Oakland Marathon Race Report

A few weeks ago I ran the full Oakland Marathon, a part of the Oakland Running Festival. Well, I ran most of the Oakland Marathon. I hobbled most of the last 6 miles. It was hard and painful and I finished with a smile on my face. It was a major difference from my last marathon where there wasn't a smile to be seen.

I expected much different results from when I ran the half marathon last spring. I went through that season with serious breathing difficulties that affected every run. My breathing this year has been easy and most effortless. That was just one of the differences in the race this year.

It started with the expo. This year there was an actual expo at packet pickup. There were many vendors selling all kinds of stuff, anything you'd need for a race. I dropped a nice piece of change, mostly on boxes of very fairly priced Gu. Damn, I go through a lot of that stuff! The goody bag had a bunch of samples of foods and stuff, and lots of pamphlets for races.

The only disappointment was the shirt. Since the sizing was sex differentiated I had ordered the biggest women's shirt available, the XL. The full marathon shirt was a long sleeved, quarter zip white shirt with black trim. The front was plain, the logo on the back. I got my shirt and saw that Greenlight Apparel sizes their shirts the way Nike does: very small. There was a place for shirt exchanges. A woman who had ordered a small shirt tried on my XL and it fit her. I ended up with a men's shirt. It fits, but a zip on the shirt tends to chafe whatever it touches. Yup, on a woman that can lead to odd markings on cleavage. And, ouch!

Sunday morning I showed up early, the way I usually do. I was willing to pay $5 so I got an excellent parking spot in a close-by lot. The start area wasn't marked well but it was compact enough that I could find everything. I chatted with a few people I knew, hit the porta potties a couple of times (and there wasn't any line any time I went), checked my sweatshirt and went to the corrals.

The full marathon started well before the half so only marathoners were gathering. I was wearing my running skirt, a long sleeve shirt, leg compression sleeves and gloves. I was chilled but not terribly so; the weather promised good running conditions. I walked to the back where the 12+ minute milers were supposed to be and imagine my surprise when I saw nobody was there. Usually, even in a very small race, there will be people contesting to be last. Since this was a 7 hour race that welcomed walkers I had thought there would be, y'know, walkers! There were very few.

The anthem was sung, the confetti flew and we were off. I was hanging with a group of TnT newbies who were about my speed, possibly a little faster. I tried to keep to my plan of starting slowly but even the back-of-the-packers were faster than I wanted to be. I sped along with them, feeling pretty good, keeping to my 9:1 run:walk.

The first5 miles were flattish, a couple of inclines here and there. That changed once we started running along Highway 24. I knew it was hilly. Hell, I drive that way all the time and I can see the hills. I ran on, walking the very steepest parts. I was still feeling good, pushing but not killing myself. I peeped over my shoulder and saw one of my favorite views in the world: right down the center of the bay with Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge in the middle. Gorgeous. Miles 7 and 8 were through Montclair and were hillier than I had expected but it was pretty so I didn't care.

About mile 8.5 I saw my bro and sis-in-law standing on the corner, cheering me on. This was a great boost for me. It's the first race where they've ever come to cheer (and that's through about 30 full and 50 half marathons). On that chill, overcast morning they stayed on the corner for about 45 minutes waiting for me. It gave me energy to finish up the hills.

I had thought that the worst of the hills were gone. Hell no. We ran alongside Highway 13 on Traflagar and Monterey and it went up and up. I walked lots of that. Just before Lincoln we took a little detour through a parking lot and it was even steeper. I felt insulted until I saw the fabulous view of the entire bay area. Gorgeous and worth the struggle.

Going into this race I knew that although there was a lot of uphill running, the elevation was all lost in a 2 mile stretch. I really felt on that street that I would go ass over tea kettle if I tripped so I was very careful of each step. Ok, now I'm wondering where that ancient expression came from; where would you have an ass over a tea kettle? Anyhoo.

The downhill was just as hard on my body as the uphill had been but my lungs were very happy for the break. I finished the hills and ended up in the Fruitvale, running on International Bldv. (or, East 14th Street as my brain keeps insisting). Know that this isn't the best part of the city. Know also that Oakland Police and marathon volunteers kept the street open for me. That's how it felt since the runners were so stretched out by then. My street. All by myself. I could just see the next runner ahead of me. It was pretty cool having this entire boulevard to myself.

By mile 16-17 I was having my normal slump. I was tired and a bit nauseous and my legs were starting to cramp. I made sure I was taking my gels every 40 minutes, confirmed that I was drinking enough of my Ultima and I took a salt tablet just in case. As I ran by Laney College and by Jack London Square I saw more runners and they seemed to be struggling just as I was. We'd chat, then run on.

Closing in on mile 19 I ran through the fire; the Crucible had set up a flaming arch for the runners and I powered through it. It was just about the last powering I could do. Bree was meeting me near the West Oakland BART station and right after I filled my bottle at the water stop I saw her. She joined me and we started running.

Then we stopped running. My legs were cramping horribly. I'd toe-off on the run, my toes would curl under and the cramp would follow straight up my leg. Owie owie ouch ouch. If I walked in a shuffle I didn't cramp. Run=cramp, walk=not cramp.

When I registered for this race I was torn between wanting a good 20 mile training run for my next full marathon and wanting a good full marathon to make up for my crappy Napa run. It looked like I would end up with the former. I wanted to run and I wanted to get it over with but even when I could run it was so slow that Bree just sauntered alongside of me. I snarled at her that she had to pretend to run if I was running. Heh. I'm not always nice after 4 hours of running.

It took me a good (er, a bad) 2 hours to go those last 6 miles. Oy, they went on forever. Except for miles 23-25 around Lake Merritt we were having a good time and just accepting that I couldn't go any faster. I got decidedly cranky when I had to wade through the mud around the Lake; the entire batch of halfers and almost all of the fullers had already churned the sodden path into a puddle, from the water to the wet muddy grass. Tiptoeing hurt!

We finally got back on the paved road and I sent Bree ahead to cheer me on. Actually I was just exceedingly grumpy and wanted to be by myself. Knowing me well she laughed and went up the road before me.

Even as late as it was, there were still people cheering, there were still some crowds, there were still cops keeping the streets clear. My name was called and I crossed the finish smiling. My medal was draped around my neck, a heat sheet was draped around my shoulders, I was handed a bottle of water and I walked on. There wasn't much food left but there was fruit. I crammed a banana in my mouth, hoping the potassium would help the cramping.


Each runner received 2 booze tickets attached to the bib. There was a choice of Barefoot wine or bubbly or that light beer. I went with a beer, feeling I'd get plenty loopy with wine and I could also use the fluids to rehydrate (that's my story and I'm stickin' with it!). I gave Bree the other ticket. She retrieved my checked bag so I could have my sweatshirt and we found a bench near the finish line that wasn't already occupied by a street person.

We drank our beer, we chatted and cheered the few remaining runners and watched the volunteers dismantling the finish line. I reflected on the race and I was happy. I could have (maybe should have) quit when I started cramping but I stumbled on to the end. I like to finish what I start!

