CBus

Trisha Dodd ran her first half marathon today & we surprised her by showing up to cheer.  The morning started REALLY early ~ left Madison just after 4 am ~ just before 6 we stopped for breakfast & I had to take a picture of the small McDonald's coffee.  It doesn't even fit in Mike's hand.  {When did the small shrink?}  We had great directions to follow the course from a master course follower ~ Jen Ayala has chased her husband around this course for years...and her expertise paid off for us.  We got to our spot just past mile 4 & found a giant and clean port-a-pot ~ which probably saved the day.  I watched the start from someone's live Facebook feed & could feel that energy.  I need to pause here, and reiterate my Columbus Half Marathon Recap ~ this race has the BEST start ever.  Thunderstruck, fireworks, Born to Run.  It's just a rush of adrenaline and energy.  Someday I will run this full.

We watched the first wheelchair racer and then (much later) the second & that was all of the wheelchair racers I saw.  Maybe they all took a short cut, because I have a hard time believing there were only 2.  The Dodd boys had signs

And so did I.  This sounds very braggy to say, but I'm pretty proud of my signs.  This was my first one, that I held at mile 4.  Dodd lent me his hat, so I had the sign and an outstretched ball cap.  And people smiled and laughed.  That was my goal.  I wanted to give people a reason to smile.  Sometimes, when your running, you just need a reason to chuckle.  I didn't, however, get any donations.  Not even a gu.  Cheep marathon runners!  :)

Mike held this sign. Which really makes him laugh...because it's funny.

I held this sign at mile 9 and there were many people who said, "Thank you, I needed that."  One lady held her fist to her heart and tapped it there for me.  I know that when you're at your lowest, you just need to know that it won't last...that you have what it takes deep inside to do this crazy thing.    So I think that my signs encouraged people today & that makes me feel like I was successful.

So, there we were, at mile 4.a little bit, waiting for Trisha, Leslie, and Pat. We saw the elite runners go by...blistering speeds...and then the people just behind them...working so very hard...{and I got a little scared.  These people were pushing and hurting at mile 4 ~ I don't want that to be me in 2 weeks ~ they still had a LOOOOONNNNGGG way to go}  We saw many NERC people and cheered for many many strangers.  Lots of sparkle skirts and tutu's out there as well as two dudes dressed in Spartan Costumes.  

We were race tracking Trisha, Leslie & Pat.  When they got to 4 we really started looking for them.  Then it said, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 & we got really nervous that we had missed them.  So we just started yelling, "Go Pat!"  "Go Leslie!"  "Go Trisha!"  Finally we spotted them.  I think Trisha was surprised and pleased to see us there ~ and I got to take their coats ~ which is a small repayment for all the times I've thrown articles of clothing at her during a race!

So off we went to mile 9, by the hospital and a water stop.  Crowded ~ but we found them again.  Then to the finish & as Jen said, it's hard to find a legal parking spot.  We parked in a gravel lot that had a closed sign...but there were about 40 other cars doing the same thing, so we figured they couldn't tow us all.  We were able to get to the finish and see them come through.  It was pretty awesome being the cheering crew for someone's first half.

at mile 9

waiting at the finish

all done

Then we went to meet Patrick and Maggie for lunch at Red Robin (YUM).  Very good to see them & hear how they are doing.  Jacob was home for fall break this weekend, too, so it was a great one.

Northern Ohio

The Northern Ohio is a special race for me.  In it's very first year, 2013,  it was my very first marathon.  That year it started and ended in Fairport Harbor.  In 2014 it also started in Fairport & I ran the half.  I remember how excited I was to only be running the half.  I was not near as tried passing the 22 mile marker as I was when I passed it the year before.

Then in 2015 they changed the start/finish to Mentor Headlands.  That is my PR 1/2 marathon.  It was a great day; I was fast; everything fell into place.  I remember Leslie passing me around mile 6 & Dodd holding me back as I started to take off after her.  He said, "We'll get her."  And we did.  Funny how so much can change in a year.

