race report: country music marathon

Wow. It’s been nearly four weeks since I ran the Country Music Marathon in Nashville. Better late than never?

We fell in love with Nashville a year and a half ago when I ran the Women’s Half Marathon. I’ve had my eye on the Country Music Marathon for years, and finally the date worked with my schedule this year.

I wasn’t planning on this being a fast marathon, but rather a training run for the North Face 50K (which is on ONE WEEK!). When I registered, I put 5 hours as my goal time, figuring I might even do a Galloway run/walk for this race.

But come race weekend, I decided I didn’t want to run this race in five hours. My training had been going really well. I still wanted to take it easy and planned on walking through the water stops. I didn’t want to go as fast as March’s Shamrock Marathon (4:10), so when I went to switch corrals at the expo I decided 4:20 would be a good goal.

For days prior to the race, the forecast looked bad. Rain and chance of thunderstorms. I didn’t worry about it. It would get better, right?

Unfortunately, as race day got closer, the chance of rain kept increasing. But I was prepared. I packed for rain with a vest, hat and a trash bag which I planned to ditch once I got warmed up and/or annoyed with it. (That never happened).

It ended up being a bit cooler than I expected, probably around 55F. The rain started falling when I was lined up in the corral. I tied my trash bag in a knot around my waist so it wouldn’t swish too much. It was actually not uncomfortable, and I think it really helped keep me warm despite the rain and cool weather.

You can even see the rain drops hit the pavement …

It’s too bad the weather was so bad. What I was looking forward to the most was all the country bands along the course. A lot of the stages shut down, though — with DJs instead of live music at many of the stations. It was nice that some musicians still braved the storm, though!

Did I mention there were hills?

We ran along with the half marathoners for the first 11 miles or so. I generally don’t like that — you get to see them veer off, almost finished, when you’ve still got a long way to go. We also passed the finish line around mile 17, also not my favorite thing to do

Rain is fun!

But even with the rain and course setup, I really enjoyed the race. Running in the rain is usually pretty fun. Preferably not for 4+ hours, but I tried to make the best of it. My plan of walking through every water stop worked well.  I think I held off “the wall” longer than I usually do during races. Downside -  I had to make a rest stop! I found a vacant porta-potty around mile 22 so I didn’t lose too much time, though my pace did slow down from that point on. There’s probably a good chance that would have happened regardless.

I crossed the finish line just barely within my 4:20 guesstimate — pretty happy with that! And then it promptly stopped raining. D’oh!

I didn’t even bother to get my free beer. I forgot to take a post-race self portrait. I just wanted to get my checked gear (A dry jacket! And gloves!) and get back to the hotel.

That was a happy face sticker on my Garmin. It didn’t survive the storm!

Official Time: 4:20:54
Overall: 1187 out of 2706
Division: 58 out of 187
Gender:  412 out of 1227

When I wasn’t racing, we enjoyed hanging around in Nashville — bar-hopping/listening to good music, touring the Country Music Hall of Fame museum, and buying boots!

We had a great time in this awesome city. Can’t wait to go back!

#runchat scavenger hunt!

I’m a regular participant in #runchat Twitter chats (if you’re a runner and you’re not chatting, go check them out!). They launched their first-ever photo scavenger hunt a couple weeks ago, which sounded like a lot of fun.

Of course I procrastinated until the last minute, but did manage to find most of the items on the list this weekend.

A running sticker (13.1, 26.2, etc.)

Bridge (bonus for covered)

A giant hill you’re going to run

It doesn’t look like much from this shot, but that was tough!

Christmas decorations still up

I run past a house that had oversized ornaments hanging from a tree at least once a week. And at the last minute, they changed it to an Easter egg tree. Well, at least it was easy to find more examples!

Letters from signs to create #runchat

Water (lake/river/pond)

Trail marker or mile marker

Well, there were trail signs in my bridge and hill photos, but one more for good measure:

A scene from your favorite place to run

I’m counting the wooden bridge/water spot for one of my favorites, since it’s right around the corner from my house. I love living so close to water, even if it’s just a creek. My true favorite running spot in town is right on the Chesapeake Bay, but I didn’t run that route during the timespan of this scavenger hunt.

