Pancakes and Jam

Running has been postponed

2009-01-22T10:33:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged about this because I wasn't really sharing the news yet. But I am not running right now, therefore not posting, since I'm pregnant. The doctor has recommended against it, and quite frankly I can't just be a casual runner. I get very competitive with myself and OCD about mileage. So until the little one graces us with his/her presence, the blog will be quite.

Happy running to you though!

I am George Constanza

2008-09-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

There's an episode of Seinfeld where a woman is about to breakup with George and he denies her the breakup. I think I've officially turned into George Costanza. Running is trying to breakup with me. The Human Race 10K in Austin was its greatest attempt at ending the relationship. And even though it was my worst 10K time ever, since I'm still getting back into the swing of things and wasn't supposed to run hills yet and am apparently full of excuses, I finished! I said I would finish and I did. So then the following Saturday I went out for a run with Allison and Marissa and I felt great! I finally felt like I was getting back on track and would really be ready for the half marathon in November. And then Sunday rolle around.
I made it out to run with the Fleet Feet group, which is always a good kick in the pants for me. Felt good as I made it up the first hill and into the first mile. Then BOOM out of nowhere the road jumped up and grabbed me and I fell. Ok, maybe I tripped on a pothole but either way I fell. But I got up determined to finish four miles if it killed me, which it apparently was trying to do.
In any case I'm winning the no breakup fight and plugging along. Wish me luck a I keep trying to make running love me.

It's so empty!

2008-08-26T15:57:00.000-07:00

So this weekend I went through my nifty Runner's World calendar to sort of see how poorly the year has shaped up to be.
I tell you what I have too many months with NOOOO numbers on them. Between getting the flu of death in February and then being completely unmotivated to run after that, followed by these last five or six weeks off, my calendar looks pathetic.
It's so sad since I came so close to running 1,000 miles last year and completing 12 races.
Oh well, I guess everyone has bad years :)

Yes, I know it's August

2008-08-18T14:21:00.001-07:00

Although you wouldn't know that from looking at my calendar. It says July. I haven't changed it over because it's depressing to move to another month when I have so many blank square staring at me in the face. I use my calendar to keep track of my mileage. Every time I get a new pair of shoes, I change the color. So if you came into my bedroom and saw my awesome runner's world calendar covered with random numbers, you now know they stand for miles. But alas I haven't logged any miles in FIVE weeks. I can't bare to flip over to August because it too is filled with lots of blank squares.
But at least I can start changing that a little bit. I got my new orthotics on Friday!!! HOORAY!!! And ran my first two miles on Saturday. I totally kicked track butt. Yes, I'm running on a track. My doctor wants me to avoid hills. So until i get past three miles (maybe 4) I may have to stick to the track. I'm hoping 4 won't be terribly boring since I have an iPod and I have a watch that counts laps.
So tonight when I get home I'll finally flip to August and write in a BIG number 2.
I'm back on my way to 13.1 in November!

Once again...

2008-08-11T14:40:00.000-07:00

I've been putting off this post for a few weeks as you've probably noticed by my lack of posting. I am, once again injured. Only this time I've been out for four weeks and it looks like I'll be out at least one more week. Sigh.
I have tendentious in my ankles again. This time it's much worse and I have to get new orthotics. I've been fitted for them already and now I'm just waiting. As soon a they come in I have to get cortisone shots in BOTH ankles YIKES!!
So until then I'm swimming like crazy. At leat 40 minutes everyday, in hopes of keeping my endurance up. Of course all of this comes from my own insanity. I know I had already talked about running the half marathon in hopes of a P.R. But once I started training with my usual group the overachiever in me took over and wanted to run the full 26.2. So I started training for it. Too many miles too quickly on too many hills and tada! Tendentious :(

So I'm back to training for 13.1. Hopefully I can get back on my feet and out of the pool soon!

You can take the girl out of the competition....

