Two Holiday 5ks

Ran a holiday 5k race two weekends in a row. Last Saturday it was the Jingle Bell run (for arthritis) and yesterday, the Egg Nog Jog

Jingle Bell Gets Me Jangled Until the Gun Goes Off

Just like last year, I had to choose between the Reindeer Romp and Jingle Bell last weekend. I would have preferred to run the more scenic, low-key, Reindeer Romp, which is also cheaper, offers a 10k as well as a 5k, and includes a pancake breakfast and a long-sleeved, technical top. But with Tommy out of town last weekend, Jingle Bell worked out better for me time-wise. It starts later in the morning (10 am) and is closer to home, so overall I wouldn't be away as long, which is better for the dogs. 

Or maybe it was just better for me. Yeah, they could have handled it if I ran the 10k Reindeer Romp, but I would have had to get up way early to get them fed before heading off to that race. For Jingle Bell, I could almost sleep in, and the dogs had plenty of time to eat and take care of business before I left for the race.

The Jingle Bell race starts and finishes at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center in Covington. It's not the most interesting course in the world, but it is fast. I set my 5k PR on this course at a summertime race years ago. You run down the road from the Convention Center, turn right on Fourth St., then turn right and cross over the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge to Cincinnati. Then you make a little loop of Second and Third Streets before heading back across the bridge. So it's not real hilly----there's just the gentle incline of the bridge and a couple of short hills going between Second and Third.

It was pouring down rain when I got up, and I had to push myself to get out the door. I kept telling myself that it was just a 5k, and surely since I had just recently run a marathon in freezing rain I should be able to easily handle a 5k in relatively warm rain. And maybe there wouldn't be as much competition and I would get an age group placement.

I left the house a little after 9 am, and made one stop by the post office before getting on the highway. So it was probably at least 9:10 before I even got out of Hyde Park.

The highway was fine---the rain had let up. I still have nightmares about the year I tried to drive to this race in a blizzard and ended up just circling back home because the highway was so slippery.

But when I got off in Covington, the traffic was at a near standstill. It's just a few blocks from the off ramp to the street the Convention Center is on, but it was hardly moving at all. So although I was in good shape when I exited the highway, I was not in good shape by the time I arrived at the parking garage across from the Convention Center where I always park. Which was full, as was the lot next door. Great.

I turned around the block, and fortunately there was plenty of parking in the garage under the Embassy Suites hotel diagonally across from the Convention Center. Go figure. I thought it would be more expensive than the other lot but it wasn't. Hmmm, make a mental note to come in from the other side and go right to that lot if I do this race next year.

But, I didn't have much time until the race was to start. I rushed over to the Convention Center, picked up my shirt and bib, and rushed back to the car. No time for a proper warmup, so my warmup was going to just consist of running in and out of the parking garage.

Now it was time to head to the start. It was overcast but at least the rain had stopped. Mostly. Maybe a slight drizzle. While I waited for the race to start, I tried jogging in place and doing some high knee lifts so I would at least have my heart rate up a little and my muscles a little bit warm before the start.

I had a pretty modest time goal, based on my time at the recent Ashenfelter 8k. My time at that race predicted a 26:30 for 5k. I knew that I had not run hard at the 8k, but I decided that a 26:30 would be my goal. I'm reluctant to have an ambitious goal after that last marathon.

It took me about 18 seconds to cross the start line once the gun went off. It seemed like I had lined myself up in the right place, because except for having to elbow aside a couple of people in the very beginning (why do those walkers always get in the wrong place?!!!!!) I was not having to break stride much to get into my pace.

I felt good, and even passed a few people running over the bridge, which often happens when I am on the downhill side but seldom on the uphill. Hit the first mile in 8:16 on my watch.

Still felt good in the second mile. Kept reminding myself to focus. Time for the second mile was 8:08. It appeared that I was going to easily surpass my goal.

Focus, focus, focus. Glide, glide, glide. On the last downhill, I found myself spitting. Spitting while running is a very new thing for me. I just started doing it after those two women spit on me at the Dayton Half. It's a revelation. You really do feel a little better after you toss out a spit wad. Who knew?

Came around the bend with an 8:10 for the third mile. Did not kick too hard because I decided I did not want to puke for what I consider a less than stellar time---although it was quite good for me at this stage. Ran the last .1 in about 43 seconds, which is not bad.

After the race, I wandered into the Convention Center to see what they had to eat. It was a rather paltry offering---just some cut up Panera bagels and cups of water. I was not in the mood for a bagel so I just grabbed a water and headed to the car. Decided I would go back over, change into dry clothes, and hang out awhile to see if maybe I had managed to place. They were going three deep in the age groups, and my time was faster than the third place woman from last year.

In the back of the room, they now had a computer set up displaying the times and placements, just for the awards. After a couple of minutes, I could see that I did not make the top three, so I left.

Back home, I learned that I had finished 4th of 47 woman in my age group, which is not that bad. My official time was 25:17. Third place beat me by about 20 seconds. I recognized the name of the woman who beat me, but I do not know what she looks like. I'm wondering if I could figure out who she is if I could find a way to beat her, the way I have managed to outrun other ladies over the years. I would start just behind her, try to maintain that position, then kick past her at the end. Maybe I will try that if I can ever figure out who she is. I did learn, from the results, that Cyndi K. was there (thought I had seen her from behind when I was exiting the Convention Center to go home) and I beat her by about a minute.

Overall, I was glad I ran. 4 of 47 is not too shabby.

Egg Nog Jog is Not a Jog for Me

This is the one that takes place in Mt. Adams. This was the third time that I had run it. The worst part about this race is trying to find a parking space in Mt. Adams. I was stressing about it but in the end it was pretty easy. There were plenty of spaces left on Monastery Street right around the corner from the finish line when I  arrived about 9:20.

I last ran this one in 2009, which was a year with snow and ice. The weather yesterday was great. At race time, it was in the mid to upper 40s, overcast but dry and not much wind. Can't really expect much better in mid-December.

I had picked up my packet at The Running Spot on Friday so I didn't need to worry about that. It was a little early, but I headed out for my one mile warmup jog anyway. It's important to get those quads and hammies really warm before you tackle the hills of Mt. Adams.

This race has a very hilly course. But based on the results from last weekend, I was expecting something faster than that 26:30 goal I had set for myself last week. I knew I probably would not be as fast as last weekend, but could manage something in between, maybe.

I finished my jog and went inside Longworth's, the pub where they were hosting the pre-and post-race gathering. I thought it would be nice to visit the bathroom, but Longworth's was jam packed and I gave up on that.

I went outside to wait for the race to start. I pettted a little dog that was a rescue from Puerto Rico. The owner told me this was the dog's first race. I kind of wished I had brought Ed along, but he hasn't been running with me this year and it didn't seem right to just push him to do a fast 5k without a proper buildup.

At the start line, I chatted with a woman who noticed my Chickamauga race shirt. She had run it in 2007. I saw Cyndi K. a few rows in front of me. She turned around and looked in my direction but I wasn't sure if she saw me. I thought about saying hello but she had already turned the other way. I hadn't been thinking about "racing" but now I knew I was going to have to beat Cyndi K.

And then we were off, and just like last weekend, I was feeling pretty good. The first mile has some downhill and some flat, not too much uphill. I caught up to Cyndi K. and flew right past her before the first quarter mile. Hopefully she would stay passed. I hit the first mile marker in 8:01. Good.

The second mile has more downhill. I still felt good. There's a weird little piece where you run out along a brick path and then back across the grass. It's probably a total of a tenth of a mile or less. It does enable you to see who is just ahead of you and who is just behind. Cyndi K. was behind but not as far as I would have liked. I ran a 7:49 for the second mile, which my GPS said was a little short.

And then there was the last mile. This one naturally featured more uphill because we had to get back where we started from somehow. There are a couple of spots where you run up short, steep concrete ramps from parking areas near the art museum. I remembered these being iced over back in 2009. At least we didn't have to deal with that this year. The second ramp was so steep that I almost had to stop and walk near the top of it, though.

Mile 3 was an 8:51, but maybe that one was a little long since the one before was short. Or maybe it was just the hilliness of it. The last few tenths of a mile were on flatter road. I saw one woman who was fading, and I buckled down and kicked past her, with 43 seconds for the last .1. Just like last week, I did not go fast enough to make myself sick. That's always nice!

I waited for a volunteer to cut my chip off my shoe, then grabbed a cup of water. There was no food set out---presumably it was all back at Longworth's, which was a little bit of a walk from the finish. My car was closer. I headed there and debated going back to the bar for refreshments and the awards. There were supposedly door prizes, but they were only going 1 deep in the age groups. I figured I was likely in the top three but doubted I had won. Did I really want to go hang out with a bunch of strangers in my wet clothes for an hour to find out? Or did I want to do it even if I bothered to change clothes?

It seemed easier to just eat the Picky Bar I had brought along and drive home.

Later in the afternoon, however, I learned that I had in fact won the age group. There was one woman faster than me, but she got the first Grand Master, which left me in first place. Bummer. Or, actually, I am glad I won, but it would be a bummer to find out that the award was something nice like a coffee mug or a plaque. Most likely it was just some cheesy medal that I don't really need another one of anyway. And it's better to go home and find out you won than to hang around and find out you didn't!

The first Grand Master beat me by about 30 seconds. I did beat Cyndi K. again by about 40 seconds, and there were even a few women in between us. And, more significantly, I beat another woman whose name I recognize but whom I have never beaten before---she's another one who I don't recognize except for her name. So that was cool.

