Today I didn't run Whidbey. Instead I ran Would-Be. As in, I would be running the Whidbey Island Half Marathon, except... except... that I'm not.
Up until about twelve days ago I was registered for the Whidbey Island Half. I fully anticipated running the Bath Half, holidaying in England, flying home, and running another half marathon just over a week later.
I was crazy.
After I ran Bath, doing another half marathon again soon seemed so, so impossible.
There was my distinctly mediocre performance in Bath. Now it's one thing flying to England for a destination race, where the race day is only 10% of the entire trip, and you're staying in charming hotels and sightseeing and eating scones and cream, and doing lots of stuff that's just as fun as running. (Possibly, just possibly, more so.) And if your time in this faraway race is less than admirable, well, the important thing is that you've run a half marathon in England and everyone is 5000 miles away anyhow.
But Whidbey, on the other hand, although a lovely place, is too close to home to be a destination race, but is far enough away that you have to leave home at the crack of dawn to get there. And if you did decide to spend the night before the race up there to save on the drive, it wouldn't be in a charming inn (such as Captain Whidbey), but in a motel in Oak Harbor, as close to the start of the race as possible.
And moreover, Whidbey has baggage. Or more precisely, I have Whidbey baggage. That being my half marathon PR from 2007 (1:54:30) and a pretty darn good time from 2008 (just over two hours even). The idea of most likely finishing so much slower this year was a little hard to bear. Plus I know at least two people running this race, who I would have been competitive with in better days, but would undoubtedly beat the pants off of me this year. Hard to take.
I know that last paragraph sounds terribly whiny and self-indulgent, but I think it's legitimate. I do believe that part of building myself up again includes not dragging myself down by doing things that make me feel bad about myself. So I've put races on hold until I get my act reliably together a bit. That may only be a few weeks, or it may be longer. I'm taking it one day at a time.
Obviously, that does not mean not running. I can't run better if I don't run. So this afternoon I set out on my Would-Be long run. One advantage of Would-Be over Whidbey: start time. Whenever I want. And that turned out to be mid-afternoon, after I finished Eclipse and when the sun was truly shining brightly. (But luckily, not too warmly.)
I thought I'd do eight miles, maybe further, at a moderate pace. Without judging whatever pace that turned out to be.
The first mile was 10:59, okay for mile 1, and of course, not to be judged. But after that I leveled out to around 10:30 miles, or a bit faster. My average pace, at the end, was 10:24, which included the first slower mile, and the last mile and a half at sub-10 times.*
And how many miles did my eight mile run turn out to be? Actually, eleven. I did the Anthony's waterfront loop, but squeezed in a couple of extra miles in the first half of the route, so that I was already over six miles when I left the marina area. I decided I would check the distance when I got to the top of Broadway, to decide whether I should complete the Riverside portion of the run or just go straight down Broadway.
Well, by the time I got to Broadway I was over eight miles, and I knew if I went into Riverside I was looking at more than ten miles, maybe closer to the full half marathon distance. I didn't feel that was necessary, or advisable at all!
So I just veered onto Broadway and followed it south toward QFC. Even with this shortened route, the distance was adding up. I hit ten miles somewhere around 16th, ten and a half by 23rd. It looked like eleven was going to be the magic number.
I had consciously increased my pace on Broadway, noting with some gratification that there was just the slightest downhill slope going south. (That is, after going up two hills in the north end!) I rounded the corner at Everett Avenue, pushing myself north again on McDougall. I hit eleven miles just past Starbucks, and immediately stopped the Garmin and turned back to walk into the QFC parking lot. I walked for a moment to cool down and check my splits, then headed into QFC and Starbucks.
I ordered a latte, and decided that my eleven mile run could absorb a cinnamon scone.** Normally I would walk home and eat it there, but the sun was shining and warm enough, so I sat down at one of the outdoor tables to eat and drink some of the latte. Luckily it doesn't take me too long to eat a scone, though, because after the running heat dissipated from my body I started to feel a little bit cool in my sweaty clothes.
I walked the half mile home at a leisurely pace, trying to shake off the stiffness that had settled in during my short sit. What hadn't worn off, happily, was the pleasure and satisfaction from a good run, and even, dare I say, a few lingering endorphins. The Would-Be run was a great success!
*10:30 miles are not desirable race pace, but that was the pace I was doing for long training runs during "better days" last summer. So I feel good about it.
**This is why I am not thin. I eat up my running calories in treats.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query bath half. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query bath half. Sort by date Show all posts
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Yesterday is but a memory....
For yesterday is but a memory and tomorrow is only a vision;
but today well lived makes every yesterday a memory of happiness
and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
*Sanskrit Poem*
A few weeks ago the topic for Runner's Lounge Take It and Run Thursday was "Look Back, Look Ahead," checking in on the goals we set for ourselves this year. I didn't write about it then, but the idea stayed in my head and I've mulled it over a few times.
Now, on my birthday, which is itself the end of one year and the beginning of another, it seems like a good time to remember the goals I've set and see whether, in fact, I've accomplished anything at all!
My running goals for 2008 were pretty simple. Let's take a gander, shall we?
Mileage goal: 1500 miles for the year. Last year's mileage was something over 1200 miles (average 100 miles per month), and I thought an increase to 1500 seemed doable. This would require an average of 30 miles per week, allowing two weeks off during the year for vacation or whatever.
Progress so far: On track. At the end of June (which was technically halfway through the year), I had an average of 29 miles per week counting every week, but if I allowed myself one of the "vacation weeks" (and in fact I did go skiing for a week in January), my weekly average was 30-plus. As of last week my average was 30 miles for every week, even without incorporating a vacation week.
Half-marathon goal: Complete Whidbey, Robie Creek, Anacortes, and Royal Victoria Half Marathons.
Progress so far: I have completed the first three, and I'm registered for Victoria in October. (I am also registered for the Maine Coast Half Marathon in September and Las Vegas in December.)
Half-marathon time goal: Finish under two hours as many times as possible. Beat my time from last year's Anacortes Half. Beat my PR from last year's Whidbey (1:54:30), if not at Whidbey this year then at some other race.
Progress so far: Well, I finished under two hours and beat last year's time in Anacortes. I'm still waiting on a new PR, however. I mean working on a new PR!
General race goal: Run at least one race (of any distance) every month.
Progress so far: Definitely on track. I've actually done at least two every month except January, when I just did one.
Race time goal #1: Break 26-minute 5K.
Race time goal #2: Break 25-minute 5K.
Progress so far: #1 - Done! #2 - Still trying! Best time so far, 25:28 at the Marysville Berry Run.
I think I've done pretty well with the running goals. Each one so far is either achieved or potentially achievable during the remainder of the year. (I'm not so confident about the 25-minute 5K though....)
I also set a few birthday goals last year—things I wanted to accomplish by my next birthday. Progress was not so good there, I'm afraid.... For example:
Reach goal weight and stay there. Instead, I've gained 5 or 10 pounds in the last few months. While running more than ever! How is that fair? How did that happen? (And how am I going to fix it?) Goal not yet achieved, but not abandoned.
Start weight training and do a few sessions with a personal trainer. Not yet. I have been doing Pilates class twice a week, though, with an instructer who's a bit like a boot camp sergeant (although I've missed a few over the summer). Goal still alive, but yet to be integrated.
Run the Whidbey and Robie Creek Half Marathons on April 13 & 20. Done! See above.
Get my house back into shape. Can't say that's done yet. Well, actually it's been done superficially several times, but it hasn't stuck. This is a good goal to accomplish before the holidays, I think.
Work on my garden. Well, again, I've done some things, but there'll be no garden tours this year.
Clean closets, get rid of excess clothes. Umm... not yet.
(I have to say that all the running goals—which I've done well on—have probably impacted my ability, willingness, and time to achieve some of these more pragmatic objectives.)
Spend less money, pay off some bills. I think I'm making good progress here! I've definitely cut back on the shopping. I've become downright frugal! Within reason, of course.
I had a few fantasy goals, also (even more fantastic that my other unattained goals). Such as... Go to the Oprah show, run in the Bath Half-Marathon in England, write a book. Needless to say, they remain in my imagination. Although the Bath Half-Marathon is definitely on the schedule for next year, if I can get in when general registration opens on September 1.
So, a good year so far, leaving plenty of room for progress. It's good to have something to shoot for, don't you think? Perfection is so over-rated. Boring, really!
And, as the Sanskrit poet said, tomorrow is a vision of hope.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Take it and run Thursday
Today's topic for the Runner's Lounge Take it and Run Thursday is "training plans." I'm not sure if I want to write a whole post about training plans, because I don't know that I have any great tips to offer.
I have followed a training plan twice, both times in the three months before the Whidbey Island Half Marathon. In 2007 I did Hal Higdon's intermediate half marathon plan (amended only to increase the length of the weekday runs to be comparable to the 5-6 mile runs I was already doing), and in 2008 I did his advanced plan. That one I tweaked a lot, not only to increase the weekday lengths but to accommodate my four day a week running schedule (his plan calls for five days). But I still did the tempo runs, long runs, and so forth as called for.
Coincidentally, just this morning (when I was running) I was thinking about whether I should come up with a training plan for my next half marathon, the Bath Half on March 15. That's only about two months away. But even though many plans (such as Higdon's) are on a twelve-week schedule, they also start out at a low mileage which I am way beyond. I could easily jump in four weeks along and do fine. In fact, I've sometimes postulated that two months is about the time it would take me to get trained up for a half marathon.
On the "don't need a plan" side is this. I've been running half marathons and long distances regularly (my last half was on December 7th) and I can pretty easily get myself up to distance, I am sure.
On the "do need a plan" side is this. My times in my last couple of half marathons have been increasing quite a bit. So clearly just running a lot is not enough. I have also slacked off a bit over the holiday, and really need to kick my ass back into gear. Finally, I am aware that my times in the two Whidbey runs have been my best, and almost my best, half marathons overall, even though it is a hard, hilly course. So there must have been something to the training plan scheme.
So I think that decides it, doesn't it. I need to come up with a training plan for Bath. Consider that a project to be done. (And really, creating the training plan is kind of fun. It's the implementation that's hard!)
Since it is Take It and Run Thursday, I'm going to go back a week and also post for last week's topic, which is Best Blog Post of 2008. Of course it goes without saying that all my posts were great, brilliant even. But I am particularly fond of this one. Enjoy.
I have followed a training plan twice, both times in the three months before the Whidbey Island Half Marathon. In 2007 I did Hal Higdon's intermediate half marathon plan (amended only to increase the length of the weekday runs to be comparable to the 5-6 mile runs I was already doing), and in 2008 I did his advanced plan. That one I tweaked a lot, not only to increase the weekday lengths but to accommodate my four day a week running schedule (his plan calls for five days). But I still did the tempo runs, long runs, and so forth as called for.
Coincidentally, just this morning (when I was running) I was thinking about whether I should come up with a training plan for my next half marathon, the Bath Half on March 15. That's only about two months away. But even though many plans (such as Higdon's) are on a twelve-week schedule, they also start out at a low mileage which I am way beyond. I could easily jump in four weeks along and do fine. In fact, I've sometimes postulated that two months is about the time it would take me to get trained up for a half marathon.
On the "don't need a plan" side is this. I've been running half marathons and long distances regularly (my last half was on December 7th) and I can pretty easily get myself up to distance, I am sure.
On the "do need a plan" side is this. My times in my last couple of half marathons have been increasing quite a bit. So clearly just running a lot is not enough. I have also slacked off a bit over the holiday, and really need to kick my ass back into gear. Finally, I am aware that my times in the two Whidbey runs have been my best, and almost my best, half marathons overall, even though it is a hard, hilly course. So there must have been something to the training plan scheme.
So I think that decides it, doesn't it. I need to come up with a training plan for Bath. Consider that a project to be done. (And really, creating the training plan is kind of fun. It's the implementation that's hard!)
Since it is Take It and Run Thursday, I'm going to go back a week and also post for last week's topic, which is Best Blog Post of 2008. Of course it goes without saying that all my posts were great, brilliant even. But I am particularly fond of this one. Enjoy.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
A small crisis of confidence
I must come clean and admit that in the past few weeks I have been having some doubts about whether I can do it. What is "it," you ask? That's a good question. While I know I am feeling insecure about my running abilities, I am not completely sure what it is I think I am courting failure at.
Is it running a four-hour marathon? Or a sub-4:15, which is sort of my cut-off point between "decent, just not my best day" and "wheels completely off the bus." Totally arbitrary, of course.
Is it running a half-marathon PR? Or even just maintaining a reasonable sub-two? Because a PR is not my highest priority these days, but certainly maintaining my sub-twos is.
Is it obtaining PR's or reasonably decent performances in some unknown future fall 10K or 5K? Because again, I would like to get a PR or two but would happy to just stay in the range of my better showings.
I'll admit, all of these things seem a little scary and elusive. I feel like I am falling back into my inexplicable early 2009 slump, where I kept getting slower and slower, until I hit "bottom" at the Bath Half, then started to speed up again. This culminated in major PRs in every distance by fall of 2009. And now, a year later...what?
