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Showing posts with label race. Show all posts
Showing posts with label race. Show all posts

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Race 8: November 7--Huntington, WV

The plane crash that killed 37 football players from Marshall University occurred in 1970 (eight years before I was born). Last year marked the 40th anniversary of that tragedy. Therefore, the race directors of the Marshall University Marathon and Half Marathon decided to honor those players during the 2010 race. During a section of the race that went through the grounds of the university, runners carried carnations to honor those who passed in that crash. It was very touching, making this one of the most beautiful races I’ve ever participated in.

This race was also fun. The last 100 yards of the race are run across the football field. As you arrive onto the field, a volunteer passes you a football. You then race to the finish line with your football. Upon scoring your touchdown, you get your medal.

The course was lovely, and, for a small race, had more volunteers and supporters than I expected. The best way to describe this race is to say it was charming and southern. In fact, the refueling options were very small southern town. There were hamburgers and hotdogs aplenty. The potato chip supply was staggering, and there were varieties of Little Debbies that I didn’t even know existed. You could also grab a fried pie and wash it down with your choice of Pepsi product. It was fun to look at the selection of food products, but I was really glad I had packed a lunch at Grandma and Grandpa’s. (I stayed at my grandparents the night before the race since they live less than 3 hours from Huntington, WV.) After eating my prepacked meal in the stands of the football stadium, chatting with some locals, I changed clothes and headed back to my grandparents.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Race #2: April 3 - Bloomington, IN

When making Easter plans, I felt a little conflicted. On one hand, I wanted to spend Easter Sunday with my husband since it was our first Easter as a married couple. On the other hand, I wanted to see my grandparents in Cincinnati and spend Easter with them. Since my husband was too busy with school to drive to Cincinnati, I decided to drive to my grandparents’ Thursday evening, and spend Friday with them. From their house, I would have to drive three hours to Bloomington on Saturday morning to run the IU mini marathon. Then, after the race, I would drive four hours home to St Louis and spend the rest of the weekend with my husband.


I spent Thursday morning and afternoon cleaning and packing. I had to make sure I had running clothes for every type of weather since the reports for Bloomington called for a warm, sunny morning with a cold rain coming through late morning on Saturday. I went through my suitcase twice to make sure I packed everything. Shoes? Yes. Singlet? Yes. Shorts? Yes. Powersox? Yes. Bandaids? Yes.



After straightening up the house, packing my car, and leaving a note for my husband, I left St. Louis and headed for Cincinnati. It was dark and late when I arrived, so I really didn’t spend much time with my grandparents that day. But I spent most of Friday with them, and ate dinner with them at my Aunt’s restaurant. Grandma told me I had to order a complete dinner and eat it. But everything on the menu is artery-clogging, deep-fat-fried, good ol’ country cooking. I hesitantly ordered and ate chicken strips, fries, and macaroni and cheese. I was really nervous about eating something so heavy the night before a race. I didn’t want to spend the next morning in the race port-o-lets. Gross. But I always do what my Grandma says. We all do. For a woman who isn’t even 5 feet tall, she’s definitely intimidating!

After dinner, I got ready for bed. I was in bed by 7:00 p.m., which surprised my Grandma. With her Japanese-coated English, she asked, “Whaa? You go to sleep now? What time you leave?” When I told her I had to leave by 3:30 a.m. to pick up my registration packet and bib, she laughed. “You like airplane. You just touchdown and takeoff.” This made me feel a little guilty about going to bed, but I knew I needed the rest.


At 3:30 a.m at my grandparents' house

At 3:15 a.m., my cell phone alarm buzzed. I stumbled to the bathroom and completed my pre-race routine. I stuck bandaids to and rubbed Bodyglide on areas prone to chaffing. I dressed, ate a bowl of cheerios, and snuck out of my grandparents’ house—trying my best not to wake them. Then I drove, and drove, and drove to Bloomington. Until 6:00 a.m., I seemed to be the only person up and driving the curvy hills through Indiana.


I made it to the campus of IU by 6:55 a.m.—more than enough time to check-in, get my bib number and timing chip, and eat a small snack. I ate two granola bars, drank some Gatorade, and walked around the indoor track to kill time. At about 7:50 a.m., everyone headed towards the start line, and I followed the crowd. About 760 runners lined up behind the start and waited silently until the announcer yelled “Go!” into the megaphone. And we took off. It was warm and sunny—I was feeling good.

