LiveStrong Challenge

What a totally fun day! I am dying to run out to the bike store to buy a road bike so I can be in this even on a bike next year. It was still cool on foot, but the runners really were just sidekicks to the main participants on bikes. I look really nerdy in that picture, I know!

The day had a 5K run and walk plus 10, 40, 70 and 100 mile bike rides. There were thousands of particpants, mostly on bikes. Lance was there and I managed to get his photo when he was on stage but when he was 2 feet away on his bike, I only managed to catch his left arm. That's him riding right out of the frame. He's the one with the watch. I don't know who his unidentifiable sidekick is. (You can click on the picutes to make them bigger!)

The weather was hot and humid but it was overcast in the morning, which was a blessing since the run was still hard even with the cloud cover.

I took a lot of pictures before during and after the event and you can see them all by clicking this link to the slideshow.

I don't know how I did because I was struggling a little with the humidity and I stopped a few times to take photos. I did, however, run as fast as a I possibly could at the end from the point where I took this photo to the finish line which you can see if you look close -- it has to be no more than a quarter mile from the photo point. Maybe less. The point is that I ran hard enough at that point that the kid barely had time to unhook the timing thingie from my ankle before I totally hurled over the corral fence into the grass. I have done 20+ races and I've never even had a hint of throwing up from exertion before but here I was doing it for Lance. Crazy!

My friend from work was here today too doing her very first 5k ever and she did great and had a great time. She was as excited as I'd hoped she be when she finished.

Since is is all about fighting cancer, if you'd like to Donate some money to the Lance Armstrong Foundation you can do that by clicking on this link.

The t-shirt we all got was neat too. It has the LiveStrong logo in the center and it's surrounded by these yellow words:

LiveStrong means....knowing not all heros wear capes
LiveStrong means....honoring my child with every mile
LiveStrong means....challenging myself
LiveStrong means....having the courage to take a walk
LiveStrong means....defining my own finish line
LiveStrong means....pushing through the pain
LiveStrong means....having the courage to take a ride
LiveStrong means....turning tears into sweat
LiveStrong means....having the courage to go for a run
LiveStrong means....channelling attitude into action
LiveStrong means....pedaling my heart out
LiveStrong means....pounding the pavement to make a difference
LiveStrong means....knowing that courage is taking the first step
LiveStrong means....digging deep when I want to quit
LiveStrong means....knowing not all winners finish first
LiveStrong means....being scared and showing up anyway
LiveStrong means....believing in myself
LiveStrong means....knowing it's about the journey and not the finish line
LiveStrong means....knowing I'm stronger than I thought
LiveStrong means....never, never, never giving up


Unity is strength. Knowledge is power.

Saturday Long Run - 10 miles

Blah! Yesterday was gross. We started the run at 7am and it was about 74 degrees and 100% humidity. You heard me, 100% humidity. I think Bobby Julich (yes, the real one from the Tour de France...I'll explain later) said it best when he said it was nasty like being in a rainstorm but without the actual rain. The day would eventually heat up to the mid-90s and we had a heat index of 105 degrees.

Brian was at PhillyFit testing his hip for next week's race and I wasn't all that interested in running 12 miles with the group because of the icky weather and because I was running a 5K on Sunday morning at the LiveStrong Challenge. We wound up doing a solid 10 and spent the rest of the day rehydrating and complaining about the oppressive heat.

We went over to the LiveStrong Expo to pick up our numbers and stuff and it was just horrifyingly hot. Just standing still in the sun had sweat just pouring off of you. Even the inside of the gym where they were having the displays and handout was oppressively hot.

Bobby Julich was at the expo signing autographs and mixing with the people. I've always liked him and I'm still a little sad that he didn't win the Tour when he had the chance and now I can say that he really is very nice. I had nothing of interest to talk to him about, but he really spent time having actual conversations with the people in line ahead of me and he sat outside (in a tent but it was still really hot) signing autographs for FOUR hours in 100 degree heat. Lance wasn't doing that and it was his event! I got my picture with him but I forget how to get to it so I probably won't post it here but I did meet him.

So now my exciting celebrity autograph collection is: Deena Kastor, Grete Weitz, and Bobby Julich.

Thursday Walk/Run

We met at VF last night and did a test run on Brian's sore hip. He's trying to ease back into things and figure out if he'll be able to do the race next weekend at Virginia Beach. He's looking positive but he's not sure. I think PhillyFit tomorrow will tell the tale for him.

I did mostly walking and then a slow run at the end up the big hill. It wasn't a great run but it did help me clear out my head of some of the stress that's been building up at work.

I'm worried about tomorrow's long run since the high tomorrow is supposed to be 93. The heat index is 105 and the humidity is supposed to be pretty bad. We have a 12 mile run scheduled and I'm not sure I want to tackle all 12 in such conditions -- it'll be cooler at 7am when we start but it's still probably going to be a hard day. I don't know if I want to put myself through that with the race next weekend looming and with the Livestrong 5K on Sunday.

But part of me really does want to run all 12 so I'll have a better idea what to expect next Sunday where I know conditions will probably be hot and humid.

Megatransect in Jeopardy!

We might not be able to go! Brian is having a flare-up of his hip problems and I'm not sure he's going to have enough time to get better and put up enough training miles to tackle the Mega.

We both really want to go but I don't think I'm brave enough to tackle the hills and snakes without him and I really don't want him to get hurt out on the course.

Stay tuned...

Saturday Long Run - about 12 miles.

I had an absolutely great run on Saturday! The weather was awesome -- very cool and no humidity and the group went out for 9 miles on Forbidden Drive. It was so easy it felt like half the distance.

I ran most of the 2nd half with a guy in the group who is also running at Virginia Beach and he's training for Marine Corps. We decided to tack on a couple of extra miles and wound up running about three extra miles. We had to cut it a little short since there was a pit bull on the loose on the trail. The dog didn't seem mean, but it did run right up to us a couple of times, and while it stopped short of jumping up it seemed like it was pretty fiesty. Not aggresive and scary, really, but since it was a pit-bull and it didn't have a collar, we weren't taking any chances so we turned around. If it had been a lab or something, we probably would have kept on running.

In any event, the run was fabulous and other than being a little sleepy in the afternoon, it was like I hadn't done anything at all. Way to go, legs!

Sunday was super rainy so no running.

Saturday Long Run - 10 miles

We were scheduled for 10 miles today and we went to Forbidden Drive for the run since the weather was supposed to be pretty bad. The forecast was for mid-upper 90s with high humidity and while it wasn't quite that hot when we got started, it certainly was humid. Blech!

Not far into the run, maybe a mile or so, Brian stopped to do his normal stretching and since none of my normal running buddies were around I decided to stay with him. That was probably a good idea since it was just shockingly humid and he wasn't having a great day so it was good for him to have a buddy to walk him in for the last mile or two.

I actually felt quite good during the parts of the day that I was running. I took plenty of walk breaks and walked all of the last 2 miles, but while I was running I felt suprisingly strong considering the weather. It gives me hope for VA Beach!

After our run we changed shoes and went for a short hike to give the Megatransect shoes a slight workout. We were both kind of grumpy and not too into it though so we only went about 2 miles.

Sunday we broke out the bikes and went for a short, flat 10 mile ride. This was a test for Brian's sore neck. Hopefully it didn't set him back any and we'll be able to do some more riding. There's an awesome bike trail where we're going this weekend (Pine Creek Gorge) so I hope we'll be able to get some cycling in.

Reality Check - we need to schedule some big miles!

Last night, while we were walking the loop, Brian mentioned that we really need to be upping our miles before the Megatransect.

I'm such a dope! I've been so busy worrying about shoes, hiking poles, and water supply, that I didn't even consider the fact that it's 25 miles long! Sure, 25 miles of hiking, stretched out over up to 11.5 hours, isn't quite 26.2 at your best effort, but a lot of it is uphill and no matter how you slice it, it's 25 miles! We have to start making some changes.

The good news, is that our milage isn't so far off yet. For instance, last week we probably should have put up 15 but we did 12 instead. This week, the schedule counts 10 for both the group we run with and our Mega schedule. Where we get into some trouble is when we should be putting up a 20 mile hike. Our group is only doing 11 that day so I think we'll be on our own for sure. The other thing is that it falls on the "off" week between Virginia Beach and the PDR.

Here's how my next few months shake out - Long Runs only.

Blue is Mega miles, Green is NYC, Red is running group

Aug 4: 10 12 10
Aug 11: 13 9 12
Aug 18: 13 12 9
Aug 25: 18 8 12
Sep 1: 12 11 8 1/2 marathon VA Beach
Sep 8: 21 15 11
Sep 15: 8 10 15 1/2 marathon Philadelphia Distance Run
Sep 22: 6 13 10
Sep 28: 25 18 13 Race Day! Megatransect
Oct 6: 12 8
Oct 13: 21 12
Oct 20: 8 21 Urban Dare
Oct 27: 6 8
November 4 - New York Marathon

Oh yeah, and I also need to be planning for the Goofy Challenge!

Death-eaters at work?

