Here's a picture of me and my friends, taken on March 17 after they had run the inaugural "Irish for a Day 5K" race. I had my own run that day, then changed and met them for breakfast. From the left is Marcia, me, Nat, and Marty. Marcia's wearing the race shirt; it says, "100% Irish."
We met at the Turtle Bread company, which is more of a bakery than restaurant, and I had a bowl of oatmeal and a butter croissant. I've managed to stay sugar-free since December 14 (I can't believe it!) yet every once in a while there's a reminder of what I'm giving up. For instance, since it's Lent, they had hot-cross buns. For the uninitiated, these are little white-flour buns filled with candied fruit and drizzled with white sugar glaze in the form of a cross. These are only available during Lent and I try to have one every year; just my little tradition. Usually they're a disappointment, but these looked good. I guess I can say that I gave them up for Lent. :-)
The no-sugar thing is paying off--I've lost over 10 pounds and my clothes fit again. I'm not sure if I'm a size 6 yet, but definitely an 8. I feel better and run better. An occasional hot-cross bun or other indulgence isn't that big of a deal, but I've learned over the years that I have no will-power. I'll start with best of intentions but soon have no self-control when it comes to sugar. So that's why I'm so rigorous about avoiding the stuff.
When I say no sugar, I've talking about sucrose--white table sugar, brown sugar, organic cane juice, etc. I sweeten my plain yogurt with honey and I eat plenty of bananas and other fruit. I pour real maple syrup on my pancakes, and take gels on my long runs. I could not be a marathoner without gels! But I don't eat the sports jelly beans because they have sugar in them, and I use Ultima sports drink because it's unsweetened.
Last week, some of us ran 9 miles, including Nat and Marcia. It was the longest run in a long time for all of us. We were fatigued at the end, but it was a good fatigue. This Saturday we're scheduled for 10 miles. Coach Gary is training for the Wells Fargo Half-Marathon, which I was going to do but can't because of a scheduling conflict. That race is in early May, so he needs to ramp up his distance. It's supposed to rain on Saturday.
In addition to the Saturday long runs, I've been running with my half-marathon training group two days a week. This coach has been great about working us out on hills and doing speed training. She provides variety. One week we ran Yasso 800s on the indoor track and last night she had us do them in a neighborhood. Next week we'll run them on an outdoor track. Yasso's, for those who don't know, are a method of speed training where you run 800 meters (1/2 miles) in a time that corresponds to your planned marathon finish time. So if you plan to finish in 5 hours, you run 800 meters in 5 minutes. After a short break (100 meters), you do it again. We did 4 of them. The idea is if you can do X number of them (I think it's 10 repeats, but it might be 12), then you'll finish the marathon in that time. They're hard, but effective.
Last Monday we got a taste of summer. It was so warm, I ran in my shorts and singlet. Bliss! It only lasted for a day, though; we're back to 50s and rain. The tulips are starting to push through and the ice is melting off the lakes, so that means winter is over. Good riddance. Bring on the color.
Preliminary Results for the Human Race 8K in St. Paul:
Name: Dori
Age: 53
Division: F5054
Overall Place: 864 out of 947
Gender Place: 293 out of 353
Division Place: 16 out of 23 (!)
Finish Time: 0:51:44 (A PR!)
Mile Pace: 10:24/mile (NO WAY!)
What a race! This is the 4th year in a row that I've run this race. Last year I set a PR--at 55:07, an 11:05mm pace. At that, I came in second to last for my division. The year before that I ran it in 1:02:02 and again was second to last for my division. That's one tough division!
As you know, I went into the race hoping to PR. What you don't know is that I dedicated this race to a blogger friend whose family is going through a very difficult time. Some of you know who I'm referring to, but I don't want to bring attention to her blog. I'm trying to respect her privacy, even though her blog is public. I'm afraid that it might sensationalize her troubles if I say more.
When I got to the race, the first person I saw was Elle, a young woman I've mentioned before. We first met on the trail, and then we would see each other at various races. We hung out together and wandered around in the field house. I was looking for Don, but I didn't make arrangements beforehand to meet him, so it was a long shot that I would find him. I didn't find him, but I did see other people I knew, including three young women who are just starting to race.
