My Fundraising Webpage: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/pfchangs09/ayates
Today was my first 12 mile run!! I'm so proud of myself, and I can't believe I made it. After a pretty draining 10 mile run two weeks ago, I was a little nervous about how this one would go, but it really wasn't bad. The coaches had send out an email saying that they would be there earlier than usual in case anyone wanted to get a head start. Since Erin was planning to get there early as well, Andrea and I decided to meet at 7:15am and start our run as soon as possible.
I was a little disappointed to see that there was no bathroom anywhere near where we were running, which meant no pit stops and no place to change after we were done. Fortunately I didn't have to use the rest room during the run, and Andrea and I made the decision to locate a gas station or similar establishment after finishing up, where we could get out of our soon-to-be wet and freezing clothes.
The run itself went really well, and we spent the whole time talking, as usual. It was insanely cold out, to the point that the water in my bottle started to freeze and my thighs got so numb that I couldn't feel it when I touched them. Since Andrea and I started earlier than most people, we were at the head of the pack for a change. It felt good to know that we would be finishing earlier than usual, and we kept ourselves busy by breaking the run into smaller segments (only four miles until the first water stop, only two miles until we pass it again, etc.). Every now and then we'd see Coach Jim, who would tease us for cheating somewhere along the way, since we were so far in front of everyone else.
Before I knew it - well, about 2 hours and 20 minutes later, but who's counting? - the run was over, and we gratefully gulped down non-frozen water at home base. Andrea accidentally poured some on me when I was stretching on the ground, but I was already so cold and covered in sweat that I barely noticed! We also munched on chocolate peanut butter brownies and piping hot pizza slices, even though it was only 10:00am. Hey, I had just run 12 miles - I deserved a reward!
After our sketchy changing session in the bathroom of a local McDonald's, Andrea drove me home so that I could shower and quickly eat a bit more food before heading over to Border's. I had arranged to wrap gifts for 6 hours in return for donations to the cause, although I actually wound up staying for 7 hours. Wendy, one of my teammates, was there helping me for about 5 of those hours, and I was very grateful. Having her there made the time pass more quickly, and she was also more vocal about attracting customers. Plus, she's a way better gift wrapper than I am, and she gave me some pointers. I came away with a new little chunk of money for my fundraising efforts, and I got to spend most of the time sitting down, so I can't complain. Thanks to the Border's employees and the kind people who made donations today!!
A couple of weeks ago, Dave and I baby-sat for five children all under the age of five as a fund raiser. While they were adorable and their parents were very generous, I don't think I could have done that today after running 12 miles! I have another Border's fund raiser next weekend, and my father said that he'd pass my fund raising information down to his friends and church groups, so I'm hoping to continue my efforts for another couple of weeks. Every little bit helps!
Next week is a down week for mileage (only 6), so I might do the Jingle All the Way 10K instead of going to training - I haven't decided yet. In two weeks, we have to run the full 13 miles, so then I'll really be able to say that I am officially prepared for a half marathon! Wish me luck!!
My Fundraising Webpage: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/pfchangs09/ayates
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Another Eight
My fundraising webpage: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/pfchangs09/ayates
This past Saturday we went back to Rock Creek Park, the place that Erin and I had trouble finding the first time around. This time we made it there in plenty of time, and the Water Station people found their way, too. Andrea and I did another eight miles relatively easily, in spite of the humidity and pockets of hot and cold air along the course. Who would have thought that eight miles could be just another Saturday run for me?!
I'm still struggling to meet my fundraising goal, so I'm trying to come up with some ideas for how to reach the minimum. I have two weekends of gift-wrapping coming up, and I think I may set up a happy hour. I also am offering myself as a Spanish tutor, with all of the proceeds going to the charity. If anyone has any additional ideas, please do not hesitate to let me know!
This coming Saturday requires another ten mile run. I'm looking forward to having a second double-digit run under my belt, especially after the last one went so well. I am going to spend my short runs this week doing intervals to work on my speed. I may not be able to do anything about losing to 78-year-old men in races, but I can certainly reduce my pace by a few seconds!
My fundraising webpage: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/pfchangs09/ayates
This past Saturday we went back to Rock Creek Park, the place that Erin and I had trouble finding the first time around. This time we made it there in plenty of time, and the Water Station people found their way, too. Andrea and I did another eight miles relatively easily, in spite of the humidity and pockets of hot and cold air along the course. Who would have thought that eight miles could be just another Saturday run for me?!