I think a few things have been going on this summer which have led to my self-doubt. I've already mentioned a few times that my easy runs, and easy long runs, seem slower than they were a year ago. As far as I know, I have been exerting the same level of effort but the times just feel slower. Or longer, whatever.
I've had a couple of 10K's (the last two I did) that were notably slower than my 10K's earlier this year (let alone my PR from November 2009). I also had a slow 5K, but I excuse that because it followed immediately (like five minutes) after a 10K.
Then there was the half marathon from hell in August. Granted, I was intentionally doing this as a long run rather than speed work, and it was super hot out, and I ran five miles before I started. But I was still stunned to end up with a 10:30-ish pace, which is completely out of the realm of my typical half marathon.
When I go out to run speed work, for example 800's (which are on the schedule tomorrow morning), I am never sure that I will be able to hit my desired pace. Even though I have largely succeeded at every effort, it has been success with an asterisk; for example, starting out too slowly but finishing on pace.
My fear is that what should seem easy (at least I think it should seem easy) instead feels too hard. And I don't know why. Probably it was hard last year too, and I am just remembering with too rosy a glow.
One thing that adds to my nerves, I know, is my ever-tender right ankle. It has never gotten to the point of true pain, the kind you can't run through, but the level of discomfort, though varying, is almost ever-present. That can't help my state of mind.
This morning I registered for the Super Jock & Jill Half Marathon on Labor Day. I've had it on my training schedule since the beginning, but hesitated to sign up until I was pretty sure it was doable (I'm talking personal schedule-wise, not ability-wise). For the first time ever, I think, I was somewhat reluctant and nervous to sign up for a half marathon. It's not that I want to try for a PR or anything. What I want to do is run comfortably and stay under two hours. I want those two things to be mutually inclusive, not exclusive.
And then there's the Fairhaven Waterfront 15K on September 11. I would like a PR in this one. But my PR from last year was so fantastic, I don't know that I could beat it even on a good day (surely on a great day, though!). My average pace last year was 8:18...I'd accept 8:30 without whining too much. My fear is...well, you can imagine.
So I don't know that putting all my concerns out there has helped me much. Perhaps it just added to the ephemeral worries that have been drifting through my mind. That can't be good.
But on the positive side (I have to be somewhat positive, I am the glass-half-full girl after all!), I am still running. The ankle hasn't laid me up or anything. As negative and reluctant as I might be starting a run, I always finish pretty strong and happy to have run. I tell myself that race-day adrenaline is powerfully strong.
I'll run Super Jock & Jill and see how it goes. If it doesn't go especially well, I'll try to let that go and concentrate my energy on Fairhaven. If I am in a slump, eventually I will climb back out of it. I know this to be true.
Is it running a four-hour marathon? Or a sub-4:15, which is sort of my cut-off point between "decent, just not my best day" and "wheels completely off the bus." Totally arbitrary, of course.
Is it running a half-marathon PR? Or even just maintaining a reasonable sub-two? Because a PR is not my highest priority these days, but certainly maintaining my sub-twos is.
Is it obtaining PR's or reasonably decent performances in some unknown future fall 10K or 5K? Because again, I would like to get a PR or two but would happy to just stay in the range of my better showings.
I'll admit, all of these things seem a little scary and elusive. I feel like I am falling back into my inexplicable early 2009 slump, where I kept getting slower and slower, until I hit "bottom" at the Bath Half, then started to speed up again. This culminated in major PRs in every distance by fall of 2009. And now, a year later...what?
I think a few things have been going on this summer which have led to my self-doubt. I've already mentioned a few times that my easy runs, and easy long runs, seem slower than they were a year ago. As far as I know, I have been exerting the same level of effort but the times just feel slower. Or longer, whatever.
I've had a couple of 10K's (the last two I did) that were notably slower than my 10K's earlier this year (let alone my PR from November 2009). I also had a slow 5K, but I excuse that because it followed immediately (like five minutes) after a 10K.
Then there was the half marathon from hell in August. Granted, I was intentionally doing this as a long run rather than speed work, and it was super hot out, and I ran five miles before I started. But I was still stunned to end up with a 10:30-ish pace, which is completely out of the realm of my typical half marathon.
When I go out to run speed work, for example 800's (which are on the schedule tomorrow morning), I am never sure that I will be able to hit my desired pace. Even though I have largely succeeded at every effort, it has been success with an asterisk; for example, starting out too slowly but finishing on pace.
My fear is that what should seem easy (at least I think it should seem easy) instead feels too hard. And I don't know why. Probably it was hard last year too, and I am just remembering with too rosy a glow.
One thing that adds to my nerves, I know, is my ever-tender right ankle. It has never gotten to the point of true pain, the kind you can't run through, but the level of discomfort, though varying, is almost ever-present. That can't help my state of mind.
This morning I registered for the Super Jock & Jill Half Marathon on Labor Day. I've had it on my training schedule since the beginning, but hesitated to sign up until I was pretty sure it was doable (I'm talking personal schedule-wise, not ability-wise). For the first time ever, I think, I was somewhat reluctant and nervous to sign up for a half marathon. It's not that I want to try for a PR or anything. What I want to do is run comfortably and stay under two hours. I want those two things to be mutually inclusive, not exclusive.
And then there's the Fairhaven Waterfront 15K on September 11. I would like a PR in this one. But my PR from last year was so fantastic, I don't know that I could beat it even on a good day (surely on a great day, though!). My average pace last year was 8:18...I'd accept 8:30 without whining too much. My fear is...well, you can imagine.
So I don't know that putting all my concerns out there has helped me much. Perhaps it just added to the ephemeral worries that have been drifting through my mind. That can't be good.
But on the positive side (I have to be somewhat positive, I am the glass-half-full girl after all!), I am still running. The ankle hasn't laid me up or anything. As negative and reluctant as I might be starting a run, I always finish pretty strong and happy to have run. I tell myself that race-day adrenaline is powerfully strong.
I'll run Super Jock & Jill and see how it goes. If it doesn't go especially well, I'll try to let that go and concentrate my energy on Fairhaven. If I am in a slump, eventually I will climb back out of it. I know this to be true.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Whidbey Island Half Marathon Part 1 - Getting to the beginning
This post has become so long that I have divided it into two parts, part one leading up to the run and part two (which I will finish after I see some pictures), talking about the race itself. So, from the beginning (and before), here goes....
The Whidbey Island Half Marathon story begins a few days before the actual race. Actually, it began over a year ago... or in fact, in 2006 when I decided to run my first half marathon, Whidbey 2007.
I'll be brief with the ancient history. Whidbey 2007 was my first-ever half marathon, and I trained using Hal Higdon's intermediate half marathon training plan. I used the intermediate rather than novice, as I had run lots of 5K's and 10K's and felt I was up to something a little more rigorous. The course that year started in Oak Harbor and finished in Coupeville. It was an amazing success for me. I had a great experience, didn't die, and finished in 1:54:30 chip time, which was my half marathon PR for years after. I still wonder if the course might have been short (no Garmin back then), because it took me a long time to break two hours again and even longer to set a new PR.
The next year I re-registered for Whidbey without a second thought, and this time the course was entirely within Oak Harbor. I thought that it was slightly more difficult than before...the old course had lots of rolling hills but this one had longer uphill stretches. My time, a few seconds over two hours, reflected that.
I signed up for Whidbey in 2009 as well, but the race was scheduled to occur just two weeks after the Bath Half Marathon in England. After my great disappointment in Bath (too slow for words) and my feeling that I was in a running slump, I thought that forcing myself to run Whidbey right after my return from England would be more harmful than helpful to me. I couldn't see myself doing anything but sucking terribly, and I just didn't want that mental anguish. Lucky for me the race organizers agreed to let me defer my entry, so I took a one-year break from Whidbey.
That brings us to this year. Obviously I had to sign up, with the free entry opportunity! Once again it would be a new course, different from the two I had run previously and also different from 2009, I understand. This year the "owner" of the race was the city of Oak Harbor, so I had to go through a little red tape to locate my deferred entry information, but luckily I found my race confirmation from last year and, after some delay, I got my "free" registration for this year's race worked out.
I had no idea what to expect from this half marathon. I have learned the hard way to "never say never," so even though I have been consistently running sub-2 hour halfs since last summer, I know that there is always going to be a supra-2 out there waiting for me. For all I knew, this could be it, though I hoped not.
I certainly did not plan to PR (nor did I), or even exert a PR-level effort. I really just wanted to run a strong effort, preferably under two hours, and continue in my quest to make running sub-9 minute miles over long distances feel easy. Well, comfortable. Well, not horrible, anyway.
Whidbey weekend (the race was on Sunday) was also the weekend that my Book Club was meeting to watch Julie and Julia (and yes, we read the book) and eat food prepared from Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 1. (Side note: I read the book a few years ago, and didn't reread it recently. I did enjoy the book, but I do believe that this is one of those books where the movie outshines the book. Probably because of Meryl Streep.*)
So on Friday night, in addition to cooking dinner for Rod and me (a delightful meal—if I do say so myself—of baked chicken, Lundberg's wild blend rice, roasted parsnip oven fries, and sauteed spinach), I was busy chopping vegetables and preparing Julia Child's ratatouille. Seriously, I started at 5:30 p.m. (on both cooking projects), served dinner at 7:30, and around 8:00 resumed ratatouille work. It was probably done at about 9:00.
Saturday morning I had to go up to Oak Harbor to pick up my race packet. I did see on Sunday that they had a small table for race morning pick-up, which would have been a better plan, but that seemed strongly discouraged in the pre-race information. The problem was that Saturday's packet pick-up began at noon, Book Club was at 2:00, and the drive to Oak Harbor turned out to be about an hour and a half each way, plus I had to drive another hour to Gold Bar for Book Club.
Since it took longer than I thought it would to get up to Whidbey, I didn't arrive until 12:15, then it took a while to get in and out, then we had to drive around and figure out where the race started from (time well spent, though). By 2:00 we were on the freeway heading south again but still really far from home. And I had to drop off my mom at her house and pick up the food at mine!
It was an exercise in frustration. However, when I texted the girls about my delay I was told that some of them were still preparing their food, so I should be fine. And in fact, although it was almost 4:00 by the time I arrived (horrible), I got there as food was being put out and didn't miss anything but socializing. I happily accepted a glass of champagne and pomegranate juice, though.
The pièce de résistance of our meal was Pâté de Canard en Croûte (boned duck stuffed with pate and wrapped in pastry), a centerpiece of the book and movie and one of Julia Child's most intimidating-sounding and glamorous dishes. Jennifer G prepared it masterfully! It was beautiful and delicious, and I have to admit the most tempting and exquisite part of it was eating the crispy pastry soaked with duck fat. Please don't judge.
We tempered the rich main course with boiled artichokes (okay, dipped in a variety of buttery or creamy sauces), my ratatouille, a simple potato salad, and a couple of other dishes. I pretty much alternated between pieces of en croûte and artichokes.
Then we sank into couches and chairs to digest and watch the movie. About halfway through the movie, just as my complete fullness had worn off a bit, we paused the movie to bring out dessert, made by Ann—aspic de pommes (scroll down to #68 to see post and picture), which is rum-flavored apple aspic, served with creme anglaise (custard sauce). Sound unimpressive? Well, I wasn't sold on the concept until I took a bit of the delicate sweet apple concoction, swathed in creamy vanilla. We described the sauce as "like melted vanilla ice cream," which perhaps doesn't sound too glamorous, but we also agreed that if you put it in an ice cream maker you would get the best ice cream ever!
I thought at least the dessert would be light, and perhaps it would have been had I not drenched it in enough creme anglaise to clog my arteries for life. As it is, I resumed watching the movie feeling, once again, uncomfortably full. Oh well, it's not like I eat this every day (just, apparently, the day before a big run).
Before driving home, I couldn't resist one more tiny bite of en croûte. I hoped that it counted as carb loading! I was stuffed all the way home.
Once I arrived at my house I packed up all my race gear and laid out my running clothes, and got to bed as soon as I could. After the debacle driving up to Oak Harbor on Saturday, I kept moving up departure time and finally told my parents I would be at their house at 5:15. We had to get to Deception Pass Bridge before 7:00, as the road would be closed for the marathon runners after that! So my alarm was set for 4:00. Yikes!
Next—race day, with pictures!
*Just like The Devil Wears Prada. Which also has Stanley Tucci in it. Coincidence?
The Whidbey Island Half Marathon story begins a few days before the actual race. Actually, it began over a year ago... or in fact, in 2006 when I decided to run my first half marathon, Whidbey 2007.
I'll be brief with the ancient history. Whidbey 2007 was my first-ever half marathon, and I trained using Hal Higdon's intermediate half marathon training plan. I used the intermediate rather than novice, as I had run lots of 5K's and 10K's and felt I was up to something a little more rigorous. The course that year started in Oak Harbor and finished in Coupeville. It was an amazing success for me. I had a great experience, didn't die, and finished in 1:54:30 chip time, which was my half marathon PR for years after. I still wonder if the course might have been short (no Garmin back then), because it took me a long time to break two hours again and even longer to set a new PR.
