The Minnesota State Fair is on! SD and I went yesterday, our last chance before it closes on Labor Day. Music is a big attraction and in adddition to the paid Grandstand acts, there are many stages that are free. Greg Brown was performing last night at the Leinie Lodge, hosted by Leinenkugel beer. It was a great concert in a nice outdoor venue. Those in the know arrived early to scope out a good seat. We got there 45 minutes before the start, but aleady the best seats were taken. Still, I had a good view of Greg and the band.
It was a bittersweet visit, since it may be my last Minnesota State Fair. Everyone has their favorites; I always like the Fine Arts building and also the horse barns. My favorite are the Percherons, large, gentle draft horses. There are horse shows, but I never plan far enough ahead to see them, although once I watched a horse saddling competition.
The State Fair is not the place to be sugar-free, and this was my first year attending sans sucre. It's a challenge to eat healthy at all and the first thing I wanted, indeed craved, was french fries. I knew exactly which booth I wanted, much to SDs chagrin. I did get my fries, and they were good! Dinner was smoked salmon on a stick. It was farmed Atlantic salmon, which I normally avoid, but it was the least offensive.
We went through the Miracle of Birth center and looked at some of the newborns, but the building was oppressively hot and smelly so we didn't stay long. We wandered through the Grandstand building, full of tacky stuff you wouldn't want to buy. We purchased a ladder from there once (you know the one) and were looking for the juice machine vendor. We never found him, which saved us a few hunder dollars. :-) Last year I bought the super-absorbent towels--three different sizes!--and this year we made out with a trunk organizer, complete with cooler and a shopping bag. Such a deal. :-)
SD wanted to look at tractors (!) cuz he thinks we might need one when we move to the country. You know, for landscaping and stuff. Yeah, right. We'll hire someone who knows what he's doing. He was also lusting after a riding mower (lord, help me) to manage the weeds. You know who'll end up riding the weeds, don't you? It will be a "her" not a "him".
But the highlight of the evening was Greg Brown. I describe him as Urban Folk, but this time he had a band and it was kind of rhythmic and bluesy. The severe thunderstorms that were threatening almost kept us from going to the fair; it's not the place you want to be in a tornado! But the storms stayed away until the middle of the night (3 a.m., but that's another story) and it was a very pleasant evening, warm but not hot.
The concert ended at 10 p.m., and as we left the Leinie Lodge, we spotted some frozen sorbet. This was difficult for me, because it was fresh fruit scooped out and then the sorbet was put back into the shell. I was really tempted by the coconut sorbet, served in a coconut shell, but managed to stay away. SD had a mango sorbet. I could have had some deep-fried cheese curds, but I thought the french-fries were enough fried food for one day. It paid off this morning--I stepped on the scale and weighed 121 pounds! Nothing I can eat can equal the taste of wearing a size 6. :-)
Congratulations to Journey to a Centum Eric, who finished the Cascade Crest last weekend and he has the belt buckle to prove it. That's a 100-mile endurance run! How do you spell stud: E-R-I-C! Eric is Back of the Pack Michelle's husband and she was his road crew. She give's a great account of the race from a road crew perspective. Bring a hankie.
Congratulations are also in order to some of my running club buddies, who ran the Ragnar Relay last weekend! Their team name: Chicks with Kicks and Guys with...Attitude! It was their first relay, and I'm not sure they'll do it again. The finish was near my house, so I went over to cheer them in and take a few pictures. Among the runners that I know are Marcia, her husband Marty, Jen, Nat, Mark and Kathy. Marcia's son Matt and some of her former co-workers comprised the rest of the team. When Marcia was recruiting runners, I wanted to do it but thought I'd have moved to California by now. I sent Marcia the link to the aforementioned Michelle's account of her last relay, so that she could have an idea of what she was getting into.
Good job runners!
My running club is the best!
Three years ago, after a failed attempt at the Twin Cities marathon, I joined the St. Louis Park Club Run. They had a marathon training class, and I thought that training with them would get me across the finish line. Although I was 50 years old, I was as nervous as a ten-year-old starting a new school. Would I fit in? And more importantly, can I keep up? Everyone was younger than me!
