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Archive for March, 2012

Mar 25

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What? No medal?

With the first race of 2012 under my belt, I am happy to report that it went pretty darn well. What I am not happy to report is that I don’t have a medal to show for it! But I am jumping ahead of myself….let me start from the beginning.

I woke up early and got my stretching regime under way. The Perfect Strangers, true to form, had spent the week discussing what matching outfit we would wear and we settled on all black with tall knee socks. I chose a brand new black tank, brand new black shorts and brand new blue socks. Now I am a seasoned racer meaning I should know better than to ever wear something brand new during a race and yet I ignored all that advice and just went for it. We’ll come back to that topic later.

Dressed and ready for 13.1

I drove up to the Northview Church for packet pick up and waited for my girls to arrive. Karen and Amy were the first to join me and we picked up the packets for Bri, Christi and Jaime who all ran from Jaime’s house to get an extra 1.5 miles in. As we gathered in the main lobby amongst all the runners, much to our surprise, Kelly showed up! She wasn’t running the race but popped by on her long run to say hi and take some pictures.

Looking good, girls!

And unsurprisingly, we got a lot of looks. Girls stared at us with judgy eyes and quite a few guys complimented us on our socks.

Amy was definitely our task master all morning and made sure we didn’t get too carried away with our hilarious conversations about Reese Witherspoon and Little Orphan Annie that we would miss the start of the race.

Team Kneesocks

As we approached the start line, we discussed our strategies. Lorie and Karen were planning on going on for it with a faster pace, as well as Adriana. Jaime, Christi, Bri, Amy and I were looking at a 9 min/mile pace and so we hung back. And within just a couple minutes of arriving at the start, we heard some lame starting gun and we were off! The first few miles were pretty quick yet I had no idea as my Garmin’s battery had died on the way to the race. I had to rely on the girls to tell me what our pace was and Amy was a rockstar at that. She often would tell us when we were going too fast and needed to pull back.

The course runs through Carmel neighborhoods and actually has quite a few hills. No, not massive ones like San Francisco, but ones that challenged us nevertheless. Christi stayed out front throughout and was able to snap a few in-action photos.

We continued to get lots of comments about the socks from other runners and even some of the policemen who were working the course. My favorite was a man working on a construction site who yelled out and said “You guys are badasses for doing this race!”

The miles slowly passed by but the conversation kept us going. I was so excited to see my friends Cindy and Jordan working a water stop but was not excited that there were so few of them! The aid stations seemed very spaced apart and though the weather wasn’t too hot, we were definitely eager for each and every one. We took our first walking break around mile 7 after a long hill and took the opportunity then to take our fuel (GUs and fruit snacks) and catch our breath. The minute we started running, I felt my knee for the first time. I have been icing it all week as I think my back-to-back 20 milers gave me a nice dose of Runners Knee. It held up pretty well yesterday but I was definitely feeling it about midway through the race.

The over/under on when we would lose Christi was around mile 5, but she actually stuck with us until mile 8! As she pulled ahead, our pace stayed strong, hovering in the 9-9:15 range just about every mile. And at our next water stop, I noticed that chaffing had arrived. I mentioned earlier that I chose to wore brand new shorts. During the first mile, I could feel them riding up and I was forced to adjust constantly. I joked with the girls that by the end of the race, I was going to wearing Paula Radcliffe like briefs without Paula Radcliffe’s body. But once I started sweating and the material stuck, they were great. I just need to pair them with some BodyGlide next time. Ouch!

I also noticed a big blister forming around this time. Though I had doubled up on socks given our tall ones are very thin, I ended up giving Jaime my extra pair right before the race. She was having some numbness issues and needed them more than me. But as a result, my feet were pretty torn up the last few miles of the race. Jaime and I laughed as we discussed our ailments. Sh*t runners say. :)

At one point I said “I can’t wait to drink a beer, eat a good meal and wear our medals out at lunch today.” And it was Amy who broke the news to me: there are no medals in this race. I was outraged! How can there not be a medal?! I joked that I was quitting the race right there, but clearly, we were going to get through it medal or no medal.

