turns out, nothing came of the hot spot. Whew!

Goofy Challenge 2008

Here's the proof! I finished the races! It was hot and humid and SLOW but a whole lot of fun.

My legs felt great, although the vehicle would not reach top speed during the last few miles of the marathon. No long term repercussions from the event.

I have a great flickr slideshow with all the pictures from both races here:
http://www.flickr.com/gp/54544333@N00/J533wUeat

Happy New Year! Let's go to Disney!

OK, so I wasn't really back when I posted that the last time. But now I have a couple of races on the horizon, so this time, I'm really back.

New Year's Day dawned slightly rainy so I was a big wimp and skipped the group run at the park but made up for it later in the day by logging a solid 7 miles on the trail with Brian. It really feels great to run on January 1st. I think all of you should try it next year!

I hit the gym on Thursday and was super lucky to score a treadmill at 5:03. All the new years resolution people were there in force. Hopefully they will all have given up by post-marathon when I'm going back to the gym.

Saturday I ran with the group in the first official winter run. It was colder than expected, but I was able to log a nice 8 mile run and I feel GREAT heading into Goofy weekend.

We leave for FLorida on Thursday afternoon for 8 days at Disney World. We're staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, which seems awesome, and I just can not wait to get there.

The weather for race weekend is looking a bit warm for my liking but at least we won't be freezing to death pre-race. I'm packing some Endurance and my fuel belt and I think that will be good for me. I don't know for sure what I'm going to do as far as goals but my decisions could have an effect on carrying the belt and camera or not.

I guess for once it's true that my primary goal is just having a good time. I want to collect the Goofy medal and the TOP SECRET medal more than just about anything and I want to be able to finish the marathon without feeling terrible the way I did in the middle of NYC. I'm not sure what the proper strategy for that is. I think I am in a really good place leading into the race though, where heading into NYC I was full of trepidation since I knew my training was sub-par.

Who knows -- maybe I'll get really lucky and I'll really crank out that sub 5 hour race!

I'm back!

Wow! It's been a long time with no posts.

The big news: I just booked my hike to the Grand Canyon today! Yes, folks, I'm actually paying about $800 to lug 35 pounds of stuff to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back. While sleeping outside and not showering. Aren't you jealous?

Other sort of big news: I ran 19 miles last Saturday and felt 100% afterwards and had ZERO muscle fatigue the next day. Awesome!

I'm hoping to do it again this Saturday. Or at least run 16 or so.

Goofy Challenge: 14 days to go!

Saturday Long Run

On Saturday my sister, husband and I set out for our first long run in prep for the Goofy Challenge in January.

We're all coming off fall races and we've got great milage bases so our plan for Goofy is to do more long runs to build long term endurance.

Our plan was to do 15 miles (or more if we were feeling ambitious) and we did just that. My sister and I made a conscious decision to run together and we hung together for all but the last mile and a half when I pulled away from her just a bit. I think this is because her most recent marathon was Nov. 18 while mine was back on Nov. 4. My legs were a bit fresher.

It was cold and windy but pretty good running weather overall. We felt pretty good and maintained a steady pace that's just about right for our ideal goal pace for the marathon. It was great practice for us!

The main happening of the day was that some weasel stole my fleece that I had left on a fence post along the trail. Normally if I leave gloves or a hat or a fleece along the trail it's still there when I come back. Not this time! I'm still bugged about it even though I got it on the bargain rack last winter.

I had no repercussions from the run: no muscle pain, no aches, no blisters, chafe or hotspots.

On Sunday the weather was pretty foul but Brian and I went out for a walk anyway. It started out overcast, turned to sleet and ultimately into rain but it was a surpringly good walk anyway!

This Saturday we're shooting for 18 miles. More than 15 for sure. The weather looks to be the same as last weekend. Sunday weather looks rather grim but I'm hoping to get in a short run on Sunday too.

CW-X Xtra Support Review (the white and purple one)

It's awesome! I can't deny that $55 is a total ripoff but it works great.

Once you wedge it on over your head (maybe this is easy for other people but I am pretty uncoordinated and found it rather difficult) it's like you aren't even wearing anything. And it doesn't let anything move at all. Exactly what I'm looking for in an undergarment.

I've worn it on a few runs - so far the longest is 8 miles - but it's comfortable and not a hint of chafe. I'll be cruising the internet searching for bargain rates on this one so I can add more to the collection. It will be great to get rid of the stockpile of ratty things I'm wearing now. Especially since they're going to seem even worse now that I've found this great item.

The other model CW-X that I bought - the regular sport version - I could tell right off the bat that I wouldn't want to run in it. Way too bouncy. I'm not sending it back though because I think it'll be just fine for walking/hiking/cycling or going to the gym to do weights (as if I ever actually do that!)

UPDATE: the "sport model" CW-X that I said wouldn't work for running? It works just fine (at least up to 5 miles). I've worn it twice now without any problems or discomfort.