I'm still struggling to meet my fundraising goal, so I'm trying to come up with some ideas for how to reach the minimum. I have two weekends of gift-wrapping coming up, and I think I may set up a happy hour. I also am offering myself as a Spanish tutor, with all of the proceeds going to the charity. If anyone has any additional ideas, please do not hesitate to let me know!
This coming Saturday requires another ten mile run. I'm looking forward to having a second double-digit run under my belt, especially after the last one went so well. I am going to spend my short runs this week doing intervals to work on my speed. I may not be able to do anything about losing to 78-year-old men in races, but I can certainly reduce my pace by a few seconds!
My fundraising webpage: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/pfchangs09/ayates
Sunday, November 9, 2008
My first race!!
My fundraising webpage: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/pfchangs09/ayates
I competed in my first race today! It was only a 10k, but I was still proud of myself. I knew I could do it, because Andrea, Kate, and I easily banged out a 6 mile run during training yesterday, so I was prepared. The race was called the Veteran's Day 10k, and I had heard about it from Petra. It started up near the DC side of the Arlington Memorial Bridge and went down to Haine's Point (home of our Hurricane Hannah run...see the "liquid sunshine" post from September for more details on that) and back. At 7:30 this morning Dave dropped me off at the Lincoln Memorial so I could walk over to the starting grounds.
As a newbie, I was completely clueless about how these races work, so I didn't realize that there would be a baggage check. Therefore all I brought with me was my debit card, my metro card, and a few quarters for calling Dave, all of which I had crammed into the pockets of my tiny running shorts. I would have brought my cell phone and maybe a pair of pants for afterward had I known I could have left them behind.
The starting grounds were dotted with food tents, a small bandstand blasting music, and of course an unsightly cluster of port-o-potties. As I grabbed a cup of water from the refreshment table, I heard an announcement that "Sarge" would be leading all interested people in a warm-up by the bandstand. I was curious as to who Sarge was, but also a little intimidated by the sudden vision of an army vet screaming orders into my face as I tried to keep up with jumping jacks. Fortunately, Sarge was not nearly that scary, and actually turned out to be quite funny. He also taught us a ton of new stretches that worked our hip flexers, and other muscles that I don't often think about before a run. He did of course make us drop and give him 10 at the end of the warm-up, but I did my best not to look too pathetic.
Following the stretches, everyone was corralled over to the starting line, where a marine sang the National Anthem and DC's Mayor Fenty wished us well before joining the runners himself. Before I knew it, we were off! There were about 2,000 of us, which is approximately 18,000 less than what I will see during my half marathon, but it was still good practice to try manuveuring around others. I needed to make sure that I passed people with enough space on either side of me, and that I looked behind me before moving to the left or right to avoid a collision from behind, much like switching lanes on a highway. By the time I got comfortable with my pace, people had spread out far enough that I had plenty of space to myself.
Sometime shortly before I hit the 2 mile marker, I saw a police motorcylce coming from the opposite direction, heading towards the start/finish line. I thought, "it couldn't be...", but it was - the first runners were already within 2 miles of the finish line, and were going to cross it in a few minutes. It was amazing to see people running with such speed, and all I could do was clap while running as the first 20 of them whizzed by me. Incredible!
At the two miles and four mile markers there were water stops, and I got to practice grabbing a cup from an extended hand and drinking from it, while trying not to lose my momentum. The first time I sloshed water all over my face, but I was a little more prepared two miles later. Both times I was careful to throw my cups into the garbage cans, unlike so many runners who just crushed their cups and threw them on the ground. I know that this is common practice in races, but it really didn't take much effort for me to toss my cup in the provided recepticle. All the same, I thanked the handsome young soldier who was running around collecting the fallen paper goods, and he cheered me on in return.
My legs naturally started to get a little tired towards the end of the race, but they didn't really hurt, and I didn't get winded at all. This lead me to believe that I can probably push myself a little harder during other races to improve my speed. I decided whil I was running that I'm going to sign up for a 5k in the near future to do some of this speedwork.
Even though I wasn't that exhausted, I was super excited to see the finish line up ahead of me. There was a man near the line with a computer that read our D-tags, which were the time chips on our shoes. He called us out by name as we crossed the line. It was a little odd to hear "And here comes Autumn Yates. Good job Autumn!" from a total stranger as I was finishing, but it was kind of exhilarating too. I grabbed a water bottle and looked up at the clock to see that a little more than an hour and ten minutes had passed since the start of the race, and I found out at the results board later on that my exact finishing time was 70 minutes, 23 seconds, with an 11:05 minute mile. I also came in 623rd place for the women. I was pleased for my first race, but I definitely think I can do better, especially after I learned that the 78-year-old oldest runner beat me by about 14 minutes!
Following the run I got some food, picked up the long-sleeved shirt that I checked, and sat down to watch the results announcements. The top ten finishers for both men and women each got monetary prizes and windbreakers, and the top three finishers in each 5-year age bracket (from under-19 all the way up to 74-79 years old) also got prizes. In between, they pulled names from a bucket for a variety of door prizes. I won a $25 gift certificate to a local running store! That was a nice surpise. Now I can get some winter gear as my longer runs start to get chillier!
On the way to the metro, I took the long way so I could pass both the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials. The race was, after all, in honor of Veteran's Day, and the monuments were bustling with somber on-lookers searching for the names of lost loved ones, as well as others who were there for the same reasons as I was. It's heart-breaking to see so many names on those walls, and I'm glad that I could participate in an event on a holiday that honors their memory.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable morning, and I am proud of myself for completing my very first race. I think I might start an album so I have a place to put my race bibs and pictures, because I have a feeling that this will be the first of many.
My fundraising webpage: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/pfchangs09/ayates
I competed in my first race today! It was only a 10k, but I was still proud of myself. I knew I could do it, because Andrea, Kate, and I easily banged out a 6 mile run during training yesterday, so I was prepared. The race was called the Veteran's Day 10k, and I had heard about it from Petra. It started up near the DC side of the Arlington Memorial Bridge and went down to Haine's Point (home of our Hurricane Hannah run...see the "liquid sunshine" post from September for more details on that) and back. At 7:30 this morning Dave dropped me off at the Lincoln Memorial so I could walk over to the starting grounds.
As a newbie, I was completely clueless about how these races work, so I didn't realize that there would be a baggage check. Therefore all I brought with me was my debit card, my metro card, and a few quarters for calling Dave, all of which I had crammed into the pockets of my tiny running shorts. I would have brought my cell phone and maybe a pair of pants for afterward had I known I could have left them behind.
The starting grounds were dotted with food tents, a small bandstand blasting music, and of course an unsightly cluster of port-o-potties. As I grabbed a cup of water from the refreshment table, I heard an announcement that "Sarge" would be leading all interested people in a warm-up by the bandstand. I was curious as to who Sarge was, but also a little intimidated by the sudden vision of an army vet screaming orders into my face as I tried to keep up with jumping jacks. Fortunately, Sarge was not nearly that scary, and actually turned out to be quite funny. He also taught us a ton of new stretches that worked our hip flexers, and other muscles that I don't often think about before a run. He did of course make us drop and give him 10 at the end of the warm-up, but I did my best not to look too pathetic.
Following the stretches, everyone was corralled over to the starting line, where a marine sang the National Anthem and DC's Mayor Fenty wished us well before joining the runners himself. Before I knew it, we were off! There were about 2,000 of us, which is approximately 18,000 less than what I will see during my half marathon, but it was still good practice to try manuveuring around others. I needed to make sure that I passed people with enough space on either side of me, and that I looked behind me before moving to the left or right to avoid a collision from behind, much like switching lanes on a highway. By the time I got comfortable with my pace, people had spread out far enough that I had plenty of space to myself.
Sometime shortly before I hit the 2 mile marker, I saw a police motorcylce coming from the opposite direction, heading towards the start/finish line. I thought, "it couldn't be...", but it was - the first runners were already within 2 miles of the finish line, and were going to cross it in a few minutes. It was amazing to see people running with such speed, and all I could do was clap while running as the first 20 of them whizzed by me. Incredible!
At the two miles and four mile markers there were water stops, and I got to practice grabbing a cup from an extended hand and drinking from it, while trying not to lose my momentum. The first time I sloshed water all over my face, but I was a little more prepared two miles later. Both times I was careful to throw my cups into the garbage cans, unlike so many runners who just crushed their cups and threw them on the ground. I know that this is common practice in races, but it really didn't take much effort for me to toss my cup in the provided recepticle. All the same, I thanked the handsome young soldier who was running around collecting the fallen paper goods, and he cheered me on in return.