Running with that group has been the greatest! Although I was the slowest runner, I was accepted and never made to feel like I was holding anyone up. I was a part of the team, something I had never before experienced. We did hill repeats and speed work. We ran long (and took extended water breaks!) We raced together and supported each other.
These men and women became my friends. Some have married since we first met; another, divorced; some reached milestone ages; others got new jobs. Together we improved and conquered new challenges.
A year and a half ago, I left the club. It was a difficult decision, but the only thing I liked about the health club I was in was my running group. So I switched health clubs, but never connected with my new running group like I did with my Club Run friends. We stayed in touch and would sometimes go on runs together or we'd see each other at races.
When my health club purchased my old health club, I was so happy because it meant that I could run with the SLP Club Run again! We're in marathon training now, although we're doing separate marathons. And we're talking about the one we're going to do together, next year.
Long runs give you time to reflect and yesterday I was reflecting on what I have learned from the men and women of Club Run.
Show up for the workout, even if you're tired. They'll return the favor to you when they're tired.
Be prompt. Be ready to run at the appointed hour. The later we get started on a run, the later we are to our other commitments.
Support your team. If you're not in the race, go cheer your team mates on. Or stay if you get in before them. Coach Gary was always at the marathons, although he wasn't running them. I spotted Amy K. just before the finish line at the Urban Wildland Half. And Marcia stayed hours after her ten mile race was over to cheer me in at my first marathon finish. Seeing each of them was like a shot of Gu!
Share your resources when someone is in peril. One time I foolishly didn't bring my water bottle and Coach Sarah shared hers. I've never forgotten that.
Stay positive. A positive attitude offers encouragment.
Look out for each other. On one summer run, the wind picked up and the tornado sirens went off! We had nowhere to go but back to the club and I was scared. But we stayed together as a group, when the faster runners could easily have gone on ahead. When we were close to the club, Bev yelled, "Run like hell, ladies!" And we did.
Give back. We always had volunteers to staff our water stops on long runs, but sometimes the resources would be gone by the time the slower runners got there. Amy K, Marcia, Angel, and Bev filled in as "bike angels" to provide ice, and refreshment to us on the trail.
Share the wisdom of your experience. On a tough workout when everyone wanted to quit early, Karen reminded us that "they don't shorten a marathon." And a few years ago, before the start of the Twin Cities Marathon, Jessie shared, "If you feel like you're going too slow, SLOW DOWN." Wise words from two women not yet 30.
Socialize. My group likes to eat. :-) We go out for pre-marathon pasta dinners and then again a few weeks after the race to talk about it! And I look forward to meeting for breakfast after the long run, even though we just spent hours running together.
Thank the coaches. At the end of a training session, we take up a collection and buy a gift for our coach. They are unpaid and have a day job, so the workouts they plan and the time they put in cuts into their personal time. The other clubs I ran with didn't take up a collection, but I still made a point of writing a thankyou note to the coaches that trained me. I learned from the best!
Last night at dinner, my friends gave me a memory book filled with pictures and a memory they each have of me. Many of them also bought a "Find Your Happy Pace" shirt to honor me and they wore them for the above picture. As you can see, I have many memories myself, full of the rich experiences I've shared with these wonderful people. I've listed only a few.
You may think your running group is the best. And that's how it should be. But I know that mine is the best!
Ten miles along the Mississippi River. Although there are plenty of water fountains along the route, hydration was an issue because I use a sports drink. I could not bring myself to wear the back pack; my shoulders are still sore from Saturday! Fortunately I have lots of water bottles, so I filled two of them with sport drink. I parked my car at Lake St. and put one of the bottles in my belt. Then I ran north for 2.5 miles, then turned around and headed south. By the time I got back to my car, I had 5 miles. I quickly exchanged my empty bottle for the full one, then continued south for another 2.5 miles.
The weather was humid and rain threatened but never materialized. It felt great to run and the trail wasn't crowded. The river isn't as popular as the city lakes, so it's a great place to run. It's very pretty and I discovered some new things, such as this waterfall.