Was 2 of 21 (or 1 of 20 for the awards), 22 of 246 women, and 114 of 468 runners. Final time was 25:24, or 7 seconds slower than last week, which is not bad on this hilly course---although, according to my GPS it may have been about .06 short, which could be as much as 30 seconds different, I guess. Anyway, pretty good result for me and again, glad I ran it.

Now I am about to go into race withdrawal because I don't know when I'll have a chance to run a fast local race again. It could be months. Yes, I have that marathon coming up in Mississippi but it's not the same thing as running a hard 5k.

Ashenfelter 8k, a new tradition for my family

For the past, what, 15 years? or more, we have been going down to Freehold for the Born to Run 5 Mile race. But this year the race was cancelled because of the damage left behind by Hurricane Sandy. So instead we drove over the Glen Ridge, just a couple of miles from my sister's house, for the Ashenfelter 8k.

The race is named after Horace Ashenfelter, a lifelong resident of Glen Ridge who won the gold medal in the steeplechase in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. His family started this race 13 years ago. It's gotten to be a pretty big deal, and I can't believe it took us this long to start doing it. Now I think we are going to have to do it every year, even if we also still go down to Freehold the next day.

You can read about Horace Ashenfelter here and here. Sounds like a pretty cool guy.

We drove over to the high school on Wednesday night to pick up our packets. Considering this is a 2500 person race, I was surprised they didn't have a little more going on at the packet pickup. I think the local running shoe store could have maybe sold some stuff in there. Anyway, we got our bibs and D-tags and shirts (long sleeve, technical).

It's a pretty competitive race. It's the NJ 8k championship, and they also have a team competition. There are a lot of fast runners in NJ. I always thought the Born to Run race drew a fast crowd but this one is even more serious. I wasn't going to try to run especially fast and harbored no expectations of an age-group prize. I just wanted to get a good workout in.

Thursday morning we drove over there and parked a few blocks away from the high school. The race makes a loop of residential Glen Ridge (maybe it is all residential in Glen Ridge, not sure) that starts and finishes at the high school. While Tommy, Cathy, Michael, Thomas and Tori walked to the start, I headed out for a little warmup jog and also to visit the portapotties. I got there just in time to get in and out without stressing about missing the start, then headed out to the back of the pack to find the family.

It was a nice day for a run. Not too cold, and plenty of sun. Although this part of New Jersey is quite hilly, the race route is flat. You basically go about two miles out, then turn down a one block hill, then come back for a little over two miles, turn right again and run up a one block hill and head back to the finish. Oh, there's somehow a little stretch in there where you go by the finish when you still have a mile or so to go.

We had somehow talked Tommy into doing the race, and we considered running together, but I wanted to go a little faster than he said he did. And I generally have a hard time running with him. Even though he said he wanted to run 9:30s and I wanted to run 9s, I wasn't entirely sure that he wouldn't go out at 8:00 pace. I don't think he has a good handle on what his pace actually is, in other words. So I decided to just run my own race.

I passed Michael before we had gone a half-mile. He is a baseball player and pretty serious about it, but he doesn't do much running regularly. I wondered if he was going to finish the race. And I wondered what it says about his conditioning if he 53-year old aunt is passing him before we've even gone a half-mile. Maybe he was just jogging but I wasn't running all out either.

I achieved my goal of 9:00 pace, without pushing too hard. Splits were 9:08, 8:49, 8:52, 8:49 and 7:36 for that last piece that is short of a mile, for a finish time of 43:15. I was 37 of 102 in the age group, 431 of 1244 women, and 1258 of 2551 runners overall. Now I will confess that when it came down to the very end I did kick so I could break 45 minutes on the clock, and I did puke. Well, at least nobody who knew me saw it happen.

Michael finished just a little bit behind me, and Tommy was a bit behind him., while the others just looked on from the sidelines.

Definitely want to go back and run it again next year. It's a really nice event and close by so no reason not to.

Indianapolis Monumental race report

I've had a few days to process it and I have a little time right now so I guess I'll write about it.

Before getting into the details, I just want to say that it is a really nice race. I enjoyed it last time I ran it (the inaugural event) and it has definitely improved over the years (under different management, I believe, since the second year). As far as organization, the course, every little thing that goes into putting on a successful event, overall they do a nice job.

But not much they can do about the weather! Which basically sucked.

And not much they can do about my lack of training or my psychological state!

But I went there and I tried to relax and enjoy myself a bit, and I did manage to finish (even though, at times, I thought it was really stupid to be out there continuing).

The Day Before

We decided it made more sense for Tommy to stay home with the dogs and for me to travel by myself. For one thing, I would avoid four hours of extra driving taking the dogs to and from the kennel. For another, Tommy could get some more work done on his porch project. The down side was that I had to drive myself there and back, endure loneliness, and have to check myself out of the hotel in the morning before the race.

I wanted to leave around 10 am so I could get there around noon and make it to the expo in time to hear Wesley Korir speak at 1 pm. But I didn't manage to make it out the door until 11. Oh well. The drive was relatively uneventful. I stopped for lunch at a Subway, and in honor of Korir, I purchased a tuna sub. Although unlike Korir, I did not purchase a second sub to give to a homeless person. I'm just not as good as he is.

Once I got to Indy, I wished that I had spent a little more time figuring out on a map where the expo and pasta dinner took place, so I could figure out a sensible route, rather than relying on the GPS to guide me. But I didn't have to drive around the block too many times before finding a parking garage near the convention center. Unfortunately, I think I picked the more expensive of the available options. But at least it was a short walk.

Hanging at the Expo

I found the expo pretty quickly, and made my way back to the registration table to pick up my bib and shirt. There was also a poster (which I have thrown away), but otherwise not much else in the goody bag, which was a brown paper supermarket bag with handles. The race chip was embedded in the bib, just like the way they did it in the first year.

I took a walk around the expo. It was about standard for a mid-sized race. I saw a lot of nice stuff but told myself that I didn't really need anything. Nick Willis was not going to speak until 3 pm, and then the pasta dinner was not until 6. I didn't want to move my car out of the garage to drive to my hotel and then have to come back here later for the pasta dinner. It was going to be a long afternoon.

I remembered that I wanted to buy a new fanny pack for my gels, because the one I planned to use was starting to fall apart. I found an identical one and bought it. This purchase activity loosened the purse strings and soon I was perusing the sale races. I bought a couple pairs of warmup pants (which I like to use for dogwalking and agility) at 50 percent off.

I sat down in one of the chairs in front of the stage where they had the speakers and waited for Nick Willis. Some others joined me.

And soon he appeared, in a Reebok (his sponsor) shirt and jeans, looking a lot cuter in person than he does in all the Flotrack videos I have seen of him over the last five years. Taller and cuter. Not too scrawny considering he is a miler. I remind myself that he is my daughter's age.

Anyway, he gives a nice little talk about, if I had to sum it up, recognizing the importance of your support systems and just being happy to enjoy running. He spoke a little about how fortunate he felt to have had the opportunity to come to the USA to train with Ron Warhurst at the U. of Michigan, and what it means to him to continue the great tradition of New Zealand track athletes. He took us through his experiences at the Olympics in 2004 (when he made the 1500 meter final), 2008 (when he won the bronze in the 1500 meters, which was later upgraded to silver when the winner subsequently tested positive), and this past summer when he had been running great leading up to the Games but totally bombed in the final.

His theme, as I said, seemed to be about how recognizing the importance of having a team behind him helped him win that medal in 2008. After 2004, he added his brother, his sister-in-law, and his wife to his support team, in addition to Warhurst, and it paid off. I thought about how my support team was just Tommy, and he wasn't here. Oh well.

He also spoke a little about recovering from the disappointment of the 2012 Olympics, and how as he got back into training, he wanted to always remember the joy that there is to be found in simply going for a run. This was how he attempted to connect to a topic that might be of interest to Joe Marathoner. I didn't really care about that---I have followed this guy's career for the last few years and I was happy to just hear him talk about himself, I didn't need him to connect it to me. It didn't need to have anything to do with marathoning.

Anyway, he took some questions. I don't remember what the other people asked, but I asked him if he was planning to move up in distance. He said that since he was still improving in the 1500, he wasn't really thinking about that. Makes sense, I guess. I just asked because it seems like that is the progression that so many of the professionals follow. But he's right, he is an Olympic medalist and he is still improving, so why move up? Leave that to the guys who can't compete at the 1500. Which, I have to agree, let't face it, is real running. Yeah, I'm a miler at heart, too.

When he was finished, I went up and boldly asked somebody to take my picture with him. Like he was some kind of zoo animal. I didn't even ask for his autograph! I just wanted the picture. I'm sure he thought I was some kind of crazy stalker. But afterwards, I wondered if maybe he had to be careful that I wasn't wearing any clothing from Nike or Adidas or Asics or whomever. Especially Nike. Maybe his contract with Adidas says he can't have a picture taking with somebody wearing the Swoosh. Wouldn't surprise me at all.

Nick's talk was finished around 3:30 pm. Still so much time to kill. Emboldened, I went over to the Kenyan Kids Foundation booth. That's Wesley Korir's charity. He was standing behind the table. I told him that I was sorry that I didn't get to hear his talk, but I really supported what he was doing. He told me that he was collecting donations via PayPal and that for $30 you could get a shirt. He turned me over to another couple of volunteers who took my information on their iPad.

