Race Report

I quickly settled in to being back home. Although I am still a little jet lagged. We are socked in with fog. They keep saying sunshine, but I have yet to see the sun. The thick fog makes me feel rather claustrophobic.

The marathon was tough and I was not ready for it. Not after the lack of running due to weather and the devil flu that hit me. Also, running all over Disney World for 2 solid days prior to the marathon didnt' help either. My body was more than fatigued. I am glad I ran it. I will run another. For now though, I will train and do a half marathon in June - The Seattle Rock N Roll Half Marathon on the 28th. I am ready to run again. However my toes are not ready to run again. I am going to lose 3 toenails. I need to check in to swimming for the next month. I will also get some Bikram Yoga in this month.


The first half of the race was great. It was so fun and exciting. Disney did it up big through the theme parks and for the start. The 2nd half was brutal. It was on Interstae 4 in the blazing sun, no characters, no mile sponsors and very few specators. It was a huge mental challenge from about mile 14 through mile 22. I was ill from just before mile 19 to mile 22. I finally managed to shake it and get moving at a quicker pace when I hit the less than 5 miles to go point. I was disapointed in the marathon. I expected more, based on what I have heard about the marathon. I thought it would be bigger, better, more exciting. I think I was spoiled by running the Nike Women's Marathon for a first marathon. I am glad I ran, I love my Mickey Mouse Finisher's medal. I have no desire to run Disneyworld again, and quite frankly I don't have any desire to visit WDW again. I prefer Disneyland. It is so much better.


I finally worked on some of the pictures - the official race pictures were posted this week.




Waiting for the bus to take us to the start line at 2:30 AM.
My training partner, me, our coach, his wife:


Me at the starting line:


Runing through Cinderella's Castle:


Character Shot:


My team mates and I pretending to be all buff and stuff:


Coming across the finish line:


Much Deserved after race beer with my training partner:


My team at the Victory Party:


I waited in line for this, because Eyeore is my very most favorite of all:

Just when I thought we had enough snow

We are still getting snow. It is trying to rain, but it is mostly sleet. What a mess it will be when it does rain. The snow level in the yard is up past the deck. The deck rails and BBQ are about the only indication we have a deck.

I bring you more pictures:

Green Chairs today:


The table today:


A Cedar tree in the back yard:


Snow Laden:


Our back yard:


Bob The Cat:

White Christmas and all that jazz

After our 20 miler, the snows and frigid temps arrived. I have gotten a couple runs in, a couple walks and a whole lot of extra tapering. The snow is extreme. It is enough that I am posting pictures of my world as it was this morning when I was out.

Running has been a bit of an issue. I have gotten out a couple times since the snow hit, but not like I should be. I went for a long walk today and shovelled snow. The marathon is in2 1/2 weeks and I am getting a little worried at this point. I don't own a treadmill, nor do I belong to a gym. I rely on being able to get outside and get my runs in.

We are snowed in - really. I didn't make it in to work today. It's crazy out here. I measured snow around our yard. The deepest pocket was 34 inches and the lowest amount I found was 19 inches. It's still snowing. It has been snowing most of the day. They say it is going to rain by Friday, but I won't believe it until I see it.

This morning I cooked a huge breakfast for the family. The boys dined on bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, toast and D had a German Pancake. Days like this I just cook and cook and cook. It keeps me sane.


I am going to leave you with a crap ton of pictures. On my walk this morning I got pictures of the Bald Eagles that here. They were really noisy today.

My House:



Front Walk:


Youngest Son's Bike he left out:


Nigel the cat:


Green Chairs on the Deck - the beginning of our snow and today:



The neighbor couldn't get out this morning:


Pasture down the way:


Youngest son had cleared this table of snow of 4 days ago:


Down our street:


Eagles:

And so the taper begins

Today was our big 20 miler. The last 2 long runs have been done in pouring rain. I discovered that I rather enjoyed running in the rain. The temps had been mild enough that I didn't feel too chilled. I found a fantastic running coat that is a water/wind resistant shell lined with fleece. It has been perfect. The last couple of weeks I have managed to get all my weekly short runs in as well. This has been significant and I am feeling better prepared now.

