Dx Me

With the running club on Sunday, I ran my first ever trail run/race-a 10k Trailblazer run. Having never ran trail, and with a deep seeded fear of being lost in the woods, I planned to run with Katie, a true outdoors girl who has done her share of traveling and climbing.

Good thing, as quite a few people got lost, including Caroline (who has run the course in the past), and a coach with three of her teenage-cross-country runners.

The run started at 1:00pm, which I thought was odd (my life revolves around eating), so I had a larger kind of breakfast of waffles & fruit. at the 12:45, my stomach started growling.

Weather was perfect, 70s and for the most part the course was shaded. We crossed water 3 times (although the third water crossing was more like walking in the river and not across.....). Towards the end of the run I really started getting hungry and may have made the comment, "I think next year I'll volunteer."

And that's when the trail-running-lords slammed me with my negative energy.

We only had maybe 1 mile left.

I was running, and I think the toe box of my left shoe landed on tree root because I remember yelling out in pain; it felt like my toes were being forced up to my shin. Yelled out enough that some running friends stopped to check if I was ok. walked a few steps and continued running again with no problem. no pain whatsoever.

The sloppy run had only just begun. a few minutes later I tripped and fell straight forward kissing dirt. Surprisingly, what hurt at that moment was my shoulder (I guess from my landing on my hands).

We probably finished a few minutes after the tumble.

Our finished time was somewhere around 1 hour 20 minutes (not bad considering we ran an extra loop on the course). My ankle felt ok, that is until an hour or so later when I squatted down to gather my stuff.

So now it's Tuesday. I've iced my ankle maybe 2-3 times a day since Sunday and yesterday I took my first dose of naproxen as well as wrapped my ankle in a bandage. There is no swelling, no bruising. I can move my toes and point my foot up an down. Rotating my foot is painful and doesn't happen very easily. I haven't tried squatting. I can walk, but not as if I was injury free. The front of my ankle is sore to touch with mild pressure.

I haven't called the doctor yet (since there is no swelling, no bruising). Sprain? Strain? How long to stay off running? I really don't want this to be a recurring thing...and I work Wed/thursday of this week (essentially 12 hours on my feet). Thoughts?

Just Get It

Famous words of the husband when I called him at work to say, "so there are really only two phones to choose from.....unless I get a smart phone. Can I get an iphone?"

And I did.

And 4 hours later I began to feel buyers remorse. I tend to be super cheap about certain things. I will go weeks and weeks without spending much money on myself, and then the next thing you know, I'm buying $150 swimsuits, traveling to Miami Beach, and buying an iPhone (which is not only $$$ but means you have to spend $30 more each month for a data plan).

And silly me, I didn't realize that 1052 songs would take up nearly all 16GB!

But let's be fair for a moment. Last week, my phone became possessed; the touch screen wouldn't work and when I was just holding the phone flat, random 'buttons' on the touch screen would appear to be pushed by some other unseen being or spirit. Eventually the touch screen went completely dead, and in order for me to use the phone in any way (to make or answer calls, set the alarm, etc), I would have to OPEN the phone, dial out, and then carefully close the phone and hope that I was not hanging up on anyone. Clearly, I 'needed' a new phone, and it had to be an iphone.

ugh. I am officially a modern day yuppie: expensive taste (trina turk swimwear-you rock), Nikon dSLr camera owner, foodie, kindle loving, iphone owning 31 year old in a DINK marriage.

moving on.....

The trip to SoFla was great. Either I'm getting older and my taste is running on the more conservative side, or people now take their 'fashion' ideas from Jersey Shore (it was a birthday weekend treat-ugh, 31, you just look so old. Much more serious than 30). There were so many spring-breakers, and with that, so many short, tight, and cheap cheap cheap looking clothes. I think sexy can be done without showing or pulling a britney.

I ate a lot of food that weekend and drank even more cuban coffee. My dear friend treated us all to mini-cupcakes at what we thought would be an outdoor mini-concert, but was really a $2.50 per ticket 30 minute mini-concert inside a new performance space for the New World. If you're in the south Florida area, you'd be a fool to pass up the mini-concerts or FREE outdoor concert wallcasts. (the sound and feel of the music indoors was pretty amazing too!)

We ran along the beach twice and had our photos taken by two men with telescopic paparazzi like cameras. I'm sure once they looked at the images and realized we were not anyone remotely famous they deleted the shots. Either that or we're on some TMZ-like celebrity stalker site. (but seriously why they bothered to shoot us beats me...if I was worthy of a paparazzi shot I would probably wear a hat, glasses, etc.)

Speaking of running....seems like I've been falling of the band wagon and need to print out a training plan to keep me on track. I'm not putting the amount of miles that I would like; especially if I'm going to have to start training for chicago soon. for the first time in a few weeks I was able to join the Thursday night runners and made the mistake of talking to Val just before the run. Which meant I started running with Val. Val who qualifies for Boston on the new time scale. We call each other the road hogs, and I tend to start with tail hogs (ie, the back). Yesterday I started with the people I call the head hogs.

Mile 1: 8:10. Eeks. Fast for me

Mile 2: 8:03. uh, I have three more to go?! and a bridge?!

Just beyond the 3 mile mark is a 4 lane road to cross and I had to stop for a second to avoid being roadkill a la Frogger. And that's where I completely lost it. I tried for a bit to catch up and run with the group, but at mile 4, I lost all drive and chilled at a 9:18 pace.

Total time: 42:38; 8:32 pace

Clearly I didn't stretch and am feeling it now, but the beer and greasy pizza afterwords was so worth it (look at the twitter stream for a picture....speaking of which, how can I upload the pictures on twitter to the blog??)

Today's plan: clean the house, hopefully re-discover the gym and its medieval looking weight machines, and tonight we'll have the neighbors over for dinner before a 3 day marathon weekend at work.

All I Wanna Do...

is log my run.

Seriously, running ahead's site must be down and I REALLY want to log today and yesterday's run now. I work tomorrow and Friday, which means I won't remember to log the runs until...some other time, if at all.

Yesterday I did a nice-n-easy 3 miler because I was planning on meeting up with a co-worker at the running club to do a run-walk (or as she said, a walk-run). Bummer that she failed to mention that she hasn't run at all yet. AT ALL. Our .25 mile run was the longest distance she's ever ran.