Later, I found myself wondering if it was really Wesley Korir whom I spoke with or if it was another Kenyan guy who was with him. Later when Korir spoke at the pasta dinner he seemed a lot more self-confident than the guy at the booth. If this guy was embarrassed because I had confused him with Wesley Korir, that would explain things. Stupid old white woman.

Still had time to kill before the pasta dinner. Sat through another speaker, the guy who was the head of the company in charge of the pace teams. Pace teams have come a long way from their terrible debut at the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego. The whole thing has become quite professional. Anyway, this guy spoke on six secrets to running a good marathon, or something like that. Let's see how many I can remember:

1) Pick the right pace team. (This one I failed, BTW!) This means, be realistic about what you will be able to run. Don't pick a number out of thin air or because it sounds good. Base it on the reality of your training and the conditions.

2) Oh, I am realizing that I am not sure I remember the rest. Okay, another one was "Wear the right clothes" or don't wear new untested clothes, or something like that. But I don't think it was number two.

3) Was there something about not eating weird food? I don't remember! Gosh, I really can't remember the rest of the things he said at all, but I enjoyed his talk. He seemed like a good guy.

After that last presentation, I headed over to the pace team booth and chatted briefly with a Chinese woman named Hong who was the 4:10 team leader. She seemed really nice and I thought that maybe I would start the race with her group and see how it went. (Wrong pace for me, unfortunately. See #1, above.)

I still had over an hour until the pasta dinner. I decided to go sit in the lobby of the Westin. Found a comfy chair and settled in. Facebooked a little and read a book on the Kindle app on my phone. Overheard people talking about the NYC marathon being cancelled, which had just been announced.

Around 6 pm, I headed upstairs to the ballroom where they were having the dinner. It was not very well-policed, and I think I could have gone in to sit down and eat without actually having paid for the dinner. Nobody was collecting the "tickets."

There were plenty of seats available. I looked around for a promising table of friendly folks to dine with. I settled on a table in the middle of the room with four woman sitting at it. They turned out to be nice enough, but they were all half-marathoners. You would be surprised how much of a difference this made. I really wasn't in the mood to have to answer a lot of questions about marathoning. I wanted to sit with a group of people with whom I could actually share experiences. At least two of the women were first time half-marathoners and it sounded like they were walkers. So I didn't have a whole lot in common with them on that score.

Wesley Korir and Nick Willis spoke during the dinner. Wesley didn't talk for very long, but as I said, I was left wondering if he was the guy I had met at the expo or not. Nick gave a slightly different version of the talk he had given at the expo. It started out quite differently, and at first I wondered if it was actually going to be a different presentation, which would have really impressed me.

The dinner itself was kind of odd. They brought the food out to us instead of having a buffet. There was a tossed salad, which was okay except that the only dressing was a very thick caesar/ranch concoction that had been sitting on the table for awhile and congealing. There were rolls and butter, also okay. And then they brought out the pasta, which was a smallish serving of ziti covered with a tomato sauce. But the strangest thing was the chicken breast that sat atop each serving of pasta. It tasted good but I think most of us would have preferred more pasta. And I was left wondering what the vegetarians were supposed to do. The wait staff was not very communicative (mostly Mexican) and the basically just brought the food out and didn't offer any other options.

As Nick's presentation winded down, I realized that we were not getting any dessert. That was also odd. Usually at these things there is some kind of cake or brownie. What kind of catered meal is it when you don't get a dessert? Overall, it was a very disappointing pasta dinner.

After dinner, I headed to the hotel. It was just a couple blocks away but after driving there I really had not idea where we were in relation to the start. I stayed at the Marriott Courtyard, which had a convenient outdoor parking lot where I could leave my car during the race after checking out of the hotel---they were not giving late checkout because they were booked for the next night. My room was spacious and comfortable, and there was a delicious sugar cookie waiting for me which made up for not getting dessert at the dinner. I watched some TV and Facebooked until I got tired enough to go to bed. I was comfortable in the room and I think I recall sleeping reasonably well. Didn't I? Or did I have nightmares? I don't remember!

Race Morning

Note: I'm returning to this report after a ridiculous amount of time has gone by. But I would like to get it done! Okay, what do I remember? I followed the standard ritual of getting up early enough so that I could finish drinking two hours before the start. I had the motel room coffee and a Picky Bar. It was too early to take advantage of the bagels and coffee they had promised down in the lounge. Nice of them to offer, though.

I wore...gosh, I don't even remember what I wore now! Did I wear the CW-X capris? I know that I had my old torn up blue nylon anorak and I ended up leaving it in the car, so it survived another race. Yeah, I don't really remember what I wore. I think I had a long sleeved shirt and a thin jacket and my thin black gloves.

I was a little confused about the direction to the start from the hotel. I found a guy and (I'm guessing) his daughter (but could have been his wife, it was dark out. He was older, she seemed younger. But she was kind of heavy, not trophy-wife type). Anyway, I walked with them. I think he said it was his second marathon? And he had been targeting 4:00 but he'd been injured or sick or something so he was just going to go out with the 4:20 pace team. Like I should have done, as it turned out.

I had timed it pretty well so I didn't have to wait too long at the start. It wasn't raining, yet. I found the 4:10 pace group and chatted with them. Figured I would start with them and adjust as needed.
.

The Race

I must have been delusional. The gun went off, we shuffled to the start---didn't take too long---and the pace team leader took off. And the rest of the group went with her. I couldn't even run a block with them. So much for the going out slow.

My pace, for the first mile, actually was a little bit faster than I would have liked if I was going to do the classic 10, 9:50, 9:40, 9:30 cut down. First mile was 9:44. That was dumb.

My condition (or decay, as it were) can be evaluated by breaking the race up into three segments.

The First Eight Miles

I'm looking back over the course description as I go through this part. I do really like the course. It's flat but there's plenty to see. Not boring. Lots of turns but can still be fast on a good weather day if you're trained properly. Anyway, the first couple miles go through the core downtown area, and then you head north.

First, you run around Lucas Oil Stadium, otherwise known as the House that Peyton Built. In mile 2 & 3, you run though Monument Circle, by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument. Near mile 3, you pass the Federal Building and the Courthouse. Mile 3 to 4 is run along Massachusetts Ave., an area of restaurants, galleries, theaters, and boutique shops.

I don't remember much about miles 4 to 8. I think it is mostly residential. Anyway, I was pretty much holding a pace in the 9:40s for these first eight miles. I knew that wasn't going to continue.

The half-marathoners split off from us just past mile 7, and I was happy to see them go. Pretenders. Actually, I was jealous and wishing I was only doing a half. But as I heard someone say, we didn't travel all this way just to run a half-marathon.

The Second Eight Miles

Between miles 8 and 9 we pass my favorite part of the course, which is the Indiana State Fairgrounds. It's my favorite part because of all my happy memories of showing dogs in conformation at the big Indy Cluster in February the past 6 years or so, and before that the time I took Libby there for dockdiving.

The fairgrounds, of course, like fairgrounds seemingly everywhere, is not in a good neighborhood. But just past the fairgrounds we make a right turn and head into a very lovely neighborhood of large, older homes. I'm not sure what this area is called but it's probably the nicest residential area of the course.

In miles 13 to 14, we run through the village of Broad Ripple, which is an area of interesting restaurants and shops. If I lived in Indy, I'd probably want to live in Broad Ripple.

In the second eight miles, my pace climbed into the 10:00 range. I was keeping it under 11, though. Still not too horrible. The 4:20 pace team caught me around the halfway point, and I wondered what it would have been like if I had started with them. I tried to stay with them, but by mile 16 I couldn't keep up.

The Last Ten Miles

And here is where the wheels came off. But to continue with our travelogue, you pass by the Governor's Mansion between miles 16 and 17. I was already feeling so bad that I don't even remember much about it.

In mile 17, the course runs through the Butler University campus. I enjoy this part of the race, but this year the bad news was that the rain (which had begun falling awhile ago) was turning into sleet. So basically, it all started getting really miserable. I was thinking that if there was anyway that the course would pass by my hotel early, I would just drop out.

In mile 19, you run through the grounds of the Indy Art Museum. This is another pretty part of the course.

I don't remember much about the last six miles of the race, as far as the scenery. There isn't really much written in the info guide, either, except for a bunch of monuments near the end. I think I remember running through some sort of park somewhere in there, but that's about it.

Anyway, pace-wise, I was in the 11s for miles 17-20, and then I climbed up to 12s for 21-25. I was not enjoying myself. Freezing rain is absolutely my least favorite conditions to run a race in. Well, isn't that true for everybody? I was in a pretty bad mood about being there, feeling kind of stupid about the whole thing, and remembering that after I finished I was going to have to climb in the car and drive myself home, which really was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

I managed to pick it up a bit to an 11:32 for mile 26. I just wanted to get it over with. I finally did pass by my hotel but it was just a half-mile from the finish, so that didn't do my any good!

Post-Race

Finally got there, and I guess I was glad to have finished it. I got a handshake from a guy who might have been the race director. The finisher's medal is really quite nice. They also gave out knit running caps that had a race logo patch sewn on and the word "finisher." It was an ugly cap but still kind of a neat idea. Unfortunately, I dropped mine somewhere on my way back to the hotel.

Food-wise, there was a tent where they were supposedly serving chili, but they were out of it when I got there. They said they were bringing more but I didn't want to wait around. So, after asking a couple of people I got pointed in the right direction and started the painful walk back to my hotel, which was not too far away but it was still kind of rough in the nasty weather.

