Why I'm doing Whole 30

I've joined a diet cult. Yes, it's true. Despite reading Matt Fitzgerald's book (well, listening to it on Audible), and actually agreeing with it in many ways, I've chosen to follow a plan which fully meets the definition of a diet cult. (Per Matt Fitzgerald: It has a name, advocates claim it is the best diet, followers are emotionally attached to it, it demonizes certain foods, and it uses fear to recruit new converts (fear about the negative effects of certain foods)).

I'm okay with that.

Before I go into why, how, and what, I should probably explain what Whole 30 is.

Whole 30 is a food program that eliminates a few large categories of food for 30 days, essentially to reduce inflammation and the supposedly negative effects of these foods. It is not meant to be primarily a weight loss diet, but I suspect most of its followers do it to lose weight (like me). After the 30 days, when you feel awesome (presumably), you can slowly reintroduce the forbidden foods to see how they affect you.

The basic rules:
*No sugar or artificial sweeteners of any kind
*No alcohol of any kind
*No grains
*No legumes (except green beans and snow/snap peas)
*No dairy (except clarified butter)
*No carrageenan, MSG or sulfites
*No faux baked goods (even if made with Whole 30 approved ingredients)

What you can have:
Meat, seafood, eggs, veggies, fruit, sweet potatoes, potatoes, avocado, coconut oil, coconut oil, coconut butter, coconut milk, olive oil, nuts and nut butters (not peanut), clarified butter, vinegar, salt, fruit juice as an ingredient.

All of the allowed foods are things I love to eat, and not hard to embrace. Giving up the forbidden foods is a little harder (though not as hard as you'd think). Sugar, obviously, is the hardest. I have a love for sweets, but I know not eating them is better for me. Alcohol is not a problem, though it's a little tricky weeding out hidden alcohol, like vanilla extract and Grey Poupon mustard (made with wine). Grains and legumes are not hard for me to avoid on a personal level, but it's hard for Rod to accept. I'm still trying to convince him that I don't mind if he makes beans or rice for himself. Dairy is doable, although I have a lot of yogurt in my fridge that I bought before this idea! The hardest part is giving up cream in my coffee. But I have switched to coconut milk, and that's going well.

For some reason, it has been easier for me to embrace a strict program like this than my usual moderation. Drawing the line between just a little (sweets and starches), and what I really want is just too nebulous. "Nothing" is mentally easier than "a little something." (Because I always want more.) Eliminating those foods entirely (for now) creates quite a large calorie deficit. Part of that is filled by eating more avocado, plus the coconut butter and other fats. The coconut milk is comparable to cream in my coffee. Still, I believe I am consuming a more managed number of calories, especially by cutting out those little nibbles like store samples, office treats, a little of this, a little of that.

One of the things that has happened is that I have been eating higher calorie meals in order to largely eliminate snacking. Snacking meaning noshing, really. I still have a couple extra mini meals to support my running. Generally, on weekdays, I have a small snack when I wake up, part of my breakfast as soon as I can after running, the rest of my breakfast later in the morning (mostly due to my work schedule, otherwise I'd have it all soon after running, probably), then lunch in early or mid-afternoon, possibly a small snack when I get home from work, and dinner later in the evening. (That probably sounds like eating all the time....) I have been eating sweet potatoes or potatoes almost every day, to make sure I have enough energy to work out.

I think that covers how and what, now why?

Well, I already said that "why" I picked Whole 30 was because eliminating foods that are triggers for me seems easier to manage. Why I'm doing it at all is because I really want to lose a few pounds before ratcheting up marathon training in March. Moderation efforts over the last year have not resulted in weight loss. In fact, I think I weigh at least five pounds more than a year ago, and at least ten more than I would like for training purposes. Beginning with the marathon taper last May, then my running injury in the summer (though I cross trained like a mad woman), and then the holidays, I just have not been able to rein myself in.

I'm hoping this will give me a jump start. Plus I'll have the benefit of weaning myself from sweets and seriously moderating other carbs. I'll probably have to give up the coconut butter when rice and beans come back.

By the way, I did read the Whole 30 book, It Starts with Food, and I'll admit that I really disagree with a lot of the philosophies and science/nutrition theories. They may be right or wrong. But still, in practice, I think the 30 day program is something that will work for me.

One of the non-food rules is that you're not supposed to weigh yourself (except once at the beginning and after you're done). I may not be following that one strictly, though I'm not doing it daily or anything. I think I've lost a pound or two. I really do feel less bloated and wobbly (although I will always have far more wobbly bits than Bridget Jones ever had).

After today I will have been doing this strictly for a week. (The week before I was tapering off sugar and carbs, though that all went out the window on Super Bowl Sunday.) I have not had any major or intentional slips. The only flaws have been that the first coconut milk I bought had impermissible sulfites (I think), and one day I had pho (no noodles), but the broth may have included non-compliant fish sauce and I added a few drops of sriracha (also apparently non-compliant).

On Friday I bought a Costco cake for a work event. I cut and served the entire cake without eating a bite or licking a smear of frosting from my finger. Mental win.

Apparently a lot of people feel sick and weak in the first few days, presumably as the toxins depart their bodies, but that hasn't been an issue for me. Maybe it's because this isn't a radical change for me. I'm used to the good foods and I don't really eat a lot of junky food. I'm almost 25% done and feeling strong!



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If I Ran the 50 States

First...I have a long blog post written about my trip to Maui in January (and the Maui Oceanfront Half Marathon), full of cool pictures... And it will not upload. I suspect it is because I have too many photos. But I don't feel like going back and taking out a bunch of pics, so for now it is just sitting, waiting. For what I don't know.

Now, on to my topic!

A few days ago I was sitting at work waiting for a client to show up, and I passed the time by internet researching marathons I could run if I ever wanted to run a marathon in every state. Right now I've done marathons in eight states (multiple in some), and half marathons in a few more.

I've never really wanted to do all the fifty states, either in marathons or halfs, and probably I still don't. The reasons are simple...

*There are some states I don't even really want to go to, let alone run a race in.
*I don't know if I will even run fifty marathons in my lifetime (I've run 16 so far, plus a 50K, and more than 50 half marathons, in about ten states, plus Canada and England).
*I run about 2-4 marathons a year (only one in 2014). At that rate it would take 10-20 years to finish! Unless I upped my annual quota, and that would be hard on my body and bank account.
*Marathons are expensive! And destination marathons even more so.

Still, I was able to go through an alphabetical list of states and find a marathon (sometimes more than one), that I wouldn't mind running, or maybe even want to run. I wrote them down so I could remember. But I should have marked which ones sound really good, as opposed to okay.

Here are the states and marathons I've done already.

Arizona - Tucson Marathon (twice, 2011 and 2013)
California - CIM (2009, DNS 2014, hoping for 2015)
Hawaii - Honolulu Marathon (2012) and Kauai Marathon (2013)
Maine - Mount Desert Island Marathon (2012)
Massachusetts - Boston Marathon (2011)
Minnesota - Twin Cities Marathon (2012) (I'm still interested in Grandma's Marathon too.)
Oregon - Newport Marathon (2010), Portland Marathon (2011), Eugene Marathon (2012). (My 50K was also Oregon, McKenzie River Trail Run in 2012)
Washington - Sammamish Marathon (2010), Seattle Marathon (2012), Light at the End of the Tunnel (2012), North Olympic Discovery Marathon (2013 and 2014)

Since I've already planned my marathons for 2015 (Vancouver BC and CIM), I guess I could consider adding another state or two in 2016. Of course there's always a chance I might go for a marathon in a state I've already done, like Hawaii (haven't ruled out the Kona Marathon--or half marathon--and the Maui Marathon (it's in September, Maui Oceanfront is January).

For some of these I want to run, I actually find the half marathon more appealing. The ones that are appealing to me these days....

The Little Rock Marathon in Arkansas. It's at the end of February and I was toying with trying to do the half this year, but it wasn't practical. I really might plan to do the half next year, but the full marathon...don't know.

Coeur d'Alene Marathon in Idaho, Memorial Day weekend. Someday. Coeur d'Alene is easy to get to, but Memorial Day weekend always has so many options.

Chicago Marathon. Definitely not the top of my list, but someday. Maybe.

Lincoln Marathon in Nebraska. Don't know why, but this is crazy popular. So it must be worth doing.

New Hampshire Marathon - I want to go back to New England in the fall. Alternatively, I wouldn't mind doing the half along with the Maine Marathon half--they're on the same weekend!

New York City Marathon. Definitely not a priority, but it has to be on the list, right?

OBX (Outer Banks Marathon) in North Carolina. Actually I think I just want to do the half, especially if I get a chance to do it this fall (it's early November). Rod has a hankering to go to the Outer Banks, so maybe!

Flying Pig in Ohio. When pigs fly!

Philadelphia Marathon. It just sounds appealing.

Kiaweh Island Marathon in South Carolina. Definitely would consider the half here too. I think it's in December.

Austin Marathon in Texas. I've heard good things about it, and Austin seems like an interesting place to visit.

St. George in Utah. Actually there's a few that appeal in Utah. (Ogden, Utah Valley.) It's supposed to be a good Boston qualifier, because it's downhill. Of course, there's still the elevation issue!

Vermont City Marathon. Another competitor for Memorial Day weekend. It's been on my list for a while.

Richmond Marathon in Virginia; also MCM, of course.

I started putting in links to all these marathons, but I didn't save my work, had a mishap, and don't want to start again...so I'll leave it at that. I'll let you know if I sign up for any of them!



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Farewell 2014

Here we are at the end of 2014. I was about to say I can't remember what I did on New Year's Eve last year, but I just remembered--we ate a nice dinner (maybe steak and lobster tail?) and went to see Les Miserables, the movie. Loved it.