Elle and I walked to the starting line, but first she took my picture. This was her first race of the year; she ran the Twin Cities Marathon last October. As we crossed the start, she said she just wanted to try to come in under an hour. When I told her I was going for a PR, she told me not to let her stop me. I wasn't going to, but I jogged with her for a little bit to keep from going out too fast. That didn't last long!
From about .25 mile to the finish, I ran anaerobically. I took 1 minute walk breaks every nine minutes, but that only slowed my breathing down enough to drink a little bit of sport drink. Since I wasn't wearing a heart-rate monitor, I have no idea what my HR was, but I think I set a new maximum HR for myself.
The weather was predicted to be about 38 degrees, with 19-20 mph winds from the SSE. The race is an out and back; outbound headed east, which means we were running into the wind. At about 1.5 miles, the front runners passed me on their way back. I cheered a little for them, but wanted to save my strength. At one point, two men running together passed me. One was kind of big and I thought, good, I can draft off of him. But then they took a walking break!
Finally, I reached the turn-around point. There was a woman with a goofy headband and a cho-pat around her knee. I would pass her, but then she'd pass me on my walking breaks. The same with the two guys. I'd try to keep my eyes forward and pick out runners in the crowd to catch. It was difficult. After mile 2, I ate a gel. Although I had an excellent banana and pecan pancake for breakfast, it had been several hours since I ate and I figured I could use the glucose.
As I said, I was running anaerobically, which means I sounded like a charging rhino. At one point, I saw a man look over. "Don't worry," I heaved, "I'm not having a heart attack." I was running hard, and it hurt, but I would think about the pain my blogging friend is going through, and suck it up. That's the whole point of a dedication, isn't it?
Of course I was wearing my Garmin, and as I got closer to the finish line, I thought I might finish under 50 minutes, which would be a 10 minute mile average pace. Holy crap! I didn't do that, and I had miscalculated where the finish line would be. I knew it was just past a traffic signal, and as I went through an intersection I thought I was near the end. When I saw another traffic signal on the horizon, my heart sank because it looked a long way off. I convinced myself that it was past the finish line, but it wasn't. "God, give me strength," I prayed.
Then, mercifully, it was over. The Garmin read 51:48, but the race was chip-timed, so 51:44 is what I'm going with! You can imagine how elated I was. As I was removing my chip, I saw one of the two men that I mentioned earlier. I chatted with him for a minute, then I saw my three girlfriends. As I was talking to them, the bigger of the two men came over and said his name. I knew who he was immediately, even though I didn't recognize him. I haven't seen him in about 17 years. He had recognized me, but didn't remember my name. I can't believe he recognized me, since I was only 36 when he last saw me. We caught up briefly and I told him my e-mail address. Hopefully, he'll remember it and write to me. NOTE TO SELF: carry a few cards in the water belt.
Then Elle came in--just under an hour, which was her goal. I went over and high-fived her, then we went inside to get some food. Food! I totally forgot about that. You know I wasn't thinking clearly. I had some unsulphured apricots and a huge slice of whole wheat bread from Great Harvest Bakery--my favorite! We looked up our race results, then hugged goodbye.
I saw my three girlfriends and asked someone to take our picture. SD had my good little camera, so all I had was the cell cam. Even my new cell phone takes crappy pictues, but that may be because I dropped it a couple of times. Then I walked a half-mile to my car and drove over to the gym in St. Paul, where I trained last year for Grandma's Marathon. I couldn't go home because my realtor was holding an Open House, so I took a long, hot shower at the gym.
Here are my splits:
Mile 1: 10:24
Mile 2: 10:25
Mile 3: 10:56
Mile 4: 10:43
Mile 5: 9:16
I especially like that last mile! Part of it was downhill, so I took advantage of the gravity pull, but still, to do a sub 10-minute mile after racing 4 miles is pretty amazing for me. I don't even have times like that for the 5K races. The fastest mile I ever ran was 9:25 and that was for a 1-mile race last April. I am one happy runner. :-)
I have a friend whose Protestant father came from Northern Ireland, which makes her half-Irish like me, except that my grandparents were Catholic and came from the Republic. One day we were with her sister at the Buena Vista Cafe in San Francisco, drinking Irish Coffee (mine without the "Irish") when she told me that she always wears orange on St. Patrick's Day. It stemmed from when she was in grade school and her father would always make sure she and her sisters wore orange on that day. She could never understand why the other little girls would get singled out ("Look how cute you look in your green for St. Patrick's Day"), but not she ("What about me, I'm wearing orange!") Myself, I wear a pin with a genuine Irish shamrock, encased in plastic.
