Living for Now

Punxsutawney Fall Groundhog Day 50K – September 10, 2011

2011-09-18T15:31:00.003-04:00

Two years ago, I cut my baby teeth on this, my first, ultramarathon. It was an epic experience for me having only run one marathon previous. I was drawn to this ultra race by the friends that I had begun running with after having been a runner only one year. This group of people had run multiple ultras and I was immediately smitten and frightened by the idea of ever doing one myself. As these things go, the more miles I shared with them, the more confidence they instilled in me that I could run a 31 mile trail race.

This year I returned for my third time. By now, I am no longer the scared, uncertain beginner but instead a pretty well seasoned trail runner with six 50ks and one 50 miler under my belt. To give you a sense of the changes in my psychology over this two-year period, I went from completing two 50ks in 2009, and two 50ks in 2010, to completing four 50ks and a 50 miler in 2011 with two more 50ks on the docket for this year. The 31 mile trail distance has now replaced what used to be my favorite racing distance of 13.1 miles.

What I like about this particular race is that it is a small race in a small town in Pennsylvania and has some seriously wicked hills. These hills are steep. They make your legs burn and go weak before reaching the top. And once you have reached the top, you are blessed with a breathtaking view of the rolling hills and lush greenery surrounding you. Reaching the top of these hills gives momentary rejoicing and far reaching spiritual rejuvenation.

Eleven of my group traveled to PA and stayed at the historic Pantell Hotel, which is 130 years old and has survived three fires. It is actually the only lodging I can remember seeing anywhere in the area so I am guessing everyone who has traveled in for this race stays there. Bill Murray stayed there briefly during the filming of Groundhog Day in 1993. It is pretty run down but clean. The floors lean and the shower sporadically scalds you, but the toilets flush, sort of. The eight of us who rode down together got two adjoining rooms: the gals on one side and the guys on the other. We were very respectful of one another.

Previous to the this year, John Goss had been the race director but stepped down after about 12 years. The race was in danger of disappearing until Bob Lott and the VFW took it over a month late. Friday evening all runners gathered at Gobbler's Knob, the Groundhog Day ceremonial grounds to pick up our packets which contained a newly designed long sleeve tech shirt, an etched glass beer mug, and the usual assortment of samples and coupons. We were given a fine spaghetti and meatball dinner followed by last minute race directions and the giving out of door prizes. I received a mini stuffed Punxsutawney Phil in a coffee mug, while my other compadres received an American Flag that had flown over Congress, a 2010 rock award, and a canvas chair.

We managed to find a DQ on our way back through the dark winding roads which served as an unexpected but perfect provider of fresh bananas for pre-race breakfast.

We showered and hit the sack early. Thunderstorms had rolled into town and cracked and boomed for an hour or more. Fire sirens, sounding much more like tornado warnings, went off twice. We finally had some quiet and drifted off to restful sleep. Not! Who sleeps before a race? Really?!

3:50 am came right about as expected, quickly and rudely. My roommate, a Physical Therapist by profession, taped my left ankle which was still newly healing from a nasty sprain two weeks earlier. It was wet outside and the temperature was predicted to be in the high 50s and low 60s with the possibility of thunderstorms. I opted to wear shorts with compression leggings, short sleeved tee with arm warmers (made from tube socks with the end cut out and a thumb hole), ball cap, nutrition vest, small flashlight and hand held water bottle. I packed 7 nutrition gels, 1 Cliff mini bar, some Vitamin B chews, Endurolyte capsules, Advil, a mini TP,. I packed a spare pair of socks in a plastic bag (the one lining the ice bucket in the room) and my Neoprene ankle brace which I put in the back pocket of my vest.

We opted to take the late checkout time (pay ½ day rate) which allowed us to keep our bags in the room during the race, and get a hot shower after the race. We were in the lobby at 4:30am getting some delicious fresh coffee and then headed for the Community Center only a few blocks away. The race began at 5am in front of the Center exactly when the Trekker Director said, “Ok...go.” The rain had already started. But I was unconcerned because it was gentle rain. We ran up the small town road a mile and then turned off onto a trail. My Blackberry App “Endomondo” announced our first mile out loud. I felt sure that everyone was pleased to be informed that we had just knocked 1 mile off and only had 30 miles to go.

We reached our first challenge at about mile three which is a dangerously steep downhill called Two Beers. We were descending this hill in the pitch black with some assistance from headlamps and small flash lights. The rain continued. We used our best foot placement skills to avoid a treacherous slide or tumble. A few hours from now, we would be ascending this same hill on our return to the finish. We reached Adrian Aid Station at mile 3.5. We were both surprised and happy that it was open for us early starters. The volunteers were wonderfully jovial and friendly. They recorded our bibb numbers and I passed through without taking anything.

The rain began falling more heavily. The trails were streaming with water. Frequently, we ran through deep muddy puddles and small creek crossings. Our feet were wet and our socks were soggy. I began to realize that I better get used to the idea that my feet may not be dry at any point in this race. We made our way through single track trail, gravely service road, and a grassy diagonal climb up the side of a hill before getting to Buck Run Aid station at mile 7.5. Our bibb numbers were recorded and I ate ¼ peanut butter sandwich and a few potato chips and drank a Dixie cup of Coke. Our stop was short and sweet, then we traveled up the inclined trail leading out into what felt like the rain forest. Although day was now breaking, it remained dark due to the tree coverage and rain clouds. My left arch had begun hurting a mile or so into the race and was still hurting. I began doubting whether doing a 50k with an already injured ankle and swollen arch was a good idea. The rain and nasty muddy conditions had me feeling a bit crabby and wondering if I even wanted to do this the rest of the day. I decided to do the 8 mile loop that would bring us back to Buck Run Aid Station and evaluate my foot and feelings then.

A mile or so past Buck Run, we approached a stretch that included a one-two steep hill punch. Yellow Bus Hill is another near vertical climb followed by Cry Baby Hill which is steep but much shorter. It was raining pretty heavily as we climbed but these hills had somewhat better footing than Two Beers and we were able to keep a steady pace. Water was growing in low areas on the trails as well as stream crossings. Places that only wet the bottoms of my shoes in previous years were ankle to calf deep today. By now we no longer picked our way around muddy bogs and mud puddles by running along the side of the trails. We gave in and ran right up the middle, just splashing on through.

One important thing you learn in ultra running is that how you feel at one moment can do a 180 degree turnaround at another moment. So you teach yourself to just give things time. More times than not, the situation resolves itself and becomes a none issue. By the time we made it back to Buck Run, the soreness in my arch had resolved. You also learn that when one pain resolves, another pain appears. By now my right pinky toe had become very sore. But that did not worry me so it was easily ignored.

The rain stopped finally at about mile 20. The sun even made a momentary appearance a little bit later. It lifted my spirits, although at this point I was enjoying my run already. I was having a blast.

We passed through the aid station, with me eating another PB&J square, chips and a Coke and headed out for round two of Yellow Bus Hill, Cry Baby Hill and the Jurassic-like Water Park. This time the trips up the hills seemed a bit easier. We splashed our way back through the mud and some shoe sucking bogs, rocky trail, and a stretch of asphalt road. An Amish buggy slowly passed us, driven by a teenage boy and his younger brother. The smell of horse manure overwhelmed us as we passed an Amish farmland with neat stacks of hand hued lumber and a scattering of parked horseless buggies. Tim picked up an orange Salamander which he threatened me with but it was kind of cute and who is grossed out by Salamanders anyway? Later, when he picked up a Night Crawler. Ugh.

We reached Buck Run Aid Station for the final time at noon, having completed two 7.5 mile loops. From here we begin the eight mile return to the finish line. My quads were tired but I had plenty in me for the remainder of the race. We played leap frog with a married couple who were running the race together. Sometimes they would pass us. Then we would pass them. We enjoyed the contact. By now we were running together more than not.

As we worked our way towards the finalaid station, we found ourselves facing a dangerously flooded creekthat we would be required to cross in order to pick up the trail andcontinue. The water had risen several feet since our initialcrossing seven hours earlier. We wasted no time stepping into thenear-hip deep swirling water. Suzanne and I grabbed hands and inchedour way sideways very carefully across wobbly stones and branches onthe bottom. Tim followed after us. He must have been pretty scared. It was a relief to step out on the other side.

We made it to the final aid station by 1:00 pm and knew we had only 3.5 miles to go. However, we now faced Two Beers Hill, ESPN Hill and Seatree's Hill. I promised Joe Trask, my ultra-running mentor, that I would count the steps up Two Beers Hill. Counting each step gave me great focus and I called out every hundred steps. By the time I reached the top, the count was 490. Suzanne and I remembered the 6 hour endurance run we had done in August in which we climbed 147 steps thirteen times in all. We agreed that was a great training exercise. We continued forward endlessly climbing until we reached the top a the final hill. It was downhill from that point forward. Suzanne set the pace as we completed the final 2 miles down a gravel-asphalt road back to the school parking lot, down the sidewalk, across a triple railroad and left onto a side road into toward the Community Center and finish line. Our other friends cheered us in having finished before us.

I will never look at running in the rain the same again. I am surprised I did not get any blisters on my feet. The beer and pizza tasted just as good as ever. But the hot shower. Priceless! The day was topped with a hot lunch at Perkins in Grove City about an hour towards Cleveland. I enjoyed a Pepperjack Cheese Burger, fries and a piece of Coconut Cream pie. Although there were some sleepy heads on the way home, I felt awake and happy. It was another great time at Punxsutawney!

Catching up

2011-09-18T12:39:00.000-04:00

Boy. It would be nice if I were more consistent with my race reports. Lots has happened this season.

Races completed since June 18th:

*Buckeye Trail 50K – July 16^th

*Fairport Harbor Triathlon – July 24

*Greater Cleveland Triathlon – August 7

*Impossible2Possible 6 Hour Endurance Run - August 13

*Moebius Monster 50K – August 27

*Punxsutawney Fall Groundhog Day 50K – September 10

So now I will concentrate on writing a report for my most recent race, and perhaps come back later and write a few highlights for each of the previous races.

Be back in an hour or so. :)

Hauling Trail Illegal 50 Mile Run ~ June 11, 2011

2011-06-13T22:52:00.003-04:00

Friday was my good friend Betty's 44^th birthday. She had been thinking about running a 50 mile trail race for several months. In support of her, two other good friends, Tim and Suzanne, generated talk about organizing a 50 mile fun run at Northern Chagrin Reservation, where we do most of our local running. Suzanne laid out a 10 mile loop mostly on dirt trails through the park, starting at Strawberry picnic area and passing through Forrest picnic area at about mile 5.5 where an informal aid station was set up under a pavilion. Food and drink were also set up in the starting area, as well having access to our cars in the parking lot. Water sources and park outhouses were also available at both points. This was a perfect distance and arrangement for providing nutritional support.

We agreed to name the run Hauling Trail Illegal 50. Unofficial ultra marathon runs of this nature are usually called Fat Ass runs. That means they are free, you are responsible for providing your own nutritional support, and there will be no medal, buckle or recognition of your accomplishment. Rather than Fat Ass, we chose to use the word “Illegal” as it was both a play on the nature of the run as well as making reference to an affectionate nickname we use for Betty.

The run was scheduled for Saturday, June 11^th. This doubly supported Betty in that her birthday was June 10^th. I knew I was in right away but was not so certain I would be able to complete all five ten-mile loops. I figured if I could get in 40 miles, that would still be an amazing jump from my longest distance of 31.24 miles completed in April of this year.

Last November, I helped crew for several friends at the J. F. K. 50 Miler, which is a tough run held in Maryland including a dangerously rocky section of the Appalachian Trail on South Mountain. In preparation for my own first 50 miler which was to take 3 years, I had loosely planned to pace a friend along the Appalachian Trail section this year, then pace a friend along the Tow Path section in 2012 and then run the full JFK 50 mile distance in 2013. Seemed reasonable to me. But as I have learned, ultra running somehow drains the “reasonable” right out of your thinking. Especially when most of your closest friends are ultra runners.

As soon as I knew I would be attempting to run a 50 miler only three months away, I began planning my gear, shoes, clothes and food. My training plan was already in process. I had trained for a 50K that I completed in April, which I immediately transitioned into a 50 mile plan. I designed it to target the June 11^th run date.

Friday after work, I pulled all of the strategically planned items together:

Gear: 5 pairs of trail shoes (one never worn), 3 pairs of socks, several cotton Bandannas, extra shorts, two extra tech shirts, two nutrition belts (small one and larger one), hand held water bottle, nutrition vest (planned to switch it around to keep things interesting), and two canvas chairs. And bug spray.

Medical Kit: BandAids, Bactine, alcohol swabs, needle, lotion, BioFreeze, Advil, Afterbite, scissors, clippers, Desitin, Goldbond powder.

Endurance Nutrition: Cliff Gels, Cliff Blocks, Cliff Mini Bars, Endurolyte capsules

Food: PB& honey sandwich squares, Fritos, watermelon slices, boiled and salted potatoes, V-8 and apple juice, soft cookies (most of this came back home)

I had the Jeep packed and was in bed by 10:30pm feeling relaxed, confident and ready to attack this challenge. At this point in the game, I was ready to run 50 miles, and no longer gave serious thought to stopping at 40. I wanted to bag 50 miles and I wanted it bad.

I got up at 5am and leisurely dressed, made my protein shake and packed the remaining items in the car. As I pulled out of the driveway and looked at the clock. It hit me like a bolt of lightening. I had screwed up the time and was actually running 30 minutes behind schedule. I had 13 minutes to drive a normal 20 minute distance, and once there would have no time to get properly geared up. My relaxed composure blew out the window as I proceeded to drive the distance at breakneck speed, and squealed into the parking lot on two tires. A crowd of about 15 friends were gathered together waiting as I flung myself out of my car, threw on my gear and darted over to join them just as the last of the instructions were being given. We sang happy birthday to Betty and then headed out of the parking lot across the road and into the trail head. I clumsily struggled to get my Blackberry armband around my bicep as I fell into natural formation with the group jogging through the woods and onto trails that were to be a permanent view for the long day ahead. Not exactly how I wanted to start this huge endeavor.

However, running trails makes good opportunity for mind clearing and it wasn't long before I was running along side John and happily chatting about the fun challenge that lay ahead. The speed was a bit fast for the first two miles but we settled into a reasonable pace soon enough. Some folks only planning to do a 10 mile loop pulled away and we didn't see them again. Except for Zack. He was out for the full 50 miles. But he is a young stud who runs like a gazelle and makes it look annoyingly easy. We hate him. (jk)

I estimated that going the pace I felt was realistic for me, I would be completing a loop 10 mile every 2.5 hours. That would translate to a 12.5 hour race, not counting time spent at the aid stations.

Loop 1: Miles 1 -10

Usually it takes anywhere from 3 to 5 miles to loosen up my legs, as my calves tend to tighten up pretty painfully at the start of a run. But not today. I felt good right out of the gate. The temperature was a comfortable F 63 and there was so sign of the thunderstorms predicted on weather.com for the past week. I was feeling exuberant. This is probably hard for non-runners to understand. But when I am heading out for a full day of running, it is as exciting to me as when I was a kid and faced an entire day of bike riding and hanging with friends. This Saturday morning was just like that. No work. No chores. Just delicious time comfortably running trails immersed within the woods filled with wild flowers, streams, small wood animals, bird songs, and fresh air. And surrounded by some of my favorite people. The same people I ran my first 50K with, and trained with for hundreds of miles over the past seven years. Conversation with this small running group just flows naturally. And often the conversation leans toward adolescent humor. You know. Of the bodily functions persuasion. Knowing how out of hand we can get, we have established a rule when we run: What happens on the trail, stays on the trail. Therefore, I am not at liberty to share specifics regarding conversations that occurred. Suffice it to say, when we are on the trails, we laugh. We laugh a lot. This is what keeps my heart young. Not the running. Running is really only secondary to the health benefits.

An hour had slipped by before I knew it. And then two hours. I was not even wearing a watch. I rarely knew what time it was at any point in the day. And before I knew it, we were at the Forrest Aid Station for the first time. A lovely friend of Betty's was manning the station with her sweet black and white German Shepard-like dog. He had his bowl of water and food on the concrete floor against the stone wall, and we had our picnic table of bananas, PB&J sandwiches, Pringles, sugar cookies, and water. I stuck to the Pringles and sandwiches. Kevin, another one of our trail friends was also helping out. He had a large, swollen foot, still yet to be adequately diagnosed, that prevented him from attending today's run.

After a short break, we were back out on the trail heading into the 4.5 miles that would take us back to the start. This took us into some of my favorite parts of the trail, running along ridges that allowed one to see steep drops into ravines with flowing creeks and waterfalls. It is beautiful. It is also fairly rooty and requires attentiveness with one's footing so as not to plant your face in the dirt. However, one of our runners did manage a decent face plant along with a classic slide into home. Based on the blood flow down her arms, hand and shin, she was awarded a coveted Joe Trask wound score of 8.5 (out of 10). Now this was generous in my estimation. Joe normally requires that there be a show of bone before giving up anything above a 5. Joe is 75 and has been running ultras since the 1970s. He is responsible for getting many Clevelanders involved in ultra running. So, who am I to question his call. Right?

We were back at the start all happy and healthy (except for Suzanne's blood and scabbiness) sometime around 8:30 am and gobbled up some sandwiches and chips and cookies. I changed out of my Sauconey Progrid trail shoes into Asics Gel-Trabuco trail shoes and got a fresh bandanna for my neck from my car. After refilling my nutrition belt with gels and my hydration bottle with water, I rejoined the others who were ready to head out for 10 mile loop #2.

Loop 2: Miles 11-20

The course left Strawberry parking lot and entered the trail head traveling 2 miles towards Squire's Castle, a favorite location for weddings (and also where my daughter got engaged). It is now only a shell but was originally built in the 1890s by Feargus B. Squire as a gatekeeper's house on the 525 acres of land that Cleveland Metroparks purchased in about 1926. After passing the castle, the trail traveled up a hill, down Root Hill, and wound through marshy trails towards River Grove picnic area. From there it went onto the bridal path for a bit, through a delicious creek, through more trail and on to Ox Lane. Now facing south, the course traveled toward Forest Lane entering Sylvan Loop before exiting into the Forrest parking lot where the 2^nd aid station was set up under the pavilion at about 5.5 miles After leaving the aid station, the course headed north back onto a section of bridal path that then entered the Squirrel Trail loop (Squirrel!) back out and across Buttermilk Falls bridge. With 2 ½ miles to go, the trail followed a beautiful ridge and some of our favorite parts of the trails finishing back at Strawberry parking lot. I agree with Betty, “The course had some decent hills, lots of roots, stairs, some flats, downhills, and nicely rolling trails. Not too difficult but I wouldn't call it easy.” There was also plenty of mud. The course was well marked thanks to Suzanne who had marked the course with powdered lime the night before.

It felt good to have completed our first 10 miles. Somehow it allowed me to relax a little more regarding the dubious fact that I was facing another FORTY miles. I also felt renewed and refreshed after suiting up in fresh shoes. The original group of 15 had broken up into smaller groups, our group now being one of five, as others had moved out ahead earlier in the first loop. Out of 15 runners, Betty and her husband Jack, Zack, and me were shooting to complete 50 miles for the first time. Suzanne and Tim were doing a [cough, cough] 40 mile training run for the Burning River 100 Miler (scheduled for 7/30-31), John was doing a 50K, and the rest were planning to do anything between 10 miles to 15 miles. And we were ALL out there to have fun.

Body felt good. Legs felt good. Bada boom badda bing. We got back to the starting point. I'm guessing this was somewhere between 11-11:30am. Gobble. Gobble. We chomped on some PB&J sandwiches, watermelon, chips and cookies. I changed shoes again, this time into a new pair of Montrail Sabinos, and a fresh shirt.

Off we went.

Loop #3: Miles 21-30

I fell in love with my shoes. Loved them so much, I didn't even change them once we got back. My hips were aching at this point. But I have run enough 50ks that I have learned to mostly ignore it. I generally take a salt capsule every 1 – 1.5 hours. And a Cliff Gel halfway between the aid stations. If you don't already know, there is a significant amount of caffeine and sugar in a gel. My running buddies can always tell when I have taken one. I start to talk 90 miles an hour and say whatever is on my mind, no matter whether I should or shouldn't. They tell me I am their entertainment.

Around we went again. By the time we reached the castle, there was a wedding. We ran past in all of our sweaty finery and up the hill we went for the third time. The day had warmed up but we were happy it was soaring into the 80s as predicted.

We got back to the Strawberry aid station and were treated to vanilla ice cream and homemade sugar cookies. Suzanne gave me a mini can of ice cold Coke. Nothing ever tasted so good. Suzanne decided to try an exotic endurance food combination of vanilla ice cream and Greek olives. We all waited to see if it actually stayed down. It did.

Zack caught up to us at this point. If you can call it that. He actually lapped us. By 10 miles. He was completing his 4^th loop ready for his final loop and we had two to go. Oh to be young again. Not to mention, he was running shirtless with his sexy little 30 year old running body. I guess that was alright. ; )

Loop #4: Miles 31-40

Now it gets interesting. John finished his 50K+ and bid us goodbye. Now we were four. And Tim planned to stay with us to the castle and then head back to the start which marked 37 miles for him. Suzanne planned to do a 4^th loop and get in 40 miles total. I had never run more than 31 miles so from this point forward I was covering new ground. I felt (relatively) good. Betty had run 42 miles 1x last summer. She was feeling pretty good. Off we went. Still chatting. Still laughing. (Sorry. I can't tell you about that. You remember. The Trail Code) Then we had to say goodbye to Tim. Sweaty hugs all around and we went our separate ways. Then the three of us talked about Tim for 2 hours. :D OK. I'm just kidding.

Suzanne just blew us away by running mile 30 – 40 with us. KISSES!!!! We got back to the Strawberry Aid Station and started resetting for the final round. I changed back into my Asics Trabuco, changed shorts and shirt, and replaced my hydration belt with a hand held water bottle which made me feel lighter. Ate some salty potatoes and watermelon and drank another mini Coke. Boy was that good.

Loop #5:Miles 42-51

I don't remember all that much except that Betty and I really had a great time. When we passed the castle, there was a whole new wedding going on. We made fun of the bridesmaids dresses. OK. Betty didn't. That was me. And up the hill we went. Down Root Hill. Through marshes. Up the stairs and through lots of winding trails. Still feeling OK. Ate a Cliff Gel. Hips are aching. But energy was pretty decent. Legs are still feeling strong. We got to the 2^nd Aid Station and there sat Susan all showered and yelling and cheering at us. And right next to her was my hubby. It was a special surprise to see him there. I gave him a salty kiss. Put my head under the water spigot, ate a couple of sandwich squares, Fritos, and shared an ice cold Coke with Betty. Ahhhh.

Facing our final 4.5 miles, we had just enough time to get back before it got dark. Just before entering the trail, a couple walked past us and asked, “So, how far are you going this evening.” I looked at Betty and smiled and back at them. “I thought you'd never ask! We are going 50 miles!!” The look on their faces and the exclamation of surprise was quite satisfying. And with that boost, off we went down Squirrel Trail. (Squirrel!) Betty felt pretty gun-ho about maintaining a run as much as possible. My feet had ideas of their own. Somehow, at this particular juncture, all of the bones in the bottom of my feet felt as though they were on the verge of being crushed. My arch on my right foot in particular. Oh Lord. I tried to run but it didn't last long before I was letting Betty know I had to walk. She was very understanding. So we traveled for our last time through Squirrel trail (Squirrel!) and said goodbye to the bridges, trees, creeks, and squirrels. Then we were leaving that trail and entering the ridge. I was content to walk and then run a little. The time seemed to move us along until we made our final turn and exited the trail, crossed the street and ran into the parking lot.

There Suzanne waited with her camera and cheering us on. We need 1/10^th more mile to click Betty's Nike + wrist band over to 51 miles so we ran past Suzanne until it changed. She was calling us nuts and laughing at us.

I have no real idea how much time it took but I think around 14 hours including all of the aid station stops. This was a perfect way to run my first 50 miler. No pressure. Great course. Great friends. Great fun. And then, only a 20 minute drive home...with a hubby and pizza waiting for me.

Punxsutawney Fall 50K

2010-09-13T12:38:00.003-04:00

Punxsutawney Fall 50K

9/11/2010

2^nd time/4^th 50K

I met up with 6 other runners at Suzanne D.'s house 1pm on Friday excited and ready for what has become an annual race for many in our group. This was the same race at which I did my first 50K last year. We stuffed as much gear as we could squeeze into the shortened back hatch area of her GM SUV, as six of us were riding with her, with two in the far back pop-up seats (me and Tim). Dick drove alone in his compact car and carried our luggage overflow.

