For all three of my devout blog readers, here's the skinny! 3 hours, 3 minutes, and 34 seconds! I did it, baby! How exciting is that?!
Actually, I must admit, I went back and forth on the excitement. Walking to the starting line I felt like a kid who didn't want to go to her graduation ceremony. Odd, right? I've always been one for the Pomp and Circumstance of it all, but I felt rather hum drum about it - better than being anxious, I suppose. Maybe in my subconscious I was downplaying it in case I didn't finish or do well? I don't know, because I really had no doubts that we would finish. Who knows - anyway...
The morning was muggy, but not too hot, in the 80s? - I could cope with that. I was thankful it wasn't raining! Derek and I found a parking spot about 10 blocks away from the starting line, so we had a good warm up walk. I eventually meet up with group - in Corral 22. (See, they put people in groups based on their speed, elite runners at the front, slow pokes in the back. I was in Corral 22 out of 24. I'm OK with that, it just adds to the humor of it all.) We all moved along together like cattle until we reached the starting line. BLARE! With the blast of the air horn we were off! Oh oh. My shins were beginning to bother me, grrr! I pulled off to the side to stretch 'em and we lost half of our pace group - within the first 100 yards! Oh well! My running partner extraordinaire and I kept on!
Side note number one:
Derek was supposed to volunteer at one of the water stops, but he decided against that and purposed he would be the photographer superstar instead, meeting up with us all along the course. I'll try to post a few of these shots. Of course, the battery died midway, so he opted for the low-tech disposable camera for the post race pics. It was big fun meeting him along the way. At one point he ran with us, a mile or so. Seeing his smile, hearing his reports of other runners, letting us know we looked well, these things were of great comfort and a boost for me. It turned out his water stop was well manned (they didn't seem to miss him); he was definitely more of a benefit to us, I'd say. :)
Now, my musical two cents...
One of the things that makes the VA Beach Half Marathon so much fun are the bands that they sprinkle along the way to keep you groovin'. The first band was playing James Taylor, "I've seen fire, and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end..." You know, a really sad song, but for my first run and my first band, I thought it was great! Now, between mile 7 and 8, there was a one man Journey band singing "Faithfully". I wanted to BOOO him if I had the energy or creativity. It was hot then, the clouds had taken a break and the sun was greeting us rather warmly. I thought, how on earth is this song supposed to motivate us? I guess it was no less up-beat than the first song we heard, but dude, c'mon! I guess I just had to gripe about something. But the next band was playing an old favorite - "So go on now, Go! Walk out that door! Don't turn around now, you're not welcome anymore!... I Will Survive!" Every girls back up song! It was great! We got all pumped, we were practically dancing! Then, the very best song I heard ALL day was an old rap song from high school "Lottie Dottie, we like to party, we don't cause trouble we don't bother nobody..." When I heard that, honey, I was next to delirium! My best friend and I would sing that about a thousand times a day! Derek, who was running with us at the time, thought that I would be the only one who knew that song, and maybe so. Those guys who were singing were like the Beastie Boys in Jamaica, all reggae-like. Oh, it was so cool. One zillion times better than the off key sappy Steve Perry 3 miles back. Me-yow, claws in please!
Alright, back to the race...
We ran, and ran, and ran. Down big streets, over a bridge with a shallow incline, through part of the naval base and then back onto a big street. The return trip's bridge was steeper so we walked up and over it and ran to mile 11 ahead of us. We saw my friend's family, all was groovy there! Next, the last water stop and on to mile 12. After the water stop, where we did a hairpin turn, we could see the racers behind us on our previous street. One kind police officer said to us, "Well, you're kicking all their butts!" We just loved his comment and that helped us keep going. We had our last snack before we reached the boardwalk. When we stepped foot on the boardwalk it was just beautiful! The ocean, knowing that we were less than a mile away, just being able to walk a bit (well, walk a bit more, we had already taken some walking liberties), the excitement all around us, it was great... We ran again, then walked, then we saw the finish line. "OK, let's run." But something happened in me and I took off. Not really at full tilt, but my buddy was like "Hey! You're sprinting!" I didn't mean to run faster than normal, but I guess I just wanted to cross it. My chickie-chiquita friend booked it too. We got the EXACT same time - so awesome! 3:03:34 Our estimated time - target time - 3:03. How wacky is that. Kinda like Henry being born on his due date, even though I didn't know it (you know how you have at least two ETAs in your head for that - OK different story).