2008-07-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

Part of what I enjoy about running is that I can really enjoy it. I think I've said this before, but I grew up in a fairly competitive family. My parents always encouraged us to do our best. Which my sisters and I always took to mean to be THE best. Winning was always the goal. Second place was never good enough. Mind you I say all this and I know that it wasn't that my parents thought that second place was horrible. It was that in my mind I HAD to win. Anything less was unacceptable. Which is why I spent many a state tournament in tears, feeling like a failure. But that's a story for another therapy session.

Running gives me great pleasure because I can just run. I'll never be fast enough to win my age category let alone the entire race. So I'm able to put it out of my mind and concentrate on beating my personal records throughout different runs. Last Friday my competitiveness, type-A, personality got the best of me. This was the day of the 4th of July 4 Mile run and I ran with Allison and M. The course was fairly flat so it was supposed to be a nice easy run. We started out at a nice pace and before I knew it we were at the 1 mile point at 9:50. I thought certainly that wasn't a mile. A turned to me and said: well we were going pretty fast..." I look back and realize yikes! I never prepared M for a 9:50 pace! The best we had done was a 10:30 minute pace on an all downhill run! So I back off and try to get a regular pace. Of course at this time I've already freaked out M's system. It doesn't help that she wasn't feeling well to start with and my crazy pace only upset her stomach that much more. We hit the 2 mile point at about 22 minutes or so. Because I'm never sure when to push people and when to back off, I decided to see if she was up for running. The big eyes and the shake of the head said absolutely not. Not yet. So we walked for a while, ran for a couple of minutes. Was just having a good time in general. That's when it happened: Crazy competitive Helen reared her ugly head.

One of the girls from work passes us. Mind you she doesn't say: see ya suckers! She just says hi and keeps her steady pace. But in my mind I'm thinking OH NO! She CANNOT beat me! And at this point I start having this internal drama. Part of me is saying: you're the reason your friend isn't feeling well. besides you got her into this running thing! Stay with her. The other part of me is saying: She CAN'T beat me!! Well as she starts to round a corner and is about half a mile from the finish line Crazy Helen takes over. I look at M and say: I'm sorry! I'll come back and finish with you again! But I can't let her beat me!" She said ok! go! So I begin to haul butt to the finish line. I think that's the fastest half mile I've ever run.
After crossing I start to head back to go find M. And I see her hauling butt to the finish line too!! I find her near the water and she says: I didn't want her to beat me either!
Turns out my craziness is catching. :)

Race Report/Training update

2008-07-01T14:47:00.001-07:00

Hello! Yes Yes I know! I have to get better about posting on a regular basis.
I did a relay half marathon a couple of weekends ago. After the fiasco that was the Beach to Bay marathon I was a little apprehensive about having to run with a baton again, even if it only was for 3.2 miles. I ran the last leg of the race so this gave me plenty of time to stress out about dropping the baton. So as I waited I played with my gatorade bottle and the label around it. Before I knew it I had made myself this nice gatorade label bracelet. So I kept playing with that. Then it dawned on me. I could use this to help me hold the baton!!! I simply wrapped it around my hand, slipped the baton between it and my palm and viola! I had a handy baton holding bracelet! It held the baton nicely in place, didn't bug me and I only had to keep my thumb lightly on it! So I did all 3.2 miles with no baton issues! Hooray!

(there's no good way to transition into the training part of this entry, so pretend I had some sort of great transition)

Training for both marathon teams seems to be going well. I still feel like I'm doing ALL the work for the work team, but I guess that's my own fault for not being able to say no to people. So my duties include mapping all the routes for the long runs, setting up water stops, sending out emails on weekly basis with training info oh, and let's not forget the fact that I developed both training schedules for the full and half marathon runners. So I'm feeling overwhelmed.
The good thing is I have a great group to run with on Sundays at Fleet Feet. Everyone is so much fun and encouraging and I don't have to do all the work :) My shoulder has been giving me some problems on long runs and bringing my pace down to 12 minutes/mile instead of 11 or 11:30 minute miles. Oh well. I've already run 7 miles and I'm only running the half so I should be OK come November.

