Steinbeck Country

The alarm went off at 5:30 a.m. We remembered to turn the clock back last night, which helped because I was up every couple of hours as a result of hydrating all day. My race clothes were laid out and I dressed quickly. Then SD, my husband, and I went to grab a bagel.

It was supposed to be warm during the race, so I wore shorts and singlet. I had my sunglasses, but the sun didn't materialize until the end of the race. That was actually a blessing; although the view would have been prettier, the weather would have been warmer, so no one was complaining about the lack of sunshine.

We were told the bagel shop would be open at 6, but it wasn't. So we followed some other runners who were out and found Starbucks! And there was a bagel shop across the street. SD went to get the bagels and I went to get the java. As much as I wanted to order a cafe latte, I knew that coffee is a diuretic and I didn't want to be dehydrated, so I had an orange juice instead.

While I was waiting for SDs drink, I chatted up one of the runners. She told me she ran this race the past four years and that she's a local. She lamented that she was wearing an orange bib, and not a yellow. I was wearing the same color bib as she, which I guess means back of the pack. Yellow must be mid-packer. She said next year we'll both wear yellow bibs. OK.

I was full of jitters before the race started. And emotional--I got all choked up during the Star Spangled Banner and couldn't even sing. Sheesh. The gun went off and two minutes later I was across the mat. I chose not to run with my iPod, but as the rock song was playing at the start, I regretted that. But not for long.

Within the first 1/2 mile, I was wondering where the port-a-potties were. I had forgotten to look on the map. Never mind that I had gone twice during the previous half-hour. As mile 1 approached, we were back near the starting line and I thought we'd go past the toilets, but we didn't. Drat.

We went through a tunnel, which was cool for about three minutes. It seemed like a long tunnel and I never knew that I was claustrophobic, but I was getting anxious to get out of that tunnel! Finally we emerged into the light.

The Big Sur Half-Marathon is on Monterey Bay, which is thankfully not the same route as the marathon. It's a beautiful, relatively flat course and one I'm familiar with from training runs when I visit this area. We ran south from Fisherman's Wharf and were serenaded by some of the oldest musicians I've ever seen! They played New Orleans type jazz. Then we ran along Cannery Row, immortalized by Steinbeck. This was mile 2 and the race official said the next time we see him it will be mile 12, since it's an out and back course. The Run Forrest Run 5K was also going on and I high-fived "Forrest" as I went past him. We turned left at the famed Monterey Aquarium and headed to Pacific Grove.

You could hear the drums before you could see the drummers. They were incredible, full of high energy and in-sync. The ocean was just beautiful and I felt strong. I had my Garmin to tell me my pace and distance while my Ironman watched beeped the walking breaks: run 9 minutes, walk 1 and take a sip of sport's drink. We ran down Lighthouse Ave. for awhile, then back to the beach. I was looking for my friends, Bill and Matilda, who came down from Gilroy and were staying near Lighthouse. When I didn't see them, I assumed they slept in.

S.D. wanted me to carry my phone so he could call me during the race. When the phone rang, I thought it was him, until I saw the area code of the number. I figured it was a wrong number, but it was Matilda. She and Bill were near the turn-around point and wanted to know where I was. "Almost to mile 5."

The course was an out-and-back and I thought the turnaround was at mile 6.5. Then I realized that I hadn't passed the golf-course yet and still had to get to Asilomar. It turned out the turnaround was closer to mile 8.

Asilomar is stunning coastline, but I didn't really see it because the mid-packers were on the way back and running on the west side of the road (that would be the ocean side to you east coasters.)

Just before the turnaround, I saw my friends and my husband, standing on the west side of the road. I waved and they took pictures as I continued south. Then I crossed the chip mat and headed north. I high-fived my fan club as I went past them again.

The secret to not being the last of the pack is to run in races that are walker friendly. As I ran north, there were lots of people still heading south. I shouted encouragement to them, and they to me. The woman that I talked to this morning in Starbucks recognized me and said hi.

They were handing out Gu at the next station and I took one. I had my own gels, but I use Power Bar gels and wanted to know how Gu tasted. The chocolate was pretty good. I continued to run and realized I was running fast (for me) and just eating up the hills. "What was in that Gu?" I said to no one in particular. One guy looked at me quizically.