This year we're at Wapato Point, on Lake Chelan, for a few days. We're heading home tomorrow, early enough to see the Rose Bowl. It's been very cold here, 10-20 degrees every day. I have been wearing long underwear and fleece tops every day, even inside (although it's plenty warm inside). I have been running despite the cold, six sluggish miles yesterday and 8.25 pretty good miles today. I don't know if I'll be able to run tomorrow before we leave. It may be a topic of contention.

Today I added up my running mileage for the year. You know I had two months with almost no running in June and July (except for my marathon on June 1), due to my knee injury. A few weeks ago I added up the miles and thought I was on track for 1500 miles. But today I was more careful and ended up at 1496.86. 😩 Oh well.

I pulled my bicycling miles from Garmin (I did a lot of riding over the summer!) and got 1496.83!

Even though I am sad about all the running I missed during the summer, I would never have had the opportunity or idea to ride long distance (for me) if I'd been running regularly. In addition to long solo rides every weekend, I did four group rides, from 30 miles to 100K (62 miles). I really want to resume riding in the spring and summer next year. As well as running all the miles.

2014 is really divided into two parts for me. Part 1 is pre-knee injury. I started a new training plan, hoping to regain speed after all my marathons in 2013 made me slow. I wasn't looking for PRs but instead building a solid base. I went just barely under two hours at the Mercer Island Half Marathon, but missed two hours by a minute or two at the Whidbey Island Half (the first time ever in the seven times I've run it). I had solid but not spectacular times in the Shamrock Run 15K, Portland Rock 'n' Roll Half, and Bloomsday.

All this was leading up to my mid-year goal marathon, the North Olympic Discovery Marathon. I ran it in 4:28 in 2013, and felt like I had more to give.

Turns out I didn't. This year I did 4:31, which I consider pretty much equivalent, because they changed the course and the first half was a bit harder this year. I think my second half was actually faster in 2014 than 2013. But still, I don't plan on doing NODM again, at least for a while. I might do the half marathon someday, because I love the event and the area (Olympic Peninsula).
Finishing NODM.

Then Part 2.... After NODM I really wanted to turn up the training a notch and build speed over the summer for my big goal marathon, CIM in December.

Well, we know how that went. A week after NODM I hurt my knee and that was it for the summer. Well, that was it after a few failed runs and no doubt making it worse. I cycled and cross trained like a maniac, which hopefully kept me somewhat fit, but was not at all like running.

In August I was able to start running again. I spent the month run-walking and getting used to the feeling of running. (So awkward! So heavy! So slow!) In September running felt normal again and I was able to increase mileage and start doing speed work.

Over the summer and fall I dropped out of so many races I had preregistered for. Seattle Rock 'n' Roll, Anacortes Half Marathon, Bellingham Bay, Portland Half Marathon, and finally CIM in December. There were a few others I might have done, but luckily hadn't registered for.

In October and November I made my racing comeback with the Snohomish River Run 10K and Fowl Fun Run 10K. My first half marathon back was Seattle--which I had registered for a year in advance. Thank goodness that $60 (or whatever it was) didn't go to waste! I think my time for Seattle this year was about the same as last year. I don't want to check because I don't want to be sad.

So that means I feel like I am at about the same place this year as I was at the end of last year. Which is obviously somewhat discouraging. But maybe my spring build-up will be faster and better this year. Or if not...that's okay too. I'm not going to let it ruin my life.

One thing I think I have gained in the last few years is a greater sense of "who cares." I have had the experiences of being crushed by a missed goal, especially if it was so close. I spent years feeling bad about the Newport Marathon--which was my second fastest marathon ever. WHY? Finally I can remember it as a good race that I ran quite well, and a great trip with my parents by the way.

The reality is that I may never have another PR. I'm not saying I won't, but I'm getting older and while I know I can get faster, I don't know if I can get fast enough to beat my times from five years ago. That's no reason not to train hard, work on improvement, and enjoy running most of the time. There's enough suffering in running (speed work!) to be suffering about running.

So here's to the end of...a year...and to the beginning of another. See you next year!

January addendum...I wasn't able to post this yesterday because of a problem with the pictures I had included. So today I deleted the photos...sad (and boring). And I did manage to get in five miles this morning before heading home!

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What I Listen to When I Am Running

I confess, I need like to be entertained when I am running. I really don't enjoy listening to the sound of my breath and footsteps. Plus I like distractions to pass the time. I mean, I like running, but I also like to be done running, and if my iPod can make me feel like I'm done sooner, all the better.

There have been a few times when I've voluntarily run without earbuds and lived to tell the tale. There was one half marathon and a 15K (that I've done a few times) where headphones were banned and I obeyed the prohibition. When I did the McKenzie River 50K I ran the first 26 miles without music. I felt like I needed to concentrate on the tricky footing of the trails without distraction. The rushing of the McKenzie River was the soundtrack of my run. I did turn on the music for a boost in the last five miles, though.

Occasionally when I have done speed work I have turned off the sound for the last lap (e.g. 400 meters) to see if I would run faster without music. Sometimes I did, but it may just have been because it was the last lap! Talk about noisy breathing and pounding heart, though. And sometimes I will mute the earbuds for a few minutes during a run because I feel like shutting off the noise, or I'll pause at a light and then leave it off for a few minutes. Just a variation on ways to pass the time.

For many, many years I ran with music, and only music, during every run. Then a few years ago, as I began training for marathons, I began to get tired of hours of music during long runs. Yet I needed to be entertained, more than ever, when I was running for two to four hours at a time. That is when I joined Audible (first book is free!) and started downloading books to listen to during long runs. I'll list some of the books I've enjoyed in a bit. I like memoirs--running, triathlon, other sports, and non-athletic memoirs. I've also listened to a few books for my book club (mostly books I've read years ago and don't want to necessarily sit down and read again, but want to refresh in my memory).

I will say one cautionary thing about Audible. You pay for a book credit every month, and I have actually accumulated more books than I can get through (I've also paid for books when their cost is less than the value of the credit). Occasionally I feel like I should cancel my subscription until I get through my library.

In the couple years or so I have also started listening to talk audio rather than music during shorter easy runs. I generally listen to podcasts (more below) or sometimes radio shows with an app on my phone. I keep this mostly to easy runs because I do naturally run a little slower listening to books or chat than listening to music.

I save music for specific purposes where I really take advantage of its energy. I like it during speed work, tempo runs, and of course, races. I also like to switch to music in the last one to three miles of a run (depending on the length of run). That helps give me a finishing kick!

I will admit that I listened to talk instead of music in a couple marathons where distracting my mind felt more necessary than speed (of which I had little anyway). During the Kauai Marathon my head started out in a bad space (for various reasons), and my music was annoying me. Thanks to the time difference in Hawaii, I was able to turn on KIRO radio and listen to two hours of Seattle Kitchen, plus at least an hour of another talk show. I did go to music to finish up, and after that mental break I enjoyed the music's boost. During the Mount Desert Island I listened to an hour podcast for miles 18-23, and then I was ready to kick to the finish.

If you would like to explore some audio ideas, here are books and podcasts I've enjoyed. Sorry I can't do a link to everything (that would take all night), but you can look up the books (you might just want to read them, which is actually faster than listening, but hard to do while running), and you can find the podcasts on iTunes.


Books

I have listened to these books while running, cycling on a bike trail, walking, and long car drives. Many of them I have read as well as listened to (which is good because sometimes my mind wanders while listening). A few I have read, then purchased the audiobook, but haven't yet listened to the audio (but know the book was good). There are a lot more in my library that I'm not listing because I haven't read or listened to them yet. (Also, there are a lot of other running books and memoirs I've enjoyed that aren't available on audio, or at least I haven't found them.) The books here are not listened in any order of preference.

Running Books

Run! Dean Karnazes
50/50 Dean Karnazes
Ultramarathon Man Dean Karnazes
The Extra Mile Pam Reed
14 Minutes Alberto Salazar
My Life on the Run Bart Yasso
The Longest Race Ed Ayres
Running Ransom Road Caleb Daniloff
The Long Run Matt Long
Eat and Run Scott Jurek
A Race Like No Other Liz Robbins (this is about the NYC Marathon)
Running With the Kenyans Adharanand Finn
Born to Run Christopher McDougall


Triathlon Books
I don't do triathlons, but I've found these books fascinating and fun!

A Life Without Limits Chrissie Wellington
Can't Swim, Can't Ride, Can't Run Andy Holgate
Triathlon for Everywoman Meredith Atwood
Iron War Matt Fitzgerald
You Are An Ironman Jacques Steinberg
Finding Ultra Rich Roll

Miscellaneous Memoirs and Other

Wild Cheryl Strayed
Orange Is the New Black Piper Kerman
I Feel Bad About My Neck Nora Ephron
I Remember Nothing Nora Ephron
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake Anna Quindlen
Seriously, I'm Kidding Ellen Degeneris
Bossy Pants Tina Fey
A Walk in the Woods Bill Bryson
Catch Me if You Can Frank Abagnale
Diet Cults Matt Fitzgerald
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe Fanny Flagg (This was a book club book; I first read it about 20 years ago, and thought the audio version was lovely!)

Podcasts

Podcasts are great for running, as they tend to be about 30-60 minutes long, good for three to six mile runs or so. Even better if they're a little longer, in case your six mile run takes longer than an hour! I listen to podcasts for entertainment, and if they are preaching certain theories or philosophies, I take all that with a grain of salt. Depending on the podcast, you might get new episodes weekly, occasionally, or even more than once a week in some cases. But luckily any podcast that is new to you will have a backlog of episodes.

