Volunteering at the KC Marathon

Had a blast volunteering at the KC Marathon October 20!

Worked as a course monitor which involved keeping traffic off the course so participants had a safe race. We worked at the intersections KCPD didn't have officers to work at. Generally officers will work the busier intersections and volunteers will monitor the less busy intersections. Officers did check in with us periodically and we knew if we had a problem there was help a short distance away.

I was assigned the intersection at 17th and Main. For the most part people were cooperative. During one point in the race I had to cross the street and cut through a large group of runners to keep a guy from plowing on to Main Street. He was a jerk but once I explained to him how he could get around the race and to his destination he calmed down. It was a hair raising moment for a minute though as he had edged his way on to Main Street just a bit. I got him turned around before it became an issue though.

After my intersection was clear and we were released by KCPD, I headed to the finish line to cheer for some friends. Walked down to the corner right before the finish. There were no volunteers there so a race official asked if I would help direct marathon runners to the right so they went in to the correct chute. I didn't mind helping out since it still gave me an opportunity to see and cheer for friends. When the kids run started I ended doing some crowd control so the kids and their parents didn't run in to the marathon runners. Not sure why they had the kids run parallel to the marathon course but it wasn't the brightest idea. The kids got out of their lane and in the marathoners way too many times. Runners in the marathon were not happy and I can't say I blame them. Could have caused some injuries. Note to race organizers - if the kids run is going to run parallel to the marathon course have a barrier or many volunteers there so the kids can't cut in front of the marathon runners. Other than the kids run, I thought the race was pretty well run.

Got to say there's nothing quite like a thousand or more "thank yous" on a Saturday morning! The runners were great! Especially when I was dealing with the jerk who edged on to Main Street. Got quite a few thank yous and claps for getting him turned around.

I have to admit, I volunteered for purely selfish reasons... to get my motivation back to run! It worked! Got a nice easy 3 miles in yesterday and heading out soon for another easy run. Not sure I'll run any more races this year but I will likely volunteer at one or 2 more before winter takes over.

Blues n Brews 10 Miler

Completed the Blues n Brews 10 Miler on Sunday September 30, 2012.  I hadn't run much since deciding to defer the MCM to next year and my body complained!  My time was slow.... it was a beautiful day for a run though!  My favorite part?  Running in to friend Anna Thomas-Rios after the race!  Always nice to run in to friends. 

I have been slacking with my training.  Work has been very stressful.  Not good considering the year I have had.  I always enjoy running in the fall so I hope to find my mojo soon and get back in to a routine!  Thinking about doing the OKC marathon in April.  That should get me motivated to start training again!  Happy running! 

Deferring the MCM until 2013

After much thought and contemplation, I have decided to defer my registration for the Marine Corps Marathon to 2013. It's been a challenging year for me and I just haven't been putting in the miles necessary to complete the marathon this year. Though I am disappointed, by deferring my registration I am guaranteed a spot in next years race and I have already added it to my calendar. Running has always been a big part of my life and still is but for now it's going to just be for fun and stress relief without the stress of training for a marathon.

All Star 5K

Ran the All Star 5K Sunday July 8, 2012. It was terribly crowded at the beginning and nearly the entire course. Finish chute got backed up and literally had to walk in the last 1/4 mile. Time was terrible. 37:49   Ankle hurt. Shins hurt. Walked more than I should have. Overall, very poor run. My long run of 9 miles after the 5K went better than the 5K did. I guess that's a positive to take away from the day...

Time to refocus. Allowed myself to take it easy this week. Next week mileage goes up. It's time to get serious about my training for the Marine Corps Marathon!!!

Miles for Meals 5k

Ran...or maybe I should say walked...the Miles for Meals 5K this morning. http://treasurer.jocogov.org/tre/milesformeals.aspx.

Been having trouble with shins for quite some time and more recently this week my left ankle is bothering me. Today was no different. Tried stretching before the gun went off.  Started out slow. Shins loosened up but became apparent the left ankle was going to be a problem. Kept a slow steady pace to the turnaround. Stopped for water at the aid station. That ended up being a mistake. Ankle was hurting and couldn't get going again. Walked until I couldn't stand it anymore and then slowly trotted the remaining mile or so to the finish. Have no idea what my time was. Doesn't really matter since I walked so much during the second mile. Was a beautiful day for a run. Too bad my body isn't cooperating.

Got home and iced the ankle. Hope it gets better soon. Start my marathon training plan at the end of the month.

Finally looked up my time... 35:37. Not surprised since I walked so much.

Hospital Hill Half Marathon

Ran my second half marathon in 3 weeks and was no more prepared for this than I was for Running with the Cows.

My training was going well with a long run of 13 miles for my Sunday Long Run on 2/19/12. Then life threw a curve ball at me on 2/23/12 with the fire that will always keep the date 2/23/12 in my mind. I have done very minimal training since then running only 130 miles in the last 3 months. That's not enough miles to try and run half marathons on. Looking back to last year I ran 200 miles in that same time frame.

