Posts from the ‘Races’ Category

May 12

2013 Mini Marathon – #8

It’s no secret that I have been a little quiet on this blog lately. I apologize! My life has consisted of the usual chaos but for the past 10 weeks, I have also had the almost-full-time job of running for Woman of the Year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The campaign ended yesterday and though I am excited to have my life back, it has been an extremely rewarding experience. Pretty amazing to see how many open their pockets for such an incredible cause. I will blog about that next, I promise.

After my marathon in March, I have truly taken a break from training. I still lace up my shoes about 3 times a week for small mileage and have loved this warmer weather. It makes such a difference to be able to dress in one layer vs three! Since March 24th, the longest run I have done is 6 miles. And the entire month of April, I only ran 47 miles. It’s actually been quite lovely. My body, and more importantly, my mind needed a break from the pressure of training. I definitely don’t feel as light on my feet when I actually do go for a run, but this isn’t my first rodeo. I know I’ll get it back when I start my next full marathon training program this summer. Also during this time, I have put my energy into Crossfit and am loving it. I now go to Crossfit Naptown which is 1.2 miles from my house. I am going consistently 3x/week and am seeing some big improvements. Recently, I was able to do 18 double-unders in a row, can do handstand pushups with an ab mat and a 25 lb plate under my head and just this weekend, finally got my first unassisted pullups! I am still weak in a lot of the olympic lifting, but it’s fun to see progress!

All that being said, I was a little nervous about the Mini Marathon this past weekend. You’d think that 13.1 miles would be nothing after training for 26.2, but with six weeks in between races and very little actual training to mention, I really wasn’t sure if my body would get through the race without a lot of pain. I was pleasantly wrong.

All week long, we were told it was going to be cold and rainy during the race. But last Friday, while I was at the expo with JD, Jake and Meghan, the weather report told us exactly what we wanted to hear: 50-60s and overcast. It would be humid, but no rain. And no sun. World’s different than last year’s beastly hot race! Friday night, JD and I went to Mama Carolla’s for our typical pre-race meal and tucked in early. On Saturday morning, we bustled about to be on the road by 6:30am. I kept thinking back to all the other 7 Mini Marathons I have done. I was so nervous for those first few. Having never done more than a half, the Mini was always the big race I trained for each year. I wanted to improve. I wanted to feel good, back then. Lately, the Mini has been a right of passage. A tradition. Something I hope to never miss. Eight years in the running, I wasn’t nervous about the parking, the course, the crowds. I was just a little nervous about how out of shape my running body just may be.

bumruffled out for my 8th Mini Marathon

As JD and I walked toward the start, he told me “I am going to jog up to my corral to warm up the legs, you wanna run with me?” My response: “Hell no. I am running 13.1. No need to add more distance today” and off he went. I was meeting my running friends in Corral E. This year, the security was extra tight given the happenings of Boston so if you didn’t have an E on your bib, then you weren’t getting into the corral. Unfortunately for Adam, that meant he would have to catch up with us on the course from Corral I. Ted, me, Kristi, Meghan, Jake, Martha, Brian and Kelly all met up in our corral. We had a moment of silence for Boston which made my chest tight. I held back the tears but was proud of our city for remembering. For caring. And for showing respect. After that, beach balls were flying, music was playing and the spirits were high. I doubt many other cities can boast that 36,000 people are up, moving and that energetic at 7:30am on a Saturday morning.

Perfect Strangers before the Mini Marathon

Ain’t no party like the Corral E party

Martha, Kristi, Meg, Kelly and I had plans to just run together and take it easy. Though I hadn’t intended to run without my watch, I forgot it at home. Not one of us had a GPS watch and no one cared. We lost Ted and Jake within the first mile but the 5 of us stayed together. I was feeling it the first 4 miles. The wind was at our back which though that is typically a good thing, it also meant that we were hot. I felt the humidity and just about everything else including a weird foot pain and a hip issue. It wasn’t boding well for the race.

But at mile 4, Adam caught up with us after running 9 min/miles. Kristi was cracking us up with her lack of direction. And there was never a lull in conversation. When we saw the cloggers at mile 4.5, we cheered them on and made a pact: if there was ever a year we can’t run the Mini Marathon, then we will perform at it. Clogging has definitely made the short list. We heard a band sing “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and each of us sang it loudly and proudly as we ran by. Also around this time, we turned north (away from south) and I immediately cooled down because of the wind. At mile 5, I was finally feeling great.

We approached the track and slowed down to take our gels before entering. My chocolate one, having been in my lower back pocket of my running skirt, was warm and disgusting. It was like trying to choke down hot fudge that isn’t nearly as tasty as hot fudge while sweating. Gross. We lost Martha and Adam right before the track but they found us soon after somehow. The track is one of those things that you either love or hate. I have never hated it. I think it’s awesome to run on and it helps me break the entire course into three parts: before track (miles 1-6), track (6-8.5), after track (8.5-13.1). This time, the track FLEW BY. We got into some deep discussions while running and before I knew it, we were approaching the bricks. Each year, I see people stop and kiss the bricks but have never allowed myself that because it would mean I’d lose time. This race, we all planned to stop and kiss the bricks. But first, we waved to the cameras.

crossing the bricks

Then, we rushed across the traffic to drop into a burpee and kiss the bricks. Adam took our pic.

kissing the bricks

We were stopping and walking through water stations and yet still hovered around a 10 min/mile pace with the walking stops. Not that any of us were too worried about it, but I can at least speak for myself when I say that even though I didn’t have a watch, I still did the math and pace calculations every time we passed a mile clock.

Have I mentioned how fun this race was? It really was. We were on and off that track in what felt like minutes. We weren’t running super fast, but the camaraderie really kept this race moving and the laughter never stopped.

All that being said, my least favorite part of the course is miles 9-11. It’s boring. Running down 10th can sometimes be hot. It’s just not fun. And my legs were getting tired. We saw Martha’s dad who took a group picture.

Thanks, Mr Talyor!

With just a couple miles to go, we saw Jake and Meghan decided to finish the race with him. He killed this race with a PR of over 6 minutes! The rest of us barreled toward the finish. We looked at the clock with 2 miles to go and realized we’d be around a 2:20 total time. Originally, I said I wanted to be around 2:15 but I didn’t care. None of us were breaking records that day. In the last stretch, I looked for JD. He always comes back after finishing to cheer for me. But he was nowhere to be found. When we crossed the finish line, Kelly got a little choked up. This was the first time I had ever run the mini with friends and I think all of us had such an amazing time together, it became a special race.

we did it

Once finished, we made our way to Military Park. The girls went ahead to the beer tent and I went to the family meeting area to find JD. When I saw him, he had his finisher’s medal and his Top 500 medal on. He missed his PR, however, by 30 seconds. His GPS watch was telling him he was running 6:15/mile pace the entire race but at the finish, the clock said differently. He was so disappointed because he definitely had more in him. And now, as a result, I think he is going to run Geist this coming weekend to give it another shot!

We then migrated to the beer tent which was freezing. None of us had enough clothes on so when someone suggested we move to the Blue Mile tent, I was all for it. Maybe they were selling clothes! When we got there, it was an actual tent which was much warmer. Also, they were serving free Flat12 beer! So it was there we stayed….reliving the race, laughing and taking pics.

We also went and bought these amazing tanks! We love the message.

Ashley, who manages the Blue Mile, jumped in for a group shot too!

My 8th Mini Marathon is on the books and my medal has found it’s place amongst it’s predecessors. Next up – the Chicago Marathon in October! Until then….I’ll be putting in some miles, trying to stay in shape yet giving myself a break until training starts in June!

Apr 16

27 Comments

Boston Marathon 2013

How does one begin to tell yesterday’s story? I want to tell the good. I want to share the energy, the excitement. I want to try to describe the bop in my step as I walked to the finish line at 8am yesterday. I want people to know that this was still a good event. That people still lived out their dreams. That there were hugs and tears of joy before there were embraces and tears of pain. But to do so seems a disservice to those injured and deceased from yesterday’s explosions. I will tell the story of our day and will preface by saying we are so incredibly lucky. And the heavy heart I carry, and will carry, is for those who were not.

JD woke up at 5am and with energy to spare. I lumbered around in bed until he left for the buses which took all the runners to Athlete’s Village – 26.2 miles away. There, they sit and wait in the cold until the start of the race. I went back to sleep until about 7:20, showered, packed up our room and then headed off to the finish line. Because this is a point-to-point race, it’s difficult to spectate. And because I wanted to make sure not to miss JD at the finish, I opted out of the potential chaos of jumping trains to see him at multiple points. He ran Boston in 2010 so I knew the importance of getting to the finish early. It doesn’t take long for the crowds to grow to an uncomfortable level and I wanted a spot right at the finish and right along the guard rails. As I bopped down Charles Street, I wore my “My husband runs fast” tshirt and had my lucky fishtail braids in. I wore this exact look when JD PR’d in November so was sure it would be good luck. I stopped by Starbucks for a Peppermint Hot Chocolate to warm me up. I knew I was in for a long day but was so excited. I just love spectating a marathon.

When I turned onto Boylston, the course itself was packed full of people. They hadn’t closed it down yet and so runners, bikers and rollarbladers took their opportunity to test the course. I walked past the finish line and decided to go a little further out so I could get a better view (the area closest to the actual finish line is heavily roped off with metal and wood to keep spectators from getting too close). I found a sunny spot right next to the Dunkin Donuts. There were two nice families flanking me – two families I got to know quite well. The crew to my left were cheering for Erin. This was her 13th marathon but her first Boston. Her mom and dad were in from Connecticut and her husband from Florida. He is in the airforce so has never seen her race. The group to my right were cheering for their friend. The man next to me ran in 2011 and so throughout the race, we talked about timing, hills, and pace. A couple from Mexico stood behind me. Though he spoke broken English and I poor Spanglish, we talked throughout and he even offered me his gloves when it was cold. All four of our groups were stalking the BAA.org app, website and twitter feed. Even that early – 2 hours before the men started and 5+ hours before I would see JD, there were people everywhere. My group (me and the families next to me) talked about the things we saw: the three homeless men behind us, the crowds amassing across the street, the K9 dogs, the police brigade. Erin’s husband read aloud the elite leaders’ bios and I kept every abreast of what was happening on Twitter. At one point, I asked them to watch my bag so I could run into Dunkin and get some donys and another hot chocolate. Another time, I asked the same so I could go to the bathroom. Of all the things I thought through- someone taking my bag or even worse, my prized spot at the finish, I wasn’t aware of my surroundings. Not like I should have been. I just watched people for interest. Looked at signs people made. The different nationalities represented. And I did what every spectator does at every marathon – I became part of the community. I knew the names of the runners my new friends were cheering for. I checked their bib numbers on my phone to track pace. I knew their goal time and my new friends knew all the same about JD. We had united over this event.