I am a horrible person because the more I read about the bridge collapse in Minnesota, the more I keep thinking about the first chapter of the Half Blood Prince where Fudge is explaining to "the other minister" that it's Lord V. and the death-eaters who are causing all kinds of problems in the muggle world. One of the primary examples is a completely unexplained bridge collapse.

It's such an awful, real-life thing that I feel guilty associating it with a book but I still can't stop thinking it!

Spending money is so easy on the Internet...

I just blew about $300 in just about 5 minutes.

First, I registered two of us for the Philadelphia Half-Marahon and then I bought a pair of "limited edition" hiking poles. Is that the most ridiculous way to spend money?

I am pretty skeptical of the whole hiking pole thing but it seems as if most folks in the Megatransect use them and that they are highly reccommended for the Grand Canyon hike. I was shocked when I saw how expensive they were at REI.

Today, when I was over at the website for the American Hiking Society I saw these nifty limited run of LEKI poles that have the snazzy AHS logo on them (it looks like a boot print). I loved the cool print but the price tag is what really sold me. A bargain (HA!) at $67.50. The cheapest I saw at REI was $59 and that wasn't a LEKI, which seems to be the unquestioned best.

Hopefully they'll arrive before we head up to the Grand Canyon of PA next week.

A new medal! How could I have forgotten this?!

Do you believe that I forgot to report that our PhillyFit coaching team handed out medals at the end of our run on Saturday?

It was great. It was a big fat gold medal on a ribbon that was even engraved with Philly Fit and the fact that we'd run 10 miles. We got the medal after a particularly humid 12 mile run but the medal was for people crossing the 10 mile benchmark the week before. It was very nice and I know a lot of our runners have never run that far before so it was especially nice for them.

We were having a picnic after our run so the medals added a nice extra zing to the party atmosphere.

Phantom Ranch

I'm going crazy thinking about the Grand Canyon.

We've been talking about trying to book a trip to the GC with the focus of hiking down to the Colorado River and staying for a few nights at Phantom Ranch. It would be awesome! Unfortunately, I hear it's close to impossible to book such a trip for when we want to go. Rooms at the ranch can sell out in less than an hour. Tomorrow I need to be on the phone dialing like a mad woman to try to secure a reservation for late September 2008.

I'm pretty sure that I'm not going to get through to book a room. Which has me hunting all over the internet to find an outfitter who can produce the same trip for me. I found one that seems ideal but it's super expensive. Still, a night at a North Rim Lodge, 2 nights at Phantom Ranch and then another night or two at a South Rim ranch. Sounds fantastic! Plus, they'll lug my gear and cook my food. I totally want to go!

Saturday Group Run - 12 miles and shoe shopping

I was dreading Saturday's run because the forecast said it was going to be really hot and humid. It was very humid, but it wasn't as hot as I'd feared so things went OK.

My Nike+ went bonkers and decided I'd only run about 2.5 miles when really I'd gone at least 4 on the trail. I killed that workout and restarted and it seemed to work a little better but over all I only got credit for about 9 miles instead of 12. Very peksy!

I bought an awesomely cute pair of pink Saucony Triumphs on eBay but I suspect they are some kind of fakes because they were inexpensive and I've never seen pink ones on sale before. I love them though.

I also got a much uglier pair of Merrell Moab Ventilators too. These are for the Megatransect. Outside magazine says they're an awesome all purpose shoe. I really wanted the KEEN Targhee II because they were awesomely comfy and super cute (the picture isn't doing them justice) but they were so heavy compared to the Ventilators I just couldn't do it.

First sign of success!

I've been putting up a lot of miles but I haven't really seen any clear signs of progress until my run last night.

I made it up the hill from hell at VF. I hate that stupid hill and I remember when I thought that I would never, ever be able to run all the way up it. I overcame that last summer but have been really challenged by this hill all over again this year. Until last night when I got right up it without even thinking of stopping! YAY!

Of course, I didn't make it all the way around the loop without stopping. The brutal approach to the visitor's center after the big downhill gets me every time. That's the next goal.

Tomorrow is 12 miles with PhillyFit. I'd be looking forward to it except it's going to be hot and very humid and possibly raining. What a lovely combo! I guess it'll be good training for Virginia Beach.

In other news, I'm doing a lot of research about hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It seems like it might be impossible to get a reservation at Phantom Ranch, which is what I really want to do, so I might have to consider actualy backpacking and camping. Yikes!

Goofy Challenge Here I Come...

I'm feeling very excited since I just booked my flight to Orlando for the Goofy Challenge.

I'm really spending a lot of money today, aren't I?

But the flight was a good deal for sure $203 round trip with all fees and taxes at the times I wanted to travel.

Now I only have to get through 24 weeks of training, 2 other marathons (well one plus a 24.9 mile race), and 4 or 5 half-marathons. Should be a breeze!

I love Running Skirts + I love Sales

I just ordered these three awesome new running skirts for 50% off at Skirt Sports!

Now I better actually do some running!

The book was AWESOME! and I also ran about 17 miles

So Saturday dawned and it was the perfect day. Sunny, cool (like low 70s with a breeze) and very low humidity. Awesome day for running.

The group went out for 10 miles and it was a particularly nice run for me since I was with a lot of different groups of people. I didn't even mind the giant hill we had to tackle. We were done by 10 and even with all the post-run snacks and chatting I got home before 11 and my book was there waiting for me!

I couldn't wait to rip the box open....but then I kind of didn't want to read it. I knew I had to finish it by the time I got to work on Monday but I tried to stretch it out as best I could. That's what allowed me to get out on Sunday morning for about 7 more miles on the Perkiomen. The day was like a carbon copy of Saturday and the Sunday run felt Ok after I got into it.

It started out kind of rough -- heavy legs, bad rhythm just off but by about mile 3 everything smoothed out and did a mix of running and walking (mostly running) as the mood struck me. I really didn't see a need to push the running but I was glad to get some back to back miles in. I really need to work out a strategy for building my tolerance for this kind of thing as we get closer to the Goofy Challenge.

I finished the book by about 4 on Sunday and then spent more time on the web reading what other people thought of it. I need to re-read some sections to fully figure out how it all works but overall I was very pleased with all of it.

I only wish that there was a book 8.

Running around the Thunderstorms + Harry Potter Predictions

Amazingly, we got in a good workout last night! I drove home through some of the worst rain I've seen since Spring and found myself at home where everything was bone dry and not a cloud in sight or on the radar screen.

After dinner we hit the trail and I got in a solid run. About a mile and a half of easy walking warmup and then I started a new Nike+ run and got in another 4 miles and change. Just about all of it running. Despite the killer humidity, I felt really good for the run and I'm actually looking forward to the 10 miles on Saturday morning.

For the first time in ages I ran without a hat or a visor and I was astonished by how much sweat those things soak up. Granted, last night would have been an especially gross outing anyway since it was so humid, but it's still pretty shocking. I won't be doing that again.

I'm mostly on a media blackout until I'm done reading Harry Potter (I really don't want to see any spoilers) so I'm having a hard time doing my typical web browsing because I'm so afraid I'll come across something and now that we're soooo close I can't risk it.

I can't wait to get my hands on that book!

For the record here's what I think:

Harry, Ron, Hermionie all live.

Draco or Snape will die.

Lord V will die (of course).

Harry is NOT a Horcrux.

Regulus Black is not really dead.

Fleur will turn out to be important in some surprising way.

I heard somebody put forth a theory where Dudley turns out to have magic because they think Petunia made a deal with Dumbledore to supress Dudley's magic in return for her keeping Harry under her roof. Now that Dumbledore is dead, that magic will go away and Dudley will suddently have powers. I hate Dudley, but I think that's a pretty good idea since it explains why Petunia really put her foot down when Vernon wanted to throw Harry out. I also think that it might soften them (the Dursleys) up a little if Dudley actually wants to use his magic and learn about it -- it will kind of give Harry back his family.

I also like the theory I heard about how Neville will be the kid who returns to teach at Hogwarts. They think he'll teach Herbology. I like Neville so I want that to be true.

I'm back from vacation!

I don't think I mentioned this before, but we were down the shore for a few days last week.

We drove down on Wednesday night and spent four days loafing on the beach and doing some running/walking (mostly walking) through town and on the boardwalk. We had a really lazy approach to things and wound up getting late starts every day which made running really awful since it was in the mid-upper eighties and pretty humid everyday. The scenery was nice though, so I can't complain.

Our route was the same all three days we were out -- sometimes extended a little longer, and sometimes so pitifully slow that I turned off the Nike+. I'd say we got at least 6 everyday and up to 8 miles on our best outing. I think the most I ran at any point was 3 miles. I'm so lazy it's scary.

Tuesday had us back at home and over at VF. We did the loop in reverse, and while it was hot out, it wasn't as bad as I'd feared. I walked up the first killer hill (I should start running it in anticipation of the Megatransect) and continued walking and assessing the heat factor until we got around to the Chapel -- a little over a mile into the loop. I ran most of the way after that and it was a pretty good workout.

