Year long goals

I had a goal of running 1,000 miles this year. I realized early in the month that I'm probably going to fall at least 100 miles short of said goal. But it got me to thinking about all the races I have fun this year. So I tallied them all up here they are in chronological order.
Cobweb Chaser 3 Miler
River Road Run 12 Miler
3M Half Marathon
AT&T Half Marathon
Capital 10K
Charlotte Race Fest Half Marathon
San Antonio Women's 5K
Marine Corps Marathon (OORAH!)
Turkey Trot 4 Mile Run
Mission 10 Miler

Well after doing this I realized, if I run two more races I'll have run 12 races this year. Which well, is a pretty good year if you ask me. So I looked for two races, which is how I came about the Tough Ombre 10K that I wrote about last week. Then I really had my work cut out of me finding one more race. Most of the Christmas runs were the same weekend as the 10K. I did however find ONE more run in Austin, the MADD Jingle Bell run. So John and I drove up there on Sunday so I could accomplish this small thing of 12 races this year. And I ended up having my best 5K time, well probably ever of 33:30. Which is pretty impressive if you figure most of my runs are about 11:30, except for my fluke 10K last week. It's even more impressive if you know that I was at the 2 mile point 24:00 into the race. I saw the clock and that WHAT THE?!?! I knew that the last mile was downhill, my ankle was feeling really good, so I decided to see what all I had in me and put it in high gear. And what do you know, apparently I can run a 9:30 mile (when going downhill).
So that was it, my best 10k and 5K times ever and I ran 12 races this year. I think when it comes time to close the books on 2007, I can feel accomplished and hope for 1,000 miles next year!

On a marathon training note: I had a really lousy run on Saturday. We were doing a hilly 10 mile run and at about mile 6 my ankle said "we're done" and I had to walk in the last 4 miles. I wrapped the ankle on Sunday for the 5K and had no pain. So I might keep doing that. I still haven't registered for Austin. I think I'm holding out hope that i can run the full marathon. We'll see

97, 98, 99, 100, 1, 2....

(make sure you have some sort of snack, this is a long one :) )
I ran a 10K this weekend. Prior to Saturday I've done three 10K races in my time as runner and have hated every single one. My first 10K was the Capital 10K in Austin in 2004. It was while I was training for the Country Music Marathon and it was during our taper, meaning we had already run 20+ miles in training and 6.2 miles was supposed to be cake. It wasn't. The thing about the Capital 10K is that well it sucks. At least in my mind. It's usually at the end of March, so that means it's generally pretty warm and humid in Austin by then. And it's hilly. From about the first quarter of a mile until mile 3 you're pretty much going uphill the entire time and there's this quarter mile hill where you climb about 200 feet. Of course after mile three you get to go downhill, but by then I was completely out of gas. By mile 4 I lost my breakfast. By the finish I swore I'd do better next time. I think I finished in about 1:20
That same training season I ran the Fiesta 10K. This was a week before the Country Music and the day of a friend's wedding. Which also meant the morning after the rehearsal dinner. Which meant I stayed out too late and drank too much to run very well the next morning. I think this was one of the first runs that Allison and I ran together. And she too had stayed out too late and had too many libations. Together we were going to make quite the pair. So the Fiesta 10K goes along the San Antonio River on "Mission Trail" even though you don't see any Missions unless you go about 5 miles out. Unfortunately this means it also starts near the old Sulphur springs. Talk about YUCK. In some places you have to cross over the river, on these suspension bridges that bounce up and down, up and down as you cross them. But it's not just the two of us, it's us and about 10 other runners at a time going up over these bridges. It made me a little dizzy. Of course we crossed 3 of these bridges on the way to the turn around point, which meant coming back over them again. At about mile 4.5 I told Allison to leave me that I was done and was going to walk. It's safe to say that was not my best race. I have no idea what my actual time was on that run, I tried to forget as much of it as possible.
Earlier this year I decided to give the Capital 10K another go. After all it was the 30th Capital 10K and I was turning 30 this year. I hate that race. It was 2004 all over again, except I got sick at mile 5 not 4 this year. Ick. Time: 1:15.
But I saw a 10K scheduled for Saturday and decided to give it a go. I had just read the New York Times article on distance runners distracting their minds with cadences so I decided to give that a try. And about half a mile into the race I started counting 1, 2, 3, up to 100 and then I would start over. Next then you know I was at the 5K point in 32 minutes. My best 5K time is about 35 minutes so I was thrilled! So I kept counting and counting and counting. And finished (ready for this) in 68 minutes! Which for me is COMPLETELY awesome. It means I ran in less than 11 minute miles. I'm fairly surprised at how the simple act of counting really distracted my brain from the task at hand and let me go a little faster than normal. It's really sort of amazing. So I'll do the counting from now on. I wonder how it'll affect my time in Houston.

