It feels like I have been training for Marathons for over a year, and well I guess I have. We started training for Chicago in April 2007. As most people know Chicago did not turn out as planned, yes we were all able to finish but it wasn't what we had expected so several of us wanted to find another Marathon right away. The first pick was PF Chang's Rock n Roll Marathon. We tentatively started training with that goal in mind, but for several reasons we decided it wasn't going to workout. In the meantime I started doing Cheryl's long runs with her while she was training for the Little Rock Marathon. Finally we decided we were going to do the Country Music Marathon in Nashville. It was perfect by training with Cheryl for her marathon I was building a great base for my own Marathon training.
Pretty soon Michele and Kelly were also running with Cheryl and I and we had our own little training group going on. We occasionally had guest runners who would join us and Cheryl also came to Cabot to run with the Cruisers on a few occasions.
Nashville training went well and our last big 20 miler was duirng a torrential down pour with thunder and lightening in the distance. It was a tough run but when it was a rainy start to the Nashville Marathon we were grateful we had already experienced way worse!!!
Well before we even got to Nashville I had signed up for the San Francisco Marathon. My new friend Bailey and I were having lunch one day and the subject came up.. well before you know it I'm signed up and soon after with very little arm twisting Cheryl and Michele also commit to San Francisco.
During the Nashville/CMM Marathon around mile 18 I was really kicking myself for signing up for another marathon before I had even completed this one. I was having a lot of self doubt and swore I was NEVER doing another marathon, or at least not for a very long time.
I had to back down on my mileage and then eventually take almost two weeks off after Nashville to let my calf heal so I was a little worried about San Francisco but before too long we were back in training.
Although we had some really great training runs especially the long runs I kept thinking I can't wait to take a break from Marathon training. We had planned on running the Disney World Marathon in January, I thought I could take it easy for about a month, keep up a long run base of 10-12 miles and just like I said take it easy. WELL Arland and I decided that we were not going to do Disney after all. It would have been a very expensive trip and Arland really had no desire to go to Disney World plus with his PF we really don't know if he will be able to run a full marathon this winter.
I was pretty bummed... I was still floating along on my San Franciso high and I knew I didnt' want to wait until Spring to run another Marathon. What to do. What to do?
After mulling over it for a few days it hit me... why not just do the Full Marathon at St. Jude in Memphis instead of the 1/2. We already have rooms reserved and there are a ton of Cabot people going. So now I am going to be jumping right back into Marathon training!!! I guess I'm just addicted!! I've also signed up for another marathon in February but I'm not going to post about it right now... I have to tell Arland first!! LOL I hope I get to talk to him before he reads this!
I have a pretty full race schedule leading up to Memphis.....
Clear Mountain 5K
Sarah Low 5K
50 miles of the Big Dam Bridge 100 miler Bike Ride
The Great Duck Race 10K
Spa 10K
I'm sure there are others but these I know for sure off the top of my head.
Oh almost forgot I might possibly go back to Spring Field MO. and do the Bass Pro 1/2 Marathon.
A full schedule but it makes me happy and it keeps me running!!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Bailey's San Francisco Marathon Race Report
San Francisco Race Report
It's been over a week since the marathon, but I think I've finally got it all worked out in my mind. And the overall feeling I have is: disappointment. That's right. I'm disappointed. I had fun, I enjoyed the city, I loved that my mom and my best friend were there every few miles, I ran with the best girls in the world. It's hard to describe. So let me start at the beginning...
Training for the marathon began on a sour note as I was injured with a supposed "stress fracture." I still wonder about that. Once I got on the move things just fell into place. I had wonderful long runs (except for that last 15 miler...) coached by Coach Annette. Truthfully, my marathon happened the day we ran our 21 miler. I'd never run that far before and I was anxious and nervous. So when Michele and Annette told me I ran 21 miles I was over the moon. I did it. And felt good. I'll never forget that run.
So the girls flew in on Thursday, I flew in on Friday and Mom picked me up. We met the girls at the Expo who then showered me with gifts and love which I very much appreciate and am grateful for. I still wasn't really feeling the excitement of the marathon. Not dreading it, but just wasn't feeling it. But I was trying to pretend it didn't exist either, so goal accomplished!
Race morning began with getting my Medusa picture taken, getting dressed, and STILL trying to ignore what I was getting ready to do. How long can you really do that? Apparently you can do it up through 25 miles of a marathon. We walked to the starting line with a wonderful little chill in the air. The four of us did our bathroom thing and the nervous dance while waiting for our wave to start. I was looking around checking things out when I see the girls hop into wave 7. I figured out later why we did, but I was confused at first. Which is normal, if I know what's going on before a race I might be dangerous!
And off we go! The marathon shuffle had begun! It felt that way until mile 10. I passed by In N Out while we were running through Fisherman's Wharf and you would think I found the Holy Grail. I moved from California to England to Arkansas so In N Outs are hard to come by... The view running up to the Gate was cool, brought back memories of my brother asking his fiancee to marry him. Running across the bridge was painful. It was hop scotch over the crappy road, frogger trying to get past the walkers/talkers/iPod listeners, and some internal politics within myself. I didn't get to enjoy the fun of looking up at the railing and swoops and redness of the bridge because I was worried about stepping on the heels in front of me. I told Annette at one point though, I never thought I'd be running on the bridge. I've driven across it hundreds of time, but never ran it. And I probably won't again. Once in a lifetime chance there. Cool.
After the bridge Cheryl and I were looking forward to seeing Amber with the pretzels! And I was ready to shed my awesome sweatshirt- don't worry, it's still hanging around for the next marathon. Cheryl and I caught up to Annette before the end of the bridge and we ran up to Amber wondering who the heck she was talking to. It was Michele standing there like she was on a walk through the park. We got loaded up on snacks and smiles before we headed off again.
