NYC Half Marathon, Aug 16, 2009

Leading up to this big race, I was getting really nervous and thinking maybe I shouldn't run. I'd been having knee issues for the last few weeks...first just stiffness/range of motion issues but more recently soreness that seemed to slow me down a bit, though I could still run. But how could I pass on running this race? We'd been planning this trip to NY since April. Got cheap tix on Southwest for the whole family. Our friends and family kindly agreed to put us up for the long weekend and we had plans for a kids day out in the city on Thurs, a parent's nite out on Friday and some more fun with family and friends on Sat and Sun. So I figured I really should at least try to run the race even though I had only run 3 miles on Tues and 3 on Friday and both days my knee was a bit sore.

So I went into this race with expectations a bit lowered (though secretly of course I would have loved to have had a miracle happen and run a PR but guess that is true for every race). I was put into the second corral (actually corral 1, since 0 is the first corral), for bib numbers 1000 to 1999. This placement was based on my predicted time for this race on my application and perhaps my recent half marathon race time (1:40 and 1:36:07 respectively). I was concerned about getting trampled when I heard this but in the end once I saw the crowd in the corral and how varied the field in there appeared I was glad I was in that group. Any farther back and I would have gotten stuck behind the crowds.

The day first began at 3:30 am in Raritan NJ. Yikes...certainly the earliest I've EVER gotten up for a race so far. I was worried about getting there on time since the PATH train from Hoboken NJ into NYC runs only every 30 minutes that early in the AM on a Sunday. And I had almost a 1 hr drive to get to Hoboken...in the dark, alone, while trying to use my iPhone to navigate and I've never driven there before, despite being a passenger driving into Hoboken a number of times. So I got up early, got ready, ate some oatmeal which I usually don't eat...I know, big no-no to eat something you don't usually. I drank some water and gatorade and packed up my stuff and got on the road. I drove pretty fast since I was so worried about getting there on time. I didn't get lost until I got to Hoboken and then got a bit confused on where the parking garage was but found it in time.

I was still nervous about making the train since it was almost 10 after 5am and I heard the train leaves every half hour a few minutes before the half or full hour. So I tried to quickly decide which things to bring. I was not comfortable checking a bag at the race and with no one else there to hold my stuff and no car in the city near the finish to keep it, I was in the unusual position of needing to determine what I should bring and would have to run with and what I would need to wait until I returned to Hoboken to get. While I had been thinking for days on what to bring, it really came down to a last minute decision. I decided I would bring my iphone for emergencies and of course needed some Gu, money for cab fare, ID and a credit card. So all that fit into my fuel belt pocket. Normally I wouldn't bring my fuel belt for a race since I am ok w. stopping at water stops and they had plenty of them on this course. But since I was needing to bring all this other stuff I figured I may as well wear the belt too and bring some Gatorade. I left the water in the car, since I knew there would be plenty of that. I figured bringing my blue Gatorade would be useful since I am not a fan of the lemon lime served at most races.

So with that, I headed to the PATH station, along with other runners heading in from NJ. So at least I knew I hadn't missed the train! I spoke to a few other runners to figure out how they planned to get to the race start. It's not a very convenient place to reach since it's on the East side of Central Park. So once I got off the PATH I just followed those folks who seemed like they probably knew where they were going. Turned out there were plenty of cabs, so rather than navigate the public transportation underground I figured it would be better to take a cab. I got there in plenty of time (1 hr ahead) so was glad for that. I could tell immediately the race was well organized. Plenty of volunteers, port a pottys (the ultimate sign of a good race!) and it was very clear where the corrals were and where to go. I walked to my corral and heard my name being called. Jeff, the only other RTR member running the race, was there with his wife Allison and we were able to chat for a bit and then we headed to our respective corrals. How surprising that in a sea of 10,000+ runners we'd be able to find each other. But I suppose that is because most runners weren't there that early, it got much more crowded after 6:30 am.