Lobby of the Pantell Hotel

We had a lot of fun cutting up and sharing running stories during the three-hour drive to our hotel, with the obligatory stop at Starbucks and and additional rest area bathroom stop. We stayed at the Pantel, the only hotel available in the small town of Punxsutawney. (It is not the same one shown in the movie Ground Hog's Day, but Bill Murray did stay there and a bronze plaque marks the room. Two couples with our group of 14 stayed in that room). Suzanne C. and I shared a room and were happy with the big corner room with big windows we received.

After getting settled in our respective rooms, we all met in the restaurant on the top floor to get our packets and enjoy a spaghetti dinner. Once there, we learned the packets were being held until after dinner as they were doing something different this year. Dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce, large dinner rolls with butter, and tossed salad was served family style; serve yourself and sit down. There were Groundhog shaped frosted cookies and cake squares for dessert. John Goss, the race director has been handling this race for over 10 years and does an amazing job. He is loved by everyone. Once dinner was finished, he began calling out each runner by name, who then had to walk to the front of the room and pick up his/her packet while John shared something personal about them such as where they were from, a past phenomenal finish time, the number of times they had done this race, won or placed in the race, etc. Suzanne D won a coveted stone award (which weighs about 10 pounds) for being the female with most starts, this being her 6^th. By the time he was finished calling everyone, our table was very aware that our oldest and most respected member, Joe Trask, had not been called. We knew something was up.

John then called Joe forward and proceeded to honor him with a hand crafted walking stick and an obnoxious floppy hat that resembled a tree stump with a ground hog sticking his head out of the front and his tail out of the back. He was acknowledged for completing almost every race in its history (including the years it was a 50 miler) and for inspiring so many others over the years to come to this race. Of course, our group went crazy with cheering and clapping for him. Joe glowed. I am guessing he slept in that hat Friday night!

We all retired to our rooms pretty soon after dinner. Suzanne C. and I spent time laying out our gear and filling water bottles, putting gels, chews, and such in pouches, and pinning our bib numbers on our running shirts. We played several games of Dominoes and then watched standup comedy on TV before turning lights out about 10pm. I slept until 2AM, and then tossed and turned until Suzanne got up at 3:20 AM. We were dressed, packed and in the lobby by 4:30AM to check out before walking over to the Community Center to receive our last instructions before walking outside to the unceremonious starting line.

The course is a seven mile stretch that then follows a lolly-pop shaped loop(albeit collapsed) of 8.1 miles that is repeated twice before returning 7+ miles back to the finish. The course is a mixture of trails through fields, woods, small creeks, bog and plenty of rocky terrain. But the crowning challenge is the set of four hills that are practically vertical, almost all of which are done twice each.

But before starting the race, the twenty-two early starters gathered around a 5 foot tall statue of a standing ground hog, wearing in overalls and holding a rake to have a group picture taken. We then stepped out into the empty street and were directed to start our watches and go. The race began with a short run to the street corner and an immediate left that took us up a slightly inclined town street a half mile before entering onto a trail leading into a field. Leaving the lighted streets behind, the night sky opened up above us with an endless stretch of sparkling stars. It was breathtaking and we all took a few moments to look up and take it all in. The constellation Orion looked close enough to touch. I carried a hand held LED flashlight which more than adequately lit my way in the pitch black. Our group of 12 wasted no time chatting it up and settling into an easy comfortable jog. Night running forces a mental focus that is unique and enjoyable for me. However, it also creates special challenges when watching for white painted trail markings on rocks and the ground that tell you when to turn. We ended up missing two turns before we were three miles into the race. Luckily those mistakes were quickly corrected and probably only added a few minutes to our time. At mile four, we were at the peak of Two Beers Hill and heading down a treacherously steep descent...in the dark. I was not afraid to come down this hill knowing that as long as I remained focused and placed my steps carefully, I would not end up skidding down on my butt, or worse. Just before descending, my light caught the image of a large brown and white striped feather. Knowing the Native Americans honor animal spirits and recognize these feathers as powerful gifts, I picked it up and stuck it in my yellow bandana imagining that it would reinforce abilities and help insure I finished in eight hours or less.


Coming into Buck Run Aid Station

Getting down Two Beers Hill in the dark is the first real accomplishment of the race. I felt a bit relieved to have that behind me. Three of our runners disappeared fairly quickly as they worked to run their own pace, and two others had fallen back earlier on in the race. I was hanging with Mike, Chris and Suzanne C. which had me moving at a faster pace than last year. Suzanne D., Betty and Tim weren't too far behind, although we did not see them for several miles. About 3 miles beyond Two Beers Hill, we came to Buck Run, the second aid station, at mile 7 which was in process of be being setup. I grabbed a PB&J triangle and a cup of water. Donna, the wife of one of our runners was working this station and took a few pictures. From there we traveled some fairly level ground with plenty of downhill before facing our next hilly challenge, Cry Baby Hill followed immediately by Yellow Bus Hill. Getting up each hill required slow steady moving up, up up and then careful foot placement running down, down, down. Once at the top of the second hill, I could see dawn just beginning to break. I turned around and took in a breathtaking view of the multitude of green hills and valleys blanketed in early morning low laying fog against the back drop of soft pinks, yellows and oranges smeared across the brightening sky. I was filled with gratitude and appreciation for the beauty of this planet, for the opportunity to be in this place at this time with people I enjoy, for being alive. It was a full body reminder of why I do 31 mile trail races.

We reached Seven Springs Aid station (#3) at mile 11.2 and I took another PB&J triangle and a slice of watermelon. The next four miles were slightly uphill on a gravelly grass path that runs along a small creek. Somewhere in there I took an off-path detour to visit the port-o-tree which caused me to fall a ways behind Chris, Mike and Suzanne. For the next 30 minutes or so I ran alone, hoping I would eventually catch up to them. After coming out of the woods and running onto a paved stretch of rolling hills, I caught a glimpse of them a ways up ahead and started screaming out some pseudo animal calls. They turned and waved. I opened up my pace and ran until I caught up. By then Suzanne was experiencing a terrible side-stitch that forced her to walk. Chris and Mike pulled ahead and we didn't catch up to them until we reached Buck Run Aid Station at mile 15.1. They were already heading back into the woods as we arrived and we didn't see them again until at the finish. I ate another PB&J triangle, took a cup of water and got my bottle refilled. I felt great and was truly enjoying my race. We were under four hours and I felt more hopeful and confident that I would make my time goal.


Oh PLEASE don't make me go up that hill!

We didn't travel far before we were faced with Yellow Bus Hill and Cry Baby Hill for our final accent. Suzanne was moving strong and put a little distance between us going up those hills. I caught back up with a little effort and we continued enjoying each other's company. We both learned interesting things about each other, some of which will remain vaulted in the hills of Punxsutawney. However, I was happy to learn that she was a skilled burp-triloquist such as myself. Small world.

As we entered back into Seven Springs Aid Station at mile19.3, Betty, Tim and Suzanne D came up right behind us. It was a great reunion. Betty had been struggling with some problems that had made the last few miles difficult but she was starting to feel better. That was pretty evident as her pace began to pick up shortly thereafter. Back to the gravely grass trail, with enjoyable flats and downhills, some bogs, some nice streams, lush fern-lined lengths of trail, then back onto the rolling paved roads before arriving for our final time at the Buck Run Aid Station. We were delighted to find that our wildest desires were to be satisfied as there on the table lay a bowl of Fritos which had not been there any previous trips. We later learned that a special trip was made to the store for us by Donna. It was heaven eating those Fritos.

We were at about 6 hours and had about 7 miles to go. I was feeling pretty confident I was gonna make it. But you know what they say about counting your chickens. With seven miles to go, I felt my energy and stamina dissipating. The body felt pretty beaten up from the hills, both up and down. And I was beginning to question what I had left in me. I knew I had some serious hills still in front of me and just worked to focus on getting the next mile accomplished. I thank Suzanne D for getting me through these tough seven miles. She was having her own struggles, mostly calf cramps and was doing her best to manage those. I ate some of Tim's chocolate covered Espresso beans which was the first coffee related caffeine I had eaten in 6 months. I tried to get a Cliff Gel down but my stomach wanted no part of it.

At mile 28, I faced the Mother Hill of them all: Two Beers Hill. I followed Suzanne's lead and took the hill in 3 or 4 parts, walking without looking up and resting in between. But the hills did not end here. Next came ESPN which was more of a four-tiered hill that just got more aggravating at each plateau. My calf started getting a searing electrical shock from deep in the center that shot halfway up my leg drawing me to a dead stop at points. Suzanne convinced me to take two E-caps despite my stomach's resistance. We pushed to run and then walk shorter stretches. I felt abandoned by my energy. My head focused on Suzanne or the next marker that we set ourselves to run to. Finally we enter onto the school parking lot and tried our best to run to the street corner a quarter of a mile away. Two women stood there cheering us to keep moving. We passed two runners who were walking and appeared to be dealing with their own challenges. Once at the corner we turned left and began the final half mile stretch to the finish which was all downhill on sidewalk and street. About a half mile away, Tim showed up looking for me. He came up beside me and coached me to run hard, and informed me that I had three minutes to make my goal. I started running. He ran beside me down the street. As we came to an intersection, the light changed and a Mac truck was just starting to come through. Tim stepped out in front of it holding his hand up screaming at me, “DON'T STOP. KEEP GOING!” I ran past the truck waving thank-you at the driver and just kept pushing. I was breathing hard and could feel myself becoming nauseated. Tim just kept yelling, “KEEP GOING. DON'T STOP! KEEP GOING!!” I turned the final corner and pushed to the finish.

The timer showed 8:00:15. I couldn't believe my eyes. Joy!!

I walked over to the grass area across the parking lot and collapsed on the ground. I just laid there and breathed. Before long, Tim was handing me some peperoni pizza and an ice cold draft beer. Our finisher's prize was a canvas collapsible camping chair which most people were siting in while they enjoyed watching the remaining runners come in. After the last of our folks came in, I waddled over to the Community Center and made my way up my first post-race set of stairs to the woman’s shower. Not happy with that! The men's was down stairs. I did my best to get cleaned up in a shower that was more of a dribble and that sporadically emitted cold water much to my surprise. But it felt good to get out of my wet, salt encrusted clothes and into my jeans, tee shirt, socks and comfy Tiva sandals.


Dick, Chris, Mike, Betty, SuzanneD, Janet, Tim, Suzanne C, Jack & Brooke

Once everyone was showered we took a final group picture and piled into our vehicles and headed back to Cleveland, and enjoyed telling and listening to everyone's favorite Punxsutawney memories.

Thank you Suzanne D for driving and for getting me through those last tough miles. Thank you Tim for ensuring that I accomplished my 8 hour goal. Thank you Suzanne C for being such a fun roommate and running buddy. Thank you Betty, Mike, Chris, Jack, Dick, and Janet for all of the wonderful support, fun and friendship you have provided me through this entire season. And Joe, as you know, I will always blame YOU for getting me into this ultra-madness. I will always be grateful.

And reader, thank you for hanging in there for this enormous report. I hope there was something of entertainment value in it for you.

Greater Cleveland Triathlon International Distance - Part 2

2010-08-09T22:41:00.002-04:00

I had not biked in two weeks, since my sprint distance triathlon which was a practice race for this event. But you know what they say about riding a bike. I was quick to get in the grove. This course was nowhere near the same as the flat sprint course on which I held a 18.5 mph pace. Immediately, we were riding at a slight incline and into a headwind that just didn't seem to stop. The ride was not easy and with the temperatures climbing into the high 70s, my tri shorts and tank dried out quickly and then became drenched in sweat. I tried to remain conscious of drinking 3 large sips of icy water from my bike bottle every 15 to 20 minutes. I worked to find a cadence that pushed my legs but that I could also hold for 23 miles. Over the course I slowly reeled in a handful of riders. The course went out a parkway for 3 miles before exiting into residential roads which eventually took us out into some beautiful expansive stretches of back roads. Much of the course was in full sun, making patches of shade greatly appreciated as I passed through. Mile 11 through 14 brought the mother hill, a steep grinding climb of near 400 feet elevation increase. I was close to puking by the time I reached the top, but my sweet reward was only a short distance away. Soon I was fearlessly zooming downhill the next two miles maxing at 31.5 miles an hour. The final six miles were completed at speeds in the 20s. I caught a glimpse of a bright orange shirt on a rider at least a mile in front of me and made him my target. I reached him just as we both turned off of the parkway into the park and I had to slow my pace and not pass him as there would be a penalty for “racing” in the park.

Bike time: 132:03 average pace 14.99 (Ranked #2 in my age group)

http://maps.onemillionrevolutions.org/profile.jsp?segmentID=11371

I was pretty cooked by the end of the bike ride. I was not looking forward to the run. I walked my bike to the rack and hung it by the seat, front end touching the ground. I tore open a vanilla Cliff gel and began squeezing it into my mouth while I simultaneously unstrapped my cycling shoes with the other hand. I pulled off my helmet and laid it on the towel with all of the other gear I had discarded so far and put on a white visor which saved me from some serious sun pounding during the run. I hadn't loosened my running shoe laces enough and struggled to get my feet in. I walked to the exit/start only a few feet away and began the most difficult part of the race, running in F 80 degree full sun. This was an out and back course with rolling hills. The first three miles were pure torture. I did as much walking as running. Once my legs got used to the idea that they were gonna be running for a while, I would run two orange cones and walk one orange cone. There were two water stations which we hit in both directions. One had a pirate theme and volunteers playfully acted in character. I caught up with a struggling runner just before mile 3 and chatted it up a little. I motivated him to run to the next orange cone with me, and then we would walk and then do it again. I could tell he was very grateful for the support. I stuck with him until about mile 4 when he could not run anymore. That was at the top of a hill and I was not about to walk down a hill so I took off. By now my legs were more adjusted to running and I was able to push a little farther with the running stretches. By the time I turned back into Mentor Headlands State Park, I was more than ready for this race to end. The final leg seemed to stretch forever. At least I had a nice view of the beach. When I finally turned into the finish area and ran through the finish line arch, I made to run with the last bit of energy I could muster and give a double thumbs up for the camera. I was greeted with a silver medal on orange ribbon which was placed over my head while someone removed my ankle chip.

Running Time: 114:39 Pace: 12:00 (Ranked #4 in my age group)

http://maps.onemillionrevolutions.org/profile.jsp?segmentID=11383

I grabbed water and made my way to a shaded area and worked my way down to a seated position. Before long I was laying on the grass just trying to recover from a difficult and gratifying 3 hour forty minute and thirty-nine second adventure. I was thinking that maybe I didn't need to do this again.

But then again...

I did take 3rd place in my age group. I was only 10.51 minutes away from second place! :)

Great Cleveland Triathon - International Distance - Race Report Part 1

2010-08-09T09:48:00.000-04:00

Sometime back in March, I was enjoying an after run coffee gathering with a few of my trail buddies, when I heard myself say, “I think I want to do a triathlon this year.” By the time I left, I had committed to doing an Olympic distance and two of my friends agreed to do it with me. I got busy looking at what was around and soon discovered the Greater Cleveland International Distance Triathlon scheduled for August 8^th. I had a lot of work to do to get ready as I had not been biking in a long time, nor had I been swimming for even longer. I had never done any competitive swimming or biking but figured I would just find a training plan and that would prepare me well enough.

In April I hooked up with a riding group and started doing group rides of 16-25 miles every Wednesday. I did my swimming workouts in the gym pool until I changed over to open water swims in early July. A friend loaned me her sleeveless shorty wetsuit, and another friend GAVE me her 1995 Serotta 21 speed. That bike is responsible for cycling becoming my second favorite sport.

Sleep was light and interrupted as I faced the unknown of this newest challenge. 4:45 AM was a welcome sight when I opened my eyes for the 100^th time to look at the clock. I had all of my gear laid out in the guest room so I could let hubby continue sleeping undisturbed. I put on my new black tri shorts and aqua and yellow tank, Ironman watch, and the yellow tech short sleeve shirt that came in the race goody bag. I packed towel, goggles, swim cap, running shoes and socks, visor, Body Glide, lip balm, spray on sunscreen, water bottle for rinsing feet, protein bar/gels, and chews in my black gym bag. The wet suit and bike helmet went in a large plastic bag with handles. After making my morning protein shake, I packed the gear in my Jeep, pumped the bike tires and secured it to the bike rack. I pulled out of the driveway at precisely 5:30 AM. This was a good sign!

I had previously driven to Mentor Headlands Beach several times for training events and was glad I knew the way which helped me relax for the 35 minute drive. I listened to upbeat dance music for the ride. Arriving 1.5 hours before the event made parking a cinch. This race was a USA International Sanctioned race which meant there were specific rules participants needed to be careful about following, beginning with wearing a required arm bracelet, race chip around the ankle, race number attached to the bike, bike helmet (and race belt for the run later), all of which I had put in place yesterday. I lugged my gym bag, handled plastic bag and rolled my bike across the sandy embankment into the artificial rectangular arched gateway into the enclosed transition area. I found my bike rack located in the first row in front of the exit/entrance for the swim/run and farthermost from the exit/entrance for the bike. I was pleased to see a porta potty only a few steps away which I utilized just prior to getting into my wetsuit.

The friends that originally planned to do this race had things come up which meant I was on my own. That made it more challenging because I didn't have someone there to distranct me from my nervousness. But Brent, a 10 year seasoned triathlete and someone I had met two weeks ago at an open water swim, had his bike on the same rack as me and I was more at ease having someone to chat with. He kindly gave me same helpful pointers on which direction to face my bike and which leg to have my chip on.

The water temperatures were announced over the PA to be F 75 and therefor wetsuits were “legal” according to the rules. I had debated about whether to wear one or not since I had done 2 long swims while in Miami without a suit and it felt great to be unencumbered. But, almost everyone was wearing one so I decided to also. I am glad I did.

The swim was a beach start and we walked about two-tenths of a mile to get to the start. My calves were already hollering from the sand workout before the race even started! Once we arrived, I pulled the upper portion of my wetsuit up and zipped, put on my cap and goggles and jumped in the water to better adjust the suit. I swam around a little bit to loosen up and then we were all called out of the water so the race could start. My group was called last so I was able to watch all the yellow caps, blue caps and green caps start. At 7:50AM, my orange cap groups were in the water. Imediately, I could see I was dealing with a new condition, as I was bobbed up and down on the swells of waves continually moving towards me. As much as I wanted to do freestyle, I kept getting hit in the face with a wave. I reverted to the breast stroke and believe it or not swam the entire 1200 yards that way. I was slow and steady. The wetsuit was a good thing to be wearing facing these waves. I focused on the orange or yellow buoy in front of me until I reached it, then put my attention on the next one. I am guessing the swim took me 45 minutes. The official times have not been posted yet. Crawling out of the water made me feel like I weighed 200 lbs. I walked (not ran) to the transition area while I got my land legs back, pulling my wet suit down half-way, and removing my cap and goggles. Once to my area, I undressed as quickly as a rubber suit suctioned to you will come off. Then I did the most unbelievable thing possible. I hit the porta potty and pee'd. How is it that I didn't just go ahead and take care of that while in Lake Erie?!!! I splashed my feet in the shallow black tub of water, dried my feet and pulled on my socks and cycling shoes, while taking bites of a protein bar. I walked my bike to the exit and mounting area, then hopped on the bike and was on my way.

2010-07-25T19:30:00.001-04:00

I DID IT!!! I am now a TriAthlete.

Lake Metro Parks Pirate Triathlon – Sprint Distance

July 25, 2010

I was up at 5:30am, nervous and excited about my very first triathlon. I stuffed all of the swim, bike, and run gear that had been meticulously laid out in the spare bedroom the night before into a gear bag. I pulled on my blue tank suit and black compression shorts and headed to the kitchen to start the coffee and make my usual protein shake for breakfast. The tires on my road bike got a final air pressure check and I hauled it up from the basement and strapped it to the Bones bike rack on the back of my Jeep. After driving away, I took a sip of my protein shake and discovered I had neglected to add sweetener. Yuk! Had enough time to drive in reverse back to the house, run in quick and stir in some NuStevia.

The drive to Fairport Harbor was a good 40 minutes. The sky was gray and overcast. I had been watching the weather all week which had consistently warned of scattered thunderstorms for the morning duration. As I'm sure all participants were doing, I was hoping the weather would clear up by race time.

I arrived at 7am on the dot to find the parking lot almost full. I parked in a grassy area and began gathering my bags, unstrapping the bike and moving toward the park pavilion to pick up my packet. Next my race number 860 was marked on my right bicep with a Sharpy pen and my age was marked on my right calf. I began feeling like a triathlete in uniform.

The maximum number of registrants had been set at 300, but I will not be surprised if that number ended up higher today. I walked my bike into the busy transition area and grabbed an end area of one of the numerous bike racks, as most end spots had been taken. I was watchful of what others were doing and trying to learn as much as possible as I was setting up. I could see that the end gave me more space to work in. I laid my towel on the ground and created a section for cycling shoes and socks, helmet, Garmin (which I turned on so it could find the location), and watch and another section for my running shoes, shorts, and race ready singlet with the bib already attached. I covered everything with a large plastic shopping bag since it was starting to sprinkle.

I made my way back to the pavilion and watched for Linda and Janet, two of my trail buddies. The sky continued getting darker, the wind was picking up and there were several flashes of lightening during a 15 - 20 minute period. The race director let us know three alternatives were being considered should the weather not cooperate. 1. Move the race to next Sunday. 2. Swim ½ the distance and run back on the beach. 3. Do the full swim.

After postponing the race for 15 minutes, we were finally directed onto the starting area on the beach. We were soaked by pelting rain right away and shivering from the wind, so many of us opted to get in the water and wait for our wave to be called. I hung to the back and left of the larger body of people hoping to lessen body banging once we started. My spirits were happy and positive. I was ready to start.

We were the last group and finally were given the signal. I managed to get in some comfortable freestyle swimming for a little while. But I was thrown off each time someone knocked me. I eventually moved into breast stroke which also helped me manage the choppy water better. I felt myself tiring before the swim was done and that worried me since I knew it was only 250 meters, not 500, and I am doing twice that distance in two weeks.

I swam towards the beach until my arms could touch the sand, then pushed forward with my legs sort of diving through the water a few times before standing up and running through shallow water and onto the beach. My legs felt unnaturally heavy but I made myself run, staying on the harder sand until I had to turn left and run through the chute into the transition area. My bike was close to the entrance but pretty far from the exit. I moved to rinse my feet and get into my socks and shoes, put on my Garmin and watch, and helmet with focus. I stepped into my compression shorts and pulled on the singlet. I did not feel nervous. It was still raining and everything was drenched. My socks squished inside my stiff cycling shoes, but I didn't mind. I took two or three bites out of a Cliff Bar, then walk/ran my bike past the mostly empty bike racks and up the chute onto the road. I climbed on the bike, clipped my shoes in and climbed the only hill on the course. I reeled in my first biker. :D

Once out on the course, I quickly found my cadence and locked in. I stayed in gears 18 and 19 most of the race, except for the short hills that required a lower gear. The bike was the most enjoyable part of the race for me. According to Garmin, I maintained an average speed of 17.8 mph which is excellent for me. My legs were hurting at points during the 2nd half of the race, but I focused on maintining the cadence and found it quite doable. I reeled in at least 30 people. I was amazed. I passed Janet and Linda and they looked happy and were having a good time. We cheered each other on as I passed by. We crossed railroad tracks three times each way, and because of the rain I was careful to cross at a 90 degree angle to prevent slippage. I also took all sharp turns slower.

I ran my bike back into the transition area and pulled off my helmet and shoes, stepped in to my sopping wet running shoes and started running towards the exit. My legs were really struggling, but because I had done a couple of bike run practices, I knew I had to just endure it. I tried to keep my pace nice and easy but I managed to get out of breath too much at a few points and walked to get my breathing better controlled. People were so supportive and would encourage me to get back to running each time I walked, and it usually worked. It kept me from walking more than a little but I was still passed by maybe 8 people. During the run I started thinking about the 10K that I would be doing at my race two weeks away and thought I was going to start crying. I had to change the subject! The course was flat with only slight inclines and declines. There was police support at every intersection and volunteers throughout the course cheering us on. I took water at the only water stop as I did not drink anything while on the bike.