The half way point was great because the crowd thinned out. I mean- thin. Were we on the right course? There's the half way point... where's the crowd? Where is anyone? Helloooooo? The course through the park was unending. Honestly. How many times can we turn without leaving the park? I made sure we took our drugs and hydrated. I had started to loosen up and work it out by then so I was able to stop for Cheryl but run up to Annette. Did you know there were Buffalo in the Golden Gate Park? For serious! I lost Cheryl while she was taking pictures so I caught up with Annette. I truly felt good and could have ran past her and finished whenever I would have finished, but you know what? I didn't train by myself and I was sure as heck not going to finish my very first marathon by myself. Plus I like Annette. :) I didn't expect her to match my energy level, but I just hoped she would tell me to shut it and calm down. She never would though. Around one turn I saw a reflection of myself in a blonde girl who jumped up and down to cheer for a marathoner that passed. How irritating, but amusing. I imagine that if I were the one receiving her cheers I'd love it.
Towards the end (I think)of the park there was a guy sitting on a motorcycle and a friend sitting on a blanket next to him. I had some ants in my pants so I told them they were looking good or holding down the spot or something smartassed and the guy on the blanket said, "yeah, right on sister." I thought How very San Francisco. Loved it. FINALLY we exit the park up a hill (no kidding!?) and through a gate that opened onto a fountain people were sitting on. I did a mini Rocky move, how could you not?! Then we went on to Haight Street. My favorite street in the city. SO MANY memories running down this street. It was so nostalgic. From Ameoba records, to Arddvarks, to Idle Hands... it was all still there. If I knew how to cry I'd probably have shed a tear or something. We met up with Mom and more pretzels a couple of miles later and SHE IS SOOOO STINKIN' CUTE! I love her. She started crying and told me how proud she was. I know that she's always wanted to run a marathon, but the three kids she had sort of put that on the back burner. So this race was dedicated to her even though I didn't announce it to anyone. Again, if I knew how to cry, I would have probably shed some tears.
We keep on moving. I'm not wearing my Garmin so I have no idea where we are on the course. Oh, those huge mile marker signs? You look at those? Not this runner. I was cognizant that they were going by, but not really the number on them. After leaving Haight Street all I remember is bad music, steep hills, and scary streets until we turn by the AT&T stadium. I thought to myself, who in the world would volunteer or want to run the second half. Honestly? I was a little concerned for our safety more than once on this part of the course.
Anyway, there is a ridiculous step up around mile 24-25. Now was the step ridiculous or was the fact they put the step in front of a bunch of weird dancing people who are distracting you ridiculous? Who WERE those people?! And where did I miss the ecstasy handout? I got the Cytomax (yummy but makes you pee), the cold beer, and the gus, but missed the ecstasy. I ALSO missed my little nephew Austin dancing WITH the weirdos. Thankfully Amber took some pictures/videos and I could catch up. I remember looking at mile marker 25 and it sinking in that it was almost over. My smiling and grinning and kicking and laughing and joking and encouraging of Annette was almost over. I was sad. I truly was sad. Where was the wall? Where was the miserableness? Where was the soreness? And why are all these people walking backwards?
Mile 26ish the Roman Gladiator fights death and I'm super bummed. I know Annette was upset that she had to stop so close to the finish, but I wasn't. I got to spend more time running. :) We cross the finish line and it's over. I get a hug from the best running partner ever and go through the chute. And that's it. It's over. The training, the miles, the early mornings, the bathroom breaks, the aches and pains. Over. Done. Cheryl said it best when she said it was anti-climactic. This must be where the marathon fever hits you.
Was I disappointed in my time? Nope. Upset that I didn't push myself? Ha ha! So what was disappointing? I don't know. I just feel like I didn't get the full marathon experience because I didn't hit the wall or have any issues. I mean, I was upset it was over! I could have run another 5 miles easily. Maybe next marathon I can be miserable for the last 6 miles. But as for this one maybe the good memories are all that I need to keep me signing up for more.
Thoughts from me:
When I think about my first marathon experience I want to punch Bailey in the stomach for having such a great first marathon and not realizing how lucky she is!!!!
Of course not everyone's first marathon is called off in the middle of it because of heat related issues such as running out of water etc. although I did get to finish, it too was very anticlimatic.
Seriously though I'm very happy for Bailey and she did suffer through a lot of her long runs so I guess that makes up for it!! ;) Besides I can't punch her in the stomach because she is way to fast for me to run away from and I know it would break her heart to have to beat up an old lady!
You know I love you Bailey!!! Great Race Report!!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
A Bonk On The Head.....
I can't believe I forgot to mention this in my last post.
Saturday morning we are riding down Kerr station rd you have to make a left turn and go over railroad tracks to get back to 1st street. As we are approaching the turn the railroad crossing starts clanging and the lights are flashing. Bailey and Arland say we can make it... I freeze and say NO I can't. Well.. I stop and am about to get off my bike when all of a sudden I get hit in the head by the railroad crossing arm. It scared the life out of me, not only did it hit me in the head it was pushing me down and I couldn't get off my bike fast enough, luckily I didn't fall off my bike. I looked up just in time to see that Bailey had seen what had happened and was laughing her ass off!!
I was mortified.. I really can't even describe all the emotions going through my head. So Arland and Bailey are on the other side of the tracks and have to wait for me. I totally could have made it but I have this thing about railroad tracks.
I walked my bike back away from the tracks and when the train finally passed I walked my bike over the tracks and was then walking it across the street. My legs were really shaky and I wanted to be away from traffic before I got back on. WELL... out of the clear blue I crashed... yes I crashed my bike while walking it. It fell I fell it was just humiliating!! Of course you know Arland and Bailey were lauging their heads off.
I'll admit I did shed a few tears but not because I was hurt but because I was embarassed!! After I was on my bike I did get a good laugh out of the whole experience but good grief!!!!!
