The day I ran faster than I drove

I ran the Wirefly National Half Marathon in Washington DC this morning. In its second year, this marathon is rapidly gaining in popularity. It drew people from 48 states!

Unfortunately, those people didn't get a very scenic or historical view of Washington. The only notable landmark that the course passes through is the Capitol, at the beginning of the race. Otherwise, the course goes through run-down neighborhoods of the city. No nice view of the Potomac river like in the Marine Corps marathon. No view of the monuments or the White House. Just dirty, run-down neighborhoods.

I ran this race with my good friend Lauren, who I referenced in a previous blog. Lauren and I headed out to the race just before 6:00 a.m. in my car. It took us approximately 25 minutes to drive to the parking area near the start line. It was dark and raining, with a temperature of about 48F. I had debated over what to wear, but finally settled on shorts and a heavy long-sleeved top with a quarter zipper. 

Before the race started, we had some time to stretch and use the porta-potties. The rain tapered off a bit and I suddenly became very warm in my heavy top. I was worried that I would get too hot, and at certain points during the race, I wished I had chosen something lighter weight.

The race was relatively uneventful. There was very little crowd support, and I was surprised becausethere were about 5,000 runners (both full and half). It was nothing like the Marine Corps Marathon where tens of thousands of people swarm the streets and crowd the sidewalks to catch a glimpse of the runners. The lack of crowd support and dreary weather took a slight toll on my mood, so I didn't have the excited spirit as I typically do when I race.

My strategy was to begin at a 9:00 pace and then gradually decrease to an 8:20. My goal was to break my record of 2:00:25 set in 2005, when I ran my first half marathon. But I really wanted to come in under 1:55, because my training indicated that I was capable of doing so.

My first mile was 9:18, and I followed this strategy (somewhat) until mile marker 11, at which point the hills began to take a toll on me. I typically don't track splits on my watch-- I just let the timer go and remember my splits in my head, and I do the math. This was the first race where I actually used the split feature. The first ten miles were paced as followed, according to my watch:

Mile 1: 9:18

Mile 2: 8:41

Mile 3: 8:51

Mile 4: 9:03

Mile 5: 8:46

Mile 6: 8:50

Mile 7: 8:32

Mile 8: 8:44

Mile 9: 9:07

Mile 10: 8:12

I was not expecting the last 5 miles to be so hilly: It was hill after hill after hill. And it really seemed that there were more uphills than down hills. Once I hit mile marker 11, I started to slow down. I usually increase my speed dramatically at the end of a race, but I simply could not do it today. I don't think I went out too fast-- if the course were less hilly I probably could have sped up.

Mile 11: 8:41

Mile 12: 9:22

Mile 13: 9:20

I ran to the finish line at a steady pace-- I didn't get my "finish line adrenaline". I think more crowd support would have helped. I didn't see any spectators during the last mile. My time for this race was 1:56:27, an average pace of 8:52. I think I ran a good race and I am satisfied with my time. Although part of me wishes that I didn't slow down as much at the end, and I could have come in under 1:55.

I have a week and a day to recover for the Cherry Blossom 10-miler. As far as rankings go, the resultson the Web site ranked the finishers according to gun time (as opposed to chip time), so it's not an accurate reflection of how I did. The competitive side of me hates that!

Lauren and I walked back to my car. As we left the parking lot, we were put onto this road the sent us off in the wrong direction. After getting a sense for where we were, we realized that the road closings from the race were causing major traffic backups. We left the parking lot at 9:20, and did not get out of the city until after 12:00. For about an hour of this time, we were just stuck on one road-- going so slow that I kept putting my car in park and stretching my legs. Just the fact that I could be taking photos while in the driver's seat says something about our immobility.

Once in awhile, we would actually get to move the car forward!!! Essentially, it took us nearly three hours to drive about 7-8 miles. We could have run faster! We could have driven to Philadelphia in that amount of time. And it's not like we could really get mad at the street closings because we actually ran in that race. Lauren and I had some good quality time to catch up, so the car ride wasn't too bad.

iPod Playlist highlights (in order):

30 Seconds To Mars, "From Yesterday"

Sheryl Crow, "Steve McQueen"

Dishwalla, "Counting Blue Bars"

Chris Daughtry, "It's Not Over"

David Gray, "Nos De Cariad"

Jason Mraz, "Can't Go For That"

The Fray, "How to Save a Life"

Eddie Money, "Take Me Home Tonight"

Nickleback, "Rockstar"

Incubus, "Dig"

Plus 44, "When Your Heart Stops Beating"

AFI, "Love Like Winter"

Red Hot Chilli Peppers, "Save The Population"

Anberlin, "Godspeed"

The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, "Face Down"

Five For Fighting, "Policeman's Xmas Party"

The Killers, "Bones"

Jason Mraz, "The Remedy"

Anberlin, "There is No Mathematics To Love And Loss"

Red Hot Chilli Peppers, "Especially In Michigan"

Rise Against, "Ready To Fall"

Better Than Ezra, "Hollow"

Anberlin, "Readyfuels"

Incubus, "Anna Molly"

Fall Out Boy, "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race"

Update: I just learned that the course may have been 0.5 miles too long. This could explain why I slowed down so much at the end. What is up with me and these races that are too long???? This was a USATF certified course, so it shouldn't have been long. If this is the case, then my time for the half marathon dips down to about 1:51. I'll keep you guys updated on what I find out.

Added a few days later:

Today, I received this e-mail message from the Wirefly National Half Marathon race director: 

We wanted to make you aware that due to a cone placement error this course was inadvertently .24 miles longer than the 13.1 official distance which race officials had mapped and USATF had certified. While your Official Time remains the same for the event, we are providing an amended section to the posted results.

A cone placement error? Geeze! I suspected that the course might have been too long, but since I didn't see the 12 mile marker, I had no way of measuring my exact splits for the last two miles. Plus, there were hills so I figured I must have just slowed down because of the hills.

As it turns out, I didn't slow down at all. It was nice that they adjusted the results to reflect this extra 0.24 on their Web site. My actual time was 1:54:18, with a pace of 8:43. This means I met my "OMG I am so happy" goal! If you recall my "This race was a success" goal was just to get under 2:00. But my goal that I really wanted was under 1:55, and I did it!

Interestingly PR pace for a half marathon is now faster than my PR pace for a 10-miler! but only by one second (8:44 vs. 8:43).

18 Miles on a Treadmill

I set a record today for my longest treadmill run ever. Prior to today, my longest had been 16 miles, when training for the Marine Corps Marathon.

The original plan was to run outdoors. I was going to park my car, run 9 miles to a location where I would meet up with my friend, and then we were going to run 9 miles back to my car. She is running a half marathon next weekend, so it would have served as her last long training run. Unfortunately, the wind combined with temperatures in the 40's made the idea of running such a distance extremely undesirable. Had it not been for the wind, I wouldn't have minded running in 45-degree weather.

I took a pack of Jelly Belly sports bean with me (I always feel so weird eating on the treadmill) and a bottle of water and started my run. I always wonder if other people notice how long I am on the treadmill and if they think I am just obsessed with running, or actually training for something. I had to reset the treadmill three times, because the maximum is 60 minutes. I decided to reset the treadmill every six miles-- here are my splits:  

First six: 58:35 (9:46 average pace) including a walk break at the end of each mile.
Middle six: 57:35 (9:36 average pace) including a shorter walk break at the end of each mile.
Last six: 55:20 (9:13 average pace) just one short walk break at the end of mile 13.

I ran the last two miles at a much faster pace, and I felt like I could have gone even further. I got sort of bored and not wanting to run anymore at around mile 12, but once I hit 15, I got a second wind. My overall time for this run was 2:51:30, yielding an average pace of 9:31. Spread across a marathon, I would get a time of 4:09:48, which is what I am hoping for in New Jersey at the end of April.