I'm doing the "Freedom Day Four Miler" this Friday. So hopefully that'll be fun. And speaking of the 4th of July don't forget to thank the people you know in the military for giving us the freedom we celebrate. They are doing and have done amazing things for this country!
So I'll say my own special Thanks to my Dad, Larry and Dennis!

And we're off

2008-06-16T17:17:00.000-07:00

So I officially started training for the San Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon on Sunday. Yes, I like to write out the whole marathon name. There's just something fun about S.A. finally having a big time marathon! So this was week one of my being a "pace coach" which is going to be just as challenging as I thought, but it's still fun. Plus it's added incentive to keep my pace up when I know other people are counting on me.
This was also week 2 of the work team that I'm helping coordinate/coach/mentor/etc. And oh my goodness is that a lot of work. I mean I knew it was going to be work, but I have a whole new level of appreciation for the people who do this on a regular basis. I'm trying to make myself feel better by reminding myself that I'm also working a fulltime job while doing all this marathon coaching, but still, it's hardwork regardless.

That's about it on this front. I don't have any funny stories but I have new shoes! and well every runner knows how much fun new running shoes are :)
until next week....

Baton woes

2008-05-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

A Baton, according to Merriam-Webster is: a hollow cylinder carried by each member of a relay team and passed to the succeeding runner
A Baton, according to Helen, is the bane of my existence. Allow me to back track a little. When I was younger I used to have this terrible habit of dropping things and not realizing I did it. It's how I lost a couple of wallets. So now that I'm older and compulsive I've tried to make up for that and am constantly checking to make sure I have all my belongings. Of course I also carry a purse now so I won't have to worry about dropping something accidentally and not realizing it. This translates into hating to have things in my hands when I'm running. It throws off my entire sense of balance and all I can do is think about whatever I'm holding. Which is why during Beach to Bay I dropped the baton, not once, not twice, but FIVE times. I have a bruise to show for it. The last time it bounced up, hit my shin and I stopped, let out a loud expletive (sorry parents reading this) stomped over to the baton and walked for about 100 steps in disgust. If I was about 5 years younger I would have sat on the curb and had a fit. As it was I threw a pretty big fit anyway.
I did manage to finish in less than 48 minutes which was all I hoped for. Of course if I could have kept up my awesome pace for the whole time I would have finished in closer to 40 minutes, but I'll take 48 for this slow going time in my running phase.
I am glad I did the run though. It was nice to be in a big mix of runners, crossing a finish line, having someone hand you six medals (yes, I got all the medals for my team and none of them were at the finish festivities, so I have yet to hand those out) and just be in a race environment. It was good for my soles (haha, get it, soles?)
I do however feel like I'm back on track. Having someone to run with is very helpful. I've peer pressured Marissa Villa, one my friends and co-workers (yes, we're friends too--sorry that's an inside joke) into running the half marathon in the fall. I think it probably scares her more than I know, but I've promised I'll be there every step of the way for her. We did our first run together today. 3 miles in about 36 minutes. Not bad considering we were doing 3-2 intervals and I had to walk an extra time because I felt like the humidity was suffocating me.
In truth I thought about giving up running for a while. I spent 5 days at home in New Mexico during which I played tennis with my sister and had a really good time. I was sore in all the right places the next morning and though "hmmm, maybe I could join a tennis league, swim and do my cardio boxing this summer and forget running." Of course I'm already committed to helping two marathon teams (and I'm no quitter) and I've promised my friend I'd get her to the finish line. I can't let her down.
I'm doing this for her, right? In actuality I feel like Marissa's doing something great for me. Getting me back on the roads and enjoying it. Even if I am breathing harder than I'd like to :)

Making up is hard to do

2008-05-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

Have you ever run into an old friend? Someone you used to be close to and you lost contact and it's been years since you've spoken. Maybe you go have coffee, you struggle for topics of conversation, it's awkward. And then maybe you try again. This time might not be so awkward you share stories about your life remember friends of old. That's if your lucky. If your unlucky it continues to be awkward and you can never rebuild that friendship. Fact is you've moved on, grown apart and have very different lives. That's sort of the place I'm at with running. I feel like we were estranged for a few months and forgot about each other. Forgot the feel of hitting the road together, the conversations we had, the problems we solved in our hours together. Right now it's awkward (meaning I find myself huffing and puffing and hating it). I can keep going to have coffee with my old friend or I can move on.
I'm determined not to move on. We have a big date coming up soon. The Beach to Bay relay marathon. There's always something great about races. The camaraderie with other runners, the rush you get from being in an organized race, the feeling of belonging. I'm hoping that this date will give me and Running the bump we need to become good friends again. Here's to hoping!

