Zooma Annapolis Half Marathon, May 31, 2009

So this was it, the big event that I signed up for very early this year...the ZOOMA Annapolis Half Marathon. I was looking for a half marathon around May or June but didn't find any local ones that were planned that far in advance, so in January (I think) I decided it might be fun to do this one. My friend from college lives near there and we hadn't seen each other in about 4 yrs so we decided that I'd come there and she'd run the 10K and I'd run the half. It's a race focused on women, so the "theme" was kind of a girl's day out for the after race festivities. Originally I thought it would be a family trip but then we decided it was just too much of a challenge to bring the kids and we were taking them to NYC for the half marathon in August anyway. So Keith stayed home with the kiddlings and I drove to Annapolis, which for some reason I'd never bothered earlier in the year to check how long a drive it was. It's about 5.5 hrs, about 2.5 hrs beyond what I usually can comfortably drive without going crazy. Oh, well...too late now!

I got up pretty early and headed out on Saturday AM. Of course no matter what time you leave for some reason traffic in DC is always backed up so it was smooth sailing until DC. I was pretty tired when I got there but went right to my friend's house and joined them at the pool and for a ride on their boat. It's the perfect size, a 17 ft one, lots of fun. I really would love to have one someday (hint, hint...Keith) but they are a lot of work and you really need to commit to using it all the time which I guess we can't do right now.

After an early dinner (pasta, carb loading!) I headed back to the hotel. The Westin Annapolis was race HQ so I stayed there since it was less than 1 mi to the starting line. I was still feeling sniffly (allergies?) and tired and I was so busy at work that week I didn't run at all after Tuesday. So not really confidence inspiring. I went to bed around 9 or 10. And of course had the dream about completely missing the race. I dreamt that it was a marathon though and we got there and the clock say 5 hrs or something (so the race had been going on for 5 hrs and people were finishing). I woke up all stressed from that only to see the clock in my room said 5:10am. I never set the room clock because the sound of a loud alarm clock is too loud and stressful for me, so I usually set the alarm on my phone. That alarm hadn't gone off, so I jumped out of bed thinking I was already 10 minutes late. But then I realized someone had set the room clock 10 minutes fast. Uggh! I really hate that but won't dwell on it here since I am sure some people do find it helpful, but I am not one of them because I know I'd just say "oh, well the clock is fast anyway" so I'd just leave 10 minutes later. It's not like I'd forget I set it fast so it's not really helping me then is it? Ok, enough dwelling...

I took a quick shower since I still felt all sun-lotiony from the day before and ate a granola bar and went to the lobby to see if I could scrounge up a banana or coffee. They did have a table set up for the runners with complimentary stuff. I decided that AM to drive to the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium instead of walk just so that I could have my stuff with me after the race (clothes, money, etc) and not have to carry it. Well, what a good call that was. Almost as good as putting the windows on my Jeep before having it valet parked the day before (yeah, no real free parking at the Westin, so that was an expense I wasn't expecting). No sooner did I say to a guy in the lobby (who was a REALLY great friend to some woman who was upstairs still getting ready since he was there ready to run the race in his pink ZOOMA race t-shirt and all) "hey, that's cool, so we know there will be at least one guy in the race. And it looks like the weather will be good for it", that it started to drizzle. Ok, drizzle, not to bad right? By the time the car was brought to the door, it started to rain harder. I knew they called for some light rain but wasn't expecting this.

I started the drive to the stadium and did my good deed for the day. As it started to pour, I saw a woman walking (as I had originally planned to do but was SOOO glad I didn't) from the hotel to the stadium. I offered her a ride and she asked if I was going to the race which was kind of funny. Once I assured her I was and that I don't usually pick up strangers we drove up to the stadium. The rain turned into thunder and a bit of lightening. By that time my friend met me there and we realized we were under dressed. I had a white singlet on, bad call. She had her pink race tshirt on but it was pretty cold and wet already. So I gave her my extra long sleeve shirt that I usually bring for after a run and I changed into my extra short sleeve running shirt and wore my light running jacket, which I intended to take off before the race.