Final thoughts. I thought the organizers did a wonderful job here. The only things I didn't appreciate were the poor signage at the start, the mud at the Lake and the tiny shirt. I fully appreciated the efficient packet pickup, I liked the expo and the easy parking, I enjoyed the incredible course volunteers and the Oakland Police who not only kept the roads clear and safe but cheered when I passed. I loved the 2 beautiful views from the tops of the hills. The people of Oakland supported the race and the runners for hours while the stragglers finished. The weather was almost perfect for running, cool and overcast with some wind. I was in pain and still enjoyed myself. The first half was one of, if not the, hardest half marathons I've ever run, but it was so scenic and well supported that it was a good challenge instead of a pain in the neck. The second half was grittier and showed the best side of Oakland. I highly recommend this race!

this little bear needs a name

p.s. Thank you to Bree for running and walking and staggering with me and for putting up with my foul humor at the end. You're the best!

Napa Valley Marathon Race Review

Full disclosure first. The Napa Valley Marathon has a firm 6 hour cutoff. When I registered for the race I was on track for a 5:45 full marathon, easily. It didn't happen. I finished the race in 6:04 as they were pulling down the finish line so I'm not an official finisher. I'm not listed in the results. But I ran the course, got the shirt/pack/medal so I'm an unofficial finisher.

I got to Napa on Saturday morning and went straight to the expo. Pickup of my bib, shirt and most excellent backpack was quick and easy. They use the D-Tag for timing instead of a chip. There was a choice of a black or dark gray bag or a dark gray backpack. Since I have very nice bags from Flying Pig and TnT I got the backpack. A friendly volunteers wrote my race number on a plastic tag so I could use the pack as a sweat check bag.


The race shirt was a lightweight, long sleeve white tech fabric. We all know how little I like white shirts but I'm apparently a minority. The logo, on the front of the shirt, was very cool.


The expo had a few booths selling various things and promoting other races. The only things I wanted was a race-branded running cap (which they didn't have) and Gu Chomps (didn't have those either). The whole thing took me about 10 minutes.

For the past 10 days I had been obsessively checking the weather forecast and it kept telling me it would rain during the race. I very much hoped that the meteorologists were confused but for once they were entirely correct. It started raining early Saturday evening.

I had dithered about what to wear during the race and had brought every possible choice with me to Napa. I decided that since it was going to be warm-ish (low-50s), rainy and windy that I'd go with my running skirt, calf compression sleeves, a cap sleeve running shirt and my lightweight running jacket. I had buffs and my hat, throw away gloves and a throw away poncho. I wore my heavier weight rain jacket and decided I could throw it in my sweat bag before the start.

My alarm went off at 4:05 am and it was raining heavily outside. I did the morning stuff and checked out of the hotel at 4:55 - it was pouring. I drove to the school, the finish area, parked my car and walked to the bus line. The race uses school buses to take runners to the start in Calistoga. The drive was in the dark and I stared out the window at the rain.

My bus arrived and the day got lighter. The rain didn't. Although we were allowed to remain on the bus until about 15 minutes prior to the start I decided to try to get to the porta potty lines before they were too long. There weren't many porta potties and the lines were already long. I waited almost 15 minutes and I know the lines got even longer behind me. When I was done I decided it was warm enough to leave my light weight jacket in my pack and to go with my poncho and gloves.

I checked my bag and walked to the back of the start area. There weren't any pace indicators so I just kept backing up as more people joined the crowd. I didn't have long to wait before the anthem and the start. I moved forward and I was off! It was raining enough that it was annoying. Not just our usual California mistordrizzle, this was rain. I tied up my poncho so it didn't get in my way and ran on. There were lots of people running my pace or run:walking my pace and I would see the same people over and over for the next several hours.

The first 23 miles of the race were directly down the Silverado Trail. No chance of getting lost on this race! I always try to run tangents but wasn't able to here. The road was very curvy and each turn was heavily banked. Running a tangent would have cut the distance at the cost of running up and down each slant, including running on the canted portion for quite a bit. The flattest part of the road was the outside turn, the longest distance on each corner. I ended up picking each individual route based upon what looked easiest to me. The road wasn't crowded so it was easy to run anywhere I wanted.

I felt well enough, if a bit weather-grumpy, for the first 6 miles. That was the last time I felt well. In the immortal words of Randy, I just wasn't feelin' it, dawg. I was hoping I wouldn't see anyone I knew at the infrequent road crossings where the few soggy cheering people gathered; I was ready to hop in the car of the first acquaintance. Luckily, my friends were all smart enough to stay away.

It got worse as I kept running. The rain continued, varying from heavy rain to mist. The entire time I was out there it never completely cleared up. That wasn't the worst though. There was also a very steady headwind the entire morning. The good news was that I wasn't freezing, just cool, wet and miserable.

I got through the half in good time, not breaking any records but still on track for a decent finish. I had my upper teen slump and I didn't think I'd get out of it. I wasn't having fun, wasn't enjoying myself. I kept trying to jolly myself out of the grumps but didn't have much luck. Soggy wildflowers and mustard, dormant grapevines and a never-ending road got incredibly boring. Race policy is no headphones so I didn't have any music. Of course, it probably would have shorted out in the rain even if I had brought my iPod. There was nothing to do except circle through my thoughts over and over and most of those thoughts weren't pleasant.

Once I got to the 20s I was done, toast, baked, finished. I honestly didn't care if I finished but I didn't know any way to get back to my car except to keep moving forward. I had stopped a few times to refill my bottle but otherwise never stopped moving. Not even to remove the little stone that got in my shoe during mile 7. My feet were so wet that a little rock didn't make much difference to my comfort.

that's a dime - with the stone that accompanied me for 19 miles

I knew if I could just keep my pace during the 20s I would finish well within the allowed 6 hours. I tried, I really did, but my legs and brains had a big disconnect. I tossed my gloves, wrung out my skirt for about the 12th time and moved on. I kept up my nutrition, sucking down a gel every 40 minutes. I made sure I was hydrated even though I wasn't thirsty. I moved onward.

At that point I was still within the race's timeline but the road was opened to 2-way traffic while I was still on Silverado. I didn't mind the cars speeding past (too much) but I didn't need the buses and RVs spewing diesel in my face. My breathing got bad enough that I slowed to use my inhaler but that didn't help much.

Finally turning off Silverado gave my brain a boost but my legs got even slower. I knew, KNEW, that if I didn't maintain my speed I wouldn't finish in time but I just couldn't move faster. There were still quite a few other stragglers with and behind me. I finally got to where Mr. Garmin was telling me the end was close. I knew I was at least .2 ahead of course markings since I hadn't run tangents. I had to figure my math to include at least 2 minutes more than planned. It turned out that wouldn't have helped.

There were only a few corners left but I knew I was too slow by that point. I heard a crowd coming up behind me, some TnT people running in their friend. One broke off from the group and told me she was running me in since they were in the process of tearing down the finish and we only had 2 minutes. I blearily looked at her and realized I could still finish and possibly even be counted. I picked it up. She told me to go faster and I did. I was huffing and puffing and she was encouraging and cheering, the first really friendly person I'd seen for hours. She left me at the fences and told me to get going. So I did. I could see that the first timing mat was still there but the second was being removed. I crossed, had my picture taken and a volunteer draped the pretty medal around my neck. I turned off Mr. Garmin, took a peek and knew my 26.4 miles would be unofficial.

look - it spins!

The volunteer wouldn't let me stop (since I was gasping for air and shaking) but handed me a bottle of water and kept me walking. I got a heat sheet and was pointed onward. Another volunteer pointed out the building with hot soup but I couldn't stand the thought of food, I just wanted to lie down for a few hours. I retrieved my pack (very easy since there were only a couple dozen left) and went to the locker room.

Hot showers were available but I was too pooped to take advantage. I finally got the energy to strip off my soaking clothing and put on dry clothes, stretched a bit, and went to my car to start the long drive home.