I found the following story on the Internet, and it reminded me of my friend.
A Midwest Town had only a few bagpipers to lead its St. Patrick's Day parade, so a number of Scots from a Neighboring Town used to come to beef up our numbers. The parade would end at Big Hotel, which was brimming with Irishmen tending the formidable thirst built up by their long march. We pipers were extremely popular in every suite, supplying music in exchange for free refreshments, which the Scots considered to be a Good Thing.
Now the Scots and Irish are closely-related peoples, sharing music, language and dance, but generally divided on religion, with the Irish mostly Catholic and the Scots mostly Protestant. This can be a Bad Thing, but in Midwest Town St. Patrick's Day was a Catholic day so the Protestants were welcomed in the spirit of the occasion. The whole subject generated no more trouble than some good-natured humor.
Now as the partying intensified it was not unusual for revelers to engage in a little kilt checking -- you know, to learn The Secret. So, early in the morning, Neighboring Town's Piper Jock decided to play a wee prank on the Irish. Before strapping on his kilt, Piper Jock donned his wife's bright orange bikini underpants. No gale can lift a heavy piper's kilt, so he was safe for the parade, but Piper Jock was going to have the last laugh on some tipsy Irish revelers at Big Hotel.
Well the parade left St. Patrick's Church in heavy snow squalls and 25 knot headwinds. Piper Jock was ever so smug about the extra warmth he'd packed under his kilt, as the band struggled against the storm. But Piper Jock had overestimated the power of his wife's elastic to resist the severe downward taper of his beer belly. It was Drummer Paddy who first noticed Piper Jock twitching as the band approached Main Street. Drum-Major Mickey raised his mace for "The Minstrel Boy" as the band swung onto the avenue, and Piper Jock no longer had a hand free to prevent the inevitable.
Now, we pipers are accustomed to being "sensations" when we go out in our kilts, whether green or tartan, but we were stunned by laughter from the dense crowd of Heathens we were passing. D/M Mickey spun around and marched backwards, to boost our morale in the face of the Heathens. Instead, he joined in a guffaw that erupted among the drummers in back. We all turned to look as we marched.
Ten seconds can be an eternity. Piper Jock stumbled twice, like a hog-tied bull. Just as it seemed certain that he'd been struck by a bullet or a stroke, out from under his kilt slid the flaming orange panties. Jock lurched, his pipes tangling harmlessly in my own. Five hundred people cheered as Jock somersaulted down the avenue, revealing The Secret to the world, desperately struggling to free himself from the boldest, brightest "idiot" sign on earth.
Mickey played us continuously into the lobby of Big Hotel. Jock got a lot of extra attention from the ladies that day, for his fresh war wounds. But he has forever after been greeted among pipers with his personal, inescapable anthem, "The Wearin' O' the Green."
Up the Republic!
As I was finishing up the tenth hill repeat tonight, I realized this is why I joined a running group. There is no way I would have done that on my own! Maybe four. Actually, this was a good hill workout for me, because it went by time rather than distance. After a warmup, we reached the practice hill. We were to run up as far as we could in 75 seconds, getting our heart rate up to 85% of max. Then turn around and run downhill for 75 seconds. Repeat 5 times, then take a 2 minute walk to recover. Then repeat 5 more times and run back to the club. The goal as you ran uphill was to keep reaching the same place on the hill before the 75 seconds were up. For the most part, I was able to do that.
The group I was with had several runners. Most of them went much farther up the hill then I did before it was time to turn around, and at the bottom of the hill I think I got in their way because they always had to pass me. I felt a little bad about it, but it's my training too. I try to be considerate, but stop short of standing still to let them all pass.
