Week 3, Day 3

It's long run day. Woo! Workout is 12-14 miles at 9:41 to 10:57 pace.

Tommy is home this week and agrees to walk the dogs so I can run outside in the morning before it gets too hot. I'm up at 6:30 am to make coffee. It takes me until after 7:30 get out the door, by the time I've had a cup of coffee. covered myself in vasoline and sunscreen and used the bathroom four times.

I wear my cute little pink running skirt and the technical top from last year's Kilgour 5k. I have my new Camelbak fanny pack with the big water bottle filled with ice water, and a package of GU Chomps (peach tea flavor) and a Tri-Berry GU.

For my route, I do my traditional neighborhood ten-miler ("3 Loops" is what I call it) with another little bit tacked on the end. Loop 1 is under 5 miles, Loop 2 is a little over 3 miles and Loop 3 is a little under 2 miles. And then the last bit is like 2.5 miles.

Saw Alison Delgado on her way back home in my first half-mile. In her Earth Drummer's singlet, she's hard to miss. There aren't any other people in this neighborhood that run that fast, or at least not any other women.

Lots of people out running this morning. It's a little nicer weather than we've had recently. I don't think I could have done this run outside last week or the week before.

That weird little foot pain from yesterday, I noticed it when I was home and also walking the dogs last night. Had it a little in the beginning of the run but it went away pretty quick. Knee felt okay the whole way.

I felt really good after the first mile. Amazing the difference a cup of coffee makes! Had that happy to be out running feeling. Had a half-package of Chomps at 3 miles. Finished the first loop in 51:01. Stopped in to the UDF to buy a bottle of water. Ordinarily I would just refill at the fountain in Graeter's, which is about a mile away, but I was worried it might not be open yet. Had some confusion about what to buy. Every size bottle they sell (including the gallon jug) is the same price (2 for $2, or 1 for $1.49). I end up with a 32 oz. bottle, which I pour into my water bottle, drink some, and then carry the partially emptied bottle in my hand for another 2 miles. This was dumb. What I should have done was buy the two 16 oz. bottles. Then I would have had a smaller bottle to carry. Next time that's what I'll do.

Have the rest of the Chomps at mile 6. Second loop takes 39:12. Third loop is 17:49. Had the Tri-Berry GU at mile 9. Started to get a little hot towards the end and that last mile was rough but at least it was in the shade. Last segment was 26:39.

So, it was 12.55 miles in 2:14:31, or a 10:43 average pace, which is right in the range. I did not count the time I spent in the UDF and any time I was stopped at a traffic light. But still, it was better than I would have done on the treadmill, where I would have done a really slow first mile and the cooldown at the end.

Iced my knee after even though it didn't really bother me during the run. Better safe than sorry. Really I should probably have taken an ice bath. Maybe next time.

Week 3, Day 2

Scheduled workout: Recovery Run at 10:41 to 11:30 pace.

What I did: Shady Lane at 6:30 am, 3.5 miles in 37:18. which is a 10:39 average pace. So just a teensy bit outside the range on the fast side. I felt pretty good for a change. It was quite a bit cooler this morning and less humid, really just a lovely morning to run, and maybe my body is getting used to running before coffee. I actually even enjoyed the last half mile the way I used to back in the day when I ran in the morning all the time.

I did have a weird little pain on the outside of my right foot, just under the ankle, in the first half mile---I remember that I ran out in the street and around some cars to avoid a guy with a big dog that I didn't want to run right up on and surprise, and then I got the foot pain. Was it a cramp? It went away pretty quick. I've had this pain in the left foot but this was the first time in the right foot.

Tomorrow is long run day. I'm going to try to go out early but I do need to have coffee first. Tommy is home this week and he says he will walk the dogs. It will be nice if I can do the run outside instead of on the treadmill. I'm supposed to do 12-14 miles. I think I'll do 3 Loops and then Erie-Broadview-Erie.

In other running related news, I entered the Dayton River Corridor 1/2 marathon and the Powder Keg 5k (next race in the trail series). I am trying to figure out if I entered State to State already. The link on the website doesn't work, and I can't find a confirmation anywhere. It seems weird that I waited so long to enter but it also seems like the online registration wasn't working the other times I checked so maybe that was why. Anyway, I sent a message to the race director via the link on Active.com, and hopefully I'll get an answer soon.

Week 3, Day 1

Scheduled workout: 10 - 20 minute warmup + fartlek workout of 8 to 10 times 2 minutes at 5k to 8k effort with 1 minute recovery jogs + 10 - 20 minute cooldown.

So, it was in the low 70s but sunny and humidity in the 80s by the time I was ready to start and I got pretty hot on the dog walk this morning and Tommy is home so he could entertain Eddy, so for all these reasons I did the run on the treadmill.

I did my very slow, easy warmup to about 15 minutes, then started the intervals. I did 8 x 2 min @ 7.0 mph or 8:34 pace, which is about 8k pace or what I ran the 4 mile HP Blast in. On the recovery, I walked for 30 seconds at 3.5 pace, then jogged for 30 seconds at 5.0 pace. So, I guess I did this a little easier than you are supposed to and certainly on the low end of what was prescribed.

Then I finished up at 5.0 pace until I hit 3.5 miles, then I walked for a minute at 3.5 pace, then up to 6.0 pace until I hit 45 minutes, then did the 5 minute treadmill cooldown. So I covered 4.13 miles in 50 minutes.

It seems like I will always do the absolute minimum of what is recommended. I hope that is going to be enough. If I had done the intervals outside I might have gone faster, but this was all I could stand on the treadmill. Also, I had a big knee twinge as I started the first interval that really scared me. It went better after that but I didn't want to push ANY harder or do anymore than the minimum. Iced the knee after.

I hope this is just a result of being stiff from the weekend of agility and not the beginning of something serious. Anyway, I feel okay now. My foot bothered me a little when I first put my shoes on but has been fine since. Not sure what is up with that. Foot felt okay all weekend. My hammies felt a little sore after my last run yesterday.

I did not do the easy run yesterday since it was optional and again, the minimum....thought I needed to rest more.

Week 2, Day 5

Workout: 45-60 minute "Easy" run at 9:39-10:33 pace

Overall, went better than last week. I paid less attention to my pace and just ran as I felt. I didn't get out until about 10:45, after sleeping in and walking the dogs. It was close to 80 degrees by then with humidity about 70%. I might have done this on the treadmill but Ed was already downstairs waiting for me by then and I just didn't want to deal with him.

I wanted to stay in the shade as much as possible, so I tried a new route that I'm going to call Victoria-Broadview-Erie or VBE, or I guess it could be EVEBE. I ran up Erie, crossed over at Marburg, then did the Victoria-Portsmouth Loop (or actually, out on Portsmouth to Paxton and back on Victoria) then I ran down Erie on the other side of the street to Broadview, and went up in there to do that loop, then I ran back on Erie and crossed at the Shell station and back up Erie to the neighborhood.

It was a total of 4.84 miles, and if I included the neighborhood (will do next time) it would put it over 5. the tough part is that you have that uphill last mile but at least it is in the shade.The nice part is the first 3 miles are mostly flat to downhill, and although you are out on Erie a bunch you aren't retracing your steps exactly since you run on opposite sides of the street.

Did it in 50:31, or 10:26 average pace, so I guess that was okay. Especially considering the heat. The first three miles did feel pretty easy. The last two miles had a lot of uphill, so it was harder.

Tomorrow I'll be up in Dayton for an agility trial with Zen, so I doubt I will get a run in, but there is an optional recovery run scheduled for Sunday that I might do. Otherwise, I've gotten through the first two weeks of the schedule without missing anything major.

Week 2, Day 4

Today's workout is a Recovery Run at 10:41 to 11:30 pace.

I went out a little later (7 am) just because I slept a little later. The good thing was that it was a little less humid. Couldn't deal with the idea of Shady Lane and having to cross streets so went around the park, even though I wasn't much in the mood to face the hills without coffee, either.

I am not enjoying these little morning jogs as much as I used to back in the day, or as much as I would if I had a cup of coffee first. I did have a few moments of serenity when I was up behind the back of the pavilion on the only flat part of this course.

Took me 36:54 to go 3.23 miles, which works out to 11:23 average pace. I am wondering if it is supposed to feel so difficult to run so slow. I guess I wouldn't normally run the day after a long run, so maybe that's why? And I know that running before coffee is playing a part in the difficulty.

Week 2, Day 3

It's long run day again. Supposed to be 105 to 120 minutes at 9:41 to 10:57 pace. Too hot for outside so I'm stuck on the treadmill again.Got a later start today because we all slept in, and I walked the dogs around the park for 50 minutes before I started.

I did it like last week except a little faster and a little longer. So I warmed up to 3.5 mph, then ran most of it at 5.7 mph (10:31 pace) with my usual walking breaks every half-mile. Had water every half- mile, and GU Chomps at 3 and 6 miles. Followed this routine until 1:55, then did the 5 minute cooldown. So that gave me a total of 10.18 miles in 2 hours. Ugh.

I watched Animal Cops-Houston on TV while I ran. Lots of horse stories, a few Rottweiler litter rescues, lots of poor neglected animals but also some happy endings. Ed joined me in the basement and I gave him a beef trachea to munch on, which shut him up for awhile until he fell asleep.

I did okay with the 5.7 mph except I had a little left knee twinge at 2 miles and after that I had to hang on to the railing. The knee felt okay the rest of the way though, and when I stopped running.

Right now I am feeling very tired and have a slight headache, same as usual lately after a hard effort.