My final thoughts: yuck. The route was pretty but unchanging. Even had it been sunny and clear it would have been 26 miles of the same stuff over and over. Even paradise gets boring after running through it for 6 hours and this was not paradise. I'm perfectly happy running by myself for long periods (time and space) but that was too much. It was monotonous. The race was well organized, premiums good, but I don't need to do this again. Without the relentless rain I think I would have felt better about the entire thing but I still would have been bored.

Thanks to the rain I'm blistered and chafed in places I don't normally chafe. I'm much more sore than I've been after my last few marathons and that's probably from the canted roads. I'm not happy with my performance so I'm hoping to redeem that in 3 weeks (and again 3 weeks after that). I can do better.

Damn the weather, full speed ahead

I keep telling myself that I'm resigned to the fact that my first running of the Napa Valley Marathon will involve rain, wind, cold and plenty of obscenities. I repeat to myself that I've run freezing marathons (several of them in fact), rainy marathons (Erie), windy marathons (Shamrock), hilly marathons (lots of those too). I remind myself that I'm well trained and perfectly capable of running fast enough to make the 6 hour cut-off. Then I finally decide that it doesn't matter, I paid my money and I'm running this thing unless the earth opens up and swallows me first.

Whatever happens, it's sure to be interesting.

Why I won't be running Boston

For those marathoners who have been hiding in a closet this week and missed the news, the Boston Athletic Association just announced new qualifying standards for their glorious marathon. The Boston Marathon, or "Boston" for those who are close friends, is one of the few marathons left in the US that require the runners to meet certain standards of speed for entrance. Standards which used to define "runner" but now just define "faster runner." Mind you, non-elite athletes can meet these standards. The times are graduated for sex and age (the older and femaler you are, the slower you can run).

It was JUST BARELY POSSIBLE that if I maintained my current PR of 5:30 until I reached 80 years old I could qualify. Now that dream has been taken away from me. The new qualifying standard for an 80 year old woman has been dropped to 5:25. While that's a 12:24 minutes/mile pace, I can't even hold that for a half marathon, let alone a full. Thanks a lot, BAA, for changing my future.

Fine, I'm joking. As a confirmed back-of-the-packer who has dreams of being a middle-of-the-packer, I have no problems with the change of standards. Lots of people are running marathons and why shouldn't the fastest runners have some way of showing off their speed. If too many people apply then raise the standards. If it's still too crowded then raise them again. I always thought that even though I might be running the same route and day as a 9 minute miler or a 7 minute miler (not even counting the elite 5 minute miler), the race experience is entirely different for each of us. This just confirms and gives them their own race. Most of the Rock 'n' Roll/Competitor races are for my people, the poky ones. Let Boston skim the top tier and RnR skim the bottom.

I'll keep running whatever race allows for 6 hours, keep trying to beat my best time and hope that there is a medal and a bagel left for me at the finish.

First taper of the year

My 18 mile training run hurt. My 20 mile training run hurt worse. When it came time for my 22 mile training run I was worried. My breathing hasn't been great; better than last winter/early spring but I've had a cold and allergy things and a never-ending cough. We planned the run for Sunday and the forecast was cool and overcast. The Sunday part worked out but the forecasters were wrong.

Anita and I showed up at the parking lot of the Lafayette-Moraga Trail at 7:00 am and it was freezing. Literally. Although the temp was rising it showed on my car thermometer as 32 degrees. The sun was rising and not a cloud was in in the sky. In the 5 hours it took us to finish the run the temp rose by 30 degrees. Seriously, how are you supposed to dress for a run when there's a 30 degree differential?

The run went well. Miles 1 through 7-1/2, the outward direction, went beautifully. It was cold but finally around mile 5 we could feel our toes again. After the hill at 7 miles we were sweaty and drippy. We headed back the other direction and the run still was going better than the previous 2 long runs. We chatted, finally starting to run out of conversation (and steam) when we got back to the parking lot.

At that point Bree met us, a breath of fresh air and a new source of stories to keep us aware and amused. These were the hardest 3-1/2 miles; upgrade and endless and away from the cars. There were too many walk breaks and too much grumbling (by me, of course). The turn-around was wonderful and we were able to walk less and run more. Slowly, but running nonetheless. Our 9:1 run:walk had changed to a 4:1. And it was warm. But downgrade so yippee and hurray. We "sprinted" to the finish with Anita actually sprinting and Bree and I trying to catch up. 22 miles in the book and within the cut-off time for the race.

After cramping up so badly after one of our runs I was determined to work on my fluid, electrolytes and nutrition. I confirmed once more that I have a drinking problem. No no no, I mean a problem drinking. Twice I managed to choke on my Ultima, once spewing a large mouthful in all directions. I drank a lot of Ultima. I also focused on my Gu's, sucking down a gel every 40 minutes. Espresso Love to the rescue, with a taste of Mandarin Orange and Vanilla Bean for variety. When I got good and sick and tired of the gel I ate a couple of Sport Beans. I can always eat candy, even when it comes loaded with performance/energy benefits. It worked, no cramping at all.

In fact, although I was exhausted and tired and sore, there was no pain. No pain on Sunday, no pain on Monday, no pain on Tuesday (until after Katie was done with guiding me through my workout). Sore, sure. Tired muscles and weary legs. Sore back, sore arms. No pain. No blisters and no black toenails. Very nice.

Sunday night we went out and celebrated Anita's birthday. It's only fair if you burn 2700 calories that you can eat and drink without counting nutrition. After 2 Orange Peel Manhattans I was feeling great. I was less hungry than expected but managed to consume more than I normally do in one sitting.

I'm excited (and still a little scared) about the upcoming race. I've wanted to run Napa since my first year of running marathons, 10 years ago. If I have a bad day it'll be a slog. I don't think I will though. I think it's going to be a good day, a good race, a good time. Stay tuned!

Single track

Somewhere in the past couple of months I've lost my ability to successfully multi-task. I used to be able to knit and watch television, now I end up frogging more than I'd started with. I used to knit while listening to music or while in company and the end result now is tangles. I could read while watching television and enjoy both the book or newspaper and the program in front of me. Now I have to re-read or re-wind. I run on the treadmill while watching television but again, re-wind. I can no longer even edit pictures on my computer while the television is on. All that is to say that I need quiet and a lot of time or I'm not writing at all. Which means I haven't updated in ages. Here's what's been going on this January:

- I had a cold. It went away. Then a few weeks later it came back in the form of rampant allergies. Doesn't matter what caused it, it all involves sniffling, sneezing and coughing.

- I ran some long distances. The big problem is I haven't run the short distances. See above sinus problems for that reason. Without the weekday runs, the weekend runs are nowhere as enjoyable as they should be. Yes, 20 miles is hard no matter what but I enjoyed my fall 20 miler much more than then one last week. Ditto the 18 miler. I have my fingers crossed for the 22 miles.

- I registered for one marathon (Napa) and made travel plans for another (Oz) and daydreamed about many many others. I'm trying not to plan too far ahead or put too many races on the calendar because I don't want to pay for something I can't complete.

- I spent a lot of time in Summitt Hospital's emergency room with my mom (she's ok now). Then I spent time with her while she was an in-patient there. Then back in the emergency room. Just when you think the worst is behind, it isn't. But I repeat, she's ok now.

- I knit a lot. I also ripped out a lot of what I had knit. I decided to keep one mistake in a shawl and called it "planned." I finally cast on for the second sock of a pair of socks since I'd love to wear them some day. Preferably while it's still cold out. I've dreamed of other projects I'd like to start but the shawl, sock, other shawl and scarf sitting on my counter keep me from doing that.

