Back At It

After an unplanned, few-months-long hiatus from running (nevermind the long break from this blog), I've recommitted to training. It seems like a good time to resurrect my blogging, as well.

I knew I couldn't expect to start running where I left off nearly 3 months ago, but I have to say I was surprised at just how much I reverted. I ran both Saturday and Sunday, 30 minutes each, and it was tough. Saturday I ran outside on a loop on Capitol Hill near Volunteer Park. It was a hilly route, but a few months ago I would not have had any trouble with the hills. Sunday was a mixed incline setting on the treadmill, and I was disappointed with the pace I had to set.

All things considered, both days were good runs. It felt great to get some fresh air on Saturday—though it was cold—and I needed the "mental cleansing" that running gives me.

I have signed up to run the Mercer Island Rotary 1/2 Marathon in March, and have laid out a training schedule to get me through the next seven weeks. I intend to blog about my experience getting back at it while I log the miles.

Chuckanut Footrace Recap

Saturday was the 40th Annual Chuckanut Footrace. It is actually Washington's oldest footrace; a 7-mile jaunt from Marine Park to Larrabee State Park, following the Interurban Trail. Fairhaven Runners is the current planner and main sponsor, but it has changed hands a few times in its history, but has kept going continuously since its inception in 1967.

The race began at 9 a.m., but I got to Fairhaven a bit before 8 to pick up my registration packet and chip timer. (This chip timer velcroed around the ankle, as opposed to tying onto the shoe, as in the marathon.) It was pretty cool down by the water that early in the morning, but the area was alive with other runners and spectators.

A really fun atmosphere.

When it was time to line up, and found the 10-minute mile pace sign. Pam Behee, a runner I know from church and who trained with TNT last fall, found me, and we ran about half the race together. It was really nice to run with someone for a change. (I ran ahead after she got a cramp and slowed to walk it out.) There were spots along the trail that felt really packed with runners, but of course, the farther along, the more spread out we all were.

I kept pretty good pace throughout the race, not pushing myself too much, but allowing myself to pass other runners or try to pace with some ahead of me. We didn't run through Arroyo Park -- it would be difficult with a crowd-- so went up California Street. I pushed myself to run up this beastly hill, and I have to say, I'm proud of how well I did. Many other people were walking, huffing, and puffing. (I was huffing, but not too badly.) I regained my breath and continued on the trail, and I could hear some people commenting about the hill, but I had to smile to myself about it. If you can run that, you can run about anything, I think. We followed the trail all the way to the end, at the Clayton Beach parking, then crossed Chuckanut Drive, ran north for about a block where we entered Larrabee State Park. There was a great Irish Infusion band playing, and a crowd of spectators. I finished in 1:09:54, keeping my 10-minute per mile pace.

There was a great post-race area set up with food goodies and music. Erin and Rob were with me, and we stayed for a few hours, relaxing in the sun and just enjoying the atmosphere of it all. For me it was about community more than a race, and I was part of a great community on Saturday. Not just of runners, but of supporters, too. I can't wait to do it again next year!

TNT Wrap-up

Where, oh where, did the month of June go? I can hardly believe it has been nearly a month since the Rock n Roll marathon! I just started running again after taking more than three weeks off. I didn't originally intend to wait that long, but in some ways it was good for me. I had been feeling a little burned out with training, and waiting made me want to go. If I had pushed myself to go too soon, I might have burned out completely and never want to run again! It felt good to hit the trail again last week, though. And now I've committed to the Chuckanut Footrace on July 7, and the Bellingham Bay Marathon (the half!) on October 7. So I will continue to blog as I maintain for those events.

I want to say a few words about my Team in Training experience. Team in Training is the largest endurance sports training program in the world, and with good reason. First, it supports a really great organization, The Leukemia Lymphoma Society. A second, it provides coaching, fitness, health, and training advice and information, a TNT-alum mentor, and a team to train with. I can honestly say it was a great experience, and I would recommend the program to anyone who would make the commitment.

I said in my blogs that I often felt alone on the trail because most of my teammates were walking. And while that was true, when I got to San Diego, and espcially in the hours before and after the race, I really did feel like part of the team. We all shared in our excitement before the race, and our joy (and fatigue) afterwards. We were really rooting each other on, even if we weren't together through the race!

TNT was the perfect project for me while I was not working. I really wanted to do something productive to help other people, but it also kept me dedicated to myself too. There were many days when I would not have gone running if I hadn't been committed to the marathon. (And I never would have tried running more than 5 miles if I hadn't been training!) But more than that, as a participant I helped raise more than $.5 million dollars for the Washington/Alaska chapter, and $12.5 million nationwide--and that's just from the participants in the Rock n Roll marathon! That will go a long way for research and patient care services!