Podcasts I listen to regularly

Another Mother Runner
Diz Runs With (somewhat new to me, but I've listened to a few)
The Marathon Show (no longer producing new episodes, but there should be tons of old ones to access)
Marathon Training Academy
Runner Academy
Everyday Runners
NPR-Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (when I don't catch it on the radio). (I don't always want to listen to this running, sometimes I feel it makes me slower than other podcasts. Especially that time I listened to an interview with Al Gore near the end of an 18-miler. I literally had to turn it off so I didn't stop entirely.)

Newish-to-me podcasts that I have been exploring
Ultra Runner Podcast
The Running Lifestyle
Finding Ultra with Rich Roll

The one you should go listen to right now, if you haven't already
SERIAL from This American Life

Tomorrow morning I'll be listening to 57 minutes of Another Mother Runner!



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Location:What I Listen to While I'm Running

CIM Weekend (I'm not there)

In Sacramento, hundreds (thousands, probably) of runners are finishing up at the CIM expo, anticipating a pre-race pasta dinner tonight, laying out running gear and planning strategies for CIM tomorrow. (That's the California International Marathon, by the way. Folsom to the State Capitol.)

I'm not one of them. I should have been. I could have been. I paid to be and I'm not seeing that money ever again. But thanks to my injury-caused two month hiatus from running this summer, I'm in no shape to run 26.2 miles right now. Certainly not at the quality level that I had planned for CIM. I ran a half marathon last weekend at least a minute per mile slower than I wanted for CIM. And I'm pretty sure I would not even be able to sustain that pace for a full marathon.

In reality, if I tried to run a marathon right now I would certainly be shuffling and walking in the later miles, and I might hurt myself or otherwise damage my chances of getting back into good marathon shape sooner rather than later. I would also put a big damper on my good feelings about CIM. In 2009 it was my Boston Qualifier, PR, and first marathon ever. I have always believed that if I were able to beat (or match) that time, it would be at CIM. So that dream is still alive. Just waiting.

I accepted that I wouldn't be able to do CIM back in September, after I'd been back to running for a few weeks and could see that my comeback would not be miraculous. But I didn't actually bite the bullet and completely cancel my plans until this week. Of course the race entry is not refundable or deferrable. I could still toe the starting line tomorrow, if I were in California. But I had a very expensive luxury hotel reservation that needed to be cancelled (not something I want to pay for by accident!)

And then there were plane tickets. Luckily flights to Sacramento are cheap, relatively. I had purchased flight insurance for my parents and myself, thinking my dad's health might require them to cancel (with no expectation that I would have a problem). But I think trip insurance is the biggest rip-off in the world. When I was looking at the policy* I am pretty sure that it excludes having to cancel a trip because a leg injury required me to drop out of a race. I think that particular situation is actually spelled out in the rules. It is possible that my parents' tickets may be covered, as long as his medical issues are not a pre-existing condition. But on the other hand, who knows if I cancelled their tickets in the right way to collect. We haven't tried yet.

Now, even though the cheap Alaska tickets are non-refundable, Alaska does allow you to cancel and apply the value to another ticket within a year, minus a $125 fee. So I will be able to use it against another flight next year. Unfortunately, the credit expires before CIM next year, so I won't be able to use it for next year's race. Which sucks a little bit. (And I'll only have about $100 left after the fee. But it's something.)

About a week before Thanksgiving, I was browsing the CIM Facebook page and website (as you do), and I learned that although marathon spots can't be refunded or deferred, marathon entrants can transfer to the relay and get a refund of the marathon that way. The relay has four legs, varying from about five to seven miles. CIM had a "friend finder" on their Facebook page, where people could meet up with others looking to form a team.

On the day I found this, there were at least two possible teams I could request to join. I did some additional research and found a cheaper but well-located hotel that would have a room for me, and figured out that by paying the $125 fee, I could change my plane ticket to a shorter weekend so I wouldn't miss work on Friday.

But I waffled. I wasn't sure if I should do it. I wasn't sure if I wanted to. This was before the Seattle Half Marathon, so I hadn't yet tested myself on a longer race distance. (One of the relay options was to run two legs, essentially a half marathon.) I looked at the Friend Finder page several times a day. My opportunities to join a team dwindled. The price of the alternate hotel went up (a little). The airfare went up so I would have to pay something in addition to the change fee. I started scheduling things at work that would be difficult to miss if I were gone.

The window was closing. On Thanksgiving weekend I slammed it shut and walked away.

This weekend, instead of flying to Sacramento, I watched the Pac-12 championship game on TV. This morning I ran a 5K in Burlington (the Skagit Jingle Bell Run). Tomorrow morning I will run 10 miles. I will probably think about the CIM runners. (Also the Tucson Marathon runners, which was my December marathon last year.) I'll probably watch the Seahawks game. (Last year my dad and I couldn't watch the Seahawks game in Tucson after the marathon, because they didn't air it in Tucson!) (Don't know if it will be on in Sacramento.)

The thing is, I'm not a person who is willing to run a marathon inadequately trained just to say I did it. I read about those people all the time in blogs and on Facebook. Good for them, if that's what makes them happy. When I run a marathon I want to give a strong effort, and have the ability to give that strong effort. Sometimes that effort will result in a slow or unsatisfactory result. Probably it will result in a slow result, but most of the time it won't be unsatisfactory. Because I know I am prepared and I've given what I can on the day.

Which is why I won't be running CIM tomorrow.


*That would be looking at the policy to see if I could collect. Not looking at it prior to purchasing the trip insurance.


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Four Things

The latest blog survey going around has you list four things in a series of questions. Of course I am jumping on the bandwagon because, as Bridget Jones would say, "I love quizzes!" I will try to restrain myself to the mandated four things....

Four names that people call me other than my own
KT
Counsel
Ms. Brice (my law partner, sometimes judges get us mixed up)
Kretchen (this is what my mother used to call both me and my sister, Gretchen

Four jobs that I have had
Babysitter
Summer cleaning crew
Temp worker (receptionist type jobs)
Law Clerk for a judge

Four movies that I have watched more than once
Bridget Jones's Diary
When Harry Met Sally
Sleepless in Seattle
Notting Hill

(Honorable mentions: You've Got Mail, Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral. And I completely omitted Christmas movies; otherwise White Christmas, Holiday Inn, Miracle on 34th Street, and It's a Wonderful Life would top the list!)

Four books I'd recommend (oh there are so many!)
Iron War: Dave Scott, Mark Allen, and the Greatest Race Ever Run by Matt Fitzgerald
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
Moloka'i and Honolulu by Alan Brennert (yes, I snuck in two)
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

I restrained myself to only one running book! I have many more I could include. The others are all fiction. Even though my favorite genre is probably memoirs, my most intense reading experiences have been novels.

Four places I have lived
Tacoma, WA (college)
London, England (study abroad)
Washington, DC (internship)
Seattle, WA (law school)

Four places I have been
Five of the Hawaiian islands (Oahu, Maui, Hawaii, Kauai, Moloka'i)
England
Norway and Denmark
Scotland

Four places I have run marathons (I added this category)
Boston (Boston Marathon)
Bar Harbor, ME (Mount Desert Island Marathon)
Minneapolis-St. Paul (Twin Cities Marathon)
Hawaii (Honolulu Marathon and Kauai Marathon)

Four places I'd rather be right now
London
Hawaii (any island)
I can't really come up with anything else...it might be easier if I were doing this at work instead of home! As it is, any other option would require me to go out into the cold and change out of my sweatshirt and yoga pants, so....

Four things I don't eat (This one is hard because I pretty much eat anything and everything, but....)
Lutefisk (this is a Norwegian cod dish, and I just don't like it...but I could eat it if I needed to)
Pumpkin pie (I don't like it, but I made a pie with Kabocha pumpkin, and it's pretty good!)
Tapioca or rice pudding (I think it's a texture thing)
Liver, heart, gizzards (I don't think I like these things, but maybe with the right preparation....)

Four of my favorite foods
Wild Alaskan Salmon
Chocolate
Sweet Potatoes
Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries (possibly tied with watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew)

Four TV shows I watch
The Middle
The Goldbergs
Modern Family
Black-ish

Pretty much keeping ABC Wednesday night in business--I DVR them and watch throughout the week if I don't watch on Wednesday. I also watch Once Upon a Time on Sunday nights and Hot in Cleveland on DVR (so bummed it's been canceled). And Orange Is the New Black on Netflix (I only watch about one episode a week so I haven't binged through the whole series yet!)

Four things I am looking forward to
Maui trip in January
Vancouver Marathon in May
Going to see Wild, the movie, in December
Three running movies coming out in 2015! McFarland, USA (cross country, big studio, Kevin Costner, opening in February); Tracktown, the Movie (indie film set in Eugene, created by runner Alexi Pappas and her boyfriend/business partner); the Boston Marathon film, a documentary directed by Jon Dunham. Exciting!

Four things I am always saying
"Jeez Louise"
"Awesome"
"What?" (People mumble.)
"Grande Americano, light room."

So there you go. A few of my favorite things. What are your four things?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Ten Years

It's been ten years since my last blog post...not really. It just seems that way. I really fell off blogging, mostly because of computer struggles. My iPad app wasn't working, my laptop at work was dying (finally replaced a few months ago), and uploading photos seemed to get harder and harder. My adult ADD would not tolerate sitting around trying to make things work.

But I did get the new laptop, my iPad is all updated, and I don't know about pictures yet but we'll see how that goes. If I ever write another post after this.

Here's a super quick running update for 2014. I started working with a coach in hopes of regaining some speed (I was really burned out after all the fall marathons on 2013). I made some decent progress in the spring with strong half marathons. Then I ran the North Olympic Discovery Marathon on June 1. I thought I had the potential for improvement over 2013. Turns out I did not. My 2014 time was virtually the same as 2013--actually three minutes slower but I'm giving myself a break because they changed the course so that the first half was quite a bit harder than before. I think my second half might have been faster this year than last. But that hardly matters, my overall performance was basically mediocre (4:31). Still, that was substantially faster than my last three marathons in 2013. And even though the NODM course was harder (I would call it a moderately difficult marathon overall), it is beautiful, and fun, and I would recommend it to anyone. I probably won't run it again because my fate seems pretty much sealed as to time. I wouldn't mind running the half, though. And I'd be happy to take another trip to the Olympic Peninsula.