My feet have shrunk. I have run all my marathons in Brooks Adrenaline size 6. My size 6's feel way too big now, and I am more comfortable in the 5.5's. I ran this run in my size 6's and I stopped several times to tie them tighter for more support. I am now debating which shoe size to wear during the marathon. Do I wear the size 6 like usual? Or the size 5.5? This could make a huge difference in how my feet and legs feel.

I wore a new sports bra. For me, the biggest running "gear" challenge is finding a supportive, dry-wicking sports bra that doesn't chafe (even with body glide). The sports bras designed for bustier women don't support me whatsoever and the extra wires that those bras have are painful. I've decided that the best approach is buy an Extra Small sports bra (despite my cup size) and just cram these things in there so they can't move. I tried it today with a new sports bra and it worked!

My schedule for the next few weeks is as follows:

March 24: 9 miles (if anyone thinks I could do more and not have my 10-miler suffer, chime in!)

April 1: Cherry Blossom 10-mile race

April 6: 20-mile training run

April 14: Running the last 10 miles of a 50-mile race with Michael Hayden

April 21: 8 miles

April 29: New Jersey Marathon

All you runners who are reading this, please feel free to offer advice on this plan. I haven't done much trail running, so I need to be very careful doing the last ten miles of that Ultra with Michael. If I feel like the hills and the terrain are too much, I will stop and just do a longish run on Sunday.

Hills, Spit and a Mis-measured Mile

Today I ran the Van Metre 5 Mile run in Ashburn, VA. The average temperature was about 39 degrees, partly sunny.

Before the Race

You might have thought that this race was some life-altering event based on my anxiety dreams the night before. I dreamt that I was late to the race, that I couldn't find the race, that I got into a car accident on the way to the race, that I forgot about the race. Any anxiety dream you can think of, I had it. I tossed and turned all night and ended up with very little sleep.

I went to the Starbucks near my house for my usual pre-race coffee (just half a cup) and bagel. I was upset to learn that the bagel shop near the Starbucks had gone out of business, so I had to settle for a reduced-fat piece of coffee cake from Starbucks.

I drove 25 miles out to Ashburn where I parked my car, got my bib number and warmed up. There were about 600 people running this race. My goal for the race was under 40:00, (under 8:00/mile).

Mile 1: 8:00 (8:00 pace)

I had no idea what the elevation for this course would be like. Mile one featured a large hill, and I felt like I was going maybe 8:20-8:25, so I was happy when I passed mile marker 1 at exactly 8:00, according to my watch. This was the coldest race I've ever run, probably just a few degrees colder than last year's Turkey Trot 5K. It hurt to breathe the cold air. I could see my breath. I kept spitting ever few minutes. I don't know why I spit in races when it's colder.

Mile 2: 15:20 (7:20 pace)

Mile 2 had a nice downhill, so I ran it very quickly. This was my quickest mile of the race, thanks to the downhill. I was still hurting and cold, but by the end of this mile, I told myself I was almost halfway there. We ran through neighborhoods with nice, relatively new houses. I tried to distract myself from the pain in my lungs and discomfort by looking at the houses.

Mile 3: 23:00 (7:40 pace)

I was feeling really confident about the race at this point and I figured I was a shoe-in to beat my goal, and beat it by a lot! This mile was mainly uphill. It wasn't very steep but the hill seemed endless. By this point, I had stopped spitting, and was bored by the scenery. There weren't many houses around, just kind of a boring street with some construction going on nearby.

Mile 4: 31:00 (8:00 pace)

I slowed down a little bit on this mile. I was getting tired and my legs were sore from so many hills. I had been training primarily on a treadmill due to the cold weather, so I wasn't prepared for the hills. My San Diego runs had some significant bridges, and I did a somewhat hilly 14-miler the weekend before, but that was the only hill training I had done. By this point, I was averaging a pace of 7:45.

Had I continued with this average pace, I would have finished in 38:45. This was my expected finish time. I told myself that all I had to do was knock out a 9-minute mile and I would make my goal. It seemed like I was guaranteed to make my goal, especially considering I like to sprint the last few minutes.

"Mile" 5: 40:17 (9:17 pace)

Um. . . . NO. No way was this last "mile" a true mile. I was running as fast as I could. My legs were killing me, but I was sprinting up hills, and when my watch said 38:00, I was wondering why the finish line was no where in sight. I wanted to make my goal so badly so I sped up even more. I was probably going at a pace of 7:00 at this point, possibly even faster. Where the hell is the finish line!!!!!

Finally, I crossed it at 40:17, yielding a 9:17 pace for that mile. I was so disappointed. I thought to myself that there is no way that last mile was a true mile. I just about killed myself to get to the finish line. I walked around and started listening to other runners complaining about the last mile.

"My last mile was 2 minutes slower than all my others," one man said. I went over to talk to him and told him that I had a similar experience. I then heard another group of runners talking about the same thing. They were all on track to meet their goals, but the last mile took them much longer than expected. Apparently, due to the construction, they had to change the end of the course from what it's been the past 14 years. And they must have measured incorrectly. All of the runners I spoke with said the same thing. One person estimated that the last mile was actually 1.25 miles.I might e-mail the race director to find out what happened.

In any event, my official time for this race was 40:17. However, I know I ran the 5 miles in less than 38:45, according to where I was at mile 4, and the fact that I definitely sped up at the end. This just irks me to no end!

I ranked 32 out of 222 women finishers.

I ranked 7 of 41 in my age group.

Notable iPod songs:

• From Yesterday (30 Seconds to Mars)
• Counting Blue Cars (Dishwalla)
• Love Like Winter (AFI)
• Anna Molly (Incubus)
• This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race (Fall out Boy)
• Reclusion (Anberlin)
• Common Pleasure (Jason Mraz)

I am extremely sore from all those hills. The original plan was to run another 5 miles on the treadmill, but I am far too sore for that. If I injured myself by overdoing it during those last few minutes when the finish line was nowhere in sight, I will be really mad! Time to go relax.

Added two days later:

I just read an article on RunWashington about yesterday's 5-mile race:

When the course was run last, the runners finished the race by coming out of the woods (on a bike path) and crossed Clariborne Parkway immediately. This left a straight, slightly downhill quarter mile to the finish. This year the runners stayed on the left side of the road before circling on a cloverleaf path to run below the road, adding about 150 meters to the distance. Although the race appeared to be run on a similar course, the fifth mile splits made it clear that the race was somewhat longer than advertised.

At least now I know I am not going crazy, and I have confirmation that I met my goal. 150 meters adds approximately 0.1 mile onto the course. For a 5.1 mile race, my time was 40:17, yielding an average pace of 7:54, which means I met my goal! Spreading the 7:54 across 5 miles would have yielded a finish time of 39:32. I am really jealous of the people who ran it in the past who had the "slightly downhill quarter mile finish". That must have been nice!!!!

How to run a marathon: tips for race day

If you're reading this article, you already know that training for a marathon is not easy. You've probably spent nearly every day for the past six months hitting the road or the treadmill with your favorite running shoes (likely having gone through multiple pairs), not to mention the "long runs" which have consumed your Saturdays or Sundays. You've probably sacrificed time with your friends and/or family as well as social engagements.

Hopefully, you've modified your diet to reduce fat and sweets in exchange for nutrient-dense carbohydrates. Maybe you've spent your non-running hours reading Runner's World, books about marathons or perusing training programs on the Internet. Perhaps you've read blogs of other marathon runners and even connected with them via online networking. 

Turning Anxiety into Energy

You've put a great deal of effort into months of training, and finally the big day is here. Whether it's your first marathon or your 21st, you're both anxious and excited about how you will run these 26.2 miles. If it is your first marathon, you may have never run this distance before.

Many training programs recommend that your longest run is 20 miles, so you may fear that you won't be able to tack on another 10K. Learning to channel your anxiety into a positive, energized mindset is key, and that's where most of the day's focus should be: on your mind.

