Had my first race since the marathon on Saturday, the Helvetia Half Marathon in Hillsboro. I went into it with mixed feelings. On the one hand I was not as well-prepared for it as I had been for the marathon. I totally slacked off in training: my longest training run was 10.5 miles and I averaged 15-20 miles per week. Pathetic! But on the other hand, I came to realize how nice it was to do things backward and get that pesky marathon out of the way first. I felt like I had nothing to prove to myself or to anyone else, and approached the race only wanting to enjoy myself. Well, that and to at least equal my halfway time in the marathon, which was exactly 2:00:00. (Seriously, they set up a clock at the exact halfway point and as I was running toward it in the canyon I realized I was going to hit two hours on the nose. Pretty neat.)
It was a gorgeous summer day in Oregon, sunny from the get-go but not too hot. My two friends who were going to run with me both bailed (thanks, guys!), so I drove out alone at 6:15 am. After crawling through the traffic from Rt. 26 to the stadium (The distance from 26 to the parking lot? About 1.5 miles. It took me 45 minutes to lurch through it. My clutch leg was getting tired and I actually worried about it affecting my performance. Anyway…), I slathered on sunscreen, decided to go with the dri-fit tank top and not the tech shirt, double- and triple-checked that I had my car key with me, and got in line for the ladies room. (Natch.)
I knew that there would be water/Gleukos stops about every mile and a half, and I really don't like wearing my hydration belt, so I left it at home. Plus I forgot my watch (can you tell I half-assed this thing?), so all together I felt oddly naked. I lined up at the start, chatted with a nice Portland Fit lady for a few minutes, then set off.
The race had both a half marathon and a 10k, which started at the same time. There were about 3,000 people at the start line – that's a lot of bodies. (Oh, and I think I half-assed it? I saw several guys getting ready to run wearing jean shorts. Doesn't that chafe?) I started out slow partly by choice and partly by circumstance. A lotta dodging and weaving the first few miles.
I took in at least a cup of water or Gleukos at every stop, and had some ClifShot at the turnaround point, even though I didn't really want it. I took it because it was there, swallowed about half, then looked futilely for a trash can until the next water stop. The famous middle hills were tough, and I was panting at the top of two of them, but overall it was great. I love running hills because they break the monotony and make the flat stretches seem so easy. I made the right call going sleeveless: by the end of the race I was H-O-T. After the mid-point it was pretty much direct-sun city for five miles. (BTW, having the photogs at Mile 12? Not cool! Dude, we were all sweating and icky.)
But that's okay, because I finished way below my goal time and 472nd out of 2607 participants. Top 20% baby! I'm like the front of the middle of the pack. :) On the last rolling hills I passed some people who were in bad shape, wheezing and soaked with sweat and what-not. I was feeling great, and I didn't know whether shouting encouragement as I passed would inspire renewed vigor or white-hot rage. So I kept my pie-hole shut.
The finish line was in the stadium, which was fun. I got my pretty green medal and stumbled over to the water table. I was thirsty but knew better than to chug, so I grabbed two cups to sip as I made my way to the car. Once I got off the freeway I drove with the window down and music blaring, checking out the medal at red lights, feeling groovy knowing that I'd gotten my weekend's exercise and it wasn't even 10:30 yet. Rock on!
Next stop: Haulin' Aspen Trail Half (how much do I love that name?) in August and the Portland Marathon in October.
Oh hey, PS - Ice baths are SO MUCH EASIER in the summer time.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Clearly my life is a WIP
So I was originally thinking about running the North Olympic Discovery marathon in June. But I'm reevaluating. The issue I'm "running" into (ha!) is that I appear to be overbooked for the next, oh, four months. Summer in Portland is glorious, and while I really have grown to enjoy running, I don't love it to the point where I want to give something else up to accommodate it. It's one thing to spend half of a cold rainy February Saturday running. When that Saturday is sunny and warm and not humid (and not buggy) and there are Beer & Wine Fests to visit, sandcastle competitions at the coast to "Ohh and Ahh" over, camp-outs to be joined, music festivals to patronize, kites to be flown, volunteer galas to, um, volunteer at, barbecues & baseball games to attend, frisbees to be thrown, DB races to be won…well, it gets a lot harder to find the time. Plus my work travel schedule is picking up, which I don't even want to contemplate. I can see myself getting in 25-30 miles a week, with the occasional free Saturday to fit in a 10+ long run. Really just not enough to prepare the way I want to. So, I'm thinking that I'll stay in good running shape, but not plan on running another big M until the Portland marathon in October. We'll see, though.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
So...what do I do now?