NODM was on June 1, and I took a week off to recover, then started running again. Then I hurt my knee. I still feel it's ridiculous that I trained for and ran a marathon (not to mention 15 marathons before that) with no problems, and somehow got injured in a minor training run. To try to make a long story short, I tried to keep running after my knee hurt, I probably made it worse, I saw my doctor, a PT, a sports doc, had X-Rays and an MRI, and was tentatively diagnosed with a meniscus tear than was probably more due to wear than traumatic injury.

So for the rest of June and all July, I stopped running. I used the elliptical like it was my job (ask me about elliptical workouts that will kick your butt), started bike riding long distances, went to weekly spin classes, and even went swimming sometimes on weekends when it was hot enough. And did PT exercises, core work, and yoga. (Still, I managed to gain a few pounds over the summer.)

In August I was able to start run-walking. Running was so hard! My legs felt heavy and foreign to me. Eventually it got easier and I was able to run "normally" (though slowly) starting about in September. I'm up to 13 miles and on November 30 I'm doing the Seattle Half. With no expectations. Over the summer I had to miss four half marathons that I had registered and paid for. Two of them I was able to transfer the registration to someone else, but Seattle RnR and Portland were a complete loss.

I am also registered for a marathon in December, but I'm not going. It breaks my heart a little bit (not just because of the money down the drain), but I am not a person who is willing to go just do a marathon when I'm not properly trained. I know lots of people do.

Also, this was supposed to be my big attempt at a long lost marathon PR, after a summer of hard training. That didn't happen (not as far as running goes), and I don't want to ruin my positive, optimistic feelings about CIM being my best chance for a fast marathon. Maybe it will be next year.

This has gotten really long, and I haven't even gotten to the topic from my title. "Ten Years." Ten years ago, November 2004, I was 39.25 years old and I decided to change my life (health and body-wise) by the time I turned 40. I'd actually had it in mind for a while, but (of course) procrastinated until pretty much the last minute. I don't know why this time it worked when it hadn't before, but over the next nine months I lost about a hundred pounds (estimating wildly here), and then after my 40th birthday continued on until I was about 10 pounds less than I am now. By the time I was 40 I was running and walking a lot on the treadmill. I took up outdoor running the following year, and haven't looked back.

How's that for covering my whole topic in one paragraph?



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

And so ends 2013...

Also known as the year I became a slacker blogger! Okay, don't mean to start on a negative note. Maybe my one resolution for 2014 will be to write more!

I can't remember if I made any 2013 resolutions. Basically I just wanted to live my life well, run, be healthy, nothing super exciting. I hope I didn't plan to run faster. Well, I probably did, because I ended 2012 pretty slow. I was both faster and slower in 2013. All of my 2013 marathons were faster than my slowest 2012 marathons, but my fastest 2013 marathon (NODM - 4:28) was slower than my fastest 2012 marathon (Eugene - 4:21). And I'm pretty sure that my average half marathon time was slower this year. Only one under two hours (Heroes' Half), a couple 2:00 (Whidbey, Portland Rock & Roll) and one 2:02 (Mercer Island).

I did set a goal of running 13 half marathons in 2013. I thought that was such a clever idea--turned out it was a thing. Everyone was doing it. In the end I ran 15. So two don't count (I'm counting them as long runs because in each I ran extra miles before and after to make 20-21 miles).

Here are the half marathons of 2013 (the ones that "don't count" are in parentheses):

January 20, 2013 - Maui Oceanfront Half Marathon - 2:09:50
February 27, 2013 - Birch Bay Half Marathon - 2:08:19
March 24, 2013 - Mercer Island Half Marathon - 2:02:12
(March 30, 2013 - Cupcake Run - 2:06:32)
April 14, 2013 - Whidbey Island Half Marathon - 2:00:31
April 28, 2013 - Heroes' Half Marathon - 1:58:37
(May 12, 2013 - Kirkland Half Marathon - 2:06:56)
May 19, 2013 - Portland Rock &Roll Half Marathon - 2:00:10
June 22, 2013 - Seattle Rock & Roll Half Marathon - 2:09:49
July 27, 2013 - Anacortes Art Dash Half Marathon - 2:04:34
August 10, 2013 - Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon - 2:21:41
September 29, 2013 - Bellingham Bay Half Marathon - 2:10:14
October 13, 2013 - Biggest Loser Half Marathon Seattle - 2:07:59
October 27, 2013 - Snohomish River Run Half Marathon - 2:12:50
December 1, 2013 - Seattle Half Marathon - 2:13:44

I ran four marathons in 2013.

June 2, 2013 - North Olympic Discovery Marathon - 4:28:19
September 1, 2013 - Kauai Marathon (Hawaii) - 5:09:23
October 20, 2013 - Mount Desert Island Marathon (Maine) - 4:53:38
December 8, 2013 - Tucson Marathon (Arizona) - 4:44:05

I did a bunch of 5Ks and 10Ks, one 5-mile, one 12K, two 15Ks, and one 30K. None of them were PRs. I didn't expect them to be. It's all good. (That really should be one of the phrases of 2013 that is retired in 2014!)

My total mileage for the year is something over 1,850 miles. I'm not sure of the exact number because I lost track of a couple runs with my non-functional Garmin. But that's about right.
One of the reasons I have many unfinished posts is that I want to add pictures and it is such a pain (to get them onto the computer, not to upload them into the blog post). I had several pictures to put in here but...it's too much of a pain. So here is one picture to end the year, the finish of the Kauai Marathon. (It may have been slow, but it was sort of awesome!)

I have some plans for 2014...but that will be for another post.

Happy New Year everyone!

Tucson Marathon - Last Marathon of 2013

On Sunday I ran the Tucson Marathon.* Since I finished before noon, I can legitimately say it was morning. The marathon started at 7 a.m. But I was up at 4 a.m. and got on the bus from the hotel to the start before 5. The drive up took about 45 minutes. Luckily we were allowed to stay on the buses as long as we wanted, which was good because it was cold out! Not bitterly cold like at home, or in other parts of the country where marathons were cancelled due to snow and ice, but it certainly felt cold. I heard later that it was around 40 degrees up at the start, but there was a cold wind that certainly brought the "feels like" temperature much lower.

Which leads me to my primary topics--"What Went Well" and "What Could Have Been Better"!

What Went Well

I dressed appropriately for conditions. This was not as easy to accomplish as you would think. Even when I left home I was unsure how the weather would turn out. At one time they were projecting freezing at starting time and upper 50s by the end. As it turned out, it was probably in the lower 40s throughout. I went with capris, a sleeveless NuuMuu dress (with sunblock on my arms in case I got down to that layer), a light half zip over that (which I bought at the Expo, even though I had one with), a zip-up hoody which was supposed to be a throwaway layer, a running cap, gloves, and a warmer fleece jacket which I left in my drop bag. I started with the hood over my hat (the wind was cold) but was fine when the hood blew off after a couple miles. I took my gloves off for an early bathroom stop and carried them the rest of the way. My throwaway stayed on--comfortably--for 23 miles! At that point I took it off and tied it around my waist to save for future use. I pinned my bib on my fuel belt to accommodate changes of layers. My bare arms were never exposed.

My easy pace was good in the early miles. The beginning miles had downhills which I know helped my speed, but it also had some rollers. I was feeling strong then, though, and it didn't hold me back. I don't feel like I went out too fast. Miles 1-10 were all where I wanted them to be, except for mile 4 with a bathroom break, and one might say mile 6 was too fast but it felt okay, and I was catching the 4:30 pacer (a somewhat temporary endeavor). See--9:53, 10:04, 9:51, 12:23, 9:49, 9:12, 9:46, 10:02, 10:14, 10:18 (BTW, 10:18 is the pace for a 4:30 marathon.

Miles 11-17 were acceptable, given some hilly sections of the course and my "banked time" from the early miles. (Although I suppose you could say I had already used up the banked time with the bathroom stop.) Miles 11, 12, and 13 were out and back on Biosphere Road. Out was largely uphill. This was where the 4:30 pacer passed me, on the out. Although he was ahead of pace because I passed 13.1 at under 2:15, yet never caught up (while running, anyway). 10:44, 10:45, 10:24, 10:33, 10:29, 13:20 (another bathroom stop, ugh), 10:33. By the way, I saw the 4:30 pacer for the final time at that 15-mile bathroom stop--he was coming out of the porta potty I went into. Obviously he was off pace at that point. But I assume he is a naturally fast runner and would make up the time and catch up with his group, who were presumably staying dutifully on pace in his absence.

You could say miles 18-19 weren't bad, compared to what happened after that. 10:48 and 10:49. These miles had my first walk breaks, and I still stayed under 11 minutes. At that point.

I used walk breaks pretty well, and didn't get sucked into long walking spells. Which can totally happen. As in Honolulu. (Although in Honolulu at least I only had one, quick, bathroom stop.) Starting in Mile 18, through 24, I allowed myself one 30 or 60 second walk after the mile marker. Obviously I should have stuck with 30, but I succumbed to a little weakness. I also walked briefly in 2-3 aid stations while getting water. Once I combined this with my other walk, but there were a couple supplemental. The walking did slow me down. I honestly don't know what my splits would have been if I'd plugged through without walking. Miles 20-24 - 11:17, 11:09, 11:32, 12:19, 11:19. Miles 23-26.2 was a deviated course due to road work, and there were some evil hills as well as some hills that would have been easy if it wasn't the end of the marathon! I stopped walking after my break at the beginning of 24 but honestly you can't see the difference. Mile 25 was 11:20 and mile 26 was 10:47 (a bit of attempt to finish strong). I did finish strong in the final .42 mile at a 10:14 pace (back to goal pace, haha).