Toward the end of the race, I was catching my stride (I credit the Spiderman fruit snacks from mile 7). But Amy was struggling a bit. The lack of water and the faster pace we held in the first few miles was catching up to her. I was ready for the race to be over and was willing to just go on for it the last two miles, but was not leaving these girls behind. This isn’t my big race…hell, I signed up for it on Tuesday! This was a race for fun and there was no way I wasn’t crossing that finish line with them. In fact, I even yelled to them that there were going to be 8 socked legs crossing that line together. And we were pretty darn close.

Jaime and I pulled ahead just barely and she was awesome. Definitely the Boppy Fairy of this race, she was feeling strong throughout. And we all knew was lay ahead of us: the final hill. As we ran up it, I assumed there was yet another one right after so held back a little. Jaime was having none of it as she told me “I don’t care who you have to think of right now to get yourself up this hill, do it.” Later she told me she wanted to tell me to do it for my dad but was scared I would cry. Good call, Jaims. :) With the hill just barely behind us, we saw Jeremy, Luke and Jacob (Jaime’s family) who cheered loudly. Then we saw Karen and Lorie and finally the finish. The clock said 1:55 and as much as would love to believe we PRed, we knew there was no way it could be accurate. It didn’t matter….we finished and looked pretty darn cute afterwards.

Tada!

all smiles

But there was no medal. I still can’t understand how I can run 13.1 miles and not get a medal, but I guess my ugly forest green tech shirt will have to suffice. We packed up our things and headed to MudSocks for lunch. After setting up a table in the sun outside, the clouds quickly rolled in and we were freezing. Leave it to Mom Jaime to pull out the blankets from the car and wrap her adorable kids as well as us in them! She also grabbed a pair of Micky Mouse ears and handed them to me while saying “These are for no one else to wear.” And so I did. The rest of the meal.

Christi, Bri and I ordered identical meals of water, diet coke, beer, mac and cheese and chicken fingers. Yum.

Lunch was a blast. We learned out to say “Cheers” in Romanian (Norac!) and recapped our races for each other. We laughed about Cowboy Movies. And we enjoyed each other’s company as we always do. I was sad when it was all over in fact. They are my favorites. (You can read Bri’s recap here).

Later our official times came out and I have to say, we did pretty damn well. 2:01:50 for me and I’ll take it.

Now onward and upward. Only 5 weeks until the Illinois Marathon and this body needs to get into tip top shape. I am starting back on Paleo tomorrow to hopefully become a lean fighting machine. Raceapoolza is coming up…and I am excited! And those races better have medals. :)

Mar 23

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Pre-race jitters

Tomorrow is my first race of 2012 and I am Nervous with a capital N!

It’s the Sam Costa half-marathon and no, I am not nervous because of the distance. I have been doing mileage above that each Saturday since the beginning of the year and compared to the 20-milers I have put in recently, 13 sounds like a dream. But I am nervous because it’s a race, and it’s a whole different story when I am running for time.

In fact, I had no intention of doing this race. It’s a hilly course and I just would rather do a normal Saturday morning Monon run instead. But the pull of the Perfect Strangers is too much….I couldn’t resist! Each time the race came up in conversation, I drilled these girls on what their goal time was. Given my challenging race schedule coming up in a month, I only wanted to do the Sam Costa if it was for fun. So after much reassurance that the PS weren’t doing this for a PR, I signed up.

And as discussions ensued about what matching outfits we were going to wear and what time we’d meet up, the nerves started to creep up. And they got even worse when the girls announced their “for fun” pace is going to be a 9 minute/mile. Now, when I did the Mini last year, my pace was 8:51/mile and I felt fantastic. But that was pre-injury. I just honestly don’t know how fast this body can go anymore. Though I feel great about my distance, I am nervous about my speed.