Very Interesting....

Runtex has a blog called "Heard Around the Lake" I was reading it today and came across this little tidbit of information about the San Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon.

"Speaking of Rock ‘n’ Roll, a team from RunTex headed down I-35 to the Alamodome on Wednesday for an organizational meeting with local charities and other interested groups. RunTex will be heading all the training programs for Rock ‘n’ Roll and will run the runners expo along with Soler Sports of San Antonio. The course won’t be finalized until spring, but, according to Roger Soler, it will not start or finish in the Alamodome."

Which is interesting for two reasons. One I heard a rumor that RunTex is going to buy Soler Sports. And two I hate the idea of the race ending at the Alamodome. I know a lot of people got a kick out of seeing themselves on the jumbotron, but to go from the outside elements to this indoor HARD CONCRETE finish, is not my idea of ideal. Anyway just rumors, but hopefully the route change is true.

Photos...Finally!

It just dawned on me that people might want to see photos from the Marine Corps Marathon. Here are a few with captions beneath the images


Here I am at the start line. Sure, I look excited but inside I'm thinking "What did I get myself into?!?!"



Another start line photo


Finally we're off! I'm not sure I'm in this photo, but John did such a great job of making a terrific start line photo that I couldn't not post it!



This is about mile 14, in the National Mall. I'm rooting through the backpack John is wearing trying to find my extra energy gels.


Showing off my medal, alongside the World's Greatest Husband!


This is just after crossing the finish line. I'm not sure what that face I'm making is supposed to say. The foil like wrapping is Mylar. It's the greatest thing in the world when you're freezing cold after having run a marathon. It kept me amazingly toasty. :)


This is the finish line area still. I saw this mango and decided I wanted a picture with the maraca shaking mango!! :)


Here we are on the metro on our way back to Alexandria where we were staying with my friend Rosie. I sure don't look like I just ran a marathon, do I?


Finally, a photo with me and the hostess with the mostest, Rosie!

NY Times Article

Saw this article on the NY Times today.
Enjoy

.1 percent

My father-in-law recently sent me an article from the Charlotte Observer that talked about how women are leading the way in running. That is to say more women than ever are lacing up their sneakers and running. And the number of women completing half and full marathons continues to increase. That in itself is a great thing considering less than 30 years ago women weren't even allowed to run the marathon for fear we'd do permanent damage to our reproductive organs. Thank goodness science and experience has prevailed.

One thing that caught my eye in the article is that the overall number of marathon finishers continues to increase. There were 590,000 half marathon and 410,000 marathon finishers last year. 10 percent and 5 percent increases respectively. Of course the number that always floats around in my head is 1%. They say that 1% of the population has completely a marathon. If you take those numbers and the current US population it's really only .1%

Which makes it a huge accomplishment. So is it that I can't be satisfied with knowing I'm in elite company? Why do I keep pushing myself even when I'm injured. Truth is I know the answer. I'm stubborn, Type-A, overly competitive, whatever you want to call it. I'm struggling right now to resign myself to the half marathon in Austin. To know that I've run a marathon this season and there will be other seasons. Right now my ankle says no to anything over 10 miles. But I keep putting off the decision. I keep thinking: I'll wait and see after this run, I'll wait and see after that race. Today it's: I'll wait and see how I feel after the 10K this weekend. (Yes, Allison I'm running the 10k)
I guess I'm just afraid of saying: I can't. I know it's more of "I shouldn't" but I have issues separating the two. It's difficult knowing that 2 months ago I ran a marathon and I felt great during it. I want to do it again and clock another P.R. (personal record).
In any case I'll see how the ankle feels after the 10k, and hopefully make a decision I can live with.

local columnist

The health columnist at the Express-News wrote a pretty good column today about the Rock n Roll marathon.
I just thought I'd pass the link along.

Refreshed

I spent Friday and Saturday in Corpus Christi. The paper sent me down there to photograph two high school football games. And while I'm still not loving photographing football, I welcomed the chance to head down south and run along the beach. So Saturday morning I woke up early and hit Shoreline until it hit Ocean Drive. I think I did about six miles, but wasn't terribly concerned with distance as much as I was with enjoying the run. Ever since Marine Corps I've had a tough time wanting to be out on the roads. Maybe it's because I didn't take enough time off before starting to train for another race, (I had 6 days of no running). Either way I was hoping to be refreshed physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. So I just ran until I felt like turning back.
I sat on the pier at Cole Park on my way back to the hotel and just took in the wonders that God has created. I mean here I was using the body He has given me to cruise along a body of water He created. It was one of those times where I felt like I was using my body for more than exercise, but instead I was using it as a means of pure worship, to help me appreciate all the glory God has given me and continues to offer me. I hope to continue to use running as worship time. Especially when I run alone, early in the morning. It seems like that is the best time to just be silent and listen for God's voice.