- I've started planning the end of my life. No, seriously. I was told that my view of "fuck-em, I'm dead" toward my heirs having to go through probate, etc. was a little rude. Since I'm single and childfree, without a will or any planning my sis and bro would have a major pain in the ass if I dropped dead in the middle of a marathon (I'd be pretty pissed off too). Not that I have Walton-type money, but I do have a house and some retirement accounts. Not to mention all that yarn, those bears and those books. So I've started talking with an attorney and planner about the documents and other stuff. Also, for those friends of mine who care, I've instructed my sis to hold a big yarn party for my friends and give it all away (but if you hate red or black or gray, stay home).

- I pulled out the huge box of historical family pictures my mom dumped on me gave me when she moved and started trying to find wall space for everything. I've hung a few of them and the rest are scattered on my dining room floor, like jigsaw pieces awaiting some final form.

- Each Tuesday and Thursday morning I continued going to the gym and meeting with my trainer for a killer workout. From weight bars to mountain climbers to kettle bells to TRX to push-up after push-up, we're doing it all. Dark, cold, fog don't matter. At 6:00 am I'm at the gym ready to go.

- I fixed my screen door that's been broken since last summer. I removed the square wheels and replaced them with spanky new round ones. Remarkable how much better the door rolls when you do that. Even if the door frame is old and warped, round wheels make a door move better. Then I replaced the door handle which has been broken for years. Now I can open/close the door no matter which side I'm standing on. I can even lock it. For added measure I cleaned up all the leaves that came off the trees this year.

- While I was on a roll I cleaned out all the dead leaves from under my jasmine hedge by the back door. As usual the jasmine fought back and I was cut and scraped all over. I managed to do it on one of the very few beautiful warm days we've had this year. Unfortunately the leaves were all rotting and dusty and see about about allergy problems.

- I changed out a couple of the broken landscaping lights around my house. I need to get to a hardware store so I can replace a couple of others too. A light bulb change worked for a couple, but others are just dead as doornails.

- Haven't lost any more weight but haven't gained any either.

- I've played way the hell too much Bejeweled 3. I warn you, do not even think about following that link. If you do, don't download the free trial. If you absolutely have to try the game, at least don't buy it! If you end up playing for hours and hours and hours while your health (and your blog) deteriorate to nothing, don't blame me!

That's about it. How has your month been?

Big Sur Half Marathon Race Report

In mid-November I ran the Eighth Presentation of the Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay. This was a later addition to my race calendar; my sis and bro-in-law were coming to town for an event that ended up getting canceled so we took advantage of our vacation times and went to Monterey for the weekend. And since the timing was right, I registered for one of my favorite races in one of my favorite towns. I ran this half marathon in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and enjoyed myself each time.

In the days leading up to the race I was thinking I might end up with a DNS. My knee had been bothering me, and sometimes even walking was a pain. It was sporadic and unreliable and I wasn't going to take any chances of permanent harm (assuming that permanent harm hadn't already occurred). We did a lot of walking and took a hike the day before the race and my knee was slightly swollen and sore. Uh oh.

This year we stayed at the Hotel Pacific, a wonderfully odd conglomeration of buildings thrown together to make an all-suite hotel. We had great mini-suites next to each other on the top floor of one of the end buildings, away from the street. Little did I know that being on the top (4th) floor would give us clear access to hearing the sea lion barking frenzy each night. It was so incredibly annoying that it finally was just funny hearing the loud exclamations from the local wildlife all night long.

The expo was held at the Conference Center right across the street from our hotel, very convenient. We went there Friday afternoon and packet pickup was very quick and efficient. Race shirts were tech fabric; gray for men and a purplish-red for women and as usual, their XL women's shirt was too small for me. Since I expected that, I wasn't upset (I haven't yet gotten a BSIM shirt that fits). The timing chip was the disposable D-tag that so many races are using these days.

back of shirt

front of shirt

The expo was so complete that my sis and I managed to shop 'til we dropped - a bad habit we have when together at race expos. One thing I bought that ended up being wonderful was a pair of 2XU compression calf guards. Sis had a pair of their tights and was singing their praises so I decided to fork out the pile of dough and give them a try. This turned out to be a great idea. I also got a good deal on Gu and one or two (or four) other things.

Race morning dawned very early for me after being kept awake all night by exclaiming sea lions. I had no idea how my knee was going to react so I decided I could bail out at any point with no regrets, even if it was before the race started. Since it was supposed to get warm I dressed in my running skirt and the new compression calf sleeves. I topped that with a long sleeve shirt and throw-away gloves, and my usual hat and buffs. I thought about wearing a disposable poncho but already at that hour it was warm enough not to.

The course had a little revision since I had last run it, mostly having to do with placement of the start. Instead of being right outside the hotel it was a couple of blocks away, nearer the Bay. That gave me the chance to walk and feel out my knee. So far, so good.

My corral was towards the back, as usual. I had hoped to be seeded before the majority of the walkers and that ended up happening. Of course, there were walkers scattered throughout the crowd but that always happens when you use the honor system to give your estimated finish time (I'm not sure if there's any other way to do it). I stood around, watching the sun rise, watching the very energetic crowd, and waited for the start.

The crowd of about 6,000 people started off fast at the gun. Despite being way back in the "H" corral I was across the start very quickly. I ran at the side, determined to go carefully and slowly and trying to see how my knee was reacting. Still fine. We made a little loop around a park with a lake, through downtown, back past the hotel. I had thought this would be where my race would finish but my leg felt surprisingly good so I continued on. One thing that helped was the crowd was thin enough that I wasn't having to jig and jag around people everywhere.

We ran to and along Cannery Row, on Oceanview and then up the hill to Pacific Grove and Lighthouse Avenue. The Pacific Grovians were out in force (including, I think, the mayor) and we got a very warm welcome. Neighbors were on their porches watching or cheering, drinking their morning brews and wishing us well. I was still running with restraint, still feeling good. We headed back down the hill to the water. Memories of my first triathlon floated through my head. Glad this run didn't involve swimming in kelp!

The next part of the race was out-and-back along the Bay, exactly the same as the cycle portion of the triathlon. From Oceanview to Sunset Drive, watching the faster runners going the opposite direction. The course is a little rolling here, with a definite upgrade in the outward bound direction. At the top of the hill at the turnaround, about 7-1/2 miles, they had a bottle refill station. This is something I haven't seen at any race before and was a welcome addition. Since I'm so poky I always carry my own bottle and fill it with my own Ultima Replenisher and course water. Often this means stopping to pour water from several cups into the bottle. This time there was a crier with warnings of the upcoming station, giving me enough time to pull out the bottle and the Ultima packet. Another volunteer walked along side of me and poured water from a pitcher into the bottle so I didn't have to stop. Very nice.

I felt good at the half, very good indeed. My knee didn't feel exactly right, but it wasn't hurting either. I decided I could pick up the pace a bit without danger to myself. The weather could not have been nicer; sunny, clear, warm-ish but not hot, slight breeze. The view of the shoreline was great and I enjoyed seeing all the people who were, surprisingly, slower than I was.

Lots of times I can go a whole race without talking to anyone except for thanking the volunteers at the water stops. This race I chatted with several people as we ran along. I did my normal 9:1 run:walk and noticed many other people also running intervals. I guess most back-of-the-packers these days throw in some walking. At least they do toward the end of a race.

