Some random thoughts while finishing my race report

I am almost done with my CIM race recap, but it appears that race photos will be posted tomorrow, so I'm waiting to publish in case there are some pictures to add.

In the meantime. Yesterday we flew home from Sacramento, and I didn't work out at all. It was my recovery day. My full body achiness from Sunday, and my leg achiness from Sunday night, had pretty much fully dissipated by Monday. My quads were still quite sore though, as they often are after running a lot of hills, especially at race pace. This was especially apparent once I got home and was walking up and, oh my, down the stairs in my house! Today I can still feel it in my legs, but otherwise I feel completely physically recovered from the race. I went to the Y this morning and spent 70-or-so minutes on the elliptical.

I am intending to run tomorrow but I don't want to go out in the morning (at 6 a.m.) because we are experiencing a bitter cold wave here in the Northwest. Night and early morning temps have been in the teens, and daytime has barely risen above freezing. In fact it hasn't—today the current temperature at 7 p.m. is 20, and the high was 30. It was cold and clear and sunny, and the same is promised for tomorrow, although the highs and lows are supposed to be a few degrees "warmer."

So my plan, if my work day allows for it, is to bring (warm) running clothes to work, and go for an easy run in mid-afternoon, when the sun is out, the temperature is at its peak, and before the sun sinks back behind the mountains, leaving us in chilly twilight. So about 2:00 sounds ideal (I know I have court at 1:00, so lunchtime is not an option). I'll just go to the Y in the morning for some elliptical time, in case the running thing doesn't work out (I am completely resisting the idea of running on the treadmill).

I don't think it's too soon to run. I feel fine, and I'm expecting to be slow.

I have decided not to get on the scale at all for a week. This is my opportunity to get back on track from the last few days of conspicuous consumption. (In my case, "taper madness" meant Eating. Everything. In. Sight.) Of course, this is also the week for Jennifer's birthday lunch, the Public Defender's Christmas party, and my Book Club meeting, which is always a feast of food and drink. Especially since our book is one in which the characters regularly gorge themselves on honey and rich Southern food. And we like to emulate the book in our menus. And we're also doing a cookie exchange. Which, by the way, means I will be baking cookies sometime this week.

Today I got a box from Road Runner Sports containing not running gear, but several pairs of shoes I ordered from their "casual" collection. My feet have been begging for comfy and warm, something which 90% of my shoe collection is not. I got two pairs like this (brown and green), and two pairs like this (black and tan). I am wearing the green pair right now (to try them out) and my feet are being caressed by fleecy sheepskin. Oh yes, yes, baby....

CIM Done and DONE

3:59:42 per Garmin (which hopefully should be the same as chip time, as I was about three minutes behind the clock). I'll write a full recap after I get home (we're staying until tomorrow). Hopefully I'll be able to find some course pictures too. I am VERY HAPPY with this result; it's all I could have hoped for! (I am now emulating the folks in that "After the Marathon" video from YouTube.)
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Easy Saturday

Yesterday afternoon I walked over to the Expo at the Convention Center, picked up my bib and chip, toured the booths at least a half dozen times, bought a cute pink Nike jacket that I totally don't need (but it was on sale for $30!), and hung out until 6:00 to hear Bart Yasso speak. (Very entertaining! I totally recommend his book, Life on the Run, if you haven't read it.)

We had dinner in the hotel restaurant. Convenient, and we had a discount coupon. (We have another one which we will use for steaks tomorrow night.) (Tonight we have a reservation at a nearby Italian restaurant recommended by other passengers on our airport shuttle.)

I am reluctant to say that I have a little cold. It started Thursday night and I really felt it in my throat and chest yesterday. I have been drinking cups of tea with lemon and honey (thank you Starbucks for putting a basket of honey packets out unguarded), gargling (best I can, I have no gargling skills), and PRAYING. I actually think the symptoms have improved today.

This morning we went down to the complimentary and carb heavy hotel breakfast. I indulged rather generously and took away some blueberry muffins and fruit for a snack/lunch (to be combined with cheese and crackers I brought), plus PB and bananas for possible consumption tomorrow. I just found out that they are opening breakfast at 4 a.m. for the runners tomorrow, but I may just go down to get coffee and still eat the oatmeal I brought (along with their banana). The lure of free food is strong but I have to consider my running needs!

Our hotel is right across the street from the old Governor's Mansion. It is a gorgeous wedding cake of a building, built in 1877 (thus Victorian in era). It was the California governor's residence from 1903 to 1967 (Reagan era), and after that became part of the state parks. It is open to the public for tours, and today and next Saturday is having a Christmas open house!

Of course we went. I am an old house afficianado (there may be a spelling issue there), and I love holiday decor. The docents (and there were many, obviously volunteers as clearly California couldn't afford to pay all those people) were dressed in fancy Victorian-style garb, and were very informative about the history of the house, furnishings, and past residents. (Also very vigilant in making sure we didn't step or touch anywhere we weren't supposed to.) They also had musical performances throughout the day, and cookies for the visitors ("one per person, and save it till you get outside so we don't get crumbs in the house").