To the beach and beyond

2008-05-01T10:04:00.000-07:00

I've been having some trouble finding my rhythm since I got sick in February and was knocked off my running routine for three weeks. Now it's MAY and I still haven't been able to get out on the roads more than two days a week. I almost don't even look forward to my runs because instead of being "easy" I find myself struggling to find a groove and three miles seem like FOREVER.
I was hoping a run on Town Lake a couple of weeks ago would jump start my feet. Help me find my groove. But I've only run three times since then. Sigh.
I do however, only have three weeks until the Beach to Bay relay marathon. Which means I need to get up to the 4 miles so that the humidity and heat are the only thing I'm left dealing with, not the dread of 4 miles.
There's also this little matter of the Rock n Roll Marathon. I still haven't decided which event I want to run. The OCD, over-achiever, competitive side of me wants to run the whole 26.2. The sane, remembers that it may be 89 degrees, wants to set a P.R. side of me thinks I should run the half marathon. I could drop 10 pounds and run a 2:15 half marathon. Just writing 2:15 makes me think "hmm, maybe that could be the thing for me.
But for now I just keep looking at the marathon website, pulling up the route, looking at the registration page and imagining what I'll think in November once I'm in a corral ready to cross the start line.

I'm Back

2008-04-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

I'm back to posting after a brief hiatus. I've had a rough time getting back on the horse so to speak after getting my tush kicked by that virus a couple of months ago. It's as if all my drive/stamina/energy were wiped away in one. But I'm slowly but surely trying to work my way back up to 5 mile runs as my regular daily mileage.
My main motivation is that I am helping to train two marathon teams this summer. About a month ago the organizer of the marathon group I trained with last summer asked me to be a pace group coach this summer. I could not have been more thrilled. It seems like a great opportunity to get some slower runners out on the roads and to start learning how to plan/coach/mentor people. I'm also helping with the group from work. Since the Express-News is a sponsor of the San Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon and our publisher is the honorary chairman, we're hoping to have a great showing at the marathon this year. So a small group of us is in charge of putting together the team. It seems like a pretty big task though, since none of us are qualified marathon coaches. But I'm looking at this as putting together a lesson plan. For a 24 week lesson.

So for now I'm slowly getting back to pounding the pavement. Wish me luck!

Oh. Before I forget I found this cool/inspiring story!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7275861.stm

Reality Check

2008-02-13T17:12:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted in a couple of weeks for a few reasons.
For one I was amazingly sick for a few days. I had a virus that ran me into the ground. 102.6 degree temperature, chills, feeling like i was swallowing glass, lots of phlegm. The list goes on and on. I also lost 12 pounds of water weight in 4 days. Oh and I had pink eye. So I was down for the count for a few days.
This couldn't come at a worse time. The Austin Marathon is tomorrow. So this of course means I won't be running. Which is amazingly disheartening. Everytime I get an email update from the marathon folks I burst into tears.
The thing is I've been wanting to run the full marathon in Austin for 4 years. And I was finally ready. Sure the hamstring issue pull was going to keep me from breaking 5 hours, but I had run the hills, done the speedwork and even figured out the miracle cure for my ankles (Bikram Yoga). And then I got sick. It was a hard thing to have to admit that running wasn't going to happen. Everyone knows I'm a bit Type-A and admitting defeat is difficult. But I knew that all I would do is make myself sick again and well a marathon medal isn't worth being as sick as I was.
So now I'm going to put my mind on training for Rock N Roll San Antonio. There's also a half marathon in Seabrook, TX in March that I might do. Of course I haven't run in a few weeks so we'll see if that happens. I'm almost all the way healthy, so tomorrow I'm going to head out and see if I can run 3-5 miles. Wish me luck.
Oh and Brian and Michelle, Good luck in Austin tomorrow!!