Then it was off to the port a potty (again, I had already been once when I first got there). I know, another potty story, but this one is a significant part of the race story, I swear. When I first got there I commented to my friend how awesome it was that there were so many port a pottys. I forgot to consider the fact that this was mostly a women's race, so 1183 people in the half marathon alone, and 1103 were women. The 10K had 1266, and 1204 were women. That is a bathroom disaster no matter how many port a pottys you have. The line was the longest I'd ever seen and only 15 minutes before the start. I was getting so nervous that I'd miss the start. I was talking to a woman and her daughter in front of me. The woman flew in from New York the night before to run the 10K w. her daughter. They were definitely there just for fun, not to achieve a particular goal. She was very calm and said "hey, I get there when I get there and the chip on my shoe will log the actual time anyway". I knew of course she was right but the thought of being on the potty line while the gun went off was just driving me crazy. Seeing the look of stress on my face she let me go ahead of her.

If that nice woman (definitely karma I think for my good deed in driving the woman who was walking in the rain) had not done that, I would surely have missed the start. I was still in the potty when they announce 45 seconds to the start. AHHHH! I ran out of there and over to the starting line. Still had my jacket on, didn't have my headphones on yet, I didn't stretch, and I ran through a hugh puddle to get there so my feet were totally soaked. I got there and they started less than 10 seconds after that. So not the ideal start to the big race that I've been training for all year. Uggh.

Both the half and 10K started together, which I thought was unusual but kind of nice. However I never did find my friend at the start after the potty incident. I just hoped she had started on time and wasn't looking around for me! I started out pretty fast, my shoes sloshing from the start, while trying to put my headphones on. I got into a grove of running just over 7 min mile pace but felt good and figured I'd see how long I could keep that up. Not only were there people still on line for the potty as we left the stadium parking lot but as we looped around the other side I saw cars still coming in to park with runners in them! (In fact if you look at the results of chip vs. gun time you'll see some HUGE differences!). My shoe inserts ($7 at Harris Teeter) have been awesome to date and I have a pair of them in all my running shoes. However it seems that once they are soaking wet they move around A LOT. Didn't know that. They actually bunched up so much they felt like they were going to come out the side of the shoe. I stopped a few times to try to adjust them or tried scrunching them back into place by moving my toes and feet around. Between that and fidgeting with my jacket I certainly had something to focus on besides running.

The race took us over the Naval Academy Bridge just before mile 3 which was very cool. There were a few groups on the bridge cheering us on. Around 3 miles the rain subsided and I decided the jacket had to go but it's my favorite for running in bad weather so I couldn't ditch it so I tied it around my waist. I really hate running like that so I spent the next few miles considering where I could drop it off and come back and get it. Could I give it to a race volunteer or police officer along the course, maybe put it in someone's mailbox? Nope, decided I'd really never be able to get it back so I just sucked it up and kept going.

After about 4.5 miles the 10K and half marathon courses diverged. The 10K stayed on the road at a turnaround point and the half marathon turned onto the B&A trail, a paved multiuse trail. It was very peaceful out there, I could only see one woman in front of me, and no one beyond her, which if you've read my other blogs or know me, you know I much prefer rather than a big wide open space where I can see everyone running. It's much nicer to have at least some of the race be more secluded like this. I estimated that much of the pack had actually turn around for the 10K, so I wasn't sure how many really had gone on to the half marathon.

By this time my shoe inserts had straightened themselves out and I did forget about my jacket. I just focused on my pace on my Garmin. I usually set it to look at average pace but I could tell I was slowing down so I switched the view to current pace so I could try to maintain under a 7:30 pace, since my ideal goal for the race was 1:40 even though 1:45 would have been ok too. My worst case scenario was 2 hours but since I was doing well and it was over 5 miles I figured I'd continue aiming for the 1:40 goal. I wasn't trying to pass anyone this time, I was purely aiming for time. However in doing that I did manage to pass the woman in front of me maybe around mile 7. I just kept the pace under 7:30 as much as I could, often staying around the low 7's.

The B&A trail was really great to run on. They had plenty of water stops and gatorade but between stops there was no one really there, it was like running by myself which was pretty nice. The idea was to run out on the trail to about mile 9 or 10 and then there is a turn around to go back down the trail and eventually onto the road to re-join the 10K course. A few things about this that were good and bad...