Back at the hotel, I got my bag out of the car and headed inside. I went into the bathroom on the first floor and just spread out inside the handicapped stall. After I got into dry clothes, I did feel a whole lot better.

Still, the drive home was no picnic. For starters, it took me awhile to get out of the city, since the route that my GPS wanted me to take involved crossing the race course. As I drove block after block trying to find a way to get to the highway, I saw the still struggling plodders shuffling along. Some of those people still had two miles to go, and I had been done for an hour already. Put things in perspective for me. It could have been worse!

I think I stopped for Starbucks once I got out of town. I don't remember! Oh yeah, I had Starbucks and one of their breakfast sandwiches, which is similar to an Egg McMuffin but more expensive, of course.

So, in the end, although I was miserable during the race and really questioning my own sanity, I am glad that I went there and did it, even though I knew I wasn't going to be able to run well. On a good weather day, and appropriately trained, it could have been better. But it's still a great race, really well organized. Nothing they can do about the weather! Or my lack of training!

In the end, I was 46 of 84 in my age group, and 722 of 1135 women, and 2099 of 2865 overall.

I swear I'm going to get this writing done tonight

Let's see. Sunday I just did my treadmill mile after we got back from the agility trial. Oh wait, that was just yesterday. I don't know why I keep thinking it is Tuesday already. Nah, it's just Monday.

Today I did 4 outside. The Mooney route. In wind (in my face on the way out) and light rain and 43 degrees and falling. It's a very gray and miserable day. But, once I got going I realized that it was for sure better than the treadmill. Now, if it had been raining before I started I would have been on the treadmill. But it didn't start until I'd gotten down by the Ravenswood apartments (about a half mile or so).

Tomorrow going to try to do 6. Still looking for new shoes. Today I wore the old Pegasus 28s that have almost 600 miles on them. They felt great. I wish they were not so disgusting looking and smelling, though!

Woohoo, I just got it done, that Indy report. It's not great but it's done. Now onto Ashenfelter and then Jingle Bell.

It's hard to write with a Zen in my lap

Just some quick little notes while I veg in front of the TV with Zen.

Did 5 yesterday, later in the afternoon, definitely my least favorite time to run in the winter. Had a hard time getting out there but after a mile or so I was glad I did.

The experiment with the children's shoes is over. I found out that there really is a difference between $50 kid shoes and $100 adult shoes. It wasn't just the differences in the overlays and the outer fabric. Inside the shoe, where the seams in the adult shoes are taped down flat and nicely finished, in the kids shoes, they are unfinished and rough. Didn't bother my left foot but really bothered my right. So I ended up not even wearing them out of the house. Neither pair. Have to send them both back and figure out what to do.

Had too much wine last night and felt all pooped out today, so just did the one mile on the treadmill. Tomorrow morning it's the Jingle Bell race. Should be in the low 50s but rainy, hopefully not too much.

Tonight I Write

In whatever spare moments I can find tonight, I'm going to finally finish up my Indy race report, and jot down a few notes here about how my running has been going lately and my plans for this winter & spring.

Mississippi, She's Calling My Name

So here we go, first big thing, I'm entered in the Mississippi Blues marathon on January 4th in Jackson, Mississippi. I am going to take it nice and easy and just enjoy the day. Hopefully we have decent weather. I don't have a time goal, I just want to get the state done and have a good time doing it. I have a reservation for 2 nights at the Marriott and used credit card miles to pay for my plane ticket. Still trying to decide if I need to rent a car. I don't think I really need one unless I want to do some sightseeing on Saturday after the race.

It sounds like a nice race. I am expecting it to be similar to Little Rock and the Flying Pig. Hilly course, mid-sized race, good support and organization.

Boston or Bust

More long term, I'm training again for the ORRRC marathon in Xenia. I'm going to try, once again, to get a Boston qualifier. I know that I did not have an especially good race there last year but now I know better what to expect and also I have a less ambitious time goal than I did last year. I went out too fast then, plus I had been sick the week before. Assuming I don't get sick and I start at a more reasonable pace, I think it is possible. I only have to get a 4:10 now. All my shorter race times indicate that I am more than capable of this.

I'm all registered for it already and everything. At $25, it is a ridiculous value. And let's face it, a really nice race.

For my training program, this time I'm using the Hanson's method. The Hanson's method differs from other schedules in that the longest run is a 16-miler, but you do things like 8-16-8, and overall the mileage gets higher than what I am used to on a weekly basis. I'm actually going to follow their "beginner" program because my mileage has been so low traditionally. The "advanced" program is too advanced for me. This should end up being more miles per week than I have run in 10-15 years.

The first few weeks of the program, however, are actually too easy for me. So I'm going to just run the schedule for week 5 of their program over and over again until the week after Mississippi, which will be week 6.

Streak? What Streak?

I was trying to streak, and doing well but once again I simply forgot to hop on the treadmill one night to get the mile in to keep it going. I started on Nov. 9, and then it ended on Dec. 1 when I forgot. Had been at a CPE trial with the dogs that day, then was harrassed by Tom when I got home and so I forgot. Started up again on Sunday, Dec. 2. Maybe I'll just keep starting over again and again. It's not a bad thing to try to get a mile in every day even if you don't have a long streak going.

Running in General and Shoes in Particular

Has been going pretty well. Haven't gone very far. Well, an 8 miler on Nov. 16, and a couple of 6 milers since. Now I don't think I'll go over 6 until after Mississippi. Stopped wearing the Pegasus 29s and actually returned them to RRS. I think they were causing pain on the top of my right foot. The 29s have a smooth upper without a lot of leather overlay, and I think maybe I need a little bit of that overlay for structure. Anyway, I went back to rotating my two old pairs of 28s and the foot pain went away.

But you can't find those 28s anywhere now, and the two pair I own are getting very stinky. I could actually keep wearing them longer but they smell so bad I can't stand it. Never had shoes before that got so smelly. I don't know what it is about the Pegasus but they do acquire a stink.

Well, anyway, after searching in vain for old versions of the Pegasus, I hit upon a new idea. It seems it is still possible to find the "kids" version of the Pegasus 28 and even the 27s. Through a bit of trial and error, I have discovered that a "youth" size 5 1/2 is the same as a woman's size 7. So today I received in the mail a pair of 27s (for $31!!!! such a deal!) and 28s. The biggest difference between these shoes and the adult version seems to be the insoles. The adult shoes have a more high-tech, molded insole, whereas the kids' shoe just has a cheap slab of foam. But hey, I can just replace that with my old insoles from my old shoes!

The 27s do look like something a six year old would wear, though:

The materials used in the upper are also slightly different. The adult shoe has a more open mesh. The kids shoe reminds me of old-school Saucony 6000s. That might not be so bad. The kids' shoe also seems to have a bit more plastic overlay on the upper, which might or might not be a problem. I did, after all, go back to these versions because I knew they would have some overlay. The question is whether or not it will be too much.

The 28s are a little closer to the adult shoe in appearance. Mostly because the 28 adult version looked like a kids shoe! I would take a picture of my old shoes to compare but they are just too disgusting. You might get sick.

Tomorrow I will take the 27s for a spin.

Here is a comparison of the insoles. Old 27 insole is on the right. Note the heel cup. It is also more contoured in the arch and the fabric is more high-tech, wicking. I guess you should expect a difference between shoes that retail for $100 vs. $55.

So, I didn't get to the Indy report last night. I didn't even finish this up. Maybe later today.

Ashenfelter 8k

This was the race we ran on Thanksgiving in Glen Ridge, NJ. I guess I can write a race report about it after I finish up Indy.

Jingle Bell 5k

I'm doing this one on Saturday. I would have preferred to do the Reindeer Romp again but that is on the other side of town, so a little further away. Tommy will be in Sweden, and I don't want to leave the dogs alone in the morning that long. Also, I'm for sure not in the shape I was in last year, and I think I might find a direct comparison of my times too depressing. So I'm doing the Jingle Bell race instead, but will try to use the time as a baseline for determining my training paces for the ORRC marathon.

This is Why I Buy My Running Gear Online

Popped in at my local Fleet Feet store yesterday afternoon, because I was out and about in the neighborhood and I heard they were having a sale. I don't go to this store very often. Mostly I find myself there if they are hosting packet pickup for a local race. But the store changed ownership earlier in the year and didn't sponsor the races I was doing so I didn't have a reason to go there.

I entered the store and was immediately greeted/accosted (depends on your perspective) by an older, not especially fit looking woman (I know, I shouldn't be judging! Well, I mean she looked older and less fit than me. She looked like somebody you'd see walking a 5k.)

I try to explain that I just want to look around, not looking for anything in particular, heard they were having a sale, blah, blah, blah.

Oh year, turns out the sale is 11% off, in honor of the store's 11th anniversary. Not much of a sale, since there isn't anything I really need. But there are also a couple of bins with $5 socks and some half-price gear.

I pick through the socks, while the woman hovers. I feel like she is worried that I am going to shoplift some socks. It makes me uncomfortable. I don't find any socks in my size. I give up on this.

The woman goes away and comes back a couple of times, each time telling me that she will be right back with me. But, I do not need her help. I have tried to make this clear. She steers me over to the running bra section. I am a woman, I must need running bras, right? Ok, I will look, just in case there is something that is really a great deal at 11% off.