I'm still sort of in shock. I was making plans with a friend for later this week and I realized that I could go out any night I wanted. The epic awesomeness of that has not yet sunk in. I wrote a little race report below - in summary: it was great, it was hard, it went by in a flash.
I took the whole day off on Friday, even though we weren't leaving until mid-day, because I knew I would be completely useless at work. I got up at 8, packed, and then putzed around and got nervous until noon. Funny aside – clearly my mind was elsewhere when I left my house, because somehow I ended up on the on-ramp to I-84 West instead of East. Sigh. That was a fun 10-minute detour.
The drive up was unremarkable, though very pretty. Packet pick-up was a snap. The pasta dinner was good – I was glad they had lots of salad too. I didn't eat a ton, just a normal dinner. I read something while training that said if you are going to carb-load, do it two nights before (i.e. Thursday night for me), because eating a ton the night before a race will just weigh you down (and maybe make you queasy). The nutrients won't be in your system until the following night at the earliest. That's how I prepared for my long runs and it worked for me, so I stuck with it. T and I drove to our hotel in Ellensburg. (We didn't go via the course, as I read another piece of advice that said doing so tends to make first-timers nervous. Like, I have to run THIS far? I think it was a good call.) We checked the weather, I laid out all my stuff, and we were in bed by 9:30. I have bedtime-only narcolepsy (note: not a real medical condition), so I had no problems getting to sleep. The first alarm went off at 5:45 (we set three…) and I woke up immediately. Got dressed, had water, coffee, two slices of whole grain toast with butter and grape jelly, and water. T and I arranged late check-out (it required some eye-batting, since I asked for an hour later than their usual late check-out) then left for the race HQ. The race has basically taken over the local Days Inn, so I got to use an indoor bathroom rather than a porta-potty. Of course by the time I got to the start line I had to pee again (and I didn't find a vacant porta-potty until Mile 16).
I got near the back of the middle at the start, and before I knew it we were off. The first few miles I considered kind of a warm-up, and tried to find a good settled pace. I also found the first of my pace bunnies. I admit that I really had no race strategy. I just wanted to run the whole way and beat Oprah's time. At the pasta dinner, one of the women who'd run the race before said they had pacers who wore rabbit ears, hence the name pace bunnies. I was hoping to find one during the race but I guess they didn't have them this year. So, I created my own pace bunnies. I'd find someone who seemed comfortable, and whose pace I liked, and stick to them like glue (figuring pretty much everyone there has more experience than I do). The first was a guy in a blue singlet and shorts. I stuck with him for about miles 1-3. Then either he slowed down or I sped up, and I passed him. After the first aid station I started following two women who were chatting as they ran. I stuck with them for about 3 more miles, until the next aid station. They stopped; I grabbed some water and kept moving. I was on my own for awhile until I found another bunny. He was a marathon maniac and (again) I stuck with him until an aid station. I then got slowly passed by a woman in blue whom I tried to keep pace with, but I could tell she was just a little too fast. I hung back, and by then we were in the middle miles. Twas then I found the Pace Bunny to end all bunnies. Her name was Gina and she was a 100-Marathon Club Member (her singlet told me these things). I figured: Here is a woman who knows her marathons! Stick with her, kid, and you'll be fine. So I did, until tragically, she stopped at an aid station. I was torn, and for a moment I actually stopped too (and grabbed an orange slice and some pretzels). But I knew that the longer I held the still the worse it would feel to start again, so I left without Gina. ::Single tear:: I figured that if she passed me, I would just velcro myself back onto her. She never did though, although it turns out she finished only about a minute behind me.
The rest of the race I ran pretty much bunny-less, although near the end I tried (and unfortunately failed) to run faster than these two really annoying people behind me. Ugh. The major hill at Mile 22 was ghastly. My quads felt the way I imagine tenderized chicken cutlets feel after being hammered with a mallet by an angry little Frenchman. I absolutely refused to stop though, and "powered" through it (powered = ran at approximately 2 mph). After that hill it was pretty much smooth sailing. I got a lot of friendly encouragement from people I was passing. I felt good, all things considered.
The most amazing moment for me came when I ran out of the canyon and could see the finish line. All of a sudden it hit me that I was going to do it. Not only was I about to finish my first marathon, but I was going to do it exactly the way I dreamed. I'd run the whole way and I wasn't destroyed. There might have been some sobbing, until I realized it was messing with my breathing. Back to business, kiddo.