Bad:
1) The mile markers were posted for the out and back so you for example are passing the Mile 11 marker when you are only at mile 5 (how cruel!).
2) For some unknown reason, I kept thinking about getting to mile 10. That after mile 10 it would be just 2 miles from there. Well either I was delirious or just am bad at math because of course at mile 10 there are 3.1 miles to go, NOT 2. Duh! Which unfortunately I realized at mile 10 when I said "oh, crap, it's 3 miles left not 2!". Fortunately I was still feeling pretty ok so I got over it quickly.
3) While it was great to be in a larger group again to finish the race after running solo for a few miles (remember the half re-joins the 10K course and so there are still folks running the 10K as the faster half marathoners are coming off the B&A trail), it was a bit challenging to dodge in and around the 10K folks. By this time (well over an hour since the start, only 2 miles left to go in the half) there are a lot of 10K walkers and groups who are walking/running 3 or more across and chatting.

Good
1) I could see how many runners were ahead (I didn't really count, just got a good feel for it) because they passed me when they turned around.
2) Once I turned around I could see how many runners I was ahead of. More and more runners were heading still towards the turn around. It went from a few here and there to a sea of people running towards me. It was really cool because some cheered me on saying "great job" and such. I haven't really experienced that because one, I am usually not that far ahead of the pack and two, the race courses don't usually loop around like that.
3) It was pretty cool to rejoin the 10K course because I am also never back that far so I got to see who was still out there and cheer some of them on as well. I also thanked a volunteer who was doing an impossible job of trying to collect all the used water cups from the side of the road...a big job!

Ok, enough of the B&A trail bad vs. good...since I had passed the 12 mile mark early in the race at mile 3 or so, I knew where it was (for those trying to do the math here, the start and finish weren't in the same place...I know it sounds weird to say I passed the 12 mile mark at mile 3 and only had 1.1 miles left to run!). Once I passed it I knew I was going to be ok despite the pretty hilly road and running around the 10K walkers and joggers. When I passed mile 13 I could see one woman ahead of me but she was definitely too far to catch. Still I sped up as much as I could and was thankful that the last 100 yds or so were a down hill into a local park.

I felt great crossing the finish line even though I was sore. I did remember to stop my watch. I hadn't really looked at the actual total time during the race, only the average and current pace, except for somewhere between 12 and 12.5 miles. I saw it was around 1 hr 30 minutes at that point, so I knew I was going to hit my 1:40 goal. I always forget to look at the official clock while finishing, but my watch said 1:36 (doesn't show the seconds on that setting but the chip time was actually 1:36:07). I was pretty happy about that and would have been even if the race didn't start as it had....pouring rain, potty incident, soaked sloshing shoes and inserts, annoying jacket. So given all that it was even better. And it was a PR by far...the one prior was in 1999 and was 1:52 (granted a much hillier course in the heat of August in NYC). By this time the sun was shining and I found my friend after looking only a few minutes. We boarded the shuttle bus (a school bus...boy those poor kids if they didn't clean out that bus before using it on Monday...sweaty seats everywhere!) back to the stadium.

We got changed, had our free boxed lunch, bought some ZOOMA t shirts (one for me and a little one for Grace), and watched a band play. They were a great cover band and my friend who is a nurse actually delivered the baby of one of the guys in the band over a year ago. My friend then left to go to church and I stuck around for a few more minutes until the half marathon results were posted and to partake in a few sips of the free wine being served. I came in second in my age group, the first woman in that group came in 2 or 3 minutes ahead of me, so that wasn't close enough where I felt I could have run harder and gotten first. No awards for age group finishers though, which was kind of a bummer. And they only announced the name of the first in each age group. While I didn't care too much since no one I knew was there by then anyway, I still think it's nice to announce names and give a little something (even socks!) to all who place in their age group. Oh well. After looking at the results on line later that day I found I was 13th overall of the 1183. Of course again only 80 men ran, but still of the women I was 9th of the 1103. I'll take that!

After leaving the race I went back to the hotel, showered and put on my newly purchased ZOOMA t-shirt and took a short nap. But it was too nice of a day by this time to sleep too long. I had spotted an Indian restaurant across from the hotel so I headed over there hoping they served lunch on Sundays. They did so I ate lunch outside with a nice glass of sauvignon blanc and relaxed (ok, actually played around on FB on my iPhone...I never actually can sit and just relax). Then I headed back over to my friend's place and hung at the pool, had dinner and we walked around Annapolis which was nice. I got a few t-shirts for the family (a Navy Hockey one for Owen, Navy Cross Country for me and an Annapolis one for Keith). I was actually still hungry when I got back to the hotel so I treated myself to a snack in the lobby restaurant/bar (chicken tacos, which were awesome) and a glass of cabernet while I again played on my iPhone. Then it was off to bed. I planned to sleep in but who am I kidding, I really can't do that so I got up very early and headed home to beat the DC rush hour traffic, which I did.