Post-run I had a glass of milk with the Nestle's Quik, a rice cake and a Kashi frozen entree (Lemongrass Chicken).

Week 2, Day 2

Today's scheduled workout was a Recovery Run at 10:41 to 11:30 pace. Had a tough time with it. I guess I am just not a morning runner anymore, or at least I am not a morning runner without coffee first!

Up at 6 am, dressed for the run, gave Zen her pill, had Eddy & Zen out in the yard for a pee, visited the bathroom myself, out the door around 6:20. Miserable morning, temperature in the low 80s and I don't even want to think about the humidity.

I was thinking that I might get a 4-miler in even while keeping it under 45 minutes but my legs just didn't want to move. I did my Shady Lane route, same as last Tuesday. Time was 39:17 for 3.46 miles or 11:21 average pace, actually even slower than lasts Tuesday when I was taking all the walking breaks. This time I only walked at the end of the first and second miles, as I normally would do.

My weight is up 4 1/2 pounds since last Tuesday, so I have to start paying more attention to what I'm eating and when.

Week 2, Day 1

It was too hot and muggy by the time Susan was awake so we ended up not running together after all, which is just as well because she could not have done the 9:24 part.

Today's workout was to be the Pace Booster run, 50-60 minutes with 20 minutes at a Steady State pace of 9:01 - 9:24. Last week, recall that I did this with too slow of a SS pace because of my miscalculation.

So, on the treadmill, I did my slow 20 minute warmup to 5.0 pace with a couple of 1-minute walk breaks at 3.5 in there. Then I ran at 6.4 mph for 20 minutes, which is 9:22 pace. Then I walked for a minute, then did 4 minutes at 6.0 pace, and then I did the 5 minute treadmill cooldown, for a total of 50 minutes and 4.17 miles.

My knee felt a little catchy before the run but I did get through it---though I was worried about the fast part---and I was a little sore from yesterday's Nike workout. Some soreness in the hips, thighs and also the upper body. A good sore though. Did not eat right away afterwards. I think that RUNRR nutritional recovery thing is not quite right for me. I am  up a few pounds from last week, and I think maybe it is just too much carbs. And I really didn't feel better or more recovered or more ready to do the workouts after eating per the McMillan plan.

But maybe I should pick up some Slimfasts or Gatorade shakes and try them out anyway.

East Fork Backpack Trail Race

This is about the trail race I ran last Sunday, July 15.

Last year was my first time at this race in a number of years, so I didn't know quite what to expect. This year I had a pretty good memory of the course, although to switch things up they reverse direction each year. I think I like this year's direction better, based on my results. I was 8 minutes faster than last year. Unfortunately, everybody else was faster too plus there were more runners, so I didn't finish any highter up in the standings than I did last year. Oh well.

I did feel good the whole way so I am happy about that. And I didn't get any blisters. And overall I enjoyed it more than I had expected I would. I had been debating entering the 10 mile race vs. the 5.6 mile. The 10 mile is just a timed run, whereas the shorter race has the handicapped start times, so you end up getting passed by a lot of the faster people along the way, which is somewhat unpleasant. In the longer race, you can just settle into the back and stay there. But I decided I wasn't up for the two-hours plus of running it would take me to finish the 10 miler.

We have had a miserable, hot and humid summer so far, but it was slightly cooler than it had been in weeks on the morning of this race. I wore my sunglasses but, unlike last year, I did not feel a need to carry a water bottle.

This year I had a start time of 15 minutes after the first runner. I think this was later than last year but not sure. I did notice that the speedy younger woman who started with me last year actually started AHEAD of me this year, which makes no sense at all. I think that Bob Roncker's system for handicapping these things leaves much to be desired. Really, I should be one of the first runners to start, because I am an old, slow, fat woman. My 9:15 start time was right in the middle of the pack.

This year I started with a little 10 year old boy, who, like the woman from last year, left me in the dust immediately. I felt savvy and smart as I jogged up the hill on the side where we would turn (taking advantage of the tangent as much as possible) and I thought maybe eventually I would catch him but no.

I actually passed maybe 4-5 people along the way, which is better than last year where I only passed 2 women, I think. Had a pretty smooth and easy time of it, with no stumbles or falls. The trails were in great shape and fairly dry. There was just a little rain the day before, which cut down on the dust and improved the traction. But there was no mud and the creeks were dry.

My finish time was 59:35, vs 1:07:40 for last year. I was 55 of 79 based on my actual running time, and 59 of 79 based on the actual time from the start of the race. I was 15 of 31 women (the only number that matters for the Dirtiest Dozen), and 25 of 70 age-graded (the little boy I started with, plus another little boy who passed me early on, both made the top ten age-graded). Last year I was 13 of 25 women, so my DD placement is actually worse than last year despite being 8 minutes faster!

Week 1, Day 7

This is an off-day because of the wedding showers, but Cathy & Tori left this morning, and Susan & Ross are off getting pictures taken and visiting friends, so I had time to get a workout in.

Unfortunately, my left knee was very twinge-y this morning---is that really because I wore a slight heel to a bar with a slippery floor last night?---so I decided not to run. Instead I did one of the Nike Training Club workouts from my iPhone app.

I did the 45 minute Energizer workout on the Beginner level, supposed to be a "toning" workout. As usual, my form was horrific and I had to keep stopping to watch the videos of the exercises because I didn't know what the heck I was supposed to be doing. Hope I did not further screw up my knees doing the modified pushups. I tried to do regular pushups instead but I just don't have any upper body strength any more.

Tomorrow, Susan wants to run with me. I hope she is up for the Pace Booster workout that includes 20 minutes at 9 minute pace. We might have to make it a little easier.

Week 1, Day 5

Yesterday was supposed to be a recovery day but I actually did not do any "exercise" because I did not really have time. Walked the dogs for 40 minutes in the morning, took Eddy to agility class, and then came home, grocery shopped and cleaned the house.

Had some weird foot pain (right foot, on the outside up just below the ankle) yesterday. Started during agility class or maybe before and continued all day. Did not notice it while walking dogs. Felt it again this morning but was gone during dog walk and did not bother me while running. Wonder if it is my sandals or what?

Okay, so today's scheduled workout was an "easy run" for 45-60 minutes. Pace is supposed to be 9:39 to 10:33. I did my "Madison" run, which is a little over 5 miles. Worked out to 5.13 miles in 52:16, which is just about right, albeit on the slow side of that range. Only trouble was it didn't feel "easy." Not like speedwork or anything but just not a pleasant, easy, jog. It's 75 degrees and 87 percent humidity right now, so maybe it was the humidity getting to me. And also my legs might be feeling really heavy from yesterday. Didn't get quite the post-run recovery that I was supposed to.

Right now am sitting in the kitchen with ice bag on my knee (felt the left knee catch right at the end of the run as I turned on Bellecrest/Pape), had a big glass of chocolate milk and a Picky Bar.

Week 1, Day 3

Today is supposed to be the long run, and with the newly recalculated paces, it's supposed to be at 9:41 to 10:57 pace. That's 1:45 to 2:00 of running at that pace.

But I had to run on the treadmill, because when it is 80 degrees and high humidity at 6 am already, that's what you do. I did get up early, but needed to have coffee, feed the dogs, and then walk Maggie for 40 minutes (just couldn't deal with the other two plus they had already doen their business) before I started. So there you go, It's after 9 am by the time I start.

And now it is 11:51, and I'm sitting in the ktichen struggling to get the carb/protein balance right---surprisingly, the protein is easy to get but the carb is hard to get done without an insane amount of food. Or I'm doing it wrong. I'm having a Lean Cuisine Salmon with Basil, a Wasa bread, a big glass of milk with Quik. That gives me the 32 grams of protein that I'm supposed to have, but only about 86 grams of carb and it should be more like 127. Like what, 40 grams short? I'd need to eat almost another 4 Wasas to get that right and that's just ridiculous. So this is just going to have to do it. Maybe I am going to have to buy some of that Slim Fast stuff that Greg McMillan recommends.

Oh, so back to the workout. On the TM, I did my gradual warmup until I got to 3.5 mph, then I went to 5.6, which is 10:42 pace. I decided to do most of the run at a pace that was within the target, and also something I could handle without having to hold on to the rails. But because I am a lazy ass and the treadmill is so hard for me, I took a 1 minute walk break at 3.5 pace every half-mile. Had some GU Chomps at 3 miles and 6 miles, which was the only time I hopped off.

When I got up to 1:45, I hit the cooldown button. In the end, the mileage was 9.12. That's a bunch less that I expect I am supposed to do, but oh well.

I'm thinking that maybe each week I will increase the base pace, so next week I'll try 5.7. Maybe I'll shorten the walk breaks. Maybe I'll increase the time. In the third week the long run is supposed to go up to 12-14 miles, so if I could get the next one over 10 next week that would be good.

I feel good about how I am sticking with the program but bad about how I am not getting anything else done. It's 12:09 now. Ridiculous.

Week 1, Day 2

Today is a "Recovery Day" when I can do easy cross-training or a very easy run (30 to 45 minutes at 11:52 to 12:22 pace). Of course, I opted for the run. I went out first thing in the morning after letting the dogs out for a pee. Didn't even have coffee. So it was about 6:30 am and already miserable outside.

The first mile was naturally sluggy, especially without the coffee, but after the first mile it was a struggle to keep the pace from increasing. I took a walk break every half mile in order to slow it down. I took the "Shady Lane" route, which is about 3 1/2 miles on my Nike watch, and it took me 39:09, which was just about right.

I think I have to adjust the paces though, because I think I plugged in the wrong data to the McMillan calculator. I am thinking that my training paces need to be a little faster if I'm really going to make the sub 4:10.