I got to the finish, I got my hug, my rose, my hi-tek space blanket, and my medal, plus some fig newtons that were the absolute best thing I'd ever tasted in my life. T was crying. Strangely, I was not.
**
I think I've caught the bug. I started looking around to see when my next marathon will be. I should've signed up for Newport, danggit, which is now full. The Eugene Marathon is May 5 but it's like $105. Yowza!! North Olympic is in June, and only about $65. I think I'll aim for that. Oh, and yes, everyone I know (except Steve the fellow marathoner) thinks I've lost my remaining marbles.
I took the whole day off on Friday, even though we weren't leaving until mid-day, because I knew I would be completely useless at work. I got up at 8, packed, and then putzed around and got nervous until noon. Funny aside – clearly my mind was elsewhere when I left my house, because somehow I ended up on the on-ramp to I-84 West instead of East. Sigh. That was a fun 10-minute detour.
The drive up was unremarkable, though very pretty. Packet pick-up was a snap. The pasta dinner was good – I was glad they had lots of salad too. I didn't eat a ton, just a normal dinner. I read something while training that said if you are going to carb-load, do it two nights before (i.e. Thursday night for me), because eating a ton the night before a race will just weigh you down (and maybe make you queasy). The nutrients won't be in your system until the following night at the earliest. That's how I prepared for my long runs and it worked for me, so I stuck with it. T and I drove to our hotel in Ellensburg. (We didn't go via the course, as I read another piece of advice that said doing so tends to make first-timers nervous. Like, I have to run THIS far? I think it was a good call.) We checked the weather, I laid out all my stuff, and we were in bed by 9:30. I have bedtime-only narcolepsy (note: not a real medical condition), so I had no problems getting to sleep. The first alarm went off at 5:45 (we set three…) and I woke up immediately. Got dressed, had water, coffee, two slices of whole grain toast with butter and grape jelly, and water. T and I arranged late check-out (it required some eye-batting, since I asked for an hour later than their usual late check-out) then left for the race HQ. The race has basically taken over the local Days Inn, so I got to use an indoor bathroom rather than a porta-potty. Of course by the time I got to the start line I had to pee again (and I didn't find a vacant porta-potty until Mile 16).
I got near the back of the middle at the start, and before I knew it we were off. The first few miles I considered kind of a warm-up, and tried to find a good settled pace. I also found the first of my pace bunnies. I admit that I really had no race strategy. I just wanted to run the whole way and beat Oprah's time. At the pasta dinner, one of the women who'd run the race before said they had pacers who wore rabbit ears, hence the name pace bunnies. I was hoping to find one during the race but I guess they didn't have them this year. So, I created my own pace bunnies. I'd find someone who seemed comfortable, and whose pace I liked, and stick to them like glue (figuring pretty much everyone there has more experience than I do). The first was a guy in a blue singlet and shorts. I stuck with him for about miles 1-3. Then either he slowed down or I sped up, and I passed him. After the first aid station I started following two women who were chatting as they ran. I stuck with them for about 3 more miles, until the next aid station. They stopped; I grabbed some water and kept moving. I was on my own for awhile until I found another bunny. He was a marathon maniac and (again) I stuck with him until an aid station. I then got slowly passed by a woman in blue whom I tried to keep pace with, but I could tell she was just a little too fast. I hung back, and by then we were in the middle miles. Twas then I found the Pace Bunny to end all bunnies. Her name was Gina and she was a 100-Marathon Club Member (her singlet told me these things). I figured: Here is a woman who knows her marathons! Stick with her, kid, and you'll be fine. So I did, until tragically, she stopped at an aid station. I was torn, and for a moment I actually stopped too (and grabbed an orange slice and some pretzels). But I knew that the longer I held the still the worse it would feel to start again, so I left without Gina. ::Single tear:: I figured that if she passed me, I would just velcro myself back onto her. She never did though, although it turns out she finished only about a minute behind me.
The rest of the race I ran pretty much bunny-less, although near the end I tried (and unfortunately failed) to run faster than these two really annoying people behind me. Ugh. The major hill at Mile 22 was ghastly. My quads felt the way I imagine tenderized chicken cutlets feel after being hammered with a mallet by an angry little Frenchman. I absolutely refused to stop though, and "powered" through it (powered = ran at approximately 2 mph). After that hill it was pretty much smooth sailing. I got a lot of friendly encouragement from people I was passing. I felt good, all things considered.
The most amazing moment for me came when I ran out of the canyon and could see the finish line. All of a sudden it hit me that I was going to do it. Not only was I about to finish my first marathon, but I was going to do it exactly the way I dreamed. I'd run the whole way and I wasn't destroyed. There might have been some sobbing, until I realized it was messing with my breathing. Back to business, kiddo.