I used a podcast to get through the deadly middle miles from 15-ish to almost 22. I wasn't going to do this because I do think that I run slightly slower with audio than music, but the distraction value was worth the potential few seconds different. Plus, it made music seem fresh and uplifting when I went back to it at mile 22. I listened to The Marathon Show's latest episode, an interview with Gary Allen and Reno Stirrat, both of whom have run many sub-3 marathons. NOT like me. Gary Allen is also the founder of MDI Marathon.

I fueled...okay. I had a Gu around mile 8-9 and another around 13-14. In the upper miles I started to feel nauseous and didn't want Gu. I did have some Gatorade (just a few sips though). Somewhere after mile 20 I dug out another Gu and ate about half over a couple miles. Then I threw it away. I never felt like I hit the wall but obviously I did slow down.

What Could Have Been Better

Bathroom management. Obviously. I don't want to go into TMI details about what didn't happen before the start and what did in the lengthy stops, but although it was necessary at the time it clearly added several minutes to my time. I only went to the porta potty once before the start--I like to go three times. It was just too cold to spend an hour standing in lines. I stayed on the bus as much as I could. In an almost ideal marathon I would have one bathroom stop of about 90 seconds. I calculate these two totaled about five minutes.

Not fading after mile 18 (or 17). Although I slowed after mile 10, things didn't really get semi-ugly until near mile 20. Not unheard of. But I need to work on that. Especially if I plan to have a goal pace next year that's faster than 10:18, or 10:00, or 9:45....

Not walking. Although the walking was not a bad thing, I've run many marathons without walking at all. Why I have I succumbed to the walk?

Fueling better. An ongoing problem for me. Although, I will say that in my faster marathons I don't think I fueled any more than this one. I may have made it through three Gu's once or twice...maybe. Never the four I plan for.

Running through discomfort. Not bathroom discomfort, although there is a line there too between when to hold it and when not to. What I am really talking about is making myself hold on when running feels hard. It's great that mikes 1-10 felt easy at goal pace. Goal pace should feel at least sort of easy for as long as possible. But at some point, it's not going to. Somehow, I've got to get better at sucking it up.

What I'm Not Saying Is the Answer

Just running faster. Obviously that would be nice, but I trained for a 4:30 marathon at 10:18 pace (that would be the pace without bathroom stops), and the important thing is maintaining the range of that pace, not trying to run faster. When it's time to run faster I need to train for that.

In the end, I think it went well (enough).

My fastest marathon this year was NODM at 4:28, and my other two were much slower. Kauai was 5:09 and MDI was 4:53. This one? 4:44:05. This was supposed to be an easier course (and overall it was), with a lot of downhill (and it did have, although much was very gradual), but it was NOT easy and with the changes in the last three miles it was quite challenging. So I'm okay with finishing my last marathon of 2013 as my second fastest of the year.

P.S. I've tried to find some significance in the numbers--4:44-- but I can't. OH WAIT! (Honestly this just occurred to me.) This was my 4th marathon of the year, on the 4th anniversary of my first marathon, and I'm in my 49th year, which if you add the number together numerology style to get a single digit, it is 4. Yes, I had to stretch on that one. The first two came easily. So clearly, I was destined to run 4:44 today.

*Yes, I know I haven't blogged since October 8 (two months!). So many unfinished blog posts. Maybe someday I'll finish writing about Kauai, Mount Desert Island, Honolulu 2012....

My thoughts on marathon taper

I've just started a two week taper in anticipation of Mount Desert Marathon, coming up on October 20 in Bar Harbor, Maine. I often read about runners who don't like taper, who find it frustrating and difficult to get through.

That's not me. I embrace the taper! Maybe I'm just lazy and welcome an opportunity to cut back on running. But I don't think that's it. (I am lazy, but in other ways!) I actually do get restless on non-running days, or during the real rest period after the marathon is over. But tapering doesn't bother me.

It's not like you give up running during a taper. Just laying around for two or three weeks would truly be a problem and impact your fitness. Taper includes plenty of running, just in gradually decreasing amounts as the marathon date occurs.

Generally speaking, a taper is two or three weeks long. I actually prefer a three-week taper, even though I'm only doing two weeks this time, and did two weeks before Kauai. This is because my training period between Kauai and MDI was less than two months, so I didn't want to spend a great portion of it in taper. I had three months between NODM and Kauai, but somehow the two-week taper worked better for scheduling then too.

This is what a good three week taper looks like to me. (On non-running days, I generally continue to cross-train on the elliptical.)

Three weeks before the marathon - final long run of 20-22 miles. The week after that long run my weekday runs don't change, typically 6-8 miles three times during the week. If I am doing speed work and tempo runs in the training cycle, I would continue with them as well.

Two weeks before the marathon - long run is 13-16 miles. This is a great time to do a half marathon with a two-mile warm-up. You can either run at faster than marathon pace (there's still plenty of time to recover from a strong half marathon effort, as long as it isn't super hard) or practice running at marathon pace. Again the weekday runs would stay at 6-8 miles, though perhaps trend toward the lower end. I think it's fine to do a little speed work or a tempo run as well. I have been known to do a 5K on a Saturday one week before the marathon, if I am not doing a half that weekend.

One week before the marathon - long run is 8-13 miles. I would likely do 10-12 unless I am running a half marathon. I like to do a half marathon at marathon pace (if I didn't do one the prior weekend).

The final week before the marathon - in this last week it is time to reduce both duration and intensity of runs. I might do six miles on Monday, five on Wednesday, and four on Thursday. (Or, given my propensity to overdo, six, six, five.) If I want to do a little speed work I might do a few 400s on Wednesday (but only if I've been doing speedwork regularly). It is really important not to do anything that might cause lingering soreness or injury at this point. So no hill repeats or barreling down hills too fast. It's not a bad idea to do all your easy runs this week at marathon pace.

I like to take two days off running before a big race. That would mean cross-training (sort of easily) on Friday and real rest on Saturday. I am not one who likes to do a shake-out run the day before the marathon. (However, that might change a little this time around.) On occasion (like in Kauai), I did do my last short run just two days before, and then just have the one rest day. That was more of a travel and scheduling fluke than any plan on my part.

This time around I am doing a two-week taper, but my longest run (20 miles) was actually four weeks before the marathon. On Sunday I did my final long-ish run of 18 miles. The rest of my planned taper schedule looks like this....

• Monday (yesterday) 6.5 miles at marathon pace (average 10:15, miles 3-6.5 were around 10-minute pace).
• Tuesday - 53 minutes elliptical (I was short on time) and going to hot yoga tonight.
• Wednesday - I'll do 6-7 miles at a moderate effort, hopefully averaging 10-10:30 pace. I'm also going to test wear my marathon outfit! That will give me time to wash it and pack before leaving for Maine.
• Thursday - Planning an hour on the elliptical.
• Friday - 6-7 miles at moderate effort.
• Saturday - Yoga (not hot) and some time on the elliptical.
• Sunday - Biggest Loser Half Marathon at marathon pace effort. What does that mean? Don't try too hard! Historically, I almost always try at least moderately hard in a half marathon (results may vary). I really want to work at a pace that I can sustain for further than 13 miles. Slow as that may be.

Next week I'll do about six miles on Monday, fly to Maine on Tuesday, five or six on Wednesday, and then a few (no more than five) on Thursday. Rest on Friday! The switch-up is that I'm doing a two-mile fun run on Saturday morning, en route to a pre-marathon breakfast. This will be my first stab at a shake-out run! Not something I plan to continue, it just worked out that way. Still plenty of time for rest after that. Hopefully with blueberry pancakes in my tummy.

My 18-mile run on Sunday went really well. I was determined to do 18 miles instead of another 20, because I feel like I recover really well from 18-milers and I didn't want to drag myself down so close to marathon date. After two slower warm-up miles I was running around 10-minute pace through mile 10. Then I slowed to 10:30ish for four miles, and finally finished the last four miles back at 10-minute pace. (Average overall 10:20.) At mile 17 my sister drove by on the way to my parents', so I told her to drive ahead a mile and wait for me. I had over-run the distance at the beginning and it was still an extra mile to my parents' house...and I didn't want to run that last unplanned mile.

Then we went to my parents' and ate lots of good brunch food. The end.

Things I've learned about running over the years

I have a few unfinished posts waiting for me, but I keep getting bogged down in finishing them. So I thought I'd do a little free writing instead. I was sitting here reading a blog where the writer said she wasn't worried any more about trying to run PRs and get faster all the time.

Of course it made me think about how I don't foresee any PRs in my near (or perhaps distant) future, either. I think it's one of the myths people like to believe about running...that if you train regularly and try pretty hard you can keep improving and getting PRs. That's not necessarily true. You can run regularly, and do speed work, and not get laid up with an injury, and really try to run fast in races, and still just keep getting slower. Or get a little faster but not as fast as you once were. It's a roller coaster, really.

Some of the other things I've learned (that were a little surprising to me at the time)....

• You really have to run more than two or three miles before a run becomes enjoyable. Maybe it's just me, but the first two miles of a run are usually slow, awkward, and not fun. That's why I almost always do warm-up runs before a race. My warm-up distances are one (or two) miles for a half marathon, two miles for a 10K or similar distance, and three miles for a 5K. I don't do warm-ups for a marathon, generally, although I suspect it wouldn't hurt. When I was in high school I ran regularly (for off and on stretches of time), but I never did more than two, occasionally three miles at a time. I never liked running back then. But when I started running five or six miles, the endorphins kicked in, and I found out I really did like to run!