Around 11am, we started to see some action. The wheelchair participants were coming in hot and what an inspiration these people are. Using all arms and core, they flew by us. The winner of the female race, an American! As we listened to the National Anthem play for her, the other participants raced toward the finish – some juggling for that lead spot with the person next to him/her. The crowds roared. The cowbells rang. And the sun, finally, started its way to us. Though I had picked sunny spot at the beginning, soon after, it dipped behind the Lenox Hotel and didn’t return for hours. It was freezing and though a great day for running, I was happy to have JD’s extra long-sleeved shirt in my bag to wear.

Winner of the Male Wheelchair race

During this time, I was communicating constantly with my friends back home who were not just tracking the elites, but also JD. The elite women had a 30 minute head start so it wasn’t long after the first rush of wheelchair participants came through that the lead pack charged down Boylston. From everything I was reading on Twitter, it.was.a RACE. Felix, who had led for miles was overtaken by the chase pack including Shalane Flanagan (USA). With only a 7 second gap, Shalane looked like she had a chance for 3rd place. My friends were tweeting back and forth and I was ready with my phone to capture the speedy women as they passed. Shalane ended up in 4th (you’d be amazed how long 7 seconds is at the pace they are running). The crowd went wild for these women and you’ll notice below, the sun creeped closer.

Women winners – watch the video!

One of the many women who sprinted 26.2 miles

The family next to me and I had a bet – whether the elite men would finish before the sun reached us. When I had walked down to Starbucks for the bathroom, the weather was so much warmer down there. We were building up body heat by cheering, but the sun would make it a perfect spring day for spectating.

JD was doing great, by the way. Every split was consistent and right on pace for his 3:05 goal. Though he has already qualified for Boston 2014, I know he wanted to requalify at Boston (something apparently only about 30% of runners do). It’s a tough course – so much downhill (which shreds your quads) and then brutal uphills. He and his friend Michael run together on Saturday mornings and have been running fast. I know both were hoping for a great time. Though my BAA app was slow to respond, I was getting updates on JD every 5K from the website. And my friends Jake, Meghan and Amy were tracking JD online and could provide even more detailed updates. I hated not being able to see him at more points in the race, but felt I was close to him just being able to see his splits.

Not too long after the women elite ran through, the men turned the corner. But right before the male winner passed me, the sun reached me. I bathed in it. My toes became unnumb. My fingers thawed out. I was ready to spectate even harder. And again, as the men flew by towards breaking the winning ribbon, I got a video of the top 3.

Men winners – watch the video!

This race is an incredible race. The athleticism is just unbelievable. I have been to plenty of races where JD is running in a sparse field and finishes in the top 10% every time. But Boston? So many are fast. With the winners done, I was just waiting for JD to get to me. And was amazed by the thick field of runners all finishing under 3 hours. It’s just crazy.

so many speedy runners

We had about 45 minutes before JD would come through so I was tracking him like a hawk. But not just JD, I tracked my fellow spectators’ runners as well. The crowds had gotten extremely thick and so though I had posted up along the guard rail, more were squeezing in. A little boy and little girl stood right between me and one of the guys I had been there with for over 5 hours. The mom had dark hair and we chatted about the fact that this race was 30 degrees cooler than last year’s race. The kids were a blast – trying to determine what country each runner was from and cheering loudly. I talked with my Mexican friends and told them to cheer for JD. And when one man ran by with no shoes on, they yelled “No zapatos!” which made me laugh since it’s one of the few nouns I remember from Spanish class.

There is a group of service men and women who every year start the race much earlier in the day and walk the entire 26.2 miles in full gear and packs. These packs weigh up to 50lbs. When we saw each small group of them in uniform, making their way to the finish, our cheering crew chanted “USA! USA!” and cheered so loudly. When we saw multiple men cramp up and stop in the middle of the course, we’d yell “Come on 1234! You got this! Hang in there. Keep it up!” When we saw people walking, looking like death we would seek their bib number and yell “Pick it up 1234! You are so close! KICK IT UP!” When we saw those runners with the last minute sprint, going full force into the finish, we would scream as loud as we could. We created an unspoken cadence of how to cheer together and we were loving every second. The crowd was happy. Energetic. We were united.

My friends who were cheering for Erin expected her around a time of 3:30 (and she started at 10:25 or so, so that put her at 2pmish). My friends to my right expected their friend around 3:40-3:50 (which put him a little after 2pm). I met a man from Fishers, IN who was cheering for his girlfriend but he expected her later too. So JD was the first of our group to cheer for. My new friends asked me his bib number, what he looked like and were on high alert to see him come through Boylston. Unfortunately, right around the 30k mark, JD’s pace started slipping. My friends told me that’s where the hills are so I hoped his pace would be back on track by the 35K mark. But it wasn’t. My at-home friends were giving me the play by play and it was clear, he was struggling. I assumed injury and just hoped he wasn’t in too much pain. We waited and waited and waited for the 40K (which is the 25 mile mark) to come up. When it finally did, I knew we were minutes from seeing JD. Jake texted that he was 500 feet out and my brother told me he should be there any second so my entire group was staring and searching. One lady asked me what he looked like and I said “I don’t know, attractive?” and another was scared we missed him. I told them to keep looking, we’d find him. In panic mode, I texted Jake and said “Did I miss him?” and he said “No, he just ran by an Apple Store.” Now I have no idea how Jake had such details, but given JD and I had spent the past 2+ days in this area, I knew Boylston like the back of my hand. I knew exactly where that was and stood up on the guardrail to look for him. There he came….much slower than normal but with a smile on his face. My friends screamed and screamed “GO JOSH!!!!” and rang their cowbells. You’d have thought it was a group of people that had known JD for years the way they carried on. When JD reached me, he stopped, grabbed my face and kissed me. And then raced ahead. As I grinned ear to ear, I heard one man say behind me “Let’s hope he didn’t just miss his PR by 8 seconds for that kiss!” I grabbed my bag and weaved and ducked through the crowds to head to the family meeting area. I wished everyone good luck and thanked them for the lovely morning. At that time, I felt a more poignant goodbye was necessary. We had spent all morning together! But I knew it was time to meet JD.

Here he comes on the right!

Getting to the family meeting area takes patience and skill. I walked by the finish area, down some back streets, around the entire course, back around the other side of the spectators and straight for Letter D. I waited and soon saw JD hobbling toward me with his heat blanket on. He collapsed on the concrete next to me and recounted his race. He knew at mile 14 he wasn’t going to get 3:05. He surged on until mile 18, still averaging around a 7/mile pace. But with the Newton Hills and Heartbreak Hill, he had nothing left. His legs were spent. He wasn’t injured or out of breath. He just had nothing left. He was disappointed, but knew he gave it his all. He risked going out fast and wasn’t able to get the time he wanted (he finished around 3:24) but still ran fast. In fact, he ran so fast, he very well may have saved my life.

We didn’t wait long before making our way back out of the chaos. I can’t describe the chaos. People everywhere. There is an attempt at order but there are strollers, kids, double strollers, runners, bags, guardrails. It’s a mess. As we reached the subway stairs, we stood at the top about to descend and JD said “There’s Boston Common right?” I said yes. He said “Ok, I think I can walk back to the hotel.” So we did. People stopped along the way to tell JD congrats and I was bursting with pride. I may never qualify for Boston but I can tell you, at that very moment, I wanted it so very badly. There is NO race like Boston. NONE.

JD in Boston Commons. Right before we found out about the explosions

Right around this time, my friend Amy texted and said “I’m seeing tweets about an explosion near the finish line. Are you guys safe?” I told her yes, and then immediately turned to Twitter. By typing in “Boston Marathon Explosion” into the search, I pulled up everything that was happening. The images. The reports. Tears filled my eyes. JD asked what was wrong and I told him. But we both hoped, and thought it was possible, it was just a man hole cover or maybe some firework went wrong. Clearly it couldn’t be more. Back at the hotel, we stood at the hotel bar with other runners, glued to the TV. Over time, other runners joined us and told us what they had heard. Family members stood at the escalator waiting, begging for their loved ones to arrive. Texts and tweets and messages flooded in. Both JD and I barely talked as we just focused on responding “Yes, we are ok. We are safe” over and over again. It was incredible to see how many people thought of us and loved us. And we checked in with our friends: Michael and his girlfriend were ok. As were Ramsey and Ali.

As we learned more, my heart continued to pound and my face got hot. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I was there. I was in that exact spot for almost 6 hours. I know that area and can paint every detail in my mind. The explosions were on my side of the course. And I was gone before it happened, so I was safe. But what if? What if my friends weren’t? I looked up and JD was staring at the ground. Tears in his eyes. He said “If it had been you, I couldn’t have helped you. My legs were so tired. I couldn’t have gotten to you” I told him that was silly and adrenaline would have kicked in but it’s fine. We’re fine. But neither of us could shake it. It was just 40 minutes or so before, that I stood there. Front row. Amongst a crowd of wonderful cheerleaders. Completely unaware of what lay near us.

We realized pretty quickly that we needed to get to the airport sooner than normal. We stood outside the hotel and waited forever for a cab. I eventually downloaded a local Boston cab app and we managed to get a car. By this time, my phone was blowing up. Because I had live tweeted the entire morning, local radio hosts and news anchors asked for my account of what was going on. I was happy to provide information, but felt guilty doing so. We weren’t there when it happened. We didn’t see it. We didn’t hear it. We were safe. So many others were not.