Today, there is no more training that you can do to build endurance and strength. You've already spent months preparing yourself physically. Today, the most important thing you need to concern yourself with is your mind. You have to remember that you've trained well for this race and that your body is capable of running the full 26.2 miles. Even if you are worried that you might not finish or that your time might be slower than your goal, you cannot let those thoughts enter your mind on race day.

There are many numbers out there about the percentage of the marathon that's a mental challenge. Some people claim it's half mental, half physical. Some people claim it's as much as 90% mental. On race day, it's 100% mental. There is nothing more you can do from a training or physical standpoint to succeed. Yes, you do need to put one leg in front of the other and run the darn thing, but for someone who's been training, this motion is second-nature.

You must constantly remind yourself throughout the race that this challenge is 100% mental and you will do well if you "run it with your mind". You have more control over your mind than your body, so focus on what you can control. During my last marathon, here are some thoughts that helped me set a new Personal Record:

• Run this race with your mind because you are a smart runner
• There is nothing else you'd rather be doing right now than running this marathon
• You're so good at this!
• Here you are at mile 21. You love this mile. You paid $5 just to run this mile
• This is really fun!
• (When my legs started to hurt) That's not pain—that feels good! It actually feels like a massage. I'm going to pretend that someone is massaging my legs
• There is no such thing as a wall. The wall does not exist for you.
• If you stop now, it's only going to make this race last longer, so stopping won't do you any good. 

Talking to yourself as a "you" is helpful because it gives the feeling of you being your own running companion and having your own personal coach.

Each Mile is its Own Challenge

Marathon runners love the feeling of accomplishing their goals. For many people, marathon running is less about the athletics and more about personal fulfillment through achieving a difficult goal.

There is no need to wait for the finish line to feel a sense of personal achievement. Each mile is its own special accomplishment. The general population cannot even run short distances of three, four, or five miles. Every time you come to a mile marker, it's important to realize that you have achieved something. Furthermore, it's important to not keep thinking about all the remaining miles you still have to run—just focus on the current mile you are trying to complete at that moment.

If you are at mile 20 and feeling extremely tired and sore, the thought of running an additional 6.2 miles could definitely get your spirits down. Even if the soreness comes earlier, like at mile 15, it may feel as if you will never make it to the finish line. These thoughts are precisely why the finish line should not be your goal while running a marathon.

Your goal is to reach the next mile marker. Once you reach that, you can feel good about your achievement of getting through that mile. Then, of course, you will have another mile in front of you, but you remember that you got through the last mile so you can certainly do one more. My mental dialogue: "Just get to the next mile marker and everything will be fine!" By thinking this way, I become very excited and energized once the mile marker is in sight. And it pushes me through the first part of the next mile.

The Power of Negative Splits

I run most of my races (marathons and shorter races) by running the first half of the race slower than the second half. Known as "negative splits" most marathon experts recommend that runners adapt this approach during the race. The basic concept is finish much faster than you started.

Most marathons have "pace groups" led by an experienced runner who will arrive at the finish line at a specified time. The purpose of these pace leaders is to help runners meet their time goal by "pacing" them, and preventing them from going to slow or too fast. Some pacers adopt this negative split strategy, but in my experience, they pretty much run a constant pace throughout the race. Where is the excitement in that? I personally become energized and excited at the notion of starting out slow and having runners pass me, and then progressively running faster so that I pass the same runners toward the end.

Many runners don't like the idea of starting out slow because they are nervous that they will not be able to run faster at the end and makeup for this time. They see this strategy as risky and would prefer to keep a steady pace. However, it's much easier to run faster than expected toward the end of the race to leverage your full power than to continue a pace that might have been too fast for you. You really never know how you will feel during those last few miles, and they can make or break your time goal. Better to be sprinting those miles because you have so much energy saved up than to be walking them because you were too ambitious about the pace.

During my most recent marathon, I ran the second half a full seven minutes faster than the first half. I set a very specific goal for the halfway point. I told myself that meeting this halfway goal was more important than the finish line goal because I could control it better. I chose my goal and did not want to arrive at the halfway point any faster or slower. If I arrived there faster, it would mean that I started out too fast. If I arrived there slower, it meant that I wasn't running as fast as I could be. I chose this halfway goal wisely based on a previous marathon, and came to mile marker 13.1 exactly on target. After meeting that goal, I told myself that I could run a bit faster, and even faster than that during the last few miles. Doing this, I shaved seven minutes off the second half of the race because I had saved up my energy.

Even though that marathon yielded a Personal Record, I am more proud of my negative splits and careful strategy than my actual time at the finish line.

Enjoy the Race

Marathons are fun! If you didn't love running, then you wouldn't have undertaken the task of training for a marathon. Furthermore, the actual race has crowd support and scenery that you likely haven't seen before.

You're a superstar today. No matter how fast you run the race, you're the one that's out there doing it and it's your time to enjoy this challenge.

Never let your competitive mind overpower your enjoyment. When you're happy and relaxed, you're a better runner and you'll find that you won't need competitive thoughts to motivate you. Competitive thoughts lead to stress and sometimes feelings of self-doubt and judgment. Check those feelings at the start line and just enjoy the run.

The Miami Marathon

It's 9:15 a.m. as the plane takes off for Miami, FL where I am excited to run my third marathon. I am anxiously chewing on a sesame seed bagel that I had purchased from my local bagel bakery. It's my second one of the day. The woman next to me glances down at my shoes and asks me if I am running. When I tell her that I was, she tells me that she is running the half marathon as her first. She has been training for months with the AIDS Marathon training group and has raised over $1,000 for AIDS research, in exchange for them helping her train and paying her race expenses. She is in her mid 40's, with five children (all boys) at home. She is more excited about the vacation alone with her husband than the race, itself. Her goal is simply to finish, and afterwards I checked and confirmed that she did finish!

I give her a few tips when she told me about her chafing (get Body Glide at the Expo!) and how her training team wanted her to take "walk breaks". She is against walking, but I tell her how it is a wise strategy, at least for the first half of the race. She wishes me luck as we step off the plane, and I am thrilled to be in sunny 75-degree weather.

I arrive at the hotel where I meet up with Jenny, who flew in from Philadelphia earlier that morning. As the "official race hotel", all of the Doubletree Surfcomber employees don bright orange shirts with the ING Miami Marathon/Half Marathon logo. The hotel is as close to the beach as you can get, right next door to the famous Delano hotel, which I recall from my previous trip to Miami in 1998. We check in to the hotel room, chat for awhile and then walk a few block to the race expo.

At the expo, we receive our bib numbers (and they have our names on them) as well as some other goods like a "tech-tee" race shirt and running cap. I was thankful for the running cap because I thought I might need it to keep the early morning sun from my eyes. As I retreive the shirt, the expo volunteer asks me my size. "Small" I say. He gives me a weird look and says "A small? Are you sure?" I am flabergasted! Of course I gained some weight for this race, but not enough to change my shirt size! "You probably need an Extra Small". Ah. I am relieved. I gladly accept the extra-small and continue with Jenny throughout the expo. I purchase a pair of running sunglasses and a pair of normal sunglasses, for a grand total of $37!
After the Expo, Jenny and I walk to an area full of restaurants and shops. We settle on a pizza/Italian place that I had seen on the Internet prior to traveling there. Instead of pizza, I order this really interesting grilled veggie sandwich on freshly made bread. Yum! Afterwards, we go to CVS and stock up on cereal, fruit, crackers, cookies, candy. It is overwhelming to actually feel like I can buy whatever food I want without feeling guilty.


Back a the hotel room, I begin the lengthy process of affixing my timing chip to my shoelace. I am very obsessive about this because I don't want the chip to fall off or interfere with the lacing. I am paranoid that if I don't put the chip on correctly, I won't be scored properly. As it turns out, I did an excellent job of attaching the chip to my shoe, but the initial results were way off for most runners. Jenny told the folks at the expo that it often takes me several tries to get my chip "just right" so they gave me extra plastic fasteners:

I debate over wearing my new hat, or my new sunglasses. Both would be overkill. I settle on the hat because I didn't want to wear the sunglasses on my head for the first hour of the race in the dark. Since I had never run with a hat before, I get acquainted with it by wearing it the evening before the race:

Go Zippity Zebra!

