Never mind the gods, I must be crazy!

That's what I thought as I left my warm bed. Heck, I'm not even training for a race! Temperature for my Saturday morning 8 a.m. run was 6 degrees F, with a wind-chill factor of 7 below zero! How do you even dress for that?

What I did was put on two pairs of leggings, Smartwool socks, long-sleeved base layer, windbreaker, vest, and jacket. A fleece neck-gaiter, headband, and acrylic Google cap from last year's CES completed the ensemble. I even put Vaseline on my face, a winter running tip from Janice. I asked a woman in the dressing room if she put Vaseline on her face and she said she used Body Glide because she didn't think it would be so heavy. I thought about where my Body Glide has been and stayed with a light coating of Vaseline.

Even with all that gear I never felt overheated, but I also didn't feel cold. We stayed on the Downtown Trail, which sheltered us a little from the wind, and it was actually a pleasant 4.5 miles.

Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada

As you know, I was in Vegas last week for the Consumer Electronics Show. It's an industry-only show, but somehow I always manage to get in. This was my fourth year and I look forward to seeing what's up and coming in the consumer electronics field. This year it seems to be television--really big screens (102 inch, 1080 DLP) and really small (mobile TV.) Also better resolution on cell-cams. Nokia has a new N-phone that has a higher pixel camera and a flash. They also have one for taking video, which looked really slick. They don't call it a phone anymore--it's a "multimedia computer."

The show is enormous and I found myself concentrating on specific areas. For instance, I never even went into the North Hall of the Convention Center, which was predominantly sound systems for cars. Instead, I focused on home computing (Microsoft, Hewlett Packard), home sound (speakers, home theatre systems), and of course, athletics.

In the latter category, I was disappointed to find only Garmin. Last year Garmin announced their 301 and 305. There wasn't anything new that I could see for this year. At least not for runners and bikers; they had a huge booth, but I didn't pay any attention to the other GPS products. I spoke with a Garmin representative and he showed me the bike computer. I told him I was interested in biking and running, and he said I could take the wrist strap off my 305 (which I don't have, but want) and mount it on my road bike (which I also don't have, but want.) There's also a cadence counter that you can attach to your bike. He said if I wait until May, they will probably package it all together. That will be about the time I expect to move into my new house, so I guess I'll wait until then.

I got an overview of their software, too. You can type in a city and get a suggested running route, complete with map. It allows you to view streets from your computer, but when you download it to your watch, you just see an arrow indicating when you should turn left or right. The site allows others to download their favorite routes, so that there will be a whole network of running and bike routes to access, all over the world.

Trade shows are fun, but they can be exhausting. Marketeers do what they can to attract you to their booth and after hours of walking on concrete, I'll gladly listen to a sales pitch just for the opportunity to sit down. One year David Crosby (of Crosby, Stills, and Nash) was performing. That was very special for me. Last year Ricky Skaggs played. This year I didn't see any performances, but that may be because I didn't know where to look. Maybe the XM booth had entertainment, but they were over in North Hall.

SD had meetings the first two days, so I was on my own. At the Dolby booth, I sat in their makeshift theatre and watched movie excerpts that showcased Dolby's awesome sound. And I talked to someone at Wynit, because they are a Garmin distributor. He said if I was a dealer for them, I could buy Garmin at a discount. I told him Wynit is a distributor for the company SD works for and he told me to have SD contact him and I could get a price break. When I told this to SD, he said someone at Wynit told him of a contact that could provide a better price than even Wynit. I was very excited, but then SD said we'd been spending a lot of money and should wait on buying a 305. What!!! I've already waited over a year, I think that's long enough. But OK, I'll wait a little longer. My 201 is working fine, I just want to have the latest model. Although on the last day, we bought a unit from XM radio, one of those "show specials." I guess we only need to save money on things that I want.

I didn't drop any money in slot machines or on the gaming tables, but I did gamble. Creative Labs, the people who brought you SoundBlaster, had a large booth and if you sat through two demos, you get a chance at the Wheel of Fortune. The first day, I won this. That's all well and good, but what I really wanted was a web cam. I went back two more times to win one, but no luck. I did win a travel mug and a duffle bag. I had to leave the mug behind for lack of luggage space, but I can use the duffle bag for the gym.


SD had time on Wednesday to look at the show, so we wandered over to the Sands, which is where the high-end audiophile electronics are. It's also where another trade show, not related to CES but capitalizing on the attendance, is located. It's an "adult entertainment" show and you can generally tell who is there for CES and who is there for the other one. Sometimes you can't avoid mixing. I was walking down the hallway of the Sands and there was a woman wearing very little, posing. Unfortunately, I saw her from behind... and saw her behind. I found that very offensive. I mean, if I wanted to see a woman's butt, I'd pay good money to see it in a Las Vegas show.

Speaking of Las Vegas shows, we saw the Cirque de Soleil "Love" show. It's done to the music of the Beatles and it's incredibly well-done. I've seen other Cirque shows in the past, but this was my all time favorite. If you ever get the chance, I encourage you to see it. We brought one of SDs Japanese co-workers, and he wasn't familiar with Beatles' songs. I was concerned that he wouldn't enjoy it, but he loved it!

I did get one run in while in Vegas. It was nothing spectacular, but it felt good to get outside. I mostly ran behind the Strip, because I was trying to avoid crowds and I prefer to run on asphalt, which I can't do on busy Las Vegas Blvd. We left on Thursday morning and drove a rental car to our homesite in California. More on that in another post.

MeMeMeMeee

I was tagged by YaYa.