Today, we ran in a Nor'easter. Today was the big 20 miler and it was pretty brutal. We are experiencing some of the coldest temps for December since 1990. The run out wasn't too bad, the wind was behind us and we were partially sheltered on the trail. Coming back however was a much different story. By the time we were unsheltered the wind was fierce and it was one of the most difficult runs I have done since I started running. Running in a strong bitter cold head wind is no easy task. I am thankful the snow held off. There were a couple of moments I considered giving my inlaws a call to come pick me up. I didn't, I kept going. I have running partners and they really helped keep my motivation up. I love having partners. I trained almost completely solo for my first marathon. Even though I was part of Team In Training, all but 2 long runs were completed completely on my own.

Now we taper. I have been so looking forward to the taper. It means we are so close! Tapering isn't easy. It is tough to stop running at a shorter distance when you feel like you could just keep on going for another couple miles.


To give you an idea of the weather during our run:

Saturday's long run was fantastic. My pace is so much faster than the last training season. It helps that my running partner is over 6 feet tall, while I hover at 5'4" on a good day! She has really pushed me to run better and more efficiently. We got our mileage in and in less time than anticipated. I am very pleased. My calf muscles were a bit cranky and I definately need new shoes soon.

Saturday we had our send off for the participants running the Seattle Marathon the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It was great fun. I love our team. They are all absolutely incredible people.

Sunday I woke up a bit sore and stiff, but I got a quick 3 mile run in and felt much better after. I am terrible about stretching and need to really try to be good about getting that in regularly.

Tonight's run was a bit tough in the beginning, but once I got going and got in to the rhythm I just kept going for 45 minutes and managed to get 4 miles in.

We have really lucked out with weather during our training. We have only had one really wet windy day and one frosty cold day. Otherwise the weather has been perfect for running. I can only hope it lasts a bit longer.

I can't believe we are past the half way point now.

Twice in one week

Wow. I am actually updating twice in one week. This week has been very stressful on the family front. Running has been a God Send. Last night I made my way over to the local highschool at about 4:30 PM and ran 5 miles at a pace that is much quicker than I run on average. I got 5 miles in in 52 minutes. This is pretty unheard of for me. I just ran round and round and round without giving thought to anything. I just let my mind go blank, zoned in on my ipod and let my feet fly. It has to have been the easiest run yet. I really needed it. It was eerie running in the dark. There was just enough light from the nearby parking lot to see the lines on the track. Because fall sports are over, they are not lighting the track anymore. I felt safe and I am glad to know I can see enough to run. I really want a treadmill for home, but so far I have not found one on Craigslist that I can afford. So running in the dark at the highschool will continue for now.

Tomorrow our group run is 250 minutes. That should put us at about 18 miles. It seems like our long runs have upped in mileage much faster than I remember doing the first time around. I just hope the migraine I have had for 3 days is gone by tomorrow morning.

It's been a while!

I guess I better update. I live in the Pacific Northwest. It rains - ALOT - in the fall, winter, spring and even summer lately. Our group has really lucked out since training began. Our long runs have been rather pleasant and rain free until yesterday. Yesterday the first 1/3 or so was not too bad. It was a little humid and warm - 65F. Then the rains hit - down pour. I had rain dripping off my hat. Then the winds picked up. The turn around gave us a great tail wind that pushed us right along. My shoes had pools of water in them. But you know, it was rather pleasant. I didn't mind the pouring rain at all. I suppose if it had been 39F I would have not been so content with the rain. Yesterday though, I was.

I am a little sore today. My calf's are tight. I am sure it is because I only got 3 short runs in last week. I am still struggling with the short runs. Fitting them in is difficult. I am in dire need of a treadmill. The cost is just beyond our budget unfortunately. This week I will be able to squeeze in my short runs today, Monday(supposed to be a rest day), Tuesday and I am hoping with any luck on Thursday.

The long runs have been going surprisingly well considering I am not getting in adequate short runs. I feel great on the long runs. I have energy, I am not burning out part way through and after I have little to no recovery time to deal with. I am bouncing back quickly.


I am still suffering from my fall. I have an knee that is a bit tempermental and some residual bone ache, but nothing that isn't manageable and easy enough to put out of my mind.


I am a bit worried about the fundraising aspect. I still need $700.00 and am not sure what to put together to bring it in within the next month. I will send out another mailing to everyone that didn't respond the first go around. I am also hoping to secure at least one more luncheon or even brunch. I have to cover it otherwise, and that isnt' doable! Eep.

It is pomegranate time. I love them. I used to eat them all winter long when I was in college. This morning's breakfast is oatmeal, a little honey and pomegranate seeds. Yum!