I pushed to keep running as much as possible and finally turned the corner and ran up a small hill in the grass through the finish chute. I gave a big smile and thumbs up as I crossed the finish. I grabbed a small cup of water and walked back down to the grass hill and back out onto the course to watch for Janet and Linda. Janet showed up pretty quickly and was smiling still. I ran/walked the course until I caught up with Linda and we ran together until she split to go up the hill. I felt on top of the world.

I have now faced some big fears and accomplished another big challenge. In two weeks, I get to double it!!

ARRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Sunburst Half Marathon 2010

2010-06-06T15:10:00.002-04:00

2:29:44/11:26 - 3^rd best out of 7 Half Marathons

My daughter Lindsey and I drove to Southbend, IN from Cleveland Friday morning, arriving at our hotel room about 3pm. The drive was a rare opportunity to have one-on-one time with my seven-month newlywed daughter. We enjoyed reconnecting on all kinds of levels and she tolerated the bag of healthy road foods I brought containing almonds, grapes, strawberries, string cheese and bottled water.

We caught up with friends less than an hour later at the Expo outside the Hall of Fame. Two are friends since college who were reuniting and reminded me of two little puppies together, continually grinning and playful with each other. After a run through the grocery store, and a gathering of necessary cookout amenities, Lindsey and I followed their PT Cruiser deep into the Indiana farmlands, arriving at a quaint old farmhouse that had been made into a warm and inviting home. Molly the Wonder Weiner dog informed us that we were not exactly welcome to be in HER house, but she managed to tolerate us after a while.

My friend fired up the grill and managed to put out some edible burgers and dogs which we consumed with a vengeance while relaxing in cushioned outdoor furniture around a fire graciously fed and stoked by super mom.

We left for the hotel at NOT coincidentally the same time as another couple as I had NOT a clue how to get back to civilization. They got us in the right direction and we made it in time to be in bed lights out by 11:30pm. Still, I managed to wake up 2 or 3 times during the night. You know how that goes.

RACE

I was up at 5:35 am and roused my young'n and we were out the door by 6:15am. Although the previous night we made arrangements for a 1pm late checkout, the woman at the desk informed us on our way out they could not accommodate our request. I was able to persuade her to change our status back (by insisting that I would not accept the non-late checkout after already being given permission.)

Only a slight glitch quickly resolved.

We conveniently only had to drive about 7 minutes to the race area and eventually found a place to park just three blocks away. I left my phone in the car making it a little more complicated locating the group amongst the 8,000 people milling around. But I caught a glimpse of a familiar grinning face through the crowd and we made our way to the goal posts outside the Hall of Fame where they stood waiting. With about 30 minutes before gun time, I made my way into the long line at Jenny's Johns finding our one missing friend already in wait. The line moved quickly and I accomplished my pre-race mission

The gray and cloudy sky and hanging humidity threatened rain which never really came until after the race was over for most. But it felt warm and thick and sticky the entire time. I lined up for the race near the back with one friend and his daughter who was running her first half marathon. We took off nice and slow to the tune of some typical race song that I attempted to sing sort of under my breath, but to which I struggled remembering the words. Ah, the fifty-year old brain. We hung together for the first 1.5 miles before I let my body find the pace the felt right for me and off I wandered.

The course was mostly flat with a minimal elevation gain of 117 feet and loss of 92 feet. It passed through many neighborhoods and park areas and by a river. The course was supported well by volunteers holding big arrow signs at turns, by police blocking intersections, and the most water stations I have ever experienced. I don't drink Gatoraid so I took only water at the aid stations, and made sure I didn't skip a single one based on the warm temperatures and high humidity.

I came down with a head cold Thursday which was in full swing by race day, but thank goodness it was a mild viral strain. The two Sudafed I took before the race controlled the stuffy, drippy nose and coughing symptoms but could not control for the warm temperatures and humidity. It did not take long before my strength and heart rate were straining against the atmosphere. Mile 1 with pappy and Emily was 11:20, followed by a 9:28 for mile two and 10:03 for mile three, and 10:50 for mile four. Miles five, six and seven were 11:23, 10:58, 10:55. By mile eight, I began losing steam and my pace deteriorated even more: M8 – 11:3, M9 – 11:42, and by mile 10 I was doing a 12:16 pace. I was pouring water over my head at every stop (sorry Pappy...I had no idea that would contribute to them running out of water later) and running through sprinklers as opportunity allowed. But my legs just got more tired and heavy and even got sore. I was really disappointed in how my body was feeling. I had assumed that with all of the swimming and cycling, plus the 3 last training runs I had done before taking a rest two weeks ago, I wold be enjoying greater strength and cardio fitness levels. But I didn't see signs of that at all.

I just kept pushing, having let go of my 10:00 pace goal a long time earlier in the race. I walked more and more. My legs just didn't want to give me any more that what I was getting. Mile 11 managed to be 11:22, then twelve was at 12:48. My final mile was run at 12:08 as I willed myself down the final part of the course and passed Lindsey who was waving and proudly supporting her momma. I ran into the stadium, down the concrete ramp out onto the Notre Dame football field and through the chute. I received my medal and a cold wet towel which I promptly laid over my head.

Two of our faster runners were easy to find as I practically walked into them as I moved through the crowd. Soon, I left to find Lindsey and headed back to the hotel. Lindsey and I just made it to the Jeep when the clouds opened up and the downpour began. We made it back to the hotel in one piece despite going north on Michigan Avenue which much to our surprise was a southbound one way street.

I know this is incredibly long and I thank you for reading it. And if you just shot down to this point, I don't blame you. Runners can be slightly absorbed with their running experiences and think everyone else should be too!

Triathlon Training – Week 4

2010-05-31T18:23:00.002-04:00

05/24 - 05/30

M – REST

T – REST

W – LONG SWIM: 55 minutes/35 laps/1750

YOGA: 50 minute Ashtanga

LONG BIKE: 1.5 hours/20 miles

Tr – SHORT SWIM: skipped

SHORT BIKE: 45 minutes/13.16 miles

YOGA: 50 minutes Ashtanga

F – REST

S – REST

Su – REST

TOTALS: RUN: 0 miles SWIM: 1750 yards BIKE: 33.16 miles

I have taken a full week off from running to allow my left plantar fascia to rest and recover. The timing was good as it fell during a long weekend of travel. I took advantage of the opportunity to sleep in and just stay off my feet. Hopefully I will see some benefits a week from now when I run the Sunburst Half Marathon in Indiana.

I am LOVING the biking, especially outside with the cycling group. We met after our Wednesday night ride at a sports bar for burgers and beer which gave me a beginning opportunity to get a little better acquainted.

Swimming is hard work. I am able to do one stroke with my face in the water, and only on the right side. I tried it on the left side and ended up drinking pool water. I will keep working on that until my brain and body get it figured out. I feel glad that I got in a full mile on Wednesday.

Triathlon Training – Week 3

2010-05-22T18:32:00.004-04:00

M – REST

T – RECOVERY RUN:4.5 miles (75 mins.) walk/run on muddy trails

I wore my new Asics Gel-Trabuco trail shoes. I am hoping the motion control category shoe will give improved support and help resolve the arch pain. The foot felt good afterward.

YOGA: 1 hour Ashtanga yoga

Our focus was on increasing flexibility in ankles, knees, and hips. Yowzer!

W – LONG SWIM: 30 laps/1500 yds (45 mins.)

My second swim practicing putting my face in the water for one stroke. I am noticing it takes about 7-8 laps for me to strike a relaxed, comfortable state after which the swim becomes more enjoyable.

YOGA: 50 mins. Vinyasa yoga

The instructor called me out for more Chataranga. My arms and shoulders seemed to be weaker than the week before, perhaps from the swim. I struggled to do only two. :-/

LONG RIDE: 13 miles/53:45

I arrived 3 minutes late for the group ride and saw the group already heading out. I tried to catch up to them but never did. I ended up riding alone which was really such a bad thing. The evening was beautiful. I repeated last week's course. Despite feeling insecure, I was able to pedal up the steep climb at the end...again. I am building confidence in my cycling strength.

Tr – EASY RUN: 4.5 miles (75 mins.) on trails

There was a lot more walking than running. I noticed my foot feeling tight and sore beneath the arch. Is the cycling aggravating it?

F – SHORT SWIM: 23 laps/1150 yds (30 mins.)

SHORT BIKE: 21.6 miles (1 hour)

This was my second brick, and much longer than the first. I did really well. I went to a different gym and actually enjoyed this pool more than my regular gym. I again practiced doing the crawl while putting my face in the water for one stroke. I choked on water droplets a couple of times. Next week I will switch sides and focus on breathing on the left. I wore my cycling shoes to start getting my feet used to them. The bottoms of my feet were tightening up the final 15 minutes.

S – LONG RUN: 9 miles walk/run (2 hours) on trails

It rained the entire time but it was 60 degrees making it tolerable. My foot became painful only half way through the run and I was glad I was only doing 2 hours. That is not good. We talked about several options for getting this problem addressed. Only 2 weeks until Sunburst Half marathon.

MEDIUM BIKE: 12 miles (About 50 minutes)

I attended the first of three triathlon training clinics. Afterward we were lead on a group ride following the sprint course (I am doing the international). It was raining and cold but I warmed up after about 20 minutes. I attended the club picnic afterward and ending up registering as a member and ordering a Cleveland Triathlon Club triathlon “kit” which is a tank and shorts I will be able to wear for the swim, bike and run. I think that is so cool!

TOTALS: RUN: 18 miles SWIM: 2650 yards BIKE: 46.6 miles

Triathlon Training - Week 2

2010-05-22T17:51:00.000-04:00

I promised myself I would at least post my training once a week and here I am already behind. I can say that I am enjoying this new level of training. I love the challenge of developing myself in two sports simultaneously. It really is a lot to be learning all at once and I am feeling the intensity of the increase. Not to mention, I am hungry all the time. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. But I am eating more.

Highlights this week:

M - Rest

T - 5 miles/90 mins. & 1 hr. Ashtanga Yoga
Cleveland was almost blistery with scattered showers and lots of gusty wind.But the rain held off long enough to get in a walk/run on the trails with friends and their incredibly happy and playful dogs.

Yoga class was brutal. The instructor directed us to do Chataranga about TEN times. I was already cooked after FIVE.

W - 20 min./15 lap swim (750 yds) & Vinyasa yoga class (more shoulders and arms). AM

I am so relieved to have found goggles that fit my face perfectly. They are larger than the bug eye set which means I don't have beg eyes several hours after swimming. Plus I don't feel claustrophobic.
13 mile/57 min. bike ride PMFirst group ride with the Cleveland Touring Club. The ride ended with a grueling pedal grinding steep grade climb which I managed to accomplish without walking the bike. BIG victory!

Tr - Ran/walk/sprinted 5.94 miles/11:04/1:05:46 I ran 3 fartleks and ran the steepest hill.

F - 17 min./500 yd swim followed by 35 min./8.9 mile stationary bike and then 1 hour yoga.

I enjoyed the *brick*. Yoga was slightly more challenging as a result.

S - 14 miles/3.5 hoursWanted to do 20 miles. Left arch became very painful about 10 miles into the run made me stop at 14 miles. Could barely walk on it Sunday.

Su - Rest
Left foot was hurting significantly. Iced and wrapped it.

Total Miles Run: abt 20 Swim: 1250 yds Bike: 21.9 miles

Triathlon Training - Week 1

2010-05-09T18:07:00.003-04:00

M - Rest

T - 5 miles/ 1:10 - humid but beautiful. About F 60 and a perfect running day on the trails. My glutes and calves are sore from Sunday's 2 hrs of hill repeats. Not the crazy sore after my 50K....the GOOD sore.

W - 20 min/750 yds swim; 50 min. yoga. Long bike ride planned bu canceled after everybody got there due to a thunderstorm blowing in. So I came home and rested.

Tr - 6.08 mile run/ 1:07:18 (Thursday run is now on bike path rather than trail so I can work on leg turn over, gait, and speed. I hope to beat my Dallas PR at Sunburst)

F - 30 min swim/1000 yds
(finally found some goggles that work. Struggled with breathing. Just needed to relax and not push) The pool was full when I arrived. A kind women offered to share her lane with me. Bless her.

30 min bike/7.8 miles
(stationary, Level 5; Random program. Too easy)

1 hr Ashtanga Yoga
S - 14 miles/3.5 hours
Met up with four running friends to do a trail run. I had no time goal. I had no distance goal. I had total freedom to run as far and as long as I wanted and stop when I was ready. We had a high wind hail storm last night which made the trails very muddy, the creek higher than usual, and brought down a few trees. We had to run through the creek and run in wet shoes. We had to crawl over and around felled trees. Our legs got covered to our knees in mud splashes. It was a total blast.

Su - 5 miles/2 hours hill repeats
Today I arrived 3 minutes late and Mike and Dave had already set out into the woods. I am directionally challenged and have never run trails alone. But today, I took this as an opportunity to find my way without the guidance and support of my friends. I went to (and climbed - both up and down) every hill I was able to find that I had done with Dave and Mike before. It took an hour before I actually caught up to them. I learned that they had caught sight of my car on a return loop and had been looking for me also. They had even been calling my name. I learned how very quiet the woods can be. It wasn't too scary after all.

Total Distance - Run: 30 miles Bike: 7.8 miles Swim: 1750 yards

Mohican Forget the PR 50K 4.18.2010

2010-04-20T17:58:00.007-04:00

Mohican Forget the PR 50K

Why would I want to run a 31 mile hilly, rocky, single track trail race when driving 31 miles makes so way more sense. Maybe I'm just sadistic. Most of my Sundays are spent resting and relaxing. But come 50K race day, it's all about extremes.

It all started six years ago when I started running for the first time in my life. Previously, my weak ankles which used to pop and send sharp shots of pain through my foot had me convinced for many years that I was not built for running. But, one day, after hearing some friends on an online discussion list bubbling about their recent 5k race experiences, I just couldn't take the feeling of exclusion any longer. I searched online for some kind of a program that would teach me how to run. Imagine that. Using an online program to teach me something that we all learned to do when we were three.

Within 5 short weeks, I ran my first 20 minutes solid. Two months later I completed my first 5K (in just under 29 minutes), six months later I completed my first half marathon, and within a year and a half of running I ran my first marathon (5:30). Clearly I had discovered a sport that was a keeper.

I live in Cleveland, and if you don't already know this about us, we are blessed with a chain of sprawling metroparks that surround the Cleveland area referred to as the Emerald Necklace. These wooded, rolling hills are filled with miles and miles of bridal paths and running trails. Early one Sunday morning about five years ago, not wanting to chance running alone, I happened upon a group of runners gathering in the parking lot at the park near my house readying to enter the trail head for a 7 mile run. I invited myself to join them and they welcomed me wholeheartedly. That began my wonderful love affair with trail running. I have been running with this group of people ever since. I can blame them for every trail race I have done. Including the Mohican Forget the PR 50K I just completed on Sunday.

The four of us met 5am Sunday morning in the parking lot of Breugger's Bagels, loaded our gear into Suzanne's SUV and hit the road for Loudenville, Ohio about 2 hours away. I was surprisingly calm to be facing the daunting challenge of run/walking 31 miles through tough trail terrain. This particular race had a nasty reputation for its unending hills, multiple creek crossings and some pretty difficult vertical climbs.

I was not to be disappointed.

Gun time was 8:00 am, which was actually sounded by a guy standing on a truck bed with a bull horn shouting, “Ready, Set, Go!” We were all happy to get moving after standing in a breezy, overcast F 38 temperature for 20 minutes. The course began with a quarter mile loop through a dew covered grassy field around an orange cone and back out onto the service road which lead into the single track trail head. I turned my Garmin 201 on so I could get a read on how accurate it was at tracking distance on trails. (It ended up reading 2 miles short of 31 miles)

Our small group of four hung at the back of the pack. Two of us were short in training for this distance and planned to keep the effort nice and easy throughout the race to ensure we had the endurance to complete the course. The hills wasted no time making their first appearance as the first 2-3 miles were up, up, up. Our spirits were also up, and we dug in for a long day of climbing, hiking, running, hopping and, of course, eating. Ah, to be 10 again!

The first 3 miles introduced me to a couple of screaming calves, as they tend to tighten painfully until adequately loosened from a bit of running. By mile four, I was loosened up and getting into the groove of climbing switchback trails. Our strategy is always to walk the uphills and run the downs and flats and we follow this with the strictest of adherence!

By mile 4.5, I had begun feeling nature's call. But it was under control. I knew the first aid station was at mile 5.9 so I held on also believing that I would find a PortOPotty there. We arrived at about 9:34am to be greeted by volunteers dressed as characters from Alice in Wonderland inviting us far down into the rabbit hole. I could see the irony. However, there was no bathroom. A table covered with bowls of potato chips, Fritos, pretzels, M&Ms, chocolate chip cookies, bananas, oranges and peanut butter and jelly sandwich triangles invited us to partake as we needed. Our water bottles were refilled by volunteers and we were back on our way in 3 minutes.

More climbing up, up, up. I began to wonder if this trail was some kind of secret stair master with a magical escalator with an endless incline belt. In the mean time, nature continued to ring the party line. By mile 6.5, I was scanning the brush off trail for the perfect cover to make an emergency stop. I spotted my single-seater and made a bee-line...just in time. Once my business was handled, I began to feel like the party had truly begun.

By now, I had shifted into the trail running zone. When in the zone, time seems to lose it's normal dimensions. It feels like there is no time. You are just present to the experience of talking to your body, watching the ground in front of you to ensure you don't trip on a rock or root, listening to and joining in on light chatter between our group members, and occasionally glancing around at the beautiful scenery of the towering trees, endless hillsides and valleys, moss covered fallen tree trunks over stretches of babbling creek, ancient mammoth sized sandstone rocks, miniature purple and yellow spring flowers, pine needle covered path, and miles and miles of winding trail.

By 10:55 am, we had reached Aid Station #2 at mile 11.2. I hit the PortOPotty, dropped my windbreaker off with a volunteer, got my water bottle refilled, ate a Clif Mini Bar, and headed off with my friends across a covered bridge, up the road and back into the wooded trails. The sun occasionally peeked out from the clouds, radiating welcomed warmth and brightening the afternoon sky. I was feeling really good.

Since I am writing this report almost 48 hours post-race, my memory is failing me regarding so many details of the experience. I believe it was somewhere around mile 14 that we hit the “root ladder.” This was one of the coolest and most beautiful parts of the course. We walked for a while as we crossed back and forth about 14 times over a shallow creek using stones, fallen logs, or simply walked through the water before turning a sharp bend and standing in front of a 15 foot steep climb up large boulders wrapped in old tree roots. Suzanne took some awesome pictures from the top looking down at us on our way up. It was exhilarating. By the time we hit Aid
Station #3 at mile 16.1, it was 12:18pm and my body was just starting to feel the workout.

More PB&J sandwiches, Fritos, and water bottle refill and back out we went.

Run, walk, run, walk, right, left, right, left....ooooh....ahhhh.... and then we reached Aid Station #4 back at the covered bridge at mile 20.2. By now it was 1:23pm. At this point my body started to complain, including the knee cap which had me worried for a minute since I had never had a pain like that before....ever. I am now wondering if I might have banged my knee on a rock during that climb. But it subsided rather quickly. The course started to feel more like..bang, bam, bang...ouch...ouch...ouch. Soreness began infiltrating my quad muscles, and continued at a respectable rate for the remainder of the run.

Tim, about this time, made his infamous statement: “I am feeling sad that we are almost done.”

I think to myself, you have got to be kidding!!! We have 10 miles to go and I am feeling about ready for the meat wagon.

Not quite...but almost.

So I strike up a conversation about what it would feel like if we were doing a 50 miler and we had 30 miles to go. I decided that I would just shoot myself.

But at the same time, 10 miles also felt so completely doable. As long as my legs held out, I knew I would get to the finish. Following some pretty brutal incline, we reached Aid station #5 at the Fire Tower at mile 22.7 at 2:00pm. We had all been looking forward to the potato soup that we knew would be waiting for us there, but were disappointed to find it cold. But it was tasty just the same.

Only 8 miles to go....thank God!!!

We hit a long stretch of down hill switchback and straight away between here and the final aid station so running ensued, albeit reluctantly. Each time we walked, shifting back into a run required more and more willpower. The mind was definitely over taking matter. The body was resisting but it still obeyed. It helped to have the remainder of the race broken down between the final aid station at mile 27 and the finish line. Much of this stretch was down hill or flat and also very beautiful. The course followed along side a perfectly still lake. Tim spotted an otter in the water, a Blue Heron in flight, and we passed several fishermen. The final 2 miles dragged on but we finally saw the finish line parking lot. Tim tried to convince me that we had another mile to go. I wasn't biting.

We crossed the finish line together right at 5:49 and 5:50pm. After a quick change into dry, clean clothes and locating a Bob Evans a few miles away, we parked right in front of the door and wobbled straight in to the table closest to the door. We were all ready to fall face first into our food, but we managed to consume every speck without trouble. I had a chicken pot pie and french fries.

When I checked my Garmin later, it said I had burned close to 2500 calories. So why did I gain 4 pounds?!!!

It was 50K no. 3 for me. It was definitely tough. But I'll be back. Cuz I'm sick like that.

Try'n to Tri

2010-01-13T23:14:00.002-05:00

I have made 2010 the year I am going to become the person that is always on time. I have a shamefully chronic lateness problem. It is one of the most stubborn, resistant to change issues I have. (Although the sugar addiction does rate higher). So, with that being said, guess how many times I have been on time so far in 2010. Ummm.....oh....about....let's see....4 then carry the three …. ZERO!!!!!

That includes today, as I waltzed into yoga class 5+ minutes late and ended having to put my mat right in front next to the instructor. That'll teach me! But class was great as always. We did new stuff that stretched the wrists and shoulder, and also lots of balance poses like dancer. I was stronger on the right side than the left. On another day, it can be the other way around.

Having also committed to do my first triathlon this year, I have added a 30 minute swim to my weekly workout. My Wednesday yoga class is at a Ballys that has a pool, so today was the day to start.

As a kid, I used to be a decent swimmer, having learned at age 6 or 7, but I never swam competitively or on a team in school. My grandparents had a weekend home on the lake in Alabama. I used to love to swim. When I was visiting during my summer vacations, I was pretty much in the lake hanging with the fish. But now, I am sorely out of practice, not to mention I have never been much of a free style swimmer. I have a lot of work to do in preparation for the olympic distance Triathlon likely to occur in August.

Today I had three swimming objectives. (try not to laugh)
1.Get my butt IN the pool.
2.Don't get out for 30 minutes
3.Focus on staying relaxed (having yoga before swimming was a mark of genius, if you ask me)

Although I did not count, I can reasonably estimate that I finished 15 laps at about 2 minutes a lap. I know now why that stroke I was doing is called the crawl.

Next week, let's see if I can throw in a few laps while doing free style. If you don't hear from me, call the Bally's in Willoughby, OH and ask them to check the bottom of the pool.

So for now, back to life on dry land.

Brooke

Action Sports International - Denver Marathon

2009-10-19T22:04:00.000-04:00

Action Sports International - Denver Marathon: "Copyright"

Punxsutawney 50K 2009

2009-09-14T00:16:00.007-04:00

I first started thinking about running this 31 mile trail race about two years ago. The idea was daunting...and maddeningly appealing. My longest distance run was a single marathon in October 2005 and it had been a long time since I had come close to that distance since.

I learned about it from a group of trail runners I joined serendipitously for the first time at 7 am on Easter Sunday four years ago. After arriving at an uncharacteristically vacant park to do my long run, being unwilling to run alone, I discovered them gathering in a parking lot at the opposite end and out of desperation asked if I could join them. They warmly welcomed me to their traditional 1 ½ hour Sunday run (which they NEVER miss which explains why they were there on Easter). Only thing was, they ran the trails and bridal paths up through the woods rather than the bike paths I was accustomed to. Despite wearing my newly purchased, pristine white Asics running shoes, I was game (because, as you know, a runner in training for a race does NOT miss their long run!) By the end of the run, my shoes were trashed beginning an enduring relationship with trail running as well as with this rag-tag mix of amazing runners ranging in age anywhere between 40 and 75 years.

I began preparing mentally for the Punxsutawney 50K two summers ago (2007) by picking a spring half marathon and a fall 40K as my target races, both on trails. By late summer, my training was excellent and I was running at the top of my (short 3 years of running) game. But then, due to over training in late August, I managed to strain my Achilles tendon which ground my performance during the 40K race to a painful 17 mile walk following the first eight miles of running. Although disappointed, I was still happy to have completed 25.5 miles on trails and to have gained the benefit of mental conditioning resulting from spending 7 hours and forty minutes on my feet in the heat and humidity.