We checked into the airport just fine and despite me apparently trying to smuggle an entire jar of peanut butter as a carry on, we managed to find a restaurant with a phone charger, beer, food and a TV without any concern. JD went to the gate to check on our flight while I took calls from local stations. My story was the same: I wasn’t there when it happened. But the crowds were massive. There were kids. And no, this won’t stop us from attending races in the future. With each conversation, my heart got heavier and heavier. Here I was providing such little information and yet craving all the information I could get.

Our flight was delayed (apparently just for mechanical issues?) and we were booked on a later one. We didn’t care – we just wanted to get home. I couldn’t pull myself from the news and when I was on the plane, I got online immediately. I scoured Google maps to find out exactly where I was in relation to the explosions. The visual still makes the tears fall.

The blue X represents where I was. Where my new friends may have been

The blue X represents where I was. Where my new friends were

I don’t know if my friends are ok. I have done the math over and over to see if they would have been out of there by the time the explosions started. I think about the kids that essentially stayed beside me for an hour. The mother had dark hair. There was at least one boy and a girl, maybe another boy. Could it have been Richard Martin? Unless I see pictures of them dressed as they were that day, I am not sure I’ll ever know. JD tells me I am torturing myself by going over this. But I don’t know how else to deal with it. I want to know everything. I want to see everything. I have looked through every slide show of pictures to see if I recognize the wounded. I think about the fact that if the bomb was in a trash can or a backpack by the finish, then I walked by it at least twice. It’s so surreal.

And I feel guilt. I was there, but just not there when things went bad. Maybe I could have helped my friends. Or at least I would have information by being there. I left them all and was happily strolling through Boston Commons when it happened. I am safe. JD, thank gosh, is safe. But so many others aren’t.

I posted this on FB last night:

I am so angry at the people behind today. I’m so mad that they took away dreams—dreams of those who were killed and injured and dreams of runners unable to finish their race. This was supposed to be a day about accomplishment, goals, celebration and support. And despite what these monsters did, it still is. Though I’m so grateful to be on my way home and know JD and I are the lucky ones, I am saddened to leave the community of runners and Bostonians who united over this tragedy. I witnessed the best kinds of people today— and heard about the true heroes who ran towards the danger to help those in need. the families who brought stranded strangers into their homes. The finishers who ran straight to the hospital to donate blood. A piece of my heart is left in that city. And tomorrow I will do the only thing I know to do to remain connected and to not let evil win: I will run.

We got home around 1am this morning and were thrilled to be in our bed, home and safe. Yet I do feel sad not being there. I see the images on TV and know that street so well. I quickly get my whereabouts and imagine yesterday morning. The imagery of such happiness and accomplishment. The sounds of the cheers and cowbells. The people’s faces I met. I try so hard to remember every face I met. I don’t want to forget. And though we are so so lucky, I know that there is a piece of that city and that race in our hearts. This morning I called the Boston FBI hotline with a couple strange things I saw. I am sure they are nothing, but they promise no small piece of information is too small. If I can help in any way, I want to.

Today, during my run, I ran fast. The pain in my lungs and the rain pouring down on my head felt good yet, at one point, I was so emotional I almost collapsed to my knees in pure sadness over this situation. I am angry. I am sad. I look at the map of the explosions and tears instantly fall. Some evil doer(s) tried to ruin one of the greatest athletic events in our nation. Someone took down not the runners, but the spectators who spent hours waiting for the one chance to root on their loved one. As a marathon runner, I know the importance of these people and this article says it best: The People Who Watch Marathons.

The running community has always been a close one. For an individual sport, we really rely on each other. We support, listen, encourage and understand each other. Had this happened at a race far away from me and JD, I would have still felt a connection to the terror based on that running community alone. But the fact that we were there. The fact that JD ran fast enough to maybe save my life. The fact that I don’t know if my new cheering friends are ok. The fact that this race was tarnished by something so awful. I won’t forget. I can’t forget. And every day I run, will be a testament to not ever forgetting.

My heart goes to those who were there. Those who are safe like JD and I. Those who were injured. And those who lost their lives. My heart goes to those who didn’t get to finish their Boston Marathon. I will be at every race as always. We will not be afraid, but we will be aware. And I will run harder and faster and maybe someday, I will cross that finish line as a runner and remember April 15th, 2013 as the inspiration that got me there.

Mar 25

9 Comments

Circular Logic – Marathon #10 (recap)

Since I crossed the finish line on Saturday, most people have had one question “How did you survive running the same one-mile loop 26 times??” And my answer has been universally the same: it was actually pretty awesome.

But I am getting ahead of myself. Let’s start from the beginning.

FRIDAY:

While some of you may have left work early to get in on the March Madness action, Meg and I were strategizing on all the important pre-race logistics. Throughout the day, we organized our topics that all of you crowd sourced. We got some really good ones and then added a few of our own. We also came up with a game plan for our “pit stop” (the place our fans would congregate with their own snacks and beverages, while also being on-duty to hand us ours). That night, she went to the Running Company and stocked up on gels while I went to target and picked up food, gatorade, water, diet coke etc. Also that night, Nathan and Hunter arrived so we went to Mama Carollas (my favorite restaurant in Indy) for some carb loading. The laughs among JD, Hunt, Nathan and I made the pre-race jitters go away. It was a perfect pre-race meal.

Cheers to Marathon #10!

When I got home, I laid out my clothes and we all packed up our coolers, bags, etc. It was going to be chilly at the start so we had plenty of blankets for the spectators. My outfit consisted of two long-sleeved tops, my lucky marathon tights, long socks. And I brought an extra layer for the beginning.

Saturday:

I set my alarm for 5:16am and was wide awake when it went off. I got up, brushed my teeth and then realized I had plenty of time so got back in bed. Of course I didn’t sleep….but just tried to relax and focus on the day. At 5:46am, I got up for a second time, got dressed and started packing the car with the boys. Nathan, Hunter and JD all wore their See Meggie Run shirts which I LOVE. They made them back for the San Francisco Women’s Marathon years ago and hold plenty of good memories. We bundled up and packed into the car while Meg, Jake and their dog Slater led the caravan up to West Lafayette. On the way there, we listened to my Songza app and chose some pretty awesome playlists. Starting with the 90210 Slumber Party Mix (Yes, we DID hear “How Do You Talk to an Angel” by Jamie Walters but as Nathan put it “No one will ever take him seriously as an artist after Ray pushed Donna down the stairs), we then moved on to “2000′s One Hit Wonders” (my personal favorite, “Do Your Chain Hang low.”) We knew the other girls were en route too – Christi, Kristi and Dana were running the relay as a team, as were Kelly and Jaime.

Hunt and Nathan dancing

When we arrived at the park, we saw no signs of running life. There weren’t posters directing you where to go. There wasn’t another single person even wearing running shoes. We parked and asked a woman standing in a snowsuit if we were in the right spot and she confirmed that we were. There were 2 parking lots for the race and we picked the one less traveled. And it made all the difference.

Meg and I hiked up the trail to get our packets (read: 2 bibs and a tshirt). The race organizers had let us pick our own numbers so I was my lucky number 22. We put one bib on the front (the one with the chip) and one on the back so that when people passed us on the trail, they would know our name. Pretty brilliant really.

When we got back to our cars, the rest of the crew had arrived. Poor Jaime was deathly ill so when they picked up their packets and saw the medal in their bags, they all contemplated just hanging with the boys, eating donuts and drinking beermosas. But of course they were going to finish – they didn’t drive an hour north to relax in the park!

It was quite cold at this point – we were all bundled up and I had no problem keeping on my mint sweatshirt all throughout the first lap even!

Jaime, Meg, me, Christi, Dana, Kristi, Kelly

Kristi and Christi had both made signs! Kristi focused one on the Crossfit Games which Meg and I loved. We did our own 26.2 that day!

Ryan Gosling anyone? YES.

With only ten minutes until the start, Dana, Kelly, Meg and I walked up to the start line. With only 105 people running the marathon plus the relay teams, it was easy to navigate. We bundled together and before we knew it, we were running.

Ready, set, go!

As you guys know, we had topics for every mile and Mile 1 was just talking through the race and seeing for the first time what the full lap looked like. It’s pretty easy to describe: we crossed the start line where the organizers marked our every mile (and as we passed, our names popped up on a screen telling us what lap we were on). We turned right and ran a long stretch that was lined with the spectators. Families had blankets and chairs lined up and some even had tailgating tents. For those that had observed the Circular Logic water bottle system, this is where they picked up their bottles and had them refilled. This is where all those who parked in the other lot went. It was by far the most populated. From there, we turned right and faced a slight incline – luckily it was VERY slight but still was my least favorite part of the course. We turned right again and ran along a sidewalk next to the road. This was the most congested part of the race and often we had to run single file to let people to pass. We raced by a softball field that later in the day was occupied by some Purdue students. We then hit a very sharp almost u-turn which brought us up by our pitstop. We could hear them cheering for us and other runners well before we actually ran past them but it was (of course!) the highlight of the laps. There were also no other people around so it kept the energy up! Then we turned right one last time before heading back to the start line. The first lap, we jaunted off to pick up the .2 miles which was nice to get over with.

Jaime and Kelly were swapping every mile whereas the other relay team ran in increments of 2 miles. Every single mile, we ran in a pack. Sometimes it was 4 of us. Sometimes it was 7 of us. But Meg and I were never alone. And that made all the difference.

Christi, Kelly and Nathan running alongside me

We were quite committed to the topics the first 15 miles. Each lap, Nathan would hand us a strip of paper with the respective topic and we’d spend the mile discussing. So thank you for all who submitted ideas and thoughts for us to discuss. At the bottom of this post, you will see the topics and what we talked about!