At almost mile 11 we ran onto the Rec Trail. I was feeling very good, no pain at all. I also was feeling surprisingly energetic for being 11 miles into a race. According to Mr. Garmin and my rapidly deteriorating math skills, it was possible that if I knocked myself out I could PR. One problem was that I wasn't exactly sure what my half marathon PR was, I just guessed. I also wasn't sure I was adding up the mileage correctly. But I decided to go for it, the worse that could happen would be having to hobble the last couple of miles.

I picked up the speed until I was huffing and puffing. Down the trail, back along Cannery Row, back to the trail again. I kept revising the time I needed, kept forgetting what I had just decided, realized I had no idea if I could make it in time. Then I realized that I might just possibly have started my finish line sprint a couple of miles early. Uh oh.

I cut my walk breaks down to a half minute and kept on running, kept wheezing and puffing. I started counting all the people I passed but then I'd forget and start trying to do finish time math again. I realized that my brain was no long reliable since I wasn't getting any oxygen. So I ran hard, tried not to do anything except watch my foot placement and look ahead, and finally saw the finish line. I gave one final extra push and crossed the line. I stopped Mr. Garmin, took and look and saw PR, Baby! At least I thought so.

I got my ceramic medal, gathered up my sis and bro-in-law and walked through the food lines while recovering my breath. I was terrifically excited about my fast time and the lack of knee pain. In fact, the total lack of any pain. I got water, a bagel, a banana and a cookie and we walked back to the hotel while I munched on the food.


It turned out that I had beat my 2002 half marathon PR by 2 full minutes. I beat my previous course times by 6 minutes, 6 minutes and 12 minutes. I can't think of anything I had done differently from any of my other recent runs, which made my knee hurt like hell and were slower, except for the compression calf sleeves. Yes, that means I'll always wear the darn things now.

The BSIM organization puts on a fabulous race. I may have some issues with their hoity-toitiness ("Eighth Presentation" anybody?), price ($95-$115 for a half marathon) and belief that women runners only come in very small sizes, but they sure know how to set up a race course. They benefit from two of the prettiest courses around (the full and the half) but they also get wonderful and knowledgeable volunteers and course support. Well done. I'm very proud to say that both of my PRs, full marathon and half marathon, are from Big Sur races.

Marine Corps Marathon (delayed) race report

It seems like it was months ago that I was in Washington, DC to run the 35th annual Marine Corps Marathon along with about 22,000 of my good friends, including Bree and Sandy. The fine details have escaped into the mists of other, more recent races. What I remember of this Halloween day race follows.

Bree and I took a red-eye flight and got into town early enough on Friday to get to the expo not long after it opened. Packet pickup was uneventful. I don't remember much of the expo except it was big and complete. A variety of goodies were in the bag or given as handouts. I had bought lots of stuff at my last race expo so I didn't need to buy much here.


The race shirt was the MCM traditional black long sleeved cotton mock turtleneck. And very very large. I don't like tight shirts so I tend to order an XL, whether it's cotton, tech, unisex or otherwise. Once in a while this turns out to be a poor choice, as in this instance. It will make a very nice mini-dress. Too bad, since it's a nice shirt.

front and back of shirt

Our hotel was in Arlington so it was just a hop, skip and a jump to the start. We walked the couple of blocks to the Rosslyn Metro station. Unfortunately thousands of other runners had the same idea at the same time. I'm vaguely claustrophobic at the best of times and the way we were packed into the train, with more and more people trying to cram on, was horrifying to me. I think if there had been room I would have run screaming through the train. Of course, if there had been room I wouldn't have needed to. Luckily it was a very short trip to the Pentagon Station.

In that dim pre-dawn hour it was hard to see anything, but clearly the enormous building next to us was the Pentagon. Marathoners were herded along the path, this way then that way, then the other way. Marines lining the paths told us which direction to go and kept the massive crowds moving smoothly.

We reached the pre-staging area and were a little confused where things were located; the Marines were helpful but the signage was poor. We found a rather underused bank of porta potties and hung around there for our first and second visits. We tracked down the baggage check trucks and had to decide which layers to check and which to keep on. It was very cool but forecast to get warm. I decided to check my sweatshirt and my throw-away jacket but to keep my throwaway poncho and gloves. Sweat check was very smooth and easy.

Then we had to find the start line, which was another short walk. The starting area seemed to be a multi-lane road, with paces clearly marked along the side. Sandy and Bree decided to make one last stop so I went on alone. I decided to start just behind the 5:30 pace group since I was hoping that if it was a good day, I could stay by them for at least half the race. Then I observed that the other side of the grass median was also being used for starting although very few people were standing there. So I hopped the low border and walked over to that side.

I knew the race had started and the crowd slowly walked forward. My side of the road moved much faster than the other side and I found myself parallel with much faster pace groups. I edged to the side and slowed and still got to the start before the rest of the people in the back of the pack. Oh well, that meant less weaving around slower people. I tossed the poncho and started running.

It was very crowded, for the entire race. Wider roads allowed freer running but corners and narrow roads packed us in. Even as far up as I started I was keeping up easily with the others around me. I was feeling good except for a slightly aching stomach that I decided to ignore (since I couldn't do anything about it anyway).

For a good part of the race I paid as much attention to the other runners as I did to the scenery. Sure, I noticed and admired the landscape (brilliant fall colors just fading to brown), the history, the monuments. It was a prettier area than I had expected and a very interesting course. There were a couple of bigger hills in the first part of the race but the rest of it was flat to rolling. Except for the finish.

I warmed up immediately and it got warmer as the sun rose in the sky. There were some scattered clouds but mostly the bright sun shone. A very brisk breeze helped cool us down but sometimes got pretty annoying when it was in our faces. I was wearing my running skirt, a short sleeve top, my buffs and a hat. The gloves got tossed very early on.

I had a very good first half, not my fastest recently but far from my slowest. I was well within the cutoff times for the race and hoped to keep close to that pace for the entire race. That's when my stomach started acting up more than it had been. I've found that a Gu every 40 minutes keeps up my energy and that the Ultima Replenisher keeps my electrolytes in balance. Normally I can tolerate both of them quite well but the gel I ate mid-race kept threatening to come right back up. I slowed down.

The second half of the race runs past many of the famous monuments and the National Mall. The White House is totally off the course and out of view, but most other DC highlights are passed once or twice or could be glimpsed in the distance. Unfortunately I was feeling quite nauseous by then and was paying more attention to moving forward than to the surroundings.

As a Halloween day race there were a significant number of people running in full costume. I alternately admire and laugh at those running 26.2 miles while burdened by excess accessories or clothing. After a couple of running hours I get tired of my necessary clothing, let alone anything decorative. There were superheroes and monsters, cartoon characters and fantasy persons. People with big rigs on their shoulders and runners in full makeup. They made the many groups of Marines running in full uniforms, boots and packs look positively sane.

My grumbly tummy and I finally reached 14th Street Bridge; the "Beat the Bridge" landmark at about 20 miles which you had to reach before the 1:15 pm cut-off time. I couldn't remember where I had to be at what time, just that I had to be across a bridge at some time. I had slowed considerably but that bridge kept going and going and going so I sped up just to get the hell across it.

I knew that I needed to keep drinking but every sip of water or Ultima was nauseating. The gels were worse but I forced myself to take at least one each hour to keep up my energy. My 9:1 run:walk deteriorated to a run:stagger: walk:plod. At least I kept running, although slower.

