Stormy Weather

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!