Miles 1-5 flew by. Seriously flew by. I think I even said “I really love this race and could see all of us doing this again.” The course became familiar quickly. I knew the part I didn’t love and luckily, it was brief. We started to get to know other runners and the spectators. This little girl yelled “Good job Meghan! Good job Meggie!” every time we ran by. And it made me smile every single time. As one man passed us and saw the back of our tops he said “It’s a MEGATHON!” which we really loved.

Megathon

There were a couple costumes – mainly a monkey and a bee. And though we started to create stories around our fellow runners, we got most of our information from the pit stop. Our fans were interacting with every runner, every lap. Nathan, a former University of Iowa cheerleader took to this race like a fish to water. He and Jake both had brought dry-erase boards so every time we passed, they had a different sign for us. Some of them were song lyrics and some were just hilarious (like “Donna Martin graduates” and “I’m a 90′s bitch”) But they just didn’t make the signs for us – they made them for other runners. The relay runners were our liaison between the path and the pit so each time they switched out, we would hear what was happening back on home base. We learned that Bryce won the race last year but that Jake had already lapped him twice and was in a great position for a win (which he did! Bryce got second) Laura was working hard for a win and ended up PRing at 3:09. Anne was running with her husband but was actually beating him. And our pit crew thought that the Monkey and the Bee were dating. We were right smack in our own little community and each lap brought us all closer.

pit stop action and

At mile 4, we took our first walking break. We only fueled up at the pit stop rather than the water station the other runners used. When we approached the pit, I would yell “JD – Water!” or “JD – gel!” “JD – Gatorade” and even once “JD – donut hole!” Our team and supporters were amazing. I can’t even begin to tell you all how much I appreciated every single one of them.

lap??

JD took lots of pics of us in the beginning. We were all smiles. The weather was warming up and we were running really well. Our first 3-4 miles were all sub 9:30/mile and every time I said we would slow down, we didn’t. But we felt good so carried on. That’s never a great strategy – we should have started and held at 10/miles the entire time but oh well. We fought for every mile that day so I have no regrets. At mile 6, we took our first gel. At mile 8, another water stop. At mile 12, more gel. At this point, I was just “chunking” the distances in my mind. Every 4 miles was water. Every 6 was a gel. Mile 13 was more than halfway. Mile 15 was IBprofen and mile 17 meant we had single digits left to run.

Jaime, Meg and I on the sidewalk strip of the loop

JD climbed a fence for this pic

My hips started to hurt at mile 12. And though I promised myself I wasn’t going to let those mental demons in during the race, I did. I let the pain in my hips seep into my brain. I was negative and in a bad spot. But at mile 16, with IBprofen in my system, I caught a second wind. I take absolutely zero credit for that energy – it came 100% from my friends. JD, Jake, Nathan all rang alongside us. We had the 4 of us runners, plus at least 3 more fans packed together, taking on that trail. I didn’t have to talk, but instead could just listen to their conversation and be distracted by the course. Hunter jumped in the next mile. And on and off it went for the next 10 miles. Nathan ran more that day than he ever has in one day! Hunt kept the questions going. JD was by my side for every mile I needed him. Jake was the same for Meg. And my girls…..I still don’t know how I got so lucky to have such incredible, fierce women who get me. They know when it hurts. They know how to inspire. They know how to make me laugh. And they, along with Jake, JD, Nathan and Hunter made all the difference.

second wind?

Because every lap is the same – literally – it’s hard to sort the memories of when I felt good and when I didn’t. I know that Meg and I were very eager to get to that “single digits left” point in the race and I even tweeted “9 more to go.” Once in the 20s, I didn’t feel AWFUL but I was mentally in a bad spot. And not so nice. At one point JD was running ahead of me and when I asked why, he said “I am trying to pull you along.” I said “I want you by me. Next to me. Not one single inch in front of me” and then apologized that I am such a beast at the end of a marathon. Luckily he gets it

The hip started to hurt again at mile 22 and you’d think with only 4 more to go, we’d just put it into high gear but that wasn’t going to work. The loops seemed to get longer. At one point, I asked JD to find me some headphones. I just needed one mile to zone out. I listened to Taylor Swift and PINK and Kanye and then pulled the headphones out and reengaged with our crew. I had stopped a couple times to stretch out the hips which felt incredible. So when I complained to JD about how I hurt he told me to walk. I said “I can’t. I don’t want to be last place.” He said “Oh, you won’t be. XXXX is going to be last place.” I said “Who is XXXX?” and he replied, “the person who is going to get last.” It made me laugh and I realized I was being silly. We were fighting for every mile.

With 2.5 miles to go I said out loud to JD “I can’t do this.” He said “of course you can. You are so close.” I responded “Well I just don’t want to.” Of course every marathoner probably thinks these things but we should all be smart enough to never say it aloud. Even to oneself. It opens up the weakness that is dying to pour out. No one wants that Pandora’s box.

When we had 2 to go, I was barely talking. I listened to those around me and kept Meg in sight. She had planned for a fun “mystery topic for miles 25-26 but neither of us were really talking. We were just running as hard as we could. With one more lap to go, I said “Why do we do this to ourselves? You know what we are doing next??? 5ks. That’s what we are doing.” And every time I passed a cone I would say “We will never see this cone again!!” I wasn’t nearly the cheerleader I had planned to be. I wanted to be fun and uplifting and strong and positive. But once I let those negative demons in, they just took over. They didn’t ruin my race, but I had to rely on my friends to keep picking my spirits up over and over.

When we passed our pitstop, it was empty because everyone was at the finish waiting for us. WHAT a beautiful sight. We were close. SO CLOSE. We took off. A little faster. A bit faster. Then full out sprint to the finish. The tears came before I even crossed. I buried my head in JD’s tshirt and sobbed.

Then I hugged every one of the girls, Jake, Nathan and Hunter. JD handed me a class of champagne and I collapsed with it beside me. I was upset. Not because my time wasn’t as fast as I wanted – and it wasn’t – but because I was SURE we would get Meg her PR. I just thought there was no way we wouldn’t. We worked hard. We didn’t slack off so I am proud of us, just always want better.

Right as I was thinking this and feeling down on myself, Meg brought us all together and said “So guys, I want to tell you something. Jake and I are engaged!” HOLY HELL! They got engaged two weeks ago and I have seen her a thousand times, even talked about marriage and she never once let on! This was her mystery topic for miles 25 and 26 that we failed to get to given how bad we felt! Her timing was perfect though – we were done with the race and finish time just didn’t matter anymore. We had bigger fish to fry! She got to tell all of us right there, with champagne in our hands after 26.2 miles of running. PERFECT.

Right after the announcement

The medals are awesome – one big circle. Well played, Circular Logic. Well played.

Number 10 is in the books. I loved the course. I loved how small it was. There was no expo or massive packet pick up. The start line was easy to get to. The finish line was easy to collapse across right afterwards. I loved the community of runners that became my friends for a day. I loved seeing the pit-stop crew at home base every mile. I loved having water, Gatorade, diet coke and even donut holes there whenever I needed them. I loved the familiarity of the path – just like the Monon. I do better when I know what’s coming. I would do this race again – whether the marathon or the relay. But one big piece of advice: if you are thinking about doing this race next year – follow our lead. Bring a party. It makes all the difference

1-0

Thank you to all of you who emailed, texted, tweeted and facebooked your way into my inspiration on Saturday. I am so grateful for your support.

Thank you to Nathan and Hunter who drove down to Chicago, made signs, and were the best cheerleaders not to just me, Meg and the girls but to every runner out there. You two are incredible. And thank you to Jake for being witty with your signs and loud with your voice.

Thank you to the Perfect Strangers for putting up with my beast mode. For hugging me when I needed it. For making me laugh. For talking about our ideal hot tub scenario and for being the best girlfriends anyone could ask for.

Thank you to JD for being my running rock. You know me and what I need at any given mile better than anyone. I couldn’t have done Saturday without you and I promise to support you and cheer my heart out for you during the Boston Marathon next month.

And to Meg for being such a great running buddy. All those runs in the rain and snow and ice. At 5:30am when we didn’t want to run. The hundreds of circles we did on the track. And for waiting until the perfect time to share your amazing news. I am so happy for you and Jake.

results

And to all of you who gave us topics to run to…..I give you a recap. Thank you!

The first topic was from my mom “Would you give up 20 IQ points to be able to be your ideal weight without ever having to exercise or worry about what you eat for the rest of your life.” As we tackled this one, we considered how much 20 points really represented. We through out some statistics about average IQ to see if we really have enough to spare but in the end, just about everyone said no, it wasn’t worth it. I can tell you, however, that laughably, at the end of this race, Meg and I were close to changing our mind. We were done with exercise.
Vacation spots. We all agreed we would go across the sea and while I brought up Spain other girls wanted to go Asian. Meg and Jaime both suggested Laos and Jaime had our brains swimming with visions of eating sticky rice and living in tree houses while moving only by zipline.
Pick a movie and recast it with people you know in life. I love this one but it was HARD to find a movie we all knew that had enough leading characters to recast it. I went with the obvious and did Sex in the City. Kristi immediately said “Please don’t make me red head! I am always the red head!” I told her that I was happy to take Miranda as I too typically get casted as her. We gave Samantha’s character to Meghan, Charlotte to Kelly and Kristi took Carrie!
Rank 5 European countries from top to bottom. I chose England, Italy, Spain (although I have never been), Ireland and Germany. Others threw in Scotland, France and Switzerland into the mix.
Talk about some of your favorite memories from college. Since Meghan and I went to school together and are sorority sisters, we had fun talking about some of our favorite memories. It’s hard to narrow them down to one single event or time. All of them seemed to shape us. But it was a good way to focus our attention on the past and laugh about some of the crazy times – and hear about some of the other girls’ college experiences.
Who would be the 5 celebrities you want in your ideal hot tub? Every single girl + Nathan picked Ryan Reynolds and Ryan Gosling. Some added Justin Timberlake, Adam Levine (good call, Christi!), Tae Diggs (Meg), Hugh Jackman (Kelly) and I added in Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Denny from Grey’s) and David Beckman! That tub is HOT!
If someone made action figures of you, what is your special power? And who is your arch nemesis? That was easy for me! Flying (because that sounded good as I was running) and my arch nemesis was the picture-taker with the newsletter. Some said wheels (same reason as running). We also joked that boys would have had a lot more creativity with this one that us girls.
Play 3 songs out loud: This one was fun! We just turned on my phone and listened to music as we circled the track!
If you were guaranteed honest responses, whom would you question and what 3 questions would you ask? We had some great people in this one. Obama. Tiger. I chose someone in the CIA (can you imagine those secrets!) George W. (Clearly we stayed in a similar genre.) As for specific questions, we didn’t get into details about the questions other than just to find out the back stories on some of the “big stories’ involving these people.
We also talked about crossfit, training runs, past Perfect Stranger girls who don’t run with us anymore (status updates). Kelly interviewed Nathan about his cheerleading days. Hunter came up with amazing questions on the spot about TVshows we would want to star in, etc. We were never short of topics and it’s all because of you guys!