On Monday we did speed work: after warming up, 5 minutes at 75% HR, 5 minutes slow running to recover, then repeat. We only had to do 4 sets, which was fine because we ran on the limestone trail and it was all muddy from the rapidly melting snow. My shoes look like they belonged to a trail runner, rather than a road runner. But it sure was nice to be running in daylight. Goodbye headlamp and reflective vest. Hello shorts and sunglasses. I love the early Daylight Saving Time!
All this training makes me feel like a jock. On Sunday I'm running an 8K race--the Human Race in St. Paul. Last year I PRd; I hope I can do as good or better this year.
How do you like my new look? I was up 'til the wee hours last night, at the BecomeAnMM web site, designing it. I think it looks like me, especially the ear buds hanging down the side. :-)
When the alarm went off this morning, I regretted my playing around on the computer. Coach Gary was expecting me for an 8 a.m. run, so I didn't want to let him down. The huge snow accumulation we had last week is melting during the day but refreezing at night, which makes for some treacherous running in the early morning. Ah well, soon it will be spring.
Today was a long, slow distance day (LSD), emphasis on slow and not really so long. We ran 6 miles, but I walked a great deal since I have a fear of falling on ice. I should have bought some of those spikes that slip over running shoes, but didn't think I'd need them. I was wrong.
Gary and I ran with AmyBee and some other Club Runners. We didn't run together the whole time, but at the end the first one's in waited until the last one was in. We all high-fived each other. It's so nice to run with people like that!
Afterwards we stretched and did our strength work, then cleaned up and headed over for breakfast. While we were there, a guy came over to chat--he knew Mark, one of the runners. This guy was talking about the last marathon he did--in Antarctica! His name is Austin Budlong and at 26-years-old he's the youngest American to ever run a marathon on all seven continents. And he only started running marathons two years ago!
He was telling us about the race, which included climbing up a 17% grade glacier--even the front runners were walking up that one! I asked what the surface of the glacier was like, envisioning a solid sheet of ice, but he said it was kind of crunchy and there was snow in some places, which made traction easier. Suddenly the icy sidewalks I had to deal with paled in comparison. Austin said he ran past penguins and seals. There was a bird there, called a Skua, that would attack the runners if they got too close to the skua's eggs. Runners were advised to put their hands up in the air, because the bird went for whatever was the highest. I guess I could sacrifice a gloved hand for my head!
Sorry I didn't take Austin's picture; I thought about it, but decided against it although now I wish I had. By the way, he came in 15th out of 145 finishers! As Mr. Spock says, "Fascinating."
While in Los Olivos, California, on our way to LAX, SD just had to taste some wine. As he put it, since he supports my running, I can put up with his wine tasting. Fair enough. I wandered through an art gallery, then went to meet him at the tasting room.
It was pretty crowded at first, with a lively group at the end. I ignored them, and just talked to SD. Then I looked up and saw the shirt:
Well, you know me, I couldn't wait to start up a conversation. As soon as it was decently possible I asked, "Why are you wearing a GU shirt?". They were a sponsor at a race. What kind of race? A triathlon. The man is a seven-time Ironman. Whoa!
His name is Dan Perkins and he was touring the area with his wife, Joy. You can tell just by his picture that he's fast. How fast? He was third in his age group (45-49--yes, I asked!) for the 2006 Honu 70.3.
We talked about the Wisconsin Ironman (he hasn't done that one yet) and the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon (not his distance). He lives in California and when I mentioned that Lifetime Fitness is a sponsor of TeamUSA Minnesota, he said he wished there was a LTF in California. Me, too.
Of course, I pumped him for information. Even though he was wearing a GU shirt, he prefers Hammer gel. I liked Power Gel until they changed their formula, so now I have a bunch of GU. I'll take a look at Hammer when I'm ready to replenish my stock.
And I asked for bike advice, since I plan to buy a road bike when I move to California. He knows the area I'm moving to. One of his bikes is a Felt, and he suggested that I look at them. I actually had already, but the one I liked didn't have a "granny gear," which I want to climb the monster hills I'll be dealing with in my new hometown.
Dan's wife, Joy, was fun to talk to and she mentioned how lucky we are to have spouses support our racing endeavors. She's more my running speed. She talked about how triathlon's are like "the other woman:" they give her time, they give her money, they're sad when they can't be with her...