Knowing that HH was to be part of my training buildup to the beginning of my marathon training I decided to run anyway even though I knew I wasn't really prepared. Race day started with my normal routine eating half a power bar and a banana and Gatorade while driving to the race venue. I got to race venue in plenty of time to park and post on Facebook before heading down to the start line. Found the starting line and a group of people with the letter F on their bibs (we were supposed to be in corrals) and settled in to wait for the gun to go off.

The gun went off and almost immediately I knew I was going to have trouble with my shins. I had hoped to stick with the 2:20 pace group but lost sight of them within the first 2 miles of the race. The first major hill told me how bad this day was going to be. My shins were hurting so bad that I had to stop and try to walk up the hill. Walking only made it worse so I resorted to a slow jog. The downhill section made my shins hurt even more. This was going to be a tough day. Little did I know how tough day it was going to be! Around 6 miles I realized that my hands were starting to swell up and was pretty sure my feet were too based on the fact that my toes were hurting like they were crammed in to shoes too small. I've seen my hands swell up before in hot conditions but never had this experience during a race before.

At around the 10 mile marker I knew I
was in trouble but with no medical personnel in site I decided to just keep going forward. I walked quite a bit when I had to and ran when I could. A slow jog was really all I could muster though. I made sure to continue taking water and Gatorade at every aid station so that I didn't get dehydrated even though I didn't think dehydration was the cause of my problem. It was nice seeing friend Tim working at the last aid station. He provided encouragement and i got a few high fives before heading up the final hill affectionately known as Hospital Hill. I somehow made it to the finish line with a total time of two hours 36 minutes and 56 seconds. Was certainly my worst half marathon time in my life but I've only done four so I don't have a lot to compare it to. I was actually surprised by my final time, I thought I was closer to the three hour mark. I had to stay around the medical tent area until my swelling decreased enough that I was able to bend my hands and my wrists. I spent in total about an hour hanging out at the race venue getting something to eat and drink and letting the swelling go down before I made the drive home.

Overall I'm not too upset about my race. My time was slow but I expected that. I finished under adverse conditions when I really wanted to quit. Now I'm ready to start my training vamp up to the marathon in the fall.

I have a few races scheduled between now and the marathon, actually eight including the marathon so I have plenty of opportunity to get my race legs together before the big race day. Looking forward to the Marine Corps Marathon in the fall! That is my goal race of the year. I do have one more half marathon scheduled in July. Not sure if I will still do that one or not based on money but it's in Chicago so I am looking forward to that if I think I can afford it. I'll go if I think I can afford it or I won't. Either way, time to start training for the Marine Corps Marathon! Gulp... :)

Running with the Cows Half Marathon

Haven't been running much so wasn't sure about doing this run. Signed up a few months ago with the intention of using this run as the beginning of my buildup for Marine Corps Marathon.  That's essentially what I did... treated it as a long run. 

Tried to do an easy run the night before and had really bad shin splints.  Got up on race morning, had my usual pre-race meal... banana and 1/2 peanut butter/chocolate powerbar and off I went to the race.  Parking took longer than anticipated and the race got pushed back 15 or so minutes. That was fine with me as I needed to hit the portapotty anyway.  It was a little over 1/2 mile walk to the race start from the parking area.  My shins were killing me.  I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to run.  However, by time I hit the bathroom and got to the start line they loosened up and felt okay so I gave it a go.  First mile was 9:42 and it went downhill from there.  I was ahead of the 2:25 pace group for quite a while.  They caught me before the turnaround and I hung on to them for a while hoping I could pick it up and beat my 2:23 time from last year but it wasn't meant to be.  Around mile 10 I crashed.  I was out of gas from not putting in enough miles this spring and it hit me.  I lost sight of the 2:25 pace group and was eventually swallowed up by the 2:30 group.  I ran the entire race other than the aid stations so I am proud of that.  That is my game plan for any race so to be able to do that when crashing so hard during this one I was glad to have the mental attitude to keep going even when I didn't feel like it.  Finish time was 2:28:59.  By far my worst performance but it's only my 3rd half marathon ever so it's not like I have a lot of experience here.  I am glad I did it and it still serves as my start up towards Marine Corps Marathon.  Next up is Hospital Hill!  Gulp........ 

Volunteer

Volunteered at Rock the Parkway 5k and Half Marathon on Saturday. Nice to be able to give back a little to the running community. Many people said thank you for volunteering. I always try to say thank you to the volunteers when I race because I know how much races need volunteers to keep runners safe. Got me excited for the Running wIth the Cows Half Marathon coming up in May. Saw my friends Anna and Ryann in the half (Missed Valerie in the 5k Dangit!) which motivated me to get out and run this weekend! :)

Too bad my back's bothering me. Ran 3 on Saturday and 6 on Sunday. Really need to get more miles in. I am definitely not ready for that race!!!

Run for Mercy 5k

Did the Run for Mercy 5k this morning. First race since last November. Nice cool temps in 50's and the rain held off. Time was 30:21 which equals 9:47 pace. Haven't run much over last 6 weeks so it was nice to see under 10:00 pace. Hoping to get back to a routine soon.

