Turkey Trots, Jingle Jogs & Indoor Tris

I did both Thanksgiving races this year. The Southeast YCMA Turkey Classic, a 5 miler, was a beautiful day. Last year I ran in my woolies and this year I ran in my skirt! Gotta love Rochester weather! My PT and I did this one together. He has not run many races and seems to have a different strategy than me. We started together in the middle to back of the pack. Normally I start my race faster and than slow down a bit as the race goes on. He on the other hand starts at the pace he plans on running the entire race. For most of the race we ran together and this actually forced me to be a much more consistent runner - which is of course good! Ron pulled ahead on the last half mile and finished ahead of me, but I am still really happy with my finish. I pr-ed with a finishing time of 46:27! AND I felt great finishing!

Thanksgiving morning dawned and I was actually pretty well rested. The weather was beautiful - and once again, I was able to wear my running skirt - this time I rocked the camo one. Unfortunately, I was unable to find my trusty running iPod and had to run with the iTouch, which is too heavy and pulls down my skirt if in my pocket. A few minutes before the race, I noticed that my iPod was giving my the low battery warning. Needless to say, I was a little thrown as the race started. I felt like I was running alright, but didn't see a mile marker until mile 3. However, when I crossed the finish line, I discovered that I had pr-ed once again, finishing at 39:06! So: Two fall races, pr-ed both AND didn't feel like I was doing my best during either race. Strange, but awesome!

The Jingle Jog course on the other hand has become my nemesis. I will admit that I did not get enough sleep and did not eat enough the night before. The weather was deceptively warn at my house. Luckily I checked the forecast and dressed appropriately! I didn't pr this race and actually thought I was gonna hurl as I crossed the finish line. BUT I did discover that even a bad race/run is still much better than no run at all. When I got home, I felt better and actually grabbed my puppy Sam and went for a little one mile jaunt - which made it a pretty cool day, even if it wasn't an awesome race!

The night before the WeTri, I went to the annual caroling party. This year, I did not make responsible choices - ingested more than a couple of drinks and stayed up until 3 am. Obviously, I was not feeling too awesome when I woke up at 7:30 am! But, I couldn't let my choices the night before get in the way of competing! I ended up in the pool next to one of Rochester's fastest runners. I know the swim isn't her strong event, but also that she has been practicing. I was definitely feeling sluggish, however there was no way I was going to let her beat me! I ended up completing 33 lengths, 6.8 miles on the bike and 1.69 miles on the treadmill. If I had just completed 1/2 length more, I would have come in second in my age group! However, that does mean that I came in THIRD PLACE!!! Which is of course awesome!!! Let's see if I can improve even more for the YTri at the MetroCenter in February. . . .

Marine Corps Marathon 2009

Last Sunday I completed my first marathon. It was so much fun! For the first 18 miles, all I could think was, "This is so much fun! I am definitely gonna do this next year!" I was really surprised at how good I felt for the first 18 miles. I walked each water stop, but partially because they were so crowded that there was no other option. When I reached the half marathon mark, I was a bit slower than I wanted, almost 2 1/2 hours into the race. At that point, I became a bit concerned that I would not make my goal time of 4:30. But I really wasn't terribly upset about that. After all, I broke my leg 7 month ago and I am really proud of how hard I have worked to get where I am today. I didn't get to see my parents at the beginning of the race, but as I neared the monuments, I saw them for the first time.

Around mile 18, I started to get really tired. My inner dialog began to change to, "I have to do this again next year so I can do better because I am not going to make my goal finishing time." At this point in the race, I was almost to the castle building of the Smithsonian. I made a deal with myself that if I could just run to the castle, I could walk for a minute. Conveniently, there was a water stop right there, so I got my walk in at that point. I saw Anna & Neil at this point and that energized me a bit too. Unfortunately, I ran out of steam again around mile 21. This is probably the most desolate mile of the entire race. You are running on an overpass and suddenly there are no fans cheering you on. I was lucky to see my parents as I ran onto it, but as I looked in front of me everyone appeared to be walking. I struggled on for a while, but eventually I gave in and began to walk. I probably walked for a half mile before I was able to muster up enough mental power to force myself to start running again.

As I ran back into the crowds and off the overpass to enter the final four miles of the race, I struck a bargain with myself. For the rest of the race, I ran for 7 1/2 minutes and walked for 2 1/2 minutes. At this point, it was just a push to the end. As I entered the final shoot, I discovered the uphill run to the finish line. No matter how many people told me about it before, I guess I just blocked that little piece of information out completely. Well, it was really a tough way to finish, but I sucked it up and trucked up that hill and across the finish line for a finishing time of 4:56. Definitely not as fast as I had hoped, but that just means it will be easier to beat next year, right?