Earthmovers and Sandcastles » Race reports

Race Report: Run Into the New Year 5K (Or “It’s the End of the Year As We Know It”)

Carrie — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:05:22 +0000

Unexpected, this, to place in my age group after a year of basically running longer-longer-longer and pretending that things like speedwork and track time didn’t exist. Of course, it helps when the race gives medals ten places deep in each age group, which is practically unheard of, but still. After no speed training for more than a year, and minimal running for the past six weeks on a bruised knee and with a bum shoulder, I logically should have been midpack at best. Guess the legs remembered a little of what they used to do.

Not much to talk about with a 5K; it’s over too fast for a lengthy report. The sun shone, it was chilly but not cold, and everybody was…5K-ish. I told a friend who was there that I think I prefer the low-key “non-energy” before an ultra; no point warming up or doing striders and skipping if you’re going to be running all day. The corral was crowded, full of folks who were Super Serious and those who looked like first-timers. Nobody seemed to have any inclination toward lining up according to how fast you expect to run; I saw plenty of folks near the front who were obviously not interested in trying to hold the pace the people near them were going to be doing. (Quickly scootched out from behind the pack of girls I initially took to be fast, but who began making giggly plans to run holding hands and jumping together. Yeah.)

Within thirty seconds of starting to run, I took an elbow to my sore shoulder from the very tall man running beside me. Ow.

But once I got out of the traditional 5K mosh pit, it was pretty much smooth sailing until the end. Honestly, I could have pushed harder, but, well, I’ve spend a long time now learning to push my endurance and not really having to visit the particular Pain Cave involved with running fast. That’s a different sort of willpower, and I’m out of practice.

Finished in 25:38, which is nowhere near my PR, but which is pretty good compared to what I’ve been running lately. It was even good enough, as I said, for tenth place in my age group. What it mostly is, though, is a benchmark. That Pain Cave I mentioned a paragraph ago? I’m going to be going there in 2012. This will be the year I regain my speed (relative though it is), with plenty of shorter races and such to test myself. I hope to round out the year with a very nice half-marathon. It’s not a “vacation year”; it’s a year of changing the focus. Long is good, but you can be lazy while going long. Sometimes, I hope, it pays to rev the motor a bit, even if you’re more of a long-range trucker than a sports car.

So. Here’s to the end of 2011, which had plenty of ups and downs for my running. Lots of injuries, but lots of milestones, too. I gave up my toenails, and I gained insight into gratitude for the miles. I got to learn about pool running when I was hurt, but I also learned to love swimming as a cross-training tool. I ran 5Ks and ultras, and they both taught me things I needed to know.

Tomorrow? I’m going for a run with my running club. Hope you’ll be out there, too.

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Race Report: JFK50

Carrie — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 19:10:47 +0000

Wow. Ow. More wow, more ow. There are no words that can adequately describe the experience of running that thing. Seriously. Also? Ow.

Flew into Maryland, got to Hagerstown; went to the expo to get my race bib. I had prepared my parents for a teeny-tiny “expo,” since their only experience with a race expo was in DC for the Marine Corps Marathon, but I was surprised at how much was there to see. Multiple booths, nice things! I nearly walked out without a JFK50 car magnet, since buying one felt sort of like a jinx, but when I walked out of the hotel and saw all the cars that had those magnets, I decided it must be a “thing,” so I went back for one. It was very intimidating to walk around that crowd, I have to say. The race shirts folks were wearing were all for races I’ve only read about – hundred milers, etc. – and then there were folks in Ironman things, multiple Marathon Maniacs, and lots of people wearing shirts that declared them members of the “500 Mile Club” (people who’ve done the JFK 50 at least ten times). I felt so out of my depth!

I did sleep well the night before, surprisingly. Woke up before my alarm went off, just lying there in the dark and…not panicking. Yet, anyway. I felt pretty relaxed as I got ready, telling myself it was “just a little jog in the woods.” My parents friends showed up, and we all headed to Boonsboro together, where a race briefing was held at 6:20. I saw Mike Wardian stretching out a little ways away from me in the gym beforehand, which was a pretty cool experience. Later, when the race director was having race veterans who anticipated finishing in a certain time stand up, a man sitting right behind me made a movement, and the director said, “David Horton, you’re not even running this year!” I spun around and stared in awe. Ultrarunning fangirl, ’tis I.

Thing was, everybody looked crazy fit and not a bit nervous, which was making me feel extra-nervous. Was everybody there as collected as they seemed? Was I the only “JFK virgin” in the room?! Gah.

We left the gym, and the weather was absolutely perfect. I decided I wouldn’t need the headlamp I’d brought, and I planned to exchange my fleece hat for a cap when I saw my parents at the end of the Appalachian Trail. We all hiked down the road to the starting line, about 1,000 yards away; before I got to that point, I heard the signal to start, and the crowd started moving, but I honestly had no idea where the actual start was. Certainly, there were no mats in evidence, even though it was a chip-timed race.

I fell in with a woman who did the race a couple of years ago, and as we chatted, sharing stories, some of hers sounded familiar to me…turned out, she was Dana, whose blog I’ve read! After the initial climb up the road to South Mountain Inn, where we found the trail for the first time, I lost her; there was no way I was going to try to stay with a specific person on the AT, especially somebody with whom I didn’t train, so I let her go and didn’t see her again.

The trail turns out onto fire road, which is another steep climb that seems to go forever. Honestly, you don’t really get onto the Appalachian until around five miles in, but once you do…oh, my. My regrets about not training more on the Ice Age Trail immediately evaporated; the only way to prepare for running on this trail would have been to run on this trail. Far rockier, far more technical than anything, ANYTHING, I had available to me. I nearly fell very early on, grabbing a tree with both arms and feeling very relieved that I didn’t “kiss the earth” then.

That didn’t happen until mile 8. I landed and slid hard on my side, arm outstretched, and I felt something go “pop” in my shoulder. I knew right away that I’d done a Bad Thing to it, but I also rationalized that you don’t need an arm to run, so I kept going. I couldn’t cross my arm over my chest without severe pain, even in reaching up to brush my cheek, but I had another arm for that, so I put it out of my head and kept going, ignoring the pain.

At mile 12, I fell again, this time gouging and bruising my knee. Surprised I didn’t tear my tights, really, which would have made me angry. I walked for a bit after that, feeling quite frustrated but determined not to be beaten; I did see one woman after that point whose fall ended her day out there, sobbing and unable to stand, so I felt lucky not to be worse off.

Once we reached the switchbacks off the trail, I honestly felt a little better; it was very treacherous and scary, but I finally felt like it wasn’t “just me” – everybody around me was struggling and going extremely slowly and cautiously. Mom and Dad were waiting at the bottom, and they said they saw lots of blood and injuries coming down, along with people tumbling the last part. I gave them my hat, jacket, and gloves and set off again for the towpath.

Now, at that point, I still had about 35 miles to go, and on a good day, that would have perhaps felt okay, but after beating the living Bejeezus out of yourself, it’s a different story. I went to my tried-and-true 9:1 run/walk intervals, which I was able to maintain fairly well, but I was exhausted. I started getting hot spots on my foot around mile 22, so I stopped and reapplied Body Glide then, and getting back up was hard. By mile 29 or 30, I was at an extreme low point. My shoulder was on fire, my knee was aching, and I wanted…something. Anything. I still had 20 miles to go!

Actually, just before that, I had a high point around mile 24, where a North Pole-themed aid station temporarily lifted my spirits. Got my photo taken with Santa and enjoyed a Christmas cookie and the BEST CHICKEN SOUP EVER. That high was great; just wish it had lasted. [EDIT: that was actually mile 34, not 24. My brain is so foggy about the sequence of events after such a long day!]