I've been so slow.  I've struggled to breathe.  I've quit running 5k's ~ so I'm getting zero speed training.  The fastest I've run up until this week has been 9:15...and that was pushing it.  A calf cramp woke me up in the middle of the night...and I worked all morning just to get it to stop hurting ~  at the start I meet up with Leslie ~ who has become my "frienemy" this past year ~ and she says that she's going to keep 9:15/mile pace.  I haven't discussed it with anyone, but I really really want to run sub-9:00 for the race ~ with no idea if I can actually maintain.  I figure if I can't go under 9, I'd enjoy

Leslie's company.  We start together with lots of, "If you need to go ahead, please don't let me hold you back"  We ran 8:26 for the first mile & pushed each other most of the race.  I could not have maintained sub 9 without Leslie there.  It was a gift to be running with her.  At 10.5 she ran ahead, but I kept her in sight & finished just 30 seconds or so behind her.    At mile 12 I got a little emotional.  I did it.  I ran sub 9 ~ and it didn't kill me.  I haven't felt that accomplished in a very long time.  I'm a runner again.

And we end up in the same post-race shirt. 

It was POURING rain at 6:30 when we drove into the parking lot at Headlands.  The rain stopped around 7:08...Just time enough to hit the port-a-pot (where there wasn't a line) and get a little warm up in.  Then we started.  Dodd had an amazing run & was first in line for a massage when I finished.  I got in line for one too...loved Al's magic fingers.  We were not good with a pre-race in the rain selfie so I took this one as we were waiting for Mike to finish his full.

And we waited as the sun came out and it got a little hot.  Then this huge storm rolled in over the lake & with Mike in his last 2.5 miles...it down-poured.  He finished with a smile on his face & very wet clothes.  The man is a beast and he's talking about joining our 20 mile training run next week.  

A great day & I'll be back!

Run log

September ~ 

My birthday month and the first month I didn't make a single post in this blog ~ 

Getting used to being without children.

School is in full swing.

Cross Country takes my afternoons.

Marathon training gets squeezed in.

Got our Team Beef Ohio swag this month.  Totally love my backpack/coaching bag.  It's got all the pockets I could ever want, a place for shoes in the front & a place for a water bottle on the side.  We also received gloves & a visor & a check for $300 in race reimbursements {sending in the race receipts was a little shocking ~ seeing what we spent in races last year}   And this week we got STEAKS ~ and tonight we ate the filet mignon.  Best steak I've eaten.,

We went to Mount Union to see Jacob in his first collegiate tennis match ~ he played exhibition doubles ~ we missed the match due to me having to be in CPI training ~ but he won & we got to watch the varsity play & then take JB to Applebees for dinner.  It was great to see him & see him happy at Mount.  Sitting at the tennis courts, looking around at campus, I realized that none of the buildings I could see were there when I was a student.  The tennis courts are new, the two dorms are new, the athletic facility is new.  The only thing that was there was the football field & even that has been redone.  Sad in a way...but not bad.

Mike and Dodd ran the Run for the Grapes 5k over Grape Jamboree weekend.  I chickened out...ran 11 miles to the race, 2 miles during, cheering them on & 3 home to make my 16 for the day.  I had a great time running & cheering.  However, my husband seems to think I'm slightly obnoxious with my cheering.  I think I embarassed him.  Doing a little research, no one seemed to think you could cheer too loudly and told me to keep up the cheering.  So I will cheer for all except for Mike...who will get a dismissing pffft and flick of the hand. {maybe...I probably won't be able to stop myself from cheering}  Back to the chickened out part...Just not ready to race a 5k and run a 26...27 minute 5k.  I've gotten so SLOW.  My legs finally feel ready to go faster.  Maybe it's been the cooler temps this week.  I certainly hope so.  I miss being able to easily run 8:30 -8:40 minute pace.  9:00 minute pace has not been an easy pace recently...and I'm sad about it.