Happy, happy day. We finished, "on time", both feeling well, although we each had a hiccup or two during the race. The course was great, one spot reminded us so much of our training, shaded tree-lined residential streets, that mile went too quickly. The folks out to cheer all of us runners on was incredible, and no one was like, "you look like crap, siddown!", but "You're looking strong! Keep going! You can do this! Not much longer, keep it up!" Wow. Total strangers, really quite nice when you think about it. :)
The first thing they gave you after crossing the finish line was a bottle of cold water. We got our medals from random joes who had armloads full and just handed them to you - that was kind of odd, not even around the neck, you know? Others were handing out popsicles (red, white and blue rocket ones) and bananas, too. OH, and wet, cold face clothes - niiiiiiice! me likey :D We met up with our families and headed over to the Easton ROCKS tent to see our race family and see their smiles and hear their times and stories. It was all good. I even had a surprise visitor from Easton - Katie's Dora doll! She snuck in my bag to greet me at the beach! She's like my Travelocity Gnome; she heard about VA Beach and she had to come. She was sad to miss my NY adventure in July, but was pleased to score this trip. Her visit is documented on the low-tech camera, postings will be forthcoming.
After a bit, we had lunch with friends, a snooze back at our friend's house (almost three hours long!), a bite for dinner and then saw The B-52s in concert on the beach. That was great! We were maybe 40 feet from the stage, and to see those folks still up there singing "Private Idaho", "Roam", "Love Shack", and "Rock Lobster" was just a hoot! They sang more songs I didn't know than I did, but - wow, it was fun. One guy behind us must have been the biggest B-52s fan ever, he was manic about every song, acting like a robot for one of them, kicking up sand for the rest. The whole scene was just fun, a great way to end it all. :)
Got home at midnight, woke at six this morning, said farewell to my super wonderful host and her family (after their photo shoot with Dora!), picked up the kiddos, had a celebratory lunch at Chick-fil-A, drove home with next to zero traffic (thank you, Lord!), unpacked and here I am. And there you are. And the job is done. What a trip this has been! :)
Will I do this again? Maybe. We'll see what's in store for us in the Spring. You just never know what's around the corner! I have to say this has been wonderful and amazing and - like everyone always says - the friends and the memories and I learned what I can do, bla bla bla. While cliche, it's very true. My dad can't believe I willingly broke a sweat. I understand my husband better. My daughter wants to run with me - for a bit - down the street. My little part has caused at least one other gal to join a gym and become more active, and still another asked ME for my thoughts on running! Not to mention the kids we'll be helping and who will be having fun! I can't shut up right now because I've got so much happy inside!
So, if you feel like you ought to do something outside your little comfort zone, just do it (sorry for another cliche, but it's true). The worst thing that could happen rarely does, and the best thing that could happen is your heart soars! Just think of where that possibility can take you - you just have no idea! I say: Just do it, you will be so grateful! :)
Well, I guess that's it for now. Feel free to check in from time to time... there may be more at some point.
PS - If you are a time geek and really want to know about it all, you can check out the VA Beach Half Marathon Run website. The link is above.
Thanks for everything! :)
Monday, September 1, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Holy Crow! Wait a Second!
This is why it's good to keep a log (or weblog a.k.a. 'blog), because sometimes you learn something. For instance, my six mile time.
