Thursday, April 20, 2006

Oy, Eighteen.

yeah, so about that......i think it drained my blogging energy. i really couldn't think of much else to tell about other than- yeah, i ran 18 miles. So, I've finally gotten around to posting a new blog. My shins and hip were being very stubborn the first 3 miles, but I gave them a pep talk and told them that they still had 15 miles to go, so they might as well stop complaining. The rest of the run felt great, and i was just on a mission to finish as soon as possible so I could drive home for Easter. Post-run, I stopped at the grocery store and bought $7 worth of ice and I got some weird looks from the early morning elderly shoppers. They were probably thinking, That girl must be having a party. And, on Easter weekend? What is this world coming to? If only they knew that i was going home to sit in all that ice and actually enjoy it. It was great to go home and spend time with my family and hear their words of encouragement and awe for my training, but really it's them that should be applauded for helping me get to where I am today. so thanks, guys. And another BIG THANKS to everyone who has donated. I can't express how much it means to me to have your support and I'm floored by your generosity. Although, there are still some of you who haven't donated....you know who you are. I'll be hunting you down.

I finally got my pictures back from St. Louis, and let me just say that it doesn't work too great to take pictures while running. I did manage to get a few decent ones though.



Tuesday, April 11, 2006



Hook, Line & Sinker

I am hooked. Hooked on the half-marathon. Hooked on all that surrounds race day. I ran my first official half-marathon on Sunday in St. Louis, and i couldn't have been more scared/excited about the whole thing. I was just a little concerned since my right hip developed a mysterious bruise last week and has been having a reoccuring pain that kept flaring up. My hips seem to be a little off-kilter. Plus, walking around downtown STL probably wasn't the best idea, but we got a little disoriented on our way to packet pick-up. Still, i knew that a little hip pain wasn't going to keep me from running. No way, Jose.

Race day, I woke up before my alarm even went off at 4:45 am, well rested, wide awake and ready to run. Shoveled a Power Bar in my mouth, downed a Powerade and Crystal & I headed to the start line with some fellow TNT runners. After a last minute dash to the restroom (thank goodness for the indoor restrooms at the Hyatt; I avoided using a port-a-pottie all weekend), I found Crystal amidst the throng of runners right as the gun went off. As mentioned before, my goal was 2:15, so we started with the 4:30 marathon pace group. i think Crystal thought we were in the 3:30 pace group, because she led us through the stampede of runners at lightning speed. I was just so super excited I didn't even notice we were cruising along at an 8 min pace until we reached the first water stop, and I decided that it would probably be in my best interest to slow down for the sake of my hip/shins/heart/every other body part.

I sent Crystal on ahead as I slowed down to a 9 minute pace, much more comfortable for my hip. It was slightly painful for the first 3 miles, and then it just kinda disappeared as the pack headed into the Budweiser brewery around mile 4.
After that point, I felt pretty great and just settled into an 8:45 pace for a couple miles. I carried a disposable camera with me, so I was just out to enjoy the scenery and aim towards my 2:15 finish goal. Feeling good, I had the 4:00 marathon pace group in my sights and set my goal to pass them and stay in front of them the rest of the 7 miles. The remainder of the race felt great, despite a minor twinge in my left ankle and lack of foresight on my behalf to carry some Gu. thankfully, i was gifted some unknown type of gel at mile 10. From then on, it was pretty much all downhill from there, as i pushed myself on towards the finish with the Gateway Arch shining brightly in the Sunday morning sun ahead of me.

I sprinted across the finish line with a stellar first half-marathon time of 1:55, good enough for 1435th place out of about 6,500 half-marathoners, and an avg. 8:48 pace. Yippeee! you know what that means.....new sexy sandals for me. And since I ran a sub 2 hour, I think i'll buy myself a cool new pair of running shorts. Some with little mesh pockets, so I won't have any excuse in the future not to carry my own Gu.
Things I learned from my first official long distance race:
1. Always remember to pick up safety pins at the Expo....or just bring a bunch with me.
2. Make sure I have my own Gu with me.
3. Best t-shirt of the day award goes to this guy: How's my running? Call 1-800-LIMP.
4. I need to get myself a KitKat cheer squad.
5. above all, it's more about having fun than running fast.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

16 miles. WOOT.

the 16 mile run on saturday was probably the best i've felt on a long distance run in quite awhile. the shins were behaving awesome, pace was pretty awesome, weather was super awesome...all in all, it was awesome. i thoroughly enjoyed being out on the trail for nearly two and a half hours. The only downer is that aside from me and my mentor, everyone else on my team is injured. I ended up running the last 11 miles by myself, but i enjoyed that and was able to run my own pace (about a 9:00 avg) and just enjoy the April morning.


Now, what looms ahead of me this Sunday is the Spirit of St. Louis half-marathon. Actually, it's not really looming...I at least know that i can run a half-marathon with no problem, but I am a little bit worried about how running 13 miles on concrete is going to make my shins feel. Those silly legs can be so tempermental and moody. So far, i've been really fortunate to not have any major problems with them. *knock on wood*. We'll see how it goes...I'm super excited for my first half-marathon race, okay scratch the term 'race', my first half-marathon run, especially since my former cross country co-hort and friend Crystal is going to run it with me. And i've set myself a finish goal of 2:15. If i beat that, i get to by myself a new pair of strappy sandals i've been stalking. oh, the motivating factors of a twentysomething female...