I had a guardian angel runner towards the end of the run: I was chugging up and small set of rolling hills and had convinced myself that I was going to take a walk break at the next crest but then this guy running in the opposite direction gave me a shout out and said "don't you stop, you can do it" or something to that effect. Which propelled me forward and I ran the whole way back to the car, which felt really good. I have such a bad tendency to always quit and take breaks even though my body really doesn't need to do it. I have to have moments like that to remind me that I'm not as frail and wimpy as my brain tells me that I am.

The weather forecast for tonight is pretty grim (thunderstorms abound) and it's incredibly soupy and humid so I am bagging the local 5K and planning a run for tomorrow instead.

10 miles on the agenda for Saturday and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm not sure if I'll get another run in on Sunday -- it depends on how much progress I've made on Harry Potter and if I can risk going out in public and the possibility of being spoiled on the ending.

Weekend Running

I'm not sure how to rate this weekend. I logged a lot of miles, but I'm not sure how good they were.

Saturday we had 6 scheduled with PhillyFit. I wanted to do more than that and I also didn't want to jump out of bed at 7:15 so Brian let me snooze it a few times and we headed out to do our own thing a little bit later in the day.


He's still nursing a sore hip so he wasn't sure what he was up for speed/distance wise so we kind of compromised - we covered about 11 miles, being sure to incorporate the big hill at Spring Mountain as a little bit of practice for the Megatransect. He didn't push it and kept himself to a pretty moderate pace. I tried to run the middle miles but I did my fair share of walking with him as the day heated up. I'd say I probably ran 7 and walked 4. I had some trouble with the Nike+ because it kept turning itself off so my effort was broken into three different segments. I'm not sure if this was operator error with me hitting the center button instead of pause or if it was related to my ongoing problems with humidity.


Sunday was hot and humid and we got off to an even later start. We just walked but we covered close to 9 miles. It was good to get out there for back to back long-ish walks but I really need to pick up the running now that New York is only 16 weeks away.

This should be strange week with the heat wave and our trip to the shore. I'm hoping to get some good running time logged.

We're trying to plan some hikes into our summer so we can prepare for the Megatransect. I think we're going to try to get to Delaware Water Gap, the Grand Canyon of PA, and out to Hawk Mountain. Maybe even a trip to the Boulder Field we visited a million years ago. We have a lot of work to do!

The only other thing I did this weekend was watch Tennis. What a totally fabulous match on Sunday! I can't wait for the US Open and I really, really, really hope we get a Federer/Nadal final. I can't even believe how good they are and how awesome that match was. It killed me to see it end. I love both of them so it was hard to even pick a favorite. I guess I was rooting for Nadal slightly more than Federer but I love him too and they both deserved it.

Excuses, excuses!

I can't get anything together this week!

Tuesday I didn't run because I had to shop for our 4th of July party. Then we went out on the 4th but we were so busy talking about the plans for getting our house in order for the cookout that we walked the whole time instead of running. Last night we were surrounded by thunderstorms and rain and I didn't remember that I have a gym membership until I was home. I can't believe that I totally forgot about the gym option.

Maybe tonight I can get out there since tomorrow I have a shorter run scheduled. We're heading into a heat wave so any miles I can get in before that would be best.

On a side note -- I am worried that Gatorade Endurance is really hard to find in stores. I think it's being phased out! oh no!

Weekend Running

Saturday morning was the PhillyFit run at Valley Forge and that meant 8 miles of hills.

We had a pretty interesting guy come to give out some tips on form and warming up properly but that cost us 45 minutes of shade before the clouds moved on and the heat started to kick in. Saturday wasn't a particularly hot day but the comination of hills and lack of shade made for a very tough day for me. Nike+ gives credit for 8.88 miles and a 11:19 pace. I was thinking that was more miles than we actually ran, but when I look at the map provided by the park, I think it's pretty accurate. Interesting!

Feeling pretty defeated by my Saturday run, and being blessed with temps in the low 70s with a breeze and low humidity on Sunday I went back to the loop and ran 5 miles on my own and felt amazingly better. Nike+ put this one at just over 5 miles and a 10:30 pace. Had it been earlier in the day, when less bikes and baby strollers are on the trail, I might have repeated the Saturday workout and gone for 8 miles.

I don't know why I'm always surprised when heat & humidity cause me such trouble on the run. It happens every time so I need to just expect it.

Hot weather walk

It was 90+ degrees last night and super humid so Brian & I decided to walk at VF instead of running. I'm not sure that was the best decision because there was a surprising amount of wind along the trail and we saw more runners than we usually do in that kind of weather.

Either way, I got 5.5 miles under my belt. I hope to get in at least one real run this week but tonight I need to meet the cable guy so I probably can't do it tonight and tomorrow we're supposed to get a ton of serious thunderstorms. I think I might have to actually go to the gym. Yuck!

Sunday - Our first PA hike in years

On Sunday Brian and I went up to Green Lane park to do some easy walking and hiking as the first step in our training for the Megatransect. On a scale of 1-10 in terms of difficult hiking this was like a 1. There was one section that might be called a 2. But it was rocky with roots and uneven terrain so it was a good way to get back into the swing of things without getting too far away from home.

We started the day easy with a casual walk on the Perkiomen and covered about 5 miles. Then we had a picnic before moving to the part of the park with trails. The map called the round trip on the trail 6 miles but I'd be kind of surprised if it was really that far.

Overall, it was a nice day out, we got some good slow miles under our belts and I learned that I absolutely need new trail shoes for this race because I got an icky blister on my heel from my trusty Merrells. I love those shoes and they've taken me to a lot of cool places but they have had it.

I'm frustrated that none of those miles counted towards my Nike challenges. I really wish that you could set it to track walks or runs so a long walk/hike would count but wouldn't totally tank your average pace. Then again, why do I really care about the average pace? It's true considering that I do quite a mix of walking/hiking and running and will continue to have this type of mix through September. I'm really going to have to think about this because I look lame having only a 7 mile weekend when I really did more like 17.

Update on Monday morning:

I can't believe it but that lame hike actually made me sore! The back of my heel -- I guess it's the achellies tendon area. It's not awful but it's new and it's gotta be from the hiking. Very interesting.

Brian is considering doing the Baltimore Marathon 2 weeks after the Mega. Not sure if that's such a good idea but I hope he decides to do it so I can run the half there!

Saturday Run w/PhillyFit

Saturday was just the most perfect day to run. It was cool, there was no humidity, it was just great.

We ran for 7 miles out on the Perkiomen and according to Nike+ we came in at an even 10:00 pace for the day. I think that's off a bit since it gave us credit for 7.33 miles when it probably wasn't quite that far. Still, I think we were at or below 10:30 and for 7 miles that's pretty good for me.

What's perplexing is that my friend and I were running pretty solidly and while we were chatting we weren't going slow enough to have a regular conversation. Still, we were left in the dust by the majority of the red group (10 min pace and slower) and they finished a few minutes ahead of us even though we all started at the same time. The real mystery is that one of the guys running in the lead pack of runners said his Garmin gave a pace of 10:40. There is no way they could have been running slower than us and finished so far ahead of us. And while my Nike+ might not be perfectly accurate it's not a minute off the pace.

I think both of our devices are inaccurate but I'm still puzzled by how things turned out. I don't know why I care. Even if the Nike+ is wrong, it's always rating me against the same calibration scale so if I'm improving on Nike+ I'm improving for real.

Another Virtual Half Marathon!

This one is the Nike+ Women's Half Marathon where they will give a Tiffany & Co. keychain and a tech t-shirt to anybody who registers (and pays an entry fee) and then completes a half-marathon using their Nike+ on October 21, 2007.

I love it! It's called Run Together.


In other news, I walked last night instead of running. Tonight I'll probably do nothing and then I have 7 on the schedule tomorrow morning.

Evening Run

I skipped my run on Tuesday because it was 90 degrees and looking like a thunderstorm. I went out for dinner with my Mom and sisters instead. That was fun but not good for my calorie count -- especially when we added a trip to the ice cream place on after dinner.

Last night I was hoping to hit the trail at Valley Forge and was about 5 minutes from the park when I got a call from my sister (who is staying at my house this week) to tell me that I left my running clothes at home. This was very bad news since the weather was just PERFECT for running last night.

Luckily it was the longest day of the year so we had plenty of time to detour back home, grab some dinner, get changed and still get to the trail for about a 6.5 mile run before dark.

It was a really good run. Easy walking warmup for about a mile, then slowish walking and chatting until I felt good and my legs took me out a little ahead of Brian. I had some fast stretches along the way and kind of lost my edge in the last half of the run but I tried my best to hang in there and keep on running and as you can see from the Nike+ chart I did a pretty good job of staying steady. My average pace for the whole run was 10:48 and considering that I walked more than the first mile I think that's pretty good effort.

I'm at 340 miles for the year according to Nike+. I know I'm really 13 miles more (because of the half marathon I ran when the Nike foot pod didn't work) but I have to go by what the computer says. I'm in a challenge to run 1001 miles in the year. I'm obviously off the pace but it's not as bad as it could be, especially since I hope (and expect) my miles to really increase, especially in the fall when I start to prepare for Goofy. I really want to hit that goal even though it doesn't mean a thing.