On and on and on. I leap-frogged particular runners, feeling pretty good if I could pass them with enough distance that they didn’t pass me again on my next walk break. (Blue shirt woman, you finally got the best of me; congratulations. ) I saw my folks a couple more times at different aid stations, but I was in such a haze that I barely recognized them. One interesting thing: several times, I was suddenly taken by an overwhelming urge to cry, out of nowhere, and a minute after that, I’d notice that I was having trouble drawing breath. I’d walk a bit, and both the tears and the chest tightness would pass.

We finally left the trail at mile marker 84, and I was given a reflective vest as we hit the road. There were only about 8 miles left, and I was feeling okay – exhausted, overwhelmingly sore, mentally in shambles, but at least confident of finishing. The roads rolled, and I tried to keep up my 9:1, making exceptions for the steep hills. And then, with about six miles left, the inside of my ankle, which had been aching, though not more than any other part of my body, suddenly decided to step up its game. I could barely walk, let alone run. It was so bad that I began to cry. I walked, and I walked, and I called Eric to cry to him, and I kept walking. When the pain dulled a little, I started doing a pattern of running 100 steps, then walking for 10. Repeat. Grit teeth.

Around the last couple of miles, I switched focus. Wasn’t hallucinating, but I focused hard on seeing Sam and Gabe on either side of me. They pulled me, grabbing my hands and giggling for me to hurry up. Sam told me he could run faster than me; Gabe told me to “man up.” I chanted their names and whispered to them, letting them drive me up the road, nearly crying when I saw the lights at the finish. “It’s here, kids. We made it!”

I finished in 10:19:35, 486th out of an eventual 941 finishers. My time would have been better had I not had to walk so much of the final miles, but I was elated with the time, as I stumbled over the line and immediately yelled for help with my ankle. They took me to the medical area and iced and bandaged me; they also checked my shoulder but weren’t as concerned about it. (Naturally, the ankle is fine today, but the shoulder? Yeah, I’m wearing a sling and going to the doctor when I get back. It’s in agony.)

A scarier moment came after I got home, went to use the bathroom, and urinated copious amounts of blood. Aaaaaaugh! I ran to the computer, reassured myself (it can be normal, from the jarring of the bladder, if there are no other symptoms like fever or abdominal pain, neither of which I had), then pounded water for the next couple of hours, until my urine was back to normal. Phew.

Anyway, I didn’t sleep at all well, due to the pain, and the soreness is getting worse and worse all over now, so the next few days should be interesting. I had been hoping to swim for a bit to help with that, but with a bum shoulder, that’s probably off the table. Not sure what I can do with that. But I’m wearing my medal, my JFK vest, and a huge smile, along with my sling, and I’ll limp with pride when I get to the airport and explain to the security folks just why I can’t get into the machine requiring me to hold my hands over my head. Because the pain? Worth it.

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Race Report: Skeleton Skamper Half-Marathon…Marathon

Carrie — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 16:34:43 +0000

As I wrote before, since the training plan called for my last real long run to be 26 miles, I opted to amuse myself by doing a local half-marathon twice. I even got a cheap entry fee into the race, through one of those group discount specials sites, so it looked like a really good idea! Didn’t wear a costume, though – not for a full marathon!

Anyway, I talked to the director and found out the course was to be coned by 6AM, so that’s when I got there and started running, light in hand. I drove most of the course the day before, so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect, which came in handy in the tricky spots that hadn’t gotten fully marked yet. It was almost entirely a road course (about a mile on a paved path) and not closed entirely, but there was little traffic as I ran by myself. A bit chilly, but otherwise, it was very pleasant. I did 9:1 (in minutes) run/walk intervals, and I finished the first 13.1-mile loop in a little over two hours, taking it easy and enjoying myself.

There was a small crowd building back at the start, but I didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes for a portajohn. Then we lined up and took off! I kept going with the run/walk, stepping off the road shoulder into the grass to walk when I could, since there was only an extremely narrow strip of road marked off with cones for the runners. To top that off, we spent most of the race running with traffic instead of on the safer, opposite, side, so I got slightly nervous about the cars whipping past us.

In fact, midway through the fourth mile, I saw flashing lights and cars blocking half the road, and when I got closer, I saw a crying runner strapped to a back board with her neck in a brace. At the time, I didn’t know what had happened, but the story is slowly leaking out that she was hit by a car. The initial reports sounded minor, but now I’m reading that she may have been seriously injured with a skull fracture – a terrible thing to hear.

The second loop was harder in some ways and easier in others. I felt tired, of course, and where I’d been hoping for crowd support to buoy me, there was very little. On the other hand, running with others gives its own energy, so that did help. Also, knowing where the hills were to come (read: the last mile!) was better than turning the corner and being surprised. I finished the second loop a little faster than the first, in 1:59:18, for a total marathon time of 4:00:36 – not bad for a run-walk!

So now I taper. We now hit the period where I back off, rest more, and can finally see through to the end, when I’ll get to finally do – oh, crap…

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Race Report: St. Pat’s 24-Hour

Carrie — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 23:23:20 +0000

That was a FUN race! I mean, sure, I was wiped at the end, and there were moments where I felt more tired than others, but seriously – fun was had. The course was a little over three miles, and it was over groomed grass, dirt, and a small amount of asphalt. There was one short downhill that I loved, and one short uphill that was fairly impossible to run (sandy, very loose rocks of varying sizes), and I loved it for its imposed walk break. I loved the whole course.

I played fast and loose with my 9:1 run/walk intervals, running through the breaks when I felt like it, but only really walking more at the end, after I’d covered my mandated 50K for the day. Met lots of folks, enjoyed their company, and never once was really tempted to go for the iPod I had stashed in my drop bag at the start of the loop. (Okay, maybe when “Praise to the Lord” was stuck in my head and I couldn’t recall any of the actual lyrics after the first phrase…”Da da da DUMMM da-da da da da hope of salvation” can only carry you so far.)

Took gels every five miles or so, Endurolytes on the hour, and tried a bit of solid food, mostly to test whether it’ll sit well at JFK. (Mostly yes.) Made a big error before my last long loop when I took a cup of Mountain Dew – and chugged it. Oof, that made me nauseated for almost a mile before the bubbles died down and the sugar kicked in!

In all, I covered 34.68 miles in 5:55:37, according to my Garmin. (Official results won’t be up until all the racers have finished, including the 24-hour folks who won’t finish until 8AM tomorrow.) I did the last mile on a separate 1/2-mile loop they set up for folks who didn’t have time or energy for a whole 3-mile left at the end.

All in all, a gorgeous, fun, great time. I would totally do that again! And my first prize bag included a lovely stoneware mug, some Wright socks, a coupon for a new Road ID (which I needed!), and a big jug of Gatorade Perform powder. Sweet.

Oh, and supposedly it was windy. Advisory and everything. I barely noticed.

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Race Report: Lake Geneva Half, plus Mother’s Day

Carrie — Mon, 09 May 2011 13:51:54 +0000

Okay, so in retrospect, there probably had to have been a better way to handle the Lake Geneva Half Marathon than how I did it, but I’m not sure what it would have been. I was sort of between a rock and a hard place; I needed to get in twenty miles for the day, and in theory, doing 13.1 of those miles as a supported race seemed like a great idea. That left 6.9 miles to handle on my own, and my initial plan had been to use them as a warm-up and a cool-down before and after the race. Great theory, but it fell apart on execution, when the good friend with whom I planned to run the race (hi, Rachel!) wasn’t able to make it there with me, and rather than give up on the idea of getting the chance to run and catch up with her, I decided to do all the extra miles beforehand, heading the hour down the road to Lake Geneva after that. That got slammed home as the only option, as well, when I realized just how close I’d be shaving the clock in order to get back home in time for Eric to make it to the airport for a business trip. No extra time at all to make up any miles after the race!