After resting my Achilles for 3 months, I returned to running in January 2008, with plans to make Punxsutawney my target race. But in March, just as I had returned to my previous level of conditioning, my right fibula broke in two places near the ankle when I slipped on black ice during a run. After 4 months on crutches and another month in a walking caste, I lost almost all conditioning and had to work from ground zero upon my return to training June 08. I spent the remainder of the summer and fall working my way back to running 15-20 miles a week, meeting at the park three days a week and putting in the time. By January 2009, I was ready to dive into serious training and see what I could do. Starting in August, I added a 4^th day of running which provided a Saturday long run and Sunday hill-work back to back. I began putting in between 24-35 miles a week, including lots of hill repeats and a total of two 26 mile/6 hour runs during the last month of training.

After the second 26 mile training run, I felt good and knew I was ready to tackle this huge challenge. The training was done. For the next three weeks, it was a matter of letting the body heal and recover before the big day September 12^th.

After checking in to the hotel in downtown Punxsutawney, PA, we located the other members of our 12 person group who were already checked in. They were easy enough to locate, as their room door was open as I passed by and at least four of them were ha

nging out yucking it up and blowing off pre-race steam. Packet pick-up was conveniently located it the dining room on the roof, which was where the spaghetti and meatball dinner was held later at 6pm. During the dinner, we were given last minute race directions, awarded drawing prizes, and introduced to various heros of this race. One, Leo, was 80 years old and held the record for oldest participant (I'm taking notes!).

Punxsutawney Phil (the groundhog) was brought in for photo shoot opportunities. He was cute. We got a Beanie Baby Phil in our goody bag.

My two female room mates and I turned in for the night at 10pm. I was jarred awake at midnight with the shocking sound of an outdoor alarm resembling the 1940s air bomb alarm. It seemed to go on forever but finally stopped and I laid in bed awake for the next three hours. Finally up at 4am, I ceremoniously put on my running clothes that had been laid out meticulously the night before. I pinned a picture of my cousin on the back of my shirt as I was running in his honor due to his untimely death in a motorcycle crash August 25^th.

Eight of my group from Cleveland were part of the early start group, beginning at 5am instead of 7am, since we planned to keep an easy pace. As always, everyone was chipper and bubbly. Runners are just about the happiest people I know.

At 5:03:49, the signal to start was shouted out. Like a small herd, we began to make our way up the dark street towards a field that eventually led onto the trail head. The first 2 hours of the race would be in the pitch black of night, so we wore headlamps and carried small LED flashlights. As we ran through the grassy field, and then the trail that led into the woods, I was aware of how nervous I felt about descending our first hill in the dark. I had been forewarned that Two Beers Hill was extremely steep and difficult to maneuver. Just getting past that point was going to be a feather in my cap. There were plenty of rocky ups and downs that kept me focused before we ever made it to Two Beers. By the time we reached it, I was more relaxed and got down it like a pro despite it being scary. The darknes actually gave me the advantage of being unable to really see what I was dealing with. But my return up by daylight would serve to be a different story.

My plan was to take an Endurolyte every 1:15, and start taking food every hour after the first 2 hours of the race. The first aid station at mile 3.5 wasn't open yet due to our early start, but we got to the second one at mile 7 just as they were setting up. I took two PB&J sandwich quarters and a half banana, got my water bottle filled and was on my way.

The course is basically an out and back and looks a little like a lolly pop, the 'stick' being about 7 miles and the 'lollipop' being 8 miles. which began just as we left this aid station. We were to repeat the 'lollypop' twice. Just a bit into this portion lead us to Yellow Bus Hill which was our first real hill climb. Everything up to that point had been just regular trail hilliness. I had been warned about the hills in this race for months. So understand that I was feeling more than adequate respect for them. When we finally came face to face with this monster, my fear released and I felt capable as I scaled it with a nice steady pace, stopping for a rest two or three times along the way. At the top I turned and took in a glorious view of mountain tops lightly topped by early morning fog.

Cry Baby Hill was only a couple miles from the foot of Yellow Bus. This was was practically vertical but shorter than Yellow Bus. Again, I found the mind set that had been developed from my many Sundays of hill repeats, and scaled it quite comfortably. My confidence continued to grow. We hit the next aid station at mile 11.2 and I was feeling happy and having a good time. I grabbed another 2 PB&J sandwich quarters, ½ banana and filled my water bottle again. I think it was here that Joe and I became separated from the other two from our group and they didn't catch back up with us the rest of the race. (This was Karen's first ultra and Linda was sticking to her like glue to make sure she got through it OK.)

The scenery was lush and green, with plenty of ferns lining the trail much of the time. We crossed several small streams that were easy enough to cross by stepping on stones a kind soul had lined up. There came a point were the path became a mess of mud and there was no dodging it. The worst of it was just pure bog that sucked at your shoes. I went in up to my ankles and squished for quite a while after. Although more of this section was flat-ish or milder incline making it more runnable, it was also very rocky and harder on the bottom of your feet. I had to stay focused on placing my feet firmly so I didn't turn an ankle. My goal was to come through this race injury free and I was determined to make that happen.

Other than this section, the hills just kept on coming. I was glad I was with Joe. He is a masterful pacer if your objective is to enjoy the race rather than win it. And I knew I would be feeling relatively good through most of this race by following his pace. We were traveling at about 4 miles an hour. By the time we got back to the beginning of the second loop we were at about 4 hours. It was kind of exciting to know we were already at the half-way point. My hips were aching and my toes were getting sore, but I was ready to face Yellow Bus Hill and Cry Baby Hill and Buck Run another time. I knew what to expect and knew what I had in me. They were just as steep the second time and I had the mental and physical strength to match the demand.

We kept moving forward. It was strange but time seemed to move faster the longer we were out there. Each time I would look at my watch, another 30 minutes had gone by. It was really like being in some kind of time warp. We chatted and joked and sometimes were quiet. We ran some and then walked some. Joe set the pace. There was a point along a stretch of country road were I just let loose and ran with long strides. It felt good to use my legs and muscles in a full out run as opposed to the careful, smaller step running we were forced to do on the rocky, uneven trail terrain.

Before I knew it we were at the last aid station before the finish. I felt a little giddy seeing the sign that said 27.3 miles. I had never run more than 26.2 miles and I was now in new territory. I ate a PB&J sandwich triangle, a banana section, and A CHOCOLATE DONUT. :) Half broke off and fell on the ground, but I didn't care.

I believe it was after here that we came face to face with Yellow Bus Hill, the monster hill we went down in the dark. Looking up from the bottom made it look frightenly steep and long. But I had a trick that helped me deal with hill intimidation. I put my running cap back on which served as a blinder and focused on the two feet right in fron of me. I took it two steps at a time. I actually passed another runner as I scaled it; she asked if I was sucking air like she was, and I noticed I really wasn't. I had been chatting the whole time. hahhaha. I asked Joe to time us so we had something to compare our training runs to. I topped the hill at 6.5 minutes. Here is the crazy part. I said, "Joe...NEXT YEAR we will have to count the steps." Next year?!!! Oh no!!! What am I thinking???

From here we were heading through a long grassy field that was pretty bare. It was kind of neat running along this path down through the middle of vast stretches of land. I was walking along drinking my water, and BAM, stepped on a big rock and turned my ankle. OUCH. It scared me more than it hurt. (I had turned it in the first 2 miles of the race and swore that would not happen again) Thank goodness it only hurt a minute and I was able to walk it off. Joe looked at his watch as saw that we had enough time to make it in under 9 hours and started pushing the runs a bit more.

As we were running on a dirt road that was hidden between trees, Joe spotted black top road ahead. His face broke out in this huge, wide grin and I knew that was good news. I asked how close were at that point and he said we could now say those magic words, 'we're almost there.

We ran to the road and began that final 1.5 miles to the finish. Up the road, through a school parking lot, several blocks down a long sidewalk (where a dog on a rope tied to the porch of a house close to the walk lurched at me barking wildly), across a street, around the hardware store and then into the side road that led to the finish shoot. I felt great and smiled hugely as I made my way into the shoot to the welcoming sounds of cheering and clapping from those who had already finished. Others from my Cleveland group were sitting on the tree lawn in their newly acquired collapsible canvas chairs (with Punxsutawney 50K monogrammed on the back).

We all high-fived and caught up on the short notes of the status of each person's bodies and feelings before I helped myself to pizza and beer. I had a seat and enjoyed watching some of the remaining runners, including some from out group, come in. Leo, the 8o year old ran in to a standing ovation.

After a soak in a bathtub of cold water and then a hot shower, we packed up the car and headed back to Cleveland. Before getting out of town, we stopped for a post-race dinner of nutritious and healthy foods such as milkshakes, french fries, onion rings, hamburgers, and Reubens. On the 2 hour drive home I nodded off into twilight sleep for an hour while the other three chatted about their experiences. It was an awesome experience. I am still feeling the glow of this accomplishment.

1st Post-Injury 5K Race

2008-09-10T13:43:00.002-04:00

The long road to recovery seemed to be at its end. On August 2nd, 4 ½ months after breaking my fibula by slipping on ice while out for a run, I made my first attempt to run, treadmill style. I chose my running genre with caution, concerned that I might turn an ankle or take a tumble if I attempted a trail run too soon. I managed to crank out a painfully slow 20 minutes of a walk/run combo, walking 2 minutes and running 3 minutes. I experienced no pain the entire run, although there was mild swelling afterwards.

I felt excited to have accomplished more than I originally expected. I wasted no time finding a 5K race that I could participate in just for fun and to celebrate my return to the running world. The Glenville Heritage 5k Health and Wellness Walk/Run was scheduled for August 9th. I knew I would be no speedster, but I planned to cross the finish line. I emailed my sister and made a convincing plea for her to join me, and she quickly sealed a pact.

Finding the race was an adventure all its own. Glenville is located in a historic district of Cleveland that adjoins the Wade Park and Rockefeller Park. Development was started in this area in 1882 and was one of the first park and planned neighborhood designs of its type . The historic nature of this route is part of what drew me to it.

http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=WP
http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=RP1

My younger sister joined me for the race. She and I ran our only race together (Day2Day 5K) two years ago when she was running her first and had never even run 3 miles before. I *paced* her with a walk/run strategy. She has come a long way and has been working out like crazy since then. Although she hasn't run that much, her cardio conditioning has improved immensely.

We started the run together with a strategy of run 5 mins., walk 1 min. But at our 2nd walk break she was going so strong I told her to run on ahead. I learned later that she ran the entire race. Me? I struggled and battled my way through to the end. It was not so fun but I was not in any pain. I was amazed at how weak my legs became so quickly. And my lungs were burning 15 minutes into the race. It was a harsh awakening to the reality that I have a lot of work to do to even be able to comfortably run a 5k.

My sister ended up winning 2nd AG (40-49) with a finish time 28:xx (they didn't say the times at announcement). Me? No prize...but a finish time of 33:40. I was given much needed encouragement the final .10 mile by a generous male runner about my age or a little younger who ran beside me to the chute. He repeatedly reminded me he was hurting too and to pull deep and do it and then wouldn't take the chute in front of me (see him behind me in the photo). It helped and I thanked him at the end.

The day was perfect blue sky and in the upper 60's. My sister and I went out for breakfast afterwards and enjoyed our accomplishments.

Another step...

2008-06-25T15:17:00.006-04:00

The momentum continues to build as I return little by little to a regular workout schedule. Today I arrived home after an early morning meeting to find my house locked up and husband away on an errand. Having mistakenly not taken my house keys with me, I had no way of getting in the house to get some breakfast before heading to the gym. Solution? Head to the gym (gym bag was in the car) and stop by Wendy's for a grilled chicken sandwich on the way. It felt a little shameful eating fast food in the parking lot before a workout, so I parked at the back and hid my behavior from the open glass window where rows of cycles, ellipticals and treadmills stood watch.

My last weight training workout in this gym had taken place a few days before my fateful fall and snapped fibula March 11^th. I felt like a kid returning to school after summer vacation; full of hope and excitement towards reuniting with old friends and new experiences. The gym had been remodeled and renovated during my absence with new colors, new equipment, and a new floor plan. I stopped and talked to a porter on my way in and then got down to business. The weight room was relatively busy with all guys. Over the years, I have become comfortable with being the only girl so found a bench and settled in at the far end of the room where 5, 10, 15 and 20 lb dumb bells sat on the rack (as opposed to 50, 60, 70 lbs at the other end).

I managed a decent upper body workout followed by a 30 minute elliptical workout. Afterwards I went into a small closed room where I did abs and stretching. I was really, really relaxed by the last stretch and began to wonder if I was going to get up off the mat or just lay there and take a nap. I met a woman who was in really good shape while int here and we exchanged some small talk and our names. I hope to see her again. I liked her energy.

Once back home, I attempted to counteract the negative effects of the chicken sandwich by eating a large bowl of juicy, delicious strawberries and some almonds. I am so relaxed, I could just lay down on my bed that is one foot away from me right now and take a Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Addendum

Since I was already on a roll, I decided to add one more workout to my already productive day. I had a meeting scheduled today at 5:00 at my east side office which is about 5 miles from home. After a very light and short drizzle, I could see the roads and weather

were going to be dry enough for a bike ride. I am still pretty new at this and felt some rooky insecurities which contributed to locking my eyes on the road at all times to prevent another bone breaking catapult off the bike. I managed to travel there and back safely, but I will admit. It was harder than I expected. Who cares! It is great to back out pushing the effort. Wooo Hooo!!!

Rehabbing and Refocussing

2008-06-22T13:28:00.005-04:00

My life of weekly workouts and and daily runs seems like a life time ago after this four month period of rehabilitation. To focus and motivate myself back in that direction has created an unexpected challenge. It feels like I have to train my brain to think about it all over again. The good news is that I know that eight years ago, I started working out at the age of 42 for the first time in 20 years. At that point I was truly starting from scratch. And with effort I established routine and good workout habits. Now I have the residual memories and the knowledge that I can do this, and so I will.

Saturday, for the first time since I broke my leg, I was out of the bed at 6:30 am with an intention to do a 3 mile walk at the park. After seeing the physical therapist on Thursday, I felt confident that I was ready for this first return effort. I felt inspired and hopeful, beginning to recognize that my ordeal was actually drawing to a close. After a 30 minute delay due to some morning sprinkles, I went on my way driving the short 15 minutes to the park. The walk reunited me with one of my favorite and life enhancing things, for which I have been longing: a dirt trail surrounded thickly by forestry, bird songs, sounds of animals rustling, shoes crunching on the path and a bubbling creek along the way.

I felt protective of my vulnerable right ankle, especially watching for divots, stones and sticks along the path. The walk took about 50 minutes. The uphill portion gave me a good run for my money and I pushed it to make sure. Afterwards, the ankle swelled up slightly from the work load but I am comfortable with the degree. That is to be expected for some time yet.

This time off from training and working out has opened a space in my head for some re-prioritizing. I have come to recognize that, although training for races has served a valuable purpose towards helping me see my capacity to be self-disciplined, the time had come for me to focus my headlights down a different road. It is unlikely that I will be training for any races for a while, if ever. For now, I will simply enjoy a walk for the simple pleasure that it is. And when I can run, I will enjoy that for its momentary experience. Life for me is for living now. Each moment is blessed and will not return. I hope to be present and not miss a single one.

2008-06-18T17:12:00.003-04:00

My bike is a 1973 Motobecane 10 speed. I bought it when I was 14 years old with $150.00 baby sitting money I earned staying with my mom in Los Angeles, CA during summer break. It is 35 years old. Sunday I took it out of the basement after hanging in the dark for months like a bat cave-dweller and brought it out into the sunlight. A first attempt at easy riding ended in five minutes flat accented by the chain falling off and the rear tire exploding. Not a great beginning. Today I took the bike to a nice small town shop in Historic Downtown Willoughby and turned it over to Don, the bike whisperer. He keeps his medium long, gray hair tied back in a pony tail, talks in a soft voice and likes wearing black tee shirts. He took my battered old friend behind the open counter and hoisted it up on a type of tree for bikes to check it out. After some caring inspection, he discovered that the dérailleur had lost some teeth and needed replacement. I wonder how old 35 years is in bike years? If it is anything like cat years, then I can understand why it is losing teeth. It's actually quite amazing that it kept its teeth as long as it did.

Once fully recovered, I took my renewed friend out for a real ride at my favorite local park. While driving it there, I glanced often in my rear view mirror, ensuring that it was still hanging securely on the new bike rack attached to the back of my much younger but quickly aging Jeep. I felt happy and satisfied to be finally embarking on a real bike ride.

I have recently had my own issues with being physically worn and battered. In March, while out for an early morning run, I too experienced a wheel blow-out. After skating unexpected on a patch of black ice, I gracefully and swiftly plopped down upon the snowy road, resulting in a double break in my right fibula. Unlike my old friend, thankfully my teeth remained intact. Eight weeks of crutches, and an additional 8 weeks of casts of varying designs later, I am finally bi-pedal again. Today marked a victorious return for not only my old friend MB, but for myself as well.

This was my first trip back to this park since the fall. I originally intended to do one full loop of the bike path, equaling 5.5 miles, but later couldn't resist returning to the scene of the crime which was extended beyond the bike path. This part of the ride followed a service road that travels in a snaking pattern between mature, old trees and brush, accented by an occasional pond or creek. It is really quite tranquil and beautiful in a nature kind of way. I passed a few walkers and a cyclist passed me. This path also has a nice looong down hill that required almost constant use of my hand brakes, and the karmic looong up hill on the way back that produced heavy breathing that reflected the fat person that I have become while convalescing, plus a stretch of walking the bike that still had me huffing. By the end of the ride I had ridden 8 miles.

Ahhhh. It feels good to be back. Maybe this isn't running. But it is being back outdoors and working my body. I have so missed that.

Finished Accomplishments and New Beginnings

2007-12-03T07:49:00.000-05:00

As of 10:11pm, November 30, 2007 I have writen a book. This feels very strange to say. I have wondered how it is that a person actually does such a thing. Similar to my presumed thoughts on the superhuman feat running a marathon must be, I could not imagine myself writing a book. Therefor the thought of writng one was only allowed to float momentarily through my imagination but not take root. Then I learned about an organization that named November as novel writing month and laid out a challenge in defined terms: write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. It took two years of inccubating consideration before I hatched my own willingness to try.

Now I can say, I have written a book. It is actually a pretty good feeling. Sort of like saying, I have run a marathon (Chicago 2005). As with marathon running, there are unlimited ways in which this is accomplished. I accomplished my marathon slowly. I accomplished my first book quickly. However, it is considered the first draft and I will be loving on it for quite a while longer before I will be ready to present it for professionaly editing. And such is life. An ongoing blessed journey.

New Beginnings:
My poor body had not seen a gym, a weight...even a running shoe for over a month. It waited patiently while I poured my time and attention into my writing, knowing that it would all be over by midnight November 30th. And so it is.

Saturday, December 1, I as at the gym bright and early with my sister. Together we completed chest, shoulders, back, tri's and bi's. I feel it today. Tonight I plan to hit the treadmill for a nice 3 mile run. It will be my first run in two months, since completing a 40K trailathon which contributed to Achilles tendonitis. It was necessary to take time off for that to heal which I have. Now let's see how well it has rcovered.

And back to good, sensible eating.

Today's Menu:
M1 Vanilla Spirutein Shake
M2 Fresh Green salad w/roasted turkey breast, beets, garbanzo beans, Lite dressing
M3 Protein Bar
M4 Tuna pouch with whole grain crackers
M5 Two string cheese, pear
M6 Grilled Chicken, homemade ratatouille

Be Well.

Great ending to week 3

2007-11-04T07:11:00.000-05:00

This week ended with a bang!

My weight loss and get-toned plan has followed a disappointing take off with inconsistent workouts and fluctuating weight. I managed to get to the gym for only two cardio workouts this week. But Saturday was the best. My sister and I met at my gym at 8am and got in a compete upper body and lower body work out on weights and machines. We finished it up with the Ab Boot Camp routine (only one round). I was ecstatic to finally get back to the weights.

The morning was followed with one of my most favorite things, music class for fiddle and mandolin. I even joined an orchestra and learned two Christmas songs. What a blast! Afterwards was an 1.5 hour Tai Chi Class. My body loved it. Great day.

This week was also highlighted by the bwginning of National Novel Writing Month. I started my novel at 6:30 am Thursday morning and completed 1822 words. I am now at about 2600 words and will start writing as soon as I am done with this blog entry.

Have a gorgeous, spiritually stimulating Fall Sunday!

Tuesday, 10/30

2007-10-30T18:40:00.000-04:00

No Workout.

Food:
M1 Vanilla Spirutein shake
M2 EFL Tuna Pasta Casserole
M3 2 String cheese & apple (it was delicious)
M4 Chicken and peas over brown rice w/milk gravy
M5 4 Mini Tootsie Rolls (bad)
M6 Too late to eat again

One more day to "NaNoWriMo" begins. (National Novel Writing Month) I am psyched!

Hocking Hills Indian Run 40K

2007-10-04T18:38:00.001-04:00

A gathering of mixed nuts in a cabin upon a hill in rural Ohio made for an interesting weekend 'trailmix' running event:

Andy, our speedster from Missouri who drove for over 9 hours to run the 60K.

Letty, our ultra mom (who recently adopted a 4 year old from Ecuador long after her two adult sons had flown the coop) flew in to Columbus with husband Nick and son Nicholas, and then drove an hour and a half to run the 60K.

Sid, our marathon man (has run 145, counting the one he ran last weekend. Yes I did say he ran a marathon last weekend) who flew in from Charleston, SC to Cleveland, and was picked up by...

Kelley, our ultra (thinks she) wanna be, who picked Sid up at the airport at 10am, and then drove 45 minutes back into Cleveland to pick up...

Adam, another speedster, young whipper snapper at the tender age of 26 who is Kelley's future son-in-law's best friend...

And drove another 3 plus hours to southern Ohio.

We all arrived at our rented cabin at abut the same time, early evening Friday and piled in to grab our rooms. We were all impressed with the newness and generous size of our weekend accommodations, which included our very own personal outdoor jacuzzi for 6. We made sure to pick up plenty of groceries, including beer and wine to ensure that we made the most of our friendly gathering.

By 6:30 we were sitting down family style, including our new friend Nicholas, for some delicious spaghetti and meat sauce and salad. It was like the good ole days when people actually ate together and talked to each other, which gave us a chance to connect and get good and comfortable together.

After making some evening use of our wide screen HD TV with satellite, we put ourselves to bed by 10ish...which was a pure waste of time because not a one of us slept worth mentioning. While watching Forensic Files in my bedroom I fell asleep just long enough to have a disturbing dream about murder. Prophetic?

We were all up and out the door by 6am and drove in the pitch black (evidently there is a ban on street lights in rural Ohio) down dangerous winding roads for 20 minutes to the State Park for packet pickup, which was very simple and basic for the small numbers expected for this race. At 6:45, the 20-30 60K'ers lined up under the park lodge awning and were instructed on the 20K 3-loop course, being told to make sure they didn't follow the lake to the left or go over the damn, etc. They were warned about the infamous Steel Hill at the end of mile 3 (while the race director let out an evil laugh) and told how bad they would be cursing it by round three. Andy and Letty took their positions, both feeling various degrees of the jitters and excitement. At 7am, the Director shouted “ready, set, go” and they took off through the parking lot and down onto the state road beginning their endless travels on lovely, non-stop rolling hills.

Sid, Adam and I hung around chatting, stretching, drinking water, spraying bug spray for the next 45 minutes, until we too were called to clustered together under the awning with the other 40K'ers (and their dogs) for repeat directions for the 20K course.

Adam moved out of sight quickly but Sid and I took our positions at the back of the pack, falling into a comfortable pace. We estimated that we would complete each 20K loop in about 2:45 hours, averaging a 14:00 pace. The first three miles allowed a period of adjustment, especially for Sid who was unprepared for the amount of hilliness he was facing. Although our strategy was to walk the hills and run everything else, we ran the first three miles with barely a walk break just to shake loose the rust and get a little mileage behind us. This was my first run in 3 weeks and I was hoping I still knew what to do. The hills were very mild to me, but I was soon to learn that Sid was struggling with them pretty early on. Our splits were looking decent: 11:11, 10:46, 10:12.