Sometimes you come in last

2008-01-29T14:32:00.000-08:00

Saturday was the "Endurathon." A 25K race that I was told was "challenging." The word one person used was "punishing." Next time anyone describes something as punishing, I'm taking them at their word and not experiencing for myself. The run is pretty much 15.5 miles of uphill. And I think I would have been OK if I 1) hadn't have been dehydrated and 2.) my shoes didn't suck. I didn't get a chance to drink as much water as I should have, especially considering I was thirsty all day and I had been sick. Then at about mile 6 my toe started hurting from bumping up against the front of my shoe. Something I kind of experienced in Houston, but was able to ignore. My foot and dehydration were not to be ignored this time around. I did manage to finish the race (in a wretched time of 3:30). And hope to NEVER endure the Endurathon again. Oh, did I mention I came in last. Something I've never experienced, but I'm glad I finished.
Now it's onto concentrating on the Austin Marathon.
I think I'm going back to my old Asics. I might get a new pair in the next few days and break them in for Austin. The Mizunos I'm currently in also gave me shin splints. So It's back to my trusty Asics and back to hoping I'll be able to finish the Austin marathon!

Hebrews 12:1

2008-01-17T20:09:00.000-08:00

I see this at races a lot and want a shirt that says this

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Houston

2008-01-17T15:16:00.000-08:00

I have no snappy headline for this blog entry because in a word the Houston half marathon: sucked.
But before I start complaining: A big shout out and THANK YOU to my sister, Lizz who paid for my entry to the Houston Half Marathon. Lizz, you rock and I really appreciate all your support!!!
Onto the race report:
I managed to pull a hamstring and I'm still trying to nurse it. And since I'm supposed to run 20 miles this weekend to prepare for Austin, I'm a little bit worried. I think I might run 15 or 18, as much as my body feels ready for and just hope that's enough.
I am proud that I finished the race. At about mile 5 I started to feel the hamstring hurt and managed to sort of limp the last couple of miles in. The only reason I even ran the last mile was because I was determined to have a time better than 2:45. Someone I know and am not too fond of was recently bragging about his "GREAT" half marathon time of 2:45. Before Sunday my worse time was 2:30 and I'm pretty slow. So I was determined to have a better time than he did. I finished in 2:38:38. Not great, but respectable I guess. This was probably one of the only half marathons I've run in which I thought "now I know why people think distance running is so impressive." I struggled to finish, but I did it. Now I just have to get myself mentally ready to run another 26.2 and hope I can do it without injury.

I'm fairly certain I hurt myself going around slower runners and hopping up onto a curb or two. The thing is I KNOW not to do that. In previous races I even reminded myself that no matter what I wouldn't do that. For some reason in Houston I lost all control of my senses and did it anyway. Lesson learned.

But what was most frustrating about the whole ordeal is that the race medics weren't much help. Those along the race course told me: stretch it out. The medical tent at the finish line refused to help me because I wasn't "a medical emergency." I mean all I needed was some ice and someone to wrap my leg. It wasn't asking for an IV drip. Hopefully they'll take notice of what I wrote in my postmarathon survey and fix that next year.

I was happy to have someone to run with. Running with Jordan, who I haven't run with since Nashville in 2004, was really great. It's always nice to have someone to keep you going!

In other fitness news, I've started doing Bikram Yoga. It's the type of yoga where the room is heated and humid. The first class I thought I was going to get sick and pass out. In that order. But now I'm pretty addicted to it. I think the heated room has been good therapy for my pulled hamstring. I'm going to walk a few miles today after work and see how the hammy feels. Wish me luck!!