I did not find:

Historical marker/sign

Which is just laziness on my part for not having my phone with me all the time. I run downtown often.  I live in a historic city!

“Welcome to” state/city/county sign

I’m actually not sure where the ‘welcome to’ signs are in town. I have some from a favorite vacation spot, but that would be cheating!

Well, that was fun. I hope there are more of these and/or other fun challenges in the future!

race report: shamrock marathon and 8K

I ran my 8th marathon on Sunday. It was not a PR. It was not entirely pleasant. It was cold and windy. But I had a great time!

We headed down to Virginia Beach on Friday afternoon. I needed to hit packet pickup for my bibs — I was not only running the marathon on Sunday, but the 8K on Saturday as well. If they offer a challenge, I will do it! (It’s the Whale Challenge if you do the 8K and full marathon, the Dolphin Challenge if you do the 8K and half.) After the Goofy Challenge, I figured that’d be easy, right?

Well, it was OK.

I focused on keeping the pace slow since I really didn’t want to be racing the day before a marathon. It was easy enough to stay slow, but I got kind of bored. Once I was getting towards the end, I couldn’t keep it slow anymore. I just let go for the last mile!

OK, so it was kind of fun at the end. Post race I didn’t stick around for the beer tent — no drinking the day before a marathon! I grabbed my medal (!) and some snacks, and headed back to the hotel.

I took it easy the rest of the day. I even napped for a couple hours. I was a little concerned about a sore shin, likely from running on the concrete boardwalk. I wore compression sleeves for the rest of the day, and fortunately felt better on race day.

The Marathon

Race day was quite leisurely for a marathon. The full marathon had an 8:30 a.m. start, so I could sleep a little later. Still, I was up by 6:30 getting ready, eating a peanut butter sandwich, and deciding if I wanted to make any last-minute wardrobe changes.

According to my weather app, it was supposed to be in the mid-40s at race time. I decided to brave it and wear compression socks with a running skirt even though I usually wear pants or capris unless it’s over 50*. I settled on a short-sleeve shirt with arm warmers. That would have worked for mid-40s …

But then it was closer to 40*, and there was a wind chill. Brrr… when it came time to bag-check, I couldn’t part with my jacket. I didn’t want to race with it, but it really wasn’t that bad. I got a tiny bit warm for only a short time when I debated shoving down my arm warmers … but then the wind picked up again and I was happy I kept my layers.

Oh, but I guess I should get to the race itself, huh?

I decided I would line up with a pace group. This race offered 4:00 and 4:15 goal times. While I thought 4:00 was a bit too ambitious — I’ve only run two halfs under two hours — my personal best marathon is a 4:09. On a net-downhill course, but still … I had to line up with the faster group. I know myself, and I knew I wouldn’t pick up the pace enough if I started that much slower.

The first 11 miles or so went well. I had no problem with the pace, and the miles were ticking by. And then we hit the boardwalk. The wind was insane! There were sea gulls everywhere that seemed to be swarming us — it looked line one was trying to steal somebody’s hat. OK that’s unrelated to the race itself, but it was just weird and stands out in my mind. Anyway, it was a struggle, but I stuck with my pacer.

I was so happy to leave that windtunnel! We got back to the main road … and I felt like I was fading — I spent too much energy fighting the wind. I was losing the will to stick with the pacer.

And then she put in headphones, which turned me off. I know some people can’t run without their music, but aren’t pacers supposed to engage their runners and *not* tune out? Then the next mile split hit at 8:58 — faster than goal pace.  My chip splits have the 13.1 at 2:00:23, so she was doing well. But I couldn’t handle speeding up, so I decided to drop back. I managed one more mile by myself at 9:07, but then I really did slow it down.

It was really strange how the crowd thinned immediately once I dropped back. I guess a lot of people were running a 4-hour pace? It was nice to have space and to just be able to run, no more zig-zagging around people.