McMillan Training Program---Week 1, Day 1

Today I started following the training program. Going to try to blog about it as I go along. This week is going to be insane and I hardly have time to run let alone write about it but here goes.

Today's workout is a "50-60 minute Pace Booster run." This means in the middle of the run I am supposed to do 15-20 minutes at a "Steady State" pace. SS pace, I estimate according to the McMillan Pace Calculator, is about 9:50 - 10:07 pace.

Here's what I actually did: It's hot and extremely humid today. So I decided to run on the treadmill after I got home from walking the dogs. It was about 10 am when I got down to it. I did my long, slow warmup for 20 minutes. When I do this, I start at the lowest speed the treadmill goes and gradually increase it up to 5 mph/12 min pace, taking a 1 minute walk break every half mile at 3.5 mph. I know, that is ridiculously slow. But it's what I do.

At 20 minutes, I increased the speed to 6 mph/10 min pace, intending to continue for a solid 15 minutes before stopping. However, a couple of minutes into it, I dropped the cap to my water bottle and it skittered off the back of the treadmill and bounced off Ed, who picked it up. So I had to stop and hop off and get it away from him. This unfortunately made the treadmill freak out, causing it to stop and give me an error code.

So after I got the cap back from Ed, I got back on and just started the 15 minute pace segment over. So in the end I did go more like 17 minutes at 10 min pace, but there was that little early interruption. I had a drink of water every half-mile, trying not to spill it all over the place. The 15 minutes went pretty fast. I was watching Food Network.

After the 15 minutes, I was going to go another 15 min, so I walked at 3.5 mph for a minute, then returned to 5 mph/12 min pace for 14 minutes (with another 1 min walk break thrown in there at the half mile mark) and then bumped it up to 6 mph/10 min pace for the last minute. So that was 15 min at Steady State pace and another 15 easy.

Finally I did the 5 min treadmill program cooldown. I'm a little confused on exactly how far I went because of losing the date after the error code but I guess it was about 4 miles in 57 minutes or so.

After the run, I had a Picky Bar and a glass of skim milk. According to the McMillan RUNRR (Runner's Ultimate Nutritional Recovery Routine), I need to take in another 87 grams of carbohydrate and 16 grams of protein, which I'm thinking will happen with lunch.

Evendale Village 10k --- "Conquer the Hill"

This one is the traditional July 4 race for me, if I can make it there. It's a very nice little community event, which is exactly they type I prefer. The race is a benefit for the community's youth group.

The crowd at this race is mostly people who live in Evendale. They even have awards for the fastest local residents. The rest seem to be older, long-time, geezer-type runners like me.

They only give age group awards to the winners but that's about the only thing I don't like, hardware-hound that I am. There are door prizes, and bags of cold fruit sliced fruit at the finish.

The first mile of this race is uphill, and part of it is fairly steep. I used to be intimidated by this hill but not anymore. What I struggle with more on this course are the flat stretches on Reading Rd. and the second significant hill that comes in mile 4.

I do my slow warmup part way up the first hill and back down. I realize that today the race will just be about surviving and not doing anything stupid. I was thinking something like a 53 but the main thing was not to get heat stroke.

So we line up---and they even have little pace signs, just like at a much larger race---and somebody fires a cannon---but I'm ready for it after all these years and I don't even jump (or maybe I am just really going deaf). And we're off. And I'm jogging up the hill, feeling reasonably comfortable. Not going fast, but not getting passed, either.

Got through the first mile in 9:45. Very slow. And then came the downhill. And around this point, something very surprising happened. I passed Ed Hunter. Ed is one of the old, fast guys. He's always been fast, and I call him an "old guy" because he's older than me, and if you're older than me, then you are old. I can't believe I am passing Ed. What is he even doing back here anyway? I wonder if he is sick. I know I had seen him just back in April at another race and he was not this slow then.

Mile 2 is an 8:32, a little better. And then we are on Reading Rd., and it's hot and there's no shade and it's just miserable. Ed passes me and restores the natural order of the universe. Mile 3 is 9:01.

And then here comes the mile 4 hill that always gets me. I have a rough go of it. I stop and walk a bit. I don't care anymore about my time, I just want to survive and finish the race outside of an ambulance. I pass by Ed's wife, Marilyn, who is doing the walk (4 mile course, skips the first hill).

Mile 4 is a 10:33. All that walking. There's a nice, long downhill in mile 5 and then we're back on Reading Rd. Mile 5 is 9:24.

I see Ed just ahead of me. I don't want to pass him but I do. I can't believe I am passing him. It makes me sad. Ed is getting old. I am getting old. Mile 6 is 9:43.

We make the turn back into the parking lot of the recreation center. There is a young woman just ahead of me. We head toward the finish line and I kick past her. Last .2 is 1:51. Official time is 58:50, more than 5 minutes slower than I expected but it was rough out there.

They hand out place cards as you cross the finish line. You put your card in a little plastic bin corresponding to your age group. Very old school and I love it.

I drink some cold water and munch on the fruit. I grab a bag of ice and rub it on my neck and shoulders, before finally tucking it under my hat. I chat with Marilyn, whom I haven't seen in awhile. She says that Ed has been having back problems and he had a bunch of cortisone shots. Well that explains it.

I hang around for the awards with Ed & Marilyn. Maybe I'll get a door prize. Doesn't happen. Later I check the results. I was 2nd in the age group. First place was a 53:29, right about the time I had expected to run. I've got a lot of work to do before that marathon in November.

Hyde Park Blast

This is about the 4 mile race I finished on June 30.

So this was it, the race I had spent the last few months training for. Unfortunately, in the last few weeks, the training program sort of went to pot. I slacked off for various reasons, ran fewer miles, finished fewer cross training workouts, ate too much and gained a few pounds back, and let's face it, I wasn't doing any targeted speed training sessions for this anyway.

But there I was at the start line, as ever optimistic about improving my time over last year. Yes, although I am generally a pessimist about most things, for some reason I tend to be overly optimistic about my potential performance in races. My goal time was 32 minutes, or around three minutes faster than last year. Hey, it could happen.

Beyond being faster, I wanted to move up in my age group standings. Last year I was 4th. It wouldn't matter much in the end because they only give awards to the top 50 men and women, and in this big race at my age I am at a disadvantage.

New course this year. They took out the steep hill in the last mile and replaced it with a longer, less steep hill. Some might say they dumbed it down.

It was warmer and more humid than last year. I left the house at 7:30 and jogged to the start, about a mile and a half. I didn't see many people I knew at the start. 3000 entrants for a race in my neighborhood and I recognized hardly anyone. These are not my people. I recognized exactly two people: one, my Congresswoman (whom I am now embarrassed that I ever supported, though I thought she was the lesser of two evils; and two, one of my neighbors (who didn't recognize me).

A woman standing next to me commented on how sweaty I was and we hadn't even started yet. I told her that I had run there from my house. She asked me how many miles I usually ran, and I just gave her that blank look before responding "it depends." How do you respond to that question? It's a question you expect from a non-runner but not on the starting line of a race! I also overheard someone behind me saying she had never run "this far" before.

No, these are not my people. Anyway, I hoped I was standing in the right spot because even though there was chip timing, I didn't want to have to run around too many people.

It worked out okay. First mile was 8:25 (including about 20 seconds to cross the start). A little slower than I wanted to be but I was having to adjust my expectations in the heat. I grabbed a cup of water at the aid station. Then mile 2 was 8:57, a lot slower than I wanted to be, and the goal time was now out the window. At least my knee felt okay. Mile 3 was an 8:47, just hanging on and looking forward to being finished with the damn thing. I was able to pick it up in the last mile for an 8:14.

My watch time was 34:23 and my official chip time was 34:09, 40 seconds faster than last year, but of course, not nearly what I had hoped. Surprisingly, this did put me 3 of 102 in the age group. Okay, a lot of those people were walkers, and apparently a lot of them had never run "that far" before. I do wonder where all the fast old women go on the morning of this race, however.

They don't give out nearly as much swag as they used to at this race. I still use some of the things they've given out over the years: the key chain, the little candy dishes, the sportbags. There was the technical shirt, in a hideous gray color this time, but that was it pre-race. At the finish, you could pick up another "prize"---earbuds with the race logo on them.

I've never been a big fan of this race, so the earbuds seem especially apt considering how I feel about the people who need to run with tunes! But I have to admit that this race has steadily improved each year. So I'll probably keep showing up for it if I don't have anyplace else better to be.

French Park Creek Crossings

This is about the race I ran on June 10, another in the trail series. It's July now and so I am relying on memory and a couple of notes in my training log.

I think this is my favorite of the trail races. It's those creeks. I really love splashing through them late in the race when I'm hot and tired. I laugh at the people who try to go around them or stay up on the rocks. I just splash right through the middle. It's fun.

So, it was hot. I think. And we hadn't had much rain so the creeks were not as deep as usual. And I wasn't feeling so great that morning, and I felt semi-bad the whole way.

I made a stupid move mid-race where I jumped off a log onto a bridge, and I misjudged the distance and landed funny on the gimpy left knee and it went all wobbly and I almost fell. That was the point where Cyndi K., of course, was right behind me, so she passed me and I did not manage to catch her after that.

I lost heart for a few minutes and was even walking, but then I recovered and picked it up, and ended up finishing not too far behind Cyndi and still faster than last year by almost a minute. Time was 35:14. I was 15 of 56 women (right behind Cyndi, she only beat me by 20 seconds) and 82 of 147 runners.My age-graded time was faster than Cyndi's because I am one year older. I am still left wondering how much better I would have done if I had not almost fallen.