My legs naturally started to get a little tired towards the end of the race, but they didn't really hurt, and I didn't get winded at all. This lead me to believe that I can probably push myself a little harder during other races to improve my speed. I decided whil I was running that I'm going to sign up for a 5k in the near future to do some of this speedwork.
Even though I wasn't that exhausted, I was super excited to see the finish line up ahead of me. There was a man near the line with a computer that read our D-tags, which were the time chips on our shoes. He called us out by name as we crossed the line. It was a little odd to hear "And here comes Autumn Yates. Good job Autumn!" from a total stranger as I was finishing, but it was kind of exhilarating too. I grabbed a water bottle and looked up at the clock to see that a little more than an hour and ten minutes had passed since the start of the race, and I found out at the results board later on that my exact finishing time was 70 minutes, 23 seconds, with an 11:05 minute mile. I also came in 623rd place for the women. I was pleased for my first race, but I definitely think I can do better, especially after I learned that the 78-year-old oldest runner beat me by about 14 minutes!
Following the run I got some food, picked up the long-sleeved shirt that I checked, and sat down to watch the results announcements. The top ten finishers for both men and women each got monetary prizes and windbreakers, and the top three finishers in each 5-year age bracket (from under-19 all the way up to 74-79 years old) also got prizes. In between, they pulled names from a bucket for a variety of door prizes. I won a $25 gift certificate to a local running store! That was a nice surpise. Now I can get some winter gear as my longer runs start to get chillier!
On the way to the metro, I took the long way so I could pass both the Vietnam and Korean War Memorials. The race was, after all, in honor of Veteran's Day, and the monuments were bustling with somber on-lookers searching for the names of lost loved ones, as well as others who were there for the same reasons as I was. It's heart-breaking to see so many names on those walls, and I'm glad that I could participate in an event on a holiday that honors their memory.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable morning, and I am proud of myself for completing my very first race. I think I might start an album so I have a place to put my race bibs and pictures, because I have a feeling that this will be the first of many.
My fundraising webpage: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/pfchangs09/ayates
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Running for Office
My Fundraising Webpage: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/pfchangs09/ayates
I ran TEN miles this morning! I still can't believe it. Erin was out of town, so I went over to the O&D Trail in Vienna with Dave. The O&D is one of many "rail to trail"s in the area, meaning that old railroad tracks that were no longer in use have been paved over to create scenic wooded trails. The foliage is at its peak around here, which made the trail extra pretty.
Fortunately Andrea was there today, and she and I ran together. I am truly grateful that I have a teammate that runs at the same pace as me! We keep each other motivated, keep our paces up, and make the whole run go a whole lot faster. Today was no different, as we spent the entire ten miles talking about work, family, and recent little anecdotes (Andrea's kids sound adorable by the way, and I can't wait to eventually meet them!). It's nice to have someone else to discuss the week with too, especially since she was a teacher before she became a full-time mom. The more I run with her, the more I know I am going to miss her when she goes to Disney and I go to Arizona!
Today there were two water stations instead of one - no, nobody got lost on the way to setting them up this time! - , and they were lovingly manned by members of Petra's and Miriam's family, as well as Monique. Monique is training with us, but she also ran in the Marine Corps Marathon last Thursday. She had her impressive medal around her neck as she cheered us on from the sidelines and took pictures. Most of us stopped to inspect her new piece of jewelry and congratulate her on her accomplishment. Pretty soon I'm going to be getting a finisher's medal too!
Coach Jim ran with us for a little bit on the way out, as well for the tail end of the run as we were coming back to the rec center. He's such a nice man, and he seems genuinely concerned about each of us and our health. He is always reminding us to drink more, he checks in with everyone to make sure we don't have any injuries, and he knows all different sorts of stretches to suggest when something hurts. While he was running with us, I got to learn a little more about him. It turns out that he has two boys, ages 16 and 23. Never in a million years would I have guessed that he was old enough to have a 23 year old son. It's becoming more and more obvious maintaining an active lifestyle and knowing how to take care of yourself are an important step in preserving one's health, no matter how old you are.
As I said before, Coach Jim was with us when we finished the 10 miler. I was a little tired, but I was so proud of myself. Jim told me that just by looking at me he could tell that I could have gone even farther today. None of the coaches had ever said anything like that to me before, and I realized that he was right. I had been running a long time, but I was still energized and in good spirits. There is now no doubt in my mind - I am officially a runner, and I am definitely capable of running this half marathon (and maybe a full marathon some day)!