Now I had an unobstructed view of the ocean and it was magnificent! "Are you getting that Runner's High yet?" I asked a woman next to me. "I'm getting that Runner's Desire for Beer," she said. Another woman laughed and said she was embarassed to say she was craving coffee. That sounded good to me!

As I neared mile 11, my legs were starting to fatigue. Uh-oh, it's too soon for that! I thought about Jeanne running the Marine Corp marathon and figured she must really be feeling fatigued. I dedicated the next mile to her. At the appropriate time I ate another gel and tried to think of something other than my tiredness. Then I heard the drummers over by the Aquarium again. I listened to the beat and ran in step to it, like we do in spinning class. It worked and I thanked the drummers as I ran past.

Now I was back at Cannery Row and the 5K finish line was there. "Forrest Gump" was there with his box of chocolates, cheering on the 5K finishers. Bubba Gump restaurant was a sponsor and there was someone in a shrimp costume there also. I high-fived the shrimp as I went by.

The old jazz musicians were still there, playing a lively version of When the Saints Come Marching In. I tried to pick up my pace but was surrounded by walkers. I soon figured out why. In addition to the 5K and the Half-M, there was a 10-mile walk and they had the same finish line as the half marathoners. I guess the walk started after the run, but we slower runners had to mingle with the walkers here. And since we were on the bike path, it was narrow and difficult to pass.

It got worse the closer I got to the finish line because runners who had finished their race were walking on the course in the opposite direction, I assume to go back to their hotel. So I'd try to pass a walker on my left only to be blocked by someone mosey-ing back to their room. You would think a runner would be more considerate of their fellow racers and stay off the course.

Finally I noticed there was fencing on both sides of me and realized I was in the finish chute. I couldn't see the finish line, but I could hear the announcer and ran strong. I crossed the chip mat at mile 13, then another mat, which was the finish line. SD was there and he took my picture as I crossed. I took my medal and put it around my neck.

Official time: 2:52:04, a 13:08 pace. Not my fastest time, but better than I expected. I ran a good race and had fun. I'm happy about that.

I'm not Lazy, I'm Tapering

"It's colder than a well-diggers shoes!" my sister-in-law exclaimed as I returned from my run this morning. That's saying something, coming from a woman who was born, raised, and resides in western Montana. She and my bro-in-law are visiting for a few days.

It was cold! AmyBee and I planned to meet at 8 a.m. and run 10 miles. If she wasn't waiting for me, I would probably have blown it off. So I'm glad she was there.

While I was waiting for her at the Lake Harriet bandshell, I ran into other Club-Run buddies. If we weren't so busy shivering, I would have thought to take their picture. Next time, ladies. They were planning to run around the lake, so we ran together for a little while. Then AmyBee and I headed down Minnehaha Parkway.

This was AmyBee's first run since the marathon, but you wouldn't know it. She was concerned that she wouldn't be able to go the full distance, but I was the one having trouble. I'd stretch the one minute walk breaks into two minutes, and had to ask her to slow down a few times. Still, it was a nice run and I enjoyed hearing about her European vacation and looking at the Fall colors.

We're blaming my fatigue on last night's run. I did some fartleks (quite snickering!) and then some hill work, running just under 5 miles. That was supposed to be my Thursday workout, which I pushed to Friday morning which finally happened Friday night. I thought 12 hours would be enough recovery time and I hadn't run since Tuesday, so I wanted to get more miles in for the week and before today's long run. But I should have done it on Thursday.

The Dori Plan hasn't worked out too well--I had trouble motivating myself to go out and run. And my half-M is next Sunday! I'm confident that I can run the distance, but my speed isn't going to be there. My last 1/2 was in May and I finished in 2:44, but I'll be lucky to finish next week under 3 hours. The time limit is 3.5 hours though, so I'll be OK.

AmyBee chastised me about tapering. Truth is, I wasn't sure if I needed to taper for a 1/2 marathon. She told me not to do any more long runs or hill work for the rest of the week. Ah, permission to goof off!

Early Detection Saves Lives

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Snow is a 4-Letter Word

It's only the middle of October, yet I'm posting about snow. That's because we've been having snow flurries the past two days. The ground is too warm for it to stick, but it did create some icy conditions. And it killed my nice annuals that were growing so large and giving my house "curb appeal". My house is still for sale and we're having an open house on Sunday, so I hate to lose the pretty flowers.