When I got home I iced my knee and had some Aleve. I was worried about it for a few days but it's okay. I think I just stressed or stretched some tendons in the back of my knee. I didn't have any swelling, but the knee didn't feel very stable for a few weeks after this race.

Ault Park Switchback Run 2012

This one was a bit of a disaster. Seriously, I am beginning to wonder about the decline of my mental faculties. This is the second time in the past few months where I have gone off course and run farther than I should have. And this time the race was right in my backyard. Or front yard, to be more exact. The point where I turned the wrong way is about a tenth of a mile from my house.

I started writing this the day of the race and then I kinda forgot about it, so I guess I'll finish it now. So anyway, I expected to be faster. I was lighter. I was stronger. It is my home course.

It started off okay. But somehow at about the one mile point, where you are supposed to turn left and then make a right to get on the Burr Oak Trail, I stupidly followed some other confused people and made a right turn through the yellow caution tape (I know! Stupid!) and ran a bit down the Ridge Trail (which you are supposed to run up after the Burr Oak Trail.

I realized my mistake fairly quickly, but instead of fixing it properly by just going back to the turn and going the right way, I instead retraced my steps even farther, ultimately adding possibly an entire mile onto my race. And I took a couple other people with me on this.

Other people, the ones who ran down the Ridge Trail, had a different experience. They cut the course. One of these was Cyndi K., who still accepted an age-graded award (I would not have!).

So I was pretty bummed about this, and I wonder how fast I would have been if I had not screwed up. My time was about 3 1/2 minutes slower than last year, and I was 24 of 59 women (vs. 18 of 42 last year), and 109 of 161 runners (vs. 78 of 116 last year). I estimate that I probably would have finished in about the same position (18th) if I had not gone off course.

And so it begins

On Monday I am going to officially start training for my fall marathon. I am excited to be trying something new. For the first time ever, I have purchased a "customized" training program from an actual coach, exercise physiologist Greg McMillan. The way it works is you fill out a little questionnaire about your history, current and past training, and goals, and for $125 they send you back a 16 week training plan. Your plan takes account of everything going on in your life---which in my case, is the dog training and competing, and my daughter's upcoming wedding.

Could I have come up with a similar plan on my own? Probably. But I am hoping that having a plan created "for me" by a professional will give me a little more incentive to follow it vs. something I came up with myself. Anyway, for not much more than the cost of a pair of running shoes (or in my case, two pairs, since I like the cheap ones) I have this plan. Worth a try.

So far, I've only just skimmed the plan a couple of times but I have a couple of quick takeaways:

1) I need to pay more attention to recovery, i.e., what I eat after a race or hard workout, and what I do the day after. I generally eat well, but I have not paid specific attention to exactly what I might need in the hours after the workout to maximize my ability to recover. And too often I have done hard workouts on back to back days just to fit them in, without considering the benefit of rest.

2) When I've done speed work, I've been doing it too fast. I haven't been doing the workouts at the right pace to give me the maximum benefit.

3) I need to focus on getting the long runs done. I've struggled with them and I really have to fit them in.

4) I have to skip some races I might have done because they don't fit in with the training plan. I have to skip the ones that will get in the way of achieving my goal.

Mostly, it looks achievable for me if I just don't let anything else get in the way beyond the things that are already planned---although that 16-20 miler I am supposed to do on the Thursday before the wedding does give me pause.

Catching up with myself

.Here's what's been going on with me and running lately:

Training

After the marathon going slower than expected in March, I decided to spend the next few months focusing on running some shorter races faster. Specifically, I want to run a good time at the Hyde Park Blast in late June. But for weekly mileage, I'm running about the same amount as ever. I might even be running more miles than I have when I "trained" for marathons the past couple of years. The long runs are 12-13 miles each week. I will have a good base when I start back to marathon training. Oh, and the marathon I'll be training for is Indy Monumental in early November.

Did I already write about this stuff? I forget. Anyway, I picked Indy because I could still get a hotel reservation there. Columbus was all booked up. I found out that is because it is a football weekend, and also there is some gigantic horse show in town that weekend.

Cross Training (yeah, really) 

I'm playing around with some iPhone apps that guide you through strength training, core work, total body conditioning, crossfit----whatever you want to call it. I tried using a TRX device but until I can get Tommy to install a wall or ceiling mount it just isn't going to work. I don't have a door that closes in the correct direction while still allowing sufficient space for full arm and leg extension for that to work. But let me say that the Nike Training Club beginner workout really kicked my butt when I tried it last week.

Kilgour 5k

Friday night, May 18,  I ran the Kilgour 5k, which I do just about every year since it's in my neighborhood. As usual, it required rushing home from an agility trial, which I did not mind so much because I was not having the most successful afternoon.  Also as usual, I warmed up for the race by jogging up to the start to pick up my shirt, jogging home and then back to the start again.

Saw our old friend Tom Possert at the race. He's in town for the next couple of months. The neighborhood 5k is not where I'd expect to see him---would expect him more at the trail race that I did on Sunday---but there he was. He said he had not been running at all, but I noticed he still could not stop speculating on what kind of time it would take to win the thing.

The course had changed yet again. This year we ran one block up Herschel Ave. and turned onto Suncrest and did a loop back that took us out to Observatory. Then we went up Observatory, down Ault Park Ave. and up Custer (as usual) but skipped the little loop of Observatory Place. In the park, we turned right at the top of the hill instead of going left and around the back of the pavilion. And on Principio, apparently we were supposed to run on the sidewalk by the playground, but I thought that was weird so I stayed out in the street. It's unclear to me if this affected my distance or my time. I never run up that sidewalk because it is flatter to stay out in the street. OTOH, the street is slghtly longer in distance. So, it's probably a wash.

It was hot Friday night but not too humid. I was expecting something in the 25s, which I've never done before in this race. But after that 25:30-ish time at St. Joseph's home, I was sure I had it in me. So I was pretty disappointed that my finish time was 26:27. I don't think that the new start made the race any more difficult, or at least not that much. My times for the first two miles w's alere okay. It was the third mile where I ran into trouble. That one started in the middle of the uphill going into the park, which is brutal, but we finished with the nice, long downhill, which should have made up for it.

I almost threw up at the bottom of that hill. I found myself making the dry heaving noises. Some mother watching on the sideline said something to her husband like, "well, that was disconcerting." She reminded me of the skinny jogger ladies in their brand new running attire that I find myself resenting at these races...until I totally kick their butts. Yeah, lady, I care about how I do in these races and I want to run as fast as I can, even if it makes me puke.

Fortunately, all I had for lunch on Friday was a cup of Greek yogurt, so there was no risk of spillage.

Mile 1 was an 8:06, mile 2 was an 8:28, and mile 3 was a 9:08, with about a 45 second last .1---that last part is a little peppy, at least.

Possibly that little stretch where I was the only one running in the street with everybody else up on the hill by the playground is to blame. Maybe I slowed down some for that couple of tenths of a mile because I was worried about being off course. I'm also wondering if the course wasn't a little bit long. The way they keep changing it, it's hard to believe that it's totally accurate.

Anyway, I was the only one in my age group so I got that, and I was the 12th woman overall of 221 (was hoping to be in the top ten but oh well), and 63 of 437 runners, which is not too bad for an old lady. There were also 73 walkers.

As Tom P. pointed out, this race doesn't exactly attract the faster runners, which works out well for me. It's mostly kids from the school and their parents. Still, I have noticed a positive trend in the past few years of the kids being better trained. And there's also been less cheating---which was a problem with the old course, for sure.

And once again, I didn't hang around for the awards :-( I might have if I had hit my time goal. Or if there had been some food. I don't know what happened with the food. They used to grill hot dogs and had chocolate chip cookies at the finish. I didn't smell any hot dogs and I didn't see anything out except for cups of water. Not even any sports drink. So I talked to Tom for another couple of minutes, and then headed home.

At first I was kinda bummed about not hitting my goal, but eventually I realized that it was actually 52 seconds faster than last year, and my second fastest time ever at this race. So really that is not so bad. Sure, I was 7 1/2 pounds lighter this year than last, but I'm also another year older.

Mt. Airy Trail Race

On Sunday morning, I headed to Mt. Airy Forest for the next race in the Dirt Days series. I had debated between entering the 10.8 (double loop) or just the 5.4. I thought maybe the 10.8 would give me a better chance at a higher finishing spot, which I need if I want to improve my place in the series standings. But it was hot and a bit humid on Sunday, and I was still a bit tired from the agility trial, so I was happy that I had signed up for the 5.4 miler.

I did a one mile warmup by jogging around the oval where they have the packet pickup and refreshments. Pre-race, I chatted with Cyndi K. I said my goal was to go under an hour, since I was a little over an hour the first year and 1:04 last year with the mud. She said she didn't remember what her times were. After chatting with her a few times now, I am beginning to believe her when she says she doesn't know.

Me, I know. I have little Excel spreadsheets with statistics on these things---things like the temperature that day, what I weighed at the time and what I wore. I do. My finish time is the least of it.

So, I had this little goal of breaking an hour, but honestly that was probably less ambitious than it needed to me, considering how much lighter I am than last year. But after recent disappointments, I didn't want to set the bar too high. And it was hot.

I do want to note that I was wearing my cute black running skirt and matching top from SkirtSports, so maybe I did resemble some of those jogger ladies that I can't stand.