I ate my second breakfast that I brought along (Sugar Corn Pops and a banana) while stretching a bit and making a few trips to the porta pottys. The corrals allegedly closed at 6:35 am but I am not sure that actually occurred. Around 10 min before the race we were allowed to move forward towards the start. Several of the professional runners took the podium (which I couldn't see from where I was but could hear) to say a few words as did the deputy mayor and some NYRRC folks. It was a little after 7am now and I really just wanted to start running so I could see how my knee would feel and so I could be done faster!

While I was in the middle of talking to another runner about her prior races the horn sounded (didn't hear the ready, set...). But of course it took a while to get moving and to cross the start line anyway. By the time I got to the start and my official time started, I was at least jogging fairly quickly. Still I was surprised at the bit of congestion given how far up in the corral system I was. I highly suspect there are still folks who overestimate their predicted time to start farther up than they should! But I was able to move up fairly quickly with a little dodging in and out.

I was moving along at a pretty fast pace and was surprised that my knee wasn't hurting. I had taken some acetaminophen when I woke up and then again about 3o min before the start as well as used aspercreme before leaving the car, all as preventive measures. The most annoying thing in the early miles was realizing that my phone caused my fuel belt to bounce significantly. So I had to remove the pouch that had my phone and Gu in it from the belt and carry it. That was the whole reason I took the belt to begin with, to hold the phone and Gu. So now I was destined to wear the belt AND carry the phone for the rest of the race. Grrr! The first 2 miles were fast (7:10 and 7:12) but it was mile 3 that the hills I remembered came along. I had run the Manhattan Half Marathon in NYC back in 1999 and again in 2001. That race was 2 laps around the park, a very tough course. I had hoped that I was exaggerating how hard that was, or that running in hilly Umstead in Raleigh would make it seem easier. Not so much! I felt pretty tired after mile 3 and wondered if I was in over my head running that fast (mile 3 pace was 7:30, so definitely slower). But I was committed to continuing of course since my knee was still fine which had been my biggest concern originally. So I focused on taking in some Gatorade early on and also my first Gu at the next water station (mile 4.5 or so). Mile 4 was faster but mile 5 was hilly again so was slower. Mile 6 was even a few second slower than 5. I was just really tired of being in the park and wanted to be done with that.

I can't describe how happy I was to round the corner out of the park and onto 7th Avenue. The thought of continuing for another lap around the park like the Manhattan half, was unbearable so I was thankful that this race was only one lap with the rest on the streets. The crowds were amazing, lots of people, bands playing, and the sight of Times Square from about 20 blocks away was motivating enough to speed me up. I switched my watch to check the current pace instead of the average and caught myself at times running a crazy fast pace. The average time for mile 8 was 6:52 so obviously I was motivated! It was great to approach Times Square and see and hear the large karoke screen and band playing "Walking on the Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves. I always like that song and found myself smiling and sort of singing the words. As I rounded the corner onto 42nd Street, I felt pretty good.

Miles 9, 10 and 11 were definitely slower despite being much flatter than Central Park. I was getting pretty tired by then and around mile 10 or so my quads were feeling sore. I kept taking as much Gatorade as I could hoping that would help. But I was really just plain tired and thought that a 15K would be a perfect distance for me, but unfortunately this was not a 15K! Running along the West Side highway was definitely tough. The sun was shining by that time and so I tried my best to avoid it using shadows of buildings and trees. I also found myself running along the middle of the white line down the road which was annoying but I couldn't stop myself from doing it, just kept gravitating towards it. It's definitely harder to run there than the exciting parts along 7th Ave and Times Square. There are spectators but fewer, and there were DJs playing music around miles 11 and 12. I recall hearing "Welcome to the Jungle" by GNR which was pretty motivating (they were pretty popular as I was entering college).