September ~ my birthday recap.  I came downstairs for the first time as a 48 year old to balloons ~ Happy Birthday Princess, no less ~ a breakfast & my lunch ready to be packed.  And a new Garmin

watch! I love it.  It has activity tracking so I'm rather obsessed with my daily step count.  It also has sleep monitoring...but I've yet to wear it to bed.  I really don't think I want to know how little sleep I get per night.  However, to continue my amazing 48th birthday story...school was fun and Couch gave me a tiara ~ which I wore, of course, until it started to hurt my head.  Then I came home after practice and my run {with my new watch..."new record, fastest mile"  "new record, longest distance" new record, fastest 5k"...gotta love a new watch} and Mike and Dodd were preparing a dinner of steak, shrimp and crab legs.  The Dodd boys told me they were my birthday surprise.  It was a great birthday!  Wish my boys could have been here ~ but I got sweet birthday messages from both of them.

Friday was twin day at school.  Couch and I needed to wear our tiaras ~ so we donned matching shirts & were cowgirl princesses.  So much fun to work with these peeps!



Running for the month.  Lots of segmented runs...some with the team and then a few more miles after practice.   Some early morning runs.  {every early morning run, I've run into other runners.  Pretty cool.}  The long runs have all been done... some with people and some alone {we figured we better practice running alone so it wouldn't be a total shock in the marathon}  It's gotten better.  I've started to inch my pace to sub-9 minute miles.  Some of it is lack of practice, but most of it is lack of confidence.  My body broke once while running...I don't want that to happen again.
Cross Country is going very well.  Today we hosted our U Wanna Come Back invitational.  Only one middle school team signed up & I'm so glad they did.  The kids ran VERY well & I didn't screw it up.  Art is in Denver ~ so I was in charge...and I don't do well under pressure.  The only goofy thing I did was hitting the wrong button on the start of the boys race.  Luckily Mike was my back up timer so I knew I was 3 seconds off by the time I got it going.  I had to add 3 to all the times...but it wasn't a problem.  Hopefully more the high school teams come back next year & bring the middle schoolers.  It's a good course ~ even if it's not very spectator friendly.

The marathon is less than a month away.  Mike is running Northern Ohio Full tomorrow as his last long training run.  Dodd and I are doing the half. Next week will be our final long run and then a three week taper.
I'm starting to get less anxious and more excited. starting...

September Running Log:

September Totals:

141.26 for the month 
1093.38 miles for the year 

242.32 miles in my Gortex Ghosts ~no Gortex runs this month

469.15 miles in my Old gray Brooks Glycerin 13 My Camp Stig Shoes 

321.74 miles in my old defective pink Brooks Glycerin 13 

115.19 miles in my NEW PINK Brooks Glycerin 13 ~ and guess what...they are pulling away from the soles just like the other pink ones.  Must be a pink thing.  I'm not going to complain.  I'm just going to run in them.

43.34 miles in my NEW teal/blue Brooks Glycerin 13 ~ funny to have two new pairs of shoes.  I'm rotating them like crazy.  I shouldn't need new shoes until late spring.

Training for:     MARINE CORP MARATHON, October 31, 2016! and along the way ~ Northern Ohio Half Marathon, October 2.

Podcasts I'm listening to: Marathon Training Academy, Dear Sugar, Story Corp & Reply All

My WEIGHT: 140.2 on September 30.  Not bad considering all the eating I'm doing!

Some interesting facts:

Longest run this month:   20  Went much better than the 18 I did in August.  Still hot and humid...but we got it done and done well.

What hurts?: NOTHING!

Highest  weekly mileage this month:  52.11 miles from September 4 to September 11

Favorite place to run this month: Geneva Bike Path.  Ran there between rain storms on Thursday.  The Lake was angry, the sky was blue, gray, black and full of big clouds.  Very cool run.

Monthly mileage record: 156.69 ~ March 2015 {purposely ran 8 (on a treadmill) on March 30 to beat the August 2013 record}
Highest mileage ever-at-one-time:  26.36 ~ May 17, 2015 The Cleveland Marathon

PR's:
5K: 22:30 (Run For the Grapes 9/28/14)
10K:  49:40 (Greenway 10k 3/20/16)
10-miler: 1:21:29 (Hermes Cleveland 10-miler 4/28/12)

20-miler: 2:45:15 (20 mile Drop 4/10/16)
half-marathon: 1:44:42 (Northern Ohio Half Marathon 10/4/15)
marathon: 3:57:31 (The Cleveland Marathon 5/17/15)