As I got to the turn around point at mile 7.5, I came across the Ford Dam--a lock for the river traffic. This is where my club has done it's "Dam Hill" workout--hill repeats with various calisthentics our sadistic coaches came up with. :-)
Near Ford Dam is the Ford Bridge, which I crossed many times last year when I was training for Grandma's Marathon. I was trying to take a picture of it but I couldn't get a clear view. Although I had reached the turn-around point, I ran down the Dam Hill for old time's sake. (I'm just a sentimental fool.) I was rewarded with a clear view of the Ford Bridge.
Ford Dam and Ford Bridge are near Ford Parkway. The reason for all these Ford's is the Ford Motor plant, located on the east side of the river, in St. Paul. Built in 1925, it was the home of the Ford Ranger. Now it is doomed: Ford is closing the plant and one can only speculate as to the future of the land. I'm guessing retail and condos, but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.
As I headed north back towards my car, I took the road never traveled (by me). There is a trail that runs below the bike path, which apparently was an old Indian trail. Those who know me, either in person or through this blog, know I'm not very adventurous. I've always avoided this trail because it was too isolated and I was afraid of the bad guys. About 18 years ago I read of a woman who had been assaulted on that trail (she had been walking her dog) and so I avoided it like a kid with a cough. Today I ran down that trail for about a mile. It was a beautiful trail and it's always nice to face your fears, even if it's just for a little while.
I'm have to go get ready to meet my running club for dinner. It's a goodbye dinner--for me! I'll tell you about it tomorrow.
Nineteen miles in the rain. Sigh.
My running group was going to run 17 miles, and I needed to run 19, so I got to the gym early and ran two miles on the treadmill. When I do my long runs, I really try to go a minute over race pace, which means 13-13:30 minute miles. That's a lot of time on the road.
Marcia and I ran together. She wanted to run/walk 5:1. That was fine with me. So we set out, slow and steady. I wore my hydration pack, which SUCKED! The bladder holds 2 liters of sport drink, and I didn't think that would be enough, so I also filled a 20 oz water bottle and carried that in my pack.
That was necessary in warmer weather, but today I only drank 1 liter and that pack was increadibly heavy! In addition to the fluid, I had my cell phone and iPod in there. That shouldn't have added much weight, but my shoulders were so sore--I think they hurt more than my legs! After the run, I weighed the pack in the locker room and it still weighed 6 pounds. No wonder my shoulders hurt. :-(
AmyBee and Nat were in the faster group and normally they would pass us on the return trip. But because this was a new route for many of us they got lost, so their 18 miler turned into a 20! They got back about the same time as Marcia and I did and after stretching and showering we all went to a well deserved and long overdue breakfast! I think I ate as many calories at breakfast as I burned on the run. :-)
I dressed for the rain and that worked out fine. Wore a waterproof jacket and a cap to keep the water out of my face. My SmartWool socks didn't get soggy, although my shoes did. They're stuffed with newspapers and drying in the basement. At one point we stopped to use the bathroom at a bank. When I looked in the mirror I scared myself! Bangs flattened and water pouring off my flushed face--it's a good thing I don't normally see what I look like when I run.
With 8 more weeks of training to go, I need to come up with a different hydration system. I like not having to stop to refill my water, but that's the only good thing about the pack I have. Marcia observed that it wasn't made for runners and she's right. It was made for hiking. I can't even get to my gels because all the pockets are in the back. Also, there's plenty of room to carry gear in it, which I don't need.
Juls and Michelle like the hydration backpacks they have, and I'm considering purchasing the one Michelle is using, even though I don't want to spend the money. It's cheaper than paying for a massage ever time I run with my current pack, though.
Amphipod makes a waist holster that holds two 20 oz. bottles. That would work for some of my mid-length runs--say 12-16 miles. Whoever said running was an inexpensive sport wasn't training for a marathon!
Today's run called for 9 miles at race pace. It's hard to figure out race pace when you take walking breaks, so I cut out some of them. After a one mile warm up, I picked up the pace and ran strong. A little too strong--miles 2,3, and 4 were under race pace. Even as I was running it, I knew I wasn't being smart. Part of me was thinking, "Damn, I'm good!" (roll eyes) The other part was remembering Coach Higdon's warning that "Anybody can run the first 6-9 miles of a marathon at a fast pace. The secret is to run the last 6-9 miles of the marathon at that same fast pace."