A fun weekend and a great race!

Skirtchaser 5K

I had been thinking about running the Skirtchaser 5K for a while, ever since I saw it posted on the RTR website. It sounded like lots of fun...women run in skirts, get a 3 minute head start and then the men chase. I waited until the week of the race and finally decided to register, despite my half marathon coming up the following week. Lots of RTR folks were going, some that I hadn't yet met. I figured I could just do it for fun, but who am I kidding...if I am running a 5K then of course I want to beat my prior 5K time, which just happens to also be a PR.

And wouldn't you know right after I register, like the next day, I twist my ankle on a run at Umstead on a single track trail. I actually heard it make a noise (or at least I think I did, maybe the noise was my brain saying "Oh crap"). It was at around mile 2 of a 6 mile run that ended up really being a 6.8 mile run. It didn't "hurt" but it certainly felt wierd. I dared not take my running shoes off so I changed into my clothes while keeping my running shoes on (a challenging feat, good thing I didn't have jeans to put on!) and went out after the run to a pub and to watch the Canes game for a while with the RTR group. I figured if I skipped that all I'd do is go home and ice and elevate the ankle anyway so what was a few more hours. At least I was still compressing it by keeping my shoe on and putting it up on an extra chair while I ate.

I put ice and elevated it on and off on Friday hoping that since the Skirtchaser 5K was late in the day on Sat it would be ok. I certainly wasn't going to pay such a pricey entry fee (cool skirt and top though that says "catch me if you can!") and not at least try to run the race. I figured if I could walk on it, which I could, running wouldn't be too terrible. So after rubbing on the aspercreme (love that stuff but I try to use it only when needed) and taking some advil I put on my tightest pair of good socks (yes, they were one of my many prizes for placing in my age category in a race) and tied my shoes tight to hold the ankle in. I was running a bit behind schedule and rushed out to the race.

I found a parking spot on a side street not too far from the race start. I managed to find several RTR folks in the huge crowd (probably about 700 people). I picked up my timing chip and wrist band (to be used to get into the block party after the race) and then needed to run back to the car to drop off my ID. During the run back to the car I realized that my ankle was probably feeling ok for the run. Good thing, since I was already committed to doing it!

I'll spare you the standard details of needing to hit the port a pottie line a number of times. Before I knew it, it was time to line up. The women lined up first (3 minute head start) and there were some FAST looking women out there. I got near but not at the front since I could tell these women were serious contenders. I thought even without the headstart they just might win! The race began (ready, set, go, no gun this time) and I just did my best to run hard. I wasn't really setting out to PR but I can't lie and say it wasn't in the back of my head. I ran the first half mile very fast, I'd say under 6:30 pace, which is unheard of for me, so I figured I'd better slow down or someone would have to carry me back. I didn't consciously choose to slow down, it just kind of happened when hitting the hills. Overall my first mile was still under 7 minutes.

I was trying to run closely behind one of the other RTR women who I knew was really fast (thanks Brandi!) so that I could have something to focus on to set the pace besides my Garmin (which I really still do love for pace setting, can't beat it). I slowed down during mile 2 but the overall average was still right around a 7 mm pace. My ankle was ok during the entire time but my legs did feel tired. Probably a combination of the weather, hills and time of day. I also needed more water than just the 1 water stop about half way through since it was pretty warm and the sun was shining. I'd much rather have it 60 or less and cloudy for a race. The first guys started to catch up around the half way point. There weren't too many that passed me though.

By the last mile, I was pretty spent and was so close to beating my PR but wasn't sure I could maintain it. And then I saw that much of the rest was flat or downhill (except for one fairly short uphill in there) which really helped. During this last mile, I experienced a really stupid guy running behind me who decided it would be a good call to run between me and a line of parked cars on my right, when there was plenty of room to the left of me. He actually even in a quite annoyed voice shouted "on your right!". First of all, dude, it's not the Olympic trials...did you really need to pass me on the right with such a narrow passage way to save a few seconds? You weren't in the lead anyway and it's supposed to be a fun race. Not really the nicest thing in a race like this to be so obnoxious as to run the girls off the road. Second, um, what is wrong with the phrase "on the right"...well, have you ever heard anyone say it? Probably not. Why? Because you are supposed to pass on the LEFT! Anyway, enough ranting about rude guy.