The next year I re-registered for Whidbey without a second thought, and this time the course was entirely within Oak Harbor. I thought that it was slightly more difficult than before...the old course had lots of rolling hills but this one had longer uphill stretches. My time, a few seconds over two hours, reflected that.
I signed up for Whidbey in 2009 as well, but the race was scheduled to occur just two weeks after the Bath Half Marathon in England. After my great disappointment in Bath (too slow for words) and my feeling that I was in a running slump, I thought that forcing myself to run Whidbey right after my return from England would be more harmful than helpful to me. I couldn't see myself doing anything but sucking terribly, and I just didn't want that mental anguish. Lucky for me the race organizers agreed to let me defer my entry, so I took a one-year break from Whidbey.
That brings us to this year. Obviously I had to sign up, with the free entry opportunity! Once again it would be a new course, different from the two I had run previously and also different from 2009, I understand. This year the "owner" of the race was the city of Oak Harbor, so I had to go through a little red tape to locate my deferred entry information, but luckily I found my race confirmation from last year and, after some delay, I got my "free" registration for this year's race worked out.
I had no idea what to expect from this half marathon. I have learned the hard way to "never say never," so even though I have been consistently running sub-2 hour halfs since last summer, I know that there is always going to be a supra-2 out there waiting for me. For all I knew, this could be it, though I hoped not.
I certainly did not plan to PR (nor did I), or even exert a PR-level effort. I really just wanted to run a strong effort, preferably under two hours, and continue in my quest to make running sub-9 minute miles over long distances feel easy. Well, comfortable. Well, not horrible, anyway.
Whidbey weekend (the race was on Sunday) was also the weekend that my Book Club was meeting to watch Julie and Julia (and yes, we read the book) and eat food prepared from Mastering the Art of French Cooking Volume 1. (Side note: I read the book a few years ago, and didn't reread it recently. I did enjoy the book, but I do believe that this is one of those books where the movie outshines the book. Probably because of Meryl Streep.*)
So on Friday night, in addition to cooking dinner for Rod and me (a delightful meal—if I do say so myself—of baked chicken, Lundberg's wild blend rice, roasted parsnip oven fries, and sauteed spinach), I was busy chopping vegetables and preparing Julia Child's ratatouille. Seriously, I started at 5:30 p.m. (on both cooking projects), served dinner at 7:30, and around 8:00 resumed ratatouille work. It was probably done at about 9:00.
Saturday morning I had to go up to Oak Harbor to pick up my race packet. I did see on Sunday that they had a small table for race morning pick-up, which would have been a better plan, but that seemed strongly discouraged in the pre-race information. The problem was that Saturday's packet pick-up began at noon, Book Club was at 2:00, and the drive to Oak Harbor turned out to be about an hour and a half each way, plus I had to drive another hour to Gold Bar for Book Club.
Since it took longer than I thought it would to get up to Whidbey, I didn't arrive until 12:15, then it took a while to get in and out, then we had to drive around and figure out where the race started from (time well spent, though). By 2:00 we were on the freeway heading south again but still really far from home. And I had to drop off my mom at her house and pick up the food at mine!
It was an exercise in frustration. However, when I texted the girls about my delay I was told that some of them were still preparing their food, so I should be fine. And in fact, although it was almost 4:00 by the time I arrived (horrible), I got there as food was being put out and didn't miss anything but socializing. I happily accepted a glass of champagne and pomegranate juice, though.
The pièce de résistance of our meal was Pâté de Canard en Croûte (boned duck stuffed with pate and wrapped in pastry), a centerpiece of the book and movie and one of Julia Child's most intimidating-sounding and glamorous dishes. Jennifer G prepared it masterfully! It was beautiful and delicious, and I have to admit the most tempting and exquisite part of it was eating the crispy pastry soaked with duck fat. Please don't judge.
We tempered the rich main course with boiled artichokes (okay, dipped in a variety of buttery or creamy sauces), my ratatouille, a simple potato salad, and a couple of other dishes. I pretty much alternated between pieces of en croûte and artichokes.
Then we sank into couches and chairs to digest and watch the movie. About halfway through the movie, just as my complete fullness had worn off a bit, we paused the movie to bring out dessert, made by Ann—aspic de pommes (scroll down to #68 to see post and picture), which is rum-flavored apple aspic, served with creme anglaise (custard sauce). Sound unimpressive? Well, I wasn't sold on the concept until I took a bit of the delicate sweet apple concoction, swathed in creamy vanilla. We described the sauce as "like melted vanilla ice cream," which perhaps doesn't sound too glamorous, but we also agreed that if you put it in an ice cream maker you would get the best ice cream ever!
I thought at least the dessert would be light, and perhaps it would have been had I not drenched it in enough creme anglaise to clog my arteries for life. As it is, I resumed watching the movie feeling, once again, uncomfortably full. Oh well, it's not like I eat this every day (just, apparently, the day before a big run).
Before driving home, I couldn't resist one more tiny bite of en croûte. I hoped that it counted as carb loading! I was stuffed all the way home.
Once I arrived at my house I packed up all my race gear and laid out my running clothes, and got to bed as soon as I could. After the debacle driving up to Oak Harbor on Saturday, I kept moving up departure time and finally told my parents I would be at their house at 5:15. We had to get to Deception Pass Bridge before 7:00, as the road would be closed for the marathon runners after that! So my alarm was set for 4:00. Yikes!
Next—race day, with pictures!
*Just like The Devil Wears Prada. Which also has Stanley Tucci in it. Coincidence?
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
The story of the Anacortes Half Marathon
Anacortes Art Dash - August 1, 2009
This was the fourth running of the Anacortes Art Dash Half Marathon, and my third time participating. Just think, I've been there almost from the start! But back when they began in 2006 I had just begun running races—one 5K and one 10K under my belt—and only had the barest glimmer of an idea that I might sometime run something as lengthy as a half marathon.
By now though, I've run plenty. I think Anacortes would be #10! My best, as in fastest, was my first one, Whidbey Island in 2007, with a time of 1:54:30. After that I spent the next two years struggling around the two hour mark, mostly just above or just below, but never beating that original PR. I did, however, achieve something I never expected in Bath this last spring, a personal worst time that was well over ten minutes slower than most all of my other times.
After Bath I was determined to turn things around. Over the winter I had inexplicably gotten slower and slower. Part of it was gaining some weight, of course, but it wasn't so much that I would have expected a total decline! And I had kept my mileage up over the winter (except for the period right around Christmas when we were literally snowed in for days), so it wasn't like I'd slacked on training or anything.
The Bath Half was on March 15 (oooh,the Ides of March!) and I got home from England about a week later, just in time for the start of spring. I don't know what happened, but just like that, I started running a little faster. Not a whole lot faster, but noticeably enough.
With the return of a little bit of speed came the return of a little self-confidence, and I went ahead and entered the Bloomsday Run 12K in Spokane on the first weekend of Spokane. That race went pretty well, a little slower than last year but faster than Bath, and not so slowly as to feel bad about it.
I knew, though, that along with training for upcoming runs (as yet unregistered for), I needed to do something about the residual Christmas cookies which were making my jeans snug, probably slowing my performance, and sometimes showing up in unfortunately posed pictures!*
So at the beginning of May, as soon as we returned from Spokane, I committed myself to 30 days completely sugar free, in order to kick the vile sugar habit/addiction, as well as the usual healthy eating and exercise.
And I threw myself into running well, pushing myself to keep my average pace on training runs under ten minutes, and incorporating faster intervals to work on speed. (Eventually I would do "formal" speedwork as well, once I came up with my half marathon training plan.)
My efforts were rewarded with an "almost-PR" 5K at the Race for the Cure, 25:45, which was the first time I'd made it under 26 minutes in that particular race. Then the real PR, 24:21 at the Berry Run in Marysville! And finally, a 10K PR at the Yankee Doodle Dash on July 4. I was feeling pretty happy, overall.
Also in June I committed myself to running the Anacortes Half Marathon on August 1 and committed myself to a written training plan. I took a Hal Higdon advanced half marathon plan and tweaked it. In addition to changing five runs a week to four, I jumped into the plan four weeks on, since the original plan was for twelve weeks but I was only two months away from the race. I felt that two months training was plenty for a half marathon, since my distance were already up there.
The training plan progressed very well. I did my speed work faithfully—even track work. I did tempo types of runs on Fridays, and I nailed every goal I gave myself. I felt strong, I felt good, I felt fast, and I felt confident.
Then, in the last week of July, the heat wave swept in. Keep in mind, we're accustomed to summer temps in the 70's and think it is amazingly warm (in a good way) when we hit the 80's for a day or two (before returning to something cooler). Well, we moved quickly through the 80's** and by Wednesday, July 29, the thermometer was pushing 90 and above.
I was still managing my early morning runs, although my hot and stuffy nights were becoming more and more difficult to endure, as the house cooled less and less overnight. I, and everyone else, was getting edgy and groggy from lack of sleep. More importantly, I was worried about the heat in the half marathon on Saturday. Originally the forecast promised cooling over the weekend, but by Thursday that promise was withdrawn.
My dreams of a half marathon PR (which I had secretly believed it was in the bag) were being jeopardized. Not only was I afraid of the heat affecting my pace, I had some serious concerns about whether running in the heat could even be dangerous.*** I was trying to convince myself that it might be better to take it easy, if it really was so hot. I hoped that Anacortes might be a little cooler, as it is further north and on the water... but who knows?
In the meantime, I drove to the running store and bought myself a fuel belt to carry water. I wasn't sure that there would be enough on the course if it was really hot. Normally I wouldn't do something so new on race day, but I thought it was better to err on the side of having water available!
The extreme heat did back off a little on Thursday and Friday, so at least I could sleep at night without suffering, and my fear of unbearable heat on Saturday subsided a bit too. Still, I planned for the worst, as best I could, by deciding to wear shorts, instead of my favorite capris (bare knees just seem to make a real difference); a sleeveless top; and bringing along the fuel belt with one of the water bottles filled with an electolyte-replacement drink.
We started out following Q Street, parallel to Commercial (the main street through Anacortes), until we got to the beginning of the Tommy Thompson trail, a paved walking/running/biking path (closed to non-race traffic this morning).
This was the fourth running of the Anacortes Art Dash Half Marathon, and my third time participating. Just think, I've been there almost from the start! But back when they began in 2006 I had just begun running races—one 5K and one 10K under my belt—and only had the barest glimmer of an idea that I might sometime run something as lengthy as a half marathon.
By now though, I've run plenty. I think Anacortes would be #10! My best, as in fastest, was my first one, Whidbey Island in 2007, with a time of 1:54:30. After that I spent the next two years struggling around the two hour mark, mostly just above or just below, but never beating that original PR. I did, however, achieve something I never expected in Bath this last spring, a personal worst time that was well over ten minutes slower than most all of my other times.
After Bath I was determined to turn things around. Over the winter I had inexplicably gotten slower and slower. Part of it was gaining some weight, of course, but it wasn't so much that I would have expected a total decline! And I had kept my mileage up over the winter (except for the period right around Christmas when we were literally snowed in for days), so it wasn't like I'd slacked on training or anything.
The Bath Half was on March 15 (oooh,the Ides of March!) and I got home from England about a week later, just in time for the start of spring. I don't know what happened, but just like that, I started running a little faster. Not a whole lot faster, but noticeably enough.
With the return of a little bit of speed came the return of a little self-confidence, and I went ahead and entered the Bloomsday Run 12K in Spokane on the first weekend of Spokane. That race went pretty well, a little slower than last year but faster than Bath, and not so slowly as to feel bad about it.
I knew, though, that along with training for upcoming runs (as yet unregistered for), I needed to do something about the residual Christmas cookies which were making my jeans snug, probably slowing my performance, and sometimes showing up in unfortunately posed pictures!*So at the beginning of May, as soon as we returned from Spokane, I committed myself to 30 days completely sugar free, in order to kick the vile sugar habit/addiction, as well as the usual healthy eating and exercise.
And I threw myself into running well, pushing myself to keep my average pace on training runs under ten minutes, and incorporating faster intervals to work on speed. (Eventually I would do "formal" speedwork as well, once I came up with my half marathon training plan.)
My efforts were rewarded with an "almost-PR" 5K at the Race for the Cure, 25:45, which was the first time I'd made it under 26 minutes in that particular race. Then the real PR, 24:21 at the Berry Run in Marysville! And finally, a 10K PR at the Yankee Doodle Dash on July 4. I was feeling pretty happy, overall.
Also in June I committed myself to running the Anacortes Half Marathon on August 1 and committed myself to a written training plan. I took a Hal Higdon advanced half marathon plan and tweaked it. In addition to changing five runs a week to four, I jumped into the plan four weeks on, since the original plan was for twelve weeks but I was only two months away from the race. I felt that two months training was plenty for a half marathon, since my distance were already up there.
The training plan progressed very well. I did my speed work faithfully—even track work. I did tempo types of runs on Fridays, and I nailed every goal I gave myself. I felt strong, I felt good, I felt fast, and I felt confident.