The successive miles were over race pace. Not too much over, but over. Some of it was due to walking breaks; also I had to wait at a stoplight and then the trail was blocked so I had to run on the grass. Hey, it all adds up! :-)
Still, it was a pleasant run. The weather has cooled to a tolerable low 70s and no humidity! I ran around the city lakes, the same route I ran on Tuesday, and I noticed some of the same people were there today, like the dog who wears a sling to hold a tennis ball, and the little old lady who looks to be about 4'11". I usually change my routes so that I don't get bored, but you don't get to be one of the "regulars" when you do that.
These are the splits:
Mile 1 13:30
Mile 2 11:43
Mile 3 11:56
Mile 4 11:32
Mile 5 12:16 (it's all downhill from here)
Mile 6 12:34 (whoops!)
Mile 7 12:22
Mile 8 12:15
Mile 9 12:25
If you have any tips for how to stay on pace, I'd appreciate hearing them. I notice when I don't take walking breaks I don't hydrate. That was always my cue to drink. Should I reduce my walking breaks to 30 seconds so that I drink but don't slow down so much?
Tomorrow's a long run and the weather is supposed to be cool--high in the 60s. That's the good news, the bad news is it's supposed to rain all day. Groan; 19 miles in the rain. Oh well, what's a summer marathon training run without getting wet? I'll let you know how it goes.
Thanks for all your comments regarding the bridge collapse. It's been almost two weeks and they've recovered most of the dead. Life is returning to almost-normal. One of the consequences to the running community however, is that the TC 10 miler, which is the same day as the Twin Cities marathon, will have to be re-routed. In the past, it went under that bridge, and now the route is closed. The course is USATF sanctioned, so they need to work things out with the city and the USATF.
We've been having some wild weather on the prairie. Last weekend, thunder and lightning woke me up at 3 am, and I was up for an hour. And I had to meet my running group at 7 for a long run! I managed to get there on time, but only cuz I knew they were waiting. I guess that's why I like to run with a group--they get me on the road when I'd rather stay in bed.
Last week was a cut-back-on-mileage week, so I ran 12 miles for my long run. The others were running 15, but they graciously modified their route so that I could run the majority of the way with them. There was evidence of storm damage everywhere: trees uprooted or huge limbs lying on the ground. The gym didn't have any power, so officially it was closed and we had to leave our gear in our cars. But by the time I got back the power had been restored and I was able to take a shower. It's the little things in life that count. :-)
Last night, another thunderstorm rolled past. This one hit my area around 11:15. There was no way I was going to sleep, so I turned on the news and watched reports of baseball-sized hail, high winds and flooding water. I'm fortunate in that I've never had water leak in my basement, and my car was snug as a bug in the garage, but I was very concerned about the trees surrounding my house. They managed to stay upright and not land on my roof!
I finally got to bed around midnight, and set the alarm for 7 a.m. so that I could go for my 9 mile run at 8. Well, that didn't happen, but I did start my run at 10:30. The rain did not cool anything down, and once again it was very humid.
I've started running with a hydration backpack. I didn't need it today, but wear it for my long runs, so I'm trying to get used to it. The weight hurts my shoulders, and the hanging loop hits the back of my neck, which is annoying, but it's nice to have fluid readily available. And I don't have to stop to refill my water bottle, another plus!
I'm halfway into my marathon training program--9 weeks behind me and 9 more to go. It's actually 10 weeks till the marathon, so I started a little early, but I don't think that will be a problem.
I picked a pretty ambitious training plan, but so far it's fine. I ran 17 miles two weeks ago when I was in California, on a hillier road than I'm used to, with no trouble. My husband was surprised that I wasn't more beat up than I was, so I guess I'm making progress. That's good, cuz I've got 19 miles to run on Saturday! The training plan I selected has three 20-mile runs before taper. In the past I've only run one 20-miler during training, and I'm hoping the extra long runs will leave me better prepared so I won't be so beat up by the distance.
