The Shamrock Sportsfest was this weekend. There was an 8K, 1/2 Marathon, and a full Marathon. The expo was a fairly good size. Pete and I volunteered at the expo Friday night scanning timing chips. I have to say, we had so much fun. It was so great to meet all these runners and feel the energy. Some were too cool to be excited, others were bubbling over with nerves. I have always loved packet pick-up. For me, it is exciting; it is when I appreciate the training and hard days. I love being around a bunch of other crazy people like me. And yet, I love how different we all are. Experience levels are different, as well as, expectations and even body styles. But, we are all in this thing together now and the adrenaline is pumping. Anyway, I also love the volunteers that work expos. So this time, I got my chance to tell everyone good luck or to have a great race or your going to do fabulous. I would love to work an expo again, even if I can't run.

So, yesterday was the marathon. Let me start by saying that the weather was tough. Although I have seen worse, it was certainly a challenge. We checked weather forecasts constantly for days hoping it would change. No rain, but the night before we had gale warnings. Great! It turned out to be mid-40's with lots of wind with gusts up to 25mph. My plan was to stay with the 3:30 pacer group, but I ended up leaving them at mile 5. With the wind, I felt they were running too conservatively. Wind is fatiguing and I wanted a bit of time in the bank for later. They were also a bit inconsistent with pace and that drives my crazy. I tend to settle in and stay there. Finally, they had a very large group and I hate running in a crowd. I had hoped to be able to do some drafting when the wind got bad, but I was way too claustrophobic.

My goal was to run 7:50 miles. To run a 3:30 is an 8 minute flat pace, but it doesn't give you any room for water breaks, really bad mind thoughts at mile 18 or 25mph wind gusts. I did great for the first half and was under time. The second half was really tough. There was a long stretch out to Ft Story starting at mile 17 that was horrible. It was a long slow incline, no spectators (did I mention that the weather sucked), and by this time people get really quiet. I ran with a young sailor who was doing his first marathon and this is the point that he started complaining about the monkey on his back. I told him he was not only trained, but authorized to kill the damn thing. I made it to mile 16 before my neuroma started hurting, so I had my own monkey. We talked each other through. At this point, what are you going to do? Walking only means you are in the weather longer. Unfortunately, his monkey got the better of him at mile 20 and he had to drop his pace.

Mile 22 and on, I just hurt like hell. My hips hurt, my feet were screaming, my lower back was aching. Thankfully, we had more spectators as we got closer to the finish. There really should be a training meeting for spectators, or at least a handout of what not to say to a runner. The first rule, do not tell runners they are almost there at mile 22.

The finish was very emotional. I was completely spent and I knew I would make my goal. Here are my stats:

Time - 3:28:54
Boston Qualified
6th Masters Woman Overall
1st in Age Group
2nd Mixed Team
You may remember that we joined a team that was started as a memorial/scholarship for a Seal that was killed in Afghanistan. You can have as many people on your team as you want, but they take the top 3 times and at least one has to be female. I was the fastest female on our team, so I am one of the three team members that placed our team 2nd. This is really cool because this team was never put together for the purpose of competition. It was a way to celebrate an athlete's life by his widow. How cool that we placed?

They didn't have an awards ceremony, which was great because I just wanted to go home and get warm. They will mail my awards this week. I am a bit sore today, but not bad at all. I have more to add to my story, but I have already gone long so I will tell you later. By the way, Pete did great! He was strong through the whole thing. We met up in the beer tent and he walked in like no big deal, as opposed to the gimping that I was doing. His time was 4:26.

Rate Your Workout

My workout journal, the Ultimate Workout Log by Suzanne Schlosberg, (which I love) has you rate each day, 1-5. That number goes on a chart and at the end of the week you rate your week (at a glance you can see the whole picture, etc). Now that I am in the middle of training with less than 7 weeks to go for summer event #1, one of my weekly goals is to have weekly rating of 4. So I went back through the first 14 weeks I kept log to see what made up a number four and had to laugh... whoa, a 4 back then is definitely not a four these days. I would now give those workouts a 2-2.5. I am always conservative with numbers, but was very glad to see I have been making significant progress.

Yesterday was my first 5! I did a leg weight routine, followed by 40 minutes of intervals on the stepmill, 10 sets of 12 burpees/suicides/dropouts (whatever you wish call them), then set out for a 60 mile bike ride of hills. It was also my third day in row that I made it outside for a ride, (yeah, but now we are back to more winter, boo) and my body today feels like it did a 5 yesterday.