A bit past mile 3 we turned off the state road onto our first trail section and were rudely introduced to Steel Hill. We were told it was a quarter mile straight up, and it was. I thanked my lucky stars I had done some hill training in Virginia early August. Poor Sid. He hadn't. We walked it and still experienced oxygen deprivation. The first water stop was 1/10^th of a mile past the top. Our legs felt like Jello. Our split: 16:33.

From here we were back on the road another couple of miles. More rolling hills. However, this gave our legs time to recover from Steel Hill without the danger of tree roots and pine cones to maneuver. Splits: Mile 5 – 14:06 and Mile 6 – 13:54. Here we entered the trail again. I noticed my legs were recovering somewhat but my energy level was beginning to wane. Uh oh. I had wondered what kind of effect the lingering head cold and absence of running was going to have on this race and I was beginning to get a picture.

Just past mile 6, we were at 1:18:xx. The front runner 60Ker passed us already on his second loop. We cheered him on. Man, that dude was flying. His time 7:30/2:18:xx.

Mile 7 our pace began to slow as we were forced to contend with a narrow path and trail technicalities. Our pace: 15:08. Temps felt like they were in the low 70s with a higher humidity than predicted. The sky had started out overcast and remained so. At mile 8, we heard Andy's voice as he burned his way past us, slowing enough for some high-fives. He looked great: strong and happy and going strong. He was in about 6^th or 7^th place as far and Sid and I could tell. I looked at my Garmin which had 1:36:xx making Andy's pace about 7:39. (Our pace was 13:59)

I experienced soreness in the Achilles tendon from the start of the race, but hoped it would work itself out after some time. Instead it continued to worsen. At mile 8 I knew I was in trouble and if I had any hope of completing the 40K would have to walk. Sid and I began discussing our strategy, either to stop at the end of the first 20K or walk from this point forward and continue forward. Sid conceded to walk and continue forward following my expressed desire to do what I came here to do. I noticed that he wasn't looking so great himself but wasn't sure what to make of it.

Our pace quickly dropped for the remainder of the race: 20:55, 18:15, 16:00, 16:38...and 4:48 for the .2 mile tail. We hit another three water stations as we made our way through more trail (some extremely rooty), through brush, beside a gorgeous lake,up another tough dirt hill, a wooden A-frame bridge, some concrete steps, through a camp ground full of Buckeye fans (one trailer had a satellite hookup stretched across the road) and more rolling hills along the state road leading back to the park. Our first lap was completed in 3:02:31. We stopped at the car and had a bite to eat and I grabbed my hydration belt and filled a bottle with PowerAid. The sky had cleared over the last hour and was now fully blaring in a cloudless sky. The temperature had reached the mid 70s and it was feeling warm.

With some trepidation we moved back out to start our second lap, this time with aching hips, beginning toe blisters, and a bit lest gusto. Over the next several miles, Sid's stride noticebly shortened and slowed and his gaze became stationed on the ground about two feet in front of him. My pace tended to take me 15 or 20 feet ahead of him before noticing he had fallen so far behind. Beginning to feel some concern, I made more effort to engage him in conversation to redirect his mind. I put on my social worker hat and began asking all kinds of questions about his family, and life in the navy, and college. Every now and then a runner was come past us and sometimes stop and chat with us. That was always a welcome break. Our pace was pretty slow now: M13 – 20:14, M14 – 18:17, M15 – 20:07. Then the beloved Steel Hill (this time we stopped half way up to catch our breath) helped make M16 – 24:19.

Although walking the road was more boring than the trails, it had become a welcome break to our sore toes and aching feet and my very sore Achilles. I managed to handle the hills well enough at the walking pace. About M18 (21:06) we entered the trails again for a while. My sister called (amazingly at a point I actually had a signal) and we talked briefly about how things were going. She said those words that manage to innocently fall out of every non-runners mouth at least once: “Well, you're almost finished.” I took the opportunity to inform her that that would not be the case until we were abut ¾ mile from the finish. I think she tried to understand.

Sid was looking very bad. He had stopped talking. I refilled my water bottle at the next aid station and made Sid carry it, telling him I thought he was dehydrated and to drink from it regularly. He knew I was right and took the bottle.

By about mile 19 (23:58), Sid told me he had nothing left. I thought, “Oh Shit. Now what do I do” So I just kept talking to him. I felt weird being the support gal for a marathon pro like Sid but I was really worried. So I said anything to him that got his mind off of his misery. Our pace slowed more: M20 – 26:32, M21 – 29:54, M22 – 24:50, M23 – 24:40 (these times look long. The trees caused my Garmin to lose its signal multiple times giving a questionable mileage read). I took opportunity to take a few pictures of the caves and lake and other nice scenes in the woods. The runners passing us were thinning down to one about every half hour to 45:00. In place of runners, we began passing oncoming hikers with their dogs. That was good for Sid as he always perked up when there was an animal to pet. Somehow, his body conjured energy to give to the tail waggers.

We hit the last water stop moments before they broke it down and drove off. Sid asked, “How far do we have now Kelley...another mile?” “About that Sid,” I lied, knowing it was about 2 miles, trying to keep the encouragement up. We moved back out on the road, and the remainder was all uphill. I drew strength from knowing it was almost over and traveled 15-20 feet ahead of Sid, calling back to him with what I saw up ahead. He kept inching forward , giving me an exhausted wave of acknowledgment on occasion, which was a reassurance to me that he was at least conscious.

As soon as I saw the entry back into the park I happily informed Sid. I can only imagine the little spark of energy he must have felt. I waited for him to catch up a bit and then began the final ascent into the stretch through the parking lot to the blue inflated finish arch. The parking lot was empty and only a handful of people waited at the finish line. Two race volunteers began picking up the orange cones that defined the finish chute as I very slowly made my way closer and closer. Sid was a few feet behind me. As I got closer I could see a familiar 3 foot tall boy with his mom and dad, and realized all of my cottage mates were waiting for me and Sid. They starting screaming and cheering us on. Little Nicholas held out his hand to give me a high five when I was still 10 feet away. It seemed to take forever for me to reach him (picture the scene in Austin Powers where he drives over a security guard with a road roller in extreme slow motion). Then finally, I made the delivery...a high five to a low three....cheered on by five friends.who waited around after surviving their own day of torture. I turned around and cheered Sid the rest of the way, whipped out my disposable camera and snapped his victory picture.

An hour after getting back to the cabin, Sid was chattering away like his usual self as we sunk down into a glorious, bubbling hot jacuzzi and downed the beverage of our choice (beer for me and Adam, thank you!). Then the endless stories began.

The day ended with a delicious steak and potato dinner, followed by 30 minute professional leg massages in our living room, topped by a chat around the bonfire that Letty and Nick made in the yard. The air was comfortably cool and the sky was clear with sparkling stars and a beautiful moon. As if it wasn't already perfect, we witnessed a shooting star ark across the sky, stretching out longer than anything any of us had ever seen. The Great Indian Spirit had spoken.

Time to Shift into Trail Training Gear

2007-05-21T18:27:00.001-04:00

Wow...had no idea I had been away from my blog for so long. Well, not a lot has changed since my last post, except for the part about how I completed a Trail Half Marathon in Ann Arbor, MI and am now hopelessly in love with trail running.

My next adventure: Indian Run 40K in Hocking Hills, Sep 22. This is going to be some of the toughest training I have done yet, so hold on to your mouse as I shift into trail training gear!

Richmond Heights 5K

2006-07-21T11:23:00.000-04:00

Yep...it sure was hot. 80F / 78% humidity Full sun.

I arrived 30 minutes before race time, got signed in and picked up my tee shirt. We had a choice of short sleeve or sleeveless; both cotton. I picked sleeveless.

I did a short, 10 minute warmup run to get a feel for the legs. My breathing was heavy almost immediately and the legs felt kind of rubbery. I figured some of that would even out after I had run the first mile. I went immediately into the ladies room and drenched my singlet with cold water in the sink. That probably helped more than I would know.

Turnout for the race was somewhere around 100 (a guess). The race was part of Richmond Heights Family Day. I liked that there were a number of kids 12 and under running with their parents.

The course followed neighborhood roads that eventually lead us into a Mall parking lot that we ran through and back out onto the main street. It was shaded in some areas and the majority of the first half of the race was low grade incline. Not good. I was ready to vomit at about 1.25 miles so I dropped to a walk....one of several. I could see right away this was not going to be a PR race. The legs continued to feel like rubber. I wasn't sure what that was about...the heat...working in the garden yesterday...really not sure. But it made the run more of a challenge.

Splits:

M1 - 9:40

M2 - 10:18

M3 - 10:10

Official time: 30:43

But...guess what. I still got hardware. 3rd place AG. I don't have a clue where I placed overall. But I do know ... I showed up...I ran...and I finished. Race #2 accomplished. :)

I also met Barbara who is 62 and who ended up winning 1st place AG (there was no 2nd or 3rd)...and later I met Jim who won his AG and who will be running the Twilight Trail 8K that I am running in 3 weeks. I told him about the trail run groups that meet on Sundays and he will probably end up meeting up.

Runners sure are a special group, aren't they?!

Now... out to the gardens to do some more weed pulling and such. And then some floating time in the pool. Highs are going into low 90s later today. I plan to be submerged in water by then. :)

Buckeye Half Training - Week 3

2006-07-20T17:45:00.000-04:00

Race Schedule:

*6/25 - A Most Excellent Race 10k (APR 1:04:16/10:22)

*7/16 – Richmond Heights 5K (30:43/9:54...3^rd AG!!)

8/3 – Twilight Trail Run 8k

8/20 – Perfect 10 Miler

9/17 – Buckeye Half Marathon www.summitathletic.com/buckeye.html

Training Week #3

07/10/06 – 07/16/07

M ~ Rest

T ~ X-T: 30 mins. Elliptical HR 166/PE 75%;

Abs: 105 crunches;

Weights: chest & shoulders (bench DB press/3 sets 12r/15#, seated DB press/3 sets 12r/5#)

W ~ LSD: 10 miles 1:56:17/11:38 HR: 170/PE 77%

[shoes: Asics GT-2100]

Notes: mid-upper 70s and light rain

Tr ~ Recovery: 3 miles 31:31/10:52 HR: 170/ PE 77%

[shoes: Asics GT-2090]

Note: 77F /74% humidity. Legs tired from yesterday’s LSD. Shins slightly sore at beginning of run but loosened up. Was drenched by end of run. Pace was too fast for a recovery run.

F ~ Easy: 3 miles (Tready) 39:00/13:00 HR: 164/PE 74%

[shoes: Asics GT-2090]

S ~ Stretching: yoga 1.5 hrs. (also 3 hrs. gardening in 77F/85% humidity. Relaxed later in the cool pool. Ahhhhhh)

Su ~ #1 – 5K race 30:15/9:45 HR: unknown (another 3 hrs. gardening in 90F/70% humidity)

[shoes: Asics GT-2100]

#2 – 2.5 miles (around the hood w/hubby) Pace: very slow Temps: 83F/63% humidity

[shoes: Asics GT-2090]

Notes: My weekly schedule called for 5-7 miles today. Since I ran a 5K race this morning, I joined George tonight for our usual neighborhood run, except we trimmed the steep hill-ette off shortening the run by .5 mile.

Totals Miles: 21.6 (The miles are slowly crawling up)

Stretching: 1.5 mins.

X-T: 30 mins.

Weights: 20 mins.

Abs: 105 reps

2006-07-09T22:08:00.000-04:00

Race Schedule:
þ 6/25 - A Most Excellent Race 10k (1:04:16)
7/15 – Shot in the Dark 4 mile
8/3 – Twilight Trail Run 8k
8/20 – Perfect 10 Miler
9/17 – Buckeye Half Marathon www.summitathletic.com/buckeye.html

Training Week #2
07/03/06 – 07/09/06

M ~ Rest
T ~ 4 miles Easy (park) 45:17/11:19 HR: 165/PE 75%
[shoes: Asics GT-2090]
W ~ 7.5 mile LSD abt 1:30:00/12:00 (seem to have misplaced my HRM with the exact time recorded in it.)
[shoes: Asics GT-2100]
Tr ~ 3 miles recovery
[shoes: Asics GT-2090]
Note: My lower calves were unusually tight and the bottoms of my feet hurt which forced me to walk at least 1/3 of this run; a clear result of upping my mileage too quickly (13 to 21) plus adding the hilly trail. You would think I would have learned this lesson by now. :P
F ~ Rest (Step-brother flew in for Mom’s birthday. Hadn’t seen him since step-dad’s death. Had some nice time together)
S ~ Rest (Hosted a birthday party for my mom’s 69th. Family came in town making it not only a full day, but a full week)
Su ~ 6 miles (neighborhood- 1st 3 alone & 2nd 3 w/hubby) 1:10:31/11:43 pace Temp: F80 & 50% humidity. (no HRM, but would guess I was running a 80-85% PE the last 2 miles)
[shoes: Asics GT-2100]
Notes: The tightness in my calves and feet was again a problem, causing me to have to walk it off several times during the 1st half of the run. By the 2nd half everything had loosened up which was a huge relief.
Totals Miles: 20.5
Stretching: 0 mins.
X-T: 0 mins.
Weights: 0 mins.
Abs: 0 reps

2006-06-01T13:31:00.000-04:00

I went to the park today to do my LSD run. Temperature was 81F and sunny. First 2.5 miles went by just peachy. One little walk break, more to adjust my swinging cell phone than anything.

By the turnaround, however, I started to feel the drag. That was also the low-grade incline portion of the run. The further I ran, the hotter I got and the more of a drag I felt. The run turned into a walk/run. By the time I hit 5 miles, I was one drippy sweaty wilted red-faced sight to see. It was time to rethink running 3 more miles.

I grabbed my GatorAid from the Jeep and found some shade in which to drink and think. As I was reaching the decision that I was cooked, the blue sky turned black and there was a huge clap of thunder followed 60 seconds later by rain. It was thundering, lightening and pouring rain in a matter of minutes.

Guess I made the right decision.

Got home safe and sound...

Guess next Wednesday I will be up at 6:00 and running by 7:00 a.m to beat this heat!

PreTraining Weeks: 05/22-05/28

2006-05-29T23:41:00.000-04:00

This was my second week running since the Pig. Last week I only got in the short runs, and this week I only got in the longer runs. It was a very, very busy week with the added stress of work related crisis. I spent 3 hours on Thursday admitting a suicidal client into the hospital. It was that kind of week. Plus, going out of town Friday shortened my work-week creating the need to make up work on Thursday evening. So it goes sometimes.

This week I will plan for earlier workouts so that I can get on plan. I also will have a 5K to run with my sister this coming Friday evening. I am looking forward and think it will be fun for both of us.

Week Overview

M ~ Inactive Rest

T ~ Inactive (missed planned tempo run)

W ~ 5.5 miles: Pace: 11:16 HR: unknown (loaned my HRM to sister as she trains for the 5K)

[Shoes: Asics GT-2090]

Tr ~ Unplanned Inactive (missed 3 mile recovery; stayed late at work to prepare for going out of town Friday a.m.)

Fri ~ Inactive Rest (missed XT & weights; drove to Annapolis and arrived at 5:30pm)

Sat ~ Inactive Rest (missed yoga; in Annapolis, MD)

Sun ~ 7miles Pace: 11:19 HR: unknown

Notes: Ran two out and back loops in a beautiful and hilly neighborhood in Annapolis. Started at 8:00 a.m. when the temp was about 72-75F and humidity was high. Had to walk pretty frequently but my pace still ended up being decent. I wasn’t pushing at all as this was my long run of the week. My favorite part of the experience was inhaling the scent of honeysuckle, and listening to the various songs of the morning birds, as the trees were thick with birds. Thank goodness the road, although relatively narrow and dangerously curvy at points, was mainly shaded by those old trees, or I would have really melted in the heat. I am used to running in 45-65 temps. This was a radical change.

[Shoes: Asics GT-2090]

Total Mileage: 12.5

Weights/Core: 0

Cross Training: 0

Stretching: 0

[Shoes: Asics GT-2090 – 203.5 miles/Asics GT-2100 – 0 miles]

Bring'n Home the Bacon

2006-05-08T14:04:00.000-04:00

Chapter 1

~The Three Little Pigs~

Once upon a time . . . there were three little pigs.

None were happier than the three little pigs, and they easily made friends with everyone.

Autumn came and it began to rain. The three little pigs started to feel they needed a real home. They knew they must set to work like the others or they'd be left in the cold and rain, with no roof over their heads. They talked about what to do, but each decided for himself.

The laziest little pig said he'd build a straw hut.
"It will only take a day,' he said. The others disagreed.
"It's too fragile," they said disapprovingly, but he refused to listen.

Not quite so lazy, the second little pig went in search of planks of seasoned wood. "Clunk! Clunk! Clunk!" It took him two days to nail them together. But the third little pig did not like the wooden house.
"That's not the way to build a house!" he said. "It takes time, patience and hard work to build a house that is strong enough to stand up to wind, rain, and snows, and most of all, protect us from the wolf!"

The days went by, and the wisest little pig's house took shape, brick by brick. From time to time, his brothers visited him, saying with a chuckle: "Why are you working so hard? Why don't you come and play?"
But the stubborn bricklayer pig just said "no". "I shall finish my house first. It must be solid and sturdy. And then I'll come and play!" he said. "I shall not be foolish like you! For he who laughs
last, laughs longest!"

It was the wisest little pig that found the tracks of a big wolf in the neighborhood. The little pigs rushed home in alarm. Along came the wolf, scowling fiercely at the laziest pig's straw hut.
"Come out!" ordered the wolf, his mouth watering. I want to speak to you!"
Puffing out his chest, he took a very deep breath, then blew with all his might right onto the house. All the straw the silly pig had heaped against some thin poles fell down in the great blast. When the wolf realized that the little pig had escaped to his brother's house, the wolf grew wild with rage.

"Come back!" he roared, trying to catch the pig as he ran into the wooden house. The other little pig greeted his brother, shaking like a leaf.
"I hope this house won't fall down! Let's lean against the door so he can't break in!"

Outside, the wolf could hear the little pigs' words.
"Open up! Open up! I only want to speak to you!"
Inside, the two brothers wept in fear and did their best to hold the door fast against the blows. Then the furious wolf braced himself a new effort, drew in a really enormous breath, and went ... WHOOOOO! The wooden house collapsed like a pack of cards.

Luckily, the wisest little pig had been watching the scene from the window of his own brick house, and he rapidly opened the door to his fleeing brothers. In only a moment, the wolf was already hammering furiously on the door. This time, the wolf had grave doubts. This house had a much more solid air than the others. He blew once, he blew again and then for a third time. But all was in vain. For the house did not budge an inch. The three little pigs watched him and their fear began to fade.

Quite exhausted by his efforts, and feeling completely defeated, he ran away as fast as he could.

From that terrible day on, the wisest little pig's brothers set to work with a will. In less than no time, up went the two new brick houses. Now safe and happy, the wisest little pig called to his brothers:
"No more work! Come on, let's go and play!"

Chapter 2

~The House that Kelley Built~

The day had finally arrived for me to apply 17 weeks of training to the task of running the most challenging half marathon course of my limited experience. In 2004, I ran my first half marathon in Virginia Beach after only becoming a runner a short six months earlier. Four months later, I ran a second half marathon, this time with a newly sustained yet undiagnosed stress fracture in my left mid-shin. It wasn’t until after two months of experiencing the inability to run and a month of doctors' appointments that it was finally diagnosed. I didn't resume running until after six weeks of the leg being casted and two additional weeks of no running recovery time.

I had been warned by a seasoned tri-athlete that I was expecting too much from my body too fast but I, in a huff, refused to listen. I, after all, knew my own body and would know if I was pushing it too hard. As a result, my stubborn impatience blew away almost an entire body of training accomplished to that point. The truth is I didn’t want to take the time to allow my body to respond and adapt adequately to the rigors of training. I was impatient, and ignorant. I just wanted the fun of running another 13.1 mile race. And I wanted to run it faster and better than the one before. There’s nothing wrong with that, right?

Wrong. When you are a forty-something year old woman who has never been a runner, it is fundamentally important that you take about two years to responsibly condition your body to handle the higher mileage endurance training. Otherwise the body will inevitably become overstressed and over trained and likely result in the very consequent that I found myself experiencing.

I began training for this race following a very successful and responsibly conservative eighteen-week training program for my first marathon, the LB Chicago Marathon, which was successfully executed October 2005. Building on all I had learned, I developed a 17 week program that would adequately train me for a hilly course: The Cincinnati Flying Pig.

Over that 4 month period, I worked hard. I didn’t cut corners. My tendency to impatience was always around to taunt me, but I remained steadfast on my plan. This training plan was added to two years of training and experience already under my belt. My body had now become solid and strong. I had stamina to do long runs in any weather and at any time of day, even if for 2+hours at the end of a long workday that took me to 9:30 pm. I built good solid leg strength by running hills on a tough trail five Sundays in a row. I had improved my speed significantly.

My race goal was a stretch, but was within the realm of possibility: To run a PR (personal record) of 2:15. This would be a PR of 13 minutes, plus it would be accomplished on a difficult course, very unlike the flat courses of the two previous half-marathons.

Chapter 3

~Time to Make this Thing Fly~

‘Lieutenant Commander’ Sid made sure me, Letty, Natalie (Letty’s niece) and himself were all standing in formation at the hotel complimentary breakfast bar by oh-400 sharp, making us the first folks to arrive. We actually helped the food service person set up so we could get our coffee and head to the water taxi that would carry us over the Ohio River to the starting line on the Cincinnati side. The trip over on the Mississippi River style dinner boat allowed us warmth and comfort as we sat at tables and ate our bagels, bananas and coffee and watched the view of various lighted bridges through the windows. We were a bubbly bunch. Letty was wearing her iridescent pink, custom made Pig wings hidden beneath a black garbage bag raincoat, making her look like a female linebacker wearing lip-gloss. Sid had been awake since 1:00 a.m. and was chattering away. He certainly had something to be excited about. This was to be marathon number 136 and his first at age 60!

The boat docked and we traveled the half mile walk to the Paul Brown Stadium, where school buses, GI-normous speaker systems, and hoards of people were gathered. We hung around inside the stadium to stay warm until 5:30, at which point we scattered to go to our appropriate starting places. There were no corrals to speak of so I found the 10:00 and 11:00 pace markers and stood somewhere in between. And who did I run into but Letty! So we were able to stand together and cut up a bit longer before the National Anthem began to play just prior to gun time. The performance was quite beautiful. It was performed in a kind of polyphonic medieval style of music where the harmony just melted me.

Then the long awaited cheers erupted that marked the start of the race.

Although this race was only 1/4th the size of the previous races I had attended, the start was just as crowded. Letty and I wished each other luck and started on our journeys.

The first three miles were relatively flat except for the upward inclines that took us onto a bridge. We ran over two bridges in that stretch of distance. As I was running over the second bridge, I noticed the power lines above us were whipping and swinging around wildly. Then I could feel the unstable ground beneath my feet having a slight give and bounce. I began to feel queasy but shifted my focus to straight in front of me to lessen the effect on my middle ear. I was over the bridge relatively quickly. My 3 mile time was just under 32 minutes.

The crowds were stretched out along the streets and bridges and were friendly and so supportive. (Thank you.) As I checked in with my body, I noticed my legs and energy did not feel quite as strong as in previous training runs. I began to check back over my previous day’s nutrition choices, etc to try and identify what might be up. I also noted that there was not one sign of pain anywhere to be found in my feet, shins, or hips. Now that is unusual for the first 3 miles of a run, and it made me very happy.

Somewhere between mile 3 and 4, I happened to see someone I knew (and admire greatly) standing off the course. I smiled and waved, very happy to see him. As I got closer, it became clear that he was suited up for a run. He gave me a big high five as I reached him, and hopped out on the course beside me. I couldn’t believe it. What an amazing surprise and gift.

I was beginning to believe…. Pigs really do fly.

Chapter 4

~Wind Beneath My Wings~

Last night at Dewey’s Pizza, BK told me he would see me at mile 3, but he never mentioned he would be running with me from there. BK originally planned to run the Flying Pig Marathon when most of us chose it last fall as our next big race. Much to his great disappointment, he eventually had to withdraw due to a stubborn injury in his knee. During that time, he was forced to reduce his running to near zero and had to painfully face that his competitive running days were very likely over. It was a very sad moment in BK’s life and for those who know and love him.