When we got back to the parking lot, I realized that I had put my stuff in Tina's car instead of Jim's, and so Dave and I had to wait a long time for her to return from the trail with her key. Although this prevented us from leaving as early as we both had hoped, I was happy that Dave got a chance to meet some of my team members. It's strange to have this whole separate world that my husband isn't a part of, so I was really glad that he was able to come hang out today. After all, we are going to be spending a decent amount of time with these people in Arizona, and it will be good for them to not be strangers.
Once we got my stuff from Tina's car, we popped back home for just a few minutes before heading back out to vote. Today is the last day for absentee voting in Alexandria, and we wanted to make sure that we didn't have to wait in crazy lines on a work day. The line was still two hours long today, but we did our best to pass the time quickly. Standing in line for two hours is not the easiest thing to do after running for 10 miles, but my candidate has been "running" for two years, so it was the least I could do. :-) Basically, I had two monumental firsts today - the first time I ran a double-digit mileage count, and the first time I voted in person in a general election (the past two times were by absentee ballot, since I was in college and then graduate school). I have never felt more in shape or more patriotic than I do today!
Tonight we will be attending an event at my school. It will be a tented party in the school yard, which probably means another two hours of standing. This has definitely been an exhausting day, and I am looking forward to getting into bed tonight. I think I've earned it!
Thank you to everyone for reading, and for all of your support!
My Fundraising Webpage: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/pfchangs09/ayates
I ran TEN miles this morning! I still can't believe it. Erin was out of town, so I went over to the O&D Trail in Vienna with Dave. The O&D is one of many "rail to trail"s in the area, meaning that old railroad tracks that were no longer in use have been paved over to create scenic wooded trails. The foliage is at its peak around here, which made the trail extra pretty.
Fortunately Andrea was there today, and she and I ran together. I am truly grateful that I have a teammate that runs at the same pace as me! We keep each other motivated, keep our paces up, and make the whole run go a whole lot faster. Today was no different, as we spent the entire ten miles talking about work, family, and recent little anecdotes (Andrea's kids sound adorable by the way, and I can't wait to eventually meet them!). It's nice to have someone else to discuss the week with too, especially since she was a teacher before she became a full-time mom. The more I run with her, the more I know I am going to miss her when she goes to Disney and I go to Arizona!
Today there were two water stations instead of one - no, nobody got lost on the way to setting them up this time! - , and they were lovingly manned by members of Petra's and Miriam's family, as well as Monique. Monique is training with us, but she also ran in the Marine Corps Marathon last Thursday. She had her impressive medal around her neck as she cheered us on from the sidelines and took pictures. Most of us stopped to inspect her new piece of jewelry and congratulate her on her accomplishment. Pretty soon I'm going to be getting a finisher's medal too!
Coach Jim ran with us for a little bit on the way out, as well for the tail end of the run as we were coming back to the rec center. He's such a nice man, and he seems genuinely concerned about each of us and our health. He is always reminding us to drink more, he checks in with everyone to make sure we don't have any injuries, and he knows all different sorts of stretches to suggest when something hurts. While he was running with us, I got to learn a little more about him. It turns out that he has two boys, ages 16 and 23. Never in a million years would I have guessed that he was old enough to have a 23 year old son. It's becoming more and more obvious maintaining an active lifestyle and knowing how to take care of yourself are an important step in preserving one's health, no matter how old you are.
As I said before, Coach Jim was with us when we finished the 10 miler. I was a little tired, but I was so proud of myself. Jim told me that just by looking at me he could tell that I could have gone even farther today. None of the coaches had ever said anything like that to me before, and I realized that he was right. I had been running a long time, but I was still energized and in good spirits. There is now no doubt in my mind - I am officially a runner, and I am definitely capable of running this half marathon (and maybe a full marathon some day)!
When we got back to the parking lot, I realized that I had put my stuff in Tina's car instead of Jim's, and so Dave and I had to wait a long time for her to return from the trail with her key. Although this prevented us from leaving as early as we both had hoped, I was happy that Dave got a chance to meet some of my team members. It's strange to have this whole separate world that my husband isn't a part of, so I was really glad that he was able to come hang out today. After all, we are going to be spending a decent amount of time with these people in Arizona, and it will be good for them to not be strangers.