Philadelphia Photo

Here's me after the half-marathon in Philadelphia. I'm wearing the Livestrong shirt I got from Lance for running the NYC marathon.

The free shirt actually has short sleeves but I'm wearing the long-sleeved Livestrong shirt I bought at the Livestrong challenge underneath the free shirt.

The yellow hat is from the Delaware Marathon. Too bad I didn't have any yellow gloves.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

(I didn't actually win this trophy. I made it to give to the winner of the Thanksgiving Bake-Off at work.)

11/18 - Philadelphia Half Marathon

I didn't decide to actually run this race until Saturday night. In fact, until I went to the pasta dinner with my running buddies, I was 100% sure I wasn't going to run. I've been feeling sick all week and the weather was looking grim (cold, wet, possibly even SNOW!) and I just didn't see the point. But then I got my number, and my shirt, and everybody encouraged me so I decided to go.

Sunday morning, it dawned cold, but mostly dry and while I made a feeble attempt to wimp out, Brian wouldn't listen to me, and we were up and getting ready by 5AM (the race started at 7AM!)

A minor setback when my pre-race favorite meal (overnight oatmeal in the crockpot) was ruined because I cooked it on high instead of low but we still left the house on time.

Conditions were really perfect for the race and I found myself in a really insteresting situation. Completely unprepared and really not invested in how I did. It was just like a training run - a way to stretch out my long rested legs and to see how my Garmin would work out in a race.

As it turns out, I had a great day! Not quite a PR but very close: 2:20:48 officially.

Mile 1: 11:27
Mile 2: 10:43
Mile 3: 10:20
Mile 4: 10:22
Mile 5: 10:45
Mile 6: 9:51
Mile 7: 9:49
Mile 8: 11:06
Mile 9: 10:20
Mile 10: 11:33
Mile 11: 9:57
Mile 12: 10:29
Mile 13: 10:55
final: 2:55

Total time: 2:20:39 -- the Garmin time. It's a little off and it measures 13.3 but it's close enough for me!

Quote of the day

I just came across this on the web:

“In every race, there is a crucial moment when the body wants to quit. Then it needs imagination and mental tenacity to survive the crisis. Otherwise the penalty is defeat.”- Derek Abbotson

I'm feeling defeated about my half-marathon on Sunday and it's not even here yet. I'm still sick (cold with cough) and I think I might skip the race. :(

Even more money spent: Garmin 305

In all the excitement over the marathon, I forgot that I bought a Garmin! I got the 305 because I wanted the HRM but I'm not going to use that right away. This weekend I'm planning on taking it for a spin just to figure out how it works, then I can introduce the HRM after the 1/2 marathon on the 18th.

I'm really hoping that this is going to help me steadily pace my long runs and lead to a really good marathon performance someday. I don't expect that performance will come at Disney because of the Goofy Challenge, but it could help if I do a spring marathon. (Right now I'm considering Ocean Drive -- I'll get a new state -- or a repeat in Delaware.)

Another $100 out the window

I am in desperate need of new running bras. I know, that's more information than any of you need.

I just plunked down about $100 for these two slightly different models from CW-X. I am skeptical but I hope that they are worth it.

Trophy Case

These are some, but not all, of my medals.

New York Marathon: Before and After Photos

New York Marathon - Race Report

Well, I survived the New York Marathon on Sunday!

I finished in 5:09:08, which is about 2 minutes slower than my PR (setlast year at NYC) and I'm completely astonished that I was able to pull off that time since I started struggling at mile 15 and was actually thinking about quitting at mile 17. The worst part is that there wasn't any real reason for the glum attitude -- it was all just my own negative thoughts working against me.

My plan for the race was to stick like glue to the 5 hour pacer and try to hang with him all the way to the end. On a perfect day, I thought I'd be able to do it. But it would have to be a perfect day.

My training has been spotty at best since the 25 mile hike I did in late September and when I did my longest run in preparation for NewYork (only 18 miles instead of the scheduled 20) I felt horrible. Really horrible. My legs hurt until Wednesday and typically they don't hurt at all after my long runs. At that point, I knew that New York was probably going to be really hard but I still hoped for a miracle.

I started out with the pace guy and struggled to stay with him in the early miles because I really wanted to be running faster than the pace (11:26). I kept having to slow down to stick with him and it was a frustrating battle but one that I thought would be worth it in the long run. By mile 13 we were running 1 minute ahead of pace for a 5 hour finish. He told us that that was intentional because we'd lose 15-20 seconds on the bridge into Queens just past 13 miles and we'd lose the rest of the lead on the Queensboro bridge between 15 and 16. Somewhere along that stretch I lost touch with the pack. And the11:26 pace that had seemed too easy now seemed pretty hard.