I look forward to seeing at the end of the summer, before my planned half ironman, was makes up a 5.

What would you do?

Back when I went to the gym religiously (last year and in a different city), there was a guy at the gym that I really wanted to talk to. He looked to be in his late teens/early 20's and was at the gym quite often. What set him apart was that he weighed somewhere in the 300+ range by my estimate.

He was losing weight and working hard to do it, and I really wanted to say something to encourage him/let him know he was getting noticeable results. Once, a personal trainer who was working next to me said to her client, "Keep it up and you'll be looking like E. here before too long!" Obviously she knew me, but maybe she wasn't just being nice. That really made me feel good to think I was getting results and I wanted to say something similar to this guy.

I never did. Mostly it was because of my shyness, but I also didn't want to make him feel self-conscious. I asked myself, "Would you say something to a guy who was at the gym everyday and weighed 200?" No, I wouldn't, even if I did notice a change. So I didn't say anything to this guy, thinking he would know I was singling him out only because of his size.

I often wonder though if I should have said something. He might not have ever heard anyone congratulate him or encourage him to keep it up. I know it took a lot of courage for him just to walk in the gym and be surrounded by fit people and possibly feel so out of place, let alone to keep it up. Sometimes I feel like I missed an opportunity to boost someone's day, and other times I think I did the right thing by not giving him attention that may have been unwanted. What do you think?

Rest is Good

I already posted that I had a great run on Tuesday. Today, I went out for 7 miles. It is a beautiful day. It is warm enough for shorts and a T-shirt. I decided I would just take it easy and enjoy the day. My first mile was 8 minutes, flat. Mile 2 was a 7:28. Whoa, I need to slow down. But, I didn't feel like I was working at all. Mile 3 was 7:30. So much for slowing down. Mile 4 - 7:26; mile 5 - 7:15; mile 6 - 7:12 and I brought it home with a 7:09 for mile 7. I honestly do not feel like I had a hard run. I didn't even feel the need to cool down before coming in the house. I wish I had out my heart rate monitor on, but I would be willing to bet that my heart rate was in the 150's. One more week of rest and I will be stomping my feet to race. I can taste that 3:30!

Sorry to toot my own horn.

Ready or Not!

Well, it is taper time. 2 Saturdays ago, I did my last 23 miler. I did it in 3:10 this time and finished much stronger. By the way, I did it in the pouring down rain on muddy trails. The trail had puddles so big you couldn't go around them and you couldn't jump over them. I have never been so wet in my life. It could have been worse. At least the wind was down and it wasn't very cold. I ended up with the worst rash I have ever had under my arm. I completely ruined my shoes, but it was probably a good time to get a new pair anyway.

So, this new pair of shoes... I don't know when I am ever going to learn. I have run in Mizunos for years now. Every time I try something new, I get hurt. So, my running store hosted the last long run with support from Brooks shoes. A Brooks guy was there with all the new shoes and of course, they are the "best." I know better than this. So why is it that I think 3 weeks before I run a marathon it will be Ok to try a new shoe? 15% off should not have that much influence over me. The guy tells me I will never want another shoe after I run in this one. The selling point was the additional cushion in the forefront where my neuroma is. It did feel better when I walked around in them. Mind you, I had just finished 23 miles and my shoes were ruined. Anything would have felt good. So, I bought them.

I didn't put them on again until I ran on Monday. They felt too big. I had Pete feel them (like I am 5 years old and can't tell if my shoes are too big). Yep, they are too big. Apparently, my feet were so swollen after the run that I needed a 1/2 size bigger than usual. My street shoes are a 6. My Mizunos are a 7 1/2 for plenty of toe room. The Brooks 7 1/2 were way too big.

Oh well, I decided I could run in them anyway. I laced them to be tighter around my ankle and took off for a 7 mile tempo run. I had a great run, but my feet hurt like I had tied my shoes too tight. I checked, they weren't. The tongue of this shoe is kinda weird. There is a cut out in the middle which leaves a pointed edge on either side. Would you believe, they bruised me? I thought I may just need to get used to them and get a smaller size. I exchanged the shoes and tried again. This past Saturday I did 14 miles and they hurt the whole time. This is stupid. Thankfully, my store gives you 30 days to try a shoe and if you don't like them, you can exchange them for something else. I am running back to Mizunos. If I ever say I want to try something new, please slap me.