A-Available or Married --- Married
B-Best Friend --- Paula
C-Cake or Pie --- Pie,
D-Drink of choice --- Grande skim latte
E- Essential Item --- Purse
F-Favorite color --- Red
G-Gummi Bears or worms --- Ewww. Neither
H-Hometown --- Currently Minneapolis
I-Indulgence --- gemstones
J-January or February --- July
K-Kids & names --- 0
L-Life is incomplete without --- My husband
M-Marriage Date --- March 1980
N-Number of siblings --- Two
O-Oranges or Apples --- Bananas
P-Phobias/Fears --- rattlesnakes, heights, cancer
Q-Favorite Quote --- "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." Eleanor Roosevelt
R-Reason to smile --- Crossing the finish line
S-Season --- Summer!
T-Tag three people --- MinnesotaDon, Waddler 26.2, AmyBee
U-Unknown fact about me --- I never forward chain e-mails
V-Veggie I hate --- String beans
W-Worst Habit --- Nail biting
X-X-rays you've had --- dental, left leg, mammograms,
Y-Your favorite food --- gnocchi con pesto
Z-Zodiac --- Moon Child

Hooray, Hooray, Hooray!

Congratulations to Don, who ran an indoor marathon yesterday. The field of 30 runners ran around the track at St. Olaf college in Northfield (not far from Carleton College, where Hal Higdon went to school.) That's how many laps around the track? I'll let him tell you.

Congratulations also to Minnesota Firefly Denise, who ran the Rock and Roll Half-Marathon yesterday in Phoenix. With temperatures in the 30s, she must have felt right at home--except at home yesterday the temps were in the single digits! Her friend, Full Metal Lunchbox, posted the results and pictures for her on his blog.

I ran out of my old club on Saturday--7 miles with Marcia and Mary. Tough, but worthwhile. They're both faster than me and I got winded and tired. We took walking breaks every 9 minutes, but eventually I had to ask if we could drop it down to every 6 minutes. They got tired too, so I didn't feel so bad. On our way back we took an unscheduled rest because a freight train was rolling down the tracks we needed to cross to get back to the club. I used that time to take a picture of my running friends.

It's been a while since I've run 7; I'm thinking of joining a marathon training group so that I can get my distance up. I'm just concerned that there will be someone to run with. I need that not only for the company, but I'm more likely to show up if someone is depending on me.

Saturday night, SD and I went to dinner at Vincent's restaurant. We ate in the kitchen, along with some friends of ours. Chef Vincent created a tasting menu for us and we each got a copy of the menu. I've mentioned Vincent before; he is a triathlete and last October ran the Twin Cities Marathon. He has an Ironman in his sights for 2008. Whenever I see him, we talk about running. At the end of the night I asked him to sign my menu. He wrote, "Happy Marathoning! Merci. Vincent." I thought it was cool that he associates me with marathons.

I'm in Las Vegas now, attending the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Today I visited Garmin and I'll tell you about it, but not tonight. I need to get some rest. After Vegas, SD and I are driving to California to check on our house. The drywall is up and I'll post some pictures when I get home. I probably won't post until I get home, but I'll try to get online and catch up on your blogs. Have a good week!

I went for a run with Baby New Year

...and came back feeling like Father Time.

First run of the New Year! My friend Marcia organized a buddy run for tonight and several people showed up. We met at 6 p.m. and headed out for a 5-mile run. The weather was a balmy 38 degrees, and although there was some ice, the path was mostly clear.

I started out strong and able to keep up with the others, but by the second mile I was starting to flag. Some people turned around at mile 2 and I was tempted to go back with them, but it was only laziness that made me want to go back. I knew I was capable of 5 miles. Rick ran with me on the way back; he's way faster than me but is recovering from that pesky plantar fasciitis so I don't think he minded going slow and taking walk breaks. And I was grateful for his company, as well as Coach Gary, who ran with me on the way out.

Last night I was all set to go running but when I got to the gym discovered that I was missing a vital piece of running gear--my sports bra--so I jumped in the pool instead. It's been years since I've swum laps, but I wanted to get some kind of exercise in. I swam slowly (there's a surprise) but stayed in the pool for almost 30 minutes. My goal was to swim 15 laps, but the pool was getting crowded and that intimidated me so I stopped at 13. I actually got a cramp in my foot while in the deep end so all I could do was keep swimming until I could stand up. That was weird. I'm just glad I wasn't in the middle of a lake when it happened. Swimming was OK, but I'm not signing up for any triathlon's.

Both the swimming yesterday and the running today made my back hurt. I think that means I need to strengthen my muscles, but where? And how? I stretched after tonight's run, but didn't feel human until I came home and took a shower. I was pretty stiff.

Oh, and I'm still off the sugar--three weeks yesterday. I can't say I feel much better, and I'm certainly not slimmer, but it needed to be done. Unfortunately I've compensated for the lack of sucrose by adding starch, so there goes the 500 calories a day deficit I was trying to create. Eating healthy is hard work!

Feliz Ano Nuevo

Last night, SD and I rang in the New Year in with some friends of ours and two of their daughters. Since they don't know that I posted this picture, I'll just call them the A's. We started at their house with a fish stew dinner, then we all went to a show in downtown. It was a comedy show and pretty rowdy. That's my husband, SD, in the blue hat.

We finally got the snow that the western part of the country had been experiencing. It arrived yesterday afternoon, just in time for New Years revelry. We only got a few inches, but first we got a sheet of ice, which made driving treacherous. I spotted plenty of cars in the ditch, and I don't think it was because of drunken driving. SD went out walking this morning and took some "Winter Wonderland" pictures, including this one:



Some of you commented on the Christmas picture that I posted. In 2002, SD and I spent the holiday in London, and we were disappointed by the lack of Christmas displays. As we walked down some major road, I looked to the left and saw this little alley lit up. Imagine my surprise when I watched the movie "Love Actually" and saw my picture in that movie!

Thank you for your well-wishes, and I hope you all have a great 2007!

Good things come to those who show up.

This morning I went running with my old Club Run group. The gym I now belong to bought the gym I used to belong to, so I can go to the old location whenever I want. It was an "all clubs" run, which means runners from all locations in the Metro area showed up and was hosted by the SLP club. The run started at 8 a.m.