What’s up next?

I am not 100% sure. I am signed up for the Illinois Marathon on April 27th but I think I am going to opt-out. I like the idea of focusing on the Mini Marathon and taking a good break from running while ramping up my crossfit. From there, I start training for Chicago in early summer. Though I already feel good about getting back to pavement and feel motivated to run (every race does this), I also love that I am not sweating this snowfall right now. Because I don’t HAVE to run in it.

Mar 19

Crowd sourcing marathon inspiration

In just 5 days, I will be running my 10th marathon with my friend Meghan. This one is going to be pretty special – not just because I have 5 friends doing the marathon relay right besides us. Not just because it will be the second marathon Meg and I have run together. And not just because my husband and two great friends will be there to cheer us on. This one is special because I will be running 26 one-mile loops. Yep, you heard that right.

It’s in a park. And there is a one mile loop around the park. Me, Meg and 103 other marathoners will be running around that circle 26 times. To say it will be a mental challenge is an understatement. A marathon is hard enough. The distance, the stress on your body, the pain are just half the battle. At least for me, the distance is as mentally as challenging as it is on my legs. And without new scenery. New crowds. New pavement to run…this one could be really hard. (Conversely, it could be amazing! We get to see our cheer squad every single mile. We don’t need to wear a fuel belt. I have access to water, gels, chapstick every time around. So who knows, maybe we will love it.)

But in an effort to prepare for the worst, Meg and I are seeking your help. We want to crowd-source inspiration. We have 26 miles together which means each lap, we want YOU to plan a singular topic for us to discuss at length. Now let me preface, Meg and I don’t lack for words. We have run 9+ hours together in the woods and never had silence. We run 3x a week together and always have things to talk about. So this isn’t about boredom – this is about things that will help keep those miles moving for us. Entertain us. Motivate us.

Running through the woods for hours and hours

Here is what we are looking for:

You donate $30 – you get to choose the topic of discussion and thought for one of our miles. The donation part is to support my Woman of the Year Campaign for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Every dollar goes to support blood cancers – so you are doing good for not just kids with cancer, but also for Meg and I! You are making our marathon not just another long race, but one that is doing good for others. And you’ll entertain us as we go! When you go to the site to donate, be sure to put in the comment section what you want our mile to be dedicated to:

Maybe it’s a thought provoking question? (Ex: If you were going to time travel, would you go future or past?)

Or a “would you rather” question? (Ex: Would you rather have crab claws for hands or duck flippers for feet?)

Maybe it’s nostalgic: (Ex: Discuss your favorite childhood memory)

Maybe it’s inspirational: (Ex: Who is the one person you would dedicate crossing this finish line for today?)

Get it? We want creative. Fun. Motivating.

What you’ll get:

We will take the first 26 donations. We will then post all the ideas we get on this blog. And after the race, we’ll recap our answers, discussion points, etc. This is going to make for a good story and you get to be a part of it!

Donating to a good cause + helping Meg and I find inspiration and excitement during our marathon = you being awesome. It’s that simple. Let me know if you have any questions by commenting on this blog. We really appreciate your help and can’t wait to hear what you come up with!

Feb 1

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Marathon Training update

Wake up, wake up, wake up. It’s the first of the month. To get up, get up, get up…

(Who doesn’t start the month listening to this song?!)

It’s February first and we made it through the dreadful month of January (Blanduary). I have exactly 7 weeks and 1 day until my 10th marathon: the Circular Logic in West Lafayette, which means I am a bit over halfway through my training program. And as I face my first 20-miler of the season tomorrow, I thought I’d reflect on some of the fun runs over the past few weeks.

I realize I have been kind of quiet on this blog. As much as I typically hate January, this one wasn’t that bad! I have been crazy busy with work and being sick (I’m on day 16 of this damn cold!) and travel and fun. Though I haven’t done too bad a job of keeping up with my training, I haven’t done well at documenting it. Without further ado, let me introduce you to a few snippits of the past 8 weeks:

Now that I live downtown, I have taken it to the streets. I love running in the Herron-Morton neighborhood. I have mapped out quite a few routes and whether it’s light or dark, I always enjoy navigating the sidewalks. For some reason, I always feel fast when running these routes and sometimes I’ll challenge myself to intervals “Run as hard as you can to the next stoplight.” And occasionally I’ll take a really cheesy self-portrait because whenever I’m running in the ‘hood, I am happy.

Running in the ‘hood

As I mentioned earlier, I have been traveling a lot this month. The end of 2012 was pretty quiet from a business travel perspective but I have already made up for it in January. Chicago, Sedona, Miami, Cincy, Kansas City – I’ve been racking up the FourSquare Airport badges. Only problem is that it makes running difficult! One of my more hilarious runs was in the hotel fitness center at the Ambassador in Kansas City. The hotel was pretty awesome – very new and trendy. But the fitness center? Well when I walked in, I saw a sign that said “Maximum Capacity: 3.” There was one treadmill, one elliptical and a bike in a room that was the size of a walk-in closet! A little cramped and very quiet, I knocked out a 3-miler and got the heck out of there!

action shot!

For any loyal blog readers, it will come as no surprise to you when I tell you that I hate running in the cold. So earlier this month, when Meg and I had to run 14 miles, we decided to do it running circles on an indoor track rather than bear the elements (112 laps to be exact.) Some people think this is crazy (probably the same people that think our marathon is crazy) but the temperature in there is perfect and as long as we have company, it really wasn’t so bad. We ran based on time and took breaks every 40 minutes or so. Plus, we got to wear minimal layers!

new socks!

But there are times that the cold is worth it. One morning, Dana, Meg and I met to run 10 miles in the snow. The problem was that the snow was fresh and fluffy and just impossible to run in. We made it only 4 miles, but it was a gorgeous run. And we made sure to have some fun as well.

winter wonderland

Dana and Meg making snow angels

a whole big field of snow all to myself

And typical of Indiana, one minute we are running in the cold and ice, and another we are running in 50 degrees! A couple of Fridays ago, I left work a little early to get in some daylight miles. I am currently obsessed with running to “Matt & Kim’s” latest album. It’s upbeat and loud and just enough cuss words to fire me up, so this was a fun one. When I finished, I collapsed in my front lawn and took this pic. I can hardly believe it was taken in January!

laying in grass

But have no fear, the Perfect Strangers haven’t disappeared! In fact, the majority of us have marathons we are training for so Saturday long-runs are still on the calendar. We may not always run together based on schedules, pace, distance but when we do, it makes all the difference. This pic was taken on my 18-miler a couple of weeks ago. The weather was decent and the conversation made the miles fly by!

reunited.

And finally, one of my favorite runs of all time actually occurred last night. It is bitterly cold outside. Unrelenting wind. Temperatures are just dumb. There was no way I was going to run in this weather and thank gosh Meg felt the same. But neither of us were too excited about a treadmill either. So we came up with an idea: let’s run through the Convention Center. This idea spawned from our friend Stacy who (no lie) ran through Costco recently. She ran up and down the aisles and ended up getting around 2 miles in (the only person who stopped her asked why she had earmuffs on, not why she was sprinting through the store)! We thought if she can do that, surely we could disappear in the halls of the Convention Center. So last night we found the doors open with only the cleaning staff around. We ducked into an empty corridor and started running. At first I felt very anxious about breaking some unwritten rule but the more we ran, the more confident we felt. We ran up stairs and around posts and opened doors we probably weren’t supposed to. We ran into quite a few people, but without breaking conversation or looking the least bit guilty, not a single person questioned what we were doing. In fact, had the cleaning staff not collected our jackets (which we left in the food court), we could have gone for hours!

sneaky!

Now tomorrow Meg and I are running 20 miles. By gum, we will run 20 miles. Cold temperatures be damned, we have a plan. We are re-doing our AWFUL Super Bowl run from 2012 with some new routes and hopefully a much better performance. Wish us luck!

Dec 16

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Do the hustle!

A few weeks ago, Meghan said “Let’s do the Santa Hustle!” So I signed up for the 5K that day before she corrected me: no, we were signing up for the half marathon.

Our marathon training program called for 13 miles this week so it only made sense that we would do the distance in a fun way while dressed as Santas. Sure I had JD’s Christmas party the night before but we weren’t going to race this race – we’d just do it the same way we’d treat any training run: with walking breaks as necessary and at an easy pace.

We picked up our packets yesterday and I absolutely love the fact that the gear included a red Santa tech shirt, a Santa hat and a Santa beard. This was one race where you are supposed to wear your race shirt to the race and the thought of running like Santa surely made me smile. How could it not?

I called it a semi-early night at our Christmas party and woke up to Meghan and her boyfriend Jake honking their horn at 8am. I jumped in absolutely exhausted, with a horrible cold and a grumpy attitude. What I really wanted to do is stay snuggled in bed, wake up to watch a movie and relax all Sunday. I did NOT want to run a half marathon this morning.

but at least I looked festive

The only positive, other than the adorable outfit, was that the weather was perfect. Fifty degrees in December!