I lay out all of my race "gear" the night before so that I don't forget anything when rushing around on Sunday morning. I got the idea to take this photo from Jenna, who took a similar one before her Marathon a few weeks ago:

Jenny and I set two alarms and ask for a wakeup call. Because the race starts so early and we are taking the race shuttle, we need to be awake by 3:30 a.m. We are both wide awake well before that time, anyway. We excitedly dress in our race attire, and I obsess over my bib number being straight.

We head out for the race. I triple check to make sure I have everything I need. On our way, we see two young women, dressed for going "out". They are on their way home after a long night of partying. All of the bars are closing, and I think some of them are even still open. They ask us if we are running the race and we say yes. They say that they trained for the half marathon, but decided not to run it.

When we arrive at the start line, it starts pouring. Torrential downpour. Jenny and I find refuge and toilets in the Arena, along with most other runners. Half marathoners were easily distinguised from full marathoners by their bibs. Many more people are running the half marathon. I feel excited to be running the full and I am so happy I chose it instead of the half. Meanwhile, the wind picks up and it rains harder and harder. We have no choice but to get in the corrals for the start of the race. I feel like I am taking a shower with thousands of other people. I think to myself, "Oh well, there goes my PR. My feet will probably blister from being so soaked. But I am still happy to be here."

We sing the National Anthem in the pouring rain and finally we begin to move. It's pitch dark and pouring rain, but Jenny and I are still very excited. We hug eachother as we approach the start line and then separate, as we run at different paces. Here is a map of the course:

My goal: start with 10:45-minute miles, and then speed up so that I get to the halfway point at 2:10. No faster, no slower. We run over a bridge in the dark and I see all the cruise ships lit up. I was once on a Royal Carribean cruise and I flashback to that moment.

The first few miles are crowded and uneventful. I am happy when the sun rises because I like to see where I am going. The song "Million Miles of Water" plays on my iPod as I try to avoid all the huge puddles on the course. How fitting. I remind myself that a marathon in 90% mental. I tell myself to run the race with my mind, not my body. I don't consider myself particularly athletic, but I do consider myself strategic and smart. So if I do well in this race, it's because of my thinking and attitude. I am near the 4:45 pace group at around mile 3.

I have to go to the bathroom really bad starting at mile 5. Everytime I see a porta potty, there is a line, and I don't want to sacrifice time by waiting in line. I am on the lookout for bushes or places I can pee discretely, but there are none.

As I approach mile 13, the half marathoners are directed one way, and the marathoners the other. I am so excited to continue running. I check my watch as I approach the halfway matt, and I am at 2:10. Perfect! Shortly after, I come upon a porta potty with no line, because most of the runners stopped at the halfway point. I quickly duck in and go to the bathroom and start running again feeling renewed. I see the 4:30 pace group at mile 14, run close to them for about 3-4 minutes and then pass them.

I continue on and begin to notice quad pain at mile 15. I tell myself that it doesn't hurt. It actually feels really good. I tell myself that I am getting a quad massage that feels amazing. It works! I later distract myself by pretening I am playing the piano to the songs on my iPod. I really think about the notes and where they would go on a piano, and I keep my running pace all the while. This distracts me for a few miles.
There are few runners around me. Maybe 3-4 at any given time. I am reminded of the Marine Corps marathon, miles 16-20 where we run around Hanes point and there is no crowd support and everyone is spread out. I remind myself how I got through that part really easily and tell myself I can do the same thing here. I start to feel nauseous and I really don't want to eat my Sports Beans, even though it's time. I force-feed myself the beans and they taste nasty, even though I typically enjoy them. I think the humidity is contributing to my nauseousness. Otherwise, the weather is perfect. It is in the 70's and cloudy, but I feel cool. I don't feel like I need to drink any water, but I have sips at the water stations, because I know I probably should.

I humor myself when I see signs throughout Coconut Grove that say "The Grove says NO to the Home Depot!" Hehehe. They say no to the Home Depot coming to their area. My neighborhood says NO to the homeless center. I guess we aren't the only NIMBYs.

I see people hitting "the wall". I have 6 more miles to go and my legs are hurting. I tell myself that the wall does not exist for me. I tell myself that stopping is not an option. I tell myself that walking will only prolong the race and make my time worse. I tell myself what I did in Delaware: just get to the next mile marker! Each mile is an acheivement.

I start calculating how much money I spent to run each mile based on the race entry fee. I tell myself that there is nothing else I would rather be doing at this moment than running a marathon. I tell myself that this marathon has been the most positive thing in my life for the past few months.

People cheer me on "Go Elizabeth!" It is so cool that our Bib numbers have our names on them. I pass the 4:15 pace group. I think to myself that I could never run with a pace group. I don't like running the same pace for the whole race. I need to speed up to make things exciting!

Just before approaching the mile 26 marker, there is a steep hill-- or bridge rather. I have no prior knowledge of this bridge and I am unpleasantly surprised. "You have got to be kidding me!" I think. It takes all the positive self-talk I have, but I run up the entire thing, and then back down the other side. I sprint 0.2 to the finish line.

I keep looking at my watch, amazed that I could finish in 4:13. I really did not expect that. I was honestly anticipating a 4:19-- 4:18 at the very fastest. In fact, when I registered for this race I had been considering only running the half marathon because I didn't think I could possibly beat my Marine Corps time of 4:24.
I cross the finish line, got a really cool spinning medal and went to retrieve my bag.


I still feel extremely nauseous, so I don't eat anything for about half an hour, at which point I have the mini Oreos that I stashed in my gear check bag. I talk to other runners while I wait for Jenny to cross the finish line. I text my friends and talk to my mother and I am very excited.

Jenny crosses the finish line and pretty much passes out just after the medal is placed around her neck. I take her to the medical tent where they help get her electrolytes back in balance. I am very scared for her, but the medical tent is equipped with the fluids needed to handle this type of thing. After awhile, Jenny is released and we walk back to the race shuttle. We have the entire bus to ourselves!


Back at the hotel, Jenny falls asleep and I check the results on the Internet, I freak out because they are wrong, but I try and calm myself because I am pretty certain that I can submit a correction.
What did I learn in this race? A marathon truly is a mental challenge. In other areas of my life, I have been trying to apply Cognitive therapy to change my thought patterns from negative to positive. Using messages that I believe are true, but that will not depress me or make me anxious. If I can use this strategy to keep positive during a 26.2-mile run, despite the pain in my legs, then I can do it in other areas of my life. I just need to remember as I go through my daily life the mental strength that I exhibited during this marathon and how it really got me through. 

I exceeded my goal and had a great time doing it. I didn't let the rain stop me. Or the nausea. Or having to go to the bathroom really bad. I just told myself to run with my mind, and it worked.

The Luck of the Race

Only four more days until I leave for Miami to run marathon number three. I can't believe I will have run three marathons in less than a year, and last year at this time, the furthest distance I had run was a half marathon.

As many runners can attest, the week preceding a marathon is a time of both nervousness and excitement. I am paranoid that I will slip and fall on the ice. Every little ache and pain that I experience, I automatically worry if it will still be bugging me during the race. I worry if I am over-doing the training during this week. Or if I am not running enough.

Many people have wished me "good luck" on this race and in others in the past. My initial thought is that running isn't a matter of luck. It's a matter of physical fitness and mental power. While running is not a matter of luck, racing actually is—to some extent. There are many aspects of a race that have to do with luck, or that are beyond the runner's control.

Here are my thoughts on what can and cannot be controlled in a race (particularly a marathon) and what the "unknown" factors are.