• Never say never. Any time I have said never again it has come back to bite me. For example...I'll never run over a two hour half marathon again. Um, yeah....I've been under and over more times than I can count. (I definitely do not intend to say I'll never run under a two hour half again!)

• You can run for about three hours before your body starts to break down. Again, at least for me. This is why 18 miles is my favorite long run distance. (Granted it usually takes more than three hours, but it's in the neighborhood.) I'm not saying that 18 miles or three hours doesn't hurt, but it's fairly easy to recover from.

• You run a lot slower on trails than on roads. That's normal. But if you run on trails a lot, your legs will adapt to that slower trail pace, and it might be hard to recover your road running pace. I'm sure trails build a lot of fitness in many ways, but they do nothing for speed.

• It's okay to walk. I'm not a run-walk person, generally speaking. If I'm running, I prefer not to walk (although I will stop as needed) and if I am walking, breaking into a run seems like the most impossible, awkward thing. But I have discovered that a judicious use of walking in some races (and especially in trail runs with a lot of difficult, hilly terrain) is not a bad thing. It's best, in my opinion, to put some structure around it (e.g., walk for a minute every mile), so that you don't end up walking and dread starting to run again (e.g., Honolulu Marathon).

• You can run faster in a race than in a training run, no matter how hard you try in the training run. I know, everyone already knows that. But it shocked me, in my early days of running 10Ks and half marathons, how I could take off and go faster than I thought I could. Even though that's abated a little bit--after running so many races, the race-day adrenaline is a little weaker--I can still usually find my git-up-and-go and pull out a decent finish time. (I said decent. Not great.)

• However, when you get to the marathon, most likely your marathon pace is not going to be all that much faster than your long run pace. I know that contradicts most every training recommendation to run your long runs 1-2 minutes slower than goal race pace. And maybe if you are a super fast talented runner that works. But almost invariably I have found that my marathon pace turns out to be only a little faster than my typical long run pace for that training cycle. (And if the marathon gets ugly, it might even be slower.)

And finally, the most important, and shocking thing I've learned in my seven or so years of adult running....

• You can run 26.2 miles and live to tell the tale. I know, it shocked me too!

The good and the (really) bad

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water....

That's actually a non sequitur. There's no swimming here. Or sharks.

How about, just when you thought it was safe to go back out on the roads? That's not quite right either.

But I did feel like my small running-related woes and worries were decreasing. My dodgy Achilles discomfort had subsided to almost unnoticeable. My non-working Garmin sprang back to life on Friday morning, and was still working for my long run on Saturday. Everything was a go.

I headed out for my 20-miler around 8:30 on Saturday morning. I had really intended to go at 8:00, but Book Club on Friday night kept me out until midnight, and what is a Saturday morning for if not being able to stay in bed a little longer than a workday?

The weather Saturday morning was cloudy and comfortable, not too warm, not too cold. I started with a loop through North Everett. August 3 happened to be "The Mother of All Garage Sales," so I had to dodge various crowds of garage salers along the way. Aside from the obstacles, I felt slow and steady for the first six miles.

Then I headed towards Mukilteo. The road to Mukilteo is hilly. Long rolling hills. That's why I love it. Okay, love it might be an exaggeration, but  I did intentionally select the route for hill training. Between the ups and downs, I was still keeping a pretty steady pace between 10:30 and 10:45. I had hoped that I would get to the Mukilteo Ferry at 13 miles, but it wasn't quite far enough so I took a side trip through Mukilteo to add a little extra distance.

I took a bathroom stop at the ferry, and sat on a bench for a few minutes. Then I had to stand and wait for an entire ferry to load up before crossing the street and heading on my way. I was a little sluggish after the long break, and it's all uphill from the ferry out of town, so I was a lot slower starting my trip back than I had been earlier. Actually it took me about five miles before I got back to my original pacing...which would coincide with finishing the final hill by Forest Park before heading back into downtown Everett.

I stopped for my now traditional rainbow pop at around mile 16.5. There is something so refreshing about frozen fruit-flavored sugar water! I had originally thought of doing 21 miles, but due to lack of time I cut it to 20.20. I had also been using MapMyRun without pausing, and it said 20.65 which included some stuff that wasn't on my Garmin. My Garmin pace for the run was 10:50, and my MapMyRun pace (without ever stopping the timer at all) was 13:19. (I seriously thought it would be slower, especially considering the long stop at the ferry!)

Once I got home I had to hustle because Rod and I were meeting my sister, her kids and my parents at the Stanwood Fair. By now the sun had come out and it was a lovely afternoon. The Stanwood Fair is a small town fair with animals, crafts and food displays, carnival rides, and a pretty good selection of food.

I accompanied Hans on the pony ride. His twin Erik didn't want to go, but changed his mind after watching Hans and then Eva. The pony ride is pretty long and it's more work than you would think trotting around in a circle making sure the toddler doesn't slide off!

 Rod and I with Eva and Hans on the carousel.

 Me, Eva, and Rod on the Tilt-a-Whirl, which is a lot scarier than I expected!

I also accompanied Eva through the House of Mirrors...it was a narcissist's dream.

Then Eva went on some more of the kiddy rides unaccompanied. She had the wristband for unlimited rides...the rest of us had to buy tickets. Carnival rides aren't cheap.

By 7:00 I was ready to eat, and we dragged Eva away from the giant slide to get some food. Since it was late in the day, things were running out...specifically the turkey legs (which is what I had wanted). I got a brat instead, and corn on the cob. Then we were all tired enough to head home.

I think the walking and activity was good for my legs, because they never got really achy. Sunday I rode 22 miles on my bike (not fast).

Sunday night was when the bad started to happen. Actually it had started a few days ago with a slight sore throat that didn't go away. It never turned into a cold either. But on Sunday the sore throat got much worse, and Sunday night I had to sleep sitting up in a chair because when I was lying down I was having too much pain. Swallowing hurt so badly that I would start choking on my saliva because I didn't want to swallow. I was a mess. (Still, no cold.)

Despite the sore throat, I managed to go out for a moderate 6.25 mile run on Monday morning. I was back on MapMyRun because, guess what, my Garmin had died again. That was minor compared to the misery of my sore throat. I decided I would go to the Group Health Urgent Care after work.

Then, rushing into work, I pulled the building door into my foot and ripped off my big toenail. Well, it didn't detach completely but it was excrutiatingly painful and once the pain subsided (which happened quite quickly) I was gushing blood. I limped into the building and one of the guards helped me to a bathroom and called the detention nurse who bandaged me up. After my court calendar I drove down to Group Health and begged to be seen (for the toe and, while they were at it, the sore throat).

All they did for the toe was re-bandage it. As for the throat, they accepted my self-diagnosis of night-time reflux making my throat sore, and gave me a prescription for an acid-blocking med.

I don't know if that is the real cause, but happily, my throat seemed less painful that afternoon and, while it's still somewhat sore, I can swallow and eat without wanting to die. Obviously I was not cured by the medication (yet) as I just got it, but I'll go through the prescription for three weeks and see what happens. I pray that the sore throat will be all gone by the end of this week.

Because that's when I'm going to be in Colorado. My dad and I are leaving on Thursday for Denver, then Idaho Springs, for the Georgetown to Idaho Springs Half Marathon this weekend. Yes, I know it is possible that I will not be running. I have no idea if my toe will be healed enough to run. Well, I know it won't be healed, but the question is whether I can run without much pain and without injuring myself further. If it doesn't seem like a good idea, then Colorado will be just a trip, not a race. I'm considering doing a test run tomorrow. If I can get my shoe on. Today was a rest day. I have also eaten cookies, cake and candy today, even though it is my least moving day ever!

In addition to everything else, yesterday I booked tickets for Tucson in December, for the Tucson Marathon. And...I got trip insurance. Just in case.

August 1 - One month to the Kaua'i Marathon!

Shall I join in the chorus of, "I can't believe it's already August"? And commiserate that summer is almost over? It has seemed a little fall-like for the last couple days, as it's been cloudy all day and never burned off in the afternoon. In fact, yesterday afternoon we had freak thundershowers. But despite the cloudiness, I haven't felt the bite in the air that says fall to me. It's been warmish and a little humid instead.

Actually, you know we're not even halfway through the summer. Summer ends around September 20. But most of us feel like summer ends informally around Labor Day, probably because the whole "school" thing.

For me, this year Labor Day weekend brings the Kaua'i Marathon! It's on Sunday, September 1, exactly one month from today.

Am I ready? I think so. I've run one 20-miler and have one planned for Saturday. Then I'll do an 18-miler in two weeks (which is two weeks prior to the marathon). I decided not to squeeze in a full 20-miler on that last long run, since two weeks is just a little close to race date. I feel comfortable with 18 miles, as that is the long distance that I seem most able to easily recover from.

I have had a few little glitches--not quite setbacks--that have affected my training and state of mind in the last couple weeks. I have had a persistent discomfort in my left Achilles that is not quite painful, but just enough to concern me. Actually on Saturday, after the Anacortes Art Dash Half Marathon, my Achilles was really sore and painful to the touch. I ended up putting on a compression ankle brace/sock that I had bought for my other leg, and it really helped a lot. I have been pretty proactive with both legs, wearing compression socks and sleeves for the last few days, icing (with cold packs, not actual ice), and applying anti-inflammatory cream pretty regularly. Both legs are a lot better now, and of course, I am starting to slack on the icing and ointment.

On the technical side of things, my brand new (two months old) Garmin Forerunner 610 has gone CRAZY. Crazy in the sense that it won't charge, and has done some other bizarre things that make it unusable. I have called Garmin once and they gave me some things to do to try to resolve it. Up until this morning nothing has worked. I've had it plugged in to charge for two days and the screen remains blank. But this morning, when I was planning to call Garmin again, it suddenly showed 93% charged! WTF??? I left it plugged in to "finish" charging, and we'll see if I have a working watch when I get home today.