First, let me say this - it is DARK during the 5:00 hour now, we could barely see each other when folks first arrived! I had to be practically on top of the person before I could figure out who they were, and it had very little with my eyesight! The four of us did find each other and went out a little after 6:00. For various reasons, L and I weren't up to our usual high-speed selves, we were lagging a bit behind the other two most of the morning. During our last mile we walked a good bit, I'd say 10 minutes or so. We still came in at 1:21, which was 6 minutes quicker than our target time. Not to mention, my quickest of all four six-mile runs! Hot spit, kids! And we walked! I guess things are looking good for next week!
They asked us this morning about how we feel for next week. One response echoes mine: I feel fine. We did it last week, we can do it again. However, I wonder about the anxiety level when we are corralled together, before we actually begin. I wonder about the heat, starting at 7:00 and being further south. I wonder what it'll be like navigating our way in a relatively small space with 20,000 other people - especially since Easton has only 15,000 or so residents and we never pack ourselves into a 13 mile stretch that loops back on itself, etc. Oh well, these questions will all be answered by noon on the 31st - just 8 days away! Yikes! :)
First, let me say this - it is DARK during the 5:00 hour now, we could barely see each other when folks first arrived! I had to be practically on top of the person before I could figure out who they were, and it had very little with my eyesight! The four of us did find each other and went out a little after 6:00. For various reasons, L and I weren't up to our usual high-speed selves, we were lagging a bit behind the other two most of the morning. During our last mile we walked a good bit, I'd say 10 minutes or so. We still came in at 1:21, which was 6 minutes quicker than our target time. Not to mention, my quickest of all four six-mile runs! Hot spit, kids! And we walked! I guess things are looking good for next week!
They asked us this morning about how we feel for next week. One response echoes mine: I feel fine. We did it last week, we can do it again. However, I wonder about the anxiety level when we are corralled together, before we actually begin. I wonder about the heat, starting at 7:00 and being further south. I wonder what it'll be like navigating our way in a relatively small space with 20,000 other people - especially since Easton has only 15,000 or so residents and we never pack ourselves into a 13 mile stretch that loops back on itself, etc. Oh well, these questions will all be answered by noon on the 31st - just 8 days away! Yikes! :)
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Keep Movin 4Ward
Indeed I did! For 14 miles, 3 hours 14 minutes! I can't believe it. I just assumed I could, my knee was fine and I was with my Fabulicious gals, how could I go wrong?
7:00 we started, heading out Oxford Road and snaking through lovely neighborhoods - I found a house I love! We were in good spirits and the weather was in our favor, cool with a breeze. I couldn't even tell you specifics - 14 minutes and change for the 1st mile, 12 and change for the second... overall just less than 14 minute miles. I am just thankful to have done it in less than 4 hours, even better less than 3:30, and better still less than 3:15 - and that's 14 miles, we only have to do 13.1 on race day!
It was getting a bit long, I will admit. I remember saying around mile 8ish that I was getting tired, but no sleep till Brooklyn, baby - gotta keep rockin'. In the first half of our run, one of our coaches told us to slow down, and I broke out into the old New Edition song, "You've got to slow it down, ooooh watch out!" I'm the team singer, I guess. Nutcase? Whatever. If you can't laugh, really!
So we knew that there was going to be a shindig at the park at the end of our run, our families were invited and we always have postrun snackies (fruit, cheese, etc.). But, Honey, I tell you what - this was a par-tay! Balloons, banners, cheering, two huge tables of food and kid and runner friendly drinks. It was wonderful! Before we got there, our one teammate's family met us at the corner and her son ran with her. Then our other teammate's daughter joined us and the now six of us ran to the finish line. I finally spotted my family - Derek with camera in hand (a man after my own heart!), Henry with a juice box, and Katie who screamed "Mommieeee!" and ran into my arms! How awesome! I had no idea what that kind of welcome would mean to me! SO, so nice! I received my very own medal for finishing, and after the congratulatory hugs and kisses, Derek hands me a small square box. Inside, a small black velvet bag. Inside, a silver ring that he had engraved "Keep Movin 4Ward".