What were other people wearing? Well, a lot of the women were in skirts. Probably a higher percentage than I've seen at road races. Not sure why. Also, there were a surprising number of people wearing compression socks. For a 5.4 mile trail run? I think that is silly. I'm wondering if this is just because it is a relatively small group, and a lot of them train with the crowd from the running shoe store, and they are all easily influenced, and if one person adopts something all of a sudden they're all doing it. I don't see any reason why any normal person would need to wear compression socks for such a short race. I mean, yeah, if you're Paula Radcliffe or Shalene Flannigan in the marathon, maybe it makes the difference between a world record or a win versus second place. But for the average Joe Jogger in a short race, I can't imagine it matters. It's just silly.

Also, lots of ear buds and electronic devices. Or maybe I just notice them more in trail races because I think it is so sad that people need them for those events. I can understand why somebody might need their tunes with them, or a good book, if they were out on a long run by themselves or running indoors on the treadmill. Even I need something on the treadmill. And I can sort of understand why somebody who is really dependent on their music for motivation might need it during a long race like a marathon. I don't need it, but I think that is because I started off running without it and never became dependent on it.

But I really don't understand what kind of person needs this for a short trail run. You're out in nature, and the birds are singing and the trees are rustling, and plus you're in a race where you are supposed to be concentrating on racing. What kind of idiot needs an iPod plugged in their ears for that? Plus it's dangerous if you're running on technical singletrack and people need to pass.

I could go on and on about how much this bothers me. But I'll try to let it go. I did resolve to try to pass as many of these idiots as I could.

Okay, so about the race. I set myself up in the middle of the pack. We started with a little out and back on the grass to get us spread out before we hit the trail. I thought Cyndi was already ahead of me and I decided I did not care. I was just going to run my best race and not worry about that. After the last race (where she ran shorter and I ran longer) there's no way I can move ahead of her in the standings unless she skips a race and I do really well in all of the rest of them. Not worth worrying about. Just concentrate on me.

I felt pretty good in the first mile and it seemed like I wasn't getting passed by as many people as usual in these things. I fell in line behind a group of women. We were all strung out in a line. I felt like I could go a little faster but I decided to stay in the back of the line and relax. No reason to pass them until I had to. And the worst thing is to pass people and then get passed again later. If we were all still together at the end, I figured I could outkick them on the grass.

Things were going great until suddenly there was a loud beeping noise that startled me and almost made me fall---not great when you're running on the side of a hill. Was it a phone ringing? I thought it was coming from one of the women in front of me, who were all hooked up with their iPods and iPhones and whatever. So incredibly irritating. Now I really wanted to beat these chicks.

About a third of way into the race, we came out of the woods into a clearing where there was a water stop set up. I grabbed a cup and headed back into the woods as the little pack of women who annoyed me broke up,  I let one get in front of me---in addition to the earbuds, she had the compression sleeves on her legs.

A guy behind me said something about how great it was to be halfway. We were only 20 minutes into the race, so I had to let him know that halfway was probably another ten minutes off.

In the second half of the race, a woman was running just behind me. I tried to encourage her to go around me, but she said she liked having a pacer. Yeah, she said that. So I said that I liked it too. I asked her what her goal time was. She said she didn't have a goal but she just wanted to beat her friends---she was part of the group of women I had been running behind earlier.

Things were going okay until suddenly there was the loud beep again! This time I seriously almost wiped out but recovered before going down.

Okay, this is as far as I got with the report back in May, before I got distracted. Now it is July and I am going to try to finish it up:

Well, I ran the rest of the race with this fool and her beeping device. It turns out it was her watch or something, and it was beeping to tell her she had finished another mile. She insisted that it was accurate even in the woods on the trails. I don't think so but whatever. I can appreciate the desire to use such a device. After all, I have my little Nike Sportband thingy, too. But I thought the loud beeping was rude. Especially since it almost made me fall. And I told her so. I also thought about complaining to Bob Roncker after the race, but in the end, I let it go. Whatever.

I don't now remember much about the rest of the race. On the last uphill, I left the beeper woman behind, and I think I kicked past a couple other people at the end. My time was 56:29 (like 8 minutes faster than last year), well under my goal of an hour. I was 10 of 50 women, 53 of 116 runners (3rd woman age-graded, and 19th runner age-graded).

I beat Cyndi K. She must have been behind me the whole way because I didn't remember passing her. She told me after that she had fallen during the race, which did slow her down some. There were quite a few falls during this race, because the trails were very dry with not much traction. And of course, there were those beepy things. I was lucky not to fall myself. Cyndi K. agreed with me, BTW, about the people with the devices being irritating. She is a real trail runner, after all.

Faster than Expected!

I finished the 5k this morning in 25:27, which is 12 seconds faster than I ran it in 1999. I'm pretty happy with that, especially since I was thinking maybe 27 minutes at best! I think that the difficulty of this particular course adds a minute or so to my time, so it seems like I am still in 24:30 5k shape.

(Okay, let's me honest and state also that the other times I ran this race they held it in August, so we had the full benefit of sun and humidity, whereas today was good weather for running faster. But still, I am 13 years older...and that must count for something!)

I almost didn't make it there this morning. Wasn't too enthused about it from the get go, because it's a really dreary day outside (40s and rain). And the notes in my running logs from 1999 and 2003 about this race were disturbing. In 1999, I commented that my knee felt weird afterwards. In 2003, note that it was just a few months before I ended up having knee surgery! So, you have to wonder if the hilly course had anything to do with it.

I reminded myself about the residents of St. Joseph's Home. I felt it would be dishonorable not to at least show up.

Stuck with just one cup of coffee this morning. Didn't want a repeat of two weeks ago at the finish line. Left the house at 8 am for the 9 am start. Dressed in long-sleeve shirt from the Hartford Marathon and the trusty and increasingly threadbare CW-X capri tights. Really need to get some new ones. Also, water-repellant ballcap from Delaware Marathon. Tucked some gloves in my gear bag, along with a change of clothes for post-race.

All was well until a couple of miles before my exit off I-71. Traffic was at a standstill. I should have listened to the traffic report before leaving but it's Saturday so I didn't think it would be an issue. Anyway, they had the road blocked off completely at my planned exit and I had to get off one stop before. By the time I could get moving, it was looking like I was going to arrive with less than 15 minutes to race time, and I like to have a little more than that. Wondered if I would even make it in time. Never know with the GPS if it is telling me to do the right thing or not.

On the way home I found out that the little stretch of highway was closed because of an overturned semi. It was flipped over on the concrete divider, and at that point, it looked the cleanup crew had pried it open and were removing boxes from it for transport in another truck.

I did make it there about 15 minutes before the start, parked in a hurry and trotted up to pick up my number. Kept my fleece jacket on because it was so cold, and was almost starting to think about running with it on but came to my senses in time. Jogged back to the car and got the nylon coverup I had tucked in my bag at the last minute, and my gloves, and did my warmup wearing that. Didn't have time to go a full mile, but tried to get a little up and down hill in.

Looked around at groups of skinny women dressed in stylish, aerodynamic running attire and felt...dumpy. But I tried to tell myself that they must be new runners and that was why they were in new clothes.

And then it was time to line up. I took off the nylon coverup but didn't think I had enough time to go back to the car, so I just tied it around my waist. The good thing is that it has a zipper pocket so I could put my car key in there. The key was too big for the pocket of my tights. The other good thing about the coverup tied around my waist was that just in case my tights really were too threadbare or in just case a seam just suddenly ripped open, I was safe.

This is not a very big race, so I lined up right in front where the fast people are supposed to be. Not that I am fast, but the road is pretty wide, relative to the number of people, so I didn't think I would be blocking any real speedsters. There were just a few women there who looked competitive, despite the aforementioned clothing (like the woman who was just standing to my right), and honestly, I didn't see any men who looked real fast. So I didn't think I was going to impede anyone.

My plan was to run the first fast downhill mile "sensibly"---that is, I knew it would be faster than I am capable of on a flat course, and I wasn't going to hold myself back, but I also wasn't going to do anything stupid. I was going to be careful. The mantra was "flow."

For the second mile, I was going to try to run faster than usual for a flat second mile. The mantra was "attack."

For the third mile, well, there the plan was a little less developed. I wanted to attack that one also, but I also didn't want to trash my knee in the process. So, the mantra was a little more like "hang on."

The race director fired a starting pistol and we were off. As I thought, plenty of room. A few women took off ahead of me but I managed to catch a couple of them before we'd gone a half mile or so. The hill was not as steep as I remembered. That was a good thing. I stopped worrying about my knee. Hit the first mile marker in 6:58. Hey, that was just a few seconds slower than 1999, when I felt like I was running way outside my capabilities. So, for some "sensible" running, it was decent. I skipped the aid station but thanked the volunteers.

Okay, here we are in mile two and it is time to "attack." Except, I did not feel much like attacking. Yes, things were going well, and I was glad I had come out for the race and made it there on time, but I didn't know if I had any "attack" in me. There weren't any women around for me to try to catch or pass, just some older, not especially fit looking, guys. Not much incentive to push real hard. But, I tried to focus on doing my best.

Hit the mile two marker with a 7:57. Hey, sub-15 minutes for two miles! That's probably my best in quite awhile. That was encouraging. Maybe there was some "attack" in me after all.

And then we turned off into a parking lot and around to the hill. Most of the last mile (except for a little bit at the beginning of it) is uphill, and it is quite a hill. Unlike the downhill first mile, it was just as steep as I remembered. The only good thing about it was that it was cool and overcast instead of hot and sunny.

There was another aid station in the parking lot and I skipped that one, too, but once again thanked the volunteers. Who thanked me right back.