Obviously I can't run without my Garmin. Kidding! But just barely...it's hard to feel like I'm really running without constantly monitoring the pace and distance. I have been using the MapMyRun app, which does measure distance and pace based on the total time. But you can't easily pause MapMyRun like a Garmin, so I just keep it running except for major lights where's there's time to stop and start. So my timed pace has been in the 11-minute plus range for the last two days, and I have no idea what it would be if I could pause at all stops. (Or if I could just run steadily without stopping...what a concept!)

Between my sensitive legs and my insensitive pacing, I have not even tried to do any speedwork or tempo runs this week. I've also continued to ditch the weekday long runs that I wanted to do. It just doesn't seem wise (either speedwork or too much distance) when I'm trying to coddle my Achilles tendons. On Monday I ran about 6.25 miles at a 10:30 pace (Garmin worked up to 5.6 miles, then died--I assume my pace was about the same for the remaining distance.) On Wednesday I did 7 miles with MapMyRun, and today 6.75. My next run is a long run on Saturday, and who knows whether I'll be using Garmin or MapMyRun? Actually, I am planning to run MapMyRun even if I have a Garmin, just in case the watch dies mid-run. Also, I would like to compare the distance measured my MapMyRun with the Garmin distance.

Even though I said I'm pretty much ready for Kaua'i (although I wouldn't want to run it this weekend), the leg issues and watch issues have made me a little leery about running. It's hard enough to get myself out of bed in the morning, without wondering if I am going to hurt myself running! I've sort of gotten past the edginess that comes from running without my Garmin, but I don't like being unable to monitor my pace. I don't know if it's good or bad that it might be working again. It would be nice to have it on Saturday (and for a half marathon coming the following Saturday), but there's always the fear that it will die again, leaving me watchless at a crucial time! I guess with MapMyRun I have some backup. It would be fine in a race, as I wouldn't pause for stops anyway. I have also been thinking of buying a cheap Timex GPS watch as an additional backup. (The model is called Marathon, so why wouldn't I want it? Haha.)

Random running update

I can't believe it's been more than two weeks since I've written a post. My computer deficiencies make it less than convenient to just sit down and write a quick post...plus, things like work get in the way!

Since the 4th of July we've had pretty good weather most days. I think there were a few random rainstorms at some point but most of my running has been in sleeveless tops. I always run in the mornings so even on hot days it is comfortable. I've had a few long runs that have extended into the warm mid-morning, but that's not a bad thing...I need to acclimatize for Kauai anyway.

I am currently in week 7 of my 12-week Kauai Marathon training plan. This time around I used a Runners' World Smart Coach customized plan. I tweaked it to suit my schedule and needs, and frankly I've tweaked and modified it so much that I don't consider this training cycle a good test of the effectiveness of the plan. I've followed the basic structure, particularly with the long runs. But the one thing I liked most about the plan is the part I've failed most consistently; that is, weekday long runs. A lot of the weekday runs are supposed to be 8, 9, 10 miles. Despite my good intentions, I have not managed a weekday run longer than eight miles, and most have been 6.2 - 7.5. It's not that I don't have the ability to run the distance, I just cannot get the motivation to get out of bed early enough to add 2-4 miles to my schedule. I thought summer would be the perfect time to do that, but...I am weak.

The last two weeks I have been running both weekend days, with a short race on Saturday (i.e. a tempo run for me) and a long run on Sunday. Back on July 13 I did the Magnuson Run Series 5K. The last time I did this back in May I was just over 25 minutes, and really hoped to break under 25 this time around. But it was not to be. My Garmin was unexpectedly discharged, and so I had no timing to encourage me (I don't know if that would have made a difference). I ended up with 26:55...not horrible I guess, but not great! It's a fun 5K to do though. They also do a 10K and 15K (and sometimes a half marathon), but I had no interest in doing more than one loop! (Although actually, I ran the loop beforehand as a warm-up.)

Afterwards, my parents and I went out to breakfast.

On Sunday, I did an 18 mile long run. This was one of those days where it got hot out before I finished my run. My average pace was 11:03 and really, I didn't care that much. I did appreciate a Rainbow popsicle at mile 16! (I learned this weekend that a popsicle is still good on a run even if it is not too hot out!) (This kind of goes along with the study that says that drinking an iced slushy drink can help improve running performance.)

This last weekend, I upped my race to a 5-miler (with a two mile warm-up). Again, a middling time (44:20) but a decent tempo run at 8:43 per mile. By some fluke of fate, I finished third in my age group.

It was a cloudy, slightly misty morning, perfect running, but after standing around more than an hour waiting for the awards, I was freezing!

The weather stayed cool and cloudy on Sunday morning for my 20-miler. Despite the good conditions, my average pace was exactly the same as the week before, 11:03 per mile. Please don't say that is now my long run pace....

For the last couple weeks, I have been experiencing some discomfort in my left achilles and calf. This is disturbing as it has always been my right leg with the problems (oh, my right ankle is twinging too, but that's normal). I've been trying to baby it by not overdoing too much (never mind the consecutive race/long run weekends). After my 18-miler I did an ice bath, which I think was a good thing, but I was too lazy to do one this week. Last night I put an ice pack on my right leg and a heat pack on my left (because the calf muscle feels tight)...I'll see how that works for a few days. I am not too concerned because it didn't feel any worse in the second ten miles on Sunday than in the first ten.

This Saturday is the Anacortes Art Dash Half Marathon, which I've run six times before (this will be #7). It's a favorite!

July Clean Eating (personal) Challenge

Now that all the Fourth of July hoopla has come and gone (including much delicious food and desserts), it seems like a good time to rein things in a little bit and stop eating all the food that ever fed. In particular, all the yummy sweets and treats which are my nemesis.

In the big picture, I think I eat pretty clean. I would say about 90-95% of my weekday eating (by volume, not by calories, unfortunately) is good, healthy food. On the weekends the less spectacular foods do tend to increase, but that's not too bad considering that I do my long runs on the weekend and can absorb a few more calories.

Sometimes I fear, though, that my 5-10% of treats just undoes all the good stuff the rest of the time. Like a handful of jelly beans or some sample chunks of garlic French bread from the bakery at QFC will send my body into a frenzy of inflammation and fat storage. (This is all in my head, not based on any real scientific theories or anything!)

I also suspect (probably realistically) that these endless extras are coming between me and my happy weight which is 5-10 pounds away (not to be confused with my elusive goal weight, another 10 pounds further away).

So here's my plan. Through the end of July (perhaps longer, once I establish the habits), on weekdays I am going to stick with whole foods, lots of vegetables and some fruit, healthy proteins (emphasis on salmon and other fish), plain yogurt, some fats such as avocado, olive oil, and possibly light butter or light mayo on occasion (less whole but I'm allowing it), and modest amounts of whole grains.

I am going to limit foods with added sugar (though not scrutinize the ingredients of non-sweet foods too intensely), and eschew candy, cookies, cake, pie, ice cream...all the good stuff. I really don't eat a lot of sweets but I find it hard to resist office treats (when they are available) or bakery samples. And I'm going to avoid white carbs.

I don't drink sweet drinks or alcohol, so that's not a problem, and I've already eliminated diet pop except as a treat on the weekends, so no changes needed there. I drink a lot of Starbucks passion tea (unsweetened), and it would probably be good to drink more water. That will probably be easier now that the weather is warm.

I am not going to stop using cream in my (decaf) coffee. I am not going to stop using a little bit of Splenda (in coffee) and stevia (TruLemonade in my iced tea).

For my after work snack I am going to emphasize protein rather than carbs (e.g. boiled shrimp rather than a pocket thin with almond butter). For now I am going to keep having a Clif Z bar before I work out in the morning (convenience rules), but I may boil some eggs and go that route instead, eventually. For now, I am going to top snacking on almond butter unless it is on an English muffin for a pre-run breakfast.

I would kind of like to go all gangbusters on the weekend too, but it is harder because I spend time with Rod and the food, while generally healthy, tends to be less spartan than my personal choices. Since I'm not on some kind of serious diet, I don't really want to impose my requirements on him too brutally. Also, I do run long mileage on weekends, so I think I need more calories to fuel my runs anyway.

It's about 4:45 now, and I am feeling pretty hungry, so I'll be heading to QFC for some boiled shrimp. Dinner tonight is the same as last night (and already prepped)--baked salmon, Apple Cowboy Slaw made with broccoli slaw and light mayo, and half an ear of corn. I may throw on some asparagus too, as I spent good money on it and need to eat it before it gets old!

In running news, I am working on a recap from Seattle Rock 'n' Roll a few weeks back. Last weekend I ended up doing two long runs, 11 miles on Saturday and 8 on Sunday. That made five running days that week so my mileage was over 40 even though 11 miles was my longest. This morning I only managed 6.5 miles as I couldn't get myself out of bed early enough. L.A.Z.Y. It's nice and really light so early, I wish I had the fortitude to take advantage of it! Maybe Thursday....

Here is the pineapple upside down cake I made on Saturday, which contributed to my ban on sweets.

Happy 4th of July!

I know, it's Independence Day, but 4th of July sounds less stuffy. I ran the Yankee Doodle Dash 10K for the eighth time this morning! I started with 2.25 miles from my house to warm up. (It's actually less than a mile, I took a long route.) It was a perfect running day--cloudy and about 60 at 8:30. Still, despite the ideal conditions, I was slow--55:08--almost three minutes per mile slower than last year. I probably should feel bad, but I don't care too much. I wish I had been faster, but I wasn't. (Today's rationalization--at least I was under 9 minutes per mile.) At least I had a cute outfit! (The shirt says Firecracker and it's from Run Pretty Far.)