Finally it was apparent I was reaching the finish. I had heard there was a nasty hill at the end and I thought it was the grade I was running up to mile 26. My mistake. The hill was AT mile 26 and went straight up. I had been trying to run the last bits but just shook my head in disgust and power walked up. The way was lined with encouraging Marines shouting at us to keep running. I ignored them. I reached the top of the hill and then started to run the last .1 to the finish. According to Mr. Garmin I had run 26.66 miles. I got a cold bottle of water, my space blanket, my medal and walked along. Finisher pictures were taken in front of the Marine Corps War Memorial.


More Marines moved the crowd along toward the food. I think we were given a bag with the normal after-race foods, plus offered more water and some energy drink. I was glad to just be done running, and I was quickly cooling down. We had planned to meet at the beer tent so I walked that direction although I preferred to find the baggage check first. Once again as at the start, the signage was poor and the distances far.

The finisher area encompassed several blocks. Unfortunately the UPS baggage trucks were in one direction downhill, and the beer tent was the other direction downhill. It would mean going back uphill to get to the beer after getting my sweatshirt so I gave up on the beer. I texted Sandy and Bree to let them know where I was and then plopped down on the curb.

Once they finished and joined me, we walked back to our hotel. Luckily Tom knew which direction to go. The security was incredible; there were vehicles from every branch of the armed forces and every emergency responder agency. Cars, trucks, fire engines, ambulances. All surrounding the vast finishing area. And ohbytheway, the entire time we ran through the Mall area there were helicopters overhead. I had thought they were media choppers but apparently they were security. In a way that made me feel very secure, in another way it made me think things were very sad when a marathon causes so much extra security in our nation's capital.

We got back to the hotel and I headed straight to the bar - with my friends trailing behind. I wanted something hot to drink and my heart was set on an Irish Coffee. We sat there in our grungy damp running clothes, draped with our medals and space blankets, and ordered drinks and munchies. My stomach was feeling better since I was no longer moving so I felt free to gulp down my very hot drink before ordering a nice Manhattan to go with the food.

Overall I thought this was a wonderfully organized race. Except for the confusion at the start and vast distances at the finish, everything was well done. Course support was good, water stops were frequent and efficient, premiums were good. I would recommend that you run this one!

... and don't forget the hat

My busy fall schedule of half marathon following half marathon following marathon and so on, is over. I'm a little (!) behind in reviewing all the races, but they have mostly been fun, entertaining, quick (for me) and enjoyable.

I just spent a few days on a vacation in Vegas. The purpose really was to get away on my own, pretend that real life had gotten easy and smooth, kick back and relax. In place of the normal Vegas-gala show, I spent my money on a half marathon and a Santa Run 5k. Running is my joy and my hobby and I'd rather throw my money there than at someone who sings or dances or pulls rabbits from his hat.

This was my 6th race in the past few months (and well over the 100th since I started running marathons in 2001) so you'd think I've learned how to prepare. I have a list that I normally check while I'm packing but this time I started packing earlier than the night before the flight and thought I'd throw things in as they occurred to me. Bad mistake, as it turned out. To my list I'll have to add "don't talk on the phone while placing items in suitcase."

Since I don't think well in the morning I always set out my race gear the night before. Clothing and accessories, in the order in which I'll need them, all neatly placed for easy grabbing. In a hotel room my habit is to raise the ironing board and use that. I did the same this past weekend. Once I decided that it would be crispy cold at the start but warm by the end I picked out my clothing from the piles of choices I had brought with me. Running skirt, sports bra, long sleeve top, compression leg sleeves, socks, shoes, hat ... hat ... hat??

I checked through everything once. Then again. Then emptied my suitcase and checked again. Once more for good luck. No hat. I have a gazillion running hats since I collect them from most races. I forced myself not to buy a hat at this expo since I have a RnR-Vegas hat and many other RnR caps from other races. So for the one of the very few times, I didn't even have a new hat from the expo.

Further checking revealed that I didn't have a buff either. I use the buff on cold mornings to not only cover my ears, but to breathe through so that cold air doesn't exacerbate my asthma. No hat, no buff. But that wasn't all. I have many ear warmers, all of them in my garage at home. Lots of scarves, many of tech fabrics. All at home. The morning was forecast to be about 40 degrees and I had nothing whatsoever to put on my head.

Since the little cancer scare last year my sun paranoia is sky high. I can tell myself that between abundant sunscreen and a rim on my hat that the sun doesn't touch my face. My hat is not only to keep the sweat from flowing into my eyes, not only to keep the little ends of my hair from flying all over my face, but to keep my sun exposure anxiety from driving me nuts. The thought of being hatless for a half marathon on a day that was supposed to be mostly sunny pushed buttons I wasn't prepared for.

It turned out ok, the world didn't end and I had a good run. Lots of squinting, lots of wiping the sweat from my eyes, lots of pushing my hair away. It didn't make me run faster but it didn't slow me down either. I didn't get sunburned but I did worry while I was out there.

Reminder to self for next time: pack TWO hats.

Still here, didja miss me?

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I guess I've been a busy busy girl since I haven't posted since before I went to DC for the Marine Corp Marathon. Yes indeedy I ran it, and ran it well (yes, I will review it at some point). I also ran the Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay and ran that well too. In fact, I ran that one well enough to set a new PR, breaking my old half marathon PR from 2002.

My training is going well, with my trainer continuing to find new and inventive ways to hurt me while increasing my strength, flexibility and endurance. My diet is still on track, although I'm just aiming for maintenance over the holidays.

I've been reading a lot, napping a lot, spending time with my family. My 3 current knitting projects are slowly getting knit. Very slowly, since I'm spending more time reading and I still can't manage to do both at once.

I didn't write another "What I'm Thankful For" post this year because I'm thankful for much the same as I was last year, and the years before. Mostly this year I'm thankful for the good health of me, my family and friends. Quiet is good, routine is good, status quo is good.

I hope you had a good holiday with loved ones, and hope we can all have many more.

Update on training and fitness

Yeah, I was going to write about each training session. Yup, I was going to update the blog with my fitness stats. Whoops, haven't done either for a while, leading some to think that possibly I've fallen off that fitness wagon. Again.

I didn't! I'm right there on the wagon, churning along. I continue my twice weekly sessions with the trainer, continue my long runs on Saturday (or Sunday if it's a race weekend) and run or run/walk or walk 2 additional days. Some days those additional run/walks are the afternoon of the day I've trained, sometimes it's the between mornings.

My current training is, all things considered (including my improved strength, flexibility and balance), easier than the earlier sessions. Don't tell Katie I said that. I think because my miles have been so long and my races so frequent, we've been careful to not injure me. My "easy" routine is a set of wide leg squats while holding a 10 pound ball, superset with a combo mountain climber/side plank move that Katie made up the night before she sprung it on me. I was shocked I could actually do it, me, the woman who couldn't even do a regular plank when she started. Three sets of those, then into v-ups superset with this thing where I'm on my back, my feet are on a big ball and I roll it up toward me while my hips are elevated (was that clear?). I can feel those from my ankles up through my glutes. Three sets of those, then into side twists with the 10 pound ball (I do love those, I have waist definition for the first time ever), and one-leg squats (which are really one-leg sit-downs because otherwise it hurts my knee). If I speed through all of those I'm rewarded with push-ups. I'm now up to 25 girly push-ups on the floor (plus many more on the bar). If you remember, when I started I could do a total of zero girly push-ups on the floor. I'm aiming first for 30 girly floor push-ups, then I'll start trying to do real ones.