So Rachel dropped by my place at 5:30, and we ran for a lovely hour, chatting and enjoying the morning; the rain never materialized, and my legs felt great. I was feeling really optimistic as I got home, grabbed my things, and piled into the car…and then, about fifteen minutes down the road, I realized I’d forgotten my gel for the race. Now, I didn’t panic too much. I had eaten a couple of prunes before running with Rachel (no time to eat anything substantial and have it do anything but sit like a brick in my belly), and I was eating a Clif bar in the car, so I though that I’d be okay for now, and surely there’d be aid stations with fuel along the course. (Dun-dun-dunnnnnnn… [huzzah, foreshadowing!])

Got there, and no rain appeared! I strapped on my race belt, wandered to the start, and chatted with some folks while waiting for the bathrooms (ooh, posh: hotel restrooms right by the starting line!). Then, right on time, we were off. Almost immediately, the people running the Euro Cross-Country route split off from us half and full marathoners, which was a bit confusing, since the guy directing us was speaking realllllly sloooooowly as we approached, and I was nearly on top of him before I knew which direction to go. The answer: up the hill. And for the next eight miles, that was to be the only answer. Up, up, up.

After about five miles, I was beginning to really regret the extra miles I’d done before the race. My hips and hamstrings, especially were unhappy. And perhaps the Euro runners were getting good scenery (they kept meeting back up with us, only to duck down between shadows into what looked like people’s driveways…), but what we got was cattle farms of the more pungent variety. Phew! But we did see one calf frolicking at us as we passed, which was precious and lifted my spirits a bit.

Eight or nine miles in, my hip decided to lock up a bit. Ran through it, and it went away. I was getting a bit annoyed, too, by how the mile markers were placed quite wrongly, and my assumption about the race course fuel had been wrong as well. No fuel. No gels. I did the race on Gatorade alone, which…well, it left me feeling quite bad by that ninth mile on. I wanted to stop, but that wasn’t an option. For one, I’ve never yet DNFed a race, and for another, this was a point-to-point course, and I needed to make it to the end to reach the shuttle back home. I kept running. At least it was flat at this point.

Around mile 12, there were two punishing downhills. My hips and hamstrings got joined by my quads and shins in the chorus of complaint. Everything below my waist felt like lead. Good times.

I finally reached the finish line at 1:57:42, which put me 5/11 in my age group and 95/259 overall. Grabbed my medal, grabbed my water, ran for the boat the finish line volunteer told me was the shuttle back, waited around a bit until it became clear that they were wrong, then hobbled to the bus that was the correct shuttle. I made it back home about 15 minutes before Eric got picked up for the airport, thank goodness.

Ow.

Mother’s Day, on the other hand, was as restful as it could be, considering my husband is in another country. I got bath salts from Gabe, and both boys gave me potted plants they assembled at church. We ate out at a nice vegetarian restaurant, then had gelato afterward. Nothing fancy, which was as my legs would have it. Oh, but I do wonder if I’ll ever be able to make it through a Mother’s Day sermon at church without tearing up when the kids come in to hand out little flowers or candies to all the moms…

Denny’s: not the vegetarian restaurant.

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Race Report: Run to Spring 5K, 2011

Carrie — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 19:52:59 +0000

Well, I didn’t PR, but somehow (ah, the magic of small, local races) I managed to finagle a second place in my age group in yesterday’s race. The short version: saw a friend struggling and forgot my own worries in helping him. Yay!

The long version: I had originally planned to do a three mile warm-up, then the race, then three more miles to accumulate my planned nine miles for the day. After fretting and worrying, though, I changed my mind and decided to do the whole six miles with running club before the race. I knew I’d be a little tired after that, but I figured I’d also feel mentally better for having done it, and it would eliminate a little of the time coordination. Running club’s route was right next to the race course that morning, so it was simple on that end. I ran those six miles with a new friend, casually and easily, which left me with some pep in my legs.

I went and registered for the race after that – nothing like the last minute! – and ran into another newer member of our running group. Nate and I hung around, waiting for the start; it was grey, windy, and damp out, with a chill that had us all shivering with chattery teeth. Greeted a few other folks, including a man from our church, whose son, Eli, just a year older than Sam, was running the race and expecting to do extremely well. The boy was perched right at the starting line, raring to go.

Nate and I headed off at the gun, doing a quick pace and feeling okay. About a mile into it, though, I found us passing Eli, who was visibly struggling. He had a hand clamped to his sides and his face was grimaced. I immediately fell back beside him, checking if he was okay and getting him breathing more slowly. Once he was more settled, I hung with him, encouraging him to keep going; a boy just ahead of us looked to be in his age group, and I muttered, “See that kid? He keeps looking back at you, scared. You got him!” And around mile two, we finally passed him.

By the final curve, just before the finish, Eli said, “When we turn, I’m going to go as fast as I can.” “You better!” I said, and when he kicked, I hollered after him, grinning. It felt awesome to see him fly over the finish. I was thrilled later to find that he’d finished second in his age group – that was more satisfying than learning my own place. (Nate, who had gone on ahead when I dropped back by Eli, came in fourth in his age group.) I crossed in 25:20 Garmin time (I forget the gun time; the results aren’t posted online yet, either).

And my legs felt just fine. Worries? What worries?

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It was the best of times…

Carrie — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 03:16:05 +0000

January was about winter illnesses, board games and yoga, and trying to keep warm.

February was about doldrums, which I seem to have dealt with by drinking lots of coffee and eating good food, much of which was prepared by my husband’s loving hands.

In March, Eric went to Germany, and I started training for Devil’s Lake. I also went vegetarian.

April saw more running (a half-marathon PR), another Germany trip, and an Easter trip to Madison.

May was thirteen years married to the love of my life. May was a marathon, the Green Bay one. May was Gabe graduating from preschool.

In June, Sam finished school and turned nine, which was the high point of the month. Low points: the ITBS smacking me in the knee, and then the house burglary. But the knee was fixed by physical therapy, in time for me to have one of the most awesome training runs I’ve ever had, on the Kettle Moraine trail, and, thank God, nobody was hurt when the house was burgled.

July…Devil’s Lake. Yes. Just yes.

August was about parents: mine came to visit, and Eric’s dad got remarried. But then Eric went to Mexico, and my dad had serious health scares, and the whole month spiraled down into bad…

…but Alysia came in September, which helped things improve. Needed that, because then school started and Gabe got sad. I ran a lot. Eric (who turned a year older while in Mexico…again…) started running. It was a whole big thing.

October was birthdays (mine and Gabe’s) and another marathon. Also, holes all over my kitchen (electrical work).

November was more travel! We went to Chicago for a race, Toledo for Thanksgiving, and Eric…went to Mexico a bunch more. We also had yucky medical stuff: Gabe was in the ER for puking, and I had my toenails removed. (Temporarily, alas.) But I got one more race in, even if it was a 5K and I was in pain.

And then we come to December. It’s been a lighter month, mood-wise, I think. Gabe became the object of his first crush; we had parties and relaxation time. Christmas was extremely low-key, too. And I ran my final race of the year, the Run Into the New Year 10K, which I finished in 51:05 (9/37 in my age group) on an unseasonably warm and lovely day. (The forecast rain even held off until the second of the two loops, when the sprinkles were just what I needed to cool me down!) Just a perfect ending to the year.

Tonight, the last night of the year, will be as relaxed as the month has been. Gabe has already staunchly insisted that he does not plan to stay up until midnight (the unspoken, “you freaky, freaky people!” hanging in the air afterward, obvious in his wide eyes), but Sam wants to give it the old college try. We’ll see; New Year’s is so anticlimactic when you live outside the eastern time zone. Who wants to just hang out for an hour after the ball drops in Times Square, watching whatever schmo is emceeing our celebration in Chicago? (I think it was Ryan Seacrest last year.) I bought holiday crackers to pop if we want to, which was a hysterical anecdote; the cashier actually scanned my ID because he insisted the crackers were fireworks. I couldn’t stop giggling. Maybe I should ready a fire extinguisher, just in case the little tissue-paper hats burst into flame…

But assuming your own celebrations don’t explode without warning, I hope you all have wonderful ends to your year, as well as lovely years to come. Smile a lot. I plan to.