North Olympic Discovery Marathon

Part 2 - The Marathon (finally)

I delayed on finishing this because I wanted to wait and see if there were any race photos available other than the finish line (there weren't), and for Rod to forward me the photo he took near the finish (which is much better than the crappy finish line picture).

One of the problems with waiting so long to write about a race, is that the memories which seemed so clear and sharp become fuzzy and distant. I suppose the emotions which were clear and sharp also become more fuzzy and distant, as time passes.

NODM (the full marathon) started in Sequim and finished in Port Angeles. The two towns are about 17 miles apart, but the race organizers managed to make them 26.2 miles apart by adding some zigs and zags. The race started at Carrie Blake Park in Sequim at 9 a.m. The shuttles from Port Angeles started leaving at 6:30 a.m. That meant a long wait at the starting area!

I got on a shuttle at about 6:45. It was a nice, comfortable bus and there were only a few other people on it with me. I guess most people didn't want to leave quite so early. I ate my English muffin (with almond butter and jam) on the bus. We got to Sequim around 7:15.

Luckily the park had a nice conference center with tables and chairs where we could hang out. I staked a claim on a spot (not that it was crowded yet), and headed to the (indoor!) bathroom for my first of many bathroom visits. I swear that every time I went, I immediately felt like I had to pee again. Partly it was nerves, I'm sure, and partly the grande Americano that I had been drinking.

To help pass the time, I listened to two podcasts of Another Mother Runner on my phone. One was new, and then I scrolled back to the archives to find another. This kept me entertained and distracted, and every 15 minutes I would go to the bathroom again.

By 8:30 the place was much more hopping and there was even a small line at the bathroom. I decided to go outside to the porta potties and see what was up. Surprise, the clouds from early had cleared and now it was sunny and a little bit warm! After the porta potty, I decided to take a few loops around the parking lot to warm up my legs. Most of the time I can't bust out more than an 11-minute mile until I've had at least a mile of warm-up. Of course I didn't want to expend too much energy on a pre-marathon warm-up, but a little (maybe a quarter to half a mile) couldn't hurt.

This also did the trick on my insides (not in a bad way) and I headed back to the potties for a final, thorough, visit. When I came out everyone else had already started walking toward the start! (It was down the road a bit.) I hustled to catch up and as I passed the conference center, dropped my throwaway jacket on a table inside. I wouldn't be needing it even for the start.

There was no 4:15 pacer so I decided to keep an eye on the 4:10 pacer as a guide. I've never officically run with a pace group, but I've occasionally followed one just to try to keep on track. The 4:10 pacer would be running 9:32 miles. Maybe a little fast for me. But I could always drop back.

The first mile was a little uphill (I see from my Garmin elevation chart) and it was a little bit of a struggle to keep up with the pacer. I think that's because I wasn't warmed up as much as I would like. But after that I started cruising and, I'll admit, probably went a little too fast at times. (However, I will say that although you shouldn't bank time, I still feel like those fast miles kept my average pace decent even with some really bad miles late in the race!)

After mile one we went downhill again for several miles, and in fact the first half of the race was pretty much all gently rolling hills. My favorite. My splits reflected the rolling nature of the course...
Mile 1 - 9:40
Mile 2 - 9:24
Mile 3 - 8:55 (can you say "oops"?)
Mile 4 - 9:03 (still downhill)
Mile 5 - 9:27
Mile 6 - 9:40
Mile 7 - 9:29
Mile 8 - 9:49
Mile 9 - 9:39
Mile 10 - 10:03
Mile 11 - 9:36
Mile 12 - 9:47
Mile 13 - 10:03

At the half marathon point my time was just a few seconds over 2:05. I was not foolish enough to think I could hold that for a 4:10 finish. I did think that I had a good shot at 4:15 (which was my goal time). Early in the race I had pulled ahead of the 4:10 pacer (not intentionally) and stayed ahead until about mile ten, when she passed me. I tried to keep her in my sight but lost her before the halfway point. She must have been going a little fast because we should have been at the half at around the same time. Just as well she was gaining a little time, because I don't know how anyone could not slow at least a little in the second half.

Despite some slowing, I stayed on a pretty good track through mile 16. This makes sense as the course description calls miles 4-16 "amazing." Somewhere in there we hopped on the North Olympic Discovery Trail. This was very nice, of course, but running on gravel (this was very hard packed dirt with gravel) is not my favorite for speed. I just prefer pavement.

Mile 14 - 10:16
Mile 15 - 10:04
Mile 16 - 10:08

Somewhere in mile 16-17 we experienced the first of two very steep descents to a creek, ran across a bridge, then back up the very steep hill on the other side. The course description advises walking up these hills, and I sure did! Most of the time I prefer running up hills (even a very slow 12-13 mile pace is faster than walking), but these were so steep that the effort to shuffle up was not worth it.

Mile 17 - 10:41
Mile 18 - 10:35
Mile 19 - 10:38
Mile 20 - 11:18 (hill?)

During the first half of the race I was pretty responsible about fueling. In addition to my breakfast on the bus, I ate a banana about an hour before the start. I took a Gu at about mile 7, and another about mile 13.

Then I failed myself. I should have had the next Gu around mile 18 or 19, but I didn't want it. I was just a little nauseous, and instead of Gu-ing I drank a few sips of Gatorade at the aid stations. In retrospect (and I know this!) there aren't enough calories in my small sips of Gatorade to make up for lack of fuel. By the second half of the race I'd probably used up most of my stored glycogen, and for best results I probably should have forced myself to eat some. I don't know for sure that it would have mattered, and I certainly wouldn't want to make myself sick, but it is unquestionable that my pace (and energy) dragged in the second half, and particularly in the last six miles.

In mile 21 I was cruising along and thinking "I feel pretty good" and started to pick up my pace, when I stumbled and fell hard. I got up with a scraped (and later bruised) left shoulder, a scraped but not bloody left knee, and a badly scraped right hand. A woman behind me stopped but I told her I was pretty much fine (as I was).

I ran onward but blood was running from my hand. I had to do something about it. At the aid station which I soon came to, I asked if they had any napkins. They offered a first aid kit but I just wanted something to absorb the bleeding. I rinsed my hand with a cup of water then carried a wad of napkins until just about the end of the race, when I was able to drop them in a garbage. (Two weeks later, my knee is completely healed, the bruise on my shoulder is faded, and I have a couple residual scabs on my hand.)

This wasn't a great incident for morale, especially as I was now starting the most difficult (psychologically) miles of the race. This should have been a better section for me, as the course was going downhill for a few miles. I guess that's what kept my splits okay, if not great.

Mile 21 - 11:57 (the fall)
Mile 22 - 10:41
Mile 23 - 10:42
Mile 24 - 10:41

I had also been walking a little in the aid stations, to make sure I could gulp a little Gatorade. I only walked a few steps from the time I got the Gatorade to when I tossed the cup. This is way different from the Honolulu Marathon, where I started walking at the beginning of each aid station and had a hard time forcing myself to start up again. This was totally under control. It added a few seconds to my splits but nothing crazy.

I would like to say that I got a second wind in the last two miles, but I clearly remember thinking, after mile 24, that two miles to go seemed like a long way. I think that is also when I said I didn't want to do another marathon for a long time. This section of the course was also not very pleasant. It was still on the trail but there was work or something being done and it was edged with cyclone fencing. I just remember it being hot and dusty. Even when we got back along the water (which was truly nice and beautiful), I didn't manage to kickstart my energy. Yeah, a Gu might have been a good idea. If I hit the wall anywhere, it was here.

Mile 25 - 11:17
Mile 26 - 10:55

My finishing kick (.37 miles) was hardly heroic, but at least I did it at a sub-10 pace (9:55). I tried to look like I was having a good time as I passed Rod.

Those people behind me with the stroller were half marathon walkers, okay? Actually I don't know if the stroller was even in the race or just out for an afternoon stroll in the sun. The two other women have half marathon bibs, though.

I crossed the finish line with a time of 4:28:20. So, not my goal time, but still within my secondary (or tertiary, or quadrary) goal of sub-4:30. I had another reason to finish under 4:30, which was our late check-out time of 2:00...I figured if I finished by 1:30 I would have time to take a shower before we left. And I did.

The race assigned everyone a companion to walk with them from the finish line through the chutes. The lady with me kept asking me if I felt okay. I did. I've only felt sick a couple times after a marathon. One was CIM (my PR) and once was Boston. Otherwise I usually feel okay after I stop running. Probably shows I am not trying hard enough....

Anyway, I soon met up with Rod and we walked back to the hotel (easy since the finish was right adjacent to the hote!). I got dressed and we headed for the road and ferry home.

I have pretty good feelings about this race. I thought my time was very decent. Although slower than I had hoped, I had a 10:15 official pace (and 10:11 based on the distance). I only have occasional regrets when I realize I probably will not have the opportunity to improve this time in 2013. The two other marathons I'm planning on are harder courses and of course Kauai will be very warm.

Oh yeah, one more thing--I did not stop for the bathroom once! This is a marathon first for me. Unfortunately, the time lost in my fall and related to that pretty much ate up the bathroom time savings.

After the marathon I took four days off running (Monday through Thursday) and then ran again on Friday. I was in Leavenworth for a training, so I ran five miles on the trails Friday morning and 4.5 miles on Saturday. Back in town I did a 10-mile run on Sunday and felt good.

This last Saturday I tested my speed a little by running a 5K in town (the Berry Run). I had hoped to break 25 minutes but it was not to be. They changed the course from last year and threw in a hill! My time was just over 26 minutes. I still squeaked in with a third place in Age Group F40-49. (And yes, there were more than three participants. At least four!)

Gravel again! My nemesis....