Dan, the national running director for our gym, was there and he had a surprise for us--members of Team USA Minnesota were there to run with us! Well, not me, but some of the faster members. There was one male, Chris Lundstrom, who placed 4th in the last Twin Cities Marathon, and three females: Katie McGregor, who won the Twin Cities 10 Mile race; Jenelle Deatherage, who won the 2005 Human Race 8K, and 2004 Olympian Carrie Tollefson. My cell-phone battery was about to die, so I only got one quick picture. I was going to post it here but I'm having trouble downloading pics from my cell phone.

It was a thrill for me to be in the presence of these elite runners, and I took the opportunity to introduce myself to Carrie Tollefson. I told her I was the person that her husband Charlie had sent her autographed picture to, and she knew who I was. She's even read my blog! Charlie was there and he came over to say hi. He remembered me and I asked him if he ran the Twin Cities Marathon. He had, and is planning on doing another Ironman. For some reason I thought that TC Marathon was his first marathon, and here he is an Ironman. Can you imagine the genes their kids are going to have?

Except for a run last Saturday with AmyBee and Mary, I've been sticking to indoor running. We ran 5 miles last week, and I managed to keep up with them, but I know I was holding them back. Today I ran with people I had formerly trained with, including Marcia, whom I've mentioned in previous posts, and Gary, my first (and favorite) coach. They were planning to do 10K, and I'm happy to say I was able to keep up with them.

It was so great to have people to talk to! A group makes running so much more fun.

Holiday Greeting

Century Post

This is my 100th post since I moved to Blogger last January. To commemorate that, I thought I'd list 100 things you would have happily gone through life never knowing about me.

100: I was born in the South Bronx
99: I lived in 3 apartments before I was 9 years old
98: My mother died a week after my 7th birthday
97: I moved to California a month before I turned 9
96: My first year in California, I lived in Downtown Los Angeles
95: Compared to the Bronx, I felt like I was living in the country
94: I learned to type in high school
93: On a manual typewriter
92: I took typing class because there wasn't any homework
91: Touch typing turned out to be one of the most useful skills I've ever had
90: The first job I ever had was setting appointments for a telephone answering machine company
89: I got fired within a week, because I couldn't get any appointments
88: I worked as a "boxgirl" at a grocery store
87: I waitressed for several years
86: I worked as a hotel maid, but got fired for being too slow
85: My favorite place to be for Christmas is Midtown Manhattan
84: If I could be anything I wanted, I'd be a Rockette
83: I can't dance
82: I cant' sing either, but that doesn't stop me
81: My father remarried when I was 10, in 1963
80: They are still married
79: I moved in with my boyfriend when I was 18
78: He used to hit me
77: I try not to reveal my name on the Internet, so that he can't find me
76: I was married when I was 22
75: and divorced when I was 25
74: I met my husband at work
73: I was a receptionist
72: My life changed for the better when I met him
71: I started going to college when I was 26. It was a 2-year college
70: I first got a certificate in Information Systems
69: Then I got an Associates degree
68: Then I got enough credits to transfer to a four year college
67: I stopped going to college in 1989
66: I went back in 1999
65: I graduated with honors in 2002
64: I always thought I was dumb
63: I love dogs
62: and horses
61: and cats
60: I discovered I liked writing when I returned to college
59: I once was asked to write a small article for an alumni magazine
58: When it was rejected, I never tried to write for another publication
57: I am loyal
56: and a team player
55: I procrastinate
54: I've learned to show up on time
53: I was raised Catholic
52: I don't call myself that
51: I don't have any religion
50: I believe in God
49: I don't like other people to try to control my life
48: I believe a woman is entitled to make her own decisions concerning her body
47: Summer is my favorite season
46: I love water, especially the ocean
45: I never expected to be living in Minnesota
44: I go to the symphony
43: and the theatre
42: and sometimes the opera
43: I like the blues
42: and rock 'n roll
41: I have lived in 4 states
40: I've lived in my house for 15 years
39: It's the longest I've ever lived in the same place
38: I like to ride my bike
37: I like to sail, but only in fair weather
36: The day I graduated from college was one of the proudest days of my life
35: I wish I had continued on to get my master's degree
34: I would like to get a master's degree in writing
33: I swear like a sailor
32: One of my best friends is a born-again Christian
31: She doesn't like it when I swear
30: I swear anyway
29: I always expected that I would someday be a mother
28: I was too busy partying to have a baby
27: When I was 37, I wanted to have a baby
26: My husband told me he didn't want to start a family after he turned 40
25: He's seven years older than me
24: I couldn't change his mind
23: I wonder who's going to look out for me when I'm old and he's dead
22: Hopefully my sister
21: I have two sisters
20: I have no brothers
19: I'm the oldest
18: My favorite color is red
17: I don't cook any more
16: I wish I knew how to draw
15: I wrote a comic strip, but I don't have any drawings
14: San Francisco is my second favorite place to be for Christmas
13: I don't like being cold
12: I have traveled to Mexico, Canada, Japan, England, Scotland, Germany, Ireland, Puerto Rico, France, Spain, and Italy
11: I would like to live in Paris
10: I would like to visit Africa and see elephants in the wild
9: I'm shy
8: Waitressing helped me overcome my shyness
7: I DNF the first two marathons I ever ran
6: It bothers me when I don't reach my goal
5: I spend too much time at Starbucks. See #55
4: I drank and abused drugs for 19 years
3: I haven't had an alcoholic drink or abused drugs for 19 years
2: It is my greatest accomplishment
1: I love my husband

Public Service Announcement

Happy Winter Solstice.

Here's a friendly reminder: Santa Claus requested that all letters to him should arrive by 11:59 p.m. on December 22. It says so on his blog. He'll accept e-mails and text-messaging until 4:00 a.m. on Dec. 23.

Turns out Santa is a typical man--he just bought Mrs. C's present yesterday!

Thanks to *Jeanne* for providing the link.