We got there plenty early and both Meg and I kept ourselves in denial that we had a half-marathon to do. Back in full marathon-training mode, 13 miles would have been a cake walk. But at this stage, it’s the farthest I have run since the Chicago Marathon in October. The distance and more importantly, the timing chip, intimidated me. My time would be public for the world to see and judge. I know I am not at my fastest and I certainly didn’t treat my body like a temple this weekend and I was nervous about what that chip would reveal.

So with all of this in our head, Meg and I distracted ourselves with silly pictures next to massive fictional Christmas characters.

At 9am, our race started so we left Jake behind (who was doing the 5K) and started trotting away.

Every single mile dragged on. No seriously – for those of you who have done distance races, most of the time, you are surprised by how the miles fly by. “Oh, we are at mile 6 already?” Nope. Not this time. I remember every single mile marker and how they felt way too far apart. We also managed to run hills. Oh, you didn’t think there were hills in Indiana? Well jolly old St Nick found every conceivable uphill in a 13.1 mile radius from White River State Park and made the wolfpack of Santas run up them all.

The water stations were plentiful and there were even candy and cookie stations. I loved seeing the red stream of runners taking over the streets, but have to admit – those that decided to adorn their outfit with bells? There is a special place in running hell for them. I prefer not to listen to jingling and jangling with every footfall for 13.1 miles.

Meg and I stopped at mile 6 and took a “halfway-ish” picture. We had fought for those miles more than we have in past half marathons and were thrilled to see a light at the end of a tunnel.

A mile or so later, we came upon a group of girls singing Christmas songs. Given my stance on bells, you’d think I would be annoyed by this but I actually loved their spirit. As we approached the biggest, dumbest hill of the course, one of them said “Team decision: we are walking up that hill.” I told the girl “Well, if you insist!” She asked if we wanted to be part of their team and so we sang a little diddy with them and walked up that hill (which, for the record, still was hard as heck to get up!)

We didn’t have a watch and really had no idea what our pace was. It felt fast – and only continued to get faster as we got closer to the end. We took plenty of walking breaks through the water stops and up the bad hills, which allowed us to reset and continue running as fast as we could manage. Jake found us at mile 9 on his bike and saw us again a few times until the end. At mile 12, we saw Adam and his kids cheering for us!

The last few miles were silent. Other than me repetitively asking Meg “where are we?” and saying “this is the ugliest part of Indy,” we never talked. We were too winded and working too hard. The last mile especially – it was painful getting across that finish line!

But we DID get across the finish line. No matter the grumpy attitude at the beginning, the exhaustion and part-hangover. No matter how out of shape I feel and know that I am so much slower than I have been in the past. This morning – instead of sleeping and relaxing – we got up and ran 13.1 miles in 2:17:03.

And we looked like Santa.

As Meghan says, our runs are not going to get easier or shorter. We are training for twice the distance we ran today so this is just the beginning!

Nov 26

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Drumstick Dash 2012

Since my parents moved to Indy, we’ve had the luxury of not traveling for the Thanksgiving weekend. So in lieu of a long car drive to Galesburg, a new tradition was born – JD and I start the day by running the Drumstick Dash! Last year, I walked the shorter course with my friends and family. This year, I was back to running and had some of my favorites by my side.

Meg, Bri and I had talked all week about running the race and doing it with a little holiday flare. Bri already had a cute turkey hat but Meg was planning on crafting our turkey hats the night before. However, on Thanksgiving morning, she texted me that she and “free-hand crafts” don’t do well together. So with only 20 minutes before departure time, I pulled out my craft box and made us extremely authentic and stylish Pilgrim hats. Wearing all black, I was sure that I looked like I stepped right off the Santa Maria.

JD decided to get some extra miles in so ran from our house to the start line (approximately 7 miles) and I picked up my friend Cole to carpool together. Cole is one of the funniest human beings I have ever met (follow him on Twitter @colefarrell) so I knew we were in for a laugh-a-minute morning.

Cole and I

We all congregated by the start and had quite the crew! Dana and Christi were there. Our friends Adam and Rory. JD. The Blys. We saw plenty of people we knew. Over 12,000 people participate in this event from dogs, babies, runners, walkers, grandmas and grandpas. The entire parking lot and street are packed with plenty of people in costume (some dressed up as a cornucopia!) and the overall feeling is just one of happiness. Especially since it wasn’t freezing or raining like in years past!

We took our traditional group pictures….

Bri - the cutest turkey I know.

Meg and Meg - pilgrim twinsies!

Perfect Strangers dashing for drumsticks

…and eventually, Dana suggested we make our way to the start line so we lazily did, never once considering where our position was in relation to the actual start. We found out soon enough. JD started at the front and took off right at the gun. He finished 28 minutes later – 9:28ish. We didn’t even cross the start line until 9:25am!!!!!! We had positioned ourselves amongst the families, strollers, kids, dogs, walkers. Oh well….it’s not like we were competing! So as we moseyed up with the herd, Cole kept us all entertained. “The only reason I still do races is it’s my chance to hear Black Eyed Peas” he claimed as the speakers blasted “Tonight’s Gonna be a Good Night.” He also told me that by cleaning my ears with Q-tips after every shower, I am essentially shoving a cotton covered battering ram down my ear canal and turning my ear into a Yankee Candle. We were all in fits of laughter.

Bri and I also noticed that some of the turkey hats out there looked quite phallic. And there were SO many of them. I pointed out an entire herd of penis-turkey hats only to realize that it was our friend Martha and her family!! She came running over and we took a picture of her awesome hat.

She's adorable.

She vowed to find us on the course and within a mile or so, she did.

Cole was walking the short course and Dana/Christi had made their way up towards the start so when we finally did get moving, it was Bri, Meg, me, Adam and Rory. We bobbed and weaved through the massive crowds for the first mile, which was about a 10:10 pace as a result.

By mile 2, things started to disperse and we came in around a 9:40 pace. We ended up averaging a 9:54 pace which included a walking water stop. Definitely not my fastest, but I was happy with it. I realized while racing that I am not in my best shape. Not that I should be – I have been barely running the past month and just enjoying my time off. But with a marathon training program looming ahead of me in the near future, I know it is going to be rough getting back in shape.

Anyway….Martha joined us for the last 3 miles and we had Adam take our action shot.

Boppy Fairy and I

action shot!

Now you might be looking at that last picture and thinking “Meggie, are you wearing underwear to run in?” and the answer is no. But I was wearing new spandex shorties that I hadn’t run in before. And very early on I realized I will not be running in them again. They move right on up my legs and don’t stay in place at all. So within just a few steps, I felt like I was running in undies. I think these are going to be crossfit shorts only.

With less than a quarter mile to go, Martha and I sprinted it in. Every time she edged in front of me, I picked up my pace and she did the same. It was a fun way to cap off the 4.5 miles.

We took a few post-race pics, met up with Cole and JD and headed our respective ways for the remainder of the holiday.

JD got 101st place overall! He’s a beast.

We all had a great time running together and felt at least slightly better about our calorie intake after a solid morning workout!

Meg and I have since run and it only furthered my hypothesis that I am just plain out of shape. December training is gonna be rough….but that’s for another post

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!

Nov 2

10 Comments

How to master the race photo.

Yesterday, I saw a tweet from John Bingham which posted an article about the dreaded race photo. You can read the article here.

I loved reading this because after 9 marathons and countless other races, I have had my fair share of really bad running pictures. I can’t tell you how many times I have been on a major marathon high a few days after the race and then I get the email “Your marathon photos are ready!” I eagerly click as I am always confident that the pictures will be a visual representation of how I felt: strong, powerful (and skinny!) legs. Smiling, yet determined face. A gazelle-like stride – feet barely touching the pavement.

And yet more often than not, the pictures look like this.

uh oh

Or, I look like I am not even running.

I SWEAR I am running in this picture

Or I look like I am dying.

please don't make me take one more step

So after enough of these pictures, I have adopted a few strategies that help me get the best race picture possible. Maybe you’re like my husband who no doubt has never once thought about a race photographer and just naturally produces amazing race pics (granted, he actually runs like a gazelle so it’s not a fair comparison).

floating feet

But for the rest of us….take these tips with you for your next race to increase your chances of getting the best picture yet.

First: SEEK OUT THE CAMERA. If you don’t see it, you won’t be able to prepare. And failing to plan means planning to fail in your picture. Typically you’ll see the cameras about halfway through the course and at the finish. When you see that lens, give yourself space. If you’ve been drafting off the person in front of you by creepily running right behind them, distance yourself. Make sure the camera has a chance to see you and your Bib #.

Well strategized for the camera

Second: SMILE. I don’t care if you just threw up. I don’t care if your hips are screaming at you and your feet are on fire. If you want a good race picture, you fake it. Shoulders back, big smile. Maybe even do some jazz hands.

smiling faces

hello race fans! Look at how much fun I am having!

get outta my picture, blue shirt!

Now if your goal is to look like a badass in your pictures, then you must play aloof. Don’t you dare look right into that lens. You are too good of a runner to care about pictures. Shoulders back, abs in, fierce eyes, serious face. Give that camera the cold shoulder.

I don't even see you camera. I am trying to win here, ok?

determined runner

Third: PICK UP YOUR FEET. If you don’t want to look like you’re walking, then you best do some butt-kicks and lengthen your stride. If you hurt, suck it up. It’s only a few seconds. Pretend you’re running on nails or being chased. Just at least “look” like an awesome runner no matter how you feel.

Excuse me while I pass you, green shirt

that's about as long as my stride gets

In the end, whether your pictures look good or not, the most important thing is that you finished a race. You lapped every single person who never got off their couch that day. You stood at the start line and did it not because someone told you to, but because YOU wanted to. You committed to. And some of those nasty race pictures will tell the true story of just how hard these races can be. The ones showing my pain may be my most treasured for that very reason. (But I’m sure not paying $39.99/photo for those (Thanks, Brightroom for your very reasonable prices.))

Best of luck to all the Monumental Marathoners tomorrow. I’ll be there cheering loud and proud and am wishing all of you perfect temperatures and the wind at your back. May your race be what you want and the pictures to tell the story.