When it comes to my running clothes, I tend towards the old school side, a little bit. Not cotton, Not that old school. But I like my clothes, like my shoes, to be fairly simple. I like those basic sportsbras in a wicking fabric that come in S, M, L. I don't like having to figure out  my exact measurements and cup size. Unfortunately, that is all they have in this store. It's just too complicated for me to deal with, and plus 11% is not enough of a deal on an item for which I do not have an urgent need.

Ok, that's it for the bras. I wander over to the $30 shoe table. There is a pair in my size but they are not my usual style. I resist the urge to try them on.

I take a quick look at the gear rack but nothing catches my eye. I am on my way out the door when I see they have a few more bins with gear at 50% off. That's more like it.

I pick through a bin and find one of those fuel belts that also holds your race number. Been thinking about trying one of these, and at $8 I cannot resist.

A young man comes over and proceeds to do the same hovering thing that the woman did earlier. I definitely have the impression that they are worried that I am going to shoplift something. Is it really so much of a problem for them? Do I really look like a shoplifter to them?

There's a fair amount of activity in the store and I wonder about the other shoppers. I figure they must be new runners who need to stock up on attire at almost list price, or they don't know yet what kind of shoes suit them so they need guidance from "experts." I've consistently had bad luck with the shoes recommended for me by these "experts" and anyway, I'm wearing cheap shoes in last year's model and I know the store doesn't carry them and even if they could order them for me, I can order them myself probably cheaper and have them delivered directly to my home. I guess I am not the target market for a running shoe store, even though I am an avid runner. It is somewhat ironic.

So anyway, the guy continues to hover as I start to pick through the bins of old leftover technical race tees, and then stop myself because I don't need any more of these even if they are giving them away.

And then comes one helpful thing: they guy points out to me the clearance rack, over on the other side of the store in the men's department, which I had missed earlier. Not too much there, and it's obvious why most of it is on clearance (nobody, even a beginner, is going to be dumb enough to buy white running shorts, and the real mystery is how this stuff ended up in the store in the first place). However, as the guy continues to hover, I do find a couple of worthy items. There's a blue and white shimmel top and a nice pair of black shorts, both in my size. I snap them up at 50% off. That's a real sale price, and the only way you'll get me to buy this stuff that I can live without at full price.

So, for less than $60, I leave with the fuel belt, a new top and new shorts. Not bad. Sixty-five degrees out today so I even wore my new duds for my run. The shimmel is a little big but the shorts are okay.

Back to the story of the store. As he rings me up, the guy asks me if I am training for anything. I don't want to get into it too much but I just say I am always training for something. He asks me if I have ever run a marathon and I say, yeah, just last week, and I'm training for another in January. He starts talking about their training programs and I ask if they have anything on Wednesdays, because I am starting to think it might be nice to have a group to run with or at least a couple of friends, because I am getting kind of lonely out there.

Oh yes, he says, Wednesday if their "No Boundaries" program. I have a feeling I know what this is but I let him keep talking anyway. Yes, it is their couch to 5k program. He continues describing it, and after a bit I have to interrupt to tell him that I do not think it is for me. What part of  "I ran a marathon last weekend" did he not understand?

And so, I am reminded again of why I do not shop in these stores unless there is some incredible sale going on.

Just gonna run

I've officially given up on the schedule. Not that there is much more of it to follow. Yesterday was the last change to get a decent long workout in and I blew it again. Was supposed to do 10-12 with the last 4-6 at marathon pace. Should have gone back to Lunken. Instead, struggled through six in the neighborhood and quit. It was a hot afternoon and I was tired from lack of sleep and dog training class.

Today I just went for a run around the Park-Kilgour route, 4.23 miles in about 45 minutes. It was later in the afternoon and a little cooler and I actually enjoyed myself.

I had been thinking the last few days a bit that it might be a waste of time to go to Indy. And then yesterday I started thinking that what the heck, I might as well go and just run and forget about trying to BQ. Just at least  run the race I have been training for, enjoy the expo and the pasta dinner and the speakers and the day.

And then, this evening, I realized something else. I only have to run 9:30s to qualify for Boston. I can do that, can't I? I ran sub 9s for a half on a hillier course a month ago. I just have to start out slow. I have to run that first mile in 10 minute pace, then do the gradual cutdown to a 9:30 by mile 4. Keep 'em all under 9:30 and throw a couple faster ones in where I can. And I'll have it.

Dayton River Corridor Classic Half-Marathon

I had a sucky race this time in Dayton, for a variety of reasons but mostly maybe it just wasn't my day.

Previous Years at this Race

I have some fond memories of this race from previous years. It was one of the first half-marathons I ever raced. The first few years we did it, the start and finish was in downtown Dayton at a rather run-down convention center. The course was a mix of downtown Dayton and trail along the river. They even had a little expo where you could pick up anything you might have forgotten, and a pasta dinner for people who came in the night before.

One of the first years I did it, I remember that Bill Rodgers was there competing. I think it was the year he turned 50. This race even makes an appearance in sequel to the classic running novel, "Once a Runner" by John L. Parker, Jr. ("Again to Carthage" is the name of the book, if you are interested). Quenton Cassidy comes up to Dayton to compete in this race while he is training for the Olympic Marathon Trials. He beats Frank Shorter, but there are about 13 guys ahead of them. So this used to be quite a significant race, back in the day.

It's not what it used to be.

The course has changed multiple times in the past dozen years. There always seems to be some construction going on in the Dayton area that affects the course. There were a couple years where it started and finished at the Dayton Art Institute. The last few times I've done it, we started and finished at the University of Dayton arena. We usually go through a bit of the industrial area (which I have always enjoyed because it takes us by the Dayton Dog Training Club) before hitting the paved trail that runs along the river. One year I seem to remember that we made a foray into Carillon Park and had to run across a grassy field section that was not especially well-marked. We don't do that this year but you can see the carillon itself in the background of some of the pictures late in the race. (I won't be getting any of those pictures because they just make me think about how a woman with a gut that big cannot possibly be thinking she is going to qualify for Boston.)

This year we get on the trail a lot sooner and skip the industrial part (more about this later), which is undeniably more scenic but I am a little disappointed not to pass by the dog training club.

Pre-Race

Ok, so anyway, I left the house around 7 and got there around 8 for the 9 am start. Plenty of parking at the arena. No lines for the bathrooms, either. That is what makes this a good staging are. I pick up my number and shirt, but am surprised (as are many other people) to discover that there is no chip-timing. I guess they don't really need it but it's starting to seem so old-school not to have chip timing. Even my local 5k races have chip timing now.

The shirts are shortsleeved technical tops and the woman's one is hot pink. I ordered a medium but they give me a large, which I do not notice until I am back at the car but it looks like it runs kind of small so I decide not to try to exchange it. Apparently there was some kind of issue with the shirt sizing and distribution because I overheard a lot of people complaining.

The Dayton race was previously a pioneer in providing more interesting shirts than average, but I guess the rest of the racing world has finally caught up. The first few times I did this one we got sweatshirts, then there were a couple of years when we got windshirts, then longsleeved tech shirts, and the last time I was up here, we got a shortsleeved gray tech shirt, which I happened to be wearing for this race. I was also wearing my black cap from the Delaware marathon. I had a brief period of wondering if I was inviting bad luck by wearing these items. I had worn the Dayton shirt for Delaware and that a miserable day. I did kinda wish I had worn something brighter, because the gray shirt was bringing my spirits down on this overcast and dreary day.

I sat in the car for awhile. It was a bit chilly and extremely windy outside, and there was nowhere to sit down in the lobby of the arena. I wished I had brought a throwaway shirt or a thin jacket.

Lined up in the street with the rest of the runners and waited for the gun. Would have liked some pace signs but there were none so I just had to guess.

Confusion on the Course

Once we got running I warmed up pretty quick. We ran down the street as I remembered and made a turn and went over a bridge. But then all of a sudden we were on the trail, and that was interesting because I did not remember us hitting the trail that early. But I had expected the course to be different, since it always is! Not until we passed where I would have expected to see the first mile marker did I become increasingly concerned.

My GPS said we had gone a mile and I had run it in 8:05. Ohoh. That was not good. That was a minute faster than I should have been going. Would I pay for that later? I would. I started asking people about where the mile marker was and nobody seemed to know what was going on.

All of a sudden we came upon the mile 2 marker. Ohoh. At this point it was apparent that we had cut off about half a mile. In fact, the lead police vehicle had gotten confused and taken us the wrong way. But I didn't know this, so I was wondering if we were going to run a short course or if we were going to make it up somewhere along the way. And this bit of uncertainty, along with the fact that I had gone out way too fast,  conbined to detract from my performance in this race. Or that is my story and I am sticking with it.

As we continued along the path, I began to wonder when we were going to see an aid station. I had expected them roughly every two miles, but we were approaching the three mile marker (although in fact we had only run 2.5 miles) and we hadn't hit one yet. One finally appeared around 3.5 miles into the "official course" so I had a bunch of water and my first GU there. If I had known there would be no water until that far in I would have carried my own. This was another thing that affected me negatively, no doubt.

Rather than look at my splits based on where the mile markers appeared, I will just record the lap times from my GPS:
1) the aforementioned ridiculous 8:05
2) 8:20 (still too fast)
3) 8:34 (still too fast)

Somewhere in this early part of the race I caught up with a female race walker. She was really moving and it took me a bit to catch up with her. I had overheard some other people telling her she was amazing, and I stupidly decided to chime in on that, and her withering stare told me how it went over. Should have kept my mouth shut. I am just an asshole I guess. She was pretty serious, and I heard her tell a friend who was along side her how hard it was for her "not to race." I guess this was just a workout for her?