Still Waiting...

for the pounds to melt away.

The fine theory is that 500 less calories a day equals one less pound per week. Not sure how many pounds I've lost, because the scale goes down one day and up the next. WTF?

So far I've gone 7 days without my daily diet of dark chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, or various other sweets. It's gotten easier since those first two days, but it's still not easy. At Friday night's dinner with the boss, it was easy to pass on dessert, because everyone did. Then at Saturday's Christmas gala, I managed to stay away from the cookies and M&Ms, but only by grazing at the buffet. Cheese...the other dessert.

Last night I went out to dinner with SD and two of his co-workers. I ate sensibly and wasn't even tempted when the dessert tray was displayed, but I insisted that the others get the dark chocolate ganache cake. Vicarious indulgence?

I had a great speed workout on the treadmill Saturday morning--two full minutes at 10mm. Pant, pant. Have not run since then, but plan to do it today.

In other news, no more CrapCam! I upgraded from the Treo 600 to a spanking new 680. Red, my now signature color. It even has video, and a little mirror for taking self-portraits. So I can film myself crossing the finish line. :-)

Finally, there's this:

My little Catalina 22, which I've had for 15 years, is no longer mine. SD refused to move her to California, so this is it. I've had many happy days, sailing on Lake Minnetonka. She was small enough for me to sail by myself, which made me feel like a badass. The new owner lives on Lake Minnetonka; I guess he felt good knowing she was suitable for that lake.

Lead me not into temptation

...for I can find the way myself.

I haven't had any sucrose for three days. I should say candy or cookies, because I had a scone at Starbucks and although I consider that bread it did have icing (and as SD pointed out, it's probably loaded with sugar.) The fact that I've been counting is an indication of how (surprisingly) difficult this has been. On Tuesday (day 1) I ate 2 bananas trying to keep from eating chocolate. I'm all about instant gratification. Yesterday I only had one banana. Today was easier--no bananas and at a work-related dinner tonight I passed on dessert. That was hard to do, but then I made the waitress take my plate away so I wouldn't be tempted to nibble.

The holidays are certainly not the time to diet, but I'm so tired of gaining weight. I want to be a size 6 again. Plods inspired me--she's lost 23 pounds. I don't know how long I can keep this up, but I'm trying not to break the cycle. It will be worth it if it helps me run faster.

Speaking of running, I have been, but not very much and not for very long. I had a nice run in Chicago along the lakefront on Thanksgiving morning. The weather was great. Last week in California I only ran once, and it was for less than an hour, but it felt good to be out there. This week, even though the weather has been unseasonably warm (for Minnesota), I ran on the dreadmill at the gym. On Tuesday I did 5K and last night I did a hill workout for an hour--while watching "The Biggest Loser" on the TV. That provided some motivation! :-)

Memory Lane

Last week, SD and I were in California. He had a conference in LA, so I accompanied him. While he was meeting in Century City, I drove around my old stomping grounds. Rather than shop on Rodeo Drive (as if I could afford it anyway), I drove east on Sunset Blvd., through West Hollywood and Hollywood.

I grew up in the shadow of Universal City and throughout my teenage years I couldn't wait to turn 18 so that I could do whatever I wanted. What I wanted and what my parents expected didn't jive so shortly after my 18th birthday I moved into my first apartment. It was in Hollywood and the building had seen its heyday about four decades prior to my moving in. The rent was $84 a month and came furnished. It was a studio apartment and had a Murphy bed--it folded up into the wall when not in use. The curtains were made of plastic and the other tenants in the building were of questionable character.

But it had high ceilings and built-in woodwork. I once stayed at the Mark Hopkins in San Francisco for a business trip and after several days realized how comfortable I felt in the room. Then it struck me--it was just like my first apartment in Hollywood.

I only lived there for a few months, and never went back after I moved away, even when I've been in the area. Until now. The building is still standing, but is undergoing a major renovation. I don't know what they plan to do with it--make condos, probably. It's in a great location--near the Hollywood Bowl and around the corner from Hollywood Blvd. I'll have to check on it the next time I'm in town.

The East Side

The West Side

Front Door

Window

Frosty

The temperature at 8 a.m. this morning was 16 degrees, factor in the windchill and it was 1 degree above zero. Fahrenheit.

I mention this because it is the day for the Reindeer Run 5K, a very popular race in these parts. People show up in all types of costumes, some very creative, although impediments to running. I mean, imagine running 3.1 miles with a box around your middle, because you're dressed as a present.

As you know, 5Ks are very crowded and it's hard to get a PR when you're stuck behind someone who suddenly decides to walk, or trying to wend your way around dogs and strollers. I thought it wouldn't be as crowded this year because of the severe cold, but I thought wrong. Minnesota runners aren't going to let a little frostbite interfere with their running plans, although the woman who showed up wearing shorts and bare legs deserves what she gets.

The race started at 9:30, and I arrived at 8:30, after stopping at Starbucks for some pre-race nutrition. I registered, picked up my race shirt, then sat in my car while I ate my scone and drank my joe. I was dressed for the weather: two pair of tights, base layer, vest, jacket, gloves, ear warmers, neck gaiter, and hat. After awhile, I headed to the starting area, intending to empty my bladder then wait in the warming tent. You really get a sense of how cold the weather is when you drop your drawers in a portapotty.

While in the tent, I called Marcia to see if she was here. She was and we met over by the t-shirts. Her husband was with her and Nat. Also a co-worker, whose name I forgot. We hugged and headed back to the tent, which was pretty hard to maneuver through. We stood in front of a table and waited there until it was time to line up.

AmyBee was also running, but it was so crowded we didn't find her. I tried calling her at home, but she had already left. Amy and I ran the race together last year, and I was looking forward to a repeat. Unfortunately, I never did see her.