Weekend Run

PhillyFit met on Saturday morning for a 6 mile run. Brian & I decided to head out early and we got in a nice warm-up walk of about a mile and a half and then about 3/4 mile running back towards the group meeting spot before we ran into the runner's heading out. I really liked that chance to warm up slowly and it made for a really good outing for me.

Those first two sets wound up at about 8.5 miles long and during the 7 mile segment I averaged a 10:18 pace which is really pretty good for me.

Following that run, after rehydrating and chatting with the group for awhile we decided to head out for a couple more miles with my sister (who is training for Baltimore) and needed a couple extra miles. What started out as a short stroll turned into a 5+ mile pretty decently paced walk.

Overall, it was about a 13 mile day. Really very good overall.

I wore this new skirt in yitro print and it felt great with a pair of cheapo Target compression shorts underneath. The flaw is that my water belt kind of rubbed some spots the wrong way so it kind of screwed up the fabric. I'm surprised, but I still really like the skirt.

Sunday I had great intentions to ride my bike and do a run (my first brick!) but I never got around to it because I was getting my house in order for my houseguests. (Sister and nephew visiting for a week or so.)

Other exciting news is that we made our plans for the Disney marathon and we'll be staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge on our trip. I can't wait for January!

Bald Eagle Mountain Megatransect

I did it! I signed us up for this adventure. According to the website the Megatransect is a 25 mile wilderness hike/run that is second to none! It's not a race, it's a personal challenge. According to their website:

"The Megatransect is designed to appeal to the hard-core trail runner, dedicated hiker or those reasonably fit persons out for a real challenge. You will be given 11.5 hours to complete the course. Runners' times will from 3.75 to 6.5 hours. Hikers are likely to take 6 to 9.5 hours. Those that do a bit of jogging in the easy sections should be somewhere in the middle. Although timed, the Megatransect should be considered more of a personal challenge rather than a race."

We're not trail runners so we'll be doing this just as a timed hike. The course is open for 11.5 hours and I think we're going to need most of them. It starts off with an oatmeal breakfast and ends with a pig roast and we even get commemorative coffee mugs.

I love everything I've read about this event except the part where it says to watch out for rattlesnakes. I hope it's chilly day and not a muggy nightmare.

Get a load of those rocks!!

We have until September 29 to get ready for this. That's 15 weeks away. It's going to be interesting getting in my training for New York and getting ready for this -- I think it's going to really help prep me for the back to back days of the Goofy Challenge.

Celebrating Entry with a Day off!

I blew off my first run after getting into New York. We were having thunderstorms and I didn't even think about going to the gym. I'm not sure why I didn't.

Anyway, no run yesterday. I have my stuff with me today, so maybe I'll run tonight as long as the weather cooperates. I have to come up with a training plan. This is one of my favorite parts of the whole marathon experience -- filling in the calendar with all my long runs and figuring out who to arrange my life around them.

It'll be more complicated this time since we're going to have to plan some long hikes too so that we can get ready for the Megatransect. I guess the back to back long workouts will help me get in gear for the Goofy Challenge in January.

Nike+ Thing

I just posted a widget so that you can see my last 5 Nike+ runs.

The graph that shows is my most recent run and if you click on the tiny little gray arrow to the left of the green graph line you can scroll back to the previous run.

Pretty nifty!

New York, New York!

I got into New York again! I am 2 for 2.

My sister got in too -- which is also good news.

The bad news: my husband didn't get in.

I feel just awful about that because I really want him to experience the whole race. It's not fair that we're getting 2nd chances before he even gets his first chance.

I might defer so that we can run a different race together.

This is such a different feeling from last year when I was jumping out of my skin. Now I'm sad about Brian and worried that I won't like it as much as last time if I do run.

Worldwide Half Marathon

I just signed up for this while I'm anxiously awaiting the results of the New York Lottery. It's driving me CRAZY not to have a real marathon goal for the fall. I'll either have a half-marathon training run or I'll sign up to run the half at Baltimore to participate. I think I'm going to e-mail the Phedippidations guy and get the logo so I can have a t-shirt made for myself at Running Banana.

I've been doing a mix of running and walking in the past few weeks. Partly because I was burned out and partly because I've been a little under the weather and running was a little too difficult for a couple of weeks. I think I'm getting back on track now though -- just in time for the high temps and humidity! Lucky me!

We're considering doing the Bald Eagle Mountain Megatransect in September, which will be a fun (maybe) alternative to the kinds of races we typically do. I think I can pull that off and still run Philadelphia or New York in November just as long as I don't get a rattlesnake bite during the hike.

I think I failed to post any comments here about the Broad Street Run back in May. I was in a big snit because my posted time didn't match my watch because of a chip malfunction. They recently updated their site so now my real time shows up! yay! I get credit for my 1:43 run!

Belated Report: Lehigh Valley Half Marathon

That's me wearing the magical Quadrathon shirt that powered me to a big PR at the half marathon. It's kind of a miracle that it happened since I spent the week leading up to the race in Jamaica. I landed in Philadelphia at about 6:30 on Saturday night and at that poitn I didn't even know what time the race started on Sunday morning!

Anyway, we drove up to Allentown and checked into our hotel where I had the worst night of sleep ever. It had nothing to do with the hotel -- except the change from King bed on vacation to double bed at this hotel really did not work for me. Brian on the other hand, had a great night of sleep and had his very own great race on Sunday morning.

Weather was ideal for racing: slightly overcast, light breeze, mid-50 temps. We had no problem at all picking up our stuff pre-race (nice long sleeved tech shirt and free teddy bear (?) and best of all Goldenberg's Peanut Chews!) and we checked our stuff before heading to the start line.

At this point I discovered that my Nike+ had died. My iPod had been acting funny in Jamaica, freezing up at times, but I determined that was due to wild fluctuations in humidity. This was something different altogether. After I tried to start my workout and the lady says "walk around to activate your sensor" nothing happened. Try as I might, I couldn't get it to link. I tried to reset it a few times but no go -- I had to just run without it. I did manage to time my race with the iPod stopwatch (which even has lap features but I am not sure how to do that) and that was good since I wasn't wearing a watch. Of course, even if I did know how to work the lap counter, I couldn't have used it since I saw almost no mile markers all day long. I was the only one to miss them, so I must have been in some kind of zone.

I positioned myself between the 2:20 and 2:30 pacers and my plan was not to get in front of the 2:20 pacer until the very end. This turned out to be an ideal plan because I started slowish and then caught 2:20 lady but didn't pass her. She dropped me at about mile 8 when we hit a pretty big hill but then I caught up again and passed her.

I felt really good through most of the race (until that hill) and those last few miles are hillier than the beginning portion of the race and I found myself walking on hills and running the rest. I just listened to my body until the final mile and then tried to push as best as I could. I still walked a bit towards the end of the final mile because the race finishes on a high school track with lots of spectators and I did NOT want to walk during that segment. Instead, I walked a bit on the lead up (and the nasty Marine Corps Marathon-esque hill into the stadium) and then ran as fast as I could to the finish. I even tried to nab the inside lane but I didn't quite get there.

Post race food was really good (soup, vegetarian sausage, muffin tops, bananas, and water) and we even got mylar blankets which felt great because the wind was kicking up and it got kind of cold waiting for everybody to finish.

I really enjoyed the race and can't wait to do it again next year. The course is pleasant too, mostly through a park. Some people did not care for the gravel path that a large portion of the race is run on but that didn't bother me since it's my typical running surface.

Broad Street Run: good, bad, and ugly

The good: beautiful day, good race, another PR

The bad: we were late, the race felt almost as awful as a marathon

The ugly: we were late, which caused me to be in a HUGE snit, and made us at least 5 minutes late to the start, and now there is a glitch in the results reporting so my 1:43 PR is showing up as a 1:51 Personal Worst.

Still, this is a good race, and I'm happy with my (unofficial) time of 1:43:44. I figured I'd run 1:45 and considering how much I struggled, I'm thrilled with 1:43.

I'm going to have to do a lot of training for the Goofy Challenge because this race was way too hard after yesterday's Urban Dare.

Urban Dare Philadelphia - Super Fun!

I'm pretty sure we came in 6th place yesterday at the Urban Dare. I was sort of in a daze as it finished so I'm going to have to re-check with the race director to be sure.

Pictures, clues and story to follow soon.

Trying something new! (If I don't chicken out)

I signed up for the duathlon event at the Philadelphia Women's Triathlon. I'm fascinated by triathlon but I really can't swim well enough to even consider doing a tri this summer. The duathlon distances are certainly in my realm though, even with my lame granny bike, and I think concentraing on the 2 and 3.1 distances required for the run will help me stick to some speed training that will help me overall to get ready for my fall marathon. (I can't wait until they pick the lottery in New York. It's driving me crazy not being able to make a plan for fall.)

This reminds me that I'm considering registering for Marine Corps on May 9 figuring that I can just defer until 2008 if I get into New York. If Brian gets into New York, and I don't, I think I want to run Baltimore in October so I can get the crab medal and avoid the hassle of back to back out of town races.