Then, in the last week of July, the heat wave swept in. Keep in mind, we're accustomed to summer temps in the 70's and think it is amazingly warm (in a good way) when we hit the 80's for a day or two (before returning to something cooler). Well, we moved quickly through the 80's** and by Wednesday, July 29, the thermometer was pushing 90 and above.
I was still managing my early morning runs, although my hot and stuffy nights were becoming more and more difficult to endure, as the house cooled less and less overnight. I, and everyone else, was getting edgy and groggy from lack of sleep. More importantly, I was worried about the heat in the half marathon on Saturday. Originally the forecast promised cooling over the weekend, but by Thursday that promise was withdrawn.
My dreams of a half marathon PR (which I had secretly believed it was in the bag) were being jeopardized. Not only was I afraid of the heat affecting my pace, I had some serious concerns about whether running in the heat could even be dangerous.*** I was trying to convince myself that it might be better to take it easy, if it really was so hot. I hoped that Anacortes might be a little cooler, as it is further north and on the water... but who knows?
In the meantime, I drove to the running store and bought myself a fuel belt to carry water. I wasn't sure that there would be enough on the course if it was really hot. Normally I wouldn't do something so new on race day, but I thought it was better to err on the side of having water available!
The extreme heat did back off a little on Thursday and Friday, so at least I could sleep at night without suffering, and my fear of unbearable heat on Saturday subsided a bit too. Still, I planned for the worst, as best I could, by deciding to wear shorts, instead of my favorite capris (bare knees just seem to make a real difference); a sleeveless top; and bringing along the fuel belt with one of the water bottles filled with an electolyte-replacement drink.
And then it was Saturday morning. The race started at 9 a.m., and Anacortes is at least an hour's drive away, and I wanted to get there plenty early to get checked in and warm up... so we planned to leave at 6 a.m. This also allowed for a stop at Starbucks, where I got a short latte and an oatmeal for breakfast on the road.
As we were driving north on the freeway, I was pretty overwhelmed by nerves. This is typical for me in races. I am always extremely nervous beforehand, regretting my decision to sign up, wondering how I ever thought I could run fast at all, completely doubting my abilities and, in fact, my sanity!Check-in was fast and easy, with only a small snafu that I didn't realize was a snafu until much later. When they handed out the race shirts they claimed that they were mislabeled, that a small was really a medium and vice versa. So I got one marked small, being told that it was really medium. When I put it on a day or two later I was sure that it really was a small after all. It wasn't that it didn't fit; it just fit too well! I am accustomed to a medium fitting really loosely, with the short sleeves dropping almost to my elbows. This one fit just comfortably, and the sleeves actually were short; thus I am sure that it is a smaller size than I expected. I have eventually become accustomed to it, now having worn it several times to the Y. I'm still sticking with medium for future races, though!
It didn't seem nearly as hot as I'd feared, although it was already pleasant and I knew it was going to get warmer, so I tentatively decided not to use the fuel belt and just rely on the course water stations. About half an hour before start time I set out to do a warm-up jog; I figured that about 1½ miles would be enough to get my usual 10-minute starter mile out of my system but not use up too much juice that I would need for the race.During this short run, though, I felt so parched that I became nervous about getting too thirsty in the race, and decided I needed the fuel belt as a security measure. I strapped in on and felt relieved, though as it turned out I would not use it until afer the race was over!
The group that gathered at the starting line was not huge, about 80 runners in the half marathon, and quite a few more for the 5K and 10K runs. Everyone would start together and follow the same course, with the 5K-ers and 10K-ers turning around along the way, as us half-marathoners soldiered on.This was a low tech race, no timing chips (although there was a clock at the end****). I felt okay about inserting myself in the front section of the crowd, although not right on the start line, of course. And speaking of low tech? The race was started by the organizer saying "Ready, set, go." Really.
I started my Garmin on the "go," because I didn't want a discrepancy between my watch and the official time. I'm sure I crossed the start line within a couple seconds of the official start, anyway. I was able to take off at a comfortable pace, and didn't feel held back by the people around me (as I have in some bigger races).We started out following Q Street, parallel to Commercial (the main street through Anacortes), until we got to the beginning of the Tommy Thompson trail, a paved walking/running/biking path (closed to non-race traffic this morning).
At about the 5K point we started across the trestle, which crosses over Fidalgo Bay and takes us to March Point. This view is from the March Point side, looking back at Anacortes.
After crossing the trestle we ran around the circumference of March Point, then back across the trestle to Anacortes.
About halfway through Mile 4, we came to this hill (below), the only real hill in the entire course, but it was a doozy! I know it doesn't look bad in the picture, but trust me, the camera flattens it out. The first (less steep) half of the hill brought my pace for that mile down to 9:15. The second part was steeper and still slower, in fact I slowed to almost a 12-minute pace in that section, but happily I made it up in the downhill on the other side! I did manage to keep to some kind of a run all the way up the hill (very short, choppy steps at the top!), although almost everyone I saw, even ahead of me, was walking.
Ah, the lovely downhill. I was able to pick up my speed enough to manage an 8:45 average pace for Mile 5 (which included the steeper top of the hill and the downhill). As I crested the hill another woman running nearby me asked if I had run this race before, and I told her I had. Then she asked if we had to come back the same way. I assured her that the rest of the race was a loop around the point, and there were no more hills!
March Point is home to a couple of big oil refineries. So on one side (the right hand, in the direction we were going) we gazed at scenic views of Anacortes and Fidalgo Bay, while to our left we saw these massive structures.
Fidalgo Bay.
Our route followed the edge of the bay....
As did the refinery buildings.
Looking back toward Anacortes.
The shoreline was scattered with boaters, beachcombers, and shrimpers (people fishing for shrimp).
The road was also well posted with signs stating "Restricted access, no camping allowed." (You probably can't quite see it in this picture). However, the roadside is also lined with campers and motor homes. This one even has an awning and a flag—clearly they intend to stay awhile!
My pictures here, taken after the race, are of course sans runners. The race course was not, although as we went along people tended to spread out and there were no real packs of runners. I did pass a couple of people (guys!) around the 10K point, but mostly everyone was maintaining their own pace and their relative positions by that point.
There were water stations every couple of miles, and I took water at all except, I think, the first one. I never did have to use my fuel belt, though I didn't regret bringing it for security. I slowed but didn't stop as I grabbed my water cups, and I tried to smile and be friendly to the volunteers. In fact, at the water station after the big hill I laughed, as somebody shouted some encouraging words. That was a big mistake, as it turns out. My spontaneous laugh at the same time as I was going to take a swig of water resulted in my sucking a big snort of water up my nose. But no matter—I just snorted it right back out again!
So, no more laughing at water stations. At the next one or two, though, I made a point of picking up my pace and semi-sprinting into the water area. Not only did this help make up for the inevitable slowing while I drank, I think it impressed the volunteers!
Although I was almost isolated on the road a lot of the time, somewhere around Mile 8 I spotted a few people ahead of me that seemed to be within my sights, though still rather far ahead. Most distant was a male runner (and I never did catch up with him). But a little bit closer was a pair of women—I thought of them as girls, as they looked younger than me, and we're all girls anyway, right?—and I made it my objective to narrow the gap between us.
I did so quite readily, closing the space so that by the time we were crossing the trestle I was right behind them, if not quite on their heels. I was running in the 8:45 to 8:50 range at that time, so possibly they had been going a little faster and slowed to around 9-minute pace for a while when I caught up to them.
Once we crossed back over the trestle we had about 5K remaining and that's when one of the girls ahead of me, probably with her friend's encouragement, picked up her pace and sprinted off ahead of us at a speed I, and apparently her friend, could not match.
I stayed on the other girl's shoulder for the next couple of miles. Both of us managed to speed up a little, because Mile 12 was back to 8:37. I didn't try to pass my new running companion. I'm not sure if I contemplated doing it at the end, but right now I was just appreciating her role as my pacer. I wasn't going to pass unless she slowed unexpectedly.
Which she didn't. Both of us pushed even harder in the final mile, turning into the closing stretch on Commercial. Here we are coming toward the finish in Anacortes at the end of Commercial. You can just barely see me in the picture; I am pretty much blocked by the guy. The girl in the yellow shorts is my companion/competitor!
Pushing hard in the final block...
And crossing the finish line! At that point, obviously, I was not going to elbow Yellow Shorts aside, but I stuck on her heels as we crossed. I appear to be stopping my Garmin just short of the actual finish, which may explain why my Garmin time was one second less than my official time! Our final mile was just under 8:30.
Which was, officially, 1:53:32.
Finally drinking some of the water in my fuel belt, and thrilled with my one-minute PR. One small admission—Garmin showed my final distance as just 13 miles, not 13.1. I have thought about it, and I think I have the explanation. I don't know what method was used to measure the course, but I expect that it was done from the position of the right (and "right") lane of the road. But since a big portion of the race was a circle, if you ran on the left hand shoulder, as I often did, you were running the inner circle and thus cutting the distance a very little bit. A perfect example of running the tangents effectively!
Here I am in front of one of the paintings that decorate many of the building walls in Anacortes.*****
We didn't hang out at the finish for too long. Instead we walked (slowly) up the street to Calico Cupboard for a delicious cinnamon roll and lunch. It's been so long now that I can't even remember what I ate—some kind of sandwich. But I do remember the cinnamon roll!
If we had stuck around long enough, I would have learned what I found out when I later double checked my time on the event website—that I finished first in my age group! The only time ever in a half marathon.
But I'm not too distressed about missing the awards. There wasn't anybody there I knew, and the age group awards were just announcements, not even ribbons. (You'd think they could have sprung for some ribbons, wouldn't you?)
That, in fact, is probably my only complaint about this race. Not only are there no ribbons for age group finishers, there is no finisher's medal either, just a finisher's ribbon. Which I didn't even get—I forgot about it and there was no one around forcing them on us (as you often find with the medals in other halfs). I think it would create a much better tone for the race if there were finisher's medals. I don't really care about the lack of chip timing—the overall group is so relatively small that you don't really lose much in the start. I don't feel like I did, anyway. Although if the race got bigger, I might feel differently.
My overall finish was 10th of 43 women, and 33rd out of 80 participants overall.
And so endeth the story of the Anacortes Half Marathon. Just in time for the Fairhaven 15K.
*I can't believe I had the nerve to post that picture! Really, I didn't look that bad, it was just very unfortunately posed.
**Just like my high school and college years....
***I had actually run in much, much hotter weather in Eastern Washington, but there I made no effort to push myself to run fast. Even running slowly, it was very hard!
****Really, I have done races that didn't have a visible clock, just a person with a stopwatch or some kind of gadget they use in track meets.
*****A better view than the one in Spokane!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Burning in hell
Kind of a negative title for a post about a generally good weekend, I know. But with the temporary recurrence of real summer, there is a downside--heat! It's hot, hot, hot. Or at least it was over the end of last week and the weekend. Today we're starting a bit of a cooling trend.
I know, I admit, that what I call very very hot is just the norm in many parts of the country during the summer. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I don't know how you people do it! As much as I (and my fellow Washingtonians) complain about the weather here (too hot, too cold, too wet, not enough rain,* etc.), we are truly blessed in so many ways. And, best of all, very little humidity most of the time.
Friday morning was an off day for running, but I hit the Y early for 90 minutes on the elliptical before going to meet my mother. We headed north to Bow for a quick end-of-season visit to Anderson Blueberry Farm (where did the time go?). Loaded up with several flats of blueberries for the freezer, we then hurried back home so I could make my afternoon court obligations.
Saturday I had an 18-mile run on my schedule. I had signed up for the Magnuson Series National Fitness Day Half Marathon (to take care of 13 of those miles). Since the official run didn't start until 10 a.m., I had plenty of time beforehand to get in the first five!
My mom came with my for company and support, though I was a little worried about leaving her out there in the Magnuson Park parking lot on such a hot day. (But she could have gone down to the lake if she had wanted to. She was fine.) We got there about 8:30 a.m. I originally was going to run two miles, check in, then run three before the race started. But I decided to go ahead and do all five first, then get my bib number.
I had thought I would do my pre-run on the actual course (about 3.25 miles repeated four times for a half marathon), but it wasn't fully marked yet, and in retrospect I am glad I didn't have to do that same exact route five times--four was hard enough. So I just looped around the paths and trails in the park. Some of it was the race course and some wasn't.
The five mile warm-up went well enough, about 10:04 average pace. It was pleasantly warm out but not yet too hot. I finished about half an hour before start time, easily enough to get my bib, refill my nuun water bottles, and use the bathroom again.
My only goal for the half marathon run (other than surviving, of course) was to run at an easy pace ("long run pace") and not try to push myself at all. There were a couple reasons for this. One, it was going to be very hot, and didn't want to make myself sick or suffer too much for a run that was not any kind of goal race for me. Two, this was just a long run, no reason to treat it as anything but. (Maybe that's actually the same as number one!)