My goal is to run a 5:15 marathon. Stop laughing! I know it's ambitious (for me), and I may change my mind, but that's been my training pace. Twelve minute miles are so easy to break down into quarter-mile intervals, just add 3 minutes. It helps me stay on pace. Despite the hills, I think I can do it--I've got a strong foundation from running all year and I've lost a lot of weight.
About that weight: I've managed to stay away from the sucrose since last December and combined with marathon training, have dropped almost 20 pounds. My size 6 David Kahn's are fitting a little loose. Even the regulars at Starbucks are noticing. They're used to seeing Dumpy Dori in the baggy clothes, and now with the summer heat I'm showing more skin. I have to tell you, I feel strong, fit, and even a little sexy, and that's not bad for 54!
Tragedy struck my home town last week. Of course, I'm talking about the freeway bridge that crumbled during rush hour traffic. It happened last Wednesday around 6 p.m. and although I only live about two miles away, I was unaware of any calamity when I went for a quick 4 mile run an hour later. My next door neighbors saw me while I was waiting for a satellite reading on my Garmin and told me about it. It was a hot and humid night, and the news put a knot in my stomach.
My first thought was that I should go to the river and help with the recovery efforts. Not that I'm trained in emergencies; I just thought maybe they could use some extra hands. However, I had a plane to catch early the next morning, I still wasn't packed, and I needed to get my training run in. Instead I said a quick prayer for the victims and their families and continued with my plans. I probably would have just been in the way by that time anyhow. I had no idea of the magnitude of the situation.
Although I didn't have the TV on, everyone else did and I got several phone calls from concerned out-of-state family and friends. Since I left the very next morning, I'm not sure if anyone I know was affected. I have some former co-workers who use that bridge to go home, but I haven't contacted them yet to see if they're OK. I'm afraid to.
I've been in California with my husband and we've been staying at our new house. Although we have power, we have no internet connection yet and no television. All I know is what I heard on the radio and read in the occasional newspaper. I arrived home today at around 6 pm, and drove straight to the bridge. I had to see it for myself! I don't know why. As you know, I run in that area. In fact, my friend Marcia and I ran under that bridge just ten days before it fell. Had the timing been different, you'd be reading a different blog right now.
Anyway, I drove straight to the Guthrie from the airport so that I could see the damage from what's called the Endless Bridge, which is four stories above the river and part of the new Guthrie building. I've taken pictures there before. I was reading a newspaper article where the author likened it to the Twin Towers and when I read it, I thought that was over doing it. But as I saw the twisted metal in the middle of the river, it did remind me of the twisted rebar that I saw at Ground Zero in December 2001. I looked out and shed silent tears.
People were congregating on the Stone Arch bridge and someone had hung a flag over the side. There was also a sign; I couldn't read it all, but it said something like, "Love can build a bridge." I had left my camera in the car, but since other people were taking pictures, I went back for it. I waited until the plays began, so that it was less crowded. Someone told me that tomorrow they are going to remove the debris from the water and expect to find the eight missing people. Those poor souls.
Just inside the door of the Endless Bridge is a cocktail bar. The regular bartender there is Dean and I've spoken to him before. He told me about the Gold Medal park that I mentioned in a previous post. His station looks out to the water and is just west of the freeway bridge. At one time I would have considered it an enviable location to work. I asked him how he was doing, since it must have been traumatic for him. He said he didn't see the bridge fall, that he had just finished making a drink for a patron. When he looked over his shoulder, he said, "That's the wrong bridge." A man asked him what he was talking about. Just east of the 35W bridge is the 10th Street bridge, which runs ran parallel, so Dean knew something was wrong with the picture. It didn't make sense--the 10th St. bridge wasn't supposed to be in the forefront. And then he understood.
A loss affects the whole community, not just the people immediately involved. Dean the bartender was an emergency technician for 18 years, so he's experienced with handling trauma. Yet he said Thursday night he just felt an enormous sadness, and he has a hard time looking out the window now.
I feel sad too; not for the loss of a bridge, but for the lives lost and traumatized. Bridges aren't supposed to fall. We trust our government to ensure the safety of public conveyances, whether it's to carry us across a river or up in the skies. I guess I have an inkling of what the citizens of New Orleans must have felt when the levees broke. Anger and a sense of betrayal. I want to know, "Why".