Saturday morning we are riding down Kerr station rd you have to make a left turn and go over railroad tracks to get back to 1st street. As we are approaching the turn the railroad crossing starts clanging and the lights are flashing. Bailey and Arland say we can make it... I freeze and say NO I can't. Well.. I stop and am about to get off my bike when all of a sudden I get hit in the head by the railroad crossing arm. It scared the life out of me, not only did it hit me in the head it was pushing me down and I couldn't get off my bike fast enough, luckily I didn't fall off my bike. I looked up just in time to see that Bailey had seen what had happened and was laughing her ass off!!
I was mortified.. I really can't even describe all the emotions going through my head. So Arland and Bailey are on the other side of the tracks and have to wait for me. I totally could have made it but I have this thing about railroad tracks.
I walked my bike back away from the tracks and when the train finally passed I walked my bike over the tracks and was then walking it across the street. My legs were really shaky and I wanted to be away from traffic before I got back on. WELL... out of the clear blue I crashed... yes I crashed my bike while walking it. It fell I fell it was just humiliating!! Of course you know Arland and Bailey were lauging their heads off.
I'll admit I did shed a few tears but not because I was hurt but because I was embarassed!! After I was on my bike I did get a good laugh out of the whole experience but good grief!!!!!
Back in the Saddle
I still have more pictures and thoughts of the San Francisco Marathon but for now I thought I would do an update of this week.
We got home Wednesday afternoon, it was a long trip home! Our wake up call came at 2:48am Wed. morning, Cheryl was up first then I was up right at 3:00 or so. We had already packed the night before so just really needed to get dressed and throw on a little makeup.
We were down in the lobby about 3:45ish and our shuttle pulled up almost immediately. We didn't know how long it would take to get to the airport and we wanted to be there by 5:00... well we were there at 4:40 and the Southwest ticket counters weren't even open yet!!
I closed my eyes as soon as we got on the plane and I was still kind of awake when we took off but pretty much slept all the way to Vegas.
We had about an hour and a half lay over since our plane had arrived a little early. I was really tempted to play the slot machines but I spent enough money in San Francisco I really didn't need to throw anymore away!!
When we boarded for the flight to Little Rock Cheryl gave us each a free drink coupon and once we were airborne we all ordered a Bloody Mary.. it was YUMMY!!! Thanks Cheryl!!!!!
It took forever to get our baggage, in San Francisco they were almost the first bags off, but not in Little rock!
After we dropped Cheryl off we headed to Team 1 where Kylie had been playing with Daddy all day. I was anxious to see her and although I was pretty worn out I wanted to go there instead of straight home.
When I did get home I walked into a sparkling clean house courtesy of Livia :)
Thursday morning I was up at 4:00am preparing to meet Jane for a run. When the alarm went off I was thinking to myself "why do I torture myself like this"!! LOL - BUT it was a great run Jane wanted to hear all about San Francisco so I was talking the whole time! I was happy that everything felt ok, my breathing was ok etc. It wasn't overly hot but it was very humid.
Just before we hit the 4 mile mark my stomach started acting crazy but it never became a big problem, maybe if we had planned a longer run it would have!
Kylie came by Team 1 in the afternoon and she went home with me... she swam in the pool, we drew pictures on the driveway with chalk, we danced with the "So you think you can dance" dancers and pretty much she just wore me out!! She really wanted to go on a bike ride but she didn't have a bike at my house. She is so funny and smart she kept trying to think of ways that she could ride with me on my comfort bike. One of her ideas was to put her car seat on the little luggage rack... I have to give her credit she tries!!
Friday is always a rest day so I went ahead and kept it that way even though I didn't feel like I deserved a rest day. It's amazing we ran a Marathon on Sunday and walked a million miles all over San Francisco on Monday and Tuesday but by Wednesday evening I was feeling like a slug!
Saturday morning Heather and I made plans to meet and run five or six miles at 5:00am. She lives in my neighborhood and no one else was joining us so we just ran from home. It was great and once again I talked the whole time because she wanted to hear about San Francisco. The poop monster did hit me again, this time it was at about 1.5 miles. Luckily we were very close to a gas station but I had that same old problem, the bathroom is just feet away but I can't move!! :( Oh well once it was taken care of the rest of the run went really well.
We were back at our neighborhood waiting to cross the street when we see a truck approaching so we stopped to let them pass but they wouldn't go. Finally I can see they are waving us on and just as we are crossing I realize it is Bailey!! She was on her way to my house so we could ride together. We ended up with 5.5 miles for our run.
Several groups were doing different runs on Saturday morning. Brenda and Andrea were running on Lila Loop with Danielle and then Vicki and some others were meeting at 7:00 for a 5 mile run and then everyone was meeting at Sonic at 8:00 for breakfast/drinks.
Bailey, Arland and I started our bike ride at 6:30 and got 20 miles in before we headed to Sonic to meet everyone. It was great to see them after being away for a week and it was fun to talk about San Francisco.
It was really nice to have completed a 5.5 mile run and a 22 mile bike ride, breakfast, chatting and home all by 9:20am. It was also really nice to not have to drive anywhere to make that happen! As a matter of fact I didn't get in my car at all yesterday.
The bike ride was great but it was also hard, I could tell I hadn't been on the bike in over a week, and I guess maybe running a Marathon might have also contributed to the fact that my legs just felt kind of dead... oh and maybe the run before the bike ::sigh:: who knows, it just kind of sucked to feel like I had lost some of my bike fitness.
It was also great to spend time with Bailey and get to rehash the Marathon. We didn't really get to spend anytime together after the Marathon so we never had that chance to talk it out so we did that on the bike ride. She had a few interesting things to share... you know how sometimes when running you can sometimes be in your own world and you miss things that other people see.. or hear.