So here I was, running side by side with my good friend, BK. (This mile split decreased to a surprising 10:10. This is why) He became my play-by-play course announcer. When he wasn’t explaining what to expect next on the course, he was pointing out the building in which he now works in downtown Cincinnati, or where he used to live, or where he used to run, or where he went to college. Other times he was making kind supportive comments about how I was doing. “Kelley, you're doing great”. He was a gift.

BK had always told me the Pig course was hilly. Thank goodness I listened to him and did 6 weeks of hill running. That gave me the confidence that, although the hills would be work, I would handle them. From mile 5 through about 9 we covered quite a bit of hills and healthy incline. Every time my heart rate went to 185, I dropped to a walk (after giving BK adequate warning) until it reached 175, and then ran some more. BK kept his eye on a couple of people who seemed to be running the same pace as me (including a woman in a superwoman costume) and noticed that my walk breaks did not seem to slow my pace down. That was encouraging.

By mile 9, I remember thinking, “Thank God I didn’t sign up for the full!” At this point my legs were really feeling the effects of the hills and my body was beginning to feel drained. I was pushing much harder than a training run and I was feeling it.

The course leveled out for a bit after mile 9. By the time we hit mile 10, it was time to hold on to your hat! The final 5K was all downhill. We were all of a sudden cruising. BK could hear me huffing and told me to release my arms and relax. Like magic my breathing completely calmed. We passed the 11 mile marker with a 9:28 pace. It was about here that we began noticing two particular people in the crowd showing up over and over progressively along the course: a man and his 5 year old’ish daughter. It happened at least four times and BK and I could not help but laugh and yell out at them by the 3rd and fourth times we passed. We could not figure out how they could get to each of those places so fast. (Scotty…are you beaming them in??)

Mile 12 clocked at 10:03. BK coached me on the down hill 'squat and shuffle'. It seemed to be working well. BK happened to notice the leading male marathoner merging onto the previously separated half/full course just feet ahead of us. He remarked excitedly, "That guy is cook'n!" Shortly after, BK pulled off the course somewhere past mile twelve and gave me one last farewell…”You are doing great…finish strong!”

My heart was beating out of my chest and I was struggling for my breath. By now I could hear the announcers but could not see the crowds. I started praying…”Just let me see the finish…just let me see the finish….” But it would still be a while. I saw George at 12.5 miles where the course turned left. He waved and beamed as I went by. I still couldn’t see the finish.

At that moment I dropped to a walk. I wanted to keep going and I just couldn’t do it. I walked about 30 seconds and ran through to the finish. God was I happy to see those mats! And for the first time in all my races, MY name was called out over the intercom as I passed through the chute.

Final time: 2:20:28! (Oh…if I had only not walked that last time….*wink*)

Oh, and the first place male marathoner set a new cours record. 2:20:25!! We shared the moment. :)

Time to Fly

2006-05-04T18:41:00.000-04:00

Fly - Hillary Duff

Any moment, everything can change,
Feel the wind on your shoulder,
For a minute, all the world can wait,
Let go of your yesterday.

Can you hear it calling?
Can you feel it in your soul?
Can you trust this longing?
And take control,

Fly
Open up the part of you that wants to hide away
You can shine,
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life,
And start to try, cause it's your time,
Time to fly.

All your worries, leave them somewhere else,
Find a dream you can follow,
Reach for something, when there's nothing left,
And the world's feeling hollow.

Can you hear it calling?
Can you feel it in your soul?
Can you trust this longing?
And take control,

Fly
Open up the part of you that wants to hide away
You can shine,
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life,
And start to try, cause it's your time,
Time to fly.

And when you're down and feel alone,
Just want to run away,
Trust yourself and don't give up,
You know you better than anyone else,

Any moment, everything can change,
Feel the wind on your shoulder,
For a minute, all the world can wait,
Let go of yesterday,

Fly
Open up the part of you that wants to hide away
You can shine,
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life,
And start to try,
Fly
Forget about the reasons why you can't in life,
And start to try, cause it's your time,
Time to fly.

Any moment, everything can change.

She’s Drives Me Crazy … Oh … Oh…

2006-04-27T12:46:00.000-04:00

Oh…k….

Yes the taper HAS begun. All of the mental gibberish IS driving me crazy. Did I run enough hills? What about this damn heart rate that I couldn’t seem to get under control?!! My legs are good and strong….but what about that tightness I am feeling in my left leg. Geesh it wraps below my ankle. I hope it’s not an injury. SHUT UP!!!!!

Tuesday, I was a good girl. Followed my plan to hit the elliptical for 30 minutes and 30 minutes only. Got a good sweat going and maintained a good heart rate at 147/PE 60%.

Wednesday, I went back and forth between whether to do 8 or 10 miles at the park. After I messed around and lost half of the day, I decided to do 8 around my mom’s neighborhood. And let me tell you...that area is NOT flat… it is a township on the outer reaches of suburbia with very spacious properties. Each strip of road is about 1.5 miles long before you get to any intersections....and....it is "beautiful rolling hills". So, I suppose I did OK with a 10:45 on rolling hills. I had to walk a few times when my breathing became more labored than I was comfortable with.

Splits:

M1 - 9:43 (the only steepish downhill)

M2 - 10:49 (stopped and stretched; left outside calf and foot cramped.)

M3 - 10:50

M4 - 11:05

M5 - 10:30

M6 - 11:50 (loooong hill)

M7 - 10:28

Maybe rolling hills were a no no… but I had to see!

Sheesh….another victim of taper nuttiness.

Gardening Aerobics

2006-04-24T14:14:00.000-04:00

This was my first weekend of gardening of the season. Generally, I spend at least two full weekend days a month out on my church's 10 acre property which is covered with beautiful flower gardens, vegetable gardens and fruit orchards.

I spent most of Saturday shoveling and hauling dirt from one long bed to the dirt storage bin at the bottom of a hill. Then I worked new soil into the beds with the Mantis. When my arms gave out, I sat and pulled weeds until my hands gave out.

Saturday night I sat in an epson salt bath in an attempt to ease my aching legs. The ache radiated to the marrow of my bones. Nothing seemed to give me relief: Advil, massage, heat....nada. I barely slept a wink. Sunday morning, when the clock went off at 5:30 a.m. for my trail run, my body felt like it had been rolled off a cliff. I heard a distant rumble of thunder outside and thanked God that I didn't have to do the run. I probably would have walked most of it anyway.

Since I had promised my mom I would be meeting her after my trail run each Sunday to take her walking, I made sure I got myself there on time. She had new New Balance walking shoes, bless her heart, and was ready to go a bit after I arrived. We walked until she was ready to stop. Just getting this first walk in was a major accomplishment for her. I look forward to seeing her walking everyday.

By 10:00 a.m., I was back in the garden ready for another day of work. This day started with more tilling the soil, and ended with more weed pulling. Scattered showers and thunderstorms were predicted for the day but just seemed to miss us until the last of the tools were put away. The timing was uncanny. We were all fed a nice bowl of ham and bean soup and sent on our way.

Any guilt that I might have felt for not doing my trail run Sunday morning was lost due to exhaustion. I went home, showered and stretched out on the couch and watched a movie.

I guess the taper has begun.

The final 13 miler

2006-04-19T13:46:00.000-04:00

This run started off with dead feeling legs. Had minor aches and cramping in right hip and right foot, which disappeared after about 4 miles. Took a Honey Stinger 'GU' and water at mile 5.5 (and removed my windbreaker and long sleeved tech shirt); took PowerAid/water mixture at mile 11. Was very thirsty at that point.

Legs feel great now. With some rest, I think my legs are going to fly up the road at the Pig.

Stats:
13 miles no hills, just some minor incline and declines.
2:25:00 / 11:09 / HR: 170 (PE 77%)
Temps started at 47F and ended at 63F

[Shoes: Asics GT-2090]

Hopping Down the Easter Trail

2006-04-17T16:55:00.001-04:00

I had a great Easter Sunday trail run. I took my camera and snapped some terrific pictures along the way. I only wish I could have captured the incredible beauty of that

crisp blue sky and brilliant morning sun. It was breath taking.

This is mudhole number 1. I almost lost a shoe here last week, but it is a lot drier today!

I love going over this creek. It has been too high on
occasion to cross, forcing us to take a detour.
The first of 3 hills.

This is Squire's Castle. The sun is breaking through the trees so beautifully

12 miles Completed: No Frills; No Spills

2006-04-13T23:28:00.000-04:00

2:22:24/11:52 pace. Tonight's run was basically a repeat of last week's, with the addition of another mile, and no fall!! I started at 6:50 pm and ended at about 9:15 pm. I lacked some of the previous weeks spunk during this long run. I don't think I was hydrated well enough, which was exasperbated by the 70F temps. I guzzled some PowerAid and water mixture at 6 miles when I went back to the house to pick up George. I had more at mile 9 and at the finish. Boy was I starving by the time I was done. I skipped the Gu since I was drinking PowerAid and I didn't want to trip off a LGI problem.

My legs felt pretty beaten up by mile 9 so it was a serious push to mile 12. I had trouble walking the rest of the night, especially stairs. Thanks goodness the day was almost over. I ate a delicious dinner of roasted chicken breast, baked potato and salad and then soaked in a bathtub.

I may do 30 minutes of elliptical tomorrow to help get the lactic acid moving, since I have the hilly trails on Sunday.

Trailing Behind

2006-04-09T20:08:00.000-04:00

Met up with the Trail Runners at 6:30 a.m., as has now become my Sunday morning ritual (goodbye to those wonderful Sunday snuggly, late morning sleep-ins with my honey...the sacrifices we runners make are just mind boggling.)

Today we were a group of seven, only 2 of us female...hmmm...30% female...this is an interesting ratio that has been pretty consistent each week.

That damn Mr. Winter stubbornly held on one more day. My Jeep outdoor temperature reader said it was 28F! That didn’t stop the Tried and True steady members who were already there and hopping around in the pitch black parking lot when I drove up, but no Sparky today. That was a little disappointing. I have become a bit attached to him.

Joe, the 71 year old originator of the Sunday Morning Trail Run (some 20 years ago) was there. He had just returned late last night from a 5 day ski trip and was feeling fatigued so announced he would be taking it slow today. I sidled right beside him shortly into the warm up run, as I quickly discovered my body was not yet fully recovered from the 11 miler Thursday night. That was a great choice, by the way. Joe is such a nice guy. We stayed together the whole run and chatted about family, and racing, and hip replacements, and the pros and cons of self-employment.

I walked all hills this trip as a kindness to my body…and of course to keep Joe company. (wink wink) As a result, my HR stayed in a non-frightening range for a change.

Today, we were provided an unexpected gift at the crest of the first monster hill: a single cluster of yellow daffodils. A single cluster, at the top of the first hill, where no other daffodils are anywhere in sight, means one thing. A runner planted those there with the conscious intent of making a runner smile after their accomplishment. Thank you.

The rest of the run was pleasant. The front runner of the group doubled back to where Joe and I were on several occasions, which fulfilled the ongoing policy of this group to never leave a runner behind. Joe, who is an ultra runner, took me up an off-path hill that required near climbing. In fact, they referred to that hill as requiring climb-running. I have decided to name that hill the Honorary RunRick Hill as it made me think of some similar paths in his ultra reports.

I am feeling more confident about handling the hills at the Pig. I am starting to get excited and am looking forward to the race. That is ALWAYS a good sign.

Week #13 – 04/02-04/9/06

2006-04-09T20:06:00.000-04:00

Flying Pig Half Marathon

M ~ 2.5 m (treadmill) HR unknown

Note: this run took a great deal of effort. It was the first time I ran the day after

the trail run so I think I was still recovering from that.

[shoes: Mizuno Alchemy 4]

T ~ Rest

W ~ Rest (Missed LSD due to work; moved to Thursday)

Tr ~ 11 miles approx time:2:06:00/11:27 HR: unknown (wore the Garmin, not the HRM)

Note: This was a BIG first accomplishment. Now I know I can do a long run midweek, after work and in the dark! Just got to watch those sidewalk cracks!!)

[Shoes: Asics GT-2090]

Fri ~ Rest

Sat ~ 1.5 hours yoga

Sun ~ 7.5 mile run (5.5 hilly trails) About 1:30:00 HR unknown (wore Garmin but never turned it on as it was buried under a layer of clothes I was unable to remove because it was 28 freak’n degrees!!)

[Shoes: Asics GT-2090]

Total Mileage: 21 miles

Thoughts: Better week than last. Back on track, although missed a 3 mile recovery run. Legs feel very strong. Doing the trail run 2 days after an 11 miler (with hills) was a good show of my stamina and strength. I am feeling less intimidated by the idea of hills in a half marathon. Only 4 weeks till show time!!

11 Miles and a tumble through the Strawberry Patch

2006-04-07T10:08:00.000-04:00

I used to do my long runs on Sunday mornings, just like 50% of the majority of long distance runners (the other being on Saturday). Since mixing the training week up a bit to include Sunday morning trail runs, I have had difficulty getting that long run in during the week.

Last night I was determined to leave that behind me, and put a weekday long run on the scoreboard.

I was able to leave the office by 6:00 and make the 40 minute commute home, change into Runner Woman and get out the door by 7:00 pm. My husband’s eyes popped open wide when I informed him I would be running for an hour and come back by the house at eight to pick him up for our usual 3 miles together.

And off I went.

The weather was very pleasant and with the newly established daylight savings time, I had plenty of daylight ahead of me. My run took me from my house one mile to the park, two miles to the end of the park and back, making the round trip 6 miles. The beauty of running through this particular park is that it has some very healthy hills on the way back. I would say most of the 2 miles to the end are downhill, some steep and some slight, making the return trip an excellent workout. I wore my Garmin 201, which does not record splits as far as I am able to find, so I can only know my overall average pace.

I enjoyed running through my neighborhood for what felt like my first run of spring. I saw yards popping with buttercups, fresh green grass, and budding trees. Some folks were out working their garden beds and preparing to join the masses for the upcoming weekend of gardening mania. People were sitting on their front steps and porches enjoying the fresh air and recent release from wintry indoor imprisonment. I enjoyed all the smells of spring, including BBQ chicken on an outdoor grill. Evening birds sang and chirped the last of their songs as the dusk slowly faded.

Lots of folks were enjoying strolls through the park with their kids on bikes and dogs on a leash. The Creek flowed powerfully on the other side of the woods. As I ran, my body seemed to find a comfortable stride and pace on its own accord. I just went along for the ride. I did not take any walk breaks until I reached the end. Coming back up the park was a whole other workout. I had to break the hilliest parts into 3 or 4 walk breaks so I didn’t suck all of the air out of the park. By the time I reached my house I had been running 1:10:00/11:40 pace.

George and I ran another 3 miles together around our usual route. My body felt amazingly strong but the pace was still slower than I would like. George talked more than usual which was alright with me. It gave us a chance to get caught up which we really had not had for a few days.

We reached the end of our run together and by now it was fully dark. I gave him a sweaty kiss and took off for another 2 miles on my own. I was tired. My toes were sore. My left foot was numb down the middle bottom, but I still had plenty in me to finish.

In the final stretch, I was running in the intermittently well lit glow of streetlights and my foot caught some uneven sidewalk and sent me flying through the air. I landed reasonably soft with only minimal road rash. My left shoulder now has a strawberry tattoo. I later discovered that my cell phone had taken a separate airborne path into the grass, to be discovered several hours later when George and I returned to the scene with flashlights.

The 11 miles was completed in approximately 2:06:00. At this pace, I would complete a half marathon in 2:30:00, NOT my idea of how I want the Pig to end. Better get this HR and leg speed up another notch!!

Thanks for reading!!

Spring Forward, Fall Back

2006-04-02T22:13:00.000-04:00

It's that time again! Clocks were changed before bed (all 27 of them) by my trusty husband. Went to bed at 1:00 (felt like 12:00) feeling uncertain if the Trail Runners would be meeting at their usual Sunday morning time for our 7.5 mile run since the time change would have us starting an hour earlier. Since I had no phone numbers or email addresses to allow me to attempt getting any kind of confirmation, I imagined I might arrive at our meeting site and end up sitting alone in the car for an hour before anyone showed up.

Clock went off at 5:30. Groan. Getting out of bed would not be considered a springing forward type movement. And it took everything I had to not fall back in. But I managed to get myself there by 6:30 a.m.

I was not dissappointed and a little surprised to arrive at the park to a crowd of devoted and enthusiastic runners standing around in the dark waiting for the rest of the posse to pull in. Sparky the black runner herd dog gave me a little "why and what for" as my Jeep pulled into a parking place just under the wire. Guess he doesn't like starting late!

Today we had three runners I had not met yet, and were missing three that had become regulars to me. The group totaled about 10 runners. Our 1.75 mile warm up run was done in the partial darkness of a predawn glow, making it possible for us to see where we were going. The pace was a bit fast for me and I became winded. By the time we reached the entry to the trail, the dawn was in full expression and filled the woods with the freshness of a new day.

Today made my third trail run. I was beginning to develop some sense of familiarity with the nature of the run. This took away some of the enjoyment of pure novelty, yet allowed my focus to shift to the pursuit of establishing some goals. There are three major hills in this path, all steep grade and plenty long. Today, I set the goal to fully take the first hill, which shows up about 3/4 mile into the run. Although the hill out did me, I managed to run 2/3's of the way up before my HR reached 195 and forced me to drop to a walk. I was encouraged to resume running once I reached the crest so as to quicken my recovery time. I was sucking some wind and still managed to get my feet back to the business of running fairly quickly.

The second hill is about as montrous as the first, and I managed to run half way up that one. The third hill is longer with less steepness. By the time I reached that one, my quads were feeling weak and I managed to run about a fourth up before I was walking again.

I am happy to say my ankles did not roll once! The ground was very wet and muddy, contributing another layer of character to my Asics GT-2090s. The socks will never be the same.

Trail running is humbling, and I am hopelessly in love.

I wonder what next week will be like!

Kelley, a Beach, and LSD

2006-03-25T15:32:00.000-05:00

I was awakened early-thirty by a tap, tap, tapping on the bedroom door. My brother took it upon himself to insure I didn't miss the sunrise over the Pensacola Gulf. Outside, the wind was coming in over the water and caused a bit of a chill. It didn't take long for us to start the coffee and get a fire going in the large open family room that faced the gorgeous emerald green and saphire blue ocean. The day couldn't have started more perfectly.

Later in the day, I went out to do a 5 mile run. Thought I would wear my Garmin 201 and head west on the strip following the ocean. After 2 and a half miles my feet and calves finally loosened up and I fell into a comfortable stride and tempo.

The sky was completely clear and a gorgeous blue, giving the sun full impact on my body. I was feeling pretty good and ran out 3 miles and back 3 miles. I reached the beach house feeling good and strong so ran up the stairs into the house and downed a Gu and some water and headed back out. This time I ran 2 miles up the strip heading east and turned around and headed back.

My total run amounted to 10 miles and took 1:55:00. Not bad, eh?.... for a five miler. I'm glad I got that long run in finally!!! And I could have kept going but felt somewhat dehydrated so decided to keep it at 10.

I am burned to a crisp. :P I wore running tights that reached just beneath my knees which has resulted in quite an interesting burn line. I also have a white stripe on my left arm from the Garmin and on my right arm from the iPod.

Ankle Brace

2006-03-20T16:09:00.000-05:00

Left ankle was stiff and sore this morning from yesterday's trail run.

Decided to wear this nifty ankle brace to work.

Happy Trails

2006-03-19T14:03:00.000-05:00

Was up early this morning…. 5:30 a.m. to be exact. I actually woke up just about every hour through the night to look at the clock. You know how neurotic you can get when you have an abnormally early wakeup time?

I was meeting the Trail Runners again this week for another go round with the hills. However, I dreaded, dreaded, dreaded getting out into the cold dark outdoors. It was 24F (FEELS like 11F). Those few days in the 50s and 60s had a very bad effect on me; I was feeling done with the cold weather and now lacked the mental determination to buck up and get my arse out the door.

I had to use my little mental games: OK…just put on your running clothes and then see how you feel. OK…now just make your protein shake and then see how you feel. OK…now just drive to the park…you know you DO need to return the water bottle to that very nice runner who loaned it to you last week.

So, of course once I was there, the run was as good as done.

Despite the uncomfortable cold, folks were standing together having coffee and chatting when I arrived at 6:30am. There were 2 or 3 members this week that had not been present last week. One of those people was the father of this Sunday Trail Run, who evidently started it about 20 years ago. He evidently has quite the history as a marathoner (won his AG at the Akron Marathon recently) and ultrathoner. I look forward to learning more about him as I continue meeting up.

I was told that this group has had as many as 30 runners in the past. Today, we had seven brave souls… plus two happy bouncing doggies.

Our run started with an easy warm up run up the street about 1.75 miles. We were all nice and warm before our feet ever hit the trail. (I made a dash for the outhouse just before we all hit the trails. Nice timing. J

The ground was frozen hard this week as opposed to gooshy, spongy last week. It made for better footing, but also harder hitting on the bod. My body was more ready to take the trails this week since I was actually warmed up as compared to starting cold the week before. I assumed a comfortable pace and just enjoyed the newness of the experience. The first monster hill comes within the first 15 minutes of the run. I still could only walk it, but I was able to run halfway up a couple of other hills later in the run.

Inevitably, my ankles rolled 4 times: the right one once (hurt…but walked it off) and the left one three times (didn’t hurt but had a strange weak feeling to it). I wondered if my left ankle was feeling the demand of the trail more this week. I didn’t remember having any ankle weakness last week.

The trail run was completed in about an hour. I wish I had the stamina to keep running but I didn’t. Now, I’m glad I didn’t. My left foot has managed to stiffen up quite significantly and I now have it elevated and wrapped with ice. I don’t believe I injured it, but have to admit it will need at least a day’s rest.

Alright…looks like next week will have more adventures in store. I hop on an RV Tuesday night and head for Pensacola. I plan to meet up with some runners there at least for a long run.

Kelley Krank-Job

2006-03-18T11:57:00.001-05:00

Now that I have managed to work out the problem of when, where and how I will do my hill work, my long run has been pushed to the weekdays. I originally planned it for Wednesday as that is a day I do not go into work, but work from my laptop computer from home.

This past Wednesday would have been my first midweek long run. The wind was obnoxious and the cold made it worse so I regrouped and moved the run to today.

Still not a perfect solution.

My intentions were to wrap things up at work quickly and leave at 4pm., make a quick run to the bank, and then be at the park (near my office) and on the path by 4:30pm. The run would be completed in 2 hours, giving me plenty of daylight. Perfect plan, right?

Not to be. Was out of the office by 4:45. I was tired and drained from work, from my daughter’s college midterm and project anxieties, my sister’s daughter related anxieties, and my own trip related anxiety due to having a seemingly endless case of *the Piles*. Oh yeah, I also got an unexpected visit from the period Fairy.

I talked myself up into an optimistic dream state, believing I would become transformed 20 minutes into the run and find the kick to complete two hours of easy running. My plan to run 12 minutes and walk one minute worked beautifully…for the first 12 minutes. Then each walk break began occurring sooner and sooner. By the time I hit 30 minutes I knew this was not getting any better. I turned around and headed back to the car.

By 6:15pm I was back at my car, ready to cry with disappointment. Where is my stamina? Where is my drive to complete these very important long runs? Am I kidding myself about the Flying Pig? Self-doubt began voicing loudly.

Maybe I just need a rest night.

I went home and got on the couch with a Corona and some pretzels and watched CSI.

Maybe the next run will be better.

This isn't exactly what I mean by Flying Pig

2006-03-15T01:26:00.001-05:00

Hellllllllp!!

The wind is amazing and it is really cold out there. (whine...wimper)

Moved long run planned for today to Friday.

Week #9 ~ Money in the Piggy Bank

2006-03-13T12:22:00.001-05:00

Flying Pig Half Marathon
03/06 – 03/12

This week was a combination of good focused hard work and some disappointing workouts that didn’t fall out like I had designed; I missed my 10 mile LSD, but it was replaced with a hard hilly trail run. I missed an easy run on Thursday, but increased Friday's mileage and made it a tempo. There were nice surprises and benefits in this week that I don’t regret. I had been fretting a bit about how I would manage my upcoming hill training. Looks like I may need to shift my LSD to Tuesday or Wednesdays so I can get the hill work in on Sundays with the club.