That was our only stab at tourism today. My mom has a bum knee right now so we didn't want her to walk too far. We've been sitting in the hotel lobby with our books waiting for our room to get made up (one complaint about the hotel, slow housekeeping--it's almost 2:30!). Then it will definitely be time for lunch.

By this time tomorrow I will be DONE and then some!

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Feeling good!

After yesterday's mini-stress fest and food fracas (you don't even want to know what happened last night), today has shaped up to be a good day. I must clarify that most of my stress (and nervous nibbling) yesterday was not because of the race, but rather due to the prospect of packing last night. Packing always sends me into a frenzy of procrastination, anxiety, and compensatory eating...last night was no exception.

However. Today is another day, things are looking up! To wit:

• I am 95% done with packing, only awaiting the last minute addition of things like makeup and my toothbrush. I have made a list to help remind me of what I still need to toss into my bag(s).
• I have running shoes and one complete set of running clothes in a carry-on bag, just in case something happens to my checked bag. (Remembering that my suitcase actually did get lost on my flight to Maine last year, although I got it back the next day!)
• I have enough running clothes packed to run a couple of marathons and a handful of 10K's. I suspect, however, that I will end up wearing the same outfit as I did for Seattle this last weekend. I kind of hate to look exactly the same in pictures (if there are any pictures), but it may be the best choice. We shall see.
• Last night while packing I watched the marathon portion of Tuesday's Biggest Loser episode (I think I must have slept through it Tuesday night). It was strangely reassuring...if those folks could do it with a relative lack of training, I certainly can too! (With training, I might add.) I also finished watching the remainder of last week's "Where are they now" episode. I really enjoyed that too. My favorite parts (which actually I saw earlier in the week) are the ones with Matt and Susie Hoover. They are so cute and have a really great attitude. Matt's Ironman experience was so dramatic. I felt so bad when he needed a six-minute mile in order to finish the marathon in the time limits. I know there is no way I could do that! But he was still happy with his accomplishment, even though he missed the deadline by a few minutes.
• This morning I had the best run! I only planned to do five miles, including 4 x 400 at the track, but I ended up doing seven, because I was feeling so good. I ran five miles on happy, light legs, then did four quarter-mile intervals on the track at 7:36, 7:28, 7:34, and 7:22 paces.
• This afternoon I am going to hustle to finish up stuff at my house (kitty litter is at the top of the list) and then it's an evening of relaxing and hanging out. GO DUCKS!

Pictures from the Seattle Half!

The final countdown....

Four days to go, I would call that the final countdown, wouldn't you? Yikes!

I'm not too nervous just yet; I'm sure that will change. Perhaps quickly as I feel my nerves fluttering even as I write this!

I have avoided invoking my usual catchphrases that I often throw out in dicey situations; i.e., "What could possibly go wrong?" and "What's the worst that could happen?" Obviously, there are many things that could go wrong and the worst that could happen? The possibilities are endless! So I'm not even going to go there.

Instead, I am focusing on all the other people in the world who have sucessfully completed long-distance races.* Not only the millions and millions of people around the world, but people I actually know (personally or casually) or know of (through Facebook and blogs). Of the dozens and more that I know and know of, some of course are superstar runners and can only be expected to do well, but many others are just as middle-of-the-pack as me, and may even have been slower and less well prepared than me, and yet they all still DID IT and SURVIVED!**

Since Sunday's half marathon, I am unofficially (or officially) in taper or cut-back mode. Instead of running on Monday, I went to the Y in the morning (and then again in the evening, okay, not quite cutting back yet). I did 7½ easy miles on Tuesday morning (pretty progressively, about 9:36 average pace by the end). This morning, Wednesday, back to the Y for more elliptical (and not doing a second stint tonight), and finally, tomorrow I'll do a short run with a little bit of speedwork.

I'm freaking out a little bit about weight gain this week. I'm still up a few pounds from Thanksgiving and the weekend, though I am telling myself that it's just from salty food and such, as I can't believe I ate enough to actually truly gain. I'm trying to eat a bit carefully with the reduced exercise (my dinners are bulked up with lots of vegetables), but on the other hand I don't want to undernourish myself either.

I suspect that as the week goes on I will be less and less able to resist carby nibbles. Who am I kidding? I just finished the last handful of french fries from my secretary's lunch. And I just might get my own burger and fries for lunch tomorrow....


*I can't bring myself to say the actual word, it's like mentioning the Scottish play in a theatre!
**I am not doing any links here to specific examples of such persons, do you think I am crazy?

Marathon tips

Last Minute Marathon Tips: shot with Nikon D90 from Mike Kobal on Vimeo.