This November-like weather is not keeping me from training, however. Oh, no. I planned to run 9 miles on Wednesday and I kept planning that all day. I just needed to warm up by raking six bags worth of leaves off my lawn first. Then read some blogs. Then I called a guy to come give me an estimate on cleaning my basement concrete floor and he came in the middle of the afternoon. Finally I couldn't stall any more and I put on my winter gear: leggings good to zero degrees, long sleeve top, wind jacket, gloves, Smart-Wool socks, and fleece headband. Filled my water bottle, stashed some gels and was on the street at 5:30 p.m.

The temperature was 34 degrees but the 20 mph wind made it feel 23 degrees. Brrr. After about 10 minutes it felt fine, but it was a challenge when I ran into the wind. I ran around Lake of the Isles and Lake Calhoun, but didn't "close the loop" which means instead of two circles, I ran one large circle. Last Saturday, I ran 13.1 miles, but started to fatigue by mile 8 or 9. That's why I decided I needed a 9 mile run mid-week, which I figured would take 2 hours. Since I got going so late, I had to reduce my run, totaling 7.3 miles. Better than nothing.

Lake Calhoun is popular with walkers and runners. Last weekend it was very crowded, but yesterday the trail was very easy to maneuver. There were a few runners out, and I have to admit I was feeling quite "macha" (I assume that's the feminine of macho.) As one woman passed, I commented on what tough Minnesotans we were. She laughed.

I had my last O2 training on Monday. It was supposed to be 3 workouts per week for 6 weeks but I dragged it out because of traveling. I planned on it being a supplement to my running, but ended up using it as a substitute. The way it works is you determine your aerobic threshold using a heart rate monitor. Each workout is one hour and each week you do a strength training, interval, and aerobic workout. By the end, you have to work harder to reach your aerobic threshold, and the fuel source shifts from sugar to fat. At least, that's the way I understand it.

They monitor your improvement by doing a Max Aerobic Function (MAF) test. You run 4 miles on a treadmill, with the incline set at 2, and record the time it took. The first week, it took me 57 minutes to run/walk the 4 miles, with the splits 14:45, 14:82, 14:12, and 13:61. That seems incredibly slow, even for me.

On Monday, I ran as hard as I could. I was trying to impress K, my trainer, well, as much as a 53 year old back of the packer can impress a 22 year old IronMan. I ran the entire time, even though my legs felt fatigued the first couple of miles. She attributed it to my long run on Saturday. It took me 53:45 minutes; the splits were 14:45, 13:15, 12:47, and 12:42. I was able to talk to her the entire time, but they were short sentences towards the end. At the end, my heartrate was 189. I was booking! It's never been that high before, so I guess I have improved. The highest I ever remember getting my heartrate is 184, and that was a few years ago.

K gave me the workouts, so I'm going to repeat the program on my own. It won't be the same though. We talked the entire I did my workouts. Without her, the treadmill will go back to being the dreadmill.

Ordinary People, Part II

This is a continuation from the previous post.

As I was driving to the race, I called Katie and AmyK, so that I could join them and cheer on our friends. They were driving east on 94 and apparently traffic was stopped. I hate stop and go traffic, so took Franklin Ave., thinking I could cross the bridge and meet them at St. Thomas. I was also hoping to see Firefly Denise there, even though I wasn't sure I'd recognize her.

While I was approaching the Franklin Ave. bridge, which spans the Mississippi, I saw the marathon runners. This was mile 19, and the racers run across the bridge to enter St. Paul. I mistakenly assumed that the entire bridge was closed, but only half of it was. By the time I discovered my error, I was standing at Mile 19, so decided to just stay there. I didn't want to miss Marcia and company.

The stretch from miles 13 to 19 is a tough one. And you go up a hill just before mile 19. I stood at the top of the hill and just cheered on, offering support to the runners. The temperature was getting hot and they were struggling.

The first person I saw was Dree. She told me her knee hurt, but I didn't have anything to offer her and kicked myself for not bringing any Tylenol. Dree fell off her bike to avoid being hit by a car on the previous Thursday, and hurt her knee then. She seemed OK at the beginning of the race, but 19 miles is hard even on a non-injured knee.