This morning was the Bike Time Trials... Arland had been working hard on this for several weeks but wouldn't you know it mother nature decided to wreck havoc on his plans. All day yesterday they talked about the rain chances for Sunday and Arland was constantly checking the radar and trying to decide what to do.
I was meeting Brenda and Bailey at the water station for a 4 mile run and then we were going to help with the timing. It started raining a little bit on my way over and I knew we probably weren't going to get to ride but I also knew rain wasn't going to stop our run.
We had a GREAT run! We started off nice and easy and just got to catch up with each other. At the 2 mile mark we took a "water" break and turned around. The rain started to pick up a little bit on the way back as did our pace. We ended up with a 9:54 avg pace I was thrilled with that since I felt great the whole time and that included a walk break.
When we got back Arland was there and so was James B. but he never got out of his vehicle and a few minutes later he drove off. It wasn't pouring but it was raining enough to keep everyone but Arland and Russ V. away. I felt bad for Arland because he had put a lot of thought into this and I know he didn't sleep much last night worrying about it.
Russ went out first and Brenda was timing him and then it was Arland's turn, he started about 2.5 minutes after Russ. Once they were gone we got under the porch of the Water Dept. and talked some more :) 30 minutes later we see the first rider coming in, and I can see the second rider is not too far behind. They were both really flying and breathing hard when they crossed the finish line. I was really proud of Arland he started well after Russ but he finished just behind him.
Poor Bailey she had actually ridden her bike to the Water Dept. in the dark and the drizzle, she had also run 1.5 miles before we got there, so she was pretty tired and ready to go home and go back to bed. It was too cold and rainy for her to ride home so Arland gave her a ride and Brenda and I headed to Mountain Mudd.... problem was they didnt' open until 8:00!! Oh well our plan had been to get Mountain Mudd and take it to Waffle House so we just decided to go straight to waffle house and drink their coffee.
It has been a great weekend :) I've had several good runs, a hard but good bike ride and most importantly lot's of time with friends!!!!
I have also made a decision about my next Marathon... or at least I think I have. I talked about it a lot to Brenda but I'm not 100% yet.
We got home Wednesday afternoon, it was a long trip home! Our wake up call came at 2:48am Wed. morning, Cheryl was up first then I was up right at 3:00 or so. We had already packed the night before so just really needed to get dressed and throw on a little makeup.
We were down in the lobby about 3:45ish and our shuttle pulled up almost immediately. We didn't know how long it would take to get to the airport and we wanted to be there by 5:00... well we were there at 4:40 and the Southwest ticket counters weren't even open yet!!
I closed my eyes as soon as we got on the plane and I was still kind of awake when we took off but pretty much slept all the way to Vegas.
We had about an hour and a half lay over since our plane had arrived a little early. I was really tempted to play the slot machines but I spent enough money in San Francisco I really didn't need to throw anymore away!!
When we boarded for the flight to Little Rock Cheryl gave us each a free drink coupon and once we were airborne we all ordered a Bloody Mary.. it was YUMMY!!! Thanks Cheryl!!!!!
It took forever to get our baggage, in San Francisco they were almost the first bags off, but not in Little rock!
After we dropped Cheryl off we headed to Team 1 where Kylie had been playing with Daddy all day. I was anxious to see her and although I was pretty worn out I wanted to go there instead of straight home.
When I did get home I walked into a sparkling clean house courtesy of Livia :)
Thursday morning I was up at 4:00am preparing to meet Jane for a run. When the alarm went off I was thinking to myself "why do I torture myself like this"!! LOL - BUT it was a great run Jane wanted to hear all about San Francisco so I was talking the whole time! I was happy that everything felt ok, my breathing was ok etc. It wasn't overly hot but it was very humid.
Just before we hit the 4 mile mark my stomach started acting crazy but it never became a big problem, maybe if we had planned a longer run it would have!
Kylie came by Team 1 in the afternoon and she went home with me... she swam in the pool, we drew pictures on the driveway with chalk, we danced with the "So you think you can dance" dancers and pretty much she just wore me out!! She really wanted to go on a bike ride but she didn't have a bike at my house. She is so funny and smart she kept trying to think of ways that she could ride with me on my comfort bike. One of her ideas was to put her car seat on the little luggage rack... I have to give her credit she tries!!
Friday is always a rest day so I went ahead and kept it that way even though I didn't feel like I deserved a rest day. It's amazing we ran a Marathon on Sunday and walked a million miles all over San Francisco on Monday and Tuesday but by Wednesday evening I was feeling like a slug!
Saturday morning Heather and I made plans to meet and run five or six miles at 5:00am. She lives in my neighborhood and no one else was joining us so we just ran from home. It was great and once again I talked the whole time because she wanted to hear about San Francisco. The poop monster did hit me again, this time it was at about 1.5 miles. Luckily we were very close to a gas station but I had that same old problem, the bathroom is just feet away but I can't move!! :( Oh well once it was taken care of the rest of the run went really well.
We were back at our neighborhood waiting to cross the street when we see a truck approaching so we stopped to let them pass but they wouldn't go. Finally I can see they are waving us on and just as we are crossing I realize it is Bailey!! She was on her way to my house so we could ride together. We ended up with 5.5 miles for our run.
Several groups were doing different runs on Saturday morning. Brenda and Andrea were running on Lila Loop with Danielle and then Vicki and some others were meeting at 7:00 for a 5 mile run and then everyone was meeting at Sonic at 8:00 for breakfast/drinks.
Bailey, Arland and I started our bike ride at 6:30 and got 20 miles in before we headed to Sonic to meet everyone. It was great to see them after being away for a week and it was fun to talk about San Francisco.
It was really nice to have completed a 5.5 mile run and a 22 mile bike ride, breakfast, chatting and home all by 9:20am. It was also really nice to not have to drive anywhere to make that happen! As a matter of fact I didn't get in my car at all yesterday.