Now, this ring means a lot to me. I'm not going to get into all of it, but I'll say that Derek is a good man. He knows when to listen to me and when to ignore me. Besides the obvious implications, the expression "keep moving forward" is from the kids' movie "Meet the Robinsons" which is a movie I LOVE. The second time I watched it I was going to point out the part at the end that made me cry, but I couldn't because I was boo-hooing again - a trademark stamp of approval of a good movie for me. Derek and I just celebrated our 13th anniversary and he made all sorts of analogies in my card of running and life together, and this very thoughtful ring just pulls all those threads together. He made very good points today, not that I keep 'em, but if I did he got a bunch. PLUS, he rubbed my feet at the celebration. How good can life be?
The whole after-run fun time was all sorts of feel good happy times for me. Henry ran and played by himself with his friends, Kate ran between the playground and us - and it was all OK because so many people were around and watching out for them and each other. Everyone was happy, the weather was unbelievable, and it was such a happy, good for you, you rock sort of time. These folks that we've seen every Saturday since May, happy and sweaty and glad to have kicked out 14 miles (full marathoners did 18!). A beautiful, wonderful time. :)
Came home, ate lunch, showered - ahhhh!, slept 2.5 hours, ate extraordinary burgers from the grill, tomato and basil salad, and corn on the cob, got the kids to bed, and am now writing this blog. Derek is folding laundry and watching Brit Wit. I think we'll crack open a heffeweizen each and finish our British shows together. A great way to end a great, great day. :)
PS - This day may even mean more to me than the actual race day. I may be wrong, but I'm a Thanksgiving kind of girl. Thanksgiving is under-rated compared to Christmas - too much hub bub and the meaning gets lost; Thanksgiving is more of the real deal. The real deal for me was running for Easton through Easton with friends from Easton - that's what made this top notch. The beach will be nice, don't get me wrong, but I don't know if I need the 'formality' of it now. Give me authentic good times with friends, feet up on the tree with Lori, hugs for and from Amy and Susan L., seeing Christina give my kids and hers chocolate chip cookies because she loves 'em. That's what I'm talkin' bout. :] sniff!
7:00 we started, heading out Oxford Road and snaking through lovely neighborhoods - I found a house I love! We were in good spirits and the weather was in our favor, cool with a breeze. I couldn't even tell you specifics - 14 minutes and change for the 1st mile, 12 and change for the second... overall just less than 14 minute miles. I am just thankful to have done it in less than 4 hours, even better less than 3:30, and better still less than 3:15 - and that's 14 miles, we only have to do 13.1 on race day!
It was getting a bit long, I will admit. I remember saying around mile 8ish that I was getting tired, but no sleep till Brooklyn, baby - gotta keep rockin'. In the first half of our run, one of our coaches told us to slow down, and I broke out into the old New Edition song, "You've got to slow it down, ooooh watch out!" I'm the team singer, I guess. Nutcase? Whatever. If you can't laugh, really!
So we knew that there was going to be a shindig at the park at the end of our run, our families were invited and we always have postrun snackies (fruit, cheese, etc.). But, Honey, I tell you what - this was a par-tay! Balloons, banners, cheering, two huge tables of food and kid and runner friendly drinks. It was wonderful! Before we got there, our one teammate's family met us at the corner and her son ran with her. Then our other teammate's daughter joined us and the now six of us ran to the finish line. I finally spotted my family - Derek with camera in hand (a man after my own heart!), Henry with a juice box, and Katie who screamed "Mommieeee!" and ran into my arms! How awesome! I had no idea what that kind of welcome would mean to me! SO, so nice! I received my very own medal for finishing, and after the congratulatory hugs and kisses, Derek hands me a small square box. Inside, a small black velvet bag. Inside, a silver ring that he had engraved "Keep Movin 4Ward".