We all have to start somewhere I guess; and at least she made it out. A for effort. I'm just glad I had the foresight to run earlier in the morning.

And since I'm back at work tomorrow & Friday, I ran again today (I rarely run two days in a row). The run started off FAST for me.

And just got faster. I felt like I was in race mode (I only feel race mode tempo when I'm actually running in a 5k or 10k, or what others call 'racing.') Anyways, somehow I managed (barely) 4 negative splits. woot-woot! And while I know it's not my fastest (it was just me by myself after all), I'm still a little excited about the pace. (which is why I want to log my run...darn you 'service unavailable' message!)

Today's Run...temp: 60*s...time: 4:45pm; 4 miles, 33:03 final time; avg 8:15

Mile 1: 8:36

Mile 2: 8:16

Mile 3: 8:06

Mile 4: 8:04

Tomorrow is my first day after having a pretty easy work schedule (one a day, off a day, on a day, off 4 days...). I'm on for two, off for two, and then it gets hairy:

after this weekend I will work Monday, off Tuesday and then...

work Wednesday/Thursday, off Friday, on Saturday/Sunday, off monday, on Tuesday/Wednesday.

But I shouldn't complain because then I'm off for five sweet days and will hopefully be here:

To Trivia!

Team Trivia tonight. the first time since this past summer when we lived in Delaware.

I am absolutely HORRIBLE when it comes to team trivia, but the beers and laughter are why you go, right? And I ran 4 miles today, so I at least earned a beer....

So with what team of people am I joining for team trivia?

a mom's group.

yes, somehow, even though a separate facebook group was set up just for me, the childless one, I am invited to their mom's night out. (pathetic tid bit: it might be a pity invite because they were all talking about trivia night over dinner when I first met them, but still.)

Today's run:

4 miles, 61* weather, 58% humidity. I wore shorts and a tank top, and sleeves, which I probably didn't need. Total time: 36:12/9:03 average pace

Mile 1: 9:30

Mile 2: 9:01

Mile 3: 8:56

Mile 4: 8:42

Lunges to boot at the end. Not sure why, but it seemed to take longer than normal to get my heart rate down (it just felt like it was still running even though I wasn't). Maybe the higher temps?

And what can we say about unfriendly runners? I saw a man running without his shirt (it wasn't THAT warm), listening to his ipod/radio, and not a nod, glance, wave, or gesture of acknowledgement.

He must be a surgeon at my hospital.

The Division

Lately, I've noticed more than ever the effects of getting older. The canyon developing between my eyes, the dark clouds under the eyes, a wider set of hips, dimples on the bottom cheeks.

People always warned me about getting older (watch what you eat, it sticks!), especially patients. The patients never failed to sugar coat aging: "It's no fun getting older."

But nobody ever told me about the division that would come with getting older (age) and children; or should I say being child-less.

And if you're a military spouse reading this, you probably have already noticed this little unscientific factoid: it is rare to meet a 30 year old child-less couple in the military. I like kids. They are painfully honest and incredibly entertaining. But for personal, educational, and medical reasons, we haven't had kids yet (although hopefully maybe one day soon!)

Anyhoo-In an effort to expand my tiny circle of friends here in this new hometown, I was invited (by a friend who has kids) to a book club dinner. It was a good time, and I enjoyed the social aspect of it (although lets be honest: I can't contribute to a discussion on the merits of one car seat over another). I was included in their plan to meet up for trivia night as part of their Mom's Night Out. I gave them my email address, and most of the girls immediately friended me on facebook. I considered it a success.

Last night, I get home from work, shower, eat dinner, eventually get to the computer, and see on facebook that I'm part of a private group, 'bookclub' where there's a post saying:

"Made a group so we can have our book info here and that way Rachel can join and not have to see all the mommy stuff from our other group. Did I forget anyone?"

And I think.....it's nice. Except...you've made it known that there's a group out there that everyone except me is a part of.

I should respond. But I cant figure out what to say. To say something funny would come across mean or acerbic; And to ignore it would seem snooty.

Every time I read that line I feel this little black hole or better yet, a big fat black line.

I understand it probably wasn't the author's intent (and there will always be groups out there that you can't be a part of), but it was just made crystal clear that when people get together, those who have children vs those who have no children is taken into account of invitation.

But enough mulling; Time to change into some running clothes and meet up with the road hogs for a 5 miler followed by greasy pizza and pizza. Take that Dividers!

Oops...I Did it Again!

I should have Just Said No.

I should have just heeded that age-old advice that parents tell their kids (if everyone else was jumping off a bridge would you do it too?).

Instead, I caved into peer pressure.

I signed up for the Chicago Marathon!

I never really thought of running Chicago. Truth be told, NYC is The One I Want To Run. But NYC is pricey (although not much more pricier than Chicago). There's no guarantee that I would get into NYC (it's a lottery system unless you happen to be super speedy, which I am certainly not). The weather for NYC during the marathon is also spotty. And if I were to get in the lottery and get pregnant and not be able to run in the marathon, I would be a tad upset.

While I can't defer or sell my bib to anyone for the Chicago marathon, at least I don't have to feel like I'm giving up a winning lottery ticket if something happens and I can't run in it (like getting pregnant).

There are three other people from the running club that also signed up for the marathon. My hotel is booked, registration complete. Now I just need to study and memorize the course, find a half that would possibly qualify me to get into a corral, and find places to eat and things to do in chicago. Oh, and I have to work on getting that weekend off of work. Damn work!

Pass No One

Just over a week ago I signed up for a race where you paid one price and could choose (at the last minute-or mile) your distance. 5k, 10k, half marathon. Since I haven't been seriously training or running any long distances, the half was out. But 5k or 10?

I decided, in the starting line, to make my travel time, early wake up time, and money worth-wile and ran the 10k. It was a perfect day (a tad chilly-hubs watched bundled up in a jacket with a steaming thermos full of coffee). The course was flat and in between the waterfront homes you could spy portions of the beach. For erroneous reasons, I psyched myself out before the race, seeing everyone who looked fast. who looked like serious runners.

Silly girl.