I should mention Coach Terry. She wasn't able to make it to San Diego, but otherwise she was there for all of us every (pounding) step of the way. We met at 8 a.m., and for her that meant arriving even earlier to set up water stations along our routes, and putting out signage so we could find our meeting points. And she had to drive from Everson! She made a point to get to know us, and to check in regularly about how our individual training and fundraising was going. She has completed several marathons, many with TNT.

Kim was a great mentor, too. She also checked in frequently about fundraising. She participated in the same event last year, and she lent her own perspectives gleaned from her experience. I don't think Kim missed one practice throughout the four months; she is very dedicated and passionate about LLS.

I will say I was disappointed in our Event Liason in San Diego. All of us from the Bellingham Team felt overlooked; we didn't have a coach with us where other groups did, and no one stepped up to fill that position. Our liason should have seen to it that we were taken care of; the reason coaches are at the events is because they are needed. I would have benefited from one during my few miles of delirium during the race. That said, my overall experience with the organization and on event weekend was so great that I won't let that aspect taint the whole season.

Thank You again to everyone who donated. This was one of the largest seasons for Team in Training. I couldn't have done it without you!

Photo by Nancy, Fred's wife. Pictured are: Erica, Kim, Fred (one of our honored teammates, and a Leukemia survivor who is cancer-free!), Sherry, Me, Alysaa, Sherri, Kelsi. This was taken before 4 a.m. on race day, before we left for the starting area.

Rock -n- Roll, Baby!

I DID IT!!!!!

I completed the Rock-n-Roll marathon, in just under 5 hours. (Yes, my chip time read 5 hours, 2 minutes. I'm deducting a few minutes for my bathroom stop. There was a line, after all.) It was an amazing experience! It's difficult to describe the energy of the event; there were thousands of spectators cheering, and over 20,000 people participating.

The race began at 6:30 a.m. In order to get ready, meet up with my team, and shuttle to the start area, I had to get up at 3 a.m. (and I did not sleep well for the hours I was in bed). There was water, coffee and bagels, and hundreds of port-o-potties waiting for us there, though. Our bus was among the first to arrive, and we had the unique experience of watching the crowd grow, and the sun come up. Three bottles of water, two bathroom stops, and two-plus hours later, I left the team to line up in my corral to start the race.

For the first few miles of the race I was trying to find my pace and a place to run. The group was so thick at that point that it was difficult to get in stride. I figured out quickly how to move around other racers, though, and the first several miles were truly fun. The bands were lively and the runners were cheering for them as much as the crowd was cheering for us. And between miles four and five when I passed Erin, Kirsten, and my mom -- who were going crazy cheering for me -- I was feeling great and just enjoying the whole thing.

The first half of the race went smoothly. I stopped for a few minutes at mile 8 to use the toilet, and walked a few minutes here and there, as was my plan. (I ran the whole first hour; it went by really quickly to me!) But after about mile 15, I was thinking "okay, I'm ready to be done." And then the race got hard. Between miles 18 and 24 I walked more than I ran, and I was really struggling mentally. I knew that I couldn't stop moving though. A few times I went to the side and stretched lightly for a moment, but I felt like if I allowed myself to stop too long, I wouldn't be able to start again. At some point, a TNT runner from the LA chapter started walking with me. She was struggling the same that I was, and I was glad for some company for a few minutes. There were coaches from other TNT chapters encouraging everyone from the sidelines, which helped, too. I had our honored team members' names on the back of my shirt, and when I was really feeling bedraggled, one of the coaches reminded me of why I was doing this: "for Judy and Fred!"

Then, around mile 24, Erin was cheering for me at the sideline. I'm so glad she was there! I needed her then! She had some Excedrine, which I took for the headache that was faint before the race, and she walked with me for a few minutes. I was really close to losing it, but she encouraged me, and it was enough to get me through. And I actually started feeling better, and I ran the last mile. I was determined to run through the finish. It felt great! Not too long after finishing, I started to forget how much I had struggled; it was just so awesome!

I told myself that I didn't care about my time; I wanted to go out and have fun and be present in the moment(s). I couldn't help, though, but track my minutes and think about my pace. Months ago one of our training lessons was about goal-setting, and the reading talked about setting three different goals for the race: one that was most certainly attainable, one that might be possible, and one that would be a dream goal, but not easily achieved. At that time, finishing in less than five hours was my "wouldn't it be awesome if..." goal: and I did it!

San Diego, Here I Come!