Decisions, Decisions!

Lehigh Valley Half Marathon - Great Race and a PR

I ran without a watch, without my Nike+ (it's been acting crazy since I left for Jamaica), and somehow I managed to set a PR. By quite a lot!

I ran 2:19:24 on Sunday in a really fun race, on a nice course, in perfect weather. It was a great ending to a week of vacation!

More details later on both the trip and the race.

Super Cute Medal

I know I have two other races to do on this weekend, but isn't this the cutest medal ever???

I think this might have to go on the list for next year. This and the new Tower of Terror run with the glow in the dark shirts.

Who is the Sole Survivor? I AM!

By some sort of miracle, I managed to beat Stevo152 by a measly .43 miles to become the winner of the Nike+ Survivor Challenge. I am a little embarassed about how happy I am about winning.

Running, Nike Survivor, and the Bachelor

I've been logging a lot of miles but they haven't all been running. In fact, most of them have NOT been running. I've been meeting Brian for walks after work and while I'm not getting my hill workout at VF I'm having a lot of fun just unwinding and talking for an hour outside after work. It's nice and I'm not quite ready to give that up in favor of slogging over those hills. I probably should though.

I had a hard but good workout on Saturday, about 11 miles, broken up into a couple of different legs to satisfy my Nike+ challenges. It was overall pretty good but strange. I started slow, walking with Brian but then got really too fast for myself (because of the music I was listening to I think) and I never really got into a good rhythm. The strange part is that overall it was a fast workout even though I had to stop for walking more than usual.

This week I'm trying to win the Survivor challenge on Nike+. That took me out for a walk on Sunday at a set of nearby trails that we've never explored before. Monday I couldn't log anything but last night I did the VF loop and tonight I plan to hit the treadmill for a more focused running workout. It'll be really fun if I win!

We watched the Bachelor last night and Brian commented that Andy has the "biggest lower chest I've ever seen". That's a strange comment and yet it's true! He looks very strange with his shirt off -- it's like he's got unusually large muscles over his ribs and then a tiny waist. It's also totally bugging me that they all say tri-ath-a-lon. I thought that was a huge pet peeve of the tri-folk. I thought it should be called tri-athlon. Even Andy says it and who am I to argue with a 6 time Ironman?

I'm not sure who he's going to pick but right now I like Tessa best. She's cute, a triathlete, and finds the whole concept of the show upsetting and bizarre, which is the only normal seeming attitude one could have about that dumb show.

The Gym

I finally joined a gym. This means that I will be able to run in inclement weather and in the dark. No more excuses.

It also means that I might start to do strength training. I've been saying I was going to start strength training since I started planning my wedding -- I've been married for 3 years and I still haven't started! I am the Queen of Procrastination!

I hope this will help me win the Survivor challenge. I am one of the top dogs remaining (gotta love a challenge slanted in favor of the mid-pack runners!) after the merge so I've got to kick it into high gear this week. I'm the only girl left so that makes me want to win just a tiny bit more than before.

Unfortunately, I also have a pesky calf injury so I might have to run even slower than usual or walk to get in the miles. I guess they all count though in the Nike world.

Unexpected Long Run

I think I'm going to run 15 miles with my sister tomorrow. The weather looks great, and I want to show her a new trail connection.

Who would have thought that there would ever be a day when I would run 15 miles just for fun?

My boss overheard me talking about it and she thought I was doing a race -- you should have seen her face when she realized that I wasn't.

In other news, I joined LA Fitness (with my sister). I have an appointment on Monday at 4:30 with the trainer guy to work out my "fitness plan". That should be interesting!

Photo from MORE

I look better than I feel! They took all the pictures on the UPHILL sections!

Totally Unfair!

MORE half marathon in NYC

I ran the MORE half marathon with two of my sisters on Sunday. It was my 13th half-marathon and my 3rd of 2007. I finished in 2:27 and change -- and that includes a pit stop early in the race since the pre-race porta-potty set up was horrendous. Much worse than in previous years.

As usual, the Central Park hills kill me -- especially on the 2nd loop of the park. I tried to push as hard as I could on the downhills and flats but was pretty wimpy going uphill on the second lap. Even the first lap was bothering me, enough that I popped some 8-hour and considered the possibility of quitting at the half-way point. Luckily that thought had left me by the time I actually ran through the finish area.

I'm curious how I'd do on this course if it wasn't my 2nd race in 2 weeks and my legs were fresher?

In any event, this is my #2 time of 2007. Caesar Rodney is still my PR but this was a course record for me at MORE.

Caesar Rodney Half Marathon

I had a great run! The weather was awesome and I finally got to have some of the awesome post-race food so it was a great day. I was still really at the way back of the pack but I'm really happy with my race -- that's was like a 4 minute PR I think! You gotta love the downhill!

An Update on my November Update

In case anybody comes here from ALOTTFMA (a totally awesome blog) I thought I'd post some thrilling updates to life since the Philadelphia marathon:

1) I won my office football pool and used the proceeds to buy a totally awesome 4G red nano and a Nike+ sport kit. I am totally in love with it.

2) I used my snazzy Nike+ sport kit to start an Amazing Race themed running challenge where actual runners are paired with TAR teams. I hope to win my challenge since I have managed to get paired with Romber -- a thing that can only help since I haven't been running much.

3) I ran a half marathon in Pheonix in January on the coldest day in Ariziona in the last 16 years. Seriously -- it was 21 degrees! I had a great day though and the best part was collecting an inflatable Southwest airlines jet hat. I'll have to post of picture of that soon since it totally rocks.

4) I guess I don't actually have four new things to post!

Update

I guess it's taken me 10 days to get over running Philadelphia!

Amazingly, my legs didn't suffer a whole lot after the fact. They killed me on Sunday afternoon and Monday but I was back to normal by Wednesday. Still, I'm not doing anything that crazy again.

Since I last posted we had a lovely Thanksgiving where Brian & I played host to his family. All of our dishes were a success and I'm happy to report that my gravy (with helpful input from my Mom) was "the best I've ever had". Secret tips: add carrots and celery to some water in the bottom of the roasting pan for added flavor & color, pour off most of the drippings but keep some in the roasting pan and then add flour directly to the pan to create a roux, this prevents greasy gravy (worked like a charm), and lastly use a mix of chicken broth and the broth made from simmering the giblits and some carrots, celery, and onion on the stove.

We skipped both a Turkey Trot and a Jingle Bell run over the holiday weekend but we did take ourselves out for a relaxed 5 mile run walk. We need to get it in gear soon to stay in shape for PF Chang in Arizona.

I'm looking into joining a gym to keep fit over the winter and to add some strength training to my workouts. I have been neglecting this for far too long and it's only because I'm too intimidated to learn how to use machines and weights. I need to get over that. I'm also just beginning to consider getting over my swim phobia so I can eventually do a triathlon.

I spoke to a woman at the expo for Philadelphia who was promoting the Philadelphia Women's Triathlon in July. I mentioned my swim issues and she encouraged me to take some lessons over the winter and then join a gym with a pool and I'd be ready by July. I think she's right and it bugs me that the only reason that I can't do a tri is because I am too wimpy/chicken to learn how to swim properly. That's not a very good excuse.

And then today I got an e-mail to buy Christmas gifts from the LiveStrong store. I went there and saw the Lance Armstrong Foundation Manifesto. It's much longer than this but I really liked the first paragraph:

We believe in life.
Your life.
We believe in living every minute of it with every ounce of your being.
And that you must not let cancer take control of it. [so I don't have cancer, let's change that word to fear]
We believe in energy: channeled and fierce.
We believe in focus: getting smart and living strong.
Unity is strength. Knowledge is power. Attitude is everything.

So I need to remember that I should be fierce and live life to the fullest and maybe for me that means learning how to swim like a grown-up in 2007. Maybe.

Speaking of Lance. You know how he said he'd never run another marathon after New York? he's already changed his mind and announced he's running New York again in 2007. This time he's going to train. I wonder how badly he'll smash his PR?

I'm a little bit crazy!

Brian and my sister were planning to run the Philadelphia marathon on Saturday. Since it was so close the New York Marathon I thought I'd run the new half marathon and the hang around to cheer them in for the full marathon.

When I got to the expo, the half marathon was sold out. When faced with the decision to run an 8K or a full marathon, I went for the full 26.2 because:

1) nice t-shirt
2) nice medal
3) I was going to be downtown the whole time anyway
4) I am a crazy person

So on Sunday I did my 2nd marathon in 14 days. Amazingly, my time was better than Delaware and very close to my time in New York.

I survived, and I mostly had fun, but I have to say that this is a pretty bad idea overall!

New York Marathon 2006 - random details

Expo: Amazing! It ran like clockwork and I didn't wait in a single line to get my chip or goodies. My bus pass was not printed on my bib and a very nice volunteer led me directly to the place where it could be fixed. I couldn't have been happier. It was very congested at the Nike section but the rest of the place wasn't too bad.

Expo highlight: Accidentally stumbling upon Grete Weitz autographing posters. (see photo). She was super nice and I mentioned that my last star autograph (Deena Kastor) coincided with a PR race and Grete said she hoped her signature would shave a few minutes off my time. Looks like it worked!