Along the route, my running club buddies mostly passed me one by one (I hate passing people in the beginning...hence the idea to 'pass no one.' I caught up to Jim, retired military sort (probably in his early 60s) who was running the half. Then, I thought I saw Scott (probably in his late 30s, early 40s), Harley rider, who always starts slow and speeds up. At the turn, yup..that was him. And he was probably a good 50 yards ahead of me. And either he slowed down or I sped up, because around mile 4 I ran right past him. Further along, I saw someone who from behind, looked like another running club member. Since I hadn't seen him pre-race, and I didn't know if it was him, I wasn't sure....but this is a guy that I normally use as my pacer. (On Thursdays I run behind him because he can hold a steady pace. He normally stops at mile 2 for a drink, and then catches up or passes me because I end up slowing down). At the 4.5 or 5 mile point, realizing that the end was near, my stride lengthened and I continued to gain speed, passing him.

And then, I wondered, where is everyone? There were only walkers...easy to pass. And then, with the finish line in sight, I saw a female, who I thought was mid 30s. Trying to catch up, I didn't think I would catch her. Hubs, drinking warm coffee on the 'sideline' yelled for me to catch her. I tried and tried. People were saying, "come on ladies!"

and I thought...oh man...this lady has no idea I'm behind her (we were the only two in the finishing area). And somehow, I managed to pass her, too, with my final minute-per-mile pace being 7:5something. (!)

So here's the question...is it tacky to overtake someone at the last second like that? Reviewing the finisher results, I realized I placed 1st(!) in my age category, and I thought ruefully, Did I bump her into 2nd? "No...she was in her 50s" said hubs.

I never looked at her name and later, when chatting with some club members, I saw Carolyn. Carolyn was one of the ladies, in her 50s, who I ran with on sundays when training for the marathon. Carolyn is a very strong, serious, and fast runner. One of my running idols. Somebody asked my time.

Me: Oh, 51:53 I think?

Carolyn: WHAT?

Me: I think it was 51:53...or maybe 52:53?

Hubs: It was 51:53

Carolyn: YOU'RE THE ONE WHO PASSED ME!

We had a great laugh about it. She recalled how people were yelling, "come on girls" and how all she could do was concentrate on breathing.

It was a 'you had to be there' moment appreciate the fun; But in all seriousness....does anyone ever feel guilty about over taking a runner at the last second?

Choices

5k or 10k? (the 1/2 marathon is not even an option right now)

I signed up for the Pensacola Beach Run, which is a choose your adventure kind of run: YOU decide when to turn around and head back. Feeling good at the first turn around point? Keep on going for the 10k! Still feeling good at the 10k mark? hell, just make it a 1/2.

Knowing me, I'll probably say 5k (I only have about 2-3 hours to decide right now...), but get to the first turn around point and keep going to the 10k. By then, I'll be hit with the endorphin high & I'll get to the 10k turn around point and want to keep going (never mind I've yet to run more than 7 miles since the marathon in October-lazy girl).

But for right now, after Kindling till past 11 last night, I'm tired and wondering why I signed up for this thing.

Oh wait, the post race party and beer. That's right..

The Run, The Camera, The Dinner

THE RUN

Does having good intentions count for anything?

Part of my un-declared resolution this year is to do a better job at logging my runs. There's no reason not to.

I mean, I have a Garmin. (ok, Ibought the Garmin for my husband about 3 years ago and have since hijacked it,but still...)

When I was training for myfirst half marathon, and then the first marathon, I was pretty anal about tracking every detail of my run...the time of day, the weather, how I felt, the splits, etc.

Now after I run I take a lot at my overall time, distance, and splits. But sitting at starbucks, without the garmin, it's hard to remember the details of yesterday's 6 miler. I think it was 55 minutes? Nearly all negative splits (I kept two miles at the same pace). So there...that's the run report. Tonight's run will bewith the club.

THE CAMERA

The new camera is a nikon d5000. It came with a lens. I have a GIGANTIC camera bag (I think my clarinet case in middle & high school was smaller) and the bag came with two dvds and a 'instructional' book. I wish someone would write a child's book on how to use the DSLR. Pioneer Woman is good....I get it, fast shutter speed for fast action, aperture has to do with focus and the amount of light coming in....smaller f number = focusing in on a central object, and then the background will be a bit blurry. Except that hasn't exactly happened for any of my pictures. I will stay play though....and last night, that's what I did.

The camera has your typical ASPM settings, plus auto with & without flash. Then there are the portrait, landscape, etc modes. There is also the 'scene' setting with has sub-settings such as candlelight, silhouette, pets, food, etc. So last night, was food. And here's what we have:

THE DINNER

I decided to try something new to me, or at least, new to me in my own kitchen. Yellow rice & guinea africana (guinea hen, african style-I substituted chicken breast for the guinea hen). The recipe comes from a cuban cookbook,which credits the recipe to an old Havana newspaper clipping.

First, the chicken dish....brown, saute, simmer...

Then the rice....

The final product:

The camera (not the photographer) is so detail oriented that it picked up the strand of cat hair on my chicken. gross.

The meal wasn't bad. I didn't real get the whole sweet potato, but it was still good, making for a happy belly. I think I may have stirred the rice a tad too soon before covering it. While not Miami-worthy cuban food, it really wasn't that bad....

I think I've delayed taking the tree down long enough. Till Friday-

Recovery & Splits

Who doesn't love negative splits on a run? This morning's five miler was a perfect example of 5 negative splits. It goes without saying that it was a good, strong run; I felt myself getting faster without trying, and by the last mile I just ran with it.

I can't exactly say the same thing for marathon weekend...But I'm still pretty happy with my overall performance (especially when compared to last year's marathon). My slowest mile was at mile 2 (battling crowds of walkers) and my last mile was faster than the first few miles.

The splits:

5K: 31:51

10K: 1:03:45

15K: 1:34:17

20K: 2:04:21

HALF: 2:11:09

25K: 2:33:57

30K: 3:04:57

35K: 3:35:54

40K: 4:07:41

Finish: 4:21:28

Not sure how-or why-I did so much better than last year. The last half was in April. In the meantime, there was mild surgery (x2!) and a move from cool, breezy Delaware to hot & humid Florida. Training started late, and when compared to other marathon runners, I certainly wasn't ready to even begin training (nor was I training enough). For some reason, I barely ever averaged 30 miles a week.