Within the runner's control:

• Adherence to a training program, just "training" in general
• How the runner paces him/herself during the race
• What the runner eats and drinks before, during and after the race
• The clothing/layers/running gear the runner wears
• The runner's mindset and attitude during the race

Outside the runner's control:

• The weather - An injury, soreness or illness(unless the runner brought it on him/herself by over-training)
• Potential accidents during the race
• The availability of Porta-potties at the start of the race and on the course
• The water and fuel stations—this can be known, but not controlled
• Travel delays or lost luggage if flying
• The number of people running the race, potentially causing bottlenecks
• Technology failures, such as the chip not working, the iPod malfunctioning or the watch stopping 

Provided that the weather isn't too rainy or hot, I don't get sick or injured, I can access a port-potty when I need to, I arrive to the race on time with my gear, and that my iPod or watch doesn't fail me, I anticipate a time of 4:20. However, I would be content with anything under a 4:22, and "beating my bib" which is 4220. Heck, just finishing the damn thing is an achievement, so I guess I would be happy with just crossing the finish line in one piece. I have a nagging soreness in my right inner thigh, but I wonder how much of that is "all in my head."

I have decided to take a vacation from my lap top, so the post-race blog will have to wait until Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday will be spent relaxing on South Beach. I will, however, use the lobby computer to post a brief bulletin upon finishing. So. . . wish me "luck" on Sunday!

I Trot, therefore I Am.

The alternate title of this blog was "23 Minutes and 32 Seconds of Torture" but I decided to keep it positive.

Today's verdict is that apparently I trot faster than I run. And even though I complain about cold, wet weather, it does wonders for my speed. More motivation for the race to be over, I guess.

I ran the Virginia Run Turkey Trot 5K this morning. There were approximately 2,100 runners, although over 3,000 had registered. The weather, at a brisk 40 degrees, was damp, drizzling and breezy. I wore three layers of clothing on top, a hat, two pairs of gloves, pants and my thickest running socks. Two years ago, you couldn't have paid me enough money to run in this sort of weather.

Before the race began, I told myself that my goal would be to come in under 24:00. I've only run one other 5K and my time was 24:14. At the start line, someone asked me if I was "home from college" for Thanksgiving. That made me smile. "Actually, I'm 28," I replied.

The race started and my internal dialogue went something like this: "This sucks. It's so cold. Ouch, the cold hurts! You can just stop right now. Just walk back to your car and you don't have to finish. Or you can just walk the rest of the way. This hurts. You're running so slow anyway."

After about a mile and a half, I experienced this weird mix of hot and cold. I was really hot on the inside, and yet my skin felt cold. I unzipped my jacket because I was feeling warm in the chest area, and yet I still felt extremely chilly at the same time. It was such an odd sensation to be running in the cold, wind, and rain and have that hot/cold feeling-- all the while trying to be athletic and reach a goal.

There were no mile markers so I had no idea how I was doing. I kept looking at my watch telling myself that I only had to run for about 24 minutes, and the faster I ran, the sooner it would be over. It was just torture, but in a good way. I was exerting myself to the limit and yet it seemed as if I was running extremely slow. I would have estimated a pace of 8:30, when in actuality my pace was 7:35.

I definitely didn't think I would even come close to beating my previous time. But the finish line came about two minutes earlier than expected and I couldn't be happier.

• I blew my previous time of 24:14 out of the water with a 23:32.
• I placed 19 out of 299 runners in my division.
• I placed 68 out of 1021 total women.
• My pace was 7:35.
• I shaved 42 seconds off of my personal record from September of this year.

After the race, I went to the gym (which was only a mile away) and had the adrenaline rush to keep running. I ran 7.5 extra miles at an average pace of 8:25. I knew that I would be massively sore tomorrow, like I was from my previous 5K, so I figured I'd better run as much as possible before I would be hindered by my sore muscles.

At the gym, one of the trainers was talking about the race and I joined in the conversation. It turns out that she is running the Miami Half marathon along with some other people from the gym. So that was exciting.

And it won't be a complete race blog without the short but strategic playlist

Nickelback- Rockstar

Incubus- Anna Molly

Jason Mraz- Common Pleasure

Anberlin- Readyfuels

Disturbed- Land of Confusion

Anberlin- Undeveloped Story

I've done my trotting for the day. I'm gonna go have a turkey.

26.2 Miles of Fun

I thoroughly enjoyed running the Marine Corps Marathon yesterday. The weather was perfect, the crowd support was unmatched by anything I'd ever seen at a race, and I felt strong throughout the entire run.

Everything went well. We got there on time, I wasn't too hot or too cold, my iPod didn't break, I had my lucky timing chip. I saw my friends and family where I expected them.

Before the Race
My friend Jenny, who ran the Delaware marathon and lives in Philadelphia, came down to run this race and stayed with me. The day before we carb loaded at the Pasta Mess tent and then had calzones and an "Apple Pie Pizza". If you add the Halloween candy and other snacks on top of that, I probably consumed more food on Saturday than I consumed in an entire week when I had been previously restricting calories. It felt amazing to eat whatever I wanted and not feel guilty about it.

The morning of the race, we took the metro, checked our bags, and walked to the start line. We run at different paces, so we didn't even try to stay together. But knowing that she was running the race along with some other friends made me feel more supported. I also met a really cool girl at the start line who was running her first marathon.

Miles 1-7

I started off wearing two pairs of gloves and a hooded warm-up jacket over my top. I quickly shed the gloves and jacket at mile 1. I ran the first mile in about 11 minutes, but I didn't worry because I knew I could make up the time later. Unlike a 5K or a 10K, if you go really slow at the beginning, you have plenty of miles at the end to compensate. The 2-mile hill at the beginning was not as steep or as bad as I

expected, and the downhill was a nice reward. I saw a shirt that said "I have been Carb loading for 25 years".

By Mile 5, the crowd thinned out and I was able to go at my own pace without having to worry so much about the crowd. I ran the first 5 miles in 52 minutes, and then decided to step up the speed a notch. 

Miles 8-15

These were very strong miles and they went by very quickly. I passed my friend Mehan at mile 11, and she surprised me with a HUGE sign that said "GO ELIZABETH" in big bold colors. It reminded me of when we were in high school and she hand-made me cards for things. Like when I made the dance team or got into UVA. Mehan has always been very supportive of me-- and we actually met when running "the mile" in 9th grade gym class.

I had been predicting a pace of 4:28, so I was really excited to pass the halfway mark at exactly 2:14. I knew that I was running strong, and I told myself "Okay, just repeat exactly what you just did, and you will be fine!"

Miles 16-23

Someone who had run the Marine Corps Marathon before said "running around Hains Point at miles 17-20 is where most people hit the wall. If you can make it through there, you'll be fine." So, I kept telling myself that I would NOT hit a wall running around Hains point, and that I would enjoy being close to the water with the cool breeze. I actually zoned out and even forgot which mile I was on. I asked someone else and she said we were coming up on mile 19. Funny that I hadn't even recalled passing

mile 18.

I became re-energized at mile 20 when there was a timing mat and I realized I was going faster than a 10-minute mile. Every time I passed a mile marker, I looked at my watch, and I held a pace of approximately 10:00 for most of the race. The crowd at this point was extreme and everyone was handing out food and candy. I crossed over the 14th street bridge and into Crystal City, where I knew my mother was standing at mile 23. She later told me that I looked like I was at mile 1 because I was so strong and energized, whereas almost everyone else looked like they were actually at mile 23. I was happy to hear that. She said I made her proud, and that made me so happy. When I passed her, she handed me a bag of skittles, which tasted extremely good.

Miles 24-26.2

My legs really started to hurt at mile 24 and suddenly, I really wanted the race to end. For the first time, I felt like running 2.2 more miles would be impossible. But I told myself that I had come this far, and if I kept running at my pace, I only had to survive 22 more minutes. But if I stopped, the wait would be much longer and I wouldn't be happy with my time. So, I pushed my way through these last few miles. 