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Daylight Savings, plus Hot Chocolate Race 15K Report

Carrie — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 13:50:40 +0000

Thing is, I don’t care if it gets dark early. I’ve definitely become a morning person over the past few years, and I tire out fairly early anyway, whether it’s dark or not. I like having the option to hit the hay early without worrying about sunlight remnants bugging me, and I like having a little brightness to wake me up. If it could stay like this all year long, I would be blissfully happy. Alas, I have nothing to do but embrace the moment and cherish it until it’s gone.

This weekend was busy. Eric got in from Mexico late on Friday, and we all got up mega-early on Saturday to get to Chicago for my race. (In hindsight, the ER trip on Thursday night wound up working for me and the kids, since we were all exhausted enough to fall asleep early on Friday and be more awake Saturday than we might have been on less sleep.) We drove to Waukegan and took the train into Chicago, where I kissed them goodbye (left them in the warmer train station to kill the remaining time) and found other race-bib-wearing folks who were hoofing it over to Grant Park. Good thing, too; otherwise, I’d have been relying on my phone’s GPS to get me through the streets and to the start.

The starting corral was mega-MEGA-crowded. I couldn’t even push my way up to the conservative pace starting point that I’d intended to follow, so I just hung back with the 10-minute-per-mile folks and hoped that by the time we crossed the actual starting line, things would thin out enough that I could move up. Yeah, ha-ha! I did move up, but it was tricky! The course was completely bottlenecked, and there were plenty of places where passing at all was simply not an option. Also, I don’t mind running on gravel, or even large gravel, but doing it in a packed group where you can’t see more than a couple of feet’s worth of ground in front of you at any moment is really challenging, as far as foot placement. I finished in 1:22:17, which was 163/1193 in my age group. The crowd really held me to the slower pace I’d wanted to hold, being a week out of the marathon (heck, the main reason I chose the 15K instead of the 5K was that I didn’t want to be tempted to push myself), but if I hadn’t had that goal in mind, I’d have been really ticked about it. Many people were, I gather, from reading the race reviews in various places. (Why on earth did they start the 5K race before the 15K, anyway?!)

After that, and after the chocolate (yummy) and the kids’ fair (they liked it), the day went downhill, as everybody’s exhaustion started catching up to them. We did get to see Cloud Gate, which we hadn’t seen before, and we ate lunch at Weber Grill, which would have been good…but Gabe’s belly started to hurt again. Mind you, at his doctor appointment on Friday, we got no answers but a list of labs and tests to do. We’ve done the blood draw, are waiting for him to provide a stool sample, and are hoping like heck that those results come back quickly enough that we can avoid having to do an upper GI exam on him. In the meantime, though, his belly hurts at random intervals. He recovered enough that the trip back to and on the train were fine, but he fell asleep on the way, and when he woke up, he screamed and cried about his stomach until falling asleep in the car. At home…he was fine. Argh.

Anyway, busy week ahead, so I need to gear up. Now moving up my list of priorities are a couple of ingrown toenails than I now have the time to deal with, so wish me quick recovery from that!

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Race Report: Haunted Hustle Marathon

Carrie — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 20:37:55 +0000

Here’s the super-short version of yesterday’s race:
1) Pretty!
2) OW-OW-OW!
3) Pretty again, but now too tired to appreciate.

Now for the longer version. I went up on Friday with the family to hit the expo and get my race bib. My local friend Anna was also running the race – her first full marathon – but couldn’t make it to the expo, so I was getting her stuff, too, and planned to give it to her before race start. The expo was tiny and disappointing. I don’t know why I expected it to be bigger, as it was the first year for this race; maybe it was because the area is just so hugely runner-friendly. In any event, we were out of there within fifteen minutes and off to dinner. (Claddagh. I had the linguini, which was good, but I enjoyed the bread basket more than the entree itself. Oh, and we bumped into Maria there, the woman with whom I ran most of Green Bay! We were all set to meet and run together again for this race, which gave me a charge of optimism.)

I didn’t really sleep well at all, due to the typical “what if the alarm doesn’t go off” frets, but I woke up in plenty of time to have my usual peanut butter bagel and a couple of cups of extremely bad hotel coffee. Then I walked to the race start, met up with Anna, and it was almost time to go.

I hadn’t known before that previous night just how small a race crowd it was going to be; the website combined all three races (the full, half, and 10K) into one registrant list, and I hadn’t gone through and counted. Maria knew, though, and Anna also counted: the number of people registered for the full marathon was less than 500. That was fewer than did Kenosha which was horribly lonely. I thanked my lucky stars that Maria and I were planning to stay together, and that I had my iPod. Certainly didn’t want to revisit that experience! There was a four-hour pace group, which we also thought to use, but when the pace group leader, at the starting line, said, “Oh, is this course hilly?” we immediately lost all faith in his ability to lead us through. (In fact, we did end up finishing ahead of him.)

So we were off, and the first part of the course wasn’t too bad. It was what I would have described, in fact, as “slightly rolling.” It wasn’t flat, but the hills were very manageable, and before long, we were on some extremely lovely trails through a nature conservancy. The crowd support was occasionally a bit sparse though there, but we were in the middle of a nice-sized group, so it wasn’t a big deal. (Interesting: I never really got to much of an “alone” part, but when we’d double back and see folks behind us, some of them were fairly abandoned. I suppose I simply lucked out into being at the more common running pace this time around.)

Then, just prior to mile 10, we left the trails, and were on roads. And the hills began. I suppose that after Devil’s Lake, I could be embarrassed about being daunted by these hills, but the difference is that at Devil’s Lake, we walked a lot of the uphills instead of charging hard up them. We made it through three+ miles of the hills, but they took a ton of energy out of me, and I began to feel nauseated.

Here’s the thing: at Green Bay, Maria and I ran to mile 19 together, where she had to take a pit stop and insisted I go on without her. I went sub-four-hour there; she missed it. This was her sub-four chance, and I did not want to hold her back, but I knew I was flagging. By mile 15, when I was beginning to debate whether just throwing up and moving on would feel better or worse, I told her she needed to drop me. She didn’t want to, but I insisted. She took off…and she got her 3:54.

I didn’t puke. I also didn’t hit a Port-a-John, despite cramps that made me worry. (Every time I reached one, it was occupied, and I knew I didn’t want to wait to use it.) Instead, I used my music, gritted my teeth, and rode it out. I finished the second half slightly slower than the first, with my energy tank approaching empty, but I hit the finish line in 4:00:16. I didn’t feel as bad as I did at Marine Corps, by a long shot, so we’ll consider it even. Also, I only ever reached the point of wanting to punch a man in the face one time, when we were turning a corner and he, directing us, said, “Stay to the right when you go up.” Up. Another darn hill! But I let him live. And, hey, I beat a guy dressed as the god Mercury, though his bumblebee-costumed girlfriend trounced us both.

Good points for the race: the beautiful trails, the awesomely cheery aid station workers, the decorations (especially the one at mile 6, with gruesome signs painted in fake blood, with spatters all over the ground!), the costumed runners, the clear markings and clearly explained logistics surrounding the race.

Weak points: the expo, the pace groups (probably unnecessary to have them, the way they were, but, then, I can’t speak for the other two pace groups that were available; maybe they were better), the running out of bananas and typical post-race fuel before even the four-hour finishers crossed (there was plenty of greasy pizza and boneless wings, but my stomach wasn’t able to handle even looking at that), and the medals. Seriously, it was the tiniest medal I’ve ever gotten, about the same size as the teensy age-group medal I got at a 5K a couple years ago. It’s a cute design, though.

The ugly: after I showered up at the hotel and we grabbed lunch, I had to sit in the van for the two-hour ride home. Every exhausted muscle tightened up immensely, and I’m aching badly now. Stretching, rolling…hurting. The party we attended with Eric’s coworkers last night nearly finished me off, energy-wise! But it’s all good now, and I’ll make it through trick-or-treating tonight…somehow…

Oh, the details: I placed 150th overall, out of 354 finishers. Out of 59 in my age group, I came in 17th. Photos aren’t up yet, really, but you can go here to see an initial glimpse.