I got to the finish, I got my hug, my rose, my hi-tek space blanket, and my medal, plus some fig newtons that were the absolute best thing I'd ever tasted in my life. T was crying. Strangely, I was not.
**
I think I've caught the bug. I started looking around to see when my next marathon will be. I should've signed up for Newport, danggit, which is now full. The Eugene Marathon is May 5 but it's like $105. Yowza!! North Olympic is in June, and only about $65. I think I'll aim for that. Oh, and yes, everyone I know (except Steve the fellow marathoner) thinks I've lost my remaining marbles.
PS - My new goal MIGHT be to qualify for Boston. But I just don't know if I care that much.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
T-minus two days...
48 hours from now I will be DONE! with this whole marathon thing. (yeeahhhuummm, sort of...I might have already committed to another one.) My boss & coworkers surprised me with a card and a little gifty-basket type thing full of water, Luna bars, and ibuprofen. Ah, they know me well. It was a very sweet thing to do, and I promised I would bring in my medal on Monday so they could stop by my office and genuflect. ;)
I know I complained lustily about how running had taken over my life just a few short weeks ago, but man have I missed it. (Remember, as a woman it's my prerogative to change my mind frequently and without understandable motivation.) I haven't had a long run since March 22, and that was only 15 miles! Practically nothing! I hesitate to say it but…I grew to really like the long runs. (BUT NOT THE ICE BATHS! I will never be down with those.) Getting stronger every week and conquering distances that I thought were a long way to drive is really…(okay, I have to say it, even though I hate this word) empowering. (It's been totally co-opted for PC bullshit to the point of meaninglessness – providing coffee in the break room does NOT constitute "coworker empowerment". Alright, I'm done.) For reals, though, it is awesome to know that I have this kind of dedication and follow-through in me. I decided I wanted to run a marathon. I researched, planned, and trained for it on my own. There was no one shaking me on Saturday mornings, telling me to get my butt in gear and get out the door early. I wasn't going to disappoint anyone except myself if I skipped a cold, rainy midweek run. It is very reassuring to know that I have stick-to-it-tive-ness.
And now that I'm off my high horse: tapering still sucks. To paraphrase Michelle: "I feel fat. My right ankle hurts. Are you coughing? Stay away from me! I need to get more water. Now my left shin hurts. I need to go to the bathroom AGAIN. These pants feel tight. My nose is running, is this allergies or am I getting sick? Better go wash my hands again. My side hurts, what if I pulled a muscle? I have to go to the bathroom. Did I break my shoes in enough? I have to remember to clip my toenails before I leave. Better grab some more water. What if I oversleep and miss the race? My ankle still hurts. What if I tear a contact lens marathon morning? I have to pee."
Ah, the joys of running.
I know I complained lustily about how running had taken over my life just a few short weeks ago, but man have I missed it. (Remember, as a woman it's my prerogative to change my mind frequently and without understandable motivation.) I haven't had a long run since March 22, and that was only 15 miles! Practically nothing! I hesitate to say it but…I grew to really like the long runs. (BUT NOT THE ICE BATHS! I will never be down with those.) Getting stronger every week and conquering distances that I thought were a long way to drive is really…(okay, I have to say it, even though I hate this word) empowering. (It's been totally co-opted for PC bullshit to the point of meaninglessness – providing coffee in the break room does NOT constitute "coworker empowerment". Alright, I'm done.) For reals, though, it is awesome to know that I have this kind of dedication and follow-through in me. I decided I wanted to run a marathon. I researched, planned, and trained for it on my own. There was no one shaking me on Saturday mornings, telling me to get my butt in gear and get out the door early. I wasn't going to disappoint anyone except myself if I skipped a cold, rainy midweek run. It is very reassuring to know that I have stick-to-it-tive-ness.
And now that I'm off my high horse: tapering still sucks. To paraphrase Michelle: "I feel fat. My right ankle hurts. Are you coughing? Stay away from me! I need to get more water. Now my left shin hurts. I need to go to the bathroom AGAIN. These pants feel tight. My nose is running, is this allergies or am I getting sick? Better go wash my hands again. My side hurts, what if I pulled a muscle? I have to go to the bathroom. Did I break my shoes in enough? I have to remember to clip my toenails before I leave. Better grab some more water. What if I oversleep and miss the race? My ankle still hurts. What if I tear a contact lens marathon morning? I have to pee."
Ah, the joys of running.
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