I was able to keep up the pace during the last mile and when I saw the 3 mile marker I thought I can certainly keep going for 0.1 miles, so I just gave it what I had. I finished in 21:39, which was a whole 3 seconds faster than my last 5K. So this was a new PR despite the warm weather, lack of water, and ankle. The first time I achieved (that I can recall anyway) a pace of under 7 mm in a 5K (6:59 to be exact!). Not too bad.

I caught up with a few RTR folks before heading back to the car to change. On the way I got to see a little girl (who I just checked for in the race results and see she was 8 yrs old) in a cute little pink running skirt running toward the finish line with her mom in a matching pink skirt. It was the absolutely cutest thing and I am amazed that she ran the entire race at 8 yrs old!

After getting changed, I made a few failed attempts to get my free beer in a can with my two coupons given out as part of the entry fee. The line was crazy long and I then pondered...is beer in a can ever worth waiting for, even if it is free (which when you consider the entry fee it really wasn't "free")? Nope. So I went into the Hibernian and got a Fat Tire ale for $5 and enjoyed that. The band that played was really good but pretty loud (yes, I am old) to try to talk over. I guess I missed the awards ceremony in trying to get dressed and find everyone again. No age group prizes for this race though (I was first in my age group I think). The least they could have done was give out a few pairs of socks! Then they had some games and prizes so I stuck around to watch Ed and Lisa from RTR play a newlywed type of game which was fun. After that Brandi and I grabbed some really yummy but quite spicy thai food at the restaurant right next to the Hibernian. It was a good race although I probably wouldn't run it again (expensive and running a race at 5pm is difficult when you are hanging w. the kids at the pool, etc during the day). And it was a good night, but alas not for hockey...the Canes lost.

Biltmore 15K and my trip to Asheville (PART II)

Other than a few times waking up thinking I overslept, which I did not, it was a pretty restful night's sleep. On Sunday AM, I got up on time and got ready and we headed out to Biltmore. It was a bit chilly at 60 degrees and overcast with a bit of drizzle here and there...perfect racing weather really. The drive up to the Biltmore Winery, where the race started and finished, was slow but scenic. There was a steady line of cars making their way in for the race. But parking was not nearly as challenging as I thought, in fact getting there later than others (bet some crazy runners got there when the gates opened at 5:30am...no thanks!) paid off, since we were directed to a lot even closer to the winery which had plenty of bathrooms, always a big concern on race day.

I probably went to the bathroom at least 3 times in 30 minutes and by the time the race was ready to start I really did have to go again but knew there wasn't time (I was SOOOO jealous of the guy next to me who just ran up and went behind a tree!) The 5K started first and surprisingly there were fewer in the 5K than in the 15K. They took off on time and the 15K line up began. I moved my way to near the front of the starting line as I usually try to do so I don't get stuck behind anyone planning to do a leisurely race walk or jog, particularly a group of folks doing that together who can span the whole length of the road and block you in. I am usually fast enough that I won't get trampled if I stand near the front.

The gun (yes they actually had a starting gun!) went off and I thought two things...one, hope it's not too hilly and two, I really kind of have to pee. The race started downhill and right away I was running at a pretty easy nice pace. I looked at my Garmin and saw I was running around a 7:15 mile. I thought that it must be wrong since I felt so comfortable running at that pace. The first mile was so easy and felt so good I was off to a good start. Mile 2 I think was where the first hill was but still it wasn't too terrible. The cows along the way seemed to be staring at us crazy humans running by. The scenery was beautiful. The course was closed and other than the guys keeping time or giving out water, there was no one along the way. But the road was so winding and scenery so nice that not having spectators was actually fine.

The group spread out pretty quickly. I knew I was pretty far up in the front of the race field but the road was so windy that you couldn't really see the full group at any time. I really prefer that. The psychology of running out in the open on a straight road where you can see everyone out in front of you is challenging for me. I tried my best to run down the middle of the road to cut out any unnecessary additional distance. Early on a woman about my age passed me, which I am always conscious of because I can sometimes place in my age group depending on the race and I missed 3rd by a few seconds in one race last year because I wasn't really paying attention to that and didn't run as hard as I could have. I stuck with her though and eventually passed her again around mile 3.