I decided I would just try my best to keep a decent pace but really felt I couldn't go much faster. I knew that I was close to, but wouldn't achieve, my prior PR of 1:36:07 by the time I reached mile 10 or so. So I thought I'd set a new goal of under 1:37. This is the time needed to qualify for the NYC Marathon next year. I really didn't need to meet this time though since I already met that time in the ZOOMA Annapolis race (and didn't even realize it at the time). And I probably won't run the NYC Marathon next year anyway since I am running it this year. But after mile 12 I figured that meeting 1:37 wasn't highly likely either and just tried my best to get under 1:38. I did run the last mile faster at 7:15. In the end my time was reported via the Athlete Tracker emails as 1:38:50 which seemed a bit slower than I thought. My splits also seemed slower. Of course that was because the Athlete Tracker (which is a great tool for spectators to get splits emailed to them real time to more easily locate their runners) uses gun time, not chip time, duh! So in the end my official results: 13.1 = 1:38:06, avg pace = 7:29, splits: 5K = 22:59, 10K = 46:34, 15K = 1:09:47, 20K = 1:33:12. Some other fun facts: overall place = 730 of 10,179, gender place = 127 of 5140, age place = 23 of 744.

Finishing felt great since I was really tired and my quads were pretty sore. My stomach was feeling a bit upset too, maybe from the heat or more Gatorade than I am used to. I looked for Jeff from RTR and was able to spot him easily since I knew his goal time and he was wearing a bright green shirt. After getting some really great cold wet towels (best idea ever!) and our medals, we got to take our official race photos and took some of each other too. I was glad to have my iPhone at that point though carrying it was annoying.

I walked around Battery Park for a few minutes since I'd never been there and then caught a taxi to the PATH station at WTC. I got to peek through the fence to get a quick glimpse of ground zero which was strange to see. I had never seen it even though I lived in NJ post 9/11. I did think about the WTC victims during the last few miles a bit to keep me going. I saw they are starting construction on the new WTC which is awesome...a real showing of how resilient America is. I didn't spend much time near the WTC site but was glad I got to see it for a few minutes.

I was soaking wet with sweat and I needed to get back to shower and either have lunch or nap (wasn't sure which yet). I met the two women from Hoboken that I had originally spoken with on the train on the way to the race which was cool. They are part of a running club in Hoboken. Once off the train in Hoboken I walked w. them to Starbucks and then walked w. them until I reached my parking garage. Then I drove the almost hour back to Raritan where we were staying with friends, but it seemed faster on the way back. I decided in the end I was more hungry than tired so I showered and went to a great brunch in Warren, NJ. Later we drove to my sister's house near Trenton and I got to take a much needed nap before an awesome post race dinner of ribs, potato salad, creme brulee, and red wine.

I really had just gotten back to running seriously this year after running a few 5Ks at the end of 2008. This race was the first one this year that I didn't set a PR. Of course it had to happen eventually, not every race can be a PR. I had a feeling that with such a fast, flat race in Annapolis in May, combined with my knee issues (which turned out to not be an issue for this race), that this would be the race that I would not get a PR in so I was sort of prepared for that. It was a great race overall, great practice for the NYC Marathon and a great weekend with friends and family so I was glad to have run it.

Great Raleigh Road Race, July 4, 2009

I haven't posted in quite a while because I have pretty much reserved these blog posts for races and I haven't run one since the end of May. But after I heard about the Great Raleigh Road Race I decided it might be fun to do one more race before the half marathon in NYC in mid August. It was only 4 miles, close by, promised tech t-shirts instead of dreaded cotton, and Keith agreed to watch the kids that morning so I posted it on the RTR (Raleigh Trail Runner) website to see if anyone else was interested in running. We ended up with several people attending from RTR and I saw a few other familiar faces at the race as well.

I picked up my race packet the day before and saw the t-shirt was nice, fit pretty well and was patriotically (is that a word?) colored, so I decided to wear it for the race which I almost never do. The race didn't start until 8am but I planned to get there early to try to find the RTR folks. Parking was a breeze, not much traffic on the road at 7am on a holiday in Raleigh! In fact I wondered how few people would actually attend the race when it didn't look very crowded still at 7:30. Turned out that 350 people finished the race in the end, though it didn't look like nearly that many at the start. Maybe that was because I moved up near the front right away and didn't really look back much! Moving up front was a good call. There was a pretty large and fast group that took off and separated pretty fast from the pack.

I did my best to keep a more than my standard fast pace to get out in front quickly too. I figured there wasn't much sense in "conserving" energy in a 4 mile race. If the first mile was fastest then so be it, at least it helped to reduce my overall time! Maybe not the best strategy but it was the one I decided to go with. I realized after maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile that there was no way I could sustain the pace I was going (under 6 min mile pace) so I did consciously slow down but not too much. I ended up feeling tired but still ok after mile 1 which I did in a record breaking (for me) 6:37. Mile 1 was straight up Hillsborough, so nothing exciting to speak of.