The bike ride was great but it was also hard, I could tell I hadn't been on the bike in over a week, and I guess maybe running a Marathon might have also contributed to the fact that my legs just felt kind of dead... oh and maybe the run before the bike ::sigh:: who knows, it just kind of sucked to feel like I had lost some of my bike fitness.
It was also great to spend time with Bailey and get to rehash the Marathon. We didn't really get to spend anytime together after the Marathon so we never had that chance to talk it out so we did that on the bike ride. She had a few interesting things to share... you know how sometimes when running you can sometimes be in your own world and you miss things that other people see.. or hear.
This morning was the Bike Time Trials... Arland had been working hard on this for several weeks but wouldn't you know it mother nature decided to wreck havoc on his plans. All day yesterday they talked about the rain chances for Sunday and Arland was constantly checking the radar and trying to decide what to do.
I was meeting Brenda and Bailey at the water station for a 4 mile run and then we were going to help with the timing. It started raining a little bit on my way over and I knew we probably weren't going to get to ride but I also knew rain wasn't going to stop our run.
We had a GREAT run! We started off nice and easy and just got to catch up with each other. At the 2 mile mark we took a "water" break and turned around. The rain started to pick up a little bit on the way back as did our pace. We ended up with a 9:54 avg pace I was thrilled with that since I felt great the whole time and that included a walk break.
When we got back Arland was there and so was James B. but he never got out of his vehicle and a few minutes later he drove off. It wasn't pouring but it was raining enough to keep everyone but Arland and Russ V. away. I felt bad for Arland because he had put a lot of thought into this and I know he didn't sleep much last night worrying about it.
Russ went out first and Brenda was timing him and then it was Arland's turn, he started about 2.5 minutes after Russ. Once they were gone we got under the porch of the Water Dept. and talked some more :) 30 minutes later we see the first rider coming in, and I can see the second rider is not too far behind. They were both really flying and breathing hard when they crossed the finish line. I was really proud of Arland he started well after Russ but he finished just behind him.
Poor Bailey she had actually ridden her bike to the Water Dept. in the dark and the drizzle, she had also run 1.5 miles before we got there, so she was pretty tired and ready to go home and go back to bed. It was too cold and rainy for her to ride home so Arland gave her a ride and Brenda and I headed to Mountain Mudd.... problem was they didnt' open until 8:00!! Oh well our plan had been to get Mountain Mudd and take it to Waffle House so we just decided to go straight to waffle house and drink their coffee.
It has been a great weekend :) I've had several good runs, a hard but good bike ride and most importantly lot's of time with friends!!!!
I have also made a decision about my next Marathon... or at least I think I have. I talked about it a lot to Brenda but I'm not 100% yet.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
San Francisco Race Pictures
Bailey
Starting Line
Me & Michele
Cheryl and Bailey running up
Bailey running down
You can barely see the Golden Gate Bridge through the fog
Runners on Bridge
Just a few pictures taken before and during the race.
The first one is Bailey at the start line, you can see the nervousness in her eyes but she is smiling!
One of my favorite pictures is the 4 of us with the Golden Gate Bridge behind us, my hair looks crazy because of the wind and bondi band but I don't care it is a great picture!!!!
Friday, August 8, 2008
San Francisco Marathon Race Report
A little bit of history before I get to the race report. I was a California girl growing up, we moved a lot, lived in several different states sometimes for just a 6 moths to a year and then we would always end up back in Southern California. That was the pattern until I turned 14 and my parents seperated. My dad went to China and we moved to Arkansas my Mom's home state.
A few years later when I graduated High School my sisters and I went to San Francisco to spend the summer with my dad, the year was 1978 and here I am 30 years later in 2008 running a marathon in San Francisco. That chubby, shy 18 year old girl would never have imagined running 1 mile let alone 26.2!!!!
The Race
Having 4 women in one smallish hotel room you might think it would be chaos on race morning, but it really wasn't. We had prepared everything the night before so it was really just a matter of getting dressed.
Our wave wasn't starting until 6:25 and we wanted to be at the race by 5:45ish to have time to use the port-a-potties etc. The walk from the Hotel to the race start was the perfect warm up, when we first started I was a bit nervous but it didn't take long until we saw other runners headed in the same direction.
After taking care of our bathroom issues we headed towards our corral, I saw the 5:00 hour pacer, she was in wave 7 so we decided to tag along with that corral.
I am always emotional at the start line and I warned the girls I might cry, so i'm teary eyed and Bailey is just plain terrified! Cheryl and Michele seemed calm but I'm sure they were dealing with their own emotions.
We all started out together but I knew from the start that Michele wouldn't be with us for long. My plan was as usual to start off very conservatively so as not to burn out during the 2nd half. I was feeling really good, loving the cool crisp air and just trying to take in all the sights around me.
At mile 3.5 or close to it Cheryl said she needed to find a bathroom fast... well what do you know just ahead is a real bathroom, it was a little off the beaten path but we saw other runners headed in the same direction and followed them. It was pretty crowded and we lost quite a bit of time waiting in line but I knew that early in the race that we would have had to wait in line wherever we stopped.
Michele called right while we were in line and she was about .5 a mile ahead of us also on a bathroom break. She waited for us and we caught up with her in time for us to all run over the Golden Gate Bridge together.
The Bridge - I never even felt the incline I was so excited to be running on the bridge, the only negative was how crowded it was, you pretty much were constantly weaving around people and sometimes having to almost stop trying to manuever around some of the bigger groups of people. When you are doing that much weaving it it pretty hard to stay together but the girls were always somewhere around me and then when we ran off the bridge to the turn around we were all together long enough to take pictures. I know it seems crazy to some people to stop for a group photo, but when will I ever run on the Golden Gate bridge with the girls again??? probably never, I hope we have many more marathons together in our future but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I couldn't let it pass undocumented!!
There was also a water stop at the turn around, we all kind of got strung out here. I ended up running most of the Bridge back by myself... but I enjoyed every moment of it. I truly had the "runners high" going the entire time I was on the bridge. I thought a lot about that summer of 78 and I thought a lot about my life now and I was just so happy I can't even describe it. I called my son but he didn't answer so I left him a voice mail letting him know his mom was running on the Golden Gate Bridge :)
I had been by myself for a while when I saw Michele ahead of me so I sped up a little to catch her. The whole time we had been in San Francisco Cheryl had been singing part of an old song "clang clang goes the trolley ... ding ding goes teh bell" Corny I know but hey we had a good time with it. So anyway when I caught up with Michele I sang that to her... I wish I could have taken a picture of her face! She was pretty suprised to see me. We ran together for a few minutes but with the crowd and weaving I lost her again. I knew that Bailey and Cheryl were right behind me somewhere so I just kept an easy pace waiting for them to catch up. Just before the end of the bridge they went flying by....
I did a pretty good job of remembering to eat my Honey Stinger chews, and I got water at every aid station. I also would get just a little bit of cytomax.
Somewhere around mile 9 or 10 Bailey's friend Amber was manning the first Team Bailey aid station. She had a big sign with all of our names and most importantly pretzels!! Those pretzels saved my life or maybe just my stomach but about a mile before we got to her my stomach was starting to feel like it was going to rebel on me and cause a major problem. Having something solid really helped calm my stomach down and I really don't even want to know what my race would have been like if I hadnt' had the pretzels.
I couldnt' stop for long and gave Amber a hug grabbed a cup of pretzels and was on my way, Bailey and Cheryl stayed behind a few seconds longer so I was on my own again for a little while. My thing with running is I just can't stop for too long, so I would have to keep going but it never took the girls long to catch up with me. When Cheryl and Bailey did catch up Cheryl was in dire need of a port a pottie again. I had been feeling the need myself so was relieved to know that they needed to stop too.
I don't really remember much about that stop other than the fact that it took us forever to finally find them!
The miles had really been ticking off pretty easy, I felt great mentally and physically. My stomach was behaving and all was right in my world. It was so nice to reach 13.1 and split off from the 1/2 marathoners, it definately got a lot less crowded!! It was also nice to be feeling so good!
I have to say that as far as crowd support goes San Francisco was definately lacking in that department!! We really got spoiled in Nashville with all the cheerleaders and other crowd support....BUT we had our own cheering team. Bailey's mom spent a lot of time studying the course map and came up with a plan for provide aid and support at 5 or 6 different locations. I will never be able to thank her enough, it was always so nice knowing that up ahead we had people who cared about us who would be excited to see us and who would provide us refreshments!!
Each and every time we saw them it was a physical and mental boost!
It's funny now days later a lot of the details are kind of blurred, I think it was around mile 16 when Bailey an dI were running through the park and we saw another real bathroom.. I wasn't really feeling the need but had that feeling that if I passed it I would soon regret it. It was a very good thing we stopped, I had a bit of business to take care of!!!!! We had lost Cheryl earlier and this also gave her a chance to catch up with us.
This course had lot's of hills, and lot's of steep downhills. On one of them Cheryl and I 'stirred the pot" and flew down. Bailey kept telling us to slow down but we didn't listen... well I suffered for it later. Around mile 20 my left calf seized up with a cramp, I have never felt anything like that before, oh believe me I get my share of injuries, pain etc. but this felt like my left was going to explode. I had to slow down quite a bit and was worried that I had really hurt myself, pretty much as long as I kept it kind of slow I was ok. I tried to pick up the pace several times but that sensation would always come back. I decided better safe than sorry and just kept it slow and steady after that.
Bailey stayed with me, I tried to get her to go on, I had actually been trying to get her to go on ever since the 1/2 way point but she said "I didn't train for this alone so I'm not running it alone".
We were going up one of the last big hills and a volunteer was saying this is the last hill, it's all downhill after this. When we got closer I asked her if she was telling the truth, she said absolutely and if it wasn't true we could hunt her down after the race. Lucky for her I was too tired after the race to look for her, because she was lying, maybe not on purpose, but there were a few more smaller hills after that one.
Somewhere around mile 24 Bailey turned to me and said with a sad face "it's almost over". Here I was suffering with my calf, and big toe pain just so happy that we were almost done and Bailey is sad.
At mile 25.5 my stomach which had behaved pretty well for most of the race dedided it had had enough and it stopped me in my tracks. If you have read this blog before or if you have run with me before you know what happens when my stomach has had enough. I had to stop and cross my legs in the middle of the Marathon course. I wanted to cry but instead I yelled out "shit"... Bailey turned around and I said.. REALLY.. SHIT!! She laughed turned around and walked with me for a bit until it calmed down. Luckily it did calm down, and I made it to the fnish without incident.
When we hit mile 26 Bailey again turned to me with a sad look on her face and trembling lips, she was really said it was over. I am SO happy that she had such a great first marathon!!!
When we approached the finish line she grabbed my hand and we ran through the finish together it was such a great feeling, sharing that moment with her!!!
Right after we got our medals I saw Michele, she had been in touch through the race and I knew that the slanted roads and rough asphalt had taken it's toll on her IT bands but I was suprised to see her and to find out that she had only finished a few minutes before us.
As we went through the food line I grabbed a banana ate a few bites and threw it away, next came bread, I grabbed a roll but could only take a bite before I had to throw it away too, but it was enough to make the dizziness go away and help my stomach.
I had been keeping my eyes open for Cheryl but didn't see her, we went to the dry bag pick up and I called her, turns out she was right behind us.
We all regrouped and then headed back to our hotel. After Nashville I know how important walking as much as possible after the marathon is so I was happy to walk back... my shoulders were killing me but otherwise I felt pretty good.