I sort of hung in there … but there’s a long, gradual incline that actually starts around the halfway point and lasts all the way until mile 19.  The road from miles 16-19 was slanted, too, which started to bother my knee (which was not a problem at all throughout training). I started walking through the water stops.

That’s actually not as bad as I expected. I did feel pretty down for a few miles there, but mentally once we hit mile 20, things started looking brighter. It surely helps that we got off that slanted road and stopped going uphill!

I also really enjoyed the jelly beans they were handing out around mile 22.

I started chatting with runners. There was a guy from Canada running his 7th marathon. Another man who also kept on his gear he intended to bag-check. And the woman who said to me, as we were leaving Fort Story, “We’re doing awesome.”

Yes. We were.

It was around mile 23 that I caught up with my pacer. She was walking, with who I’m assuming was the 3:50 pacer! She had a quad cramp, he had a side stitch. They started running again and it felt faster than I had been going, so I thought maybe they’d help me bring it in … until I passed them.  But knowing I was so close was enough to move my legs a tiny bit faster.

I knew a PR was unlikely … and while I tried to pick it up, it wasn’t enough.

Still, I’m happy.

My 4:10:12 was not too far from my 4:09:07. And now it’s feeling less like a fluke that I had one fast(ish) marathon! (Next best: 4:22:22.)

Yeah, I look pretty happy. In my post-race daze, I didn’t realize I was taking a self-portrait in front of the port-o-potties.

Post race, it was  SOOOOO cold! It made this year’s finisher’s gift — a fleece blanket — so appropriate. Did they know how cold it was going to be? I gladly bundled up, as did just about every other runner!

My husband joined me in the beer tent where it was a little bit warmer, and we shared my free Yuengling. Four free beers? That’s the most generous post-race party I’ve ever been to!

Overall, this is a great, well-organized event. I didn’t really love the full marathon course — I think I’d actually prefer some rolling hills! But perhaps I’ll come back and do the half.  It was a fun weekend.

i love running

Nine years ago this month, some of my co-workers were talking about putting together a team for a corporate 8K. They all ran recreationally, while I had been a couch potato up until that point. Could I start running and join them?

Well, clearly, I could.

I bought a $300 treadmil from Sears, found a “learn to run” plan online (Couch to 5K didn’t exist yet, as far as I know), and started running.

Nine years, seven marathons, a 50K, more than 25 half marathons (lost count!) and over a hundred other races later … yeah, running is a part of me.

Since it’s Valentine’s Day … here are a few things I love about running.

In no particular order:

It got me active.
I started with just running. A few years later I added yoga. Then I started doing triathlons, which forced cross-training at least part of the year. I started taking masters swim classes. I did an organized 50-mile bike ride. I take fitness classes. It’s not unusual for me to work out more than once a day. And I love it!

I’m still improving.
Nine years later (and, ahem, nine years older!), I still surprise myself with frequent PRs. In 2012, I set new personal bests for nearly every distance!

Stress Relief
I can be having a really crappy day, and may very well want to bail on my scheduled run. If I just force myself to run I know I’ll feel better!

Me time.
When I run outdoors alone, I don’t usually run with music. I don’t mind getting lost in my thoughts.

Social time.
I prefer running with friends, though. I’ve met so many people through running. If you haven’t joined a local running club, I highly recommend it!

I can do it.
I was never an athlete a a child (Or teen. Or young adult.). I was pretty bad at sports. I even failed to make it on an extra-curricular track team as an 8-year-old. I was too slow! I’m happy I’ve found my place in distance running!

I’m actually pretty good at it.
I’m still no superstar, but I’m usually at least in the middle of the pack if not a bit better. If a race is small enough, I can even place in my age group

Running gear is fun.
I’ve always loved buying (fashion) shoes. But I seem to have re-focused. (And then there’s my running skirt and running dress collection … oh yeah, and my Garmin obsession …)

race report: ragnar key west

My first race of 2013 was my first-ever overnight relay, and I couldn’t have picked a better place to do it. It was 27*F the day we left Annapolis and headed to Miami!