I became aware of some very loud wheezing and grunting noises, and realized that it was me making those sounds. But it felt good to make those sounds, so I decided that I didn't care what they guys around me thought, I would just keep doing it. I passed one guy, for good, that I had been trading places with for much of the race.

I was in that no-man's (woman's?) land, where I often find myself in these small races, between the fast people in the front and the slow people in the back.

I wanted to run, however slowly, up the entire hill. I tried to keep remembering to pump my arms. At one point, I decided that maybe I could walk just as fast as I could run, so I admit that I did shift to a walk for a few steps. But I quickly realized that even my very slow running was faster than walking, so I went back to the "run."

At the turnoff into the access road to St. Joseph's, there were a few volunteers waiting on the side, with a couple of the residents in wheelchairs. All the residents who were outside for the race were bundled up in matching dark blue rain ponchos. The volunteers were all relentlessly cheery looking. It is difficult and important work that they are doing. I gave them a big smile and waved my arms broadly.

As I think about this race, I think it is maybe more for the families and the volunteers than it is for the residents. I could be wrong. The way I think about this race is that it is an opportunity for the families of the residents and the staff and the volunteers at the home to get together with the community, and share the day together with the residents of the home. And that is a nice thing to be a small part of.

I had been hoping that I was wrong about how much was left of the race, but just as I remembered, there was quite a bit more hill to go. I continued up the access road and passed my car. Where was that three mile marker? Agggh. There was one guy ahead of me. I wasn't going to catch him.

I hit the button on my watch at the three mile marker but didn't look at it. (Later I would see that this mile was a 9:48, actually 13 seconds slower than my 1999 time. So much for the benefits of shade.)

I tried to pick it up for that last .1, and I managed to, a little, covering it in 44 seconds (vs. 56 seconds in 1999). Final time was 25:27. I was twelve seconds faster than in 1999, and most of that improvement was in the second mile (attack!) and that last .1. And, since I was only expecting to finish in 27 minutes, this was very happy news. So, I guess you could say I did run the race according to plan, and the plan worked out even better than expected.

I stood along side the finish chute and cheered for some of the other runners, then I started to get cold so I walked to my car to get my dry clothes, then went inside the warm auditorium for waffles and sausages. Not bad post race food, not bad at all. People around me were talking about how happy they were with their finish times in the 32 minute range. I was pretty sure that I had won my age group. I didn't see anybody there I recognized.

They announced the overall winners and also the winners of the team competition. The men's winner didn't even break 20, and the woman ran a 22. I noted that I was faster than the winning team, which was a bunch of guys. They didn't announce the rest of the awards, but told you to just look on the wall where they had posted the results, and if you had won something, go up to a table where they would give you a medal. Maybe it was because in a race with just 149 runners and 78 walkers and multiple awards in the age groups, almost everybody goes home with something.

In the end, I was 1 of 4 in my age group, 8 of 84 women, and 22 of 149 runners overall (plus I beat the 78 walkers, but they started after us, and the guy who won the race walk would not have been too far behind me, as he was walking seriously fast).

Now if I could just find a way to get some 20 mile long runs in every other week, like I used to do in 1999, maybe I could break 4 hours in the marathon again after all.

Make a Prediction

Tomorrow I'm going to run the St. Joseph's Home 5k. The last time I ran this race may have been in 1999. Back then, it was in August, which was pretty brutal. And the course itself is bad enough without the heat. It's one mile straight downhill, one mile flat, one mile plus uphill. And it is quite the hill.

So, back in 1999, when I was, according to my running log, approximately the same weight I am right now if not a pound or two heavier, I ran it in 25:38. Which, at the time, was over a minute slower than I was running flat 5ks that summer. But...I was also averaging 40 miles a week in contrast to less than 25 a week right now. And I was doing 20 mile long runs every other week. And I was doing mile repeats at 5k race pace. (I guess I mistaken about my not ever having done speedwork regularly before. I forgot. The way I used to train, which I thought was pretty lackadaisical at the time, actually makes my current efforts look very wimpy). Oh, and I was running 4:00 marathons without too much trouble.

I also ran the first mile of this race in 6:54, which at the time was my one mile PR. (I hadn't run many mile races.) Not just my PR for the first mile of a 5k, but my PR for one mile in any race. The splits were 6:54, 8:13, 9:35 and 56 seconds for the last bit.

I plan to go out a little more conservatively this time, and hope that I can push it more (relatively) in the second mile. I also think that I am maybe a little better at the uphill stuff than I used to be.

I'm not saying that I'm going to be faster than I was in 1999. That cannot be. But I'm thinking that maybe it won't be too far off my other current 5ks.

Which are, what? I haven't run a 5k since the fall, and then I was running 24:30s, same as I was in 1999. So, I guess that means at least last fall I had 24:30 speed for a 5k. But based on the recent 10ks, I'm probably closer to 26 minutes for an average 5k right now.

And this is far from the average 5k. So, what? I am thinking somewhere between 27 and 30. I have decided to be very satisfied with a 27, but not overly surprised if it ends up being closer to 30.

Oh, and try not to destroy my knee, which has been bothering me the past few days. And hope the weird ankle pain I have been having since yesterday is really nothing.

Run for the American Dream 10k

I did this one on Saturday, April 7. It was my third time competing in the race. I ran it four years ago, and again two years ago.

The race is a benefit for an organization called Working in Neighborhoods. The mission of the organization is to "harness the power of neighborhood leadership to build strong communities." What that means, apparently, is promoting home ownership, hence the name of the race---"Run for the American Dream." WIN provides assistance to first time home buyers through education, financial counseling, and downpayment assistance programs.

The race is held in Winton Woods Park, a 2500 acre park on the west side of Cincinnati. The course is composed entirely of a paved walking path. There's a 5k run and separate walk, 10k run, kids fun run, and this year, an Easter Egg Hunt (including an appearance by the Easter Bunny). For the 10k, you repeat the same course twice.

This is a tiny little race with relatively large and generous trophies. They give out big ones for the top three overall men and women in each of the events, plus medals to the age group winners in ten-year categories. Ordinarily I avoid those races with the ten-year splits but this is such a small race, so I make an exception. And the first year I ran it, I won a big trophy for third overall in the 10k. Last time I was slower and just won the age group.

I seemed to recall that they had slightly better than usual food at this one (unfortunately I did not remember correctly or it has changed), and the t-shirt is included in your entry fee.

This race was going to be the kick off for my spring 10k training program, in which I am going to try to get a little faster at that distance. My time in this race tells me where I am starting from.

I wanted to leave the house at 8 am on Saturday morning, but I was running a little late, trying to finish up that second cup of coffee, and when I got in the car, I realized I did not remember how to get to the park. I have not been there very many times, and the last time was for this race two years ago. My new friend, "Siri," was no help in this regard, as she was only able to suggest 11 parking lots near my house when I asked her for directions to Winton Woods Park.

Siri really is good for finding coffee shops and that is about it.

My old friend, "Garmina," had even more trouble than Siri. She got stuck in a loop and could not come up with anything. Maybe she is intimidated by Siri? She needn't be.

So I had to go back in the house and ask Tommy. The directions he gave me did not sound correct. So I went online and found an actual street address for the entrance closest to the race. That was enough for Garmina to get started, although I did have to ignore some of her advice.

By that point it was 8:15, and it's a 20 minute drive. This is a tad bit later than I like to leave for a race.

When I arrived, there was some confusion among the volunteers about where to park. I was directed into the lot across the street from the start/finish area, before realizing that I might be better off looking for a spot closer. So that cost me another five minutes. But I did get one of the last spots in the lot right by the start. I didn't have this year's park pass yet but there was nobody around to buy it from so I decided not to sweat it.

I got my shirt and bib and chip, and by the time I got my number pinned on and my chip attached to my shoe (yes, they have chip timing at this itty bitty race, which seems silly but probably does make it easier for the race director), I did not have enough time for my usual ten minute warmup. And I didn't have enough time to visit the bathroom, either. I had to choose, short warmup or bathroom. I felt okay, so I chose the warmup. Barely had enough time to get a half-mile in, jogging around the parking lot. It would have to do.

The 5k and 10k runs start together, and there's no way to tell from looking at people which race they are doing. It was written in black Sharpie on the front of our bibs but you had to look at someone from the front to see it. There were a couple of women who looked pretty fast. Tall, skinny, young woman. Shorter, athletically built woman in compression socks, also relatively young. Tall, skinny, youngish blonde woman in sunglasses. Little girl, looked to be about 12.

And at the start, there was a relatively fit woman in black just ahead of me.

It took me just a couple of seconds to get over the starting line. I almost ran into the dividers they have sticking up on the path to prevent cars from driving on it, because the people just ahead of me were blocking my view when we started running.

The woman in black was a little bit ahead. I could have run fast enough to keep up with her---if I was only going 5k. I wondered which race she was doing and if maybe she would come back to me.

The race course is a little bit confusing, because you cross the same point multiple times even if you are only doing the 5k. Fortunately they had volunteers at every point where you had to make a choice, so even I did not get lost.

Hit the first mile in 8:03. Maybe a little fast but we were only going 10k so I wasn't too concerned. There was an aid station near the two mile mark so I grabbed a cup of water and walked a few steps. Mile 2 was 8:29. Near the end of the third mile, I could see some of the faster 10k runners coming back towards me on their second lap. I counted at least three women, and I knew there may have been more even faster who passed by before I came through. Mile 3 was an 8:40. I guess I really am that slow, after all.