As for recovery....well, what recovery? Last year, I remember running 2 miles about a week after the marathon: a long and painful 20 minutes. This year, my first post race run was with the running club; a 5 miler that I ran without difficulty. At first I thought it was a fluke, but I ran 3+ with the Tuesday running group and then this morning's early solo 5 miler.

Going back to work on the Tuesday following the run was helpful. Nothing like walking the halls of hospital floor for 12 hours to stretch out the legs. Speaking of which...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The adjustment of moving from a large teaching hospital to a small, private, for profit hospital has been quite the challenge. More often than not, I come home in near tears. I didn't come home in tears last night, but I did leave 30 minutes late. And still, as I was laying in bed getting ready to fall asleep, I suddenly remembered two things that I forgot to complete before leaving work. It's got to get better.....

23 minutes

Just barely over a week ago, I packed my bags, headed to the airport, landed in DC, got lost in DC, attended the Marine Corp Marathon Race Expo, saw many sanity rally signs, picked up my hubs from the airport, had a wonderful day in historic Alexandria, dinner with a friend, and then, ran Marathon Number Two.

The difference between Marathon Number 1 and Marathon Number 2? About 23 minutes....

4:21:28

(Last year's time was 4:44:something)

Elated? You bet! Bear with me while I try my hand at a weekend recap/race report....

The night before was a semi-early pasta dinner with a friend who was stationed at our previous base. He, his brother and brother's wife and my hubs met up at a smallish, very crowded Italian restaurant at 5:30 and thankfully we were seated by 6:00. Between catching up, the conversation was obviously heavily marathon and running related. I was worried...while they were nervous, I had a kind of "eh, whatever" attitude, although deep down I was a tad nervous. I had my schedule changed, people at work, the running club, and friends all knew about the run, but the money thing was what got me....two plane tickets, 3 nights at a marked up hotel, plus a rental car. Oh, and my husband's boss knew that the hubs was taking a day off to watch me run.

No pressure.

Pasta dinner, goodbyes and good lucks, and we were off, but I was worried the hotel wouldn't have enough food for breakfast, so off to find a grocery store. In true fashion, we drove 30 minutes to get over-priced cereal at CVS (only to grocery store less than 3 blocks from our hotel). But we also discovered a mall with a great Macy's, Nordstrom, and smallish Apple store. I was happy, even if I didn't buy a single thing. (no doubt, I thought of bribing myself with an iPhone if I completed the marathon...)

Surprisingly, I got a decent night's sleep (read the 'whatever' attitude). Woke up, bagel, coffee, juice...walk to start line. we stroll...we're early. I gathered up the nerve to use the port-a-potty.

Then, I noted that the entertainment music was off. two fighter planes fly over. uhh....running late?

Quickly we start to head to the start line....cannon ball goes off. But at this point, we're at the back of the pack of the run, in the 6-7 hour corral. For some reason, only two lanes of the highway were being used to corral runners (last year it was 4 lanes), so I cut over to the open two lanes and cut into the pack, halfway between the 4:30 and 5:00 pace team (they weren't even moving yet...it ended up taking us about 20 minutes to cross the start line).

Obviously I wanted to finish the race, and would have been happy to beat my time from last year. My secret, unobtainable goal was to finish at 4:30. But not being an experienced runner, I just run. I have no specific laid out plans or strategy.

The race started rough. I don't mind those that are going to walk a marathon or even those that do the run/walk marathon programs. However, I quickly developed an issue with the sheer number of people walking at the two and three mile points. Shouldn't those who are planning on walking start towards the back of the pack, with the 5+ hour corral? It was crowded, and hard to get around people. I felt like I was running way slow, which I kept trying to tell myself was a good thing, but it was still frustrating.

Mile 2-3 were up hill (I forgot about that since last year). Mile 3-4 got especially crowded. Mile 5ish I had an untied lace(!), and finally, at mile 6 or 7 it began to clear a little. Mile 8 was a steep downhill mile and I was surprised at how many people slowed down. At the 4-5 mile point, runners are running along side runners who in the opposite lane/direction are running mile 8-9. I was sad to see that when I got to that mile 8-9 point, there was NOBODY running or walking mile 4-5. And I thought, man.....I'm really far back.....

At this point, I kept seeing the same lady in front of me, and I made her my pacer. I was going to keep her in sight. I was feeling good at this pace and figured while I was pushing myself, it wasn't unbearable.

Mile 9 was sticky with orange peels and at mile 10 I saw the a tall skinny pink balloon....my husband! We made a trade...I gave him my gloves, he handed me a Gu. After the trade, I heard him yell, "You're doing great!" And I felt like I was.....my pace was somewhere in the 10min/mile range.

I was headed towards Hain's Point, Miles 11-16, which last year was rough. The crowd of spectators thin until it's just runners. This year? Maybe I knew what to expect, but it wasn't as bad, and as I approached mile 13, there was some good music with a person on a stage who had a microphone; she saw my name and was calling it out. I looked smiled, waved, hand in the air. I was a rockstar, if for only 3 minutes. I passed the 13.1 point, saw my watch and wasn't positive, but thought the time looked decent for at least meeting last year's old time. Another mental boost!

Leaving mile 15 I stated looking for the pink balloon, saw it, high fived the hubs and said, "I'm hungry!"

Mile 16 is one of the best miles because of all the spectators. You're running around the Lincoln Memorial, past the Vietnam Memorial, along Constitution Ave. You see the White House. You run past the Washington Monument. Along the National Mall until you see the Capital Building. You run in front of the Capital Building, you get awesome pictures, head back along the mall, and the crowds begin to pick up. Nearing mile 20 I spied the pink balloon, removed a Gu from my Spri belt, and gave my hubs my sleeves and belt. He had a HUGE bottle of water, which I took from him, yelling, "Let's go!" and he jumped on the course with me as I took a sip of water and poured some over my head (it was fun to see him smile and laugh on the course). The entertainment at this point was a pretty sweet drumming group. Again, the hand was up in the air....

And then, the bridge.

Last year, I began to die on this bridge. Last year there was a grim reaper with a sign that said, "The end is near." There are hardly any spectators on the bridge leading to Crystal City. I was dreading the bridge and what was beyond the bridge.