After mile three (or 2.5 as it were) my pace climbed. Not ridiculously high but higher than my goal. Higher than I would have expected. Higher than it needs to be if I wanted to place in the AG in this race, or expect to qualify for Boston in a couple of weeks:

4) 9:37
5) 9:17
6) 9:38
7) 9:11

I had my second GU at the aid station that was somewhere past mile 7, I think. I didn't have another later because of the placement of the aid stations, but I did take Gatorade a few times. Hmmm, maybe I needed that GU to get me through the last three miles. Worth pondering.

In the second half of this race we were running into the wind, and it was brutal.

8) 9:25
9) 9:41
10) 9:19

I ran up alongside a young woman in mile 7-8 or so. She seemed unaware of my existance and started to actually run me off the road! These zombies with their iPods are really getting ridiculous. So after that I stayed right behind her for a bit and used her to block the wind (she was on the wide side) until I had a chance to pass her outright.

The wind was making my nose run like crazy and it was quite unpleasant. Then late in the race I was running behind a pair of women who decided to farmer's blow their noses at the same time, and so I got hit with their snot. That was one of the more disgusting things that has ever happened to me in a race. So of course I had to pass them after that. Should have blown some snot on them too but I did not.

11) 9:57
12) 9:51

Those last couple miles were brutal. Flat but the wind was just ridiculous. Finally we made the turn down into the parking lot. I ran the last .1 miles in 43 seconds. My official time was 1:58:41, which included about 7 seconds to cross the start line.

The Aftermath

The race director apologized about the misdirection that cut the course off. He said they thought it was 12.66 miles, but I ended up with 12.8 on my GPS. In the second half of the race, it seemed like we picked up a couple of tenths along the way. So I guess if we had not cut off that part in the beginning maybe the course would have actually been long.

Post race, they had LaRosa's pizza, and pancakes. I went for the pancakes. They had this set up outside and the wind made obtaining and eating the pancakes a bit challenging. For some added fun, the pancake flippers were throwing the cakes in the air and you were supposed to catch them on your plate. That was just nuts. There were pancakes flying all over the place and landing on the ground. I finally got one on the third try, then I demanded the guy just lay some on my plate because catching them was too much work. I had my pancakes wrapped in sausage, and I had a little orange juice, and I checked my name in the results to verify that I had not won anything, then I changed my clothes in the bathroom and it was time to head for home.

In the end I was 9 of 29 woman in my age gorup and 266 of 579 runners overall (not sure where I placed among women).

I'll be back for this one again, but I won't be making it a priority. At this point it seems that the State-to-State race has definitely surpassed it in quality as a local half-marathon.

Another Failed Long Run

Today I was supposed to do the last really long run, 18-22 miles. I had a hard time decided where or how to do it. The weather was overcast and about 52 degrees. Weather.com said it wasn't going to start raining until 4 pm or so. 52 and overcast ought to be great weather for a long run. But I prefer a little sunshine. Still, it didn't seem bad enough to do it on the treadmill.

In addition to the treadmill, I considered Lunken, my "3 loops" course x 2 (gives me over 20), 3 Loops plus Mariemont (around 18.5) and an oldie I haven't attempted in years and years, "2 Parks" plus Delta.

After a dog walk---the Observatory route in reverse to avoid cats---I suited up for Lunken. I wore my CW-X capris and a longsleeved top from the Reindeer Romp. At the last minute I threw on my thin red jacket. I was thinking it might be cozy to put on after I was finished for the drive home. Hahahahaha. I wore my fanny pack and carried Chomps.

Got down to Lunken around noon. It was considerably more desolate down there than usual. I guess the weather was keeping people home? Or maybe it is always like that on Friday? I wouldn't know because I've been going there on Mondays and Wednesdays lately.

I had forgotten how much colder and windier it gets down there. I needed that jacket after all. I wore it most of the way. I took it off and tied it around my waist for awhile during the first lap but I ended up putting it back on again for the second, remembering how much the cold contributed to my last failed long run a couple of weeks ago.

Oh, yeah, and I've gone back to the Pegagsis 28s for the long run, because I think the 29s are too snug or something.

Started out okay, except I really wasn't liking the wind. No knee pain this time and hips did not feel as tight as they have lately. I did my first lap around the airport in the counterclockwise direction, as usual. I ran back to the car in the first quarter mile because I was worried I had forgotten to lock the door, and then at the end I did the out-and-back around the playfield to push it over 6 miles. Here are the splits for the first lap:
1) 10:11
2) 10:21
3) 10:01
4) 10:01
5) 10:07
6) 10:09

Not bad, right? So after stopping to refill my water bottle at the car, I headed back out to do the 9 mile lap that includes the Armleder trail. The wind was kicking up and it was drizzling off and on. There were some big dark clouds overhead. I wondered if I would get this thing done before the rain started.

At least the Armleder trail is prettier, so there's that. And there were a few more people out on it, so it was a little less depressing. But, as I finished up the 2-mile loop around the park and prepared to head back on the connector, the wind really started whipping up and it was raining a little more. Still, as I ran up the hill to Lunken, I was thinking that maybe I would at least get around and finish the 9 mile loop, which would give me 15 or so.

But when I got up to the top of the hill, I just really couldn't face the idea of the back half of Lunken if it kept raining. So I just ran the mile back to the car. I just really wanted to get home and get out of the wind and into dry clothes. It didn't seem worth risking getting a chill just so I could get the miles done. Maybe I am just a wimp. But I swear if the weather is like this two weeks from now I am cancelling the trip to Indianapolis. No point in going if I'm not going to BQ.

Here are the splits from the last six miles:
7) 10:47
8) 10:23
9) 10:20
10) 10:55
11) 11:12
12) 11:04

In the end, it was 12.25 miles in 2:08:31 or 10:29 pace.

It sucks that I couldn't get this done. So I have one skipped long run, two failed/shortened long runs, and one sub-par race. Doesn't bode well for the marathon. I need a good couple of workouts to restore my self-belief. There's not much left, though. There's an interval workout scheduled for Monday, and a fast-finish 10 miler on Wednesday. And that's it.

I think I am going to try to do 8-10 tomorrow, on the treadmill if I have to. Then I can at least say I did 20 over 2 days.

The Struggle Continues

Week 13, Day 4

Schedule said off or 30-45 easy. I did the Mooney run in the lae afternoon. It was cool and sunny but windy. I felt pretty good. Time was 41:40 for 4.1 miles or 10:09 pace.

Week 13, Day 7

I skipped the Friday and Saturday runs because I was at an agility trial. Sunday was the Dayton River Corridor Classic Half-Marathon. I will write a race report about it soon, but it was not a good day for me. They cut a half mile off early in the race. So the race was shortened, but we also missed the first water stop and didn't get water until three miles in. It was very windy. I went out way too fast---8:05 for the first mile---and I paid for it later. It was overall very discouraging.

Week 14, Day 2

I took off the day after the Dayton race as the schedule prescribed. Tuesday it said off or 30-45 minutes easy, so I did a little run around Hyde Park for 36:36, or 10:54 pace for 3.35 miles. I started out wanting to do the park but they were doing construction, so I ran down Observatory to Delta and then down Erie to Marburg, crossed over and did the Victoria Loop, then finished up around HP east. .

Week 14, Day 3

Schedule said 45-60 easy, so I did Erie-Broadview Settle for 4.85 miles in 53:18 or 10:59 pace.

Week 14, Day 4

Schedule said 30-45 easy. I did the park for 3.08 miles in 34:42 or 11:15 pace.

The Struggle to Fit Running in Around the Wedding

It has been a challenge to fit the running in the past week. I'll just go through it day by day and compare what I was supposed to do with what I actually did.

Week 12, Day 1
This was a scheduled off day after the half-marathon. I didn't run, but I did do 15 minutes of core work and 15 minutes of upper body work with the Nike Training Club on my iPhone. Plus I cleaned the bathrooms!

Week 12, Day 2
I managed to complete the scheduled 30-45 minute "easy run," completing 3.15 miles around the park in 36:43 or 11:30 pace. Okay, it was very slow but the park is hard. The weather was drizzly and the roads were slippery. I felt a little knee twinge, which might have been from the conditions, or maybe a result of the cross-training yesterday. Cross-training = bad for you.

Week 12, Day 3
The schedule said 45-60 easy. I did the EBSE route for 4.85 miles in 51:54 or 10:41 pace. Better than the day before but did get the knee twinge at the start of mile 4. I backed off and it went away, but iced it when I got home. I think it really was from the damn cross training.

Week 12, Day 4
I was supposed to do a 16-20 mile long run. Instead, I drove around completing various wedding-related errands with Susan. Also, I had to take the dogs to the kennel and that was a two hours of driving. This is the first major workout that I have missed and I hope it won't turn out to be a key one.

Week 12, Day 5
The schedule calls for a 40-50 minute recovery run. I do the Madison route for 4.9 miles in 52:56 or 10:47 pace. I had to hustle to get a run in before we had to head out for the mani-pedi party.

Week 12, Day 6
The schedule said off or 30-45 easy. But this was the day of the wedding. So hahaha, it wasn't happening.

Week 12, Day 7
Again, the schedule said off or 30-45 easy. I did 3.15 miles on the treadmill in 45 minutes, using Program 2 mostly on Level 5 which has a top speed of 5.2 mph. Felt really tired but like I needed to do something.