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Off-kilter

Carrie — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 13:07:18 +0000

It’s hard, having a “late” marathon (as compared to most of the runners I know). On the positive side, I know it was for the best, and that I wouldn’t have been as prepared or felt as good physically (or mentally!) had I registered for a marathon earlier in the season following Devil’s Lake. The extra couple of recovery weeks did my legs and brain good. On the other hand, seeing everybody finish their training and races is making me incredibly antsy. Also, for some bizarre reason, it makes me feel out-of-sorts and irritable, like, “What, I have to go out and do another eight miles today? Didn’t I already do the race? Oh, yeah, that wasn’t me – it was everybody else.”

Seventeen days.

But I’m tapering, at least, which is a very good thing, especially after this weekend. On Friday, I had a regular ten-miler scheduled, and I decided to sandwich my Worldwide Festival of Races 10K into the middle of it. Ten miles isn’t hard for me at this stage in the game, but I finished those 10K in a personal PR of 49:21 – not crazy fast, but taxing enough to leave me feeling a bit jelly-legged when I was done. (The slight break when my race course got bisected by a raised drawbridge and a slow-moving yacht, however, was an unexpected boost). I was fine, though, until I tried to do Saturday’s last remaining 20-miler several hours later. Ow. Muscling through that was challenging, and I feel nothing but relief to think that now, I won’t have to do another 20+mile training run for the rest of 2010. After the marathon, I could go on cruise control until 2011 if I want! It’s all up to me!

Now I have a very slight head cold, but at least this one is appropriately timed. No more long runs, and enough time before the race for a full recovery. Sure, I can be sick now.

Eric’s in Mexico (AGAIN), so I feel grouchy about that. Miss him.

Oh, postscript: anyone out there doing the Hot Chocolate 5K or 15K on November 6th? I’m doing the 15K and would love to meet up with other runners.

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Race Report: Dances with Dirt Devil’s Lake 50K

Carrie — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 01:23:07 +0000

This can’t work like a normal, blow-by-blow race report like I’ve written in the past; it was just too long, and too much went on to try to tell the story from beginning to end. I was so exhausted by the end of it that the details were fleeting even then, so I’ll try to capture as many of them as possible, as well as impressions.

The short of it is, I finished in 6 hours, 47 minutes, which was apparently good enough for 2nd place in my age group and 12th woman overall. The award for placing in my age group?

Long story:

Got there about 45 minutes early; got thoroughly intimidated by the parking area full of cars that had plenty of magnets, but nothing less than “50″ on them. (One said, “You ran a marathon? That’s cute.” ) Rachel didn’t roll in until 5:20 (start was at 5:30), so I had plenty of time to fret and feel out of place. Just before the start, I heard my name, and Brian was right behind us! That was cool.
First leg was going to be the toughest, from my study of the course, and my fretting made it worse; my stomach clenched, I thought I would puke, and I entertained doubts about even finishing. Rough getting started. Running down the ski slope was massively hard, especially due to it having been turned into a mud slide by faster runners.
The uphills were killer, but we decided to stick quite a bit to a 4″/1″ run-walk strategy whenever we could. It helped break things up a bit.
I fell hard three times – once just after 7 miles, again near the same spot on the way back at the end, and again not long after that. I was covered in mud and grime, and I was pessimistically convinced I’d killed my phone with at least one of those falls, but it turned out just fine.
Stone stairs = whoa. That was incredibly intense, and it seemed to go on forever. (I cracked jokes that, geometrically speaking, I’d always thought of “up” as a limited thing, not a line without an end point.) No way to run that – at least, not at my skill level.
In leg 5, what the packet described as “off trail section of about half a mile through the woods with bad footing”? HA-HA-HA! Nothing but slippery, mossy rocks, which you had to scale by gripping the trees around them.
Long legs are invaluable in climbing up and down ledges. Rachel has ‘em. I don’t. Had to use my hands and arms to help climb more than once.
Both IT bands took turns alternating with the pain. Oh, well; at least there was variety.
By the end, Rachel and I were alone quite a bit, and I was whipped. We got to the final turn and saw the finish line, and Rachel yelled, “Go!” I said, “I’m in ‘go.’ This is ‘go.’ YOU go!” and she took off like a killer was chasing her.

So, Rachel took second in her age group, too, and 11th female. It was massively difficult; other runners with whom we chatted afterward said it was one of the gnarliest 50Ks they’d done. For a long time, I thought that we were the last two women off the course, but just as I told Rachel that, another 50Ker crossed the line, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see when the final results get posted.

Verdict: fun. But mostly in hindsight. Will I do it again? Well, it’s kind of like childbirth, in this case, I think. Ask me when my wounds have healed!

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Race Report: 2010 Lighthouse Run

Carrie — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 22:15:27 +0000

More of a “race” report, really. I went into the race knowing I didn’t want to deplete myself, and that my knee really needed a very low-key training run. Also, the temperature was around 75 degrees at the start, and it was very humid due to storms the day before. (Evidence: our neighbor’s tree.) I woke up with race-day energy, but I decided to empty some of that out by cycling to the race start.

At the starting line, I found some friends from running club, and I wound up running with Dan, who planned to take things very slow and use walk breaks. Sounded great to me! It was very hot, and I had a handheld water bottle (also calculated to slow my pace) that I sipped throughout. We walked often, and we chatted the whole time, just enjoying the atmosphere and the company. As a result, I finished the ten miles with a personal worst race time of 1:44:59, but it was exactly what I wanted: my knee felt fine, and my energy levels were still high enough to handle the coming week’s brutal mileage, and the day’s heat didn’t leave me feeling sick. I biked home a little more tired in the legs than when I started, but I even had enough left in the tank to get me through a day at Legoland with the family. Beautiful!

And then I went out today and did a second ten miles at a more brisk pace, but I still felt really good. The IT band seems to be holding up well, thanks to all the rolling and the PT. Three more weeks until race day!

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Marathon photos up

Carrie — Thu, 20 May 2010 18:32:14 +0000

One thing about doing a race for a training run: you get photos. You also get evidence that, despite your efforts to the contrary, you are clenching your opposite fist when you carry something balled up in your opposite hand. I’ll probably take the time at aid stations at Devil’s Lake to stash the arm warmers in my pack instead of carrying them.

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Race Report: Green Bay Marathon

Carrie — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:58:33 +0000

That. Was. FUN!

We got back in last night, and I am still riding the high from the weekend’s events. Things went perfectly according to plan! I went into this race viewing it as a training run, not a hill on which to die, and that’s what I got out of it. I felt awesome afterward, and today’s initial post-race run went beautifully, with no more soreness than I’d expect to feel after any other hard weekend of training.

On Saturday, both boys ran the Kids’ Power Run, a 1K race associated with the marathon. They had separate age-grouped waves, and Sam ran his alone about an hour before I had to run Gabe’s with him. Sam got a side stitch and stomach cramp pretty early on (probably not aided by wolfing down a huge muffin just before heading to the starting line), but he soldiered on and did his utmost to finish strong. Gabe got increasingly impatient as his turn approached, and he even got a bit nervous at the start line. Then the air horn sounded, and he burst onto the course as though it was a 100-meter dash. Naturally, he, too, got his own side stitch. He toughed it out, giving high fives to everybody he passed on the way to the finish line, and then he chugged a bunch of Gatorade (a beverage to which he now pledges allegiance). Both kids got rubber medals, which is awesome, I think.