On another note, I am starting my taper. I have decided to really cut my miles but increase my intensity when I do run. I know some of you are thinking I am already too intense. You may be right, but I just am not fit to live with if I cannot run hard every now and then. So, I have not run since Saturday and this morning, I did 5 in 36:50. I feel great. I will run one more time before a weekend run of 10-12. Then, I have one more week before the big day. I probably won't do much at all that week, but rest, stretch, eat and hydrate. Instead, I will get my hair done, finally see the dentist and start organizing for the move. I'd rather run.

For E

The Iditarod starts next week, but before you saddle up your puppies you may want to check out the Iditarod Trail Invitational, the running/skiing/biking/hiking version of the race happening this week. You get to choose one of the formentioned modes of transportation to complete the 350 mile or 1000+ mile trail.

www.alaskaultrasport.com

I was up for it until I learned you had to bandage up your nose so you don't lose it :( crazy!

My new favorite dessert

This is my new favorite dessert: Betty Crocker's Warm Delights Minis. I won't lie to you and say they're healthy, but if you're like me, they're the perfect dessert. I love cake and only the real thing will satisfy me. I'd rather have a couple bites of soft, fluffy, refined sugars and carbs than a pound of a healthier cake made with substitutes. But instead of buying/baking an entire cake and having 12 servings stare me down, I can make one of these. They're portion-controlled, only 150 calories, and cook in 30 seconds. So delicious!

Funny Video

I got this off of Kristen Armstrong's Site. It is just too funny not to share.

It's titled "The Day After the Marathon."

Bag of My Dreams

I am a bag lady and am always searching for 'that' bag and love, love, love my new bag (I think it's the one!), the Sherpani Extra Large Messenger Bag. It was voted number 1 by Health mag. I was showing it off to hubby and he commented that it would make a great diaper bag, guess what... they actually make them in diaper bags, and he is right they would for all you mommies out there. The best deal, last years colors are 40-60% off right now (including the diaper bag model) and S&H is very cheap!

It is a company out of Boulder, CO and the quality is excellent. Also if hiking any mountains are in your future or you are just in the market for a baby backpack/carrier, we use the Sherpani Rumba Superlight (it is less than 4lbs) and is very comfortable for 8-10 hour hikes. They also carry other types of backpack, purses, etc. Ckeck them out at:

www.sherpani.us

Reflections

Yesterday was the last race in the distance series. We did a 20K, 25K, and finally the 30K. All of the races were held on Fort Story with a course of rolling hills. Yesterday, we got the added pleasure of 17mph winds. My favorite! I didn't run as fast as the first race, or as conservative as the second. I think I found what I will most likely run for the marathon. I was strong and consistent for the full 18.6 miles. I walked quickly through the water stops. My finish time was 2:27:28, averaging a 7:54 pace. Pretty good considering hills and wind. It was a confidence builder because on our Saturday long runs, we stop every 5 miles or so to drink and stretch, and we stop our watches. I was a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to hold pace for that long without the breaks.

Here's the thing that I am struggling with now: I would love to do a 3:30, or to be honest, a 3:29:59 to break a 3:30. According to the race calculators, based on my previous races, that should be a very reasonable goal. I think it will be close, and could very easily be a 3:35. A 3:30 looks like an 8 minutes pace, but it really isn't. No one runs the entire time, unless your Kenyan. Most people have to walk through the water stops and take time to Gu. That means that I need to hold about a 7:50 to give me that break time. I know 5 minutes doesn't look like any big deal, but I would have shit talking rights for a long time to be able to say that I broke 3:30 (and at 42, no less).

I have trained so hard, but my year of training hard is coming to an end quickly. We move in only 4 months and go back to a life that will make it difficult if not impossible to train like this. I hope to always have a race to train for; but I most likely will not be able to train for the speed like now. This is certainly not my last marathon; however, I am getting older. I certainly don't feel old, and I run faster than a lot of guys out there. However, after this next tour, I will enter the next age group. I do not know of 45 year olds that are making PRs. The goal is to run forever and at some point you have to know that you are going to get slower. I already need more recovery time and I am a high risk for injury. I really think that will be OK for me as long as I know that I took advantage of this opportunity and I did the best I could. And damnit, I want it to be 3:29.

I know there are things you can control and things you can't. I have done the training, but I can't control the weather. I could do everything right and wake up sick or to a morning of driving rain and wind. At some point I have to give it up and realize it will be what it will be.

Wow, to read back over this it sounds pretty down. I'm not, I actually feel pretty strong, just reflective.

By the way, I placed 4th Woman Overall and first Master's Woman in the distance series combined results.