My food consumption continues to be healthy, for the most part, and I'm still logging every single bite I swallow on Lose It!, a great program. I'm less strict about my food quality or nutrition balance after long runs or during long run weekends but I've mostly managed to stay within my calories. Right now, I aim for 1500 daily calories with a 60 carb/20 protein/20 fat balance. If I've exercised I'll up that depending on how much I've burned (and mostly I aim to add protein calories), but I try to not eat every single exercise calorie. That means if I'm starving, I'm more likely to get my ass in gear so that I can eat more.

It's working since I've lost 15 pounds. My weight is now just a couple of pounds from the lowest I've been able to be since I stopped smoking in 1992. I know I can lose more since I'm highly motivated (and just a little obsessed with logging my food intake and activity), I just don't know if I'll be able to keep that weight off. I look in a mirror now and even though my pants are literally falling off, I feel fatter than I've ever been. I truly feel like I have more fat and flub and lumps and jiggle than I had before I started this, even though I have more energy, move better, feel healthier and run faster than I have in a long time. It confuses the hell out of my rational brain.

I'm not quite ready to throw out the fat clothes yet. Hopefully by spring I'll be ready for a new wardrobe, and hopefully I'll feel thin enough (or at least not too fat) to shop for it!

Nike Women's Half Marathon 2010 Race Report

I was trying to come up with some new way to describe the very same race I wrote about in 2009, 2008 and 2007. All I could think of was to say "... as I said in my report last year ..." and that was boring. So pretend that I said the same things all over again: dumb expotique Thursday night, shopping at the Nike store where most things were very small, getting up early Sunday morning (this year the parking at the ballpark was not available; we had to pay $30 to park downtown); crowded start area, ridiculous corral system that everyone ignores, wait for 20+ minutes after the start before crossing the line, weaving and bobbing among all the walkers, WORST RACE ETIQUETTE EVER, gorgeous views, lovely scenery, walk the uphills, run the flats and downhills, laugh about the impending rain, laugh less as it started to really rain, cross the finish, get the blue box, small tech shirt (not as small as usual), food, retrieve bags, wait forever in line for the bus, freeze my ass off and turn blue.

This year for the first time Bree was with me. Our paces are different enough now that we don't usually run too far together, so was fun staying with her the entire race. I wasn't in the slightest bit worried about my time and didn't want to walk the hills alone again. The weather for most of the race was perfect: high overcast, cool temps and a breeze. Perfect for running, not bad for walking. A few drops of rain fell here and there until about mile 12, then the rain began in earnest. By the time we walked past the food at the end we were wet. Luckily we had warmer things and rain ponchos in our checked bags, but we got wetter and colder. I felt very bad for anyone running her first 4-6 hour marathon in that wretched weather.

Here are the highlights in pictures:

very cute goody bag, doubled as sweat check bag

finish bag, big (and dry) enough to hold our Tiffany box, shirt and food

hot pink tech shirt, slightly larger than most years

THE BOX

THE NECKLACE

Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon Report

This past Sunday was my third running of the Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon and my best run there to date. The route was identical to the past years, and other things were the same or similar to the last time I ran it in 2007.

I went to the expo with Bree early Saturday morning before the crowds hit. Bib pickup was first, with the D-tag timing device attached to the big green bib. Next was the race branded clothing, none of which appealed to me (except for my usual race hat). The goody bags were the usual Competitor large plastic sling bags filled with the usual assortment of ads and a couple of samples. Tee shirt pickup was at the back of the expo. They've done away with the white cotton beefy tees and now have unisex tech shirts. As a word to the wise, these are big. And this year, they were very very green.



The expo surprised me again this year by not being very large. I guess since fall is marathon season, October being the height of it, vendors can pick and chose where they want to display and sell their goods. Since I had done some spending at the Women's Half expo a couple of weeks ago, I wasn't too disappointed to get through there and out in a hurry.

We arrived for the race nice and early the next morning and we wandered around for a bit while Mr. Garmin tried to pick up a signal. Sadly, Mr. Garmin is on his last legs and in addition to eating some of my run results, he takes forever to locate a satellite. Looks like I'll be getting a replacement soon (any recommendations?). We saw several friends in our wandering. The start area was mostly very well organized and laid out, except for one glaring foul-up. We were in corral 13, out of (I think) 16 or 18 (or possibly more). The corrals up to about 10 were nicely spaced with banners separating them. After that they were completely shmushed together. Several thousand people were crammed into space enough for just a couple of people. It was like they had decided they couldn't block the next cross road, so they just piled the corral signs next to each other. It made the early line-up feel like a cattle drive and we all know how I feel about cattle.

This year it didn't seem that they spaced the starts out at all, I think they were all let loose at once. While it meant we started quicker than I had anticipated (6 or so minutes after the gun) it also meant the crowd never thinned out. Ever. Even with the use of full wide streets there was still a lot of dodging the entire route.

Bree and I started out at a quick pace and decided we should slow it down some. Then we sped up. After a couple miles of this Bree decided we should run our own paces and sent me on ahead. I figured I'd just run at a comfortable pace until I was tired and then slow down. This was supposed to be a training run for me, not a race.

The weather was again almost perfect. Aside from a little drizzle in the first miles, it was mostly coolish and overcast. The sun peeked out here and there before making a full appearance in my last couple of miles, but the breeze kept me cool enough. The air was clear and my breathing was very good. I wore a sleeveless shirt and my running skirt, along with a cap and a couple of buffs for my neck and wrist and felt like I was dressed correctly for the weather.

Water stops were plentiful and, as far as I could tell, well stocked with water and something-ade. I was able to run past the first few since I was carrying a bottle with my own Ultima. The weather earlier in the week had been breaking the 100's and I'm not sure if there were more fluids than normal because of that. One thing that was definitely added was the salt stop where they were handing out little packets of salt. I grabbed one of those and, after spilling it all over myself, licked the remainder off my fingers. I think I managed to ingest about half the packet which helped.

Somewhere around mile 9 or 10 was a Gu stop, with several flavors being handed out. I grabbed one just in case but didn't need it to supplement those that I had with me. I'm now taking a Gu every 40 minutes during a run, varying between the double caffeine Espresso Love and the single caffeine Tangerine Orange, Tri-Berry or Vanilla flavors. I sure would like some of the flavors that they have in their Roctane but after the disaster when I took the Pineapple, I won't try them again (and as a complete side note, their new Chomp flavor, watermelon, is yummy).

There was a lot of music along the course, some of it quite good. The Cocktail Monkeys, in particular, were good enough that I was sad to have to pass them by. Both times, since they were playing along a stretch that we ran past in both directions. It seemed that there was more music this year than in the past, but maybe it was just louder. I started listening to my own music at about mile 9 but half the time I couldn't hear it because of the bands. I would have turned it off but it was too much fussing and fumbling.

I felt good. I ran along at my usual 9:1 and kept telling myself that sooner or later I'd be slowing down. Well, not at mile 10. Not at mile 11. Not even at mile 12. After that, I decided the hell with it, I'd just go for it. I didn't see the point in running hard and fast and slacking the last bit. So I skipped my last walk break and powered it through. I wasn't sprinting down the finish line until I saw lots of people trying to pass me. Nuh uh, I don't get picked off in the home stretch! I had to speed up too.

