26.2-Seattle...Love

Yes, this is Seattle in late November :)

The Star spangled Banner began and it was time to focus, all the training lead up to that moment.  I was  physically ready, mentally ready, I had a plan and I was going to go for it.
The Race:
1-7:22  I started with the 3:15 pace group which was my plan.  I intended to stick with the pace group through 1/2 way and then access how things were going
2-6:29 A lot of downhill in this mile.  The pacers were trying to bank a little time in the first 1/2 to account for the hills in the 2nd half.  Feeling good.
3-7:17 Started chatting with a fellow New York orphan who was running her first marathon
4-8:18 At least half of this mile was in a tunnel where my watch lost reception.  I had pulled ahead of the pace group and was trying to slow up a little bit so they would catch up with me.  I was feeling so good but I also did not want to go out too fast.  Started out on the floating bridge.
5-6:03 Obviously my watch was trying to figure things out :)  I think averaging miles 4&5 would be an accurate pace, I was probably running around 7:10 for both miles.
6-7:23  I was really trying to slow down.  I wanted to stick to my plan and I was not, I was feeling too good though.  Turnaround on bridge and headed back.  I slowed almost to a stop through the water station again hoping the pace group and Tyler would catch me.  I saw Tyler and she was a little ahead of the pace group
7-7:30  Just running really easy at this point.  It was here that I made the decision that around mile 9 where my husband was going to be with my banana that I would stop and let the group catch up.  I know it seems crazy but I really did not want to blow up and kick myself for not sticking to my plan.
8-7:25 Coming to the end of the bridge and getting ready to turn onto the path, I was looking forward to seeing my husband and getting my banana.
9-7:27 So happy to see my sweet husband who was holding a neon yellow sign :)

Literally stopped waiting for the pace group and my teammate Tyler

10-7:06 Chatted with Tyler for a second, I was feeling great, she was not.  This made me sad but I was again pulling away from the pace group.  It was strange but it was harder for me to run slower.  I decided to just go with it and pray that I did not hit the wall.

11-7:17 I was running very easy and relaxed.  There was no doubt or fear.  I was enjoying the foggy morning.  It was a bit chilly but it was really beautiful.  We were running right by Lake Washington.  i was so grateful that it was not raining or windy! 

12-7:15 I was enjoying chatting with a few people around me. Pretty uneventful.  I was in the middle part and still feeling great.  

13-7:18  I was staying committed to my fueling plan.  I took 4 Honey Stinger chews here.  I will also mention that I was taking fluid at every aid station (every 2 miles)  I would alternate gatorade and water.  I did not drink a lot but I was getting something.  

Half marathon split 1:35:27

14-7:13 The next few miles flew by.  Miles 8-17 were a loop out and around a park and back.  It helped that there were runners going the other way, anything to distract the mind.  Looking forward to mile 17 where I would again see my husband and Tylers friend Nick.  I had no idea where she was at this point and was hoping that they had some info.

15-7:12

16-7:22

17-7:19 I was so happy to see Mike and Nick.  I got my 1/2 banana and a sip of gatorade and was off again.  I was also happy to see that Nick was dressed to run.  He planned on running 3 miles with Tyler and I was glad that she was going to have company.  They told me she was not that far behind me. It really helped knowing that I would be seeing Mike along the course.  It helped to break things up.  

18-7:35 Just running.  A few little hills

19-7:22 I knew the hills were coming and I was still feeling good.  Trying to concentrate on staying relaxed.  the ball of my right foot was starting to burn a little.

20-7:39 oh yes the hills were starting.  There was a pretty good hill in this mile.  according to the plan I took 3 more chews and kept on pushing.

21-7:54 Big hills!!!  The worst hill was really steep.  I train on hills a lot so while they slowed my pace I was passing so many people.  I felt strong and in control.

22-7:25 After climbing there was a good hill which offered some rest.  I went on cruise control for a bit.  I was looking for my teammates Brittney and Nicole who had driven up from Portland that morning.  They were going to be there to run Tyler and I in.  They said they would be between 22 and 23.