But this year, I was ok....I pictured where I was on my long runs at home with "only 6 miles left to go" I saw a gal holding a blow up doll, which made me smile and laugh (and I later learned the meaning behind the blow up doll). I started to get tired. I came across a man running, whose left upper and lower extremities were prosthetics. I ran behind for a little bit. I couldn't believe it.

How could I be tired?

Motivated, my energy came ba

ck. I made it to Crystal City. Last year, at Crystal City, I began to lose some serious steam. I was hurting. I was barely moving. It was the longest two miles ever. In fact, my memory of crystal city was that it was 4 or 5 miles long. It was so bad a marine at the fluid station starting yelling my name and ran a couple of steps.

This year I entered Crystal City, grabbed my drink and kept going.

Because you know, it was "only" two miles (and by two miles, it's one mile out (22-23), another back (23-24). And here's where I looked at my watch and realized, I'm REALLY going to beat my old time.

Mile 24-25....hardly any spectators. virtually none. But at this point I was so happy. We all were....we can almost see the end. I was tired, but I had steam. And I saw my watch and thought, "OH MY GOODNESS. I am really really really going to beat my time." And just like that, the energy level came right back.

Mile 25....Pure happiness. I was finishing (alive, too). I felt strong. I was passing people (true, some were passing me, but I'm all smiles). I was happy to be running and not walking.

Mile 26, I saw the pink balloon. I'm smiling, hubs is smiling. I had my hand in the air. People were calling my name, people were cheering...for me, for everyone. I crossed the finish line.

I didn't pass out. I'm breathing, my chest felt ok. I went off to the side for a minute where I heard myself wheezing, and thought, "ha, I think I'm having an asthma attack" (I don't have asthma). I recovered. I got in line for the medal.

And......this is what kills me with ever marathon and half marathon. I can't just stand around in a crowded line after running for over 2 hours. I finally got my medal,

bypassed the photographer (they are always terrible photos anyways). I sat. A super nice marine gave me a large bottle of water. I sat some more & recovered. I get up to go through the food and beverage line, got some more water & Powerade, but somehow missed the food line.

Found hubs....happy, no tears. stretch. and holy moly, my time. I was elated; overjoyed, and like a little kid, could not stop talking about the run.

And ridiculously hungry!

For the second year in row I didn't go to the 'after race party' I don't like being in crowds, plus I was so hungry I really didn't want to pass out. The only food I saw being sold was of the hot dog and chicken finger fare....not what I wanted to eat. We walked back to the hotel. I had the most painfully cold ice bath, hot shower, coffee, food....rested, stretched, foam rolled. My husband took a nap(!), caught up with family on the phone. That night we met up w

ith another runner from the running club who ran the race. I had two beers....we walked back to the hotel (already better...last year I couldn't walk the one mile back to the hotel from the restaurant and had to take a cab). And, like just like last year, a shot of tequila to celebrate and

numb the pain.

I slept like a baby. And just like a baby wakes in the middle of the night crying, I woke at 3:30

with cramped legs. Who says marathon running isn't full of fun?

The Difference Between Here and There

There: Last year I trained for and ran a marathon. Co-workers were curious, and yes, called me crazy. MDs were curious and would talk to me about their running, their training, their races, their race memories, their family running, and how great it feels to run and/or exercise (swim, bike, etc).

Here: This year I trained for and ran another marathon. Cardio-Thoracic surgeon finds out (via other RN) that I ran a marathon and says, "What?! You? Why would you do that? You could die doing that."

What In the World...

Ok. Once again, I fail as a blogger, but with no pressure to write (readers, I think, are few and far between), the blogging mojo hasn't been in full force.

So we've now been in these new parts for about 3 months. Before finding a house we joined a running club and I got a job. The running club is the absolute best though. I met fellow runners, made a friend and had a lunch date, found places to eat, and improved my speeds. Or did I...

When I first started running with the group, I was suddenly and consistently running 9:15-9:30 pace miles. Even for my long runs (oh long runs...yeah, about that, I happened to sign up for the Marine corp marathon again....). When my 5k race pace is 8 something and my happy pace is 10 something, running ALL training runs at 9 something probably wasn't the smartest thing to do. And after running with women who are seasoned marathoners, I had the funny little hip flexor pain. As in, if I wanted get into my husband's truck, I would have to use my hands to lift my leg. And it hurt to lift my leg to put on my pants and things. You know....basic activities of daily living were now not so basic. 4 miles into my 18 miler I had to turn around because running was more bothersome than fun.

I'm ok with aches. pain, not so much. I was upset; I had already booked a hotel room, and despite being scheduled to work on the weekend of the marathon, my manager worked with me and changed my schedule so I would have the weekend off. My husband's boss gave him the ok to take the Monday after the marathon off. The runners in the club knew I was registered (3 of them are running it). I couldn't back out!

Caroline, one of the runners told me to take a week off. "DO NOTHING" she said. No gym, no running, rest and ice. So I listened (sort of...I only took 4 days off and ran really really slow on day 5): lots of stretching and a nightly ritual involving tiger balm and ice, it's feeling better.

Than came the first 20 mile run. Alone, on a weekday, I left at 5:45am and ran what must have been hundreds of circles. I made the mistake of passing the house at 19.70 mi, had a "coughing spell" (which turned into noxious dry heaves) and stopped running at 19.75. Ice bath, rest, sushi lunch and I was ok.

This past Tuesday I did my second 20 miler. All of it (fewer circles this time). No coughing spells with dry heaves. No goosebumps. No mental lapses of "I already passed that house?! Where am I?!"

Tuesday night, we booked plane tickets, hotel, car. It got a little pricey, BUT I AM GOING TO DC TO RUN MY SECOND MARATHON!

One Monh

It's been four weeks since moving to our new location; it's getting a tad better.

Sunday mornings have a typical routine spent running, driving to Publix to pick up the NY Times, and then driving to Starbucks to read the NY Times (for whatever reason, the NYTimes supplier of NW Florida does not deliver to any of the Starbucks in the region. Maybe he/she is protesting their 'no decaf after 12' policy). Then it's a quick lunch out, trip to the commissary (and sometimes back to Publix for produce and/or meat), nap, and if it was like yesterday, an afternoon of The Kardashians.

Not quite the home depot, bed bath and beyond of Old School, but eerily close. It would be fun to decorate a house, unpack a box, or shop.