In the years to come when I think about this Marathon I believe what will always come to my mind first will be the way I felt on the Golden Gate Bridge and Bailey's face when we hit mile 26 and she didn't want it to be over.
There will be many other memories but those two are the biggies.
I have a lot more to say about our trip and toughts from the race but I'll save that for later.
Thank you Bailey, Cheryl and Michele for making this such a memorable experience!!! I also want to thank all of our friends who were sending us positive text messages and good thoughts through the whole race. It is a pretty awesome feeling knowing that you have a big support group at home who are keeping up with your progress and sending positive vibes. I couldn't do this without all of you!!! And the biggest thanks goes to my hubby Arland for always supporting me and cheering me on no matter what!!
I love you all!!!!!
A few years later when I graduated High School my sisters and I went to San Francisco to spend the summer with my dad, the year was 1978 and here I am 30 years later in 2008 running a marathon in San Francisco. That chubby, shy 18 year old girl would never have imagined running 1 mile let alone 26.2!!!!
The Race
Having 4 women in one smallish hotel room you might think it would be chaos on race morning, but it really wasn't. We had prepared everything the night before so it was really just a matter of getting dressed.
Our wave wasn't starting until 6:25 and we wanted to be at the race by 5:45ish to have time to use the port-a-potties etc. The walk from the Hotel to the race start was the perfect warm up, when we first started I was a bit nervous but it didn't take long until we saw other runners headed in the same direction.
After taking care of our bathroom issues we headed towards our corral, I saw the 5:00 hour pacer, she was in wave 7 so we decided to tag along with that corral.
I am always emotional at the start line and I warned the girls I might cry, so i'm teary eyed and Bailey is just plain terrified! Cheryl and Michele seemed calm but I'm sure they were dealing with their own emotions.
We all started out together but I knew from the start that Michele wouldn't be with us for long. My plan was as usual to start off very conservatively so as not to burn out during the 2nd half. I was feeling really good, loving the cool crisp air and just trying to take in all the sights around me.
At mile 3.5 or close to it Cheryl said she needed to find a bathroom fast... well what do you know just ahead is a real bathroom, it was a little off the beaten path but we saw other runners headed in the same direction and followed them. It was pretty crowded and we lost quite a bit of time waiting in line but I knew that early in the race that we would have had to wait in line wherever we stopped.
Michele called right while we were in line and she was about .5 a mile ahead of us also on a bathroom break. She waited for us and we caught up with her in time for us to all run over the Golden Gate Bridge together.
The Bridge - I never even felt the incline I was so excited to be running on the bridge, the only negative was how crowded it was, you pretty much were constantly weaving around people and sometimes having to almost stop trying to manuever around some of the bigger groups of people. When you are doing that much weaving it it pretty hard to stay together but the girls were always somewhere around me and then when we ran off the bridge to the turn around we were all together long enough to take pictures. I know it seems crazy to some people to stop for a group photo, but when will I ever run on the Golden Gate bridge with the girls again??? probably never, I hope we have many more marathons together in our future but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I couldn't let it pass undocumented!!
There was also a water stop at the turn around, we all kind of got strung out here. I ended up running most of the Bridge back by myself... but I enjoyed every moment of it. I truly had the "runners high" going the entire time I was on the bridge. I thought a lot about that summer of 78 and I thought a lot about my life now and I was just so happy I can't even describe it. I called my son but he didn't answer so I left him a voice mail letting him know his mom was running on the Golden Gate Bridge :)
I had been by myself for a while when I saw Michele ahead of me so I sped up a little to catch her. The whole time we had been in San Francisco Cheryl had been singing part of an old song "clang clang goes the trolley ... ding ding goes teh bell" Corny I know but hey we had a good time with it. So anyway when I caught up with Michele I sang that to her... I wish I could have taken a picture of her face! She was pretty suprised to see me. We ran together for a few minutes but with the crowd and weaving I lost her again. I knew that Bailey and Cheryl were right behind me somewhere so I just kept an easy pace waiting for them to catch up. Just before the end of the bridge they went flying by....
I did a pretty good job of remembering to eat my Honey Stinger chews, and I got water at every aid station. I also would get just a little bit of cytomax.
Somewhere around mile 9 or 10 Bailey's friend Amber was manning the first Team Bailey aid station. She had a big sign with all of our names and most importantly pretzels!! Those pretzels saved my life or maybe just my stomach but about a mile before we got to her my stomach was starting to feel like it was going to rebel on me and cause a major problem. Having something solid really helped calm my stomach down and I really don't even want to know what my race would have been like if I hadnt' had the pretzels.
I couldnt' stop for long and gave Amber a hug grabbed a cup of pretzels and was on my way, Bailey and Cheryl stayed behind a few seconds longer so I was on my own again for a little while. My thing with running is I just can't stop for too long, so I would have to keep going but it never took the girls long to catch up with me. When Cheryl and Bailey did catch up Cheryl was in dire need of a port a pottie again. I had been feeling the need myself so was relieved to know that they needed to stop too.
I don't really remember much about that stop other than the fact that it took us forever to finally find them!
The miles had really been ticking off pretty easy, I felt great mentally and physically. My stomach was behaving and all was right in my world. It was so nice to reach 13.1 and split off from the 1/2 marathoners, it definately got a lot less crowded!! It was also nice to be feeling so good!
I have to say that as far as crowd support goes San Francisco was definately lacking in that department!! We really got spoiled in Nashville with all the cheerleaders and other crowd support....BUT we had our own cheering team. Bailey's mom spent a lot of time studying the course map and came up with a plan for provide aid and support at 5 or 6 different locations. I will never be able to thank her enough, it was always so nice knowing that up ahead we had people who cared about us who would be excited to see us and who would provide us refreshments!!