OVERVIEW

M ~ Inactive Rest

T ~ 5.1 miles Intervals

Treadmill: 5.8 mph repeats/4.6 recovery intervals

[Mizuno Wave Alchemy 4]

1 mile w/u 13:00

5 x .5 @ 10:18; .25 @ 13:00

.6 mile c/d 13:00 (short cool down; ran out of time L

Here are my HR levels:

1 mile w/u - HR 156 (PE 67%)
1st Repeat - HR 177 (PE 83%)
2nd Repeat - HR 178 (PE 83%)
3rd Repeat - HR 181 (PE 86%)
4th Repeat - HR 180 (PE 85%)
5th Repeat - HR 180 (PE 85%)

W ~ Rest

Tr ~ Zippo (Another need took priority)

Fri ~ 5 mile. (Treadmill) Pace:mixture HR: unknown

[Mizuno Wave Alchemy 4]

Note: Played around with a tempo type format. Left foot, outside edge really sore. Slept with it on a heating pad all night. Fully better next morning.

M1 – 13:00

M2 – 12:00

M3 – 11:30

M4 – 11:00

M5 – 13:00

Sat ~ Yoga: 1.5 hrs

Sun ~ 7.5 miles Hilly Trails 7am Pace: abt 12:00 (1:31:00) HR: up and down (Lower GI problem halted run at 7.5 miles)

[Asics 2090]

Sun ~ 2.25 miles (easy around the hood with Geo 8pm; AGAIN had Lower GI distress and had to cut run short to get back to my house! =-O

Total Mileage 19.85

Stretching – 75 minutes

Abs – 0

Weights – 0 minutes

Cross Training – 0 minutes

Blazing a New Trail

2006-03-12T21:20:00.000-05:00

Thunderstorms were expected all morning making me have some concerns about whether I would be able to get in my long run. The day was fully scheduled after 10:00 a.m. so my window fell between 7:00 – 9:00 a.m.

Regardless of the weather warnings, I made plans to get up at 6:00 and hit the park at 7:00 for 10 miles on the path. Luck was with me today. The T-storms hit around 4:30 and were done by 5 a.m. Even though my body craved to sleep in when that clock struck 6:00, the early morning birds sang and chirped me right out of bed.

As I drove through the park, I noticed that it was abnormally empty. Normally by now it would have had at least a scattering of runners, walkers and dog owners on the paths. Guess they were holding off due to the weather. It had me uneasy because I don’t run in empty parks. By the time I reached the far end of the road I saw a small group of runners hanging together at the parking entrance. Their heads turned and followed my Jeep as it pulled in to park. I lowered my window and asked if they were expecting someone and if I would do.

They turned out to be a friendly bunch more than happy to have me join them. They represented the Northeast Ohio Running Club and evidently meet there every Sunday at 6:30 a.m. They invited me to join them for 7.5 mile run, 5.5 of which were hilly, muddy sloppy trails. They didn’t even blink when I told them how slow I run.

Yahooooo! Do you know how long I have been trying to hook up with these runners?!!! About a year and a half. This felt like such a gift that had simply fallen in my lap.

A long time member and ultra runner took a place running beside me for much of the run and filled me in on the evils of trail running. First rule: keep your eyes on the ground in front. Always be aware of what you are running on.

This was my first trail run. I absolutely enjoyed it. I enjoyed chatting with the other runners and learning things about them. One guy was probably 70 and has been running 20 years. I mentioned to him how much I enjoyed running in this park. He said he was there every Sunday…He used to be a confirmed Catholic, but then he became a runner. J

The run through the trails took a full hour. Most of the hills were bodaciously steep and I chose to walk them. Geesh…my heart rate was 185 just walking up them! The paths were wet and gooshy, but I loved the way it felt on my legs. Man, what a difference compared to concrete sidewalks and even asphalt paths.

The end of the trail emptied out across the street from where they all had left their cars. So I ran another 2 miles alone back to my car. I was planning to add another 2.5 miles once I reached my car, but experienced some lower GI distress that had me making a dash for the outhouse.

My poor, poor Asics 2090s. They were pristine white.

My total running time was about 1:35:00. I plan to meet up with them again!

I Feeeeel Good...

2006-03-11T14:08:00.000-05:00

I was pretty disappointed to miss my 3 miler Thursday night after work. But sometimes family talks take precedence.

Thus, my Friday night run was a no-option to miss run. I also thought I would add another mile in to make up a little for the missed mileage last night.

All day, the sky was a heavy hanging, grey of depression. I hit the coffee pretty heavy. My day was relatively long, and I just couldn't get a groove on. Just managed to miss my opportunity to hit the gym after work and before a mediation gathering I was co-leading at 8:00 pm. Dang. Had to hold it together and skillfully escape to the gym before 9:00 pm so as not to miss my needed minimal 1 hour for 5 miles.

8:45...snuck in the bathroom and donned my running costume and slipped out the door, ariving at my gym at 8:55! Hopped on the treadmill and got down to business. Had a planned 5 miler and decided I would do a psuedo tempo run.

Popped in the iPod ear buds and let Prince guide me into a smooth slow first mile run in his Red Corvette. Legs felt alright. Then pumped up to 12:00 pace for the next mile. The gym was almost empty...was kind of nice.

The next speed increases were introduced after each half mile, with the fasted pace being 10:55. I don't why it is but the treadmill feels much harder to run a faster pace on than running on good ole Mother Earth. However, I was running in good form and feeling good!

Final mile was run at easy 13:00 pace, and James Brown brought me home Feel'n Good.

Owe!!

HR Stats:
60:00 run
Mile 1 & 2 - 168 HR
Mile 3-5 - 177 HR

Postscript: Woke up in the wee hours with some leg and foot pain. My feet were definitely do'n the James Brown shuffle...wiggling all over the place. Owe! Took to Advil and they settled right down.

I'm running on sunshine

2006-03-08T00:56:00.000-05:00

Tuesday speed work has become my most favorite workout. Well, each run has something special to so it is even hard to say that speed work is the best. Bur right now, I am loving it.

I left work heading for the gym not feeling up to my usual self. Kind of queezy and headachy. (OK..so if you read about last night's workout maybe that exlains a little bit about that) I was feeling a little if'y about whether I was gonna have the hootspa to do all those intervals.

I have also learned, when feeling less than my best, just get my butt to the gym and start running and then see what happens. And something magical almost always happens. Even with queezy or acidy stomachs, it seems to miracously dissapear and the run takes on a life of its own.

Tonight I added a 5th half mile repeat....AND...I increased the speed from 10:30 to 10:18 pace.

And a really funny element was also added. I forgot my iPod which has all of my most rock'n jam'n juice me up tunes so I was forced to run with my Stone age Walkman, drawing from my CD collection that I carry in my car.

I picked Fleetwoodmac ~ Greatest Hits (shut up!)

You would never think this music would be compatable with speed work...but I was pleasantly surprised. It actually helped me maintain an even keeled relaxed posture during each repeat.

The run went exceptionally well. I felt strong and full of energy. I completed the fifth repeat with a great deal of stamina and good form.

My maximum heartrate never exceeded 184.

1 mile w/u - HR 156
1st Repeat - HR 177
2nd Repeat - HR 178
3rd Repeat - HR 181
4th Repeat - HR 180
5th Repeat - HR 180

Last Night's Workout

2006-03-07T10:01:00.000-05:00

Burrrrrrrrp!

Noth'in but Satisfaction - week #8

2006-03-06T09:27:00.000-05:00

Flying Pig Half Marathon Week #8 – 02/27 – 03/5
This week was pretty decent. Got good speed in, a pace run, and a good distance run in. I’m happy with my stamina, strength, and just about everything else about my training right now. I have two more weeks of speed work, and will then switch to hill repeats for the remainder of the cycle.

Total Mileage 21 ç Woo Hooooooooo for me!!!

M ~ Inactive Rest

T ~ 4.75 miles Intervals

Treadmill: 5.7 mph repeats/3.8 recovery intervals

[Mizuno Wave Alchemy 4]

1 mile w/u 13:00

4 x .5 @ 10:30; .25 @ 13:00

1 mile c/d 13:00

Here are my HR levels:

1st .5 mile - HR 170 (PE 78%)

2nd .5 mile - HR 184 (PE 89%

3rd .5 mile - HR 187 (PE 90%)

(And this is where it got fun as I attempted the *Puke Test*)

4th mile - .25 mile @ 8:20 pace - HR 188 (PE 90%)

- .25 mile @7:06 pace - HR (max) 192 (PE 95%)

W ~ Rest

Tr ~ 3 miles (around the hood with hubby). Pace:10:22 HR: 176 (PE 82%)

[Mizuno Wave Alchemy 4]

Fri ~ 4.25 mile. (Treadmill) Pace: 13:00 HR: 160 (PE 70%)

[Asics 2090]

Note: Finally! A HR that matched an easy run!! Did 10-15 minutes stretching afterwards. Shins and feet cramped and tightened during first 2 miles. Ran 1 mile/walked 1 min. to loosen them up, which really helped.

Sat ~ Yoga: 1.5 hrs; Massage: 1.5 hrs (Geo really bore in on my quads and calves cuz I’ve got some Easter eggs in there! Oooooooooweeeeeee)

Sun ~ 9 miles LSD (Sunny park) Pace: 11:13 (1:40:59) HR: 169 (PE 77%)

[Mizuno Wave Alchemy 4]

Note: It was a beautiful, sunny run at my favorite park. Ran 5.5 miles by myself (listening to a CD on Psychopharmacology…need the CEUs). Shins started out tight and sore but seemed to work out after about 3 miles. I took a PowerGel and water at the 5.5 mile mark. George joined me for the remaining 3.5 miles. Worked hard to keep the pace nice and easy and HR low(er) so by the end I definitely felt like I could keep on going.

Can it really be happening?

2006-03-01T18:11:00.000-05:00

Last night I completed my forth speed training session.

The plan: 4 X 1/2 mile at 10:30 pace, with 1/4 mile recovery jogs at 13:00 pace.

I started with my usual warmup routine: 1/4 mile walk & 1 mile slow jog at 13:00

My legs felt pretty good and strong as I began the first half mile repeat. I had my iPod juicing me up with some pretty cool, adrenaline pumping tunes.

Here are my HR levels:

1st .5 mile - HR 170

2nd .5 mile - HR 184

3rd .5 mile - HR 187

(And this is where it got fun)

4th .5 mile - .25 mile @ 8:20 pace - HR 188

- .25 mile @7:06 pace - HR [max] 192

Last week BK and I were talking about my max HR and he suggested I use this run to retest it. I was (and still am) sure that my MHR is probably 205 based on my observations during my various level runs and knowing how comfortable or difficult it feels to me at these different levels of intensity. So I ran the last half mile repeat at a pace I felt would work. As all of you know, I do not run 7:00 miles. So I was surprised (and disappointed) to see that the highest my HR went was 192. However.....oh...this is so exciting. I truly am getting faster!!!

Total 4.75 miles. Time 55:50

Week #7 – 02/20 – 02/26

2006-02-27T17:52:00.000-05:00

Flying Pig Half Marathon
This week started off with a lot of promise, but sizzled at the end. I am disappointed that I did not make my long run. Grief and depression (surprisingly) overwhelmed me following my deceased step-dad's birthday and seeing Family Stone (Bad timing? Maybe not) However, I am very pleased with the speed I am beginning to see. Next week was to be a planned cut-back week so I will use this week as my cut-back instead.

M ~ Inactive Rest

T ~ 4.75 miles Intervals

Treadmill: 5.7 mph repeats/3.8 recovery intervals

[Mizuno Wave Alchemy 4]

1 mile w/u 12:30

4 x .5 @ 10:30; .25 @ 13:00

1 mile c/d 12:30

HR SPLITS:

1^st .5 miles – HR 173 (PE 80%) Improved by 5%!

2^nd .5 miles – HR 180 (PE 85%) Improved by 5%!

3^rd .5 miles – HR 185 (PE 90%) Higher than last week

4^th .5 miles

W ~ Rest

Tr ~ Rest (Family dinner in honor of my step-dad’s birthday.)

Fri ~ 4 mile Pace run Pace: 10:11.5 HR 176 ~ PE 83%

[Mizuno Wave Alchemy 4]

Splits:

M1 9:42

M2 9:55

M3 10:33 av (no marker) ~had a 1 minute walk...my HR was 184)

M4 10:33 av ~ slowed it down for final mile

Sat ~ Rest (staying at Mom’s with family for weekend together. Brother up from FL)

Sun ~ 5.5 miles LSD (Snowy park) Pace: 11:49 (1:05:00) HR Unknown

[Shoes: Asics 2090]

Note: Planned 9 miles, but couldn’t find it in myself to do more than 5.5 miles. Even walked as much as I ran. Grief over whelmed the running spirit in me. Packed it in and went home.

Total Mileage => 14.25

Abs – 0

Stretching – 0

Weights – 0 minutes

Cross Training – 0 minutes

2006-02-25T10:22:00.000-05:00

Despite running in temperatures in the low teens, I was not feeling excited about getting outside in the cold. But as I have learned to tell mysef, just don't think about it. Get those running clothes on and just get out the door.

I missed yesterday's planned tempo run to attend a family gathering honoring my recently deceased step-father. So it was worth it. But I figured with the extra day's rest, despite the last workout being intervals that I could add some intensity to today's run.

The running path was clear of ice and snow. Without any stretching or my usual warm-up walk, I just moved immediately into a comfortable jog. My HR jumped up into the 160s rather quicky, so I decided to not look at my watch until the run was complete. I wanted to see what I could do at this point.

I ran with focused effort for the first two miles but not to thepoint of over doing it. Then turned around and ran back. (I did take a minute walk-break when my breathing became labored on the trip back)

Once I stepped over the *finish mark* of the running path, I took a quick look at my watch.

40:46. WHAT????? How can that be???

I haven't run that fast in a year and a half...and that wasn't even a race. Holy Cow!!!

My overall pace was 10:11.5!!!!! (HR 176)

That makes this run a PACE run. WOO HOO!!!!

My splits looked like this:
M1 9:42
M2 9:55
M3 10:33 av (no marker) ~had a 1 minute walk...my HR was 184)
M4 10:33 av ~ slowed it down for final mile

Those wings must be growing fast!

Tuesday’s Thunder

2006-02-22T12:38:00.000-05:00

02/21/05

Tuesday night was my 3^rd speedwork session. I am so pleased to be back at this element of training after taking over a year off due to sustaining a stress fracture in December 2005.

Since I am training for a half marathon, I have myself focusing on half-mile repeats rather than something shorter. I did 4 repeats of ½ mile at 10:30 pace with recovery interval jogs of ¼ mile at a 13:00 pace, for a total 4.75 mile workout.

And it rocked! I really focused on trying to relax as I ran faster, and as my breathing became more labored. By the end of the second repeat, I was dripping sweat like a summer gutter! When I finished the final repeat, boy did I feel proud. I will tell you….it weren’t easy!! I just kept thinking about that Flying Pig Goal…2:14:58….gonna get there.

I like what a fellow runner friend told me…. I am sprouting my flying pig wings!

Wee Wee Wee!!!

Flying Pig Half Marathon - Week #6

2006-02-19T19:23:00.000-05:00

02/13 – 02/19

M ~ Inactive Rest

T ~ 3.75 miles Intervals; 10 mins. stretching

Treadmill: 5.7 mph repeats/3.8 recovery intervals

[Mizuno Wave Alchemy 4]

.5 mile walking w/u 15:00

.5 mile running w/u 12:30

3 x .5 @ 10:30; .25 @ 13:00

.25 mile walk (OMG!!! was gonna fall down)

1 mile running c/d 12:30

HR SPLITS:

1^st .5 miles – HR 173 (PE 80%) Improved by 5%!

2^nd .5 miles – HR 180 (PE 85%) Improved by 5%!

3^rd .5 miles – HR 185 (PE 90%) Higher than last week

W ~ Abs – 50 crunches (finally!!)

Tr ~ 3.2 miles (around the hood) Pace:10:56/35:20 HR: 169 ~ PE 75%

[Shoes: Asics 2090]

Note: Poor Geo is feeling really worn down from his oral surgery last week, so he pooped out halfway through our run. Made for a very easy 1^st half pace, then I picked it up and ran ahead after it became clear he would be walking the rest of the way home. I ran to our usual stopping place and turned around and ran back to where he was. Legs felt great!!

2.9 miles ~ Pace: 11:17 HR 167

.3 miles ~ Pace: 8:43 HR 184

Fri ~ 3 mile Easy run Pace: 12:30 HR 169 ~ PE 78%; 50 straight leg lifts; 10 mins stretching

[Shoes: Asics 2090]

Treadmill 4.8 mph / Incline - 0

Note: Was glad to be running, even though I always feel the effects of running the night before. Weird thing happened with my iPod when I turned it on; it was in some diagnostic mode and took 10-15 minutes to cycle out of it. It has never happened before and I wasn’t so sure it wasn’t broken!

Sat ~ Yoga 1.5 hrs; 1.5 hour massage

Sun ~ 8 miles LSD (Snowy park) Pace: 11:15 (1:30:00) HR 173 ~ PE 80%

[Shoes: Asics 2090]

Note: Temps 18F & Gorgeous Sunshine. I started psyching myself up for this run a day in advance due to the brutally cold temps. After JG’s & Pappy post, I knew I could do it. Had some concern for soreness I was experiencing in the groin area due to those straight leg lifts and knowing I was jumping from a 6 miler to an 8 miler, but it gave me no trouble. Got twinged in the glute towards the end of the run. Will keep an eye on that.

SPLITS:

M 1.25 ~ 10:56

M 2.25 ~ 11:09

M 3.25 ~ 11:32

M 4.25 ~ 11:58 (wha happened??)

M 5.5 ~ 11:11

M 6.75 ~ 11:09

M 8 ~ 10:56

THOUGHTS: This was an excellent week as far as kicking up the intensity level. I got in a good interval training, a nice longer run than in a while, and even a tempo run again. My legs are feeling stronger and stronger. I like that I also got the ab work back in the mix along with some post-running stretching. Oh, this feeling a satisfaction can’t be beat!

Total Mileage => 17.95 <= WOO HOO!!

Abs – 100 crunches

Stretching – 95 minutes

Weights – 0 minutes

Cross Training – 0 minutes

Training Week #5

2006-02-11T19:01:00.000-05:00

Training for Flying Pig Half Marathon
Snowy Week #5 – 02/6 – 02/12

M ~ Inactive Rest

T ~ 3 mile Intervals (+.5 mile walk w/u)
Treadmill: 5.7 mph repeats/3.8 recovery intervals
[Shoes: Asics 2090]
Note: First speed work since November ’04. Felt great!
3X .5 @ 10:30; .25 @ 13:00
1st .5 miles – HR 174 (PE 80%)
2nd .5 miles – HR 183 (PE 85% - 90%)
3rd .5 miles – HR 182 (PE 85% - 90%)

W ~ Inactive Rest Day

Tr ~ 3 miles (*Tempo* around the neighborhood) Pace:10:18 HR: 175 ~ PE 80%
[Shoes: Mizuno Wave Alchemy 4]
Note: A surprising run. I thought I was doing a nice and easy run of 11:30!!! JG is right, the speed work made a mental adjustment that made running seem easier.

Fri ~ 2.5 recover Pace: 12:30 HR 165 ~ PE 75%
[Shoes: Asics 2090]
Note: Got to the gym with only 32 mins. till closing so ran as long as time permitted. Shins had some soreness from yesterday.

Sat ~ Yoga 1.5 hrs;
6 miles LSD (in the snowy park) Pace: 11:29 (108:56) HR 171 ~ PE 80%
[Shoes: Asics 2090]
Note: Moved long run from Sun to today due to full schedule tomorrow. That made today the 3rd day in a row to run so I cut the distance from 7 miles to 6 miles. (Well…I also had a close encounter with a near bathroom disaster which played a role in this decision too) I felt the effects of 3 days running 30 minutes later after returning home: tight and somewhat sore quads and calves.
SPLITS:
M1 ~ missed marker (11:05 av)
M2 ~ 11:05 (22:10.5)
M3 ~ 10:56
M4 ~ 12:43 (point of bathroom issues; had to walk)
M5 ~ 12:37 (…and some more walking :P
M6 ~ 10:25

Sun ~ May fit in some UBW and abs while Geo runs (without me…sniff).

THOUGHTS: This was a great week as far as feeling that my body is back in shape for half-marathon training after 5 weeks of returning to 4 days of running a week. I seem to have resolved the foot/shin/calf problems by removing the arch supported insoles and using a non-support quality insole.

I did my first speed work AND an unplanned tempo run two days later. I continually miss my weight training and crunches and can tell I am not very motivated to make sure I get that in. I am a bit forgiving however because I am very busy with paperwork getting my new business running on all cylinders.

Total Mileage – 14.5
Weights – 0 minutes
Stretching – 75 minutes
Cross Training – 0 minutes

The Run I've been Waiting For!

2006-02-09T17:48:00.000-05:00

Thursday, 02/05/06

My running hasn’t been all that stellar for a few months…

I have had continual problems with my feet, calves and shins. The story there is that I became convinced that one of the culprits of my stress fracture of ’05 was the fact that my feet are near flat as pancakes. So I set myself to task to correct this structural inferiority. After months of effort, several pairs of running shoes, custom made and generic orthotics, and several visits to the doctor and a few hundred dollars later, I have concluded that I am better off with no extra arch support and a good cushioned motion control running shoe. Sheesh!

…Until Thursday

It was a rainy and chilly night. I was scheduled for my usual 3 mile jog around the neighborhood with my life-running honey, George. I had a long day at the office and got home at 8:15pm. After a quick change, we were out the door at 8:30pm. Based on my previous runs, I expected to do 12:00 pace including walk breaks every half mile to help prevent foot and calf cramping, and I informed Geo of this. Off we went….an easy jog up 1/10th mile to the top of our hill, then turn left for a one mile straight away run. I noticed my legs seemed to loosen up rather quickly and my pace felt oh so good. It was kind of fun running in the rain and accidentally splashing smack into a big water puddle here and there. I could tell my pace was picking up after a little while and my legs felt very strong. By the final ¾ mile stretch, I was running with a long, swift stride (for me) and my breathing was good and solid, not huffing. When I checked my watch, I had a pace of 10:39!

Boy have I missed that!

2006-01-30T16:29:00.000-05:00

No one should look so happy at mile 13!!
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26.2 Miles of pride

2006-01-14T17:41:00.000-05:00

26.2 Miles

Chapter 1

June 6^th, I took my first training run after 5 months of rehabbing a stress fracture sustained during training for the Walt Disney Half Marathon in January. I had been tossing the idea around of doing my first marathon for months now. I questioned whether it was feasible and even wise to step into a first time marathon after losing a huge percentage of my running base and conditioning, and knowing that I would have to start with extremely low mileage. The big question loomed in my mind; would I re-injure? Could I manage the miles? After a great deal of thought, I committed myself to the task, also determining that I would modify the training plan to a lower mileage base, exclude any speed work, and stick to a 4/1 run/walk ratio.

For eighteen weeks I trained. The first week ended happily with the successful completion of three 3-mile runs without incident. Each consecutive week added two miles to the weekly total. By week five, I graduated to a forth day of running, totaling 15 miles. By week thirteen, I was hitting my peak, having run my first sixteen miler for a weekly total of 30 miles.

The final five weeks of training took a disappointing dive. Following a poor decision to break in new orthotics at this late stage of the game, my right ankle became overly strained which led to a full blown sprain after running my second 16 miler before the ankle had rested adequately. I took the week off and then saw the doctor, who put the ankle in an air-cast and forbade running for two more weeks, causing me to miss my only scheduled 18 and 20 milers. To add insult to injury, I sustained a debilitating head cold which removed the option of cross training for a week. I was forced to surrender and let my body rest.

Two weeks before the marathon, I was chomping at the bit to get some running in just to assure myself that I still had it in me. I completed 12 miles at my first opportunity by walking six and run/walking six. My confidence was re-kindled.

Along with this final run, there were two other runs that gave me the necessary mental boost that would eventually get me to the place of knowing that I had what I needed to get across that finish line. One occurred very early in the training.

My scheduled long run at this point was for only five miles. That weekend I was committed to do gardening work for my church on their 10 acre property. The temperatures over both weekend days were in the high eighties, with a heat index of 100°F. I worked two long and hard days in the sun, feeling completely drained and baked by the sun by the end of the workday on Sunday. A soon as I got home, I forced myself into my running clothes and hit the road. Completely exhausted, I ran those five miles using my mind to move my legs and keep myself going. It gave me a taste of what the last 6.2 miles of the marathon would be like and gave me the confidence that my mind would move me through it.