There are certainly highs and lows to living here.

The lows: the newspaper. With each move, the local newspapers get smaller and smaller. And now more than ever, it's scary to read the locals' take on national issues. Some of the sound bytes, quotes, and letters to the editor are jaw dropping.

The highs: Thursday night I crashed the local running club's Thursday night run. As we were waiting for 5:30 to roll around, I was the only female amongst pierced and tattooed men, most of whom were shirtless. In otherwords, I'm thinking, "What am I doing HERE?! Where are the turtles?!"

(there really weren't any turtles to be spoken of.) People welcomed me, and nobody made fun of me when they asked my normal pace (10:30). One of the male members ended up running with me (good thing as I would have be lost with all the turns we made). It's hard for me to talk while running 5 miles at a 9:15/9:30 pace...so here's hoping I'm not dubbed the new snooty one. The pizza, talking, laughing and beer following the run was probably the best part.

Finally, after 4 weeks of not meeting anyone, I was meeting locals and socializing. Quite a high for the week! Now if only we can move into a house and get our house hold goods out of storage!

Goldilocks on the Move

The past few weeks have been nothing if not stressful.

Back in July there was the minor surgery, a quick trip to NYC for a last easy taste of the city, and part 1 of the move.

Our packers came, and spent the ENTIRE day packing boxes. And by entire day, I mean, not leaving until maybe 6:00pm. They packed everything, including the microwave we were planning on leaving for the renters and items in the pantry (olive oil, kahlua, you name it. it's packed. And hopefully not leaking through a box right now...).

Around 0800 the next morning we have a giant moving truck parked on the street in front of our home. The driver and crew weren't happy (a car was parked in the street and we were unable to get a hold of the owner of the car). To wake up the neighborhood (in hopes of finding the owner), the driver leaned on the horn. And kept leaning. And yes, kept leaning. The joys of dealing with movers.

The driver was straight up out of the bronx, and filled every stereotype (not going to list). The moment he stepped out of the cab, I thought "ETOHer" If I didn't know any better, he could have been a patient on my old floor going through DTs. Quite an interesting character. Certainly with a past and have considered if the man is a member of the witness protection program.

Our stuff is hopefully all in storage, and all in one piece. Granted, anything that had screws in it was unscrewed. Hopefully every piece of furniture that had four legs will come out of storage with all four legs (a piano bench with only three legs will be interesting). And the parts box will hopefully make it as well....with all the parts. (am I the only one that thinks a parts box is a dangerous idea? Let's think for a moment...what if the parts box doesn't make it?

Never mind. Let's NOT thing that. Think good thoughts...positive thoughts.

So we made it to our new town. It's hot, humid and I'm weary of stepping into the water or eating anything that came from it (thanks to certain government waivers and a certain corporation). The homes are on big lots. Few trees. No landscaping. Large homes, high ceilings, small bedrooms, and for the most part, a lot of above ground utilities. Unfortunately lots of foreclosures. It is difficult to find a neighborhood where all lawns are kept and boats are parked in the backyard vs the driveway. (An area we like, where people keep their yards maintained and the boats parked in the back behind the house, is well over $300,000 for a house). A little steep considering we're keeping our other place.

We may have found one house, on the cheap end, but it needs a lot of work and we are trying to literally steal this house; only because it needs so much work and because again, some of the homes are unkept (you would literally need a weed wacker to get to the front door of one neighboring house). We'll see what happens. Who knows what-or where- we'll end up.

Running News: Back in April I signed up for the MCM. Training got off to a late start due to the minor surgery. True training actually started here, in Florida. It's rough; I am only running early in the morning (not exactly how-or why- people on base actually run in the afternoon). The first long run, 8 miles was last week, I ran 6.75, took a 15 min break, and then, angry with myself for quitting, finished the last 1.25 miles out on the track (with no problem!).

This past Sunday, for the 9 miler, I got through 7. something miles when I had to walk for a bit before starting up the run again. A mixture of negative and positive splits....hopefully this is heat related. I just ordered a box of my favorite gu (lemon sublime) from the local running shop.

Workout so far this week:

Sunday was a 9 miler.

Monday was weights (my first time since probably November/December time frame)

Tuesday: today was a nice 4 miler near the water.

Tomorrow, hopefully more weights, another trip to starbucks, and maybe even another post :)

Ok, so I lied

I said I would update soon, and well, since school ended I've lost my blogging mojo. Not sure if it's because of work or what. But here goes the 1/2 marathon story (motivated by DAR who is running her own half this upcoming week).

After running the Marine Corp Marathon in October (which, oops, I 'accidently' signed up for again), my running became thready. I kind of expected that to happen, but it couldn't have happened at a worse time: the beginning of the coldest, snowiest winter I hope to ever experience.

Let's just say this place is windier than Chicago (you want wind farms? we've got the land), and absolutely horrible about clearing out snow. This Florida girl learned how to run in cold weather last year. She didn't however, learn how to run on frozen over snow. The snow storms (there were three) literally put a freeze on my running.

And when hubs casually questioned why I hadn't signed up to train for any sort of race, I knew I was in trouble. I was officially in that dark and crazy place known as "I WILL NOT go on meds seasonal affect disorder"

I had to train. A friend had asked me to consider doing the 13.1 marathon in NYC with her. She asked in December. It was now February. I half-heartedly began training for the half that was scheduled for the first weekend of April. I told my friend 'Maybe." (6 weeks of training, pshhh)

I skipped weeks in my training plan. then on my birthday, I ran 10 miles. Oops. I told friend I would do it. But I still didn't sign up for the race. It was pretty likely that my friend wouldn't be able to run the race....she had this little thing called an ADOPTION to take cafe of. (she was waiting for some travel dates...)

As expected, friend received the call to pick up her baby in a land far far away. She gave me her bib number. I ran 10 miles once more. it was horrible. I still didn't know. But then....it was going to be a GORGEOUS WEEKEND in NYC. Hubs was going to be out of town. And really, what was I going to do in for a three day weekend in this windy state?

Yeah, it was a no-brainer. Arrangements were made. I found a friend to travel up with me (granted I would have traveled alone, that's how crazy I was). Next thing I knew, i was driving through Times Square looking for our hotel on Lexington Ave.