Sunday morning, I hopped out of bed and geared myself up in everything I’d use for a training run, which had the effect of making me look a bit over-prepared. I heard a few people waiting in the Lambeau Field Atrium with me saying I looked as though I was going to run an ultra; it was better when they actually said as much directly to me, as though in a joke, so I could reply that, yes, that was the general eventual idea. I met up with the four-hour pace group, who were wonderfully friendly, and chatted with the leaders, two of whom were also ultrarunners. They understood immediately about my plan, which was encouraging.

It was warmer than I would have liked, but otherwise, the day was lovely. We all laughed and talked as we ran; within a few miles, another runner named Maria and I had formed a sort of alliance to get each other through. She was dealing with an ankle issue, and I let her know that I had a topical pain killer in my pack, should she need it. We slapped high fives at every mile marker, and those miles seemed to fly by! We carried each other for nearly nineteen miles, before she had to stop to use a bathroom and told me to go ahead.

After that, I latched onto Gordy, the most aggressive of the three pace group leaders. It wasn’t so much that I felt like being aggressive, but he was highly entertaining in his enthusiasm, and I decided that was just what the doctor ordered. For the rest of the race, I stuck with him, and the miles melted away. Near the end, I felt a little tired, and I fell behind him a bit, but not very much, and I wound up crossing the finish line at 3:57:45 – not a PR (I wasn’t aiming for one, of course!), but the most solid finish I’ve had at a marathon yet! It gave me a ton of confidence for heading into Devil’s Lake in eight weeks!

I never did get to see Maria again, though I waited at the reunion sign for her last name for a while. (When calling out for her last name, I forgot to also ask whether she was going to be at the sign, meeting family or friends. D’oh!) I did give her this URL, though, so…Maria, if you read this, drop me a line! I loved running with you! And Gordy: I didn’t give you my URL, but if by chance you come across this, I need to give you my thanks, as well. You made the race experience a total blast and success for me, and I can’t convey how much I appreciate it. Thank you!

So…one more race (the Lighthouse 10-miler) coming up, and then it’s ultra time. I feel jazzed! Of course, I still have three more really big training runs left, and they won’t have pace groups to help. Onward and upward!

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Race Report: Mount Pleasant Half-Marathon

Carrie — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 16:50:59 +0000

Okay, I went out too fast; let’s get that out of the way first. For the future, when I do the marathon+-length training runs in a race setting, I NEED to find somebody going my pace and STICK with them, because I obviously can’t be trusted. I managed to hold it longer than I thought I could, but I was hurting by the end. (Almost had a repeat of my “I can’t breathe” episode from the end of MCM, but this time I forced myself to keep walking at a good pace after the finish line, and my air came back.)

Gorgeous day, lovely and sunny and just right in temperature, but the wind was pretty wretched, especially on the southward segments. Yeow. Those exhausted me more than the pace, just about.

Took one gel at the hour mark, along with race course water. Worked well, and I never felt really depleted beyond what was predictable.

So! Official finish time: 1:46:43. Came in 6th in my age group (out of 43) and 48/348 overall. Took 5 minutes off my “PR” (from the WW Festival of Races last year, the only other half I’ve done). Not bad for a day’s work, but tomorrow’s recovery run is going to be VERY, VERY easy.

Oh! Forgot one of the funniest parts! I just missed the start of the kids’ Fun Run, and though I thought to try to catch up, I could see Eric and Sam moving on the far side of the course’s 1-mile loop, and I knew that at my shuffling pace, I couldn’t make it. So I turned around, walked back to the finish…and there was Gabe running up to the finish line. “Did I win?” he panted. I stared over his shoulder and asked where Daddy was. “I dunno!” he said.

Turned out that Gabe ran the course about half a mile in front of Eric and Sam, leading the group with one other woman. So…yes. Yes, you did win, Gabriel. (His prize: the free ice cream Georgie Porgie’s restaurant was handing out. I think that beat a medal in his mind, no contest.)

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Race Report: Smoke the Turkey 5K

Carrie — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 22:14:00 +0000

Good friends run with you. Very good friends go running with you even when they aren’t runners and, in fact, hate running. When I told Alysia I was coming to visit, and I asked how far away a particular Thanksgiving Day 5K was from her place, I was gobsmacked when she told me to sign her up, too.

Well, she did it. I even have photographic proof (which I’ll have to upload later)! We had to go out last night to buy her an actual pair of running shoes, but she laced them up bright and early this morning and proceeded to whomp my own first 5K time by about ten minutes.

I didn’t do poorly, myself, though! I got a PR – about a minute faster than my last 5K record. I finished in 23:42, tenth in my age group and 225th overall. It was a pretty flat course, through the streets of a very picturesque neighborhood, and the weather was cold but not freezing. Perfect! Had I stayed in town and done my usual Turkey Trot, it would have been in sleet, snow, and 30-mile-per-hour winds, so I’ll take that alone as a win!

Then I went and had turkey with my family. What could be finer? Happy Thanksgiving Day, everybody!

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Video from the Expo!

Carrie — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:19:19 +0000

Chris took this video at the Expo the night before the marathon! “Three-fifty!” Wow, innocence.

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Race Report: Marine Corps Marathon

Carrie — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:01:39 +0000

Oh. My. Where do I start?! I ran the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, October 25th, and in return, the Marine Corps Marathon chewed me up and spat me on the ground.

I had very high hopes for the race. It was a gorgeous day! I had met up the night before at the Expo with a bunch of fellow runners I knew from Twitter (Matt’s wife took that shot), and Bobby (third from the left) had advised me to get to the Metro really, really early the morning of the race, so that’s what I did…and was the first one in the station! Luckily, some folks were right behind me, or I might have gone to the wrong place accidentally. That runner happened to even be in the same pace group as I was (though she managed to actually stick with it to the end!), so Lisa and I had a good time chatting in the chilly darkness while we waited at the race start.

(...)
Read the rest of Race Report: Marine Corps Marathon (1,309 words)

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Race Report: 2009 Worldwide Half

Carrie — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:23:29 +0000

Hey, did you guys know this weekend was the Worldwide Festival of Races? You can still register and participate if you want, I believe! Last year, I ran the Festival’s 10K, but this year, the half-marathon lined up quite nicely with my taper for Marine Corps.

Like last year, I ran alone – or, rather, with the running club, who had no idea that a competition was happening in our midst. I started early, before the bulk of the group arrived, so it was only with the last six miles that I had company. Nobody was running at my particular pace today, so I ran by myself anyway. It was cold today; we’re actually in a frost advisory! I had to wear cold weather gear for the first time this season, including gloves and a hat. Other than eliciting a frequent cough from my unadjusted lungs, though, the cold didn’t bother me much until I had to stop running at the end. We ran through cemeteries as our planned course today – appropriate for the season, though it might have been nicer to have more dead leaves crackling underfoot. It feels like we jumped straight from our very mild summer directly into the shivers, but that’s probably due mostly to the aforementioned mildness; when your temps rarely break the eighties, it’s easy not to notice when they start sliding into the forties more often than the sixties.

The race was uneventful, which seems sort of boring, but when taken in context of being one of my last runs before the marathon, boring is exactly what I want right now. Let’s save excitement for another time, shall we? I also didn’t push the pace as much as I might have, for the same reason. This is taper time, and I’m a more cautious trainer than I was before the first marathon. Dull = awesome, as far as I’m concerned right now!

I did a mile warm-up before running the half-marathon distance, which both seemed the wisest course and also fit in with the training plan’s dictated fourteen miles for the day. The race distance took me 1:51:53 to complete – a respectable time for my efforts, I think. No banana or bagel tables after a virtual race, but we hit a nearby coffeehouse, which was more my speed, anyway.

Now, to enjoy my virtual goodie bag! If you run any of the races (there’s a 5K!), let me know!

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Race picture

Carrie — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:36:59 +0000

Since Sean wasn’t there to take pictures this year (miss you guys!), I was pleased to see that there was at least one decent shot from yesterday. Running in the USA has over 500 photos, and I saw a bunch of people I know, so if you ran yesterday, it’s definitely worth the clicking!