This race included four different distances, 5K, 10K, 15K, and the very special National Fitness Day Half Marathon. The 5, 10, and 15K's ran a 3.1 mile loop, and there was a little out and back added to the half marathon loop to make it the right distance.
Not surprisingly, there were far more runners in the shorter distances than the longer. 59 people finished the 5K, 36 the 10K, and a token six in the 15K. The half marathon had barely more than a handful, with 11 listed finishers (and one participant who stopped after three loops--don't know if they gave him credit for 15K instead).
So the strange thing was, the first two loops were like any race, plenty of people around, running faster, slower, and the same pace as me. But by the third loop I was pretty much running alone the whole rest of the way.
For the first few miles I maintained a pretty easy 10-minute pace. The 3.25 mile loop included paved trail, dirt and gravel, a decent gravel hill (I walked up this the last two times), and some some sidewalks and pavement. There was a water and Gu station about 2 - 2.5 miles in, and the short out and back was right after that (so you actually passed the water twice in a short distance). First three miles 9:54, 9:58, 10:04.
There was one major difference between this run and a "normal" long run on my own. When I am running on my own, I stop my Garmin when I stop for a bathroom, stoplight, phone call, or any reason I might pause. In this event, I didn't pause the Garmin at all, and that is definitely reflected in my pace. I had several stops or delays, including the water station, a call to my mom when I needed her to bring out my replacement nuun bottles, the actual exchange of bottles, and a bathroom stop.
Miles 4-7 (this includes all of the first two laps, plus a little): 10:15, 10:08, 10:44, 10:32. The only runner that was consistently near me after the small crowd spread out was a younger guy with a beard doing the half marathon. I think he was with a young woman who was very fast--she doubled back to check on him in the first lap, then was never seen again. She may have been the person who won the entire race, but I don't know. She definitely finished well ahead of me.
At the water station in the second loop (my 10:44 mile), the guy paused for a bit and I passed him. I stayed ahead of him for the rest of that lap, then apparently I pulled far enough ahead that I never saw him again. Either he never finished or he was the person who was 12 minutes after me (the age was right).
Miles 8-10 (I know I am not really reflecting the loops, impossible to do precisely considering the distance): 10:45, 11:50, 10:43. Mile 8 probably included walking up the gravel hill. Mile 9, I'm pretty sure, was when I walked while I called my mom to bring out the extra nuun (I almost just stopped while I called her but then I realized that it would be more efficient to walk!). Mile 10, I think, included my more leisurely trip through the water station.
I met my mom just before crossing into the final loop. She is used to me really racing half marathons, so was prepared to pretty much toss me the bottles while I ran on. But I stopped for a moment to take a couple swigs before leaving my almost empties and taking the new, cold bottles. I told her, see you in about 30 minutes, as I ran on. I was a little bit optimistic, somehow I thought that I would have a final kick for this last 5K+. As I was crossing the start/finish line to begin my final loop, a male runner finished with 1:42:44 (ah, my envy at both his time and his finish!). He must have been running much faster earlier in the race, because in the last mile he pretty much paced with me, and I was definitely not running an 8-minute pace!
Miles 11-13: 10:47 (hill, or just tired), 10:21 (a little bit of a kick!), 11:51 (bathroom stop). The bathroom stop in the last mile was crazy. Normally, if I had to go so close to the end I would push through, regardless. Normally, if I had to go so bad that I would stop in a race, I would have been suffering for several miles before the stop. This time I just approached the water stop (conveniently by a park restroom), and suddenly realized I needed to pee. I was so surprised, I announced it to the girls at the stop (I'm sure they appreciated my sharing). I thought I would do the out and back and stop after that. But then I started to pee my pants a little! How weird is that!
Weirder still, I felt compelled to announce that I was going to go to the bathroom then do the out and back. Actually, the reason I did that was to make it clear I wasn't just skipping the out and back. So I stopped, and added a minute or more to my time (my standard race bathroom time seems to be about 90 seconds--that would also be consistent with a 10:20 pace absent the stop).
All through this final stop I amused myself (if that is the word) but noting that this was the last time I would have to do such and such. The last time up the gravel hill. The last time around the big field. The last time past the sports field where there was a soccer game or something happening. The last time across the miserably hot black paved area. The last time through the parking lot. The last time over the lumpy rocky torn up road. The last time past the water station girls. The last time on the half mary out and back.
And then the best part...the last time on the out and back to the boat launch (disappointed because the guy monitoring the turnaround had apparently given up and left). And finally, finally, the last time across the start line which was now the finish line. I saw the clock was in the two-teens as I approached (slowest half in a long time**), and I crossed at 2:18:31, about a 10:35 average pace.
There were still three people behind me, so I wasn't last. Even though it felt that way--it was so deserted. I would have liked to wait to cheer in the rest, but it's just as well I didn't. One finished twelve minutes after me and the other two finished seventeen minutes after that.
Instead, I headed down to the lake, took off my shoes and socks and waded in! The water felt so good--cold but not too cold. The rocks on the bottom were mossy and slippery though. I didn't want to get in all the way because then I'd be sitting on my mom's leather seat in wet clothes.
They were pretty wet from sweat already but I think that would be over the top. So after a few minutes I got out and put my shoes back on--the rocks were too hot to walk on barefoot.
I probably have not expressed well how hot it was out. I don't know the official temperature but it got over 90 that day. It may not have been quite that hot before noon but for running, it was definitely the hottest temperature I'd run in this year. By far.
I don't think there's any way I could have done that run at a race-level effort. Even the "race" atmosphere did not trick my body into running fast! Of course, there was hardly a competitive atmosphere once I was running all alone. It's a little discouraging to have such a slow time in a half marathon but I have to remind myself, I ran it the way I wanted to.
When we left Magnuson we headed back north, but made a slight detour to Coldstone Creamery to collect my free birthday ice cream (a "like it" size cup with one mix-in). I got cake batter ice cream with heath bar mix-in (450 calories total). Then my mom dropped me at my house and I hit the shower.
Later that afternoon Rod and I headed out to my folks' house for swimming in the bay, a little lounging on the deck, and burgers for dinner. The water was pretty cold but we stuck it out for a while before heading to the deck to dry off in the sun. I considered this my ice bath. I think it helped because my ankle has not been giving me too much trouble since!
I did pick up some other foot injuries at the beach though. I got a small cut on my left foot from barnacles in the water, and apparently stepped on something with my right heel because that has been sore ever since. I originally thought that was a barnacle cut too, but it's different; there's a sore spot on my heel like I have a thorn in it. Don't know where I would have picked that up, though. I hope it goes away soon--it makes walking uncomfortable, though I am able to run!
On Sunday I took a rest day and Rod and I took a ferry to Friday Harbor (San Juan Island) for the afternoon. We walked around the shops, ate a late lunch, then looked at a few more shops and the art museum before heading back to wait for the return ferry. It was pretty hot. By the later part of the afternoon I was sweating just walking around town! Luckily, once we were on the boat and moving there was a nice breeze.
The hot weather has continued this week, but I've done my running early in the morning (both Monday and Tuesday), so it hasn't bothered me. It's starting to cool a little, and by Thursday (my birthday) it will be much cooler, possibly even with some rain on the weekend. I think a little weather break will be okay. :)
*It's true. Sometimes we worry about water shortages.
**But still faster than the Bath Half Marathon.
I know, I admit, that what I call very very hot is just the norm in many parts of the country during the summer. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I don't know how you people do it! As much as I (and my fellow Washingtonians) complain about the weather here (too hot, too cold, too wet, not enough rain,* etc.), we are truly blessed in so many ways. And, best of all, very little humidity most of the time.
Friday morning was an off day for running, but I hit the Y early for 90 minutes on the elliptical before going to meet my mother. We headed north to Bow for a quick end-of-season visit to Anderson Blueberry Farm (where did the time go?). Loaded up with several flats of blueberries for the freezer, we then hurried back home so I could make my afternoon court obligations.Saturday I had an 18-mile run on my schedule. I had signed up for the Magnuson Series National Fitness Day Half Marathon (to take care of 13 of those miles). Since the official run didn't start until 10 a.m., I had plenty of time beforehand to get in the first five!
My mom came with my for company and support, though I was a little worried about leaving her out there in the Magnuson Park parking lot on such a hot day. (But she could have gone down to the lake if she had wanted to. She was fine.) We got there about 8:30 a.m. I originally was going to run two miles, check in, then run three before the race started. But I decided to go ahead and do all five first, then get my bib number.
I had thought I would do my pre-run on the actual course (about 3.25 miles repeated four times for a half marathon), but it wasn't fully marked yet, and in retrospect I am glad I didn't have to do that same exact route five times--four was hard enough. So I just looped around the paths and trails in the park. Some of it was the race course and some wasn't.
The five mile warm-up went well enough, about 10:04 average pace. It was pleasantly warm out but not yet too hot. I finished about half an hour before start time, easily enough to get my bib, refill my nuun water bottles, and use the bathroom again.
My only goal for the half marathon run (other than surviving, of course) was to run at an easy pace ("long run pace") and not try to push myself at all. There were a couple reasons for this. One, it was going to be very hot, and didn't want to make myself sick or suffer too much for a run that was not any kind of goal race for me. Two, this was just a long run, no reason to treat it as anything but. (Maybe that's actually the same as number one!)
This race included four different distances, 5K, 10K, 15K, and the very special National Fitness Day Half Marathon. The 5, 10, and 15K's ran a 3.1 mile loop, and there was a little out and back added to the half marathon loop to make it the right distance.
Not surprisingly, there were far more runners in the shorter distances than the longer. 59 people finished the 5K, 36 the 10K, and a token six in the 15K. The half marathon had barely more than a handful, with 11 listed finishers (and one participant who stopped after three loops--don't know if they gave him credit for 15K instead).
So the strange thing was, the first two loops were like any race, plenty of people around, running faster, slower, and the same pace as me. But by the third loop I was pretty much running alone the whole rest of the way.
For the first few miles I maintained a pretty easy 10-minute pace. The 3.25 mile loop included paved trail, dirt and gravel, a decent gravel hill (I walked up this the last two times), and some some sidewalks and pavement. There was a water and Gu station about 2 - 2.5 miles in, and the short out and back was right after that (so you actually passed the water twice in a short distance). First three miles 9:54, 9:58, 10:04.
There was one major difference between this run and a "normal" long run on my own. When I am running on my own, I stop my Garmin when I stop for a bathroom, stoplight, phone call, or any reason I might pause. In this event, I didn't pause the Garmin at all, and that is definitely reflected in my pace. I had several stops or delays, including the water station, a call to my mom when I needed her to bring out my replacement nuun bottles, the actual exchange of bottles, and a bathroom stop.
Miles 4-7 (this includes all of the first two laps, plus a little): 10:15, 10:08, 10:44, 10:32. The only runner that was consistently near me after the small crowd spread out was a younger guy with a beard doing the half marathon. I think he was with a young woman who was very fast--she doubled back to check on him in the first lap, then was never seen again. She may have been the person who won the entire race, but I don't know. She definitely finished well ahead of me.
At the water station in the second loop (my 10:44 mile), the guy paused for a bit and I passed him. I stayed ahead of him for the rest of that lap, then apparently I pulled far enough ahead that I never saw him again. Either he never finished or he was the person who was 12 minutes after me (the age was right).
Miles 8-10 (I know I am not really reflecting the loops, impossible to do precisely considering the distance): 10:45, 11:50, 10:43. Mile 8 probably included walking up the gravel hill. Mile 9, I'm pretty sure, was when I walked while I called my mom to bring out the extra nuun (I almost just stopped while I called her but then I realized that it would be more efficient to walk!). Mile 10, I think, included my more leisurely trip through the water station.
I met my mom just before crossing into the final loop. She is used to me really racing half marathons, so was prepared to pretty much toss me the bottles while I ran on. But I stopped for a moment to take a couple swigs before leaving my almost empties and taking the new, cold bottles. I told her, see you in about 30 minutes, as I ran on. I was a little bit optimistic, somehow I thought that I would have a final kick for this last 5K+. As I was crossing the start/finish line to begin my final loop, a male runner finished with 1:42:44 (ah, my envy at both his time and his finish!). He must have been running much faster earlier in the race, because in the last mile he pretty much paced with me, and I was definitely not running an 8-minute pace!
Miles 11-13: 10:47 (hill, or just tired), 10:21 (a little bit of a kick!), 11:51 (bathroom stop). The bathroom stop in the last mile was crazy. Normally, if I had to go so close to the end I would push through, regardless. Normally, if I had to go so bad that I would stop in a race, I would have been suffering for several miles before the stop. This time I just approached the water stop (conveniently by a park restroom), and suddenly realized I needed to pee. I was so surprised, I announced it to the girls at the stop (I'm sure they appreciated my sharing). I thought I would do the out and back and stop after that. But then I started to pee my pants a little! How weird is that!
Weirder still, I felt compelled to announce that I was going to go to the bathroom then do the out and back. Actually, the reason I did that was to make it clear I wasn't just skipping the out and back. So I stopped, and added a minute or more to my time (my standard race bathroom time seems to be about 90 seconds--that would also be consistent with a 10:20 pace absent the stop).