Water stops were very well placed and they had gatorade too starting at mile 3. I think by mile 4 they had a port a potty but there was no way I was stopping now. If it was a full marathon I supposed I would have but by this time I saw that my goal of 1:15 was well within reach and my ideal of 1:10 was entirely possible if there were no unexpected crazy hills or injuries. I was running by this time with a few men, no women. I could see one woman running ahead of me. Caught a glimpse of her every so often when the road curved a certain way. She was I'd say never really more than 200 to 400 yards ahead. But at that point my goal was time, not to pass anyone.

I was originally running behind 2 guys who seemed to know each other and were running together. I could NEVER do that, you'd always be wondering if you were holding them back or they were holding you back. They were running ahead of me through mile 3.5 or 4 but then I did pass them. One of them said to me "you don't look like your working hard enough" as I passed. I was feeling still very good. And I LOVED having my Garmin, it really helped me keep an even pace. I then came up on two other guys who I ran around the same pace with up until we got to the Biltmore house itself. That was such a great sight, coming around the curve and right up to the front of the house. Big photo op. It was just prior to that (can't recall where) that one of the race volunteers yelled to me "hey you're the third woman". I have NEVER heard that before, EVER. The race times for the overall females last year were much faster than I was running so it never dawned on me that I'd place overall. I was hoping to just place in my age group.

That knowledge brought on both motivation to run hard as well as a bit of stress. I kept looking back to see whether any women were close on my tail. There weren't any very close but as I left the area near the house I thought I saw one or two entering the house area. After passing Biltmore house and heading into the gardens another volunteer reiterated my place (I did think perhaps the first guy had counted wrong or missed maybe a particularly manly looking woman or two in the count along the way!). By this time I was pretty motivated to keep my place. This was right around the time that the downhills and more secluded section of the race started. It was great. I was running on a downhill (not too steep) winding road in a densely wooded area and it was beautiful. This was probably during miles 6 and 7. By far the best part of the race other than seeing the Biltmore house itself and hearing I was in 3rd. In fact I ran this mile (as well as mile 3) in under 7 minutes, which I've never done, not even in a 5K. Of course the down hill had something to do with that!

Then it was back to a more open road once I passed a gate with a sign that said Winery 2.4 miles. So it was only a little over 2 miles to go and I was still feeling pretty good. I decided to really do my best to keep the pace, which was under my ideal time of 7:30 min miles. There were no women that I could see behind me so I was fairly confident I could keep my 3rd place. It was pretty flat by that time and I could see woman #2 in front of me since it was so open. It was still a winding road but she was no more than 100 yards ahead. Early on in the race I did see her actually walk up a hill so remembering that I thought I might have a shot to pass her if there was a hill. How mean is that!? But hey, I've been her before and been passed at the very end so all is fair in racing.

I was feeling strong but not strong enough to pass her now and still keep the pace if she decided to fight for her position. So I held back and kept the pace staying about 50 yards or less behind her. I went back and forth in my head as to whether I thought I could pass her. Only one person, a guy, passed me after that point. I was keeping a good steady pace and kept closing in little by little. But still this more open area was psychologically difficult for me for sure. I finally got to the 9 mile marker and then to the sign that said "1/4 mile left". I decided I was strong enough to at least try to move up to 2nd place. I closed in and I could tell right away that she didn't have more left in her to fight me for it so I said something like "great job" and she did too. And I passed and then worried if I could keep it up til the finish, which was around a blind curve so I wasn't sure where it was. If I have the courage to post a picture from the finish you'll definitely see a big difference between my face as I was in front of Biltmore house vs. right near the finish! I was giving it everything to keep my lead.

In the end the time was 1:08:50, a 7:24 pace. However my Garmin said 9.36 instead of 9.3 miles so it was actually I think a bit faster than a 7:24 pace. I was very happy to be done, to finish under my idea time and to do the unheard of for me...place overall not just in my age group!

Keith was there at the finish but I didn't see him as I crossed since I was just trying to get there. He was planning to take a picture but wasn't expecting me until 1:10 so he wasn't ready when I came around the curve. I immediately went to the the bathroom (I had to go the whole race, but not too terribly badly) and to get changed. We walked back over to get a bagel and happened to be standing around when the two other RTR (Raleigh Trail Runners) who ran the race had just finished. We only had a brief moment to say hello but they needed to keep walking and we went over to ask about the award ceremony since the temp was dropping and we were trying to determine if we should wait in the car or not. Just as we went over to ask they began to announce the awards. The did the women first, which I think is always a nice touch. The first place woman wasn't even there at the time since they started earlier than they had said and she was probably changing or something. I was right there when my name was called and so got my medal and told the director it was a great course. In the end I found the first place woman was 18 yrs old and was only about 40 seconds ahead of me. Not bad for an almost Master's runner!