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Race Report: Lighthouse Run 2009

Carrie — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:46:15 +0000

EDIT: I came in second in my age group! They’ll mail me my medal.

That…that was warm. I appreciate what you’re saying, Cory, about other climes being much hotter, but we’re used to something a bit more temperate up here, and we train most of the time in cooler temps. Mid-seventies is at least twenty degrees warmer than my favorite running weather, and over the course of the race, the mercury rose up into the eighties, which took a huge toll on all of us.

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I am a marathoner.

Carrie — Sat, 02 May 2009 20:46:04 +0000

The short story: 3:54. In the Inaugural Wisconsin Marathon, I broke 4 hours.

The long story begins around mile 7; before that, it was business as usual. I lined up in the Cheesehead starting corral, which put me in front of roughly 1,975 other people (2,000 were running, 600 of which were planning to do the full marathon). Gun went off, and so did I, and twenty seconds in, my Cheesehead hat was in the proud hands of some spectator woman to whom I tossed it, saying, “Here, have a Cheesehead!” (A guy behind me said, “Hey, you can’t do that!” but I’m stumped as to why. )

(...)
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Run into the New Year Race Report!

Carrie — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 22:26:15 +0000

Find more videos like this on RuncastTV

(Why is it that whenever a video cuts to a shot from within the recording, it always picks the frame where I look like a complete idiot?)

Find more videos like this on RuncastTV

Things that didn’t get into the videos: I came in 232nd in a field of 570-some runners, and 8th out of 36 in my age group. Karen, the friend who ran as well, was great fun to hang out with before and afterward, and I’m looking forward to doing more local races with her in the coming year. Sam was mildly impressed by my medal, but Gabe was disappointed that it wasn’t “golden.” (Telling him that even the first-place medals didn’t look gold didn’t make it better.) So, that’s two medals for age-group finishes in 2008! I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself at this point, and I hope my performance continues to improve in the new year.

Tonight we’ll celebrate the end of the year with the bottle of champagne and snack-type foods, and it’ll be that weird, anticlimactic experience that New Year’s is when you’re anywhere outside of the eastern time zone and not in a place that makes up for the delay. “Yay, the ball dropped!…we have another hour to kill. Um, anybody for Trivial Pursuit?” Happy New Year, everyone.

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Happy Thanksgiving – and a Turkey Day race report!

Carrie — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:53:35 +0000

It’s a good day to be thankful – for all the major things, of course, like health, family, God’s providence, freedom, and chocolate. Today I’m especially thankful for opportunities to laugh, as they just make the rest of life so much easier. It’s hard to feel sober when your four-year-old is “breakdancing” with an expression of utmost seriousness on his face, or when your seven-year-old admits to you that he really sort of kind of likes a girl in his class…and another girl in his class…and a girl in the next class…and, oh, yeah, that other girl in his class…

So if you’ve made me laugh in the past year, or even just crack a smile on a down day, know that I’m feeling especially thankful for you today. You don’t have to be an American, either; I’ll still eat some pie (or possibly bread pudding? The jury’s still out) in your honor!

And among the other things for which I’m thankful today are bright skies, warm-ish temperatures, and a race course with only a very few patches of ice to slow me down! I did the 10K distance in the Kenosha Turkey Day Run this morning (last year I did the 2 mile), and I finished in 52:38, which is about a minute faster than my previous PR. That put me 6th in my age group! It was a huge field of runners, so I was pretty pleased with that standing. There were bunches of people there from the running club, and it was fun to cheer for everybody I saw. Then, of course, there were the costumed runners you get for themed runs such as this one; I saw a guy dressed as a hot dog, one dressed as a chicken, and one guy in head-to-toe neon green, including a mask that completely covered his entire head and face.

I did start out way too fast, but I managed to hold that pace throughout. By the last mile, I was really feeling it, though; at the last half-mile, I tried to give myself a pep talk to keep moving, but what came out of my mouth was sort of a, “GRAHHHHHHH!” My “battle yell” startled the guy in front of me, who jumped visibly; sorry about that.

Anyway, tired now. Going to rest a bit before food prep starts in earnest. Happy Turkey Day to everybody celebrating!

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Runners: Open Thread (and Race Report!)

Carrie — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 17:15:41 +0000

Today, I went out and ran 10K for the Worldwide Festival of Races! As of right now, I’m in fifth place for the 10K race, and first place for women! Of course, the Festival lasts all weekend, so I doubt I’ll stay in that position for long. Still, go me!

I did my 10K while running with the running club: first a mile, to warm up, then 6.2 more miles along Lake Michigan downtown. I finished the race component in 53:29, which isn’t half bad! It was warmer than I hoped it would be (already 60 degrees when I woke up at 6 AM), and in my efforts to expand on the group’s route to encompass enough distance, I managed to route and reroute myself up a couple of really challenging hills. I may completely lose all credibility among nonrunners by saying this, but…I actually really sort of like uphills. Not the really slow, shallow ones that go on forever, so much, but give me a really steep incline that goes for a few hundred yards, and some switch in me flips to “primal.” My heart’s pounding in my ears, and my legs are pushing as hard as they can, and I just feel so powerful I could scream. Arrrrrrgh, yeah!

Wait, whatcha doing with that white coat?

Anyway, loads of fun. And there’s still time to sign up and run, if you want! Do the “Kick the Couch” 5K, if you haven’t put in the training to do 10K (or the half-marathon, even)! There’s even a virtual “goody bag” with an awesome free mp3 to download. If you don’t race, go for a run, anyway. Let me know about it!

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Komen Race Report

Carrie — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 22:10:07 +0000

I’d say, “Don’t ask me how I did it,” but I’m well aware of how. Starting off a race way too fast, and knowing it, and deciding, “Ah, what the heck; it’s only a 5K!” may be a recipe for a personal best time, but it’s also a good way to get a stitch in your side that persists over the entire second half of the race.

I didn’t slow down anyway.

I finished the race in 24:44, Garmin-time (the chip times aren’t up on the website yet). EDIT: My chip time was 24:44 – go, Garmin accuracy! And I was 11th in my age group, 253rd overall! That’s about a minute and a half off my previous PR at the Steve’s Encore race. I got helped along not only by my stubborn idiocy, but by better organization this year; instead of having a giant, slow-moving herd of people starting all at once, they had signs for mile pace times, so people could start at the appropriate spot in the crowd. Neato! Perhaps, though, it should have been a sign for me of what my body was intending when I lined up well ahead of any pace I’ve ever maintained in a 5K before now.

It was, again, a powerful experience. Seeing the various teams lined up, under the banner of “Team Jessie” or “For Grandma Marie” was enough that I was tearing up before I’d even warmed up. But it was such a positive thing, seeing everybody come together in the name of fighting to beat this thing that reaches out for so very many women and men every year.

The slogan for the event is “Someday, this will only be a race.” Days like today, with the vision of that crowd still hanging in my head, I can truly believe it.

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He did it!

Carrie — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:21:30 +0000

Yesterday was Sam’s duathlon!

It was a pretty day. I went out that morning for a bike ride, intending to follow the trail south to the Illinois border, but I made a mistake in the next town south where the trail jogs east a bit, so I got very lost and had to use my Garmin to find my way back. That disrupted my rhythm, and I never really regained it. On the other hand, I did get to witness a massive tire blowout for a road biker who passed me near the velodrome. Very loud! Those skinny tires may go fast, but they sure are intolerant of sharp things. The guy had two buddies helping him change the flat as I passed, so he was okay.

Then we headed to the county fairgrounds for Sam’s race. He was nervous, and the wait for his age group’s heat didn’t make him feel better. He did manage to distract himself by perusing all the other bikes around him, though. He thinks he wants a road bike next; the idea of shifting gears fascinates him, and he wants to fly fast.