Money spent:

• Donation to Sponge Bob for markers, signs and a Sponge Bob sponge. I have no idea what the donation actually went towards.
• Cool souvenier t-shirt with description of the course in words
• Red shoelaces from Saucony - donation to their new foundation to fight childhood obesity.
• Marathon pin. I always buy one of these.
• Saucony running shirt: it says Triumph NYC 2006. I couldn't resist this since I wear Triumph sneakers. The new model is awesome metallic green. I hope they feel as good as the model I wear now.
  

Lessons Learned:

• Pasta party: lame, lame, lame! Even amoug pasta parties which are typically lame. Despite the organization of NYRR, we were misdirected on the way into the party and the way out. As a result we didn't get our dessert/goodie bag and were forced to return to the party via an exit and ask a bouncer guy to fetch the bags for us. Why? Because I can't stand not getting free stuff. Contents of goodie bags obtained from bouncer guy: apple, wheat crackers, cookies, snazzy Barilla pasta timer, italian water ice. Goodies others had that we didn't get from bouncer guy: full boxes of Barilla Plus pasta shapes. Contents of goodie bags found abandoned along the walkway near Tavern on the Green: Same as bouncer bags plus 10 bags of mini carrots. Very odd indeed!


• Being a paranoid rule follower, I got to the NY Public Library bus stop very close to 5 am. I was at Ft. Wadsworth by 6:15. It was FREEZING and BORING over there. Next time, I'm taking a later bus even though the runner guide tells you to be at the busses by 5 am

General Observations:

• A guy waiting at the Fort with inflatable lazy boy chair, lots of people in sleeping bags.
• A guy hopping out of the race at Marcus Garvey Park to buy a hot dog and hopping back in while still eating it.
• Mile 10.2 - Nike folks in yellow handing out whistles and seeing yellow chalk messages all over the street
• The cool neighborhood in Brooklyn with the "High Five Station" with signs ahead of it letting you know that it was coming.
• The area around mile 5 or so that was blaring YMCA and had people dressed up as the Village People (at least the Indian Chief with the long feathered headdress)
• The Soldier running in fatigues and pack and carrying his flag.
• The Save the Rhino guys running in rhino costumes!
• The folks in the Bronx doing the electric slide
• The people who had tamborines along the way. What a great spectator accessory!

New York Marathon: Best Day Ever!

Wow! All I can say is Wow! The marathon lived up to absolutely every bit of the hype and I loved every single (painful) second of it! My legs are still sore today and every time I stand up or sit down and my quads scream I remember that race and I get a big, fat grin on my face.

I seriously can not wait to do it again. It was that good.

I started out with the five hour pace group and hung with them until just before the half-way point when they seemed to have fallen slightly off the pace and I kept going try to keep up my momentum. They caught up to me at about the mid-piont of the Queensborough bridge and I stuck with them until 1st Avenue but then they just left me in the dust. I guess it was a combination of them speeding up just a smidge to make up for the time they had lost and me tiring out and slowing down but I could never catch them. I'm still thrilled with my performance though and I made it through the first 16 miles with no walk breaks except at the water stations. That's a first for me and I'm really happy about that.

Of course, once the walk breaks started they were hard to stop. I kept pushing as best I could through the end of the race but you can see how my time just dropped. I think I was a lot more consistant than in past races and I know that I ran more than in past races and I'm certain that I gave my very best effort.




Here are the splits:

Mile 1: 11:05
Mile 2: 10:40
Mile 3: 11:37
Mile 4: 11:26
Mile 5: 11:22
Mile 6: 11:38
Mile 7: 11:25
Mile 8: 11:48
Mile 9: 11:35
Mile 10: 11:23
Mile 11: 11:50
Mile 12: 11:23
Mile 13: 11:28
Mile 14: 11:18
Mile 15: 12:10
Mile 16: 11:48
Mile 17: 11:09
Mile 18: 11:27
Mile 19: 12:24
Mile 20: 12:19
Mile 21: 12:30
Mile 22: 12:12
Mile 23: 11:49
Mile 24: 12:35
Mile 25: 12:20
Mile 26: 12:12
last .2: 2:27

It's time for me to do some work now, but I will write more later and post some more pictures.




Total Time: 5:07:27

I'm getting very excited

Marine Corps Marathon 10K

Yesterday I ran the first ever Marine Corps Marathon 10K. I had a pretty good race (especially since it was just a training run for next week) and I love the medal. The t-shirt is very nice too. The logistics of the race were crazy and I hope they improve in the future.

Logistical problems:

• Confusion at the start: 10K runners were in the wrong place since there were no pre-race instructions for us. We were lined up on both sides of a grass median behind the marathon runners when we should have all been on one side. They told us this after the marathoners had started running so many 10K people (myself included) had to hop over a couple of guardrails to get where we needed to be.
• All of us were facing the wrong way. We lined up ready to run in the same direction as the marathon but since the 10K runs in the opposite direction of the marathon we couldn't line up in the right spot until the marathon runners cleared the area. Loudspeakers instructed us to move beyond the red starting arch and then turn around and "face the sun". It was crazy. Nobody really undsterstood what was going on and people were wedged in like sardines and couldn't really do anything as the marines were yelling "turn to face the sun!". People on the wrong side of the timing mats so they kept telling us to back up while the loudspeaker kept reminding us the race had to start in 5 minutes (or whatever I forget) and that it couldn't be delayed. All of the confusion resulted in the slowest runners (who had been lurking at the back of the pack) being closest to the starting line and the fastest people were at the back of the pack. As an added bonus, they also thought it would be a good idea to drive a set of school busses through the pack of runners prior to the start. I have no idea why they did that.
• The reverse of the fast/slow runners made for a pretty chaotic start as runners were dodging slow people and the fast people tried to get to the front as quickly as possible. There is an element of this in every race but it was particularly bad yesterday. I might be exaggerating since I was really worried about having a mishap and falling/twisting an ankle or something that would screw up my race next weekend but it seemed very bad.
• Midway through the 10K the wheelchair marathon racers came up on the runners and this caused a huge problem! The 10K folks were totally in their way and were, unfortunately, very oblivious despite the screams of "ON YOUR LEFT" and "WHEELCHAIRS COMING" that were coming from the runners, the wheelchair athletes, and a bunch of marines.
• The race started late enough that there were still pretty many slow 10K people out on the course as the marathon winner came into the finishers chute. I don't think that was supposed to happen.

My time & splits:

Total: 1:07:50

M1: 10:53

M2: 10:51

M3: 10:32

M4: 11:24 (wheelchairs arrived and I stopped to walk and yell at people to get out of their way)

M5:10:41

M6.2: 13:26

I had time to finish my race, eat some food and then head over to mile 16 to catch up with Brian and my sister who were running the marathon.

More later...

Bib Number: 45600

I finally got my start color: ORANGE

And my bib number: 45600

I really can't wait for the marathon. It's just 10 days away. I'm obsessing about the weather (still looks good as of last night) and I'm glad I have MCM this weekend to distract me a little bit.

I haven't posted much lately and I have no excuse for it. My running has been spotty but good when I actually get it done.

Three weeks ago I did 20 miles and felt great during and afterwards. Two weeks ago I was hoping to get in an 18 mile run but wasn't motivated at all on Saturday and only did 10. In a fit of guilt I ran another 7 on Sunday, so the weekend wasn't a total loss, but it wasn't a good long run.

Last Saturday I set out to run 10 miles with my running group, who were all doing 20 in prep for the Philadelphia marathon, I wound up running 14 instead to keep my buddy of the day company during her tough last few miles.

No running since then. My legs have felt great and I think I'll do fine in New York.

I'm not looking to break any records but I want to feel good and not struggle through the race. I think I can do that and maybe break 5:15 too. Who knows? I just want to have fun.

I'm leaning towards running the 10K at MCM this weekend but I think that's going to be a game day final decision.

Now I have to go check the weather forecasts.

What do I have in common with Paul Tergat?

Paul Tergat's invitation to runners world-wide:

"Join me in the Fight Against Child Hunger. Run with myself and others as part of World Run Day November 5th "

(Paul will be running in the NYC Marathon on World Run Day)

Hey, isn't this blog about running?

Whew! I just got back from my 20 mile run today and now I have my feet up and I'm drinking a Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. I even got the whipped cream this time. It's a suitable reward for a pretty good day.

I could have run a marathon today. I'm glad I didn't have to but I certainly could have.

Chatty Vacationers

I noticed that lots of people were chatty out in Yosemite. I don't know if it was because people are more friendly or because I was wearing more interesting clothes...