Week 13, Day 1
Was supposed to do a 18-22 mile long run. I went to Lunken in the middle of the day, after the dog walk, with every intention of getting at least 18 in. The first five went well, but when I went back to the car to refill my water bottle, I made the mistake of switching to a shortsleeve shirt. It was pretty windy and not that warm, and I think this apparel switch played some role in my srtuggles the rest of the way. For the second loop, I went down the Otto Armleder trail and connector, then continued the rest of the Lunken loop. This gives you a nice 9 miler. I was hoping then that I could go back to the car and just head out for another 5 and I'd have over 19. But my hips were really sore and my pace was slowing and I felt like crap. So I just went a little way down and back towards the playfield and ended up with just 16.38 for the day. I guess we could consider this a makeup for the 16-20 I missed last Thursday, but maybe the point was to do 16 last Thursday and another 18 on Monday. If so, I have failed.

Week 13, Day 2
Schedule said off or 30-45 recovery. I am bored with my regular 3 mile routes. It was late in the afternoon and I had already walked the dogs around the park. Had agility class in the morning, then some driving around with post-wedding errands. So, went down Erie, then across and jogged a little around the dogwalking area, then did the Victoria-Portsmouth loop and came home, for a total of 3 miles in 31:35 or 10:31 pace.

Week 13, Day 3
Today the schedule called for 45-60 easy. I didn't make it out until late afternoon again, following a morning rally class with Zen, returning vases to the florist, and a dog walk around the Observatory route (scary when the out of control dogs lunged for a pile of dog poop on Erie and Zen pulled her leash out of my hand and I got a knee twinge as i tried to brace myself, hold on to the dogs, and not fall down). I did the Park + Kilgour route, for a total of 4.23 miles in 45:35.

I am bothered that I missed the long run last week and had to shorten the one this week. Otherwise, I guess I am not in such bad shape. But I know the long runs are really key and the area I've been lacking before. And here I am again. Well, if I can run a decent half-marathon this weekend, I'll feel a little better about things. I have one more really long run next Friday, then a fast finish long run the following Wednesday, and that's it.

State to State 10

This is the one I've done all ten years, a half-marathon in Oxford. This year was the best ever.

 On the ride up there this morning I reminisced to myself about the changes over the years. The first time was the year before Susan transferred to Miami, I think. I parked in an elementary school parking lot a few blocks from the start.

The second year I parked in a lot right next to the start. Susan did not come out to see me. The third year I parked on the street near her dorm, and she let me come inside to use the bathroom and wash my face. The third year I drove over to her apartment after the race, took a shower there and then we went out for lunch.

Ever since the third year I've been parking on Church Street, a couple of blocks from Uptown Parks, where the race starts and finishes.

Yesterday I thought I might be getting a cold but I was just tired. Went to bed early and felt fine this morning. Ed woke me up to go outside at 4:15 am and I decided to just stay up. Had two cups of coffee and a banana. Left the house at 6 am.

Parked the car in the usual place. Plenty of parking at 7 am. No lines at the portapotties, either. Same old, same old. Packet pickup was more organized than usual, and they had everything in one bag for you rather than making you wait on separate lines for the bib and the chip.

The shirts were the most attractive they've ever had at this race, longsleeved techncial tops with a blue and yellow design.

It was a little chilly before the sun came up so I went back to the car to put on my bib. Discovered I had # 2 this year (last year was # 3). I have to assume this has something to do with being a streaker, even though they didn't do anything special for us.

When the sun came out I headed back to the start. I was wearing the black CW-X capris, black cap from Milwaukee, shortsleeved shirt from Leading Ladies, and over that I layered the shirt from the Disney half and my Marathon & Beyond top. I kept the M&B top on for awhile, but eventually left it at the gear check---they actually had a gear check this year, another area they have improved.

It was in the upper 40s at the start but felt warmer, and predicted to get up to about 55 by the time I would finish.

Got back in the portapotties just in time before the lines got long, hung out a little longer in the park and then it was time to get out in the street and wait. They had a clock set up that was counting down to the 8 am start time. I thought that was pretty cool. Race actually started on time. How often does that happen?

Since I felt pretty good, my goal was to try and run a time similar to last year, if not just a bit faster. I think I have about the same speed, but I'm a few pounds heavier, although with possibly better endurance (see that 18 miler last week). To run something like a 1:59, which is just a touch over 9 minute pace, I figured I just needed to keep most of the miles in the low 9s, maybe a couple faster, and nothing over 10.

Down the hill we headed and I was feeling pretty good. The red bricks always go on for longer than I expect. No train coming across the tracks unlike the problem a couple of years ago. They did have a special chip mat out there though just in case a train came unannounced so if you had to stop it would not affect your chip time. The middle-aged people playing the bongos were out in their usual spot. I felt good. First mile 8:58. Okay. I had a little walk and drank some water at the first aid station. I took my longsleeved top off and tied it around my waist.

They had aid stations at just about every mile, which is something I think they started last year. Mile 2 was another 8:58. Still okay. I was noticing some of the women around me. There was a woman who looked like she could be in my age group, wearing an orange shirt. I knew she was # 8 because as we passed by aid stations people would say "good job # 8." She had a tattoo of a feather on her calf. She looked like she was running fast but she was not going any faster than I was. When I would catch up to her she sounded like she was laboring. But she would pull ahead when I took my walk breaks.

I walked for 30 seconds through the water stops, and occasionally another 30 seconds on the uphills.

The jog through the upscale neighborhood was over before I knew it, and soon we were in the senior citizen complex. I missed the three mile marker, but three and four together were 17:53. Still sub-9s, great. I had a GU at the aid station in between three and four.

There were two other woman I noticed, both probably younger than me. One was tall and her feet splayed out to the sides behind her as she ran. Well, I left her behind after a couple of miles. The other one was also tall, but more athletically built, wearing a longsleeved purple top. Like # 8, she looked strong and fast but every time I caught up to her she sounded like she was struggling.

One thing I do, in situations like this, when I catch up to these people, is I try to control my breathing so it sounds like I am not struggling at all. And every time we pass a mile marker, I look down at my watch and I say something really positive and optimistic sounding like "great!" I want them to know that I am feeling fine. It's mean but it works.

I saw the bulls, I saw the horses, but mostly I was focusing on the race.

Mile 5 was 8:52, mile 6 was 8:50. I was actually faster than last year. They had a clock set up at the halfway point and it said 58 something. If I did not slow down too much in the second half of the race, I thought I was in good shape to be under 2:00.

Mile 7 was 9:29. I think that's the one with the big hill. It doesn't seem as bad as it used to feel. I had a GU in here somewhere. Mile 8 was an 8:32. Either that one is a bit short or it's because of the downhill. # 8 caught up to me and passed me, but then I passed her again. I remember thinking later in the race that if she did catch me again I was going to just let her go, or maybe ask her how old she was first. But that was about the last I saw of her.

I had a brief conversation with a young woman who was also hoping to break 2:00, and I assured her that we were in good shape for it. But I pulled away from her after mile 10 and I don't know if she made it or not.

Mile 9 was a 9:23. Either it's long or it's the hill. Mile 10 was a 9:11. As long as I could keep them under 10 I thought I would be okay. The second half is always harder on days when you are running into the sun. At least it wasn't too hot and I had dressed correctly.

Mile 11 was 9:24. I was looking forward to the downhills in the last couple of miles. Mile 12 was an 8:45. The drummers were still out there with more of their friends. I clapped for them.

Now we were crossing the train tracks again and heading up the hill. I thought I could see the finish line at the top of the hill, but I eventually realized it was just the street signs. We weren't even at the bricks yet. I could have pushed harder coming up the last hill but there were no other women around to try to beat. Mile 13 was 8:34.

I did kick hard for the last .1, but not hard enough to puke. Last .1 was 48 seconds. I had broken 1:58. Final time was 1:57: 30-something. Need to wait for the results to get the official time. I saw it posted at the race, but don't remember exactly.

Got my finisher's medal and it is much prettier than previous years. There were just all kinds of upgrades at this race this year. I walked over to the food area, expecting the usual bagels and bananas and maybe some cheese sticks or yogurt. But no, they had chocolate milk! And pizza! They read my comments on the survey from last year, apparently. I had some milk and told the volunteers how nice it was to have these refreshments. The race director overheard me and came over and I complimented her on all of these new enhancements, and told her that I had done the race all ten years. She said she wondered how many of us there were and  she also wondered why they didn't do anything special for us. I hope maybe next year. Anyway, I told her that the chocolate milk and the pizza more than made up for it.

I walked to my car and changed into a dry shirt, then headed back to the finish area to check the posted results. Found out that I had won the age group. Woohoo! This year they are giving out the awards at the race. You just walk up to a table where they have the awards and you tell them who you are and they give it to you. So I got it. It's a nice little plaque. Also nicer than the awards from last year. Did they listen to me on that too? It's all good.

Turns out I just missed the third place grand master by about 20 seconds. If I had known, I could have picked it up some. But I don't really ever recognize anybody in this race, so I wouldn't have known who she ws.

So in it's tenth year, this race that I have sometimes wondered about why I kept on doing it has transformed itself into a superior event, really just about perfect. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Week 11, Days 3 & 4

Been busy so skipped posting the last few days. So this is for the runs I did on Wednesday and Thursday. After the Yassos on Monday, I did not feel bad about taking Tuesday off.

Wednesday I just did an easy three around the park. Time was 33:38 or 11:08 pace, once again a pretty good pace for that difficult route. Can't remember now what time of day I did this. Oh, that's right. It was in mid-morning after walking the dogs and before I went out to get my hair and nails done.