NY Times Article

2008-01-09T08:46:00.000-08:00

When I first moved to San Antonio and went to my doctor for a sinus infection I asked him about some ailments I was having. Mainly that my knees hurt a bit and I wondered if taking glucosamine would help the alieviate the pain. He said: you should stop running. The odd thing is that since I've lost weight and started running on a regular basis (remember those 876 miles last year?) my knees don't hurt anymore. It could be because of the weight loss. But the thing is I had knee pain in high school, weighed about 140 lbs and I was pretty active. I wasn't a runner, but I was active. And now that I'm a runner I don't have knee pain. Odd isn't it.
When I first started having ankle pain I went to a podiatrist who prescribed some steroids and said I shouldn't run so much. Then I found a doctor who is an athlete and well, he's slowly curing what ails me. It never dawned on me that you have to find a doctor who understands sport. I saw this article on the New York Times and I had one of those "ooooh!" moments.

We all knew it was coming...

2008-01-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

I did a lot of hemming and hawing over the Austin marathon: should I run the whole? would it be better to do the half? Maybe I should. Maybe I shouldn't.
When in reality I probably made up my mind about it a week after Marine Corps. But then tendinitis wouldn't go away. And then early registration passed. But I couldn't bring myself to just sign up for the half marathon. Then I got the drugs (e.g. cortisone shot) and my ankle feels A..Mazing! So on Monday Allison, aka pancakes, and I signed up for the full marathon.
Am I crazy? Probably. Will I hit the five hour mark I'm hoping for? Probably not. Will it be worth it? It always is :)

I did seven miles of speed work yesterday. I thought I was going to be sick at the end. That's a lot of sprinting! But it felt good overall.
This weekend is the Houston half marathon. Then I have a 21 mile run (which will probably only be 18 for me since my longest run since Marine Corps has been 15 miles.) Then an 8 mile run, a 6 mile run and then the marathon!! I'm completely jazzed!

This and that and 2007 wrap up

2008-01-01T17:57:00.000-08:00

My husband and I spent Christmas in Charlotte with my father in-law. And I tell you there is something fabulous about running in Charlotte. I think it's because I feel like I'm running through the opening scene of a movie: wet orange leaves on the ground, tree lined, pedestrian friendly streets. And if I plan my route right there are a few fabulous homeowners who have drinking faucets just on the edge of their lawns for passersby. It's really a runner's paradise. I even found this neat trail that runs by a river/stream/creek not too far from the F-I-L's house. What I always forget about are the hills. OH MY! If I trained there year round I'd have no problem come Austin marathon time!

On to other topics.
I finally tallied up my 2007 mileage. I know you're all in suspense wondering how many miles I ran. If you remember I hoped for 1,000 miles and wasn't going to be able to accomplish that as the days ticked down. I did however run 876 miles. I guess that's a respectable sum. I think I would have been happy with 900 miles, but I guess 12 races, 3 pairs of shoes and one awesome marathon medal to show for 2007 makes it no such a bad accomplishment after all.
I did however go out and run 5 miles today in hopes of making 1,000 miles in 2008!

Oh and I finally broke down and got a cortisone shot in my ankle. I tell you what that HURT! The shot itself didn't hurt, but about 2 hours afterward I couldn't walk around because any pressure made me want to cry. I actually convinced a friend of mine who recently had ligament surgery to lend me his crutches. But I swear that was like a miracle shot. I've been running completely pain free (and happy!) because of it. Which makes 26.2 in Austin more of a reality now.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Year long goals

2007-12-18T20:21:00.000-08:00

I had a goal of running 1,000 miles this year. I realized early in the month that I'm probably going to fall at least 100 miles short of said goal. But it got me to thinking about all the races I have fun this year. So I tallied them all up here they are in chronological order.
Cobweb Chaser 3 Miler
River Road Run 12 Miler
3M Half Marathon
AT&T Half Marathon
Capital 10K
Charlotte Race Fest Half Marathon
San Antonio Women's 5K
Marine Corps Marathon (OORAH!)
Turkey Trot 4 Mile Run
Mission 10 Miler