Cheryl doesn't even look tired at this point.

Marcia's enthusiasm seems to be waning. She said her neck hurt. She took the ice cubes I had brought and they gave her some relief.

Why is AmyBee laughing? Because otherwise she'd be crying. Like Marcia, she was struggling at this mile.

I waiting for a little while after AmyBee passed by, but didn't see anybody else. So I walked back to my car and stopped by a store to pick up a bag of ice for the finishers. Then I drove to St. Paul and stood by the finish line.

Here are the finishers, just steps away from the finish line:
Cheryl, 5:42:03

Marcia: 5:43:59

Dree: 5:47:30. She wasn't able to run at this point; that's an ice pack wrapped around her knee. But I'm happy that she finished.

AmyBee: 5:57:49

I hung around with them afterwards, and we hooked up with Nat, who had run the 10 miler along with Marcia's husband. Here's a pic of the happy-to-be-finished runners:

From left: Nat, Cheryl, AmyBee, Marcia, Marty

I also saw Dree recovering. Don't you just love the fuzzy slippers. :-)
Great job, marathoners!

Ordinary People

...doing amazing things.

As I mentioned before, I know a lot of people that were running in the Twin Cities Marathon last Sunday. And they all finished! Well, almost all. Jen hadn't trained, so she had no intention of finishing, only starting. I didn't get to see Doug, Mike, and Debbie, because they were in the middle of the pack. Kudo's to Debbie, first time marathoner. Three years ago when I was training for my first marathon, I made the mistake of trying to run with Debbie. Let's just say, she was too fast for me. She finished Sunday's race in 4:30.

I wanted to "be there" for my friends, the way that others have supported me in my races. I didn't get to do as much as I would have liked, because I had to prepare for an open house. But I did what I could, and they appreciated it.

I took lots of pictures, so let's get to it. First the start of the race, between miles 2 and 3. Everybody looks so excited!

Cheryl and Marcia started out together.

AmyBee was right behind them. They were with the 5:30 pace group.

Here's Elle. Remember her? I met her on a long run last spring when she was with her training group, Team Salubrious. Then I saw her at the Twin City 1 Mile race. She also ran in the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon last summer. I had forgotten that she was running the marathon, but I'm glad I got her picture. This girl has heart! I saw her at the end of the race. Her finish time was 7 hours, so she didn't get a medal. But she finished!


Dree was off to a good start.

And here's Club Run buddy Jen. We ran the Urban Wildland half-marathon together a couple of years ago.

That's it for the start of the race. When everyone had gone by, I went home and started cleaning to prepare for the open house. Then I stuck some ice cubes in a plastic tub, grabbed some gels and headed to the race.

Elite Running

The Twin Cities Marathon was Sunday and it was awesome! My neighbors congregated at the corner to watch the start of the race--we live near the 3 mile mark. This was the first time in 4 years that I was able to join them. But I was not interested in socializing--I had friends to watch out for! Before I get to my friends, here are pictures I was able to take of the front-runners. I didn't know who any of these runners were; I just took pictures. I knew one of them would be the winner. I watched in awe as they ran.

Ladies first:

Marla Runyan, age 37, first female, 2:32:16

Mary Akor, age 30, came in second, 2:33:49

Zoila Gomez (she's the one in front), age 27, ran in third, 2:35:25

Here are the men:

Mbarak Hussein, age 41, came in first -- 2:13:51. He wasn't leading when he ran by my corner but he was holding his own with men in their 20s and early 30s. He won not only the overall race, but also the master's division. Not bad for a day's work, but of course we know that it's not just about race day, it's all the time spent training for it.

Simon Sawe, 32, ran in second 2:14:08. His race number is 2, and keeping pace with him is Fasil Bizuneh, who came in fifth. According to the local news source, Sawe and Hussein are good friends. The image was too dark, so I lightened Sawe's face in Photoshop so that you can see his features. That's why it looks a little weird.

The guy in front is Ryan Shay, age 27. He finished in third place in 2:14:57. Trailing him is Chris Graff, 30, who placed sixth.


This is Jason Lehmkuhle, 28. When I took this picture, he was the front runner. No other runner is even in this frame because he was so far ahead of everyone else. He finished in seventh place, which is why you should always start slow in marathons. Hussein, the winner, was behind all the men shown above.