Once we got my stuff from Tina's car, we popped back home for just a few minutes before heading back out to vote. Today is the last day for absentee voting in Alexandria, and we wanted to make sure that we didn't have to wait in crazy lines on a work day. The line was still two hours long today, but we did our best to pass the time quickly. Standing in line for two hours is not the easiest thing to do after running for 10 miles, but my candidate has been "running" for two years, so it was the least I could do. :-) Basically, I had two monumental firsts today - the first time I ran a double-digit mileage count, and the first time I voted in person in a general election (the past two times were by absentee ballot, since I was in college and then graduate school). I have never felt more in shape or more patriotic than I do today!
Tonight we will be attending an event at my school. It will be a tented party in the school yard, which probably means another two hours of standing. This has definitely been an exhausting day, and I am looking forward to getting into bed tonight. I think I've earned it!
Thank you to everyone for reading, and for all of your support!
My Fundraising Webpage: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/pfchangs09/ayates
Monday, October 27, 2008
Falling Behind While Running Ahead
http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/pfchangs09/ayates
Eeek! I am falling behind in my blogging again! Sorry to all of my regular readers (if I have any), but I will try and catch you up on how things have been going in my little running universe.
Columbus Day Weekend: Running is For the Dogs
For Columbus Day Weekend - and my wonderful husband's birthday - a group of my college friends decided to rent a cabin in Cooperstown, NY and take in the baseball festivities. I had never been there before, but the town is quite adorable, and somewhat Gettysburgish in its quaintness. We passed time seeing the sites, taking a brewery tour, eating lots of food (of course), and playing cards in our campground's Adult Room, which was nothing more than a few couches and a projector screen TV.
Since I couldn't run with my team, I decided to get up on Sunday and run in Cooperstown. I had mapped out a route on mapmyrun.com, which I thought would get me around just fine. Perhaps I should have printed it instead of trying to commit it to memory. In any case, things started off well because Susan accompanied me for the first 2 1/2 miles or so. After she returned to the cabin, I attempted to remember the route, but wound up on a lonely - and very creepy - dirt road in the woods. The road eventually let out on a more open road, but by the time I hit a lake and a State Forest, I knew that I was completely lost. During that time, I was also chased by dogs on two separate occasions, so I was not exactly a happy camper. Fortunately I had my cell phone with me, and after placing a call back to the cabin, Tim was able to use the GPS to locate me. He said the same thing happened to him not too long ago, so fortunately nobody razzed me too much about getting horribly off-track. That's the last time I run alone in the wilderness!
Saturday, October 18, 2008: Has anybody seen the water stop, or the starting point for that matter?
On our way to this training, Erin and I got horribly lost and wound up taking a joyride throughout the district of Columbia. I definitely should have brought Samantha - the new GPS that I got Dave for his birthday. We eventually found our starting point at about 8:00, 15 minutes after we were supposed to be there, when we actually should have been early. It turns out that a bunch of other people got lost too (including Andrea, who didn't get there until I had almost finished my run), so nobody had started running yet. The coaches made the announcement that half marathoners were only supposed to do a recovery run of 6 miles, and that the water stop was the turn-around. This would not have been a big deal, had the water stop set-up person not gotten lost in the park! To make a long story short, I wound up running right past the place where the water stop should have been, and did somewhere between 7-8 miles instead of 6. I kept up a really good pace, though, and I also spent most of the time chatting in Spanish with another runner. My first bilingual run - yay! This was definitely one of my more achy post-run days.
Saturday, October 24th - Eight is Enough
This past Saturday's starting point was much easier to find, as it was in my hometown of Alexandria. It was drizzling as I did my eight miles, but I didn't mind. I guess if you run in a hurricane at the beginning of the training, it puts everything else into perspective for you! Andrea couldn't be there, so I did the first few miles more or less on my own, with the exception of a run-walker who I chatted with on occasion when her intervals placed her near me. She gave me really good advice: I need to figure out my pace, and during the race I need to look for the people who run holding pace numbers. Apparently there will be different people running with signs that say "8 minute mile", "10 minute mile", etc. I need to find my guy (probably 11 minutes), and stay within eyesight of him, so that I don't get so excited on race day that I run too fast and tire myself out. I've heard that it is pretty common to use up a lot of your energy in the first few miles because of all of the commotion around you, which actually makes your pace a lot slower once you've tired yourself out. Hopefully this won't happen to me.
On the way back, I ran with a really nice woman named Elizabeth, who ran at pretty much the same pace as me. It definitely made the time pass a lot quicker than during the first four. I can only imagine how quickly my weekday runs would fly by if I just had someone to run with!