Well after doing this I realized, if I run two more races I'll have run 12 races this year. Which well, is a pretty good year if you ask me. So I looked for two races, which is how I came about the Tough Ombre 10K that I wrote about last week. Then I really had my work cut out of me finding one more race. Most of the Christmas runs were the same weekend as the 10K. I did however find ONE more run in Austin, the MADD Jingle Bell run. So John and I drove up there on Sunday so I could accomplish this small thing of 12 races this year. And I ended up having my best 5K time, well probably ever of 33:30. Which is pretty impressive if you figure most of my runs are about 11:30, except for my fluke 10K last week. It's even more impressive if you know that I was at the 2 mile point 24:00 into the race. I saw the clock and that WHAT THE?!?! I knew that the last mile was downhill, my ankle was feeling really good, so I decided to see what all I had in me and put it in high gear. And what do you know, apparently I can run a 9:30 mile (when going downhill).
So that was it, my best 10k and 5K times ever and I ran 12 races this year. I think when it comes time to close the books on 2007, I can feel accomplished and hope for 1,000 miles next year!

On a marathon training note: I had a really lousy run on Saturday. We were doing a hilly 10 mile run and at about mile 6 my ankle said "we're done" and I had to walk in the last 4 miles. I wrapped the ankle on Sunday for the 5K and had no pain. So I might keep doing that. I still haven't registered for Austin. I think I'm holding out hope that i can run the full marathon. We'll see

97, 98, 99, 100, 1, 2....

2007-12-12T05:52:00.000-08:00

(make sure you have some sort of snack, this is a long one :) )
I ran a 10K this weekend. Prior to Saturday I've done three 10K races in my time as runner and have hated every single one. My first 10K was the Capital 10K in Austin in 2004. It was while I was training for the Country Music Marathon and it was during our taper, meaning we had already run 20+ miles in training and 6.2 miles was supposed to be cake. It wasn't. The thing about the Capital 10K is that well it sucks. At least in my mind. It's usually at the end of March, so that means it's generally pretty warm and humid in Austin by then. And it's hilly. From about the first quarter of a mile until mile 3 you're pretty much going uphill the entire time and there's this quarter mile hill where you climb about 200 feet. Of course after mile three you get to go downhill, but by then I was completely out of gas. By mile 4 I lost my breakfast. By the finish I swore I'd do better next time. I think I finished in about 1:20
That same training season I ran the Fiesta 10K. This was a week before the Country Music and the day of a friend's wedding. Which also meant the morning after the rehearsal dinner. Which meant I stayed out too late and drank too much to run very well the next morning. I think this was one of the first runs that Allison and I ran together. And she too had stayed out too late and had too many libations. Together we were going to make quite the pair. So the Fiesta 10K goes along the San Antonio River on "Mission Trail" even though you don't see any Missions unless you go about 5 miles out. Unfortunately this means it also starts near the old Sulphur springs. Talk about YUCK. In some places you have to cross over the river, on these suspension bridges that bounce up and down, up and down as you cross them. But it's not just the two of us, it's us and about 10 other runners at a time going up over these bridges. It made me a little dizzy. Of course we crossed 3 of these bridges on the way to the turn around point, which meant coming back over them again. At about mile 4.5 I told Allison to leave me that I was done and was going to walk. It's safe to say that was not my best race. I have no idea what my actual time was on that run, I tried to forget as much of it as possible.
Earlier this year I decided to give the Capital 10K another go. After all it was the 30th Capital 10K and I was turning 30 this year. I hate that race. It was 2004 all over again, except I got sick at mile 5 not 4 this year. Ick. Time: 1:15.
But I saw a 10K scheduled for Saturday and decided to give it a go. I had just read the New York Times article on distance runners distracting their minds with cadences so I decided to give that a try. And about half a mile into the race I started counting 1, 2, 3, up to 100 and then I would start over. Next then you know I was at the 5K point in 32 minutes. My best 5K time is about 35 minutes so I was thrilled! So I kept counting and counting and counting. And finished (ready for this) in 68 minutes! Which for me is COMPLETELY awesome. It means I ran in less than 11 minute miles. I'm fairly surprised at how the simple act of counting really distracted my brain from the task at hand and let me go a little faster than normal. It's really sort of amazing. So I'll do the counting from now on. I wonder how it'll affect my time in Houston.