The second booster came when I was scheduled to do 16 miles while away visiting my in-laws in Annapolis. I located the Annapolis Striders online, a local running club, and was delighted to meet up with forty-odd runners in the pitch dark of the morning. Imagine my surprise when the early morning sunrise revealed some monstrous hills ahead wickedly beckoning me into their torturous realms. Those hills taught me that I was ready. I walked away from that run with a mental resolve that carried me through three weeks of unplanned *early tapering* knowing I was ready.

Chapter 2

It was dark out, but the view from my 10^th floor hotel room revealed that outdoor activity had already been long in progress. I rose from my bed, barely having slept after a long night of tossing and turning and waiting. My running clothes were laid ceremoniously across the chair that sat in front of the large glass window facing the start area. Shoes sat patiently on the floor holding my special double layer running socks and racing chip. The pockets of my Race Ready shorts were stuffed with what a first time marathoner imagined as necessities: 6 Gu packs, a protein bar, pretzels twists, a tiny Body Glide, 2 Band-Aid blister covers, lip balm, cell phone, a hotel room card and 2 Advil. After dressing, I clipped a mini iPod onto my waste band to be used much later in the race as my special weapon for getting me through miles 20-26.

After completing a protein drink and a banana, I finished my morning hygiene routine, grabbed my visor and gloves and headed out the door.

The trip down in the elevator was swift. I escaped between the doors out into a runner’s world of chatter and electricity. I sought out my LCAR friends and easily found them beginning to gather in the main lobby area. Letty stepped forward with a black marker in hand to write names on our runner’s arms and legs as more of our runners came strolling in.

My outside demure was calm and quiet, very unlike my inside world. I found myself suspended between two opposing places: One of complete acceptance and surrender where I knew there was nothing more to do to prepare for this immense challenge I was about to initiate. The other place was one of complete terror reminiscent of sitting in a powerful roller coaster for the first time and watching the sky move closer and closer as the car climbed the treacherous incline, knowing that soon it would be plunging into depths that leave all known safety behind.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. I wanted to get on with it.

At 7:15 a.m., we began the march out of the Congress Hotel lobby into the streets. By now having become a group of 14 runners plus support people, we began to break up into our smaller time goal groups and walked the short 10 minute distance to the start area. Kathy, who had still been in the bathroom, caught up with Sid and me before we took our place among the sea of people along side the large round yellow and black pace sign marked 5:15.

Helicopters made chopping sounds in the air as they passed over and hovered above the crowds. Kathy, Sid and I made light chatter between us as the time seemed to crawl by. John Bingham, creator of the Penguins, a marathon organization for the slower moving runner, walked up to Sid at one point and shook his hand warmly, obviously remembering him fondly from previous marathons (how many out of 130, pray tell!)

At eight o’clock, the crowds burst into cheers and we slowly began moving forward. Articles of clothing began flying through the air as people shed their outer layers in preparation to start their run. As soon as we were near enough to the speakers, we could hear the Blues Brothers blaring out “Sweet Home Chicago” and we all joined in on the chorus. It took about twenty minutes to reach the start line. The moment my foot hit the mat, I heard the recognizable lead in drum roll of “Born to Run.” Bruce’s voice boomed across the field as we moved into our first running steps.

Kathy and I looked at each other and screamed. It’s happening! We are running our first marathon!!!

Right away we worked out our running system of 4/1 run/walk. Although I had planned to take my first bathroom break at mile six, my bladder told me otherwise. I started looking for port’o potties by mile three but didn’t find one until about 4.25 mile….just moments before I would have joined the yellow streak club for the second time.

Before long, we were back on the road. I knew to watch for Kimba and Lorita at mile eight. This was the first community that really caught my eye. We passed a gay male dance team dressed in army fatigues and twirling wooden guns. We then saw a rock band whose members were each dressed as female impersonators. I combed the crowd for Kimba and Lorita without luck.

Just past this point, Sid disappeared. I looked all around and didn’t see any sign of him, so Kathy and I moved on deciding that he would catch up with us later. (I later learned that he had stepped off the course to take a pit stop, and then injured his ankle just after jumping back on the course.)

Kathy got a call from Clarisse letting her know she would be meeting her around mile 11 or 12. Kathy was hanging in there and would give me a smile every time I checked on her to see how she was doing. I knew seeing Clarisse would be a nice energizer.

Chapter 3

George called me on my cell a few times trying to coordinate an interception with me. He waited for me at mile 13. He told me to run wide to the left at the upcoming right turn so he could get my picture. I approached mile thirteen running wide, but saw no sign of George. I felt so disappointed. First I missed Kimba and Lorita, and now George.

My phone rang just after I passed the area and it was George. He expected to see me in the yellow long sleeved shirt he saw me leave the hotel room wearing in the wee hours of the morning. Unbeknownst to him, I had long ago discarded it and was now wearing a bright turquoise running shirt. Needless to say, he never saw me. He decided to run out on the course and catch up with me, which he did rather quickly. We stopped for a moment while he took a cheesy picture of me (pretending to run) then we took off together. He said he didn’t want to lose me again so he would just stick it out with me as long as he could.

Once we reached mile 16, I turned to George and said, “Every step beyond this point is new territory.” I had never completed any training runs past 16 miles.

By now, my body had begun to hurt in various ways. Each mile was becoming harder than the last. As a mental game to help myself better handle the upcoming new challenges, I decided I would allow mile 16-18 to be my first 18 mile training run, and then miles 18-20 to be my first 20 mile training run.

I kept pushing. Each 1 minute walk felt shorter and shorter. I noticed the one minute break sometimes turned into a minute and a half or even two minutes. My 5:15 hoped for finish was long gone, but I knew I could still make a respectable finish if I stayed focused. By mile 20, I tightened the reins on my walk breaks from then on out.

Chapter 4

When mile 20 finally came rolling by, I was ecstatic...well..as ecstatic as anyone can feel who has been running for four hours. There is something special about hitting that number that is re-inspiring. I was so caught up in that good feeling that I almost forgot that I could now engage my special weapon: great music downloaded on my daughter’s iPod.

I popped in the earplugs and hit the volume. My ears were greeted with ColdPlay’s tune, “Yellow”. How very appropriate. I put that one on exclusively in honor of Kelsey (the deceased daughter of my very good friend Pappy, who died a year ago August in a car accident at the untimely age of sixteen). I listened to the words and felt a surge of power move through me. My pace picked up significantly.

George continued to run along with me. The music from my iPod now shut out any verbal conversation that might have been occurring between us, but the presence of my husband dressed all in white running beside me was a powerful communicator of his love and support of what I had committed to do.

I had stopped checking in with him to see how he was and if he wanted to veer off the course. He had previously assured me each time that he was fine and had no intentions of losing me again. By now he had run seven miles with me…almost twice as far as he had ever run with me before. Our original plan had been for him to join me at mile 20 and run me in for the finish. Now he was committed for the remainder of the race. Neither of us had realized that before this race was over, my husband will have run his own unplanned half marathon with no more training than a three-mile run twice a week. What a man!

Mile marker 21 came and went. I was running between a 12:20 and 12:30 pace. I noticed other runners seemed to be walking more than before. I thought about how we were all sharing in the experience of hurting and pushing to finish. We each were dealing with mental demons that attempted to take us off track. We were all remembering why we were here and digging deeper to get the job done. I still had 5.2 miles to go. I thought about that five mile run that I did after the two days of working hard in the sun. I felt thankful that I had done that and pulled on the memory. It gave me strength.

I pressed on.

After what felt like an exceptionally long mile, I saw the 22 mile marker pop into view. Underneath that lovely round yellow sign was the statement, “the final five miles”. I breathed a momentary sigh of relief knowing there were only 4.2 miles yet to go. My body was holding up, but my legs seemed to be running on empty. My mind was the only thing seeming to keep them moving.

With the little bit of energy I had to spare, I worried about George. He had now been running over nine miles. I had watched him refuse water and GatorAid at each and every water station due to being a bandit runner. His ethics would not allow him to take what was not his to take. When he finally did concede to take water, he ran off the course way behind the volunteers and took water from a table that was holding the supplies, filled his own water and then threw the cup in a trash receptacle. I was deeply thankful to have him in my life.

I don’t remember mile 23. But mile 24 was unforgettable. Once there, emotion surged through my whole body. I knew I had run 24 miles. I knew I had 2.2 miles to go. I knew I could do anything for 2.2 miles. This was my moment of knowing. I knew I was going to complete this marathon. I knew to my marrow.

The voices of the Blues Brothers singing Sweet Home Chicago began playing on the iPod. It was the long extended version. My heart danced and laughed despite my body’s state of depletion. My feet became lighter. Mile 24 became 25 almost magically.

Reaching mile 25 was uncanny. Just as I crossed the marker, Tom Petty began to sing “I Won’t Back Down”. “You can drop me off at the gates of hell, but I won’t back down”. My body filled with pride. I had not backed down and I was cruising in for the final 1.2.

Just as my husband reached the completion of his half marathon, we came around the bend that led to the straightaway and on to the finish line. A race official called George off the course, to which he politely obliged. We waved our goodbyes and shouted out where we would meet after I finished the race.

I shifted my focus back to the finish. Right away I could see the finish line. I straightened my body, pulled my shoulders back, extended my stride and began to run as if I had just begun.

My body filled with joy and excitement as I moved closer and closer to the finish. I knew my daughter was hidden somewhere in the crowd. I wanted to look good for her and give her the message loud and clear that a woman can do anything she sets her mind to. That this woman, her mother, had accomplished something she believed earlier was impossible for her to do.

I ran past the gigantic TV screen. I heard names being called across the PA system. I never heard my name. But I did run across that finish line. I had a huge smile on my face. No tears. Only pride. I had done it. I destroyed my belief in an untruth. A new me was born. One that can and did run a marathon.

2006-01-14T13:48:00.000-05:00

My 1st Marathon ~ Chicago Oct 2005 5:31:50
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2006-01-14T12:37:00.000-05:00

My first half marathon ~ Sep 2004
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Rock ‘N’ Roll Half Marathon, Virginia Beach, September 5, 2004

A Story

Chapter 1

The night before the race was long and sleepless. My body felt like it had been plugged into The Virginia Power Company. It stubbornly buzzed through the night while my mind stayed annoyingly alert.

Before bed, I had carefully laid all my running clothes over a chair, placing my socks in my shoes on the floor beneath. My running shorts were uniquely adorned with safety pins holding my bibb, two Gu packs, a stretchable phone clip holding a disposable camera, and my cell phone. (One of my friends later commented how I looked like a good teammate to have on Survivor.) On a table next to the chair were placed various other necessities such as BodyGlide, Band-Aids, sunglasses, lip balm, tissues, and Tylenol.

Earlier in that afternoon, I had received a delivery of the most beautiful vase of pink roses and lilies from my brother, with a card stating he would be with me in spirit on my run. The scent was heavenly. I placed those on the table, next to my RNR tee shirt that was draped across the lamp. My running shrine was a sight to see.

My alarm was set for 4:30 a.m. At 4:00 a.m., I could hear showers start up in unison in the rooms surrounding me, as well as a round of wake-up calls ringing through the walls. My husband gently touched my leg, thinking my alarm must have not gone off, sending another shot of electricity through my body. I reached over and turned my alarm off before it could ring.

I dressed as quietly as I could while my daughter and husband continued to sleep in our shared room. My daughter emerged briefly from her bundled blanket long enough to write my honoree’s name in curly cue lettering with a permanent black marker down each one of my arms. My husband blew me a kiss and waved as I disappeared through the door.

As I left the quiet solitude of the elevator, I entered a world of loud excitement and happy faces. Hundreds of Team In Training runners were already gathered in small subgroups and filling the lobby with chatter and laughter and activity. I found the Cash and Carry breakfast room and grabbed a bagel with cream cheese and a coffee, then made my way to a somewhat open corner and began eating my breakfast while watching for my teammates to arrive.

Once everyone had arrived, our coach reviewed our instructions and we then made our way to the shuttle buses a few blocks away. It was not yet dawn. The morning air was damp and breezy. We boarded the bus and traveled 10 minutes to the starting area in front of the Pavilion. The grounds were covered with people and tents and innumerable Port-a-Potties as far as the eye could see. Music was already blaring throughout the grounds, intermixed with commentary by the MC. This was MY music…from my hey days. Just wish I could remember some that was played! Excitement was all around. I could write pages just on the people that were there.

About 6:00 a.m., I started my 15 minute stretching routine: Hamstrings, quads, lower back, calves, and then all over again. Afterwards, I licked a salt packet poured in my palm and downed the remainder of my water. By 6:20 a.m. it was time for the final potty effort. The lines were a half a mile long at every location, so I took my place at the end. Finally, by 6:51 (yikes!) I got my turn. And you know, that special thing ALL runners want to make sure happens before a race? It did!!! I came out of the Port-a-Potty yelling to my friends… “I had a miracle, I had a miracle!” Of course they all laughed and thought I was crazy. A little potty humor is always good for relieving tension.

We made our way to our starting corrals, most of us parting ways and heading in different directions at this point. One TNT member remained with me in my corral, number 15 (out of 17 or 18…not sure). Our time estimate for the race was 2:40:00. (By now the elite runners, who had started at 6:45, were a quarter finished with their race.) The gun went off at 7:00, and thousands of people slowly began walking forward, moving as one body for about 10 minutes. The music continued adding to our excitement. I think AC-DC “Shook Me All Night Long” was playing when I crossed the start mat about 7:10 a.m. and began a nice slow run. I realized I had no worries about being pulled out too fast in this rce. I was crammed in like a sardine.

Chapter 2

The sun was just coming up now and made for a beautiful beginning to this two and a half hour cruse. My TNT buddy, Michelle and I talked and had some fun as we loosened up and began getting into the groove of doing a looooooong run. She has a kooky personality like me so we got along great. I learned that her husband enjoys triathlons and this was her first endurance race. Hubby was waiting and watching for her on the sidelines with their very active 5 year old daughter and 4 year old twin sons. My respect for her grew immensely!

The streets were lined with people holding signs and wearing wild tee shirts they had made themselves with pride. I was full of energy and waved and screamed back at every person who cheered my way. At mile one, we came upon our first live band. They were playing some classic rock song that had us all clapping and waving as we ran by. My face was smile from ear to ear. I began to lead Michelle as I made my way around and through the walkers and slower runners. It required some pretty sophisticated weaving technique. But I eventually learned that all I had to do was run down the left side of the course and yell, “PASSING ON YOUR LEFT PLEASE” and the great sea of runners parted. We finally started moving at a more acceptable pace.

We hit our first water station soon after we passed the band so I grabbed a full cup and dumped it on my head. Although the sun had disappeared behind clouds, it didn’t take long for the heat and humidity to have a noticeable effect. As soon as I started to heat up, I tucked my singlet under my running bra to keep my abdomen as cool as possible. I’m sure I was a sight to see!

We hit our first hill, if you can call it that, at about 1 ¾ miles. It was a bridge that carried us across the Chesapeake Bay. As we approached, we were given this incredible view of the entire width and length of the bridge crawling with runners as they moved upwards and then disappeared over the horizon. I thought to myself, I am part of that stream and I too would be passing over that very location soon.

Just as I began moving up the bridge, the elite runners were coming our way on the other side, closing in on their finish. We had a unique close-up view as each runner passed us. Filming crews were perched on custom made trucks driving along in front and following in the rear as the fastest of the elites tore by. We screamed and yelled and whistled for each one, wishing each one equally well. They were tiny looking people made of twisting strands of muscle, sprinting as if they were running a measly 5K race. I trudged on.

Just after I reached the foot of the bridge, I encountered band #3. I waved and shouted as I passed by them. I imagined it was a rush for them to be playing at this event. I acted as if I was an athlete on parade. I waved at everybody…especially the little kids.

By mile 3, I was beginning to find myself pulling forward and then slowing down for Michelle. So I finally kept going after turning for her one last time and seeing her wave goodbye to me. I didn’t see her again until later that night at the Victory Party.

I had been thinking I would be taking a walk break somewhere around 3 or 4 miles. I hit water station number 2 just pass the 3 mile marker, so decided to start there. I grabbed a water, pinched the cup and drew in three good guzzles. I put a second cup over my head and on my belly. After one minute, I took off again. I was still smiling. I crossed the 5K mat with a 33:48 time.

Before the race even began, I had already removed requirements that I run my best time in this race so as to make it more enjoyable. As a result I felt more relaxed about my speed. I was now headed into mile four. My pace was great, in terms of comfort; especially now that I had picked it up a bit. I eventually caught up with the 2:30 pace group and ran with them a while. They were easy to spot. One person carried a poster attached to the top of a tall stick of wood, and there were several runners with 2:30 printed on yellow paper attached to the back of their shirts. I actually ran ahead of them for a few miles before my walk breaks allowed them to slowly move ahead.

By mile 5, we finally moved into a portion of the course that was shaded by very tall and old trees. Lots of people headed for the woods to commune with nature. Witnessing runners didn’t waste this opportunity to shout out jokes about poison ivy at Mother Nature’s chosen few. I thought about it…for a moment…and kept running.

This portion of the run took us through a military training area. It was pretty uninteresting. Band number 5 came somewhere close to mile six, and not a moment too soon. I was beginning to feel the impact of the run and heat. I think this band was playing Reggae music. It had a tempo that was perfect for my pace, so I hopped on board and used the tempo to propel me forward. I was starting to pray for mile 6 to come so I could take my strategically planned mile six GuPack.

This was where the real game began.

Chapter 3

After taking the Gu, I faced another mile of pushing. I told myself the Gu would kick in by the end of this mile and I was going to feel an energy return. I knew that was going to happen so I knew to just keep going and be patient. Interestingly, I made the mistake of taking my Gu when I didn’t have any water. Now my hand was sticky and my mouth was all viscous feeling. So, good news; that gave me something with which to take my mind off my tiring legs for a while. By the time I hit water station 7, I guzzled a whole cup of water, poured one on my head, and another on my stomach and back. Now, I was dripping wet all over.

As I headed into mile 8, I decided to call my husband on Survivor tool #4...cell phone. He’s like…”what street are you on?” and I’m like “Ummm…I’m on….ummmm…I don’t know…I ‘m heading for the bridge…I can see the bridge. He’s like…”We’re over here on 24^th and we’re heading to 20^th. Call me when you get to a numbered street.” “OK…I’ll call you then…” So that was something to do for about 20 seconds!

By now I’m noticing that my phone clip has rubbed a very nice raw place into my side. So the phone stayed in my hand the rest of the race.

Now I got a little excited as I knew I was about to cross over the bridge again. At this point I decided to do another walk break while heading up. Once I hit the top, I switched to run and I made my way down and towards band number 9. By now my smile had faded considerably. As people shouted “you’re looking good…keep it strong…Go Brooke” (my name was written on orange duck tape across the front of my singlet)…my arms were now only making a half hearted gestures. As I passed the band I waved once.

At the foot of the bridge was the 8 mile mark. One of the TNT coaches, Terri, ran up to me and ran along with me for several minutes. “How are you doing Brooke? You’re looking real good.” Me – “I’m doing great! (I figure I’d lie a little). How are the others doing? Everybody doing ok?” She – “Yeah, everybody’s doing really well. Well, except Melanie and Tracey are struggling a bit but they’re doing OK.” Me – “Great. I’m doing great.” She – “OK…I’m going to catch up with the ones behind you. Keep it up. You’re doing great.” And off she went. That helped. I could feel my energy lifted a bit.

Then I started to sing to myself, “I’m running in a half marathon…I’m running in a half marathon…I’m gonna finish…” [the nutty things we say to ourselves to keep going]

As I ran the never ending mile number nine, I finally saw a numbered street. I quickly dialed my husband and announced the great news. I could hear my folks and friends in the background hollering … “You’re doing great…You’re doing great.” He told me the street they were on and that they would be watching for me. This gave me hope. Now I could count the streets as I passed each block. Funny how interesting counting streets can be.

It took me 20 blocks to get to them… My daughter, mother, step-father, and two friends were excitedly waving signs and hollering as I passed by. But no sign of hubby. Hmmm. That’s interesting. I wondered …. he must have gone further up. About 5 minutes later, I got a call. “Honey, where are you???” “I’m at 26^th street” “Oh no…how did that happen…I walked up a couple of streets to see you first and must have missed you!!!”

Oh well…what cha gonna do??? They all walked over to the 12.5 mile mark just another block away while I kept running. (Miles 8 – 10.5 ran parallel to 11-13.1, with a hair-pin turn at 10.5-11).

I hit the 10 mile mat with a time of 1:57:08.

Now the noise started to pick up. Band number 12 was just past the 10 mile mark. They were rock’n loud. I knew I was gonna be turning onto the boardwalk pretty soon and that would be the partying-est most fun part of the run. So I just stayed focused on getting to 37^th street. I had been running two hours and knew I had another 30 minutes to go. Thirty minutes felt DOABLE. I knew I was gonna make it. I just kept my legs pumping. I tried to wave at people and smile. That smile was a difficult one to muster up sometimes but I went in there for it. People were still cheering. They were working for us. I tried to work for them.

Finally, as I turned the corner at mile 11, I could finally see the ocean to the left. The sea wind hit me all of a sudden and it felt great. Another band was not far up in the distance. They were singing their hearts out. I thought, “This is it. This is the final leg. Make it count.”

Then another TNT running coach, Jerry pulled up next to me as soon as I hit the board walk. He asked how I was doing and told me I looked great. I took him at his word. I asked if any of our runners were in and he named three. We chatted about how things were going, and by the time I hit mile 12, he took off for the next team member behind us. I took a short walk break, grabbed some water and threw it in, threw it on, threw it over and took off for my final jaunt. I was probably looking like death….but hey...it’s all in fun.

I passed my family again about mile 12.5…this time I saw my husband who happily waved his ‘Go Brooke’ sign and waved. My mom looked pretty proud and waved vigorously at me. By now, my smile found me again. I was beaming.

I shifted my focus to the finish line almost a mile away. I could faintly hear runners’ names being called over the PA system as each crossed the finish line. My body was tired and drained. I just kept the legs going. The finish line got closer and closer. I kept running and running and running. The announcer’s voice got louder. I just watched the finish line that looked like the top part of a humongous stage high up in the air. It got closer and closer. I picked up my knees and increased my pace. Now I could see the mats up ahead and super mega TV-screens showing the runners live as they crossed. I felt a blister explode in my toe that surprised me but I stayed focused on the few steps yet to go. (Hope that face wasn’t caught on film!) Then… I…hit…the…mat.

I DID IT!!!! I crossed that bad bear. Been there, done that. I’ve got the Tee Shirt to prove it!!!

My time??? 2:35:31.

Now…where’s the beer????

Living for Now

Punxsutawney Fall Groundhog Day 50K – September 10, 2011

Catching up

Hauling Trail Illegal 50 Mile Run ~ June 11, 2011

Punxsutawney Fall 50K

Greater Cleveland Triathlon International Distance - Part 2

Great Cleveland Triathon - International Distance - Race Report Part 1

Sunburst Half Marathon 2010

Triathlon Training – Week 4

Triathlon Training – Week 3

Triathlon Training - Week 2

Triathlon Training - Week 1

Mohican Forget the PR 50K 4.18.2010

Try'n to Tri

Action Sports International - Denver Marathon

Punxsutawney 50K 2009

1st Post-Injury 5K Race

Another step...

Rehabbing and Refocussing

Finished Accomplishments and New Beginnings

Great ending to week 3

Tuesday, 10/30

Hocking Hills Indian Run 40K

Time to Shift into Trail Training Gear

Richmond Heights 5K

Buckeye Half Training - Week 3

PreTraining Weeks: 05/22-05/28

Bring'n Home the Bacon

Time to Fly

She’s Drives Me Crazy … Oh … Oh…

Gardening Aerobics

The final 13 miler

Hopping Down the Easter Trail

12 miles Completed: No Frills; No Spills

Trailing Behind

Week #13 – 04/02-04/9/06

11 Miles and a tumble through the Strawberry Patch

Spring Forward, Fall Back

Kelley, a Beach, and LSD

Ankle Brace

Happy Trails

Kelley Krank-Job

This isn't exactly what I mean by *Flying Pig*

Week #9 ~ Money in the *Piggy* Bank

Blazing a New Trail

I Feeeeel Good...

I'm running on sunshine

Last Night's Workout

Noth'in but Satisfaction - week #8

Can it really be happening?

Week #7 – 02/20 – 02/26

Tuesday’s Thunder

Flying Pig Half Marathon - Week #6

Training Week #5

The Run I've been Waiting For!

26.2 Miles of pride

This isn't exactly what I mean by Flying Pig

Week #9 ~ Money in the Piggy Bank