This coming Saturday is a 10 miler. My first double-digit run...oh my goodness!!
Eeek! I am falling behind in my blogging again! Sorry to all of my regular readers (if I have any), but I will try and catch you up on how things have been going in my little running universe.
Columbus Day Weekend: Running is For the Dogs
For Columbus Day Weekend - and my wonderful husband's birthday - a group of my college friends decided to rent a cabin in Cooperstown, NY and take in the baseball festivities. I had never been there before, but the town is quite adorable, and somewhat Gettysburgish in its quaintness. We passed time seeing the sites, taking a brewery tour, eating lots of food (of course), and playing cards in our campground's Adult Room, which was nothing more than a few couches and a projector screen TV.
Since I couldn't run with my team, I decided to get up on Sunday and run in Cooperstown. I had mapped out a route on mapmyrun.com, which I thought would get me around just fine. Perhaps I should have printed it instead of trying to commit it to memory. In any case, things started off well because Susan accompanied me for the first 2 1/2 miles or so. After she returned to the cabin, I attempted to remember the route, but wound up on a lonely - and very creepy - dirt road in the woods. The road eventually let out on a more open road, but by the time I hit a lake and a State Forest, I knew that I was completely lost. During that time, I was also chased by dogs on two separate occasions, so I was not exactly a happy camper. Fortunately I had my cell phone with me, and after placing a call back to the cabin, Tim was able to use the GPS to locate me. He said the same thing happened to him not too long ago, so fortunately nobody razzed me too much about getting horribly off-track. That's the last time I run alone in the wilderness!
Saturday, October 18, 2008: Has anybody seen the water stop, or the starting point for that matter?
On our way to this training, Erin and I got horribly lost and wound up taking a joyride throughout the district of Columbia. I definitely should have brought Samantha - the new GPS that I got Dave for his birthday. We eventually found our starting point at about 8:00, 15 minutes after we were supposed to be there, when we actually should have been early. It turns out that a bunch of other people got lost too (including Andrea, who didn't get there until I had almost finished my run), so nobody had started running yet. The coaches made the announcement that half marathoners were only supposed to do a recovery run of 6 miles, and that the water stop was the turn-around. This would not have been a big deal, had the water stop set-up person not gotten lost in the park! To make a long story short, I wound up running right past the place where the water stop should have been, and did somewhere between 7-8 miles instead of 6. I kept up a really good pace, though, and I also spent most of the time chatting in Spanish with another runner. My first bilingual run - yay! This was definitely one of my more achy post-run days.
Saturday, October 24th - Eight is Enough
This past Saturday's starting point was much easier to find, as it was in my hometown of Alexandria. It was drizzling as I did my eight miles, but I didn't mind. I guess if you run in a hurricane at the beginning of the training, it puts everything else into perspective for you! Andrea couldn't be there, so I did the first few miles more or less on my own, with the exception of a run-walker who I chatted with on occasion when her intervals placed her near me. She gave me really good advice: I need to figure out my pace, and during the race I need to look for the people who run holding pace numbers. Apparently there will be different people running with signs that say "8 minute mile", "10 minute mile", etc. I need to find my guy (probably 11 minutes), and stay within eyesight of him, so that I don't get so excited on race day that I run too fast and tire myself out. I've heard that it is pretty common to use up a lot of your energy in the first few miles because of all of the commotion around you, which actually makes your pace a lot slower once you've tired yourself out. Hopefully this won't happen to me.
On the way back, I ran with a really nice woman named Elizabeth, who ran at pretty much the same pace as me. It definitely made the time pass a lot quicker than during the first four. I can only imagine how quickly my weekday runs would fly by if I just had someone to run with!
This coming Saturday is a 10 miler. My first double-digit run...oh my goodness!!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Hills
I did my required four miles today. It's funny, but I'm more exhausted now than I was when I ran eight miles on Saturday. I think I couple of factors come into play here: 1. I'm running alone instead of with Andrea and the others, 2. I put in a full day of work and dealt with a 45 minute commute before starting my run, and 3. My neighborhood is way hillier than any of the trails we run on during training. My coaches say that hill training is really beneficial, and I know that it will build up my stamina and make me able to go faster on flat terrain, but it still isn't any fun. Hopefully Cooperstown isn't super hilly, because I'm looking forward to another not-to-difficult (albeit lonely) eight miler when we go out of town this weekend.