So this little race I was going to do for fun has now become a big stresser for me. Though I know it’s ok if I don’t finish under 2 hours, I don’t want to run the latter part of it alone because the other girls are faster. And if I am being really honest, I don’t want to feel like the slow kid.

So I am going to give it my all. A consistent pace of 9 minutes/ mile and see how long I can keep going. Maybe I will surprise myself and feel great. Maybe all of us will give up the goal and cruise through the race as if it was just a casual Saturday run. Maybe I will win the whole damn thing. You just never know. (Ok, that’s a lie. I know I am not going to win the damn thing).

So wish me luck and look for a post-race blog this weekend!

Mar 18

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Runday Funday!

Friday was Runday Funday. Being that it was my day off work, I set my alarm for 6:31am so that I could conquer this week’s long run. Yes, I realize that some people sleep- in on their day off. Or at least don’t start it with miles and miles of running. But for me, it was what I looked forward to all week long. And I wasn’t alone! Somehow, the stars aligned on Friday for Kelly, Meghan, Jaime, Bri and I to be able to meet on a week day to run. And even better, most of us had the day off so we could take advantage of the amazing, unseasonable weather to do some day drinking.

My training plan called for 15 miles but I knew I wanted to do 20. There was no rhyme or reason to it – I had done 20 just the week before. But I needed it emotionally. I just wanted the confidence boost that only a twenty-miler could give me. So Runday Funday commenced.

What a difference 6 days make in temperature!

The weather was perfect. Kelly, Meghan and I started at 7:30 to get in a quick three before meeting Bri and Jaime at 8am and within 30 minutes, I was already removing my arm warmers. It felt incredibly freeing to run outside in one layer. In fact, when Meghan showed up, I told her she looked naked. We are all so used to seeing each other in tights and jackets and hats!

Jaime, Meg, Bri and Kelly

Right as we started, we saw COG (cute old guy) jogging towards us in his khaki pants, tucked in polo shirt and name badge. Monon Bob has big shoes to fill but COG definitely brings a smile to all of our faces. Bri is nursing an injury so was taking it easy on the distance, which meant we lost her and Kelly around mile 6, as they turned around. We took a couple pictures before we said our temporary farewells.

Now at this point, my tank looks just like a normal tank. But behold! It’s not. In fact, made by @viewsport (who did a very targeted Twitter marketing campaign to get me to purchase one of their tops), this top shows hidden words when it gets wet. So when I sweat, a message is revealed. As I dressed Friday morning, I laughed to JD about how I can’t remember what it was supposed to say under the “I AM” heading on my chest. He so hilariously responded “Probably ‘a waste of money.’” (Very funny, JD.) So as I put in the miles on Friday, I was very eager to see the code and given my sweatiness, I knew it wouldn’t take long (I’m sweaty and I know it.) Sure enough, at mile 7, it was revealed:

I am the competition.

(Ha! Right…you know me. Always giving those race champions a run for their money!) I will say, the tank was crazy comfortable and I love the concept.

Meg, Jaims and I kept the conversation plenty interesting as we spent many miles in a deep discussion over religion. We also talked about jobs and boys and running and all of our other typical conversation topics. I couldn’t wait to stop at mile 10 to fuel up on my favorite new running gel. I swore them off years ago but now that there is one I enjoy, I crave it. Within a mile of eating it, I feel a noticeable difference so have started to refer to it as my Magic Surge. Yes, there are plenty of jokes around this nickname as we tend to get a little slap happy miles down the road.

Just when the conversation was getting good, Meg had to turn around to complete her 15 miles and get to the wedding she was in. I could see it in her face that she didn’t want to leave us and would have rather run 20 and keep the dialogue alive than do 5 miles less. It’s just one of the things I love about our group. Friendship and conversation tend to trump exhaustion.

So Jaims and I trudged on. She was doing 20 too, just started 3 miles after me. I had lofty goals of running to the end with her, completing a total of 23, but I planned on playing it by ear.