On the bridge, it was dark and it's uphill and many, many people began to walk. I joined them. For some reason during this stretch they have mile markers at every 10th of a mile and at one point I started to run and didn't even make it to the next 10th marker. Now that was demoralizing! I thought to myself -- how can I possibly go more than 10 more miles when I can't even run a tenth of a mile at time? UGH!

Turning off the bridge onto 1st Avenue in Manhattan is a pretty exciting part of the race because there are big, rowdy crowds there. This is just past mile 16 and there is a sign there that says "If the definition of easier is less than 10 miles to go.......welcome to Easier!" Unfortunately for me, it didn't feel easier.

For the next several miles up 1st avenue I was really in a very bad place. I was walking a lot, felt like I had nothing in the tank despite following my proven fuel plan, and was just completely miserable and grumpy. Even the crowds, who were awesome, weren't doing much to help me. I started trying to figure out if I could drop out and walk back to the hotel from where I was. Then I started thinking that I could just walk the rest of the way. I calculated I could walk the whole rest of the way and still finish under 6 hours. Not a great time, by any stretch, but it was achievable.

Finally, we made it into the Bronx and the people there were just fantastic. They were loud, and fun, and dancing and really gave me a nice boost. They got me running a little bit more but I still felt rotten. Entering Manhattan again is also a really nice push because even though you still have about 6 miles to go, at this point you are heading towards the finish line and that makes it seem a little better.

I couldn't maintain any consistant running so I was trying to walk as fast as I could and run as much as I could. This was mostly on downhill sections, when somebody called my name (thank goodness this happened a lot), and when I spotted a photographer. I was also aided many times by this gang of runners dressed as Darth Vader, Yoda, Chewbacca and Princess Leia. I started out enjoying them but by this time Darth was getting very sloppy with his light sabre and he kept whapping people with it because he was trying to get around them or was just not paying attention. He whapped me with it three or fourt imes and he was so incredibly annoying that I kept having to run to get away from him. He kept catching me though and then I'd have to run away again. I hated him, but in retrospect, he really probably helped me quite a bit.


By now I was closing in on Central Park and the last few miles of the course. This is about when Nike+ decided I had run 26.2 miles so it started congratulating me. I love that it thinks I ran a 4:30 race when I was really struggling through some kind of death march. That perked me up a bit, and I was in the park, which is filled with people and long downhill sections. Awesome!

This is also when I realized that my time wasn't nearly as terrible as I had feared. By this time I had talked myself off the 6 hour ledge and was figuring that I'd probably finish more like 5:30, but I realized that while my 5 hour goal was out the window, it was still possible for me to beat my PR of 5:07. Shocking!

I tried running more but I was still not maintaining many long running periods. Around here I started to think about Ryan Shay and was wondering where it was in the park that he had fallen on Saturday and tried my best to pull some inspiration from him too keep on going. That helped. Then I spotted the "1 mile to Go" sign and that reminded me of all the awesome Nike+ people, and that pushed me on a little bit, but then we exited the park and it got a little less exciting, and it got a lot more smelly (lots of horse manure from the carraige rides) and I couldn't run anymore. I'd also figured out that I'd have to run an even 10 minute mile to finish with a PR and that really seemed impossible to me, so I figured I'd walk a little around here hoping for a strong finish up the last hilll and across the mat.

I didn't quite pull that off either, but I'm amazed to have come so close tothe PR time when I felt so bad for so much of the race.

They handed me my medal and I read the back of it which had this quote from Alberto Salazar: "....a triumph of the will over all limits." I actually cried when I read that. I've never cried at the end of a race before but that got me. Luckily, it was a very short burst ofwaterworks and they were all cleared up by the time I got my finisher's photo.

What a day!

What I find completely amazing is that the race was almost identical to the race I had in 2006 NY marathon. But last year I felt prepared, and excited, and absolutely exhilerated for the whole race. I had nothing but energy running to the finish line, I was practically jumping for joy! (Check out my athlinks profile picture -- that's just a few feet from the finish line at the marathon last year.) I think the only real difference between the two races was the dialogue I was having inside my own head. I was my own worst enemy....but I still ran my 2nd best marathon ever. So all in all, I'm very happy.

Now I get about a week off before I start back on the training for Goofy. Clearly I have my work cut out for me, but it's very obvious that I need to schedule a lot of long runs. I'm solid over 13 but after that it's all downhill.

For the numbers people, here are the splits that were sent to me bythe athlete tracker:

Location Time Pace/mile
5 Kilometers 0:35:04 11:17
10 Kilometers 1:10:38 11:22
15 Kilometers 1:46:14 11:23
20 Kilometers 2:21:12 11:21
Half-Marathon 2:28:58 11:21
25 Kilometers 2:58:12 11:28
30 Kilometers 3:34:59 11:31
35 Kilometers 4:13:59 11:40
40 Kilometers 4:53:05 11:47
Finish 5:18:24 12:08 ------------- This is confusing. I think the 5:18 must be the clock time but all the other splits seem like chip times.