Now, this ring means a lot to me. I'm not going to get into all of it, but I'll say that Derek is a good man. He knows when to listen to me and when to ignore me. Besides the obvious implications, the expression "keep moving forward" is from the kids' movie "Meet the Robinsons" which is a movie I LOVE. The second time I watched it I was going to point out the part at the end that made me cry, but I couldn't because I was boo-hooing again - a trademark stamp of approval of a good movie for me. Derek and I just celebrated our 13th anniversary and he made all sorts of analogies in my card of running and life together, and this very thoughtful ring just pulls all those threads together. He made very good points today, not that I keep 'em, but if I did he got a bunch. PLUS, he rubbed my feet at the celebration. How good can life be?
The whole after-run fun time was all sorts of feel good happy times for me. Henry ran and played by himself with his friends, Kate ran between the playground and us - and it was all OK because so many people were around and watching out for them and each other. Everyone was happy, the weather was unbelievable, and it was such a happy, good for you, you rock sort of time. These folks that we've seen every Saturday since May, happy and sweaty and glad to have kicked out 14 miles (full marathoners did 18!). A beautiful, wonderful time. :)
Came home, ate lunch, showered - ahhhh!, slept 2.5 hours, ate extraordinary burgers from the grill, tomato and basil salad, and corn on the cob, got the kids to bed, and am now writing this blog. Derek is folding laundry and watching Brit Wit. I think we'll crack open a heffeweizen each and finish our British shows together. A great way to end a great, great day. :)
PS - This day may even mean more to me than the actual race day. I may be wrong, but I'm a Thanksgiving kind of girl. Thanksgiving is under-rated compared to Christmas - too much hub bub and the meaning gets lost; Thanksgiving is more of the real deal. The real deal for me was running for Easton through Easton with friends from Easton - that's what made this top notch. The beach will be nice, don't get me wrong, but I don't know if I need the 'formality' of it now. Give me authentic good times with friends, feet up on the tree with Lori, hugs for and from Amy and Susan L., seeing Christina give my kids and hers chocolate chip cookies because she loves 'em. That's what I'm talkin' bout. :] sniff!
Friday, August 15, 2008
I just noticed...
that my sneakers are dirty. When glancing down, I thought they may have been Derek's; I had to do a double-take! I proudly say that I have put some miles on those bad boys - probably not hundreds, but a bunch.
I have dirty sneakers (maybe for the first time in my life). This says I'm on the right path for August 31st! :) We will see how it all shakes out tomorrow!
I have dirty sneakers (maybe for the first time in my life). This says I'm on the right path for August 31st! :) We will see how it all shakes out tomorrow!
Gearing Up for 14!
Oy! I just ate my son's left over chicken nuggets from lunch - maybe not the best way to prepare for tomorrow's 14 mile run! Last week was great! Ran without owies in my knee or leg and was able to do 6 miles in an hour and 25 mins. The running without pain part is the best news for me! Now lets see if we can double that mileage and add two more!
We're heading out tomorrow at 7 am and hope to return by 11, I mean that is all the time we have for the race in two weeks. I'll let you know more after it's done - if I'm not sleeping for the rest of the week! :)
Yep, 16 days till race day...Amazing that I'm saying that! You just never know! :)
We're heading out tomorrow at 7 am and hope to return by 11, I mean that is all the time we have for the race in two weeks. I'll let you know more after it's done - if I'm not sleeping for the rest of the week! :)
Yep, 16 days till race day...Amazing that I'm saying that! You just never know! :)
Monday, August 4, 2008
I Am Amazed
Jesus said, "Ask and you will receive." He was referring, of course, to asking Him for things. I just asked you all to help out, and WOW, you have!