• A guy noticed my t-shirt said Wyeth on the back (they were a big sponsor of Collegeville 5K) and started asking me if I was a drug rep for them because he and his wife were both retired pharmacists.
• A guy stopped to talk to me in the store when he noticed my Broad Street Run t-shirt. Evidently, he grew up in Media and had run the race a bunch of times before moving to the west.
• A guy commented to Brian about his Disney 1/2 marathon t-shirt saying he did the race the same year (although upon further reflection that guy was kind of an oddball and I think he just made it up)
• A lady struck up a conversation in line at the store because she noticed my NYC Marathon hat. She's never done a marathon but it's thinking about taking up triathlon training.
• A lady started talking to us in the cappuccino line and told us that McDonald's premium coffee marketing scheme was just that - a scheme. Same coffee, new cups and ad campaign. Further converstation involving the new style WaWa cups revealed the fact that she was from Delaware.
• A park employee commented on how cool my ugly spotted LL Bean fleece is.
• Two little girls on a class trip asked me about a million questions while I was riding the bus with them. Questions varied from where had I hiked that day (Half Dome) to how many states have I been in (too many to count on the bus ride) and what color is the liberty bell.

Yosemite Trip Day 2: the Valley

We spent our second real day of vacation exploring Yosemite Valley. This means that we went to the visitor center, checked out the Indian village and a cool museum of Native American baskets and clothing (interesting how they use the term Native American for the museum/artifacts but stuck with Indian for the village. I wonder why that is?).

We also walked along a lot of the paths through the meadows and along the edge of the Valley and just marveled at Half Dome. It's hard to do anything while you're there but look up at Half Dome. It's so big and so unusual that you just stare at it. The picture I have posted I just found on the internet -- I'll replace it with one of ours when I get a chance. That's one of the most popular views of the mountain and it looked a lot like that on our trip -- but there was no snow on Half Dome during our trip.

Later we explored the area called Happy Isles where there had been a huge (scary) rockfall in 1997 and then took a walk up to a place called Mirror Lake. Mirror Lake isn't a lake anymore (the park people used to dredge the pool but they stopped doing it in 1970 so now it's almost totally gone) but a giant sandbox at the base of Half Dome. You can stand there and let yourself feel like a tiny ant as you look up the face. We didn't see any climbers on the rock but evidently people do climb up. They're nuts.

Yosemite Trip, Day 1: Wawona + Mariposa Grove

We arrived in San Francisco around noon on Saturday and drove to Yosemite that afternoon. We chose to take the long way and enter the park via the South entrance near Wawona because we had a room at the 'historic Wawona hotel' for our first night.

We thought this was a good plan because we'd be in the park ready to go on Sunday morning instead of having two travel days. It really was a pretty good plan except for the fact that we were up at 4:30 AM in order to get to the airport on time and driving the 4+ hours from San Francisco to the park was rough. Especially towards the end when it was dark and the roads were scary and twisty. Thank God Brian was driving!

We fell into bed at about 9:00 and slept with the windows open to let in the very chilly mountain air. The chilly mountain air was even chillier in the moring when we got up and I actually got to wear my convertable mountain pants on the very first day of the trip!

We headed to the Mariposa Grove of giant Sequoia trees after exploring at the cute Wawona hotel and visitor center. If you haven't seen a giant sequoia in person I can't explain to you how incredibly massive and cool they are. They're just mind bogglingly huge. And very cool. This was a nice easy way for us to ease into the park because the trails were gentle and mostly short. It flashed us back to our trip to Sequoia National Park five years ago and since we had such a great time on that trip it really put us into a good mood.

The most memorable thing about this day was a strange encouter with a crab working at the Wawona store. I ran in there in the afternoon to get some sodas and pretzels before we made the drive up to Yosemite Valley. I went into the store and picked up two 20 oz Cokes and a bag of Rold Gold pretzels. The total bill came to $5.07

I pulled my money from my pocket and see that I have a $5 bill and a $20 bill. I said out loud "oh rats" when I looked at my money and I hand the check-out guy the $20 bill.

He does not take the money but instead looks at me and says again that the total is $5.07. I don't reply, still holding out the $20.

"Do you have .07 cents?" he asks in a disgusted tone.

Just for the record, I was wearing hiking clothes (t-shirt and shorts) and was covered in dirt so I clearly didn't have a purse or anything with me.

I hold out my money clip with the $5 bill in one hand and the $20 in the other hand and say out loud "I have a 5 and a 20".

He then lets out a power sigh and says "well, maybe I can find .07 here". And he starts rooting around in some unseen penny jar behind the counter. He doesn't come up with the money -- gives me a dirty look -- and says "I'll check my pocket". And then he roots around in his own pocket to find the .07 cents.

Then he says "Give me the $5" like he's doing me a huge favor.

So I did and left with my food.

It was totally bizarre and extremely off putting. Am I crazy for thinking he was a big jerk? I mean I tried to pay for the stuff -- I had the money to pay for the stuff -- he was just unwilling to accept my $20. That's not a ridiculous bill to be using, it's not like I was trying to pay with a $100 or something crazy.

I stink at running!

I went to the park to run last night and it was AWFUL! I don't know if it was taking all that time off from running (nearly two weeks!) or if it was all the extra miles I put in hiking at Yosemite (probably 70+ miles over the week) but I felt pretty terrible running the loop.

Too many walk breaks, a totally inconsistent pace, sore knees on the downhill (this I know is TOTALLY from the Half-Dome hike) plus I had shin pain. I never have shin pain. It wore off so I'm sure it was from starting too fast. Blah. Just an awful run. The only good thing was that I got this bad run out of my system so I hope it will all be out of my system by the 20 miler this weekend.

I'm hoping to get back to the park tonight but I don't know if the work schedule will allow it.

I'm back! Vacation was great

We had a really good time at Yosemite and I'll post pictures and comments about the trip soon.

My fears about not getting in a 20 mile run were eased by our trip up to Half Dome. Whew! What an incredible ordeal! Somewhere between 14-17 miles, ascending (and then decending) 4,900 feet up to the top at 8800 was pretty intense. The first half of this hike was by far the hardest thing I've ever done and I didn't even make it to the top! (Brian did though!)

If you check out this snazzy picture that I snitched from The California Hiking Page you can follow the red line and see the route of the very end of the hike. I made it to the point where the red line stops zig zagging and Brian kept going up to the very top. He, and everybody else who does this hike (and there are tons of people who do it) is crazy.

Yosemite National Park

We're leaving on a week of vacation to Yosemite National Park tomorrow! Yay!

I'm afraid this means that I will not be doing much running and that stinks because Brian and & both should be doing long runs these next couple of weekends. I'd be more worried if we were trying to break important time goals in our marathons but I don't think the lack of training will have a huge effect on our races -- we'll probably just be a little more sore.

We plan do do tons of hiking and I expect we'll do 10+ miles a day for just about every day we're in California. We'll also be spending a significant amount of time at a pretty high elevation which should make our workouts a little tougher. I'm not even bringing my real running shoes though so no running.

Mile Splits - From Philadelphia Distance Run

Since we had a bunch of race rookies with us we started in corral 15 (the last corral) instead of where my number placed me - corral 12. I probably would have chosen to start in 13 somewhere. I ate my first gel before the starting gun and I was wearing my 40 oz. fuel belt filled with Gatorade Endurance.

Mile 1: 11:05 started at back of last corral and pushed ahead to get near others at my pace
Mile 2: 10:59 nothing to report here. Forced a walk at 2 miles to slow it down a bit
Mile 3: 11:11 fun mile with Eagles Pep Band
Mile 4: 11:11 wow! totally even splits on these two miles - headed back up Parkway
Mile 5: 11:38 ate gel at water stop at 4.8
Mile 6: 10:52 I can't remember much about this mile
Mile 7: 11:48 iPod crazy, walked to fix. Usually take a break in training at the half way point and did so.
Mile 8: 11:15 Felt strong here passed folks on small hill approaching Falls bridge
Mile 9: 11:20 walked and tried to eat my 2nd gel - only ate half the rest made me want to hurl
Mile 10: 11:28 Still feel pretty good, running more than walking
Mile 11: 11:36 meet a PhillyFit person I've never seen before. Run with her for a short while
Mile 12: 11:59 paranoid about running out of gas before finish - extra walking. WIMPY! No excuse!
Mile 13.1: 12:31 again with the paranoid walking - extra super congested water stop - why??

Final time: 2:28:53 that's a PR for me by about a minute.

Overall, I'm really very happy with the splits from the race. I was trying my best to stick to a plan and to be steady and I think I did that. The only mile over 12 minutes was the last one -- and that doesn't count since it was really 1.1 miles. The slow mile between 11 and 12 I have no explanation for other than lack of mental toughness. The other pretty slow one between mile 6 and 7 was when I had some iPod issues that I needed to walk to fix. Perhaps I really should listen to the race directors and leave the music at home!

New & un-improved blog

By the way -- the blog looks all crazy because I "upgraded" to blogger beta. I hate it and all my countdowns are missing and other stuff is screwy too. I'm trying to fix it but I'm very impatient!

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days....

I have just suffered through the most irritating and horrible Eagles game ever! It's one thing to be tortured by your team stinking from the opening kickoff but to go from such highs to such lows in one game -- or one quarter, really -- it's just awful. They totally screwed up my good day!

The good part of today was the Distance Run! I worked hard on trying to run a steady race and I did (splits to follow when I remember where I put my watch) and I managed to come up with a 1/2 marathon PR despite totally wimping out on the last mile or so of the race today. I have no killer instinct and I really need to get one.