Oct 10

17 Comments

Chicago Marathon – #9

I have been itching to write this post. Because Sunday’s marathon was by far one of my favorite running days of all time.

A little background….

As you all know, from previous posts, this training season has just been different for me. In the beginning, I justified feeling a little slow and pokey because it was the beginning of training and it’s always hard to get back into the swing of things. But unlike previous training seasons, as the weeks dragged on, I never felt like I got my stride. And it was all my fault.

To say that life has been busy is an understatement. And though that is always the case in my life, this time, I let running fall to the back burner. I didn’t miss many long runs, but I am not sure I ever ran more than 30 miles in one week. If I made it 3x a week, that was a feat!

And though this lack of commitment stressed me out in the beginning, I finally was able to let it go. As I have said before, this wasn’t going to be my last marathon. And if I choose to do 2-3 marathons a year, some will be good (Illinois Marathon) and some will be bad.

Last week….

Last week I didn’t even think about the race. In previous years, I would blog every day in the week preceding the race. In the past, I planned my meals, my runs, my hydration. I made bracelets with my race plan. I created playlists days before and I had my outfit picked well in advance. This year, not even close. On Thursday, I met the girls to talk race plans. Goody bags of socks, gels, etc were passed out (my friends are the best) and Kel was there to cheer us all on. Bri said something that calmed my nerves and I held on to until I crossed the finish line: No Perfect Stranger left behind.

On Friday I built a new playlist. And on Saturday, Josh, Meghan, Jake and I headed up to Chicago. With two bags of Halloween candy with us and more luggage than ever necessary for just one night, we trekked up to the windy city to get this party started.

Karen, Bri and Christi carpooled up and we just missed them at the expo. We saw Dana from afar and Adam was a late arrival, so it was just us four exploring the fun booths and free samples. We stopped for the requisite photo opportunities and found our names on the big wall of runners.

Meg and I on the podium

big day.

bam.

say my name, say my name

From there, we went up to the Half Acre Beer Company to meet my brother and taste some beer. And then we went to lunch at Bad Apple (seriously delicious) with my BFF Nathan. The six of us ate burgers and drank beer. I laughed about how I typically don’t drink the week before a race, no less a day before. But this race was different.

From there we went across the street and had additional beverages with Meg and Jake before they headed back downtown to meet the rest of the crew. They had a huge group going to dinner but given I wanted to see Nathan and my brother, I opted out. So instead, the four of us went to this adorable Italian restaurant which even served “The Marathon” pasta dish!

Nathan and Matthew

When we got back to Nathan’s, he showed me his race sign. He even made it for all the Perfect Strangers! As a former University of Iowa cheerleader, Nathan takes these duties very seriously.

The show…

I woke up to nerves. My brain was finally wrapping itself around the fact that I had 26.2 miles to run that day. I tried on various outfits (I brought my entire wardrobe essentially) and opted for capris, the matching socks Dana bought us all, a neon yellow tee and my black arm warmers. I sent Bri a picture of my outfit since she was debating hers as well and she responded with, “Please take one of you smiling next time.” And so I did.

By 6:20, the three of us (Nathan, JD and I) were out the door looking for a cab. The plan was to meet at the girls’ hotel and all walk together to the start. But cab after cab drove by – none of them stopping. As the corners started to populate with more runners, I looked at Nathan and said “I think we have to drive.” So action man that he is, he ran back to his place and barreled towards us in my car. We jumped in and were at Grant Park within minutes. He took the car back and took the train back to the first cheering point to meet the guys while JD and I walked into the starting area. We had an hour before the start so I waited in line 25 minutes for the porta potty. The rest of the crew were on their way but our cell signals were so bad that we couldn’t find them. I did some stretching while waiting to hear from them. My nerves were at an all time high and I was pushing back the tears.

A text from Jake finally got through to JD and so we raced through the corrals to find all the guys. But where were the runners? They had to enter the starting zone before 7:45am and so did I. So there I was, in Corral J all by myself. The tears came. I kept looking at the guys (Jake, Josh, Ted, Sean, Nick) and asking if they could see the girls. FINALLY, they spotted them. As I ran towards Bri, Meghan and Dana I was crying in relief. I knew I wasn’t mentally prepared to run that race alone. I needed them.

bundled up in our "Throw away" clothes

Unfortunately, Becker was in the corral behind us so though we had planned on running with him, he’d have to catch up to us. He did take this great pic of us with the skyline behind us.

game time.

It only took us about 10 minutes to get to the start line after the gun went off and before we knew it, we were running. Within seconds I said aloud “Oh hey Plantar Fasciitis! There you are!” There was a guy in front of us who was super obnoxious as he explained the importance of negative splits so as we bobbed and weaved our group around him, Becker caught up to us. We were a group of 5 strong – 4 of which wearing the same crazy socks.

The weather was cold, but actually turned out to be perfect running weather. A few wind gusts that I could have lived without but SO much better than last year. By mile one, I had stripped off the orange “throw away” shirt just in time to see our fans! (And yes, it landed on a runners head when I heaved it across the mass of people). Nathan and Matthew had joined the crew and they were screaming loud and proud.

oh hey!

If you compared the first few miles on Sunday to a typical Saturday long run, the biggest thing you’d notice is the lack of conversation. We were just quietly running next to each other. Our miles were fast – 9:40/mile or so. We’d point out people we saw or if we lost sight of one another, but otherwise, we just ran silently next to each other. I know that Bri and I both were on the verge of tears at any given second. We didn’t discuss why, but she is my equal when it comes to emotions. It was her that grabbed my hand at the Bellagio in Vegas when I was just overcome with how beautiful things were. So though I wanted to hug her and calm her emotions, I knew it would only bring them out in full force for us both.

We entered Lincoln Park around mile 5 and Meg and Adam had bursting bladders. As they ran behind a tree and did their business, we waited for them as we surveyed all the other bare-assed runners we saw in the field. It only took a minute before we were running again and it wasn’t something I was concerned about. In fact, I welcomed the break. I knew already how that my legs were pretty weak. It wasn’t going to be an easy race.

Up until mile 6, I was in a bad spot mentally. I was nervous, grumpy and had plenty of doubt. But then everything changed during that sixth mile….that’s where I found my happy. First, we saw Bri’s family. Holding up a huge yellow sign for her, I ran up to them and high-fived them all as she hugged her dad. Right after, I heard someone yell “MEGGIE DIALS!!!!!” and to my left was my long-time college friend, Eddie. I haven’t seen him in years and he spotted me amongst the crowd. My heart started to lift. Then, in a sea of orange tshirts, I spot my friend Stacey (also a college friend) who was screaming for her little brother who just so happened to be right in front of me! As I yelled for her attention, she introduced me to Alex who I fist-bumped and wished him well on his first marathon. My heart moved another inch north.

me yelling, Alex running

And then, same mile, I noticed most of the herd of runners waving upward at the brownstone to our right. And there, on the 3rd floor of the building, was what had to be a nursing home. All the elderly people living there, some still in their robes, were sitting at the window watching the race. They had the biggest smiles on their faces and were waving like mad at the mass of people running below them. As I waved at them, I laughed out loud. It was just the happiest sight. I choked back the tears and when Bri looked back at me with glassy eyes I said “Don’t you look at me, Bri. Don’t you do it!” I knew it wouldn’t take much to get us to full on crying. But it was those people in the window that gave me my happy. And I carried it on for the next 20 miles.

At mile 7.5, we found the guys and stopped for hugs. Matthew had to hop on a plane for a work trip but I was able to hug him and give a smooch to my niece’s best little friend Elsa, who was with her parents and the crew. I handed my gloves to Ted. I hugged JD who had a gel ready and waiting for me. It’s pretty awesome that my biggest fan is also a runner, as he knows exactly what I need. And then I asked if they’d take a picture of us. Never before, in all my marathons, have I stopped to talk to fans. I wave and blow kisses but have never wanted to lose a minute of race time. On Sunday? We stopped every single time.

Approaching our fans

All smiles!

Meghan was our task master the entire day. She had a schedule of our miles: when we saw the boys, when we did water stops, when we took our gels. She called this “chunking” and I have used the concept in past races too. We didn’t think about eating the entire elephant (running all 26.2) but instead we took one bite at a time. At our next water stop, we lost Dana and Adam. At this point, we were still tracking around a 10/mile pace but knew we were slipping. Bathroom and “fan” breaks were going to slow us down even if we could continue running that pace. I pulled out my pace calculator on my phone and said that if we could do 10:30′s, we would finish in the 4:30s which would give Meg a PR. At the time, even though we weren’t taking the race super seriously, we were still trying to do our best, time wise.

But Dana and Adam fell behind when they thought we breaked for water. And when they caught up to us, we all agreed that they should go on. Both had energy we did not and the last thing I wanted to do was slow anyone down.

Adam took one final race pic and off they went.

A quick note about the fans. First of all, Chicago? You know how to churn out a fan base. Everyone screamed and yelled. Some people were so sincere and forceful that I wanted to shrink them into a Polly Pocket and take them with me. And our fans? Damn they were good. They saw us 6 times! Jumping all over the “L” system, running to catch us, texting us along the way. And with signs and screams, it refilled our energy time after time.

By the time we got to halfway, I needed to stop and stretch my hips. Damn piriformis issues means they get super tight but a quick stretch can make all the difference. When we started back up again, I snapped a picture of us three.

First half complete. Second half with our hearts.

At the next stop with the guys, our spirits were a little down. I know at least Meg and I hurt. She said her legs had never hurt like that before in a race. And for me, it was my hips. They just ached and ached. But the guys, after taking a sake bomb at a nearby bar, were fully spirited (pun intended). They told us they had seen all the other runners and our friends were doing great. JD also told me that he had given away my gel to Becker as he thought it was an extra. So with no more gels to go, I stuffed as many Jolly Ranchers in my fuel belt hoping they would suffice. And so with a few hugs, hard candies and a lot of well wishes, we started up again.

serious face

At one point when I was complaining about my hips, little Miss Boppy Fairy (Bri) suggested that the Medic tent could have medicine so I asked them for Tylenol and a spare hip. They could help with the former. It was the first time I have ever stopped at a medical tent but Sunday was a day of race firsts for me. Bri was in good shape throughout and often I told her to go on as I didn’t want to slow her down. But it was her motto that kept us together – No Perfect Stranger left behind.