I meant to update you all on my final few weeks of training. And clearly I failed miserably. There really wasn't anything much to report. But here we are today, and I'm leaving for (not so?) sunny San Diego. The marathon is in 2 DAYS!!! I can hardly believe it.

I'm trying not to let myself get nervous about the race. My plan is to go out there, enjoy the people and the overall experience. My "goal" is to finish in about 4 1/2 hours, which is about an hour faster than I originally estimated, but I also plan not to specifically push myself to meet that goal. I want to have fun, too.

I do have to say I hope I can get a different singlet for the race. The one I have is comically small; I ordered a size small because the shirt I was given at the beginning of the season is a medium, and it's too big. But apparently the singlets are sized women's and men's sizes. But this small is tiny. Serious muffin-topping ensued when I tried it on. ("Top of the muffin to you" is only pleasant when edible.) I can't race in it! So I'm a little nervous about how that will work out.

I'm sure I'll have plenty to report early next week. I hope to catch a glimpse or two of the running Elvises and to experience some moments of grace and humility.

Wish me luck!

Blood, Sweat, and ... Cheers!

Well, faithful blog readers, I realize it has been awhile since I've updated about my training. It has been a crazya few weeks, actually. But I will get you all up to date. First, let me say, it is ONLY 2 WEEKS until the marathon! How scary is that?!

You may remember that my longest run (a few ago) was 15 miles. Not anymore: last week I ran 20 miles! Our schedule was for 180-200 minutes (a revision from the original, which said 180 minutes). I really wanted to get 20 miles under my belt. Several things I've read allude to that being a key milestone in the race itself, plus at my pace that leaves only about one hour more to complete the remaining 6.2 miles of the marathon. I wobbled to mile 20 in 3 hours, 27 minutes (yes kids, that is 10 minutes, 20 seconds per mile). I feel really good about that time!

I missed Saturday's team practice, so I went on Sunday afternoon instead. As before, Erin went with me, riding ahead on her bike along the Interurban trail. This time, we started at Bayside Cafe at Squalicum Harbor, traveled east to downtown then turned south to catch the trail into Fairhaven. Once in Fairhaven, the trail picks up again at 10th and Donovan, and it continues all the way to Clayton Beach Parking lot. Then we just followed the same route back.

Just two days before, I managed to fall off my bike. My left knee and elbow were both scraped up, and at first I thought that was the worst of my injuries, but then Saturday I discovered that my right thigh and buttock were bruised and sore, so running on Sunday was interesting. The first hour was really comfortable (except my butt hurt) but some soreness started to set into my left knee after that. Then my right thigh, then both knees, then ... I'm not going to lie: by mile 20 I was pretty sore and tired. At home I had an ice bath, which was not pleasant to get into, but made movement easier for the rest of the day, I'm sure. (My upper legs were pretty stiff for two days afterwards, too.)

It gives me a good taste of what the running part of the marathon will be like. There is still the X factor of the race experience itself: the crowd of runners, the mob of people cheering, the adrenaline in the air. I have that to look forward to!


(This is my knee after the bike "incident.")

Lake Padden, Take Three

Yesterday's run was again at Lake Padden. No mud! this time since we've been having sunny days. We were a small group this week. Coach Terry was out of town and a few people were having fundraisers so there were just seven of us. I was the lone runner from our group again. But I was definitely not running alone; Bellingham Fit, a different marathon training program, met at Padden too, and there were quite a few of them.

I knew that I would run at least 10.4 miles (four loops around the lake), and thought maybe a bit more depending on how my time was. My third lap was the best, thanks to a couple other runners behind me. I was playing a bit of a game with myself: when I heard a runner behind me, I'd push my pace a little to see how long before the other person would pass me. Some of the male runners are faster and they passed easily, but the two behind me on loop three never did pass (and in fact I gained distance on them on one of the hills at mile 2). Pushing myself a little helped my pace; I finished lap 3 in 23:40.

Overall, I ran 11.5 miles in 110 minutes. My pace has been faster throughout this week, and yesterday I kept under the 10 minute mile throughout the run. At the end I waded into the lake as I did last week. It was super cold, but it really does feel oddly good on the legs. I got a few questioning looks from some nearby anglers and a group of walkers. I few months ago I probably would've thought I was crazy from their point of view, too!

Here's how my lap splits were for yesterdays run:

Lap 1 26:46 26:46 (I walked 4.5 minutes for warm up)
Lap 2 24:00 50:46
Lap 3 23:40 1:14:26
Lap 4 24:43 1:39:09
Lap 5 11:03 1:50:12 (1.1 mile add-on to make 110 minutes)