All through this final stop I amused myself (if that is the word) but noting that this was the last time I would have to do such and such. The last time up the gravel hill. The last time around the big field. The last time past the sports field where there was a soccer game or something happening. The last time across the miserably hot black paved area. The last time through the parking lot. The last time over the lumpy rocky torn up road. The last time past the water station girls. The last time on the half mary out and back.
And then the best part...the last time on the out and back to the boat launch (disappointed because the guy monitoring the turnaround had apparently given up and left). And finally, finally, the last time across the start line which was now the finish line. I saw the clock was in the two-teens as I approached (slowest half in a long time**), and I crossed at 2:18:31, about a 10:35 average pace.
There were still three people behind me, so I wasn't last. Even though it felt that way--it was so deserted. I would have liked to wait to cheer in the rest, but it's just as well I didn't. One finished twelve minutes after me and the other two finished seventeen minutes after that.
Instead, I headed down to the lake, took off my shoes and socks and waded in! The water felt so good--cold but not too cold. The rocks on the bottom were mossy and slippery though. I didn't want to get in all the way because then I'd be sitting on my mom's leather seat in wet clothes.
They were pretty wet from sweat already but I think that would be over the top. So after a few minutes I got out and put my shoes back on--the rocks were too hot to walk on barefoot.I probably have not expressed well how hot it was out. I don't know the official temperature but it got over 90 that day. It may not have been quite that hot before noon but for running, it was definitely the hottest temperature I'd run in this year. By far.
I don't think there's any way I could have done that run at a race-level effort. Even the "race" atmosphere did not trick my body into running fast! Of course, there was hardly a competitive atmosphere once I was running all alone. It's a little discouraging to have such a slow time in a half marathon but I have to remind myself, I ran it the way I wanted to.
When we left Magnuson we headed back north, but made a slight detour to Coldstone Creamery to collect my free birthday ice cream (a "like it" size cup with one mix-in). I got cake batter ice cream with heath bar mix-in (450 calories total). Then my mom dropped me at my house and I hit the shower.
Later that afternoon Rod and I headed out to my folks' house for swimming in the bay, a little lounging on the deck, and burgers for dinner. The water was pretty cold but we stuck it out for a while before heading to the deck to dry off in the sun. I considered this my ice bath. I think it helped because my ankle has not been giving me too much trouble since!
I did pick up some other foot injuries at the beach though. I got a small cut on my left foot from barnacles in the water, and apparently stepped on something with my right heel because that has been sore ever since. I originally thought that was a barnacle cut too, but it's different; there's a sore spot on my heel like I have a thorn in it. Don't know where I would have picked that up, though. I hope it goes away soon--it makes walking uncomfortable, though I am able to run!
On Sunday I took a rest day and Rod and I took a ferry to Friday Harbor (San Juan Island) for the afternoon. We walked around the shops, ate a late lunch, then looked at a few more shops and the art museum before heading back to wait for the return ferry. It was pretty hot. By the later part of the afternoon I was sweating just walking around town! Luckily, once we were on the boat and moving there was a nice breeze.
The hot weather has continued this week, but I've done my running early in the morning (both Monday and Tuesday), so it hasn't bothered me. It's starting to cool a little, and by Thursday (my birthday) it will be much cooler, possibly even with some rain on the weekend. I think a little weather break will be okay. :)
*It's true. Sometimes we worry about water shortages.
**But still faster than the Bath Half Marathon.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Farewell London, Hello Bath
In a few hours we will be leaving London and catching the train to Bath (from Paddington Station). Then, two days from now, the Half Marathon! The course description promises "flat," although the detailed description makes references like "climbs gently (but remorselessly)." So we shall see.
I forwent (is that the proper past tense of forgo?) running this morning to give my legs a chance to rest up for the long run on Sunday. For the last couple of days my quads have been rather achy, don't know why exactly, and my ankle and achilles tendon have been quite tender. In fact, yesterday when my mother and I were walking and stopped to rest, I tried rubbing the back of my leg and it was sore to the touch. I was limping a little too, but luckily (though mysteriously) that doesn't seem to transfer into running.
This morning my legs feel fine, though, and my ankle is barely sore at all. That's actually kind of unusual for London. The last time I was here I remember my whole body aching in the morning when I got up to run, thanks to all the pavement pounding during the day. Maybe we've been taking it a little easy so far. (Day on the train, anyone?)
I had intended to walk to Regent's Park with my dad before breakfast today, but before we even got to Euston he tripped and fell off a kerb and scratched up his hands and face. I insisted that we return to the hotel, where he got ice and bandaids ("plasters") from the hotel staff. Other than an incipient black eye, he seems to be okay, luckily.
I'm as ready as I'm going to be. Not much I can do now! Other than avoid injury myself and refrain from eating foods that could bring on intestinal stress, or distress, on Sunday. So yesterday's foray into clotted cream, and, er, fish & chips for dinner, was a one-off. At least until after Sunday.
I don't know what my internet access will be like in Bath and Penzance over the next week. I hope to have it. But if not, the blog will be silent for a few days. Then I will be back as soon as I can with the race results!
I forwent (is that the proper past tense of forgo?) running this morning to give my legs a chance to rest up for the long run on Sunday. For the last couple of days my quads have been rather achy, don't know why exactly, and my ankle and achilles tendon have been quite tender. In fact, yesterday when my mother and I were walking and stopped to rest, I tried rubbing the back of my leg and it was sore to the touch. I was limping a little too, but luckily (though mysteriously) that doesn't seem to transfer into running.
This morning my legs feel fine, though, and my ankle is barely sore at all. That's actually kind of unusual for London. The last time I was here I remember my whole body aching in the morning when I got up to run, thanks to all the pavement pounding during the day. Maybe we've been taking it a little easy so far. (Day on the train, anyone?)
I had intended to walk to Regent's Park with my dad before breakfast today, but before we even got to Euston he tripped and fell off a kerb and scratched up his hands and face. I insisted that we return to the hotel, where he got ice and bandaids ("plasters") from the hotel staff. Other than an incipient black eye, he seems to be okay, luckily.
But the lack of exercise did not prevent me from eating a large, rather carb-laden breakfast. I have taken to heart the advice from a recent Bath Half newsletter:
- As you begin to taper your training you should also gradually increase your carbohydrate intake. Foods such as potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, bananas, jelly sweets and Lucozade Sport are all high in carbohydrate and low in fat.
I'm as ready as I'm going to be. Not much I can do now! Other than avoid injury myself and refrain from eating foods that could bring on intestinal stress, or distress, on Sunday. So yesterday's foray into clotted cream, and, er, fish & chips for dinner, was a one-off. At least until after Sunday.
I don't know what my internet access will be like in Bath and Penzance over the next week. I hope to have it. But if not, the blog will be silent for a few days. Then I will be back as soon as I can with the race results!
Monday, May 26, 2008
London 2012
I am so going to London in 2012 to watch the Olympics (at least, the marathon; that's really the only event I'm particularly interested in).
I don't know why I never thought about this before... but a few weeks ago, when I was in Spokane for Bloomsday (where I talked to Kathrine Switzer about the London Marathon), it came to me out of the blue—I could go to London for the Olympics. I should go to London for the Olympics. I will go to London for the Olympics!
Hopefully the exchange rate will stabilize (I mean improve—it's quite stable, just high!) by then.
I wonder when I could start bugging my favorite London Hotel about reservations? Obviously, I have to wait until I have enough extra money to make a deposit (if that is something they would want). (See, also, hoping the exchange rate will improve.)
Perhaps if I am able to go to England for the Bath Half Marathon next spring, I can look into it then. (I am going for the Bath Half, if I can get a spot.)
It's good to have dreams. Some runners dream of running in the Olympic marathon, or at least the London Marathon—I just want a hotel room!
I don't know why I never thought about this before... but a few weeks ago, when I was in Spokane for Bloomsday (where I talked to Kathrine Switzer about the London Marathon), it came to me out of the blue—I could go to London for the Olympics. I should go to London for the Olympics. I will go to London for the Olympics!
Hopefully the exchange rate will stabilize (I mean improve—it's quite stable, just high!) by then.
I wonder when I could start bugging my favorite London Hotel about reservations? Obviously, I have to wait until I have enough extra money to make a deposit (if that is something they would want). (See, also, hoping the exchange rate will improve.)
Perhaps if I am able to go to England for the Bath Half Marathon next spring, I can look into it then. (I am going for the Bath Half, if I can get a spot.)
It's good to have dreams. Some runners dream of running in the Olympic marathon, or at least the London Marathon—I just want a hotel room!
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Let's finish this Eugene thing!
I'm heading to Portland tomorrow for the Rock 'n' Roll Half, so I think it's time to finish with the Eugene Marathon before I get yet another race under my belt.
I left off at the end of the day Saturday. Sunday morning I set my alarm to wake up a little before 5 a.m., so I could eat breakfast two hours before the 7 a.m. start. I had my usual pre-race breakfast of whole wheat English muffin with Justin's Maple Almond Butter (my fave) and marionberry jam, plus some of the Americano that I had stashed from the night before. Since we were staying a short walk away from Hayward Field, I had plenty of time to lie around and read before I had to get ready to go.
My race outfit was laid out already--Lucy tank top, Asics shorts, and a thowaway sweatshirt from Goodwill. I pinned my bib (with embedded chip) onto my fuel belt. Sometime between 6:15 and 6:30 we left to walk the short distance to the start. The race started on the side of Hayward Field that was near the Law School. On the way over I stopped at the porta potties on the opposite side of the track, which had no lines at all!
I had been assigned to Corral A because I (optimistically) put 3:55 as my finishing time estimate when I registered in October 2011. However, since I saw the 4:00 pace group at the front of Corral B, I moved myself back. I didn't even want to run as fast as the 4:00 group, but I didn't want to start ahead of them! I had considered running with the 4:15 group, but I never saw the 4:15 pacer. I figure I was ahead of them in the first half and then they probably passed me during my second half bathroom stop.
Above--Law School in the background. Below--entrance to Hayward Field. I would see this again 26 miles later as I entered to finish the final .2 mile!
I really wish I had finished writing this more quickly after the race happened, because as time passes my memory becomes less clear. I feel like it is all still fresh in my mind, but as I try to write about it, details become fuzzy....
The weather was perfect, cloudy and probably in the lower 50s to start. I was wearing a sweet grey sweatshirt from Goodwill. I told Rod I would toss it when I got too warm. He offered to take it before the start, but I told him I wanted to keep it on for a few miles. I know the thought of me throwing it away bothered him!
There I am at the start. I had the 4:00 pacer in my eyesight and I kept up with him for about two minutes, then happily let him go. I had no intention of burning myself out by trying for 9:00 miles at the start.
The first eight miles or so was essentially an out and back south on Amazon Drive and then back toward Hayward Field. Although the course is depicted as flat, the road inclined and declined periodically which made it more interesting to me than pancake flat would be. My first mile was a bit impacted by congestion and warming up my legs, but was pretty good at 9:45. I then sailed through the next seven miles at a happy 9:30-ish pace. (9:28, 9:25, 9:30, 9:33, 9:23, 9:32, 9:31).
The "hill" that everyone mentions was after the 8-mile point, as we ascended 19th a bit and approached my B & B. I wondered if Rod would be outside watching for me, or inside eating breakfast! I had planned to take off my jacket at mile 5, but I kept it on for a couple miles longer, then carried it toward the B & B. I figured I could either leave it with Rod or perhaps throw it in the bushes and retrieve it later. Rod was in fact there on the street corner, and snapped my picture before I ditched my sweatshirt at his feet.
I had probably slowed a little on the "hill," but we got to go down the other side, so that was great. What wasn't so great was my need to use the bathroom. I don't expect to get through a marathon without a stop, but I don't like to do it so early on. But the need was feeling rather urgent, and somewhere in mile 9 (just before the 10-mile point) I saw a big bank of potties and ran off course for as quick a stop as I could manage (I am not the speediest stopper). That made mile 9 clock in at 10:52 (though my "moving time" was 9:34).
Mile 10 - 9:44 (back on track). We had moved into one of the park/running trail segments, near where the half marathoners would split shortly before the 11-mile mark. Suddenly I saw a girl stumble and fall in front of me. I decided to stop and help her. I stood with her as she gathered herself together, and encouraged her to resume running and offered to run with her a bit. I felt like we stood still for a long time, but my split for mile 11, including the stop, was just 10:17 (9:31 moving time). I asked her if she was running the half or full. When she said half, I wished her well and sent her on her way at the split.
The next few miles went smoothly enough, though I left my 9:30 paces behind. Miles 12-14 were 9:54, 9:48, 9:46. My half marathon split time was just a few seconds over 2:07:30, right on track for a 4:15 marathon. That was pretty encouraging, seeing that I had lost more than two minutes in my two stops. If I could avoid further delays, all I had to do was average 9:45 miles. (So much easier said than done.)