I didn't consciously slow down after that, I just really couldn't go faster and slowed to an average 6:51 pace for mile 2, which was really ok by me. Mile 2 was a great part of the course. It went into neighborhoods I didn't know existed in Raleigh (maybe the streets were Hawthorne Rd to Park Drive from what I can tell on the map, but not quite sure). Beautiful winding tree lined streets with very nice houses. And the fact that most of this was flat or downhill didn't hurt either! Overall I was still under a 6:45 pace and thought for a moment if I could maintain that it would be awesome. I secretly was hoping sometime soon to run a 6:45 pace for a 5K, but during a 4 mi would be even better.

That, however, was not meant to be, and really I was ok with that too. Once it became painfully clear that mile 3 was pretty hilly (or at least it seemed so but the elevation profile doesn't really look too bad now) and not very shady (the sun is my downfall in running, not the heat), I knew it would take a lot just to keep moving as fast as I could and not be consumed by thinking "wow, I really wish this was a 5K!". Mile 3 (or I guess from the elevation profile, really the end of mile 2 into 3 and the end of mile 3 into 4) was probably the worst part of the race. Mile 3 was the slowest at 7:04. Still not too bad considering my best average 5K pace was 6:59.

I knew once I reached Hillsborough Street again, I'd only have 1 mile to go. It was still a long way to keep going at the pace I was going since I usually would be at this pace or slower and be at the end of a 5K race, not only 3/4 done with a race! It was, however, a straight shot. I could see the finish from at least 1/4 mile or more away. Normally I don't like this because that means it's out in the open, which I always hated in cross country races...running through an open field to finish always seemed to slow me down...uggh! But since this was still a tree and business lined street, for some reason it wasn't so bad. I just kept up the pace and took advantage of the down hill that comes just prior to the uphill finish. This time there really weren't any women in sight so there was no pressure to pass anyone or stress of being passed (though I really don't recall looking back but I didn't hear anyone behind me). I did pass at least one guy as I headed into the last 200 yards or so, and he said "hey, thought I lost you" because I suppose we had been running about the same pace during most of the race. I felt pretty ok to try to speed up and then though I saw 27: 40 or 50 something on the clock so sped up even more since I didn't want to go over 28 minutes, only to realize as I crossed the finish it really said more like 27:36 (bad vision due to sweat in the eyes!).

In the end my chip time was 27:35 and the officially recorded pace was 6:54. That beats my PR pace for a 5K, so for a 4 mile (which isn't a standard distance so really don't have a prior PR for it) I was pretty happy with it. Overall my perception is that it was a pretty fast race field. I was 54th of 350 overall, which is the top 15%. But in other recent races I am pretty sure I've been higher up than that. So perhaps it was that there were a lot more fast runners that came out on a holiday or that the middle and/or back of the pack folks had better things to do (sleep in, rest up for BBQs and fireworks, etc) or a combo of both, not sure. I ended up being 2nd female in my age group and 10th overall female. Again another situation where if I were a bit older (NOT rushing it mind you) I would have placed in the female masters category as 3rd overall. Still again, no rush to join the masters, I'll wait until March!

Before I knew the official race results and when the awards would be given out, I had previously planned to meet some RTR folks at the Morning Times Cafe (unbelieveably hard to find a place that served coffee and breakfast within walking distance of the race that was open on a Saturday, took me quite a while online a few weeks ago). We enjoyed some coffee/breakfast and headed back to our cars near the race just in time to be there for the age group awards. Turns out several of us placed it our age groups so that was nice that we got to have coffee and still get back to get our awards (gift certificates for gracies gear for women, for The Athlete's Foot for men).

All in all a great day...a well run race that was easy to get to and from, no problem getting to a port-a-potty (always a big stress for me!), pretty good weather (not too hot, less sun would have been ok by me!), great company, and a new PR. Not a bad way to start the holiday!

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!