Mile 25 was probably the hardest mile of the whole race because the wind was going about 5-10 mph right in my face. I felt like it was making me run in slow motion. I was really, really tempted to stop, but I refused to let myself stop. I reminded myself of the Philly Distance run where those last two miles were so painful, but I just focused on the music, zoned out and went for it. When I saw the finish line, Igot so extremely excited and I made a sprint for it. I looked at my watched and realized that if I sprinted, I could get in under 4:25. So I powered past everyone, all the way to the right hand side of the course, and came in at 4:24:39. It felt awesome to have such a strong finish. 

Interestingly, the VA Beach half marathon took much more out of me than this full marathon. I felt like I was in pure hell for the last 3 miles of the VA Beach half. But then again, the heat was very oppressive and my attitude during the VA Beach half marathon was pessimistic, and I also didn't have my iPod.

After the Race

I thought that the race had been well-organized until the end. Immediately after a marathon, you're supposed to keep walking. But this was impossible because everyone was crowded into such a small space and you couldn't even move. I made it through the food line, and then made my way toward the baggage check to get my things. I found myself on a bridge, packed in like a sardine. People weren't even moving, I was just stuck there.

I met a really nice woman and we started chatting. I didn't like the crowd at all. I felt like I was suffocating and I didn't have my own space to breathe. I don't consider myself to be claustrophobic, and I tolerated this crowd for about 10 minutes. But the longer we stood there without moving, the worse and worse my anxiety got. I calmly told the woman I just met that I thought I was going to have a panic attack. I asked her to please calm me down and re-assure me that there was no reason to panic. But I did anyway. Before I knew it, I was hyperventilating, crying hysterically and having a full-fledged panic attack. My heart was pounding and I couldn't even speak.

Two EMTs came and got me and pushed me through the crowd to an open area. I was still hyperventilating and breathing heavily. It was weird. I just felt like I really, really, needed some of my

own space-- especially after just having run 26.2 miles. The EMT took my pulse. "You have a runner's pulse". He said. "Well, yeah," I replied. I calmed down and the EMTs walked me to the baggage claim area. That was much less crowded and I was fine.

Soon, Jenny came to get her bag, and we headed for the metro station. Eventually, we made it home, and got massages at a spa near me. We treated ourselves to Carvel ice cream, too. What an incredible high and an amazing day.

Mental Challenge

I strongly believe that a marathon is more of a mental challenge than a physical one. All throughout the race, I kept thinking of all the people that were tracking me remotely (Roderick, Sable, Bob, Ekrem, Tara, My Mom, Jenna, Crayton, Michael H. and others) I knew that you all were rooting for me, and that helped push me through.

During the run, I refused to let negative thinking get me down. I simply did not allow myself to feel weak, tired, or un-supported by friends. If I could do that all the time and not let negative thinking get the better of me, I would be a much happier person. I now realize that I do have the power to control my thoughts (and therefore my feelings) so I can prevent myself from having thoughts that are only going to make me feel bad.

Running never ceases to teach me things about myself and my life. That's why I do it.

Motivated by Music

My iPod, more than anything else, was what pushed me forward in this race. I am extremely passionate about music, and I lip synced a lot of the songs, and occasionally even "danced" to them with my arms. I made sure to put the slower songs at the beginning, the upbeat, rhythmic songs in the middle, and the inspirational ones at the end. I created the play list about three weeks before the race so I would be "surprised" by it. There were four songs that I wanted to finish to, but since I came in earlier than I expected, I had to fast forward through a few songs to get to a "finishing song" at mile marker 26. Here is a sampling from my list, in order:

- Whatever I Fear (Toad the Wet Sprocket)

- Start Again (Duncan Sheik)

- Omaha (Counting Crows)

- Not So Usual (Jason Mraz)

- Bad Day (Daniel Powter)

- One Man Army (Our Lady Peace)

- The River (Live)

- Did I Fool Ya? (Jason Mraz)

- Wisemen (James Blunt)

- Steady as She Goes (Raconteurs)

- She Looks To Me (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

- Concertina (Tori Amos)

- California Justice (Five For Fighting)

- Get Out of this House (Shawn Colvin)

- Perfect Time of Day (Howie Day)

- Million Miles of Water (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

- Something's Always Wrong (Toad the Wet Sprocket)

- World (Five For Fighting)

- Dream Life of Rand McNally (Jason Mraz)

- Hazy Shade of Winter (The Bangels)

- Especially in Michigan (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

- Get Another Boyfriend (Backstreet Boys)

- Can't Go For That (Jason Mraz)

- White Shadows (Coldplay)

- Hump De Bump (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

- Rockstar (Nickleback)

- So Long Jimmy (James Blunt)

- Nos De Cariad (David Gray)

- Common Pleasure (Jason Mraz) Played this one TWICE

- Sofia (Live)

- Did You Get My Message (Jason Mraz)

- Paralyzed (Rock Kills Kid)

- NYC Weather Report (Five for Fighting)

- The Zephyr Song (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

- Square One (Coldplay)

- Wordplay (Jason Mraz)

- Stall (Better Than Ezra)

- Had Enough (Breaking Benjamin)

- Turn it Again (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

- Headstrong (Trapt)

- Policeman's Xmas Party (Five For Fighting)

- The Distance (Live)

- Geek in the Pink (Jason Mraz)

- By The Way (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

- In The Blood (Better Than Ezra)

- On a High (Duncan Sheik)

- Through Glass (Stone Sour)

First 5K, Won an Award

It was a spur-of-the moment decision to run a 5K this morning. On Thursday, I had registered for the "Women of Freedom" 5K in Washington because I thought it was for a good cause- helping victims of domestic abuse. But I had a rough Thursday and Friday, with very little food and sleep, so when I woke up this morning, I figured I should stay in bed rather than get dressed to arrive in DC for an 8:00am race in the cold. My entry fee still went to a good cause.

I had noticed, however, that there was another 5K which was only two miles from my house, that started at 9:00am (The Navy Federal Credit Union 5K). Much more manageable, and I figured the weather would be a tad warmer. So, I checked to see if they had race-day registration and they did. I was even able to use my own Champion Chip!

I arrived at the race at 7:45, registered, and then went to Starbucks for a small cup of coffee and half a scone. I've read that a little bit of coffee is a good idea before a short race. And it was rather cold outside, too, so a warm drink was just what I needed. I'd never had a Starbucks scone before, so it was a morning of firsts.

I arrived back at the race with plenty of time to use the bathroom, stretch and warm-up. I had never run a 5K before, and I didn't have high expectations of myself for this one. I hadn't eaten hardly anything for the past two days and I was severely sleep deprived. It was also very chilly and I was wearing shorts and a thin long-sleeved top. A recipe for catching a cold (but I hope I don't!).

The race started and I didn't really have a "strategy" because I've never done a 5K before. I had nothing to learn from. So I just ran as fast as I could. I was annoyed that I had to stop for 10 seconds to tie my shoe with numb hands during the first mile, but I had no choice. I passed a time clock that read 7:30, but I didn't see a mile marker, so I thought the time clock was just placed there for no particular reason. If I had to guess my pace, it would have been 8:20. The second mile was harsh. There were quite a few hills- although none of them very steep. I passed the 2-mile marker at 15:45, and realized that I was going faster than an 8:00 pace! I was shocked because I felt like a snail-- maybe 8:30 at best! I was so cold and I felt like the chill was paralyzing. I could even see my breath. But the clock time encouraged me to keep going.

Mile three was interesting because we ran on an unpaved trail, through the woods for part of it. I've never run any part of a race on an unpaved course. We also ran up a small flight of stairs, which I found comical, for some reason. And part of the course was on the W&OD trail, which is where I do my long runs. I was rewarded at the end because the last half mile of the race had some downward hills and no uphills. I was flying. After I passed the 3 mile mark, I sprinted the last 0.1 at about a 6:40 pace, finishing at 24:14, a pace of 7:48.