At mile 18, we decided we would run straight to mile 20 and then take a break. At mile 21 we would see the guys. We’d figure out the next chunk then. Somehow, we were already within single digits of the finish line.

Meg squared

Also at this time, I turned to the girls and said “Ladies, we aren’t going to get a good time today. Plain and simple. So we need to make this damn fun. Let’s have a story to tell.” And so we did. From that point on, we talked nonstop. At one water stop, we sang at the top of our lungs “Let’s hear it for the boys” as it played through the speakers. And no lie, our legs followed this burst of energy. When wee were running, it was at a healthy clip between 9:50-10:15/mile.

And one of my favorite points was when Bri asked why there were tamales all over the ground. They were banana peels! I guess Bri thinks tamales would be a nice mid-race snack to hand out. (WHO’S BRI!?)

At mile 21, we saw the boys and I stopped to stretch. JD asked me why my hips hurt so badly (“Because they don’t lie) and was quite concerned. I just told him I was out of shape. Truth hurts – my body really wasn’t trained to run when tired like in years past. But I was getting through it. Nathan, the ever so helpful cheerleader reached down and started massaging my leg which felt equally awful and amazing.

making nice with the photogs

When we reached mile 23, I saw the familiar point where a group of people were handing out Busch Light. JD drank two of them with this group last year (and still finished with an incredible time). As Bri suggested we stop, I said “I’ll do it if you guys do” and before we knew it, we were walking along the course, drinking Busch Light out of a paper cup and laughing hysterically. Let me tell you – this BL was the best beer I think I have ever tasted. And at the very same time, Meg spotted a man with a whole tarp full of medical supplies, one of which being a roller. He told us to get in line and he first rolled the outside of her hips and legs and then I asked him if he could roll my ass. He knew what I meant – piriformis. So there I was, drinking a beer in the middle of a marathon while our medical angel rolled my hip. It felt glorious.

The next mile was the Gatorade mile and they handed out delicious chews (thank gosh both Clif and Gatorade had fuel so I never even needed that gel JD gave away!) And right after, a lovely woman handed us small packets of Wild Berry skittles. I don’t mind if I do.

We were running pretty damn fast when we were running. I just had so much energy. My legs felt fine as long as they were moving and at one point I told Bri I felt like I could fly through those last 3 miles. I have no idea where it came from, but it felt good to feel good.

speedy and happy

Trust me, we did our fair share of PJ (pretentious jogging) but those last 5 miles or so, we looked and felt strong. We just took breaks.

As we approached mile 25, we scanned the edges of the course around for the guys and low and behold, there they were drinking Bloody Marys and eating chips and salsa at a bar. We ran up to them and while I ate a chip and sipped Ted’s beer, we chatted with all of them. They told us that everyone else was finished: Christi at a 4:04, Karen a 4:06, Dana a 4:35, Adam a 4:41. They all killed it with huge PRs. We were thrilled for them.

As we started to depart, we decided to sing “Let’s Hear it for the Boys” for them since they were such amazing cheerleaders. They got some good pictures of our tomfoolery.

dance it out

Mile 25. Typically I am crying at this point. On Sunday? I danced.

Our final mile was tough. Maybe it was the dancing or the chips or the beer. Maybe it was the fact that with only one mile to go it always feels like forever. But we trudged through and ran up the worst and final hill of the race (which happens to be within .2 of the finish line). As we approached the finish, we grabbed hands and wore the biggest smiles of the day on our faces.

The clock said 5:04. It’s my worst time of all 9 marathons. But there hasn’t been a single minute where that mattered to me.

The After Party….

After we crossed that line we wrapped our then frigid bodies in a space blanket and went straight to the 312 tent for a post-race beer. Becker was waiting for us and the four of us hobbled toward the family meeting area.

all smiles after the race

Becker, Meg, Meggie and Bri

The family meeting area feels like another 26.2 miles away so as we slowly made our way there, Bri stopped to finally relieve her bladder at a porta-potty. The poor girl had to go for 5+ hours! While she used the facility, I decided I needed a little rest.

space blanket + rest + beer = happiness

When we finally met up with the fans we all just sat in the grass in the sun and told stories. The boys told us about all the crazy stuff they saw like someone wiping vaseline in a private area out in the public. We laughed about the costumes we saw (One guy dressed as Queen Elizabeth including a handbag, mauve women’s suit and a mask!). We went for multiple beer runs. We danced. We ate beef sticks and craved more of them.

Ted me and Becker

my boys

jack line, what?!

The Hotel Lobby….

I got the race I trained for. My body wasn’t in good enough shape to run this nonstop, with any hope of a PR. My head wasn’t right until mile 6. But I had the BEST time. In fact, we kept calling it our BR instead of a PR – it’s our best race. I was able to relax and forget about the pressure of a specific time. I was with two of my absolute favorites. We felt so loved by all of our fans who worked hard to see us at every stop. I drank a beer, I ate skittles, I danced, I sang. I crossed the line holding hands with best friends. And the minute it was over, I wasn’t obsessing over my finish time. I wasn’t doing math to determine the per/mile pace. I was just blissfully happy.

We took what could have been a frustrating, depressing day and made it a great one. Marathon #9 goes down in the books as a pretty monumental one.

Sep 8

8 Comments

20 miles + Color Me Rad

As you guys know, running has been a bit of a chore for me lately. Two weeks ago, I talked about this big wall I am trying to run through and though I ran 5x last week, my long run capped at 14 rather than the 20 I attempted. The humidity was 90% and my body was just drained of energy.

This week, life got in the way of running. Buying/selling a house + work + a short work week meant I got 3 miles in on Monday and nothing after that. So yesterday, as some of the girls were going to run Friday morning instead of Saturday, I decided I was going to do 20. No excuses. I just had to get the full 20 miles in.

So I did. I started at 5:15am and ran 4 with Jen and Meg. Then we met Karen, Lori and Ashley for the next 10. Ashley, Karen, Lori and I ran the next 2 together and Karen kept with me for the last 4. I felt REALLY good between miles 9-15. The last four, however, were SLOW. But I did it and was so happy to get over the mental block of doing 20 miles.

completely drenched

Last spring I felt like I was doing 20 every other weekend – no big deal. But this training season, it’s become this behemoth that has stressed me out. With 4-20 milers under my belt I have one more before I start tapering for the Chicago Marathon. And at least now I know I can do it. My shoes were soaked from all the sweat and humidity. And my body just hurt. I have self-diagnosed myself with plantar fasciitis and I can feel my achilles tightening again. My hip (piriformis) hurts. My calf is tight. This body is no wonderland. But the positive of all this is that I am seeing a sports massage therapist today at 1:45! He promises to work out my calves and hammys and for a full hour! I will be sure to report on it’s success but I need something. I can’t risk achilles tendinitis again.

Fast forward to this morning….the Color Me Rad 5k! I had quite a few free passes I was able to give out (thanks, Gretchen!) and so Dana, Christi, Adam and Stacy met at the Fairgrounds to take on this rainbow adventure. The idea is to wear all white, pick up as much color as possible while running and end up colored rad.

tatted up

Christi and Dana ran 9 miles beforehand and Adam planned on 16 after. But Stacy and I were plenty happy with just 3.1 today. In fact, this was her FIRST 5k! You can read all about her fitness adventures on her blog. She wanted to run today’s race in 38 minutes and typically runs by running a minute, walking a minute. Not today…..today she rocked it!

dressed in white

Before the race began, some of the participants had purchased extra bags of color so were already getting messy. We stayed pretty clean until the first half mile when we reached the purple station. As we approached, I put on my sunglasses so I wouldn’t get the food colored corn starch in my eyes. I wanted to get blasted and blasted I got! As we ran through, a volunteer threw a huge handful at my face. It was awesome.

headed toward a cloud of purple

Adam's awesome action shot

all smiles

We all stayed together throughout the entire race and hadn’t walked once at this point. Stacy was incredible! She ran much better than I think even she thought she could! Plus her bubbly personality just made everyone around her happy. I’m guessing that’s pretty common in her world. The next station was a green blast of water which was cold and yet awesome. Although at this point I realized I needed to protect my phone just a little better from the blasts!

Stacy and I

From there, we hit the pink cloud of color and were just covered. Christi looked like a pink serpent.

after pink

We took a few brief walking breaks but overall kept a steady pace. And all of us just reveled in the fact that this was such a fun way to run. There were good runners and walkers. Kids. People of all ages and shapes and sizes. I didn’t see a single person NOT smiling. It was exactly what I needed to remind of why running can be fun.

As we neared the end, we were handed our own packet of color so at the finish, there was just a dense fog of dust. We shook color all over ourselves and others and crossed the finish line strong and laughing. Stacy’s boyfriend, Greg, was right there cheering us on. Even he had picked up some blue dust! We washed the color out of our teeth and then surveyed the damage. We looked absolutely ridiculous and yet awesome. This is exactly what we wanted.

Looks like we emerged from a skittles explosion!

It was immediately decided that we needed to cap off this awesome morning with a Bagel Deli breakfast so we took our blue bodies north. We definitely got some stares as we entered the restaurant but thank gosh we had strength in numbers.

I couldn’t be happier about this weekend’s running. Though the 20 miler wasn’t easy, breezy beautiful, I got through it. And this morning’s 5K gave me such a renewed sense for my love of running. Being able to share with people who had just as much fun as I did made it a perfect morning.

I used to hate running. But now, I can't live without it. As a wise man once said (Usher)…these are my confessions.

Posts from the ‘Races’ Category

2013 Mini Marathon – #8

Boston Marathon 2013

Circular Logic – Marathon #10 (recap)

Crowd sourcing marathon inspiration

Marathon Training update

Do the hustle!

Drumstick Dash 2012

How to master the race photo.

Chicago Marathon – #9

20 miles + Color Me Rad

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