It was really hard to make that turn back out onto the course again. I did not see the woman in black so I guessed she must have been running the 5k. Mile 4 was an 8:34. Mile 5 was an 8:50 and I skipped the water stop this time. It was kind of empty out there the second time around, and I didn't have anybody to try to race against, so it was hard to keep pushing myself. When we made the little turn around just past mile 5 I didn't see anybody close behind me.

But, I reminded myself that I wanted to run as best as I was capable of running. Mile 6 was an 8:23. I was lapping some of the walkers doing the 5k, but fortunately the path was wide enough so they didn't get in my way. Ran the last .2 in 1:42, for an official time of 52:39.

Right at the finish line there was a volunteer who wanted to cut our shoe tags off. I said okay, but I apologize if I throw up on you. Those two cups of coffee with cream and sugar were not staying down. So I held up my shoe for her to remove the tag while I barfed off to the side. Then I walked over to the grass and barfed some more. People were asking me if I was okay and I just kept trying to indicate that it was not big deal, I (almost) always do this.

The race director came over and asked me for my tear off tag, which apparently they were not doing for everybody, but seemed to me to indicate that maybe I was winning something, so what the heck, I would stick around.

I keep hoping to discover that I really am faster than this but I think I have to face reality! This is all I've got right now. At least I was faster than I ran it in four years ago, and a lot faster than two years ago (which was kind of a low point in my life as a runner).

I didn't think I was getting one of those big trophies like I did four years ago, but I thought I had a good shot at the age group awards, especially after the race director took my tag. I was hoping there would be pancakes, but instead all they had were awful supermarket bagels (not made bearable by the addition of cream cheese), Gatorade and stuffed grape leaves (from Oasis Mediterranian Grill, one of the sponsors). There were lamb and veggie stuffed grape leaves. I tried a lamb one. It was way too salty for me and I had to throw it away.

Anyway, it turned out that the tall woman in black had run the 5k, and she was actually the 5k woman's overall winner. I was just a little amused to realize that based on her time, I probably would have beaten her if I had run the 5k---because if I was only going 5k I would have gone a lot faster per mile. The 2nd and 3rd place women in the 5k (who also got big trophies) ran even slower than my 10k pace.

The more competitive runners were in the 10k. The skinny, fast young woman I remembered from the start won in a time of 39 minutes and change. Second place was the blonde woman in the sunglasses, and third place was the 12 year old girl. I was the sixth place woman (of 17) and first of two in my age group, and I was 26 of 44 runners overall. I was also the second oldest woman there---the other woman in my age group was the oldest.

52:39, I have to keep reminding myself, is still faster than I was at this point a year ago. It's a place from which to start.

ORRRC Marathon, where I fail to qualify for Boston by a very large margin

I picked this race because I thought it would be a good place for me to try to get a Boston qualifier. Somehow I had managed to forget that I have had some really sucky races in Xenia doing the associated half-marathon, so there wasn’t a good reason to expect that the marathon would be any better. I guess I should have thought about it a little more carefully.

Because, I had a really sucky day in Xenia. I am trying to figure out exactly what went wrong. Was I really so badly trained? Was I really still sick? Or is it just a place where I am doomed to run poorly?

For Those of You Who Don't Live Here, a Bit about Xenia

Xenia, a place I go to only when I enter this race, is about an hour's drive north of me. One of its nicknames is "city of hospitality." The website says that Xenia is "rich in traditional values." The main thing Xenia is known for, however, is tornados. The tornado of April 1974 killed 33 people and destroyed about half the town.

The Friday night before the race I was watching the weather report on TV and sure enough it looked like a little bit of a twister was touching down in the area near Xenia. I asked someone during the race why they schedule it for tornado season, and we joked about how it is always tornado season in Xenia.

Wikipedia says that Xenia was known to the Shaunee Indians as "the land of the crazy winds," which wouldn't be so bad if it was at our backs the whole way. Unfortunately, on an out and back course, it doesn't work that way, and the wind was blowing in our faces on the way back.

They used to hold this a bit earlier in the year. I recall the first time I went up there for the half-marathon, I think it was in early March. And it was like 20 degrees and windy. It was horrible. So maybe tornado season is an improvement!

Comedian Dave Chappelle owns several houses in Xenia, and the city is mentioned in a "They Might Be Giants" song. But I think if you played word association with most people around here and you said "Xenia" they would say "tornado." Sorry Xenia!

The other thing Xenia is a little famous for is being the residence of the author of the novel "And Ladies of the Club," which I personally have never read. I found a bed and breakfast that claims to be the setting of the novel. It seems to be really close to the start/finish of the race and looks like it would be a great place to stay if you were coming from out of town for this race. The other place you can stay is a Ramada, that is supposed to be nasty now, but was at one time the start/finish/staging area of the race.

Xenia is close to the town of Yellow Springs, home of Antioch University, which contributes a little bit of funkiness to balance out the traditional values (IMHO). Truly, it is hard to find a place that is more small town, midwest than Xenia (said this Jersey Girl). Unless, maybe, Pawnee, IN.

What’s Good About This Race

There are a lot of good things about this race. Let’s start with the value. It is an amazing value. The pre-registration fee is just $25. This makes it one of the cheapest marathons in the world. It is cheaper than a lot of the 5ks are around here.

From my perspective, the race delivers on a lot of the necessities:

•  Accurate mile markers
• Adequate aid stations, fully stocked with water and Gatorade
• Volunteers to point you in the right direction so you don’t get lost (become more of an issue for me recently!)
• Parking at the start/finish
• Plenty of food at the finish, including a variety of hot soups and cookies
• Showers at the finish
• Scenic course, relatively flat
• It’s just an hour’s drive away for me

What’s Not So Good about this Race

Weather can be unpredictable. Can be windy. Will definitely be windy somewhere along the course. No shade on the road portion. Can get hot if the sun is out.

Hmmm, that may be the only negative thing. But since I have never had a good race here, I probably won’t be trying it again. At least not the full marathon.

If you are a racer who needs a lot of crowd support and people cheering and music playing and other forms of entertainment along the way, well, you won’t get that here. But I don’t need that stuff.

So, I signed up for this months ago and focused my training (to the extent that I ever focus my training) on it. Although I was, as always, a bit short on the long runs, I did more speed work, and I did it more regularly, than I ever have before. I didn’t do as many build-up races as usual, but because my fall races had gone so well, and that was before all the speed work, I was optimistic on this front. And although I didn’t do as many long runs as I was supposed to, I did more than usual. And I felt great after them. And I wasn’t having any particular biomechanical problems, unlike other times.

I figured if I could jog through a 4:36 with no specific training at all, I really shouldn’t have a problem going sub-4:00 with the training I did this time. Right?

Wrong, apparently.

Before the Race

I did a 20 mile run about 3 ½ weeks before the race and it went great. I had not done a training run that long since the last time I qualified for Boston, ten years ago. The week after that long run, I came down with a nasty head cold. I had a lot of nasal congestion and some coughing, but it did not develop into anything worse or get bad enough to make me go to the doctor in search of antibiotics.

I did go down to Louisville with Zen for two days of agility while in the thick of the cold, and I skipped the Heart Mini-Marathon that Sunday because I was still a bit sick. At that point I was a week out from the marathon. I felt recovered enough to do a little running early last week. The congestion and the coughing would clear up while I was running, but I found myself still coughing a bit in the evenings.

By Wednesday, I was feeling good (although still somewhat congested) but I decided to not run the rest of the week and rest my legs. I was not worried about the cold affecting my race. I made a conscious effort to eat less over the past week, so I would not be carrying any extra weight on race day. Basically, I tried not to do my usual mindless snacking between meals, and didn’t let myself have any alcohol or ice cream. If I needed dessert, I had a cup of yogurt or a piece of fruit.

Friday night when Tommy came home from a week out of town and made himself a martini, I could not resist and I had one beer. Saturday night I was going to cook a pasta dinner, but instead we had takeout from a local Italian place and I stuffed myself.

I was a little nervous about the weather. Weather.com was saying 30% chance of showers for the entire morning. I hoped it wouldn’t rain. Temperature-wise it was supposed to be low 50s at the start and climb to the low 60s by afternoon, which sounded okay. It had been in the 80s earlier in the week, so 50s was going to feel great.

Race morning I was up at 5-ish for coffee, yogurt and banana. I left for the start around 6:15. It took me a little over an hour to drive there, because there was some thick fog on the second half of the drive. I got one of the last parking spaces in one of the lots near the YMCA where the race start and finish is set up.

I picked up my shirt and bib, used the bathroom inside the Y (another nice feature of this race), and retreated to my car until it was time to line up.

I was wearing my CW-X capri tights (which I need to think about replacing before they become translucent), a shortsleeved tech top and a hat from Fargo. I also wore my old, shredded (a couple of dogs have munched on it, and I also ripped it on something during a race one time) blue anorak, which is lightweight enough to tie around my waist or that I could even pitch although it seems like I am doomed to have that thing forever. I was still worried about rain and the anorak is handy for that.

I debated over wearing my big fanny pack that holds a water bottle, or a smaller one that just holds my gels. The aid stations were mostly two miles apart, but not always I ended up going with the water bottle, because there were some spots in the middle of the race where the aid stations were more like three miles apart and that is too far for me to go without water in a marathon.

The Race

My goal was a 3:59, which would give me a Boston qualifier for the 50-54 age group, which I intended to use next April. I have run faster than that, but it was ten years ago. Since this was an ambitious goal, I decided that I would be happy with a time under 4:15, which would still show improvement over recent years, and would give me hope that I could get my time down under 4:10 this fall. A 4:10 run after September 25 will give me a qualifier for Boston that I can use in 2014.