With the temps nearing 80 degrees, I was taking on water like the Titanic. But unfortunately, it had the opposite effect. At mile 16, I could tell my stomach was sloshing with liquid which meant my body was no longer absorbing the water. I felt weighed down and with very little energy. Jaime felt like a rockstar so I felt bad slowing her down. Maybe it was the excess amount of water or maybe the fact that I had done 20 just 6 days prior, but those last few miles were rough!

The best part of them, however, was when we popped into Salon01 where Christi works to say hello. Bri was getting her hair done and so in Jaime and I pop to this lovely, modern salon to say hi to our girls. Everyone in there was pretty and clean and smelled fresh. And we? Well we were the opposite. In fact, as this pictue was being taken, Bri said “Meggie, you are disgusting. I am glad I have a cape on.” :)

Salon takeover

With just a little over 3 more miles to go, Jaime was convinced my Magic Surge was laced with something stronger because I was acting a bit nutty. I started singing “Slosh around. Slosh. Slosh. Slosh around” in reference to my overhydrated tummy. And I tried to explain to her my Human Pyramid Weight Loss Theory (I swear it makes a lot of sense in my head). Regardless, we were laughing a lot and making the most of our time together.

As I rolled into mile 20, I admitted what we both already knew: I was not going to be doing 23 alongside her 20. So we bid another temporary farewell and she carried on. Twenty miles two weeks in a row? I was pretty darn chuffed.

So in reward, I allowed myself my first (and last) Shamrock Shake of the season.

Thin Mints on Ice!

But the day was just getting started. A quick shower later, I was back on my way to meet these same girls for day drinking. Christi was meeting us after work and so the five of found a nice patio at which to drink beer, eat food, look cute and spend the afternoon. We made best friends with Ben, our server. We drank out of big yellow cups. We ordered “for sure” water. We switched seats to get an even tan. We took a lot of pictures. We laughed really hard. We cried too. And when the manager had to shut the blinds to block the sun from blinding the inside guests, he was apparently booed by some male onlookers who had spent the afternoon oogling us all from afar. :) Unsurprisingly, we had a lot of schmoopy moments where we expressed our gratitude for the unexpected friendships we have all developed with each other. How do I love these girls? Let me count the ways….

All cleaned up

lotsa beverages

Kel, Jaims and I

I can't imagine why we were considered a spectacle?

In conclusion….Runday Funday was a roaring success.

Mar 12

Call to action….please help?

Hi friends. I am taking a break from running talk to ask for your help.

My friend, Craig Lile (although most know him as Dodge) was nominated to participate in the Man of the Year competition for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society here in Indianapolis. The Man/Woman of the Year campaign runs for 10 weeks every spring and recognizes the male/female who raises the most money for L&LS. Dodge accepted this challenge as a way to not only do as much good as possible for those families affected by blood cancers, but to also continue to give back to his community. And you see, he does that a lot already.

In addition to his day job, Dodge has a national radio show on XM Radio (station 35 – XMU) called “My Old Kentucky Blog.” He also blogs about up-and-coming Indie Music artists. He runs the music promotion company MOKB Presents which brings anywhere from 4-10 concerts to Indianapolis monthly. He runs Laudromatinee and is co-founder of do317 (where you can find all the local happenings). But now it’s time to do even more good for our community by raising money to help families affected by blood cancer.

The reason I am involved is that Dodge is a friend of mine. And at the same time he asked me to help him with this campaign, I too was nominated for this challenge. But I chose to defer running for Woman of the Year for a year so that I could help him. (Yes, that means you will be hearing from me again next year with the same call to action!)