Anyway, my chip time was 2:28:53 which beats my prior PR by about a minute.

Other exciting news is that my 14 year old neice ran the race too and hadn't trained for it other than the running she does for her soccer team. She was totally unsure how she'd do and as it turns out she breezed through it in 2:31 which was good enough for 7th in her age group. Yay for her!

World Run Day to Stop Child Hunger

I saw a notice for World Run Day on a local running board and I realized that it's the same day as the New York Marathon (just 50 days away...) and I decided to sign up since I'll be running a marathon that day anyway.

The registration fee is $19.99 (a little more once you pay the Active.com fee) and they send you a t-shirt and donate your money to a charity that fights child hunger. According to the post that led me to World Run Day, my registration fee will feed a child for 50 days.

So you can know a little more about the program:

Founded in 1999 by Long Island Runner Bill McDermott, the event is intended to promote the sport of running and charitable giving on one special day each year. Started with just 100 runners worldwide, runners connected and impacted their communities in a positive way. As a result, World Run Day was the only event celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths, nationalities, and benefitted their favorite charity. Soon group events formed in different cities such as World Run Day - Philadelphia, World Run Day - London, World Run Day - Sydney, etc. (Even "World Run Day - Afghanistan" was celebrated during wartime). The event was designed to allow every runner, whether with a group or running individaully, to be a part of the day.With the alarming statistics related to World Hunger, the event will reach out specifically for the benefit of ending Child Hunger in 2006.

New Race on the Calendar

We're having a stretch of just fabulous crisp fall weather and it's making me really anxious to run the Philadelphia Distance Run this weekend. So anxious, in fact, that I signed Brian & I up for another race just because I've been so obsessed by running today.

We're now officially doing the 1/2 marathon at P.F. Chang Rock'N'Roll Arizona in January. We've actually been planning to do this race for a long time since my sister won a free entry into the marathon but today I registered for the race. Now I'd better go ask for the time off since we're planning to spend a week out there checking out the National Parks of Southern Arizona.

What a difference a week makes!

This Saturday I went for my typical training run with PhillyFit. The group was doing 8 miles but I needed to do more to get ready for NYC. Brian and my sister are training for MCM and they needed to do more than PhillyFit but less than me so we decided to add a few miles and compromise at 12 miles for the day.

I felt like a million bucks on this run! I don't know if it was a slightly lower humidity, the slightly lower temperature or the fact that I was wearing my fuel belt filled with Gatorade Endurance, but this run went a million times better than the one at Virginia Beach.

After the first couple of miles my knee, which bothered me last Sunday night post-race, was hurting a bit so I decided to take 2 Tylenol 8-Hours instead of cutting the run short. This turned out to be a great idea since the rest of the run was great and my knee really didn't hurt at all afterwards even when wearing high heels at a wedding that night.

The whole run, where I felt like I was getting stronger and I went instead of slower and weaker, was finished in 2:10 and change. I think it was right around 12 miles but I'm not positive since the trail is detoured and hard to figure out exact milage.

I can't wait to see how I feel at the Distance Run next weekend. One thing I do know is that I am wearing the fuel belt and drinking my Gatorade. I probably won't wear it in NYC since they will serve Endurance on the course but maybe I will. I have plenty of time to decide.

I hate early mornings!

I have a ton of work to do today and instead of doing it I've been busy reading about race logistics for the New York Marathon.

I am horrified to learn that I am supposed to be getting in line for the bus to Fort Wadsworth by 5am. The race doesn't even start until after 10!

I guess I can just roll out of bed and into the line for the bus since I will certainly be able to eat and drink my breakfast on the way to the starting line but that's really a lot of time to kill. A LOT of time.

After the Race

Review: Harriers by Joe & Paul Shivers

So I said that I would review this book for Paul & Joe Shivers who won a book contest. They're high school runners who wrote this book about two incredible seasons with their cross country team in Ohio.

Wow! It was a total page turner!

I wasn't involved in high school sports and didn't start running until well into adulthood so I found their accounts of high school sports quite fascinating. I had no idea how cross country meets were scored or how FAST these young guys are. Let me tell you, it's quite humbling to realize that the slowest guy who barely makes the varsity team is running a 5K well under 20 minutes.

They also have quite an amazing tale to tell. A mediocore team gets a new young coach who brings them to the State Championships. There are exciting track meets, thought provoking legal battles, horror stories about malfunctioning time chips, and sneaky schemes involving special jerseys.

The book is good, and it only costs $5.95. Go buy a copy and reward these two for a job well done.

2006 Rock'N'Roll Half - a new course record!

Believe it or not we made our way through Ernesto to VA Beach and ran the race on Sunday!

It was horribly humid but other than that a really nice weekend. I was hoping to run around 2:25 on but finished in a hard earned 2:34:11. I'm pretty happy with that time because it's a course record for me (only by about 40 seconds) and I really worked hard to keep myself moving throughout the second half of the race. It was hot and humid and I never felt like I was on track.

Splits as follows:

Mile 1: 11:23 I was shooting for 11:30 but was OK with this
Mile 2: 11:05 Not sure why I got faster, wasn't trying to do that
Mile 3: 10:50 Whoa! I need to slow down.
Mile 4: 11:27 Stop and pull off band-aid that got bunchy. Didn't miss it.
Mile 5: 11:44 Ate 2nd gel here and walked - very crowded section. 1st gel in corral before start
Mile 6: 11:11 Talked to Brian here - he pulls away for good.
Mile 7: 12:09 Walked A LOT in Camp Pendelton. It's always blazing hot here. Ate some salt.
Mile 8: 11:53 Enjoyed the sprinklers here, ran UP the bridge (thought there was a camera)
Mile 9: 11:51 Walked at the turnaround leading to Atlantic. Ate 3rd gel.
Mile 10: 12:25 Where is mile 10? Where is the water? between 9 & 10 worst part of race
Mile 11: 12:43 Smile! Camera time! Can still make 2:30
Mile 12: 12:00 Only 9 minutes to make it under 2:30. Not possible. Wet head at water stop
Mile 13: 12:23 Running to Foo Fighters 'All My Life' - thank god! would have walked w/o music
Mile .1: 1:04 It's OVER! Yay!

Final time: 2:34:11

Crossing the finish line was great but since I've gotten faster I'm now finishing with a lot more people and the finish area was super crowded and hot. People couldn't move and were dropping like flies in the finish area. I was lucky to be on the right edge of the crowd, close to the folks handing out water (I guzzled 2 bottles of Dasani) and they also handed me ice which I promptly stuffed into my bra (a trick I read on somebody's blog) and felt better almost instantly. I kept re-loading the ice and stayed cool. The were also handing out towels soaked in ice cold water and that felt like heaven on my face and then a volunteer heard me say how good it felt and she draped another one over my shoulders. At this point the crowd thinned out at little bit and I had my chip removed and got my medal.

I met up wth Brian around now (he finished in 2:31) and we each got a bottle of Amino Vital (orange flavor OK , red I hear was vile) and progressed towards the food. There was a line but it still seemed more organized than last year. One volunteer started walking out through the runners handing out bananas and I actually ate one! They also gave out oranges (cold) and bagels and pretzels and amino vital bars.

The free Spenco sandals are still ugly but far more comfortable than last year's model and much easier to get.

Back at the room I finished the 2nd half a 34oz Gatorade Endurance and drank half of another bottle too. Ate some soy chips and then realized that my medal had fallen off the ribbon! oh no!
Luckily, my hotel is right on the course at mile 13 so I could easily run back to the finish area and got a volunteer to replace my missing medal. I would have been crushed if I had lost it.

Final thoughts: the humidity was a killer and I was sorry that I wasn't wearing my fuel belt and carrying Endurance. I don't usually wear the belt in races but I was mighty jealous of the folks out on the course who had their own supply. I think I might have done better if I had my own stuff and since the PDR is in two weeks and they're using Amino Vital there too I'm going to wear my belt unless the temperature is a lot lower, which it might well be.

Even though my time wasn't anywhere near what I hoped for I think I did OK considering the conditions. I didn't run my best race but I didn't let myself totally give up either and I'm proud of myself for that.

I can't wait for the PDR though!

I hate you Ernesto!

I really want to run the Rock N Roll Half Marathon on Sunday inVirginia Beach but tropical storm (or whatever he is now) Ernesto is in my way. No matter when I go I'm going to have to drive through driving rain and possible floods to get to the race. It's awful since it's going to be nice on Sunday for the race.

I hate driving that far in GOOD weather for this race.

I'm being pulled in two directions between my sister who is going no matter what and my husband who doesn't think it's worth the hassle since the beach is going to stink.

I can't decide. 14 hours in the car is kind of silly just to run one race.

Wednesday Night Run

I had the best run every on Wednesday night! After a really annoying trip to the park involving a couple of detours due to a water main break I got there and ran the best loop of my life!

I actually RAN the whole loop. The whole thing! All the hills and everything. I admit I did stop for one sip of water but that was for maybe 10 seconds. Fantastic!