Getting out of the tent was almost as difficult as getting in, but we finally got out and headed to the start line. I spotted a celebrity and he agreed to pose for this picture with Marcia and company:

Although I lined up with the Friends of Marcia, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with them. Before long, all I could see were the antlers on Marcia's head and then not even that. So I focused on my race.

It took about a mile and a half to get into it--the cold bothered me. Last Thursday I ran 4 miles when the temperature was 17 degrees, with no wind. I only had one pair of tights on that day and my legs never did warm up, which is how I knew to double up on the leggings today. However, my gloves weren't warm enough and I had a heck of a time keeping my fingers warm. Nat had on wind mittens over her gloves and I was wishing I had a pair. Finally, though, everything warmed up.

During the race, I looked over and saw a woman lying on the ground, with her legs up. Some people were surrounding her. I don't know what happened, but I thought WWJD--What Would Juls Do? She'd stop and help, so I went over and asked if they needed a phone, since I had one in my pocket. A girl said they had one, so I went on my way. They didn't need another clueless person standing around wringing her hands.

There was no snow on the ground, since we've had relatively mild weather. Frankly, I don't miss it. I'm still trying to sell my house and it's easier to not have to deal with snow and ice. It also makes running outdoors less stressful, since I don't have to worry about slipping on ice.

This was the third year I ran this race. Since I ran alone, I just did what I could. I paced myself for the first 2.5 miles, then picked it up, going full sprint as I neared the finish line. I peeked at the Garmin and it showed my pace--8:XX. All I remember was the 8, because I was astounded. Of course, I didn't hold that pace for long, but it was interesting to me to see how fast I can run. My final time was 35:22, with the distance 3.11. The splits: Mile 1, 12:00; Mile 2, 11:17, Mile 3, 11:12; Mile 3.l1, :52 (8:06/mile pace!) Still a long way from my 30 minute goal, but it gives me hope that with some practice, I can actually get some speed and hold it.

Last Minute Goodbye

I forgot to wish Michelle good luck in her upcoming November 26 Seattle Marathon. This will be the second marathon this month for the little Marathon Maniac, and her third since the beginning of October.

At dinner tonight I was reading "Run Minnesota" a magazine put out by the Minnesota Distance Running Association (MDRA) and there was an article on running blogs in it. I haven't come across too many Minnesota running blogs, so I was very interested in the article. The author, Zeke*, has his own running blog, and I related to alot of what he had to say about blogging. Especially their addictive nature. In a sidebar was a list of his favorite running blogs, and although mine wasn't one of them (what's up with that?), Runner Susan was. I was pleased to see it, but it's not as if the woman needs more comments. :-)

Here's what he said about her:

She's not afraid to blog about any bodily function and how it pertains to running. She's funny, clever, witty and extremely creative."

He got that right.

Thank you for your kind words regarding my aunt. I leave tomorrow morning for NYC, then take the train to Lawngeyeland. Now I'm going to go pack, which for me is like trying to squeeze size 10 hips into size 6 pants.


*I'm in an ethical dilemna. He goes by Zeke on his blog, but lists his real name in the magazine. I should use his real name, but I don't want to out him.

Coming Events

I won't be posting for a few days. Today I received news that my aunt died and I'm going to New York to be with my family. When I get back, I'm leaving for Chicago for the Thanksgiving holiday. I'll be back home in about ten days.

ShoreTurtle is running the Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday. I'm not sure, but I think it's his first marathon. Good luck to him.

And good luck to Stephano, who will be running the Florence Marathon on Nov, 26 (that's the Sunday after Thanksgiving for us Yanks). Don't piss off the Black Knight! Check out his photos, which shows what great shape you can be in after 2 decades of racing.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Run strong. :-)

Back in the Saddle

Here's a quick update on K: she had 6 stitches and the wound was about 1/2 to 1 inch deep. We think she hit a power cable that was sticking out of the ground. How it impaled her on the front of her leg, we can't figure out. She was looking for potholes and rocks, but this cable blended in with the ground. I spoke to her on Thursday, the day after the accident, and she was in good spirits and feeling fine. Her calf hurt; she said it felt like a big charley-horse, which we attributed to her stopping so abruptly. The doctor gave her a muscle relaxer and wasn't overly concerned about it. Thanks to all of you who sent her good wishes.

Head coach, Nancee, sent me the following in an e-mail: "It is a very unsettling thing to see an injury like that -- especially recognizing that it could happen to any of us who are out there running at night..." She nailed it. Even though K sounded fine, I walked around with a knot in my stomach all day Thursday, and slept fitfully on Wednesday night. It could happen to any of us and I was afraid of it happening to me.

But today I went running with the group. As Sister Smile said, "There are too many good things outside to miss." I can't really see myself running for 3 hours on a treadmill! My coach is Beth, but we ran with another club and coach Sarah offered to run with us. She had just run the Marine Corp Marathon, so was looking for a nice, easy run. There were four of us, two guys, coach Sarah and me. The guys ran 4 miles, but I wanted to run 6 so Sarah ran with me. She's a four hour marathoner, so you can imagine how slow it must have seemed for her, but she never complained. However, she pushed the pace and it was great to run alonside her. I had never met her before and I enjoyed talking to another woman runner, asking her running history. She's run several marathons and has been running about 10 years. Unfortunately, I hadn't charged the Garmin and it stopped after 15 minutes, so I don't have a record of my mileage and splits.

The local running store was offering 25% off to the class, so I went there after the run. I signed up with the beginning/recreational runners group because the marathon training group was too fast for me. My goal is to work on my speed and endurance, then PR at the Nike Women's marathon next October. The group runs on Monday and Wednesday nights, and I figured it would help me with my speed. It will also ensure I actually run; nothing like a group waiting for you to get you out of the house. Then I can run on Saturday's with my friends. Today was special, because of the store run.