The Men and Women of the year candidates with Meghan and Roman (Girl & Boy of the year)

This isn’t about some silly title – Man of the Year. This is about raising money. LOTS of money to fight blood cancer and to support the families that fight this disease every day. These are cancers that prey on not just adults, but also children. Dodge is trying to make a difference for families like Roman and Meghan’s. They are the Boy and the Girl of the Year and you can read their stories here. Roman was diagnosed when he was just one year old and Meghan when she was 12. Both of their stories are truly inspirational and help show just how important this cause is.

So I need your help. Dodge is trying to raise $50,000 in a short ten weeks. He is hosting benefit concerts, wine dinners and reaching out to his network to bring in as much cash as possible. And I am doing the same. I know that approximately 250-300 people will read this post. If every person who read this even gave just $5….we’d make $1500 just like that! And for those of you more generous…who can spare $25, $50 or even $100….it adds up quickly.

Every dollar of that money goes to such an incredible cause. L&LS is fighting for a cure and they have made great progress. Since 1949 the survival rate for many blood cancer patients has doubled or tripled and in some cases quadrupled.  And many LLS supported therapies not only help blood cancer patients but are now used to treat patients with rare forms of stomach and skin cancers and are being tested in clinical trials for patients with a range of cancers including lung, brain, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers.

So will you give? Of course you will. And there are multiple ways you can:

  • The easiest is to go to Dodge’s fundraising page and send your cash. (remember, the goal is $50,000!!!!)
  • We also need auction items for a silent auction taking place at the grand finale on May 11th. If you can donate services, art, memorabilia, etc, email me at meghann.dials@gmail.com.
  • And lastly, get your company to sponsor Dodge. Maybe they match donations or want to purchase a table at the finale. I can hook you up with the paperwork – just email me.

So…please? Take a second and make a difference for your Indianapolis neighbors suffering from these diseases.

I am thanking you in advance because I know you all will step up. And it means the world to me.

THANK YOU.

Mar 10

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Listen my children….

Listen my children and you shall hear. The story of a long run that happened here.

A cold morning with lots of miles. A fantastic run with tears and smiles.

Ok, so I am no poet. But I will tell you the story of twenty miles. Read on.

At 6:01am, my alarm sounded. I jumped out of bed like a poptart and went through my pre-run regime. 1) Check weather. 2) Bodyglide my feet. 3) Get dressed. 4) Stretch. 5) Assemble running accessories. 6) Rub Icy Hot into my shoulders. Ok, so that last step is a new one, but with the way they were feeling after yesterday’s Crossfit workout, I thought I would need some shoulder relief. What I didn’t think through was how freezing my shoulders would be once I stepped out into the 24 degree weather! Brrr….

driving to the Monon Trail at sunrise

I drove to the Monon Trail and couldn’t help but appreciate the fact that it was light out enough that I didn’t need to wear a headlamp. Meghan, Christi, Kelly and I met in Broadripple to run at 7am alongside our new running friend Micki. (Micki and I met over the past year and though we have shared plenty of laughs over cocktails, this was our first running adventure together! She is training for a half-marathon this spring too!) We had planned to wear long socks over our running tights but Christi went above and beyond and brought matching socks. Also, at the last minute, it was suggested to wear Colts jerseys in honor of losing Peyton Manning from the team this week, but I didn’t get the memo in time.

Long sock girls!

Pre-run!

So the 5 of us started off running south along the Monon Trail. None of us love this particular route but it was a great way to get 6 miles in before we met Karen and Amy at 8am back in Broadripple. We were probably less than nine steps in before I drilled Christi on her love life. And as she shared the latest news, the peanut gallery had plenty of comments. Given she met a boy on a cruise, we dubbed them Jack and Kate from the Titanic. Annnnnnd…..we were laughing already. Those first 6 miles flew by. We caught Micki up on some ongoing stories we always talk about and she shared plenty of hilarious ones herself. And of course, we stopped to take pictures at this awesome mural along the trail.