Dan's day job is a minister (I didn't know that till I saw his blog; good thing I didn't swear!), and he and his family are moving to San Jose, after about 14 years near Palm Springs. We talked about moving and adjusting to a new area. They're both really nice people and I'm sure they'll have no trouble making new friends.
Greeting from Sunny California! I'm in Monterey right now, waiting while SD
shops for stereo's. We'll be driving down Highway 1 on our way to visit our house. I'll post pictures of the house soon--it's really coming along! We're hoping it will be finished in May. I'm hoping my house in Minneapolis will be sold by then; I can't believe how long it's taking to sell. It looks like the market is picking up, though.
The weather here is beautiful; sunny and heading to 70. A long way from the blizzard we left in Minneapolis--I'm still sore from the two feet of snow I shoveled the other day. SD and I flew into San Francisco last night, stayed in San Jose, and were on the road by 6 a.m. Stopped by our favorite coffee shop in Los Gatos, then made it to Monterey in record time. It makes a difference driving on a Saturday morning, rather than Friday night during rush hour.
So yesterday at the airport in Minneapolis, I had a fun experience. I was sitting in the waiting area reading my just-arrived Runner's World, while SD scored us some lattes, when I noticed a man at the agent's desk. He was slim and lean and carrying a "Clif" bag. A runner! I don't know about you guys, but I can talk about running all day long; that's why I blog in the first place. They called my name to upgrade me to first class (yay!) and when I walked away I went over to the guy to strike up a conversation.
"Where'd you get the Clif bag," I asked. "Oh, the rep just asked me if I wanted one, so he mailed it to me." Hmmm, no one ever offered me a bag. He asked if I was a runner and when I replied I was, he asked if I was going to SF to run the Napa Marathon. No, but I got into the Nike Women's Marathon the day before (more on that later.) Then he told me he was going to Napa to speak and then run the race. To speak?
You could tell just by looking at this guy that he was fast. He also looked vaguely familiar. "Who are you?" I eloquently asked him. "Dick Beardsley." OMG! No wonder he looked familiar! His face is all over the Grandma's Marathon literature (he holds the course record, as well as the course record for the Napa Valley marathon.) We chatted a little more and he said he carries his running gear on board, rather than check it, to keep it from getting lost. He left to board the plane and as we parted I told him I was going to mention this encounter on my blog.
SD returned with the espresso drinks and we boarded. We had separate seats, since he got upgraded days ago. I had the window seat in row 1, and Mr. B had the window in row 2. The man has no idea how lucky he is that I didn't get the seat next to him, although I showed admirable restraint. I would have loved to pump him for information: what does he eat, how often does he run, stuff like that. I wish I could have gotten his picture for this post, but stalking him to the baggage claim would probably have been a little much. I did hand him my blog address, though--I hope he visits!
As I mentioned earlier, I got into the Nike Women's Marathon! That was my goal marathon for this year and I was hoping it wouldn't fill up before I got to register. Registration opened on Thursday at 8:30 PST, and the website was so bogged down, it took me an hour to finally finish registration. I kept getting error messages, but persisted and my credit card was finally accepted. Just like in running a marathon, persistance pays off. I'm looking forward to being handed the blue Tiffany box by an SF fireman!
I hadn't mentioned this one either, but I'm registered for the Disneyland Half-M. Last year was the inauguaral and it filled before I got in, so I wanted to be sure not to miss it this year. Don't confuse this race with the Disney World--that one's in Florida and happens in January. This one is in Anaheim, California, and will be on Labor Day. I've spent many happy hours over the years at Disneyland, and this should be a great race!
Speaking of races, I had dinner with my youngest sister, Deni, last night. She lives on the peninsula. She's in great shape, but wants to kick up her workout. A friend of hers walked the Rock N Roll marathon in San Diego last year, and my sister is thinking about walking it with her this year. It's only 13 weeks away, but I guess they'll be OK. Deni is 41 and her friend is 31. And youth always is an advantage. :-)
SD is back, so it's time to hit the road. We'll be stopping in Big Sur for lunch, and it's already 11 o'clock. Highway 1 is one of our favorite drives, and even though it's longer in time, we always take that route. It's worth it for all the beauty.