Afterwards, I saw a guy that I had known in college. He had dated one of my sorority sisters and I had dated his brother for a few weeks. It was interesting to catch up with him. "Did you run the Zeta 5K in college"? He asked me. "No," I replied. "I was WAY lazy in college. I didn't even like to walk to class!" I was about to leave, but then the guy I had just met said he wanted to check his score. I didn't care too much about mine, because I used my watch and I knew my time, but I went with him to see his.

I couldn't find my name anywhere, but that's because I was looking too far down on the sheet. I was shocked that I placed 7 overall (out of 164 women) and 2 in my age group (out of 28). I honestly felt like there were so many people ahead of me, and I was such a slow poke. I didn't feel like I was running strong at all--I felt like the cold weather was just zapping me. So, I figured I would stick around for the awards ceremony, because I was actually in it. They called my name and I went up to be recognized and it was really cool. I even got to hug the Navy mascot!

It was a fun race, and a definite ego boost. The past three days have been pretty rough on me, so this is exactly what I needed. It felt great to win an award when it was my first time ever running a 5K

Philadelphia Distance Run

I ran my 4th half marathon today, the second in a series of two for the month of September. It was the Philadelphia Distance Run, and I was running the race with some of my friends.

A few months ago, I had responded to the "Tell Us Your Story" request e-mail with a dramatically written (but true) version of my "story". They told me they were going to feature me in the race program and they asked me to submit a picture. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they actually did publish my story and photo, along with the stories of about six other runners:

I had a much more positive attitude about this race than the Virginia Beach half marathon. This race was more about fun and friends. I was well rested for this race, except if you consider the fact that I had run a half marathon just two weeks prior, and may not have been fully recovered. It apparently takes 3 weeks to recover from a half marathon, but I felt completely ready to run the race this morning.

In between the races, I had done some short tempo runs, at a pace of about 8:20. I was aiming for a race pace of 8:50, which I thought was very possible.

This race was identical to the VA Beach half. They are organized by the same company, so I felt like I was running the exact same race, but with different scenery. Everything from how the packet-pickup and expo was arranged to how they handled the start and finish. They even used the exact same corral signs. It was a weird sense of deja vu.

The first thing I noticed was that the runners at the expo on Saturday seemed more experienced than those at the VA Beach race. At VA Beach, many people were running their first half, and it seemed to be a huge deal for them. At this race, many people seemed to have the attitude that running a half marathon wasn't a big deal. And it was obvious that most people had run in long distance races before.

During the VA Beach race, I felt like I was a little bit ahead of the main crowd. At mile 3, I could pretty much run at my own pace without trying to squeeze my way through people. At the race this morning, I felt like I was in the middle of the main crowd, and I didn't have my own "space" until about mile 6. I think that the crowd contributed to the fact that I went out slower than expected.

I typically like to start races slower than I finish them, but similar to a 10K I ran in June, I was going slower than I thought I was, and didn't pass the 5k marker until 28:57, which was slower than the VA Beach half. I didn't pass the 10K marker until 56:59-- also slower than the previous race. My split times for 5K and 10K were 28:32 and 56:32. Not a huge difference between the two races, but I felt much stronger this morning than I did at the other half marathon, so I was surprised to see that I ran the first half of today's race slower than the first half of the VA Beach race. But as I said earlier, I attribute some of that to the crowd and not being able to run quite as fast as I would have liked. 

The course was really beautiful. The first four miles were in the city of Philadelphia. I haven't been to Philadelphia in over 15 years, so I had totally forgotten what it was like. The weather was nice, but the sun was extremely bright, and shining directly in my face for part of the first 4 miles. The last 9 miles are run around a river, and it was very scenic, and thankfully shaded in many parts.

As I approached mile 7, I reminded myself that this was where I started to really slow down two weeks ago, so I told myself to stay strong. I ate my Jelly Belly Sports beans at mile 8, and I realized that I really do NOT like the lemon/lime flavor. I had used that flavor before on a training run, but for some reason they tasted better on the training run. It was really difficult for me to eat them because the taste was so gross, but I ate about 2/3 of the pack and threw the rest away.

I felt strong when I crossed the 10 mile mat. My time was 1:31:35, a huge contrast to the 1:34:57 that I did two weeks ago. It was at that point when I "gave up" on the VA Beach race, and I vowed I would not

give up this time. I did get really tired and the last two miles were not shaded. It took every positive thought I had to keep running and resist the temptation to walk. I was staring at my watch, just counting the seconds until I would cross the finish line. At VA Beach, you can see the finish line from almost a mile away. For this race, you couldn't see it until you were at mile 13. Not very motivating.

I had my iPod with me, which I was not using in VA Beach, and it really helped. I had strategically chosen songs for the last two miles that would be impossible to walk to because they are so energized and powerful (playlist below). I pushed myself as hard as physically possible those last two miles and finished with a time of 2:00:50. 25 seconds slower than my Personal Record, which I am kinda bummed about, but a huge improvement from the previous half marathon. I would just love to get in under 2:00 one of these days. Even a 1:59:59 would be nice.

I placed 4296 overall, out of 11,060 total finishers. Interestingly, I placed 4926 at VA Beach, out of 16,136 finishers. My observation that the Philly runners were faster is obviously true, because even though I ran this race faster, my ranking compared to the total amount of runners was in a lower percentile. Afterwards, I met up with my friends, where we congratulated each other on the race: 

All in all, a great weekend, and I will write a blog about my day on Saturday when I get the photos to go with it! 

Playlist: 

James Blunt- So Long Jimmy
Jason Mraz- Right Kind of Phrase
Live- Show
Red Hot Chili Peppers- Turn It Again
Tori Amos- Concertina
Anberlin- Glass to the Arson
Jason Mraz- Did I Fool Ya?
Red Hot Chili Peppers- Hump De Bump
James Blunt- Wisemen
Boyz II Men- Motown Philly (appropriate!)
Nine Days- So Far Away
Jason Mraz- Can't Go For That
Breaking Benjamin- Had Enough
Better Than Ezra- Still Life with Cooley
Live- Sofia
Jason Mraz- Did you Get My Message
Coldplay- Square One

13.1-Mile Training Run

For some reason, I've had a great deal of anxiety regarding the Virginia Beach Half Marathon. I ran it last year, and was very happy with my time of 2:00, but this year I was obsessed with beating it by several minutes. Since I ran this race last year, I have run two 10Ks, a 10-miler, another half-marathon and a full marathon. I trained harder for the race this year than last, and I felt much more prepared.

About two weeks ago I had a dream that I arrived at the race without my timing chip. (I had purchased the $35 VA Beach Souvenir timing chip last year to use in all my races). I also dreamt that I arrived too late to the race and encountered all sorts of strange obstacles. I've had many eerily predictive dreams in the past, but I have anxiety dreams more frequently, so I thought these dreams about the race were simply my anxiety.

I was very careful to pack my timing chip and bring it with me. I arrived at my friend's house at around noon yesterday, and then she drove us to the packet pickup, which was a 20-minute drive. Upon arrival, I realized that I had left my chip at her house so it couldn't be scanned in and used to identify me. I didn't want to make her drive all the way back for it, so I just used a rental trip. I know this doesn't sound like a big deal-- my race was still timed. But that's my "lucky" chip and I wanted to use it in all the major races I ran. I was extremely frustrated at myself for having made such a special effort to remember to pack it, only to leave it at my friends house.

That night, I got about 3 hours of light sleep. I tossed and turned all night, and had even more anxiety dreams about missing the race. The previous night, I had only gotten 4 hours, so I was really worried about running 13.1 miles on only 7 hours of sleep for the past two nights.

I woke up at 3:15 and couldn't fall back asleep, so I could have easily left my friend's house at 4:00 or 4:30. However, I didn't think I needed to leave her place until around 5:15. So I waited until 5:15 to leave, thinking I would have plenty of time. We were not allowed to park at the start line. We had to park at a satellite lot that was about 25 minutes away from the start line and 20 minutes away from my friend's house.