Pre Race Meal: Mussels and beer with nursing school classmate and a high school classmate that I haven't seen since high school graduation.

Race Day: Bagel, juice, and coffee for breakfast. Subway to Queens. Use of porta potty (no trauma).

Race: course...super flat except for a few overpasses. and hello circles. lots of loops and figure eights...crossing the start line 3 times is not cool. Crowds were sparse to non-existent. Entertainment...plentiful along a 3 mile spread, but overall, lacking. I only Gu'd twice (much less than my first half marathon. Overall? with the knowledge that I had at one point trained and completed a marathon, the idea of running a half was in the category of "eh, just another long run. here goes"

Final time? 2:05 something what, did you get that? my first half was slow and easy, and included goofing off, singing and dancing at a 2:16 something time.

I was thrilled

Post Race: stretch, subway ride. shower. walk walk walk. We walked and shopped the entire city. Middle eastern food for lunch on the upper west side....traditional Jewish pastries to snack...books stores, wine stores, massive pillow fight in Union Square (!) and then food at my high school classmate's apartment, plus more shopping, and finally, a deliciously expensive margarita (and yes, dinner) at a snazzy Mexican restaurant just around the corner from our hotel. we didn't get in until midnight. Between the wine, tequila, and oh yeah, the 13 mile run, let's just say it was more than the white noise of the city that put me to sleep....

Good Luck DAR!!!!

"So why....

haven't you signed up for a race yet?" said husband.

He was a bit concerned. It was early February. We had just gotten through our third snow storm since December. Two of those storms I think were classified as blizzards and had struck within days of each other. Streets were barely passable on car, much less with running shoes.

I had done some small, no more than 4 mile runs here and there, but nothing more.

I was going crazy.

So recently I started looking for some half marathons. while I wouldn't mind doing the same half as last year (historic half), I had already motivated a group of co-workers to get together to run in a marathon relay (each person runs 6.55 miles) and it happens to be on the same weekend as the historic half. So that's probably out.

I've yet to find a good half (with easy to minimal traveling) for May. Regardless, I printed out a plan and have been fortunate enough to have the sun out all week with temperatures creeping up to the mid 40s (I'm loving the sound and sight of melting snow). 6 miles completed today. 5 mile speed work out earlier this past week. Let's hope this keeps up.

Because there is a half in NY...in early april. A friend is trying to convince me to run it with her and her friends. I'm waiting until the last minute to commit. 6 weeks to train for a half? it's going to be messy

26.2-FINALLY!

Can I just say how HORRIBLE I am about updating this blog? So where to begin?

Pre Marathon Week:

horrible. tear filled stressful week. My schedule was a mixture of days and evenings and parts of my left leg were really beginning to bother me. I was supposed to work Friday evening before the marathon, which meant I wouldn't have gotten to bed until 1am. Lucky for me, I asked the charge nurse to cancel me and got it. I went to bed around 10pm. Which was good because on Saturday....

Marathon Eve:

Drive to DC. Cold, rainy, windy day. We found the expo, found parking(!) and completed race pick up. It was my first marathon expo so of course I wanted to see everything there. I picked up a jacket, which according to my husband looks like a Michael Jackson jacket (red & black with elastic around the wrists. I heart 80s). We left the expo to eat lunch and the went back to the expo to see all the ridiculous goods for sale. The expo was packed and I didn't get anything except a magnet for my car (the original magnet got washed off in a drive thru car wash). I think I'm officially over the expos though...There really wasn't anything there that I just had to have (except the jacket).

that night was a yummy carb loaded pasta dinner at my friend's aunt & uncle's house and then an attempt to fall asleep. THAT never happened. the entire night was spent tossing and turning.

Marathon Day: I finally got out of bed at 4:45. the hotel had a ridiculously expensive breakfast cafe ($7 for cereal!) so i got a bagel, juice, and coffee & the starbucks kiosk. Ate upstairs. Got ready. packed a ton of Gus (most of which i did not use). My husband and friend had signs and balloons (a palm tree and margarita) and we left the hotel around 7:10 to walk to the start.

There were tons of people walking to the starting line. I was literally skipping I was so excited. Runners dressed as hot dogs. One was putting on a mask of the last VP (I told him if he was behind me I would definitely run the whole way).

Run:

I had to climb over the barricade to get into the runners section. I was somewhere near the 4:45 group. My ultimate goal was to finish. I wanted to break 5 hours, and my training plan said I would run it in 4:40. I thought it would be cool to finish in 4:30, but knew that wasn't reasonable. the start cannon shot at 0800. and my lane of runners was standing still. and still standing. The other lane was beginning to itch forward. We were still. eventually we started running and I crossed the start line around 8:15.

I saw my husband and friend (and balloons!) to the left. And if I could have, I would have cartwheeled. The first few miles went through parts of crystal city. At Mile Two I started thinking, "Damn. I am TIRED." not running tired, but sleep deprived i am coming down with something tired. I think mile 3 started on the parkway and it was a pretty wooded area. People were so funny! A will Ferrell wann-a-be was hilarious. I found my groove around mile 4 or 5, just before crossing the bridge into Georgetown. Georgetown was where I did my first gu between mile 6 and 7. I saw a friend (what are the chances!) and ran with her and her friend through Georgetown and into dc.

At Mile 10 we were getting back into DC near the monuments and I saw my husband and friend (those balloons were AWESOME). I was jumping like a female version of will Ferrell. I obviously got a high and sped up. I didn't know it, but we were entering an area called Haine's Point, which is very pretty, but with hardly any spectators. I was still feeling pretty good and I left my friend because I felt like I could push a little more. through the 1/2 way point. Leaving Haine's Point and entering mile 15/16 I began to feel tired. I saw my husband and friend again and said (with a big grin on my face), "I'm getting tired!" Husband's response? "Keep running!"

I vaguely remember mile 16. I remember the people and seeing part of the Lincoln memorial, but I don't remember how we got around it (the back? the front of the monument?) We ran past the White House (but I don't remember running past the Vietnam Memorial). Ran past the Washington Monument. Ran behind some Smithsonian museums.