“Fast” wasn’t exactly the way the actual race went for him, unfortunately; he finished, as he put it, “right in front of last.” Just as I expected him to, he started off the first run at a pace too fast for him (though he was one of the last to the bikes), so he was exhausted for the bike part and did a lot of coasting. But he finished! He was very cheered when I told him that he finished in the same position that I did on my first race. Eric was concerned that finishing so far back of the pack would discourage Sam from racing again, but he’s already talking about next year!

Gabe was frustrated that he wasn’t racing, but it didn’t inspire him to want to learn to bike. No, he told me that he just wants a “running race.” I’ll have to find a good Fun Run for him. He had a blast cheering at the top of his lungs for all the competitors.

The organizers had hoped to raise $1,000, since this was this race’s first year. At the start of the race, they had raised $5,500 for the Special Olympics! What an awesome experience! Sam raised $155. Thank you, everybody!

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Steve’s Encore Race Report

Carrie — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 18:21:36 +0000

Well, would you look at that? I took first place in my age group in today’s race!

The Steve’s Encore race is on that gorgeous cross-country course, and I went out early today to put in some miles on it before the race; after all, the start time wasn’t until 9, and the day wasn’t going to be getting any cooler. I didn’t want to have to run the bulk of the scheduled twelve miles in the hottest part of the day! Four and a half miles worth of warm-up: check. It felt easy and good; my legs weren’t a bit tired when I stopped.

The race itself felt far less scary to me than it did last year. I chatted at the start line with a few guys, and the gun went off and we were running before any nerves kicked in. I felt like I was moving incredibly slow, but that was mainly because the crowd took off really fast; a herd of high school track stars led the way, followed by people who were sure they could handle the opening hill at a quick pace. As it turned out, many of them couldn’t, and I was able to pass them halfway up.

For the first mile, I followed a woman in a pink tank top, trailing her. Finally passing her felt really good. I decided to keep up the speed I’d used to pass for as long as I could, though I was still pretty sure I wasn’t going to be getting any personal records; sandy, gravelly trails can be dangerous, and I didn’t want to risk my ankles for a 5K.

But in the end, the PR was mine! I finished in 26:14, and the pink tank top girl never did get back in front of me. Hee! I was happy with my time, but I was shocked when they posted the results and one of the guys to whom I had been talking came back from looking at them and said, “Let me be the first to congratulate you on your win.” On my what, now?

And then, after winning a doorprize (a framed picture of muscle cars for the boys), and after saying goodbye to everybody else, I went back out and did five more miles. They, too, felt awesome.

It was a really, really good day for running. And also for curry, which Eric made for me when I got home. Could things get better?

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Grrr…

Carrie — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 15:46:13 +0000

The official results have me finishing a lot slower than what the clock said! I wish I’d remembered to hit “stop” on my Garmin, but I was too stunned. They also have me as a man; that’s probably the fault of the people at Eric’s company, through which team I was registered. (They originally had me down for the two-mile Fun Run accidentally, so I’ll assume further errors were also theirs.)

Sheesh. Well, I know I finished in less than 90 minutes. But I didn’t beat Christa.

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Lighthouse Run Race Report!

Carrie — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 13:32:34 +0000

This got long. (Now with pictures, courtesy of Sean!)

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HOLY CRAP!!!

Carrie — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 16:25:48 +0000

Goal time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

Actual finish time: 1 hour, 16 minutes, 40 seconds.

Race report to come later!

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ACS Race Report

Carrie — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:18:06 +0000

Well, it was freezing out. I mean, it might, just barely, have reached into the 40′s, but it was extremely windy and gray, so that it felt much colder than it probably was. The other woman from the family club who was supposed to do the run with me (she was going to walk, though) decided not to brave it, since she would have had to bring her one-year-old with her.

I don’t know how many other people were kept away by the weather, but it wasn’t a large group of people at all. Very informally run, as well; the digital timing clock wasn’t even available, since it was apparently broken. We were told, “If you want to know your finishing time, make sure to check your watches!” Nice. But I had planned to do that, anyway, so it wasn’t a hardship.

Took off way too fast out of the starting lineup. Something about the small crowd, composed mostly of walkers, managed to convince me that I was going to be able to maintain a seven-minute-mile pace. I kept going, though, and even though the wind was blowing like crazy (the birds around the lake at the center of the path were hysterically funny to watch, being swept all over the sky) and I was really hurting by the last mile, I held my time under nine minutes per mile for most of the run. My final time was 27:15 – a new personal best! I have no idea where I placed; they only kept records of the first and second finishers for each age group. But I beat my goal!

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Race Report

Carrie — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 19:38:41 +0000

Well, I did it!

It was as bad as I could have predicted, weather-wise. At least 60%, if not more like 70%, of the course was completely covered in snow, ice, or slush. It was very slippery in patches; in the third and fourth miles, I was repeatedly losing my footing, though I never actually went down. It really had a negative impact on my time, which was 54:01 for the 8K. Still, I’ll take it; that puts my pace under the 11-minute mile mark, which isn’t too bad for my first time running in those conditions. I’ll do better next time.

I think this is a very similar course – starts at the same spot, anyway – as the Blarney 5K I want to do in March. Actually, yep, that’s it, except that they cut out the part where we ran through a park area across Swan Boulevard. Nuts! That part was actually sort of fun, although it was one of the icy parts. Went over a little footbridge and in wooded areas…very pretty.

Worked up a good lather, too! Even though the temperatures were in the mid-20s (Fahrenheit), I still took off my balaclava for the last portion. Gabe giggled when he saw me at the end. “Sweaty!”

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Dashing through the snow

Carrie — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 21:55:12 +0000

New running mask! I’m a ninja!

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Woo!

Carrie — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 20:55:03 +0000

They clocked me at 19:43 (for 2 miles)! That’s a smidge faster than I think is accurate; the Garmin says I finished in just over twenty minutes. Still, not bad! I actually came in fourth in my age group, but they only had medals for the top three. It wasn’t even all that slippery, but I will need to get some sort of covering for my mouth and nose (like so). Inaccessible runny nose is far and away trumped by an inability to exhale.

Now, to gingerbread house making, and turkey carving, and family chattering, and football mostly-ignoring. Oh, and God thanking. Pretty full day, and wonderfully so. Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating today!

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Race photos

Carrie — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 23:54:58 +0000

Eric snapped this at about the 2.5 mile point, waving down from an overhead bridge.

Not my official time; it took me several seconds to get to the starting line. The official time came from the chip attached to my shoe.

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Personal Record!

Carrie — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 20:11:37 +0000

I finished the race in 41:30! That’s my best time yet!

A very large (tall, not fat), very exuberant man who I kept passing and who kept passing me for the first part of the race (and who I did eventually pass for good) came up to me afterwards and just gushed about how well I did. “I kept trying to pass you, but I just couldn’t! You did really, really good! I used to run All-State, back in high school, but I couldn’t catch you!” He made me grin.

Good day.

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Woot!

Carrie — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 15:03:10 +0000

I did it!

That course was hard. I wound up walking far, far more than I did on my first 5K run, especially at the end; there was one point in that last mile where a hill appeared in front of me that looked more like a wall than anything I could climb (probably about here:

…yeah), and I just wanted to stop right then and there. Can’t do it, no way. But I did.

And with all that walking, I didn’t come in last – I beat four people! – and I did beat my last 5K record! True, it wasn’t by much, but I did! I had a time of 46:01, which impressed me, considering the walking and the course.

Now…I’m off to the County Fair!

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Race pictures

Carrie — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 14:17:43 +0000

Beware: fat lady running.

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I DID IT!!!

Carrie — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 14:16:14 +0000

I had two goals: first, to finish the darn thing, and second, as I said, to finish in under an hour.

My finish time: 46:57.

I only had to walk twice, both times in the second mile, when I was trying to make it up hills. There was a woman, Beth, who stayed with me; she normally walks 5Ks, but we hung together, and she wound up with one of her own fastest times! It helped me, too, because I wanted to keep a non-embarrassing pace for both of us.

Wahoo! I did it! Now, what should I do with my paper number?

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