Ragnar Florida Keys is a 12-person, 197-mile journey from Miami to Key West. The teams split into two vans which follow their runner to exchange points along the course. Once all runners in Van 1 were done, they’re “off duty’” until all of Van 2′s runners have run. And repeat — each runner has three legs of varying distance.

Thanks to the Florida heat (warmer than usual, from what we’ve heard), and an injury (he was able to finish all his legs, though), we were a bit slower than expected and finished in just over 36 hours.

My first leg, plus our home for 36-hours!

After my first leg (I was runner #12!), we drove to the Key Largo area for our first break. We stopped at CVS for some supplies (I picked up bottled water and baby wipes), and then we had a gourmet dinner at Waffle House. Um, not much around there that was suitable for a van full of sweaty runners!

We were able to wait out the rest of our break at a high school that was open for the off-duty teams. We could shower (for $3), and sleep on the gym floor. Though I didn’t get much sleep … after two hours of on-and-off dozing, my phone (which was also my alarm and way to communicate with my team) died.  It was charging (I placed my sleeping bag by an outlet), so it wasn’t the battery. Turns out it was dead-dead (and currently sent away for repair ). I was worried about finding my team when it was time to go again, so I hung out in a common area reading for a little while, and then headed back to the van. Two of my teammates were sleeping there since the gym wasn’t working for them, and I joined them.

We ended up getting a much later start than we thought (that’s where the injury came into play, with our teammate having to mostly walk an almost 12-mile unsupported leg). Our runner started around 3am.

Despite the heat and little-to-no sleep, she had a great 10-miler, and the rest of our runners did well, too.

The sunrise from an exchange point, waiting for Runner #10 to come in.

My second leg (6.9 miles) was initially estimated (by Ragnar’s calculations, based on each of our planned paces) to start around 4:30am, but actually ended up at 8:30 am. I was glad to not be in the dark — much of the run was on a trail that would have been creepy — but it was really hot.  I was surprised I hadn’t lost that much speed from my first leg. My team met me at the halfway point. I took some Gatorade, and kept plugging along.

It briefly started raining, and I was excited. I could have used a good cool-down! But, it was just sprinkles, and didn’t last long. (A couple miles down the road, everything was drenched. Looks like I missed out on a good downpour!)

Since I was the last runner, we had another break, so we found a place for brunch. It was a casual pizza place (though they weren’t serving lunch yet), and they had outdoor seating which seemed more appropriate. After we ate,  I “showered”  in the restroom with my baby wipes and changed into a clean/dry outfit. Not perfect, but not bad, either.

We had another school to wait at for the next exchange with Van 1 — who would be finished when they met us! We had some time, though, so most of us tried to nap in the van.  It’s amazing what a good cat nap can do. I was still feeling pretty good!

Our runners continued to do well, though it was hot and sunny again. By the time I started my last leg — heading to the finish in Key West! — it was after sunset. I got lucky — it was still humid, but not nearly as bad as it would have been if we were faster and finished mid-afternoon as estimated!

Sunset from the van on day 2.

My last leg wasn’t as scenic since it was dark — most of the time I was running along the water. But it was exciting to be completing such an interesting journey! Once I got close to the finish there were lots of turns, but finally I was at the last corner.

I almost didn’t see my teammates since there were some bright lights at the finish line (and one of them was wearing a pirate hat so I didn’t immediately recognize him!). I got a burst of energy and sprinted to the finish, with my team right behind me.

Legs 2 and 3. Not bad!

We hung out long enough for our free beer at the end, but we were beat! Our first night in Key West was an early night — shower + dinner + bed.  But fortunately we had a few vacation days to enjoy it!

I had a great time running the relay. While it was more of an adventure than a race, I felt more pressure than I do racing solo, since I was running for my team! But it kept me motivated to push through the heat and humidity.

It was exhausting, but a lot of fun. I’d do it again!

2012 mileage

2011 was the first year that I ever run more than 1,000 miles. I had to work hard for it with a 100-mile December, and finished out the year at 1,001.

I’m happy that this December, it didn’t take until the last day of the year to cross that 1,000-mile mark. I suppose it helps that I didn’t have any injuries limiting my running this year, but I also didn’t run a 50K in 2012. My weekly (and monthly) mileage never got quite as high as it did in the fall of 2011.