Kelly, Meghan, Christi and Micki

At mile 5, the first tears were shed. While talking about her beloved bulldog, Baxter, Kelly got choked up. And we all did. It was a lovely story and what was even more so is knowing that our time spent on that trail is a safe place. To talk, open up, share emotion. It was a sentimental moment and one that we all appreciated. And in mile 6, we all admitted we were going a bit too fast and Micki shared that she typically runs at good minute+ slower per mile than we had just been doing. She stepped up her pace to run with us easily though and we all hope she’ll be back for more Saturdays.

So back in Broadripple, Micki said goodbye and we picked up Karen and Amy. Decked in their Manning gear, we stopped for another picture.

Colts love.

The Monon was crazy busy for some reason. People just everywhere and it seemed like a true sign that racing season is upon us. And everyone loved our socks and jerseys. At least 6 people asked us whether we were on a memorial tour for Manning or commented on how they loved him. We decided then that in the winter, we would try to wear long socks and in the summer, we may switch to bandanas. Regardless, we would look united while running.

About mile 8, I ran into Coach O and Mark who were part of my first running group. As I introduced them to the girls, I said “That man was with me the first time I ran 5 miles.” Though I have now been running almost 7 years, those days are still very fresh in my mind. Despite a lot of time and a lot of commitment, this isn’t a sport I have mastered. And I will never forget the people like O and Mark who helped me get through those struggling runs.

Kelly left us around this time to finish off her run. Meg was struggling with numbness in her foot, which Christi had experienced the week before. We tried to take sporadic walking breaks to allow her to shake it out and that seemed to help. Christi and Karen were keeping us at a pretty decent pace, despite Meghan and I always falling about 10 feet behind. And me? I was struggling. It just felt hard. Not impossible, but more like how I feel at mile 22 of a marathon when I know I can finish, but I sure wish I felt better doing so.

At our mile 12.5, we turned around and at 13, we stopped at the Monon Center to load up on gels and water. I actually talked to the gel before ingesting it and said “Listen, gel. I am counting on you to get me through these last 7.5 miles. I’ll do my part. But please do yours. I’m counting on you.” And that gel listened. A mile later, I felt a noticeable change in my energy. Sure, the gel hadn’t turned me into Usain Bolt, but I was in a much better position to get through the final fourth of our run.

At 86th street (mile 15) we stopped for more pictures and a little breather.

5 more to go!

We also got into another discussion about skarms and farms (skinny arms and fat arms). I had tried explaining the concept to my husband earlier in the week and he argued that my arms were the same size in every picture. Not so and these girls completely understood. Meg also taught us “the roll” which can only be described in person, but we’ll all be trying it out soon.

When we finally got back to the deck, Amy took off and the four of us only had two more miles to finish our runs (20 for Christi, Meg and I, and 14 for Karen). And not shockingly, they were emotional ones. As we took off, I explained to the girls that I had been thinking earlier in the week about just how lucky we were. How rare it must be for us to find this many women who not only run around the same pace but are constantly committed to races and running. We don’t stop after a race, we keep training for the next one. And more than that, we like each other. We really like each other. Before these girls came into my life, I would sweat a 20-miler a week in advance. But now, I know I can do it because I have them by my side. And if I am having a bad run, they won’t leave me behind. If I am having a good run, it’s up to me to help the girls having a bad one.

So as we trodded on, Meg fell back a little with her foot issues. It was only her 3rd 20-miler so we stopped, waited and then ran alongside her for the rest of the run. We were going to finish together and it didn’t matter how fast. Some tears were shed during mile 19 as we talked about how we never take the Perfect Strangers for granted. And at that point, I decided to sing the Perfect Strangers theme song. One of my useless talents is TV Theme Songs so I belted it out as we approached the end.

And when we crossed, we hugged each other hard and proceeded to the deck to take our “after” pics. I had earlier suggested we try to make our bodies into the number 20, but you can see how well that turned out.

20?

So instead we just practiced our skarms and the “roll” to show off our mileage. We did it. And yet this crew? Well we aren’t done. We have miles to go before we sleep.

we did it.