I was going faster than I had planned. I just couldn’t get my pace right until about mile 5. By then, I didn’t need to try to slow down—it happened naturally when the ice-cold rain came in and hovered over the race. Drenched and shivering, I tried to speed up, but couldn’t. I was frozen, and my movement reflected this. With each step, my legs felt like heavy ice that I struggled to move—especially up the numerous hills on the course. But somehow, I made it to the finish line. And when I finished, I felt like I had energy to spare. I finished in 2:06:48—faster than my Bowling Green time. As unlikely as it felt, I ended up with a new PLPR!


Warm and mostly dry after changing in my car

After the race, I grabbed two granola bars, a bottle of water, an everything bagel with cream cheese, and a banana from the refueling tent. I wanted to make sure I ate enough—I didn’t want to end up with a headache as I drove. I carried this grub back to my car, where I changed into dry clothes. I was so uncomfortably cold and wet, that I gave up on modesty. Drier and warmer, I headed back to St. Louis to spend the rest of Easter weekend with my wonderful husband!


Wet clothes, wet gear, my bib, and my medal

Monday, April 5, 2010

Race #1: March 27 - Bowling Green, KY

Sporting my "Cure Lupus" singlet post-race


When I first registered for the Total Fitness Connection’s Mini Marathon in Bowling Green, I asked my husband to drive to Kentucky with me so I could show him my alma mater (Go Hilltoppers!). I thought we would drive down on Friday, March 26, spend the night at our friends’ place, and drive back to St. Louis late Saturday or early Sunday. But a couple of weeks ago, one of my husband’s friends invited him, along with a bunch of other guys, to his family farm for a “man trip”—complete with firearms—on March 26. He told me he didn’t have to go—that he would come to Kentucky instead. But I could see how much he really wanted to go to the farm. Therefore, we compromised.

My husband went to the farm on Friday for several hours, and returned home by midnight. I went to bed very early (thank you, Benedryl), and woke up at 1:30 a.m. We packed the car, and were on the road by 2:00 a.m. I drove since I was wide awake with nervous anticipation and a little bit of fear about the race. My husband claimed to be awake and offered to drive, but within 10 minutes of leaving the city, he was snoring loudly in the passenger seat. The roads were pitch black, and the stars were hiding behind trees and clouds. I listened to an audiobook to keep my mind off of the quickly approaching race, and drove the 290 miles to Bowling Green.

We arrived in Bowling Green a few minutes ahead of schedule, and I had plenty of time to pick up my bib number and race packet. My husband and I relaxed in the car, eating the Kashi bars that I had packed. I coated my body with sunscreen, debated whether or not to change into my running tights (I ultimately decided to wear shorts), and filled my fuel belt. My husband and I then started towards the start line, stopping first to wait 15 minutes in line for the port-o-let. At the start line, I turned on my iPod and focused on the audiobook until we started.


My bib number

I didn’t have a set pace goal for the race. Truthfully, I doubted whether I could even finish the whole race without walking a large portion of it. So, I just set my watch and ran. I didn’t pay attention to my time until I passed the three mile marker. At that water stop, I glanced down at my watch. 28:54. I did a double-take. I was running at a sub-10 pace. When I was younger, I would have been horrified at the thought of running so slow. Being older, weaker, and sicker than I was then, I was thrilled at the idea of running a sub-10 pace in a half marathon. Part of me was worried that I had gone out too fast and was going to really hit the wall. But I hushed that negative, worrisome voice and continued running.

When I called my husband at mile 12 to have him meet me at the finish line, he was shocked. “You’re doing great, sweetie! Much faster than you thought.”

I had to agree with him. I was doing great. I hadn’t hit the wall. I was happily chatting with another runner. I was feeling great and having a wonderful time.

Chatting with another runner--she was an awesome motivator!

When I reached mile 13, my husband was there to greet me—snapping photos as I ran by. I crossed the finish line at 2:10:39. It was barely a sub-10 time, but I was still proud. It was a PLPR (post-lupus personal record). And I only walked through the water stops (I have never mastered drinking while running). I just kept running!

The finish line!

Back of the singlet

Monday, January 18, 2010

Sunday, Jan 17: Cross training

Goal: Cross-train for 60 minutes
Actual: Low impact steps for 120 minutes

Since I have nothing interesting to say about my workout, I'm posting pics from the Frozen Buns Run!


Steven pre-race:



Awesome refueling table!



One of many ice sculptures:



Walkin' with the Dead Bear sculpture:



You can stand under my umbrella: