Publix Georgia Marathon

Wow the hills! I knew the area around the CNN tower and Emory University was hilly and I looked at the topography map of the marathon but wow. 26.2 miles of up and down. Up and down. At about mile 6 I figured out the theme. Up and down. Beautiful course by parks, Emory University, Georgia Tech, and St Agnes. Extremely well organized and supported. Lots of cheering at all aide stations. Great weather at 55 and cloudy. Addie ran the half and Tom, Carol, and I ran the full. We stayed at the Embassy Suites which was right outside the start. Perfect. It was so nice running another half with Addie two weeks in a row. Pretty pround of the college freshman sucking it up and doing two halves in two weeks. I ran a good 20 miles then started to have left hip/leg cramps in the last twenty. I was forced to walk DOWN the hills and could run up. How crazy. Frustrated that I could not make time on the downhills. My hydration and nutrution was good. My hips just could not handle the hills. Not bad. 4:44 finish. Not my worst by far. I enjoyed the whole thing. We met the Team in Training Atlanta chapter that Addie plans to join this summer.
Mom started chemotherapy this week and so far so good. Her attitude is wonderful.
We brought her back a Team in Training hat. Funny that favorite colors are green and purple. It all works. Now will turn my focus to tri training with a surge towards Grandmas in June if all is good at home.

Be fearless in the face of your fears

My new mantra. It is working so far. Did a PR at New Orleans that was unexpected. Many events scheduled. Making plans without worries. Then my mother has back pain. Nothing out of the ordinary for a 77 yo women that is very active. Then it got worse. Trip to ER. MRI abnormal. CT scan shows diffusely enlarged lymph nodes. Biopsy a few hours later. Non Hodgkin's lymphoma stage III. Frozen. Get a grip. Line up the team. I am so fortunate to have so many resources at my disposal. So many friends. All lining up to help. Suddenly, I have learned to slow and take one moment at a time. Nothing for granted.
Atlanta marathon on for this Sunday then Mom starts chemo Monday. My race will be over and hers will be starting. I will be her support crew. My race means nothing. Hers everything. I joined Team in Training yesterday to honor her race. I will raise funds for them for her and all of those less fortunate. My hope is that she can be at the finish at the Savannah marathon in the fall healthy. I will still help the wounded warriors but I must honor support her race and help fight her fight.
So we will take one day at a time and help each other and fight the fight and appreciate what each day has to offer. I will be linking my team in training web site and updating as we go along.

PB when you least expect it

Two marathons completed so far this year. Miami and Mardi Gras. I have been running less and cross training more so I really have not developed the confidence that I have enough to finish a marathon strong. My running sessions have been more specific with intervals once a week, a tempo run and a longer run. The longer runs have been to time and not to distance and I have not run longer then 17 miles. Most runs 14 or 15 miles. They have had tempo miles in them however. I have run 45 minutes at 9:30 pace multiple times. My best marathon pace was 10:35 min miles. I have determined my anaerobic threshold is high 150s to 160s so I tried to run Miami avoiding then160s til the end. In that marathon I had a bonk zone miles 21,22, and 23 then came back and finished strong. I didn't think it was hydration but more low sugar. I have had trouble tolerating the gels late and have fear given the Marine corps experience of 2004.
After 12 marathons, I have learned to avoid dairy the night before. I believably the power off endurlyes to stave off muscle cramps and fatigue. I have not been happy with my pre race breakfast. I am convinced it needs to be twe hours before the marathon starts. This marathon I had coffee maker oatmeal: one packet of oatmeal in a glass and run water through the coffee pot with a packet of sugar. I also had a small cup of coffee and a mini cliff bar. I sipped on a bottle of heed til about an hour before the race.
The temperature was 39f. A little cold for me. I had on thin tights and a 2x compression top with my TeamHope race shirt on top. Still running with the Brooks Launch and injingi toe socks. Learning what mental plan works best for me. Justnlike everything else in my life. Little chunks at a time. No big loads. First 10k then get to half marathon. First 6 miles sports drink then start the gels every three to four miles. Take them with water bits at a time. Sports drink on other stops to thirst. I took endurlytes every half hour after the first hour. I then look to get to mile 20. First to 15 and 17. That is the first spot I can get into trouble. I felt good at Mardi Gras. I substituted a bag of sports beans at 17 to brak it up. I dont need water with them. The next goal is 20 miles just an hour to go. Then just one at a time. I took a mini bag of skittles at 24 miles. Rocket fuel for last two miles. I try to push mile 25 and 26 and enjoy the crowds. It worked for Mardi Gras this time for an all time PB 4:26:48.
Looking at spits only a couple of pace dips so there is a little wiggle room. I still have hopes for the sub four before the big slide. Next up Sarasota half then Atlanta marathon. Must do hill work.

Plans for the new year

January 2 and I am registered for four marathons. Miami, Mardi Gras, Atlanta and Grandmas. So much for the specific training for times. It looks more like a survival plan. Peer pressure has definitely got the better of me. I think team Joule needs help.
I will begin to fund raise for wounded warriors and plan to run each event for that particular charity. I also plan to keep cross training to transition into triathlons. Sprint distance in the spring and then a 70.3 in August perhaps. Certainly it will be an odd way to base train for triathlons but you need to start somewhere.
Starting tomorrow back to training diet which is mostly vegetarian. Breakfast and lunch vegan then dinner varies. I have found dairy is not my friend so it is easy to avoid.
Happy New Year to all !

My 120 pound journey.

Marine Corps Marathon 2010

Another marathon in the books. 4:49. Not a PB or a bust and I did not have negative splits. Many positives. A new reason to run....because I can. The weather was perfect. Sunny and high forties in the beginning and high fifties at the end. The route was beautiful, scenic, and challenging. It is hard not to be patriotic in such a setting with the marines all around and so much pride all around. I am truely proud to be an American.
The positives. My prerace meal was good. A gluten free Java chocolate brownie and water three hours before the marathon start. 10oz of water/gatorade mix right before the start. No hunger at or low sugar feelings at all. I decided to carry only Gu gels and take the Powerade on the course. I began with a full cup of Powerade alternating with a full cup of water with a Gu at the aide stations which were a little further then 2 miles apart. I did get a little thirsty during the second half. If it had been much warmer, hydration may have been an issue. I took endurlyes after 2 hrs for a total of 4 alternating with aminoacid tablets from Hammer. They worked out well. I should have taken more. At mile 19 they gave away Sportbeans which I took and ate one by one. It did help the cramping I was feeling at mile 16 to eighteen. I think the fatigue was more related to decreased training miles instead of caloric depletion but I am not sure. I do not think I could have taken more Gus'. Maybe more sportsbeans.
I never lost my head and I felt I was present most of the race. In the beginning I focused on keeping my HR below 160. I did not want to go lactic and have a 5 plus hour marathon because of pushing for a pace I wanted versus a pace I could handle. I also never had a low moment when I just did'nt care. I kept trying to keep my HR greater then 150 during the second half to maintain pace. During the last three miles I kept pushing although the lap pace does not show so much repeating to myself that slower was not going to be less painful. I finished happy and hard and thanked each Marine I passed for there service. Semper Fi.
I found a new reason to run.. I can. I am healthy and free. Free because of our military who fight to maintain our fredom. Thank you all. At the expo my friend Sally noticed the Hope for Wounded Warriors table. This is an organization that raises money to help our wounded warriors with living expenses, education and other supportive services for them and their families. I was immediately sold. Sally's late husband was retired Navy and we loved him dearly. It would have pleased him so much to help these people. I bought a race shirt and immediately decided that this would be who I would run for from now on in future marathons and triathlons. I wore that shirt with pride and humility in honor of these wounded heros. Thank you.
Things to change. I need to go back to running 3 to 4 twenty mile long runs at whatever pace. I need a longer mid week run as well as the speed work. I think the cross training is good but no substitute for running when it comes to doing well in the marathon. I need to focus on more electrolytes and calculating my caloric intake during the race. I need to run.

Longboat Key Triathlon 2:13:47

One week to go before the Marine Corps Marathon, I decided to squeeze in another Triathlon. This was the longest yet with 1/2mile swim, 20 mile bike, and 5 mile run. It was the inaugural event for the Longboat Key Chamber and they did a fantastic job. No course glitches, plenty of pleasant volunteers and it was held at the resort. We ran most of the 5 miles on the golf course which is unheard of given the anti runner mentality of most golfers. I can say that having been a golfer and lived on a golf course but never anti runner. They were just skinny people having a good time killing themselves. Anyway, hats off to the race director. I guess the only bad thing that was not in there control was the tide and swim location.
Of course I worried about the water temperature the week before. Projected 76 to 78F. The morning of the race was a little warmer at 69F so it was not cold waiting around. The full moon over the bay was quite spectacular as we waited for the sun to come up and get started. I wished I had a picture. It was wetsuit legal but I followed coaches advise and girled up. No wetsuit which was fine. The bad part was the tide. You had to do a wade, jump, waddle for about 50yds or so to get deep enough to swim. Not in my training. So I floundered and jumped and got all out of breath before I ever put my head in the water. Then I was breathing so hard, I felt the need to breath every other stroke. Just could not settle down. When I made it to the first buoy it got a little better and a swam a good line along the next two. Then trouble started when we made the turn for shore and I swam way right. I had trouble seeing the shore flags and kept going right. Way right like 50 yds. So yes sighting needs work.
Transition to the bike was good. The course was great. Out 10 miles and back. I drank every 10 minutes. I thought I was crushing it into the wind and realized on the turn around that was not the wind direction. The way back was pretty gusty. I did manage to maintain my pace and finished the bike in an 1:00:51.
The run was mostly on the Longboat Key resort golf course and finished with the last 1.5 or so miles on the beach. Very pretty. Very well supported. I loosened up after the first quarter of a mile and was pretty comfortable the rest of the way. Given I will be running the marathon next week I did not push all out on the run.
Afterwards there was a great healthy feast under the big white tent. We enjoyed a great meal sitting out on the driving range. Well done.
Off to Washington, D.C. Friday.