I needed to raise $1,000. That's a lot of bread. I asked for $1,310 and to date $1,450 has come in under my name! Unbelievable! I am flabbergasted! How can people think so much of me and what I'm doing? I am so floored at all of the support and well wishes and amount of money that has come to help these kids! All I can say is thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU! I am just humbled at your generosity.
Just one person. There's a poem out there with that title or one similar, and I always thought of other people being that "one person". This is the second time this year (and this has only happened twice in my life) that I feel like I myself have affected an aspect of life for scores of other people. The first was the cockamamie idea of our high school reunion - others worked harder on it to pulled it off, but really, the idea originated with me (I type in unbelief, shaking my head). An now - $1,450 for kiddos who we will never meet, but who want to have fun and learn more. We have positively touched their lives. Amazing.
Your support means more than I can express. Thank you, thank you.
I needed to raise $1,000. That's a lot of bread. I asked for $1,310 and to date $1,450 has come in under my name! Unbelievable! I am flabbergasted! How can people think so much of me and what I'm doing? I am so floored at all of the support and well wishes and amount of money that has come to help these kids! All I can say is thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU! I am just humbled at your generosity.
Just one person. There's a poem out there with that title or one similar, and I always thought of other people being that "one person". This is the second time this year (and this has only happened twice in my life) that I feel like I myself have affected an aspect of life for scores of other people. The first was the cockamamie idea of our high school reunion - others worked harder on it to pulled it off, but really, the idea originated with me (I type in unbelief, shaking my head). An now - $1,450 for kiddos who we will never meet, but who want to have fun and learn more. We have positively touched their lives. Amazing.
Your support means more than I can express. Thank you, thank you.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Note to Self
More for my own memory than anything else... I did my 12 miles in two days - 6 yesterday afternoon and another 6 today - which was kosher by our coaches. Both times I mostly walked, which still takes a bit out of you. I was able to maintain less than a 15 minute mile with the treadmill, but who's to say I'd do that without the pavement moving underneath me. I would love to maintain that pace. Funny how numbers sound better or worse depending on one's situation.
Here's my game plan 4 weeks out (and if you're one of my coaches reading this, forgivaness please) - start slowish, meaning: walk quickly (since that doesn't really seem to irritate my knee). Then I think I will speed up, meaning: run some, walk some. The 2:3 ratio, although slow, feels good to the old knee. Depending on how I feel, around mile 10, assess quick walking vs. run walking vs. "Oww, I hope I can finish" walking. I would love to finish sub3:30. Cut off time is four hours. By mile 10 I hope to be around 2:30, but will likely be slower than that. If I were to hit 2:30, I could probably walk backwards and still finish in time.
I don't know if all this is bad form, like am I jinxing myself by putting all these numbers out there, but, as I said, just a note to self, "thinking online".
Well, that's it. I know some of my friends will be zipping along at a 10 minute mile, and some at 16. Hey, in the end, it's just a number. I would like to finish before the cut off, though. At least I'm in the game, a few weeks ago that was the question, right?
Here's my game plan 4 weeks out (and if you're one of my coaches reading this, forgivaness please) - start slowish, meaning: walk quickly (since that doesn't really seem to irritate my knee). Then I think I will speed up, meaning: run some, walk some. The 2:3 ratio, although slow, feels good to the old knee. Depending on how I feel, around mile 10, assess quick walking vs. run walking vs. "Oww, I hope I can finish" walking. I would love to finish sub3:30. Cut off time is four hours. By mile 10 I hope to be around 2:30, but will likely be slower than that. If I were to hit 2:30, I could probably walk backwards and still finish in time.
I don't know if all this is bad form, like am I jinxing myself by putting all these numbers out there, but, as I said, just a note to self, "thinking online".
Well, that's it. I know some of my friends will be zipping along at a 10 minute mile, and some at 16. Hey, in the end, it's just a number. I would like to finish before the cut off, though. At least I'm in the game, a few weeks ago that was the question, right?
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