Total: 1,063

Finishing the year strong, huh? That higher-mileage December was likely due to my first-ever running streak this winter. The Runners World #RWRunStreak required at least one mile every day from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day. It wasn’t even that hard! Sure, I had a few late nights on the treadmill (including a four-miler on the hotel treadmill at 8:30 on Christmas Night!),  but most of the time it was easy enough to hop on the treadmill or run down the street for a quick one- or two-miler.

Courtesy of PavementRunner

You can tell running is my first love if you look at my crosstraining. I’m only motivated during triathlon season
(January – March and probably part of April would have been on spin bikes during off-season tri training classes)

Total: 443.5

Oh, I really do love swimming … once I’m in the water. It’s so tough to motivate myself to go to the pool unless I’m taking a class! (April – May: cramming for early triathlons. June-August: masters swim class!)

Total: 40.5

Total distance traveled in 2012: 1,547.

In 2013, I won’t set any firm distance goals. I just hope to keep running (and swimming and biking) and racing all year long!

hbbc: week 2

I had a great week, and am enjoying the influence and encouragement of the other Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge participants. The Facebook group is super active, and I can’t help but to read and reply several times a day. And thanks to this challenge, I’ve started to incorporate more stretching/yoga into my routine. Two nights last week instead of sitting on the couch watching TV I rolled out my yoga mat and worked on my tight hamstrings/glutes. I think it’s helping — I wasn’t as hindered by the hamstrings during my Bikram yoga class this morning.

This week I was better about eating lots of fruits and veggies, too. Sneaking them in is the best way — is it still sneaking if I know they’re in there? In the photo below, that chocolate milkshake is made with avocado and banana. And those are pumpkin pancakes

The Runners World run streak is going well. I only had one awkwardly-timed workout where I was on the treadmill at 9pm getting my mile in … and actually, it turned into 2.1 miles. I thought I only had 10-12 minutes left of “Nashville” to watch, but it ended up being over 20 minutes. I felt really good running, so I didn’t mind!

Week 2

Monday:  yoga DVD, 1-mile run, boot camp class
Tuesday: 4-mile run, 40 minutes of stretching/foam-rolling
Wednesday: Bikram yoga, 1-mile run, boot camp class
Thursday: 3.25-mile run, lunchtime yoga
Friday: Bikram yoga, 2.1-mile run, Workout of the Week (WOW) strength workout
Saturday: 10-mile run, yoga DVD
Sunday: 2-mile run, 40 minutes of yoga/stretching

hbbc: working out this holiday season

I’ve heard about the Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge (HBBC) in the past — Amanda from Run to the Finish has been hosting this challenge for a few years now. I never paid it much attention, though. I guess I figured I was too busy to add another thing to my schedule. (I’m a choral singer. We get pretty busy around the holidays!)

But … I like to work out. I know I’m going to stay active despite the extra time singing, but I could use the extra incentive to make sure I don’t let too many workouts slide. Plus it sounded like fun, and there’s a chance to win prizes!

We have a handy worksheet to track our points for different types of workouts. We have a private Facebook group (which is awesome!) to chat, discuss our workouts and motivate each other. And we get a bonus point each day for eating lots of fruits and veggies!

To keep things interesting, I also decided I’m going to attempt to do the Runners World Holiday Running Streak. All I have to do is run at least one mile every day, from Thanksgiving to New Year’s!

Week 1

Monday: Bikram yoga, boot camp class
Tuesday: 4-mile run
Wednesday: Bikram yoga
Thursday: Turkey Chase 10K, cook Thanksgiving dinner/dessert (yes, that counted as bonus points!)
Friday: 1-mile run, Workout of the Week (WOW) strength workout
Saturday: 10-mile run
Sunday: Bikram yoga, 1.6-mile walk, 2-mile run

I may have failed my veggie requirement a few days thanks to Thanksgiving (and leftovers) — I’m not counting mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie towards my quota — but I’m looking forward to getting back on track in week two!

race report: marine corps marathon

This morning I completed my seventh marathon, with my third running of the Marine Corps Marathon.