Very Interesting....

2007-12-10T07:36:00.000-08:00

Runtex has a blog called "Heard Around the Lake" I was reading it today and came across this little tidbit of information about the San Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon.

"Speaking of Rock ‘n’ Roll, a team from RunTex headed down I-35 to the Alamodome on Wednesday for an organizational meeting with local charities and other interested groups. RunTex will be heading all the training programs for Rock ‘n’ Roll and will run the runners expo along with Soler Sports of San Antonio. The course won’t be finalized until spring, but, according to Roger Soler, it will not start or finish in the Alamodome."

Which is interesting for two reasons. One I heard a rumor that RunTex is going to buy Soler Sports. And two I hate the idea of the race ending at the Alamodome. I know a lot of people got a kick out of seeing themselves on the jumbotron, but to go from the outside elements to this indoor HARD CONCRETE finish, is not my idea of ideal. Anyway just rumors, but hopefully the route change is true.

Photos...Finally!

2007-12-09T09:45:00.001-08:00

It just dawned on me that people might want to see photos from the Marine Corps Marathon. Here are a few with captions beneath the images

Here I am at the start line. Sure, I look excited but inside I'm thinking "What did I get myself into?!?!"

Another start line photo

Finally we're off! I'm not sure I'm in this photo, but John did such a great job of making a terrific start line photo that I couldn't not post it!

This is about mile 14, in the National Mall. I'm rooting through the backpack John is wearing trying to find my extra energy gels.

Showing off my medal, alongside the World's Greatest Husband!

This is just after crossing the finish line. I'm not sure what that face I'm making is supposed to say. The foil like wrapping is Mylar. It's the greatest thing in the world when you're freezing cold after having run a marathon. It kept me amazingly toasty. :)

This is the finish line area still. I saw this mango and decided I wanted a picture with the maraca shaking mango!! :)

Here we are on the metro on our way back to Alexandria where we were staying with my friend Rosie. I sure don't look like I just ran a marathon, do I?

Finally, a photo with me and the hostess with the mostest, Rosie!

NY Times Article

2007-12-06T18:34:00.000-08:00

Saw this article on the NY Times today.
Enjoy

.1 percent

2007-12-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

My father-in-law recently sent me an article from the Charlotte Observer that talked about how women are leading the way in running. That is to say more women than ever are lacing up their sneakers and running. And the number of women completing half and full marathons continues to increase. That in itself is a great thing considering less than 30 years ago women weren't even allowed to run the marathon for fear we'd do permanent damage to our reproductive organs. Thank goodness science and experience has prevailed.

One thing that caught my eye in the article is that the overall number of marathon finishers continues to increase. There were 590,000 half marathon and 410,000 marathon finishers last year. 10 percent and 5 percent increases respectively. Of course the number that always floats around in my head is 1%. They say that 1% of the population has completely a marathon. If you take those numbers and the current US population it's really only .1%

Which makes it a huge accomplishment. So is it that I can't be satisfied with knowing I'm in elite company? Why do I keep pushing myself even when I'm injured. Truth is I know the answer. I'm stubborn, Type-A, overly competitive, whatever you want to call it. I'm struggling right now to resign myself to the half marathon in Austin. To know that I've run a marathon this season and there will be other seasons. Right now my ankle says no to anything over 10 miles. But I keep putting off the decision. I keep thinking: I'll wait and see after this run, I'll wait and see after that race. Today it's: I'll wait and see how I feel after the 10K this weekend. (Yes, Allison I'm running the 10k)
I guess I'm just afraid of saying: I can't. I know it's more of "I shouldn't" but I have issues separating the two. It's difficult knowing that 2 months ago I ran a marathon and I felt great during it. I want to do it again and clock another P.R. (personal record).
In any case I'll see how the ankle feels after the 10k, and hopefully make a decision I can live with.