I crossed the line, stopped Mr. Garmin, looked at my time and started giggling. I was 7 minutes faster than my unstated goal, 7 minutes faster than my course PR, about 15 minutes faster than what I expected. The funny part was how good I felt. Yeah, my knee hurt (don't tell anyone), but it was sore from my second step. I wouldn't have wanted to run much longer at that intensity, but I was feeling good from the 13.25 miles my watch told me I had run.


Once across the line I was handed a bottle of water, which I promptly chugged down. Then they again had ice cold wet towels, which I used to wipe the crusted salt off my face and arms. I knew it would be a few minutes until Bree finished and I didn't want to go too far and risk missing her. I walked down the secured area a bit and got my medal, then saw that they were handling out bags of ice at the medical tent. They were also wrapping ice on various limbs and I thought that might be a good idea.

I waited a couple of minutes for someone to be free and then placed my cold towel under the ice, and had her wrap it onto my knee. The woman doing the wrapping couldn't understand why I would want to use the towel against my skin. Cautionary tale, folks, freezer burned skin hurts. It's very easy to damage yourself with ice and I was surprised that more care wasn't being used. I saw dozens of folk with melty ice taped to various body parts and I don't think they were even paying attention to the condition of their skin underneath. I only left the ice on for about 10 minutes but it was perfect and I didn't have any swelling or any more pain.

After Bree finished we walked down toward the food tables where they had exactly 3 bananas left (and they were icky looking), many many bags of Wheat Thins, granola bars, bagels, maybe something else. We grabbed a couple of things. I was starving, something very unusual for me after a long run (normally I'm vaguely nauseous and don't want anything for a while). We walked over to the beer tent and got our free MGD Light (or maybe it was some other 64 calorie tasteless beer) of which we took a couple of sips and then dumped out.

I enjoyed the run, enjoyed the race. My only complaints would be about the other people doing the race. How completely oblivious does someone have to be to come to a dead stop in the middle of the road when they're surrounded by runners moving forward? Or when then don't finish their water and drop the half full cup directly in front of someone who then gets soaked? Or when they walk 4 abreast right where the road narrows and nobody can get past them? Or when a 14 minute mile runner starts with the 10 minute milers and everyone has to dodge around them for the first few miles? And on and on. A handout on race etiquette should be distributed at every Rock 'n' Roll race since they get so many beginners. Or maybe people should just listen to their mothers and be POLITE!

Ahem. Where was I? OhyeahIremember. Enjoyed race, enjoyed run, would do it again if it falls on an empty part of my schedule. Even as cookie cutter identical as the Competitor races have become, the locales and weather play a big part of the race. Having a nice one in my back yard is convenient, and will be again in future years.

Women's Half Marathon Race Review

I dreamed that I was running through a sea of Pepto Bismol. Pink --- pink everywhere! Soft baby pink, bright hot pink, flamingo pink, Barbie pink, cotton candy pink, bubble gum pink; pink pink pink. Then I came to my senses and realized that I wasn't dreaming, I was running the inaugural Women's Running Magazine's Women's Half Marathon in Nashville and pink was the girly color of the day.

We all know I love to run races, we know I love to see my sis. This race offered the chance to do both. It sorta kinda fit right into my training calendar, between my longest training runs. So I registered, bought my plane ticket and headed to Nashville for a weekend of family and fun.

We went to the expo Friday, arriving early enough to be first in line when before it opened. For us, it was simple to pick up our (pink) bibs, emblazoned with our names and race number. We moved along and picked up our very cool goody bags:


They were filled with an assortment of stuff and the usual ads and papers. The expo was definitely womencentric with all the girly clothing and gewgaws a (female) runner could want. I spent a teensie bit of money there, walking away with a pair of shoes, a running skirt, a couple of headbands, a couple of boxes of Gu, a pair of sunglasses and my usual running hat. We remembered to pick up our race shirts which were, surprisingly, pink. They were also, surprisingly, big enough. A very nice tech shirt with some shaping and no ads.


In total disregard of the old saw that you never do anything new on race day, I decided to wear my new running skirt and my new cap. I figured this was going to be one of my shorter runs for a while, I was supposed to treat it as a training run, so no big deal. I crossed my fingers and hoped I wouldn't regret the decision.

Early Saturday we arrived at the starting area. Still dark, it was bustling with excited runners and walkers preparing for the race. We headed over to the line of porta potties and the sky exploded. It was truly bizarre; the potties were lined up under a row of trees that were apparently the resting place of a very large flock of birds. There were many hundreds of these birdies who took wing as the sun started to rise. Sweeping back and forth and back again, the birds wheeled around the sky as runners and walkers and spectators covered their heads and hoped.

My sis and I knew we couldn't run together since she isn't running these days but we lined up together in our corral. Then we noticed that we were ahead of the pacers holding up signs for 2:30, 2:45 and 3:00. That was wrong so we moved back. My goal was to take it easy, have fun, not get hurt. I didn't want to start too fast. Her goal was to finish walking a half marathon when she just wanted to run.

Finally the race started and we split up right at the mat. The race was, to be brief (hah!), great. It was well organized, well supported, well routed. The course was varied through business areas, residential and parkland. We ran on streets and trails. The police were wonderful keeping the routes clear of cars, the volunteers were friendly and helpful, the water and ade stations plentiful. It was hillier than I had expected from the course profile but it wasn't bad until about mile 12 when we had to run on an overpass in the blazing sun in the heat and humidity. But after that it went downhill or flat until the end.

I ran:walked my normal 9:1 until that overpass when I walked and ran when I felt like it. My splits were pretty even (except for my fumbled water bottle fill at mile 8 that took an extra 2 minutes) until then, and my last 2 miles were slow. I had realized finally that I was running a little harder than I had intended, it was hot, it was humid, so I slowed down. That's my story and I'm stickin' with it!

I crossed the finish line to the sound of my name (according to my bro-in-law who was waiting, there were lots of finishers with my name), had my huge medal draped around my neck, and was handed a bottle of water. I wandered down the line, greeted my bro-in-law, had my picture taken and headed to the food tables. They were filled to bursting with bagels, muffins, granola bars, bananas, apples, probably more that I didn't notice. There were buckets filled with icy water and bottles of energy drinks and water. I grabbed a cold one and went back to wait for my sis to finish.

After a while I saw her and her friend cruising across the finish line. They had made excellent time on their walk and both looked fresh and happy to be done. We hung out taking pictures for a bit, then moved along to the food tables which still were groaning under the weight of lots of food - even after 3-1/2 hours. I'm not used to anything being left at a half when I finish, let alone much later. Then we walked over to the cookie place. Yes, a set of tables just for cookies. Not quite a beer tent, but second best.


The medals were made just for this race in Music City. They're a two-piecer, with a center piece that could be removed and put on a necklace. Which coincidentally they were selling at the expo and after the race for a mere $10. Yes, we had purchased them at the expo and worn them during the race with the intention of having the charm hung after the race. There was a booth with helpers transferring the charms and there was no line so we were through there quickly.


Final thoughts: great race. It's not east for an organization to put on such a successful inaugural race. Soup to nuts, everything went right. There was a medical tragedy on the course that was quickly handled with sensitivity. The expo, while not as huge as the bigger races, carried just about anything a runner or walker could want for a race or other fun run. Packet pickup was efficient. Amenities (bag, shirt, medal, food and drink afterward) were ample and fun. Course support, both police and volunteers, were ample and cordial and friendly. Participants ranged from newbies who had never done a race to experts hoping for a PR. The weather even cleared up; hot and humid to me but cooler and drier than it had been. I'd do this race again, and I'd do another of their races if I had the weekend free. Give it a try!