I wish I could say I loved it as much as the first two times. I did still have a good time, but it felt a bit rougher than I would have liked. Perhaps I was still riding high from my fabulous Wineglass Marathon last month thinking I might have a repeat performance …

Anyway, I carpooled with two friends — my regular training buddies — so it was nice having company for the ride and pre-race waiting. We had a bit of a wait at the Metro, so we didn’t have as much downtime before the race than I’ve had in the past. Still plenty of time to hit the port-o-pots and check our bags before the race start, though.

We had a tough time getting to a good spot in the corrals — we were looking for under 4:30 and preferably a little faster. It got quite crowded, but we managed to find a spot. Of course we hopped the fence and then noticed a break just a few feet ahead. D’oh!

It wasn’t long once we got settled, though. Suddenly, we were off!

The three of us stuck together for the first few miles, but K (running her first marathon!) and I were pulling ahead. We tried to keep M in our sights, but eventually lost him. We did speed up a bit, but we had started slow, partly due to the crowd.

I felt myself fading a bit earlier than I would have liked, possibly as early as mile 12, but I hung in there. But eventually, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep it up. Around mile 15, the 4:15 pacer caught up to us and I told K to go ahead if she wanted to. I kept them in sight for a mile or so, but then let my pace slow a little. I also started walking through water stops.

I was chugging along, not feeling too badly … and then we hit the bridge. Suddenly, my right knee started locking up — and my knees haven’t bothered me at all this training cycle! I blame DC. I was just reading through my MCM 2010 posts, and I had the exact same knee pain!

Anyway … there were a lot more walk breaks after that point. While the knee did feel better, I still lost my motivation. And when I met up with my Striders coaches for pretzels around mile 23, I told them I had lost my will to live. Yeah, I was pretty done.

I kinda fell apart. Oh well.

So maybe eight events/races in the last 10 weeks was a bit much.  (I think I skipped a few write-ups here. I haven’t written about last weekend’s 50-mile bike ride yet, either.  Was that not the right way to taper for a marathon? ) My body and mind (running is mostly mental, yes?) were a bit too tired to power through this one. (My friend, K, ran an amazing first marathon and finished in 4:13!)

Not my best time. Not my best MCM. But I’m still happy I eked out a sub-4:30!

It wasn’t my day, but it’s still an amazing race. I love MCM, but may take a break from it next year … TBD

race report: baltimore running festival half marathon

I first participated in the Baltimore Running Festival in 2005 as a member of the four-person marathon relay. After a few years away, I returned for another relay in 2010, and ran the full marathon last year.

While I’m a big fan of this event, I didn’t completely love the full marathon last year. The merge with the half marathon walkers was so discouraging, and the second half of the race was so rough …

Still, I couldn’t stay away. I just stuck to that latter half of the course this year, taking on the half marathon.

Going into this race, I had run the full marathon and the 3rd and 4th legs of the full marathon, so I was quite familiar with the back half of this course.

The first three miles are exclusive to the half marathon course, but after that it follows the full marathon to the end.

I didn’t really have a time goal for the race. Considering the hills, I figured I’d be happy with a 2:05-2:10 half marathon. When we started, it was pretty congested which certainly kept me from going out too fast. At times I kind of wanted to speed up, but also didn’t want to overdo it. This technically should have been a marathon training run rather than a race!

I was fully enjoying myself, hills and all. I tried to just keep running comfortably, and take advantage of the downhills!

The miles were flying by, and once we got to mile 10 (and the end of the hills), I really took off. While I wasn’t trying for it, I thought I might actually be able to finish under two hours.

But alas …

Actually, I think it’s pretty awesome that I finished in exactly two hours. And on that course, I’m quite happy with that time!

I really should have been closer to my initial 2:05-2:10 guess based on my splits. I wasn’t running fast enough until the end … now that’s a strong finish!

I had a great time!

I haven’t figured out next year’s race schedule yet, but I’ll most likely be back. The thought did cross my mind to give the full marathon another chance … but we’ll see