23-7:51 This mile was in a beautiful hilly park.  Running through tall green trees and looking for my teammates.  I knew that if I could just make it to them i was going to be ok.  They were right before mile 23 screaming for me :)  Nicole jumped in and ran with me.  It was so nice to have company!!  I had really been on my own since the beginning.  She had a banana and gatorade for me.

24-7:25  I was grateful that Nicole knew that there was some relief from the hills coming.  I did not really feel like fueling but I forced myself to eat some banana and drink some water.  Nicole was so positive and was helping me focus.

25-7:10 I knew that I was in the top 10 women and I was able to pass 2 women in this mile.  I was tired and my calf was aching but somehow I was pushing hard.  I have never felt so good at the end of a race.  I started to tear up a couple times because i knew that I was going to accomplish my goal but I knew i needed to stay focused for a little while longer.

26-7:02 What?  For the last mile :)  There was a long hill to the finish and I was talking out loud at the hill.  Nicole was so helpful on this hill.  

.2--???  I turned the corner into the stadium and pushed as hard as I could.  It felt amazing.  I could see the clock and sprinted to cross before it turned to 3:13.   of course I for got to stop my watch immediately, I was too busy being in shock.  I was so happy and of course emotional.  It felt amazing!  All the hard work had finally paid off.  Everything came together and i was so grateful because it does not always go according to plan.

3:12:55  9th overall female, 2nd in age group

I got my medal and heating sheet and turned to wait for Tyler thinking that she would be coming in soon.  The 3:15 pacers came through and I immediately asked them where she was.  They told me that she had dropped from them around mile 13.  I knew then that it might be  awhile but was hopeful that she could still be coming soon.  I stood there until the clock hit 3:32 and then went to get some water and find Mike.  I spotted him and he told me that Tyler was struggling.  I felt so bad, after New York we both needed to have good races.  

So many miles together, love her!

  I saw her come through the finish and went to give her a hug.  It was emotional and she was so sweet and excited for me.  My heart broke for her!  I love that girl! 

This race was amazing for me!  I finally ran the race that I trained for.  I figured out how to fuel, that is huge for me!I am itching to run another one, I know I can run it faster.  I felt like I had some left in the tank but I am so grateful that I ran a smart race. 

My coach says 3:00 by 40 :)  I turn 37 on Wednesday.  We will see what the future holds, for now I am happy!! 

A new PR, so happy!!

Done :)

  

Final push

My support crew 

Rocking the argyle recovery socks on the drive home

Shiny New Marathon PR

I have been waiting 4+ years to write that :)  This PR has been years in the making :)  It only took about 7026.2 miles (my training partner thought of that one) You know the whole trip to NY thing happened.  It still seems a little surreal that I was finally able to put it all together.
The double taper must be a good thing for me.  I know things happen for a reason and for me it was not until after my 20+ miler in Central Park after the NYC marathon was canceled that I really believed that I was totally capable of running a 3:15.  That run gave me the confidence and let me relax a little.  Don't get me wrong I was still nervous but not crazy nervous.  Tyler, Nick, and I headed up to Seattle on Saturday.  Needing sunglasses driving into Seattle in late November is a glorious thing.  Our hotel ended up being really close to the start/finish line. Things we feeling really right!  My tag line was, "this is going to be epic!"

My teammates rock!
They dropped off a recovery swag bag and made Tyler and I sweatshirts.
Cancel NYC...We go SEA

The Expo was nothing like NY, but lets be honest at that point it was all business.

I took advantage of time waiting for my hubby to get up to Seattle and laid out all my stuff.  Pre race ritual for me, it calms my nerves.  Packing for NY made this one easy.

Race outfit.  Seattle bib and NY bib :)  Forecast was awesome.  Sunny, low 40's

  We got dinner and then headed back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep.  there were some good things about Seattle over NY.  My favorite was that Seattle started at 8:15 which meant a 6:15 wakeup as opposed to a 3am wakeup call for a 9:40 start time.  I was not looking forward to trying to stay warm for 3 hours out in the cold while waiting for the NY marathon to start.  