Unfortunately, the bathroom need came upon my again, and in mile 15 I once again jumped off course to a potty. I had actually been looking for one for a couple of miles. They were fewer and farther between once we left the half marathoners behind. Luckily for me, I didn't have to wait (though I did have to go through some bushes to get there). It cost me, though--mile 15 - 11:28 (9:55 moving time).
Even though my pace was slowing and I had those stomach issues, I really wasn't suffering too much. Mostly I was playing mind games, setting goals to run to instead of looking at the big picture of 26.2 miles. My touchpoints were 5K, 5-mile, 10K, 10-mile, half marathon, 15, 16, 18, 20...and every single mile thereafter. I always think I'm going to "push it" after mile 20 (then reevaluate!). Miles 16-21 - 9:54, 9:57, 10:09, 10:12, 10:09, 10:10.
I had planned to take Gu at miles 8, 13, 18, and 23. Because of passing the B & B, and then the first bathroom stop, I didn't take my first Gu until mile 10. I took another at mile 15. I think I took my third and final one somewhere after mile 20. I was feeling a tiny bit nauseous, and just took little bits of it periodically. I had also been drinking Nuun out of my water bottle, but started in the upper miles taking water periodically at the water stations. It helped wash down the Gu and it was a change of pace.
The sun had come out sometime after 10 a.m. and I put on my sunglasses. I could feel the warmth but never got uncomfortably warm. It did get warmer in the afternoon and I was glad not to be running then!
I didn't really manage a kick in the last 10K. In fact, my slowest running miles (as opposed to the miles with stops) were miles 22 and 23. I think I was letting myself cruise a little, with a more realistic plan to push myself in the final 5K. Mile 22 - 10:22, mile 23 - 10:35.
Since we ran into Alton Baker Park at Mile 16, we had been running along the Willamette River. We ran on one side up to mile 21, then crossed over and back along the other side until about mile 25.5. As I was in those final few miles, I could see other runners still on the opposite side of the river. I was so glad not to be them!
Somehow I did manage to find another gear and pick up the pace for the last three miles. Mile 24 - 10:01. Mile 25 - 10:02. Mile 26 - 9:25 (my fastest since mile 6!). The last mile was so weird--we seemed to be running through a field, alongside warehouse or box cars or something like that (can't remember clearly, except for the grassy area surrounding our running trail). Then we were back on Agate Street and approaching the gate to Hayward Field. Onto the track, for .2 miles at a blazing 9:03 pace (yes, my "sprint" was at 9:03). I crossed the finish line just as my watch passed 4:21 (the time clock was a few minutes ahead, and my chip time was 4:21:09).
I wandered into the finishers' area and tried to find Rod. Although I hadn't seen him (I was watching the finish line, not looking into the stands), he had been in the grandstands and took a picture of me on the track. But he couldn't come down into the finishers' area because it was fenced off. Luckily he did see me as I was walking toward the exit and we met up outside it.
We walked the quarter mile or so back to the B & B, then he went off to get us pizza while I soaked in a cold bath, then showered and changed. Here is the picture I sent to my mother (pre-bath) to prove that I had survived....
In addition to the cold bath, I fueled myself to ward off leg cramps by eating a banana, a couple handfuls of salted pretzels, and a dill pickle that I had packed along in the ice chest for this purpose. I don't know if it made any difference or it mattered, but I did not suffer any leg cramps!
Later that afternoon, after some yummy thin crust pizza and rest, we walked back to the U of O campus so Rod could try shopping at the Duck Store again. Since I had done my shopping on Saturday, I just went on to Starbucks and drank iced tea at a table in the sunshine. This was one of the first opportunities all spring to sit out in the sun! (Our weather had been quite dismal.)
Later that evening we went back to Agate Alley and I had the exact same burger and sweet potato fries as I had on Friday night. Once again, delicious.
On Monday we drove home and that was the end of the Eugene Marathon trip!
I left off at the end of the day Saturday. Sunday morning I set my alarm to wake up a little before 5 a.m., so I could eat breakfast two hours before the 7 a.m. start. I had my usual pre-race breakfast of whole wheat English muffin with Justin's Maple Almond Butter (my fave) and marionberry jam, plus some of the Americano that I had stashed from the night before. Since we were staying a short walk away from Hayward Field, I had plenty of time to lie around and read before I had to get ready to go.
My race outfit was laid out already--Lucy tank top, Asics shorts, and a thowaway sweatshirt from Goodwill. I pinned my bib (with embedded chip) onto my fuel belt. Sometime between 6:15 and 6:30 we left to walk the short distance to the start. The race started on the side of Hayward Field that was near the Law School. On the way over I stopped at the porta potties on the opposite side of the track, which had no lines at all!
I had been assigned to Corral A because I (optimistically) put 3:55 as my finishing time estimate when I registered in October 2011. However, since I saw the 4:00 pace group at the front of Corral B, I moved myself back. I didn't even want to run as fast as the 4:00 group, but I didn't want to start ahead of them! I had considered running with the 4:15 group, but I never saw the 4:15 pacer. I figure I was ahead of them in the first half and then they probably passed me during my second half bathroom stop.
The weather was perfect, cloudy and probably in the lower 50s to start. I was wearing a sweet grey sweatshirt from Goodwill. I told Rod I would toss it when I got too warm. He offered to take it before the start, but I told him I wanted to keep it on for a few miles. I know the thought of me throwing it away bothered him!
The first eight miles or so was essentially an out and back south on Amazon Drive and then back toward Hayward Field. Although the course is depicted as flat, the road inclined and declined periodically which made it more interesting to me than pancake flat would be. My first mile was a bit impacted by congestion and warming up my legs, but was pretty good at 9:45. I then sailed through the next seven miles at a happy 9:30-ish pace. (9:28, 9:25, 9:30, 9:33, 9:23, 9:32, 9:31).
The "hill" that everyone mentions was after the 8-mile point, as we ascended 19th a bit and approached my B & B. I wondered if Rod would be outside watching for me, or inside eating breakfast! I had planned to take off my jacket at mile 5, but I kept it on for a couple miles longer, then carried it toward the B & B. I figured I could either leave it with Rod or perhaps throw it in the bushes and retrieve it later. Rod was in fact there on the street corner, and snapped my picture before I ditched my sweatshirt at his feet.
Mile 10 - 9:44 (back on track). We had moved into one of the park/running trail segments, near where the half marathoners would split shortly before the 11-mile mark. Suddenly I saw a girl stumble and fall in front of me. I decided to stop and help her. I stood with her as she gathered herself together, and encouraged her to resume running and offered to run with her a bit. I felt like we stood still for a long time, but my split for mile 11, including the stop, was just 10:17 (9:31 moving time). I asked her if she was running the half or full. When she said half, I wished her well and sent her on her way at the split.
The next few miles went smoothly enough, though I left my 9:30 paces behind. Miles 12-14 were 9:54, 9:48, 9:46. My half marathon split time was just a few seconds over 2:07:30, right on track for a 4:15 marathon. That was pretty encouraging, seeing that I had lost more than two minutes in my two stops. If I could avoid further delays, all I had to do was average 9:45 miles. (So much easier said than done.)
Unfortunately, the bathroom need came upon my again, and in mile 15 I once again jumped off course to a potty. I had actually been looking for one for a couple of miles. They were fewer and farther between once we left the half marathoners behind. Luckily for me, I didn't have to wait (though I did have to go through some bushes to get there). It cost me, though--mile 15 - 11:28 (9:55 moving time).
Even though my pace was slowing and I had those stomach issues, I really wasn't suffering too much. Mostly I was playing mind games, setting goals to run to instead of looking at the big picture of 26.2 miles. My touchpoints were 5K, 5-mile, 10K, 10-mile, half marathon, 15, 16, 18, 20...and every single mile thereafter. I always think I'm going to "push it" after mile 20 (then reevaluate!). Miles 16-21 - 9:54, 9:57, 10:09, 10:12, 10:09, 10:10.
I had planned to take Gu at miles 8, 13, 18, and 23. Because of passing the B & B, and then the first bathroom stop, I didn't take my first Gu until mile 10. I took another at mile 15. I think I took my third and final one somewhere after mile 20. I was feeling a tiny bit nauseous, and just took little bits of it periodically. I had also been drinking Nuun out of my water bottle, but started in the upper miles taking water periodically at the water stations. It helped wash down the Gu and it was a change of pace.
The sun had come out sometime after 10 a.m. and I put on my sunglasses. I could feel the warmth but never got uncomfortably warm. It did get warmer in the afternoon and I was glad not to be running then!
I didn't really manage a kick in the last 10K. In fact, my slowest running miles (as opposed to the miles with stops) were miles 22 and 23. I think I was letting myself cruise a little, with a more realistic plan to push myself in the final 5K. Mile 22 - 10:22, mile 23 - 10:35.
Since we ran into Alton Baker Park at Mile 16, we had been running along the Willamette River. We ran on one side up to mile 21, then crossed over and back along the other side until about mile 25.5. As I was in those final few miles, I could see other runners still on the opposite side of the river. I was so glad not to be them!
Somehow I did manage to find another gear and pick up the pace for the last three miles. Mile 24 - 10:01. Mile 25 - 10:02. Mile 26 - 9:25 (my fastest since mile 6!). The last mile was so weird--we seemed to be running through a field, alongside warehouse or box cars or something like that (can't remember clearly, except for the grassy area surrounding our running trail). Then we were back on Agate Street and approaching the gate to Hayward Field. Onto the track, for .2 miles at a blazing 9:03 pace (yes, my "sprint" was at 9:03). I crossed the finish line just as my watch passed 4:21 (the time clock was a few minutes ahead, and my chip time was 4:21:09).
I wandered into the finishers' area and tried to find Rod. Although I hadn't seen him (I was watching the finish line, not looking into the stands), he had been in the grandstands and took a picture of me on the track. But he couldn't come down into the finishers' area because it was fenced off. Luckily he did see me as I was walking toward the exit and we met up outside it.
We walked the quarter mile or so back to the B & B, then he went off to get us pizza while I soaked in a cold bath, then showered and changed. Here is the picture I sent to my mother (pre-bath) to prove that I had survived....
Later that afternoon, after some yummy thin crust pizza and rest, we walked back to the U of O campus so Rod could try shopping at the Duck Store again. Since I had done my shopping on Saturday, I just went on to Starbucks and drank iced tea at a table in the sunshine. This was one of the first opportunities all spring to sit out in the sun! (Our weather had been quite dismal.)
Later that evening we went back to Agate Alley and I had the exact same burger and sweet potato fries as I had on Friday night. Once again, delicious.
On Monday we drove home and that was the end of the Eugene Marathon trip!
Friday, January 1, 2010
2009 Races
Here are all the races I ran in 2009!
12/6/09, California International Marathon, Sacramento, 3:59:40, PR
11/29/09, Seattle Half Marathon, 1:58:07
11/14/09, Fowl Fun Run 10K, Mount Vernon, 49:20, PR
10/31/09, Fall Classic Fun Run 5K, Monroe, 23:55
10/10/09, Duck Dash 5K, Eugene, Oregon, 23:50, PR
9/27/09, Bellingham Bay Half Marathon, 1:53:19, PR
9/19/09, Marysville YMCA Family Fun Run 5-Mile, 40:35, PR
9/12/09, Fairhaven Waterfront 15K, Bellingham, 1:17:19, PR
8/1/09, Anacortes Art Dash Half Marathon, 1:53:32
7/4/09, Yankee Doodle Dash 10K, Everett, 52:44
6/13/09, Berry Run 5K, Marysville, 24:21
6/7/09, Race for the Cure 5K, Seattle, 25:45
5/3/09, Bloomsday 12K, Spokane, 1:12:21
3/15/09, Bath Half Marathon, England 2:19:25
2/21/09 LaConner Smelt Run 10K, 59:20
2/8/09 Love 'em or Leave 'em 5K, Seattle 28:33
1/1/09 Resolution Run 5K, Seattle 27:40
12/6/09, California International Marathon, Sacramento, 3:59:40, PR
11/29/09, Seattle Half Marathon, 1:58:07
11/14/09, Fowl Fun Run 10K, Mount Vernon, 49:20, PR
10/31/09, Fall Classic Fun Run 5K, Monroe, 23:55
10/10/09, Duck Dash 5K, Eugene, Oregon, 23:50, PR
9/27/09, Bellingham Bay Half Marathon, 1:53:19, PR
9/19/09, Marysville YMCA Family Fun Run 5-Mile, 40:35, PR
9/12/09, Fairhaven Waterfront 15K, Bellingham, 1:17:19, PR
8/1/09, Anacortes Art Dash Half Marathon, 1:53:32
7/4/09, Yankee Doodle Dash 10K, Everett, 52:44
6/13/09, Berry Run 5K, Marysville, 24:21
6/7/09, Race for the Cure 5K, Seattle, 25:45
5/3/09, Bloomsday 12K, Spokane, 1:12:21
3/15/09, Bath Half Marathon, England 2:19:25
2/21/09 LaConner Smelt Run 10K, 59:20
2/8/09 Love 'em or Leave 'em 5K, Seattle 28:33
1/1/09 Resolution Run 5K, Seattle 27:40
Monday, February 23, 2009
Three weeks and counting
In less than three weeks—three weeks from yesterday—I'll be in Bath running the half marathon.