Who can resist a bargain? I needed new shoes; those Asics Gel Kinsei I bought last winter were no longer giving me any support. God, I loved those shoes! I also have a pair of Adidas Supernova Cushion, but the Kinsei were what I reached for whenever I had a long run. So I bought a new pair for $41 off retail! I also got a pair of Smartwool socks, a case of GU, and a reflective vest for 30% off. I'll go to REI to buy a headlamp. The one I bought for $15 is lame and Wednesday's accident taught me not to skimp on safety. The guy at the running store told me to buy Petzl Tikka, which they didn't carry at this store. I'll let you know how it works out.

Running is a Dangerous Sport

I'm pretty freaked out right now. I joined a new running group, and we went out tonight. We start at 6, and it's already dark by then. Tonight we broke up into two groups of three, because we were having a scavenger hunt. This is a beginners/recreational runners group and the scavenger hunt was to make running an enjoyable activity for the beginners. The two women I ran with are both experienced runners, and one had recently completed the Wisconsin Ironman.

The roads are not well-lit and there is some road construction going on in the area. We wear reflective vests and some of us wear headlamps. Ironman K joined our group tonight as a guest; she's not familiar with the area.

All was going fine, and then for safety's sake, we were looking to run into the neighborhood to get away from the highway traffic. K was in the lead and as she ran into the construction zone so started screaming. We caught up with her and learned that she hit something and her leg was bleeding very significantly. We walked over to the nearby gas station and applied paper towels to her shin. The guys working there gave us a bag of ice and called 911. K laid down on the ground and elevated her leg, while her friend A applied compression. Good thing we watched ER, we joked. I supposed we should have covered her with a blanket to prevent shock, but we didn't think of it.

I sat on the ground and had K put her head on my lap so she would be more comfortable while we waited for the ambulance. The police arrived first and took her information, and within 20 minutes the ambulance came. There was no chance of treating her on the spot and letting her go--she was destined for the hospital. Fortunately, K was coherent and told us her medical history--allergic to tetanus! We were all calm, at least on the outside, but I was just trying to be strong for K. I joked that I had something to put on my blog.

When the ambulance arrived, the attendant cleaned up her leg. That's when I saw the damage: a hole about the size of a nickel in her shin. I looked away so that she wouldn't see me freaked out. A. saw me and mouthed, "Is it bad?" I nodded. But K saw her wound and reacted very calmly.

The ambulance whisked her away to the hospital and A and I walked back to the club to report what had happened. Of course our coach was freaked out and felt guilty, although she has nothing to feel guilty about. It was an accident. "From now on, we're running on the treadmill," she said. I almost agree with her.

A. drove K's car to the hospital and planned to meet her husband there. I showered and drove to meet my friend for dinner. You would think after all that blood I wouldn't be able to eat, but I was famished. And shaky; I needed food to take the edge off. As I drove to the restaurant, I thought about how dangerous running is--one mis-step and you've got a twisted ankle or worse. And bicycling can be hazardous, too. It makes me scared of athletics.

I usually run with my cell phone, but for this short run, I didn't bring it. I will from now on. I try to anticipate what can go wrong and at the same time scoff at myself for being such a "worry wart." I wait for people who are slower than me, to make sure they're OK. I think it's time to buy that Road ID I'm always seeing advertised.

I wasn't going to post about this accident, because I didn't want to sensationalize K.'s injury. But I wanted to share this with you, because it's so unsettling. And I wanted to know if any of you have experienced injury on the run and how you deal with it.

I spoke with A. about an hour ago, (two hours post accident). K is still at the emergency room and expects to be released in a few hours. I figured they'd hospitalize her, but I guess they're going to let her go home. I'll call tomorrow and see how she's doing. My guess is that she's going to be in a lot of pain. If you pray, please remember her in your prayers.

I Love 5K

Yesterday I ran the Turkey Trot, a 5K with a cool sweatshirt. I ran it last year with my friend Barb and had such a good time I returned for a repeat performance, although this year I was on my own.

The race began at 8 a.m., but I wanted to make sure I got there early so I could park and use the bathroom. After going to bed at 1:30 (!) I got up at 5:30 and took a hot bath, then had a bagel. But no coffee. And no shorts and singlets this weekend--I'm back in Minnesota! Tights, long-sleeve shirt, vest, and headband. Temps were in the low 30s, with a real-feel in the mid-20s.

When I got there at 7 a.m., the first person I saw was Angel, a woman I know from my Club Run days. Coincidentally, I saw her at my health club the day before and she told me that she and her husband were volunteers. Angel graciously let me stash my gear in her locker, then she went off to work.

While waiting for the race to start, I wandered around with my camera to capture the flavor of the race. There were the usual turkeys, and a flock of women dressed up as nuns. One woman told me that they really were nuns, but they weren't. Liar, liar, pants on fire!

About fifteen minutes before the start, there was an aerobics class outside. This was so the racers could warm up. First, she had us do a bunch of lifts with weights. That was a mistake--I'm plenty sore today. Then she had us do some aerobic movements. Somehow I was up in front all by myself--what a dork!

Then it was time to line up. Walkers were to start at 8:02, so I went ahead of them. But I was still in the back. My Garmin was ready and I pressed Start as I crossed the starting line. My goal was to push myself and run the whole way, no walking breaks. Which I did. I ran hard and when I got winded, I slowed down.

Within the first mile, I was passed by a couple pushing a stroller, and by two power-walkers, a man and later a woman. The man had two hip replacements and he walked faster than I ran. Good for him!

Last year they gave out prizes for random categories--one man won for "Shortest Shorts." The voters were the volunteers on the course and I campaigned shamelessly this year so that I would win a prize. I smiled ("Best Smile") and thanked the volunteers ("Most Polite") so that my race number would be called afterwards for a prize. Truth be told, I usually thank the volunteers anyway. Soon I just focused on the race, especially when I had a hill to climb.

Someday I would dearly love to run a 30 minute 5K, which would mean 10 minute miles. But I'm not there yet. Instead I tried to keep my pace under 12 minutes, which for the most part I did. I paced myself until about mile 2.5, then I picked it up. There was a large group of people about a block ahead of me, and eventually I was able to catch them--including the stroller pushing couple--then pass them!