Got a pretty good nights sleep and was ready to roll :)

Tyler and I went for a little warmup in our lovely sweatshirts

It was a little chilly and foggy but it was dry.  Cant ask for more than that in Seattle.  I was happy and just so ready to run!

Shedding our warm clothes.  Seattle on the front

NY on the back

Standing at the start with the 3:15 pace group, Can you find me and Tyler?

Stay tunes for the details of the actual race, oh and my PR :)

The Human Spirit

 My experience in New York was certainly not what I was expecting.  It was a life altering experience. A lesson about the human spirit and my own spirit.   My previous post was written on Thursday after arriving in NYC.  I knew that the race was going to be different but I had no idea what this trip was going to be like.

 The trip began pretty great!  Chatting with Kara Goucher at baggage claim was really fun, she is so real.  We chatted about how the race was going to be different this year and how they were taking so much heat for having it.  Even though her race had been canceled she was very excited about spectating the marathon and it made me feel like I could get excited about the marathon.  Up to that point I felt guilty for even wanting to run the race.

 Friday we made our way to the expo :)  I love marathon expos, especially really big marathon expos.  Met up with Tyler ( my training partner, we planned on running the race together or at least staying together for as long as we could) picked up our race numbers, were interviewed for ESPN Deportes, chatted with Kara again (we are BFF's now), and left the expo feeling energized and dare I say even excited.  The expo felt normal but maybe that is because we were all runners there :)

 Then around 5pm as we were sitting getting hot chocolate because it was freezing outside my phone started going crazy.  Tyler called and told me the marathon had been canceled.  It was unbelievable and yet at the same time somehow I felt like I knew it was coming.  I had heard and seen the outrage that was going on all over the country because the marathon was going to happen.  I was angry although I felt like if I expressed that I was heartless because so many people were suffering.  So I tried to keep it all in and be brave.  I talked to a couple of my friends and family but was not really ready to talk much. My husband, brother and sister in law sat at the table in disbelief for about an hour.  I kept the tears in and tried to figure out what was next.  I texted my coach and after a few choice words about the timing of the cancellation and mayor Bloomberg she said, "Well you have a 21 miler tomorrow."  Direction is definitely what i needed and it got me through the next day or so.  Tyler and I made plans at dinner and tried not to think about what might have been.  So Saturday morning we met and ran 21 miles around central park.  It was great, hard, and cathartic.  My body was ready to run an amazing race and that made me happy and angry at the same time.  Seeing all the marathoners running was inspiring and sad. It was hard to see all the mile markers and marathon signs in the park.  We did 3+ loops having to go through the finish line each time.  The grandstands were up, the flags were up, and it was almost electric.  There were tears on lap 1 and 3 when we finished at the finish line.  21 miles at race pace made me confident that there is a great race in me.

Finished with 20+ miler #5

picture with our Team Athena shirts on, starting to freeze after our run

 The rest of Saturday was actually pretty emotional for me.  I tried to be happy and make the best of the situation but I failed.  I really just wanted to go home but was so torn because I could not help but feel that there was a reason that all of this had happened.  I wanted to find a way to help, to make a difference.

Why not go to a Broadway play since there would be no marathon in the morning, even if you find yourself crying in the middle of it because you have been holding it in for 2 days

5 layers on because I was freezing!!

 Sunday was spent walking across he Brooklyn Bridge and enjoying some NYC pizza.  We were also able to go to Lower Manhattan and see some of the damage from the hurricane.  It was surreal to see.  The 9/11 memorial was closed due tot he hurricane but just to stand where those towers once stood left one thinking about how many lost their lives and how blessed I am.

Finally on Monday we were able to help in the relief effort.  It was rewarding to be able to help people that had lost everything.  Again it made me realize how grateful I am for everything that I have been blessed with.  It also made me realize that you have to make the most of the time you have because at any point it can be taken away.  These people were pulling together to get through a huge disaster.  In times of great tragedy the true human spirit shines through.