Thursday I did an easy five miler on my "Madison" route. This one was in the early evening, after 5 pm, after I got back from setting my crates up for the agility trial on Friday. The roads felt kind of slippery after the rain. My knee didn't feel great, and I don't know if that was because of the rain/humidity, or because I had run the dogs in agility class in the middle of the day (and maybe the knee brace I wear for agility was bothering me?), or because I had been schlepping the wire crates around and setting them up. And of course, I think I probably alter my stride when I am worried about slipping.

Come to think of it, the left foot is feeling a little weird also. That might be because now that it is fall, I've been changing my regular dog-walking shoes. Had been walking in the Keens all summer with no problem, but the last few days I've worn my old Merrills a bunch and maybe they are causing a problem. Note to self, get some Keens for the fall/winter.

Anyway, felt a little knee twinge early in the second mile, and maybe I should have cut the run short. But I kept going. the knee became bothersome again near the end of the run, when I had just about a half-mile to go. I even stopped and walked a little bit at that point, then jogged slowly the rest of the way. Time was 54:07 for 4.9 miles or 11:02 pace, which is not bad considering the walking.

Anyway, I took yesterday off because of the agility trial, and then I'm also taking today off because of the race tomorrow, and also because, damn it, I feel like I am getting a cold. Just in time for State-to-State tomorrow morning.

Now the dilemma. Do I skip the race and then it turns out it's not really a cold anyway? And then I have broken my streak of doing this race every time since the first year. Or do I run anyway, and turn the cold into pneumonia/bronchitis, just in time for the wedding next weekend and when I am really not going to have time to get to the doctor this week and have a gazillion things to do?

In the meantime, I am sucking down the vitamin C. I really have to get back on the vitamin kick. I actually did take them this morning before I went off to stand around in the cold outside at the agility trial. Was colder than I expected when I got there and I was wearing shorts. Stupid.

It looks like it is going to be in the upper 40s in Oxford tomorrow morning for the start of the race, and only climb to about 55 degrees by the time I finish. Gonna be one of those years where I have to layer and debate ditching my old garments, I guess.

Last year the weather was pretty perfect, and I made my goal of breaking 2:00 and even placed second in the age group. This year I wanted to go even a little faster, and the workouts of the last few weeks were telling me that I was in shape to do that, but now I don't know. If I really feel sick even taking it easy is going to be stupid. Well, at least it won't be raining tomorrow. Last year I think I also felt like I was getting a cold before the race but it was a false alarm. I was a little thinner this time last year. Let's not dwell on that.

Week 11, Day 1

I could have run yesterday when I came home from the agility trial but instead I just ate Chinese food.

Today I did another Yasso workout at Lunken. I thought about doing 7 or 8, but it was hard enough to get myself in the mood for 6. The schedule says 6-8. I counted back from the race date to see what it would be if I was just doing Yassos every week, and it would be just 6 this week so that settled it for me.

I'm feeling better than two weeks ago when I did the last set of Yassos---no hangover or headache---but I am just a little tired. Did not get out for the dog walk until 10 am. So it was almost noon before I started on the Yassos.

The weather is great for a mid-day run, fortunately, and once I got going I felt pretty good. Like last time, I wore my fanny pack with the water bottle and brought along some GU.

I started around the loop in the same clockwise direction as last time, but I didn't do as long of a warmup as last time. I jogged from the parking lot out to the first mile marker that you hit after the top of the hill. Well, actually, I jogged for a mile, then stopped to stretch a little bit at the benches at the top of the hill, then walked for a minute, then jogged up to the mile marker. So, the warmup was just 1.1 miles in 11:59.

Here are the splits for the intervals:

1) .49/4:02 recovery of.31/3:19
2) .49/4:09, recovery of .34/3:31
3) .49/3:58, recovery of .34/3:41
4) .49/3:54, recovery of .30/3:41 (had the GU pack during the recovery)
5) .48/3:57, recovery of .31/3:23
6) .51/4:03, recovery of .96/10:01

For the recoveries, I did the same thing as last time. I walked for 30 seconds, then jogged for a minute, then turned around and jogged back to the marker, then jogged about 15 seconds or so past it and then back to start the interval again at the mile marker that was my previous end point.

The only difference was after the fourth interval, I walked more. I had the GU at that point, and I walked for over a minute, then jogged for a minute, then jogged back.

To keep myself occupied during the intervals, I counted to 60 three times, checking my watch each time I hit 60. For the first two intervals, I had to run a little more before I hit the marker, but on the later ones, I was getting to the marker just about the time I hit 60 for the third time.

I had the watch set to show lap time in the main display, and distance in the smaller display. That seemed to work out okay.

I passed one woman who was doing possibly multiple laps at a slower pace even then I was going on  my recoveries. She asked me how long I was running and I told her that I didn't know for sure because I was doing intervals and going back and forth. I wondered if she was looking for someone to run with. That would be nice, but not today.

There was also some guy who was apparently walking around in the same direction, who started around the same time I did, and somehow even though he was walking and I was running (and I kept passing him during my intervals), we finished our loop around at about the same time. He never did say hello to me. I couldn't figure out how he got ahead of me, but maybe he had ducked into the bushes for a pee during one of the early intervals, then came back out? Anyway, that was a little weird.

Overall, I have to be satisfied with this workout. I think it felt a little easier than last time. Probably good that I didn't start as crazy fast.

Week 10, Days 5 and 6

Didn't run on Thursday because just too busy. Got in a short one yesterday after I came home from the agility trial, and then did the stride interval workout that was scheduled for yesterday, today.

Okay, first up, let's talk about yesterday. Not too much to say about it. I wore my new Nike Pegasus 29s. Felt just like the 27s and the 28s, except maybe a little smaller and snugger and that is probably good. Did the EBE route, finishing up by going around the neighborhood, which put it at 3.1 miles on the GPS in 34:02 or 10:40 pace. Felt a little tired from the agility trial but not bad.

Today I needed to do the stride workout. This is described as 55-70 minutes of easy running with 10-15 strides of 25 seconds or so and recoveries of 1 minute, with the strides done either at the end of the workout or somewhere in the middle.

Hmmm. Oh, and the strides are supposed to start out around 5k race pace and build up to like mile race pace by the end of each interval, if I understand this correctly.

For a run that long outside I was going to need water, and if past experience is any guide, probably a bit of fuel half way through. The intervals were best done somewhere that I wouldn't have to cross streets or encounter a lot of traffic, either pedestrian or motorized.

So after thinking about it a bit, I decided to start out with my regular Park loop, then return home for water and a GU, then go back up into the park and do the strides around the pavillion. And when I finished that up, I could just jog back home the shortest way.

This worked out pretty well. I ran the park loop, including jogging down the trail right to the front door, in 35:02, which the GPS said was 11:04 pace for 3.1 miles. That's actually not a bad time for that route. I made it to Custer, my traditional checkpoint, in 26:49, which is a good pace for that run.

Then I had a glass of water and a GU pack, as planned, and headed back out. Instead of running up the street as I normally would at the start of a run, I went up the trail to Observatory Ave. I felt good. Better than I do at the start of a run. I guess that is the effect of the warmup!

I jogged up the hill for 9 minutes, which put me up near the left side of the pavillion. Then I walked for a minute and started the intervals, running clockwise around the pavillion and gardens. I forget what I had the GPS set to display but it worked out well for keeping track. I know I had one of the displays set up for manual laps, and I knew that I was going to need 21 manual laps to finish the workout (1 lap to jog up the hill, then 10 laps of fast running and 10 laps of recovery). Maybe the other display was total distance or something like that. Yeah, I think that was it. The main display was the manual lap time.

For the recoveries, I walked for 30 seconds and jogged for 30 seconds.

The time of each lap varied a little bit depending on how accurate I was at looking down at the watch and hitting it to stop the lap, but the important data point is probably average speed for each of the intervals:

1) 8:09 (just figuring it out)
2) 7:48 (slight downhill)
3) 6:41 (more downhill)
4) 8:34 (slight uphill)
5) 7:00 (more flat?)

I was feeling better than I remembered feeling the last time I ran short, fast intervals. I think when I tried a similar workout during my last training cycle, I was running the intervals too fast. I think I had been doing them just about all out for 30 seconds, instead of starting at 5k pace and gradually accelerating. I tried to concentrate more on my form---because that is part of the point of the exercise---and then really speeding up the last ten seconds.

After the fifth interval, which put me on the right side of the pavillion (if you are coming uphill from Observatory), I switched direction and did the other five going counterclockwise.

6) 7:17
7) 6:28 (downhill)
8) 7:44 (uphill?)
9) 7:11 (flat?)
10) 7:35 (not sure why it was slow because I think it was downhill)

Anyway, I probably could have done 5 more but this was enough.

Then I just jogged back home on Observatory and stopped my watch just before I hit the trail. This second half of the workout was another 3.1 miles, in 32:15 or an average pace of 10:37.

I'm pleased with how this workout went. Overall, I should take confidence from having done all of the important workouts so far. I don't think I've missed a single speed session or long run. Have I? And when has that ever happened before.

No matter how the race turns out, I will have done the work.

Now the only two things I'm worried about are getting sick, and the struggle to get these last few key weeks of training in. The wedding really figures into these concerns, because it is a big stressor, and also I will be exposed to a lot of germs!

I've started trying to remember to take my vitamins again, and I'm going to have to work on getting plenty of sleep.