As I turned the corner to the finish line, the woman power walker was just ahead. I lengthened my stride and crossed the finish line ahead of her! Angel and Rick were there, recording the clock time, but I wasn't sure where the finish line was and just kept running through the chute. Someone had to tell me to stop so that they could pull off the tab at the bottom of my number. That's when I stopped the Garmin, which read 36:01. So that means I ran just under 36 minutes. :-)

I wandered over to get some post-race nutrition in the form of Great Harvest rolls and drinkable yogurt. Then I listened as they announced the prizes. This year, instead of categories, they were going by race numbers. Like if the digits on your race number add up to, say, six. Most of the prizes were going to little kids. Then there was one where two kids and a middle-aged woman were in contention for a prize. The first one to answer the trivia question would win. The question was: "Who was the first person to break the 4-minute mile?" I ran up to the woman and said Roger Bannister, then walked away. She got the prize! She came over and asked me how I knew that; I told her I'm just a running geek. She offered to share some of her prize with me, but I told her no.

Well, Karma happens, because as I was standing there, they called for people whose race number ends with 7. That's me! I had to answer a trivia question--Which Minnesotan ran the 1500 meters in the last Olympics? Hint: it was a woman. Doo Do Doo Do Doo Do Dooo... Carrie Tollefson! I got a $10 discount at a local running store. Cool!

The 5K is a fun distance to run. You can run hard because you know you don't have to do it for long. My average pace was 11:22. Here are my splits:

Mile 1 11:42
Mile 2 11:47
Mile 3 10:56
Mile .17 9:29

As I drove home, I thought about Bold and Nancy Toby doing Ironman Florida. I sent good vibes their way, then took a nap.

Racing Season

There are so many races going on, that it's hard to keep track. First, thank you all for your good wishes when I was running my half last Sunday. That same day was also the Marine Corp Marathon, which Jeanne conquered. You'll pee your pants from laughing so hard reading her race report. Either that or be totally horrified! *Jeanne* quietly ran MCM--her second in the same month! She'd qualify for Marathon Maniacs if she lives in Washington state. And Bex was in the top 10% of female finishers!

Then the week before was the Nike Women's marathon and half-M in San Francisco. Juls and 21st Century Mom both got their Tiffany bling in the half-marathon, each under less than ideal conditions. And Running By completed her first marathon!

Then Irene found her way to San Jose and, well, rocked the SJ Rock and Roll Marathon.

Congratulations, runners!

There are more events going on this weekend. Ironman Florida, which Nancy Toby and Bolder in Boulder are participating in, is tomorrow. That's a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, then a marathon. Oh, my aching quads!

If you keep hanging around the barber shop, you're going to get a haircut. Michelle is running her second marathon on Sunday, having finished her first marathon a month ago! She hangs around with the Marathon Maniacs and it seems she has become one. :-)

Finally, the New York City Marathon is Sunday and Sister Smile is running it. Grace is doing her part for international relations by escorting a wheelchair racer from Russia, whose name is Meri.

Good luck to all of you! If I missed anyone, I apologize. But it's late and I need to get to bed. I have a 5K to run in the morning.

[Note: I fixed the broken links]

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.

Race Day

Not for me. But there are alot of people running a race tomorrow.

First, there's the Twin Cities Marathon. My Club Run buddy Marcia is running her first marathon tomorrow to celebrate turning fifty last Sept. 11. AmyBee, and Cheryl are running in solidarity with her. Other Club Runners: Nat, Kathy, and Bea are running the TC 10 Mile, known as the short cut to the capitol.

Other friends running the marathon are: Debbie (first time marathon), Andrea (who ran the first half of Grandma's Marathon with me, then smoked the second half), her father Doug who's lightning fast, and Mike, who gave me Hal Higdon's Marathon book when I was training for my first marathon 3 years ago. Barb, who started the 2003 TCM with me and left me eating her dust by Mile 1, is running the TC 10.

The marathon goes right by my street, and we use it as an excuse for a block party, so I'll be out there cheering them on at mile 2.5 and collecting discarded clothing. This will be the first time in 3 years that I'll be a spectator and not a participant. Then I have to clean for the open house and head down to the later miles--when they really need encouragement--to support my friends. I hope to hook up with Club Run friends who are not running the race and also Firefly Denise, who will be at St. Thomas.

Next, Back of the Pack is running her first marathon tomorrow--the Portland Marathon. Michelle is no novice runner or racer, but the marathon distance has been a dream of hers.

And finally, former couch potato Michelle of Try Tri is participating in a Sprint Triathlon.

Good luck, runners!

Under Construction

As you know, SD and I are building a house in California. Our house in Minneapolis is on the market, as they say, and our house in CA is supposed to be ready in February. We're moving to the Central Coast, which is between L.A. and San Francisco. For those of you familiar with the area, the nearest town is Cambria. And the nearest city is San Luis Obispo, 1/2 hour drive south. The nearest Starbucks is 12 miles east. :-)

Here is the view I'm giving up:


And this is the view I'm going to:


Nice, huh? That white stuff under the blue sky is fog, which is blanketing the ocean. As you can see, it's isolated. My nearest neighbor is a cattle rancher, but he doesn't live on the property. His ranch is so big that the herd only grazes by my house for a short time.

When we were there two weeks ago, I looked at health clubs to join. So far I haven't found one as nice as my current one. I hope to find a running club there, so that I can meet other women runners. Bicycling seems to be big there, and I went to a bike store to check out the new models. Currently, I ride a 1984 mountain bike, which is not going to get me up those horrendous hills. So I've been thinking about a road bike, fast and light, in case I want to try racing. I went to Wally's Bike Shop in San Luis Obispo and told him my level of (non)expertise, and my desire to make it up the 1300 foot climb to home. He's familiar with that road. He sells Fuji, and now I'm saving my pennies for a reasonably priced (it's all relative) carbon bike. I'm under the impression that carbon frames are the lightest one's and that will help me get up the big hills. Tell me if I'm completely off base; I welcome your suggestions. There is a bike club in Cambria and I'm thinking I might be able to join them for rides.