Three weeks, people! Three weeks!
In fact, two weeks from today I'll be going to the airport to catch my flight to London. That's scarier than the run itself.
I think all the pieces are in place. Passport (replaced after purse was stolen in December)—check. Plane tickets reserved and paid for—check. All hotel reservations (London, Bath, Penzance) made and confirmed—check.
Training for the run—um—check?
Okay, it's undoubtedly true that my training for this race has been far more lackluster than past half marathons. Like Whidbey '07 and '08, which were, not coincidentally, among my very best finishes.
On the downside (and it's a big downside), I haven't been doing any speedwork to speak of, not even my own half-assed style of speedwork. I just run. And "run" is a pretty extreme term to describe my slogging shuffle.
On the upside, I have consistently kept my mileage pretty well up. (Note the equivocal term here.) Granted my weekly totals are not up to the aspirational 32-mile-per-week average goal that I set myself for 2009. (Next up: revising my goals for 2009.) Although this last week was 32.5 miles, I have been more regularly doing 25-30 miles, even less on a couple of occasions when I had 5K's on the weekend.
Or like this week, when I am doing a 10K on Saturday and chose not to run this morning because my legs were still tired from the 12.5 miles I didn't finish until 4 p.m. yesterday. I made the judgment call (this morning at 6 a.m.) that 14 hours was not enough recovery time between runs.* So I'll be lucky to get 20 miles in over the week.
But I have been regularly doing at least 10 miles almost every Sunday,** and frequently 11 or 12, as I have been for almost the entire last year. So in theory, I am always ready to run a half marathon.
I fear this turning into a gloomy "I am so slow" post, but I am not going there. The run will be what it will be.
On the upside—and it's a big upside—it's in England! And I'll be in London for three days before going to Bath! And in Penzance, Cornwall, for three days after!
I'm especially looking forward to Penzance, not just because the run will be done by then. We are staying at what looks to be a really great hotel, the Abbey Hotel, and Penzance is an extremely quaint and charming seaside town, easily accessible by a long, scenic train ride. Not to mention that Cornwall is the home of Cornish pasties and the most delicious clotted cream. And you can walk for miles along the paths that line the coastal perimeter.***
So, two weeks to go! There are still a few things to accomplish before I go. Even with the passport already in hand. Bills to pay, and such nonsense. Packing to be done (without buying new clothes). Camera to be found! (Yes, I have misplaced my new camera. The one I bought on the day before leaving for Vegas, after my former camera was stolen out of my car along with my purse, passport and Tiffany heart earring. Oh yeah, I never did finish a Las Vegas race report, so that story has not yet been told.)
Gosh, with all that stuff to do, why am I just sitting around here?
*So I stayed in bed instead. I did watch a yoga show on the Oxygen channel while I was lying there. I didn't participate because that would have required getting out of bed. I did join in on some of the seated and floor poses which I could do in the bed. Then I fell asleep during shavasana.
**Again, except for the ones with 5K's and while we were snowed in over Christmas.
***Walk, I say! Not run.
Three weeks, people! Three weeks!
In fact, two weeks from today I'll be going to the airport to catch my flight to London. That's scarier than the run itself.
I think all the pieces are in place. Passport (replaced after purse was stolen in December)—check. Plane tickets reserved and paid for—check. All hotel reservations (London, Bath, Penzance) made and confirmed—check.
Training for the run—um—check?
Okay, it's undoubtedly true that my training for this race has been far more lackluster than past half marathons. Like Whidbey '07 and '08, which were, not coincidentally, among my very best finishes.
On the downside (and it's a big downside), I haven't been doing any speedwork to speak of, not even my own half-assed style of speedwork. I just run. And "run" is a pretty extreme term to describe my slogging shuffle.
On the upside, I have consistently kept my mileage pretty well up. (Note the equivocal term here.) Granted my weekly totals are not up to the aspirational 32-mile-per-week average goal that I set myself for 2009. (Next up: revising my goals for 2009.) Although this last week was 32.5 miles, I have been more regularly doing 25-30 miles, even less on a couple of occasions when I had 5K's on the weekend.
Or like this week, when I am doing a 10K on Saturday and chose not to run this morning because my legs were still tired from the 12.5 miles I didn't finish until 4 p.m. yesterday. I made the judgment call (this morning at 6 a.m.) that 14 hours was not enough recovery time between runs.* So I'll be lucky to get 20 miles in over the week.
But I have been regularly doing at least 10 miles almost every Sunday,** and frequently 11 or 12, as I have been for almost the entire last year. So in theory, I am always ready to run a half marathon.
I fear this turning into a gloomy "I am so slow" post, but I am not going there. The run will be what it will be.
On the upside—and it's a big upside—it's in England! And I'll be in London for three days before going to Bath! And in Penzance, Cornwall, for three days after!
I'm especially looking forward to Penzance, not just because the run will be done by then. We are staying at what looks to be a really great hotel, the Abbey Hotel, and Penzance is an extremely quaint and charming seaside town, easily accessible by a long, scenic train ride. Not to mention that Cornwall is the home of Cornish pasties and the most delicious clotted cream. And you can walk for miles along the paths that line the coastal perimeter.***
So, two weeks to go! There are still a few things to accomplish before I go. Even with the passport already in hand. Bills to pay, and such nonsense. Packing to be done (without buying new clothes). Camera to be found! (Yes, I have misplaced my new camera. The one I bought on the day before leaving for Vegas, after my former camera was stolen out of my car along with my purse, passport and Tiffany heart earring. Oh yeah, I never did finish a Las Vegas race report, so that story has not yet been told.)
Gosh, with all that stuff to do, why am I just sitting around here?
*So I stayed in bed instead. I did watch a yoga show on the Oxygen channel while I was lying there. I didn't participate because that would have required getting out of bed. I did join in on some of the seated and floor poses which I could do in the bed. Then I fell asleep during shavasana.
**Again, except for the ones with 5K's and while we were snowed in over Christmas.
***Walk, I say! Not run.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Different, but sort of the same
I'm back in Bath, and for the first time since before 1995 I am staying in a different hotel than before. Haydon House, my go-to B&B since 1995, closed last year, something I discovered when starting to make plans for this trip. Actually Haydon House had already pulled the rug out from under me in 2007, when I called to make a reservation and learned that former owners Gordon and Magdalena had sold the hotel and retired from the B&B business. The upstart new owners only lasted about 18 months before selling up. Apparently they couldn't hack in the B&B business. This decision came shortly after we stayed there in 2007. I'm not saying there's a connection. Not at all.
Anyhow, back in January I learned that I needed to find a new place to stay in Bath. The place I found was Meadowland Bed and Breakfast. I don't remember if I located it through Karen Brown or Alistair Sawday, but when I looked at the hotel website I knew I had found my replacement to Haydon House. Not only is Meadowland on the same street (Bloomfield Park), but in looking at the pictures of the bedrooms, sitting room, and general decor, I had a sense of déjà vu, as though I were looking at pictures of Haydon House with a slightly different colour scheme.
So I sent an email to book the rooms. There was a bit of confusion because Bank of America blocked my credit card when I tried to charge a deposit (they suspected fraud due to the foreign charges—aren't they used to me spending money in England by now?), but after some exchange of email and phone calls, the owner assured me our reservation was confirmed and he would let me know if there was any problem resending the credit card charge. I never heard anything more, and assumed all was sorted.
Today, however, I became paranoid that something might have gone wrong, that an email saying my card was denied had been overlooked, that we would arrive in Bath with no rooms for the weekend. This thought flickered in and out of my mind during the train ride to Bath, and the taxi ride up the hill to Bloomfield Park. As we passed other B&B's along the way I imagined myself calling them one by one, or going door to door as I did when looking for B&B's in college (a more frugal time in my life), hoping to find one not booked for the weekend of the half marathon.
But my fears were, happily, groundless. As the taxi driver piled our luggage on the sidewalk, the hotel owner, John, came around the corner. He did not say "who are you" as I feared he might, but welcomed us warmly.*
As we crossed the entryway into the foyer of the hotel—which was a large, elegant house—I knew I had made the right choice.
But fate had a little more coincidence in store for me. A couple of them, in fact. When I told John that we had stayed in Haydon House many times before, he said that he knew Gordon and Magdalena, in fact they still belonged to the same golf club. (He also filled us in on the fate of Haydon House. After the new owners decided to sell, it was purchased by someone now using it as a home instead of a hotel.)
Then, when I said I was here to run the half marathon, he told me that his son was running, and he himself had run it for ten years—"until it stopped being fun." Of course, being a runner, he asked me what I expected for a time. I admitted that I had low expectations... while I had been doing two hour halfs last year, I have slowed down so much, I have no idea what to expect. (Later he asked me if I was going to take a warm-up run today. I said I was resting my legs until Sunday, then wondered if perhaps I was wrong about that....)
Later in the evening we walked up (or down?) the road about three quarters of a mile to have dinner at a new little bistro that John recommended. I had a tasty gnocchi with butternut squash, courgette, and tomatoes (and about four pieces of bread). We may eat there again tomorrow night, even perhaps the same dish as a post run dinner. My parents and I like to eat, but we're not good about eating out in England (too cheap for restaurants, perhaps), and often as not find our meals at supermarkets and delis. On the night before a run I want to stay close to my bed!
Right now I'm at the pub next to the bistro, which has free wifi (yea!) and also serves food (although John recommended coming here for "refreshments" rather than meals). I suppose we could eat here tomorrow night as well... I would be fine company with my computer, wrapped up in email, Facebook, and blogging!
Tomorrow will be breakfast at the hotel, a leisurely day in Bath, and, hopefully, a good night's sleep before Sunday's run.
*He did, however, comment on the quantity of our luggage!
Anyhow, back in January I learned that I needed to find a new place to stay in Bath. The place I found was Meadowland Bed and Breakfast. I don't remember if I located it through Karen Brown or Alistair Sawday, but when I looked at the hotel website I knew I had found my replacement to Haydon House. Not only is Meadowland on the same street (Bloomfield Park), but in looking at the pictures of the bedrooms, sitting room, and general decor, I had a sense of déjà vu, as though I were looking at pictures of Haydon House with a slightly different colour scheme.
So I sent an email to book the rooms. There was a bit of confusion because Bank of America blocked my credit card when I tried to charge a deposit (they suspected fraud due to the foreign charges—aren't they used to me spending money in England by now?), but after some exchange of email and phone calls, the owner assured me our reservation was confirmed and he would let me know if there was any problem resending the credit card charge. I never heard anything more, and assumed all was sorted.
Today, however, I became paranoid that something might have gone wrong, that an email saying my card was denied had been overlooked, that we would arrive in Bath with no rooms for the weekend. This thought flickered in and out of my mind during the train ride to Bath, and the taxi ride up the hill to Bloomfield Park. As we passed other B&B's along the way I imagined myself calling them one by one, or going door to door as I did when looking for B&B's in college (a more frugal time in my life), hoping to find one not booked for the weekend of the half marathon.
But my fears were, happily, groundless. As the taxi driver piled our luggage on the sidewalk, the hotel owner, John, came around the corner. He did not say "who are you" as I feared he might, but welcomed us warmly.*
As we crossed the entryway into the foyer of the hotel—which was a large, elegant house—I knew I had made the right choice.
But fate had a little more coincidence in store for me. A couple of them, in fact. When I told John that we had stayed in Haydon House many times before, he said that he knew Gordon and Magdalena, in fact they still belonged to the same golf club. (He also filled us in on the fate of Haydon House. After the new owners decided to sell, it was purchased by someone now using it as a home instead of a hotel.)
Then, when I said I was here to run the half marathon, he told me that his son was running, and he himself had run it for ten years—"until it stopped being fun." Of course, being a runner, he asked me what I expected for a time. I admitted that I had low expectations... while I had been doing two hour halfs last year, I have slowed down so much, I have no idea what to expect. (Later he asked me if I was going to take a warm-up run today. I said I was resting my legs until Sunday, then wondered if perhaps I was wrong about that....)
Later in the evening we walked up (or down?) the road about three quarters of a mile to have dinner at a new little bistro that John recommended. I had a tasty gnocchi with butternut squash, courgette, and tomatoes (and about four pieces of bread). We may eat there again tomorrow night, even perhaps the same dish as a post run dinner. My parents and I like to eat, but we're not good about eating out in England (too cheap for restaurants, perhaps), and often as not find our meals at supermarkets and delis. On the night before a run I want to stay close to my bed!
Right now I'm at the pub next to the bistro, which has free wifi (yea!) and also serves food (although John recommended coming here for "refreshments" rather than meals). I suppose we could eat here tomorrow night as well... I would be fine company with my computer, wrapped up in email, Facebook, and blogging!
Tomorrow will be breakfast at the hotel, a leisurely day in Bath, and, hopefully, a good night's sleep before Sunday's run.
*He did, however, comment on the quantity of our luggage!
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