Oh yeah, and I might not actually run Boston even if I do qualify. What I really want to do is run a marathon in Gansett, Rhode Island, on the Saturday before the Boston Marathon. That race uses the same qualification standards as Boston, and it is in a state where I haven’t run a marathon yet. It is also more exclusive than Boston, because the only way to run it is to qualify, whereas Boston lets in some charity runners, foreign tourists, and celebrities. The other problem with Boston now is that even if you qualify, you might not get in because more people qualify and apply to run it than the race will accept. Paradoxically, it is now both easier and harder to get in to Boston. So, I’ll use the qualifier for Gansett, but I might possibly do Boston as well if I can get in.

For a goal of 3:59, you have to average 9:06 per mile. The ideal is to run a little slower in the first half and faster in the second (the elusive “negative split”) but that hardly ever happens. Most of the time, I find myself slowing down in the second half of a marathon, even on a good day. But I was going to try to just keep it around 9 minute pace, and hopefully a little below for some of the flatter miles.

They used chip timing for this race, so even though it wasn’t a big field (1100 runners in the half and the full, combined), I didn’t have to stress out too much about my starting line position. It did take me maybe 30 seconds to get over the start line, and every second was going to count if I wanted to qualify.

The first two miles is a loop around downtown Xenia that brings you back by the start line, before you head out on the country roads and bike trail. My watch said 8:50 at the first mile marker, and that was encouraging. I felt good. I really thought I could hold that pace for 25 more miles. I took off the anorak.

The second mile was a 9:08, and that was okay because it included a short walk break while I took some water from my bottle, and removed the anorak. It was overcast and very humid. The fanny pack felt kind of heavy around my waist, and the anorak didn’t help, either. I had a little water at the aid station.

It was uphill to mile three. My watch said 9:52. I told myself it was the hill, or maybe the marker was in the wrong place. It was now quite humid and warmer than I had expected. I was glad I had the water bottle with me because I was thirsty, even if it was weighing me down a little. I had my first GU with the water.

In the fourth mile, we turned on to the bike trail and the course flattened out. I missed the 4 mile marker, but miles 4 and 5 were an 18:29, not too far off the 9:06 pace. I missed the mile marker for 6 as well, but 6 and 7 were an 18:35, again, not horrible. I had another gel and water somewhere in between at approximately mile 6. That sub-4:00 was slipping away but I didn’t feel too bad and I resolved to just take it a mile at a time and do my best.

Mile 8 was a 9:10. Better. Mile 9 was a 9:27. Now we headed out on the country road, and the sun came out, and I started to struggle. I had another GU and some water. And it sucks to start to struggle this early in a race. I felt overdressed, and wished I was not wearing black. At least my hat was white. I chatted with a guy who lived in the area who advised me of the hill coming up ahead. Uphill in the sun. Great. It wasn’t that steep of a hill but it was quite long. Mile ten was a 9:48. This is when I knew for sure that it just wasn’t my day.

I ran a little with a woman who was doing her first marathon. Her goal was just to finish and hopefully be under 4:40 or even 4:30. I told her she looked strong and she would make it. She was one of those tall, skinny people who doesn’t seem to sweat much. She pulled ahead of me.

And at this point I guess I got a little demoralized, not even able to keep up with someone whose goal was so much more modest than my own. Mile 11 was 10:42. Mile 12 was 10:19. Mile 13 was 10:39, mile 14 was 11:16. I wanted to drop out. I was getting in a bad mood and thinking about how there was no reason for me to be doing this race if I wasn't going to qualify for Boston.

Around mile 14.5 we turned back onto the bike trail. Mile 15 was 10:59. At some point in here I passed the tall, skinny lady, and I told her she still looked strong and she would make it. I had some brief conversations with other Maniacs. Most of them passed me. One guy who passed me told me that he had run a marathon in NJ the day before, then drove nine hours (he must have been speeding and did not stop at all along the way!) to get to Xenia. And he was running faster today. He was very proud of himself. Good for him, but I'm not sure he needed to share his tale of wonder with poor me.

Did have a lot more conversations with folks than usual during this race, maybe because the race organizers discourage the wearing of earbuds, so people were bored and needing something else to do besides just plodding ahead.

I continued with the gels every three miles, until late in the race when it was just too much trouble to deal with them so I switched to Gatorade at every water stop. Going so slow, I was actually a little worried about being over-hydrated!

Mile 16 was 9:54. I missed the mile 17 marker but 17-18 was 20:22. I thought things were looking up until I got to mile 19, which was 11:08. I just wanted it to be over!

Another guy who passed me decided he had to tell me all about how great he felt and how he was going to finish even faster than last year and he was going to pick it up and even break 4:30. Well la-dee-dah, hooray for him, I thought.

Mile 20 was 10:50, mile 21 was 11:30, mile 22 was 11:47 (things were really getting rough), mile 23 was 11:53, mile 24 was 11:54. I could not believe that after all that training I was barely going to be any faster than I was last summer/fall with almost no training. What, then, is the point of training? I don't know. I also ask myself this question every time Zen jumps off the top of the a-frame at an agility trial, but I digress.

Mile 25 was 11:40. Near the 26 mile mark we turned off the bike trail onto the street. There were volunteers blocking the bike trail, and it is a good thing they were there or I would have missed the turn (indicated my orange arrows painted on the grass).

I made the turn at the same time as another woman whom I had not noticed until that point. She turned to me and said what I had been thinking for a few hours---"this really sucks!" I said, "yeah, this totally sucks!" It was so nice to meet someone who was expressing exactly what I was feeling at that point instead of all the silly cheeriness about what a beautiful day it was to run, and how awesome it was that we could all be out there doing this race even if we were slow and all that kind of crap.

She said what sucked even more was that the next day she was going to have to get on a plane to California, and I agreed with her that totally sucked. Mile 26 was a 10:55.

At this point ordinarily I would have kicked ahead of this woman because, hey, we were still racing, after all. But she looked younger than I am (she was) and I just didn't care anymore so I let her beat me. Okay, well, I did try to pick it up a little but she did the same thing, and she crossed the line just ahead of me.

After the Race

I got my medal---surprisingly nice one---and walked to the car to get my gear bag (which seemed incredibly heavy), then headed into the Y for some soup. I decided to eat first and then change in case they were running out. There was a choice of chili, broccoli with cheese, and chicken noodle. I went for the chicken noodle. I also grabbed a couple of chocolate chip cookies that appeared to be homemade. I headed for a spot at one of the tables, but I was afraid to sit down (because I might not be able to get up again) so I mostly kind of hovered. I ate the cookies first because that was more what I was in the mood for. But the soup was just the perfect thing.

While I was eating, the tall, skinny woman came up to me and thanked me for supporting her during the race. She said that she had achieved her goal, and that our brief encounter during the race really helped her.

There are some days---most days---when I feel like my entire purpose on this earth is to make other people feel better about themselves. Maybe that's why I was really there doing this race, after all. Like all those people who passed me, I was there just so they could have someone to pass.

I told her she was still looking good. Because she was. She didn't even look like she was sweating.

I, OTOH, was quite a mess. I finished my soup and headed off to the locker room. I decided to wait until I got home for my shower, so I just changed into dry clothes and flip flops and headed out. I was pretty happy when I took my shoes and socks off to see that my feet didn't have any blisters. I was a little worried about how I would extricate myself from the car when I got home, but I called Tommy and told him that he might need to come out and help me. It felt really wonderful to sit down in the car!

Final results showed my time to be 4:31:17. I was 2 of 4 in my age group (which means, apparently, at some point an award will be arriving in the mail, since they gave them out to the top 3 in the age group) and 169 of 246 marathoners overall. The woman who won the age group finished in 3:49, closer to where I had hoped I would be. Third place, I believe, was tall, skinny lady with a 4:38.

With a couple of weeks perspective on this, I am going to blame it on the cold/flu/whatever that was I had. I don't know if I could have gone sub-4:00 otherwise, but I think it took more out of me than I suspected.

The Last Few Days

Going to try to write a little more just about the everyday stuff.

Have recovered quickly from the marathon. Was a little sore last Monday, too busy Tuesday, but able to get out for a little three miler Wednesday. Busy on Thursday, but ran again Friday and Saturday, and then did a six miler on Sunday, which went pretty well.

Today, I did another three miler, along the route where I run down Erie Ave., take a little detour around the Broadview neighborhood, and then back up Erie and finish with a little loop of my neighborhood. Its probably closer to three and a half miles. It was a beautiful day, sunny and in the low 60s. I ran into one of my neighbors, Peggy, and her dog, Quinn. He is a very handsome Golden Retriever. I never get to say hi to Quinn usually when I see them because I have the dogs with me, so today I took the opportunity to give him some pats and kisses. Peggy's former dog, Ceres, was a great friend of our girl, Libby. We chatted a little about how much we miss them. We love our current dogs but there is no replacing Ceres and Libby.

After my disappointing performance last weekend, it is time to regroup and come up with a new plan. So, the plan is that I will try again to qualify for Boston at the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon in the fall. I picked that one because I know it is a good race and a nice flat course, and not too far away. Also, all the race hotels for Columbus are already booked, but I could still get a room within a quarter mile of the start/finish in Indianapolis. And, it is a month after Susan's wedding, whereas Columbus is just a week or two after. So Indy is probably better.

I won't start training until early July, so in the meantime my goal is to do some 10k training program, and apply it to trying to better my time at the Hyde Park Blast, which is a four mile race but that shouldn't matter so much.

I'm going to run a 10k this weekend, the Run for the American Dream, which should give me a baseline for my training paces going forward.