We then went back to the car so we could leave to shower, check out and come back to Biltmore for the tour, lunch and wine tasting. The tour was great, glad I got the headset like Keith suggested. Lunch at the winery bistro was very good too and we got to taste and buy some wine before hitting the road back to Cary. It was a great race and a great weekend!

Biltmore 15K and my trip to Asheville (PART I)

So this is my first blog. Not sure I know what I am doing here but here it goes....

I started 2009 deciding I was going to do something for me. That automatically brought me back to running. I've been running since I was 13 yrs old. I can't really imagine not running. Even though I've taken months or maybe even years off over the past 26 yrs, I've always gone back to it. It comes naturally because it's been a constant in my life, like an old friend or something I guess.

So on New Year's Day, with a sore injured calf from running in probably too old running shoes for the few months before as well as running at a less than idea weight, I sat down at my computer and decided to plan out my year of running. I planned races I'd run and the training I'd do to get there. All in an excel spreadsheet of course, I love excel in case you hadn't heard!

One of those early races I found and decided to do was the Biltmore 15K. I had been to Biltmore once since moving to NC. It's about a 4 hr drive from Cary. We went when we first moved here about 4 years ago. We took Owen with us and I was pregnant with Grace. We stayed in a nice hotel in the heart of downtown Asheville, a few miles from the Biltmore Estate. It was lots of fun, particularly hanging out in Asheville and also visiting Chimney Rock Park on the way back where we first hiked with Owen in a rented baby backpack. However the Biltmore visit wasn't the best. It was hard lugging Owen and his "stuff" (babies come with so much stuff!) around the estate and I am not a huge history buff so I can't say I enjoyed the tour that much (we didn't rent the headsets since we wouldn't have been able to focus on the info anyway with Owen there).

So this trip we decided we'd visit downtown Asheville and also tour Biltmore if time allowed and the weather was ok. The race was on Sunday AM, 7:20 to be exact. We stayed at a Residence Inn which was fine, good home made waffles included so can't complain about that. And it wasn't race headquarters but just as close so in retrospect it was probably a better location since it was definitely quieter than a sold out hotel with a bunch of crazy runners who probably get up pretty early.

We arrived Friday night. Had dinner at Rezaz, a Mediterranean inspired restaurant recommended by John from RTR (Raleigh Trail Runners). It was awesome. Great food, service and atmosphere. Then we went to a movie, one without cartoons in it! We saw X-men Origins: Wolverine. Pretty good but then again I am definitely an X-men fan and Hugh Jackman isn't hard to watch!

On Saturday I decided to go for a short run. I hadn't been running for a few days and was feeling a bit sore (calf/ankle issues) and was feeling my confidence slipping. So I got up at 8am which is truly sleeping in for me and drove with my map and Garmin 305 to downtown Asheville to run around a bit. It was a good call. I felt good and got in a 3 mi run. The only downside is that mainly it's the homeless of Asheville who are out that early. Sad to see. But I did get to know the downtown a bit, much more than if I was driving.

After a quick breakfast we headed into downtown Asheville to walk around, shop and have lunch. We stopped at the Laughing Seed, a vegetarian place. The menu looked interesting with Indian inspired dishes. It was one of the best lunches I've had. Food was amazing (veggie pakoras, veggie "sushi" and a crisp sauvignon blanc).

We decided to duck out of the town to see another movie while we still could (the kids were at home with Keith's parents...did I mention that!). I wanted to see Angels and Demons but Keith had his heart set on Star Trek and I did want to see that too so we decided on that. It was a great movie. Great casting, definitely great tie-ins to the old series. I never did get into the later series, I always enjoyed the original, right after the Honeymooners on my little black and white 13 inch TV! Regarding the new movie, I won't say more because I don't want to spoil it.

We returned to downtown Asheville to have dinner at The Market Place. We are nothing if consistent. From a list of restaurants we picked this one based on the menu and then realized it was the same place we ate at when we were in Asheville years before. It was pretty good but we were tired from walking around all day. After grabbing a few truffles at the Chocolate Fetish shop, we headed back to the hotel. I layed out all my race stuff and turned in early. (Continued in PART II).