I haven't been keeping up my running. I ran 12 miles on the 16th, but haven't had any run's over an hour since then. The 12 miles was good, though. It gave me confidence that I can do the Big Sur Half. I ran it with my Club Run friends, Marcia, Cheryl, and AmyBee, who are training for the Twin Cities Marathon. They were running 16 that day, so I turned around at 6 miles and ran by myself. The TCM is this Sunday and I have lots of friends to cheer on. I'm excited for them, but it will be weird for me because it's the first time in three years that I won't be running.

Adventuress

It seems I need to be clearer when I ask about running "trails." Last Sunday, the 10th, I ran 10 miles in Montana de Oro state park. It sounded like a perfect place to run: trails along the ocean, toilets, beautiful vistas. It had all that, but what nobody told me was that these were rugged mountain trails.

My husband drove me to the park and we encountered a range who gave me suggestions and a map of the park's trails. Armed with a water bottle, gels, cell phone and iPod, I took off along the Bluff trail. The view was great, and the trail was flat but uneven so I had to watch my footing. I also had to watch for this fellow, who was in front of me on the trail. I shood him away, but was hoping he wasn't waiting to ambush me.

(Photo by my husband, SD)

The Bluff trail went for about 3 miles and I was scheduled to run 10, so from there I planned to run along the Coon Creek trail and then hook up to Rattlesnake Flats trail, which would bring me back to my starting point. These trails were not well groomed; as I headed into the hills on the Coon Creek trail I soon realized these were more for hiking than running. Stubbornly, I persisted, even as brush and limbs kept impeding the way. I kept thinking about the sentence in the brochure, "Poison oak grows throughout the park." Great; I don't even know what poison oak looks like. I also kept an eye out for snakes. And I picked up a stick and turned off my iPod, so that I could be ready in case a mountain lion leaped at me.

OK, my imagination runs a little wild and I easily scare myself. I crossed one bridge, and when I crossed an identical one, I wondered if I was running in circles. I was too scared to turn around, so kept going forward, hoping that the Rattlesnake Flats trail would be better. I started snapping twigs so that I would know if I'd been there already, but I finally got to the trail I was looking for. It went for 3.5 miles and seemed wide open. I started out on that, then realized that 3.5 miles on a dirt trail was going to be slower going than on the road. I tried to call my husband to advise him of where I was, in case they had to send out the posse, but I had no cell phone coverage.

As much as I didn't want to do it, I turned around and went back on the Coon Creek trail. At least it was a known entity. After I crossed both bridges, I saw a young couple. As I passed them, the girl said it was nice to see some one else on the trail. I said I felt the same and asked if they knew where they were. They didn't; they were just our for a Sunday walk in the park, so I showed them the map and told them where the trail went.

Finally, I got back to the trailhead. I had enough of dirt; I finished the last 4 miles on GOA--good old asphalt! It was the main road in the park, and there were cars, but I turned on my tunes and ran against traffic. As I was ending my run, my husband returned to the park. I hopped in the car and we drove straight to Starbucks. Ah, civilization!

Something to Blog About

Hey everyone. Sorry I've been AWOL from my blog. Lots has been happening, but I haven't been able to sit down and write about it.

First, I had a mini RBF meetup last Saturday! Jessica moved from Minnesota to Orange County, which is where I moved from when I came to Minneapolis lo those many years ago. I made a comment on her blog and told her to contact me if she was ever in Mpls., so she did. We didn't run together, but we met at the new Michael Graves wing of the Institute of Art. Over lunch, we talked about, what else, YOU! It was fun to talk to someone who reads the same blogs I do. She even knows some of the bloggers--I asked if Jeff is as nice of a guy as he seems on his Boingo blog, and she assured me he was. We talked about how many comments Runner Susan gets, and about Back of the Pack's heart challenges (Jessica had an aortic valve repaired a few years ago and has communicated with Michelle about it.) And when I told her about a girl wearing an orange cap running past me and how it made me think of Diana, she knew I was referring to the Running Chick with the Orange Hat. We talked about running and security and not letting fear get in the way of our running. I enjoyed meeting her, although I was a little nervous beforehand--I even put on makeup!

Earlier that day, I ran nine miles, which is the most I've run since Grandma's. I "carbo-loaded" at the State Fair the day before (Sweet Martha's chocolate chip cookies and all the chocolate milk I could drink.) It felt good to run that long and I didn't have any problems. I've been keeping up with the O2 training, and running on my own on the other days.

I'm in California now, always searching for new running trails. I ran five miles yesterday in Monterey, along part of the route of the Big Sur Half-M. I started at Fisherman's Wharf, ran south along the trail past barking harbor seals and a yellow submarine. I ran through Cannery Row, immortalized by Steinbeck, past the awesome Monterey Aquarium to Lover's Point in Pacific Grove. They were setting up for the Pacific Grove Triathlon, which I assume is this weekend. Imagine running for a half-hour and seeing banks of porta-potties with no lines. A dream come true! Alas, it turned into nightmare--they were all locked! Lucky for me the public bathroom at the park was open. I'd rather have running water anyway, so there!

I'm further south now and ran another 4.5 miles today and plan to run 10 miles on Sunday. I've been going into the local sport stores, asking about running routes. I think I found one for me; nice and flat, with bathrooms at the trailhead and awesome views (so I'm told.) It sounds great. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks for all your comments. The Dori Plan seems to have overwhelming approval and I haven't come up with anything better, so I'm sticking with it for now. :-)

Finally, check out the revised Complete Running Network. They have some dedicated people writing good articles, edited by none other than Jeanne. Check it out and leave them some comment love.