Now was I getting tired and super annoyed at the spectators crossing the street. Ran in front of the capital building and began to pick up some speed. ran back up the mall past the other half of the Smithsonians. Was really beginning to feel good again. Then there was a left turn and I saw my husband and friend again (totally unexpected! those balloons- again awesome!). Ran past some drummers and picked up speed while entering The Bridge.

The Bridge. Otherwise known as long lonely stretch where runners started walking and spectators ceased to exist. The lone spectator?

I found the photo on the internet from another MCM runner

Yeah....funny, but I was losing humor at this point. I was just thinking, "This is STUPID. I am NEVER RUNNING AGAIN." I started hating life. But I refused to walk. Finally the bridge took us into Crystal City. At the water station a Marine giving me my drink started yelling my name loudly and over and over again with urgency. RACHEL! RACHEL! RUN RACHEL! GO!

I must have looked pretty crappy for him to do that for me. I tried to pick up speed but couldn't. still refused to walk though.

Crystal City was the hardest part of the run. I lost a full minute per mile for miles 22-25. It was an out and back so the faster runners were running in the opposite direction. With ever corner I saw, i thought, "Ah! The turn around is RIGHT THERE!" (it never was...only once...)

At mile 24 I started to feel better. Holy crap, I've done this! Mile 25 I was BEAMING ear to ear. I did it! I saw my husband and friend at mile 26! Those balloons again! I "sprinted" up the final hill with my arms up above my head and finally, after running for an agonizingly long 4 hours, 44 minutes, and 16 seconds, I crossed the finish line.

Post Marathon: Could not walk. Stopped twice in the crazy mass of people trying to get their medals and food etc to sit. Ate half a bagel and drank some water on the second sitting break. Finally made it out of the fence and attempted to walk to meet my husband and friend but my left groin/inner thigh area hurt so badly (it was bothering me the week leading up to the marathon) that I could only take baby steps. Husband saw me, came walking towards me. Hugged me and I cried (with no tears), "I....can't...waallaaalllllk!" I can't walk! I hurt! I never want to run again!"

Riiiight. 10 minutes later, after some stretching, I was wondering how to register for NYC 2010. I slipped on some flip flops and commenced the 2 mile walk to the hotel (HUH? they expected me to walk two miles after running 26.2? funny, the three of us said the same thing with different meanings....husband was like, "of course! you ran 26.2 you can walk 2!" it was probably good for me. Later, an ice bath a hot shower which DID NOT WARM ME UP. Hot Tea. Foam Roller. Ah, foam roller, what would I do with you?? Sam Adams, Burger, Kahlua Brownie and ice cream. A taxi ride back to the hotel (I walked to the restaurant but was too stiff to walk back). And the best way to end the night? Some good ole golden tequila.

Aftermath: So I still want to run another marathon, ideally NYC. Mainly because I want to run the next marathon better. Especially since I have a better idea of what to expect and how to better train. I averaged 20-30 miles per week and would like to up that. Seeing my husband and friend with the balloons to easily spot them was great. I saw them at the start, 10 mi, 16 mi, 20 mi, and at the 26 mi point. It's a great course for spectators because they were able to walk to all those points. With the exception of miles 22-24 (the crystal city area), the race is NOT a circle. there are no repeats of the course so runners don't feel like they are repeating any part of the course. And about those spectacular spectators. I put some giant iron-on letters on my shirt spelling out my name. SO many people yelled out my name. For the first half of the race, i felt like a rock star. (the last half I felt like they were truly helping me out). I can't imagine running that long WITHOUT hearing and seeing people cheer me on. I've since gone on two slow and easy 2 mile runs. I went to the gym yesterday and will probably go for a run today before work. if i ever finish this blog post (are you still reading? you deserve some kudos for that my friend...) next race? to be determined....

This Seemed Like a Good Idea 6 Months Ago...

6 months ago I gave my cc # to a friend to register me for this event.

What the hell was I thinking? At that time, I hadn't even run my first 1/2 marathon and I was signing up for a FULL marathon? I know what I was thinking: "I can always defer! It's not like I'm 100% committed or anything...."

I ran the 1/2 and thought, "well that wasn't so bad..." slowly I began training for the marathon. Then training began to take over. Go out Saturday night? sure...but I would have to be home early so I can run 16 miles on Sunday, etc. When I got to those 16+ mile runs I hit my first wall. Always at 16.

But when I attempted my first 20 miler, I broke through my wall, and oh, what a feeling!

Ice baths, some more runs, and now, here I am, with less than day 2 days, 21 hours until I will start a 26.2 mile journey to insanity.

And here I am thinking "this seemed like a good idea 6 months ago..." On my 12 miler just over a week ago I nearly fell on my run. darn sidewalk just jumped out at me! and since then I've felt this portion of my left leg saying, "DUMB ASS!"

literally, it's saying that. it is a dumb ass. that area where the thigh meets the butt? on my left leg? funky feeling. left groin? funky feeling. left knee?! FUNKY FEELING! I am popping motrin and ice bags galore to the left leg. I will get through this run. Not just because I've come this far, but because I worked my tail off. I've ran 20 miles twice (well nearly...19.9 should equal 20). I've switched weekends so I could run this weekend. My running gal pal is flying up to see me run. My floor plus other nurses, doctors, PAs, etc know I'm running this.

I will run this race.

Now, time to pack my bag.

Down Down Down

It's taper time! Yesterday I was supposed to do a 12 miler, one of the last long runs before the big 26.2. Except I was working yesterday from 7-3, and for some reason that I've yet to figure out, I can't run more than 6 miles in the afternoon. My GI system goes crazy at mile 6 and while I can get through the 6+ mile runs in the afternoon, the rest of the afternoon/night is spent in the fetal position sipping Pepto.

So I forwent the Sunday long run and woke up early this morning to get in 12. It was a great run. Started slow and easy, but picked up the pace for the second half of the run (I saw chickens on my run!). The Garmin beeped at mile 10 and looked at my watch and was happy with my pace. kept running. Started thinking "how cool, I'm running 12 and feeling great!" when BAM
BAM
BAM

I was THIS close to kissing the sidewalk. At that point in my run the shoulder of the road is next to non-existent, plus the road is pretty busy so I run on the sidewalk, which apparently needs to be fixed as half of the slabs are sticking up.

Pride hurt. Now the area of my left upper hamstring/butt cheek and left ankle are hurting. not cool.