Lessons from NYC-
-Life does not always go as planned, there is a lesson in every experience we have
-I am stronger than I think I am.  I can get through hard things.
-People are amazing and there is good in all people, sometimes it just takes a little effort to find it
-Things happen for a reason and sometimes we are not able to see the reason for some time
-I appreciate my life more now, I love my life more now.

So grateful to have Tyler to share this experience with.  We got each other through this.

I could not walk by a fire station and not think about 9/11.  This city has been through so much and its people are stronger for it.  I hope that I can grow stronger through my trials too!

Running in Central Park was amazing!  Next year I will be back crossing the finish line :)

In the meantime, whats next?  Well I am running the Seattle marathon on Sunday!  Aghh!!  It does not really seem real!  It is hard to get mentally psyched up for this race.  I have trained hard and am hoping for an amazing race.  This journey has been an interesting one and I am hoping it has a happy ending.  Lets hope the double taper is the key to an amazing race

Mixed feelings-NYC 2012

What an emotional roller coaster this last week has been.  A week ago I was so excited for the New York marathon.  I have had the best training cycle that I have ever had and have stayed relatively injury free ( just the routine aches and pains).  Our trip was planned and full of fun stuff, the kids schedule was worked out in my absence.  I was full of hope and excitement.  Then news came that hurricane Sandy was headed for the east coast.  Still hopeful I watched and prayed for the people on the east coast, hoping that it would not be as bad as they were predicting.
Well as you all know it hit and it hit hard.  There is so much devastation and loss.  The marathon seemed very insignificant.  There was question as to whether it would go on at all.  I kept packing and planning as if it would but I had a pit in my stomach.  Wondering how I could travel to NY and run a marathon in the middle of so much hurt.  Would the people of NY think that we did not care about their loss?  Would they think that all we cared about was running the marathon and meeting our goals?  My excitement was gone and instead I felt guilt for even caring about the marathon.  My husband and I made the decision that if they decided to have the marathon we would go.  The city needed the economic boost and if they decided to have it we should go.  So we got on a plane this morning and I am now sitting in an apt In upper Manhattan typing this post.  I watched the local news tonight and the loss is worse than I was aware of.  As we were in a taxi driving to our apt we passed many police officers guarding gas stations where there were very long lines.  People are suffering, hungry and cold.  I want to be able to help, it is heartbreaking!
So while I hope to have a good race it is not about me anymore.  This race is dedicated to NYC, to a city that has been through so much, to it's people who are fierce, strong, and resilient but who are suffering and have been asked to do so much.
My hope is that while I am here I will find a way to help, to ease someone's pain.

I will run hard, I will give it my all as the people effected by this disaster have.

Hood To Coast pics

In Sandy before our first legs, not sure what we are doing :)

 Steph & Steph :)

 Taking off for leg #1

 After our first legs were done. Me & Nicole :)

 Mike drove a good chunk of the relay

My Photo shoot

 Me and Linds

 The whole team at the beach

 Van #2-All done, delirious :)

 Leg #3-hilly, it hurt!

I am not going to go in to detail about the race because it was 6 weeks ago but I will share a few pics :). It was a blast as always!

Summer and some advice

Summer flew by, there was lots of running and some racing.  Not any fantastic running, mostly easy miles as the past couple of months have been filled with really low energy and heavy legs, more on that in a minute.
A few race pics from some fun races :)
 Freedom festival 10k 7-4-12, knowing I had a half 3 days later I gave it a good effort but did not push hard so that I had something left for Saturday.  Surprisingly I still got 3rd in my age group. 43:39




My sister in law Heather and I after the race :)



Hobbler Half Marathon 7-7-12, beautiful course and weather :)  My legs were tired from some hard running during the week but I did the best I could and enjoyed it.  I ended up 4th female and 1st in my age group.  1:32:43

Heather and I again :)
  

 Some beautiful runs during the summer months!  St. George, Utah.  Hot but beautiful!
 
shadows mean sun :)
 

 
Preview of Hood to Coast post coming soon!!
 

Lastly If any of you have any advice on anemia I would love to hear it.  I have been struggling with really low energy and finally went to the doctor to get my labs done.  Yep, anemic, now what?  At least there is an explanation for why I have had no energy!