In related news, one of my coworkers is doing the Nike Women's Marathon a week from Saturday. She has to go out to San Francisco for it, and she's really looking forward to it. I'm excited for her, and I can't wait to see that Tiffany's necklace that she'll get in lieu of a finisher's medal. To me, the hills of San Francisco are worth it for the bling that you get to flaunt afterward!
In related news, one of my coworkers is doing the Nike Women's Marathon a week from Saturday. She has to go out to San Francisco for it, and she's really looking forward to it. I'm excited for her, and I can't wait to see that Tiffany's necklace that she'll get in lieu of a finisher's medal. To me, the hills of San Francisco are worth it for the bling that you get to flaunt afterward!
Sunday, October 5, 2008
And the winner is...
...Karen! Karen, a cyclist who knows someone on my running team, won my raffle for the long weekend at the lakeside cottage in Upstate NY. Congratulations Karen, and thank you to everyone who entered! Check out the video below to see my friend pull the winning ticket:
I haven't been updating my blog since I started the raffle, since I wanted the information and cottage photos to be the first thing that potential entrants saw. Now I feel like I can finally catch everyone up on the past three Saturdays!
Honored Teammate Picnic
The honored teammate picnic was on Saturday, September 20th. After an easy four mile run we gathered by the canal at Fletcher's Boathouse for bagels and cake. While we were eating, people on my team got up and shared their personal stories. Monique shared the story of her sister, who died 20 years ago of complications from Leukemia, and she explained that thanks to all of the hard work of fundraisers like us, patients are far more likely to survive now from the same disease. Marc stood up with his two year old daughter and explained that she had been fighting Leukemia since January, which is why he decided to do a Team in Training event. In addition, Sarah, who is currently undergoing treatment but is still training for a half marathon, attempted to share her story but got too choked up to do so. Her husband stepped in and explained the details of her treatment, in addition to thanking us for all of the fundraising work we were doing. There were many others who also talked about friends and family members who were battling a blood cancer, or who unfortunately lost their battle. It was an emotional morning, and it reminded us why we are out there doing what we're doing.
Running with Cows and Horses
On Saturday the 27th Dave and I had to attend a wedding in Upstate NY (congratulations Eric and Diana!), which meant that I would have to miss Saturday Training for the first time. Since I knew I would be a little too busy to run on Saturday, I chose to get my six miles in on the Friday. I used www.mapmyrun.com to plan a route in the secluded area surrounding my mother-in-law's house, and proceeded to exhaust myself running up steep hills through the lakeside farmland. At one point, I was worried that I missed the cross street (literally named "Cross Street") to get back to a road that I was familiar with. There were plenty of little dirt roads that cut into cow pastures, but they looked like they turned into driveways as they got closer to the farmer's barns. I was really starting to get nervous, but eventually I did come upon a hilly, narrow, gravelly little road called Cross Street. There was a sign that said the road is closed between November and April, and I thanked my lucky stars that it was only September (I think I would have cried if I had had to turn back the way I came). I soon discovered the reason for the sign, as the road was really more of a treacherous little path that is probably impassible in the cold NY winters. As I attempted to run down it, I decided to try the Energy Gu that I had picked up at the Bethesda training. It was caramel flavored, but it had caffeine in it and it basically tasted so disgusting that I barely had any of it. I'm definitely going to stick with sports jelly beans! In any case, I made the lonely 6 mile trek and I was very proud of myself. It's really starting to get easier!
8 Miles!!
Yesterday we were back at Fletcher's Boathouse, but this time for an 8 mile run. I was happy to be surrounded by my running buddies, and Andrea and I chatted easily along the path. We ran from Georgetown to Bethesda and back, which was no small feat. Still, it really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. The shorts and sports beans that I purchased at the Army 10-miler Expo the day before helped. I still can't believe I ran 8 miles!
Following the run, Erin and I borrowed a table from Tina and proceeded to run a bakesale in front of Giant for the next four hours. It was pretty successful, and we each walked away with $98 for our fundraising webpages. People were so generous, and some came up to us and thanked us because they had lost loved ones to a blood cancer, and they were just genuinely happy to see us out there raising money for the cause. I was exhausted from the run and nervous about the fundraiser, but it was so rewarding and inspiring to hear people's stories. Now I know more than ever that I need to meet my fundraising goal. Thanks so much to all of you who have already donated!
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