Instead of taking 20 minutes to drive to the parking lot, it took me over an hour. The traffic was backed up for miles and was moving extremely slowly. There were no police officers directing traffic, so we were at the mercy of lights that remained red for 30 seconds, let 5 cars in on a green, and then were red again for 30 seconds. I was getting nervous that I wouldn't arrive to the race on time.

I had planned to get there early so I could stretch out, go to the bathroom, and maybe have half a bagel. But instead I was stuck in my car for an hour and my back was killing me as my foot kept switching from the brake to the accelerator every five seconds.

It was 6:25 when I stepped on the shuttle bus, and we were dropped off at 6:50, just ten minutes before the start of the race. My first stop was the "gear check" where, as the name implies, you check your stuff and they drive it to the finish line. I had my car keys with me, my cell phone, and my comfortable sandals to wear after the race. When I got there, they informed me and the rest of the people from my shuttle bus that it was too late to check our bags, and we would have to leave them in a pile at the start line (which was over a mile away from the finish line). So, I left my driver's license, keys, cell phone, and sandals in a big pile of bags, not knowing if they would be supervised.

I had planned to call my friend who I was staying with when I finished the race, but that would now be

impossible. With five minutes until start time, and the lines at the porta-potties extremely long, I didn't think I'd have time to go to the bathroom. And I really needed to go because I had drank an entire bottle of water in my car. So, I waited anyway, and by the time I got out of the bathroom and arrived to the starting area, the race had started, but luckily my "corral" group hadn't crossed the start line yet. Forget stretching out.

And so I ran the race on only three hours of sleep, without having stretched, without my lucky timing chip, and after having spent over an hour sitting in stop-and-go traffic. The weather was nice and sunny, but it was much hotter than last year-- I would guess about 10 degrees warmer, making me extremely exhausted by mile 7, and completely demotivating me. I was trying to average a pace of 8:50, and I was on track to do that until about mile 7, when the course went for a long time without being shaded and the sun was bearing down on me.

I finished the race, but I am too embarrassed to write my time. (Edited to add, years later, I ran a time of 2:06:41). I am proud to have finished 1,834 out of 9,123 women, but I still fared much better last year. I don't see myself as competing with others-- just myself. I was extremely disappointed and depressed. It didn't even feel good to cross the finish line-- I just hated myself by that point. At mile 10, I realized that I would not be able to beat my 2:00, so I stopped caring.

I decided to chalk the whole thing up to a "training run" for the Philadelphia half marathon I am running in two weeks. At least I have a chance to redeem myself. After the race, there was no transportation back to the start line, so I decided to walk about a mile to my other friend's house (she lives just one block from the beach). I had taken off my running shoes and was wearing the free sandals they give you at the finish line which were 4 sizes too big for me. I was carrying my running shoes in the bag that the sandals came in and as I passed a garbage can I had this urge to just throw my running shoes in the trash and say "fuck it".

I obviously couldn't call the friend whose house I was walking to or the friend who I was staying with, since my phone was in a bag at the start line. Thankfully, this friend who lives on the beach drove me to the start line where I retrieved my bag and found all of my belongings safe and sound. I immediately ditched the size 9 sandals they gave me at the finish line for my normal size 5 comfy sandals and breathed a sigh of relief.

She then drove me 20 minutes back to the parking lot, where it took me awhile to locate my car (remembering the location of my car wasn't exactly top of mind this morning as I panicked about making the race on time). I drove back to my other friend's house, showered and then drove home.

I'm still really depressed about the whole situation. I trained really hard for this race and followed all the "rules" for tapering, eating right, etc. I made sure I had plenty of time to get to the race, but I didn't predict an hour's worth of traffic to get to a parking lot. A former boss of mine told me that he once ran a marathon in 3:59, and he's run four since then, but has never managed to beat the 3:59. I worry that I won't ever beat my 2:00, and for some reason, this is very important to me. I do have the chance to redeem myself in two weeks, but considering I really exerted myself today, I am not sure I will be fully recovered enough to put my full effort in. At the very least this race will have yielded some nice photos.

Runner's High

Running plays a major role in my life, and increasingly so over the past year. I began running as a way to get in shape and I ran mainly on a treadmill. Ever since I began racing, running has become much more to me than a form of exercise.

My general interest in exercise began shortly after I graduated college as a way to set measurable, attainable goals and meet them. Running does this for me, but there are many other elements that go into it. 

Letting off steam/anxiety: Running is a great way to clear my head by focusing less on my racing thoughts and more on my body. It provides a physical release and I am much more relaxed and de-stressed after a run. Yesterday, I felt anxious for most of the day. I was just sitting at home while the painters worked on my foyer and bathroom and I was extremely antsy. By the time they left and I was ready to go workout, I felt as if I didn't know what to do with myself. It was like I had to run. 

Runner's High: Runner's high is very noticeable to me after about 5 or 6 miles. When I am at mile 3, I don't see how I am ever going to complete all the miles that I set out to run. But once that "high" sets in, I feel like I am just coasting along on autopilot. It's an empowering feeling and "high" is probably the best term for it. I feel like nothing else in the world matters, and that I am strong enough to handle anything.

Setting and attaining goals: I am a very driven, goal-oriented person so I thrive on setting goals and meeting them. As soon as one is accomplished, I am on to the next. It provides me with a "high" that makes me feel like I am living up to my full potential.

Feeling the music: Running helps me feel the music. If it weren't for my iPod or some other way of listening to music, I don't think I would enjoy running nearly as much, if at all. I used to be a dancer and my favorite thing about dance was how I "Felt" the music. I don't feel it as much with running because the movement is constant and not varied or expressive as it is with dance. But when the endorphins kick in and I am listening to a song I love, I feel a sense of being "in" the music. It's hard to top that sensation.

Weight control: I admit that one of the things I like about running is that it prevents me from gaining an excess of weight. I know that I am going to burn a significant amount of calories each day, so I feel freer to eat. On the other hand, I enjoy running so much, that I know I will give myself enough food and nourishment to fuel my runs.

It sometimes seems as if there is no problem that can't be made easier (at least for awhile) by running. While I am happy that I have found something I am so passionate about, at the same time, I am worried that I am too reliant on it for a sense of well-being. What if I got injured? What if I couldn't run anymore? When I had the flu for the first two weeks of this year, I couldn't run and I was an emotional and physical wreck. I would be devastated. I'm often worried about tripping and spraining an ankle, or hurting my back.

When the painters were here, I was worried that inhaling the paint fumes would affect my performance. It would only take one second-- one small thing to injure me so that I couldn't run. And then what would I do? Would I still be motivated to eat healthy? Would I be anxious and/or depressed? What would I do when I automatically wake up at 4:30am (naturally, without an alarm)?

I know I'm not a professional runner and that there is much more to my life than this. But it's something I do almost everyday and I think about it a great deal. I'm always thinking about my next run, my next race, my goal pace and time, what running gear I need to buy, etc. It's fun, but it's on the verge of obsessive.

However, I have heard that many runners have this mentality. So maybe I'm not that crazy after all! In order to commit yourself to training for a marathon or just running everyday, you need to incorporate it into your lifestyle and your thought processes. 

Maybe because with running, it's just me, and no one else. With my career, my romantic relationships, and almost everything else, there are always other people. And I find it hard to stay fully connected to myself. As I learn more about myself and become stronger in my self-awareness, maybe this won't be the case. But for now, I need something to hold onto that doesn't involve or depend on other people. Not to say I don't like other people and that I am an introvert-- in fact I consider myself very much of an extrovert. But running is something that is mine and mine alone.

That said, I polished off 12 miles on the W&OD trail this morning. The weather was beautiful and my run was strong. I only stopped to walk for about 30 seconds, so I feel very prepared for the half marathon in three weeks. I had put 15 new songs into my iPod Shuffle (which holds 250 songs) and I must have scrolled through every song on there before I even got to one of the new songs! I finished to Home by Live, a song off of their latest CD. The CD isn't all that great, but that song is amazing and I sprinted the last half mile to it.