Have a couple half marathons coming up then start training for Marine Corps Marathon. Will be doing the intermediate plan so must start getting the miles in or I won't be physically ready for that training plan.

Starting over...

My life was turned upside down on Feb 23 when a fire destroyed the place I call home.  I have had very little motivation to run since that day.  Too many things to do, too many things to replace.  Mostly, I'm sad over the loss of my cat Cosmo.  I had Cosmo for 14 years and that truly was a difficult loss.  I have had to keep it together for my other kitty CJ who was badly burned in the fire.  He is 11 years old and very much part of my family.  He has required a lot of my time for vet visits and follow up care but he's my baby so it's worth the effort.  The support from my family and friends has been amazing!   I don't know where I would be without them.  Each day gets a little easier.  I have managed a few short runs but nothing organized really.  I know eventually running will become part of my routine again.  For now, I will just take it a day at a time.  If I feel like running today, great!  If not, it's okay.  Just taking it a day at a time...... 

Weekend Warrior

Why do I insist on cramming all my weekly miles in to the weekend?  Ran 25 miiles this past week and 22 of those were Friday through Sunday.  My long run yesterday sucked because my legs were so tired!  The first few miles felt good but by time I got to the turnaround I was beat.  Had a little weiner dog/beagle mix chase me with about 2 miles left and I was so tired I bent down to it's level and barked at it instead of trying to run away from it.  Stupid thing went running back to it's owner.  I am sure the owner was laughing at my bark but I didn't care.  The next step was to bite it if it didn't leave my ankles alone!  Discovered I don't care for Chocolate Outrage GU.  Better to find out during training than in a race.  Goal for this week is to get some miles in during the week!  My mid week run increases to 7 miles this week.  It's the mid week semi long run that i can't seem to get in during the week.  The Sunday long run is really hard when i do my mid-week semi-long run on Saturday.  Need to quit doing that!!!

Wow am I slow!

Just out of curiosity I looked up my times for the 2 half marathons I have completed and the one marathon I have completed.

2:13:29 - 2005 Hospital Hill Half Marathon
2:23:03 - 2011 Running with the Cows Half Marathon
5:04:46 - 2011 Quad Cities Marathon

Wow am I slow! Granted I am not as young as I used to be but wow am I slow! Completed my first marathon in 2011. Knew I would be slow thanks to a calf injury keeping me from completing several of my training runs. Running is going fairly good this year. Having issues with shin splints but it seems to resolve itself within about 2-3 miles of the run. Having only done a few races at these distances, why can't I go faster? That's the question I am asking myself and I am determined to find an answer. Guess that means I better start training rather than just plodding along just to put in the miles. I will never match my high school time of 5:20 for the mile, 21:45 for the 5k or 48:xx for the 10k but surely I can improve on my half and full marathon times. Still on track to do the RnR Nashville Marathon providing I want to spend the $. Goal marathon is Marine Corps Marathon. Registration opens in March and the date is circled on my calendar! Running with the Cows and Hospital Hill are both on my calendar as well. How about a PR this year??? Time to start training!

Running for Sherry

My training plan calls for a rest day tomorrow.  I am off schedule this week though due to illness so may do the 6 miles that I haven't done yet this week in honor of Sherry.  A virtual run for Sherry is scheduled for Saturday Feb 11th. 

Race calendar

Added the Jeff Taylor Memorial Run and John Glaser Memorial Run to my schedule for the fall. They don't really fall conveniently in to my training plan for the Marine Corps Marathon BUT they are both for a good cause - the Surviving Spouse And Family Endowment Fund ("SAFE") which exists to support the families of Law Enforcement Officers, Firefighters and Emergency Services Personnel in the Kansas City metro area who have perished in the line of duty. Looking forward to joining some of my friends for both runs.

Illness

Haven't logged a mile yet this week.  Fighting an upper respiratory infection.  Just when I think I am feeling better I practically cough up a lung.  Working late tonight but hoping to get 3 easy miles in anyway.  If I don't run tonight it will be missed mileage for the week that can't be gotten back.  No sense in trying to "make up" missed miles.  I am following Hal Higdon's Novice 1 Marathon program.  It got me to the finish of the Quad Cities Marathon last fall so I know it will get me to the finish at RnR Nashville providing I don't miss too many workouts.  Plan on using the Intermediate 1 program to get me to the finish of the Marine Corps Marathon this fall. 

Bucket List?

Decided in 2011 I would do a marathon as part of my bucket list.   Trained for and completed the Quad Cities Marathon September 25, 2011.  Maybe it was the weather, the slow time or the feeling I got when I crossed the finish line but decided I wasn't stopping at one.  Just days after completing QC I found myself looking at race calendars and asking friends for suggestions on races to run.  Tentatively plan to do Rock n Roll Nashville Marathon in April and Marine Corps Marathon in October.  Injuries weren't kind to me in 2011 so will just have to see how 2012 goes.  Either way, decided a marathon was not just a bucket list item for me.