Each and every time we saw them it was a physical and mental boost!
It's funny now days later a lot of the details are kind of blurred, I think it was around mile 16 when Bailey an dI were running through the park and we saw another real bathroom.. I wasn't really feeling the need but had that feeling that if I passed it I would soon regret it. It was a very good thing we stopped, I had a bit of business to take care of!!!!! We had lost Cheryl earlier and this also gave her a chance to catch up with us.
This course had lot's of hills, and lot's of steep downhills. On one of them Cheryl and I 'stirred the pot" and flew down. Bailey kept telling us to slow down but we didn't listen... well I suffered for it later. Around mile 20 my left calf seized up with a cramp, I have never felt anything like that before, oh believe me I get my share of injuries, pain etc. but this felt like my left was going to explode. I had to slow down quite a bit and was worried that I had really hurt myself, pretty much as long as I kept it kind of slow I was ok. I tried to pick up the pace several times but that sensation would always come back. I decided better safe than sorry and just kept it slow and steady after that.
Bailey stayed with me, I tried to get her to go on, I had actually been trying to get her to go on ever since the 1/2 way point but she said "I didn't train for this alone so I'm not running it alone".
We were going up one of the last big hills and a volunteer was saying this is the last hill, it's all downhill after this. When we got closer I asked her if she was telling the truth, she said absolutely and if it wasn't true we could hunt her down after the race. Lucky for her I was too tired after the race to look for her, because she was lying, maybe not on purpose, but there were a few more smaller hills after that one.
Somewhere around mile 24 Bailey turned to me and said with a sad face "it's almost over". Here I was suffering with my calf, and big toe pain just so happy that we were almost done and Bailey is sad.
At mile 25.5 my stomach which had behaved pretty well for most of the race dedided it had had enough and it stopped me in my tracks. If you have read this blog before or if you have run with me before you know what happens when my stomach has had enough. I had to stop and cross my legs in the middle of the Marathon course. I wanted to cry but instead I yelled out "shit"... Bailey turned around and I said.. REALLY.. SHIT!! She laughed turned around and walked with me for a bit until it calmed down. Luckily it did calm down, and I made it to the fnish without incident.
When we hit mile 26 Bailey again turned to me with a sad look on her face and trembling lips, she was really said it was over. I am SO happy that she had such a great first marathon!!!
When we approached the finish line she grabbed my hand and we ran through the finish together it was such a great feeling, sharing that moment with her!!!
Right after we got our medals I saw Michele, she had been in touch through the race and I knew that the slanted roads and rough asphalt had taken it's toll on her IT bands but I was suprised to see her and to find out that she had only finished a few minutes before us.
As we went through the food line I grabbed a banana ate a few bites and threw it away, next came bread, I grabbed a roll but could only take a bite before I had to throw it away too, but it was enough to make the dizziness go away and help my stomach.
I had been keeping my eyes open for Cheryl but didn't see her, we went to the dry bag pick up and I called her, turns out she was right behind us.
We all regrouped and then headed back to our hotel. After Nashville I know how important walking as much as possible after the marathon is so I was happy to walk back... my shoulders were killing me but otherwise I felt pretty good.
In the years to come when I think about this Marathon I believe what will always come to my mind first will be the way I felt on the Golden Gate Bridge and Bailey's face when we hit mile 26 and she didn't want it to be over.
There will be many other memories but those two are the biggies.
I have a lot more to say about our trip and toughts from the race but I'll save that for later.
Thank you Bailey, Cheryl and Michele for making this such a memorable experience!!! I also want to thank all of our friends who were sending us positive text messages and good thoughts through the whole race. It is a pretty awesome feeling knowing that you have a big support group at home who are keeping up with your progress and sending positive vibes. I couldn't do this without all of you!!! And the biggest thanks goes to my hubby Arland for always supporting me and cheering me on no matter what!!
I love you all!!!!!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Hello From San Francisco
Day three of our San Francisco Marathon trip and we are having a great time!! Bailey got into town yesterday, she and her mom met us for lunch on Delancey Street and then we all headed back to the expo, well back for us we had already spent the morning there and now were going back for more.
This Expo is much smaller than Nashville and Chicago but WAY better than Little Rock and Memphis.
We felt like we spent the entire day there yesterday but it was fun and we got a few new things.
We have actually been doing a great job getting around and haven't gotten lost yet... yet!!!!
We are in San Jose at Bailey's mom's house, she and her husband Mark have been great hosts!! They took us to a local Italian restaurant last night and have stocked up on banana's and pickles for us :)
This morning Bailey, Cheryl and I went on our two mile run loosen up/warm up run. It was SO nice!! The weather here is a little warmer than San Francisco and it was perfect, low humidity nice cool breeze... Cheryl even had on a long sleeve shirt.
We will be headed back to the City soon .. we are going back to the same Hotel we were in Thursday night.
We have been on our feet the whole time we have been here, maybe we will get some rest this afternoon!
Arland and Cheryl have some pictures on their blogs
This Expo is much smaller than Nashville and Chicago but WAY better than Little Rock and Memphis.
We felt like we spent the entire day there yesterday but it was fun and we got a few new things.
We have actually been doing a great job getting around and haven't gotten lost yet... yet!!!!
We are in San Jose at Bailey's mom's house, she and her husband Mark have been great hosts!! They took us to a local Italian restaurant last night and have stocked up on banana's and pickles for us :)
This morning Bailey, Cheryl and I went on our two mile run loosen up/warm up run. It was SO nice!! The weather here is a little warmer than San Francisco and it was perfect, low humidity nice cool breeze... Cheryl even had on a long sleeve shirt.
We will be headed back to the City soon .. we are going back to the same Hotel we were in Thursday night.
We have been on our feet the whole time we have been here, maybe we will get some rest this afternoon!
Arland and Cheryl have some pictures on their blogs
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)